I've got my memories, always inside of me.

Hello Readers!

I just wanted to take this post to tell you how sorry I am for being pretty much MIA for the last little bit.

The last week has been... Rough, to say the least, and I have been feeling extremely uninspired.

I will be taking a little bit of a break...

I promise, only a few more days!
I've been working on some stuff that I hope you guys will enjoy.
Thank you for being awesome, and for being willing to stick around until I'm ready to write again.
If you get a spare moment, please say a prayer for me.

And if you're not into praying, please just keep me in your thoughts.
I really appreciate it!
I would love to hear feedback, and maybe about some post ideas, so PLEASE send me an email.

DFTBA.

Love Always,
Emma Cate

But I can't go back, back to how it was.

This is Home - Switchfoot

Sometimes I run, Sometimes I hide, Sometimes I'm scared of you.

Sometimes...

I wish I felt nothing.

Sometimes...

I love my flaws and imperfections.

Sometimes...

I forget what's really important.

Sometimes...

I'm a martyr of my own making.

Sometimes...

I want to go home and not come back to university.

Sometimes...

I wish I could drop everything and just travel the world.

Sometimes...

I wish that I were a better Christian.

Sometimes...

I know exactly what God wants from me. Actually, I ALWAYS know what God wants from me... But it's only sometimes that I actually am brave enough to do it.

Sometimes...

I wish that I had gotten a letter from Hogwarts on my 11th birthday.

Sometimes...

I plan too far ahead.

Sometimes...

I wish that I was brave.

Sometimes...

I wish I had told him to stay.

Sometimes...

It's hard to get out of bed.

Sometimes...

I wonder if anyone sees Jesus through me.

Sometimes...

I wonder what might have, should have, could have, been.

Sometimes...

I wonder if I'll recover... but I ALWAYS do, because my God is the Great Physician.

Remember, the end will justify the pain it took to get us there.

Let it all out
Get it all out
Rip it out remove it
Don't be alarmed
When the wound begins to bleed

Cause we're so scared to find out
What this life's all about
So scared we're going to lose it
Not knowing all along
That's exactly what we need

And today I will trust you with the confidence
Of a man who's never known defeat
But tomorrow, upon hearing what I did
I will stare at you in disbelief
Oh, inconsistent me
Crying out for consistency

And you said I know that this will hurt
But if I don't break your heart then things will just get worse
If the burden seems too much to bear
Remember
The end will justify the pain it took to get us there

And I'll let it be known
At times I have shown
Signs of all my weakness
But somewhere in me
There is strength

And you promise me
That you believe
In time I will defeat this
Cause somewhere in me
There is strength

And today I will trust you with the confidence
Of a man who's never known defeat
And I'll try my best to just forget
That that man isn't me

And you said I know that this will hurt
But if I don't break your heart then things will just get worse
If the burden seems too much to bear
Remember
The end will justify the pain it took to get us there

And you said I know that this will hurt
But if I don't break your heart then things will just get worse
If the burden seems too much to bear
Remember
The end will justify the pain it took to get us there

Reach out to me
Make my heart brand new
Every beat will be for you
For you

And I know you know
You touched my life
When you touched my heavy heart and made it light

I'll go sit on the floor wearing your clothes.

I still remember the look on your face
Lit through the darkness at 1:58
The words that you whispered
For just us to know
You told me you loved me
So why did you go
Away
Away?

I do recall now
The smell of the rain
Fresh on the pavement
I ran off the plane
That July 9th
The beat of your heart
It jumps through your shirt
I can still feel your arms

But now I'll go sit on the floor
Wearing your clothes
All that I know is that
I don't know how to be something you miss
Never thought we'd have a last kiss
Never imagined we'd end like this
Your name, forever the name on my lips

I do remember
The swing in your step
The life of the party, you're showing off again
And I roll my eyes and then
You pull me in
I'm not much for dancing
But for you I did

Because I love your handshake
Meeting my father
I love how you walk with your hands in your pockets
How you kissed me when I was in the middle of saying something
There's not a day when I don't miss those rude interruptions

But now I'll go sit on the floor
Wearing your clothes
All that I know is that
I don't know how to be something you miss
Never thought we'd have a last kiss
Never imagined we'd end like this
Your name, forever the name on my lips

So I'll watch you live in pictures like I used to watch you sleep
And I feel you forget me like I used to feel you breathe
And I keep up with our old friends just to ask them how you are
Hope it's nice where you are

And I hope the sun shines
And it's a beautiful day
And something reminds you
You wish you had stayed
You can plan for a change in weather and town
But I never planned on you changing your mind

So I'll go sit on the floor
Wearing your clothes
All that I know is that
I don't know how to be something you miss
Never thought we'd have a last kiss
Never imagined we'd end like this
Your name, forever the name on my lips

Just like our last kiss
Forever the name on my lips
Forever the name on my lips
Just like our last

I've got fatal flaws to call my own, Please don't go, Please don't leave me alone... A mirror is much harder to hold.

Hello Dear Friends!

I hope you are all well.

Again, thank you for reading!

I have realized that you guys might not know the songs that I am using as lyrical blog-titles.

So, from now on, I will tell you what it is..

Here's a short recap:

Gimme something fun to do, like a life of loving you. - Something in the Water by Brooke Fraser

Heave Ho, Thieves and Beggars, Never shall we die. - Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

I'll come back when you call me, no need to say goodbye. - The Call by Regina Spektor 

I've got fatal flaws to call my own, Please don't go, Please don't leave me alone... A mirror is much harder to hold. - A Mirror is Harder to Hold by Jon Foreman

 And so, because today is 1/11/2011, I decided that today's post would contain 11 interesting [at least I think so] facts about yours truly.

Fact One: I am, in fact, a giant sci-fi NERD. I love: Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate... And the list goes on.

Fact Two: I, in fact, love to pick out symbolism of any kind from movies, books and music. It gives me something extra to think about while consuming the artist's "vision".

Fact Three: I say I love things far too often... Every movie is my favourite, and I absolutely love every song.. A can attest to this. One of my many idiosyncrasies. 

Fact Four: I have a spiritual experience every time I read/watch The Chronicles of Narnia. I cry EVERY TIME. Idk.. It just.. moves me.

Fact Five: I HATE chick flicks... Most of the time.. Letters To Juliet was good, though. I would rather watch something that has guns and stuff...

Fact Six: I tie smells to people and places.. So, if you change your perfume or cologne, I usually notice. Even shampoo or hairspray... Sometimes laundry detergent... But only with ppl I smell regularly. :) My maja changed her perfume after using the same one for 20+ years... Totally freaked me out. True story. [Yeah, I know I'm weird.. Shutty.]

Fact Seven: I sing ALL THE TIME. It's a habit.. What do you want from me!? I'm a theatre kid.. I sang before I could talk.

Fact Eight: I feel everything on volume 12. At times I hate it, and wish I didn't feel anything, and other times I get very frustrated and don't understand why everyone else doesn't feel as strongly as I do. 

Fact Nine: I own a Golden Snitch. True story.

Fact Ten: There is a song for every situation I have ever gone through in my whole life.. I also have a habit of tying songs to people. Chances are, if I've known you for a while, there's a song that makes me think of you.

Fact Eleven: I make a wish at 11:11 whenever possible.

Please email me with questions/suggestions/or just to say hey!

DFTBA.

Love Always,

Emma Cate

Yup.. That's my snitch. In my Bible.

Matthew 7:7

I'll come back when you call me, no need to say goodbye. [For Anna]

Heeeeey guys!

Friday is finally here.

I think I'm going to enjoy not having a 9:30 am tutorial every week.. this way I can sleep in a bit.

Hooooraay!

Anyways...

Today I want to address a comment that I received on my post about my superbly awesome Harry Potter symbolism book.. [Which is totally BLOWING MY MIND, btdubs.] 

The comment comes from one of my followers with the username *BING*: anna :)

anna :) said...

erm, i dont read harry potter 'cause mom says it's witchcraft, butttt...yeah :P 

Dear Anna,

Let me start off my saying I think it's okay that you haven't read them! I obviously don't think any less of you. I still think you're great. Thanks for all of your comments. :) But I was especially struck by this comment in particular because my parents used to have the exact same rule! So I completely know how you feel. 

I'm not sure about you, but when I was growing up, HP popularity was just on the rise, and so all of my friends were into it... And I'll be honest, I felt a little left out. [This was before LOTR and TCON came out as movies, so my faves weren't so popular with my group of friends yet!] 

And because my mum is a reasonable woman, she decided to read the first book in the series, and then she would give a ruling about whether she thought it was appropriate. However, much to my dismay, her final judgment was that it was a little dark and that I wasn't quite at the maturity level to be able to understand that it was all pretend, etc, etc. The idea of witchcraft being something that we as Christians shouldn't mess with was also a part of her point. And let me tell you, I was disappointed. But time went on and I was less and less upset about it.

LOTR and TCON became popular so I had something to talk about with my friends... I wasn't as worried about it anymore. But then, I think I was fourteen.. or in grade 8? Actually, I think it might have been the end of grade 7. I don't remember. It was a long time ago, anyway... I was in London visiting my Dad's side of my family. Something that my siblings and I always did when we were young when we went to my aunt and uncle's house was watch movies while the adults talked and such [I don't have any cousins on that side that are kids.] So, A [sister], L [brother] and I sifted through the DVD's on the shelf until we found one that we thought looked interesting. We had seen most of the ones they had... Except for one: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. 

And so, I said to my mum: "It's the only one here that we haven't seen, can we please watch it?" and she sad: "Alright, but if you get uncomfortable, or anything makes you feel weird or afraid, then I want you to turn it off." I agreed and hurried into the tv room to put the movie on. 

When I was young, my parents monitored everything I watched or listened to. Some of my friends thought they were strict. But in reality, they helped me to develop an awesome filter. I now have the ability to look at things objectively, in a way that some others can't. So I thank my parents for protecting my young mind. And you should thank yours, too! No matter how much it annoys you at the time, it always pays off for your benefit. 

And so, we watched the movie. And I was captivated. I loved the story, the characters, the score [John Williams is the MAN.]... everything.

 So we went home and life went on as normal... I was very excited about this new found fictional world.

The next time I went to London, I decided that I wanted another dose of Harry. My aunt is a huge fan of the books, and so she had all of them on a shelf in the tv room. While my brother and sister played with my little cousin [my cousin's son], I walked over to the shelf and picked up Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets. I began to read, and I was enveloped by the amazing magical world of JK Rowling. I got about halfway through the book before we had to go home.

 I decided when I went to school on the Monday after that weekend that I would get the books out of the library. And so I did. I read books 2-5 within the span of about two months. [Yes, I never read book one... a shortcoming that I have rectified since being at university.]

Book 6 came out that summer, and my mum had bought it for me for my birthday, but gave it to me early because I begged. I was in love with this world, and I couldn't wait for my next adventure.

The good thing about the fact that I read the books so "late" was that I got to pretty much read them all in a row, without having to wait how ever long for the next one to come out. I remember when book seven was released when I was in grade nine/heading into grade ten. I read it in... Two days? Which is pretty lame in comparison to the 13 hours it took me to read book six. But book seven was much heavier. It blew my mind.

Now, it is completely understandable that your parents, being God-fearing people, want to protect you from things they feel will harm you spiritually.  I am, however, here to tell you why Harry Potter will not harm you spiritually, but will in fact edify you in your faith. 

WHOOOOA. "How can that be possible?!", you ask in complete and utter confusion.

Well, one thing in the book that I have been reading that has blown me away is the way that John Granger describes the magic used in HP. He describes two types of magic: incantational and invocational. Granger explains that incantational literally means "to harmonize" or "to sing along with", while invocational means "to call in". What is the difference? Incantational magic is, as Granger explains it, a means of being in sync with a greater magic, or higher power. He then goes on to explain that invocational magic is often referred to as "sorcery" and is a means of calling in evil spirits to achieve personal gain, or power. After differentiating between these two concepts, Granger says: "Even the most evil wizards do their nasty magic with spells; not one character in any of the seven books ever calls in evil spirits. Not once." [4]

WHOOOOOOOA.

One example that Granger uses to further explain the difference between these two kinds of magic is Prince Caspian [which I thought you would find particularly interesting.] He discusses the magic used when Caspian blows Queen Susan's horn as being incantational [further using the metaphor of music] and the magic used when Nikabrik finds the hag in order to call in the White Witch as being invocational. He then explains that C.S. Lewis puts the distinction between the two very clearly.

This particular point had my head spinning.

The book goes on to explain different symbols of Christ within the book series, and a break down of JK Rowling's formulaic alchemical writing style, and how she uses conventions of English literature, comparative with writers like JRR Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. Granger also reveals that Rowling herself is in fact a Christian [Anglican] and explains that because of the way she plans, plans, and plans before she writes proves that symbols and metaphors that she includes in her stories are there not simply by accident, but on complete purpose, in order to achieve her purpose, of allowing Harry to make the transition from spiritual lead, to spiritual gold. [I'll admit to you that I didn't really understand the whole alchemy thing until Granger explained it thoroughly.] 

Another point that Granger includes as to why HP is so widely loved is the fact that it addresses the biggest human questions, most importantly the question and fear of death. Granger explains that humans are spiritual beings by design, and that these books provide a kind of spiritual nourishment that all humans require, that we are deprived of as a result of living in a secular, naturalistic and materialistic world. [Of course, not to be a substitute for The Word itself.] A continuing theme and motif in HP is that Love always conquers Death. Granger then explains that this image is incredibly powerful because as Christians, we believe that Jesus is Love. And what did Jesus do?  HE CONQUERED DEATH.

WHOOOOOOA.

 

This book has seriously blown my mind, and sermons have been formulating in my brain with pretty much every sentence. The best part is that he's got all kinds of scripture to back him up... [Trust me. I looked it all up.]

I don't want to spoil the plot for you if you ever do decide that you want to read them, but in all honesty, the next time I read HP, I feel like Rowling's writing will move me spiritually similarly to Lewis in TCON, now that all of my suspicions about HP having Christian under-tones have been affirmed and proved. 

Like you, TCON is a very large part of my life, and everytime I dive into Narnia, I come out with spiritual truths and feeling like I've spent time in devotions while reading an awesome story. I'm without fail brought to tears every time... And you wanna know something? I felt something similar while reading HP and just couldn't quite put my finger on what it was that made me fall so deeply in love with the story. And now I know!

Now, I'm not really sure how old you are, so I don't know where you stand in regards to being able to "make your own adult choices". Maybe if you feel like HP is something you would like to read, have a chat with your parents... Perhaps share my story with them. I'm sure if you approach it rationally then they will be open to discussing it with you! Another thing you could try is maybe having conversations with your parents about what you read when you're finished. This way they know that you're thinking critically about the things that you're putting in your head!

Again, thank you so much for your comments, and I look forward to hearing from you!

Please email me so we can chat more about all of this!

Sorry to the rest of you that this post is so long.. I was just so inspired!

DFTBA.

Love Always, 

Emma Catherine 

Heave Ho, Theives and Beggars... Never shall we die.

Heeeeeeeeeeeeey. :)

More questions today!

HOOORAAAY!

Pirate, Ninja, Viking, Knight, Vampire, Zombie? (Left out Wizard because I thought that would be your first choice.)

Goooood question. Not Zombie.. Not Vampire, either. Definitely not Viking. I'm not awesome enough to be a Ninja. :P So I'll have to go with Pirate/Knight.. being each role in the respective time-period, of course.

Daytime or Nighttime?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA.

WATCH THIS VIDEO.

What is the next language you will learn or want to learn?

Uhhhm.. I'm not sure, actually. Because I am a giant nerd and loved my Medieval Studies class last semester, I'm gunna go with Anglo-Saxon. It's AWESOME. Or Gaelic, considering my heritage and how beautiful the language it.

Is Jayne an acceptable name for a boy?

No. Never.

What is your favorite viral video?

Without fail makes me happy every time.

GET HAPPY.

What is something you miss that you grew up with?

Well, to be honest... I miss being a kid, in general. There is just too much to do and think about when you're an adult. For instance.. I'll be signing a lease on a house for next year sometime in the next few months. HOW RIDICULOUS IS THAT. I mean, really..

DFTBA.

Love Always,

Emma Cate

Gimme something fun to do, like a life of loving you.

Heeeey guys!

Today I'm feeling mildly uninspired, so I do apologize.

Currently, A is on vacation with his family in California..

Lucky, right?

Well, I miss him alot.

Going for long periods of time without seeing eachother is not something I'm used to, considering how awesome A is, coming to visit me all the time and such.. He's so great.

And he's gone til the 9th!

Blaaaaaah.

But enough about me being lame and stuff..

I just wanted to quickly talk about this book that my very lovely friend Rae lent to me. It's a book by John Granger [hahahahaha] called How Harry Cast His Spell. [Those of you who are HP fans will know why I laughed back there. :)]

I haven't started reading this book yet because I've been so busy with school starting back up and stuff.

However, I am BEYOND excited to read it.

If you know me, then you know that I love looking for symbolism, particularly Biblical symbolism, in books and movies.

This book is all about Biblical and spiritual symbolism in Harry Potter!

BLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH.

Thank You, John Granger.

I'll let you guys know how awesome it was when I finish it.

DFTBA.

Love Always,

Emma Cate

This Month Blog Titles Will Be: Song Lyrics. [I posted more photos.]

Dearest Online Friends,

Thank you, again for taking the time to read my blog!

I really appreciate it.

And remember: SPAMWOW My email with questions/topic ideas/or just to say hey!

Over the Christmas Break, I had to opportunity to hang out with my friend D who is a fantastical photographer.. And what else did we do but fun make-up and take photos!

Two of my favourite activities.

D is not only a photographer, she is also an artist.. She likes to paint.

She showed me all of her art while I was at her house and WOOOOW is she great.

I told her: "Do whatever you want! My face is your canvas!" to which she replied: "Wow, I've never had so much power before!"

It was a phenomenal day of make-up, chatting, laughing, photos, art, and Paramore.

Because I love having my photo taken, I decided to show you guys a few!
I hope you like them!

 D edited this one... I think it's my favourite. We were going for Hollywood glam

 This one is unedited. D's dad has a recording studio in the basement of their house and it has really cool potlights. I'm standing under one of the potlights in this photo.

Unedited. Red dress, red couch.

My sister got me those rockin' awesome tights for Christmas.

I'm going to work extra hard to post often!

Love you guys.
Thanks for an amazing few months so far!

DFTBA. 

Love Always,

Emma Cate

In Which I Answer More Questions.

Why, Hello Friends!

I do apologize for being so lame the last few weeks and not posting at all..

I only got a week and a half of Christmas break so I wanted to make the best of it that I could!

Today I'm going to answer some more questions that I received by email.

PLEASE, keep them coming!

If you could name a mountain range, what would you name it?
This is an excellent question... Very easy to answer, though. I would obviously name my mountain range The Misty Mountains. We need a little more Middle Earth around here...

Yes, you can laugh.

How awesome was your Christmas?

It was actually pretty fantastical. I got Prince Caspian and Beauty and the Beast on Bluray. Definitely one of the highlights. Other highlights include: Spending time with family, friends, and of course A.

When I say coffers, what do you think of first? (No googling)

Well, coffer is another word for offering plate, in a church. It's passed around the congregation and monetary offerings and tithes are placed in the plate. However, I'm pretty sure Catholicism is where the word coffers is used most often. I think coffers specifically refers to the place where the church's money is kept... I could be completely wrong. And I have also deviated from the question.. The first thing I think of is money.

What motivated you to start blogging?

See my first ever post for the answer to this question. Click here! Also, I really love to write, and a blog seemed like a great way to get my thoughts out... Also, I love being able to look back and see what I thought about people, places, and things at certain times. I have written in a journal my whole life.
 

Why is the rum gone?

Obviously because Elizabeth set fire to all of it in order to flag down an English ship so that they could be saved after being marooned.. Duh. And maybe if Jack didn't drink so much...

DFTBA.

Love Always,

Emma Cate