Blessed Assurance

This is the song I named this blog after. Blessed Assurance! A line from this hymn is: "Watching and waiting, looking above." Well... and it goes on. Let me just show you the whole hymn, really read it if you would... the words are such a prayer.

 

Blessed Assurance

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

Refrain:
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.

Perfect submission, perfect delight,
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels, descending, bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

Perfect submission, all is at rest,
I in my Savior am happy and blest,
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

 

This hymn is by Fanny Crosby. She was quite a lady. I first learned about her when looking at this hymn at camp training a month or so ago. Let me give you a snippet about her, courtesy of Wikipedia ;).

Fanny Crosby "was an American lyricist best known for her Protestant Christian hymns. A lifelong Methodist, she was one of the most prolific hymnists in history, writing over 8,000 despite becoming blind shortly after birth. Also known for her preaching and speaking, during her lifetime Fanny Crosby was one of the best known women in the United States."

That's right - Fanny Crosby was blind. And she wrote over eight thousand hymns. Wow. This one I happen to like, but there are many more well known hymns. When I looked up Ms. Fanny's name in the back of a hymnbook, there were so many more hymns than listed for most writers! She also was married to a blind musician who insisted she keep her original surname. They had a daughter... but she died as a baby. Yet in her hymns she expresses great contentment in the Lord. When she was only eight years old, she wrote these verses:

 

Oh what a happy soul I am,

Although I cannot see;

I am resolved that in this world

Contented I will be.

How many blessings I enjoy,

That other people don't;

To weep and sigh because I'm blind,

I cannot, and I won't.

I don't know a ton about Fanny Crosby, but I know I wish I could've met her. She strikes me as someone who would inspire faith and help Christians who came in contact with her on with their walk with God. 

Bible Reading

How many times have we, as Christians (to those of you who are), wished we read the Bible more? Well, today I'd like to try and offer you some motivation to do so!

1. The Bible is, in a word, awesome! It has all this: stories, advice, history, prophecies, and more! But that's just the worldly pitch. Though the Bible does have all those things, and that does make it awesome.... obviously it's way more than awesome!!!

2. THE BIBLE IS GOD'S WORDS TO US. Read that again. One more time. Okay. Awesome doesn't even begin to describe it. Advice from the One who made all the people and all the tendencies and functions that sociology would attempt to understand. His advice could only be the best for us. There are stories about people who were more dedicated to completely serving God than many of us are dedicated to our homework today. But then, stories about those same people and how they sinned. Sinned with atrocious and reputation-blowing sins. And how God forgave them, and worked their mistakes for good to His plan. Now that's an example and reassurance! There's history of this lowly world's creation. God incarnate entering the world. His disciplines being sent with the Holy Spirit to preform miracles and bring thousands to the Lord. Prophecies - tellings of when Jesus will come once again. 

3. God can speak to us through the Bible. For me personally, reading Jesus' very words is so incredibly comforting. It's just so amazing! Those little red, typed words are a translation of what our Savior spoke on this very earth, just about 2000 years ago. Throughout the Bible, there are letters to people groups by people such as Paul (which are so full of wisdom and lessons), the Proverbs (just read one chapter and you're bound to find at least one verse that speaks to you personally), and old testament prophecies that are fulfilled and mentioned in the new testament. Among so many other things.

So. I challenge you! (In a good way). Go right now. Pick up your Bible and read something. Maybe start a book of the Bible that you can continue every day, either section by section, or even chapter by chapter. Do it in the morning, before you go to bed, or sometime throughout the day. This is something that I struggle with all the time. I obviously know these motivators in my head, but some days it's hard to really know them in my heart. But - try to do it anyways. Read even when you're not feeling up to it. You never know what God might want to show you :).

Feedback

Ah, forgive me for taking up so much of your time today. If you are still reading, many thanks ;). I get excited to put my thoughts out there, though, truly! 

I wanted to say this - I would IMMENSELY love love love to hear your feedback! Or even your whole take on anything I bring up! It's really fun to know who's reading. Also your opinions are valued, save them of you must, but remember it's great to know where you stand at times. So if you are reading this, reply? ;). Also if you ever feel like reading the other things I post on, reply there too! You don't have to be a member of anything (at least I don't think you do...). Muchas gracias! :D

Song Lyrics in Statuses (and other opinions on online-ness)

So why do people like to put song lyrics in their statuses so much? An obvious answer: to express themselves. Sometimes our mood can be expressed in a lyric. We listen to songs and our minds memorize. We may even consciously try to memorize songs that we especially enjoy. 

Oftentimes we are online, not in the mood to talk by way of "chat" to anyone, but we want to let people know how we feel. Why? If we are not in talkative mood but put up a depressed lyric, a friend may ask what's wrong with us. Well, even is there is a problem... did we even feel like sharing it in the first place? Usually not! Unless the person asking is a close friend we often confide in, or a person we can easily give a noncommittal answer to. 

What about lyrics of happiness? When we are happy, we want to tell people! Maybe even spread the joy :). Or we may be confused. And post lyrics about the state of our mind, its sanity, and etc. Does continuously seeing lyrics in your friends statuses annoy you? Sometimes it can indeed be wearing to see consistently melodramatic, depressed, and desperate lyrics. But that's not truly our problem anyway. However... if this person if your true friend, you may want to ask what's up! Unless you're like me and have a low tolerance for drama, at least for most of your friends. 

So let's consider this. If you have Gmail or Facebook or Twitter or one of those, you probably know what I'm talking about. Next time you post a status, what do you really want to reflect? Sometimes instead of saying what we really want to, our feelings could be more appropriately and lovingly expressed with a Biblical view. Perhaps even a verse! Let's look at some examples:

This? "So-and-so everything is falling apart...'my heart unravels bit by bit, you smashed me to pieces.'"

Try this: "Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me; O LORD, be my help. You turned wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy" Psalm 30:10-11. <3

This? "So-and-so is home aloneeee.... txtt."

Try this: How about not revealing that you're home alone! Yikes! It always kind of weirds me out when people say online that they're home alone. And take into consideration the fad of stretching your lettersss outt likeeee thiss. My take on it - if you want the majority of people (especially most adults) to respect you, don't go crazy. Though it's fun/fine with friends :), just keep in mind who your audience is!

This? "So-and-so is .....so mad. don't. even. ask."

Try this: Well now. Actual uncontained anger might go better UNexpressed, at least for the time being. 

At times I know I'm guilty of the giving in to posting sad-ish statuses, but still a good thing to keep in mind :). 

Senses: in the living room

Sights: Brother, Dad, Connect Four, Labyrinth, Vera Bradley purse, recliner chair, pen, paper, backpack, laptop, hands, hairbands, powercord, puppy, reading glasses, rehearsal schedule, etc, etc.

Sounds: Dad tapping, computer coming on, Dad whistling, John drumming, Dad talking to himself, car speeding by, John humming, computer dinging, me typing, me sniffing, me coughing, John still humming... music or TV?, John humming/singing/etc, chair rocking, CD dropping, Dad talking, John talking. 

Smells: Brownies maybe from yesterday?, computer..... my nose is stuffy sorry ;)

Touch: Computer keys, computer in my lap, squishy couch, etc. 

Taste: None specifically. 

Ramble

My younger brothers are in a memorial day tournament this weekend for baseball. It'll be cool to watch them play! All my siblings are very blessed athletically :). 

Recently I finished reading the book of John, and continued on to Acts. The disciples have received the Holy Spirit and are preforming sings and wonders and many multitudes are being brought to the Lord. I really like reading about these men because they were normal people, but Christians, the same as any today. 

Today is my friend Emily's birthday! This is her blog: http://inmyfathershands.blogspot.com/

Again, the weather is very very very nice. A little on the hot side, but quite amazing!

This is a very scatterbrained post. Oh well... too late!

Oh.... I apologize if this is annoying but I'd like to recommend my Flickr again, I put up new nature pictures! Thought sometimes, all I can do is observe, when pictures can't really capture God's creation. ~ http://www.flickr.com/photos/la-birdie/

Well, I suppose that's all for now folks. In the words of Tigger, TTFN! :)

~Lindsay Anne

A C.S. Lewis Quote

Sigh. Today is a lovely day. I'd just like to say that if you haven't been outside yet... go quickly :).

"Love may forgive all infirmities and love still in spite of them: but Love cannot cease to will their removal." ~C.S. Lewis

I know this quote can be taken and related to in different ways, but I want to share how it came across to me. I would sometimes wonder if I could truly forgive someone for something, but not fully forget about it. Is it wrong to still worry about the sin that is "forgiven"? Because I do. What if the sin is continuous... or possibly continuous? When we love someone, a family member or close friend, we can't help but hate to see them fall. Often times their vices affect us as well. In that we may be selfish and want their problems to go away for our own sake. But we may also simply want their sin to be gone because we hate to watch them suffer. To me, this quote says that in love, we may be quick to forgive, but still wish away and despise the sin itself. 

Light

Light. This picture is actually glow-sticks, woven in and around PVC pipe in the form of a giant chair... but that's another story. 

In the last physics class I will ever have, which was yesterday, we talked about light - how if one could travel at or close to the speed of light, time would slow down. There are of course many more explanations and such that I do not (and probably never will!) understand, but I find this really amazing. I never even knew that time alteration was truly possible until Mr. Harrison, our teacher, told us this. The speed of light is ALWAYS constant, but time is not. Sounds crazy! But God is SO mighty to have situated everything within our atmosphere (and outside, such as our position away from the sun) so that we could live and even thrive. 

From Genesis 1 -

"Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light."

Book Review: Between Sundays

Alrighty. Well, that little break in my posts wasn't exactly intentional. I didn't post one day. Or the next, or the next! And then I left for a retreat with my youth group. But I am back now and ready to blog again :)

Today I want to write a review of an AWESOME book I just read! It's called Between Sundays, by Karen Kingsbury. I've read several of her books, including Like Dandelion Dust and the Forever Faithful Series. I started reading one other, but stopped because it was a bit too.... beyond what I care to have in my mind, as far as relationships go. Don't get me wrong, these are awesome and encouraging Christian books, but I guess I'm just not old enough for some yet. 

Without giving away too much... let me tell you a little bit about this book. Cory's mother, Amy, dies when he's just six. Amy's best friend Megan works with her at a diner. After Amy's death, Megan takes Cory in and ends up becoming his official foster mother. Cory insists to Megan that his father is Aaron Hill, the starting 49ers quarterback. Another player on the 49ers team is Derrick Anderson. He has the ideal Christian family. This book - I couldn't put it down! I loved the characters and loved reading it. The thing I really admire about these books especially is how Karen Kingsbury incorporates verses (especially in the Forever faithful series) and strong, inspiring Christian characters. The scripture and the faith of the characters slips into your mindset as you read the captivating story. This book did have a typical happy ending... but of that I'm glad :). I definitely recommend this book. I know this review is sparse - but I just don't want to give away anything! Especially if you are a female, you'll most likely enjoy this book like I did (as long as you don't mind predictable endings and occasional sappiness; although I love these things I know some don't ;) ). 

~~Verse~~

Psalm 37:4 (New International Version)

 ⁴ Delight yourself in the LORD 
       and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Compassion International

I want to tell you about two very special girls in my life. Abigail is 8 and Monica is 15. They live in Bolivia and I sponsor them through Compassion International. 

When you sponsor a child through Compassion, you write letters as well as exchange pictures and sometimes other small things with them. Abigail and I have been writing for over two years, since she was six :). A while back she started writing the letters herself, and they are usually accompanied by lovely drawings as well! She is so special to me and I possibly.... hope to meet her someday. I'm not sure exactly when or by what means financially though!

Today I actually just got my very FIRST letter from Monica!!! (One also came from Abigail today :D ). The letter was short, but I was SO excited! I'd been hoping I'd hear from both girls soon. 

I don't want to go on and on, but truly they mean a lot to me and I love them so much! They are a blessing as well as I hope to be for them. One last thing that's really neat is that they write in Spanish and now I can tell the gist of what they're saying without reading the translation :). 

I'd highly recommend sponsoring a child through Compassion International. It's $32 dollars a month. If you're worried about money... remember that God will provide! It's also worth it anyway because of the relationship you build with your sponsored child as you pray for each other and communicate by letter. 

If you want to go the child search, this is the link: http://www.compassion.com/sponsor_a_child/default.htm

Also, this is the Compassion homepage! http://www.compassion.com/default.htm

Letter reader and writer,

Lindsay Anne

Dia de Madres :)

Happy mothers' day!!!!! To all you moms out there. And any women who are like mothers :).

As most of us realize (or should), moms are amazing. They do so much. When you actually think about the life-consuming career of a mother.....WOW! I personally cannot yet imagine having to give so much of myself daily. But they do, all the time. So thanks moms, especially mine! <3

Something else I want to say though - there are many women who, though they aren't moms, seem to be. If you think for a second, a women who feels like an aunt perhaps or even like another mom may easily come to mind! It might be a teacher, a friend's mom. So even though Mother's Day is now nearly over.... remember to thank these ladies too :). 

Kitten

On Thursday evening just before small group, we heard a meowing sound. I froze... then went outside to investigate. I called out as one would for a kitty. Lo and behold, a small, young black and white cat appeared! She was in the bushes around our house. I expected any cat to be shy; she was not! As you can see she quite enjoys being rubbed as well as posing for the camera :). We named her Dandelion (or Dandy, or Lion). But alas we are going to put up signs to see if anyone will claim her. If she does have an owner, I'm sure they miss her! But if not, perhaps we've found a new outdoor pet...?

A verse for today~ 

John 16:33 (New International Version)

 ³³"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

Busy Bee

First of all I must apologize. I don't have nearly any time to write today!

I'm actually about to run out the door.

But in hopes of not missing a day (yet), I'd like to post.

A song that I really like and want to make my prayer right now is Empty Me by Chris Sligh. Chris was 10th on American Idol a few years back, and I'm so happy he's on the Christian radio station! The words are really great. They encourage me to find security in God and not other places. So I'm just going to post the words here! :)

I've had just enough of the spotlight

When it burns bright

To see how it gets in the blood

And I've tasted my share 

Of the sweet life

And the wild ride

And found a little is not quite enough

I know how i can stray

And how fast my heart could change

Empty me

Of the selfishness inside

Every vain ambition 

And the poison of my pride

And any foolish thing my heart holds to

Lord empty me of me

So i can be

Filled with you

Ive seen just enough of the quick buys

Of the best lies

To know how prodigals can be drawn away

I know how I can stray

And how fast my heart could change

Empty me

Of the selfishness inside

Every vain ambition 

And the poison of my pride

And any foolish thing my heart holds to

Lord empty me of me

So I can be

Filled with you

Cuz everything is a lesser thing 

Compared to you

Compared to you

Cuz everything is a lesser thing 

Compared to you

So I surrender all

Empty me

Of the selfishness inside

Every vain ambition 

And the poison of my pride

Empty me

Of the selfishness inside

Every vain ambition 

And the poison of my pride

And any foolish thing my heart holds to

Lord empty me of me

So I can be

Lord empty me of me

So I can be

Filled with you. 

Filled with you

Empty me

The Knight

Today I want to share an essay/story I wrote for Omnibus earlier this year. When I was doing homework today I came across it on a folder on my laptop. It was based off a part of The Tales of Canterbury. I chose the knight. Also something I want to add before I show you is this -- I LOVE princess stories :). So I sure had a lot of fun attempting to write this one!

 

The Knight

(of The Tales of Canterbury)

 

Once upon a time there was a young princess of fifteen summers. She had golden hair that shined strawberry-blond in the sun. Her eyes were rare gems of the most intriguing mix of blue and green.  When she laughed, you couldn’t help but smile. In her heart she carried a great joy and on her lips there was a first kiss. She waited for her perfect knight to come. She delicately protected her precious heart, waiting for the day that he would come.

One day her father came to her rather early in he morning, while her lady-in-waiting was still twisting her hair into its usual simple but beautiful arrangement. He told the princess that he had chosen a husband for her from his knights. The knight had just returned from his pilgrimage. Along the way he had demonstrated great honor and chivalry. The princess felt her heart flutter. He father said the man he had chosen was worthy indeed, the finest of all his knights. The king cared for his daughter deeply, and felt assured that she would be happy always with this man.

The next fortnight, the princess was to meet her knight for the first time. Her lady-in-waiting, as was the norm, came to prepare the princesses hair in its arrangement, but the princess told her shed rather keep it down and free. Then the princess chose a blue dress of the finest silk. Then, taking a deep breath as the joy in her heart overflowed to a radiant smile, she went down to the garden to meet her knight.

As she walked down the pathway, surrounded by fragrant white lilies, she saw someone on the distance. It could be no other than her knight. Trying not to run to him in her eagerness (for she trusted her father’s choice with all of her waiting heart), she put one foot in front of the other and continued toward him. He was wearing the traditional outfit of a knight, even with a small chain mail shining in the sun's rays.

As she grew nearer, the knight arose to meet his princess. Oh, how she was beautiful. Her shining hair danced as she walked with a spring in her step towards him. Her eyes glowed with color and life even from this far back. His heart beat faster.

Then she reached him. The princess gently lifted her eyes to meet his. The knight’s eyes light brown, soft and like a fawn. The princess felt unworthy that such a man should be chosen for her.

“I have waited for you, day and night. Here on my lips lies a first kiss that I have saved for you.” Her eyes shone as he very gently reached for her hand. He was truly the perfect picture of a knight. Gentle, chivalrous, honorable, truthful, wise, and meek was he. The princess knew this worthy man would care for her all of her days. Hand in hand they walked along the garden path, as the knight continued to honor and respect the beautiful princess.

Field Day :)

Today I wanted to put at least one sentence in rainbow! Well, here goes...

Today was field day.

Yay! Okay, well anyways. Today was field day. While the purpose of this blog is not meant to be a diary type thing of my life....I want to write about field day because it was quite unexpectedly fun! It's not that I haven't enjoyed field day in the past, because I have. But this one was a bit different. We were in the park from about 12 to 2. For around the first hour and a half, the older kids had free time to go basically wherever, as long as it was nearby. The younger kids rotated through activities that included relay races and face painting. When a group of kids was stationed at face painting, they also had the option of playing on the big and totally awesome playground! I ended up there for a while when the red team was there, and we played tag. I hate tag. I run out of energy quickly and am not really much of a game player. But I had SOOO much fun!!! I'm pretty sure that was because I was one of the oldest in the group, besides Andrew. So for one I could run fast enough ;). But there's just something special about being that older kid, when the 3rd graders are chasing you and giggling all the way. By the time they had to rotate I had learned the names in certainty and talked to some of the kids I'd seen all year, but never really connected with. After the rotations my team won in the tug-of-war competition (yay white team!). THEN a bunch of water balloons appeared! Mostly the little kids grabbed them. Some of my friends got ....um.. slightly soaked, but I can quite happily say I didn't get very wet and was not responsible for throwing any balloons ;). We all walked happily back across the street, one of the third grade girls holding my hand part of the way. 

A newly decided field day lover who is beginning to think she can feel a sunburn,

Lindsay Anne

Photography!

Today I would like talk about photography to you :). This is a picture I took yesterday. This week has been quite full of rain! But it makes the world green and bright in the end.....and water droplets are pretty amazing! 

I won a camera in a video contest at my church (thankfully not too many people entered ;) and you can see the video here! -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNESQsBdu4Q&feature=channel_page ). It's a Nikon Coolpix S210. Not a fancy camera, but it has macro and other cool settings, and I like editing in iPhoto! 

I put up a selection of my favorite pictures on Flickr also. 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/la-birdie/

Check them out and tell me your honest opinion! :)

Anyways, I guess that's about it. I wasn't really sure what to post on today (future suggestions, anybody?). It wasn't that I didn't have other ideas, but this is what I ended up with! 

One last thing - remember that verse, Jeremiah 29:11? It actually helped me out during a debate final I was in last night.... and then today on the Christian radio I heard a song that sounded like it was based off that verse or a similar one! It's cool how God does that. There are definitely no coincidences with Him!!!

Enjoy a Monday???

Monday, Monday.....can't trust that day. So goes a choir song we are currently learning ;).

Today is Monday. From what I gather from inside my bedroom with the blinds still closed is that is cold... very wet... and quite windy.

But today... let's have a good day! :)

1 Thessalonians 5:18. "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

We may be reminded of this verse when we are suffering from bigger pain or loss (and if you are, heed this verse :) ). But if you're like me and you're just not sure whether you will have a good attitude on this dreary day, I challenge you!

Some ideas for why today can be a good day (as well as giving thanks in all circumstances!):

~Monday is a good day to talk on the phone with friends in the evening.

~Monday begins a new week...so let's get a lot of work done today and not next Sunday evening!

~Monday, for me, is choir day. Even if you don't like what your Monday usually holds, what's your favorite part of it? I know you have one :)

~And then there are the MULTITUDE of simple reasons - which we realized when we "count our blessings" so to speak. 

I would greatly appreciate your comments on this post - why do you personally dislike Mondays? How can you personally enjoy Mondays and give thanks? What's your favorite part of Monday?

This is the day that the Lord has made!

Hello! Today is Sunday. It's raining but hopefully that will not dampen the spirits of God's children!

Yesterday I saw "Pilgrim" at Covenant Life Church. One of my amazing friends Christene was in it :). I cried quite a few times throughout the play. I sometimes do cry during plays and movies, but because of all the messages in this one I couldn't really help it! "Pilgrim" is a slightly more modern version of Pilgrim's Progress, as well as a musical. Christian leaves a party in the beginning and travels first to the cross, where his burden is lifted, and then to the Celestial City itself, where God welcomes him. Although I know FULL well that God cannot be truly portrayed by a human, the fact that they had a man playing God in this play was really an amazing concept. God traveled with Christian all the way. He was invisible but always there. He spoke to Christian, reminding him of verses and being a conscience. It was truly inspiring to be reminded that God really is literally beside us every moment of every day! There were so many incredibly talented people in this play, but the focus seemed not on them, but on our Lord. Thanks to everyone who was in it for providing this ministry to everyone who came to see it!

One child of God,

Lindsay Anne

Teddy Bear

Sometimes in this blog I will write about moments that I have experienced or seen. To protect myself and anyone involved in these happenings, I'll usually be using a variety of false names.

That being said...with this moment, I'm actually going to use real names.

In the summer I went to Mexico for a week with my church. We did Vacation Bible School and construction on two baseball dugouts, both in a par across from the church we had helped to build two summers past. As I told you in my first post, I love being there. I dearly wish I could go back soon. Even with the current violence and "swine flu"....just send me there, I'll go!!! When I was there this summer, I had amazing interactions with some of the kids there. It's harder for me to talk to the older kids closer to my own age for some reason. But there are so many little girls; they are the ones who really touched my heart. One young lady, who was actually...12, I believe, was in my memory from the last time I had been to Juarez. I had given her an orange hat I brought with me. When I saw her and realized who she was, I excitedly tried to tell her. Finally (with my limited Spanish after only one real year of studying the language) another team member helped me tell Veronica what I was trying to say. She didn't remember me, but none of them really did; it had been too long. The next morning, you won't believe what she did. Our whole team arrived at the church by bus several hours before VBS started. Far before VBS started, Veronica was there. And she had a present....for me. It was a small worn, white teddy bear, that was meant for giving at Valentine's Day (the bear held a red velvety heart in its hands). This is just one example of the nearly unconditional love and generosity I encountered in Juarez. If only in America we could all capture what those kids have...it would change our world. I look forward to sharing more stories with you about my short time in Mexico :). 

Dreaming of missions work, 

Lindsay Anne

Hannah Montana

Well, I saw the Hannah Montana movie on Wednesday. So....why not write a review for it! (note: if you're not at all familiar with Hannah Montana....sorry, this review isn't exactly geared toward you!)

In my opinion....

Overall, the movie was better than the show--mainly better quality. It was corny, as expected. But I really enjoyed some of the music (it's true) and the acting wasn't even that bad. Surprise of the month, out of nowhere Rascal Flatts and Taylor Swift pop up in different scenes! Miss Swift takes part in a Tennessee fundraiser, and the guys from Rascal Flatts are part of the Stewart family. I also bought the soundtrack the day after I saw the movie. One of the songs, "Hoedown Throwdown," while admittedly is a bit juvenile and silly, is lots of fun! It also was a cool scene in the movie. The ending is a bit contradictory to the advertised tag-line of the movie (which tells us that Miley will have to choose either Miley or Hannah as permanent identity). That might leave some unsatisfied, but others content. However, I won't spoil the ending :). In the end, this is a movie I would definitely watch again. I know perhaps the majority of teenagers are groaning and rolling their eyes at me right now...or maybe have already stopped reading as soon as they realized what this post was about! But I liked it, and seeing it with friends (who ended up liking the movie too, although they didn't plan to ;) ) made it all the better.

Movie reviewer today, music tomorrow?,

Lindsay Anne