Vanished

Check out this video. Pretty powerful, huh? If you want to see more videos like this, go to www.virtuemedia.com.

The fame change

Yesterday I was listening to the song “Twisted” by Carrie Underwood. It struck me that when American Idol takes an average person and makes them a star, that person is longer who they used to be…what so ever.  Check out this video of Carrie Underwood at her audition for the show. She was pretty different back then.

“Cold” Music Video!

Here’s the link to the music video of Marie’s song “Cold”. Hope you like it.

http://www.lumen.tv/COLDV04hiLg_Prog.mov

Filming a music video…

Hey guys! We’re back from Florida! We went up there to be the subjects of a music video being made by Lumen Film Camp.  The video is of Marie’s song, “Cold”. Marie is the singer in the video and Carol Lynn and I are the actors. We had a blast and can’t wait to get the video on our site so you all can check it out! Here’s some pics of us being filmed and hanging out with the film crew. They were a very awesome and talented group of people. We feel really blessed to have been able to take part in their project.

Here’s a pic of Carol Lynn and Ali. Ali participated in the camp as both a film maker and an actress.

Here’s Marie being filmed while playing on the streets of downtown Jacksonville.

Here’s a picture of me being filmed in an alley way. In the video I play Julie, a self-centered teenager who eventually seeks God’s forgivness. So at this point of the video, I am sulking about previous choices and mistakes.

An Adorable AT&T Commercial

When we were in Denver last month, our cousins showed us this video. It’s super cute! I love it.

Pure Fashion

I’m really fascinated by fashion. Models, clothing, hair and makeup, and photography, all working together to create an image of beauty and style, can be very cool. But I’ve become increasingly discouraged by the unhealthy way that fashion is being portrayed in our society and ultimately came to the conclusion that it is impossible to be both “fashionable” and a Christian. Fortunately this negative (and wrong) attitude towards fashion was corrected when I was introduced to Pure Fashion, a fast-growing,international program that helps high school girls discover their true femininity through style and virtue.

Two years ago I got involved with our local Washington D.C. area Pure Fashion program. and through it learned much about my dignity as a young woman. It reinforced my commitment to purity by giving me confidence in who I am as a daughter of Christ. Not only does Pure Fashion teach girls how to improve their outer appearance through topics like hairstyling, make-up, table manners, and public speaking, but it also stresses that true beauty involves the whole person, body and soul. I believe that Pure Fashion is doing important work by helping girls live up to their potential as three kinds of models: models of Christ, role models, and fashion models.

To learn more about Pure Fashion visit their website at www.purefashion.com.

-Tess

Here’s a video I made on fashion through the decades.

A little humor for the holidays!

I rarely watch television at home but when I travel I’ll check to see if I’ve been missing anything (usually not!). We were staying at the Embassy Suites in Nashville and on the house channel they continuously looped through about a half dozen or so Embassy Suite commercials. They were really funny and we had a good time showing them to anyone who came to our room. (It was Gospel Music Association’s Music Week, so my band and some other family members were also staying at the hotel.) Anyway, I thought I’d share one of them with ya’ll just for fun!

-Marie

 

 

Hillsong’s At The Cross – Great way to start the day!

Yesterday, I woke up to the sound of rain drops on our roof top which made me want to stay in bed and read all day! Do rainy days do that to you too? Once I finally got out of bed, my Dad showed me a video of Hillsong performing a song called “At the Cross”. This song/video is very powerful and I was deeply touched by the lyrics. It definitely exemplifies how prayer can be expressed through song. So here’s the video with the lyrics included. I pray that it moves you like it did me.

With love,

Tess

Cranford……AMAZING!

Cranford is witty, deep, light, romantic, and it will reach you in some way or another.  So enjoy the trailer, then watch this beautiful film. You and at least your mother (if not your whole family) are going to be swept away by the world of Cranford. I love it.  Enjoy! ~Marie

Peer pressure can be a good thing!

Do you ever feel discouraged when you hear adults say things like, “infants, toddlers, pre-teens, they’re easy; just wait until they become teenagers, then you’ll really have your hands full!” I will be the first to back us teens up. Being a teenager is tough! It’s the part of your life when peer pressure plays a dominant role and your vision of reality gets distorted by little things like your latest crush, a huge unexpected pimple, and what you’re going to wear to school tomorrow. Peer pressure is so demanding that sometimes it feels like it’s the guiding force of your life. Fortunately for people like me, not all peer pressure is bad. There’s positive peer pressure too. Here’s an example:

About three years ago, my youth group was taking a trip to Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio to attend one of Franciscan’s annual youth conferences. After I heard that a bunch of my friends were going, I suddenly wanted to go too (there’s that peer pressure I was talking about). I was simply seeking a little social getaway but God had bigger plans. The conference was a real spiritual awakening for me and I discovered how to preach the gospel through my life as a teen. I also learned how to retain my faith while living out my vocation as a high school student. At the conference I was able to experience the power of being a Christian with thousands of other kids my age. It was also a great opportunity to spend time with friends from youth group.

So if you’re like me and peer pressure can sometimes be a real factor in your decision making, be sure to surround yourself with the right kind of friends; the ones who will influence you in a POSITIVE way. This summer I attended my third Steubenville conference and it was awesome again!

Check out this video and get a glimpse of a weekend where thousands of teens come together to grow in their faith and have lots of fun at the same time! Hope you enjoy it and hope to see you at the 2009 conference! -Tess

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