February 2012
11 posts
Words
There is such power in words. I know this seems basic, but I think the more correct word is foundational (see what I did there?) They give meaning to things. They let us express and create. For someone like me, whose mind is made up of grand things, but possesses no power to draw or play music, words become the only release.
There is an old quote that people seem to love: “Preach the...
Thus the LORD gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers. And they took possession of it, and they settled there. And the LORD gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers. Not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for the LORD had given all their enemies into their hands. Not one word of all the good promises that the LORD had made to the...
Beauty in Freedom
I tend to be drawn to the water. It has been this way for all my life. I grew up on Lake Michigan, and many nights I would venture out and walk down the pier alone to go sit by the water. At MSU I have repeatedly found little places by the Red Cedar to sit and write. I go for walks by the pond next to my condo. Even in Turkey I spent most nights down on the rocks by the river.
I think that...
Just Some Manly Sayings
A true warrior is the last to pick up his weapon, and the first to put it down. Fight reluctantly, and save your strength for respect and compassion.
“When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a MAN, I put away childish things.”- Apostle Paul 1st Corinthians 13:11
“Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and...
We were born to be troubadours We’d run and sing, we’d cry out loud Laughter, mirth, and praise would ring From hill to valley, North and South, The beats of horse and heart would count our time And our words were proud. We’ve grown silent, and stagnant Unmoving and strained with scratched throats And charred earth on every side. Fear felled our faith and chaos quelled our love. We were born to...
Childish Gambino
This is on a bus back from camp. I’m thirteen and so are you. Before I left for camp I imagined it would be me and three or four other dudes I hadn’t met yet, running around all summer, getting into trouble. It turned out it would be me and just one girl. That’s you. And we’re still at camp as long as we’re on the bus and not at the pickup point where our parents would be waiting for us....
And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was a valiant man of Kabzeel, a doer of great deeds. He struck down two ariels of Moab. He also went down and struck down a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen. And he struck down an Egyptian, a handsome man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but Benaiah went down to him with a staff and snatched the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand and killed...
One Manly Man
When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose and left the congregation and took a spear in his hand and went after the man of Israel into the chamber and pierced both of them, the man of Israel and the woman through her belly. Thus the plague on the people of Israel was stopped. Nevertheless, those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand. And the LORD...
January 2012
16 posts
When I Said "I Hate Who I've Become," I Lied, I...
In the past two weeks I have pretty much had a close friendship end, see someone I chased for two years start dating someone else, and as I was dealing with this pretty well, I got word that we were putting my dog down. Needless to say I have felt pretty messed up emotionally. (For anyone who doesn’t know me well, just know that my dog is the only person in my life who I am convinced truly...
3 tags
A Bit of An E-mail I Wrote Today
“But it is funny, because after Pat’s sermon I realized how often I prayed for God to change things with (this), or make it stop upsetting me and hurt so much. He did neither, but He sustained me. And now, a week after the realization, He made circumstances worse, made them hurt a whole lot more, but His love is still there holding me. It actually puts a sharper focus on how...
Everyone gets a good self-pitying drunk now and again, but that’s over. You stay sober and do what needs doing.
That is one of my favorite lines from a book, ever.
Also this old Irish saying: In life, there are only two things to worry about— Either you are well or you are not well. If you are well, there is nothing to worry about,
But if you are not well, there are only two things to...
I am sad
I trust God.
But that doesn’t stop it from hurting.
Jesus > Religion
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IAhDGYlpqY
This video has been making the rounds on Facebook among Christian crowds. And I think there are a couple of things that ought to be said about it. But before I get into that, I think that this guy speaks a lot of truth about grace and Christ and salvation through faith not works, but at the same time there is a lot that I think is less than helpful.
...
Comfort
There are three types of comfort that God provides for us in the midst of suffering.
First, the one we all want and pray for first is that He would miraculously heal us. That He would change things so that they are no longer a struggle. So that we are no longer suffering.
Second, also good but not the thing we’d like most, is that even if the situation doesn’t change, our...
G. K. Chesterton:
When we are very young children we don’t need fairy tales: we only need tales. Mere life is interesting enough.
A child of seven is excited by being told that Tommy opened a door and saw a dragon. But a child of three is exicted by being told that Tommy opened a door.
Boys like romantic tales; but babies like realistic tales — because they find them romantic… ....
Joyful Resignation
I love John 6. After Jesus goes through this long speech about how He is the manna from Heaven and no one will have life unless they eat His flesh and drink His blood, the people following Him begin grumbling. And many of them turn and stop following Him. So He asks the twelve if they want to leave too. And Peter responds with some of my favorite lines in all of Scripture: “Lord, to whom shall...
I just nearly fell asleep by out fireplace. Having a fire is one of those tiny blessings that I never realize until I am there in front of it. I know that there are a lot of little things like that in life that I overlook and ought to be ridiculously thankful for. I guess I can start small.
Priority
This morning Kevin preached about making our spiritual life a priority. This really is nothing new, and something I have heard and known I need to do a better job of before. But he mentioned it isn’t about willpower. We can’t just will ourselves to be in the Word and pray more. That will work, then fade. We need to really feel the weight and importance of it. We need affection.
I...
2012
Sure, time is arbitrary, based on rotating rocks in space and positions of balls of gas. And one orbit around the sun, one beginning of a new cycle doesn’t really have anything significance in and of itself, but it is a new year and as a human I like attributing tremendous significance to arbitrary events.
So Happy New Year. Can’t be worse than the last one, eh?
December 2011
18 posts
If That Girl's Only Hope Is You...
Then I pray for her. Because she’s gone, baby, gone.
I have always believed that there is a right and a wrong. That things are black and white. And I guess that is why it is so tough, so frustrating when I get stuck seeing things that there seems to be no right answer to. There has to be a right. But there only seems to be a less wrong.
I think of the people who have left, who have moved on, who are gone. And the constant regret in the back of my mind is that I wish I had told them how much they really meant to me.
But then I stop and think that, maybe at the time I didn’t realize it.
And it terrifies me to think of the people in my life now I will one day regret taking for granted.
Extinct
You know, it is sad that the lesser of all evils seems to be that I just want to become addicted to some drug. I feel like letting go and numbing everything might be more productive than the alternatives. I seem so stuck and it is really getting old.
Every day comes closer to a self-imposed one-year deadline I set last year, and every day I see the spectacular failure of the things I set out to...
I Went to the Park...
“I went to the park so she wouldn’t have to clean it up.”
It’s amazing how some people can be so considerate with their moments of extreme selfishness. It is amazing that someone of real faith can be so faithless and so foolish.
I love movies that most people would consider sad. Movies that tend not to end on an unrealistically positive note. In Bruges and Up in the...
ZOOEY... you may try to fool everybody with...
thedeargrandson:
Acting all Cutie and Geeky
BUT I KNOW YOUR TRUE FORM (and what you did)
…you bitch.
Foolish
This time of year is never easy. It is a time where someone like myself may be inclined to feel incredibly alone. And thinking of this, it is the most ironic and foolish thing ever. Because this is the time of year that we celebrate Him who is Immanuel. God with us. God WITH us. We are never alone. Even when we are lonely.
Lead Me Not Into Temptation
Here is the odd thing about temptation. It sneaks up on you. I know this seems simple, but when you stop and think about it, it really is quite fascinating (and a bit horrifying). Never would any Christian say to themselves, “I want this thing more than I want Jesus,” or, “This thing is worth more than Christ.” And yet that is exactly what giving into temptation is...
No One Else Can Make Me Feel Stupid
I am really tired of letting other people dictate how I feel. I mean, I think it ought to be good that people matter to me, and even can affect me in some way. But I should never feel as bad as I have just because of something someone else says or does. I know this isn’t a major revelation or anything. I am just tired of it.
I hate that I do not write anymore. It isn’t that I...
We do not fall into or out of love. Love is not some magical hole in the ground you just stumble into. We choose to love. We work at it. It takes effort. So yes, you may stop loving someone, but it is not because some spark or feeling has mysteriously died. It is because you didn’t care enough to keep it going. You let it die.
Now What?
There is a almost perfect movie scene at the end of The Graduate, where The main character runs to a wedding to stop a girl from getting married. They run out together and get on a bus. As the movie ends, they are sitting on the back of the bus, and there is this great sense of “Now what?”
And isn’t that the thing about getting the things you want? What to do after. Are we...
Impossibly Happy
Sometimes I come to realizations in my life that seem significant. I then laugh because I assume everyone else doesn’t have to come up with these realizations, they are just common sense to them. Nonetheless, the last few weeks, and especially few days, have been packed with them.
I have realized that I do not want to kill myself nor do I want to die (I mean, I can’t wait to be in...
November 2011
7 posts
Dear Friend
I apologize for my delayed response. However, I think you asked questions that are better striven for and struggled after, and I do not know that my direct answer would have been of the ultimate benefit. I use this as one reason, and it is entirely valid, though I assure you there are several others.
But in truth, while I know the simple answer to what you ought to seek, I cannot give it to...
The Sun Is Not Chicken, It's Indifferent
You don’t have to be a coward to run away or not to fight. You can just be indifferent. For some reason I feel this is even worse. I fear I have become indifferent. I can’t bring myself to care anymore. I want to fight, and it isn’t that I am too afraid to do anything. I think I am just too tired to even care….
1 tag
Eat, Drink, and Be Merry, For Tomorrow We Die
Come hither, my lads, with your tankards of ale,
And drink to the present before it shall fail;
Pile each on your platter a mountain of beef,
For ‘tis eating and drinking that bring us relief:
So fill up your glass,
For life will soon pass;
When you’re dead ye’ll ne’er drink to your king or your lass!
Anacreon had a red nose, so they say;
But what’s a red...
There is No Freedom, There is Only Love
Freedom, yeah freedom, that’s just some people talking. Your prison is walking through this world all alone. -The Eagles.
There is only one thing on earth that has the power to motivate and shape men. We do need something more. Some sort of adventure. Some sort of idea or hope that it is never too late. For I can’t think of anything so terrifying as waking up and wondering if...
Beginnings
Let’s call life a flame. Something that needs to be fed to live. I feel pressure. Like driving under a mountain. You are in this tunnel that has been built and you know on some level it is secure and it will hold, but all around you is this pressing weight of the world. If the walls fall, then you will be crushed with ease, as though you aren’t even there. I feel the weight, I...