Jars of Clay is an important band to me, but their lyrics are kind of hard to figure out, in fact, sometimes they only make sense years later, and then I'm impressed; it's like there was this final insight I had to get that turned the key to unlock the song.
I guess it's been that way with the title track to JOC's 1997 album today. I've known it very well for close to ten years, but it just clicked. I feel that grace was extended to me through this song.
All of these things
Held up in vain
No reason or rhyme
Just the scars that remain
Of all of these things
I'm so much afraid
Scared out of my mind
By the demons I've made
Sweet Jesus, you never ever let me go.
A song like that is different from the Ricefoot Groves lyrics I like so much. The latter are usually about something abstract but not quite as introspective. I heard recently that the default mode of the pop song was to sing about the self; but there is self-obsession, and then there is self-reflection. In this case, it seems like the author of the song is contemplating his habit of entertaining senseless fears, and then realizing that he was held even while he held onto them. Thus, mercy turns the inward gaze upward.
Saturday, October 06, 2007
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Beyond the Pleasure Principle
Advertisers can make us think anything is good by associating it with something else that is good: i.e., a certain brand of lemonade seems "good" because in the commercial it is associated with spacious wraparound porches, rocking chairs, sunsets, cool breezes, and family togetherness. Or, on the other end of the spectrum, a deodorant is "good" because in the commercial it is associated with well-dressed women with shiny hair. There are so many ads, I start to feel immune, but I'm probably not.
There's nothing wrong with wraparound porches or great clothes; they can be beautiful, refreshing, and promote positive social interaction. Advertisers may not be appealing to this aspect, however; they are more than likely appealing to a gut-level physical desire for pleasure.
The same tactics are used to make other kinds of pitches, too, like a commercial I saw for a technical school, and another I saw for a birth-control device.
Physical comfort is, obviously, pleasurable. It's good; I'm not saying it isn't.
I am saying that there are things in life even better, but their appeal is felt on a level beyond the physical or visceral.
In Desiring God, John Piper tries to meet our pleasure-seeking culture on its own terms, and show that God is the most desirable, most wonderful thing there is. I read this book eight years ago and have not been the same sense, nor have my senses been the same. Reading it, I have learned how to love and value things I used to think were stodgy and dry just because they did not immediately result in my physical pleasure. Life has been better.
One way of putting this is to paraphrase C.S. Lewis, who contrasted joy with pleasure. In the absence of joy, there is physical pleasure, which fades, while joy last longer and is actually spiritually sustaining.
Can I find joy in lemonade? I can now, realizing that it is a gift of God, but the desire for more is under control because I know there's something better. To paraphrase Lewis again, when the greater love comes, the little loves can stay. They know their place, and should they forgot, the greater love will not be ignored.
There's nothing wrong with wraparound porches or great clothes; they can be beautiful, refreshing, and promote positive social interaction. Advertisers may not be appealing to this aspect, however; they are more than likely appealing to a gut-level physical desire for pleasure.
The same tactics are used to make other kinds of pitches, too, like a commercial I saw for a technical school, and another I saw for a birth-control device.
Physical comfort is, obviously, pleasurable. It's good; I'm not saying it isn't.
I am saying that there are things in life even better, but their appeal is felt on a level beyond the physical or visceral.
In Desiring God, John Piper tries to meet our pleasure-seeking culture on its own terms, and show that God is the most desirable, most wonderful thing there is. I read this book eight years ago and have not been the same sense, nor have my senses been the same. Reading it, I have learned how to love and value things I used to think were stodgy and dry just because they did not immediately result in my physical pleasure. Life has been better.
One way of putting this is to paraphrase C.S. Lewis, who contrasted joy with pleasure. In the absence of joy, there is physical pleasure, which fades, while joy last longer and is actually spiritually sustaining.
Can I find joy in lemonade? I can now, realizing that it is a gift of God, but the desire for more is under control because I know there's something better. To paraphrase Lewis again, when the greater love comes, the little loves can stay. They know their place, and should they forgot, the greater love will not be ignored.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Ricefoot Groves
It comes down to Chris Rice, Switchfoot, and Sara Groves. They write most of the songs that make me feel like writing about them.
Like Chris Rice's - "Love Has the Final Move." It's about a chess game and eschatology, and even though a fifth-grader could get it, every adult can be rationally comforted by it.
Or Switchfoot's "Awakening." I don't quite know what this song is about, but it's like audio caffeine.
Or Sara Groves' "Kingdom Comes." The song has a rhythm that sounds like a train coming, and the lyrics make you feel like God's kingdom is right on track - just a little this, a little that, and it's coming.
Good stuff! How do they keep doing it?
Like Chris Rice's - "Love Has the Final Move." It's about a chess game and eschatology, and even though a fifth-grader could get it, every adult can be rationally comforted by it.
Or Switchfoot's "Awakening." I don't quite know what this song is about, but it's like audio caffeine.
Or Sara Groves' "Kingdom Comes." The song has a rhythm that sounds like a train coming, and the lyrics make you feel like God's kingdom is right on track - just a little this, a little that, and it's coming.
Good stuff! How do they keep doing it?
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Add to the Beauty
Unintentionally, I began writing an album review in my journal this morning, because the songs on Sara Groves' album Add to the Beauty are so closely knit thematically. The title cut says "this is grace, an invitation to be beautiful... and I want to add to the beauty." All of the songs are about beautiful things that can't be explained other than through grace. It's a truly inspiring album, and inspired me to seek God's beauty today.
And so I have. It's been a good day. I thought about His artistry this morning, and wrote a poem about it. It made me think about the fundamentals of art. I had to actually look them up online. In case you're curious, here's the poem I wrote:
There is a beauty
In all His processes
There is a harmony
In demand and supply
There is a purpose
And a poetry of motion
When a flower drinks the rain and hails the sky.
There is an artist
Who is the living Light
His works engage the heart
And His word gives sight
He mixes pigments
On a pallette of the spectrum
The details of His masterpieces fill me with delight.
Not bad for sitting on the porch on a rainy morning. It felt like the perfect way to spend my time.
In the midst of my reveries I checked the headlines for today. Hamas vs. Fatah vs. Israel and the US. International intervention? War, scandal, hatred, deceit, death. I had to ask myself, is it puerile to live my life wanting to add to the beauty in times when it doesn't seem like there's even any beauty to begin with?
So I read along in Genesis, where I left my bookmark at the begining of the story of Joseph's trials. His brothers hated him, almost left him for dead, then sold him instead. Awful. But he was sold into an Egyptian official's house, where God was with him. Then the official's wife wanted him so badly, and her pride was so injured when he refused to offend his master that way, that she accused him of rape and had him sent to prison. Terrible. But God was with Joseph there, too. I know the rest of the story; he was kept in jail for a time, until he began to interpret dreams. Eventually he rose to become second in command to Pharoah, and had the responsibility of managing Egypt's reserves in order to get them successfully through a famine. Because of him, many people lived who would otherwise have died, including his entire family, and as part of that provision, his entire was reconciled. Reconciliation, favor, provision, from an awful story about hatred, demise, deceit, and jealousy.
I may not understand what's going around the world, and it may be hard to see beauty in it. Frankly, God's beauty is more and more astounding to me the more I look at the world. Even when I look at the world, though, I know that somehow He is working all things out for His glory, which is in turn for my good. There is a process to it, but I believe, still, that God has beautiful things in store.
For better or for worse, this is really as deep as I get. I'm not trying to make commentary about world events, I'm just building a worldview that incorporates beauty and art. A friend e-mailed me this link to a group thinking through how art relates to God: http://www.thegauisproject.org/. I'm sure they've done some better thinking on the subject but I have yet to read it through.
And so I have. It's been a good day. I thought about His artistry this morning, and wrote a poem about it. It made me think about the fundamentals of art. I had to actually look them up online. In case you're curious, here's the poem I wrote:
There is a beauty
In all His processes
There is a harmony
In demand and supply
There is a purpose
And a poetry of motion
When a flower drinks the rain and hails the sky.
There is an artist
Who is the living Light
His works engage the heart
And His word gives sight
He mixes pigments
On a pallette of the spectrum
The details of His masterpieces fill me with delight.
Not bad for sitting on the porch on a rainy morning. It felt like the perfect way to spend my time.
In the midst of my reveries I checked the headlines for today. Hamas vs. Fatah vs. Israel and the US. International intervention? War, scandal, hatred, deceit, death. I had to ask myself, is it puerile to live my life wanting to add to the beauty in times when it doesn't seem like there's even any beauty to begin with?
So I read along in Genesis, where I left my bookmark at the begining of the story of Joseph's trials. His brothers hated him, almost left him for dead, then sold him instead. Awful. But he was sold into an Egyptian official's house, where God was with him. Then the official's wife wanted him so badly, and her pride was so injured when he refused to offend his master that way, that she accused him of rape and had him sent to prison. Terrible. But God was with Joseph there, too. I know the rest of the story; he was kept in jail for a time, until he began to interpret dreams. Eventually he rose to become second in command to Pharoah, and had the responsibility of managing Egypt's reserves in order to get them successfully through a famine. Because of him, many people lived who would otherwise have died, including his entire family, and as part of that provision, his entire was reconciled. Reconciliation, favor, provision, from an awful story about hatred, demise, deceit, and jealousy.
I may not understand what's going around the world, and it may be hard to see beauty in it. Frankly, God's beauty is more and more astounding to me the more I look at the world. Even when I look at the world, though, I know that somehow He is working all things out for His glory, which is in turn for my good. There is a process to it, but I believe, still, that God has beautiful things in store.
For better or for worse, this is really as deep as I get. I'm not trying to make commentary about world events, I'm just building a worldview that incorporates beauty and art. A friend e-mailed me this link to a group thinking through how art relates to God: http://www.thegauisproject.org/. I'm sure they've done some better thinking on the subject but I have yet to read it through.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Less like scars
Sometimes a good writer has the power to inspire their readers' expression. Writers like that are worth attention and worth keeping in circulation. I've written about Sara Groves before, and maybe I've even written about this song before. Looking through the leaves of All Right Here's CD insert I see big blocks of text that I know Sara worked hard to write. Songwriting is an intense process. To end up with as many words as she has that do have the power to speak to and even for her audience is a notable lifetime achievement. Keep writing, Sara!
It is "Less Like Scars" that I thought about today. It's a song about when the breaking down process has already occurred, and there is a change in the air and you realize that God is started to rebuild you. If it hadn't been for this song, I wouldn't have really understood what God was up to.
Her songs have so many words that I feel it would be ineffective for me to write many of them here. I'll just post a few representative lines and explain the frame. The song starts:
It's been a hard year, but I'm climbing out of the rubble
These lessons are hard, and healing changes are subtle
But every day its..
Here are a few from the "less like/more like" sections:
Less like tearing more like building
Less like captive more like willing
Less like breakdown more like surrender
Less like haunting more like remember
I love the chorus:
I can feel you here, and you're picking up the pieces
Forever faithful
Seemed out of my hands, a bad situation
You are able
And in your hands, the pain and hurt
Look less like scars and more like character.
This is really good. Sara is gifted and using her gifts to bless the body of Christ. I for one want to say how thankful I am!
You go, Sara! God uses your songs in my life, and as the guestbook of your website attests, He uses them in others' lives as well. Thank you for using and sharing your gifts.
That goes for all good songwriters, and that is really the point of this blog. God gives gifts of various kinds to the body, and whatever we have, we're supposed to give back. It blesses me to no end that God has given each believer a gift to bring, and that each believer in turns receives gifts from the rest of the body. I'll never get over it; I'll just keep watching it and participating into it until He leads us all up to one big celebration in heaven.
"Less Like Scars," by Sara Groves and Nate Sabin. From the album All Right Here, 2002, Sponge Records and INO Records. To hear a song sample and see all the lyrics, go here:
It is "Less Like Scars" that I thought about today. It's a song about when the breaking down process has already occurred, and there is a change in the air and you realize that God is started to rebuild you. If it hadn't been for this song, I wouldn't have really understood what God was up to.
Her songs have so many words that I feel it would be ineffective for me to write many of them here. I'll just post a few representative lines and explain the frame. The song starts:
It's been a hard year, but I'm climbing out of the rubble
These lessons are hard, and healing changes are subtle
But every day its..
Here are a few from the "less like/more like" sections:
Less like tearing more like building
Less like captive more like willing
Less like breakdown more like surrender
Less like haunting more like remember
I love the chorus:
I can feel you here, and you're picking up the pieces
Forever faithful
Seemed out of my hands, a bad situation
You are able
And in your hands, the pain and hurt
Look less like scars and more like character.
This is really good. Sara is gifted and using her gifts to bless the body of Christ. I for one want to say how thankful I am!
You go, Sara! God uses your songs in my life, and as the guestbook of your website attests, He uses them in others' lives as well. Thank you for using and sharing your gifts.
That goes for all good songwriters, and that is really the point of this blog. God gives gifts of various kinds to the body, and whatever we have, we're supposed to give back. It blesses me to no end that God has given each believer a gift to bring, and that each believer in turns receives gifts from the rest of the body. I'll never get over it; I'll just keep watching it and participating into it until He leads us all up to one big celebration in heaven.
"Less Like Scars," by Sara Groves and Nate Sabin. From the album All Right Here, 2002, Sponge Records and INO Records. To hear a song sample and see all the lyrics, go here:
Thursday, May 17, 2007
How good and pleasant
This morning I do not have a particular song that goes with this scripture. Perhaps if someone knows of one they will let me know.
I have been thinking about working together in unity, and read Psalm 133 last night. It's full of imagery that makes me wonder.
"How good and pleasant it is
when brothers live together in unity.
It is like precious oil poured on the head,
running down on Aaron's beard,
down upon the collar of his robes.
It is as if the dew of Hermon
were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the Lord bestows his blessing,
even life forevermore."
What gets through to me here is that: a) It is good when brothers live together in unity! 2) It is like when the chief priest is blessed. Aaron became the head of the priestly order, and I assume that most of the time he would be the one doing the annointing, but in this case, it's Aaron himself getting blessed. When brothers live in unity, even the leaders get blessed, and that blessing inevitably overflows to others. 3) It is refreshing when brothers dwell together in unity. 4) Just as Mount Zion is already blessed, those who are blessed can still stand another blessing. Unity among brethren is just such an extra blessing.
Let me know if you know a song that goes with this Psalm, so I can sing it and keep the idea in my heart.
In any case, this is what I was thinking of today, because I have been pleased to see a bit of unity lately. I know the Lord is pleased by it, too.
I have been thinking about working together in unity, and read Psalm 133 last night. It's full of imagery that makes me wonder.
"How good and pleasant it is
when brothers live together in unity.
It is like precious oil poured on the head,
running down on Aaron's beard,
down upon the collar of his robes.
It is as if the dew of Hermon
were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the Lord bestows his blessing,
even life forevermore."
What gets through to me here is that: a) It is good when brothers live together in unity! 2) It is like when the chief priest is blessed. Aaron became the head of the priestly order, and I assume that most of the time he would be the one doing the annointing, but in this case, it's Aaron himself getting blessed. When brothers live in unity, even the leaders get blessed, and that blessing inevitably overflows to others. 3) It is refreshing when brothers dwell together in unity. 4) Just as Mount Zion is already blessed, those who are blessed can still stand another blessing. Unity among brethren is just such an extra blessing.
Let me know if you know a song that goes with this Psalm, so I can sing it and keep the idea in my heart.
In any case, this is what I was thinking of today, because I have been pleased to see a bit of unity lately. I know the Lord is pleased by it, too.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Untame Lion
This post commemorates my first read of The Magician's Nephew, the sixth book in the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. I would recommend it to anyone! It is my favorite of all of them so far (The Silver Chair comes in second). C.S. Lewis said that a good children's book will have something to say to the child that will still matter to him fifty years later. Perhaps what matters most is the character of Aslan, the huge, untame Lion who created and rules the kingdom of Narnia, which is in another dimension apart from this world. He is strong, but kind; He looks in the eyes of His subjects, sees into their souls, and says exactly what they need to hear to be encouraged, admonished, or comforted. He's a lot like the Aslan in the Disney movie that came out last year, except as you read the Chronicles you get to know Him more deeply. For me, the most magical thing about the Chronicles is that as I read about Aslan, I know it is a character in a fantasy story, but I love him more and more. I know He represents Christ, and I think to myself, He is so good. I could really follow Him.
That's what Michelle Tumes' song is about. I wish it were on the soundtrack of the Disney The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, but it's probably too spiritual for that.
The song is ethereal sounding, like many of Michelle Tumes' songs, and it focuses on Aslan's power. Untame power can be kind of scary, and yet it can also give a person courage to follow through. Here are some of the beautiful words to Tumes' song.
I love an untame lion
He's calling me to come
My cold heart how it hesitates
I want to turn and run
His power is dangerous
His power is endless love
He's calling me
To a place where love's the only song
He's calling me
To a place where night will dance
With endless dawn dancing on and on and on.
Most of the lines of the song seem to refer to things characters in the books do. What is magical about this song, though, is that you don't have to have read the books to understand that God's power is both wild and loving, and that when He calls, it is a call to both security and adventure, away from the mundance of life. He's not a tame lion, but He is good.
- "Untame Lion" by Michelle Tumes, from her 1998 album Listen
That's what Michelle Tumes' song is about. I wish it were on the soundtrack of the Disney The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, but it's probably too spiritual for that.
The song is ethereal sounding, like many of Michelle Tumes' songs, and it focuses on Aslan's power. Untame power can be kind of scary, and yet it can also give a person courage to follow through. Here are some of the beautiful words to Tumes' song.
I love an untame lion
He's calling me to come
My cold heart how it hesitates
I want to turn and run
His power is dangerous
His power is endless love
He's calling me
To a place where love's the only song
He's calling me
To a place where night will dance
With endless dawn dancing on and on and on.
Most of the lines of the song seem to refer to things characters in the books do. What is magical about this song, though, is that you don't have to have read the books to understand that God's power is both wild and loving, and that when He calls, it is a call to both security and adventure, away from the mundance of life. He's not a tame lion, but He is good.
- "Untame Lion" by Michelle Tumes, from her 1998 album Listen
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Welcome to Delaware!
Listening to the self-titled Watermark album from 1998. I guess that was the year my husband and I started dating. Two years later we were married, and one year after that, we moved far away, because we felt like we should. There was a spiritual impulse to go, and a hope that we'd find something.
Now reflecting on the past six years of being here, I feel the same way again: like we are finding our way again, and finding God in our midst, finding that all we really have here and now is... Him.
Though I headed to what seemed like nowhere,
You told me you'd come,
You told me you'd meet me here,
And you were here to say
Welcome to Delaware!
Feels like we're in "Delaware" again, although we never really were in Delaware, and we're not really changing locations. We're changing our landscape in other ways, trusting that if it's what the Lord wanted, He will meet us and be all we need. Hooray!
"Welcome to Delaware," by Nathan and Christy Nockels.
Now reflecting on the past six years of being here, I feel the same way again: like we are finding our way again, and finding God in our midst, finding that all we really have here and now is... Him.
Though I headed to what seemed like nowhere,
You told me you'd come,
You told me you'd meet me here,
And you were here to say
Welcome to Delaware!
Feels like we're in "Delaware" again, although we never really were in Delaware, and we're not really changing locations. We're changing our landscape in other ways, trusting that if it's what the Lord wanted, He will meet us and be all we need. Hooray!
"Welcome to Delaware," by Nathan and Christy Nockels.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Song of Deliverance
I saw a video at church on Sunday called "light." The whole thing was symbolic, and felt very noir because it was filmed in black and white with heavey shadow and the dialogue was general. Yet there were characters who seemed to have real-life relationships: a husband and wife, and the husband's friend. The wife announced that when she first heard the story, she didn't understand it, but then, she did. Apparently hearing the story made her want to leave the darkness, and walk through this door to a place filled with light. Beyond the door, the film was shot in color, which made a very nice, clear distinction. The husband thought she was crazy, but she knew she just had to go. The part I wanted to get to is that she kept telling him she was hearing this music. "Don't you hear it?" She kept asking. He didn't. He just thought she was crazy, until he heard it for himself.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Ponder Anew
I've posted about "Praise to the Lord, the Almighty" before, but I'm coming back to it; it's one of my favorite hymns.
I'm doing what it says: "ponder[ing] anew / What the Almighty can do,/ If with His love He befriend" me.
I am pondering anew that the fact that can befriend me with His love means He is able to deal with my shortcomings. I suppose I often fail to believe Him, fail to be anxious for nothing, fail to rejoice always, because I am pretty sure that where I have fallen short I have dug myself a pit so deep He can't get me out.
I'm into taking things seriously. I take every kind of failure seriously. I need to ponder His love when I ponder my shortcomings or else I will not have faith that He can "prosper [my] work and defend [me]."
I'm doing what it says: "ponder[ing] anew / What the Almighty can do,/ If with His love He befriend" me.
I am pondering anew that the fact that can befriend me with His love means He is able to deal with my shortcomings. I suppose I often fail to believe Him, fail to be anxious for nothing, fail to rejoice always, because I am pretty sure that where I have fallen short I have dug myself a pit so deep He can't get me out.
I'm into taking things seriously. I take every kind of failure seriously. I need to ponder His love when I ponder my shortcomings or else I will not have faith that He can "prosper [my] work and defend [me]."
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Everlasting God
I've had this newish praise song called "Everlasting God" that we sang at church in my head:
You are the everlasting God
You do not faint, you won't grow weary
You're the defender of the weak
You comfort those in need
You lift us up on wings like eagles.
I looked up the Bible verses it's based on, and it inspired me (Isaiah 40:28-31). They say that God does not grow faint or weary, and that those who wait on Him will not grow faint or weary either. That is awesome.
You are the everlasting God
You do not faint, you won't grow weary
You're the defender of the weak
You comfort those in need
You lift us up on wings like eagles.
I looked up the Bible verses it's based on, and it inspired me (Isaiah 40:28-31). They say that God does not grow faint or weary, and that those who wait on Him will not grow faint or weary either. That is awesome.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing
I watched the Hallmark TV movie Love Came Softly last night and it made me feel good. It's based on a book by Janette Oke which I read when I was younger - junior high/high school, I think. It's about settlers in the pioneer West, seemingly mid-nineteenth century. If you'd like to see a heartwarming film and you like pioneer stories, check it out from Blockbuster, like I did.
The best part about the film is that it reminded me to be thankful for little things. Everything that Clark and Marty Davis have they prayed for or made with their own hands, including the cabin they live in. It made them thankful for friends, warms fires, and fried chicken. Since there was no minister in that part of the country, Clark set up a bench atop a hill overlooking sloping meadows, and be his own church choir singing "Come Thou Fount." Now, just so you know, Clark didn't want it to be a solo thing; in fact, he doesn't call it "church" until his wife joins him. When she does, that hymn makes her think of all the things the Lord provided for her, and makes her glad.
Watching the movie did the same thing for me. It was a great reminder to be thankful for the simple things. It doesn't take a particular song to make me thankful, but a good song can help. If you'd like to hear this one and read the words, you can go to http://cyberhymnal.org/htm/c/o/comethou.htm.
Have a good one today - may you remember the Lord's mercies anew!
The best part about the film is that it reminded me to be thankful for little things. Everything that Clark and Marty Davis have they prayed for or made with their own hands, including the cabin they live in. It made them thankful for friends, warms fires, and fried chicken. Since there was no minister in that part of the country, Clark set up a bench atop a hill overlooking sloping meadows, and be his own church choir singing "Come Thou Fount." Now, just so you know, Clark didn't want it to be a solo thing; in fact, he doesn't call it "church" until his wife joins him. When she does, that hymn makes her think of all the things the Lord provided for her, and makes her glad.
Watching the movie did the same thing for me. It was a great reminder to be thankful for the simple things. It doesn't take a particular song to make me thankful, but a good song can help. If you'd like to hear this one and read the words, you can go to http://cyberhymnal.org/htm/c/o/comethou.htm.
Have a good one today - may you remember the Lord's mercies anew!
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
A Besieged City
Monday was "oh, what a beautiful day" in Norman. It was also the day of the V-tech massacre. The violence was almost unthinkable.
Yesterday I couldn't wait for it to be a beautiful day. It turned out to be one of those days that brings in May flowers. In the middle of my first class we were warned that the whole school was on lockdown, which we knew had something to do with Monday's tragedy.
All day long, I couldn't quite shake how I'd been shaken in those thirty locked-down minutes. I knew that just because something happened in Virginia didn't mean it would happen anywhere else, in the same way that the rain could be coming down in one place and the sun shining in another. It turned out to be nothing, and by the afternon people were laughing at the realization that the suspicious individual was toting nothing more dangerous than an umbrella.
How do you get out of this fear, though? I wondered. One can be in bondage without locked doors, because bondage to fear is internal.
I reflected last night on God's goodness to me during the day, and how even during those thirty minutes we were having a class that was helping me do my job as a student. And in the midst of the panic, he was still helping me do my work, and still sovereignly in control of every hour. I borrowed the language of a Psalm, and thanked the Lord, who had made marvelous His lovingkindness to me in a besieged city.
Yesterday I couldn't wait for it to be a beautiful day. It turned out to be one of those days that brings in May flowers. In the middle of my first class we were warned that the whole school was on lockdown, which we knew had something to do with Monday's tragedy.
All day long, I couldn't quite shake how I'd been shaken in those thirty locked-down minutes. I knew that just because something happened in Virginia didn't mean it would happen anywhere else, in the same way that the rain could be coming down in one place and the sun shining in another. It turned out to be nothing, and by the afternon people were laughing at the realization that the suspicious individual was toting nothing more dangerous than an umbrella.
How do you get out of this fear, though? I wondered. One can be in bondage without locked doors, because bondage to fear is internal.
I reflected last night on God's goodness to me during the day, and how even during those thirty minutes we were having a class that was helping me do my job as a student. And in the midst of the panic, he was still helping me do my work, and still sovereignly in control of every hour. I borrowed the language of a Psalm, and thanked the Lord, who had made marvelous His lovingkindness to me in a besieged city.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Morning has Broken
Morning has not yet broken, but as I sit with my coffee mug in front of my workroom window, I am absolutely sure it will, and I will thank the Lord for it. I woke up with this song in my mind - I absolutely love it, it is one of my favorite hymns. I think I was just anticipating how God would be good, but as I sang the words, I knew that they were not quite true, because, well, I sang them very early (so early I couldn't even sing out loud because my vocal chords were drowsy).
My guided Bible study today was on Romans 13:12-14, which says that the night is almost past, and the day is near. The day referred to is Christ's return. The New Testament writers wrote in several places that His coming was very near, nearer than they originally thought, so near that it should affect our everyday behavior. Well, they wrote that 2000 years ago. Were they mistaken? I can't help relating it to my singing morning songs before the morning has risen. I absolutely know it's coming, and I'm so thrilled about it it affects my behavior. I know I'm no fool to praise God for the sunlight even though it hasn't come yet.
He is so good - the dawn of each morning is just a token of a future glorious dawn. Awake my heart! We'll awaken the dawn!
My guided Bible study today was on Romans 13:12-14, which says that the night is almost past, and the day is near. The day referred to is Christ's return. The New Testament writers wrote in several places that His coming was very near, nearer than they originally thought, so near that it should affect our everyday behavior. Well, they wrote that 2000 years ago. Were they mistaken? I can't help relating it to my singing morning songs before the morning has risen. I absolutely know it's coming, and I'm so thrilled about it it affects my behavior. I know I'm no fool to praise God for the sunlight even though it hasn't come yet.
He is so good - the dawn of each morning is just a token of a future glorious dawn. Awake my heart! We'll awaken the dawn!
Sunday, April 15, 2007
A New Song
It's been a long time since I've posted. I've still been thinking about the words of songs, and in the meantime, God has put a new song in my heart - a song of freedom and trust - a song of courage, deliverance, and strength! It is beauty for ashes, strength for fear, and I know that the Lord is the only one who could bring it out - Glory to God.
I may seem like a ranter for a while. I'm a person who has just found something new and hasn't found the proper or accepted terms in which to speak about it, but I gotta testify! Glory to God!
God is so good, so patient, so timely. The silences are just the hush before the symphony, I think. The contrast to freshen your spiritual palette.
It is cold this day in April. Tax day - maybe some will think its frigidity appropriate, but never mind. I am content with my coffee, my computer, and even with the cold. It brings back Christmassy feelings. This past Christmas was so great that after it I started making plans for this year's Christmas. Hopefully I will have a gift to give friends and family in the form of a new song about Christmas - more on that later!
Happy Sunday!
I may seem like a ranter for a while. I'm a person who has just found something new and hasn't found the proper or accepted terms in which to speak about it, but I gotta testify! Glory to God!
God is so good, so patient, so timely. The silences are just the hush before the symphony, I think. The contrast to freshen your spiritual palette.
It is cold this day in April. Tax day - maybe some will think its frigidity appropriate, but never mind. I am content with my coffee, my computer, and even with the cold. It brings back Christmassy feelings. This past Christmas was so great that after it I started making plans for this year's Christmas. Hopefully I will have a gift to give friends and family in the form of a new song about Christmas - more on that later!
Happy Sunday!
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