Wednesday, March 28, 2007

The Fog Slowly Rises



Today I snapped several mental photographs. I wish I had my camera, but they were some of those moments that would only appear less grand on paper. As I drove down various streets this morning there was a veil of fog everywhere. As I peaked on the top of a hill I the fog rising up from among the trees. You could see the trees through the thin veil of fog, but you could see the deep fog surrounding and in the trees. I praised God.

Later I was crossing a bridge over water - I am so grateful I looked out for a brief moment. The fog appeared to be flowing with the stream, all in sepia tone as the light was just reaching the little canyon. It was breathtaking. It reminded me of God. As I was awe-struck by these two sights I had seen within the hour. It reminded me of God and his glory filling the temple and going out over the entire earth. I marveled as I praised. God is so good. And it was all just a springboard for remembering God's attributes.

I wanted to sleep in this morning, but glory to God I did not! I would have missed seeing something beautiful. I wonder how many times we miss these marvel moments in the day rushing here and there. Take time going places. Look for sights previously unseen on your daily journey. And give God praise. One day all of this will fade away, burnt up at the end of the world. I want to enjoy it while it lasts. Right now we only see reflections of God, glimpses of his beauty. One day, we will see him face to face, praise be unto Him!, when the fog finally disappears.

original image source

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

"It Couldn't be Done"

This poem is inspiration to me when I feel a task is impossible.

Somebody said that it couldn't be done,
But he with a chuckle replied
That "Maybe it couldn't," but he would be one
Who wouldn't say so till he tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn't be done, and he did it.


Somebody scoffed: "Oh, you'll never do that;
At least no one had ever done it";
But he took off his coat, and he took of his hat,
And first thing we knew he'd begun it.
With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn't be done, and he did it.


There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure;
There are thousands to point out to you one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.
But just buckle right in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat and go to it,
Just start to sing as you tackle the thing
That 'cannot be done,' and you'll do it.


I love the way Edger Guest uses poetry as a form of encouragement to try to go to new heights. Its's like the saying goes:

Every great accomplishment was, at first, impossible.

Monday, March 19, 2007

Life is Lonely by the Sea



Life is lonely by the sea -
The village far away;
The seagulls keep you company,
Your mind, it often strays.

Out to sea your lover went
And many years have passed,
Since that fateful, frosty morn
When you saw him last.

The lighthouse beams from dusk to dawn
And not a second more.
It leads the weary travelers home
'Least safely to the shore.

The stars, they dance and sing for you;
Your heart, alone, does ache.
The salty breeze it comforts you
And sorrows from you take.

The widows walk is where you find
Yourself when hope seems gone;
Still looking for that certain ship
To bring your lover home.

Ah, life is lonely by the sea -
Among the sand and rocks.
You know not if your lover lives:
He lives still in your thoughts.


written by Sophie 
picture credit

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Story

I have a friend.
Several years ago she had a pet
Fish.
She called him "Peeve".
He was her
Pet Peeve.

True story.

Friday, March 16, 2007

"The Crime of Conviction"

The results of a fickle nation...

The Crime of Conviction
by Chuck Colson

General Pace and Morality

Our nation's top military officer, a veteran decorated with no less than forty-eight military awards and a very distinguished career, made a startling revelation this week: He has moral conviction. The world gasps, hurls insults, and demands an apology. How dare one of the top leaders of our land have a moral belief and share it when questioned!

But that's exactly what happened this week when the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff-the first Marine general ever to hold that position-General Peter Pace, commented in a wide-ranging interview with the Chicago Tribune, "My upbringing is such that I believe that there are certain things, certain types of conduct that are immoral. I believe that military members who sleep with other military members' wives are immoral in their conduct, and that we should not tolerate that."

But then Pace went on to tell the Tribune, "I believe that homosexual acts between individuals are immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts." Well, stop the presses.

Of course, all that the radio, news, and television outlets have focused on since General Pace's comments are his remarks on homosexuality. Never mind that he puts immorality of all kinds on equal footing. General Pace went on to say in the interview, "I do not believe the United States is well served by a policy that says it is OK to be immoral in any way."

While the world should be applauding a man who proposes that one of the most important institutions in our country should have moral integrity, instead we hammer him for having a conviction.

But I believe this goes far beyond the whole question of homosexuals in the military and the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. This cuts to the core of the question of whether anyone in public office is free to speak his deepest religious or moral convictions. The Constitution says there will be no religious test for office, and yet we are applying one. We are basically saying that if you are the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, you are not allowed to express your moral or religious views-especially on matters of sexual preference and behavior.

This is another sign that we live in an age that no longer believes in objective truth or a moral order. Moral relativism is the rule, and personal preference trumps all. And government is there to ensure that no one place any restraint on the pursuit of our own desires.

I have long said that C. S. Lewis was prophetic when in 1943 he wrote about the irony of our education system, saying, "Such is the tragicomedy of our situation-we continue to clamour for those very qualities we are rendering impossible. . . . In a sort of ghastly simplicity we remove the organ and demand the function. We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst."

Ironic that today, the head of our Joint Chiefs of Staff argues that the military should have consistent policies of moral integrity, and the world demands an apology. Maybe it is time to lock him up: General Pace is guilty. He has committed the intolerable crime of our day: He has stated his conviction in a value-free society that respects only so-called "tolerance." As for me, well, General Pace makes me proud that I am a former Marine.


from Breakpoint a division of Crosswalk

Monday, March 12, 2007

A Woman's Place

A woman's place is not in the kitchen, it's not in the workplace. A woman's place is beside and behind her man.




picture credit

Saturday, March 3, 2007

I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

by: William Wordsworth
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle in the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

For oft when on the couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils

I love poetry. That being said, I really like this poem. Ever since the first time I remember reading it my heart has been captured by the beauty of it, the imagery, the fact that I have a bond with the author for having shared this experience with him.

Think about it.

You aimlessly wander about when all of a sudden your eye is captured by this gorgeous sight, in this case flowers, daffodils, everywhere. Thousands upon thousands of daffodils. It would be like coming upon a continuous fields and meadows of wildflowers, except they are daffodils. Over ten thousand daffodils along the bay and under the trees, dancing in the wind. This is not a sight you will quickly forget. When you are all alone once again, even after much time has passed, you will still remember that glorious sight. If you are feeling down, it lifts you up, if you are happy, your day just got better. It truly is an amazing thought, and a glorious memory. I pray that as you wander about one day, you too will come upon a sight that captures your attention. A view that will bring you pleasure as you reminisce on the view, and on the grandeur of God.

Well, I was going to stop there. However, as I mentioned the grandeur of God another poem was brought to my mind, this one by Gerald Manley Hopkins.

The world is charged with the grandeur of God.
It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;
It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil
Crushed. Why do men then now not reck* his rod?
Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;
And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;
And wears man's smudge and shares man's smell: the soil
Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.

And for all this, nature is never spent;
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
And though the last lights off the black west went
Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs --
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.
*obey


Take a moment and think about this poem.



The grandeur of God is everywhere. The grandeur of God will flame out, like when you take aluminum foil out into the sun light and shake it - it goes everywhere, and it is terribly bright. The grandeur of God gathers to a greatness like olive oil when it is crushed. You make step on it, but it just spreads the oil (God grandeur) out even further. You cannot stop it.


Before I continue go and read this poem aloud. Listen to the devices Hopkins uses.
"Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;"


That isn't very pleasant sounding. Generations have been walking all over the grandeur of God.


"All is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;
And wears man's smudge and shares man's smell: the soil
Is bare now, not can foot fell, being sod."


He's describing the results of sin entering the world.
But even for the sin and the use of resources nature is not going to die. It has a replenishing source deep down. And even when the sun has set it will rise again. God, the Holy Spirit, is watching over the world, and cares for it, for us. And oh! he is glorious.

Praise God forever and ever!
Praise God from whom all blessings flow, Praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Him above all ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Vaya con Dios, and be blessed.

Thursday, March 1, 2007

Kind of like Elves

This moment in history has always made me laugh.

Class is meeting upstairs and we are sitting in a pentagon (not a circle, a pentagon) and we are discussing the Iliad. The immortality of the Grecian gods comes up. It is noted the mortals cannot kill the immortals. To this I add that I noticed that even though the mortals could not kill the immortals, the immortals could kill the other immortals. This was evidenced when Zeus told Hera she would have perished when he threw her off of Mt. Olympus if so-and-so hadn't've caught her. So even though they are immortal, they aren't really. They're kind of like elves.

To that everyone laughed, and to this day, it still makes me laugh.