Softer glory

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Well, it’s late at night…and I really should go to sleep. As my consciousness slowly fades, perhaps this is not the best time to write! But it’s been far too long and while I shall not write long, I must at least let you all know that I am currently in Tampa, what!! It’s been a simply amazing time thus far…relaxing with dad and mom and Katharyn here and relishing the joy of being home. And of course, hopping up to Gainesville over the weekend to see my college-student sisters Maryanne and Laura(WAIT. HOW ARE THEY BOTH IN COLLEGE NOW. THIS IS RIDIUCLOUS) was beyond fabulous!! Oh yeah, and I saw a few other rather awesome people in Gainesville too, but the full story of my Gainesville trip will have to wait for another post. One where my fingers are a bit more nimble and my mind is a bit more quick. And maybe I’ll even have a candlestick.

…alright, yeah. That’s definitely the sign that I need sleep.

But before I do, just hope y’all are having as wonderful a night as I!!! Anyone who still reads this, holla at me! I love you all…sleep well and sweet dreams!

(And if you’re in Scotland, I hope you’re already asleep!)

Peace and love.

Hallelujah

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Praise the LORD!
Praise God in His sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty expanse.
Praise Him according to
His excellent greatness.

Praise Him with trumpet sound;
Praise Him with harp and lyre.
Praise Him with timbrel and dancing;
Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe.
Praise Him with loud cymbals;
Praise Him with resounding cymbals.
Let everything that has breath
praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD!

-Ps. 150

Praise the Lord!!!

Little children

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And we know that the
Son of God has come,
and has given us understanding
so that we may know
Him who is true; and we
are in Him who is true, in
His Son Jesus Christ.
This is the true God
and eternal life.
-1 John 5:24

Love. Beauty.

If only our frail minds could grasp the full infinitude of the love of God!! Let our souls be awash in the knowledge of His love. Let our hearts dance and sing and glory!

Örökké és mindig

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Late getting home from work and dinner calls my name(leftover Pizza Hut, yes!)…but briefly, have to express my sadness that Steven and Anna are both now gone from Aberdeen. Steven left last Friday(but I’ll see him in August in Germany!!) and Anna this evening…and I don’t know when I’ll see her again. Next year Hungary holiday? Um, yes!

But regardless of my silly feelings of loss and sadness…I must just rejoice in our great God in giving me such friends as these. Oh how blessed am I! Hung out with Anna and her sisters last night at my place, and though I(yet again!) got no sleep, it was oh so worth it! From playing random Magyar songs to playing card games(where the power of sisters forced me to admit defeat in every game I played. Hmph) to taking far too many pictures to laughing even more than talking…to driving one last time downtown with Anna…to simply glorying in one last time of awesomeness.

And now that I let my veil of denial down and admit that Steven and Anna are actually gone, I can embrace my sadness with tears of love. My love is with you, Anna, Steven. Always.

And…random poetry snippet just because I feel like it.

To see the stars,
I reach a little higher,
I drown in song.

Tears from love,
tears from joy,
all for unrequited glory
all for long forgotten story
all for the love of a Potter
all for the love of a King.

To see the stars,
I kneel a little lower,
I drown in love.

Shattered Gates of Bronze

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Burning star and singing pain,
Caught in tempests, lost in rain.
Lifting up a weary hand,
Finding not the long sought land.

Swords of furies, eyes of rage,
Bloody steel and war torn age.
Lifting up a dying friend,
Finding now the final end.

Tear soaked face and keening cry
Bound in iron, lost the sky.
Lifting up a hopeless gaze,
Finding not the sun’s warm rays.

Pits of corpses, graves of doom,
Rotting souls and song-less tomb
Lifting up a wordless plea,
Finding now he cannot see.

And seeing not,
he feels a hand,
warmth of sunshine
embrace of wind,
kiss of starlight,
songs of glory,
weight of crowns.
‘Open your eyes,’
And he is home.

Fire and rain

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For the love of money
is a root of all sorts of evil,
and some by longing for it
have wandered away from
the faith and pierced
themselves with many
griefs.

But flee from these
things, you man of God,
and pursue righteousness,
godliness, faith, love,
perseverance and
gentleness. Fight the
good fight of faith;
take hold of the
eternal life to which you
were called, and you made
the good confession in the
presence of many
witnesses.

I charge you in the
presence of God, who
gives life to all things, and
of Christ Jesus, who
testified the good
confession before Pontius
Pilate, that you keep the
commandment without
stain or reproach until the
appearing of our Lord
Jesus Christ, which He will
bring about at the proper time –
He who is the blessed and
only Sovereign, the King of
kings and Lord of lords,
who alone possesses
immortality and dwells in
unapproachable light,
whom no man has seen or
can see. To Him be honor
and eternal dominion!
Amen.

A shield and bulwark

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So enjoying a gloriously bright Saturday morning! Sipping on my coffee and crunching on my bacon and reading truth. Can it get much better? I submit that it cannot!!

And while I’m a bit sleepy today(a nap this afternoon is definitely called for)…it was so worth it to have amazing times chilling with Anna and Steven last night…another random shopping adventure, another late night dinner, another movie, another sweet time driving down Union St. together…soaking in sweet music in the beauty of the night. They’re soon to go away back to Hungary and Germany, respectively. And this makes me sad. And I try not to think about it.

Moving away from that…today going to Tineke’s 21st birthday tea(apparently me and Graham are going to be practically the only males there. Hm.) and then will try and catch the women’s Wimbledon final. Seriously, I’m so psyched for these finals today and tomorrow. Both of my favorite players are playing…I think for the first time ever!! Maria Sharapova(versus Kvitova) and Nadal(versus Djokovic). Epic. Can’t wait for today’s match – go Maria!!!

But enough tennis.

Now, I want to get back to reading.

Waterfalls

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And here again we have a quick before-work update! Sitting here on this sunny Thursday morning, preparing for another day of oil-equipment-remanufacture-awesomeness(really, remind me to write a post someday explaining my job in great detail. Or not) as I enjoy my coffee and revel in the beauty of a new morning!

And I just realized this is my 365th post on livejournal. Only took me some seven years to get here!! It is sort of odd, because all the friends I started out with on livejournal are mostly gone. What does that mean that I’m still writing away, hm?

Oh and I was bemoaning my short commute today…at this rate, I’ll never get to finish the final song on the newest Rhapsody of Fire album(“From Chaos to Eternity” – epic title, neh?). Of course, the final song is some nineteen minutes long. Oh well, maybe there will be enough traffic tomorrow morning so that I can hear the whole song in one drive.

And enough randomness for the morning?

Time to work!

Oh by the way, the book of Matthew is awesome. Been enjoying it incredibly so lately. You all should read it. Right now.

It is written

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Quick thought while I’m making dinner.

Just reading Matthew 21…what does Jesus do as soon as he is acclaimed the King? Does he bask in the adulation of the crowds? No, he goes straight to the temple and drives the money-changers and merchants from the house of God,

“It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a robbers’ den.”

Tragic. Heartbreaking. The house of worship of the living God had been desecrated by the greed of men. And just makes me think of what Jesus would say of much of the ‘Christian’ world today. Are we so wrapped up in the world of Christianity that we forget we live in a world of fallen people? Are we more excited about momentary worldly gain than we are about being indwelt by the Holy Spirit? Are we satisfied more by the praise of our peers than by the praise of our God? Would we forget the words of Paul that Christ did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped? If Christ could so do, then how could we not lay aside our pride and be servants of all?

How could we place the temporal above the eternal?

How could we place the temporal pleasures of this world above the eternal souls of men?

How could we place the temporal riches of this world above the eternal Christ?

Worship the King.