Bohemia

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Happy Sunday, dear friends!! I really need to get some work done this afternoon(and by work, I mean prep for community group on Tuesday night. Ecclesiastes chapter 3…some great words contained therein!). But firstly, as I begin sipping on my peppermint mocha frap(yes, it is one of those very rare occasions I’m actually getting a chilled drink…since summer is stubbornly continuing to exert its influence upon us and it is far too hot outside to even consider drinking a hot drink. And I have to say…a drink made of milk, peppermint syrup, chocolate and espresso is a pretty fine lunch. Just saying), thought I’d write something quickly. This morning, got some quality worship time in. And because the word quality does not quite convey the meaning I wish it to…I suppose I will just say that I was able to stand in church with my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and lift my voice in purest song to the God of the universe as I thought on the mercies and lovingkindnesses and grandeur and sovereign power and most perfect wisdom of our God. It was a humbling and most awesome morning – to worship the living God.

And now, while I need to write my study notes(fueled by this beautiful caffeine contained in my mocha!)…I’ll tarry yet a little longer. Yesterday was also a wonderful day, even though I did burn myself out rather too quickly!! I meant to wake up early for a run, but sadly that waking up early part was a distinct failure. Once I did manage to drag my lazy self out of bed though, I went to Buffalo Grille and met Earnie for breakfast!! So a few cups of coffee and a fine egg and hash-browns and beans breakfast later…we had enjoyed a most fine catch up. We hadn’t talked properly since well before my Scotland trip!! It was so good to talk to him…such a dear friend and brother to me. Following that, did a few random errands before making my way down to Sugar Land to meet Lea for lunch! We hadn’t had a proper in person chat in quite some time…and as I knew it would, a most enlivening and encouraging conversation over lunch was had!! Lea…another dear friend – and sister!! Again…I am far too blessed to have such good friends that my God has given me.

Now – I’m going to end this entry and buckle down and actually study for my community group upcoming time. Have a most joyous afternoon, my friends!!!

Peace and love.

Trembling

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And so shall I post once more?? Thought it was best that I let the last two song-heavy updates stand on their own. I also should probably zoom off soon, since I’ve spent quite long enough here at Starbucks! But I still have a little coffee in my cup, so I shall write a little more. Pardon the spaciness of my thoughts…I’m in an intriguingly odd mood lately. Odd as in I’ve spent time in several different countries in the last few days…and this time has left me abundantly encouraged and oh so thankful and I really do not think I can quite put my thoughts to page. But…I shall try, at least a little bit. This morning, me and Julie went to Dish Society for breakfast…because I was craving their food partially, but really so Julie and I could catch up and I could tell her a least a bit of my last week in Scotland. Despite all my many tangents, I think she got a good overview of my adventures! Can I capture that here? Maybe.

Anyways. Today is my first full day back in America for over a week. Yesterday afternoon, my plane touched down in Houston and I was once again in my home country. And how was I feeling? Bittersweet. For truly, it is good to be back here and be able to call Dad and family again on phone and see all my Houston friends again(Reliant K and Switchfoot concert tonight with Peter, et al!). But after such a beautiful week with my friends in Scotland…I must admit to a bit of sadness after leaving them (again!).

Oh this is a nightmare – I have no idea how to properly chronicle this past week…and I may admit defeat and try again tomorrow or Monday. I think I shall just thank the Lord my God for giving me this holiday and blessing it in such a way that I had prayed for but wasn’t quite sure would happen. Being with my dear friends again(Chris, Jo, Joel, Laura, John, Ruth, Jackie, Graham, Tineke, Mark, Rosemary…and more!!) was amazing and I realized I am blessed far beyond I deserve with such good and precious friends. Even after being gone three years, I can still talk and laugh and deeply connect with them. But more than just the fun times with friends(and it was indeed fun!!), I relished the chance to commune with my God. I set aside particular times to get alone with my Father God and these times were blessed be Him, of this I testify! As I walked the cliff side path south of Stonehaven on Monday afternoon and felt the sea spray on my face and looked out and watched the sea meet the sky in a beautiful embrace of grey and blue and white and saw the grass dance in the cold sweet breezes and as I sat upon a rock on the seashore and gazed upon the horizon and thought upon the fact that God has called me His true son and placed His hand upon me in perfect love and as I closed my eyes and prayed to Him, I felt at peace. There are so many things in our lives that we feel ill equipped to handle and so many futures we desire were our own and so many trials and tribulations we wish were not our own! And so to realise that God knows us, heart and soul and eyes brimming with tears and passions…this is gloriously precious. And to remember that God loves us His children with an unending and all encompassing love…this is beautifully divine. And so as I sit here in Starbucks, recalling this past week, how God blessed me with such a time of communion with my God…I rejoice. I sing. My meditations this day are full of the glories of the Lord. My heart this day is a-tremble with the thoughts of my Father. My eyes this day are bright with the passions of my God. Let us pour out our souls before the Lord our God, all ye nations -let us rejoice and sing to Him this day He has made! Amen and amen.

Seaspray

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And hello again! It is (still) Saturday and (still) Starbucks. I have semi-finished my new CD. Ok, not really, but I’ve cut it down to an hour, 47 minutes and am listening to it while I write this. Honestly, don’t think it’s good enough yet, so may not finalize for a few weeks. Thought since I have been thinking of mix CDs, will post a track-list from my last one(not HymnSing – that is the post below this!). This is a particular favourite of mine…may be my all time favourite. But of course, it is mostly just a peek through the window of my heart to what I’ve been currently enjoying…although I do think I can say it is critically acclaimed, as both Julie and Laura have testified it is quite good! You may notice a preponderance of certain artists. I feel a bit guilty of overloading…but the songs were just so good I couldn’t help it. Anyways…

eyes closed, Heart Open
1. In Memoriam – The Oh Hellos
2. Second Child, Restless Child – The Oh Hellos
3. Jerome – Zella Day
4. The Arrow – Josh Garrels
5. Mainstream Kid – Brandi Carlile
6. Tales of Brave Ulysses – Cream
7. Gila – Beach House
8. Intro – The XX
9. VCR – The XX
10. 1965 – Zella Day
11. Past Lives – BØRNS
12. Clouds – BØRNS
13. Electric Love – BØRNS
14. Hypnotic – Zella Day
15. Shelter – The XX
16. Heart of Chambers – Beach House
17. The District Sleeps Alone Tonight – The Postal Service
18. Ulysses – Josh Garrels
19. Compass – Zella Day
20. Go – The Civil Wars
21. Caesar – The Oh Hellos

O For a Thousand Tongues

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Hello friends and happy Saturday!!!

I am currently at Starbucks(in Houston again!) and have been having a relaxing last couple of hours here. I recently have been putting together (another!) quality mix CD, purchasing various songs from hither and yon(er, or…from the wild Amazon) and now I’m at the point where I really need to listen to them together to judge the flow, etc. But I’m also rather silly and am refusing to do that since I’m currently listening to my Hymn playlist…and it is so joyous and marvelous and simply amazingly God-glorifying that I can’t listen to anything else just now. So thought I’d update this instead. Yay? And because I haven’t posted these track-lists yet, thought I’d record for posterity the last several mixes I’ve made…I rather enjoy them, but your tastes may(and will!) differ.

Firstly, the playlist I’m listening to now – HymnSing. I’ve long desired to have a proper CD with all my favourite hymns. During the course of making this, discovered that I have too many favourites for one CD. Oops? Anyways, I put this together and…it is rather wonderful. It may or may not have drawn tears during my first listen-through in my car one beautiful morning. Since these are all sung by various groups, not going to put the artists, just the title. Many of them are live recordings of simply amazing congregational and choir singing praises to our great God…who has forgiven us…everything. If you want a copy of this CD – message me on your preferred media and give me your address and I’ll send you a copy. Behold our God.

HymnSing:
1. Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
2. My Hope is Built on Nothing Less
3. Grace Greater Than All Our Sin
4. And Can It Be That I Should Gain
5. How Firm A Foundation
6. There Is A Fountain Filled With Blood
7. Before The Throne Of God Above
8. Behold Our God
9. Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing
10. O The Deep, Deep Love Of Jesus
11. Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken
12. Jesus Paid It All
13. It Is Well With My Soul
14. Holy, Holy, Holy
15. O, For A Thousand Tongues To Sing
16. All Hail The Power Of Jesus’ Name
17. Worthy Is The Lamb That Was Slain
18. Amen

A Philosopher

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So, per popular demand(if one person constitutes popularity, that is – *bows to Noemi*), I shall write a quick update here…

And where is here? Well, I just happen to be at a burger place in the Houston airport. And I just happen to be heading over Scotland way in…oh about two hours!!! I simply cannot describe the anticipation that fills my heart and I don’t have time to tell of all the people I’m longing to see again….but it shall be grand and simply glorious. Oh what a gift God my Father has granted me, to be able to go to Scotland and see so many dear, dear friends!!!

And now, my turkey burger and fries are here…so this short update shall conclude.

Love you all. Always.

Tears of Joy

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Hello friends – and a happy Tuesday to you all!! I am going to write a quick update here before work begins…because this weekend has been quite a whirlwind, not at all the “free and relaxing” weekend I thought it was going to be! Well, it was a beautiful three day weekend but somehow I found a way to cram many many things into it. Hmm. Not one quiet night, what has become of me!!? Anyways! Friday night, had a fun time going to Torchy’s with Angela and John and having some good catch-up time with them(and delicious tacos, natch!) Saturday morning…somehow I got the brilliant idea that I needed to run since it’d been a while. So I got up uber early(to beat the heat, etc. Oh Houston) and ran my long run(10 mi). After I was halfway through, body was feeling great and so I was thinking I might push it to 13…but sadly my lack of hydration caught up with me about the 8 mile mark and so I most struggled those last couple miles. I decided not to be foolish and just finished my normal run. Anyway, once I hydrated, I felt great(albeit quite sore rest of day. And day after. And day after…) and I got to enjoy a nice coffee and reading morning at home. Eventually I went out, did various errands that needed doing(and buying books for people in Aberdeen, hurrah! I shall not name them here, just in case they’re reading this. Which is probably doubtful). Then I popped over to Starbucks for some online and writing time(which was very unsuccessful – I’m struggling with current story sadly). At this point, it was about 2pm and I realised I was very faint and dizzy and getting a headache. I wondered why. And then I remembered that I had sort of forgotten to eat anything all day. Even after my run. Oops? So I went to Trader Joe’s, got some hatch chile mac’n’cheese(which was quite good!) and then ate that at home while watching college football(which has returned! Houston beat Oklahoma and Texas A&M beat UCLA and Texas beat ND…so all is well in the state of Texas today).

And wow, this entry is a bit ridiculous – I am rambling overmuch and I would apologise, but I’m not done yet. I shall try to quicken the pace though, as I do need to start work soon. So where was I? Saturday? Oh yes. Right. So, after watching a bit of college football, I had plans with Jared to hang out and watch a movie at my place. Sadly, he had to cancel because of some family plans that came up…but since I have awesome friends that invited me to something else(thanks Lea and Marianna!), my evening did not go wasted. Went to the Miller Outdoor Theatre and enjoyed some quality baroque music and some even more quality conversation with the aforementioned Lea and Marianna. I got home at some point and promptly fell into bed. Sunday! Sunday was the day of days. Church(which was marvelous and encouraging and God exalting!), then missions prayer time, then had some good sushi with Jonathan and Julian for lunch. Afterwards when I was back at my place, invited Julie over for tea and reading time, but sadly(not really!) we got no reading done and just had a great time talking and talking and talking instead. She is such an encouraging and dear friend! After that…Jared came over and we had some dinner and watched the Texas-ND game(instead of movie, because who needs a movie when you have football?). And unsurprisingly, while we watched the game, the best part was just talking about life. And thus ended my Sunday, in which I got approximately one hour to myself. And I am not complaining one bit.

And…er, I really need to cut this off here, even though I haven’t even talked about yesterday(Labor Day) yet. Oh well – just know that it was good and God blessed. As always. I must simply praise my God for always blessing me oh so much. Of course, there are some parts of life that are sorrowful and so we must grieve. But when I am enjoying life, I must recognize that it is God my Father who has blessed me so – and I thank Him and Him alone.

This morning, I heartily enjoyed listening to my newest mix CD…it is maybe my best yet. It is all hymns(do not laugh!) and it is beautiful. It is very unoriginally entitled HymnSing and it contains pretty much all my favourite hymns. Singing them in the car this morning as I thought about the love of God…oh what tears, oh what joy. When someday God grants that I may return to Him(oh come that day!), I do hope that some of these songs are sung. Oh how wondrous it is, to think that the blood of Jesus has paid for all my sins. That is my theme, my song. I will at some point post the track-list, but now I shall simply end this very very long entry(my apologies, dear friends) and leave you with this…

Soul, then know thy full salvation
Rise o’er sin and fear and care
Joy to find in every station,
Something still to do or bear.
Think what Spirit dwells within thee,
Think what Father’s smiles are thine,
Think that Jesus died to win thee,
Child of heaven, canst thou repine?

Leaves of Autumn

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Happy Friday, one and all!! I really have negligible time to post this morning, but it is Friday and I am drinking my peppermint mocha, so my Pavlovian reaction is to write a quick entry here!! September has finally begun, and it shall be a month to remember, I do believe! I am excited for this month, to see what God will do!! Now I must fly, but just wanted to encourage you all to enjoy this day – oh so many good things do we have to be thankful for. Let’s remember that, shall we?

Peace and love.

Ascendant

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But I am afflicted and in pain;
May Your salvation, O God, set me securely on high.
I will praise the name of God with song
And magnify Him with thanksgiving.
And it will please the Lord better than an ox
Or a young bull with horns and hoofs.
The humble have seen it and are glad;
You who seek God, let your heart revive.
For the Lord hears the needy
And does not despise His who are prisoners.
-Psalm 69:29-33

Neon Haze

James HoganLeave a comment

Morning, all!! Quick update time. It’s a wonderfully sticky Monday morning here in Houston and as the day slowly lightens, thought I’d let you know what I’ve been up to lately as I sip on my peppermint mocha…

In actuality, this weekend was a nice and calm one, which I appreciated much. Friday night, went with Sammy to a random church’s young adult group meeting, where he was engaged to preach. He was much blessed by God and preached mightily on 2 Samuel 11 and the effects sin has on us. Powerful, convicting and encouraging – God be praised! Saturday, I got many random errands done, then went to Natalie and Andrew’s engagement/wedding party in the afternoon, where it was awesome to celebrate their soon marriage!! Sunday was church and afterwards, I went straight home and did various household chores before finally sitting down and having my dinner of leftover lasagna and a tomato salad. And…with my dinner, watched Return of the King. It’d been far too long. And even more fun was me and Maryanne watched it in sync, so we got to text each other random comments back and forth as we watched. Fun times…just wished we lived closer so we could watch in person!!! Alas. Oh! I also was much engaged in writing yesterday afternoon…got a powerful urge to put a story to paper, even though I am now doubting my literary powers and ability to do the themes of this story justice. I’m about 2200 words in and halfway done, but it is most rough so far and I am unsure whether it will get to where it needs to be. We shall see. I need to fly now, but shall leave you the opening…sorry to be such a tease. Love you all, my friends!!

A window stained, spattered with raindrops and grim in both general aura and appearance. Thunder rumbled in the far off distance and the harsh neon lights glared into the window, through the rain streaked plastic and into the cramped room. The room, mean in appearance and dim lit with a single lamp beside the bed, had a singularly utilitarian appearance. A bed, a sink and a mirror. Nothing more, nothing less. Nothing more was needed. Nothing less was used.

To Trust in the Unseen

James HoganLeave a comment

Hello all!! Just finished my lunch here at work and about to get back to it, but I noticed I have approximately seven minutes remaining of my lunch break, so might as well write something here, since it has been a few days!! I really need time to write much much more, but I am hampered by various constraints so no long post today. This past weekend I was in Nebraska/Iowa with the family(and extended family!) for Grandma Hogan’s funeral. I don’t even know if I can quite do justice to this time with my ill-chosen words, so I will not even try at this time. But I do want to state how good my God is, how abundantly faithful and richly compassionate He has been to one as weak and low as me. Oh how joyous to think on that glorious day when I shall see my God face to face!! This is what I long for, truly. Someday. Someday.

And now my time flees and I think it’s best I not write anymore. Be at peace, one and all. Much love, my friends.