A Little Bit of Sunshine

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Happy Saturday, friends!! It’s a gorgeous afternoon here in Houston…and by gorgeous, I mean extremely hot and humid – it is the first day of July after all. But I’m enjoying an afternoon inside after a most productive and enjoyable morning…nice to relax a bit, just saying!!

This morning, after sleeping in shockingly late(I don’t think I got out of bed until a little before 8AM!!), I had a nice breakfast of fried eggs and tea…then I made my way over to the Texaco to get my annual inspection done. Figured I’d stop by Starbucks and enjoy a nice iced mocha while I waited. It’s my old Starbucks that I used to go to all the time when I lived down in that area, so…it was a pretty great feeling to have several of the baristas(props to Laura and Katie!) so excited to see me make my grand return! Anyways…I read a bit of my “Sermon on the Mount” by Lloyd-Jones(and enjoying that heartily – but no worries – I shan’t quote a large portion of it on here today!). Eventually, the mechanic called and told me they had to replace my awkward third brake light in order to pass inspection, which meant it’d be another 3-4 hours. Joy. Fortuitously enough, Julie was also nearby(well, within 3 miles!) getting her own car worked on! So I grabbed some water and walked down to meet up with her. Totally unplanned…but it worked out rather well – we got to hang out at the shop for a while before eventually going to grab lunch at Adair. Such a fun time with such a dear friend! We talked about all manner of things, serious and not…before finally my car was ready. Julie dropped me off there, I went to HEB and did some shopping…and now I’m back here at the flat, doing laundry and enjoying a restful Saturday afternoon. God is good to me, of that I am forever reminded.

Anyways, this was an extremely random summary of my day thus far…I shall bore you no further with an account of my workweek(really, who wants to hear about that!?) and sign off. Have a most lovely day, my friends – remember to lift your eyes to the heavens this day and thank our Lord God for all He has given us. Peace and love.

a New Day, once again!

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Happy friday, friends!! I’m about to start my normal work routine…but it is Friday and thus I am happy. Also…this morning, went to my normal Starbucks and Lucas there gave me a free peppermint mocha. A gift from God, indeed! Thus I am grateful. Now, time to stretch my mental muscles and get to work. May God bless each and every one of you this day.

what Else is There to Follow, what Else is There to Love?

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A bit of honey upon the bread makes it oh so tasty and sweet
but oft times we forget the honey and the bread
and just grab a mouthful of cornmeal
instead.

And I can’t express what is in my heart, but then
when have I ever had that express desire
fulfilled?

And oh I’m waiting
as the autumn leaves float down around my head
and oh I’m waiting
for something more than promises of breathless hope to here remain
for something more than promises of fragile tea mugs in their alcoves
for something more than promises of lighted candles upon the windowsill
and oh I’m waiting
oh oh I’m waiting
for leaves of summer to crown my brow
someday soon
someday
and then shall I weep anew for fulfillment sweet
and so I’m waiting
for that crimson sunset
and in-drawn breath
before the silence
before the storm,
before the long
lost called home.

Meanwhile listen
for that true music,
echoing of ages past
echoing of age to come
echoing achingly
painfully
wonderingly
wonderfully
staggeringly
beautiful
and so
listen closely, for it still sings
faintly yes,
but it still sings.

And better now than scattered crumbs of mercury and steel,
the true bread rests upon the plate, invitingly warm and hearty,
even a little bit of honey drizzled sweet,
that worn old book sings to me anew,
not faintly now.
Sometimes yes,
but not the now.

This Shall I Seek

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If anyone wishes to come after Me, he
must deny himself, and take up his cross
and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will
lose it; but whoever loses his life for
My sake will find it. For what will it
profit a man if he gains the whole world
and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man
give in exchange for his soul?
For the Son of Man is going to come in the
the glory of His Father with His angels and
will then repay every man according to
his deeds.
-Jesus Christ, Matthew 16:24-27

Penstrokes

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Clearly I need to listen to classical guitar more often. As I drove to work this morning, popped in a CD of Christoper Parkening’s(Elmer Berstein – Concerto for Guitar) and was a bit surprised by how much I enjoyed it anew. I’ve had this CD for a while(I want to say – since 2002/2003??!) and I’m sure part of the enjoyment was due to the nostalgia factor and the good memories associated with it. Nonetheless, I now have a great desire to write more. Most likely because this used to be some of my best writing music back in high school! My problem now…what to write!? Frothy poetry? Gritty science fiction? Moody fantasy? I know not…I need some prompt, or a grand idea…or…something! Alas for my muse and the dearth of her song. Someday I shall write again. Someday.

Look to the Stars

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I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;
From where shall my help come?
My help comes from the LORD,
Who made heaven and earth.
He will not allow your foot to slip;
He who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, He who keeps Israel
Will neither slumber nor sleep.

The LORD is your keeper;
The LORD is your shade on your right hand.
The sun will not smite you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
The LORD will protect you from all evil;
He will keep your soul.
The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in
From this time forth and forever.
-Psalm 121

Be blessed of God this dear, my dear, dear friends.

Three Steps to Summer Redux

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Happy Wednesday friends!! During my drive over to work, I listened to a quality old CD I burned oh…five years ago? As I prepared for summer in Scotland? Wow, was it really five years ago? Anyway – great music, even though apparently my mix CDs were even more random back in the day! Andrew Belle, Lost Prophets, Needtobreathe, T-Swift…and of course – Hope Bible Church! Anyways, one of the songs there brought some good verses back to mind and thought I would share…

So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord,
is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” He said to
them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has
fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy
Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in
Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of
the earth.”

And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were
looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And as they
were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men
in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, “Men of Galilee,
why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken
up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have
watched Him go into heaven.”
-Acts 1:6-11

Two points. Firstly, do we oft consider that we have the power of the Holy Spirit in us? We are the witnesses of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have received the Holy Spirit. We are imbued with the very power of God. Secondly, Jesus is indeed coming again – in a physical and most real sense. Let us long for that. But – let us not be melancholy and tarry our days away in mournful anticipation. Let us be filled with joy and do the deeds of the Lord as we walk upon this earth! We are the witnesses of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is who we are, now.

And one day, we will witness the return of the Lord to this earth and we shall see Him face to face. And then we will be with Him, forever.

At that, our hearts can only be full of joy, continually. At that thought, I bow my head in worship.

Have a most lovely day, dear friends.

the City of the Wind

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For to receive the grace of God in Jesus Christ means not
only that my sins are forgiven because of His death for me on the cross on
Calvary’s hill, but also that I have been given a new life and a new nature. It means
that Christ is being formed in me, that I have become a partaker of the divine
nature, that old things have passed away and all things have become new. It
means that Christ is dwelling in me, and that the Spirit of God is in me. The
man who has been born again, and who has the divine nature within him, is a
man who is righteous and his righteousness does exceed that of the scribes and
Pharisees. He is no longer living for self and his own attainments, he is no
longer self-righteous and self-satisfied. He has become poor in spirit, meek, and
merciful; he hungers and thirsts after righteousness; he has become a peacemaker.
His heart is being purified. He loves God, yes unworthily, alas, but he
loves Him and longs for His honour and glory. His desire is to love God and
to keep and honour and fulfil His law. The commandments of God to such a
man ‘are not grievous’. He wants to keep them, for He loves them. He is no longer
at enmity against God; but he now sees the holiness of the law and nothing
so appeals to him as the living of this law and the exemplifying of it in his daily
life. It is a righteousness that far exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and
Pharisees.

Some of the most vital questions that can be asked, then, are these. Do you
know God? Do you love God? Can you honestly say that the biggest and the
first thing in your life is to glorify Him and that you so want to do this that you
do not care what it may cost you in any sense? Do you feel that this must come
first, not that you may be better than somebody else, but that you may honour
and glorify and love that God who, though you have sinned against Him grievously,
has sent His only begotten Son to the cross on Calvary’s hill to die for
you, that you might be forgiven and that He might restore you unto Himself?
Let every man examine himself.
-D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, page 182-183