Hello friends! Thought I’d write a little post before I pick up my book and transition into reading time. I’m now at home and though I did enjoy my time at coffeeshop, it’s so nice now just to be home and relax on the couch with dinner in the oven. The chicken, potatoes, carrots & onions are roasting and I am most excited for the point about an hour and some minutes from now when it’s done and I can fill my plate. Ah simple pleasures. Though I was going to play some of my still-in-progress next classical playlist, I couldn’t resist turning on the TV and putting the baseball on instead. Cleveland vs. White Sox Game 5, winner shall advance to face the Rays in the ALCS! I do love playoff baseball and I love having a game on while I read. A baseball game is just sedate enough that I can have it on and still focus on my book. I’m excited by this one – just started it last night. It’s a book by Gavin Ortlund called “Why Christianity Makes Sense” and while he doesn’t have to convince me, I’m already finding my heart encouraged as he talks about the truths of Christianity and the beauty found therein. Speaking of. I think this post has rambled on enough and it is time for it to end. Much love to you all. Rest in our Lord this night. Peace and love.
Tag: baseball
Passion
So…baseball Opening Day was yesterday. Sadly – I did not go to any baseball games, but surprisingly(and probably for the last time this year), all three of my teams won! Rays had a comeback victory over Boston, Baltimore took out the Twins in the 11th with an Adam Jones homer…and the Astros just plain dominated with Verlander pitching like the Hall of Famer he is. So I am happy. Yay baseball! Spring is now officially here.
But…far more importantly…today is what is commonly called Good Friday, despite the fact that the event it commemorates is horrifyingly brutal in the extreme. The day man decided (once again!) that they knew better than God. The day humanity decided (once again!) that they were better off without God. The day we killed God.
And as shocking as that turn of events was…in the end it truly was a Good day. For it was the day that God sacrificed Himself. For us. For all of us who put our faith in Jesus. For all of us who give up our lives in submission to the only true God. For all of us who bow the knee to the One who saves.
In honour of the events of today, I much enjoyed reading Philippians this morning…many many verses kept striking me with their brilliant truths, but I shall only quote a few of my favourites this day. Despite the filth and lies we are surrounded by…remember:
But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ
Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish
so that I may gain Christ,
and may be found in Him,
not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through
faith in Christ,
the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,
that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings,
being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
and…
For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Saviour,
the Lord Jesus Christ;
who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the
body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject
all things to Himself.
-Philippians 3:7-11,20-21
Let us remember these things. Let us pause this day in the midst of our frantic lives and ponder and meditate on the One who did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped – even though He is God – but instead emptied Himself and became a Man and lived and died and rose again. For us.
Amazing love, how can it be – that Thou my God shouldst die for me!?!
The Baseball
So I have a little time and I thought I may as well write now even though I am tired(and yet don’t feel it). Mocha americano and adrenaline still pumping through my veins…last night watched one of the greatest games of baseball I’ve ever seen, not even taking into account the fact that it’s Game 5 of the World Series with my Astros in it. (And yes they’re my third team after Rays and O’s – but gosh if I can’t help but love them!) Last night though – so many moments of ups and downs I can’t even describe them all. It’s starting to all run together now…but I still vividly remember the end…we had been down so many times(4-0…7-4…8-7…each time we battle back). Finally we had the lead 11-9 in the bottom of the 8th but I know our bullpen too well and I am not satisfied…we need insurance runs, I tell Emily! And happily enough – McCann(the beast) provides – solo shot – exhilaration! 12-9 going into top of the ninth. Surely that is enough. And oh no. The Dodgers(pesky foe that they are) scratch and claw and even when we’re one out away from winning we cannot put them away. They tie the game. We fail to do anything in bottom of ninth. 12-12 extra inning time. We go into the tenth and I’m thinking there’s no way our beleagured bullpen stops them. Somehow we do. Bottom of the tenth. First two hitters go down. 2 outs. Then McCann is up again…hit by pitch! He’s on first. Springer is up – what a hero. He’s seeing the ball well…battles for a walk. McCann is on 2nd and now Hinch pulls him and puts in a pinch runner(Fisher). I’m a little nervous at this point, commenting that McCann is such a good catcher…we’ll regret not having him if this goes deeper. But oh me of little faith. Hinch and the Astros are playing to win *now*. And Bregman comes up. World Series Game 5, 12-12, bottom of the 10th, 2 outs. You dream of this. And…he hits to shallow left and Fisher is flying around the bases and oh he scores and oh it’s game over. 13-12 what a game. What a night! We all kept looking at each other saying “This game!” each time something crazy happened…a roller coaster of baseball I’ve never experienced before! So much cheering ecstatically – so many groans and heads bowed…but the end. Oh the end. I guess I’ve neglected to mention the fact that this game was a home game…I was with Erica and Emily and Michelle and friends downtown at a little establishment known as HTX Fan Tavern. Literally right across the street from Minute Maid Park! We decamped to an outdoor viewing area around…the 8th inning I think? And as we stood(and shivered) and watched the last few innings(me wondering if I’d get any sleep tonight at all – oh wait it’s morning now, hello midnight!)…I realized how rare a chance it is to get to be a part of such an epic World Series. The last hit that Bregman got…as we were watching, we heard some shouts and screams from people down the street…I’m wondering why they’re shouting when nothing happened…then thought…wait…is our game broadcast slightly delayed…wait…and then it happened and Fisher flew around the bases and everyone’s screaming and jumping up and down and and and baseball. Truly my first sports love and now I remember why. I may always remember this Astros line-up – such a special group – Springer, Bregman, Altuve, Correa, Gurriel, Reddick, Gattis, Gonzalez, McCann. Team of dreams. Go Astros.
And yes this is an atypical post full of sports and possibly a bit too much gushing over athletes…and it’s terribly sloppily stream of consciousness written…but I don’t care and shall still leave it for posterity just so that I shall remember what a fun amazing night this was. My (probably) sleep-deprived brain is not that great at writing eloquently. Alas. Somehow I still don’t feel tired yet. Apparently my strategy of telling myself when I went to bed that I was just going to sleep for a nice hour and a half nap worked. I feel so fresh! Went in to Starbucks and got my drink(and I gave Jake and Katie some chocolate chip cookies I baked yesterday!) and now I’m at work and the office is all buzzing about the Astros. As is proper.
I’m off to attempt to work. Happy Monday, all. Peace and love.
Ragtime
Saturday morning time here(well – technically afternoon, 12:03 at the moment!) and I’m at Starbucks with my mocha americano and my will to write is flagging. Alas. I have had a lovely morning…it is nice and cold outside – in the 40s! – and I did mean to go for a nice run in the early morning dark. My body decided it did not want that and I slept through my alarm…woken up by the sun instead. Guess I needed the extra sleep!! And truly I did – stayed up late last night watching the Astros game with Jared. And by Astros game – I mean World Series Game Three. Because yes – Astros are in the WS! They’re up 2-1 at the moment. Two more games. If they win, Houston will go crazy and it will be magnificent! They may only be my third baseball team(after Rays and O’s) but I’m still heartily rooting for them. Anyways! That was last night and of course it was much fun watching it with Jared. This morning after I finally dragged myself out of bed, went and had a great breakfast time with Earnie and Jake. Oh so encouraging. And now here I sit at Starbucks and it’s already after noon and I probably should go soon because I do need to do a little shopping, stop at the dry cleaners and then get home to do cleaning and chores.
So…can I write as much as I planned? I suppose not. But…I think I do have time to share my latest CD tracklist…composed a few months ago and it is utterly fantastic(even approved of by Laura and Caisson!). It’s story? Well – I had planned to make a more “melancholy-lite” playlist but I had also wanted to put some new Needtobreathe songs on. And it then morphed into what it is now – a playlist that starts gloomily enough but soon morphs into some good old-fashioned toe-tapping fun. Because it has a few songs that could be considered a bit more country/folk…it’s title is thus influenced. There are quite a few songs that have glorious harmonica! I also chose the title from one of my all-time favourite verses from one of my all-time favourite chapters from one of my all-time favourite books. As lovely as this earth may be, I do confess that I am a stranger and an exile in it. So do I present…A Country of Their Own:
1. Solitaire – Marina and the Diamonds
2. The Last Time(feat. Gary Lightbody) – Taylor Swift
3. All Too Well – Taylor Swift
4. Call You Home – Mangas Colorado
5. Black and Blue – Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors
6. Funeral Beds – The Districts
7. Money & Fame – Needtobreathe
8. Unbelievers – Vampire Weekend
9. Happiness – Needtobreathe
10. Supercut – Lorde
11. Forget – Marina and the Diamonds
12. Born Again Teen – Lucius
13. Great Night(feat. Shovels & Rope) – Needtobreathe
14. Trustful Hands – The Dø
15. Postcard Memories – Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors
16. Feet, Don’t Fail Me Now(Live) – Needtobreathe
17. Wasteland(Live) – Needtobreathe
18. More Heart, Less Attack(Live) – Needtobreathe
And I am now all caught up on posting my playlists. Finally!! I guess that means it’s time to craft a few more. One more note on the above – I do truly love it. It ranks up there with eyes closed, Heart Open as a list of songs that mirror my heart and thrill my soul…shadows the melancholy I sometimes feel…and echoes the joy that overflows my cup when I remember my true home. May all my “creative” endeavours always be thus.
Peace and love, dear friends.
Ginevra
Happy Wednesday, one and all!! This is a quick entry, just because I haven’t written in a few days and so thought I might as well! Just made the coffee here at work since clearly no one else gets here as early as I do(6:15 isn’t that early, right? Right??). Now drinking the fruits of my labor in peace and quiet before things start getting hectic. Any other big news over here? Not really…with the exception of me being moved in to my new place in the Heights!! Me and John, roommates again! I’m still trying to get settled in, but that will come eventually, I know. It will probably be much helped once I have time to unpack and shelve my books/movies this weekend!! Then my room will look proper and cozy and it will be wonderful. Now…I clearly have nothing else of substance to say, so I shall be off. Oh one more note! Game 7 of the World Series tonight…Cubs v Indians. I honestly don’t even care who wins, since the Cubs haven’t won the WS since 1908(!!) and the Indians since 1948. So as long as it’s an exciting game, I shall be happy. I do so love World Series baseball!! Alright, now I’m off for real. Peace.
Birds
Happy Friday, my awesome friends!
Me and Daniel have been watching the Royals-Orioles game(game one of ALCS!) and now he’s gone up to bed, so thought I’d write a short little entry. I’m also strongly considering making a second cup of tea, since it’s only the sixth inning and I figure I’ll be up a while longer. An excess of tea never hurt anyone, right? Anyways, it’s super fun watching some classic October baseball…especially with the O’s involved! This is the first time they’ve been in the ALCS in maybe…ten years? And a bloop hit in the infield just scored the tying run for the Orioles! 5-5, men on first and second, no outs, bottom of the sixth. What a game.
But no more baseball for now! I’ll try and rein in my enthusiasm! I think I shall start the water boiling for more tea! And really, I’d rather not write anymore tonight…going to read a bit as I watch the game. Just know that this evening has been exceedingly lovely. After a long and tiring and mentally exhausting day at work, I was much blessed with a night of chilling with John and Daniel, chatting, eating dinner and now…well, you know. Baseball!
Have a beautiful night, my friends – as always, grace and peace.
Straight Street
Good evening, my friends!! Thought I’d write a few words – I do promise I’ll write something more in depth at some point, but it is not this day! My pizza is in the oven and it’s only a few minutes away from delicious perfection, so I have a deadline. The Tigers/A’s game is on(winner advances to face the Red Sox…who the Rays were defeated by earlier this week. Sadness) and I’m enjoying a quiet evening!! It was great fun talking to Katheryn earlier – hadn’t had a proper chat with her in a while! One of the awesome things about living in America again…I can have long conversations with people here again! So yeah, we had a good talk. Then got to talk to Dad and now it’s dinner time. Hurrah!
Tomorrow is Friday and I will enjoy a good day working before going to the opera with Alex. Will be good to hang out with him again, even though my enjoyment of the opera is still an open question. We shall see!
Now I’m off. Oh and one more thing – in case you were unsure, title refers to my reading this morning – Paul’s conversion on the Damascus Road. Such a glorious moment. And it’s possible that our moments of salvation were not quite as dramatic, but the wonder that we have a God who loves us and saved us from our sins…this joyful wonder never ceases. Never ever. Peace, my friends!!
Ignition
Only a couple minutes before work starts, but thought I’d dash off a quick entry here!
Been a week of craziness here, but a glorious time of coffee, bacon and reading this morning relaxed me sufficiently to be ready for a sweet day today!! Despite all the issues that I’m sure will crop up, I can be at peace knowing that I am exceedingly blessed and preserved, always!!
And seeing the crimson slice of the sun peek up over the horizon today as I drove to work and being pierced by the early morning rays of light, I could not but help and glory in the presence of our Redeemer! Oh do I enjoy Him so every day!!!
(Of course, it’s a bit sad knowing that the gradually shortening days means I will soon not be able to drive to work in light anymore…oh well. I will still rejoice!)
Also, in sports news, the Rays made it to the playoffs the other night in the most epic fashion imaginable!! Down 9 games to the Red Sox at start of September. Came roaring back to be tied with them on the last day of the season. Orioles beat the Sox in the bottom of the 9th on a single with two outs, two strikes. The Rays, meanwhile, were down to the Yankees 7-0 in the 8th. Comeback capped by an Evan Longoria three-run homer in the 8th, and then a Dan Johnson homer in bottom of the 9th(again, two strikes, two outs!!) Went all the way to the 12th…where 5 minutes after the O’s had defeated the Sox, Evan hit *another* homerun to claim victory and the wild card berth!! Sadly, I was asleep the whole time. Still…absolutely AMAZING. And now they’ll play the Rangers – first game tonight! GO RAYS.
Now that I’ve spent most of my time discussing the Rays, no more time to write! It’s work time…time to dominate it up. Peace. Love you all!!
