Tag: friends

Girl Named Tennessee

James HoganLeave a comment

And this sleepy Tuesday night, I am greatly looking forward to my dinner and my bed! But firstly, I must earn these rewards by at least a bit of writing this night! My dinner is quite an epic salad(lettuce, spinach, red peppers, yellow peppers, green peppers, black olives, green olives, cheese, green onions, spices, balsamic vinegar, etc, etc…delicious much? Oh and side note – as much as I enjoy being able to put a whole can of black olives on the salad and eating as many of them as I want, I sort of miss being able to fight with the sisters for the olives. Just saying). Anyway! Enough about my salad! Soon enough I will eat it, but now just a few words about my weekend of loveliness in the great land of Hungary…

And it’s something I said to Anna yesterday, but just to say again, there are some things that just can’t be expressed in words. My heart is full of joy and love and wonder and yet my lips cannot say words enough to echo the depths of my soul. And still I try. So here we go…

On Friday evening, flew late from Aberdeen through Frankfurt(where I had to run, but I did catch my flight, hurrah!) before arriving in Budapest! And breezed through the terminal to the welcoming hall to see Anna standing there! After more than a year, it felt like it’d been no time at all as we spent the drive back to her hometown of Miskolc talking almost nonstop(as tired as I was!!). And now to attempt to paint a picture of the wonderfulness of the weekend…woke up Saturday morning to an amazing breakfast(toast with cheese, scrambled eggs, gorgeous coffee sweetened with honey and milk…) shared with Anna, Boroka and their dad before Anna and I explored Miskolc together! Seeing her church and her old school, wandering through ancient castles and eating way too much delicious ice cream and cakes, walking through a lovely park in the gently fading sunlight of an autumn evening…enjoying a massive dinner of goulash and pancakes and laughter with the family…watching a TV show with classic traditional Hungarian dancing and music with Anna and Boroka and their grandparents and loving every second! And yes, still on the first day! I really can’t properly get my thoughts across, but oh well! A few more fond memories…dipping popcorn in melted chocolate while sleepily watching Bourne Identity(I think Anna only fell asleep twice! Me and Boroka resisted)…worshiping our great God in their church Avasi Reformatus Sunday morning, and while not knowing most of the words(but Anna was a great translator!), still soaking in the love and joy that was oh so present..oh what a joy it is to sing praises to the Lord, no matter what tongue we speak! And I really desire dinner now…but a few more words, I swear!

Sunday lunch was a grand affair(even though I did no work…Anna and I were able to walk Daisy their dog and talk and talk and talk as Boroka and her mother did most of the cooking!) And finally we all(Anna, Boroka, the grandparents and the parents and me!) sat down and enjoyed a dinner of roast chicken and potatoes and sweet pudding…but far better than the food was sitting and enjoying each other. And afterwards, Anna and I eventually got on the train(I think we missed the first few train times, but that was no matter…more time with the family!) to Budapest! And Budapest, oh I wish I had more words to describe it! But Anna and I walked its broad streets that next day and as I marveled at the grand palaces and churches and bridges and structures that man had so proudly constructed, I couldn’t help but pray for the great city of Budapest. Oh so lovely. Oh so needing of our Savior! And as Anna and I walked and talked and ate and laughed and prayed and rejoiced in the knowledge of knowing our Lord…I cannot help but thank God for giving me such a gorgeous weekend. Maybe one short on sleep! But one full of the peace that comes from the Spirit of God…I just think back to my thoughts as I sat in Miskolc Sunday afternoon, piano playing sweetly, as I pondered how much my God and Father has blessed me in this life… Oh what joy is mine!!!

And now it is truly time for dinner…I hope you didn’t mind this slightly rambling post, but I just had to at least try and translate some of my heart to page. A futile effort, alas. But to be blessed so greatly by our God…oh what bliss is ours in abundance, my friends!

Grace and peace and love be with you all. Always.

Orange and Red and Yellow…

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And on this perfectly lovely fall afternoon, I’m relaxing in my room, looking out the window as the light slowly fades. It’s a little cold right now, but I have some delicious smelling French onion soup on the stove and I must confess I’m rather looking forward to a bowl of that! Hopefully this latest cooking experiment is a success! Even though I probably shouldn’t eat too much of it, since in a couple hours me and John will be heading over to Zara and Ruth’s for dinner and I’m sure whatever we eat there(Zara’s cooking, methinks) will be absolutely delectable.

And now maybe I should stop talking about food! Anyways, earlier when I was walking to the store, kicking up the leaves and enjoying the delightfully brisk autumn breeze, I couldn’t help but rejoice in my heart and pray to my Father, thanking Him for all that He has blessed me with! Oh let us never forget our Father who has loved us so!! With warm clothes and cozy places to live and delicious food and hot showers and enthralling books and lazy Saturdays and amazing friends…well, how can we complain? Really.

Now, time to stir my soup. Love y’all.

Given Rest

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And though it is Starbucks Saturday here, I don’t want to spend too much time writing as it’s about noon and it’s time to make my way outside to a beautiful afternoon…

This morning I enjoyed a leisurely lie in(to almost 8:30!)…ah how nice it is to rest after a long, long week. What a wonderful gift sleep is! This whole past week has been quite manic at work, and though I can’t say everything’s gone well(or even moderately ok), I can say I am at peace. God will bless(and has blessed!), as always.

And last night, as tired as I was, enjoyed such a sweet night with friends! Was going to see Spiderman at Union Square, but they cancelled our showing! I think they were trying to make more room for the new Batman movie(which I would like to see eventually). Anyways, we were foiled, so James Cordiner, Jackie, Zara and I made our way back to my flat, where we enjoyed a night of tea and talking and laughter…though eventually our weariness overcame us!

So this morning I’ve enjoyed slowly waking up and delicious peppermint mocha and reading a letter from my sister…and though I almost wish my writing muse was smiling upon me, my face wishes to feel the sun upon it, so outside I go!

Farewell, my dear friends – have a most awesome Saturday!!

Örökké és mindig

James HoganLeave a comment

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.

A shield and bulwark

James HoganLeave a comment

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.

Loveliness, iced

James HoganLeave a comment

So guess where I am (again) on this Sunday afternoon? Yeah, back at Starbucks. Don’t say anything. And right now it’s a bit wet outside so I’m grateful to be dry and warm inside. Anyways, this past week has been crazy busy(nope, not gonna detail it all here, but just trust me on this: work’s been mental!) Anyways, I feel guilty for not keeping you all up to date, but you should be used to my sporadic updates anyway. As I’ve really said a lot of nothing so far, here goes a brief run-down of my last few days…

Actually, I take that back. First just briefly mentioning that I was back in Florida a few weeks ago(actually two weeks ago I was sitting in church in Tampa!!) for the amazing and most awesome celebration of Laura’s graduation! Gaither has seen four of Hogans come…and now we’re gone. It would take FAR too long to describe all we did that week…but let it be said that it was a time of joy and gladness. And that I may have been a bit sad to leave again, knowing I probably won’t be back with the fam until Christmas. Whoa.

Oh and I just realized Starbucks closes in a few minutes. Speed writing time!

But yeah, past few days have been sweet. Hanging with Steven and Anna on Thursday night(watching Bourne Ultimatum, which Steven had never seen!!). So watching some Jason Bourne domination plus delicious tacos is never a bad combination. Friday…well, quite intense work day. That is all that will be said about that. And Friday night, good times with Steven and Anna once again!! And Saturday…hm, can you guess who I hung out with? Well, yes. I guess I’m not very hard to figure out. I was at Starbucks and then Steven came and hung out with me for a while and then Anna came in to, so we spent a most lovely afternoon relaxing here and enjoying the goodness of the LORD!!! I have pretty amazing friends, gotta say. And it makes me quite sad to think that they’ll be away(to Germany and Hungary) in a matter of weeks…

And now, Starbucks is really almost closing. Gotta run. And I just may get wet. No!!! Oh well, I like the rain.

On this lovely Sunday afternoon…peace!

Tigers of the night

James HoganLeave a comment

Quick random update!

In Starbucks relaxing on this rainy(and slightly chilly!) Saturday afternoon enjoying my peppermint mocha and now chilling with Steven who just walked in! So no more time to write, but maybe someday soon I’ll write again about all this awesomeness that has been occurring lately…

Rock on, y’all.

The Homestretch

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And now almost time for bed(especially as I’m currently trying to avoid getting any sicker than I already am..) but just wanted to mention how totally awesome today was!! Playing paintball for the very first time with amazing friends(including Steven, Anna, Alec, Pip…) on a beautiful Scottish day, sun shining bright and blue skies abounding…yes, this all equals good times. Chilling with friends having fun on a Saturday afternoon…driving home to epic music(Snow Patrol, Lecrae, Muse, Coldplay…y’know)…us all deciding that having an ice cream snack is always a good idea…also equals good times! Just now finished watching Florida win a hard-fought game vs. UCLA in the NCAA tourney – Sweet Sixteen, YES. And so today has been a sweet day. And more than all this, I am reminded by the great and incomprehensible love of Jesus. Why do I ever doubt the goodness of the Lord? Don’t ask me. I’m silly, what can I say? And now, as I feel my feeble grasp at coherence finally give way…I think it is time for sleep.

Paradicsom

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Indeed, while following the way
of your judgments, O LORD,
we have waited for you eagerly;
Your name, even Your memory,
is the desire of our souls.
At night my soul longs for You,
indeed, my spirit within me
seeks You diligently…
-Isaiah 26:8-9

Mmm, may it always be so!!

And on another note entirely, having a random late night fish and chips supper with a dear friend while delighting in delicious conversation and heartfelt ponderings and sweet fellowship and joyous contemplations of the goodness of the LORD while sitting under the dancing stars above…total and complete awesomeness.

Twilight dreams

James HoganLeave a comment

So, it’s a beautiful Friday evening!! And there’s really no other reason for this update…just thought I’d continue the trend of me posting updates at an alarmingly high rate. Just about time to eat my delicious salad(with tomatoes, green peppers, red peppers, spring onions, a cucumber, green olives, feta, celery salt, onion powder, basil…olive oil and vinegar…mmmmmmm….)

But besides my upcoming dinner of awesomeness, just looking forward to a sweet evening with Anna and Steven(think we’re going to introduce Anna to The Unit…and if we’re really crazy/silly, we may just watch Fellowship of the Ring!! Steven’s never seen it, which me and Anna have decided must be remedied. The only question is…how important is sleep?).

And because I’m a bit hungry(yes, it’s almost 9pm and I haven’t had dinner yet), I’m off!