Tag: journal

The Last Hurrah

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So I was going to write a much longer post (and maybe even a poem!) but alas (not really) I actually talked to Dad on phone instead, which was very worth it!  And so now my minutes to write are few.  But quickly…

It is still wonderfully cold here – sub-50s temperature when I walked out to my car this morning!!  One last time I shall say – long may it continue!!  Even though…I know that no, it most certainly will not continue long.  But I shall enjoy it much.  Oh shall I enjoy it!  Yesterday was sublime.  After church and various errands, came home and quickly made and ate lunch(chicken & curry-spiced cauliflower & red peppers!) then fled to the glorious outdoors.  Walked down White Oak enjoying the strains of live music that were being played at every other bar and restaurant…then went to Red for a quick espresso (because why not, yeah?) then got to talk to Maryanne for a bit to wish her happy birthday as she is now 27 years old, what!!!  Happy happy birthday, Maryanne, dearest sister!!!  Then I realised I’d missed a call from Daniel…so once I walked down to EQ and settled in my usual spot on the porch, called him back and we had a beautiful time chatting.  Oh how I miss him.  But it was a great talk and I must remind myself to pray for him more, that God continues to bless him and grant him peace in all things.  After that…well, no more phone chatting, so I instead settled in my chair on the porch and soaked in the sunshine.  Brilliant blue sky.  Scents of springtime abounded.  And as I read my book (The Dragon Reborn, of course) and enjoyed the sounds of people talking all around me…I could not help but lift my eyes to the heavens and thank God for all that He has made.  Glory hallelujah.

That was yesterday and it was beautiful.  Briefly before I fly – must also mention how great Saturday night was!  Earnie and Mandy had both finally taken their PE exam on Friday and they were deliriously happy at being done with that!  Earnie feels most confident, Mandy slightly less so but I am still sure they both passed.  Anyways – since they finally now have time to have a social life again, I had them over for dinner.  I made burritos and avocado/tomato salad and we ate and talked and laughed…and many many hours later we realised it was almost 12:30 in the morning and probably a good time to part since church was indeed coming up the next (same!) day.  I just want to say though – their friendship is oh so precious to me and I am very grateful for them and the encouragement they are to me.  It even made me happy that I got to lend them a couple of my books – Revival and Revivalism by Murray and a Douglas MacArthur biography.  I love lending books to friends – it gladdens my heart!

Right.  I have now written far more than I thought I would, but I’m glad I could chronicle this wonderful past weekend.  Now, my friends, farewell.  Peace and love.

Springtime

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It is still…just…so…lovely outside!!  Yet again a perfect blue sky bright sunshine luscious jasmine kind of day here.  And so yes once again after work, I walked down Heights and had my (as is now tradition!) reading time on the porch there.  I keep thinking summer is here, but not yet.  Not yet.  The walk to the coffeeshop was framed in brilliantly blossoming green and flowers and all kinds of growing things…and it was all so beautiful.  It is good to consider the loving creative grandeur of our God.  And now I am back inside, about to have a relaxing sushi dinner…but thought I could at least express(faintly – oh so faintly!) the joy of my heart and the love that I feel washing over my soul.  Because, truly regardless of all the external wonders that surround, I think on the fact that I am loved by God and I realise I need no other gift than this.  The love of my Saviour.  The love of my God.

Be at peace and be at rest, all you, my dearest friends.

Tinted Blue

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So this morning as I drove in, I resolved I was going to try and write an actual poem this morning.  Alas, my resolve wavered and quickly fell apart once I actually sat down at my desk here.  I sadly got distracted by various emails and other things and now I can only confess my muse has been shattered in a thousand pieces and there is no chance of any creative output…at least for the now.  Honestly – it’s probably for the best as I was contemplating writing a somewhat sentimental, romantic piece…which who wants to read anyway, am I right?

So I suppose I shall just write a few more words expressing my joy at what I read this morning in my morning reading time.  Beautiful words in various places, but in my continued progression through Genesis, was encouraged anew at reading on Abraham’s life and his obedience to God.  Our Lord God came to him when he was 99 and promised that he and Sarah would have a son.  She was 90 and he was 99…and they were promised a son!  Abraham laughs, Sarah laughs, there is laughter all around.  (Even when Sarah denies it and talks back to God, “I didn’t laugh.”  Our Lord: “Oh yes you did.”  Is it bad that I laughed?)  Anyways!  God renewed his covenant with Abraham and then made circumcision the sign of this covenant and commands Abraham in this.  And what does Abraham do?  He that very day obeyed God and had himself and his whole house circumcised.  He may have laughed at the thought that he would have a son but he did not hesitate in obeying God in this awkward and somewhat painful rite.  I hope I would as eagerly and quickly obey God in my own life.  Oh may we all be so desirous to follow our Lord in all that He asks us to do!

And I could go on and talk about God sharing his plans for Sodom with Abraham and I could share how Abraham is beginning to fulfill his role as mediator as he pleads for the cities that they be spared and I could say a few words about Lot and how despite the fact that he was a righteous man whose heart was grieved at the sins of the land was nevertheless weak, sinful and fearful and subsequently mightily suffered the consequences of his sins.  But no – for now, I just want to think on the life of Abraham and that when he was confronted with the Lord God Almighty standing before him, he obeyed God.

May we all – as we with unveiled faces contemplate the glories of the Lord and meditate on the wonders of His grace to us – relish the chances we have this day to obey our God in all things.  Despite the fact that oft our hearts are hot and frantic within us, may we be at peace this day as we consider the love of Christ Jesus our Lord.

Sleeping Kittens

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I am having a restful evening tonight. So happy. Had a (fairly?) productive Saturday…now eating my burrito dinner and Rockets/Thunder game about to start. So I am looking forward to a fun evening of basketball with a little bit of reading on the side. The march through Owen must continue!! Quite encouraging reading about the Holy Spirit and His work…in my life and the lives of all those who believe and in all things as God wills. Alright, no rambling from me tonight. Be at peace, dear friends one and all. Peace and love.

The Grave Is No Bar To My Call

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Last night the thunder rumbled deep and the lightnings frequently pulsed throughout the sky and although the rain did drop but softly, the night was not quiet.  And so despite the fact that it would have been glorious to have a good night’s sleep, I am sad to report that it was not so.  And thus I am most sleepy this morning.  But I still cannot complain, for the storm heralded the cold front which has now swept through and although 58 degrees isn’t particularly cold, I will take what I can get in April in Houston.  And today as I sleepily traversed the concrete river that is I10 into work, I pondered on the fact that back in Aberdeen days, I used to be able to commute with the countryside on my right side and the North Sea on my left…oh how I do miss the beauty of those days!  Alas it is not quite as pretty driving through the heart of Houston.  Yet this morning my heart was soothed with the music from the inimitable Seaspray and I reflected on the fact that my God assuredly has His hand upon me this day.  Now and forever.  And after I had a fun coffee chat with Jacqui over in my old building, I walked back over to my office and relished the chill air of the morning and gazed at the slowly lightening pre-dawn sky, blue striated with iron-grey clouds and holding the promise of far more than the eye can see.  Just as surely as in my Genesis reading today when Abram was told to go forth and he did and was promised many wonderful things…so I know my path is laid before me and my future is certainly beautiful.  Peace and love, my friends.  Now and forever. 

Passion

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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!?!

Be a Man

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Hello friends!  A quick entry today as I sip my peppermint mocha.  It must be very quick, as soon work is to start and I must catch up on my myriads of emails that have piled up here in my one(!!) day off.  I had a very good reason for that day off though…as I was up in Omaha this past weekend for cousin Brittany’s wedding!!  It was an utterly delightful affair which I shall not even attempt to fully describe.  But the whole weekend truly was marvelous.  Good times with family dear.  Fun chats and catching up with so many of the relatives!  And the wedding of Brittany and Dallon…oh how I love weddings – and witnessing them making their marriage vows to each other was truly special.  Oh how I pray that our God blesses their marriage and brings them closer to each other as they seek to glorify God in all things.  And of course the party afterwards was fantastic…so much dancing.  So much!!  And so I was quite tired at the end of the night and so when we all(me, Maryanne, Laura, Caisson, Mom, Dad) took a picture at our hotel at end of night…definitely can spot the weariness!  But hopefully also the joy was abundantly manifest.

And..I can’t write much more, but one more note – the conversations that were had with family members dear…oh so glorious and encouraging.  God is good in granting me these few precious days with them in Omaha.  I am ever grateful for my family.  Always.

A Little Slice of Sunshine

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Hello friends…and happy Friday!!  I’m dashing off a quick entry before I dive back into work.  Had a lovely lunchtime break…walking to my favourite little Vietnamese place and enjoying my standard curry.  A beautifully relaxing time just eating and texting various folks and enjoying the goodness of the Lord.  And this evening has the potential to be just as wonderful.  No big plans, hence I’m thinking I’ll have burritos for dinner, watch a little basketball, drink a little tea…and very possibly read some John Owen, which I’m excited to report I have now resumed reading!  This morning much enjoyed my reading of him expound on the Holy Spirit and His work in the church in the New Testament.  Oh what a wonder it is to think on the fact that the Spirit of God is within us!!!  Remember this, and rejoice.  So yes – that’s my tentative plan for the night and I am much looking forward to this.  A book upon the lap and a mug of tea in the hand.  Very proper indeed.

Now I shall be off.  Peace, my friends.  Peace and love.

Ashes

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And another Tuesday rears its head.  I have a few minutes in which to write, so write I shall!  This morning a tragedy befell me.  After a long and happy life, my cafetiere(or french press, if you want to use the coarse wording…) finally died the final death.  The crack that has been worrying it for some time finally finished propogating all the way around the glass and so when I began to try and pour my coffee into the mug…let’s just say quite a bit of coffee went in a direction other than the mug as well.  But this cafetiere has had a long and full life since I bought it in…2011 I think?  I still remember being shamed by Pastor Dominic back then when he found out I drank instant coffee!!  A rough paraphrase of his words, “James – my estimation of you has somewhat lowered hearing that.”  Thereupon I immediately went to John Lewis and bought this gorgeous little cafetiere and indeed it has served me well.  Now…I’ve written far too many words memorializing this coffee-making device and so I shall end with the happy news that because I am silly, I actually bought a back-up cafetiere from JL when I was in Aberdeen back a year and a half ago now.  So…now I’m excited to put that one into service!  May it last seven years as well.

And I suppose I should also log my latest read, which again – should not surprise you if you’ve been following my chronicles:

9.  The Life and Diary of David Brainerd edited by Jonathan Edwards.  Yesterday as the weather was still somewhat nice( Houston is heating up drastically though and I am sad!), I walked down to EQ and finished up this book on the porch, basking in the sunlight and the gentle breeze.  But better than those external factors…finishing up this book chronicling the life of a man who loved God and longed for His glory.  Oh how I wish I could make every one of you read this, but truly – what a wonderfully convicting and heartening work.  I looked it up on amazon just now and the version I read is only $13.58 and it is worth every cent.  So…buy it please.  And read.  I don’t remember this book affecting me quite as much the last time I read this, but I suppose I am in a different place now(emotionally, spiritually, geographically, whatev – ) and thus I should not be surprised at the change.  But I can now say with confidence this is surely in the top three of my all-time favourite biographical/autobiographical works.  I am a history nerd, I know…so partly the reason I love it so is the window into 18th century American Christianity, of course.  And I am a theological nerd(surprised?) and so reading the doctrinal thoughts and convictions of Brainerd(along with the notes by J. Edwards!  Brainerd actually died in the home of Edwards, so Edwards has quite a few first-hand comments regarding Brainerd and his circumstances) is supremely fascinating.  But…the reason I love this book the most is because it is a glimpse into the mind and heart of a man who loved God passionately and desparately.  And this book is the story of a man who poured himself out to the utmost, even to death.  All for the glory of God.  And so my heart cries for similar passion and love.  May I live such.  I am nowhere close.  But may I strive and may I cry.  If only I could live in such a humble, broken manner.  All for the love of my God.  

Lingering, my heart burns

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Don’t have time to write long this sleepy Monday morning…but wanted to log my latest read:

8.  The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan.  This is a book(and series!) that I haven’t read in a while…and by a while I mean probably at least three years?  But oh is it a classic.  One of my favourite(surely top five) fantasy series of all time and this is the book that kicks it all off.  I forgot how quick-paced it was – just a rollicking fantasy adventure…but so rich in detail – truly a finely woven masterpiece of a novel that also manages to introduce myriads of interesting, real characters.  And that’s probably part of the reason I love this series so much – as much as the world is a gorgeously coloured tour de force of imagination and the history is deeply layered and the prose is utterly delightful, the fact that the characters feel living and breathing is something that not many authors can manage to do, especially this many characters!  So yes, reading TEotW was a fun, magnificent experience…and now time for Book 2.  Will probably start that tonight!  As I finished this book last night, I realised how perfectly the ending opened the door to a wider world and invited you in…a grand adventure is ahead. 

Now, my friends, it is surely time for me to end this entry and begin(or at least attempt) my work this morn.  While I could attempt to describe my weekend and the fun times with friends that were had…that is unnecessary to chronicle and my fingers are not quite up to the task.

And so just know that my favourite part of this past weekend was surely Friday night…drinking my tea and reading more of David Brainerd while basketball played on in the background(Syracuse v. TCU was not really that exciting to be honest…).  As much as it is good and enjoyable to have entertaining nights with friends, sometimes it is better to sit with a mug of hot tea and a comforting book.  Thus I declare.  And the fact that this book is also convicting and awe-inspiring and magnificent in the description of a man who was known by God and used by God and loved by God…all the better.  My heart is encouraged.  Despite the ease at which we fall into complacency, may our souls long for that greater joy that comes from thinking on the things of our God.