Tag: journal

Caemlyn

James HoganLeave a comment

It is still beautiful outside…!  (Of course, right now it is also dark outside, but that is no matter)  Last night was perfectly gorgeous.  I was previously pondering on going to see Wrinkle in Time in cinema because it is truly one of my favourite books of all time and a chance to see a proper adaptation on the big screen was most tempting.  But…the early reviews are…not promising.  Even so – I figured I could grab a 4:50 showing after work and at least give it a whirl.  But walking out to my car quickly convinced me otherwise as the afternoon was most perfect mix of sunshine and blue sky.  So…I could go sit in a dark movie theatre by myself…or I could not do that thing.  So I instead chose to go home, knock out a quick work-out…then walk down to EQ in the simply *glorious* late afternoon light.  Read for a while on EQ’s porch and enjoyed the fine spring evening that I’d been blessed with.  It’s not yet too hot or humid…and the dazzingly brilliant cerulean sky and the sunlight upon my book and the green – so much green! – fresh growth everywhere around me convinced me I’d made the right decision.  Not too many days come around like this one, especially in Houston, mm?  And so my heart swelled near to bursting at the beauty of it all.  A good night.

And now…’tis another morning and I must work.  Peace and love, one and all.

Gleeman

James HoganLeave a comment

So today I am…once again…but for the first time in a while…sitting at Starbucks here in Houston.  And as I let my mocha americano slightly cool so I can drink it without burning myself, I’m pondering on what to write here and as I think, I believe this will be a bit of a musical entry.  I realize I haven’t posted any of my most recent mixes(the horror!), and so I shall at least chronicle one of them this day(will save others for later on).  This is one of the mixes I did pre-Christmas, both for myself and to give a copy to Laura and Caisson!  I quite enjoy this one even though it’s quite an odd mix of alt and folk and…pop?  It makes me happy, even though it is maybe one of my most melancholy mixes yet.  If you listen to it, you’ll notice the “turn” or the “upward, boundless gaze of the heart” doesn’t come until…the last minute of the last song?  That is a rather late turn by my standards, but oh is it beautiful.  In my mind, this is a beautiful mix to play when it is grey and wet and dreary outside…bare branches waving in the wind and heart swooping to follow.  I should stop trying to describe it but merely post the tracklist.  Do be aware – it is named after one of the Ainur from the Silmarillion – the angelic being who weeps for grief and cries for mercy, even for the very foulest evildoers.  Enough dawdling pretense.  Allow me to present…The Tears of Nienna:

1. Kitchen Door – Wolf Larsen
2. Hunnie Pie – Zella Day
3. Forget About Life – Alvvays
4. Grazed Knees – Snow Patrol
5. Soon – Big Little Lions
6. Where Did You Come From – Andrew & Veda
7. Top of the Stairs – Scott Mulvahill
8. Modern Nature – Sondre Lerche
9. I Don’t Know – Benjamin Gibbard
10. Vito’s Ordination Song – Sufjan Stevens
11. Promise – Ben Howard
12. If I Go, I’m Goin’ – Gregory Alan Isakov
13. Upward Over the Mountain – Iron & Wine
14. This is What Makes Us Girls – Lana Del Rey
15. New Year’s Day – Taylor Swift
16. Day Breaks – Norah Jones
17. Liability – Lorde
18. Go Home – Julien Baker

And there you go.  Random eh?  I’m actually quite happy with it.

Now you may think I’m done with my musical talk for today but it is not to be.  I’ve spent the last hour(!!) or so updating my music metrics spreadsheet(by the way, this is my engineering side coming out…yes, I’ve made a spreadsheet to compile my music taste.  Delightfully nerdy, I know!!).  It took me a lot longer to update the artist/album counts…mostly because I didn’t realize how many mixes I’d made in 2017.  Seven!  Shockingly high count by my standards but it makes me happy too since I do like doing it.  At some point when I have more time, I may detail out some interesting(maybe) facts about my music listening…but for now, I’ll give the top nine artists on my list(for period 2015-2017, inclusive).  We have:

1. Green Day (12 tracks!)
2. Lorde (10)
3. Oh Hello’s (9)
4. The Postal Service (8)
5. Needtobreathe (7)
6. Seryn (7)
7. Switchfoot (7)
8. The Dø (7)
9. Zella Day (7)

I feel that Green Day is cheating just a bit, since I had one playlist last year(Lost and Not Yet Found) that had nine of their songs, which is practically a best-of and thus shouldn’t count…but hey, I’ll count them anyway. I do (somewhat guiltily!) love Green Day, so it’s not misleading.  The rest of the list makes sense…no big surprises.  I still have somewhat random taste, per usual.

My newest mix, which is still in my car – Never Again Sighs the Dawn – I’m still not totally sure if it’s going to be the final mix or not.  I like it…but wow, the flow is quite quirky.  (Even by my standards!!)  And it breaks some new ground in regards to country music…which may surprise a few people here and there.  Anyways, once I do finalize it I’ll eventually post tracklist here.  Eventually.  Next one I post here will be my dance CD from Christmas last year – one which Laura at least said she much enjoyed – yay!!

Ok – now I have sat here at Starbucks far too long and I really should probably get moving.  I have only talked about music today…shocking!!!  Ah well – ’tis fun to write about.  Now must get on to the rest of my day…be well my friends – go in the grace of our Lord!!!

Coffee and the Tea

James HoganLeave a comment

Good morning friends, and happy Thursday!!  A brief few words…

I’ve much enjoyed this morning – sub-fifty temperatures for (maybe?) the last time this year.  Oh how I love a good cold morning!!  Now sitting here at my desk with a nice cup of black coffee(honey-sweetened, of course) and since my heart is full, I suppose I thought it was a good idea to write at least a little bit, before my day heats up drastically.

This morning as I was slowly waking up, I had the half-conscious thought/prayer, “Lord I am trying so hard”.  Don’t ask me what it was in relation to – in total honesty, I can’t quite remember – only I know that it’s a sigh of the heart that I often have – do you not sometimes pray and not even know what you’re praying?  Anyways immediately some words came to mind that much encouraged me – “It is not the man who wills or the man who runs, but the Lord who has mercy.”  That stunned me – because again I was sorta half asleep at the time – and I felt much blessed that God should grant me these words from my past reading of the Word.  I couldn’t quite remember the reference at first(first I thought it was Isaiah…then Romans.  Had to be somewhere in my recent reading, right?), but eventually(i.e., right now) I looked this up and found it is indeed Romans 9:16, which I read sometime in the past week or so.  Anyways – I say all this not to prop myself up, for surely that goes against the very spirit and words of that verse, but just to remark upon the graciousness of God and to encourage you all to make reading the Word a priority.  How much of a blessing was it for my self-centered, erroneous words of prayer to be immediately corrected and for myself to be much uplifted by these words of Scripture.  Truly a work of the Holy Spirit.  All praise be to God!!  My human effort and vain attempts at justifying myself are as nothing.  Dust in the wind.  Yet the grace and merciful lovingkindness of the Lord is sufficient for me.  For me!  Think on the wondrous mercy and love of our Lord.  Behold our God!

And a few brief more verses that are some of my very favourites that I do not think on often enough:

When my heart was embittered and I was pierced within,
then I was senseless and ignorant; I was like a beast before You.
Nevertheless I am continually with You;
You have taken hold of my right hand.
With Your counsel You will guide me,
and afterward receive me to glory.

Whom have I in heaven but You?
And beside You, I desire nothing on earth.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

For, behold, those who are far from You will perish;
You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You.
But as for me, the nearness of God is my good;
I have made the Lord GOD my refuge,
that I may tell of all Your works.
-Psalm 73:21-28

Never Again Sighs the Dawn

James HoganLeave a comment

Monday morning here…hello friends!!  A quick few words.

Firstly…this is my 900th post here on livejournal.  I suppose that’s not too momentous and really only matters to me, but I wanted to make it known.  When will I get to 1000 I wonder…

Secondly…another book I need to log – even though I feel it’s cheating a bit since I really read most of it last year and then stopped reading it for about…9 months!?  Finally picked it up the other night and finished the last few chapters.

7. Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow.  Maryanne gave me this for Christmas of 2016 I believe, so quite a ways back now!  I do so love biographies even though I typically focus on Christian ones.  This was still quite good – got such a good glimpse into the historical details of the Revolutionary War period – and finding out more about Hamilton was indeed so fascinating!!  Of course this book has now become super popularized because of the musical(which YES is amazing if you haven’t heard it yet!!), but the book deserves praise on its own merit.  An extremely fun and easy read – I would definitely recommend to anyone who likes history and reading about interesting individuals.  (And no excuses for me taking over a year to actually read this)

Thirdly…last night I went to bed far later than I should have.  Two reasons for this.  I for some reason felt in the mood to throw together a playlist of a lot of my most recent songs I’ve acquired(via John or my random youtube listening)…and then I realized I actually had enough for another CD and so I put them on a playlist and had to listen through to see what stuck.  While I was doing that…I started my next book – a re-read of a series that will probably take a while but it is one of my very very favourites.  The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan.  I forgot how good this book is.  I got sucked into the world of Rand al’Thor and the village of Emond’s Field…and before I knew it, I had enjoyed listening to a fantastic playlist(CD of which now sits in my car!  It might be terrible though because it’s been vetted much less thoroughly than I usually do…) and read far too many chapters of EotW.  Ah well.  It was a pleasant Sunday night…I could have done far worse than had a night reading a good book while listening to lovely music…

Fourthly…I am consequently very sleepy today.  All hail peppermint mocha and much espresso therein!

Peace and love.

Las Locas

James HoganLeave a comment

…it is a lovely(grey) morning here in H-town. And as my day begins(the best way possible – with peppermint mocha and yummy breakfast tacos), I just wanted to wish you all a happy Friday! It is true that not all seems bright and cheery in this world, but nevertheless, we shall – I shall! – rejoice and be glad in the knowledge that I am a child of the living God. The world is surely dark and filled with terrors yet above the stretching clouds of doom the stars glimmer with promises of glory. And inward sings the testimony of the most sacred Witness. Be still, my soul.

Northampton

James HoganLeave a comment

Hello friends and happy Wednesday!  I am most sleepy and thus shall not write long…(even though at some point would love to chronicle my past weekend in North Carolina…), but for now – my latest read:

5.  Jonathan Edwards: A New Biography by Iain Murray.  My second favourite biography of all time…and one of my very favourite books ever.  I hadn’t read it in a few years and I thought it was time.  And yes – it was as encouraging and inspiring and convicting as ever.  I do love it so.  One of the great men of God, humble and longing to please God in all things.  Would I possess even a small fraction of his love and passion for God.  Murray’s writing is – as always – enthralling and uplifting and supremely factual, while also seeking to glorify God in the telling of a story of a man.  The book is truly a story of the works of God, not the works of man.  And that is what I love.  And this book did something all good books should do – it got me pointed to my next read – now reading the diary of David Brainerd, which has continued to deeply convict and encourage me.  Oh that I might be more conscious of God and His glories and less desirous of mine own.  

Contradictory Wildcats

James HoganLeave a comment

 Happy Thursday friends!!  It’s very sadly not cold outside anymore(not close to cold, even.  It’s approximately 75.  Ugh)…but I still can’t complain.  I have my peppermint mocha here, which is…not traditional for Thursdays, but that’s just because tomorrow I won’t be going to work – no, tomorrow at this time I’ll be in airport awaiting my flight to Charlotte to see Maryanne.  Hurrah!!  Can’t wait for that.  We shall have a glorious weekend of being together and doing adventerous things…mostly I just am looking forward to good chats.  Anything else going on here in Texas…?  Not terribly much…last night was a relaxing evening hanging out with John.  Had sushi and watched Rogue One, which is a very good Star Wars movie indeed.  Even if everyone does die(oh – spoilers much?  My apologies.  Not really, it came out over a year ago – no excuses!)  It was more emotional than I remember it being…and it has one of the best combined space/land battles in all of Star Wars.  Much explosive, laser-filled fun!  This morning had a nice breakfast at home while I continued my read through Acts.  Sadly I’m over closer to the end than the beginning of the book….am much enjoying reading about Paul and his missionary journies presently.  Today read about his trials and travails in Corinth, Ephesus and a few other places.  Was encouraged by seeing the works of the Lord in saving so many…also convicted by how the people of Ephesus responded.  They burned over 50,000 pieces of silver’s worth of “magic books”, etc. If only we all were so serious about our sin and what distracts us from loving and honouring God with all our might.  Truly – as I read last night in Edwards biography, “…the love and the pursuit of true holiness is the enduring mark of the true Christian.”  Lovely.  I definitely am most enjoying reading this biography lately – I now remember why it is one of my all-time favorites.  Oh that I might live with even a tenth of Edward’s passion and desire to know Christ more.  And…as I continue to ramble, I think ’tis too late to start a new paragraph now, so shall just leave this all messy and of one piece.  Honestly, it is probably time I end this and sip my peppermint mocha in peace as I meditate on the goodness of God and look forward to what He shall do this day.  Oh!  And speaking of mochas, while at Starbucks today, got a surprise Katie sighting…she is only working one day a week lately due to nursing school, etc – and apparently got switched to Thursdays.  So we enjoyed chatting for a couple minutes – this past Sunday she was at Bethel on a panel talking to middle-schoolers about dating and all that…they definitely need it!!!  (I probably could have used something similar back in the day, honestly…)  Anyways, we had solid people on all these panels(at least on the girls’ side – know it was Megan, Emily, Erica & Katie…can’t go wrong!).  Now I continue to type and yet there is no point.  So I shall rest my fingers and think and ponder for real.  Peace, my friends.

new Sun Rising

James HoganLeave a comment

Happy Monday friends!! It is a lovely cold morning(below 40 for what is most likely the last time this year!) so yes I enjoyed it to the uttermost…almost as much as I’m enjoying on my peppermint mocha now(I must confess I had a brief dalliance with the new cherry mocha yesterday…for all its bright allure, it was most definitely not worth it. I am ashamed for even thinking of abandoning stalwart peppermint. Never again). I’m also a bit sleepy, as last night went to Rockets game to celebrate Danielle’s birthday! Angela and others of Danielle’s friends were there and good times were had by all. Oh and yeah Rockets beat Mavs(of course). Houston triumphant! Anyways – today shines bright another day and I must simply be thankful knowing it is the day the Lord has made – let us rejoice and be glad in it, yeah? Peace, my friends – peace and love.

Renewed

James HoganLeave a comment

Happy Saturday friends!!  Finally a bit of a time to rest here.  This morning I woke up to the rain falling…and falling…and falling.  An afteraffect of Harvey is that every time it rains a lot here in Houston…we all(well at least me) get slightly anxious.  Not quite post-traumatic-stress-disorder…but it’s definitely a thing.  Anyways, while I really wanted to just have a lovely relaxing morning with a big mug of coffee and leisurely quiet reading time as the rain slowly poured down outside…alas, it was not to be.  Deacons meeting at 7:30, so I did have my mug of coffee and reading time, but not quite as leisurely as I would have liked.  Good productive meeting, welcoming the four new deacons – welcome Earnie!! – and listening to Alex lay out some of the goals and desires of the elders.  I was much encouraged to know God has blessed this church with such good and wise and God-fearing leaders.  Following meeting…gassed up car and grabbed groceries…then figured I’d at least stop by Starbucks to see if any friends were there.  Lo and behold – barista Katie was there, whom I hadn’t seen in ever so long!  Got my espresso and chatted with her for a while…good catch-up hearing about her life of late…finally let her actually do her job and left to get haircut.  Now I am officially ready for North Carolina trip next week – in which I get to see Maryanne and Deanna – hurrah!!!  Can’t wait. 

Now that I’ve spent far FAR too many words discussing my really pretty boring morning…I suppose I will end this and get back to my lunch.  Grilled cheese and tomato soup as I watch the Leicester City/Man City football.  A little touch of Britain this afternoon.  Apparently I am in a nostalgic mood.  Alright for serious – back to lunch!  Maybe after this I will have a little nap, as I must confess I had minimal sleep last night…ended up watching several episodes of Suits with Julie last night and staying up far later than planned….so yes, a nap sounds wonderful. 

Peace, my friends.  Peace and love.

grey and Restful skies

James HoganLeave a comment

So tonight is finally here – Friday night at last!! I sit now on the couch, having just a nice little walk(up Heights to 11th and then back down again…). I must confess I am ever so thankful that I’m able to live in this gorgeous neighborhood where the walk is so beautiful. Tonight sadly wasn’t that cold out(alas – the cold is fleeing!), but my feet still felt like wandering. The skies grey and almost depressing…but not quite, for the bare branches of winter waved to me in the breeze and all was well. Now time to make a (somewhat delicious!) burrito dinner…and hopefully after that a relaxing reading evening will be had. Looking forward to reading some J. Edwards biography. And then later tonight, Julie is planning to stop by after she finishes work…so I have no doubt we’ll enjoy some quality chat time. Now my friends – this short entry comes to an end. My mind is restless and can’t dwell upon the page. My thoughts fly up to the heavens. The skies are grey and wistful yet. And I sigh for I have been given rest.