Rockets

Evening friends!! It’s a quiet Wednesday night here and all is well. John is chilling here in the living room with me as I watch the Rockets/Clippers playoff game on TV…and check in for my flight tomorrow. Because yes – I am flying home to Tampa tomorrow!!! It’s going to be an epic weekend of awesomeness…starting off with seeing Mom and Dad tomorrow night…then driving up to Gainesville to pick up Laura whereupon we will immediately drive to Orlando for a rocking Nightwish adventure!! And yes, I’ve seen them before(back in Glasgow with Jackie in 2012)…but I’ve always really wanted to see them with Laura. And now(less than two months before she marries Caisson!!) me and her will finally get to see the the beautiful symphonic metal band that is Nightwish…together. And it will be awesome, I do declare. And of course, the best part won’t even be the show, but just all the sweet time I’ll get to hang out with Laura and talk and be together. I do love her so…and still can’t believe my baby sister is soon to be married.

Now, I didn’t quite mean to finish this entry without mentioning some of the events of this past week, as I’ve been running around like a madman. Tonight has been one of my few nights of rest in a long time, and I have been heartily enjoying that. Last week, me and Daniel went to a Needtobreathe concert(much fun and rocking out was had! Needtobreathe live is so good!)…then on Thursday night, me and Daniel went to see Avengers: Age of Ultron(where again, much fun was had, even though somehow we went to a 9:20 showing…terrible idea on a work night, let me tell you…still – an epic comic-book adventure. Well done indeed)…and I’m pretty sure I did more awesome things over the weekend, but it’s been such a long week already that I honestly can’t remember anymore. Hah! And you can probably tell from the rambling nature of this post that I’m a bit tired even now…which means I should probably stop writing. Think I’m going to read some of my church history book and drink my tea. Chase is about to play some Skyrim – so figure I’ll watch that a little as I read! Be well, my friends – think on all that our God has done for us and rejoice. Peace and love – always!!

Brooklyn

Evening all!! I’m just finishing up my post-workout yogurt, have done countless online errands(yay for getting my Needtobreathe tickets for tomorrow night! yay for replying to friends’ emails! yay for paying bills??)

Anyways, I’m super tired tonight. On a Monday. This does not bode well for the rest of the week. So I’ve decided I’m going to enjoy my leftover spaghetti and salad and then go to bed early. If I don’t get too distracted reading, that is…

So this entry seems a bit boring, so just gonna close and mention that I was listening to the new Nightwish album – Endless Forms Most Beautiful in my car this morning as I drove to work. I was heartily enjoying the gorgeous melodies and riffs contained therein but as I pondered the words in the songs(mostly involving the beauty and magnificence of this world and extolling the wonders of their god Evolution!!), I heard the plaintive plea of all those in this world who do not know God and I thought of the words I read this morning in Acts 17:

“The God who made the world and all things in it,
since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell
in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands,
as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to
all people life and breath and all things; and He made
from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the
face of the earth, having determined their appointed times
and the boundaries of their habitation,
that they would seek God,
if perhaps they might grope for Him
and Find Him,
though He is not far from each one of us;
for in Him we live and move and exist…”

So so true are these words. And so as I listened to the thundering guitar and chilling choir and soaring voices of Nightwish, I thought of how much God desires each one of us to know Him. The people in Nightwish(whom I will see in less than 2 weeks!) may think they know how the world works – of course there is no such thing as “a god”! They may think that this world and this universe – in all its grandeur – is all there is. And this grasping for beauty, this sighing for truth…it is but an echo of a cry of the heart that all men and women share as they feel the aching wound of the universe within their souls. Oh that they would seek God! If perhaps they might grope for Him. If perhaps they might find Him. He is not far from each one of us. Think on that this evening, I think I will. Pardon my slightly disjointed thoughts – but had to write them down now ere they flee! Peace, my friends. Peace and love.

Icing

Happy Saturday, friends!! I’m just going to write a few words….currently sitting on the floor at home, drinking my afternoon coffee(fifth cup of the day? Not bad for a Saturday!), snacking on pineapple and watching some Capitals/Islanders hockey playoff action(go Caps!!). Woke up a little earlier than normal, so have to confess I’m feeling a little sleepy now. Me and Ernie got breakfast and then went up to the Woodlands to check out the programs offered by Dallas Theological Seminary(they were having a special event there today). I may or may not be considering taking a few classes there in the fall…praying for wisdom on that, believe me. I sometimes feel it may be too much, trying to work full-time and take extra classes, but I would truly love to be in a place where I can be learning even more about our glorious God. So! We shall see where the Lord leads, and now it just comforts me to know that my future is in the hands of my God. I’ve been talking with an old friend that I haven’t spoken to in many many years, and she shared a verse that’s encouraged me deeply:

“For My thoughts are
not your thoughts,
nor are your ways
My ways,”
declares the LORD.
“For as the heavens
are higher
than the earth,
so are My ways
higher than your ways
and My thoughts
than your thoughts.

For as the rain and
the snow come down
from heaven,
and do not return there
without watering
the earth and
making it bear and sprout,
and furnishing seed to the sower
and bread to the eater;
so will My word be
which goes forth
from My mouth;
it will not return to Me empty,
without accomplishing what I desire,
and without succeeding
in the matter for which
I sent it.”

-Isaiah 55:8-11

Amen. And Amen. Have a most wonderful Saturday evening, dear friends!!!

Stradivari

Good morning, friends!! I’m about to head out for coffee times with Natalie, but thought I’d say hi, since it’s been a little while! And apparently I was trying to write a short story last time I was online – found the below excerpt saved as a draft. Really not much to it, but thought I’d leave it here for posterity(and in case it jump-starts my muse!).

I’ve had a delightful morning thus far…got to sleep in(to 7:30!!), then had my breakfast of coffee and toast while getting some solid reading done. Haggai is a very fascinating OT book, one that looks with grief into the past…and with bright hope for the future. Love it. Can’t wait for the day where the whole of the heavens and the earth acknowledge the name and glory of the Lord our God. Amen and Amen!! Next will be Zechariah. Almost done with Old Testament…so sad. Except not really, because that just means I get to start in Genesis again! Anyways, now I’m on my second cup of coffee, taking care of some online errands and listening to Itzhak Perlman playing Beethoven(on the big TV screen with good speakers!). Probably time to head out now though and…enjoy some more coffee with my dear friend Natalie. Peace, friends!! And enjoy below extremely random snippet.


The rain poured down, straining to be heard over the blare of the neon lights.

Rick risked a quick glance upward and was rewarded for his trouble with a splatter of water in his face from the inn’s overhang. He shook his head in annoyance and ducked back into the lobby. As he closed the door firmly, he heard the electronic chime from the front desk. The security officer masquerading as the receptionist raised her eyebrow at him in silent question. He shook his head in response. No sign yet.

As Rick walked back over the well-worn linoleum of the hotel’s foyer, he scanned the room, looking for anything out of place…

Agora

Happy Saturday y’all!! I’m sitting here in Agora coffeehouse in Houston enjoying a beautiful day…and I really have been trying to write something semi-creative, but alas – my muse has fled me(at least for the time being). Anyways, I’ve successfully gotten some other tasks done and so I thought I’d write a quick post here. I woke up a bit later than normal today, but I have a good reason for that…yesterday didn’t get to bed until past one o’clock! That was totally my fault though. Got home about midnight, and then instead of smartly going to bed, I read for an hour. Ah well. My book(current one – Worthing Saga by O.S. Card. Classic) was worth it and I still got enough sleep. Oh and I forgot to explain why I was up so late last night! Me and Daniel went to the movies – met up with a bunch of other people(Matias, Jonathan, et. al…) and then had a time of awesomeness watching Furious 7.

So – I must confess – I’ve never seen any of the previous “Fast and Furious” movies, so I’m a novice to this world, as it were. And it didn’t matter. I much enjoyed!! Was the movie moderately ridiculous, full of physically impossible and logistically ridiculous stunts? Yes. A thousand times yes. Was the movie exhilarating and awesome and just really super fun? A million times yes. Watch the trailer and you’ll get a sense of how ridiculous(ly awesome) this movie is. The characters were all well played, by actors that seem to have a lot of fun just hanging out together. The movie was very well shot, in that all the action and stunt scenes, I could actually follow every bit of it, never being confused by what was on screen. Classic lines of dialogue and great combat scenes and…a lot of heart. That was what maybe surprised me the most. One of the main actors(Paul Walker) died last year in an unrelated car accident, and so this movie is is his final film. And truly, it was a tribute to him in a lot of ways. Movingly so. I actually got close to tears at the end, as they had a scene with Walker’s character and family playing on the beach as the rest of the cast looked on. It was beautiful. So as much as this movie was full of fast cars and big muscles and sweet hand-to-hand combat…it was really a movie about family. And that your truest friends are truly family. And you can’t ever let that go. Good film.

And after – we all just hang out for a while outside the cinema and acted goofy and chatted and enjoyed the beauty of the night. (Actually…there were a ridiculous amount of people there, so it wasn’t that quiet or beautiful. So. Many. People. All there to see F7 too, apparently!!) Eventually it started raining so me and Daniel headed home. But that’s why I didn’t get home ’til midnight. I say it’s a good reason. Don’t dispute me on that.

Now Hotel California is playing in here…it’s really hard not to sing along. Really hard. I have to say, this place is awesome. This has to be the first ever coffeeshop I’ve been in…with a jukebox!! I’m now going to attempt to write a little more…if no piece of poetry shows up here later, you’ll know my muse is indeed hiding well. Peace y’all, have a day of awesomeness.

Into Space

Evening!! Just thought I’d post a few words here as I wait for my tea to steep(earl grey, if you’re keen to know!). Chilling here at the house with Daniel, watching a little classic Numb3rs and enjoying a peaceful Sunday evening. Last night, went to see the Houston Chamber Choir perform Handel’s Messiah, my all-time favorite piece of music. I haven’t seen it live since…I think 2011(obviously far too long!). As always, hearing it live was simply magnificent – beautiful music lifted up to our God on high. I wish I could write more words, but alas – my feeble prose is not enough to sing the song of my heart. So now, I will be quiet and go get my tea(which should be properly steeped by now!). Have a happy Sunday, all!!

First Chair

Hello friends!!! It’s a lovely Friday night and the fan slowly spins and the light soft fades. I soon will get up to make my delicious burrito dinner(and by make, I mean – very skillfully press the defrost button on the microwave). And as always – delicious tomato and avocado salad to go with!! I’m honestly not even sure why I’m posting right now, but I realise it’s been a little while, so thought it’d be nice to pop in and say hi. Last night was a wonderful night at the symphony(Mozart’s Symphony No. 39 and Bartok’s Violin Concerto No. 2…oh beautiful!! I know I’m a bit odd, but I really do enjoy getting dressed up and going downtown and enjoying gorgeous music. Love it so). And my weekend will be fairly busy too…so tonight is a night of rest. Be well, my friends. Always. Stars shine e’er bright and wind dances through the meadows fair. And piercing sweet the music rises.

400 Lux

Evening my friends!! Just about finished watching a classic episode of Numb3rs – wow it’s been a while since I’ve seen it. Still awesome. Once this episode is finished, going to eat my salad(lettuce, tomatoes, green onions, olives and radishes…that composes a proper dinner, right? Right??). Anyways, I’m really posting in anticipation of my grand Virginia/Washington trip that begins tomorrow!! Laura Garrow is getting married(it was only what…five years ago I met her sophomore year?) And now she’s about to be married…and it’s going to be so grand!! Meeting up with Katheryn and she’s going to drive us to Charlottesville for the wedding. After awesome times celebrating the wedding(we get to see Dream and David and Gloria and Peter too!!), going to be headed back to DC area where I’ll be spending another few days with Aunt Linda and Aunt Bev and assorted families! I’m not going to into too much detail now, mostly because I’m really hungry and want my salad. Just know that this upcoming five days full of seeing wonderful people…is going to be simply amazing. Have a beautiful Thursday night, my friends – peace!!

Last Blast

Before I start work this fine morning…I’m greatly enjoying my steaming hot peppermint mocha. Cold hands wrapped around warm cup. Bliss. And no, I’m not complaining about the cold. I doubt we’ll get another 34-degree morning in Houston for quite some time, so this morning I am sitting here warm and cosy in my flannel shirt and thanking God for all that He has given me.

Hotel Chocolat

Attention. This is a brief pre-work entry, courtesy of the beautifully hot mug of coffee that is sitting in front of me. It is a delightfully cold morning here in Houston…thirty four degrees when I woke up. I definitely wanted to stay in bed where I was nice and warm, but alas I did the responsible thing and woke up and got ready for work. Now I’ve had my breakfast and I’m about to start work proper, but just wanted to say how much I’m loving this cold weather. Long may it continue. (Also – major plus: I get to wear turtlenecks and sweaters pretty much every day…this pleases me greatly)

So as I wrap my hands around my steaming cup of coffee and ponder the beginning of my work day – be well, my friends.