A Heart That Bides

In the rain and in the mud
Where flowers drown and beauty hides
I hear the slow and steady thud
Of a heart that holds its time to bide.

The heavy past is hard to bear
The clouds block out the sun
And when the moon is drenched in blood
It seems too hard to run.

I never thought a hope was here
And never thought this dearth would bare
But all things here are possible
And we ourselves are in His care.

At the Edge

"A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones."- Proverbs 17:22 (NKJV)

Have you ever had a time in your life that was so full of hope and promise. A time that was full of learning and growth, a time where so many opportunities were coming together as if you were pregnant with hope- but then all of a sudden it all began to fall- and it wasn't necessarily falling quickly? Things were both oh so good, and oh so bad at the same time? Have you ever had a time in your life like that where you were not sure if it was all (and I mean all) going to be stripped away from you? You have to stop and ask yourself at times like these: what is the Lord doing? You have to ask yourself- how long Lord? Sometimes people burn brightest right before they burn out.

In times like these, when hurt comes easy, and your own sins and the sins of others come back to haunt you, when you wake with a groan and spend your time fending off despair, when everything seems like it is about to come together- or fall to pieces (and you do not know which), in these times I choose to remember something. If you ask yourself, "what is the Lord doing?" then you may begin to relax. The question reminds us of something- "the Lord". When you remember that Jesus Christ is Lord, the question takes on a different tone. The Lord is in charge; the Lord has authority. The Lord has power. The Lord is above you in all things. If you remember who is the servant and who is the master when you ask these questions- "what are you doing? How long oh Lord?" then you will be in an appropriate place to start to think about these things. Then you will be in an appropriate frame of mind to hear the answer.

"A man's heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps." - Proverbs 16:19 (NKJV)

Name that quote

"I just figured if I was gonna change the world, I would do it with cookies."

The Secrets of Womens

For anyone interested I would like to point out that Sidwaya has a regular piece titled the secrets of women. There is a link to the news paper already on the right with some other news sources that I frequent. I just never noticed that they had those things available. When I stop laughing I may be able to read some more of the secrets and let you know whether or not they only apply to African women.

The Logical Path

Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, the current prime-minister of Iraq was quoted by the New York Times as saying something quite interesting. It was said in response to comments from Senator Clinton (quoted here from MSNBC.com) and Senator Levin.

Updated: 4:44 a.m. AKT Aug 23, 2007
NEW YORK - Hillary Rodham Clinton said Wednesday the Iraqi Parliament should replace embattled Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki with a "less divisive and more unifying figure" to reconcile political and religious factions.

This is what al-Maliki said concerning the senator's comments:

But Mr. Maliki appeared to reach a new level of stridency with his reply to Senator Clinton, of New York, and Senator Levin, of Michigan. In remarks at a news briefing that referred to the senators by name, Mr. Maliki said they had spoken “as if Iraq is one of their cities.”
“Iraq is a sovereign country, and we will not allow anyone to talk about it as if it belongs to this country or that,” Mr. Maliki said. He added a phrase that could be translated as indicating that the senators ought to make sense again or should return to a logical path.

It is quite the thing to call for the removal of another country's politician of any rank. And here we have two of our own that sound to the whole world as if they have been called on doing just that. Do we really want to be in charge of the world, let alone think we are? Does Senator Clinton or Senator Levin really think it makes sense to speak publicly about their opinions on matters of staffing of foreign governments. I for one think that they have both abandoned the logical path. In so doing they have made the United States look very arrogant and ignorant. What I want to know is this- if you are going to accuse President Bush of making us look bad in foreign policy issues, why would you go and do the same thing? Hypocrisy is not the logical path.

Backwards and Broken

When you look at me like that
It Shakes me.
When I can see that you care,
in your eyes
It rattles my bones.
I lose my nerve under kindness
Like that in your eyes
I have to look away.
I am so used to harsh words
And harsh looks-
But I cannot look back
Not in your eyes, not when they are so kind
I do not want to look away
But I feel like you see inside me
And I am scared.
I feel exposed
Those who hate you cannot hurt you
Not nearly as much as those who care about you
And so if you care about me,
You can hurt me
And I am frightened
Like a child,
Because your eyes are so kind.

"...but God made me fast..."

I love to talk to people about God. I love to think about God. I love to meditate on God. I love to listen to other people speak about God. The study and contemplation of God fill me with something far beyond happiness. It is like a drug to me- only that seems far too cheap an explanation- and it is not a cheap thing.

When I was about eight years old I met a man named Rich. One day I asked him about Jesus and he kept answering my questions. It was amazing. Everytime he answered a question of mine I would ask him a question about his answer and he would answer that one, too. He took an eight-year-old boy seriously and answered all his questions. I felt something stirring in me then and that night I began to feel nauseous. I felt wicked and stubborn and guilty. I knew that I was an enemy of God. I knew I would not come to Him- but instead, He came to me. I knew that I would not choose Him- but instead He chose me. He opened my heart and took off the blinders from my eyes so that I could see. And when I could see, I became sick and I began to despair. I got down on my knees and I begged the Lord for mercy. I asked Him to come into my heart (I believe those were the words I chose at the time) and save me. I knew I needed to be saved. I asked Him to forgive me and take away my sins. My sins felt like a great weight upon me and I pleaded with the Lord to take them from me. I thought I would be overwhelmed and even killed. I was afraid once I could see myself a bit more like I really was. I was eight years old and I was afraid. A strange thing happened next, though- I was flooded with peace and assurance. I felt it in my bones. My skin tingled. I let out a sigh and I wept for so much- much of which I did not understand fully at the time. It was then that I first believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. Ever since then, nothing has satisfied me except Christ. Whenever I have strayed away- nothing but misery has followed me. I was bought- and there will be no resale.

Now I know hope. Now I know truth. Now I know life. This is all I desire- to study and meditate upon it- and explain to others all that I have learned- to answer all their questions that God will allow me to answer.

Goodnight

The night is not good from where I sit
And though the story may end in glory
The night is not good from where I sit.

The night is not good from where I stand
And though it may be necessary
And though it may prove to be all the difference
Still, the night is not good from where I stand.

The night is not good from where I lie
And though I may not change the night
And though I may have hope for tomorrow-
Still, the night is not good from where I lie.

All those things I've overlooked
And all those things I've let pass by
Apparently are not enough
To let a man just feel.

They tell me not to be so ruled
As if feeling was being ruled
They tell me this in irony
For I told them the same long before- and they are much more guilty of it.

And in the night I call to Him
And there are only echoes here
And I will sit within this dark
But it is not a good thing here.

An angry response is not a poor response
A feeling is just a feeling
If you want one, you get them all
And if you don't want one- you don't care- you don't want any.

The night is not good from where I sit
And though the story may end in glory
And though I may know and believe it well
Still, the night is not good from where I sit.

I want you to stop. Take a deep breath. Now, I want you to remember. A lot has happened. It may take awhile. It has not always been clear. Relax now, and remember what has transpired. Remember the good. Remember the bad. Think about what has happened. Remember...

The World And The Glass

The song, "ain't no sunshine when she's gone" is interesting if you take it seriously- which of course the songwriter most likely never intended. Seriously though, what does trust do to your attitude?