Finally

For those patient few, who have resisted the temptation to see this same picture at Donkey Boy's blog, here we are the Pella ball.

Mercy Comes Softly

After sorrow, joy.
First the darkness, light.
Mercy comes softly,
Morning proceeds the night;
Wings anticipating flight.

Love, not unrequited,
Sweet sorrow telling,
"My face Will Be Hidden."
Tears, unbidden, welling,
While joy has found a Dwelling.

Covenant colors
Arch across the sky;
Faith unto the faithful,
Blessings upward fly.
Grace found, ever nigh.

Hope, undistaining,
Grief, itself, entombs.
Thriving, love and joy,
Spreading fragrant blooms.
Dispelling fears, mercy softly comes.

Paradise

by George Herbert

I bless thee, Lord, because I grow
Among the trees, which in a row
To thee both fruit and order ow

What open force, or hidden charm
Can blast my fruit, or bring me harm,
While the inclosure is thine arm?

Inclose me still for fear I start;
Be to me rather sharp and tart,
Than let me want they hand and art.

When thou dost greater judgements spare,
And with thy knife but prune and pare,
Even fruitful trees more fruitful are:

Such sharpness shows the sweetest frend,
Such cuttings rather heal than rend,
And such beginnings touch their end.

This poet has so far amazed me with the truthful paradox that shows up in his style. The poem in particular I found inspriring.

Ryme and Rythm

Thanks to Naddy's writings, and the tips from Naddy's Daddy, I've found some great old poetry books. Naturally, I turn right to the bloody, bravery stuff first. Enjoy the enstallment below. Found some great ones by Ben Johnson too, but that's another subject...

For those interested, the Pella ball went marvelously. I will try to post pics eventually. The trip went smoothly. We made some new friends, and found some we already knew. To top it all off we saw America's largest working Dutch windmall, and 2nd smallest Wal-Mart.

Bannockburn

Robert Bruce's Address to His Army
By Robert Burns

Scots, wha ha'e wi' Wallace bled!
Scots, wham Bruce has aften led!
Welcome to your gory bed,
Or to glorious victorie!

Now's the day, and now's the hour;
See the front o' battle lower!
See approach proud Edward's power-
Edward! chains and slaverie!

Wha will be a traitor knave?
Wha can fill a coward's grave?
Wha sae base as be a slave?
Traitor!coward! turn and flee!

Wha for Scotland's king and law
Freedom's sword will strongly draw,
Free-man stand, or free-man fa',
Caledonian! on wi' me!

By oppression's woes and pains!
By your sons in servile chains!
We will drain our dearest veins,
But they shall-they shall be free!

Lay the proud usurpers low!
Tyrants fall in every foe!
Liberty's in every blow!
Forward! let us do, or die!

...A Sharp Dressed Man

I got fitted for a tux for my very first time today. It was a first time experience. It is a nice tux, too. It's black. My brothers, Moose and Donkey Boy, also got fitted today. Their tuxedos are also black.
We got them for a dance we are going to be directing in Iowa (yes, the state). So that our partners will be able to tell us apart, we chose vests of different colors, with bow ties that match the vests. My favorite part, though, are the shoes. They are so shiny I can see myself in them. What's not to like?

Freed Will

I work in a mostly christian inviroment, but I am the only "Calvinist." I am quick to point, that indeed I am not Calvinistic, but reformed, thus averting questions on following a man. But how, they want to know, can I justify free will (or human responsibility), with predestination. This can lead to interesting discussions. A lot of people don't get it when I tell them that we are free, and we predestinated. Period.

In thinking about it, I have determined that we are like ships. The law is like a map of the globe, while redemtion is like a rudder. Before the work of redemtion, we are ships with neither maps or rudders. These ships are free, they can hoist sail, or float in the tide, but they cannot know where they are going, nor could they easily persue a course, and they will often beach on a dry, lonely shore. Enter the law, a map, and redemption, a rudder. Now a ship can know where it should be, where it should be going, and it can do something to get there. In this is true freedom. The ship can make voyages, and port for replenishing. It is free to go north, south, east, or west, and to avoid rocky shores. The law, the placement of land and water in the map, is death to a ship with no rudder or redemtion, but it is life and grace to those who have been saved.

Crisis: Averted

Always concerned for the mental health of mankind, I have taken solve one of the world's worst tragedies. Being the philanthropist that I am, I have also undertaken to test all my theories on myself before projecting them on the world at large.

That said, I turned forty last week. No, please hold the congratulations. I'm sure you're familiar with the idea of Double Jeopordy. Its the legal exception where a person cannot be charged with the same crime twice. In a breakthrough in the phsychology world, rivaled only by Pavlov's dogs, I have discovered a naturally occuring Double Jeopordy in human aging. No person can ever be the same age twice. So, my theory is that while I am young, I will use up the so-called mid-life ages, appx. 35-46. Then, when I am in mid-life, I can revert to my unused young ages, appx. 23-34. If my theory is correct, I will have effectively avoided a true mid-life, and, thereby, a mid-life crisis. So far, the hypothosis is working marvelously. Stay tuned for updates, but rest assured, a breakthrough has been achieved.

Valentine's Day... Alone?

Yet another Valentine's day all alone. Or was it?
A lot of people wonder at my singleness. Especially some of my coworkers. Why is such a good looking (and humble) guy not 'involved'? Surely he just hasn't met the right girl yet! Que threats of introduction to all the most beautiful (and perhaps desperate) maidens in the region... It seems to blow many minds that I am waiting until I am prepared to enter into a relationship responsibly, able to persue it to its due and proper end (for those questioning minds: marriage). Egads! a guy who can look beyond the mirror. The very idea that their culture holds no draw on some astounds them.

Sure, I look forward to spending my Valentine's with someone. But I look forward even more to knowing that I hadn't spent it uselessly with anyone else.

Dragon Soup for the Soul

I want to write about the sweetness of fellowship on the Lord's day (again). I would write about how, at the beginning of each week, I am refreshed and renewed, ready to go fight the dragons of the world. But I find, that by Saturday, it is as if I become the dragon I must conquer. I would start a noble Prince Caspian, but I become Eustace. But how much more appropriate can it get? How can I enter into the Lord's tabernacle unless I am ready to be made new? How can I expect to eat at His table, unless I am hungry? Drink of His cup, if I am not thirsty? How sweet is the taste of knowing that I cannot live without Christ living in me!

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
Because His mercy endures forever.

Anxiety laid aside

There have been rumors and rumors of rumors running amuck among the upitty-up in the know, or not so, about the good folks in Bristol, VA. Doug Wilson has something to say that sets things for the curious to rest.

Maturing Without Growing Up

Recently, while walking to the far side of our property and back, I was overtaken by an overwhelming sensation of... nothing. The significance of this non-rise of emotions is that I used to get the biggest kick out of walking in the pasture. I could spend hours in the wood, studying the wildlife, and generally wondering at the glory of God's creation. I derived emmense joy from nature, which I have found to be diminishing.

The same is coming of music. I used to be enthralled with bluegrass and country music. I am not here arguing their qualities, only that they brought me joy. What caused the joy was the simplicity of life they signified, especially the bluegrass, which I one time lovingly described as, “Everyman’s music.” As I have gotten older, I found myself coming away from these joys, seeking instead a sort of kick. I craved different things, yet it seems I was never satisfied. Pursued, it would have been a destructive trail. What I have found, as I have grown older is that I lose the joys I had when I was a boy, and even a young man. I would pursue the new and older, and ‘manlier’ only to find the happiness I sought to have been in what I previously had. Somehow, the joy I sought was in the more innocent pursuits of my earlier childhood. This, in my mind, goes right along with childlike faith that Christ commanded. However, at the same time Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit of God, talks about becoming a man and putting away the things of a child. This presents a certain dilemma of maturing without growing up. I’m still working on this one, I’m not quite sure of all the workings. It entails responsibilities being fulfilled, but at the same time a playfulness. (I really enjoyed a talk given by Doug Jones on playfulness, which I would be happy to discuss in conversation.)

Interestingly, most of the ‘joys’ that fit this bill, of mature innocence, seem to be fulfilled with the local Church fellowship. Point in hand; this last Sunday many of us brought our musical instruments to church, and after lunch spent the afternoon jamming and playing hymns. There is an innate joy in making music with others, and that joy multiplies as skills mature. It is the same joy, increased with maturity. Yet there is no concrete purpose outside that joy. Granted, there are good applications, like the worship of God in heaven, but the pursuit of music, or any number of the arts, is not productive. It can be mature without being grown-up.

Rythmic Reclamation

You have to read The Polyphonic Poet. This is how the church stays alive. Evangalism invites converts into the culture of our house, but we are too often content leave the walls bare. Steps are being taken to reclaim culture.

Hello My Friend

Hello my friend,
We meet again,
On this blessed morn.

To eat and drink
And merry make,
Never more to mourn.

Come dance with me,
Beloved one,
In disciplin'd accord.

In rise and fall,
Give and recieve,
Show deff'rence to the Lord.

Let halls resound
With harp and voice,
Praises raised with skill.

While aged look
To see the young
Rejoice among the hills.

Well met, and glad
With you, my friend,
Upon this mount to stay.

The Lord is glad,
His people blessed,
On this, His sabbath day.

Sitting Amongst Giants

There is nothing quite like being in the midst of a couple hundred men, joined harmoniously in unity of hymn and song. The uplifting prayers of these saints must surely be heard at that moment. But stronger yet is the Amen stated emphatically at the end of the hymn. It is a plea and appeal, let it be so. But it is also a proclomation and affirmation, it will be so. The prayers of the saints, however faltingly mumbled in the highest earthly forms will be translated to the throne room of heaven, and the case righteously pleaded by the great Intercessor. Amen.

So, I sit, participating, and then listening and learning. As I sit, I get to view things from the shoulders of giants. Men bring the Word of God, and as the Word it cannot go without returning having accomplished its purpose. There may be mistakes uttered, but the Word is there. I sit among giants. They are giants, however, because they understand their insignifigance. What is any man before the God of all creation? Infintismally small. But, as Christ taught, the least become the greatest. I sit among giants, I sit in the Church of Christ.

Blessed Fellowship

In a constant persuit of adding to my 'visited states' list, I have proceeded, along with a number of folks from my church to Monroe, LA, for the Auborn Avenue Theological Conference. This it is focusing on the Church. While things are just getting underway, already we are spiritually encouraged and bolstered. It took eight hours or so to get here from MO, and what a blessed eight hours it was! Sitting there, reading C.S. Lewis, studying, mulling, and then, joy of joys, discussing ideas with each other. Not debating, not patting each other on the backs with indignant self-agreement, but fellowshipship, indeed discovering wonders about our Lord and Savior, that led the heart to worship Him. Indeed they were discussion whose natural end demanded worship and rejoicing in the one and only Lord and savior of the world.

Tagged

Or, 101 things you never wanted to know about and were too afraid to ask. I have been tagged, not with one set of questions, but with two. Without further ado, here I go.
Set #1:

QUESTION #1: Seven things I hope to do before I die

-Memorize at least one Testament
-To learn to read the NT in Greek, and OT in Hebrew
-Go snowboarding
-Build a house
-Become Self-Employed
-Marry a Godly woman and raise a house of Godly children
-Write a book

QUESTION#2 Seven things I cannot do well:
-Car mechanics
-Organize my things
-Handle teasing
-Sing
-Photgraphy
-...Anything without a deadline
-Many things that I can do moderately

QUESTION#3:Seven things that would attract me to my spouse.
Her...
-Heart
-Liver
-Spleen
-Lungs
-Kidneys
-Pancreas
-Lymph Nodes
(We all know that true beauty is more than skin-deep, hence...)

QUESTION#4:Seven things I say often:

-Oh Gosh
-Shoot
-For real?
-...the subjective and arbitrary fashion of the psuedo-intillectual coffe-shop culture...
-Get outta town
-How 'bout them Card's?

QUESTION#5:Seven authors, books or series I love
-C.S. Lewis
-The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
-Charles Dickens
-Jane Austen (ha)
-LOTR
-Laddie
-Redwall

QUESTION#6:Seven movies I watch over and over again:
-Man from Snowy River
-Last Samurai
-The Patriot
-Kate & Leopold
-Count of Monte Christo
-Spiderman
-Master & Commander

QUESTION#7:Seven people I want to do this: TBA

Set #2:

QUESTION#1:
What is your favorite dance?
-Swing
or in Contra dancing
-Posties Jig

QUESTION#2
What would a perfect day be like for you?
-Gathering together with the Church, worshipping the Lord, taking His supper together, feasting, and dancing.

QUESTION#3
Name 8 of your quirks!
1. I drink lots of coffee
2. I have an insatiable appetite
3. I can eat like a horse and not gain a pound (I've tried)
4. I love hats
5. Ironically, I'm paranoid about my hair
6. I do very dirty work, and I love to be clean
7. I can't stand anyone to read over my shoulder, not matter what I'm reading or writng.
8. I have been within 30 miles of the East coast 5 times, and never seen it.

QUESTION#4
What was one of the most vivid dreams you have ever had?
-It was a recurring nightmare.

QUESTION#5
Quote your favorite childhood prayer.
I'm going to change this to bible verse, as I never memorized any 'childhood prayers'.
-"The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." John 10:10


QUESTION#6
List 8 items that you would put in a time capsule to be opened by your great, great, great grandchildren.
1. A Bible
2. Wedding Photos
3. Autobiographies of my parents, my wife, and myself
4. A family tree
5. My favorite hats
6. My Sword and pocket knife
7. Tools
8. My wedding ring

QUESTION#7
List 8 things you do to relax!
1. Pray
2. Play my fiddle
3. Juggle
4. Run
5. Go for a walk
6. Read
7. Write
8. Call a friend

QUESTION#8
Finish these 8 incomplete sentences.
1. Some people think it is amusing when I.... turn swing moves into country jigs.
2. Compared to me, most women/men..... have more facial hair.
3. I get excited when..... Katie makes dessert.
4. I would like to make myself..... finish writing a short story
5. Mothers can't...... stand their kids being gone.
6. My friends dont understand why...... I speak in incomplete sentances.
7. I am confident that...... He who has planned the end has planned the means.
8. If people only knew how...... much freedom there is in the supreme soveriegnty of God.

Round Here We Stay Up Very Very Late

I would like to see science try to explain my new year celebration. "The rythmic motion and cooperation of complex bio-organisms resulting in high levels of emotion-causing endorphins and adrenilins, lasting long past the solar cycle." Maybe I'll put it my own way. I danced the night away, and it was totally awesome. Of course, I wouldn't have been there had there not been a we. There was a plurality. We celebrated, we danced. The joy came in the origins of that plurality. We, Christian friends, brothers, sisters, came together to glorify our Maker through fellowship, feasting, and dancing. We worshiped our Redeemer, celebrating the unity found in our redemtion, revelling in the life in the gracious gifts of our maker, and making merriment together. It makes one glad that we are not a gnostic religion.

So, what do a bunch of young people, under the full blessing of their exhausted parents, do when they are full of celebration and persueing an antithetical culture? IHOP. The fun didn't end with the dancing. Several of us proceeded to the home of eternal breakfast, apparelled in our historic garb, to continue the persuit of fellowship. We created quite a stir, all walking in looking like half-worn rejects from the stage adaptation of Gone With the Wind. When asked how many were to be seated, we did not lie by replying "14, but we need room for 30." So, we sat, we talked, and we ate. Most of us even maintaned intelligent conversation until 3:30 (AM). We finished our evening (ha) around 4:30, and got home around 5. We decided not wait for the sunrise, as we had plans to make church. Our plans were succesful, and I even stayed awake the whole time (on three hours sleep). It will take a reasonable two weeks to recuperate, but there is reason to rejoice in the fatigue.
God has mercifully given life, which we remember with the coming of the new year. He has graciously given friends, with whom to celebrate His gracious gifts.

HSC Installment No.2

The Highlands Study Center has a publication, entitled Every Though Captive. In times past, at the end of each issue was Dr. Sproul's "Chicken Report" a monthly update on his successes and failures in poulty production. This post is about how I made it into the Chicken Report.

As a student, living with the Sprouls, I had obigation to perform a certain number of hours' labor each week. The labor varied from chopping firewood to polishing the family van to taking care of chickens. By taking care, I don't mean the default assumption of feeding and watering. That was involved, and being the resident expert, my knowledge of poultry biology was inquired of not infrequently.

One day, Dr. Sproul approached me with a problem. He had five chickens, the first he had ever raised. He loved those chickens, but they just weren't producing. Something had to be done. Being his first, he didn't have the heart to eat them or kill them, but economics dictated their removal. Hence, my services were procured. I was to be the grim reaper, the one between them and their end: The eternal garbage can.

So, I set my face to my task, and proceeded to it in the cleanliest fashion I knew. I would grab one by the neck, swing it round and round, and snap its neck. A quick, clean, though dizzying, painless death. I had done three, and was proceeding to the fourth, when I heard an exclaimation to my right. There was the little Sproul boy watching wide eyed in wonder. At that moment I snapped the chicken, and to my surprise I found myself holding only the head. I looked, and there was the rest of the chicken running around the other side of the pen.

After that I was the hero of many stories, not the least of which was one installment in "The Chicken Report."

Dragons

Not all dragons
are armed in scales,
With fiery breath
and thorny tails.

Not every knight,
is borne by a steed,
He is known by his heart,
and judged by his deeds.