The Civil Wars

Thanks to my awesome roommate I got to see The Civil Wars last night. They were really amazing live. The way they can use their voices kind of blows my mind.

I've had this song stuck in my head all day...

They said it was their one happy song.

"Some people are put here to cheer you up. We are not that band."

Ahhh but they're so good.

Labor

Sometimes I post things on this blog so I don't forget them.

http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/do-not-labor-for-the-food-that-perishes

"But what does it mean not to labor for the food that perishes? Stop working altogether? Quit our jobs? No, but our jobs should be changed. When Jesus is our highest Treasure something about everything changes. And the effect isn’t lazy, sloppy, gloomy labor, but zealous, excellent, joyful work that magnifies the beauty of our Bread and gladly meets the needs of others."

everything changes

$20 Popcorn

"I think the $1.50 theater should have $1.50 popcorn, but I'm sure they don't."

"Ooo! They have this giant bucket (does hand motions to match) for $20!"

"$20???????"

"Yea, but you get to bring it back and have it refilled for $1!"

"$20 for POPCORN????"

"Nevermind, I thought you would be excited about it."

"O_O"

Ugh

And at least one woman made the case that since it is acceptable to abort children with disabilities it should be equally acceptable to abort one of two healthy twins:

“I couldn’t have imagined reducing twins for nonmedical reasons,” she said, “but I had an amnio and would have had an abortion if I found out that one of the babies had an anomaly, even if it wasn’t life-threatening. I didn’t want to raise a handicapped child. Some people would call that selfish, but I wouldn’t. Parents who abort for an anomaly just don’t want that life for themselves, and it’s their prerogative to fashion their lives how they want. Is terminating two to one really any different morally?”

http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/hitler-killed-disabled-children-and-so-do-we

9/11 — The Day Death Became Real

9/11 — The Day Death Became Real

C. S. Lewis's words from his classic essay “Learning in War-Time," written during World War II, captured some of the powerful effect 9/11 had on those of us living half a century later.

There is no question of death or life for any of us, only a question of this death or of that — of a machine gun bullet now or a cancer forty years later.

What does war do to death? It certainly does not make it more frequent; 100 percent of us die, and the percentage cannot be increased. It puts several deaths earlier, but I hardly suppose that that is what we fear. Certainly when the moment comes, it will make little difference how many years we have behind us.

Does it increase our chances of a painful death? I doubt it. As far as I can find out, what we call natural death is usually preceded by suffering, and a battlefield is one of the very few places where one has a reasonable prospect of dying with no pain at all.

Does it decrease our chances of dying at peace with God? I cannot believe it. If active service does not persuade a man to prepare for death, what conceivable concatenation of circumstances would?

Yet war does do something to death. It forces us to remember it.

The only reason why the cancer at sixty or the paralysis at seventy-five do not bother us is that we forget them. War makes death real to us, and that would have been regarded as one of its blessings by most of the great Christians of the past. They thought it good for us to be always aware of our mortality. I am inclined to think they were right.

All the animal life in us, all schemes of happiness that centred in this world, were always doomed to a final frustration. In ordinary times only a wise man can realize it. Now the stupidest of us knows.

We see unmistakably the sort of universe in which we have all along been living, and must come to terms with it.

The Weight of Glory: And Other Addresses [New York: HarperCollins, 1949], 61-62, paragraphing added.

________

Good (funny) Poems

This Is Just to Say

William Carlos Williams

I have eaten

the plums

that were in

the icebox

and which

you were probably

saving

for breakfast

Forgive me

they were delicious

so sweet

and so cold

Good Poems

I'm reading a book of poems.

The Life of A Day

Tom Hennen

Like people or dogs, each day is unique and has its own personality quirks which can easily be seen if you look closely. But there are so few days as compared to people, not to mention dogs, that it would be surprising if a day were not a hundred times more interesting than most people. But usually they just pass, mostly unnoticed, unless they are wildly nice, like autumn ones full of red maple trees and hazy sunlight, or if they are grimly awful ones in a winter blizzard that kills the lost traveler and bunches of cattle. For some reason we like to see days pass, even though most of us claim we don’t want to reach our last one for a long time. We examine each day before us with barely a glance and say, no, this isn’t one I’ve been looking for, and wait in a bored sort of way for the next, when we are convinced, our lives will start for real. Meanwhile, this day is going by perfectly well-adjusted, as some days are, with the right amounts of sunlight and shade, and a light breeze scented with a perfume made from the mixture of fallen apples, corn stubble, dry oak leaves, and the faint odor of last night’s meandering skunk.

"We examine each day before us with barely a glance and say, no, this isn’t one I’ve been looking for, and wait in a bored sort of way for the next, when we are convinced, our lives will start for real."

I'm trying not to do that.

Success!

Shopping

Early this morning I got the urge to make something. I googled beginner DIY projects and found a few that I wanted to try. I went out today to get supplies. I think I'll try the button bracelet first. But it'll have to wait till late tonight or tomorrow because I have to leave for work in about 10 minutes... I should get ready.

Tuesday.

Tuesday was my one day off this week. I drove 3 1/2 hours for an interview instead of hanging out at the beach and lounging around like I usually do on my day off. I wasn't particularly excited about having to drive so far just for an interview on my one day off. Luckily the interview didn't dominate my day & instead it was mostly spent hanging out with friends. Having lunch, wandering around, a homemade meal, sitting around talking, and watching The Big Bang Theory made it much more enjoyable to have driven 3 1/2 hours for an interview.

A couple of highlights -

A sign outside of Southern Season (an all around fantastic store). I'm not going to lie, I chuckled at it as we walked in. But they were not lying & we were amazed. Everything was on sale. We came for a card and left with much more (mostly candy).

I think this is great - you can tell our coffee apart by the color. :)

A Day at the Beach

Two weeks ago I went to the beach for the day with my parents. I took a bunch of pictures with this blog in mind - pictures of a day at the beach.

(the house from Nights in Rodanthe)

Dressing up for Harry Potter

means learning how to tie a tie. Just trying out the costume before the big night :).

TSW Shenanigans

Saturday night at TSW right before we're about to close two 11 year oldish boys come in. One of them goes to one side of the store and starts laughing hysterically. "I can't believe someone took the time to DO this," I hear him say. I have no idea what he's talking about. The boys leave. Me and Alex look at each other puzzled. She walks over to where the boy was, "Oh."

I go where she is and take a look. We have these pink glitter keychains with letters A-Z and names and such. Someone, I'm thinking 13 year old boy, arranged the letters so that they spelled a couple of dirty words. Obnoxious? A little. So I fix it and put the keychains back to their proper places. You think after 5 years you would have seen everything customers can do, but no.

Tonight young high school kids a couple guys and girls come in. I see one of the guys go over to the keychains and say "Man, our words are gone!" I immediately know it was him who did it. So I keep an eye on him. Later, while a couple of his friends are getting shirts made I see him over at the keychains making noise. I just know he's doing it again. I debate for about half a second about whether I'm going to say something to him.

I walk over and stand right beside him and look at what he's doing. It looks like he's spelling out I love [dirty word]. He has about 15 of these letter keychains in his hands.

"Are you spelling dirty words?"

"What? Oh, uh, no, I don't know what I'm doing now."

"Uh-huh"

"Can I spell something if it's not dirty?"

"No, we'll have to move them back to their right places anyway."

"Oh, okay I'll put them back."

My heart is racing because that's generally not something I do, but I just had to, and it was so funny to catch him off guard. I half expect him to keep going and spell something but surprisingly when I checked after they all left he had put all the keychains back exactly where they belong.

Owl City

How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice,
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

What a weird 4th of July

I guess I’m a stickler for tradition. So when I’m in a place where that tradition generally happens & it doesn’t happen it makes me….sad. I really think that’s the best word to describe it, just sad.

Traditionally on July 4^th my family is at the beach with my dad’s side. We have a cook out and later every one comes back to our house at dark and we make homemade ice cream – vanilla & chocolate – and we all wander around downstairs and upstairs on the porch watching other peoples fireworks. Sometimes there are sparklers; sometimes we even have our own fireworks. It’s happy. It’s fun.

This year because July 4^th is on a Monday and because two of my cousins and their spouses have jobs that don’t allow much vacation time to be spent around the 4^th things got a little mixed up. These two cousins and their families had to leave on the 4^th bright and early to be home for work the next day. So sometime in the middle of the week leading up to the 4^th it was decided that the whole family would do the cookout Saturday night. Because it wasn’t decided till mid week, because hey they’re all on vacation and they’ve got flexible schedules so what’s the hurry anyway in making such a decision?, I was already scheduled to work Saturday night.

Okay. So we won’t have the cookout on the 4^th, but we’ll still have homemade ice cream at our place, there will still be quite a few of us wandering around and looking at fireworks – my brother even got my sister to get fireworks from South Carolina – so it’ll be okay.

Then at about 6pm it’s decided instead that we’ll just make our vanilla at our house and my grandma &aunt will make chocolate at their house and we’ll take ours over there. Okay. We’re getting a little bit at the too much breaking from tradition point now. And mom says she’s not going.

And this makes me sad, “you’re not??”

“Honey, I know ya’ll don’t think I’ve done anything today…” I look at her with the most empathetic look I can muster thinking, but mom I didn’t say that at all! I don’t think that! “…but I’ve done the laundry, and made all that chicken salad, and this ice cream, and I’m tired.” And in that moment I know she is and all I want to do is give her a hug, tell her I love her, that I appreciate her and every single thing she does even the things I forget about.

So we have ice cream at my grandma’s cottage and its okay as we stand around inside and I spend a little bit of time with a couple of my younger cousins on the deck. Then my sister leaves to return some movies and my brother is still at our house passed out asleep and my dad is heading back to our place. I go downstairs where my cousin with her husband and two daughters are doing sparklers. I stay for a bit and give a couple of sparklers a try. But it feels off. I almost feel like I’m invading. So I tell them I’m going to see when my brother’s going to do the fireworks.

I walk back to my house and my dad and sister are packing their cars getting ready for the beach trip they’re going on the next day. No ones paying attention. My brother seems to have absolutely no plans for setting off the fireworks. I don’t quite know what to do with myself. I grab my camera and walk upstairs out onto the porch because it is the 4^th of July and I’d like to try to see some fireworks even if everyone else could care less.

I sit and watch a few in the distance and I can’t help but tear up because tonight is supposed to be fun and happy and I’m just sad. I’m sitting on the porch, usually filled with people, by myself trying to hold on to some lingering piece of what I thought tonight would be.

I decide to just go back downstairs and as I open the door to the stairs there my dad is.

“I thought you might be up here!” my dad says and I mumble something and he knows that something’s wrong.

“Are you okay?”

It’s one of those times when you can’t get a word out without half choking on tears and he pulls me in for a hug. When he asks what’s wrong I mutter something about having might as well been at work because really it would have been better than this.

He says he’ll go out on the porch with me and let’s see what we can see. We stand for a few minutes in silence watching the fireworks in the distance.

The closest official show of fireworks is 5.5 miles away and it starts at 9:25pm.

“What time is it?” my dad asks

“9:20” I reply

“Do you want to ride down the beach road towards the fireworks? Come on lets see what we can see.”

And I say, “Okay,” thinking this will be a futile mission but it’s a futile mission with my dad and so it’s okay and I can’t help but feeling an overwhelming amount of love for him.

We jump in the car and head down towards them and it’s already 9:25. We see fireworks in the distance and try to guess which ones are the official ones, the real ones. There’s surprisingly not much traffic on the road but it makes more sense the closer we approach because everyone’s already parked to watch the show. I ask dad to turn down the radio and roll down the windows so we can hear the crack crack BOOM. We come with the stragglers slowing down as we get closer to watch the fireworks. We’re able to go right past and turn around and then find a spot on the side of the road that on any other night would be an illegal spot to park, but tonight it’s okay, we’re all doing it.

We’ve got front row seats to the show. I’m smiling because I like silly things like seeing fireworks on the 4^th of July. I look at my dad and see him looking down the street.

“You’re not even looking!”

“What? Yea, yea I am.”

I know in that moment that my dad would be perfectly content to be in bed. He didn’t care about seeing the fireworks. He’s had 35 more 4^th of July’s than me. I know he went for me.

As I watch the end of the show I can’t help but tear up and feel such overwhelming emotion about how much I love my mom and dad, that God has blessed me with such great parents.

I love my mom so much and all the things she does like laundry, and making chicken salad upon request, and making sure I have everything I need.

I love my dad so much and all the things he does like driving me 15 hours to move to Chicago and driving down the beach road at the last second to see fireworks because he really just wants to see me happy.

It may have been an incredibly emotional and different 4^th of July but that’s okay because I just had one of those moments of clarity about how much my parents love me and how much I love them even though we’ve got our flaws and our problems. It makes me incredibly thankful to God, because who else should I be thankful to? It’s only because of Him that I have the parents I do and that I’m able to have any moments of clarity to feel this love. And I think it's some weak, dim, reflection of the individual covenant love God has for me.

Happy 4^th of July

Thoughts on this whole Osama bin Laden thing

He is an evil man, and he must be stopped, but he is a man, and we should take no pleasure in destroying him. Vengeance is the Lord’s alone.

Do not offer the alternative, “Should we weep for Osama bin Laden or hold him to account for his genocide and prevent him from carrying out his violent intentions?”

The right answer is yes.

—Love in Hard Places - D.A. Carson

I went to bed Sunday night around 11pm. I woke up at 5am to 22 new text messages. Most of them were tweets from CNN. When I looked at the first one I thought it said "death of #Obama" and my heart quickened. Then I realized it said Osama bin Laden and my heart just as quickly slowed its pace. "Huh," I thought. I didn’t think it was a bad thing but I didn’t respond with jubilation. And that was that.

When I arrived on campus to take my exam at 8am, one of my classmates mentioned it. She told me about how on the news it showed people taking to the streets, rejoicing in his death. I immediately felt sick to my stomach. Rejoicing in his death.

I feel conflicted.

I don't grieve his death. In the same way I wouldn't grieve the death of Hitler, Stalin, or any other evil man. But to rejoice in his death is not my immediate reaction.

I grieve that such evil men exist. I grieve that this man God made lived a life so dishonoring of his maker.

I’m grateful for God’s common grace. I am thankful that God has victory over evil. I’m grateful for justice - that God’s wrath was brought upon evil. So, should I rejoice in a wicked mans death?

I’m not entirely sure what the appropriate response as a Christian is. I’m sure some of my thinking is flawed.

As of right now, in my current state...

I grieve and I’m grateful.

Goodbye.

I see your picture in my head (goodbye)

I think I'll miss you

But you'll never see me again

Today was my last day of work. It didn't hit me until I was walking inside the house going about my usual routine. Then I kept thinking "This is the last time I'll ______." It makes me a little sad knowing that he doesn't know what I mean when I say, "It's my last day!" and when I said goodbye and made him give me a hug that it would be the last time I spoke to him. I will miss working with him and his family. I'm really happy that I had the opportunity to work with him. It was a job I was totally unqualified for - I know it was not me that got me that job - and I'm thankful for it.

“[Some mortals] say of some temporal suffering, “No future bliss can make up for it,” not knowing that Heaven, once attained, will work backwards and turn even that agony into a glory.”

—C. S. Lewis, The Great Divorce, chapter 9.

Man.

Church officials: Chinese authorities block Easter service in Beijing.

Thankful that I was able to freely go to an Easter service with no trouble at all.

Since When Did Bunnies Have Eggs? | The Resurgence

Since When Did Bunnies Have Eggs? | The Resurgence

Holy Week - Easter Sunday

Holy Week: What Happened on Easter Sunday?

Holy Week - Good Friday

Holy Week: What Happened on Good Friday?

Luke 23: 39-43

One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying,

“Are you not the Christ?

Save yourself and us!”

But the other rebuked him, saying,

“Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?

And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.”

And he said,

“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

And he said to him,

“Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

That's always been my favorite part.

Holy Week - Thursday

Holy Week: What Happened on Thursday?

Holy Week - Wednesday

Holy Week: What Happened on Wednesday?

Holy Week - Tuesday

Holy Week: What Happened on Tuesday?

Holy Week - Monday

Holy Week: What Happened on Monday?

Crush

Yup.

Clark Kent Has A Dream (episode 4) - watch more funny videos

Weekend

(a)

(b)

(c)

(a) There were thunderstorms and it looked a little crazy outside. You can't really tell from the picture.

(b) $ theater in town. A friend came to visit and we went. I had heard it was quite the experience, and it was. We saw Green Hornet - I thoroughly enjoyed it.

(c) The most appropriately named sauce ever.

Creation's revealing Your majesty

From the highest of heights to the depths of the sea

Creation's revealing Your majesty

From the colors of fall to the fragrance of spring
Every creature unique in the song that it sings
All exclaiming

Indescribable, uncontainable,

You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God
All powerful, untameable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God

I never realized how beautiful it was this time of day right outside my window.

For since the creation of the world God's invisible attributes - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

Romans 1:20

"Paul’s point is that the invisible is made visible via creation or nature. Divine wisdom, power, eternity and goodness, for example, are not in themselves visible, but their reality is undeniably affirmed and apprehended by the effects they produce in nature. That there is a God, supreme, eternal, infinite in power, personal, wise, independent, worthy of glory and gratitude, is clearly evident in the creation.

How are these truths about God made known and where may we see them? Paul’s answer is, “through what has been made” (v. 20). God has left the indelible mark of his fingerprints all across the vast face of the universe." - Sam Storms

Broken

This has been my go to purse for about 4 years. It's been struggling for a while. Yesterday as I was walking into the grocery store it just broke. Sad. I think I'm going to have to purchase another black cloth purse. Green and pink just won't always work. Too bad Old Navy doesn't have so many cool bags anymore. Target? Maybe? Bye, bye purse.

fly away

You got a fast car
I want a ticket to anywhere
Maybe we make a deal
Maybe together we can get somewhere
Anyplace is better
Starting from zero got nothing to lose
Maybe we'll make something
But me myself I got nothing to prove

You got a fast car
is it fast enough so we can fly away
We gotta make a decision
We leave tonight or live and die this way

So remember when we were driving driving in your car
The speed so fast felt like I was drunk
City lights lay out before us
And your arm felt nice wrapped 'round my shoulder
I had a feeling that I belonged
I had a feeling I could be someone

You got a fast car
But is it fast enough so you can fly away

Ever have one of those weeks/days/nights when one song perfectly fits your mood?

Be Thou My Vision

Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart

Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art

Thou my best thought by day or by night

Waking or sleeping Thy presence my light

Be thou my wisdom and Thou my true word

I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord

Thou my great Father, I , Thy true son

Thou in me dwelling and I with Thee one

Riches I heed not nor man's empty praise

Thou mine inheritance now and always

Thou and thou only first in my heart

High King of heaven my treasure Thou are

High King of heaven my victory won

May I reach heaven's joys, O bright heaven's Sun

Heart of my own heart whatever befall

Still be my vision O Ruler of all

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gp5-oVX6PqI

I love the version of this hymn by Jars of Clay. I think this may be my second favorite hymn (after Come Thou Fount).