Howdy!
I know the description of my blog has something to do with liturgy so I thought I ought to post the Holy Week liturgy at Argyle UMC. Below you will find the liturgy for Palm/Passion Sunday. Soon I will post the liturgy for the rest of the week.
3/16/08 (Palm/Passion Sunday)
PRELUDE (8:45 and 11:15) Behold! The King Comes! Argyle Ringers
PRELUDE (10:00) Anastasia Markina
*PROCLAMATION OF THE ENTRANCE INTO JERUSALEM Rev. Kory Knott
Hear from the Gospel according to Mark how our Lord Jesus entered Jerusalem.
Read Mark 11:1-11
*THE PEOPLE’S RESPONSE
Hosanna to the Son of David!
Hosanna in the highest!
Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord
Hosanna in the highest!
*PROCESSION OF THE PALMS No. 278 Hosanna, Loud Hosanna
(What will we do with the palms at 10:00?)
WELCOME/GREETINGS/ANNOUNCEMENTS Todd Mead
PASTORAL PRAYER/LORD’S PRAYER
OFFERING: Anastasia Markina
*DOXOLOGY No. 94
SONG OF PREPARATION: The Heart of Worship Matt Redman
CHILDREN’S MOMENT
MESSAGE: The 10 Habits of Highly Effective Christians: The Heart of Worship
Scripture: Luke 19:35-40
CHORAL CALL TO REFLECTION: Were You There? Bob Chilcott Chancel Choir
All leave in silence
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
The Great Dunkin Donuts and the Week After...
I love Dunkin Donuts. The coffee is outstanding, the donuts are my guilty pleasure, and they have free wi-fi! What more could you ask for? I am posting today from my favorite Dunkin Donuts in Plano, Texas. (BTW, if you are looking to by stock in a company that is getting ready to go crazy big, I would recommend Dunkin Donuts.)
Ah, yawn, stretch, crack the back, settle back in for some more sleep: it is the week after Easter! I love Holy Week and Easter: they are the most important week in the liturgical year but wow, they can be tiring! This week I am trying to recover from last week, write my handouts for a teaching gig I have this summer, prepare for a trip to Nashville next week for a meeting with The Fellowship of United Methodist's in Music and Worship Arts and plan for the future. Sounds like a lot but really, compared to last week, it's nothing!
Honestly, I just want to sleep! So, the coffee is flowing and I'm trying to get back into the groove!
Ah, yawn, stretch, crack the back, settle back in for some more sleep: it is the week after Easter! I love Holy Week and Easter: they are the most important week in the liturgical year but wow, they can be tiring! This week I am trying to recover from last week, write my handouts for a teaching gig I have this summer, prepare for a trip to Nashville next week for a meeting with The Fellowship of United Methodist's in Music and Worship Arts and plan for the future. Sounds like a lot but really, compared to last week, it's nothing!
Honestly, I just want to sleep! So, the coffee is flowing and I'm trying to get back into the groove!
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
O so very much has happened!
Goodness, it's been a crazy few days! Here's what I've learned since the last blog post:
1. WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A BOY!!! YEAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (A daughter and a son, what a blessing!)
2. I have actue laryngitis and acute bronchitis and, despite the steroid shot and the four medications, I feel worse.
3. God keeps blowing me away with how amazing and loving God is. (No particular reason, I just feel it this week, which is nice!)
I'd like to write more but it's Holy Week and the energy is really low today, so I've got to finish up some work before bell rehearsal!
Take care!
Know I miss ya!
1. WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A BOY!!! YEAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (A daughter and a son, what a blessing!)
2. I have actue laryngitis and acute bronchitis and, despite the steroid shot and the four medications, I feel worse.
3. God keeps blowing me away with how amazing and loving God is. (No particular reason, I just feel it this week, which is nice!)
I'd like to write more but it's Holy Week and the energy is really low today, so I've got to finish up some work before bell rehearsal!
Take care!
Know I miss ya!
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Insomnia is under-rated
I don't actually have insomnia. I do have that Barenaked Ladies song "Who Needs Sleep" going on in my head right now (lyrics below). This week I am suffering from the typical "pre-Holy Week can't sleep because of the stress of putting everything together, I swear it feels like I have to do it all myself, making plans in my sleep, how can I make the choir better" syndrome. I tried to go to sleep at midnight (I struggle to mentally shut it down on Wednesday's anyway, I should have gone to play golf at the lighted executive course by our house!) tonight and, whenever I fell asleep I would literally dream about how to better rehearse the children's choir and the chancel choir! I even tried counting sheep, and when that didn't work, I tried cows. This has been going on for about five days now. So, around 4:00 this morning, I decided that it was silly to keep trying to sleep and that it was time to be productive!
So I got up, had several Valiums and half a bottle of whiskey and I feel great!!!!
Of course, I am just kidding. Never had a prescription (or the desire!) for the former and the latter just isn't a good idea on so many levels.
No, I got up and got to work. In the three hours I've had to myself this morning I've done the following:
1. Organized, set-up, and cleaned my study: there is only one box left! Sarah is going to think a minor miracle occurred last night! :)
2. Found an old sermon on the three main models of atonement (I'm thinking I might preach Good Friday.)
3. Found an old paper on the differences between strophic and cyclic song for a class I'm going to teach at Lake Junaluska this summer about using different forms of music with children's choir.
4. Found and set-aside several documents for framing
5. Organized my office cross collection
6. Transcribed six bass lines for a classic rock band I'm playing in (more on that later)
7. Checked CNN
8. Posted twice on the blog
9. I'm about to check my email, make some coffee, and read the paper.
I feel so productive and I'm going to feel so terrible about 8:00 tonight! :)
Ah, the good times!
Have a splendid day!
Who Needs Sleep lyrics
Now I lay me down not to sleep
I just get tangled in the sheets
I swim in sweat three inches deep
I just lay back and claim defeat
Chapter read and lesson learned
I turned the lights off while she burned
So while she's three hundred degrees
I throw the sheets off and I freeze
Lids down, I count sheep
I count heartbeats
The only thing that counts is
that I won't sleep
I countdown, I look around
Who needs sleep?
well you're never gonna get it
Who needs sleep?
tell me what's that for
Who needs sleep?
be happy with what you're getting
There's a guy who's been awake
since the Second World War
My hands are locked up tight in fists
My mind is racing, filled with lists
of things to do and things I've done
Another sleepless night's begun
Lids down, I count sheep
I count heartbeats
The only thing that counts is
that I won't sleep
I countdown, I look around
Who needs sleep?
well you're never gonna get it
Who needs sleep?
tell me what's that for
Who needs sleep?
be happy with what you're getting
There's a guy who's been awake
since the Second World War
There's so much joy in life,
so many pleasures all around
But the pleasure of insomnia
is one I've never found
With all life has to offer,
there's so much to be enjoyed
But the pleasures of insomnia
are ones I can't avoid
Lids down, I count sheep
I count heartbeats
The only thing that counts is
that I won't sleep
I countdown, I look around
Hala Hala Hala
Who needs sleep?
well you're never gonna get it
Who needs sleep?
tell me what's that for
Who needs sleep?
be happy with what you're getting
There's a guy who's been awake
since the Second World War
So I got up, had several Valiums and half a bottle of whiskey and I feel great!!!!
Of course, I am just kidding. Never had a prescription (or the desire!) for the former and the latter just isn't a good idea on so many levels.
No, I got up and got to work. In the three hours I've had to myself this morning I've done the following:
1. Organized, set-up, and cleaned my study: there is only one box left! Sarah is going to think a minor miracle occurred last night! :)
2. Found an old sermon on the three main models of atonement (I'm thinking I might preach Good Friday.)
3. Found an old paper on the differences between strophic and cyclic song for a class I'm going to teach at Lake Junaluska this summer about using different forms of music with children's choir.
4. Found and set-aside several documents for framing
5. Organized my office cross collection
6. Transcribed six bass lines for a classic rock band I'm playing in (more on that later)
7. Checked CNN
8. Posted twice on the blog
9. I'm about to check my email, make some coffee, and read the paper.
I feel so productive and I'm going to feel so terrible about 8:00 tonight! :)
Ah, the good times!
Have a splendid day!
Who Needs Sleep lyrics
Now I lay me down not to sleep
I just get tangled in the sheets
I swim in sweat three inches deep
I just lay back and claim defeat
Chapter read and lesson learned
I turned the lights off while she burned
So while she's three hundred degrees
I throw the sheets off and I freeze
Lids down, I count sheep
I count heartbeats
The only thing that counts is
that I won't sleep
I countdown, I look around
Who needs sleep?
well you're never gonna get it
Who needs sleep?
tell me what's that for
Who needs sleep?
be happy with what you're getting
There's a guy who's been awake
since the Second World War
My hands are locked up tight in fists
My mind is racing, filled with lists
of things to do and things I've done
Another sleepless night's begun
Lids down, I count sheep
I count heartbeats
The only thing that counts is
that I won't sleep
I countdown, I look around
Who needs sleep?
well you're never gonna get it
Who needs sleep?
tell me what's that for
Who needs sleep?
be happy with what you're getting
There's a guy who's been awake
since the Second World War
There's so much joy in life,
so many pleasures all around
But the pleasure of insomnia
is one I've never found
With all life has to offer,
there's so much to be enjoyed
But the pleasures of insomnia
are ones I can't avoid
Lids down, I count sheep
I count heartbeats
The only thing that counts is
that I won't sleep
I countdown, I look around
Hala Hala Hala
Who needs sleep?
well you're never gonna get it
Who needs sleep?
tell me what's that for
Who needs sleep?
be happy with what you're getting
There's a guy who's been awake
since the Second World War
You Can Sleep When You're Dead!
"You can sleep when you're dead" was an old rallying cry of ours at the University of North Texas' College of Music. Let me tell you, I used to practice that maxim (without the death part) relentlessly! For most of my life I've been able to get by with about 5-6 hours of sleep and been pretty functional. Five hours has usually been my minimum, however, and that has made this week pretty tough.
I have learned a lot about myself this past few days, beginning with the fact that, when I get stressed out, I can't sleep and I tend to work in my sleep. No doubt, this has happened/is happening to you as well. After nearly five years of full-time ministry I have begun to see certain patterns in myself, the most noticeable of them are these:
1. Two weeks before Holy Week and Lessons and Carols/Christmas Eve, I don't sleep
well.
2. It's almost a given that the stress and lack of sleep catch up to me on Christmas Day (sometimes before) and on Easter afternoon.
Some years are better than others, to be certain. Two years ago, I remember being violently ill on Easter Sunday afternoon and then I got a horrible case of the flu the night before Christmas Eve as well. As it turns out, you can care about something so much that it hinders your personal life.
Not fun!
Another thing that I have been reminded about myself this week is that I tend, like many males, to get most of my identity and sense of worth through my work. This unfortunate (and certainly not-Christian) part of my identity has improved vastly over the years. When I first started in full-time ministry in Longview, I lived and died every single Sunday morning. That is a tough way to live! If we were down in numbers in the choir (or in the nave) or the anthem wasn't good, or I couldn't get the people to sing, it just absolutely crushed me. I remember (not sure why I'm choosing to share this now, must be the Holy Week-induced insomnia!) having to leave the services twice over the course of two years because I had to go the parlor and cry, I just couldn't stand feeling like such a failure in what God had called me to do. The toughest part was in that sense of failure was that I was certainly putting in the work: it wasn't from lack of effort! In fact, I had a little 5 minute intervention at annual conference from two good friends of mine in 2004 who basically told me that the hours I was putting in were pretty sinful and not a good example for the people. I was informed (and listened, at least a little bit!) that ministry is not a sprint but a marathon. Later that year it slowly began to dawn on me that, like Coach Chuck Noll of the 1970's Pittsburgh Steelers would say, "just because you work long hours doesn't mean that you are creating a good product."
Now, obviously having to duck out of a worship service when you are one of the pastors so no one will see you cry is pretty problematic in a number of areas.
Thankfully, as I am maturing both mentally and "in the Spirit" (moving towards perfection, if you will) I am getting a lot better at not living and dying every Sunday. I really noticed this last summer at Travis Park while I was washing dishes on a Sunday afternoon at home. I realized that I never asked Sarah during lunch how she thought the services went! That was a great moment, because I annoy her to no end with requests for feedback (and, maybe I fish occasionally for a little affirmation, but she is good at telling me like it is). Like nearly every other artist I know I have the typical "wide emotional palette" which is both a blessing and a curse!
I pray that God will continue to help me realize that my true value is not to be found in what I do but rather in whose I am! As I continue to grow into the likeness of Christ (which is slower some days than others!) I feel that this is improving.
As for the sleep, well, that's another story!
I have learned a lot about myself this past few days, beginning with the fact that, when I get stressed out, I can't sleep and I tend to work in my sleep. No doubt, this has happened/is happening to you as well. After nearly five years of full-time ministry I have begun to see certain patterns in myself, the most noticeable of them are these:
1. Two weeks before Holy Week and Lessons and Carols/Christmas Eve, I don't sleep
well.
2. It's almost a given that the stress and lack of sleep catch up to me on Christmas Day (sometimes before) and on Easter afternoon.
Some years are better than others, to be certain. Two years ago, I remember being violently ill on Easter Sunday afternoon and then I got a horrible case of the flu the night before Christmas Eve as well. As it turns out, you can care about something so much that it hinders your personal life.
Not fun!
Another thing that I have been reminded about myself this week is that I tend, like many males, to get most of my identity and sense of worth through my work. This unfortunate (and certainly not-Christian) part of my identity has improved vastly over the years. When I first started in full-time ministry in Longview, I lived and died every single Sunday morning. That is a tough way to live! If we were down in numbers in the choir (or in the nave) or the anthem wasn't good, or I couldn't get the people to sing, it just absolutely crushed me. I remember (not sure why I'm choosing to share this now, must be the Holy Week-induced insomnia!) having to leave the services twice over the course of two years because I had to go the parlor and cry, I just couldn't stand feeling like such a failure in what God had called me to do. The toughest part was in that sense of failure was that I was certainly putting in the work: it wasn't from lack of effort! In fact, I had a little 5 minute intervention at annual conference from two good friends of mine in 2004 who basically told me that the hours I was putting in were pretty sinful and not a good example for the people. I was informed (and listened, at least a little bit!) that ministry is not a sprint but a marathon. Later that year it slowly began to dawn on me that, like Coach Chuck Noll of the 1970's Pittsburgh Steelers would say, "just because you work long hours doesn't mean that you are creating a good product."
Now, obviously having to duck out of a worship service when you are one of the pastors so no one will see you cry is pretty problematic in a number of areas.
Thankfully, as I am maturing both mentally and "in the Spirit" (moving towards perfection, if you will) I am getting a lot better at not living and dying every Sunday. I really noticed this last summer at Travis Park while I was washing dishes on a Sunday afternoon at home. I realized that I never asked Sarah during lunch how she thought the services went! That was a great moment, because I annoy her to no end with requests for feedback (and, maybe I fish occasionally for a little affirmation, but she is good at telling me like it is). Like nearly every other artist I know I have the typical "wide emotional palette" which is both a blessing and a curse!
I pray that God will continue to help me realize that my true value is not to be found in what I do but rather in whose I am! As I continue to grow into the likeness of Christ (which is slower some days than others!) I feel that this is improving.
As for the sleep, well, that's another story!
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Holy Week
Wow, it's been a while since I posted! I keep having all of these great ideas to post about and then I realize that, by the time I'll get to posting them, they will no longer be relevant! I can't believe that Holy Week is next week. Life has been moving so quickly lately.
I am also excited that it's Holy Week. Every year I long to more deeply participate in all that Holy Week offers. In my current ministry context (much like all of the others I've served in) the preacher utilizes sermon series. His series are really good! Sadly, though, when we use sermon series and not the lectionary or much of the liturgical year, when we come to Advent, Christmas, Holy Week and Easter, to name the big ones, our congregations have no context for what's happening during those times. They can't expereince the depths of the litrugical year without the set-up. This makes me sad. As I was planning the Holy Week services (to be posted soon) I really found myself struggling with this issue: how do we suddenly go from a sermon series based service to a liturgical service. It's a pretty tough stretch in our context in many ways. I'll post the orders for Holy Week and a "regular" order so you can see what I mean. I look forward to your feedback. Well, off to a staff meeting!
I am also excited that it's Holy Week. Every year I long to more deeply participate in all that Holy Week offers. In my current ministry context (much like all of the others I've served in) the preacher utilizes sermon series. His series are really good! Sadly, though, when we use sermon series and not the lectionary or much of the liturgical year, when we come to Advent, Christmas, Holy Week and Easter, to name the big ones, our congregations have no context for what's happening during those times. They can't expereince the depths of the litrugical year without the set-up. This makes me sad. As I was planning the Holy Week services (to be posted soon) I really found myself struggling with this issue: how do we suddenly go from a sermon series based service to a liturgical service. It's a pretty tough stretch in our context in many ways. I'll post the orders for Holy Week and a "regular" order so you can see what I mean. I look forward to your feedback. Well, off to a staff meeting!
Thursday, March 6, 2008
The Snow, Part II
Hey there!
So Sarah had already beaten me to the punch and sent some blankets to a homeless ministry! Seriously, she is good! I'm quite glad becuase I decided to head home around 2:00 and it took me 35 minutes to get home and I never left 2nd gear! Crazy!
The snow started today at around 11:00 and it has kept coming! Sarah, Ellie, Vader, Corie and I decided to go out and play in it and it was a blast! We took a ruler out to measure how much snow we had in the backyard. Want to guess? (Remember, it's Texas and it's MARCH for goodness sake!)
Drumroll please......
Five inches! And it's still going!
It's a great night to fire up the espresso machine, eat pancakes, and enjoy being home!
So Sarah had already beaten me to the punch and sent some blankets to a homeless ministry! Seriously, she is good! I'm quite glad becuase I decided to head home around 2:00 and it took me 35 minutes to get home and I never left 2nd gear! Crazy!
The snow started today at around 11:00 and it has kept coming! Sarah, Ellie, Vader, Corie and I decided to go out and play in it and it was a blast! We took a ruler out to measure how much snow we had in the backyard. Want to guess? (Remember, it's Texas and it's MARCH for goodness sake!)
Drumroll please......
Five inches! And it's still going!
It's a great night to fire up the espresso machine, eat pancakes, and enjoy being home!
The Snow and the Kingdom
As I look out of the office of my window I can see sleet pounding the side of the church. We are expected to get snow in a few hours here in the Denton area. Two snow events in four days, in March, in Texas...unbelievable. I'm a fan of snow but I feel for our brothers and sisters who need a place to stay tonight. May Your Kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven, Jesus. I know the shelters will be full tonight.
Homeless is America is a sin. We have the resources to combat it and yet, we don't, systematically speaking. I think the reason is that most folks who are in a place of power don't know anyone who is homeless by name. They feel bad that there are people who will be trying not to freeze (literally) tonight but they don't know those people's names. It's a different thing when you know it's Mary who is looking for a warm place. It's a different thing when you know Ed doesn't have anything to eat tonight. It's a different thing when you recall Jesus' words in Matthew 25, and you realize that it's Jesus who doesn't have any place to lay his head or anything to eat. It's different then.
That division between the poor and the wealthy is perhaps one of the greatest tragides in the American church. We don't know each other. We are often separated by race, by economic standing, by political and theological perspectives. We don't know each other and it keeps the Kingdom from coming on earth and it is in heaven. Imagine if all of the Christians in the DFW area tonight were to bring a blanket or a meal to a shelter tonight? Imagine it! And then, what if, just what if, we all petitioned our lawmakers to help change things and we stayed on them, and made it a priority, and, while we did that, we kept bringing blankets, and food, and, more importantly, we got to know the people! Can you imagine how the face of our community would change!
You know, I meant to post about how much I am enjoying listening to Cannonball Adderley while working today and I am. But, now, I'm thinking I need to give the shelter in Denton a call and see what they need tonight, bring what I can, and make some new friends!
Homeless is America is a sin. We have the resources to combat it and yet, we don't, systematically speaking. I think the reason is that most folks who are in a place of power don't know anyone who is homeless by name. They feel bad that there are people who will be trying not to freeze (literally) tonight but they don't know those people's names. It's a different thing when you know it's Mary who is looking for a warm place. It's a different thing when you know Ed doesn't have anything to eat tonight. It's a different thing when you recall Jesus' words in Matthew 25, and you realize that it's Jesus who doesn't have any place to lay his head or anything to eat. It's different then.
That division between the poor and the wealthy is perhaps one of the greatest tragides in the American church. We don't know each other. We are often separated by race, by economic standing, by political and theological perspectives. We don't know each other and it keeps the Kingdom from coming on earth and it is in heaven. Imagine if all of the Christians in the DFW area tonight were to bring a blanket or a meal to a shelter tonight? Imagine it! And then, what if, just what if, we all petitioned our lawmakers to help change things and we stayed on them, and made it a priority, and, while we did that, we kept bringing blankets, and food, and, more importantly, we got to know the people! Can you imagine how the face of our community would change!
You know, I meant to post about how much I am enjoying listening to Cannonball Adderley while working today and I am. But, now, I'm thinking I need to give the shelter in Denton a call and see what they need tonight, bring what I can, and make some new friends!
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
An Esquire article and Tony Campolo
I should be reading right now. Currently, I am doing a book study with a good friend of mine on Tony Campolo and Mary Albert Darling's "The God of Intimacy and Action: Reconnecting Ancient Spiritual Practices, Evangelism, and Justice." It's a great book so far! I still have ten pages to go in the chapter we are examining tomorrow morning and it's 11:30 at night but I suppose I'll get to it in a minute. I can't sleep right away after a rehearsal anyway. (We had a great rehearsal tonight so I'm pretty jacked up!)
I'm on the computer tonight because I am addicted to citations. I love endnotes and footnotes and read them, all of them, every time I read a book. I came across an endnote citing my old theology professor from Perkins, who is amazing. My book study companion is on the other side of the theological fence than he is and so I was looking to make sure that the citation was correct: it was and I look forward to pointing that out numerous times (in good humor, of course) in our discussion tomorrow, because I can often be "that guy". I don't' want to be "that guy" but I often am.
Which leads to my next point.
I am a recent subscriber to "Esquire" magazine and, on the whole, it's pretty interesting stuff! There was a brief article in this month's issue entitled something like "People Who Aren't as Nice as You'd Think They'd Be."
On the list, I'm not making this up, was God and choir directors!
As a choir director who works for God, I found this to be interesting. Interesting because it's true in the former case but sad in the fact that it is inaccurate in the later case.
Let's take the non-deities first. Observation number 1: Why would anybody dare to think that choir directors are overly nice people to begin with? Obviously the author has never sung in a choir that was any good! :)
(There's a whole other set of posts that could use that last comment as a starting point.)
Why would one suppose that artists are nice people, unless one assumes that choir directors are not artists.
Observation number 2: We all know that artists have "wide emotional palettes." Some of us are just better at concealing them than others.
To the latter point, the Divine. I think the author missed the larger issue. I think God is exceedingly good! (I also think that God is probably incredibly "nice" but God's goodness far outweighs God's "niceness.")
I am reminded of C.S. Lewis's wonderful writing in the first book of the Narnia series when Lucy asks the Beaver if Aslan (the Christ figure) is 'safe.' The beaver laughs and responds something like, "oh no, dear, he is most certainly NOT safe, but he IS good."
What a difference! God is, in fact, not safe but IS good. God may not be particularly nice but God IS good!
Whew, I better stop, because I'm about to get my preach on!!!!
Back to the book!
I'm on the computer tonight because I am addicted to citations. I love endnotes and footnotes and read them, all of them, every time I read a book. I came across an endnote citing my old theology professor from Perkins, who is amazing. My book study companion is on the other side of the theological fence than he is and so I was looking to make sure that the citation was correct: it was and I look forward to pointing that out numerous times (in good humor, of course) in our discussion tomorrow, because I can often be "that guy". I don't' want to be "that guy" but I often am.
Which leads to my next point.
I am a recent subscriber to "Esquire" magazine and, on the whole, it's pretty interesting stuff! There was a brief article in this month's issue entitled something like "People Who Aren't as Nice as You'd Think They'd Be."
On the list, I'm not making this up, was God and choir directors!
As a choir director who works for God, I found this to be interesting. Interesting because it's true in the former case but sad in the fact that it is inaccurate in the later case.
Let's take the non-deities first. Observation number 1: Why would anybody dare to think that choir directors are overly nice people to begin with? Obviously the author has never sung in a choir that was any good! :)
(There's a whole other set of posts that could use that last comment as a starting point.)
Why would one suppose that artists are nice people, unless one assumes that choir directors are not artists.
Observation number 2: We all know that artists have "wide emotional palettes." Some of us are just better at concealing them than others.
To the latter point, the Divine. I think the author missed the larger issue. I think God is exceedingly good! (I also think that God is probably incredibly "nice" but God's goodness far outweighs God's "niceness.")
I am reminded of C.S. Lewis's wonderful writing in the first book of the Narnia series when Lucy asks the Beaver if Aslan (the Christ figure) is 'safe.' The beaver laughs and responds something like, "oh no, dear, he is most certainly NOT safe, but he IS good."
What a difference! God is, in fact, not safe but IS good. God may not be particularly nice but God IS good!
Whew, I better stop, because I'm about to get my preach on!!!!
Back to the book!
Monday, March 3, 2008
I love Texas weather!
Texas weather is a lot of fun! Last night, a meteorologist in Dallas said, "tomorrow is one of those days that makes being a meteorologist fun in Texas: we have a chance for rain, flooding, tornado's, and snow!"
Delightful!
Rain, flooding, tornado's, and snow. Sounds almost like a weather Apocalypse!
At the moment, it's just cold (especially in my office, which is poorly sealed and has no heat or air, so it's 42 degrees in my office, literally).
Mmmm...snow....I love snow....
Delightful!
Rain, flooding, tornado's, and snow. Sounds almost like a weather Apocalypse!
At the moment, it's just cold (especially in my office, which is poorly sealed and has no heat or air, so it's 42 degrees in my office, literally).
Mmmm...snow....I love snow....
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