| you know friends only worked as a season b/c people your and my age related to the sit-com's pilot more than they related to "mad about you"...
extrapolate all you like. :) but, that's brillance. | comments: 3 comments or Leave a comment   |
| 1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next 3 sentences on your blog along with these instructions.
5. Don't you dare dig for that "cool" or "intellectual" book in your closet! I know you were thinking about it! Just pick up whatever is closest.
"I hung up on him. No, I'm just kidding. We had a very polite and, I think, mutually enlightening conversation about an extraordinarily important issue." | | comments: 1 comment or Leave a comment |
| it's hard to believe in the forces of evil
during the day
the light's streaming onto my
messenger bag
and i remember
being in the car thinking
lies fall so easily from your lips.
but i guess it's ok
because that just makes us the same. | | comments: 2 comments or Leave a comment |
| "'The only genuine love worthy of a name is unconditional,' by Powell. Hm." - me, reading a valentine's day chocolate covered fortune cookie message.
"You disagree philosophically with that statement." - Christine smiles, responding to my furrowed brow.
I nod, smiling at her.
"I don't think that's allowed." - Allison
"what, disagreeing with a fortune cookie?!" - me
"Um-hm" - Allison, nodding back. :) | | comments: Leave a comment |
| | You Are Kermit | 
Hi, ho! Lovable and friendly, you get along well with everyone you know.
You're a big thinker, and sometimes you over think life's problems.
Don't worry - everyone know's it's not easy being green.
Just remember, time's fun when you're having flies! |
| | comments: 1 comment or Leave a comment |
| INDIGO GIRLS LYRICS
"Land OF Canaan"
You can go to the East
To find your, inner hemisphere.
You say we're under the same sky babe,
You're bound to realize, Honey, it's not that clear.
I'm not your promise land
I'm not your promise one
I'm not your Land of Canaan, sweetheart,
Waiting for you under the sun.
I'm lonely tonight, I'm missing you now.
I'm wanting your love and you're giving it out.
I'm lonely tonight, I'm lonely tonight, I'm lonely tonight.
Well the meanings changed (for what it's worth),
It's just a senseless game.
I should think of love, but it's fear every time I hear
Your heart strain.
It's not the fallen man,
It's not the call of time,
It's just the London skyline
Telling me you're not mine.
I'm lonely tonight, I'm missing you now.
I'm wanting your love and you're giving it out.
I'm lonely tonight, I'm lonely tonight, I'm lonely tonight.
My blood is running dry,
My skin is, my skin is growing thin
For every time you find yourself
You lose a little bit of me, from within.
It's just a raging cycle, why can't we
Bring it all to the end of the line.
From inside this existence, sweetheart,
Time is not on my side.
I'm lonely tonight, I'm missing you now.
I'm wanting your love and you're giving it out.
I'm lonely tonight, I'm lonely tonight, I'm lonely tonight.
I'm not your promised land, I'm not your promised one.
I'm not your promised land, I'm not your promised one.
I'm not your Land of Canaan Sweetheart,
I'm not your Land of Canaan Sweetheart,
I'm not your Land of Canaan Sweetheart,
Waiting for you under the sun, I'm lonely tonight. | | comments: 2 comments or Leave a comment |
| 140 hours call time, since September
1622 calls (dialed and recieved combined - not counting missed)
avg. call length: 5 minutes, 11 seconds
days spent on the phone: 5 days, 20 hours | | comments: Leave a comment |
| Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above,
Would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.
—From a hymn by Frederick M. Lehman, based on the poem Haddamut, written in Aramaic in 1050 by Meir Ben Isaac Nehorai, a cantor in Worms, Germany | | comments: Leave a comment |
| Quote:
"All of the most important parts of life happen with respect to a commitment that you're making; it's the choice, the element of inescapable risk, which makes them worthwhile."
-inspired by the 'Melancholy Dane'
i was just happy to have finally decided. ;) | | comments: Leave a comment |
| I make so much more sense here. more to come. but, not tonight. :)
*grace and peace* | | comments: Leave a comment |
| | Subject: | more puzzles~ | | Time: | 01:51 am | | Current Mood: | ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/roshi/palefaces/determined.gif) studying like a mad woman ;) |
|
| Passage: Judges 11.29-40
Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah. He crossed Gilead and Manasseh, passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from there he advanced against the Ammonites. And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD : "If you give the Ammonites into my hands, whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the LORD's, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering."
Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the LORD gave them into his hands. He devastated twenty towns from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel Keramim. Thus Israel subdued Ammon.
When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of tambourines! She was an only child. Except for her he had neither son nor daughter. When he saw her, he tore his clothes and cried, "Oh! My daughter! You have made me miserable and wretched, because I have made a vow to the LORD that I cannot break."
"My father," she replied, "you have given your word to the LORD. Do to me just as you promised, now that the LORD has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites. But grant me this one request," she said. "Give me two months to roam the hills and weep with my friends, because I will never marry."
"You may go," he said. And he let her go for two months. She and the girls went into the hills and wept because she would never marry. After the two months, she returned to her father and he did to her as he had vowed. And she was a virgin.
From this comes the Israelite custom 40 that each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.
Commentary from Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible:
(http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/commentaries/index.php?action=getCommentaryText&cid=24&source=2&seq=i.7.11.3)
Jephthah's vow. He vanquishes the Ammonites.
Several important lessons are to be learned from Jephthah's vow.
1. There may be remainders of distrust and doubting, even in the hearts of true and great believers.
2. Our vows to God should not be as a purchase of the favour we desire, but to express gratitude to him.
3. We need to be very well-advised in making vows, lest we entangle ourselves.
4. What we have solemnly vowed to God, we must perform, if it be possible and lawful, though it be difficult and grievous to us.
5. It well becomes children, obediently and cheerfully to submit to their parents in the Lord.
It is hard to say what Jephthah did in performance of his vow; but it is thought that he did not offer his daughter as a burnt-offering. Such a sacrifice would have been an abomination to the Lord; it is supposed she was obliged to remain unmarried, and apart from her family.
Concerning this and some other such passages in the sacred history, about which learned men are divided and in doubt, we need not perplex ourselves; what is necessary to our salvation, thanks be to God, is plain enough. If the reader recollects the promise of Christ concerning the teaching of the Holy Spirit, and places himself under this heavenly Teacher, the Holy Ghost will guide to all truth in every passage, so far as it is needful to be understood.
-----
does anyone else have trouble accepting the sentiments at the end of this commentary? it does mean something to me whether or not she was sacrificed. it doesn't mean all of my faith rests on it, but i refuse to believe that it shouldn't have anything to do with my pursuit of understanding the character of God/Yahweh as revealed in scripture.
Judges is riddled with difficult passages, but the overriding thread remains that God does not abandon us, if we turn to him sincerely, and he can take the beginnings of any situation to bring about good. That we are able to be redeemed, and that adverse circumstances will not be allowed to remain as barriers for his people, so long as there are those who pursue him. Abimelech is punished, a curse is brought between him and the people he wrongly took leadership over; Japhthah was the son of a prostitute and driven away by his half brothers before he was called back to lead them in victory against the Ammonites - and the Spirit of the Lord comes upon him.
That is just filled with so much hope, that our God takes those in tragedy and brings them to a position of victory, annointing them with his Spirit to govern them. None of these are clear cut examples of grace, but there aren't only clear examples of grace in our lives anyway - our lives are messy and riddled with confusion about what we should do, and how our past affects our future, and where we're going from this point, and how our decisions impact our possible effectiveness later on. A close friend called me a limiting co-creator last night, and it occurred to me that my inescapable worry might actually be limiting to God. However -
life remains messy and overwhelming, and through Judges, I'm repeatedly reminded that the confusion is something I can embrace, because God Is Working in it (along with me) and will speak to me clearly, eventually, and I know I sound inarticulate and possibly sappy, but at the same time, I'd like a response to the question concerning how this passage illuminates some characteristic of God, and how we should rightly relate to him. I'd like a more satisfying account than Matthew Henry gives. So, any thoughts would be appreciated.
kk, back to studying for medical ethics exam.
may grace and peace be as abundant as possible to us all, during these last few days... | | comments: 6 comments or Leave a comment |
| Percent Rank Item
(100%) 1: Presbyterian/Reformed
(90%) 2: Eastern Orthodox
(85%) 3: Anglican/Episcopal/Church of England
(82%) 4: Roman Catholic
(68%) 5: Lutheran
(67%) 6: Congregational/United Church of Christ
(51%) 7: Baptist (Reformed/Particular/Calvinistic)
(50%) 8: Seventh-Day Adventist
(31%) 9: Methodist/Wesleyan/Nazarene
(28%) 10: Pentecostal/Charismatic/Assemblies of God
(25%) 11: Anabaptist (Mennonite/Quaker etc.)
(22%) 12: Church of Christ/Campbellite
(20%) 13: Baptist (non-Calvinistic)/Plymouth Brethren/Fundamentalist | | comments: 2 comments or Leave a comment |
| 
"You must remember this, a kiss is still a
kiss". Your romance is Casablanca. A
classic story of love in trying times, chock
full of both cynicism and hope. You obviously
believe in true love, but you're also
constantly aware of practicality and societal
expectations. That's not always fun, but at
least it's realistic. Try not to let the Nazis
get you down too much.
What Romance Movie Best Represents Your Love Life?
brought to you by Quizilla
You are... A 14th-century Englishmans View of the Sky!!!
You proceed in all directions, and represent the hope of a young Englishman
in the dark ages. As he peers up above from his fiefdom, he thinks,
"Dear Gods of the Heavens, shall ye cry today, or shall ye cast upon me
the great light of the Lord?" You are rather capricious in what you share:
At times you give rain when it is needed, at other times, you bring sleet or snow
to ruin the most precious of crops. You have soft spots, called "Clouds,"
which show that despite your gruff exterior, you truly are a benevolent person.
Perhaps, when these Dark Ages are over, you shall shine again to ol Britannia.
Take the Personality Quiz, brought to you by Mr. Poon. | | comments: Leave a comment |
| | Subject: | amen. | | Time: | 10:41 pm |
|
| benedictus qui est venit
in nomine Domini
in nomine
in nomine
in nomine Domini
hosanna in excelsis...
The Benedictus (Canticle of Zachary)
The Benedictus, given in Luke 1:68-79, is one of the three great canticles in the opening chapters of this Gospel, the other two being the Magnificat and Nunc dimittis. The Benedictus was the song of thanksgiving uttered by Zachary on the occasion of the birth of his son, St. John the Baptist. It is Jewish in form, but Christian in sentiment. The local colouring and nationalistic character of the first half are so noticeable that Loisy has conjectured that it existed previously as a simple psalm, which Zachary adapted, his additions being, he contends, easily discernible. (Revue d'hist. et de lit. relig., May-June, 1903, p. 289). There are, however, grave objections to this view, and an opposite theory has been put forth that the Benedictus was composed with special reference to the names of Elizabeth, Zachary, and John, for Elizabeth, Jusjurandum quod juravit; Zachary, Memorari (testamenti sui sancti); and John, Ad faciendam misericordiam.
The whole canticle naturally falls into two parts. The first (verses 68-75) is a song of thanksgiving for the realization of the Messianic hopes of the Jewish nation; but to such realization is given a characteristically Christian tone. As of old, in the family of David, there was power to defend the nation against their enemies, now again that of which they had been so long deprived, and for which they had been yearning, was to be restored to them, but in a higher and spiritual sense. The horn is a sign of power, and the "horn of salvation" signified the power of delivering or "a mighty deliverance". While the Jews had impatiently borne the yoke of the Romans, they had continually sighed for the time when the House of David was to be their deliverer. The deliverance was now at hand, and was pointed to by Zachary as the fulfilment of God's oath to Abraham; but the fulfilment is described as a deliverance not for the sake of worldly power, but that "we may serve him without fear, in holiness and justice all our days".
The second part of the canticle is an address by Zachary to his own son, who was to take so important a part in the scheme of the Redemption; for he was to be a prophet, and to preach the remission of sins before the coming or the Orient, or Dawn, from on high. The prophecy that he was to "go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways" (v. 76) was of course an allusion to the well-known words of Isaias (xl, 3) which St. John himself afterwards applied to his own mission (John 1:23); and which all the three Synoptics adopt (Matthew 3:3; Mark 1:2; Luke 3:4). It is probably due to the first part of the canticle, as a song of thanksgiving for the coming of the Redeemer, that it finds an appropriate place in the office of the Church every morning at Lauds. It is believed to have been first introduced by St. Benedict (Beaume, I, 253). According to Durandus, the allusion to Christ's coming under the figure of the rising sun had also some influence on its adoption. It is also used in various other liturgical offices, notably at a funeral, at the moment of interment, when words of thanksgiving for the Redemption are specially in place as an expression of Christian hope. | | comments: Leave a comment |
| "and all will be well, and all will be well, and all manner of things will be well."
I praise You for your promises, Your constancy, Your consistency, and Your grace, which you impart to those who love you, and abundantly so that they might be vessels of it to each other. Amen. | | comments: 1 comment or Leave a comment |
| it's funny. i always half expect someone to be in my room when i re-enter it, and am in a sociable mood. perhaps that's why i'm really thankful for my fish.
and music. it's a lovely strange thing to mix kierkegaard and british experimental rock.
thanks be to God for johannes. ;)
p.s. i'll cease the irreverant babbling after the notes are posted, and go lj silent once more, so as not to wear out my welcome on your pages. ha. | | comments: Leave a comment |
| | Current Music: | breathe ::: anna nalick | | Subject: | afternoon musings~ | | Time: | 03:41 pm | | Current Mood: | ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/roshi/palefaces/good.gif) hopeful |
|
| sometimes i wonder if i create my own misery, whether life just actually is hard, or whether i should take causal responsibility for the majority of the difficult thoughts that run through my mind and dreams.
then i find myself answering the question just as i asked it - of course it's me creating my own misery. because no matter what the circumstances externally, there is peace accessible to me, and my flawed human nature can't really take the fall (no pun intended) for the impulse to indulge flawed perspectives and thought-patterns. i don't have to think about certain things at all, don't need to remember them, don't need to say certain things or act in certain ways. these are all my choices. that said, i'm not expecting perfection, but i need to recognize that i have a responsibility to participate in striving for it.
and i need to remember that it IS true that if i am trying, i am at peace, for the majority of the time. i can be anxiety free, as easily as i can light a candle, make the decision to stay active instead of retreating, sleep regularly, fall into dreams prayerful and focused, rising early or at least in the quiet to read scriptures. even if none of those things help the moment i make those decisions, i know the benefit is there, and will be reaped. it's a promise that i believe. it has worked, will work, and even if it takes time, i don't care, because my faith in it is more important than its empirical and rational basis.
st. augustine, regardless of the apparent difficulties in his overall theology, said something rather important which prof. lipscomb brought up to quote this morning, "Love, then act as you will." and, this is not to say that we can, as believers, do anything we want. augustine meant that if we participate in the process of this perfecting love, pursuing that relationship above anything else, then the things we desire will be more and more in line with what is right and good for us, and for those around us, but all the good in those actions is a direct reflection of our participation in and love for the Divine.
but, this does not lessen our responsbility - it makes us co-creators of our reality, responsible with true agency, yet humbly dependent, and this dependence is important to me, because it means that my faith-based trust in the simple things that i know work is not a detriment to my ability to think or be rationally consistent and searching, but rather a quality that may allow me to have the necessary humility required of those who desire to model their characters after christ's own.
now, i don't mean to preach. i was originally just writing for myself, in my own frustration, but i just thought that this was general enough to be shared, tested by the community of believers, if they care to contest it (which i would welcome and earnestly ask for), and perhaps, just maybe, helpful. even if it's helpful in the sense that it is an example of flawed christian reasoning.
i'm just trying, gratefully as possible. but, i think there can be joy in even our weaknesses.
thank God that he delights in us. kyrie eleison. amen. | | comments: Leave a comment |
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