Thursday, February 9, 2012

we're off to see the Victory!



Brick paths mark the way to the place we call home.
A surge, a feeling, a phrase beckons our hearts.
Our families are there; it's about a side of pride.
Palmer's doors are opened to the tried and the true.
The young and the old line the walls on both sides.
We clap and wave our hands in perfect syncopation;
we raise our voices to sing our heartfelt lullabies.
Two sides with two colors gather for one sole purpose.
We call them Gold and Black. We call them Purple and White.
Circle up! Let's boom sha la la! Let's poof our magic!
What's it gonna be? That's what we've come to see!

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

newness.



late Tuesday night. a glass of tea sits. it sweats. it waters. sips taken every now and again. the Bible opened to a Psalm with pen marks underlining what speaks inspiration and hope. Psalm 138 to be specific. "i bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name," verse 2 reads. the beauty of God's Word brings so much tenderness to the soul. so much simple joy bound up in the heart. precious reminders of Who holds tomorrow and the fragility of life. let the small simplicities and precious joys of Christ fill in the space. when all else has faded and slipped through the cracks, the unchanged and unwavering Lord remains.





I wish that I would stop and actually smell the roses more. I don't just ignored the fragrance, I nearly pass by these fragile buds on the other side without batting an eye. I am so busy of looking to the needs and longings of my own life that I fall short of taking the moment to appreciate what the Lord has given me and all the people who are around me everywhere I go. I'm constantly looking for something so simple and no-so-simple like a sunrise, and all the time the sun rises and lowers without me stopping to notice that it was there in the first place. The pace we carry around in our lives is unstoppable until...we must stop. We're all guilty of these hurried foot-steps. Where is this generation going? We're always going, going. Technology has over-run us, and we let it in without even thinking twice. (This blog being an example). We don't even notice the familiar or the simple joys of life. We overlook things that should be considered precious reminders of Who we serve and Who withholds no good thing. I often look at God wishing I had joy and peace, failing to realize I had it all along. I'm constantly on the lookout for the meaning of my life, blindly forgetting that the meaning for my life is for the glory of God. I need the Lord to take these thoughts and make them truly precious again, gaining a newness in Him and in His Kingdom. When the dust has settled covering all that I deem important, I realize Who and What is all-lasting, never wavering, and unalterable. "How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand." - Psalm 139:17-18



Since graduating from college, I have not only applied for several jobs, but I have also applied my mind to many possibilities. I find myself compiling a lengthy list of lofty hopes in my head of what I'd love to do with my life. My life has entered a new realm; a realm dwelling in possibility and freshness. The Lord has been working inside my heart, bringing a newness and clean slate. My life is currently about new beginnings, literally and spiritually. I'm training my ears, eyes, and heart to look and listen to Him. One thing I'm certain is that the Lord never withholds any good thing from me. His sovereignty and faithfulness never fails.



"The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands." -Psalm 138:8