Tuesday, March 31, 2009
I'm a Proud Sister
This second one is his suicide song. It's a little longer, and you have to wait about two minutes for his entrance, but definitely worth watching :).
If you are viewing this on Facebook, you must click on "view original post" to be able to see the videos.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Refuge in the Midst of the Flood
I have been reading through the Psalms lately, and have been thinking a lot about how God Himself is the refuge for those who love Him.
This week, intense and heartbreaking as it has been, I found myself walking outside and laughing almost uncontrollably at times. I don't think I laughed because the flood is funny, because it definitely isn't, but I think the severity of the weather was so ridiculous to me that it made me laugh. God has shown His power this week - which we, the church, often pray for - and it has been devastating to many people's lives. Isn't that how God works? He must devastate what we think is good and comfortable and "safe" in order for us to see His power and get over ourselves.
This seems extreme sometimes, and often in painful, uncomfortable situations I wonder why God must seem so cruel. But I have realized something this week that excites me. The God who can devastate a city built up for a hundred or more years in one week is the same God who is my refuge. The power and glory of His devastating hand becomes a refuge when it is turned towards us who are His children. I couldn't be comforted more, and maybe understanding this is what caused my laughter. There is a deep joy that fills me knowing that this God who can stop all order and command the river is a faithful and eternal refuge to me.
Pastor Steve read Psalm 46 this morning, and it's one that I deeply appreciate, so I thought I would share it.
1God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
2Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change
And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;
3Though its waters roar and foam,
Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah.
4There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
The holy dwelling places of the Most High.
5God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.
6The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered;
He raised His voice, the earth melted.
7The LORD of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.
8Come, behold the works of the LORD,
Who has wrought desolations in the earth.
9He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth;
He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;
He burns the chariots with fire.
10"Cease striving and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."
11The LORD of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.
Martin Luther wrote a song that goes along with this Psalm: "A Mighty Fortress is our God"
Praise be to the God of this flood, and all things, who is our ever-present refuge in times of need.
This week, intense and heartbreaking as it has been, I found myself walking outside and laughing almost uncontrollably at times. I don't think I laughed because the flood is funny, because it definitely isn't, but I think the severity of the weather was so ridiculous to me that it made me laugh. God has shown His power this week - which we, the church, often pray for - and it has been devastating to many people's lives. Isn't that how God works? He must devastate what we think is good and comfortable and "safe" in order for us to see His power and get over ourselves.
This seems extreme sometimes, and often in painful, uncomfortable situations I wonder why God must seem so cruel. But I have realized something this week that excites me. The God who can devastate a city built up for a hundred or more years in one week is the same God who is my refuge. The power and glory of His devastating hand becomes a refuge when it is turned towards us who are His children. I couldn't be comforted more, and maybe understanding this is what caused my laughter. There is a deep joy that fills me knowing that this God who can stop all order and command the river is a faithful and eternal refuge to me.
Pastor Steve read Psalm 46 this morning, and it's one that I deeply appreciate, so I thought I would share it.
1God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
2Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change
And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;
3Though its waters roar and foam,
Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah.
4There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
The holy dwelling places of the Most High.
5God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.
6The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered;
He raised His voice, the earth melted.
7The LORD of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.
8Come, behold the works of the LORD,
Who has wrought desolations in the earth.
9He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth;
He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;
He burns the chariots with fire.
10"Cease striving and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."
11The LORD of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.
Martin Luther wrote a song that goes along with this Psalm: "A Mighty Fortress is our God"
A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.
Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.
And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.
That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth:
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
The Adventures of Melanie Marie (A Garden Gnome)...Part Four
She sat there, dead in her fear, not knowing what to do, when all of a sudden she began to whimper, and then to cry, and then to bellow. With that all the humions stopped gnashing their terrible teeth, and so on. Strangely, they all began to cry too. Between sobs and bellows and whimpers they tried to figure out what was going on!
When Melanie Marie realized what was happening, she started to giggle, and then to laugh, and then to combust with outrageous laughter! All of a sudden the humions did the same, and they did it completely against their will! Finally, Melanie Marie gained her composure and started to address the funny beasts.
"Dear Sirs, please disregard all of those terrible stories you have heard about me!" she exclaimed eloquently," I am just passing through perhaps it would be alright if I visit your village, I would love to see it."
"So you are the one that was said to be so vicious?" one of the humions spoke up.
"I suppose, but you were quite mistaken! I am not vicious at all!" she replied with a sweet smile and a cheery face.Her charm tamed the beasts in an instant, they could not bring themselves to do any harm to the little gnome. What Melanie Marie didn't seem to notice was that her emotions were contagious to the humions.
"Let's sing for her!" the lead humion cried out in pure joy, which he had acquired due to Melanie Marie's overpowering happiness. The others agreed immediately. So, the humions, beaming their brightest, lifter their rich, jovial voices and began to sing a most wonderful song.
Melanie Marie thought she was in Heaven. When she was a gnomeling she had always heard tales of the beautiful songs of the humions. The real thing, however, was much more exuberant and beautiful than anyone could have ever described. She suddenly drifted off into a deep sleep, unaware of how exhausted she had actually been.
When Melanie Marie realized what was happening, she started to giggle, and then to laugh, and then to combust with outrageous laughter! All of a sudden the humions did the same, and they did it completely against their will! Finally, Melanie Marie gained her composure and started to address the funny beasts.
"Dear Sirs, please disregard all of those terrible stories you have heard about me!" she exclaimed eloquently," I am just passing through perhaps it would be alright if I visit your village, I would love to see it."
"So you are the one that was said to be so vicious?" one of the humions spoke up.
"I suppose, but you were quite mistaken! I am not vicious at all!" she replied with a sweet smile and a cheery face.Her charm tamed the beasts in an instant, they could not bring themselves to do any harm to the little gnome. What Melanie Marie didn't seem to notice was that her emotions were contagious to the humions.
"Let's sing for her!" the lead humion cried out in pure joy, which he had acquired due to Melanie Marie's overpowering happiness. The others agreed immediately. So, the humions, beaming their brightest, lifter their rich, jovial voices and began to sing a most wonderful song.
Melanie Marie thought she was in Heaven. When she was a gnomeling she had always heard tales of the beautiful songs of the humions. The real thing, however, was much more exuberant and beautiful than anyone could have ever described. She suddenly drifted off into a deep sleep, unaware of how exhausted she had actually been.
Monday, March 23, 2009
We Interrupt this Story to Highlight a Good Blog by Al Mohler...
Albert Mohler is the President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS), where Caleb and I will be attending next year. His blog this morning was really good (typically they are, since he is some sort of crazy genius). He makes some great points concerning gender equality within the church. It's something I tend to think about a lot, so I thought I would share. You can read his post here: A "Stained-Glass Ceiling?" A Clarifying Look at a Controversial Question.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
The Adventures of Melanie Marie (A Garden Gnome) ... Part Three
Gazing at the new, unexplored world around her, Melanie Marie trampled through the forest in fear of every next step she took. This was all new to her, everything was so big and unfamiliar, yet she knew that the only way was to swallow her fear and go forward into the unknown. So forward she went, deep into the forest, where the trees towering over her head seemed to engulf her and the tall grass hid her from view, and not once did she look back.
For days on end she traveled through the woods, not knowing what she would encounter. After traveling for what seemed like forever, she thought she could faintly hear people talking in the far off distance.
"Am I hallucinating, or is there really someone out there?" she said quietly to herself as she stopped dead in her tracks. She didn't know what to do, but she had to think fast.
She decided to make her camp early that night so she could listen in on the conversation she thought she heard from off in the trees. Besides, if she really did hear voices, how would she know if they had friendly intentions? For all she knew, she could be overhearing the bellicose war cries of the cannibalistic monsters she was warned about in the fairy tales of her childhood. She had to know more; there was no chancing anything while she was all alone in a foreign land. After she had made a fire, and piled some leaves up to sleep upon, she settled in to listen more intently to the voices. She couldn't make out if they were woman or man, gnome or monkey, as a matter of fact she could hardly make out what they were saying.
"Have you heard of the little gnome who forsook her tasks of randomness and fled from her city?" she strained to decipher. "It is said she is travelling this way, and that she has come as a threat to over-throw any sanity she stumbles across."
Melanie Marie giggled softly to herself, when the voices seemed to get louder. She hurried to put out the fire that might foolishly give her away, but she was too late. She had only heard two voices but somehow she seemed to be surrounded by a multitude of humions! These half-human half-lion beasts closed in on her while they gnashed their terrible teeth, and flexed their terrible claws, and shook their terrible manes! She sat there, dead in her fear, not knowing what to do...
For days on end she traveled through the woods, not knowing what she would encounter. After traveling for what seemed like forever, she thought she could faintly hear people talking in the far off distance.
"Am I hallucinating, or is there really someone out there?" she said quietly to herself as she stopped dead in her tracks. She didn't know what to do, but she had to think fast.
She decided to make her camp early that night so she could listen in on the conversation she thought she heard from off in the trees. Besides, if she really did hear voices, how would she know if they had friendly intentions? For all she knew, she could be overhearing the bellicose war cries of the cannibalistic monsters she was warned about in the fairy tales of her childhood. She had to know more; there was no chancing anything while she was all alone in a foreign land. After she had made a fire, and piled some leaves up to sleep upon, she settled in to listen more intently to the voices. She couldn't make out if they were woman or man, gnome or monkey, as a matter of fact she could hardly make out what they were saying.
"Have you heard of the little gnome who forsook her tasks of randomness and fled from her city?" she strained to decipher. "It is said she is travelling this way, and that she has come as a threat to over-throw any sanity she stumbles across."
Melanie Marie giggled softly to herself, when the voices seemed to get louder. She hurried to put out the fire that might foolishly give her away, but she was too late. She had only heard two voices but somehow she seemed to be surrounded by a multitude of humions! These half-human half-lion beasts closed in on her while they gnashed their terrible teeth, and flexed their terrible claws, and shook their terrible manes! She sat there, dead in her fear, not knowing what to do...
Thursday, March 12, 2009
The Adventures of Melanie Marie (A Garden Gnome) ... Continued
Make sure to read the beginning of the story in the previous post.
'What an awkward way to start a day as wonderful as this one is going to be,' she thought. You see, her sister, Melanie Marie was going to prove her womanhood. She had been training for what seemed like years, but no amount of training had ever helped anyone else do any better. How it usually worked was all the people in the village would come together to watch her complete "The Tasks of Randomness." No one had ever gotten the same two tasks, that's why it was so difficult to train. The borraner, which we now call the mayor, would assign five tasks to be completed in two days.
She arrived home breathless from her early morning dash through the garden, and she was still a bit dazed from all that had already happened. She was determined, however, to help her sister in every way she possibly could.
"Melanie Marie! Where are you my dear sister?" She cried as she walked through the door. She just had to find Melanie Marie as soon as she could to help her and encourage her.
The day was shaping out to be a lovely one. The birds were singing, the sun was shining, there was no hint of rain, and there was a slight breeze, making it the most agreeable weather. She was sure Melanie Marie would be able to complete her tasks of randomness, especially if the weather held out.
"Adelle, did you call me? Where are you?" her sister called as she came down the stairs.
"I am in here dear sister, I know this means so much to you, as it does to me, but I don't think I am going to go through with it. Womanhood will come whether or not I pass the tasks of randomness."
"Or course it will, but this will make you name blessed in our little city. You are just nervous. Now, let's get ready."
"I am nervous, but that has nothing to do with me not wanting to do my tasks! I don't want people to know me because of what I did, I want them to know me because of who I am."
"Oh nonsense! You will complete these tasks and then you will be engaged to whomever the matchmaker sees fit. In two weeks you could be married!"
"Adelle! You are not listening to me! I want to fall in love! Not to be matched up with a strange gnome! I am packed and ready to leave, I will be going as far away from here as possible."
"You can't just not show up tonight! You have to be there! The whole town will be waiting for you! I have been waiting for this moment for three years!"
"So that is why I have to do this. You never completed your tasks of randomness and you are going to make sure I will. Well, I am not going to. I am leaving. You can very easily inform the borraner why I could not make it. I love you, sister, and I pray I see you again someday."
And with that she ran out her door with nothing but a few days worth of food and a few clothes. Suddenly, she realized she had never left her quaint little village, and a chill went up her spine. There was a huge world out there, and it was her time to face it.
To Be Continued...
'What an awkward way to start a day as wonderful as this one is going to be,' she thought. You see, her sister, Melanie Marie was going to prove her womanhood. She had been training for what seemed like years, but no amount of training had ever helped anyone else do any better. How it usually worked was all the people in the village would come together to watch her complete "The Tasks of Randomness." No one had ever gotten the same two tasks, that's why it was so difficult to train. The borraner, which we now call the mayor, would assign five tasks to be completed in two days.
She arrived home breathless from her early morning dash through the garden, and she was still a bit dazed from all that had already happened. She was determined, however, to help her sister in every way she possibly could.
"Melanie Marie! Where are you my dear sister?" She cried as she walked through the door. She just had to find Melanie Marie as soon as she could to help her and encourage her.
The day was shaping out to be a lovely one. The birds were singing, the sun was shining, there was no hint of rain, and there was a slight breeze, making it the most agreeable weather. She was sure Melanie Marie would be able to complete her tasks of randomness, especially if the weather held out.
"Adelle, did you call me? Where are you?" her sister called as she came down the stairs.
"I am in here dear sister, I know this means so much to you, as it does to me, but I don't think I am going to go through with it. Womanhood will come whether or not I pass the tasks of randomness."
"Or course it will, but this will make you name blessed in our little city. You are just nervous. Now, let's get ready."
"I am nervous, but that has nothing to do with me not wanting to do my tasks! I don't want people to know me because of what I did, I want them to know me because of who I am."
"Oh nonsense! You will complete these tasks and then you will be engaged to whomever the matchmaker sees fit. In two weeks you could be married!"
"Adelle! You are not listening to me! I want to fall in love! Not to be matched up with a strange gnome! I am packed and ready to leave, I will be going as far away from here as possible."
"You can't just not show up tonight! You have to be there! The whole town will be waiting for you! I have been waiting for this moment for three years!"
"So that is why I have to do this. You never completed your tasks of randomness and you are going to make sure I will. Well, I am not going to. I am leaving. You can very easily inform the borraner why I could not make it. I love you, sister, and I pray I see you again someday."
And with that she ran out her door with nothing but a few days worth of food and a few clothes. Suddenly, she realized she had never left her quaint little village, and a chill went up her spine. There was a huge world out there, and it was her time to face it.
To Be Continued...
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
The Adventures of Melanie Marie (A Garden Gnome)
The other night Caleb, Jordan, and I were talking about kid's literature and reminiscing about stories we had written when we were younger. I decided that I would take the next few blog posts to share a story with you that I wrote when I was fourteen with a good friend of mine. I moved to North Dakota from Florida, and we decided to write this story via email paragraph by paragraph. In other words, I would write a paragraph and email it to her, and she would write a paragraph and email it to me. We built off of each other, and this is what we came up with.
The Adventures of Melanie Marie (A Garden Gnome) By: Ashley Burton and Rebekah (Reeves) Drahosh
All of a sudden, she heard a boisterous sound coming from the garden! She ran with all her might out to see what might be haunting her yard, and when she saw it, she stopped dead in her tracks. Screaming, she hurried to get a stick, and then charged full speed ahead at the flying beast.
"Ooo ooo ooo," it yelled as she violently struck it on the head,"Stop stop stop!"
Nervously she backed away, shaking in her little dress. It was a monkey! A flying monkey! She didn't know what to think. Thoughts raced through her mind like water rushes over a cliff. She had never, ever, in her most ridiculous dreams, ever thought of finding a flying monkey in her garden! Was it an illusion or was this really a flying monkey?
"What in the blue sky's name do you think you are doing hitting me with that stick of yours?!" the creature roared. He was mad; there was no denying it. He got up and stomped over to her in a blatant fury and began to yell in her face.
"You could have really hurt me, little missy! It's bad enough I fell out of the sky like a dead duck just shot down, and then you attack me with a piece of tree? I fear there is no end to this world of madness! What have we come to when even the noblest of flying primates can no longer fly freely?!"
All the poor gnome wanted to do was protect her garden...and regretfully she did just that. The horrible schizophrenic monkey was gone as quickly as he had arrived, leaving nothing but a poor little garden gnome shaking in her garden. Slowly but surely she reassembled herself, and then she went back to her busy days work.
To Be Continued...
The Adventures of Melanie Marie (A Garden Gnome) By: Ashley Burton and Rebekah (Reeves) Drahosh
All of a sudden, she heard a boisterous sound coming from the garden! She ran with all her might out to see what might be haunting her yard, and when she saw it, she stopped dead in her tracks. Screaming, she hurried to get a stick, and then charged full speed ahead at the flying beast.
"Ooo ooo ooo," it yelled as she violently struck it on the head,"Stop stop stop!"
Nervously she backed away, shaking in her little dress. It was a monkey! A flying monkey! She didn't know what to think. Thoughts raced through her mind like water rushes over a cliff. She had never, ever, in her most ridiculous dreams, ever thought of finding a flying monkey in her garden! Was it an illusion or was this really a flying monkey?
"What in the blue sky's name do you think you are doing hitting me with that stick of yours?!" the creature roared. He was mad; there was no denying it. He got up and stomped over to her in a blatant fury and began to yell in her face.
"You could have really hurt me, little missy! It's bad enough I fell out of the sky like a dead duck just shot down, and then you attack me with a piece of tree? I fear there is no end to this world of madness! What have we come to when even the noblest of flying primates can no longer fly freely?!"
All the poor gnome wanted to do was protect her garden...and regretfully she did just that. The horrible schizophrenic monkey was gone as quickly as he had arrived, leaving nothing but a poor little garden gnome shaking in her garden. Slowly but surely she reassembled herself, and then she went back to her busy days work.
To Be Continued...
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