Brilliance

I could never number the stars,
But I never tire of staring at them.
They seem so bright, and I feel so small.
I cannot comprehend it all.
I know He placed them each in space
The glittering orbs that twinkle and shine
And somehow seeing them up above
Reminds me of His limitless love.
And that to me is wonderful.

Consider

"To have found God and
still to pursue Him is the soul's paradox of
love, scorned indeed by the too
easily satisfied religionist, but justified
in happy experience by the
children of the burning heart."

- A.W. Tozer
{1897-1963} The Pursuit of God, pp.
14-15

I happened across this quote from A.W. Tozer, and it resonated with me. I especially like the refernce to 'children of the burning heart.' It reflects the passion that I believe should mark every follower of Christ. His Spirit in us spurs us on to the greatest happiness: a true relationship with Christ Himself. How amazingly wonderful. How awesomely marvelous. This indeed is where the deepest passion lies. We were made to be one with Jesus. We are the children of the burning heart.

Million Pieces

Every day I see the pain

Every day I hear the cries

It's so hard to just ignore

The silent pleas for something more

I hear the stories, I see the tears;

Whispered secrets, untold fears

I try to tell them of the hope You give

But I can't make them see the truth.

Jesus, please take this broken heart

The pain inside is tearing me apart

Take the fragments, make them whole

Heal the wounds deep in my soul

And give me eyes to see what's true

Jesus, hold me close to You.

I don't always understand

Your sovereign will and guiding hand

But I believe that Your love conquers all

And You will bring beauty from pain

Hope came shining in the darkness

Truth can pierce the empty soul

Trust is strengthened by true love

Fears vanish as the light comes pouring in

I start to see small glimpses of Your plan

You're changing lives but You're also changing me.

**********************************************

I wrote this piece several years back, after my first trip overseas to Russia. It resonated with me then, and I thought it was neat to look back to hindsight and bring back memories...

image source

Beating Heart

The strength of your arms
Surrounding me
Gives me security
Your warm embraces
Comfort me
Stop my shivers of cold
And I know
That you will be here for me
I am sure
That you will be my protector
You made me a promise
And I gave you my word
That we will be true
I will always love you.

Precious Little Time

Changes hover over my horizon. And I have been swept away by change. Of course, I have embraced every moment, but these changes mean that I am sacrificing in other areas. Such as...this blog, for instance. For now, whomever my readers may be, you must be content with the sporadic posts as they appear in scattered bits and pieces.

Inspiration comes and goes, I have found. I cannot conjure it up. These musings may not be particularly interesting, but the lack of inspired writing as of late could be chalked up to the fact that my brain has been occupied elsewhere for the past few months. Truth be told, I have been rather scatterbrained.

So bear with me, please. I hope that I will have something to say that will be of more interest, but that is not forthcoming right now. And since I have nothing further to say, I will say nothing more.

Twenty four hours in a day
Time that we are given
We are not guaranteed a breath
At any moment, it could end

So hold tight the ones you love
Embrace each and every morning
Live life while you have the chance
Don't waste another day

Pour yourself out, give it away
While you have the time to give
Don't hold back, have no reserves
For our time here is not lasting

Christ gave everything for you
That you might live
This is your time, and your place
Don't waste another day.

More Than a Feeling

Is love a fancy or a feeling? So asks Marianne in Jane Austen's novel Sense and Sensibility. I believe that it is much more, over and beyond a mere fancy and that it runs deeper than a feeling. Feelings are based in emotions, and are subject to change. Moods come and go, but authentic love remains constant. True love is no fancy, and does not rest in the realm of thought.

How to describe it? I am almost at a loss. What to say when words are not enough? To say that love is a commitment would be true, but there is more to it than that. Honestly, the word love is used rather flippantly in the English language, and has lost meaning over time. We live in a culture where love has become casual, and in regard to relationships, can be cast about with little or no commitment.

I adore the movie Princess Bride. It is a tale about 'true love,' and while it is a sarcastic fairy tale, the film both mocks the idea of 'happily ever after' and condones it all at once. How many people can actually say that their love is like the true love between Wesley and Buttercup? True love has become something like a myth, only found in the fairy tales and Jane Austen novels, but is not to be expected in reality.

In short, it has become a rare thing to witness anyone who is truly in love. It is uncommon to see a healthy relationship in which a husband cherishes his wife, or where a wife honors her husband. If you listen to pop culture songs, you will pick up on a trend of broken hearts, fragmented relationships, and shattered dreams. Today's generation has become disillusioned.

But there is always hope. Thank God for that. There has always been a remnant, and so long as there are Christ followers, reflecting the light of the Son, then there will be an environment for real love to flourish. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. Those who put Christ first have a perfect example of true love. And Scripture outlines the surest path to a healthy relationship between husbands and wives.

Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. ²³For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. ²⁴Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. ²⁵Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it... {Ephesians 5:22-25}

I have been blessed beyond measure and have been walking on cloud nine because God brought someone into my life. I feel as though I cannot deserve the love that God lavishes on me, or the love that my fiance shows towards me. To say that I am happy falls short. I must say that what I am experiencing is sweeter and more beautiful than anything I have hitherto known or thought possible. I tell my fiance that "God put you in my way." Just when I think that I cannot love him any more, I find that I treasure him increasingly, and that my regard for him deepens daily. What kind of love is this? I believe that it is because we love Christ that we can love each other in this way. I have no other explanation. This love is not a passing fancy nor a temporary feeling. It is real.

And this post turned out to be longer than I originally intended it to be. These thoughts have been on my mind, and I felt compelled to share them. There is always hope.

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To Be With You

Bright beams of headlights
Pass me by, they fade and blur
But I am miles from here
My thoughts are my own

Distance separates me now
Time just ticks on by
But I know you're thinking of me
Just as I am thinking of you

Just to be near you
Is enough
To know you're close
Is all that I need
Your hand in mine
Gives me security
All I want now
Is to be near you

You bring out a side of me
That I didn't know I had
Even in silence
We speak without words

Just to be near you
Is enough
To know you're close
Is all that I need
Your hand in mine
Gives me security
All I want now
Is to be near you

Blurred lights, out of focus
Passing me by, jarring me
Headlights bring me back
Back to where I started

Inspiration

I discovered Polyvore...and after messing around for a bit, I came out with very first 'set.' I entitled it: inspiration. It was rather fun to pick and choose whatever I wanted, and very easy to compose this collage. I think I might be hooked...

Meese, Moose, and Dr. Seuss

Language is a funny thing. My cousin Hayato tells me that English is difficult, and I have to agree with him. For instance, take the word moose. When moose is plural, it remains the same. More than one moose are still moose in proper English. Goose, however, is another matter entirely. Multiple goose are geese. If that isn't confusing enough, we have the mongooses. A singular mongoose is a mongoose, but when we are talking about more than one, the word becomes mongooses.

A moose is a moose.
There are no mooses or meese.
A goose is a goose.
There are no gooses, just geese.
But a mongoose is a mongoose -
There are no mongeese.
Only mongooses.
And I feel like Dr. Seuss.

Nonsensical. Absurd. But this is true. In order to speak correctly, we must observe that the moose, geese, and mongooses are much nicer than plain old moose, goose, and mongoose. Just a bit of useful information that I felt like sharing...

Fireflowers 花火

Tonight was magical. After I got off of work, I spent the evening with wonderfully amazing people, whom I love and cherish. God painted a cotton candy sunset in the sky. When theit grew dark and the lights dimmed, I witnessed a spectacular display. My eyes beheld willow-tree fireflowers that fell like stardust from the night sky. With each successive explosion came a new burst of light, a different pattern on the canvas of the sky. I was physically tired, and almost drifted off to dreamland as I gazed upwards.

The best part? This is just the beginning. Fireflower displays are starting to come into a full swing. Oh, how I love summer! May the magic never end... I am slipping into sleep even as I write this. Sleep is a welcome friend to me now. I think I will embrace it.