Comfort ye, comfort ye my people!
For unto us a child is born.
He did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, but
Made Himself nothing,
Taking the form of a servant,
Being born in the likeness of men.
And being found in human form,
He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death,
Even death on a cross.
His blood be on us, and on our children.
He became flesh, and dwelt among us,
And we have seen His glory,
Glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
He was in the world, and the world was made through Him,
Yet the world did not know Him.
He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him.
His blood be on us, and on our children.
He was despised and rejected by men;
A man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
As one from whom men hide their faces,
He was despised,
And we esteemed Him not.
His blood be on us, and on our children.
Surely He has borne our griefs,
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
But He was wounded for our transgressions;
He was crushed for our iniquities.
His blood be on us, and on our children.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned every one to his own way;
And the Lord has laid on Him
The iniquity of us all.
His blood be on us, and on our children.
Out of the anguish of His soul He shall see and be satisfied;
By His knowledge shall the Righteous One,
My Servant,
Make many to be accounted righteous,
And He shall bear our iniquities:
Upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
And with His stripes we are healed.
His blood be on us, and on our children.
He has not dealt with us as we deserved,
And whoever comes to Him He will not cast out.
His blood be on us, and on our children.
And we shall sing a new song, saying,
'You are worthy,
For you were slain, and by
Your blood
You ransomed people for God
From every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
And you have made them a kingdom
And priests to our God,
And they shall reign on the earth.'
His blood be on us, and on our children.
Friday, December 22, 2006
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Catching at...
Let us see how me can abuse the English today. Or degenerate into "blogtalk" or "Flying Dragon's-office-speak" (no--I'll always have too many words for that, even if they be the wrong ones).
Cousinses (including aunt and uncle)--good. Fun.
Wedding--wonderful. Hannah happy and beautiful and happily and beautifully married.
Brother--good. Nice to have home.
Yes, we went to see relations in a state which shall remain nameless, who were very gracious and hospitable and had a Barnes and Noble dangerously close by.
From there I took my solitary flight to NC, where I and my luggage eventually arrived, and got to participate in all the fun of stuffing rice bags and folding napkins and ironing very large pieces of skirt and folding programs while groomsmen played AOE (just kidding--well, kind of) and trying not to scream too loudly when hair and makeup aren't working and you realize that she's getting MARRIED...and decorating the car and putting her name on the wrong side (oops). I didn't even cry. The ringbearer was most attentive, and has joined my list of I-was-born-too-early-for. I like being a bridesmaid.
But I have decided I shouldn't get married anytime soon--walking down the aisle was scary enough as it was. Trying to maintain tempo and not trip on my skirt and not trip on the white cloth thing and holding my bouquet and smiling was almost too much for me to manage.
The wedding, I thought, was beautiful--focusing on the Lord, and them serving Him together in their marriage. They love each other, and make each other very happy, and the service was very personal. All I could see was the back of the bride's head, but I hear she was glowing. It was cool, too--the pastor spoke the vows in English, and they repeated them to each other in French. They had copies of their vows written out for all the guests to sign as witnesses.
It was far too warm, and we were all tired and hungry. and one bridesmaid almost fainted--which would have been exciting if we hadn't been worried about her ;). The pastor wore an African [whatever it's properly called], and they had a drummer for announcements. Several of the guests wore bright African clothes--there were even some with desert turbans and swords. It made me think a little of heaven, where we will all join in together singing praise to the One Who has redeeemed us to God out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation. The reception hall was decorated with things from Niger, and we ate couscous and dates and olives and other things that I don't know the name for. There was bissap to drink--iced tea brewed with hibiscus, lots of sugar, and a bit of ginger--very good.
I liked our dresses too--light blue knee-length, long-sleeved tops and wrap skirts (panyas, I think), with silver and blue embroidery. The skirt measures from the floor up to about my chin and requires talent to fold (the line must come along the left, or African women will know you don't know what you're doing). Someone asked if my shoes came from Niger, too, to which I replied, "Ross!" The groomsmen all wore silver knee-length tops and silver pants, and sandals with little red pom-pom tassels. Hannah and Abdoulaye wore white, with silver and gold embroidery, and Hannah wore her mother's veil edged with pearls. The flowers were blue--white gladiolas, and delphiniums blue.
And I got to meet so many new friends who understand about missions, and see some of my long-missed school friends and most of the Dragons and Nathan! There were too many people to talk to and not enough time--a lot of that is going to have to wait for heaven.
N and I had a very fun ride home, even though Tennessee was very long and Arkansas quite literally stank. And now he is home, if only for a little while.
Someday I shall be in a place where I can stop saying goodbye. But for now, I have some crying to catch up on.
Cousinses (including aunt and uncle)--good. Fun.
Wedding--wonderful. Hannah happy and beautiful and happily and beautifully married.
Brother--good. Nice to have home.
Yes, we went to see relations in a state which shall remain nameless, who were very gracious and hospitable and had a Barnes and Noble dangerously close by.
From there I took my solitary flight to NC, where I and my luggage eventually arrived, and got to participate in all the fun of stuffing rice bags and folding napkins and ironing very large pieces of skirt and folding programs while groomsmen played AOE (just kidding--well, kind of) and trying not to scream too loudly when hair and makeup aren't working and you realize that she's getting MARRIED...and decorating the car and putting her name on the wrong side (oops). I didn't even cry. The ringbearer was most attentive, and has joined my list of I-was-born-too-early-for. I like being a bridesmaid.
But I have decided I shouldn't get married anytime soon--walking down the aisle was scary enough as it was. Trying to maintain tempo and not trip on my skirt and not trip on the white cloth thing and holding my bouquet and smiling was almost too much for me to manage.
The wedding, I thought, was beautiful--focusing on the Lord, and them serving Him together in their marriage. They love each other, and make each other very happy, and the service was very personal. All I could see was the back of the bride's head, but I hear she was glowing. It was cool, too--the pastor spoke the vows in English, and they repeated them to each other in French. They had copies of their vows written out for all the guests to sign as witnesses.
It was far too warm, and we were all tired and hungry. and one bridesmaid almost fainted--which would have been exciting if we hadn't been worried about her ;). The pastor wore an African [whatever it's properly called], and they had a drummer for announcements. Several of the guests wore bright African clothes--there were even some with desert turbans and swords. It made me think a little of heaven, where we will all join in together singing praise to the One Who has redeeemed us to God out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation. The reception hall was decorated with things from Niger, and we ate couscous and dates and olives and other things that I don't know the name for. There was bissap to drink--iced tea brewed with hibiscus, lots of sugar, and a bit of ginger--very good.
I liked our dresses too--light blue knee-length, long-sleeved tops and wrap skirts (panyas, I think), with silver and blue embroidery. The skirt measures from the floor up to about my chin and requires talent to fold (the line must come along the left, or African women will know you don't know what you're doing). Someone asked if my shoes came from Niger, too, to which I replied, "Ross!" The groomsmen all wore silver knee-length tops and silver pants, and sandals with little red pom-pom tassels. Hannah and Abdoulaye wore white, with silver and gold embroidery, and Hannah wore her mother's veil edged with pearls. The flowers were blue--white gladiolas, and delphiniums blue.
And I got to meet so many new friends who understand about missions, and see some of my long-missed school friends and most of the Dragons and Nathan! There were too many people to talk to and not enough time--a lot of that is going to have to wait for heaven.
N and I had a very fun ride home, even though Tennessee was very long and Arkansas quite literally stank. And now he is home, if only for a little while.
Someday I shall be in a place where I can stop saying goodbye. But for now, I have some crying to catch up on.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Happy (Late) Birthday, Kiddo!
It's been (and is) so good to see you grow (and growing) into the man you are (and are becoming) now. I'm glad we decided to be friends! (miss you.)
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Jehovah is My Stay
Love and prayers for Brianne K. and family.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Icy shards of grief
Pricking, piercing unprotected love
When Memory opens accidentally on Now.
I long to cry, but cannot find the tears;
I want to laugh, but can't remember how.
I do not understand.
A wall springs up within a crowd:
Those who know, from those who know no pain;
Averted eyes, a stifled glance, a Red Sea dance
Around me in the hall. The silence of the shroud, preceding me,
Surrounding me, buried
To the world.
I cannot understand.
Living seems the hardest thing of all--
Eating, sleeping, breathing
With Sorrow settled mocking on my shoulder.
If I could only wilt, or fade away, and
Die--
But I am left alive,
To see the world in shades of gray, and wonder--
Why? I will not understand.
But You are still my Counselor, the One
Who takes my hands and leads me when I stumble,
Blinded, up a mountain paved with stones that bruise my heels.
And You are still the Mighty God, the One
Who died, and makes the dead alive,
The end and the Beginning.
My Everlasting Father,
Teaching me to walk again,
Hidden underneath Your wings.
The Prince of Peace,
Who cares for me, and gives me rest,
and guards my heart.
You are Jesus. I stand within
The cleft of Your hand, and see
A nail-shaped scar--
I weep, and laugh, but do not understand.
When I am weak and sad, I cling to this: that
You, Oh God, are strong. And You, Oh God, are loving.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Icy shards of grief
Pricking, piercing unprotected love
When Memory opens accidentally on Now.
I long to cry, but cannot find the tears;
I want to laugh, but can't remember how.
I do not understand.
A wall springs up within a crowd:
Those who know, from those who know no pain;
Averted eyes, a stifled glance, a Red Sea dance
Around me in the hall. The silence of the shroud, preceding me,
Surrounding me, buried
To the world.
I cannot understand.
Living seems the hardest thing of all--
Eating, sleeping, breathing
With Sorrow settled mocking on my shoulder.
If I could only wilt, or fade away, and
Die--
But I am left alive,
To see the world in shades of gray, and wonder--
Why? I will not understand.
But You are still my Counselor, the One
Who takes my hands and leads me when I stumble,
Blinded, up a mountain paved with stones that bruise my heels.
And You are still the Mighty God, the One
Who died, and makes the dead alive,
The end and the Beginning.
My Everlasting Father,
Teaching me to walk again,
Hidden underneath Your wings.
The Prince of Peace,
Who cares for me, and gives me rest,
and guards my heart.
You are Jesus. I stand within
The cleft of Your hand, and see
A nail-shaped scar--
I weep, and laugh, but do not understand.
When I am weak and sad, I cling to this: that
You, Oh God, are strong. And You, Oh God, are loving.
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