Music Monday - 20080804

I have wanted to put my selection for today's Music Monday for some time. Sometimes I would just plain forget, other times another song took its place in the 'I-just-have-to-put-it-in-today' category. LOL

Take Me In Words and music by Dave Browning from Petra Praise: The Rock Cries Out - 1989 Take me past the outer courts Into the Holy place Past the brazen altar Lord I want to see Your face Pass me by the crowds of people The priests who sing Your praise I hunger and thirst for Your righteousness And it's only found one place Take me in to the Holy of Holies Take me in by the blood of the Lamb Take me in to the Holy of Holies Take the coal, cleanse my lips, here I am Take the coal, cleanse my lips, here I am

I remember my first impression when I heard this song. It was a sensation of craving, but not one that would go against the ten commandments. Have you ever craved God? To experience His presence? To be near Him? To hear Him? To just be still and sit at his feet? That is what this song prompts in my heart and mind when I hear it. The imagery that comes to mind (at least to me) is of being led by Jesus into the temple. There are throngs of people milling about. And when I stop to join them Jesus touches my arm, shakes His head, and leads me further in. We then come to the alter of God and I am struck by God's righteousness and my inadequacies. I move to withdraw, but He touches my arm once more. When I turn back to Him with tears in my eyes he lovingly shows me the scars upon his hands, feet, and side. With love in His eyes he brushes away a tear from my face, and leads me further in. We then come to the Holy of Holies. I can no longer stand and fall to my knees in worship. This song stirs my soul. It springs forth a desire to worship. What an awesome song. Verse for today: Isaiah 6 : 1-7, ESV In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train [1] of his robe filled the temple Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew And one called to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” [2]

And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

Random entries for blogging

I've been dealing with growing pains and my new MP3 player (right). I am amazed at just how much it can hold even though it is 'only' a 2GB model. I love the sound quality, the ease of the controls, and how quickly this old fogy was able to pick up the basics of loading and use. I'm sure there are others out there who would better utilize it than I could, but I am happy with my purchase. I've even ordered a pair of "Skullcandy" ear buds for my tiny ears. I need the softer, more flexible, inserts to hold them in while I workout (more later). I've also ordered a 'skin' to protect it from my greasy/sweaty hands, and an armband, again to work out with. Last night I passed on my old stick MP3 player to DS1. He was happy to get it even if it wasn't an iPod, or a player as cool as this one. We fiddled around loading up his own music, and me showing him how to use it. Speaking of working out... Although I haven't done it yet, I will be signing up for a gym membership in the next week or so. I really want to get into shape. I am not going to go out and run a marathon, or weight lifting competition, but I do need to drop 20-30 pounds, and I want to live for a nice long time to collect on any retirement I might get. ;) Besides, I used to love to run, and even if my running days are behind me, I want to feel healthy again. The decision is down to either Gold's Gym, or a local "Wellness Center". There are a lot pro's a con's to both. I am actually leaning towards the local gym even though it's a little more a month. I like the 'coziness' and the proximity to my house - but I am leary because I have heard they "ask" you to get off of the machines after 35 minutes or so. I have plans of using said machines for up to 45-50 minutes once I am in shape again. I dunno, and it might sound silly, but I am praying about which one to join. A lot of people have been asking me how it feels to be out of the National Guard. To be honest, it still feels the same. I haven't even missed a single drill yet, but there is a sense of excitement that I do not have to go to drill this month. :) I am sure that feeling will wain in the coming months. Maybe not till next year, maybe never, but for now I am enjoying it. I have arranged to meet with two other 'old soldiers' who retired with me (within 30 days of me) for breakfast in September. Mostly to make sure we keep in touch. I also found out that they did not receive anything other than their orders to be transfered to the retired reserve. That was disappointing, especially since I received the unit's Guidon from our two week annual training this year nicely mounted. Since then I have arranged to right that wrong for them - even if it comes out of my own pocket (which I don't think it will, and ssh... it's a secret). I still haven't seen "The Dark Knight"! I know it's not the be-all, and end-all, of movies, but I am into the Superhero genre of movies, and I really liked "Batman Begins". Something as 'big' as this movie and you'd have thought that I'd have been there already - but no... My story has sort of lagged behind lately, but that's ok. I have been away on vacation, we had VBS, and my beloved's birthday is coming up pretty soon - so I have been a little busy. One of my WWW (blogging) friends recently asked about this, and was encouragingly nudging me to not let it fall by the way side. I still have all of my notes in 'hard copy', but I really want to get them into my 'Liquid Story' program. (For any of you writers out there I highly recommend this program.)The graphics are mostly to sell the product, but it is possible to insert them to help the writer visualize what they are working on. The program is also highly flexible in how the writer chooses to use it. I love it because I can 'flesh' out my notes on the characters and line up my outline (as much as I have so far) in a way that is helpful to me. Last, but not least by any stretch of the imagination, is that God has been working on me. Helping me learn how to set better priorities. I am a slow learner, but... oh look, something shiny.... Verse for today: Proverbs 1 : 1-7, ESV The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:

To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight, to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity; to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth— Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance, to understand a proverb and a saying, the words of the wise and their riddles.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Why do I get so many butterflies?

I cannot go into any real detail yet, but I am nervous. Please pray for me. There is no need to be nervous, and yet I am. Why? Because I am looking to make a change in my life. More to follow - some day. ;-) Verse for today: Psalm 37 : 7-9, ESV Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!

Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.

Wordless Wednesday

Some of my blogging friends use pictures for today... for me it's just that I am pretty beat down today. Very, very tired - so I will add a picture today and wish you all a great Wednesday! By Mr. Kunstler: - When I finally decided to paint the Battle of New Market, I knew I wanted to incorporate a number of important visual elements into the painting. They included a terrible thunder storm, the VMI students participating in a valiant fashion, and a former Vice President of the United States as commanding General for the Confederates. On visiting the Battlefield, I went step by step through the battle with Director Ed Merrill and Curator Keith Gibson. I was struck by the charm and beauty of the Bushong House on the Battlefield. If I came in close on the students near the house, they would simply be marching in parade ground precision past the building and I knew this would not make an interesting picture. However, in wandering around the Battlefield where General John C. Breckenridge had his command post, I realized I could do it all - show Breckenridge, show an artillery battery in action near the command position, utilize the lightning as a light source, show the students and feature the Bushong House in this one painting. I was sure this was the solution to the problem of how to say "New Market" to the viewer in a dramatic and interesting way. With the torrential downpour, the main effect I was after was wetness. The rain would have washed the mud off men and horses as fast as they were being covered with it. I had also never seen a painting of anyone with the rubberized blankets in use at the time and decided to put one on General Breckenridge. I find the difficulties of fighting a battle under these circumstances truly amazing. Imagine trying to keep track of the enemy, keep your powder dry and your weapons in working order, and control your horse with the lightning, thunder and gunfire. These were some of the things I tried to capture in Thunder in the Valley. I hope I have succeeded. Verse for today: Revelation 19 : 6-10, ESV Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,

“Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”—

for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

And the angel said [2] to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.” Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant [3] with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Not Exactly 'Revelation' type stuff but...

Over the weekend, while I was out enjoying time with my family at an unusually slow pace, I found out that a sequel to a game that I really liked was coming out. Despite my real lack of time to get too deep in any one game I went ahead and put a deposit for both the game and the strategy guide. Before I make the "big reveal" I wanted to ponder the similarities in interests I seem to have. Fair reader, perhaps you can help me figure out why? If not, maybe you will enjoy similar things... Way back in High School I had a tradition of spending New Years Eve with a friend of mine nicknamed 'Tynie". We were both social misfits in our school so we enjoyed each other's company. One year we watched "Damnation Alley" as one of many movies we watched. I remember this movie in particular because while we were watching it my foot brushed an orange peel on the floor while we were watching the "Salt Lake City" scene, and I vaulted over the ottoman I was leaning against and landed on the coach behind it. LOL But these were the years when I was really getting into movies. Other movies I really got into where "Mad Max" and "The Road Warrior". What I did not realize was that it was becoming a defining moments, and a trend in my likes and dislikes of genres. But the movie I 'loved' the most was "The Terminator". I remember my friends and I walking over six miles each way, in the summer heat to go and watch this movie. I was captivated by the future scenes of John Connor running through the post apocalyptic wastes of some city in the future. Dodging evil robots, and trying to defend what was left of human civilization. Even back then I remember wanting a 'Terminator' movie set in the future, and it looks like my hope of such a thing will finally come to be realized next May. "Terminator: Salvation", starring Christian Bale, will finally hit the theaters next year. I doubt it will be as good as I want it to be, but I will watch it nonetheless. Both the 'teaser' and the first promotional trailer can be found at IMDB. Of the three movies that have been released so far, "Rise of the Machines" (3) is my favorite. Last year's Fox's "The Sarah Connor Chronicles" was an awesome (IMO) series and I am really looking forward to the upcoming season. So far I've not established a pattern so much as just an affinity for certain style of movie so I shall move on. Starting in my High School years I also got into a table top war game called "Warhammer 40,000". By this time in my life I was getting bored with Dungeons & Dragons and I had recently joined the Army National Guard. Having been exposed to several other Bookshelf games (i.e. Tactics II, Napoleon, Air War, and Squad Leader), I liked the idea of having a three dimensional representation with the pieces. But what really caught my eye was when a 'rule set' for a game called 'Confrontation' came out circa 1990. This game eventually became 'Necromunda'. This game is a 'squad level' skirmish game set in a future world where cities have grown into the skies and are now called 'hives'. Where the game takes place is in the 'lawless zones' of the 'underhive' where things are not kept up and decay is the rule in regards to resources. When a supplemental rule article came out for the "Ash Wastes" it immediately caught my eye. The "Wastes" in this 'world' are a place where millennium upon millennium of industrial waste has ruined and made toxic the entire planet surface not covered by the massive hive-cities. Yet there are those who carve out a living outside the walls. These are the backdrops of my short stories (both inside, and out of the cities). I was interested enough to help proof read, and write some specific stories, for a rewrite of the 'Ash Wastes' rules supplement about a year or so back. My interests in this area is not limited to movies and board/tabletop games. On my recent vacation I had run out of reading material so I was perusing one of the overpriced bookstores in the Dallas airport and came across a book in a series by William Johnstone (the title escapes me right now). But there are about a dozen or so books - all based on a post-apocalyptic America. I have read only three chapters and I have put it down because I want to start the series from the beginning! I'm not sure how much I will really like, but it's caught my attention. So, finally back to my original comment about this game I want to get - even though I do not have all that much time to actually play it... The game is called Fallout 3 (the video above is the promotional deal from the company). I got hooked on the first one in the series back when I was on active duty. It was already an old game then, but I ate it up anyway. I also picked up the second in the series, but I never finished it. Now I hear that there is yet another Fallout game that is a turn based tactical game as well. I will probably go ahead and get the game, even though it will probably take me years to finish it. What prompted this blog entry today is I realized yesterday this 'theme', if you will, of my interest in movies, books, games, etc. I wonder if there is an underlying reason. I mean, I was even drawn to the part in "Mere Christianity" where the 'hero' is seeing a writers vision of what hell might be like. I don't have delusions of grandeur that I would somehow survive such events, let alone be some kind of hero in such a setting. Quite the opposite. I'm pretty sure I'd be killed off pretty quick. Why is it that I am drawn to such a genre. I am not repulsed by my interests... just interested in my interest. If that makes sense. Other movies that I like, "The Postman", and "Blast From the Past". There was a lot more that came to mind while I was typing this up, but I couldn't keep it all straight. Besides, I think I've gotten across what I was thinking. Verse for today: Revelation 6 : 12-17, ESV When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave [5] and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

Music Monday - 20080728

I need to apologize up front today. I do not have a particular song to add today, but I do want to gush a little about my new MP3 player (a retirement present to myself). Now I am by no means a cutting-edge-technology kind of guy when it comes to these kinds of things, so I bought a 2GB Samsung K3.I am a basic black kind of guys so that is the color I got. After shopping around I found a sale at a Best Buy - who beat out even Walmart! So far I love this little player. It was easy to set up, but because I had some "brain cramps" I spent a couple of hours loading, deleting, reloading both software and songs. This thing is supposed to hold about 500 songs, but after dumping all of my Praise and Worship music, plus the dozen or so sermons that I haven't listened to yet, I've only used about 28% of the storage capacity! LOL I still have other CD's I want to load into it, but I am beginning to think that I will not fill it up. Not anytime soon anyway. :-) I wanted to get a portable MP3 player because, 1) I wanted to move into the 21st century, 2) I am actually looking into going to a gym (I really want to lose between 20-30 pounds), 3) I like the idea of having something so small carry so much music! I know that's kind of lame for a Music Monday, but I hope you all find time to lift up your voices in praise to our Lord and Savior some time today - because He is worth it! Verse for today: Psalm 71 : 22-23, ESV I will also praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, O my God; I will sing praises to you with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel. My lips will shout for joy, when I sing praises to you; my soul also, which you have redeemed.

I got nothing important to say today

Ok, I have no idea what to write about today. I was going to do a review of the movie 'Good Soil' (picture and link on the right bar), but I wanted to watch it one more time and take some notes first - and with VBS this week - that didn't happen, so... I guess I will just talk about my flair. While I was growing up I loved Grover and Cookie Monster from Sesame Street, and I saw this piece of flair while I was just browsing looking for some thing to send to other Facebook friends. I almost had Dr Pepper coming out my nose when I saw this one! So of course it is now in my 'collection'. Anyone who has had to call a help desk about some web page that you are having to access, but can't, I am sure has had to delete the 'cookies' from the web browser. :) Currently I have 44 pieces of flair on Facebook. I won't share them all here, but these are some of my favorites... The piece here on the right was one I picked out for myself. I felt that it captured the passion I have for my beloved. I know that might sound weird, but hey... if I was perfectly normal would I be blogging about mundane things, and collecting flair on Facebook, and then blogging about it? ;-) When growing up 'Wolverine' was one of my all time favorite comic book heros. I felt like I could relate to him - anger issues, doesn't really know his past or where he's going, and I really wanted to be a kick @$% kind of guy (that never happened, but hey). Well, my beloved has gorgeous red hair, which I love. I saw this button and added it immediately. This piece of flair was added (by me) because I really like Jethro Tull's music. As I have matured as a Christian I have become more... selective... in the pieces I listen to regularly from this band, but I love the flute being incorporated into their music. Their Album, "A", had a lot of more classical instruments. I especially remember a synthesized violin in one of the videos. I have no idea if it was real, but it sounded terrific. The very first piece of flair I ever had was a gift from one of my Facebook friends - it is also what got me hooked on that App! She sent it to me as an encouragement because I like to write (blog, and short stories). Besides, who doesn't like Snoopy writing about a "...dark and stormy night..."? :-) The same friend sent this piece... it's a little fuzzy so in case anyone else has eyes like mine it says, "you're a great friend but if the zombies chase us I'm tripping you"! LOL Wow... at least I know where I stand with her. I'm just glad there are no such things as zombies. ;-) I hope 8/ I love the Carolina Panthers Blue "alternate" jerseys. When a good friend's wife, who is also a football fan (Washington Redskins, but she's nice so...), sent this to me it went up on my flair board immediately. My recurring birthday and Christmas gift request is one of the custom jerseys in Carolina Blue with John Kasay's number and name on it. Over time I have received a couple of Autism buttons. I picked this one because it was from a friend who has not been directly affected by Autism, but has been a good friend and supporter. It has been frustrating, and rewarding, trying to be there for my son (DS2). Just this week one of the VBS volunteers asked, "is there something wrong with him". :-( 'No, he just processes things differently than you do' is what I thought. I don't do well in crowds (not even NFL stadiums), especially loud noisy situations, but I try and volunteer with his classes at church because I know that one of us (his parents) needs to be as close as possible to help him. This piece was sent to me by a friend who we've known since my beloved was in college. We have a lot in common... be both enjoy Petra, we both have children with Autism, we both love American football, etc. He had seen me add a Thomas J. Jackson button and sent this to me. This young man, along with the husband of the Panthers button giver above, and I all have a desire to learn more about the Civil War. We are planning on a week(end) getaway up to Gettysburg for just us guys - some day. All we need now is the money saved up. :) Ok, the last one I am going to share with you all today - before I totally bore you all and lose you - is another one that I added for my own enjoyment. One of the call signs I had for a time during my twenty two years of National Guard service was "Thunder". I have always LOVED thunderstorms. There is something about the coolness of it, the refreshing nature of the rain, the rumble of thunder, and the impressive display of power in the lightning. There are times when I feel so close to God that I could almost 'touch' him - and it is almost always in the midst of a Thunderstorm. If I was to ever come across a large some of money for a painting it would be one of such a thing. Verse for today: Mark 4 : 37-41, ESV And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”