wild melody

Batter my heart, three-person'd God, for you As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend; That I may rise and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend Your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new. I, like an usurp'd town to'another due, Labor to'admit you, but oh, to no end; Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend, But is captiv'd, and proves weak or untrue. Yet dearly'I love you, and would be lov'd fain, But am betroth'd unto your enemy; Divorce me,'untie or break that knot again, Take me to you, imprison me, for I, Except you'enthrall me, never shall be free, Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me. ((Batter My Heart. -John Donne))

I had my nails painted for the first time on Friday. Black. Because black is a reminder that I can choose to "submit again to a yoke of slavery" (Galatians 5.1) or I can choose to walk in the victorious liberation Christ accomplished for me. Definitely want to expound upon it and share some of notes from Driscoll. But for now I just wanted to announce that God is genius, and I am so beyond grateful that all I need do is "live up to what I have already obtained." Freedom.

cause sometimes, i just miss my dear emerald isle a whole freaki'n lot...

“I really get frustrated when people say things like ‘oh I’m not into philosophy or theology, I just want practical.’ Well what you think determines how you live, what you think determines how you suffer, and what you think determines how you die..." driscoll. " “Timothy, you think too much!” He couldn’t believe he was hearing those words from his wife , words he’d heard since childhood from his mother, his teachers... What was too much? Who was to say which chalk line one should think up to and then come to a screeching halt? What if Wordsworth had never thought too much, or Shakespeare, or Milton or Crammer or Socrates? And what about Beethoven or Edison or Madame Curie? Why was thinking such a crime? "

I was dead in trespasses, walking in sin, following the course of this world and the prince of the power of the air, running toward hell. I lived in the passions of my flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and was by nature a child of wrath. BUT God, being rich in mercy ,because of the great love with which he loved me, even while I was dead in my trespasses, made me alive together with Christ— by grace I have been saved— and raised me up with Him and seated me with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward me in Christ Jesus. For by grace I have been saved through faith. And this is NONE of my own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that I may never boast. For I am His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that I should walk in them. ephesians 2.1-10. paraphrased into first person. because it slams ...

all i need is Christ. and i have Him! even when i don't see or feel His presence. when all the doctrine in my head is as far from my heart as the earth is from saturn. He is with me. He who has called me is faithful. He will keep that which He has redeemed. He doesn't give up, when I wallow in my sinful doubts and fears and distrust. He cleanses me and moves me into His grace. He is patient. His timing is perfect. He sends all things to sanctify. For His glory and my GOOD. "your dross to consume and your gold to refine." amen Lord Jesus. You are bringing dross to the surface, and all i ask is that you refine it. in spite of me. ((i just needed to hear a little truth preached))

This book. Is incredibly well written. It's rough, but superb. The word choices, the pictures it paints in my mind...I can't put it down. But sometimes I have to take a break to absorb it all. if I could write like anybody on earth I think I'd pick this man. With some Harper Lee thrown in. The characters have totally grabbed me, which isn't something that happens easily for me. Liesel. Brilliant girl. Sometimes I want to throttle her, but mostly because I would be making the same wrong decision in her place. Her foster father. Excellent but realistically flawed. Gotta respect a man who won't join the Nazi party in 1940's Germany. Especially when he's not your typical hero type. Her foster mother. Hated her at first. But I think we've come to an understanding. I even like her now. Max. Hmm. Not actually sure how i feel about him. as much as i want to love him, i just can't seem to stir up anything stronger than pity. If/when he dies, my sorrow will be...