Jerusalem

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s the air turns brisk, the nights and shadows lengthen, and the leaves become brightly colored, I near the end of a year that has been a unique leg on my pathway of life. It is probably good that this year is coming to a close—it has been a year of upheaval and odd twists and turns. But as the year draws to a close, I sense the sun rising on new frontiers. And this is good. God is good. God loves us even though we are so unlovable. Perhaps, because we are so unlovable.

This poem has nothing whatsoever to do with that introductory paragraph—it is simply a poem I read this morning and found interesting. Some Britons have expressed a desire for this poem and its accompanying hymn to become their National Anthem.

Jerusalem

William Blake (1757–1827)
Sir Hubert Parry (1848–1918)

And did those feet in ancient time.
Walk upon England’s mountains green:
And was the holy Lamb of God,
On England’s pleasant pastures seen!

And did the Countenance Divine,
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here,
Among these dark Satanic Mills?

Bring me my Bow of burning gold;
Bring me my Arrows of desire:
Bring me my Spear: O clouds unfold!
Bring me my Chariot of fire!

I will not cease from Mental Fight,
Nor shall my Sword sleep in my hand:
Till we have built Jerusalem,
In England’s green & pleasant Land.

Perpetuum Jazzile - Happy Monday!

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t’s Monday, and we’re all in need of some great music to kick off the work week. So, with that in mind, I present my favorite choir: Perpetuum Jazzile:

Here Is Our King

David Crowder Band - Here Is Our King

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Blog Header - September 23, 2011

I took the picture of this delightful humming bird while we were at Dollywood this summer with my parents. My son noticed the humming bird hovering near these flowers along the bank of the stream. I took pictures and then the humming bird started buzzing me. I think he was upset about me taking his picture.

A little Friday fun

My wife thinks this video will not make mothers happy—but it sure is fun to watch.

Blue Letter Bible

I am a true nerd! I love technology and get all excited when someone comes up with something cool to make our lives easier.

Many years ago I found a great little bible program that allowed the user to hover over a scripture reference and get an instant pop-up window containing the reference’s text. I lost that program when my computer crashed about four years ago and have not been able to find it again.

But I just found a great little script that accomplishes a similar thing for web sites. It’s called Blue Letter Bible and it allows me to place bible verses (John 3:16, for example) into my blog post and without having to apply a link, the script will automatically generate a hover-over pop-up as well as a link to that verse in the bible version of my choice. Cool, eh?

Give it a try: Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 8:28-30, John 17:9.

Wish You Were Here

What to pray for on 9/11

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oday is the 10^th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center towers, the Pentagon, and the attempted attack that was thwarted by brave Americans ending in the airplane crash in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Because these attacks were perpetrated by Muslims, many Americans have developed an animosity toward Muslims. Most people hold this animosity in check in order to demonstrate the cherished American quality of love for diversity. But it bubbles below the surface for many of us.

But this is not how Christians should view Muslims. While Islam is clearly a religion of hatred. Christianity is a religion of love, and we Christians must show that love even when dealing with those who hate us and hate our God.

This excellent video from Pastor John Piper (Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota) presents the proper response. May we Christians hold to the love Christ showed to us when we, too, were his enemies.

Blog Header - August 20, 2011

This photo was taken two weeks ago when New Hope Bible Church’s worship bands recorded some original music written by church members. My family thanks God regularly for leading us to this outstanding church and I thank God for blessing me by allowing me to sing and play with these great musicians.

What a great God we serve!

Improve your listening

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like to interrupt. That’s not a good thing. I think the essence of the problem is that I always think that I’m right. Perhaps I interrupt because I simply assume my rightness. Or, at a more sinister level, perhaps I interrupt because I’m afraid that in listening to someone else I will have to give up my firmly held beliefs and engage my brain on a new journey of discovery. I’m not sure which of those two reasons is true but probably both of them are in play at different levels throughout the day.

Not a good thing.

My friend, Diane, pointed me toward Ted Talks—a wonderful collection of short lectures and presentations given by some of the world’s leading thinkers in myriad disciplines. I subscribe to the Ted Talks podcast and have greatly enjoyed these talks over the year or so since Diane introduced me to them.

The current Ted Talks presentation is on listening—something I need to get much better at. Here it is: