As we do drown in deepest sleep,
Submerged in seas of so-real dreams,
They wash us, cleanse us, make us new,
Yet there is nothing we can do
To put a stop to the kick and drop
That shocks us so we do float up
Back to land and consciousness
Forgetful of the time we spent
Dancing on the balcony
And whispering in the garden
Secrets shown for us to see
As they'd never be forgotten
For soon it all amounts to naught
As back to busy life we're brought
Awakened to the morning rays
And all the glories of the day
Walking out into the sun
A brand new story just begun
Unraveling the former seams
Which wrapped us in our former dreams
And sewing new and noble themes
Into life's rainbow tapestry.
Song: Keep On Keepin' On
Written: 10-29-11 @11:41pm
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Keep on keepin' on. 2x
Memories Locked up tight Deeply embedded in your mind's eye So in this vision and in your dreams Seize your hope and rise up with the eagles' wings
Look in the mirror What do I see A vague reflection of the ideal me But to this truth, I will tightly cling Tomorrow will be a better picture
Keep your eyes wide open And don't you dare stop hoping The sun will soon be showin his face And you'll be covered in grace As you rise with a brand new day
Life is romantic in its own little ways Take the love as it comes with every twist and turn of fate Love each other seize the day before it is too late Carry on keep fightin strong till you rise to a higher place Yeah Carry on keep keepin' on till you rise to a higher place
Look at our picture And what do you see A future snapshot of who we will be You and me, I can tell we will be Alive together
A reunited family
Keep your eyes wide open And don't you dare stop hoping The sun will soon be showin his face And you'll be covered in grace As you rise with a brand new day
Life is romantic in its own little ways
Take the love as it comes with every twist and turn of fate Love each other seize the day before it is too late Carry on keep fightin strong till you rise to a higher place Yeah Carry on keep keepin' on till you rise to a higher place
Just by lookin around It is easy to tell Everything is beautiful in time Very soon you'll see, An even greater glory So don't worry Just put your trust in Me
Life is romantic in its own little ways
Take the love as it comes with every twist and turn of fate Love each other seize the day before it is too late Carry on keep fightin strong till you rise to a higher place Oh and take the rain as it comes fallin down on your cold face
So carry on keep keepin' on till Love come blow this place
Love's gonna blow this place
Yeah, Love is gonna blow this place! Keep on keepin' on. 4x
Sometimes, life is pretty painful. And difficult. And tearful. And disheartening. And just downright icky. But this fact has always been a given... while we are in the world, we will be subjected to ickiness. The real issue, however, is not that we must face ickiness, but that we must willfully choose how to respond to it.
Because when you're sitting in class thinking about how you dragged yourself out of bed, out the door and into school that morning after a 3-hour-or-less night's sleep on account of what felt like eternal homework and you feel like a wreck cause you've had a horrible day in general and all you want to do is just go to sleep and dream sweetly of marching band and Switchfoot and rainbows and subterranean parlors with comforting fire filling the hearth and radiating out towards the warm-colored upholstery that looks like it could have been salvaged from the Titanic den, yet you choose to make the effort to connect with your faith and move your behind into gear anyway... well, quite honestly, you might still feel pretty crummy, but you know that the choice you just made was a righteous one and it will be very rewarding in the end, so you become confident and take heart as you press forward and plough through the mucky circumstances which you face now and on towards the hopeful promise of a better tomorrow in utter faith. This perseverance and faith must be one of the most noble and beautiful forms of worship to ever take place. Worship is sacrifice: when you give your heart to God, and He gives His to you, you are sacrificing your personal needs and problems on the altar to come before Yahweh and receive from Him a spirit of unity and love that comes from faith in His character and His word - that is worship.
"We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me." (Psalm 69:9) For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs so that the Gentiles may glorify God for his mercy, as it is written:
“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles;
I will sing hymns to your name.” (2 Samuel 22:50; Psalm 18:49)
Again, it says,
“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people." (Deut. 32:43)
And again,
“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,
and sing praises to him, all you peoples." (Psalm 117:1)
And again, Isaiah says,
“The Root of Jesse will spring up,
one who will arise to rule over the nations;
the Gentiles will hope in him." (Isaiah 11:10)
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
-Romans 15:1-13
I'm thinkin' bout how to live
Even though what I did
Was not the best response to what's always going on (and)
I'm working out how to walk
Cause all I ever do is talk (and)
Step by step I'm movin' still inside my heart I'm groovin' (and)
Soon I will be movin' on, movin' movin' on and on and on.
The following video is a trailer for the 2005 film, Good Night, and Good Luck. We watched this movie in one of my classes recently: very powerful and inspiring; utterly brilliant and beautiful. Rather than write about all the wonderful words spoken (and sung) in this film, I decided to simply post some of Ed Murrow's speeches, for I probably couldn't put them into words of my own even if I wanted to or tried. I highly recommend seeing the whole movie in context after viewing these clips. Enjoy.
And with that said, I'll let Mr. Murrow do the talking.
(These two clips are from the same speech. The latter picks up approximately where the former leaves off. Unfortunately, I couldn't find one video containing the whole speech on YouTube.)
(This one is from Ed Murrow's original 1958 See It Now speech.)
I am defying every sense of reason present within me in writing this. However, whatever the result may be, I have been known to choose inspiration over self-preservation. This is a good thing in healthy measures, but for those who know be very well, I tend to take things to extremes. Again, there is nothing wrong with extremes... it's an extreme life we're living and an extreme world we live in... but when one voluntarily denies themselves much-needed sleep the night preceeding five days of seven-and-a-half-hour band camp sessions in the grueling 105 degree heat, just when sleep is most crucial to their well-being, it becomes unhealthy.
I like to sleep and rest, and I love to dream, but I don't like going to sleep. There's just too much going on in life, I wish I could salvage every moment of the night and put it to some good use rather than sleeping - unfortunately the human body was not designed for this and it would be most unwise to force it to comply. Therefore, I shall wrap up this rant and get on with things. I need sleep.
The following poetry is a result of random thoughts which led to random inspiration. A reflection of some pretty heavy subjects that have been on my mind recently... I guess this is my brain's way of trying to figure them out. And if the foreignese at the end turns out to say something I didn't mean to say, or something I would never say... Sorry, Latin isn't exactly my forte. Though I'm learning.
This naughty owl is going to bed now so she doesn't die tomorrow. G'night friends! Hope you somewhat enjoy this.
---------- It's the end of the industrial age Coming out of the iron metal city Into the grassy-hilled vicinity Leaving the skyscrapers behind Moving into tents outside the county lines Speaking truth to lying lips, embarrassing the systematic flush Breaking up the arguments, disquieting the problematic hush We were like stallions in the desert Burning, yearning, thirsting, learning, love; Now we live in blanket forts Bearing blazing torches in our hands Watchmen watching in the hills Camping in the countryside In our God we still confide; Forever shall it be Life is HisStory.
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E Pluribus Unum Populus Sanctus Dei Sumus Una In Aeternum Sumus Qui Numquam Dedo
Vox qui sono morietur numquam Omni mundo est in manibus Deo Nunquam poteritis in futurum relinquerent nos Gloria, Imperium, Honorem, tenei solo Deo.
You are so beautiful. SO. Like, unspeakably so. A single short encounter with your beauty and your glory like this leaves me absolutely positively speechless. I feel there are not words adequate enough to accurately describe you and all your wonders! You are amazing. You take my breath away. You make my heart beat faster. You captivate me with the power of your love. I don't know if I could withstand a full glimpse at the riches of your glory and splendor - it would probably overcome me. I may end up passed out on the floor for who knows how long. Therefore, I make the prayer of Jabez my own:
"Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, saying, 'Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.' And God granted his request."-1 Chronicles 4:10
I have a blue blimp feeling, That it's coming fast I see the blue lights forming, So prepare for impact I see the feathers floating Down an airy staircase Who says heaven can't materialize In the fullness of an empty room
Somewhere out there Outside these tinted windows There is in the baby blue sky An angelic balloon What it is or how it got there I don't know yet But I am feeling a new rhythm playing out So I'll choose to sing along
I hear the sonic songs of a jet plane Inside a starry diagram I hear the music flying closer and closer The power of incensed noise It seems I'm at the star gate of aeronautics themselves The very start of a blue-light special at K-Mart
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Finally, four white sails sailing swiftly 'cross Caribbean seas Our ship is coming in, Our ship is coming in, It's just within the harbor As I'm watching from the iron horse off shore, The picture is crystal clear through the TV So I intently gaze as the window glass breaks and the wind comes in and takes me away Into the sparkling sky I am lost In the undying blue Where I am ever closer, Ever coming nearer to You.
When Jesus landed and saw a family with a coughing Rayla, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. As evening approached, Rayla's mom said, “Our medicine cabinet is a very coughdropless place, and it’s already getting late. Go to bed Rayla, so you can finish looking for some cough drops and then get some rest.” Jesus replied, “She does not need to go to bed yet. You give her some cough drops.” “We have here only two lemon Halls and one cherry Ludens,” the family answered. “Bring them here to me,” he said. And he directed the people to gather at the foot of the stairs. Taking the two lemon Halls and the one cherry Ludens and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and unwrapped the cough drops. Then he put them in Rayla's mom's purse, and Rayla's mom fished through her purse and pulled them out to give them to Rayla. Rayla had the perfect amount of cough drops to get through the night, and Rayla's mom ended up pulling three bonus cherry Halls out of her purse. The number of total cough drops supplied were about six, besides the two Rayla had previously found.