"This is what the LORD says— he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters... "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland."
-- Isaiah 43:16,18-19 (NIV)
O God, our help in ages past
Our hope for years to come
Be Thou our guide while life shall last
And our eternal home
Amen
Joy to the world, the Lord is Come!
Leet earth receive her King...
Joy the the world, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ...
He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness
And wonders of His love
to us a son is given, and his name shall ebe called:
Wonderful Counselor
Mighty God
Everlasting Father
Prince of Peace
-- Isaiah 9:6
"But here the Autumn melancholy dwells,
And sighs her tearful spells"
-- 'Autumn' Thomas Hood (1798–1845)
Veterans Day Prayer and Meditation
Susan Kramer
May we take a few moments to reflect,
remembering those who served our country well ...
"You gave for peace with courage
That families may be free
So children could grow strong
And safe they'd ever be.
In giving for the sake of peace
You may have suffered loss
Your body may still show its wounds
From taking up the cause.
May remembrance of your time away
Your sacrifice for peace
Spur us on to strive more strongly
For freedom, that there'll be release.
From causes that sent some away
To fight that we may freely live
With gratefulness we thank you, veterans
For all you gave and give!"
The closing of an Autumn evening is like the running of a hound across the moor. Night is a good herd: she brings all creatures home.
-- from an Irish verse
You {we) were all called to travel on the same road and in the same direction, so stay together, both outwardly and inwardly. You (We) have one Master, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who rules over all, works through all, and is present in all. Everything you (we) are and think and do is permeated with Oneness.
-- Ephesians 4:4-6 from The Message
(parenthesis mine)
To all in God's family, His peace and blessings on you.
When most I wink, then do mine eyes best see
For all the day they view things unrespected;
But when I sleep, in dreams they look on thee,
And darkly bright, are bright in dark directed.
Then thou, whose shadow shadows doth make bright,
How would thy shadow’s form form happy show
To the clear day with thy much clearer light,
When to unseeing eyes thy shade shines so!
How would, I say, mine eyes be blessed made
By looking on thee in the living day,
When in dead night thy fair imperfect shade
Through heavy sleep on sightless eyes doth stay!
All days are nights to see till I see thee,
And nights bright days when dreams do show thee me.
--William Shakespeare, Sonnet 43
"There is a concatenation of events in this best of all possible worlds: for if you had not been kicked out of a magnificent castle for love of Miss Cunegonde: if you had not been put into the Inquisition: if you had not walked over America: if you had not stabbed the Baron: if you had not lost all your sheep from the fine country of El Dorado: you would not be here eating preserved citrons and pistachio-nuts."
"All that is very well," answered Candide, "but let us cultivate our garden."
--Voltaire "Candide, ou l'Optimisme (1759)"
So when in reverie I look and listen,
Half dream-like floats, within my passive mind,
Why in the sun its branches gleam and glisten,
And harp-wise beat the wind;
Why, when the sea-waves, heralding their tidings,
Come roaring on the shore with crests of down,
In grave acceptance of their sad confidings,
It bows its stately crown;
-- Tracy Robinson (1833-1915)
I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean rows will I have there, a hive for the honey bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.
And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet's wings.
I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements gray,
I hear it in the deep heart's core.
--William Butler Yeats - "The Lake Isle of Innisfree"
Vincent van Gogh died on 29 July, 1890. He was 37.
And I then: “Someone frames upon the keys
That exquisite nocturne, with which we explain
The night and moonshine; music which we seize
To body forth our own vacuity.”
She then: “Does this refer to me?”
“Oh no, it is I who am inane.”
-- TS Eliot
Softly, in the dusk, a woman is singing to me;
Taking me back down the vista of years, till I see
A child sitting under the piano, in the boom of the tingling strings
And pressing the small, poised feet of a mother who smiles as she sings
In spite of myself, the insidious mastery of song
Betrays me back, till the heart of me weeps to belong
To the old Sunday evenings at home, with winter outside
And hymns in the cosy parlour, the tinkling piano our guide.
So now it is vain for the singer to burst into clamour
With the great black piano appassionato. The glamour
Of childish days is upon me, my manhood is cast
Down in the flood of remembrance, I weep like a child for the past.
--DH Lawrence
Lt. Cmdr. H and family are on their way to their new home in Arkansas. Retirement at last. Godspeed.
I made a CD for the Cmdr. The title of the CD reads, "From Sacred to Rap." The featured song, of course, was Virgil Shouse rousing feet stomping bluegrass tune, the "Arkansas Traveler."
-- James Carnegie, Earl of Southesk (1827-1905)
Christoph Willibald von Gluck
German Opera and Classical Music Composer
(2 July, 1714 - 15 November, 1787)
Another clear night. Another opportunity to marvel at God's creation on this June night. His celestial diamonds shimmering against the black velvet night.
Brightly visble tonight are: the moon, binary Spica, Venus, Saturn, Jupiter, and Antares. The latter is the brightest star of Scorpion Constellation; the heart of the Scorpion. Tonight, it is very near the moon, perspective wise.
Here we go again. Rodgrigo want's you check out his ad (in Portuguese) for personalized undergarments at: camiseta_.personalizada_.blogspot_.com (I added the "_." to break up the URL from being linked.)
Don't bother to visit this Portuguese spammer's blog, folks. I didn't; and I deleted his comments (advertising) permanently.
It's one of the rare and clear evenings of summer. There they are, as of this post on this 17 June, the crescent moon, the bright Venus, and Saturn, all lit up in a row at twilight on the western sky.
The LORD'S Glory and Man's Dignity.
Psalm 8, New American Standard Bible
O LORD, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth,
Who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens!
From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established strength
Because of Your adversaries,
To make the enemy and the revengeful cease.
When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained;
What is man that You take thought of him,
And the son of man that You care for him?
Yet You have made him a little lower than God,
And You crown him with glory and majesty!
You make him to rule over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
All sheep and oxen,
And also the beasts of the field,
The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea,
Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.
O LORD, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth!
A Mother's secret hope outlives them all.
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes
Tomorrow is the birthday of one of my favorite American-born pianists.
There are people who wastes resources because they could and would.
Blogger ID Hamilton70554 is one such. He's a spammer of sorts, he leave comments with only "dots", as in '.. ...'.
I received a humorus clip from a friend on how some moments of our lifes are affected by tech support, for better or for worst. I personally have had many such an episodoe - frustrated ones at that - talking with ATT-SBC tech support people who spoke difficult to understand English with heavy Middle Eastern or East Indian accents.
With auto post and comment notification email configured this evening, the men's e-group moderator has all the tools he needs to get him from "here to there."
Later this week, I will set up the same auto notification process with the ladies' e-group leader.
The final practical exercise for the two leaders is learning about inter-blog connectivity. The two leaders will collaborate on the designing of an e-group survey questionnaire using mostly free Google on-line services.
This joint project has five parts. First, the two leaders will learn to share an on-line calender created specifically for the survey project. Second, they are to learn to use chat for impromptu dialog or planned live-discussions to flesh out the goal of the 10-question survey. Then they will collaborate to write one questionnaire on-line. When the survey questionnaire is completed, each leader will create a separate but identically survey for the two e-groups by using a non-Google survey service. Finally, each of the moderator will place the survey link on the respective blog for the members to complete.
The fruits of blogging and inter-group synergy will usher in new vistas for conducting the business of heaven on earth. What's learned will be passed on and improved upon by the next class.
And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.
-- 2 Timothy 2:2 (NIV)
Both our church men and women eGroup-blogs are now on-line. It was a pleasure of my helping both eGroup moderators to set up the blogs. Smoky and Pat, our church moderators for the men's and woman's eGroups, respectively, are very proficient with computers and the internet scene. Whereas the former has a good grasp of the blogging mechanics and "places for widgets", the latter has gone beyond blog-keeping and chores. She has turned the site into a fellowhship home true to the sense of the word internet for the women who joined.
These first eGroup men pioneers, including the moderator, might not be into much nurturing and support topical discussions. We shall see. The women, on the other hand, are very comfortable with this medium for devotions and fellowship. In fact, they are already asking about the quickest way or ways to view comments and expedite responses and prayers.
To the women eGroup, the blog is the "happening." The men, on the other hand, are still milling about the water's edge. They wrote comments like, "is this place (the blog) where we give feedback instead by email?" Or, "I am lost (in the blog). Can someone find me?" That's the fellas for ya.
Tonight I will be heading over to the men's eGroup moderator office to get him set up for team blogging. This exercise will be a two-evening affair.
We will go over the essentials to get him started the blog. I think my being the co-administrator would ease much of the learning curve on his part. On Wednesday evening, we will set up auto notification on all posts and comments to the membership and what not.
I am in the process of labeling new and old posts. With the New Blogger, it updates the date and time stamps on all edits, including labeling posts. Subscribers to my blog RSS could see old posts showing up with new syndicated dates.
These posts, when viewed in full, still shown their original published dates.
I spent two evenings this week with Elder Pat to set up her blog for the Womens' eGroup. She has blogging in her Levi genes (a pun on the clothing manufacturer and on the old and new testaments meaning of priesthood). With Pat's blog on-line, our church's first eGroup is launched.
As for the mens eGroup, well, let just say we are lurching along eating Pat's cyberdust. We have yet to start a team blog. *grin*
Before going back to the Toshiba Satellite A105 Hotfix for the KB925902 Hotfix, I will wait until the hotfix dusts are settled on this patch.
If you'd stumbled upon or Googled this post, Microsoft has already put out a hotfix for KB925902. Click on the link below to download the MS fix for the fix:
MS Hotfix for User32.dll error caused by April 3 Windows Update
The new MS Windows patch KB925902 released on 3 April, 2007 is not good for Toshiba Satellite Notebooks running on XP SP2.
After installation the patch on my A105 Series running on XP, I received a system error about User32.dll HHCTRL.OCX was illegally occupying a reserved memory area for Windows.
I had to do a system restore from 26 March, 2007 to rid this buggy patch. After which, I disabled the Windows Update Notify not to remind me to install this patch, notwithstanding the Windows Update history log says it was installed.
Hosanna in the highest!
That ancient song we sing,
For Christ is our Redeemer,
The Lord of heaven our King.
Oh, may we ever praise Him
With heart and life and voice
And in His blissful presence
Eternally rejoice.
-- Third Stanza, "Hosanna, Loud Hosanna"
by Jeannette Threlfall, 1821-1880
The transformation is complete. The old classic blogger template is now converted to the the New blogger. I preserved almost all of the old blog template format and style. The new blogger widgets afforded me to categorize my posts as intended. Another nice functionaliy in the new look is the archives. There is no longer a static display of a long list of post dates. The blog reader can now expand or collapse the blog archives by year and by month.
Thus far, I am rather pleased with the changes.
It's occurred to me not all of my labeled posts are displayed when searched. The browser displays only one screen-page of posts. Maybe it has to do with my not using the new widgets in my page element layout and other stuffs.
It seems one has to switch to the New Blogger layout to take advantage of the new widgets. I will do so and see what comes of it.
Be on the lookout for this spammer. On blogs he's visitied, he would leave some flattering remarks such as:
"I visited your site…and I was very impressed!
Beautiful work…congratulations.
Take also a look at my website…thanks and kind regards.
www.silverdreamer.be"
Spring
Gerard Manley Hopkins (1918)
Nothing is so beautiful as spring -
When weeds, in wheels, shoot long and lovely and lush;
Thrush’s eggs look little low heavens, and thrush
Through the echoing timber does so rinse and wring
The ear, it strikes like lightnings to hear him sing;
The glassy peartree leaves and blooms, they brush
The descending blue; that blue is all in a rush
With richness; the racing lambs too have fair their fling.
What is all this juice and all this joy?
A strain of the earth’s sweet being in the beginning
In Eden garden. - Have, get, before it cloy,
Before it cloud, Christ, lord, and sour with sinning,
Innocent mind and Mayday in girl and boy,
Most, O maid’s child, thy choice and worthy the winning.
Here are the world famous new Country sensations, The Allen Trio! They hailed from Oklahoma. Here they are, folks, Thunderstorm and the twins, Whiskers and Joy!
For three thousand yeas the Psalms have been the song book of the Jews and, for two thousand years, the song book of the universal Christian church. The Psalter is still very much the focal point in today's worship.
The Holly Taylor Coolman's eight-page article on The Psalter for the Formation of the Soul is far more articulate in thought and learned advocacy than my four-part blog discussion in 2005.
Coolman's embrace of the Psalms leads us back to the 4th B.C. Christian epistle, The Letters of St. Athanasius to Marcellinus on the Interpretation of the Psalms.
Our church is now doing a weekly review and introductory study of the Psalms, with the recording of Sir Laurence Olivier reading the biblical texts. Whether we are sad, joyful, surrounded by obstacles, lonely, or thankful, there is one or more Psalms from which God speaks to our mind and heart.
Neither singing the beauties of this world, nor savaging God for perceived inequities to the self or the world should detract one's first answer to life's question. That is, to know God as God (Job 38:4) and not what we want Him to be. It is He who appoints a time for everything (Ecclesiastes 3). And the earth is His and all it contains (Psalm 24:1).
The early March sun still glows slumberous and golden in its winter deportment. Even in the afternoon, the splendid lavish light and blue canopy clear but not bewilder the eyes. Synchronies of bouquets are now on exhibit in prideful home gardens. Farther out in the country, the early blossoming almonds have thrown over the sun warmed orchard with veils of blush coral. Like confectionary, the fallen petals are sprinkling over the new sprung herbs and grass in merry mirth.
Fragrant as sweet water this past few days have been. It was good to be home and have snatched a precious respite from the strife and worries of the day.
"Oh, que j’aime la solitude
Que ses lieux sacrés à la nuit
Éloignés du monde et du bruit
Plaisent à mon inquiétude
Mon Dieu! que mes yeux sont contents
De voir ces bois qui se trouvèrent
A la nativité du temps
Et que tous les siècles révèrent
Être encore aussi beaux et vert"
-- Marc-Antoine Gérard de Saint-Amant
Michel, je te souhaite un très joyeux anniversaire pour tes 75 ans.
There are many a sharp and flashing tongue, edged with cruelty; yet it rarely carries the sound of wit or wisdom.
Whose excellent mind in the blogosphere, I wonder, can speak with singularity to the question:
What is the only comfort in life and in death?
The chill winter pall is being chased away by a warm steady rain. The lingering shower is scouring earth's mouldering urn and preparing it for the life to come. Soon, the sun warmed soil will receive a synchrony of bouquets.
Spring shall dawn on the night of the winter grave. Surely, the closing aria of Strauss' Die Frau ohne Schatten is waiting in the wing.
The bedraggled rose trees lined the redwood fence have clung on tenaciously for weeks in sub-freezing temperature. Dreaming the winter dreams of fête champêtres, the dormant buds yearned for the riches and adulations of the promised spring. At the foot of rose trees, a pride of White Lion daffodils have already unlocked the tyrannical gates of the winter keep; bursting forth in liberty, outstretching their jade-green fingers toward the sky.
Winter's breath, it seems, is about to take flight.
Posts
All Comments
