hello....goodbye

"come, and trip it, as you go,
on the light fantastick toe..."

via milton

(sans phone, sans cash, sans planning)

now lie in it

if i make my bed in hell

GOD is there.

leading me and holding me with his right hand.

in memorium: reginald phillips 1914-1988
(for listening to all of my moanings which cannot be uttered last nite)

satisfaction

i will no longer be satisfied with scraps.

i want the feast, or none at all.

"o woman, great is your faith! let it be to you as you desire."
matthew 15:28

psalm 20

may the LORD answer you in the day of trouble;
may the name of the God of jacob defend you;
may He send you help from the sanctuary,
and strengthen you out of zion;
may He remember all your offerings,
and accept your burnt sacrifice. selah

may He grant you according to your heart's desire,
and fulfill all your purpose.
we will rejoice in your salvation,
and in the name of our God we will set up our banners!
may the LORD fulfill all your petitions.

now I know that the LORD saves His anointed;
He will answer him from His holy heaven
with the saving strength of His right hand.

some trust in chariots, and some in horses;
but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.
they have bowed down and fallen;
but we have risen and stand upright.

save, LORD!
may the King answer us when we call.

faith fighting

"you will not need to fight in this battle. position yourselves, stand
still and see the salvation of the LORD, who is with you...do not fear
or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the LORD is with
you."

and then they sing.

and in that faith the enemy is routed.

"praise the LORD, for His mercy endures forever!"

2 chronicles 20

shout out ii

the fun is over.

grant wickensimer rocks.

(no more shouting people)

shout out

grant wickensiemer rocks!

whispered wanderings

as of late, i have found myself wandering about in the near woods after the dark descends. this usually involves the old pair of jeans with the pocket on the leg, my worn out red tennis shoes, a hooded jacket, and an old stainless steel flashlight that my parents bought me when i was seven (which goes into the aforementioned pocket). tonite it came in handy for avoiding the downed power-line. although, there was a lovely moon, and i probably could have done without the torch. up at my front door i heard the gurggling water from the creek below in counterpoint to the frogs that called to one another. i don't know what it is about sitting in the almost too cold glow of the disk of starry-silverness that makes the woods turn magic, but i can faintly see the will o' the wisps giggle down the trail at the invocation of the faerie-pipes. on silvery nites like this, i believe anything is possible. nothing seems too big for the GOD of heaven when you are swallowed by the silvery-green smell, the giant moon-disk above, and the embrace of the weeping trees. tonite we whispered. there would be no spell breaking. so we whispered and then we laughed (quietly so as not to disrupt the will o' the wisps). and He whispered back: "nothing is impossible to him who believes." and i am sure of what i heard.

cloud of witnesses

the faith of generations assist

heb 11:39-40

plot

have you ever geotracked anyone?

fun, fun....

deus ex machina

i'm guilty of praying for quail. i think the Heavenly Storyteller likes a good story, and not one that finishes with a jolting deus ex machina. a finely crafted story with twists and turns makes for much better reading than one where God pretends He's a deist, and finally when His people can do no more He swoops in for the rescue. first of all, i can't do anything on this journey. francis shaeffer talks about a moment by moment faith (the same faith of justification) that leads to glorious sanctification based on nothing but Christ's "it is finished." so every step on this journey is by this 5 year old faith in a finished work. no diest-god here. secondly, when i start to pray for deus ex quail, i'm denying a personal GOD. i put my faith in a god who ignores my cries for help while he sacks out on the couch showing up at the last minute to drop quail in three foot piles. oh, and what was your name again?

so when i have moments of quail-wishing, expecting GOD to ignore me, i must flee to the personal, present GOD of the universe who's pillar of fire has never left me for a moment. sans deus ex machina...

radical quantification

funny how i shout "miracle!" from the tops of buildings, but when things get personal, and it's my turn to get one, i say no. this happened to me a few days ago. the LORD gave me a miracle (i almost said a *small* miracle, but i don't think they can be quantified by size), and i said "no". my mouth actually formed the negative. let's just say my view of sin has radically changed as of late, and the silent grief began. so yesterday the LORD gave me another miracle, and i was tempted to say "no", but instead i whispered a tiny "yes". i told Him i could walk, but i couldn't dance.

and then a miracle happened.
now i have to dance.

breakfast rule #1

don't eat cookies for breakfast. it will ruin your day.

trust me on this one.

(i pondered committing suicide with my stapler yesterday as a result of
the less than nutritious morning sustenance)

waterworld

i've just passed day 35 in my journey through the desert with the israelites. there is so much miracle-working in this desert walk, that it is fast becoming my favorite story in the Bible (at least until i read my next favorite story). as i've been touring about with joshua before he takes the last big march into the land of promise, i've been struck with the physical position of the trial. the isrealites are hemmed in on both sides by water. at one point they're begging to go back to egypt--did they forget the red sea? at another point they're begging to go forward (after realizing they missed their opportunity because of unbelief)--did they forget the jordan? there is no way out of their predicatment except by the miracle working hand of GOD. it would even take a miracle to backslide. so i'm in the midst of this checking over my shoulder at the leeks and onions of six months ago--seems awfully safe. and then, woa! oh yes, the red sea! totally forgot about that. i can't go back without a miracle. but then i look ahead to the milk and honey (or silk and honey for us lactose intolerant in the tribe), and hey that looks even better! and then i hear the rushing jordan in my ears. i can't go forward without a miracle. this all makes me think of a verse in psalm 119: "barricade the road that goes nowhere; grace me with your clear revelation. i choose the true road to somewhere, i post your road signs at every curve and corner." the road to nowhere? doubt (egypt). the road to somewhere? faith (silk and honey land). the road signs? ebenezer (help stones). so which miracle am i picking? i'm going with the one that has yet to happen. the one in front of me.

on to day 36.

days

150 days of solitude.