There was a woman by the name of Annie Johnston Flint. At a young age, she lost her mother and father and was raised in the Flint household. After graduating college, she developed a very crippling form of arthritis, which left her bed ridden for decades. At one point, she lost control of her internal organs, and embarrassingly lived out of diapers as a young woman. As time passed, she started becoming blind and was afflicted with cancer. The author of her biography, "The Making of the Beautiful," said that when he saw her for the last time, she lay on 7 pillows to keep her sores from undescribable agony. Yet she wrote hymns, and of the many she wrote, one of the most beautiful of them all goes like this:

He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength when the labors increase,
To added affliction he addeth his mercy,
To multiplied trials his multiplied peace.
When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources,
Our father's full giving has only begun.
His love has no limit, his grace has no measure,
His power has no boundaries known unto men.
But out of his infinite riches in Jesus,
He giveth and giveth and giveth again.

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored
He hat loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword
His truth is marching on.

Glory! Glory, hallelujah! Glory! Glory, hallelujah!
Glory! Glory, hallelujah! Our God is marching on.

I have seen Him in watchfires of a hundred circling camps
They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps
I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps
His day is marching on.

He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never sound retreat
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat
O be swift my soul to answer Him! Be jubilant, my feet!
Our God is marching on.

In the beauty of the lilies, Christ was born across the sea
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me
As He did to make me holy, let us die to make men free
While God is marching on.

Oh, thus be it ever when free men shall stand
Between their loved homes
And the war's desolation; Blest with vict'ry and peace
may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Pow'r that hath made
and preserved us a nation! Then conquer we must,
when our cause it is just;
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust!"

And the Star-spangled Banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Our fathers' God, to Thee,
Author of liberty,
To Thee we sing

Long may our land be bright
With freedom's holy light
Protect us by Thy might,

Great God, our King!



(Bonus points to anyone who can tell me what song that is without looking it up online)

Thank you God for my family, my nation, and my relationship with you.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Once to Every Man and Nation
Once to every man and nation, comes the moment to decide,
In the strife of truth with falsehood, for the good or evil side;
Some great cause, some great decision, offering each the bloom or blight,
And the choice goes by forever, ’twixt that darkness and that light.

Then to side with truth is noble, when we share her wretched crust,
Ere her cause bring fame and profit, and ’tis prosperous to be just;
Then it is the brave man chooses while the coward stands aside,
Till the multitude make virtue of the faith they had denied.

By the light of burning martyrs, Christ, Thy bleeding feet we track,
Toiling up new Calv’ries ever with the cross that turns not back;
New occasions teach new duties, time makes ancient good uncouth,
They must upward still and onward, who would keep abreast of truth.

Though the cause of evil prosper, yet the truth alone is strong;
Though her portion be the scaffold, and upon the throne be wrong;
Yet that scaffold sways the future, and behind the dim unknown,
Standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above His own.

James R. Lowell, Dec 11, 1845

Ozymandias
I met a traveler from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read,
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed,
And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look upon my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

-Percy Bysshe Shelley 1792-1822

What language shall I borrow
To thank you dearest friend
For this thy dying sorrow
Thy pity without end

Oh, make me thine forever
And should I fainting be
Lord let me never, never
Outlive my love for thee

-Paul Gerhardt (1607-1676)
Who dieth thus dies well.

The weary ones had rest, the sad had joy
That day, and wondered "how?"
A plowman singing at his work had prayed,
'Lord, help them now.'

Away in foreign lands, they wondered "how"
Their simple word had power.
At home, the gleaners, two or three had met,
To pray an hour.

Yes, we are always wondering "how"
Because we do not see
Someone, unknown perhaps, and far away
On bended knee.

Anon

Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees.
- William Cowper

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I cannot find words to express my feelings of joy and excitement. I was just dancing around, waving my arms, and searching for some phrase, some tune that would allow me to share these feeling with someone. Maybe if I were a composer or a poet could come up with lines that would evoke the thrill of leaping off a cliff face and watching the ground drop under you, twisting through a ravine at blurring speeds, splashing into tropical waters to an under water palace, having 2 minutes shopping spree in your favorite store, flying down a mountain and pulling a toe grab 360 with powder blowing past you, running down a steep incline with rocks and mud falling around as you dodge trees and clear bushes. There is so much that runs through me. So deep. I just cannot experss it.

I just got finished reading The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan (hence all the quotes). The book (including the second part) concludes with Christina and her companions crossing the River of Death and being welcomed into the Celestial City. I listened as one after the other, they received messages telling them they were wanted by the King, He wanted them to sit beside Him at a feast, He couldn't bear to be apart from them any more. Hearing these summons reminded me of my own long awaited summons. I feel how out of phase I am with this world. I am moving one way, it another, and there is friction. I want to go home to be with my Father. I am homesick.


But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.
- 2 peter 3:13

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
- Hebrews 11:8-10

I went for a walk and the line "Better is one day in your house, than thousands elsewhere," kept reverberating through my mind. I realized that one day with God really is better than a thousand elsewhere because that is where I long to be. I do not want to be anywhere where He is not, I want to be with God. So it really doesn't matter how much time I spend there, one day with God would still be better.

But this I have resolved on to wit, to run when I can, to go when I cannot run, and to creep when I cannot go.
-John Bunyan, The Pilgrim's Progress

I was thinking earlier today about what gifts of the Spirit I would ask for. At first I wasn't sure, but then I thought about evangelism. I know its not my gift, but what a reward they must receive. But then the thought occured to me that its not a matter of what gifts we receive, but how well we use them. So someone who exercises the gift of hospitality more than someone who has the gift of prophecy or evangelism will receive a better reward. Its not about how flashy we are, but how faithful we are.

To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, 'If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.' JOHN 8:31-33

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In my ethics class we've been talking about utilitarianism. Basically it says that being 'good' or 'moral' consists of doing what is best for everyone involved, at whatever cost may come to the individual. This in itself is unliveable. To fulfill it you would have to work as long as you could everyday, eat and sleep as little as you could, and not do anything that costs you money or spend any time playing unless it allowed you to work more efficiently and produce more that you would have otherwise. Any money that you make and do not need to absolutely surivive has to be given to whoever needs it the most. Moreover, they have to give up their relationships, hopes, beliefs, and anything that identifies them as an individual and a human being, if it produces more happiness than sorrow. For people who believe in utilitarianism, this creates a sticky situation, because if they are not living this miserable lifestyle, then they are being immoral.
As Christians, we have it easier, because we do not have to live like this because God calls us each to a unique situation where He wants us. So to do the best thing for everyone in the world might not be for everyone to 'sell all they have and give it to the poor' (although for some, that is definitely what God calls them to). If God calls me to be a student at Rice University (which He has) then it is for everyone's good and I would be disobeying Him to go somewhere else. To think that I could do more good by selling all my stuff and working all the time, is wrong because that puts my limited reasoning over God's omniscient perspective.
Now there are some things that He doesn't necessarily call us to do. For instance, I've never heard God call me to go spend $7 at a moive theater (especially at a movie that God probably wouldn't approve of). I don't often go to the movies anymore. But that's getting to the part of my question. If World Vision can feed someone for a dollar a day, can I justify going to a movie with money that could feed someone for a week? Maybe if it would build up a relationship or teach me something about God. That sounds odd (and rare) but what about going to see the Lord of the Rings as a family outing? We've seen the first two in the theaters and are looking forward to the third movie (we loved the book long before the movies came out and still prefer the books). I think in that situation I could justify it. But how about other things? I don't spend much money. Sometimes I go out to eat with friends. I need to eat, but theoretically I could get food and cook it in the basement and save some money. There is something definite to be said about fellowship and enjoying life, but sometimes it seems like wasting money that could realy help someone. I do throw parties, but always with the ultimate intention of bringing people to know Christ. Jesus himself went to a lot of parties and often got invited over to peoples' houses for dinner. But what about a camera? Somewhere, I lost my camera that I used in high school. I thought I needed a camera so God provided one for my trip to Mexico this summer. I had prayed "God I'm going to Mexico and I need a camera." So that night, God answered my prayer. I was helping Ames and his dad move his stuff out of his room (at the end of the year) and they found a random camera. Ames' dad asked, "Whose is this?" and Ames said, "I don't know. Throw it in the box and we'll bring it back in the Fall." I asked if I could use it during the summer and they agreed. I bought about 20 dollars worth of film, and took some great pictures. Or so I believe. When I arrived back in Colorado from Mexico, none of my pictures came out. The camera was broken. That hurt. That really hurt. I asked God why He had done that, and He answered clear as day, "You don't NEED a camera. You only NEED ME." I was humbled. He had found the nerve. So now, I want a camera. I do not NEED a camera. But I would like one. Should I get a camera or spend the money feeding someone across the world? I could potentially sell the pictures and donate the money, or I could potentially develop the pictures and spend money that otherwise could have helped someone. The only answer I have is to pray about it and let the One who knows my present and future needs, and the needs of everyone on this planet, guide me in this decision.