Music in 2009

Just been on the prowl looking for which of my favourite bands and musicians has released some new music this year...and this is what i found roundabout the net (i will update this as i go along);

1. Switchfoot have a new album out called Hello Hurricane (Nov 2009). You can check out the raving reviews here and here. I love their music and i am looking for to hearing some songs from their latest release.

2. Also out is something from Sara Groves. She know how to do music for what i like to call easy listening. I like the look of her website, it is off the beaten path...her new album is called Fireflies and Songs. You can read the reviews here and here. I recommend listening to all her music. It is really beautiful.

That is all for now...hope you like what you find. Cheers Amigos and do let me know what you think.

Facts of life!!

Life goes on...when days are tough...hang in there, better days are on the way!

GUTS OR BALLS?

We've all heard about people having guts or balls. But do you really know the difference between them? In an effort to keep you informed, the definition for each is listed below...

 

GUTS - is arriving home late after a night out with the guys, being met by your wife with a broom, and having the guts to ask: "Are you still cleaning, or are you flying somewhere?"

 

BALLS - is coming home late after a night out with the guys, smelling of perfume and beer, lipstick on your collar, slapping your wife on the butt and having the balls to say: "You're next."

 

I hope this clears up any confusion on the definitions.

 

Medically speaking, there is no difference in the outcome, since both ultimately result in death.

 

 

The Changing Faces of Men!

 The Love Word:
        After 6 weeks: I love you, I love you, I love you!
       After 6 months: Of course, I love you.
       After 6 years: If I didn't love you, then why do you think I proposed?

Back from Work:
        After 6 weeks: Honey, I'm home!
        After 6 months: I'm BACK!!
        After 6 years: Have you cooked?

Phone Ringing:
        After 6 weeks: Baby, somebody wants you on the phone.
        After 6 months: Here, it's for you.
        After 6 years: ANSWER THE PHONE!

Cooking:
         After 6 weeks: I never knew food could taste so good!
         After 6 months: What are we having for dinner tonight?
         After 6 years: AGAIN!

New Dress:
         After 6 weeks: Wow, you look like an angel in that dress.
         After 6 months: You bought a new dress again?
         After 6 years: How much did THAT cost me?

TELEVISION:
After 6 weeks: Baby, what would you like us to watch tonight?
After 6 months: I like this movie.

After 6 years: I'm going to watch ESPN, if you're not in the mood, go to bed, I can                                                                                           stay up by myself!

 

 

How Do I Love Thee

Did you know that there are two love poems titled “How Do I Love Thee?” You are probably familiar with Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s version, but there is a second written by Wilfred Owen. Mr. Owen was called by some the premier war poet of World War One, writing extensively on the horrors of trench and gas warfare. And yet, even in the midst of such human misery and suffering, he was able to pen a love poem. This, to me, speaks most eloquently of the power of the human spirit, even in the face of the unimaginable. So, without further ado, allow me to present to you both versions of “How Do I Love Thee?”

How Do I Love Thee? by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways,
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.

I love thee to the level of everyday’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.

I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose

With my lost saints - I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, all of my life! - and, if God choose
I shall but love thee better after death.

In sharp contrast to Ms. Browning’s pastoral prose is Mr. Owen’s verse, born out of, or perhaps in defiance of, the pain and trauma he suffered during the war. His voice is that of a man humbled and broken, yet determined to love, for he knows that no matter the cost, love is the only worthwhile pursuit and can blossom out of any and all circumstance.


How Do I Love Thee? by Wilfred Owen

I cannot woo thee as the lion his mate,
With proud parade and fierce prestige of presence;
Nor thy fleet fancy may I captivate
With pastoral attitudes in flowery pleasance;
Nor will I kneeling court thee with sedate
And comfortable plans of husbandhood;
Nor file before thee as a candidate…
I cannot woo thee as a lover would.

To wrest thy hand from rivals, iron-gloved,
Or cheat them by craft, I am not clever.
But I do love thee even as Shakespeare loved,
Most gently wild, and desperately for ever,
Full-hearted, grave, and manfully in vain,
With thought, high pain, and ever vaster pain.

I think am losing my marbles...thinking of such things as love...the undying kind at that because who can trust a human being's heart?...who can fathom it?...it may all be kiwani!!
It must be the silence...the general lack of things to dig my teeth into...

Fresh Start

I have probably used those two words about a hundred times in the last couple of months. Why does my soul crave a fresh start? am I suggesting that my life has gone stale/ that I am beginning to smell something putrid?...maybe...
I have always been fascinated by the opportunity to do something new... despite my very cool, calm collected exterior, I am always itching for a change of scene on the inside...so, at least to me, my decision to cross borders was not shocking :-)
Lots of people in my life have expressed shock that I could up and leave...but I think, really, that now is the time for me to make purely selfish decisions before I have other societal responsibilities...
Well, by and large, I will wait and see how everything turns out..will I be happy? will I be free? Will I find success? Will I be blessed?...Will I find favour? Will I grow?...
Time and circumstance...
Time and circumstance...

Tunnel Faith

God made some promises to me years ago, promises i didn't understand and to be honest, was afraid of. He did promise to be there in the midst of it all. He repeated it often, through other people. Reaffirmed it in the things that happened or rather didn't happen. All he needed was that i hold on; change was coming, change indeed came.
We here it over and over again from the pulpit, from the mouths of foe and friend alike; wait on God, he always comes through. It is a completely different thing when we actually have to do it, especially when there are no guarantees, no foreseeable positive results, no light in your tunnel. JOy comes in the coming, right? How then do we explain it when mornings come and go and still no joy!
Waiting in that tunnel , believing in a good good God, a God who has not forgotten you; that is the true test of Faith. Sometimes we pass, oftentimes we fail but most times all we ever need to do,
is hold on.
To Jesus.

Never Give Up...

The title is just another name for perseverance...something that will always stand you in good stead as opposed to being obstinate:-)
As i write this i am listening to Jeremy Camp sing "tonight". I guess an appropriate song for a time such as this. A declaration to stop procrastinating and get the act going...to persevere in doing what is right.
In my case it means i need to stop being busy with work and getting time to not just rest but to spend with my Lord and Saviour...it is good i have a job but man, that job shall come to pass but the Lord? He reigns for ever and the cattle on a thousand hills are his...
So with Jeremy i say;

Tonight, I will take my cross Tonight, I will count this cost Tonight, I will realize to take hold of this very moment In this time, you draw me by these words You’ve spoken I feel inside, this never-ending hope I’ve placed all that I trust in knowing one day I will see You The only thing worth holding onto is holding onto me

Till next time, have a blessed time...and don't stop going ever onward.

Always!

thinking

Reconciling my need to explore and my natural curiosity with the limits that God sets before me.
Questioning everything i believe, and believing, at the same time.
Growing up is such a thorough process. It is impossible to miss even one step. You'll always be brought back to learn that which you ignored.
I find that God is only interested in the things that we do, not for themselves but for the person they make us. His interest lies solely in our person