"Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask, 'Where have I gone wrong?' Then a voice says to me, 'This is going to take more than one night.'"
-- Charles M. Schulz
Apr 15, 2010
Apr 9, 2010
Apr 8, 2010
Apr 2, 2010
Friday
Psalm 51 (The Message)
Generous in love—God, give grace! Huge in mercy—wipe out my bad record.Scrub away my guilt,
soak out my sins in your laundry.
I know how bad I've been;
my sins are staring me down.
You're the One I've violated, and you've seen
it all, seen the full extent of my evil.
You have all the facts before you;
whatever you decide about me is fair.
I've been out of step with you for a long time,
in the wrong since before I was born.
What you're after is truth from the inside out.
Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life.
Soak me in your laundry and I'll come out clean,
scrub me and I'll have a snow-white life.
Tune me in to foot-tapping songs,
set these once-broken bones to dancing.
Don't look too close for blemishes,
give me a clean bill of health.
God, make a fresh start in me,
shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.
Don't throw me out with the trash,
or fail to breathe holiness in me.
Bring me back from gray exile,
put a fresh wind in my sails!
Give me a job teaching rebels your ways
so the lost can find their way home.
Commute my death sentence, God, my salvation God,
and I'll sing anthems to your life-giving ways.
Unbutton my lips, dear God;
I'll let loose with your praise.
Going through the motions doesn't please you,
a flawless performance is nothing to you.
I learned God-worship
when my pride was shattered.
Heart-shattered lives ready for love
don't for a moment escape God's notice.
Make Zion the place you delight in,
repair Jerusalem's broken-down walls.
Then you'll get real worship from us,
acts of worship small and large,
Including all the bulls
they can heave onto your altar!
Apr 1, 2010
Thursday
Psalm 51 (Luther Bibel 1545)
(Ein Psalm Davids, vorzusingen; da der Prophet Nathan zu ihm kam, als er war zu Bath-Seba eingegangen.)Gott, sei mir gnädig nach deiner Güte und tilge meine Sünden nach deiner großen Barmherzigkeit.
Wasche mich wohl von meiner Missetat und reinige mich von meiner Sünde.
Denn ich erkenne meine Missetat, und meine Sünde ist immer vor mir.
An dir allein habe ich gesündigt und übel vor dir getan, auf daß du recht behaltest in deinen Worten und rein bleibest, wenn du gerichtet wirst.
Siehe, ich bin in sündlichem Wesen geboren, und meine Mutter hat mich in Sünden empfangen.
Siehe, du hast Lust zur Wahrheit, die im Verborgenen liegt; du lässest mich wissen die heimliche Weisheit.
Entsündige mich mit Isop, daß ich rein werde; wasche mich, daß ich schneeweiß werde.
Laß mich hören Freude und Wonne, daß die Gebeine fröhlich werden, die du zerschlagen hast.
Verbirg dein Antlitz von meinen Sünden und tilge alle meine Missetaten.
Schaffe in mir, Gott, ein reines Herz und gib mir einen neuen, gewissen Geist.
1Verwirf mich nicht von deinem Angesicht und nimm deinen heiligen Geist nicht von mir.
Tröste mich wieder mit deiner Hilfe, und mit einem freudigen Geist rüste mich aus.
Ich will die Übertreter deine Wege lehren, daß sich die Sünder zu dir bekehren.
Errette mich von den Blutschulden, Gott, der du mein Gott und Heiland bist, daß meine Zunge deine Gerechtigkeit rühme.
Herr, tue meine Lippen auf, daß mein Mund deinen Ruhm verkündige.
Denn du hast nicht Lust zum Opfer, ich wollte dir's sonst wohl geben, und Brandopfer gefallen dir nicht.
Die Opfer, die Gott gefallen, sind ein geängsteter Geist; ein geängstet und zerschlagen Herz wirst du, Gott, nicht verachten.
Tue wohl an Zion nach deiner Gnade; baue die Mauern zu Jerusalem.
Dann werden dir gefallen die Opfer der Gerechtigkeit, die Brandopfer und ganzen Opfer; dann wird man Farren auf deinem Altar opfern.
Mar 31, 2010
Wednesday
Psalm 51 (New International Version)
For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.
Have mercy on me, O God,according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are proved right when you speak
and justified when you judge.
Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
Surely you desire truth in the inner parts;
you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.
Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will turn back to you.
Save me from bloodguilt, O God,
the God who saves me,
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise.
In your good pleasure make Zion prosper;
build up the walls of Jerusalem.
Then there will be righteous sacrifices,
whole burnt offerings to delight you;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.
Mar 30, 2010
Truth from a surprising source (or not so surprising).
"For centuries, theologians have been explaining the unknowable in terms of the-not-worth-knowing."
-- H. L. Mencken
-- H. L. Mencken
Tuesday
Psalm 51 (English Standard Version)
Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
Have mercy on me, O God,according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin!
For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words
and blameless in your judgment.
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,
and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.
Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will return to you.
Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,
O God of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;
build up the walls of Jerusalem;
then will you delight in right sacrifices,
in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.
Mar 29, 2010
Monday
Psalm 51 (King James Version)
Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.
Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.
O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.
For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.
Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.
Mar 23, 2010
Mar 21, 2010
Mar 20, 2010
Mar 15, 2010
Mar 5, 2010
Acton speaks louder than words.
John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton* “Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
* "Great men are almost always bad men."
* “The strong man with the dagger is followed by the weak man with the sponge.”
* “There is no worse heresy than the fact that the office sanctifies the holder of it.”
* “There is not a soul who does not have to beg alms of another, either a smile, a handshake, or a fond eye.”
* “The one pervading evil of democracy is the tyranny of the majority, or rather of that party, not always the majority, that succeeds, by force or fraud, in carrying elections.”
* “Be not content with the best book; seek sidelights from the others; have no favourites.”
* "The science of politics is the one science that is deposited by the streams of history, like the grains of gold in the sand of a river; and the knowledge of the past, the record of truths revealed by experience, is eminently practical, as an instrument of action and a power that goes to making the future."
* “[History is] not a burden on the memory but an illumination of the soul.”
* “And remember, where you have a concentration of power in a few hands, all too frequently men with the mentality of gangsters get control. History has proven that. All power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
* "The issue which has swept down the centuries and which will have to be fought sooner or later is the people versus the banks."
* "The danger is not that a particular class is unfit to govern: every class is unfit to govern."
* "Liberty is not the power of doing what we like, but the right to do what we ought."
* "There is no error so monstrous that it fails to find defenders among the ablest men."
* "Save for the wild force of Nature, nothing moves in this world that is not Greek in its origin."
* "Socialism means slavery."
* "At all times sincere friends of freedom have been rare, and its triumphs have been due to minorities, that have prevailed by associating themselves with auxiliaries whose objects differed from their own; and this association, which is always dangerous, has been sometimes disastrous, by giving to opponents just grounds of opposition."
Feb 11, 2010
Feb 5, 2010
The Face and Nature of Sin
This is Sin, exposed at its sweet, gooey, sticky core. This is what it looks like.
Dec 31, 2009
Dec 30, 2009
Gimme' that old-time religion: Church-goin' in Dallas County ain't as excitin' as it used to be.
SHOOTOUT AT PLEASANT VALLEY - 051
Sensation and Lurid Scene at Pleasant
Valley Church Yesterday
June 27, 1897
An unusually large congregation assembled at the Pleasant Valley church, five miles east of Garland, yesterday forenoon to hear the Rev. Dr. Patterson, of Ellis county, preach.
The preliminary service of song and prayer was over, and the preacher was about to announce his text, and the men and boys on the outside were throwing away their quids of tobacco and cigarette stubs and getting ready to go inside, when Augustus A. Garrison appeared in front of the church, and walking up to Frank Jones, said: "Now D--n you, I've got you," and shot him dead.
Tom Jones, brother to Frank, who was close by, pulled a pistol, where upon Garrison proceeded to shoot at him, the second shot from Garrison's pistol shattering Jones' left thigh bone, felling him to the ground. But Jones, raising himself on his elbow, continued to shoot, but it was not until the sixth shot he got Garrison. The bullet entered near Garrison's heart and ranged upward, killing him instantly.
The congregation stampeded in the wildest fashion. The women screamed and fainted, children were run over and trampled upon, excited men rushed hither and thither and horses and mules broke loose and ran away, tearing up vehicles, and the utmost confusion reigned.
Garrison's brother got hold of his dead kinsmen's pistol, and Will Jones, a brother to Frank and Tom, appeared on the scene with a big 45 gun, and there would undoubtedly have been additinal bloodshed had not neighbors interposed and kept the men apart.
Tom Jones, in a dying condition, was removed to his home. The surgeons announced that the bone of the left thigh was shattered for a distance of six inches and that the patient was dangerously wounded, and his condition rendered still more critical by the great loss of blood.
The bodies of the dead were left as they fell until Justice Swim, of Garland, could come out and viewed them, then they were removed to their respective homes, and prepared for interment.
Augustus A. Garrison was 25 years old, and the son of Widow Garrison. There are three surviving brothers and several sisters. Frank Jones was 20 years old and Tom, 16. The latter were sons of Jesse Jones, who lived a mile from the church and half a mile from Widow Garrison, both families highly respectable and well-to-do. They have lived neighbors for years. The children grew up together, attending the same school and same Sunday school from the time they were carried to church as sleeping infants until yesterday.
The boys in both families were sober and industrious; they lived in a local option precinct, and whisky had nothing to do with the tragedy.
Frank Jones had seduced, or was charged with having seduced Garrison's sister, the young lady giving birth to a child last spring. Augustus Garrison told young Jones at the time that if he did not repair the wrong by marrying the girl, he would kill him.
In order to avoid a collision, Jones left the neighborhood and did not return until last Saturday. Sunday morning, he went over to the church, as he had been in the habit of doing all his life. He was probably expecting trouble, as he had a six-shooter on him, but did not get to use it, as Garrison shot him three times and killed him before he could pull it.
The funeral of Garrison took place this forenoon and that of Frank Jones will occur this afternoon, both from the same church and to the same cemetery near the church. The people in the neighborhood turning out on both occasions and extending their sympathies and condolence to both stricken families.
Constable C. P. Bane of Garland, who was in the city, said to a Times Herald reporter: (parts of interview with Bane omitted) "Frank Jones, who was shot three times by Gus Garrison, did not make an attempt to pull his pistol, and it would have done him no good if he had, as it would not work. It was a fine pistol, but it had beome so rusty that it could not be cocked. It wa a 38-caliber Winchester Colt, and had only two loads in it. Two of Jones' bullets lodged in the church door, which the congregation had fortunately closed. Most of the people in the church jumped out of the windows. Miss Garrison, who was the cause of the trouble , is a very young girl, not over fifteen years old."
Note: "Widow Garrison" was Nancy Hannah Elvirie Poovey Garrison.
Dallas Times Herald June 27, 1897
I guess folks used to raise their hands in church for a different reason in the old days.
Dec 27, 2009
Dec 24, 2009
Put this on your shopping list.
WASSAIL! WASSAIL!
Early American Christmas Music
The Christmas Revels
John Langstaff, dir.
Revel Records
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