Here's one for the memory banks:

"When my heart was grieved
and my spirit embittered,
I was senseless and ignorant;
I was a brute beast before you.

Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take
me into glory."

-Psalm 73:21-24

Today was a rough day at school. I need
to PRAY, pray, pray for these kids, and for
my own heart and willingness to be used.

Also have some other decisions and such
to be making soon. Moving, etc., time
commitments...

Oh, and Bob Dylan was so so good. He
does not cater to the audience at all. I
only wish I had known more of the songs
so I could know what in the world he was
singing about. :-) The music was great
though.

Here I am, in this little apartment.
Just wrapped up a very good Easter.
I had lunch with friends, cooked a
lot, and talked with Kelley, Renee,
mom, and two boys from church
One of them I called because he
informed me via e-mail that I had
hurt him by a previous e-mail of
mine. I had to apologize. We're
good now.

The other boy informed me that
BOB DYLAN IS PLAYING IN KC
TOMORROW!

And guess who's going?
me, me, me!!!
This is probably his last tour,
and come on, I can't pass this up,
I mean, I spent four years listening
to a certain TFC prof. recount in
mind-boggling detail all the Dylan
concerts he's been to and how no
two are the same...musical genius...
etc. IT'S BOB DYLAN. I've gotta go.
Plus, I actually can afford it this month.
woo hoo!!!!!! (am I excited? yes.)

In other news, I think I am growing up,
at least, a bit. I think I have made some
good steps in the life-long battle of
training my mind to not accept thoughts
that come from emotions that would lead
me away from God. Praise God for this!
I know I still have a long ways to go.

Possibly, I am just getting used to living
alone. But come August I am planning on
moving in with my dear friend Naomi, and
I'm sure that will bring to light many more
things I need to work on. That's the beauty
of relationships, right? They help you to grow
and make you more aware of the weaknesses
and flaws that you can become accustomed
to ignoring or glazing over. So bring it on!

(It's easy to write that now...but I really do
want to grow, deep down, by whatever
means God sees fit. However, Naomi and
I do get along quite well.)

So, how are you? Busy? Yeah, you probably
are. Why are we all SO BUSY!!! Life in America
is craziness.

God, I know I would be better off if I made more
time to meditate on Your Word. Please forgive
me and help me. Help us all to draw near to
you every day in whatever moments you allow.
Help us not to miss those moments, and to be
thankful in general. We have so much in You.

In Africa, I hear there are horrible things happening
related to their civil wars. In my classroom at school
there are kids that have so much crap to deal with,
both at home, and inside of themselves emotionally.
So much to pray about. So much to take to God
every day and trust that he hears every prayer, and
sees the oppression and all that's wrong in the world,
and trust that in Christ, all things work together for
good for those who believe in Him and are called by
Him. Oh, that I would believe this, even if I lived in
the middle of death and destruction, and not in a
priviledged society.

There's a lyric I once wrote in a song back in high
school that really convicted me when the song came
up on my iTunes. The line was:

"I thank, I thank You Lord. You have been so good to me.
But I would still praise You Lord from the depths of misery.
Because my faith in Your goodness does not depend
on the way that I feel.
For it is through the hard times that You refine me
and Your love is revealed."

Man, I don't always follow through with this. Sometimes,
the depths of misery get the best of me.

However....
I am learning, slowly. Perseverance is about always
getting up the next day and trying again, never giving
up the fight against my flesh and sinful desires, and
my desire to see more than what God is allowing me to see.
Some days it seems easier than others.

Be encouraged, friend. He has overcome the world.
Thank you for the role you have played and are playing
in my life.

Michial and Renee had this posted, so I thought I
would try it too. I did the shorter test, so my
results aren't as thorough.


Global Personality Test Results
Stability (73%) high which suggests you are very relaxed, calm, secure, and optimistic.
Orderliness (46%) medium which suggests you are moderately organized, hard working, and reliable while still remaining flexible, efficient, and fun.
Extraversion (53%) medium which suggests you are moderately talkative, outgoing, sociable and interacting.
"http://similarminds.com"

I'm playing at "Signs of Life" on Mass. St.
tomorrow night (Good Friday). All are invited!
:-)

Here's my set list:

Cool Cat (mine)
There Will Come A Time
Lift My Head (mine)
Deeper Meaning (mine)
My Hometown in Spring (mine)
Tear Down the Telephone Poles (mine)
When Morning Guilds the Skies
I'm So Thirsty
New Piano Doodle (mine)
So Send I You
Break The Cycle (mine)
Hallelujah, What a Savior

Tonight my sister spoke some truth to me
that I needed to hear. Yes, she can be
harsh, but as I reflect on some of what she
said, dang it, she's kind of right!! Oh well.

:-)

Love you Maralee.

"A hope that is seen is no hope at all."

We wait expectantly for the glory that is
to be revealed. We can sense it even now,
though we cannot see it fully. May I bring
glory to God by completing the work He
has for me to do, just as Jesus did while
He walked this earth. And may I not shy
away from my calling in Christ even when
the pruning of my heart is so painful I
don't have the strength to look up.

Today was a great day.

It was gorgeous outside and after the one piano lesson
for the day, which was super fun (Patricia may be quite
a few years older than me, but her enthusiasm makes
her seem much younger), I headed out to Clinton Lake.

Ahhhhhh, close your eyes, breath in deep, hear the
waves and feel the breeze. Up in the sky there's a black
bird with massive wingspan soaring so high, carried by
the wind. He was happy, I was happy. Seriously, I love
warm days and large bodies of water with few people
around.

Then I made contact with Kristi (dear girl) and spent
the rest of the day with "the gang" (church 20's and
30's people). We "watched" the final four games later
on and grilled, but mostly it was just an excuse to hang
out and talk. Fun stuff.

I'm starting to like this town. Art show opening at
"Signs of Life" last Friday night was cool too. Yeah
James!

So there was my happy day. Thank you Lord for the
good days, and the bad. Thank you for bringing me
out of myself and allowing me to be cared for by your
body of believers. Lord, help me be more like you.

I'll end with a quote Tim gave us at Bible study:
"The door to your neighbor is the gateway out of the
dungeon of self."