His green earth

Anything back to back has more of an effect on everything than anything. If that makes sense...

On the last day of September, I made a lone excursion to the beach. Cold? Far from it! Even though the first day of fall was roughly a week ago, in my mind fall starts in October. But, I digress...

It truly is mesmerizing to see ocean waves crashing into the sand and then gently pulling away. The feeling is intensified when this happens around your feet. So repetitive, yet soothing. I'm wanting beach front property right about now.

Since WL loves the beach so much, I called her so she could listen to this episode of waves meet sand. I seem to do this every time I go. I hope she isn't too jealous of the fact that I'm there and she's not.

The following day, BB called me to look out the window. I had heard of such things yet never witnessed one. A double rainbow. The picture above doesn't do the phenomenon any justice, but if you Google it or witness it for yourself, you'd understand. Couldn't keep my eyes off of it.

Can't help but marvel at such things. Can't help but mention one of numerous psalms singing of His glory.

Psalm 146:6.

because I can

Instead of tooting my own horn (Ironic, much? But, I digress...), I'm tooting other folks' horns.

I've just finished writing another recommendation. In the past two years or so, I've been writing them almost as much as I've been asking for them. It's weird/exciting/happy feeling to be "of age" to write them for others while very much needing them myself.

The familiar notion of crying old comes to mind, but for as long as I've been crying so, I'm embracing this notion more and more. Let me clarify.

A few years ago, I would have thought aging as dreadful. Now, I embrace it joyfully.

Yes, I realize I'm too young to speak about getting old. To that I say, pish posh. I've been doing so since high school and I know that I'm gonna keep doing it till kingdom come.

Speaking of kingdom, I'm reminded of this one verse...

Proverbs 16:31.

Praying that I get to that point. God willing.

we remember

10 years.

Most everyone has said that it's one of those things that define a generation.

A thing that everyone remembers exactly what they were doing the moment they found out.

A thing that has caused countless ink, tears, blood, and everything than can flow, to run wild.

We have. We do. We will.

Remember.

ex nihilo (sort of...)

I secretly (not so much anymore) enjoy driving in the loop of the interchange. That centripetal force thing going on doesn't cease to excite.

Situated in one of these countless loops, that I enjoy way too much, is a little brick church I pass on my way to work. I don't know the name of said building but I always mean to look it up every time I pass it. Just something along the way that occasionally catches my eye; I pay it no mind.

Today, however, it got my whole attention. On the loop around, I noticed the stained glass windows. Folks in Bedlam probably made more sense, but the figures in the windows seem to flash brightly for a moment.

Was He trying to say something to me?

This wasn't some Joan of Arc kinda thing. But, it does remind me that He is always speaking to us. Not by the conventional methods of communication, but through the almost seemingly random. Burning shrubbery, random weather disturbances, dreams, etc. etc.

What He is saying? I don't know. Is He speaking to us? Probably. Or am I just causing more bedlam?

p.s. It's called Calvary Baptist.

so...how's the weather? (ii)

34 hours.

It's incomparable to the 4 days of no power that Isabel put parts of VA through. Props to the Dominion Power for being on their game this year. Bet your bottom dollar, that we had Snap!'s The Power on repeat.

Unfortunately, as the days go by, more news of Irene's devastation on the East Coast just keeps coming in. Time and time again, folks have wondered in the aftermath of natural disasters, why has this happened?

I am not seasoned enough to give an adequate answer, but I do know this...Natural disasters give folks new perspectives on life.

In the midst of the 34 hours of being "unplugged", I've been reminded and have had to relearn to appreciate a lot more of the things we have taken for granted. Yes, we in the First World have it easy. Water running INSTANTANEOUSLY from a tap; internet downloading video, music, etc. etc. faster than we can sneeze;  flips, switches, buttons, and screens we manipulate by A FINGER to manipulate a plethora of electronics...I think you get the picture. We have so much stuff that once we lose control of ONE thing, we go to pieces.

I cannot help but think of His words from the Sermon on the Mount.

No, dear reader, I am not trivializing the loss of life in the midst of tragedy. Rather, I am asking us to remember where our treasures lie.

Matthew 6:19-21.

so...how's the weather?

Oscar Wilde once said, "Conversation about the weather is the last refuge of the unimaginative."

He's right, but he was notoriously SCANDALOUS and me...not so much. So, I'm gonna indulge my uncultured-ness and save my imagination for other tings. (Yeah, you read that right.)

Smoke from the swamp fires.

Earthquakes.

Incoming hurricane.

Folks are flippin' out in the 757 over Irene, amongst other things. The pandemonium is understandable; folks saw Isabel and folks saw Floyd. Both of them were just bulls in a china store. Straight up thugged everybody and wrecked everything. Isabel stole our power. Floyd stole our water. Both of them are gone, yet they linger in our memories.

VA just seems to be plagued with natural disasters and people are losing their cool. Claiming it's the sign of the times. I understand the basis for this, but for real though...another deluge? He done did that with Noah and his crew. Does the rainbow not mean anything to these folks? (Genesis 9.)

Forgive the cynicism. I know, you gotta be prepared for the worst. Not saying you shouldn't prepare, just not clean out a WHOLE section of the store or be obsessively checking the Weather Channel.

You heard the report, calm it down, prepare accordingly, and get out of Dodge. If you're staying in Dodge, well just have your arsenal ready cuz it's not gonna be easy. Lastly, it should be firstly, let's not forget to seek His wisdom out.

Yes, we should be wary of the birth pangs as mentioned in Matthew 24, BUT we also need to keep in mind the other stuff Christ mentioned in the same discourse too. Keep reading His word and keep an eye out. He'll see us through it. Just gotta trust and obey.

delusions of grandeur...not

Sometime in the past, the younger more optimistic version of myself had that fire in the belly that drove me to dream and to conquer the world. But now...

The fire is still going, but I think I need some gasoline. I'm realizing the more seasoned I get; the more jaded I get. I hate the fact that I've become the stereotypical jaded post-college graduate. AND, the fact that I'm even writing about this jaded state of mind just adds to the snafu. Irony was/is never far from my side.

On top of the aforementioned conflict, the "ideals" of being antisocial, being apolitical, and being a-everything has crept into my demeanor. Apathy just can't wait to be king.

BUT, as mentioned earlier the fire hasn't died. I know that apathy begets slothfulness, and slothfulness begets decline. Steady, but surely there will be decline.

Someone once told me that if you're not moving forward, you're moving backward. I liked to think I'm stuck. Kidding aside, I know this is an uphill battle that I cannot let myself lose. But how do I keep moving if I can't even see the proverbial light at the end of this proverbial tunnel?

The poem "Footprints."

Somehow, some way, we all need to stand on our own two feet and keep walking. But we must NEVER forget...Footprints.