photogrpahy, random thoughts, ramblings
may you wait patiently for the Lord.
may you cry out to Him in times of trouble.
may you wait patiently for the Lord.
may he lift you out of the pit
out of the mire and clay.
may he place your feet on solid ground
and make your footsteps firm.
may you sing a new song –
a hymn of praise to our God.
and may many see what he has done
and put their trust in the Lord.
while waiting for will to get out of class today, i went out with the new sigma 150 macro to take some pictures. first general impressions – this is a fantastic lens. well built, fast focusing, sharp and with good color. good speed/length combination. i was able to shoot pics of the spider for a good 10 minutes without him ever really knowing that i was there. so far, i wish i’d had this lens years ago!
you can check out the rest of the pictures here.
may you walk in faith,
believing in a God
whose promise is true,
a good father
giving perfect gifts.
may you ask questions
content without quick answers;
may you seek
content without instantly finding.
may you believe
the covenant
of a faithful God
and rest secure
in the promise
of the provision
of the Lord.
may you be humble,
constantly aware of your relation
to a perfect God,
forgiven,
not because of good things you did,
but because of his mercy,
generously poured out
because of what
Jesus Christ
our Savior
did.
as you have been forgiven,
may you forgive.
as you have been declared guiltless,
may you free those who hae wronged you.
and may you stand
before the true and righteous judge,
cleansed in the blood
of the perfect sacrifice
of Jesus Christ.
our father,
we come before you
a hopeful people
a faithful people.
we come before you with worries and pain
joy and thanks
we come with a thousand
plans
desires
dreams
lives.
we come in this time asking
to be equal before you
not only in your eyes
but in our hearts
may our grace and mercy to each other
extend as far
as the grace and mercy of Christ.
may our hearts be filled with compassion and justice
may we know and believe
that each person
was created by you
is loved by you
is valued by you.
may our charity flow freely
to your creation.
may we be a blessing to your world –
giving more than we take
recognizing
that you love all you have made.
teach us,
God,
to desire to honor your creation –
all of your creation –
as much as we desire to honor
You.
u2 concert tonight. wonderful time.
for me the moment that stood out the most was a somewhat silly story. as the edge started playing the intro to the song “miracle drug”, bono began to tell a joking story.
“the edge is not from this planet,” he started. he continued, and recalled “meeting” him in the late 70’s in dublin.
“his spaceship landed and this creature came out.
‘who are you’, larry asked him.
‘i’m the edge.’
‘where do you come from,’ asked adam clayton.
‘i come from the future.’
so i asked him, ‘how is that?’
he replied, ‘it’s better.'”
while slightly silly, it was a story of hope. the hope and reason that each of us is here – that we are all working for a better future. often times it’s easy to say that the world is in a decline and that everything is falling apart, but the hope we have is that the future is a better place – even though we can’t see it.
though there is injustice now, though there is suffering now, though often times things seem to be getting worse and worse, i believe in a better future.
listening to the opening menu music tonight for the civilization 4, i noticed that there were a few phrases that i thought sounded vaguely familiar. any time i hear music that’s in another language i try to see if i can at least pick up what language it is, and this definitely sounded like swahili. at first the only phrase i could pick up was “baba yetu” (our father), but soon i caught “mbinguni” (heaven) and “amina” (amen), and “jina lake” (your name).
i assumed that it was probably some old tribal song that i’d never heard, but that someone dug up for the opening credits for the game. then again, all of those words do, in fact, appear in some language i’m familiar with… “our father in heaven, holy is your name…” grabbing my trusty habari njema kwa watu wote, i opened up to matthew 6:
baba yetu uliye mbinguni
jina lako litukuzwe.
Ufalme wako ufike,
Utakalo lifankyike
duniani kama mbinguni
Utepe leo chakula chetu tunachohitaji.
utusamehe makosa yetu
kama nasi tunavyowasamehe waliotukosea
usitutie katika majaribuni,
lakini utuokoe na yule Mwovu.
our father in heaven,
your name – may it be exalted.
your kingdom come
your work be done
on the earth, like in heaven.
give us today our food that we need.
and forgive us our mistakes
in the same way we forgive those who wrong us.
and do not carry us into trials,
but deliver us from the evil one.
create in us your heart, o God.
a heart of love
a heart of justice
a heart of righteousness.
open our eyes.
let us not be blind
to the pain and suffering
around us
as we so often are
but place it
where it cannot be ignored.
open our ears.
force us to hear
the screaming calls
of the weak
the oppressed
children and mothers
widows and orphans.
open our voices
make us cry out
against the world
against our friends.
concern us not
with our popularity
but with grace.
destroy our pride.
destroy our selfishness.
destroy our sinful desire.
take our lives
and make us
a blessing
to all those we meet.
those who seek shall find.
help us not only seek you
but also those who need you.
as you raise your voice,
may your heart sing out,
joyous melodies rising to God.
may you connect with the heart of god
drawn into his presence
drawn as water from a well,
taken with intent and purpose
used in the hands of the one
who drew you.
may you be refreshed
restored
bathed in the blood of Christ
a new creation,
born again in this moment.
may the condition of your soul
overflow before the Father
your joys and sorrows both before him.
may you sing from the depths of who you are
and be assured
that he is listening.
though you do not flaunt it,
may your good shine before all men.
though you do not publicize it,
may you be known for your charity.
though no one hear you,
may you be known as a person of prayer.
and though you never speak it,
may people hear the name of God
as they watch your life.