Suffering for Christ's sake...

God Knows What He’s About
When God wants to drill a man,
And thrill a man, and skill a man,
When God wants to mold a man
To play the noblest part;
When He yearns with all His heart
To create so great and bold a man
That all the world might be amazed,
Watch His methods; watch His ways.
How He ruthlessly perfects
Whom He royally elects!
How He hammers him and hurts him
And with mighty blows converts him
Into trial shapes of clay
That only God understands,
While his tortured heart is crying,
And he lifts beseeching hands!
How He bends but never breaks
When his good He undertakes.
How He uses whom He chooses,
And with every purpose fuses him;
By every act induces him
To try His splendor out—
God knows what He's about!

Death is Not Dying

www.deathisnotdying.com/eventvideo
This video takes about 55 minutes to watch but is worth every minute. Rachel's grace, wisdom, and dignity speak volumes. She is facing death in 6-18 weeks due to cancer. Her central message is four-fold: Know God, Know Yourself, Know the Gospel, and Know Your Purpose. I found myself touched, challenged, humbled and mesmerized. Oh that I may face death with such a heart as hers.

Has it really been nine months since my last post? How is it the older you get the faster time flies? Remember when it used to take forever for Christmas to get here? And summer vacation seemed to be so illusive? Now I blink and its been nine months since I've posted anything.

I do have to admit however, I've been unfaithful...to this blog. I found Facebook. Reconnected with friends from eras past and deepened relationships with friends present. I know I should be ashamed to have so shamelessly allowed my blog to languish, but how can posting my thoughts to a blog that no one reads compare to posting my latest status and having friends comment? I know I should know better, how can a facebook status update compare to the soul-baring space in a blog? Answer: it can't, thus I am returning to my first love, my unlimited text allowance, and my anonymity, my blog.

Books of 2008
The Greek Treasure~Irving Stone***
Fearfully and Wonderfully Made~Dr. Paul Brand and Philip Yancey****
Leota's Garden~Francine Rivers****
Thou Shall Prosper: Ten Commandments for Making Money~Rabbi Daniel Lapin****
Bones to Ashes~Kathy Reichs**
The Innocent Man~John Grisham**
Ancient Rome: How it Affects You Today~Richard Maybury*
Whatever Happened to Penny Candy~Richard Maybury*
The Story of the Iliad~Alfred P. Church**
The Shack~William P. Young***
All Rivers to the Sea~Bodie Thoene*
The Musician's Quest~George MacDonald***
The Tutor's First Love~George MacDonald***
Freakonomics~Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner
Night~Elie Wiesel****
Reading Lolita in Tehran~Azar Nafisi**
Uncle Fred Omnibus~P.G. Wodehouse****
Stormy Weather~Paulette Jiles**
Through Gates of Splendor~Elizabeth Elliott~****
Three Cups of Tea~Greg Mortenson and someone whose name I forget**
Thunder from Jerusalem~Bodie Thoene**
Eat Pray Love~Elizabeth Gilbert*
Her Little Majesty~Carolly Erickson****
A Thousand Splendid Suns ~ Khaled Hosseini ~ ****
The Adventures of Sally ~ P.G. Wodehouse ~ ***
The Inimitable Jeeves~ P.G. Wodehouse~ **
How Right You Are, Jeeves ~P.G. Wodehouse ~ ****