May 10, 2003
Holy Sonnet XIV (14) by John Donne
Batter my heart, three-person'd God; for, you
As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend;
That I may rise, and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend
Your force, to break, blow, burn and make me new.
I, like an usurp'd town, t'another due,
Labour to admit you, but oh, to no end,
Reason your viceroy in me, me should defend,
But is captiv'd, and proves weak or untrue.
Yet dearly I love you, and would be loved fain,
But am betroth'd unto your enemy:
Divorce me, untie, or break that knot again,
Take me to you, imprison me, for I
Except you enthrall me, never shall be free,
Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.
Batter my heart, three-person'd God; for, you
As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend;
That I may rise, and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend
Your force, to break, blow, burn and make me new.
I, like an usurp'd town, t'another due,
Labour to admit you, but oh, to no end,
Reason your viceroy in me, me should defend,
But is captiv'd, and proves weak or untrue.
Yet dearly I love you, and would be loved fain,
But am betroth'd unto your enemy:
Divorce me, untie, or break that knot again,
Take me to you, imprison me, for I
Except you enthrall me, never shall be free,
Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.
May 9, 2003
Found out that Jill has a sight. I put up the link to it. Check it out. You can hear a lot of her music under the Media section.
ok, I'm on a hymn-kick...
"What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer."
-Joseph Scriven, Charles C. Converse
"What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer."
-Joseph Scriven, Charles C. Converse
May 8, 2003
A little bummed today. Wanted to go see a friend play at a cafe in St.Augustine (cafe 11), but that didn't work out. But for the record, her name's Jill Robshaw, and if you ever hear of her in the future, know that she has an incredible voice and is a great musician, so go listen to her if you ever get the chance!
Here's a random verse for today, but it's a good one. James 4:2b-3 "you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures."
Wow. Reminds me of how selfish my prayers can be. Or just the fact that I try to do things on my own without asking God. Food for thought.
Here's a random verse for today, but it's a good one. James 4:2b-3 "you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures."
Wow. Reminds me of how selfish my prayers can be. Or just the fact that I try to do things on my own without asking God. Food for thought.
Okay, I'm about to quote some stuff in Latin, so if the words don't make any sense to you, you haven't lost your mind! But don't worry, I'll explain.
This is the text from a song I sang in the All-State choir my senior year of high school. The title is "Lamentations of Jeremiah," arranged by Z. Randall Stroope.
O vos omnes,
qui transitis per viam,
attendite et videte
si est dolor,
sicut dolor meus.
Recordare Domine
intuere et respice
opprobrium nostrum.
(translation)
O you people,
who pass this way,
look and see
if there exists any sorrow
like unto my sorrow.
Remember, Lord
consider and notice
our humiliation and disgrace!
"About the Music: The composer chose this text because of its 'human-ness.' Suffering to a greater or lesser degree is common to all human beings. The present musical setting of these lamentations seeks to capture the wide range of emotions which Jeremiah must have felt-- grief-stricken, alone, ready to cry out, sobbing uncontrollably, and torn between belief and his circumstance. Indeed, the composer has sought to firmly root the listener's feet 'in the soil' of life and let him or her feel sorrow in one breath and love in the next. ... The piece ends in a sudden overwhelming feeling of confidence and unleashed power in his Lord ('Domine') and the strength of that relationship in difficult times."
If you haven't already figured out, the song is about the prophet Jeremiah from the Bible, and the text of the song is basically taken straight from the book of Lamentations. (I wish you could hear this song. It's powerful! Maybe one day I'll figure out how to put music files on here!) This next quote is the intro to Lamentations in my Bible.
"Lamentations describes the funeral of a city. It is a tearstained portrait of the once proud Jerusalem, now reduced to rubble by the invading Babylonian hordes. In a five-poem dirge, Jeremiah exposes his emotions. A death has occurred; Jerusalem lies barren.
Jeremiah writes his lament in acrostic or alphabetical fashion. Beginning each chapter with the first letter A (aleph) he progresses verse by verse through the Hebrew alphabet, literally weeping from A to Z. And then, in the midst of this terrible holocaust, Jeremiah triumphantly cries out, 'Great is Your faithfulness' (3:23). In the face of death and destruction, with life seemingly coming apart, Jeremiah turns tragedy into a triumph of faith. God has never failed him in the past. God has promised to remain faithful in the future. In the light of the God he knows and loves, Jeremiah finds hope and comfort."
What an incredible story! In the middle of a book whose title means "tears" Jeremiah proclaims the goodness of God. Chapter 3 verses 22-26 say, "Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. 'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul, 'Therefore I hope in Him!' The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly For the salvation of the Lord."
Sorry this was so long and slightly random! I hope you got something out of it. But what am I apologizing for?? This is my website! Later.
This is the text from a song I sang in the All-State choir my senior year of high school. The title is "Lamentations of Jeremiah," arranged by Z. Randall Stroope.
O vos omnes,
qui transitis per viam,
attendite et videte
si est dolor,
sicut dolor meus.
Recordare Domine
intuere et respice
opprobrium nostrum.
(translation)
O you people,
who pass this way,
look and see
if there exists any sorrow
like unto my sorrow.
Remember, Lord
consider and notice
our humiliation and disgrace!
"About the Music: The composer chose this text because of its 'human-ness.' Suffering to a greater or lesser degree is common to all human beings. The present musical setting of these lamentations seeks to capture the wide range of emotions which Jeremiah must have felt-- grief-stricken, alone, ready to cry out, sobbing uncontrollably, and torn between belief and his circumstance. Indeed, the composer has sought to firmly root the listener's feet 'in the soil' of life and let him or her feel sorrow in one breath and love in the next. ... The piece ends in a sudden overwhelming feeling of confidence and unleashed power in his Lord ('Domine') and the strength of that relationship in difficult times."
If you haven't already figured out, the song is about the prophet Jeremiah from the Bible, and the text of the song is basically taken straight from the book of Lamentations. (I wish you could hear this song. It's powerful! Maybe one day I'll figure out how to put music files on here!) This next quote is the intro to Lamentations in my Bible.
"Lamentations describes the funeral of a city. It is a tearstained portrait of the once proud Jerusalem, now reduced to rubble by the invading Babylonian hordes. In a five-poem dirge, Jeremiah exposes his emotions. A death has occurred; Jerusalem lies barren.
Jeremiah writes his lament in acrostic or alphabetical fashion. Beginning each chapter with the first letter A (aleph) he progresses verse by verse through the Hebrew alphabet, literally weeping from A to Z. And then, in the midst of this terrible holocaust, Jeremiah triumphantly cries out, 'Great is Your faithfulness' (3:23). In the face of death and destruction, with life seemingly coming apart, Jeremiah turns tragedy into a triumph of faith. God has never failed him in the past. God has promised to remain faithful in the future. In the light of the God he knows and loves, Jeremiah finds hope and comfort."
What an incredible story! In the middle of a book whose title means "tears" Jeremiah proclaims the goodness of God. Chapter 3 verses 22-26 say, "Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. 'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul, 'Therefore I hope in Him!' The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly For the salvation of the Lord."
Sorry this was so long and slightly random! I hope you got something out of it. But what am I apologizing for?? This is my website! Later.
May 7, 2003
"For a Christian, there are, strictly speaking, no chances. A secret Master of the Ceremonies has been at work. Christ, who said to the disciples 'Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you,' can truely say to every group of Christian friends 'You have not chosen one another but I have chosen you for one another.' The Friendship is not a reward for our discrimination and good taste in finding one another out. It is the instrument by which God reveals to each the beauties of all the others."
-from "The Four Loves" by C. S. Lewis
-from "The Four Loves" by C. S. Lewis
Hebrews 11:8 "By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, NOT KNOWING WHERE HE WAS GOING."
You ever wanted something that you had every logical reason to want but God said no? This "thing" was perfect... even godly. If you had it, no one would have thought badly of you for it, or anything like that. In fact, they may have congradulated you on finding something so good. But regardless of how good that thing was, God still told you no. That's exactly what I feel like I'm going through right now. And let me tell you, it's much harder to understand why God says no when what you're wanting is not something bad. I quoted the Hebrews verse because I think it exemplifies how we feel sometimes... the future is invisible to us. We have no idea what's coming. But that's where the concept of faith comes in. Faith is saying, like Abraham, "I'm going forward because God wants me to, but I have no idea where I'm going." One of my favorite quotes from a book I have read is, "the GOOD in life often becomes the enemy of the BEST in life." (I can't think of which book it is, but I'll try to find out and post it later this week.) When we see something good, we want to reach out and grab hold of it before it "slips away," but God doesn't necessarily want us to take the GOOD because if we do, we'll miss out on the BEST, which may be coming a little further down the line. Proverbs 13:12 says "Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life." Hope, and therefore faith, is often difficult; it can make you "heartsick," as the verse says. But if you hold on, it blossems into something wonderful ("a tree of life"). Isaiah 42:9 says "Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I declare; BEFORE THEY SPRING FORTH I TELL YOU OF THEM." If we can have the faith just to let go of our circumstances, God already knows what's coming. Easy? No. Necessary? Yes. Here's a few more verses that I feel relate pretty well.
Acts 1:7 "And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power."
Psalm 27:14 "Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say on the Lord."
James 1:5 "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him."
You ever wanted something that you had every logical reason to want but God said no? This "thing" was perfect... even godly. If you had it, no one would have thought badly of you for it, or anything like that. In fact, they may have congradulated you on finding something so good. But regardless of how good that thing was, God still told you no. That's exactly what I feel like I'm going through right now. And let me tell you, it's much harder to understand why God says no when what you're wanting is not something bad. I quoted the Hebrews verse because I think it exemplifies how we feel sometimes... the future is invisible to us. We have no idea what's coming. But that's where the concept of faith comes in. Faith is saying, like Abraham, "I'm going forward because God wants me to, but I have no idea where I'm going." One of my favorite quotes from a book I have read is, "the GOOD in life often becomes the enemy of the BEST in life." (I can't think of which book it is, but I'll try to find out and post it later this week.) When we see something good, we want to reach out and grab hold of it before it "slips away," but God doesn't necessarily want us to take the GOOD because if we do, we'll miss out on the BEST, which may be coming a little further down the line. Proverbs 13:12 says "Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life." Hope, and therefore faith, is often difficult; it can make you "heartsick," as the verse says. But if you hold on, it blossems into something wonderful ("a tree of life"). Isaiah 42:9 says "Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I declare; BEFORE THEY SPRING FORTH I TELL YOU OF THEM." If we can have the faith just to let go of our circumstances, God already knows what's coming. Easy? No. Necessary? Yes. Here's a few more verses that I feel relate pretty well.
Acts 1:7 "And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power."
Psalm 27:14 "Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say on the Lord."
James 1:5 "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him."
May 6, 2003
I'm currently obsessed with this song. I heard it a while back, but I was just able to find who sings it this week.
"No Sacrifice" by Jason Upton
To You I give my life;
Not just the parts I want to.
To You I sacrifice
these dreams that I hold on to.
Your thoughts are higher than mine;
Your words are deeper than mine;
Your love is stronger than mine;
This is no sacrifice; here's my life.
To You I give the gifts
Your love has given me.
How can I horde the treasure
that You designed for free?
(chorus)
To You I give my future
as long as it may last.
To You I give my present.
To You I give my past.
because... (chorus)
"No Sacrifice" by Jason Upton
To You I give my life;
Not just the parts I want to.
To You I sacrifice
these dreams that I hold on to.
Your thoughts are higher than mine;
Your words are deeper than mine;
Your love is stronger than mine;
This is no sacrifice; here's my life.
To You I give the gifts
Your love has given me.
How can I horde the treasure
that You designed for free?
(chorus)
To You I give my future
as long as it may last.
To You I give my present.
To You I give my past.
because... (chorus)
Okay, so I'm starting this Blog Spot site not really knowing in what direction I want to take it. I basically just wanted a place to post quotes and verses and things like that that I come across... I'm always finding stuff I want to share with people. But I'm sure it will sometimes become a little more like a journal instead. I learned about Blog Spot from my good friend Quinn's site, who, by the way, I hope does not mind that I started my own! Anyway, for starters, I guess I should tell a little about myself for those who don't really know me. Actually, those who do will probably still find some new information. So, I'm Megan Michelle Lee (I'm one of those rare people who actually likes her whole name!). My birthday is September 16, 1983, and it seems very odd to me that I'll turn 20 this year. When you're finished being a teenager, what are you? Not necessarily an adult... I have brothers to vouch for that! Anyway, continuing... my favorite color: undecided. It was blue but now is potentially green, which, come to think of it, was my favorite when I was little. My favorite animals are elephants, which seems slightly random to me. I love the fact that I have naturally dark brown hair and the fact that my two brothers are old enough that I was raised, more or less, as an only child. My love for both of these, however, is subject to exceptions from time to time... although I would NEVER wish to be a blond... no offense, Allie! I'm a Christian, but I assume the majority of people reading this know me well enough to know that; I was saved when I was 9 1/2 at a children's camp. Hmmmm.... what else?? Oh... my favorite television show of all times is I Love Lucy. I'm slightly obsessed, actually, and have quite a little collection going on in my room. I love music, especially in relation to worship. And yes, I was a "band nerd" throughout most of school. What I really love, however, is singing. The best time I ever had was the two times I was able to be in the All-State choirs. SO much fun. Currently I'm enrolled in Flagler College in lovely St. Augustine, Florida, but I'm home for about 4 months for summer. I'm studying in the Deaf Education department at Flagler, and I love it. Okay, I think I've covered most of the important stuff about myself, so I'll end here. Before I go for today, I'll leave you with a few quotes.
"Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops at all."
-Emily Dickenson
"And if I sense you close behind... I can turn on a paradigm... I can be sarcastic and cruel... But it's all just subterfuge... because behind this oh so clever masquerade... there hides a child still so very afraid... but if the truth be known... I don't want to be alone."
-from "Hide & Seek" by Jason Gay
-both quotes curtesy of Quinn's Jason Gay CD case.
"Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops at all."
-Emily Dickenson
"And if I sense you close behind... I can turn on a paradigm... I can be sarcastic and cruel... But it's all just subterfuge... because behind this oh so clever masquerade... there hides a child still so very afraid... but if the truth be known... I don't want to be alone."
-from "Hide & Seek" by Jason Gay
-both quotes curtesy of Quinn's Jason Gay CD case.
