O Light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to Thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in Thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.

O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.

O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.

Written by: George Matheson

This is probably my favorite hymn….Well, probably not because as soon as I typed that about 3 more of “my favorite” hymns popped in my head. Dangit! I can never have favorite stuff because I like so many things a lot! BUT, I have recited this hymn many times as a prayer, and it helped me through one devil of a 6-months once. So, I have decided to create “Hymn of the Week”. For a few reasons:
1.To get my sorry butt to blog at least once a week
2.To bless your precious little hearts
3.To remember the days when theologians wrote love poems

Okay, if anyone wants to be the love of my life, GET ME ONE OF THESE. *SQUEAL!*  Holy tiny monkees, Batman, would you look at they’re teensy, weensy hands! Can you believe it? Wait, I know what you’re thinking…

“Pshaw. This picture is TEWtally photoshopped”

THINK AGAIN, people!  Although they look like Chewbacca on growth-stunt hormones, these mini wookie look-alikes were actually born at a zoo in Sweden.  They are twin albino pygmy marmosets (which is a type of monkey, in case you were wondering) Unfortunately, one of the twins died shortly after birth. (moment of silence ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………) 

*sigh*  First, I would like to thank God, whose genius came up with these little guys for my viewing (and hopefully eventually cuddling) pleasure.  (BTW if they are genetically altered that’s fine with me, all I care about is that they’re ALIVE!)

  Friends, if I’m not at the Nightwatch tomorrow it’s because I squealed myself to death.  Oh what a sweet departure!

This phrase quickly and easily summarizes the last year of my life here at the International House of Prayer, Kansas City. Through a series of events I found myself repeatedly face to face with a gross realization. One that paralyzed me and made me never want to talk, sing, pray or interact with another human being ever again. It was the inevitability of failure (according to MY definition of failure, of course). It REALLY hit me when I was asked to speak at the Women’s Conference in October of last year. Uh-oh. But what if I suck? What if I’m not annointed AT ALL. What if I open my mouth to find that nothing in me is effective? Miss ‘Always Has Something to Say In Briefings’ is suddenly wishing for a case of laryngitis or maybe a broken leg. I’m playing worst-case scenario with the idea of pulling a complete no-show. I’d probably get scolded by a couple people and maybe I would never be asked to speak again! Hmmmm ….not too shabby. Words and encouragements that had helped comfort me in the past are now like big sweaty bullies pounding at my confidence and I seriously wanna punch everyone who has ever prophesied to me. “You’re gonna be a ——— someday”…GRRRRR. “Someday” being the key word. Can’t I just remain a “gonna be”? I don’t want to GROW! I just want to BE GROWN! Come ON people! Can you PLEASE just keep prophesying to me while I sit on my butt and eat potato chips! Go ahead, tell me I’ll be in the NBA but don’t expect me to ACTUALLY get on the court and dribble the ball…..I mean….I’m not that good…. but keep it a secret because I don’t want ANYONE to find out.

I love the way Art Katz says it:
” To what degree, therefore, must failure precede a true appropriation of one’s calling? It was true for Paul and Moses, and needs to be for us. Are we willing for the humiliation of failure, allowed and established by God Himself, despite our best, well-meaning intentions? It is only out of the debris and death of that failure, and the mortification of it, that a man can be formed whom God can send. Can a man be formed in any other way? There is something about failure, especially when it isborn out of the best well-meaning intentions to serve God, thatdoes the depth of work in the human soul like nothing else can. The fact that we have not experienced failure is a statement that we have neither sought nor had apostolic intention. We have timidly played it ‘close to the vest’. We avoid the humiliation of failure and seek rather to ‘get by’.
There was a largesse of soul that was to be seen in both Paul and Moses, and it is this largesse that was not satisfied, but had its birth out of the intensity of a heart for God. When God finds such a one as that, even in his own error, than there is more potential for him than those who purport to be God’s friends, who have not that intensity, but would rather drift along, and whose lives are lackluster and undistinguished before God. Peter failed dismally, but out of that great failure came a great apostle.”

These are comforting words, no? The disciples were a rag-tag band of fumbling bumbling dorks (and I’m sure they would be the first to admit it). So come on, let’s just admit it. We’re ALL less than awesome. Let’s not be afraid to grow up IN FRONT of people. And, for the love of apostolic foundations, stop being surprised and disappointed when you thought someone was about as spiritual as one can get and then they say something dumb or sing off key or have a bad day and get an attitude. We’ll all end up humbler and more like Jesus, who, by the way, spent 30 years “growing up” in Nazareth and how do you know he was a good carpenter? What if his stuff wasn’t that good? I’m just sayin……”Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”….. So, today let us glory in our less-than-awesomeness and in the day of glory look at eachother with an affectionate and  knowing glimmer in our eye.

• -The first time you visit you have to leave a comment. I don’t think there’s any way I can monitor this, I’ll just leave it up to your integrity.
• -You can wear whatever you want (since no one can see you)
• -It’s optional, but I invite you to leave me a gift (a warm welcome could constitute as sending a picture of some cute furry animal. Preferably a baby one, but anything small is acceptable) for my viewing pleasure.
• -Lastly, when you hit my blog (that doesn’t sound very friendly) throw up a 30 second prayer for me. Again, I leave it up to your integrity.
• -(man, what is up with me and these parenthesis)

I really don’t know how long this will last for me, seeing as I’ve already spent the last two hours of my life blog-hopping (I confess). I mean, how can you resist? It’s like going out for coffee….with everyone. PLUS, I could never have a face-to-face interaction with someone and totally feel like I know them. Little scary. I’m just gonna keep it at funny random and stuff about the bible and try to avoid the inner world thing.

AND I don’t know what to call it. “Wordcast” doesn’t quite roll off the tongue like “blog” does, but it also doesn’t remind me of something that lives in the sewage system under the city either. BAHLAWG! Why does it have to be either-or? Why can’t it be both-and? How about I call it what I want when I want? Okay then.