Friends

I have been reading the Psalms and wandering the house. Matt called to tell me he will be here for a visit around 3 o'clock PM. I met Matt when he worked at a local Christian bookstore. Matt lives at the Holland Rescue Mission and is seeking to live a Christian life. I do not know why he is coming by but I am a friendly person. I do not mine Matt stopping by to talk to me about his life. I have nothing to talk about. Carol always says we can give people the gift of time. I am here to listen.

I came across another book on Psalm 119 in my book collection I like to mention. The book is titled "An Exposition of Psalm 119" by Charles Bridges (this book was published in England in 1827).

I have other books by Charles Bridges in my book collection that are worth having---

"Ecclesiastes" [The Geneva Series Of Commentaries] by Charles Bridges

"The Book of Proverbs" [The Geneva Series Of Commentaries] by Charles Bridges

"The Christian Ministry With An Inquiry Into The Causes Of Its Inefficiency" by Charles Bridges

I mentioned earlier that John Calvin (1509-1564) commentaries on the Psalms. I forgot to mention this interesting book "Calvin's Theology of the Psalms" by Herman J. Selderhuis [Texts & Studies in Reformation & Post-Reformation Thought].

Well I will close to read and wander till Matt shows up.

"As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied when I awake, with thy likeness" Psalm 17:15

Current Mood:

contemplative

1: Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust.
2: O my soul, thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee;
3: But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.
4: Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips.
5: The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot.
6: The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.
7: I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons.
8: I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
9: Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.
10: For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
11: Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

I just remembered this book on the Psalms "Meditations And Disquisitions Upon Certain Psalms" by Sir. Richard Baker, Knight (1639-40) reprinted in 1882.

I suppose since I am at it I will mention this book also "Sermons On Psalm 119" by John Calvin. Since I have mentioned Calvin's sermons on Psalm 119 I should mention Thomas Manton's Sermons on Psalms 119 found in volumes 6 7, 8, & 9 of "Thomas Manton's Complete Works". I always tell folks when they ask me who my favorite Puritan is, I tell them Thomas Manton (1620-1677) [The Complete Works of Thomas Manton 22 vols. 10,500 pages].

music: Jason Lytle "yours truly the commuter"

Current Location:	Holland, Mich.
Current Mood:	contemplative
Current Music:	Jason Lytle "yours truly the commuter"

"Psalms 1-50" [Ancient Christian Commentary On Scripture-Old Testament VII] Edited by Craig A. Blaising & Carmen S. Hardin

"Psalms 51-150" [Ancient Christian Commentary On Scripture-Old Testament VIII] Edited by Quentin F. Wesselschmidt

"Annotations On The Pentateuch And The Psalms" two volumes by Henry Ainsworth (1569-1622)

Well I will close to wander my cell.

Current Mood:	exhausted
Current Music:	Jason Lytle "Yours Truly The Commuter"

"The Psalms Of David In Metre" with Notes by John Brown (published in 1841)

"The Vitality Of Worship: A Commentary on the Book of Psalms" by Robert Davidson

"Psalms 1-50" [19 Word Biblical Commentary] by Peter C. Craigie

"Exposition of the Psalms" by H. C. Leupold, D. D.

"The Treasury Of David" three volumes by C. H. Spurgeon

"Commentary on the Psalms" two volumes by David Dickson (1583-1662)

"Commentary On The Psalms" 2 volumes in 1 by J. J. Stewart Perowne

"Psalms" [The Geneva Series Of Commentaries] by W. S. Plumer

"Psalms" three volumes by Keil & Delitzsch [Commentaries on the Old Testament]

"Psalms" three volumes by John Calvin [Calvin's Commentaries Volumes 4,5 & 6]

I could list other books I have on the Psalms but why? Well I will close to wander my cell. I need to eat some food. I need the Lord.

Current Mood:	drained
Current Music:	Wilco "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot"

This morning as I was writing in my private diary Carol wanted to walk Rudy downtown. She told me I could get a mocha at Lemonjello's as she walked Rudy. While Carol walked the dog I read the Psalms and drank a mocha at Lemonjello's. I also looked through the Sunday New York Times at the coffee house this morning.

Now we are home once again. Carol left this morning to visit her mother before going to Covenant PCA to worship the Lord God. I need to worship the Lord Jesus Christ. To worship the Lord is to experience the good life.

I have no plans for the day. I did received a phone call Friday from Matt saying he might come over this coming Sunday. I told him it was alright with me if he wanted to come over and talk to me. I will be here, I am not going anywhere today. Carol already walked Rudy so I am not going anywhere today with our dog.

I do not remember much about last night. I remember reading my books and going to bed. We heard fireworks last night going off all around us. Rudy gets very scared when he hears fireworks so he hid under our bed or we had to hold him. Rudy is a big baby.

I remember last night looking through the book "The Journals of John Cheever".

I can't get into anything lately. I told Carol this morning it is hard reading through the Psalms/Old Testament. I can not relate to the Psalms because I am not an OT Jew. I do not have any pagan enemies. I am not a Jewish farmer living thousands of years ago in the land of Israel. I told myself this morning as I read the Psalms I need the Lord to show me what I need to know in the Psalms. I will keep reading the Psalms because I am reading through the Bible. When we were members of a local independent Dutch Reformed Church we sang the Psalms (a Dutch Reformed interpretation of the Psalms Not the Hebrew Old Testament Psalms).

I use to believe Christians should mainly just sing the Psalms on the Christian Sabbath. Now I do not know what we are to sing on Sundays? We should praise the Lord that I do know.

Well I suppose I will close since my mind has gone completely blank. I am tired.

"And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God" Ephesians 5:18-21

music: Wilco "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot"

Current Mood:	exhausted
Current Music:	Wilco "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot"

You are fucking stupid and dangerous. I don't care that no one got hurt this time. You are the reason that people shouldn't be allowed to buy fireworks because you have no concept that these things are potentially dangerous and should be treated with a modicum of common sense.

Needless to say we hurried in very quickly. And during the next 15 minutes heard two fireworks go off right near the house.

Idiots.

Current Mood:

angry

I freaking love my new iPhone. LOVE.

Posted via LiveJournal.app.

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/index-flash.html

Current Mood:

contemplative

tripassbadguy

Knowing him this is an all-in-one shot IR photo, but DAMN, my friend.... damn.

Current Mood:	amused
Current Music:	Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me Podcast

1. "Invitation to a Beheading" a novel by Vladimir Nabokov

2. "The Twenties: An Intimate Portrait Of The Jazz Age" by Edmund Wilson

3. "Joseph Conrad The Three Lives: A Biography" by Frederick R. Karl

4. "Consciousness And Society: The Reorientation of European Social Thought 1890-1930" by H. Stuart Hughes

5. "The Portable Nabokov" (originally published as Nabokov's "Congeries")

6. "A Rage To Live" a novel by John O'Hara

7. "The Autobiography Of Alice B. Toklas" by Gertrude Stein

8. "The Darling" a novel by Russell Banks

9. "Essays And Introductions" by W. B. Yeats

10. "The Philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre" edited and introduced by Robert Denoon Cumming

11. "Crazy Sundays: F. Scott Fitzgerald In Hollywood" by Arron Latham

12. "The Assassins" a novel by Joyce Carol Oates

13. "The Enigma Of Arrival" a novel by V. S. Naipaul

14. "The Great Illusion 1900-1914" by Oron J. Hale

15. "On Moral Fiction" by John Gardner

16. "The Journals of John Cheever"

17. "The Mrs. Dalloway Reader" Edited by Francine Prose

18. "Dirty Work" a novel by Larry Brown

19. "Self-Consciousness Memoirs" by John Updike

20. "Heat And Other Stories" by Joyce Carol Oates

21. "The Counterfeiters" by Andre Gide

22. "Henry Ward Beecher: An American Portrait" by Paxton Hibben With A Foreword by Sinclair Lewis

Carol bought a ton of books. We also got books for Josiah our second son who is a History Teacher. So as gone by Time. I am tired and really need to go off and do nothing this afternoon. Carol has gone to bed for the day. I have not read anything today. Well I will close to wander my cell.

I will try to do next is catalog my used books in my LibraryThing site.

Current Mood:	exhausted
Current Music:	Destroyer "Trouble In Dreams"

Confetti floats away like dead leaves in the wagon's wake. There were parties here in my honor until you sent me away. Now silver moons belong to you. Passing the baton from the old mare to the fawn - it was out of line but it was fun - and didn't you love the part right before the dawn? But now silver moons belong to you. I'm off to the ballet, and to practice all these ancient ways. Tell the new kids where I hid the wine, tell their fathers that I'm on my way, and say "Hey, maybe these days are over now..." And I loved it better than anyone else, you know. I believe in growing old with grace. I believe she only loved my face. I believe I acted like a child making faces at acquired tastes. And now silver moons belong to you...

Gone are the days bonfires make me think of you. Looks like the prophecy came true: You are a fallen tree. He is a fallen tree. "How old are you?" "No, how old are you?"

Under all the folds of the dresses that you wear there's an ocean and a tide and a riot in the square. Over are the days that the congas made your hair sway around to the cadence of your 'hey-oh-hey-oh' cheer... Under all the folds of the dresses that you wear you sway around to the cadence of your voice when you sang there.

Idiot Heart

Stay away from open windows, and put the telephone down. Can you run as fast as this house will fall when the alarm bell sounds? No, I was never much of a dancer, but I know enough to know you've got to move your idiot body around, and that you can't settle down until the idiot in your blood settles down. So move around... If I found you in this city called Paradise, I'd say, "I love you, but I hate this city, and I'm no prize." You want to walk around like you own the joint, the way that Icarus thought he might own the sky. I say, "You can't settle down until the Icarus in your blood, in your blood, drowns... And if I was a horse, I would throw up the reins if I was you."

But look at you go (into the fire-star). Look at you go (you are a meteor). Look at you go...

And you know your heart, and you know your heart... but it's an idiot heart. And you know your heart, and you know your heart... but you can't settle down. No, you can't settle down. So just move around...

I hope that you died in a decent pair of shoes, you've hot a lot of long walking to do, where you're going to...

Apollo and the Buffalo and Anna Anna Anna Oh!

The buffalo have given up on the world. And Apollo? Apollo is kissing all the valley girls. We climbed up the cross on the mountain on New Year's Eve: It was just god, the blizzard, the dream-weaver and me. My god I miss the way we used to be. Here's a photograph for you to hold. It's my picture right before I got old. It's a picture of a buffalo that we rode into extinction. That was the crime we committed in the night... Apollo, I heard your sister is equated with the moon, but I think your sister is just another run-around Sue. And where have you been, Erato? Because it's been a long time since we sat around the willow tree fire, where Anna played guitar and the rest of us fell in love. That was back before she changed her name. Will we ever find our way into Cassandra's gaze again? Like the days before Anna changed her name? Here's a photograph for you to hold... It's a picture of the prize, you hunter...

Anna, Anna, Anna, Oh! Why'd you change your name?

Black Swan

There was a black swan outside the palace - it was appointed by the king. People took it as a sign that he needed more time, but you said, "I ain't afraid of no blackbird." There was a rumor of a ghost in the bedroom - hanging in and around the bed - but by the time the moon rose, you has taken off your clothes and had the pillow under your head. There was the face you saw above you in the fever of a hot black dream, but it was made out of paper and glue, and you were hoping for something a little more realistic. You were hoping for the head of the queen.

My heart is a kingdom where the king is a heart, and my heart is king... My heart is a kingdom where the king is a heart, and my heart is king, the king of hearts.

There was the matador who said he would have you, if you could only give it up and walk away. He has carved out an avenue for you, from the palace to the palisades. But now it's half destroyed, and you are half destroyed. I see you running down a washed out road. I see you running between the dream and the void.

There was a rumor of a ghost in the bedroom - hanging in and around the bed - but by the time the moon rose, you has taken off your clothes and had the pillow under your head. You got mascara all of the bed sheets! You got mascara all over your clothes! You got mascara making broken-hearted shapes on your face, and you have yet to see the ghost.

Paper Lace

I heard you're suffering. Come be a wild thing. Come run with Jackie, me, and this lady. The stupid house you made fell away like paper lace. Come run with Jackie, me, and this lady. And when you're done crying to everyone you can go back to your good home. She will be tired, but she'll be glad, when you go back to your good home. Paper burns and paper fades. Paper crumples into ugly shapes. Come run with Jackie, me, and this lady. And when you're done crying to everyone you can go back to your good home... And when she's done dancing with everyone she will go back to your good home. She will be tired from loving everyone, but she'll be glad that you're back home.

But for now, until you're home, you ride with us. There was no way you could have known about the things she didn't know she couldn't trust. Oh, sanctuary... Oh, what's in the world? What's in the hearts of pretty girls? There's nothing left inside the room you filled with lion skins and laurels. Those were good ideas, but they weren't diamonds and pearls.

You go on Ahead (Trumpet, trumpet II)

You go on ahead for a while. I would like to follow you a while.... I would like to just follow you a while. I'd like to watch the white flash of your heels as they take turns breaking the desert heat, to beckon me in languages I've never learned. I'd like to have you navigate to hills where no musicians live, and on the way decide what 'bendings' of your will you're willing to forgive. And I'd like to think the actors never banded. I'd like to throw this trumpet down and go on empty handed. I'd like to think I am not one of them, but I know I am, so I'd like to just follow you a while.

When me and the boys were out we killed a thousand butterflies, so I put their wings into my mouth and said a prayer for our safe arrival. Then a big black car crossed our path, and I wondered whether or not that shit was empty.

See the sirens and the lizards flick their tongues behind the stage. See the actor keep a ritual to keep them all at bay. He would like to come home naked without war paint on his face, and appear before you virgin white if virgins are still chaste. So wait, you've got to wait... you've got to wait for me. I'll appear before you virgin white if virgins are still chaste, then I'd like to just follow you a while.

And if there are two eyes in my head, there are four seasons in a year, and reflections on the water of a burning yellow sphere. And the days add up to weeks, add up to months, and add up, and add up... to years. And if reflections on the water sometimes look like burning tears, we can watch them changing shape without pushing off the pier.

Nightingale / December Song

So let me hammer this point home: I see us all as lonely fires that have burned alive as long as we remember. But like all fireworks and all sunsets, we all burn in different ways: You are a fast explosion, and I am the embers. And though your flames are quick and mean, they will not last the year, but expire like a sudden falling star, that only nightingales had seen, before migrating to southern jungles. And in this way you will come find me in December.

He said he'd like to move to Nashville to master the guitar, where he would live a single day the way I live a single year. He covered his body in mud, went hunting for the sun, and then went swimming in a lake of holy water. You are too hot for me. I am too slow for you. You are a fast explosion and I am the embers. You need the one who slowly burns, and burns to stay alive. In this way you will come find me in December

So let me hammer this point home: I see us all as lonely fires that have burned alive as long as we remember. But like all sacrificial virgins, we all burn in different ways: You are a fast explosion, and I am the embers. And though your flames are quick and mean, they will not last the year, but expire like a sudden shooting star, that only nightingales had seen, before transforming into bluebirds. And in this way you will come find me in December.

Dragon's Lair

I'm sorry that I'm late. I went blind. I got confetti in my eyes. I was held up at yesterday's parties. I was needed on the Congo line. But my dear, oh, my dear, I'd like to fight the good fight for another couple of years. Because to say the war is over is to say you are a widow. And you're not a widow yet...

So this one's for the critics and their disappointed mothers, and for the cupid and the hunter shooting arrows at each other: Ain't no such thing as a saint, ain't no such thing as a sinner. But there's a swan among the pigeons of Barcelona's floor. There's a Samson with Delilahs lining up outside the door. If you are sharpening your scissors, I am sharpening my scissors, and I am sharpening my sword. So you can take me to the dragon's lair, or you can take me to Rapunzel's windowsill. Either way it is time for a bigger kind of kill.

I see your face when I close my eyes. I see the muscles in your legs from the way you always rise to the occasion of catching things that fall, like the statuettes on pedestals I tend to build to tall. But I have navigated Iceland, I laid my claim on Portugal, and I have seen into the wasteland of the future of us all. And I kicked up a whole country of dead, dead leaves last fall...

Seen from the back of a train I rode away from your station, they drifted in the air like memoirs of old conversations, sprung from a leather case you opened in the wind, to watch the papers chase each other into oblivion.

You're such a champion. I hide behind your sun. You are the champion... So you can take me to the dragon's lair, or you can take me to Rapunzel's windowsill. Either way it is time for a bigger kind of kill...

Current Mood:	blank
Current Music:	Sunset Rubdown "Dragonslayer"

I finished reading The Book of Job this morning and now start reading the Psalms/Old Testament.

Carol got home from work this morning around 8:45 AM and has gone to bed. Tomorrow at this time we will be at a used book sale.

I have nothing to do today to keep me awake. I often find myself falling asleep throughout the day. It is too early to go to bed. Last night I got a phone call from Josiah and we talked for about an hour. Josiah is going to be in Holland this coming Friday instead of this coming Wednesday on the train. Josiah is going to visit a old college friend in Chicago for a couple of days before coming home. In two weeks is Caleb's wedding.

Last night before falling asleep I read "Look Homeward: A Life of Thomas Wolfe" by David Herbert Donald.

After reading the Bible today I will read hopefully "Look Homeward, Angel" a novel by Thomas Wolfe. My life is one of continuous repetition. I do the same thing every day. I go to the same places. I take pictures of the same things. There is nothing new under the sun. There is inner peace in a life of continuous repetition. There is nothing on the other side of the Road.

I do not know where I will take Rudy for a walk this morning. Downtown is crowded with people in town for the Fourth. I will go to Van Raatle Farm I suppose for a morning walk. The grass will be wet so maybe not. I will try Window on the Waterfront I suppose first and hope there is no heavy traffic.

Well I suppose I will close to do my little dance of death.

music: Evangelicals "The Evening Descends"

Current Location:	Holland, Mich.
Current Mood:	drained
Current Music:	Evangelicals "So Gone"

The Black Heart Procession "Three"

Sunset Rubdown "Dragonslayer"

The Black Heart Procession "amore del tropico"

The Black Heart Procession "Two"

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds "Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!"

The Black Heart Procession "The Spell"

The Black Heart Procession "One"

I am a music fan. I grew up listening to music. Music is in my soul. I believe there is music in the new creation (heaven).

Carol left for work at 7:50 PM. She left for work with a heavy spirit heart. I should pray for my wife tonight. Life is hard for us all. We need God. We need divine aid. We need to get on our knees and cry out for grace.

I should go to bed early tonight and read. Soon tomorrow will be here asking for my blood.

I am not into celebrating national holidays like the Fourth of July.

I do not have much else to write about tonight. I am always writing stuff down, because it is a habit.

Well I will close to wander my cell.

music: The Black Heart Procession "Three"

Current Mood:	contemplative
Current Music:	The Black Heart Procession "Three"

I came down in the basement to drink some coffee and read "Thomas Wolfe: A Biography" by Elizabeth Nowell. I read this afternoon before going for a walk "Look Homeward, Angel" a novel by Thomas Wolfe. I have two other novels by Wolfe in my book collection---

"The Good Child's River" by Thomas Wolfe [A Previously Uupublished Novel] Edited and with an Introduction by Suzanne Stutman

"You Can't Go Home Again" a novel by Thomas Wolfe

I also have this book "Thomas Wolfe's Letter to his Mother Julia Elizabeth Wolfe" Edited With An Introduction By John Skally Terry

I first read Thomas Wolfe when I was in High School (1968-1970).

I do not know what I will eat this evening? I do not like to eat. Tomorrow is a Friday in the flow of the week. Tomorrow is garbage day. I should fill up the green garbage can with lawn trimmings.

There is nothing on television this evening. I will read my books on the life of Thomas Wolfe.

This morning I read after reading my Bible a book titled "Lectures On Job" by James Durham [17th Century Presbyterian Series Hardcover Edition]. I read Durham's lectures on Job 14 "Man decays like a rotten thing, like a garment that is moth-eaten. Man who is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble. He comes forth like a flower and fades away; he flees like a shadow and does not continue" Job 13:28; 14:1,2.

I plan to read soon on Job 14 "Practical Observations On Job" Volume 4 Chapters 11-14 by Joseph Caryl [This facsimile is taken from the first edition printed in London, published in 12 quarto volumes (1644-1666)]

Since I have no place important to go right now I will quote Dr. Beeke's book "Meet The Puritans" on Joseph Caryl's "An Exposition upon the Book of Job" 12 vols. 8, 000 pages "This facsimile reprint is the first time Caryl's mammoth work on Job has been reprinted since the seventeenth century. The first ten volumes of Caryl's work are sermons that he preached at St. Magnus; the last two were completed after the Act of Uniformity. Believing that the Book of Job was relevant to the times, Caryl preached from it 424 times over a period of twenty-four years, averaging ten sermons per chapter. . ." pg. 135 Beeke

You can not go wrong reading Joseph Caryl on Job, especially as we see the Middle East go up in flames.

It is 5:35 PM it is time for me to search for something to cook. I need to feed my wife. I hate seeing my wife go off to work without eating a hot meal. It is a cold cruel world.

music: Sunset Rubdown "Dragonslayer"

Current Mood:	contemplative
Current Music:	Sunset Rubdown "Dragonslayer"

( Mas )

Current Mood:	amused
Current Music:	Dire Straits | One World