Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.
-- Psalm 119:18

Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with
yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own
imperfections but instantly set about remedying them -- every
day begin the task anew.
-- Francois de Sales

Jesus hath many lovers of His heavenly Kingdom, but few bearers
of His Cross. He hath many desirous of consolation, but few of
tribulation. Many love Jesus so long as no adversities befall
them.
-- Thomas à Kempis

The lovely maid whose form and face
Nature has deck'd with ev'ry grace,
But in whose breast no virtues glow,
Whose heart ne'er felt another's woe,
Whose hand ne'er smooth'd the bed of pain,
Or eas'd the captive's galling chain;
But like the tulip caught the eye,
Born just to be admir'd and die;
When gone, no one regrets its loss,
Or scarce remembers that it was.

-Susanna Rowson, Charlotte Temple

Veteran's Day 2006

I wasn't able to make a post for Veteran's Day while I was at home so I would just like to post this quote and ask everyone to say this small prayer for our troops:

It is the Soldier, not the minister
Who has given us freedom of religion.
It is the Soldier, not the reporter
Who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the Soldier, not the poet
Who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the Soldier, not the campus organizer
Who has given us freedom to protest.
It is the Soldier, not the lawyer
Who has given us the right to a fair trial.
It is the Soldier, not the politician
Who has given us the right to vote.
It is the Soldier who salutes the flag,
Who serves beneath the flag,
And whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who allows the protester to burn the flag.
-Province-

Prayer:
"Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they
protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they
perform for us in our time of need. I ask this in the name of Jesus,
our Lord and Savior. Amen."

Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the
unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body
but made alive by the Spirit.
-- 1 Peter 3:18

It is God's will that by doing good you should silence the
ignorant talk of foolish men. Live as free men, but do not use your
freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.
-- 1 Peter 2:15-16

Men perish with whispering sins--nay, with silent sins, sins
that never tell the conscience that they are sins, as often with
crying sins; and in hell there shall meet as many men that never
thought what was sin, as that spent all their thoughts in the
compassing of sin.
-- John Donne

I sometimes think that the easiest way to lose something is to want it too badly...

The greatest proof of Christianity for others is not how far a
man can logically analyze his reasons for believing, but how far
in practice he will stake his life on his belief.
-- T. S. Eliot

This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's
servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what
you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue;
if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
-- Romans 13:6


The tragedy of life and of the world is not that men do not know
God; the tragedy is that, knowing Him, they still insist on
going their own way.
-- William Barclay

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around
like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him,
standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers
throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
-- 1 Peter 5:8-9

Many promising reconciliations have broken down because, while
both parties came prepared to forgive, neither party came
prepared to be forgiven.
-- Charles Williams

I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your
bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God -- this is
your spiritual act of worship.
-- Romans 12:1

What you do every day should contribute to giving your life
meaning. If it doesn't, why are you doing it?
-- Don Hutcheson

The word of God is living and active. Sharper than any
double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit,
joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the
heart.
-- Hebrews 4:12

Love begins when the needs of someone else become more important
than your own.
-- Lao Wei

A Man of Many Faces

I was a man of many faces.

And the faces kept multiplying. About a month before summer I began to get close to Marketa, and like all twenty-year-olds I tried to impress her by donning a mask and pretending to be older (in spirit and experience) than I was: I assumed an air of detachment, of aloofness; I made believe I had an extra layer of skin, invisible and impeneterable. I thought (quite rightly) that by joking I would establish my detachment, and though I had always been good at it, the line I used on Marketa always seemed forced, artificial, and tedious.

Who was the real me? I can only repeat: I was a man of many faces.

At meetings I was earnest, enthusiastic, and committed; among friends, unconstrained and given to teasing; with Marketa, cynical and fitfully witty; and alone (and thinking of Marketa), unsure of myself and agitated as a schoolboy.

Was that last face the real one?

No. They were all real: I was not a hypocrite, with one real face and several false ones. I had several faces because I was young and didn't know who I was or wanted to be. (I was frightened by the differences between one face and the next; none of them seemed to fit me properly, and I groped my way clumsily among them.)

The psychological and physiological mechanism of love is so complex that at a certain period in his life a young man must concentrate all his energy on coming to grips with it, and in this way he misses the actual content of the love: the woman he loves.

-The Joke, Milan Kundera

A man finds joy in giving an apt reply -- and how good is a
timely word!
-- Proverbs 15:23

The knowledge of Christ's love for us should cause us to love
Him in such a way that it is demonstrated in our attitude,
conduct, and commitment to serve God. Spiritual maturity is
marked by spiritual knowledge being put into action.
-- Edward Bedore

I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.
-- Psalm 40:8

The winds of God are always blowing, but you must set the sails.
-- Author Unknown

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of
your heart.
-- Psalm 37:4

Don't ask what the world wants, be what the world needs.
-- Ryan Lister

"The Office" Quotes

My new favorite show is "The Office" from NBC. I recently purchased the 1st and 2nd seasons, and decided to post some of my favorite quotes. Enjoy...

[during a "Diversity Day" exercise]
Dwight Schrute: Shalom, I'd like to apply for a loan.
Pam Beesley: That's nice, Dwight.
Dwight Schrute: OK, do me. Something stereotypical so I can get it really quick.
Pam Beesley: OK, I like your food.
Dwight Schrute: Uh, Outback Steakhouse, I'm Australian, mate!
Michael Scott: Pam, come on, "I like your food" no come on, stir the pot. Stir the melting pot, Bam! Let's do it, let's get ugly, let's get real.
Pam Beesley: OK, if I have to do this, based on stereotypes that are totally untrue, that i do not agree with, you would maybe not be a very good driver.
Dwight Schrute: [shocked] Aw man, am I a woman?

[Jim set a fence of pencils up between Dwight and his desk]
Dwight Schrute: Your pencils are creating a health hazard. I could fall and pierce an organ.

Dwight Schrute: Someone forged medical information, and that's a felony.
Jim Halpert: OK, Whoa, all right 'cause that's a pretty intense accusation. How do you know that they're fake?
Dwight Schrute: [reading from a sheet] Uh, Leprosy, Flesh Eating Bacteria, Hot Dog Fingers, Government Created Killer Nano Robot Infection.


Dwight Schrute: The problem, Jim, is that people who are really suffering from a medical condition won't receive the care they need because someone in this office is coming up with ridiculous stuff. Count Choculitis.
Jim Halpert: Sounds Tough.
Dwight Schrute: Why did you write that down, Jim? Is it because you know I love Count Chocula?

Michael Scott: No, I'm not going to tell them about the downsizing. If a patient has cancer, you don't tell them.

Dwight Schrute: Damnit, he put my stapler in jello again.
[Points to Michael]
Dwight Schrute: You can be a witness to this.
Jim Halpert: [eating jello] How do you know it was me?


Oscar: Both my parents were born in Mexico, and they moved to the United States a year before I was born, so I grew up in the United States... my parents were Mexican.
Michael Scott: Wow, that is a great story. That's the American dream right there, right? Um, let me ask you, is there a term besides 'Mexican' that you prefer? Something less offensive?

Dwight Schrute: In the wild, there is no health care. In the wild, health care is, "Ow, I hurt my leg. I can't run. A lion eats me and I'm dead." Well, I'm not dead. I'm the lion, you're dead.

A Son and Soldier Unafraid, a Family Nonetheless in Grief

I'd appreciate if everyone gave this New York Times article a read. It is about a friend of mine's brother who lost his life serving our great country.

© 2006 New York Times

If God were small enough to be understood, He would not be big
enough to be worshipped.

-- Evelyn Underhill

Whence comes this idea that if what we are doing is fun, it
can't be God's will? The God who made giraffes, a baby's
fingernails, a puppy's tail, a crooknecked squash, the
bobwhite's call, and a young girl's giggle, has a sense of
humor. Make no mistake about that.

-- Catherine Marshall

In Time

I find peace in all the lonely places that I go
And I find it funny that I’d still give my life for you
It just doesn’t feel quite right to be alone

How long will it be before you forget my name?
I wonder as you lift your glass to the way things used to be
Miles away to kiss a man that has taken the place of me

The Lord tells me to wait for my day to come
But my days are numbered, and I count them one by one
Like notches on the handle of an outlaw’s gun

A look to the clouds…you know, I hope and dream just like you do
The difference is my breath stops when I see you
In all of life giving up is what hurts the most

The clouds open up
Brown eyes cryin in the rain...