Happy Mother's Day, Folks!
Particularly, folks of the motherly sort. :)
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Thank you, Tony. -
Thank you! "Twas good.
In Memory of a Family Friend
This morning before church, Dad received a brief phone call, to inform us that a dear friend of the family, most especially of my parents, had passed away last night. Mr. Larry Bailey, and his wife Sharon, were instrumental in God's bringing my parents together. Mr. Bailey had preached where Mother was when she was a teenager, and she would babysit for them. When they moved to New Jersey, they invited Mother to come visit, which turned into Mother staying with them to help babysit. When they moved to New York state, Mother went with them. Enter my father.
Dad was there because IBM sent him there (As we have a plaque that says: "Home is were IBM sends you."). Turns out there was one eligible Christian girl in all of upstate New York, and she'd just become available. So Dad asked Mrs. Sharon if Mother would be interested in a date. And you know where that ended up. :) The Baileys' marriage has served as an example for my parents to strive to attain to.
While I didn't know her well, the last time having seen them being in 2005, and before that, we had Mr. Larry come out for a meeting in 1999, and before that, I was too little to remember. But we were well acquainted with them through tales of out parents, and were familiar with their voices, for we have a old cassette of John Denver and the Muppets, with their family singing some carols, hymns, and in particular, Mrs. Sharon, and her brother, Mr. Chuck, singing a song she wrote for her students at the school there. That song is one that I tried to share with people here over 5 years ago, and it didn't work very well, so only a few people got to hear it. It's very much a folk song, about the seasons and the Unadilla River, which flowed near their house.
In Mrs. Bailey's memory, I dredged up some of the photos we got in 2005 when we were up there, and turned them into a slideshow with her song (As I wrote this, I realized I had them in a more easily accessible place, with a few more pictures too. Too late to add them now. :P). Maybe someday we can realize our dream of doing something similar, only getting pictures from different seasons and fitting them with the words of the song, but for now, this is what we have, so it's what you get:
Lyrics:
Sunrise over Chenango hills,
Over the valleys and streams,
And the fair Unadilla,
Runs among the rolling hills,
And awakens the colors of spring.
[Chorus]
Way hay, the Unadilla runs,
Way hay, the valley through,
She weaves her way,
Into the lives of her sons and daughters so true.
Corn grows in Chenango fields,
Along her banks children play,
Their folks work the farms,
and dream of better times,
'Mid flowers and freshly mown hay.
[Chorus]
Way hay, the Unadilla runs,
Way hay, the valley through,
She weaves her way,
Into the lives of her sons and daughters so true.
Moonrise over Chenango hils,
Reflecting winter's bright scene,
While beneath the snowy hillside,
Still the silver ribbon runs,
And whispers her memories and dreams.
[Chorus]
Way hay, the Unadilla runs,
Way hay, the valley through,
She weaves her way, into the lives of her sons and daughters so true.
She weaves her way, into the hearts of her sons and daughters so true.
Dad was there because IBM sent him there (As we have a plaque that says: "Home is were IBM sends you."). Turns out there was one eligible Christian girl in all of upstate New York, and she'd just become available. So Dad asked Mrs. Sharon if Mother would be interested in a date. And you know where that ended up. :) The Baileys' marriage has served as an example for my parents to strive to attain to.
While I didn't know her well, the last time having seen them being in 2005, and before that, we had Mr. Larry come out for a meeting in 1999, and before that, I was too little to remember. But we were well acquainted with them through tales of out parents, and were familiar with their voices, for we have a old cassette of John Denver and the Muppets, with their family singing some carols, hymns, and in particular, Mrs. Sharon, and her brother, Mr. Chuck, singing a song she wrote for her students at the school there. That song is one that I tried to share with people here over 5 years ago, and it didn't work very well, so only a few people got to hear it. It's very much a folk song, about the seasons and the Unadilla River, which flowed near their house.
In Mrs. Bailey's memory, I dredged up some of the photos we got in 2005 when we were up there, and turned them into a slideshow with her song (As I wrote this, I realized I had them in a more easily accessible place, with a few more pictures too. Too late to add them now. :P). Maybe someday we can realize our dream of doing something similar, only getting pictures from different seasons and fitting them with the words of the song, but for now, this is what we have, so it's what you get:
Lyrics:
Sunrise over Chenango hills,
Over the valleys and streams,
And the fair Unadilla,
Runs among the rolling hills,
And awakens the colors of spring.
[Chorus]
Way hay, the Unadilla runs,
Way hay, the valley through,
She weaves her way,
Into the lives of her sons and daughters so true.
Corn grows in Chenango fields,
Along her banks children play,
Their folks work the farms,
and dream of better times,
'Mid flowers and freshly mown hay.
[Chorus]
Way hay, the Unadilla runs,
Way hay, the valley through,
She weaves her way,
Into the lives of her sons and daughters so true.
Moonrise over Chenango hils,
Reflecting winter's bright scene,
While beneath the snowy hillside,
Still the silver ribbon runs,
And whispers her memories and dreams.
[Chorus]
Way hay, the Unadilla runs,
Way hay, the valley through,
She weaves her way, into the lives of her sons and daughters so true.
She weaves her way, into the hearts of her sons and daughters so true.
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What a good story and a sweet tribute. I really like the song--very folksy!
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Sorry to hear of this loss. Always comforting when it's heaven's gain.
Love hearing "family" stories such as this one...I always find them interesting. -
Thanks for the comments on my essay. Feel to post or share it anywhere you think it might help, ah, educate people like those you described. :)
More Bible Calculations!
The Bement's got back from their extended travels, and Mr. Bement suggested that we watch Dr. Don Patton's video on Noah's Ark. While he's certainly not the best speaker, and the video has the images lagging behind the sound quite badly, he does bring up some interesting information. One piece of that is how many animals would roughly have been on the ark, and another was about how many animals would have been able to fit on the ark (Those are in about the first 15 minutes.). The first, he used two estimates, one being an estimate that used species, and one that used kinds (because the Bible mentions hawks as a kind, though there are a number of species of hawks. So kind is a fair bit narrower that species.). The first he got around 75,000 animals, the second about 21,000 which he bumped up to 25,000 just to more generous. And 75,000 was supposed to be rather on the high side. Using the dimensions given in the Bible, and using 21" as the size of a cubit (Which he said was about the middle of the range thought a cubit would be, and he said he had evidence for it.), you get:
300 cubits x 50 cubits x 30 cubits x {(21 inches/cubit)/(12 inches/foot)}^3 = 2,411,718.75 cubic feet
He mentions that the average size for a land animal comes out to about the size of a cat, but because people lived longer back then, animals may have too, and reptiles especially would have been bigger in that case. So he used the size a sheep as average. Taking the maximum capacity for sheep in a train car today, he found a capacity of 180,000 animals for the ark. Easily enough for 75,000 creatures, with room enough that they wouldn't be pack like a train car. Even more so if you use his other estimate.
Some rather outspoken commenter wanted to claim that that having even 17,000 creatures on the boat would have enough weight to sink the vessel. So I decided to calculate the buoyancy force of the ark. We aren't told where the door of the ark was positioned on the side, so I calculated the maximum, if when the door was shut it was watertight.
This came out to giving the ark a weight limit of about 150 million pounds, or 75,000 tons. In other words, for 17,000 creatures to sink it, would require them to weigh an average of over 8800 pounds. So you could sink it with about 10,000 full grown male African elephants. But taking the sheep average, I looked for the average weight of a sheep, and found it to be 100-600 pounds, depending on the breed. So I chose 400, and that lets you take around 375,000 sheep by weight. 75,000 critters would take about a fifth of the weight limit. Sounds like you'd have plenty of room for provender, especially if you used immature animals, and don't need the larger estimate.
You know the 100 pound hailstones mentioned in Revelation 16:21? If they were perfect spheres, they would be about 1.61 feet radius or a 3.22 foot diameter. That would hurt. :P
Because we've been doing character studies of Old Testament characters, I decided I wanted to graph when characters were born and when they died, in a scaled manner, so it more visual. There's enough data in Genesis to go from creation to Joseph, with the biggest uncertainty being when Abraham was born: "Terah lived seventy years, and became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran." ~ Genesis 11:26.
That isn't quite the most precise phrasing, since Noah's children are said to have been born when he was 500, but from a little later, you can find that Shem was actually born when Noah was 502, with a little back calculation. At least Abraham was listed first, so maybe 70 is correct. I posted a while ago about Shem's outliving Abraham. Now I have a graph showing that. The fall off after the flood is interesting.
More interesting genealogy tidbits:
You normally think about Jacob being a somewhat young man when he goes to marry his wives. Or perhaps 40ish... But not usually do you think about him being slightly over 70. Meaning he didn't marry Leah until perhaps 78. And Joseph wasn't born until Jacob was 91.
And considering both Rachel and Leah died before he went to Egypt, they were fairly likely near his age. Granted, that was about middle aged for him. :)
Thank you for your responses on my previous post. They certainly gave me some things to think about, and were much appreciated.
Enjoy and have a blessed weekend!
300 cubits x 50 cubits x 30 cubits x {(21 inches/cubit)/(12 inches/foot)}^3 = 2,411,718.75 cubic feet
He mentions that the average size for a land animal comes out to about the size of a cat, but because people lived longer back then, animals may have too, and reptiles especially would have been bigger in that case. So he used the size a sheep as average. Taking the maximum capacity for sheep in a train car today, he found a capacity of 180,000 animals for the ark. Easily enough for 75,000 creatures, with room enough that they wouldn't be pack like a train car. Even more so if you use his other estimate.
Some rather outspoken commenter wanted to claim that that having even 17,000 creatures on the boat would have enough weight to sink the vessel. So I decided to calculate the buoyancy force of the ark. We aren't told where the door of the ark was positioned on the side, so I calculated the maximum, if when the door was shut it was watertight.
This came out to giving the ark a weight limit of about 150 million pounds, or 75,000 tons. In other words, for 17,000 creatures to sink it, would require them to weigh an average of over 8800 pounds. So you could sink it with about 10,000 full grown male African elephants. But taking the sheep average, I looked for the average weight of a sheep, and found it to be 100-600 pounds, depending on the breed. So I chose 400, and that lets you take around 375,000 sheep by weight. 75,000 critters would take about a fifth of the weight limit. Sounds like you'd have plenty of room for provender, especially if you used immature animals, and don't need the larger estimate.
You know the 100 pound hailstones mentioned in Revelation 16:21? If they were perfect spheres, they would be about 1.61 feet radius or a 3.22 foot diameter. That would hurt. :P
Because we've been doing character studies of Old Testament characters, I decided I wanted to graph when characters were born and when they died, in a scaled manner, so it more visual. There's enough data in Genesis to go from creation to Joseph, with the biggest uncertainty being when Abraham was born: "Terah lived seventy years, and became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran." ~ Genesis 11:26.
That isn't quite the most precise phrasing, since Noah's children are said to have been born when he was 500, but from a little later, you can find that Shem was actually born when Noah was 502, with a little back calculation. At least Abraham was listed first, so maybe 70 is correct. I posted a while ago about Shem's outliving Abraham. Now I have a graph showing that. The fall off after the flood is interesting.
More interesting genealogy tidbits:
You normally think about Jacob being a somewhat young man when he goes to marry his wives. Or perhaps 40ish... But not usually do you think about him being slightly over 70. Meaning he didn't marry Leah until perhaps 78. And Joseph wasn't born until Jacob was 91.
And considering both Rachel and Leah died before he went to Egypt, they were fairly likely near his age. Granted, that was about middle aged for him. :)
Thank you for your responses on my previous post. They certainly gave me some things to think about, and were much appreciated.
Enjoy and have a blessed weekend!
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Interesting thoughts! I spent an entire driving trip (well, *riding* for me) from Indy to St. Paul, MN, calculating and charting the Patriarchs' lifespans; actually, it seems like I was able to get much further than Joseph by using various Biblical references. I know there are areas where it becomes complicated because of conflicting information, but it sure it interesting. I found it fascinating to see how many generations were alive at the same time. As I look at your chart, I think mine worked differently...I need to find that. It was done many years (and many computers) ago and may be lost to some digital archive in my office at work.
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I also really appreciated the comments on your last entry so thanks for posting that.
Enjoyed perusing this information as well. It's always so much more enlightening, in my opinion, to see things in visual form. -
The main thing is I don't recall anywhere that says how old Ephraim or Manasseh lived to. You can get an estimate for when they were born, within at least a 7 year period, but once it stops telling you how old each lived to, and how old they were were when they had their son, the accuracy falls. The kings should have enough information to do that portion of the timeline. And there may be enough there to say about when they were born relative to the Patriarchs, so I may be able to join them, but the intervening space would not be accurate. If you do find any references that would let me expand the chart further, I would appreciate it, though. :)
Modesty Discussion
Doing my nightly Bible reading, one of the chapters I read was 2 Samuel 6. Before I put the segment I want to discuss, let me give some background:
I've been thinking about modesty a fair bit lately, mainly because I'm debating whether there is need to do a sermon or something on it (Probably when Dad's gone, so we have need of someone to fill in for him.) because some of the ladies don't seem to be aware how distracting their dress can be. I'm quite certain it is fully unintentional. And some of them usually are modest, when standing or sitting normally, but there are several toddlers and babies around not, that inhibit normal posture. We used to have more of a problem a few years ago, but most of those people moved, and we have a different set here now (I also did a short talk back then on the issue, and it didn't seem to have any effect.). But just because it used to be more of a problem, doesn't mean a smaller problem doesn't need addressing (And, yes, I know we men need to guard our minds. It is not necessarily easy, and takes a lot of practice. I'm working on it.).
Hopefully, that was discreetly worded enough. :P
Anyway. The passage:
"Now it was told King David, saying, “The Lord has blessed the house of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, on account of the ark of God.” David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom into the city of David with gladness. And so it was, that when the bearers of the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling. And David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, and David was wearing a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouting and the sound of the trumpet.
Then it happened as the ark of the Lord came into the city of David that Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart.
So they brought in the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent which David had pitched for it; and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. When David had finished offering the burnt offering and the peace offering, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts. Further, he distributed to all the people, to all the multitude of Israel, both to men and women, a cake of bread and one of dates and one of raisins to each one. Then all the people departed each to his house.
But when David returned to bless his household, Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, “How the king of Israel distinguished himself today! He uncovered himself today in the eyes of his servants’ maids as one of the foolish ones shamelessly uncovers himself!” So David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel; therefore I will celebrate before the Lord. I will be more lightly esteemed than this and will be humble in my own eyes, but with the maids of whom you have spoken, with them I will be distinguished.” Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death." ~ 2 Samuel 6:12-23
I put the key parts in bold. David was wearing a linen ephod, and Michal says that "he was uncovering himself as one of the foolish ones shamelessly uncovers himself."
Ephods are mentioned a lot in the Bible, perhaps most notably as part of the Levitical priests' garments. Samuel, as a child, wore an ephod when ministering to the Lord in 1 Samuel 2:18. All I've been able to find says that an ephod is a sleeveless vest. This is the description in Exodus 28 of the high priest's ephod, at least relevant to it's shape: “6 They shall also make the ephod of gold, of blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen, the work of the skillful workman. 7 It shall have two shoulder pieces joined to its two ends, that it may be joined." Which tell me much.
So what does this passage tell you about modesty? What is immodest about wearing an ephod? Does modesty change with different situations?
Discuss, please? =)
I've been thinking about modesty a fair bit lately, mainly because I'm debating whether there is need to do a sermon or something on it (Probably when Dad's gone, so we have need of someone to fill in for him.) because some of the ladies don't seem to be aware how distracting their dress can be. I'm quite certain it is fully unintentional. And some of them usually are modest, when standing or sitting normally, but there are several toddlers and babies around not, that inhibit normal posture. We used to have more of a problem a few years ago, but most of those people moved, and we have a different set here now (I also did a short talk back then on the issue, and it didn't seem to have any effect.). But just because it used to be more of a problem, doesn't mean a smaller problem doesn't need addressing (And, yes, I know we men need to guard our minds. It is not necessarily easy, and takes a lot of practice. I'm working on it.).
Hopefully, that was discreetly worded enough. :P
Anyway. The passage:
"Now it was told King David, saying, “The Lord has blessed the house of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, on account of the ark of God.” David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom into the city of David with gladness. And so it was, that when the bearers of the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling. And David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, and David was wearing a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouting and the sound of the trumpet.
Then it happened as the ark of the Lord came into the city of David that Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart.
So they brought in the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent which David had pitched for it; and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. When David had finished offering the burnt offering and the peace offering, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts. Further, he distributed to all the people, to all the multitude of Israel, both to men and women, a cake of bread and one of dates and one of raisins to each one. Then all the people departed each to his house.
But when David returned to bless his household, Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, “How the king of Israel distinguished himself today! He uncovered himself today in the eyes of his servants’ maids as one of the foolish ones shamelessly uncovers himself!” So David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel; therefore I will celebrate before the Lord. I will be more lightly esteemed than this and will be humble in my own eyes, but with the maids of whom you have spoken, with them I will be distinguished.” Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death." ~ 2 Samuel 6:12-23
I put the key parts in bold. David was wearing a linen ephod, and Michal says that "he was uncovering himself as one of the foolish ones shamelessly uncovers himself."
Ephods are mentioned a lot in the Bible, perhaps most notably as part of the Levitical priests' garments. Samuel, as a child, wore an ephod when ministering to the Lord in 1 Samuel 2:18. All I've been able to find says that an ephod is a sleeveless vest. This is the description in Exodus 28 of the high priest's ephod, at least relevant to it's shape: “6 They shall also make the ephod of gold, of blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen, the work of the skillful workman. 7 It shall have two shoulder pieces joined to its two ends, that it may be joined." Which tell me much.
So what does this passage tell you about modesty? What is immodest about wearing an ephod? Does modesty change with different situations?
Discuss, please? =)
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Your concern about modesty is valid. I'm continually amazed by how little women wear, including Christian women, with straps hanging out, revealing everything with normal movement. I've sat behind some wearing strapless or spaghetti strap tops that appear naked from behind. This culture has no shame, not even among the people who name Jesus. However...
First, I'm not sure a very young man in the pulpit is the appropriate means of addressing the problem. If you see something that causes you to look/lust, you need to address that with the woman directly. Or to save embarrassment, perhaps your mother as an older woman should have the conversation. Or if the problem is widespread, talk to the elders and ask them to address the problem. Church discipline is their responsibility, not yours.
Secondly, that passage is not the place to go. There was nothing immodest about David's ephod or his dancing. (An ephod is a garment worn over a robe, not underwear.) Both the text itself and David's reaction to his wife make it clear that Michal's nasty, arrogant, contemptuous, prideful attitude is the problem:
As the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, and ***she despised him in her heart.***
Michal's complaint was not that David was immodest or naked. Rather Michal, the daughter of King Saul and now the wife of King David, a woman accustomed to utmost respect and dignity, was offended that her husband the king was wearing simple, humble, undignified clothing, just like the common priests, instead of donning his crown and his regal robes, setting himself well apart from them. She was entirely in the wrong. -
I agree with Misssonja. My personal suspicion is that many people are just completely impervious to sermons. Personal, private conversation is more likely to make an impact.
And while I share your confusion over what exactly an "ephod" was, I agree with Misssonja again that in the passage above, Michel's criticism makes no mention of nakedness but instead seems to about David's (in her opinion) non-regal way of dressing and acting. This isn't really a passage from which to extract principles regarding "modesty."
And that leads to another thought: I believe one of the greatest problems with "modesty" for Christians today is that we use one word to deal with two distinctly different concepts from the scripture. One concept is situational, cultural, and concerns not drawing attention to oneself (cf. 1 Tim. 2). The other involves the idea that a certain portion of the human body must be concealed (cf. Gen. 3). These are different issues, though sometimes they overlap (as people seek attention by not concealing parts of their bodies). Smooshing the two different scriptural concepts together just makes things confusing.
So, yes, "modesty" does change with different situations, and no, "modesty" doesn't change with different situations. :D -
Okay. That does make more sense with Michal's attitude. I hadn't thought of it that way. I wasn't necessarily thinking of using this passage for modesty, just wondering if there was anything to be derived on the subject from the passage.
I was more thinking of doing a sermon as a back-up measure. Mother and one of the younger wives (Or is she on the older half of the congregation, even if she is still in her 20's. :P) were discussing bringing up the issue, so I figured I'd give them time to bring it up, and if there was no change, then I'd address it. I think I will take the suggestion of not doing it from the pulpit (I hate public speaking anyway. :P).
The other thing is we don't have elders, due to not having enough men qualified. So it's the men of the congregation who usually address issues, of which I am one.
Yes, the multiple definitions issue is annoying in the complications it adds to discussing the matter. -
I agree with Sonja... on all fronts... modesty IS a huge topic, but (as a female), I don't think another sermon is going to change things. Those women who are already working hard to be modest are going to feel doubly guilty about the subject, while those who are unaware that they're causing problems are STILL going to be unaware they're causing problems.
If you don't feel comfortable going to the female directly, perhaps you could go to their father/husband?
Good Music.... and Musical Disappointment
First the disappointment:
Yesterday morning, as is my tradition, I read the the living section of the paper while I at breakfast, mainly for the comics. There I found my disappointment. Apparently, Thursday, Distant Worlds performed in Omaha. Not only did that mean there was a concert with a full symphony orchestra playing some of the best video game music around, with a full choir to back them up, with soloists, it also meant that the composer of nearly all of said music, Nobou Uematsu, was in town. And to top it off, it was his birthday, so the conductor, Arnie Roth, presented him with a cake, while having the orchestra play "happy Birthday". Uematsu also apparently ran into the choir for the finale, "One Winged Angel" and sang with them.
And we had absolutely no idea about this was happening, until the next day. And tickets were only about $30. It never even crossed my mind that Distant Worlds was still doing concerts, much less that they would come here.
My brothers and I are in the mental "Gaaaahh!!!!" phase. =P
But as for some other good music, of a completely different sort, and this sort is better: Hymns.
I think I have concluded that some of the most powerful hymns I know are those that talk about the hope in the death of God's people. Here are three of my favorites of those:
Look Up With Me! Words and music by Anne F. Stevens, 2002
When sets my final sun,
My journey Home begun,
As my last song is sung,
Look up with me!
When I this earth forsake,
As my last breath I take,
While hearts around me break,
Look up with me!
Tho' light must surely fade,
Sunlight in mortal shade,
Toward heaven's shining gate,
Look up with me!
God of the Living, in Whose Eyes Words by John Ellerton, 1858
Music by C. E. Couchman, 2011
God of the living, in Whose eyes
Unveiled Thy whole creation lies,
All souls are Thine, we must not say
That those are dead who pass away;
From this our world of flesh set free,
We know them living unto Thee.
Released from earthly toil and strife,
With Thee is hidden still their life;
Thine are their thoughts, their works, their powers,
All Thine, and yet most truly ours;
For well we know, where’er they be,
Our dead are living unto Thee.
Not spilt like water on the ground,
Not wrapped in dreamless sleep profound,
Not wandering in unknown despair,
Beyond Thy voice, Thine Arm, Thy care;
Not left to lie like fallen tree—
Not dead, but living, unto Thee.
Thy Word is true, Thy will is just;
To Thee we leave them, Lord, in trust;
And bless Thee for the love which gave
Thy Son to fill a human grave;
That none might fear that world to see
Where all are living unto Thee.
O Breather into man of breath,
O Holder of the keys of death,
O Giver of the life within,
Save us from death, the death of sin,
That body, soul, and spirit be
Forever living unto Thee.
Precious in His Sight Words and music by C. E. Couchman, 2003
In our sorrow there is comfort;
Tears of anguish bring release;
Though we grieve, our hopes are strengthened;
In our loss, Lord, we find this peace:
Another race is finished;
A burden is laid down;
The gate of heaven opens to the Sun!
How precious in Your sight, O Lord,
Is the death of a godly one.
From our birth, our days are numbered;
Though we fourlish, soon we die,
But with this, our hope, to waken
Face to face with the risen Christ!
Another race is finished;
A burden is laid down;
The gate of heaven opens to the Sun!
How precious in Your sight, O Lord,
Is the death of a godly one.
Those last two are from the "Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs" hymnal.
Yesterday morning, as is my tradition, I read the the living section of the paper while I at breakfast, mainly for the comics. There I found my disappointment. Apparently, Thursday, Distant Worlds performed in Omaha. Not only did that mean there was a concert with a full symphony orchestra playing some of the best video game music around, with a full choir to back them up, with soloists, it also meant that the composer of nearly all of said music, Nobou Uematsu, was in town. And to top it off, it was his birthday, so the conductor, Arnie Roth, presented him with a cake, while having the orchestra play "happy Birthday". Uematsu also apparently ran into the choir for the finale, "One Winged Angel" and sang with them.
And we had absolutely no idea about this was happening, until the next day. And tickets were only about $30. It never even crossed my mind that Distant Worlds was still doing concerts, much less that they would come here.
My brothers and I are in the mental "Gaaaahh!!!!" phase. =P
But as for some other good music, of a completely different sort, and this sort is better: Hymns.
I think I have concluded that some of the most powerful hymns I know are those that talk about the hope in the death of God's people. Here are three of my favorites of those:
My journey Home begun,
As my last song is sung,
Look up with me!
When I this earth forsake,
As my last breath I take,
While hearts around me break,
Look up with me!
Tho' light must surely fade,
Sunlight in mortal shade,
Toward heaven's shining gate,
Look up with me!
God of the Living, in Whose Eyes
Music by C. E. Couchman, 2011
Unveiled Thy whole creation lies,
All souls are Thine, we must not say
That those are dead who pass away;
From this our world of flesh set free,
We know them living unto Thee.
Released from earthly toil and strife,
With Thee is hidden still their life;
Thine are their thoughts, their works, their powers,
All Thine, and yet most truly ours;
For well we know, where’er they be,
Our dead are living unto Thee.
Not spilt like water on the ground,
Not wrapped in dreamless sleep profound,
Not wandering in unknown despair,
Beyond Thy voice, Thine Arm, Thy care;
Not left to lie like fallen tree—
Not dead, but living, unto Thee.
Thy Word is true, Thy will is just;
To Thee we leave them, Lord, in trust;
And bless Thee for the love which gave
Thy Son to fill a human grave;
That none might fear that world to see
Where all are living unto Thee.
O Breather into man of breath,
O Holder of the keys of death,
O Giver of the life within,
Save us from death, the death of sin,
That body, soul, and spirit be
Forever living unto Thee.
Precious in His Sight
Tears of anguish bring release;
Though we grieve, our hopes are strengthened;
In our loss, Lord, we find this peace:
Another race is finished;
A burden is laid down;
The gate of heaven opens to the Sun!
How precious in Your sight, O Lord,
Is the death of a godly one.
From our birth, our days are numbered;
Though we fourlish, soon we die,
But with this, our hope, to waken
Face to face with the risen Christ!
Another race is finished;
A burden is laid down;
The gate of heaven opens to the Sun!
How precious in Your sight, O Lord,
Is the death of a godly one.
Those last two are from the "Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs" hymnal.
The Niece
The Cousinling
The Sleepy Niece
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tgatzajr