1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor.
4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins
and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities
that have been devastated for generations.
5 Aliens will shepherd your flocks;
foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.
6 And you will be called priests of the LORD,
you will be named ministers of our God.
You will feed on the wealth of nations,
and in their riches you will boast.
7 Instead of their shame
my people will receive a double portion,
and instead of disgrace
they will rejoice in their inheritance;
and so they will inherit a double portion in their land,
and everlasting joy will be theirs.
8 "For I, the LORD, love justice;
I hate robbery and iniquity.
In my faithfulness I will reward them
and make an everlasting covenant with them.
9 Their descendants will be known among the nations
and their offspring among the peoples.
All who see them will acknowledge
that they are a people the LORD has blessed."
10 I delight greatly in the LORD;
my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up
and a garden causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise
spring up before all nations.
For Patti, who has everlasting joy now, and is brightening heaven with her smile.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
The year of all good music
According to my husband, this year is 1996. Many times a song comes on the radio that we both move to turn up, and he will tell me it came out in 1996. It happened again yesterday when I heard The Verve Pipe twice: on the way to church and on the way home again. I remember their song "Freshmen" from 1997 but it must have come out the year prior. Our music discussions always lead to talking about what was going on in life at the time. Usually our conversations run something along these lines: (William): "I was in my second year of college in Wyoming playing rubgy!" (me): "I was in 8th grade struggling to pass Algebra!" or (William)"I was teaching in Jersey!" (me) "I was getting my driver's license!"
Ok maybe it's not quite that bad... but William is older enough than me to have always been a couple stages of life ahead of me until we met in seminary. Now it doesn't matter that we are from different generations, but to think how old (or in my case young) we were back in the day is kind of funny. We have very different ideas on a lot of things, culturally, politically, and on some peripheral theological issues. I don't know how much this has to do with the fact that he is from the 70's and I am from the 80's. (Which means he knows more 80's music than I do and I know early 90's til now, plus what my dad listened to, hence the Zeppelin.)But music is one of the areas in which we find enough common ground that we can find something we both like on the radio or on our itunes. (Confession: I don't know that I will ever love They Might be Giants as much as he does.)
Though there are a large amount of songs that are great that were made in '96, I don't know that it is the year of all good music. There must have been some stinkers in there. The local oldies station has an idiotic tagline that they operate on the assumption that all the good music is already made. While I think that most new pop songs are schlock, there are plenty of current bands and musicians that are awesome but get no mainstream attention. I posted a couple of these on my brother's facebook page, so I won't go on that tangent here. Mostly I'm wondering what everyone else's year of all good music is. And why?
Ok maybe it's not quite that bad... but William is older enough than me to have always been a couple stages of life ahead of me until we met in seminary. Now it doesn't matter that we are from different generations, but to think how old (or in my case young) we were back in the day is kind of funny. We have very different ideas on a lot of things, culturally, politically, and on some peripheral theological issues. I don't know how much this has to do with the fact that he is from the 70's and I am from the 80's. (Which means he knows more 80's music than I do and I know early 90's til now, plus what my dad listened to, hence the Zeppelin.)But music is one of the areas in which we find enough common ground that we can find something we both like on the radio or on our itunes. (Confession: I don't know that I will ever love They Might be Giants as much as he does.)
Though there are a large amount of songs that are great that were made in '96, I don't know that it is the year of all good music. There must have been some stinkers in there. The local oldies station has an idiotic tagline that they operate on the assumption that all the good music is already made. While I think that most new pop songs are schlock, there are plenty of current bands and musicians that are awesome but get no mainstream attention. I posted a couple of these on my brother's facebook page, so I won't go on that tangent here. Mostly I'm wondering what everyone else's year of all good music is. And why?
Austen and the undead
This summer I've been reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I loved it. But if you are inherently offended by zombies, occasional innuendo, violence, or the very idea of someone messing around with a classic of English literature, then this book is not for you.
It keeps the main plot of the original, the shenanigans and exploits of the Bennett family, dear Bingley and Darcy, the shadester Wickham, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and all the rest. It just assumes that zombies have overrun England and that the Bennett sisters are deadly warriors, trained in China to defeat the undead, and until they are married/if they get married, they are sworn to defend England til death. There's not actually much to add to that description without just reciting the book. The plot is basically the same so if you know the original, you know what happens, just not the particulars of this new imagining.
I found myself laughing out loud at several places. William is reading it now and he loves it, and he doesn't even like zombie stories.
I love Jane Austen. One of my prize possessions is an Austen collection I bought in England. I believe Colin Firth = Mr. Darcy and always will. And I think most rewrites or reimaginings fail. But this is a lark of a read, good for summer time.
It keeps the main plot of the original, the shenanigans and exploits of the Bennett family, dear Bingley and Darcy, the shadester Wickham, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and all the rest. It just assumes that zombies have overrun England and that the Bennett sisters are deadly warriors, trained in China to defeat the undead, and until they are married/if they get married, they are sworn to defend England til death. There's not actually much to add to that description without just reciting the book. The plot is basically the same so if you know the original, you know what happens, just not the particulars of this new imagining.
I found myself laughing out loud at several places. William is reading it now and he loves it, and he doesn't even like zombie stories.
I love Jane Austen. One of my prize possessions is an Austen collection I bought in England. I believe Colin Firth = Mr. Darcy and always will. And I think most rewrites or reimaginings fail. But this is a lark of a read, good for summer time.
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