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Tut-Tut, It Looks Like Rain

Like Rain it sounded till it curved 

by Emily Dickinson

Like Rain it sounded till it curved

And then I new 'twas Wind --

It walked as wet as any Wave

But swept as dry as sand --

When it had pushed itself away

To some remotest Plain

A coming as of Hosts was heard

It filled the Wells, it pleased the Pools

It warbled in the Road --

It pulled the spigot from the Hills

And let the Floods abroad --

It loosened acres, lifted seas

The sites of Centres stirred

Then like Elijah rode away

Upon a Wheel of Cloud.

Round two of rain inspired goodness. Looking forward to posting sunshine inspired goodness.

How Great Thou Art

The Carrie Underwood & Vince Gill cover of "How Great Thou Art'' has been getting a lot of attention lately and it's very sweet. Call me old fashioned, but I prefer The King himself singing that fantastic hymn.

So for comparison sake, here is Vince & Carrie vs. Elvis. Who do you prefer?


Carrie Underwood and Vince Gill, 2011


Elvis Presley, 1977

Blessings,

KB

P.S. Elvis' "Greatest Hits'' is pretty fantastic.

Rainy Day

The Rainy Day

The day is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
The vine still clings to the mouldering wall,
But at every gust the dead leaves fall,
And the day is dark and dreary.

My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
My thoughts still cling to the mouldering Past,
But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast,
And the days are dark and dreary.

Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.

Here's a care package of rainy day goodness. The rain won't let up in the South but we'll try to look at it with a glass half full!

Cannibals.

 

 

This morning I've been reading John Piper's sermon on John G. Paton, missionary in the late 1800's to the New Hebrides Islands of the South Pacific. Christianity had been attempted in the New Hebrides Islands by some of Paton's fellow Scotsmen and they were gruesomely murdered and consumed by the cannibalistic culture. "The natives were cannibals and occasionally ate the flesh of their defeated foes. They practiced infanticide and widow sacrifice, killing the widows of deceased men so that they could serve their husbands in the next world" (desiringgod.org). Knowing this outcome, knowing it was a real danger of bringing the Gospel to the New Hebrides, Paton wrote,"Thus were the New Hebrides baptized with the blood of martyrs; and Christ thereby told the whole Christian world that he claimed these islands as His own" (desiringgod.org). John G. Paton spent more than 15 years living life with such gusto-it's truly an inspiration to read Piper's narrative on his life.

 

From this inspiration, Piper constructed a sermon entitled "You Will Be Eaten By Cannibals! Lessons from the Life of John G. Paton: Courage In The Cause Of Missions". He examines not only Paton's life but also the lessons we can all learn from his legacy-listed below with a few bullet points.

 

What Kinds of Circumstances Called for Courage in Paton's Life?

• He had courage to overcome the criticism he received from respected elders for going to the New Hebrides.

            "The opposition was so strong from nearly all, and many of them warm Christian friends, that I was sorely tempted to question whether I was carrying out the Divine will, or only some headstrong wish of my own. This also caused me much anxiety, and drove me close to God in prayer"

• He had courage to risk losing his loved ones and to press on when he did in fact lose them.

          '' The courage to risk the loss was one thing. But the courage to experience the loss and press on alone was supernatural. "I felt her loss beyond all conception or description, in that dark land. It was very difficult to be resigned, left alone, and in sorrowful circumstances; but feeling immovably assured that my God and father was too wise and loving to err in anything that he does or permits, I looked up to the Lord for help, and struggled on in His work" (p. 85). Here we get a glimpse of the theology that we will see underneath this man's massive courage and toil. "I do not pretend to see through the mystery of such visitations – wherein God calls away the young, the promising, and those sorely needed for his service here; but this I do know and feel, that, in the light of such dispensations, it becomes us all to love and serve our blessed Lord Jesus so that we may be ready at his call for death and eternity"

• He had courage to risk his own sickness in a foreign land with no doctors and no escape.
• The most common demand for courage was the almost constant threat to his life from the hostilities of the natives.

"One of the most remarkable things about Paton's dealing with danger is the gutsy forthrightness with which he spoke to his assailants. He often rebuked them to their faces and scolded them for their bad behavior even as they held the ax over his head."

• One last call for courage that I will mention is the need for courage in the face of criticism that he did not have courage to die.

 

What Did His Courage Achieve?

• The entire island of Aniwa turned to Christ.
• The courageous endurance on Tanna resulted in a story that awakened thousands to the call of missions and strengthened the home church.

"In other words, the courageous perseverance of John Paton on Tanna, in spite of apparent fruitlessness, bore fruit in blessing for the mission field and for the church at home in ways he could have never dreamed in the midst of his dangers."

• Another one of those good effects was to vindicate the power of the gospel to convert the hardest people.  

Where Did this Courage Come From? What Was Its Origin?

• His courage came from his father.

"How much my father's prayers at this time impressed me I can never explain, nor could any stranger understand. When, on his knees and all of us kneeling around him in Family Worship, he poured out his whole soul with tears for the conversion of the Heathen world to the service of Jesus, and for every personal and domestic need, we all felt as if in the presence of the living Savior, and learned to know and love him as our Divine friend."

• His courage came from a deep sense of divine calling.

 "I continually heard . . . the wail of the perishing Heathen in the South Seas; and I saw that few were caring for them, while I well knew that many would be ready to take up my work in Calton" ."The Lord kept saying within me, 'Since none better qualified can be got, rise and offer yourself!'"

• His courage came from a sense of holy heritage in his church.
• His confidence in the sovereignty of God controlling all adversities.

"Feeling immovably assured that my God and father was too wise and loving to err in anything that he does or permits, I looked up to the Lord for help, and struggled on in His work"

• His courage came through a kind of praying that submitted to God's sovereign wisdom
• His courage came from a joy in God that he knew could not be surpassed anywhere in any other ministry.

"Oh that the pleasure-seeking men and women of the world could only taste and feel the real joy of those who know and love the true God – a heritage which the world . . . cannot give to them, but which the poorest and humblest followers of Jesus inherit and enjoy!"

• His courage came from personal fellowship with Jesus through faith in his promise, especially on the brink of eternity.

It's a pretty long read, but if you have twenty minutes to sit down and soak it in, it's quite the story of God's sovereignty displayed through adversity and faithfulness.

Blessings,

KB

P.S. Listening to Grizzly Bear's "Two Weeks" today. Super good.

Camus

Last night I was browsing through the mind of David and Sarah Dark via their blog and ran across an entry that I woke up thinking about this morning:

If someone told me to write a book on morality, it would have a hundred pages and ninety-nine of them would be blank. On the last page I would write, "I recognize only one duty and that is to love." And as far as everything else is concerned, I say no.
Albert Camus, Notebooks

Guess I just really like that quote: "I recognize only one duty and that is to love".

Blessings,
KB

P.S. Bon Iver's "For Emma, Forever Ago" is easing this Monday morning's work transition

Bee

I don't care what Calvin's mom says. This was how large the bee on our patio was this afternoon. Someone call the national guard-I'm sure they can track it on their radar.

Tin Can Treats

It's laundry day. While my scrubs and sheets and running shorts swish around in the washing machine, I've been scrolling through Tec Petaja's blog of gorgeous pictures. Tec's stuff is so good it makes me want to get married tomorrow. And the day after that. And the day after that and once a month for the rest of my life so that he could chronicle it in a bunch of beautiful ways. You know a photographer is amazing when they make you want to have a wedding just so you can photograph it. But enough about dream weddings. On Tec Petaja's blog, he had a feature about Tin Can Treats and it's such a warm nostalgic feeling looking at their pictures and throwback treats. 

Maybe we should do an Ashraya Mission fundraiser featuring Tin Can Treats?

Blessings,

KB

P.S. Bobby Darrin's "That's All'' makes laundry better.

A Note From One Of Our Interns

"Katie Beth asked me to contribute every now and then to Ashraya’s blog since I am (I still can’t believe it…ahh!!) now considered one of the interns for this fall’s adventure. So, here is my first post. It might seem a tad scatter-brained, well, because it is.

As you near the end of college, you inevitably start to think about what’s next and what your life is going to look like in the next few years. I seriously never would have dreamed a year ago that I would be planning to do something like this. It just so happens in the past year and a half of college I have felt like I have started to truly hear the Gospel for the first time. And honestly I’ve said that many times before. The awesome thing about the Gospel is, when you seek Christ, it will renew itself again and again as you are becoming more and more like Him. I love that. It hurts a little sometimes to always be changing and chipping away at your old self and giving up old habits as well as forming better ones, but it is ultimately life-giving and fulfilling to my soul. I am so thankful for the power Christ has to shape and form our lives. So because of that, I have simply wanted more of God in my life. I want to surrender my wants and desires and replace them with His. The past year, I kept feeling the desire to just spend some time in a REALLY different place just serving. India came to mind and continued to be in my mind for months. I finally decided to pursue it, and God quickly provided me with this amazing opportunity to help Katie Beth with Ashraya Mission.

I speculate that this adventure to India is going to be a huge eye-opener to me in revealing the heart and nature of God. I was telling Katie Beth this the other day, but it is really hard for me to feel a connection at this point with the people of India and the mission we have set out for us. And that totally makes sense—to not have a connection or a super strong passion yet. I have been praying for God to give me a heart right now for the mission set out for us and for the children and people of India. But I realize most of that passion will have to come with the experience and seeing these people face to face. I have never before talked to a child who doesn’t understand what it is to truly be loved, but only can correlate human relationships with abuse. I don’t understand that yet. And you can’t really understand that until you encounter it firsthand. I have also never been to a place where all of my normal comforts of home will not be there. That is another reason I have felt drawn to India. I am welcoming the opportunity to be put in a situation where I have to rely completely on God without having the comfortable resources of home. And I am hoping and praying that I will leave there having increased my desire to join God in redeeming the brokenness of our world. I have felt called to let go for a little while the normalcy of home to open myself up for God to use me and change me. I believe fully that any increased communion with God I experience will certainly drive me towards community with others, particularly those on the fringes of society.

I’ve never done something like this before. So your prayers will be totally appreciated! The team has a large endeavor set before us, but we are trusting God is going to use us and provide for us as long as we are laying down our lives before Him. Many times I feel inadequate to be a part of this amazing team, but I know God has led me to this, and also He seems to use the most “inadequate” people to do His work…what awesome grace!!!!

Thanks for reading… I hope Christ is transforming your life daily as you seek Him."

Caroline

Vintage Video Games Recreated With Candles

Once again the combination of creativity, patience and a lot of free time has given us another internet gem.

He Is

In Genesis, He's the breath of life

In Exodus, the Passover Lamb

In Leviticus, He's our High Priest

Numbers, The fire by night

Deuteronomy, He's Moses' voice

In Joshua, He is salvation's choice

Judges, law giver

In Ruth, the kinsmen-redeemer

First and second Samuel, our trusted prophet

In Kings and Chronicles, He's sovereign

Ezra, true and faithful scribe

Nehemiah, He's the rebuilder of broken walls and lives

In Esther, He's Mordecai's courage

In Job, the timeless redeemer

In Psalms, He is our morning song

In Proverbs, wisdom's cry

Ecclesiastes, the time and season

In the Song of Solomon, He is the lover's dream

He is, He is, He is

In Isaiah, He's the Prince of Peace

Jeremiah, the weeping prophet

In Lamentations, the cry for Israel

Ezekiel, He's the call from sin

In Daniel, the stranger in the fire

In Hosea, He is forever faithful

In Joel, He's the spirit's power

In Amos, the arms that carry us

In Obadiah, He's the Lord our Savior

In Jonah, He's the great missionary

In Micah, the promise of peace

In Nahum, He is our strength and our shield

In Habakkuk and Zephaniah, He's pleading for revival

In Haggai, He restores a lost heritage

In Zachariah, our fountain

In Malachi, He is the sun of righteousness rising with healing in His wings

He is, He is, He is

In Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, He is God, man, Messiah

In the Book of Acts, He is fire from heaven

In Romans, He's the grace of God

In Corinthians, the power of love

In Galatians, He is freedom from the curse of sin

Ephesians, our glorious treasure

Philippians, the servant's heart

In Colossians, He's the Godhead Trinity

Thessalonians, our coming King

In Timothy, Titus, Philemon, He's our mediator and our faithful pastor

In Hebrews, the everlasting covenant

In James, the one who heals the sick

In First and Second Peter, He is our shepherd

In John and in Jude, He's the lover coming for His bride

In the Revelation, He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords

He is, He is, He is

The Prince of Peace

The Son of Man

The Lamb of God

The Great I Am

He's the Alpha and Omega

Our God and our Savior

He is Jesus Christ the Lord

And when time is no more,

He is 

Since When Did Bunnies Have Eggs? | The Resurgence

Interesting.

Since When Did Bunnies Have Eggs? | The Resurgence

Indian Rescue Mission

This was sent to us by our friends at Indian Rescue Mission-it's a short introduction to who they are and their mission.



Blessings,

KB

P.S. The Tallest Man On Earth is my Monday music today.

The Cutest Thing You'll See This Week

The cutest thing you'll see this week-here's some warm fuzzy feelings for your Friday.



Blessings,

KB

P.S. The Funny Girl soundtrack is spinning in the car today

God Grew Tired Of Us

The documentary God Grew Tired Of Us came out a few years ago so it's not a 'new' movie, but since it was my first time to see it, it was new to me.

It narrates the tale of the Lost Boys of Sudan-a group of boys that were forced to flee their motherland because of war and violence. In their exodus they wandered through the desert and faced trials varying from starvation to illness to lions and air raid bombings. Their numbers dwindled from more than 20,000 to 12,000 by the time they reached the refugee camp. Temporary relief was found in a refugee camp in Ethiopia, but it was short lived and they soon were transplanted to a refugee camp in northern Kenya. Another trek across the wilderness. Another long trip littered with disease and heartache. Another stint in a refugee camp.

Fifteen years later, the boys are now men and a select few were given the opportunity to come to the United States-another wilderness within itself. The boys adjust to living in apartments, shopping in a grocery store, working in the United States and facing the loneliness inherent in being new in a foreign land.

I can't say enough beautiful things about this movie. I was captivated by it from opening to end credits and shed a great many tears throughout. It is a sweet story of redemption that I highly recommend to everyone.



Blessings,

KB

P.S. The Weepies are appropriate for such soft weather outside.

Finding Strength in Your Weakness | The Resurgence

Finding Strength in Your Weakness | The Resurgence

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." II Corinthians 12:9-10

Motivation

I was enjoying a nice lazy morning and was talking myself out of working out until I saw this...



Impressive and also made me feel super lazy. Time to head to the gym...

Spring

Been reading Hemingway's A Moveable Feast recently and it has immediately become my favorite thing he has written. As I'm reading it, I've been blessed to be lounging on my parent's glorious screened in porch with afternoon rains serenading on the tin roof. I love spring-it's like atmospheric hope. So in honor of both spring and Hemingway, here is an excerpt from A Moveable Feast:

“I could never be lonely along the river. With so many trees in the city, you could see the spring coming each day until a night of warm wind would bring it suddenly in one morning. Sometimes the heavy cold rains would beat it back so that it would seem that it would never come and you were loosing a season out of your life. This was the only truly sad time in Paris because it was unnatural. You expected to be sad in the fall. Part of you died each year when the leaves fell from the trees and their branches were bare against the wind and the cold, wintry light. But you knew there would always be spring, as you knew the river would flow again after it was frozen. When the cold rains kept on and killed the spring, it was as though a young person had died for no reason.

In those days, though, the spring always came finally but it was frightening that it had nearly failed.”

- Ernest Hemingway, “A Moveable Feast”


Blessings,

KB

P.S. Anything by John Denver feels good today. 

littlelover.

littlelover.

This is one of the most addictive things I've ever seen.

Enjoy.

humanrights.gov

The United States government has launched a new website: humanrights.gov, an easily accessible and user friendly page to gain access to press releases, articles, studies and breaking news on human rights issues from all over the world. Their section on trafficking is a wealth of information from such people as Ambassador Luis CdeBaca and Secretary of State Clinton.

Poem For Single People

This is so good. If you've never read Elisabeth Elliot's The Passion and Purity, watch this and it's basically the best 7 minute youtube summary version of that fantastic book. Watch it if you're single, engaged, happily married, unhappily married or somewhere in between.




Blessings,

KB

P.S. The Wailin' Jennys' "Firecracker" is just lovely morning music

Dancing In The Minefields

It's a stormin' and a blowin' here in Nashville. With tornado watches all afternoon, a little Andrew Peterson sounds pretty good. Go "Dancing In The Minefields" on this blustery day:



Blessings,

KB

Back To The Future Friday

Ran across the link to Irina Werning's project "Back To The Future" and am absolutely fascinated by these photos.

You can see more of the fabulous before and afters here. Happy Friday!

Blessings,

KB

P.S. Trent Dabbs' "Quite Often" feels good on a sunny day like today. 

From This Valley

The Civil Wars are one of my current favorite bands and while all their stuff is wonderful, when I heard them play this little tune on "A Prairie Home Companion" a couple of weeks ago I became instantly attached to it.



So enjoy The Civil Wars playing "From This Valley" on such a pretty spring evening.

Blessings,

KB

9 Fruits

Hey Nashvillians! Want to win a $50 gift card to the yummiest smoothie shop in Nashville/Franklin? Then follow us on twitter and retweet our 9 Fruits promotion before the end of April for a chance to win $50 of whole fruit goodness!

http://ninefruits.com/

One Day Without Shoes



Today is the 5th of April 2011 and it's time to go barefoot.

TOMS Shoes is asking us to go without shoes today to raise awareness for all the men, women and children around the world that are walking to school, work, church, etc without shoes.



TOMS in Kolkata.



Above is a picture of myself and a child in Kolkata. This little boy is one of the million children who needs a pair of shoes. Please support organizations like TOMS Shoes. Been a big fan of their product for a while and am a big fan of this day. Hope y'all will join along.

Blessings,

KB

P.S. Today I'm spinning Bob Marley's "Redemption Song"

April 3, 1968

"It was on this day in 1968 that Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his final speech in Memphis, Tennessee, where he had come to support striking sanitation workers.

He said: "The nation is sick. Trouble is in the land; confusion all around. That's a strange statement. But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough can you see the stars. … Something is happening in our world. The masses of people are rising up. And wherever they are assembled today, whether they are in Johannesburg, South Africa; Nairobi, Kenya; Accra, Ghana; New York City; Atlanta, Georgia; Jackson, Mississippi; or Memphis, Tennessee — the cry is always the same: 'We want to be free.'"

And ...

"We've got to stay together and maintain unity. You know, whenever Pharaoh wanted to prolong the period of slavery in Egypt, he had a favorite, favorite formula for doing it. What was that? He kept the slaves fighting among themselves. But whenever the slaves get together, something happens in Pharaoh's court, and he cannot hold the slaves in slavery. When the slaves get together, that's the beginning of getting out of slavery. Now let us maintain unity."

And ...

"Let us rise up tonight with a greater readiness. Let us stand with a greater determination. And let us move on in these powerful days, these days of challenge to make America what it ought to be. We have an opportunity to make America a better nation."

And ...



"Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land!"
The next day, he was assassinated." The Writer's Almanac

Blessings,

KB

Happy April Fool's Day!

Happy April Fool's Day!

"And of course today is April Fools' Day, a day for good-natured pranks, hoaxes, and general silliness. The earliest recorded association between April 1st and foolishness is in Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales in 1392, although this may be a result of misinterpretation rather than Chaucer's intention: in "The Nuns' Priest's Tale," there is a line "Since March began thirty days and two ..." which is probably a reference to the May 2nd betrothal of King Richard II to Anne of Bohemia, and not "March 32nd" as readers interpreted it. In any case, the story features Chanticleer, a vain rooster, being tricked by a fox, and some believe that's how the date became associated with harmless trickery.
Many cultures have lighthearted celebrations around this time of year, and, in the Northern Hemisphere, it may be related to the spring equinox. One explanation for the April Fools' holiday seemed plausible, until it was revealed as a hoax itself — Joseph Boskin, a professor of history at Boston University, said the practice dated back to the reign of Emperor Constantine, who was challenged by his jesters that a fool could run the empire as well as he did. Constantine appointed Kugel the jester "king for a day," and one of Kugel's acts was to decree an annual day of merriment. The Associated Press ran with the story, and didn't realize Boskin had made the whole thing up until a couple of weeks later.
One April Fools' Day announcement that was not a hoax was in 2004, when Google announced its new Gmail service. People couldn't be blamed for thinking it was a prank, given Google's propensity for April Fools' leg-pulling, and the announced 1-gigabyte online storage for e-mail was far larger than anything any other company had offered." The Writer's Almanac