Ozymandias (Shelly)

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: `Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear -
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.'

Modern Man

The ancient man approached God (or even the Gods) as the accused person approaches his judge. For the modern the roles are quite reversed. He is the judge: God is in the dock. He is quite a kindly judge: if God should have a reasonable defense for being the god who permits war, poverty and disease, he is ready to listen to it. The trial may even end in God's acquittal. Bt the important thing is that Man is on the Bench and God is in the Dock. -C.S. Lewis

Tonight we're going to see The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Evan is working, but the rest of us are going. My brother gave us gift cards for Ruby Tuesday, so we'll eat there first.

The Invisible Man

In "The Invisible Man" (not the science fiction novel by H.G. Wells) the African American author discusses the idea that some people are "invisible." They are looked at, but not "seen." They are treated by strangers almost as if they are not there.

The other day at school, a young student and advisee of mine looked at me as we passed each other at the entrance of the library. Only when I greeted him did I see recognition in his eyes- I had been up until that moment "invisible" to him.

Perhaps this is just one of the discernible changes that seem to come with reaching one's 50's.

Note to Stephen

It’s such an encouragement that Jesus’ love isn’t contingent upon our being “good.” I’d be in BIG trouble if that were the case. To think that his love is unconditional and even when we fall far short of what we would like to be, he is faithful- what a wonderful truth and what a wonderful testimony of the perfect love of God. Jesus is a perfect brother and God is a perfect father- we can always depend upon them and they will never let us down. Thanks be to God for his wonderful gift- a gift that will last in all of eternity with him. Someday you and I will be together worshipping him in perfection. From that perspective our memories of the US Penitentiary and all the frustrations of this life will be a dim memory. It’s too much to grasp- but it’s true!

I'm Back

I've been remiss in my blogging duties lately. I don't know why.

What's new? Well . . . let's see.

I'm reading "The Four Loves" by C. S. Lewis. He describes the four types of love; I'm still in the first one, "Affection." He has (had) amazing insight into human beings- his ideas are so different (and so true) from the usual stuff we hear.

Here is a description of the book from another website:

The Greek language in which the New Testament was written has four words for love, each meaning something slightly different: storge (affection), philia (friendship), eros (romantic love), and agape (charity). In The Four Loves Lewis explores each of them, how they differ, and how they relate. He sees the first three as natural loves, but the fourth as the gift of God, without which the other three can become distorted.