o Thou who changest not, abide with me

abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
the darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide.
when other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, o abide with me.

swift to its close ebbs out life's little day;
earth's joys grow dim; its glories pass away;
change and decay in all around i see;
o thou who changest not, abide with me.

not a brief glance i beg, a passing word
but as Thou dwell'st with Thy disciples, Lord,
familiar, condescending, patient, free.
come not to sojourn, but abide with me.

come not in terrors, as the King of kings,
but kind and good, with healing in Thy wings;
tears for all woes, a heart for every plea.
come, Friend of sinners, thus abide with me.

Thou on my head in early youth didst smile,
and though rebellious and perverse meanwhile,
Thou hast not left me, oft as I left Thee.
on to the close, o Lord, abide with me

i need thy prescence every passing hour.
what but Thy grace can foil the tempter's power?
who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.

i fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee;
in life, in death, o Lord, abide with me.

"if anyone asks, we were out tipping tractors."

for a culture so focused on originality and "being yourself", there is a suprising lack of authenticity and originality. maybe the problem is that those who promote it do not allow for there being more than two kinds of originality. they say "ok, so you want to be yourself. here is how to be yourself." (or maybe theres a book called "being yourself: for dummies" hah.) its just silly!


(they actually sell hats with this logo. man. cows are just so funny.)


ok, a question. why have i recently been forgetting to use any punctuation? i think that maybe its because email has become the main way that i communicate with people, and that must stop. so i think that i will now write more letters (yes, i know that i have said that many times, but i mean it, and i am determined.)

it just passed me by

from bad luck i'm walkin away
i'm not gettin stuck
i'm not gonna stay
to good things i'm moving ahead
i'm tired of dyin
i'm livin instead

and once in a while
i'll wake up
wondering why we gave up
but once in a while
comes and it fades away

the sun's up
and lighting the sky
i never could see it
it just passed me by

good things keep movin along
i'm not lookin backward
for something thats gone

once in a while
i'll wake up
wonderin why we gave up
and once in a while
comes and fades away

i dont know what love is
i'm selfish and lazy
and when i get scared
i can act like i'm crazy

when i think of your kisses
i'm still gonna smile
i'm still gonna miss you
once in a while

once in a while i'll wake up
wonderin why we gave up
but once in a while comes
and fades away

good things keep moving ahead
i'm tired of dyin
i'm living instead

-once in a while
madeline peyroux

Can the blind lead the blind? Shall they not both fall into the ditch?

Matt. 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
7:2 For with what judgement ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
7:3And why beholdest thou the mote that is in your brothers eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
7:4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
7:5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast the mote out of thy brother's eye.


(beam: a long piece of timber. mote: a small speck of sand or dust.)

happy girl

i used to live in a darkened room
had a face of stone
and a heart of gloom

lost my hope
i was so far gone
cryin' all my tears
with the curtains drawn

i didn't know until my soul broke free
i've got these angels watching over me

oh watch me go
i'm a happy girl
everybody knows
that the sweetest thing
that you'll ever see
in the whole wide world
is a happy girl

i used to hide in a party crowd
bottled up inside
feeling so left out
standing in a corner
wearing concrete shoes
with my frozen smile
and my lighted fuse

now every time i start to feel like that
i roll my heart out like a welcome mat

oh watch me go
i'm a happy girl
everybody knows
that the sweetest thing you'll ever see
in the whole wide world
is a happy girl

laugh when i feel like it
cry when i feel like it
that's just how my life is
that's how it goes

oh watch me go
i'm a happy girl
and i've come to know
that the world won't change
just 'cause i complain

let the axis twirl
i'm a happy girl

oh watch me go, i'm a happy girl
everybody knows
that the sweetest thing that you'll ever see
in the whole wide world
is a happy girl
oh, yeah, oh, yeah... i'm a happy girl

-martina mcbride



(thanks mary-john...here's some happy juice ;)

if thou must love me

if thou must love me, let it be for naught
except for love's sake only. do not say,
'i love her for her smile—her look—her way
of speaking gently,—for a trick of thought
that falls in well with mine, and certes brought
a sense of pleasant ease on such a day'—
for these things in themselves, Belovèd, may
be changed, or change for thee—and love,
so wrought,
may be unwrought so. neither love me for
thine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry:
a creature might forget to weep, who bore
thy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!
but love me for love's sake, that evermore
thou mayst love on, through love's eternity.

-- Elizabeth Barrett Browning

a movie for you to see

Miss Potter.

this movie is beautiful ... definately the most well done movie i have seen in a very long time.

i suggest you see it.

i like your sleeves.

crunchums

...do you remember...

now i shall post some of my pictures from our family's trip to santa fe




















all the doors and windows are painted blue because of the superstition that it wards away evil spirits. plus its really pretty ;)