Believe it or not, I was once an architecture student. And, like any architecture student in the US, I had to like Frank Lloyd Wright.
Fortunately, that wasn’t hard, because the man was a master at what he did. Falling Water is one of the most famous of Wright’s buildings, and it is truly a gorgeous marvel.
I came across this video on Vimeo by Cristóbal Vila and it is a fairly stunning look at Wright’s Masterpiece.
Fallingwater from Cristóbal Vila on Vimeo.
Posted in Favorite Vimeo Videos
Tagged Architecture, Beauty, Falling Water, Frank Lloyd Wright, Vimeo
I dart to the left and I dart to the right
I juke up and down as I enter the fight
My foe is a large and a villainous fiend
His army is great, yet they remain unseen
His evil is black and as dark as the night
He ripples with strength and a wickedly might
He takes greatest joy in the conq’ring of souls
To win o’er the Lord is his greatest of goals
He hates all the saints and he hates all their praise
He marshals his ghouls and sets them in array
In order to fight and he hopes yet to win
He’s in the foul business of having men sin
I dart to the left and I dart to the right
I juke up and down as I grit through the fight
I don the fair Helm of Salvation so sure
My frail waist I gird with God’s Truth very Pure
My chest is protected by Righteousness True
The Gospel of Peace I now wear as my shoes
The strong Shield of Faith keepeth me from his darts
So they might not enter and pierce through my heart
The Sword of the Spirit is my sure offense
The Word of the Lord is my surest defense
The Armor of God is my great gift to use
To fight the foul Devil and all his non-truths
I dart to the left and I dart to the right
The Grace of the Lord keepeth me in the fight
The Fiend uppercuts with his leathery hand
His claws are outstretched and my death is his plan
Both fists fall down hard on my weak Shield of Faith
The blow is so strong, it is Christ that he hates
I look in his eyes, and the glow is so bright
With hatred and foulness and all of sin’s blight
The eyes then grow big, and I know what’s to come
The arms go upraised, and I grow very numb
The arms start to fall with a terrible force
And suddenly stop, no more on their hard course
I look to my left, and I look to my right
It seems as another has entered the fight
A bright golden arm holds the sharp claws at bay
A strong voice speaks out, and I hear it then say:
“Begone foulest Devil, this one is not yours
He’s one of my Father’s, God’s Grace has been poured
Out on this dear one, this child of God’s
So go now you Devil and no more here trod”
Then with quickest rage and a menacing speed
The serpent strikes Christ, thus completing the Deed
The gold arm goes limp and it falls to the ground
My Hero is dead, and despair now surrounds
My Hero has left, and it does not seem right
I am all alone in this terrible fight
Why has my Christ died and left me all alone
Does my God and King not still Rule from His Throne?
Why does He allow the foul Devil to win?
Where now is my help, I’m afraid of my sin
I then come around and fierce laughter I hear
I am all alone and the Dragon I fear
The foul eyes then slit, and he lunges at me
I can’t now hold out, for soon dead will I be
“Give up now you wretch, your fair Hero is dead
Just curse God and die, I will now have your head”
A flash to the left and a bang to the right
My Hero and God has reentered the Fight
With terrible wrath and His Holiness Pure
A bright Sword swings out, with straight aim oh so sure
Black blood gushes out from a terrible gash
The Sword swings again with a terrible flash
My Christ is alive, to His Foe now defeat
My God’s slaughtered Death, the foul Devil is beat
With strength born of God, being armed with the Word
My Christ grabs the Dragon, and his wicked hoard
He then casts them into the fiery pit
Where sin rules, and wrath is, they would not submit
My Christ is Alive and has ended the Fight
He has beaten death and the rot of sin’s blight
He turns to me with loving eyes very dear
All that has thus happened’s becoming so clear
Who gave me the armor of my God to use,
To fight the foul Devil and all His non-truths?
Tis Christ my Commander, Redeemer, and Friend
My Lord and my Savior, my God to the end
Who comforts me when the hard fight gets too tough?
Who keeps me in safety when life gets too rough?
Tis Jesus my Comfort and Truth all too sure
My I AM, and Yahweh, my True Sheep so pure
Why have I been picked to be saved from the first
A rebel, deceiver, a man who was cursed?
Who’s long held me in His strong arms oh so tight
Though I was a worm and a miserable sight?
Who’s patient with me when I sin yet again?
Who holds all the seas in the span of His hand?
Who made all the world with a word plainly spoke?
Who fills up His Temple with fire and smoke?
Who’s holy and righteous, and merciful sure?
Who’s perfect and loving and awesomely pure?
Who saved us and keeps us in Him to the End?
Our Savior and Maker, our Greatest of Friends
All honor and glory and praise to His name!
Forever and always our God is the same!
Sing loudly you saints and sing loudly you sons
Our Savior and Warrior has our Vic’try won!
Come cling in His Truth, sink down into His Word
Come don your fair armor, come grasp now the Sword
Come don now your Belt and your Helm and your Shield
Your Sandles and Breastplate, you must not now yield!
Come enter the Battle you are called to fight
Trust now in our God and partake of His Might!
Sing glory and praises, our foe is now beat
Our hope is in Jesus, our One Mercy Seat!
Posted in Art and Culture, My Writings, Poetic Prose, Poetry
(set to the tune of “There is a Fountain”)
Lord when it’s hard to live for Christ
And when it’s hard to stand
Help us to fix our Gaze above
To our Eternal Land
To our Eternal Land, to our Eternal Land
Help us to fix our Gaze above
To our Eternal Land
Lord God it’s by Your grace alone
That we are justified
Please give us comfort in Your Blood
The Love in which You died
The Love in which You died, the Love in which You died
Please give us comfort in Your Blood
The Love in which You died
Lord give us grace to know Your Truth
You’ve given us Your Word
By it we know of Jesus Christ
By it we call You Lord!
By it we call You Lord, by it we call You Lord
By it we know of Jesus Christ
By it we call You Lord
Lord give us hope in Who You are
Our Maker and our Friend
Our Sovereign King, and Savior Sweet
Whose Mercy has no end
Whose Mercy has no end, whose mercy has no end
Our Sovereign King, and Savior Sweet
Whose Mercy has no end!
Tagged Beauty, Christ, Christianity, Faith, God, God's Glory, God's Grace, God's Sovereignty, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Love
He dwelt in Himself, in Him are no flaws
The One God of All, the Trinity Pure
Three Persons in One, One God who is Sure
This God then chose some, to all be His own
This God who is Just, and dwells on His Throne
He chose them with blood, the blood of His Son
The blood of the Lord has our vict’ry Won
For sin entered in, by God’s wise Decree
And death conquered man, he had not a plea
This sin’s not of God, He authored it not
This sin that brings death, and reeketh of rot
Mysterious thing, God’s glory we see
When sin entered in, by God’s wise decree
Our God is still just, and holy, and true
Our sin must be judged, or hearts made anew
How will it be paid, how will death be beat
How can we come in, to the Mercy Seat?
What’s our sacrifice, where can it be found?
To satisfy wrath, for death now surrounds
Where now is our Hope, where can it be found?
Despair closes in, it soon will surround
Just read in the Word, the Word of our Christ
The Gift of our God, of infinite price
Read Ephesians one, verse four and verse five
He chose us in Him, He chose us in Christ
Verse seven, verse eight; forgiveness is mine
The price has been paid, I’m no longer blind
We’re chosen with blood, the blood of the Lamb
The blood of our Lord, the blood of I AM
He obeyed His God, the Father Above
With Fellowship Sweet, and infinite Love
He died for His own, the chosen elect
He died for their sins, for every speck
He died for His Church, the Saints of the Lamb
The Body of Christ, the Bride of I AM
A virgin conceived, gave birth to a boy
The angels sang out, with marvelous Joy
The Savior had come, born like any man
A small helpless babe, ‘twas God’s Sov’reign Plan
The wise men then came, they knew who He was
The knew Him as King, the Lord of the Stars
The boy had no sin, perfection was His
The Great Sacrifice, the I AM who is
His life Jesus led, our Savior made man
Obeying God’s Will, His Life Jesus ran
And then it was time for Jesus to show
His power to all, so people might know
The Savior had come, sent by God above
The One Sovereign King, the Lord of all Love
He went up to John, the prophet foretold
And was promptly dunked, in water so cold
He started His work, His great Ministry
With wonders and signs, the blind He let see
The sick Jesus healed, the dead Jesus raised
His pupils He taught, His God Jesus Praised
And then it was time for Jesus to die
This Healer of Men, Hosanna they’d cried
But now all their screams were for Jesus’ blood
The once happy crowd was in a foul mood
They nailed hands and feet, they whipped and they scourged
It was Yahweh’s Will, set down in His Word
The blood trickled down, on down to the ground
And as it fell down, He made not a sound
Then after a shout, Christ’s head bowed down low
His body was dead, He gave up His Soul
We’re chosen with blood, the blood of the Lamb
The blood of our Lord, the blood of I AM
He obeyed His God, the Father Above
With Fellowship Sweet, and infinite Love
He died for His own, the chosen elect
He died for their sins, for every speck
He died for His Church, the Saints of the Lamb
The Body of Christ, the Bride of I AM
Posted in Poetry
Tagged Beauty, Blood, Election, Evangelism, God's Grace, Grace, Jesus, Love, Sacrifice
Well, they’ve done it again.
Pixar’s latest animated masterpiece, “Up”, is nothing short of breathtaking. The characters are relatable and reliably well-developed; the story is unique and involving; the mixture of humor and drama is almost perfectly blended and the visuals are (as expected with Pixar’s animation) absolutely stunning.
The story basically follows the interactions between a man named Carl Fredericksen and a little Wilderness Explorer named Russell as they experience imaginative adventures together in a remote corner of South America.
Specifically, the story begins with an especially moving sequence of a young Mr. Fredericksen and his adventurous and vivacious wife Ellie as they experience their life together. This sequence is made powerful and moving through the absence of any audible dialogue, with a well-chosen and touching chronological montage of the Fredericksen’s married life. In a very short time you’re permitted and invited to experience the joys and heartaches of life as they are married, as they purchase and refurbish their home, as they cope with the grief of not being able to have children , as they grow old together, as Ellie gets sick and finally as Ellie passes from this earth.
Without his Ellie, Carl is left with loneliness, her memories and their old house. Seeing him in such a state is truly sad because of the sweetness of their lives together. She completed him and when she left, the best part of him left with her.
Carl ends up losing the house and when developers are threatening to take him to a retirement home and bulldoze his house, he literally up and floats away in it! The movie continues in typically brilliant Pixar fashion with Mr. Fredericksen accidentally taking Russell on his floating house with him. During their journey, they meet a brightly colorful Snipe named Kevin, a silly talking dog named, appropriately, Doug, and a particularly bitter childhood hero of Carl’s, Charles Muntz.
Two things about this movie stood out in my thinking. First is the power of memories. Both Charles Muntz and Carl are men unable to let go of his past. Muntz, the great explorer that he was, once discovered a massive bird skeleton only to be written off by the public at large as a fraud and a cheat. Carl had lived, loved and lost the one person in the world he wanted to love. Muntz’s existence consisted solely of finding that large bird and clearing his name, in hopes of regaining something of his former glory. Carl’s was landing his house next to Paradise Falls (as his wife had once dreamed) in memory of her. Yet it is only Carl who can let go of the past. When he runs Russell off and ends up finding his wife’s old Adventure Book, he realizes that before her death she had filled up the “stuff to do” pages from yesteryear with images of her and Carl from throughout their time together. At the end of these pictures she thanks him for the adventure and tells him its ok to move on. It was only then that Carl is able to finally say goodbye to his dear wife and realize that there was a sad little boy who loved him and needed him. Muntz died in his bitterness. Carl found a son and a new reason to live.
I’ve rarely seen such a loving, tender, potent and poignant expression in cinema of the long-lasting, patient and persistent love of a husband and a wife for each other. Carl and Ellie loved each other deeply. They completed each other. They stuck with each other, through the good times and the bad. Their story truly is beautiful, yet sharply bittersweet.
Pixar has once again hit it out of the proverbial park and I cannot encourage you enough to go see this film.
It seems that true, persistent, plodding faithfulness is perhaps the hardest part of the Christian walk.
It is fairly easy to be flashy and it is easy to exert a great amount of energy for a small amount of time. But to be faithful and constant … that is hard. Patience and persistence is required for such faithfulness. To be faithful means constant warfare with the flesh. For the faithful man or woman there are no breaks, no rests, and no separation from the grind. The faithful Christian is a plodder. She is content in doing what she is called to do, even if she spends her whole life in relative obscurity. The faithful Christian does not mind doing the dirty work. In fact, he puts all of his effort into the task, knowing that there will be few who notice. The faithful Christian will be told at the end of things “Well done, good and faithful servant”. The faithful Christian is a slave and he rejoices in it. She is a servant and in her servitude she seeks the honor of God. He knows he might never be noticed, but he is ok with that possibility and general reality.
He is the pastor of a small congregation in the Texas Hill Country. The church he serves in has never had much numerical growth. He has never had many converts. He is not flashy and he is not real relevant. He is faithful in the little things and faithful in the big things he is given responsibility for.
She is the mother of ten believing children and currently the grandmother of fifteen. She was a beautiful woman in the flower of youth but now her body is wrinkled, bent and worn out. She is not flashy and she’s not real sexy. She is faithful in the little things and faithful in the big things she is given responsibility for.
This man might not be successful in the eyes of the world (or even the eyes of Evangelicals!), but in the Lord’s eyes this man is honored. This woman might not be beautiful in the eyes of the world, but in God’s eyes this woman exhibits true human beauty.
Are we content with faithfulness to God, or are we in such pursuit of fame, success, relevance and beauty that we lost sight of the one by whom and for whom all things exist?
Posted in Christian Living, Some Thoughts
Tagged Beauty, Christianity, Church, Faith, Faithfullness, God, Patience, Relevance, Responsibility
Outside of the artists in the Square Peg Alliance, there is perhaps no musician today making better music or exhibiting more biblically edifying and encouraging music than Lecrae. This artistry is no more apparent than in his newest (and by far, best) offering to date, Rebel.
The album opens up with an awesome track aptly named “Rebel Intro”. This track sets the tune for the rest of the album with its direct statement that Jesus was a rebel, not because He was disobedient or rebellious per se, but because He was a “sanctified troublemaker” and obedient in perfection to the Father. The energy is maintained with the track “Don’t Waste Your Life”, and honest heart-felt appeal borrowed from the writings of John Piper to not waste your life on trivial pursuits, but to live life for the glory of God and for His renown.
Lecrae continues the plea to be a rebel in this world with the driving “God Hard” and the incredibly transparent, humbling and self-effacing “Indwelling Sin”, “Breathin’ to Death” and “Desparate”. The album continues with application in “Change”, “Fall Back”, “Live Free” and “Got Paper”.
Rebel ends in great encouragement with the songs “I’m a Saint” (reminiscent of Derek Webb’s “Saint and Sinner”), “The Bride” and “Beautiful Feet”. “The Bride” is an especially reassuring defense of the Church’s identity as Christ’s Bought Bride. Christians take a lot of flak in the World, many times justifiably so, yet this song asks us to consider ourselves not primarily as sinners, but as sinners loved by Jesus.
The whole album is worth a good long listen. Lecrae’s creative ability in songcraft is simply stunning, especially so when one couples the craft of the songs to their theological soundness and biblical consistency. “Rebel” is worth the purchase cost and will be an encouragement to your soul.
“Don’t Waste Your Life” Sermon Jam (with John Piper audio), Download here
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There is perhaps no more powerful expression in human experience than the Story. It grabs our imagination and entices our intellect. A good story does to language what music accomplishes in a somewhat different way: it allows us to feel the ideas that words express as well as consider them rationally. The Story, the Ballad, the Parable allows us to think and to feel and to relate and to consider. Great stories posit great Truths, but they also allow us to express and imagine those great concepts. They captivate our creativity, using both the mind and the heart, the analytical and the sensual and the emotional.
In the biblical narrative of Christ’s birth, life, death and resurrection we can know some things. Christ was born to a human mother. Jesus grew and learned. He preached and ministered. Jesus never sinned and He died and He rose again. These things can be known analytically from the Biblical accounts. Yet, in Narrative, I can feel the joy and excitement of Jesus’ birth. I can sympathize with my High Priest who first sympathizes with me. I can feel horror and disgust at His scourgings. I can mourn with His disciples at His death. I can weep at what my sin did to my Sin-Bearer and Savior. I can experience pure exultation and surprise at His resurrection and I can glory in His exaltation. Through narrative I can indeed know the objective truths of Scripture, yet I can also feel and more fully understand those Truths, in Christ.
Colorado Snow
Is there anything more glorious in nature than the setting sun?
Posted in Fotography Friday, Photography
Golly, she’s cute. And I cannot wait to meet her!
