Jun. 13, 2007
The Conference
Okay, so I've had a few days to rest, recover and reflect after the CM conference in Boiling Springs, NC this past weekend. These are planned and taught by scholars who did doctorate theses on Charlotte Mason; these people know their CM stuff! They also have a vision to join the homeschool, private school and public school communities to bring the benefits of CM's methods to all children, not just a handful of lucky homeschoolers. That vision is exciting, and I love being a part of it.
I didn't attend as much of the conference as I'd thought I would. Last year I brought Miss M, and I spent most of the conference chasing her and trying to keep her quiet. This year I left her home with Daddy, but I missed just as much because I was busy doing other things. I had brought along a modest amount of books to experiment whether they might sell, so I spent any few minutes of free time I had checking in at the vending area (about half of them sold; the experiment was a failure and I won't be doing that again! Fortunately, another vendor took the rest off my hands to sell in her homeschool bookstore, so I wasn't out any money!) I was scheduled to "preside" at three breakout sessions (the only three I got to attend, except the one on assessment), and some chats with AO members, and private counseling sessions with AO members (the private counseling was my favorite part of the conference.)
The first day of the conference, the rooms were freezing - the AC was at 60 degrees, and that night I wasn't able to get warm, which led to leg cramps and a miserable, sleepless night, so I was bleary-eyed on Thursday. I've been doing lots of reading (3 books and lots of internet searches) since I got back, and I suspect that I have a magnesium deficiency, so I'm trying a highly absorbable form of magnesium. Leg cramps have been an ongoing problem for me the past year.
This conference was about assessment - in other words, testing and how to grade tests in a CM education. I've been wanting to have prepared tests like the ones CM used in her PNEU schools, only with questions that pertain to AO books, so I was anxious to learn all I could from this conference. And, although the assessment session was geared for school settings (complete with lots of official-sounding educational-ese jargon), I did have a revelation. One thing that public schools are criticized for is that they "teach to the test." But guess what? Charlotte Mason can be "taught to the test," too! By having your exam questions already laid out, you as the teacher know what to bring out in discussions after the child narrates, or what to write on the board before the child reads. The teacher who spoke about this called it "guided instruction," but it simply means that, if the teacher knows what concept she wants to emphasize in a reading, she can bring it up as she discusses the book with the child. AO Moms sometimes ask about lesson plans, or "shouldn't my child be getting more out this book, like the theme, or something?" and I think that this "guided instruction," directed by knowing what question will be asked on the test, is the answer.
The difference between traditional "teaching to the test" and CM's "teaching to the test" is that the traditional way has kids memorizing facts so they can fill in the right blanks on a test. But a CM exam question is going to be open-ended, designed to make the child think about "essential" issues, so "teaching to the test" will look more like getting him to think about big issues like hypocrisy, or the role of religion in government, or the topical geography of an area as he reads. It means that the parent has to have an idea of what concept is being brought out in a book - why is this book important enough to be used as a school text? So, creating AO exams will partially take the form of figuring out what major concepts are in the books, and why they're being used. In year 7, for example, The Once and Future King is scheduled because it considers different approaches to leadership (I never would have gotten that by reading it myself; I happen to know that because of a post that Wendy C. sent to the HEO list!) I think that will be harder than just coming up with questions that are like the questions CM used (which is what I had originally planned to do!)
How are these tests graded? With a rubric! A rubric is a grid. An essay/answer is graded on a scale of 1-5 according to how correct the student got his facts, how thoroughly he understood the concept, how well he spelled and used grammar, etc. If he understands it well enough to compare it to something else, or make up a story or example based on it, or apply it to another situation, he would het points for comprehension. Then you total up the points. On the grid I just described, with three facets scoring 5 points each, a student could earn a possible 15 points on a question. If he got a total of ten points, he'd have a 10/15 for that question, which would give him a 66 percent for that question. An average of his percentages for all the questions would give him his grade. Brilliant, isn't it? There is reason to suspect that CM herself used some kind of percentage to grade exams - her students were graded. At the conference, they showed us a teacher's grade records of her students with numbers beside them that looked very much like percentages.
The "Book Club" discussion (remember the book Being Human that I've been blogging about?) was a highlight of the conference. Did I mention that already?
Of course, seeing AO people was great, and being around people (both homeschoolers and school people) who know who know what CM is and can appreciate nature and art is always an encouragement.
The sessions were taped on tiny MP3 recorders, and there are plans to make MP3 downloads available (probably for a fee, which I expect to be extremely reasonable) so I'll be catching up with what I missed that way.
I didn't attend as much of the conference as I'd thought I would. Last year I brought Miss M, and I spent most of the conference chasing her and trying to keep her quiet. This year I left her home with Daddy, but I missed just as much because I was busy doing other things. I had brought along a modest amount of books to experiment whether they might sell, so I spent any few minutes of free time I had checking in at the vending area (about half of them sold; the experiment was a failure and I won't be doing that again! Fortunately, another vendor took the rest off my hands to sell in her homeschool bookstore, so I wasn't out any money!) I was scheduled to "preside" at three breakout sessions (the only three I got to attend, except the one on assessment), and some chats with AO members, and private counseling sessions with AO members (the private counseling was my favorite part of the conference.)
The first day of the conference, the rooms were freezing - the AC was at 60 degrees, and that night I wasn't able to get warm, which led to leg cramps and a miserable, sleepless night, so I was bleary-eyed on Thursday. I've been doing lots of reading (3 books and lots of internet searches) since I got back, and I suspect that I have a magnesium deficiency, so I'm trying a highly absorbable form of magnesium. Leg cramps have been an ongoing problem for me the past year.
This conference was about assessment - in other words, testing and how to grade tests in a CM education. I've been wanting to have prepared tests like the ones CM used in her PNEU schools, only with questions that pertain to AO books, so I was anxious to learn all I could from this conference. And, although the assessment session was geared for school settings (complete with lots of official-sounding educational-ese jargon), I did have a revelation. One thing that public schools are criticized for is that they "teach to the test." But guess what? Charlotte Mason can be "taught to the test," too! By having your exam questions already laid out, you as the teacher know what to bring out in discussions after the child narrates, or what to write on the board before the child reads. The teacher who spoke about this called it "guided instruction," but it simply means that, if the teacher knows what concept she wants to emphasize in a reading, she can bring it up as she discusses the book with the child. AO Moms sometimes ask about lesson plans, or "shouldn't my child be getting more out this book, like the theme, or something?" and I think that this "guided instruction," directed by knowing what question will be asked on the test, is the answer.
The difference between traditional "teaching to the test" and CM's "teaching to the test" is that the traditional way has kids memorizing facts so they can fill in the right blanks on a test. But a CM exam question is going to be open-ended, designed to make the child think about "essential" issues, so "teaching to the test" will look more like getting him to think about big issues like hypocrisy, or the role of religion in government, or the topical geography of an area as he reads. It means that the parent has to have an idea of what concept is being brought out in a book - why is this book important enough to be used as a school text? So, creating AO exams will partially take the form of figuring out what major concepts are in the books, and why they're being used. In year 7, for example, The Once and Future King is scheduled because it considers different approaches to leadership (I never would have gotten that by reading it myself; I happen to know that because of a post that Wendy C. sent to the HEO list!) I think that will be harder than just coming up with questions that are like the questions CM used (which is what I had originally planned to do!)
How are these tests graded? With a rubric! A rubric is a grid. An essay/answer is graded on a scale of 1-5 according to how correct the student got his facts, how thoroughly he understood the concept, how well he spelled and used grammar, etc. If he understands it well enough to compare it to something else, or make up a story or example based on it, or apply it to another situation, he would het points for comprehension. Then you total up the points. On the grid I just described, with three facets scoring 5 points each, a student could earn a possible 15 points on a question. If he got a total of ten points, he'd have a 10/15 for that question, which would give him a 66 percent for that question. An average of his percentages for all the questions would give him his grade. Brilliant, isn't it? There is reason to suspect that CM herself used some kind of percentage to grade exams - her students were graded. At the conference, they showed us a teacher's grade records of her students with numbers beside them that looked very much like percentages.
The "Book Club" discussion (remember the book Being Human that I've been blogging about?) was a highlight of the conference. Did I mention that already?
Of course, seeing AO people was great, and being around people (both homeschoolers and school people) who know who know what CM is and can appreciate nature and art is always an encouragement.
The sessions were taped on tiny MP3 recorders, and there are plans to make MP3 downloads available (probably for a fee, which I expect to be extremely reasonable) so I'll be catching up with what I missed that way.
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Jun. 2, 2007
The Cloud of Witness pgs 15-18
[015]
Tuesday.
In change unchanged.
I am the Lord, I change not.--Mal. 111, 6.
The One remains, the many change and pass;
Heaven's light for ever shines, Earth's shadows fly;
Life, like a dome of many-coloured glass,
Stains the white radiance of Eternity--
Until Death tramples it to fragments.--Die,
If thou wouldst be with that which thou dost seek!
Follow where all is fled!
Shelley.
Nor saint nor sage could fix immutably
The fluent image of the unstable Best,
Still changing in their very hands that wrought:
To-day's eternal truth To-morrow proved
Frail as frost-landscapes on a window-pane--
Meanwhile Thou smiledst, inaccessible,
At Thought's own substance made a cage for Thought,
And Truth locked fast with her own master-key.
Lowell.
Though to the vilest things beneath the moon
For poor ease’ sake I give away my heart,
And for the moment’s sympathy let part
My sight and sense of truth, Thy precious boon,--
My painful earnings, lost, all lost, as soon,
Almost, as gained! and though aside I start,
Belie Thee daily, hourly,—still Thou art,
Art surely, as in heaven the sun at noon!
How much so e’er I sin, whate’er I do
Of evil, still the sky above is blue,
The stars look down in beauty as before.
Clough.
Oh, the outward hath gone!--but in glory and power,
The Spiret surviveth the things of an hour;
Unchanged, undecaying, its Pentecost flame
On the heart's secret altar is burning the same,
Whittier.
------------------------------
[016]
Second Week in Advent. Wednesday.]
In change unchanged.
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever.--Heb. xiii. 8.
Twixt gleams of joy and clouds of doubt
Our feelings come and go;
Our best estate is toss'd about
In ceaseless ebb and flow.
No mood of feeling, form of thought,
Is constant for a day;
But Thou, O Lord! Thou changest not;
The same Thou art alway!
Out of that weak unquiet drift,
That comes but to depart,
To that pure Heaven my spirit lift
Where Thou unchanging art!
Thy purpose of eternal good
Let me but surely know:
On this I'll lean, let changing mood
And feeling come or go!
J. Campbell Shairp.
Having loved His own that were in the world,
He loved them unto the end.
John xiii. 1.
Say never, ye loved *once!*
God is too near above,--the Grave, beneath:
And all our moments breathe
Too quick in mysteries of life and death,
For such a word. The eternities avenge
Affections light of range;
There comes no change to justify that change,
Whatever comes--Loved *once.*
E. B. Browning.
It fortifies my soul to know
That, though I perish, Truth is so;
That, howsoe'er I stray and range,
Whate'er I do, Thou dost not change.
I steadier step, when I recall
That, if I slip, Thou dost not fall.
Clough.
------------------------------
[017]
Thursday.
In change unchanged.
Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.--Matt. XXVIII. 20.
The course of God is one. It likes not us
To think of Him as being acquaint with Change;
It were beneath Him!
J. Ingelow.
He reigns above! He reigns alone!
Systems burn out and leave His throne;
Fair mists of seraphs melt and fall
Around Him changeless amid all--
Ancient of Days, Whose days go on!
E. B. Browning.
*'Anima Mundi,'* of Thyself existing,
Without diversity or change to fear.
Say, has this Life to which we cling, persisting,
Part or communion with Thy stedfast sphere?
Does Thy serene Eternity sublime
Embrace the slaves of Circumstance and Time?
Houghton.
The old order changeth, yielding place to new,
And God fulfils Himself in many ways,
Lest one good custom should corrupt the world.
Tennyson.
But Thou art true, Incarnate Lord,
Who didst vouchsafe for man to die;
Thy smile is sure, Thy plighted word
No Change can falsify.
Wordsworth.
Thou comest not, Thou goest not,
Thou wert not, wilt not be;
Eternity is but a thought
By which we think of Thee.
Faber.
Change and decay in all around I see,
O Thou, Who changest not, abide with me!
Lyte.
------------------------------
[018]
Second Week in Advent. Friday.
In change unchanged.
The heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but My salvation shall be for ever, and My righteousness shall not be abolished.--Isaiah LI. 6.
Leaving the final issue in His hands
Whose goodness knows no change, Whose love is sure,
Who sees, foresees, Who cannot judge amiss.
Wordsworth.
Things learnt on earth we shall practise in heaven.
Browning.
Not clinging to some ancient saw;
Not master'd by some modern term;
Not swift nor slow to change, but firm;
And in its season bring the law.
Meet is it Changes should control
Our being, lest we rust in ease;
We all are changed by still degrees,
All--but the basis of the soul.
Tennyson.
Life's vapours arise
And fall, pass and change, group themselves and revolve
Round the great central Life, which is Love; these dissolve
And resume themselves--here assume beauty, there terror;
And the phantasmagoria of infinite error
And endless complexity, lasts but a while!
Life's self,--the immortal, immutable smile
Of God on the soul--in the deep heart of Heaven
Lives changeless, unchanged: and our morning and even
Are earth's alternations, not Heaven's.
Lytton.
Change must proceed whether for good or ill.
Browning.
Wherefore, if Thou canst fail,
then can Thy Truth and I! But while rocks stand
And rivers stir, Thou canst not shrink or quail;
Yea, when both rocks and all things shall disband,
Then shalt Thou be my rock and tower,
And make their ruin praise Thy power.
Herbert.
Tuesday.
In change unchanged.
I am the Lord, I change not.--Mal. 111, 6.
The One remains, the many change and pass;
Heaven's light for ever shines, Earth's shadows fly;
Life, like a dome of many-coloured glass,
Stains the white radiance of Eternity--
Until Death tramples it to fragments.--Die,
If thou wouldst be with that which thou dost seek!
Follow where all is fled!
Shelley.
Nor saint nor sage could fix immutably
The fluent image of the unstable Best,
Still changing in their very hands that wrought:
To-day's eternal truth To-morrow proved
Frail as frost-landscapes on a window-pane--
Meanwhile Thou smiledst, inaccessible,
At Thought's own substance made a cage for Thought,
And Truth locked fast with her own master-key.
Lowell.
Though to the vilest things beneath the moon
For poor ease’ sake I give away my heart,
And for the moment’s sympathy let part
My sight and sense of truth, Thy precious boon,--
My painful earnings, lost, all lost, as soon,
Almost, as gained! and though aside I start,
Belie Thee daily, hourly,—still Thou art,
Art surely, as in heaven the sun at noon!
How much so e’er I sin, whate’er I do
Of evil, still the sky above is blue,
The stars look down in beauty as before.
Clough.
Oh, the outward hath gone!--but in glory and power,
The Spiret surviveth the things of an hour;
Unchanged, undecaying, its Pentecost flame
On the heart's secret altar is burning the same,
Whittier.
------------------------------
[016]
Second Week in Advent. Wednesday.]
In change unchanged.
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever.--Heb. xiii. 8.
Twixt gleams of joy and clouds of doubt
Our feelings come and go;
Our best estate is toss'd about
In ceaseless ebb and flow.
No mood of feeling, form of thought,
Is constant for a day;
But Thou, O Lord! Thou changest not;
The same Thou art alway!
Out of that weak unquiet drift,
That comes but to depart,
To that pure Heaven my spirit lift
Where Thou unchanging art!
Thy purpose of eternal good
Let me but surely know:
On this I'll lean, let changing mood
And feeling come or go!
J. Campbell Shairp.
Having loved His own that were in the world,
He loved them unto the end.
John xiii. 1.
Say never, ye loved *once!*
God is too near above,--the Grave, beneath:
And all our moments breathe
Too quick in mysteries of life and death,
For such a word. The eternities avenge
Affections light of range;
There comes no change to justify that change,
Whatever comes--Loved *once.*
E. B. Browning.
It fortifies my soul to know
That, though I perish, Truth is so;
That, howsoe'er I stray and range,
Whate'er I do, Thou dost not change.
I steadier step, when I recall
That, if I slip, Thou dost not fall.
Clough.
------------------------------
[017]
Thursday.
In change unchanged.
Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.--Matt. XXVIII. 20.
The course of God is one. It likes not us
To think of Him as being acquaint with Change;
It were beneath Him!
J. Ingelow.
He reigns above! He reigns alone!
Systems burn out and leave His throne;
Fair mists of seraphs melt and fall
Around Him changeless amid all--
Ancient of Days, Whose days go on!
E. B. Browning.
*'Anima Mundi,'* of Thyself existing,
Without diversity or change to fear.
Say, has this Life to which we cling, persisting,
Part or communion with Thy stedfast sphere?
Does Thy serene Eternity sublime
Embrace the slaves of Circumstance and Time?
Houghton.
The old order changeth, yielding place to new,
And God fulfils Himself in many ways,
Lest one good custom should corrupt the world.
Tennyson.
But Thou art true, Incarnate Lord,
Who didst vouchsafe for man to die;
Thy smile is sure, Thy plighted word
No Change can falsify.
Wordsworth.
Thou comest not, Thou goest not,
Thou wert not, wilt not be;
Eternity is but a thought
By which we think of Thee.
Faber.
Change and decay in all around I see,
O Thou, Who changest not, abide with me!
Lyte.
------------------------------
[018]
Second Week in Advent. Friday.
In change unchanged.
The heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but My salvation shall be for ever, and My righteousness shall not be abolished.--Isaiah LI. 6.
Leaving the final issue in His hands
Whose goodness knows no change, Whose love is sure,
Who sees, foresees, Who cannot judge amiss.
Wordsworth.
Things learnt on earth we shall practise in heaven.
Browning.
Not clinging to some ancient saw;
Not master'd by some modern term;
Not swift nor slow to change, but firm;
And in its season bring the law.
Meet is it Changes should control
Our being, lest we rust in ease;
We all are changed by still degrees,
All--but the basis of the soul.
Tennyson.
Life's vapours arise
And fall, pass and change, group themselves and revolve
Round the great central Life, which is Love; these dissolve
And resume themselves--here assume beauty, there terror;
And the phantasmagoria of infinite error
And endless complexity, lasts but a while!
Life's self,--the immortal, immutable smile
Of God on the soul--in the deep heart of Heaven
Lives changeless, unchanged: and our morning and even
Are earth's alternations, not Heaven's.
Lytton.
Change must proceed whether for good or ill.
Browning.
Wherefore, if Thou canst fail,
then can Thy Truth and I! But while rocks stand
And rivers stir, Thou canst not shrink or quail;
Yea, when both rocks and all things shall disband,
Then shalt Thou be my rock and tower,
And make their ruin praise Thy power.
Herbert.
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May. 25, 2007
The Cloud of Witness pg 11-14 In Changed Unchanged
[011]
The Second Week In Advent
"In change unchanged"
"This same Jesus which is taken up from you into Heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into Heaven."--Acts1. 11.
*A Prayer for the Week*
Be present, O Merciful God, and protect us . . . so that we who are fatigued by the changes and chances of this fleeting world, may repose upon Thy eternal changelessness.
------------------------------
[012]
Saturday. Second Week in Advent.
In change unchanged.
We are changed into the same image, from glory to glory.--2 Cor, ill, 18.
O Lord, my heart is sick,
Sick of this everlasting Change;
And life runs tediously quick
Through its unresting race and varied range!
Change finds no likeness to itself in Thee,
And makes no echo in Thy mute eternity.
Faber.
All things must change
To something new, to sormething strange;
Nothing that is,can pause or stay,
The moon will wax, the moon will wane,
The mist and cloud will turn to rain,
The rain to mist and cloud again,
To-morrow be to-day.
Longfellow.
Oh that I once past changing were
Fast in Thy Paradise where no flower can wither!
Herbert.
Blame not life! it is scarce begun;
Blame not mankind! thyself art one;
And Change is holy, oh, blame it never!
Thy soul shall live by its changing ever;
Not the bubbling change of a stagnant pool,
But the change of a river, flowing and full;
Where all that is noble and good will grow
Mightier still as the full tides flow,
Till it joins the hidden, the boundless sea
Rolling theough depths of Eternity.
MacDonald.
But wherefore bring Change
To the spirit,
God meant should mate His with an infinite range,
And inherit
His power to put Life in the darkness and cold?
Browning.
------------------------------
[013]
Sunday.
In change, unchanged,
Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away.--Gospel For The Day.
All things are ever God's: the Shows of things
Are of man's nd warped with sin;--
God, and the things of God, immutable.
Allingham.
To-day's brief passion limits their range;
It seethes with the morrow for us;--and more
They are perfect--how else? They shall never change;
We are faulty--why not? We have time in store.
The Artificer's hand is not arrested
With us; we are rough-hewn, no-wise polished.
They stand for our copy, and, once invested
With all they can teach, we shall see them abolished.
Browning.
All things are passing!
God never changeth.
Santa Teresa.
Nothing, resting in its own completeness,
Can have worth or beauty; but alone
Because it leads and tends to farther sweetness
Fuller, higher, deeper, than its own.
Life is only bright when it proceedeth
Towards a truer, deeper Life above.
Human Love is sweetest when it leadeth
To a more divine and perfect Love.
Adelaide Procter.
Fool! all that is at all
Lasts ever, past recall!
Earth changes, but thy Soul and God stand sure;
What entered into thee,
*That* was, is, and shall be:
Time's wheel runs back or stops; Potter and clay endure.
Browning.
------------------------------
[014]
Monday. Second Week in Advent.
In change unchanged.
They shall perish; but Thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; and as a vesture shalt Thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but Thou art the same, and Thy years shall not fail.--Heb, i. 11, 12.
Lord, though we change, Thou art the same--
The same sweet God of love and light.
Herbert.
They drift away-- Ah, God! they drift for ever!
I watch the stream sweep onward to the sea
Like some old battered buoy upon a roaring river,
Round whom the tide-waifs hang--then drift to sea.
I watch them drift--thee old familiar faces
Who fished and rode with me bystream and wold,
Till ghosts, not men, fill old beloved places,
And ah! the land is rank with churchyard mould.
I wath them drift--the youthful aspirations
Shores, landmarks, beacons, drift alike! . . .
Yet overhead the boundless arch of heaven
Still fades to night, still blazes into day . . .
Ah God! my God! Thou wilt not drift away.
Kingsley.
Earth, we Christians praise thee thus,
Even for the Change that comes
With a grief from thee to us.
E. B. Browning.
Life's sorrows still fluctuate; God's love does not,
And His love is unchanged, when it changes our lot.
Lvtton
Man's yesterday may ne'er be like his morrow,
Nought may endure but mutability.
Shelley
All which is real now remaineth
And faileth never;
The hand which upholds it now, sustaineth
The soul for ever.
Whittier.
The Second Week In Advent
"In change unchanged"
"This same Jesus which is taken up from you into Heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into Heaven."--Acts1. 11.
*A Prayer for the Week*
Be present, O Merciful God, and protect us . . . so that we who are fatigued by the changes and chances of this fleeting world, may repose upon Thy eternal changelessness.
------------------------------
[012]
Saturday. Second Week in Advent.
In change unchanged.
We are changed into the same image, from glory to glory.--2 Cor, ill, 18.
O Lord, my heart is sick,
Sick of this everlasting Change;
And life runs tediously quick
Through its unresting race and varied range!
Change finds no likeness to itself in Thee,
And makes no echo in Thy mute eternity.
Faber.
All things must change
To something new, to sormething strange;
Nothing that is,can pause or stay,
The moon will wax, the moon will wane,
The mist and cloud will turn to rain,
The rain to mist and cloud again,
To-morrow be to-day.
Longfellow.
Oh that I once past changing were
Fast in Thy Paradise where no flower can wither!
Herbert.
Blame not life! it is scarce begun;
Blame not mankind! thyself art one;
And Change is holy, oh, blame it never!
Thy soul shall live by its changing ever;
Not the bubbling change of a stagnant pool,
But the change of a river, flowing and full;
Where all that is noble and good will grow
Mightier still as the full tides flow,
Till it joins the hidden, the boundless sea
Rolling theough depths of Eternity.
MacDonald.
But wherefore bring Change
To the spirit,
God meant should mate His with an infinite range,
And inherit
His power to put Life in the darkness and cold?
Browning.
------------------------------
[013]
Sunday.
In change, unchanged,
Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away.--Gospel For The Day.
All things are ever God's: the Shows of things
Are of man's nd warped with sin;--
God, and the things of God, immutable.
Allingham.
To-day's brief passion limits their range;
It seethes with the morrow for us;--and more
They are perfect--how else? They shall never change;
We are faulty--why not? We have time in store.
The Artificer's hand is not arrested
With us; we are rough-hewn, no-wise polished.
They stand for our copy, and, once invested
With all they can teach, we shall see them abolished.
Browning.
All things are passing!
God never changeth.
Santa Teresa.
Nothing, resting in its own completeness,
Can have worth or beauty; but alone
Because it leads and tends to farther sweetness
Fuller, higher, deeper, than its own.
Life is only bright when it proceedeth
Towards a truer, deeper Life above.
Human Love is sweetest when it leadeth
To a more divine and perfect Love.
Adelaide Procter.
Fool! all that is at all
Lasts ever, past recall!
Earth changes, but thy Soul and God stand sure;
What entered into thee,
*That* was, is, and shall be:
Time's wheel runs back or stops; Potter and clay endure.
Browning.
------------------------------
[014]
Monday. Second Week in Advent.
In change unchanged.
They shall perish; but Thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; and as a vesture shalt Thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but Thou art the same, and Thy years shall not fail.--Heb, i. 11, 12.
Lord, though we change, Thou art the same--
The same sweet God of love and light.
Herbert.
They drift away-- Ah, God! they drift for ever!
I watch the stream sweep onward to the sea
Like some old battered buoy upon a roaring river,
Round whom the tide-waifs hang--then drift to sea.
I watch them drift--thee old familiar faces
Who fished and rode with me bystream and wold,
Till ghosts, not men, fill old beloved places,
And ah! the land is rank with churchyard mould.
I wath them drift--the youthful aspirations
Shores, landmarks, beacons, drift alike! . . .
Yet overhead the boundless arch of heaven
Still fades to night, still blazes into day . . .
Ah God! my God! Thou wilt not drift away.
Kingsley.
Earth, we Christians praise thee thus,
Even for the Change that comes
With a grief from thee to us.
E. B. Browning.
Life's sorrows still fluctuate; God's love does not,
And His love is unchanged, when it changes our lot.
Lvtton
Man's yesterday may ne'er be like his morrow,
Nought may endure but mutability.
Shelley
All which is real now remaineth
And faileth never;
The hand which upholds it now, sustaineth
The soul for ever.
Whittier.
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May. 20, 2007
The Cloud of Witness pgs 8, and 9
[008]
God with us.
I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.--John X. 10.
Who did leave His Father's throne
To assume thy flesh and bone?
Had He life, or had He none?
If He had not lived for thee,
Thou hadst died most wretchedly
And two deaths had been thy fee.
Herbert.
The life of man is the knowledge of God. But this knowledge lives and moves. It is not a dead thing embalmed once for all in phrases.
Westcott.
Then haste Thee, Lord! Come down,
Take Thy great power and reign!
But frame Thee first a perfect crown
Of spirits freed from stain--
Souls mortal once, now match'd for evermore
With the immortal gems that form'd Thy wreath before.
Keble.
Not heralded by fire and storm,
In shadowy outline dimly seen,
Comes through the gloom a glorious form,
The once-despised Nazarene.
"Fear not, Beloved, thou art Mine,
For I have given My life for thee,
By name I call thee, rise and shine,
Be praise and glory unto Me!
Thy life is hid in God with Me,
I stoop to dwell within thy breast."
"My joy for ever Thou shalt be,
And in my love for Thee I rest!"
F. R. Havergal.
------------------------------
[009]
God with us.
He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.--John 1, 11.
Earth breaks up, time drops away,
In flows heaven with its new day
Of endless life, when He who trod,
Very Man and very God,
This earth in weakness, shame and pain,
Dying the death whose signs remain
Up yonder on the accursed tree,--
Shall come again, no more to be
Of captivity the thrall,
But the one God, All in All,
King of kings and Lord of lords;
As His servant John received the words,
"I died, and live for evermore."
Browning.
Advent through the cold dark air
Blows a shrill blast of warning, and the Night
Is wellnigh spent. Do thou and I beware
Lest the Judge come, and we, in Love's despite,
Be found with cruel hands rais'd up to smite
Our fellow servent!
Burgon.
O God, O kinsman, loved, but not enough!
O Man, with eyes majestic after death,
Whose feet have toiled along our pathway rough,
Whose lips drawn human breath;
By that one likeness which is ours and Thine,
By that one nature which doth hold us kin,
By that high heaven where sinless, Thou dost shine
To draw us sinners in;
Come! lest this heart should, cold and cast away,
Die ere the guest adored she entertain--
Lest eyes which never saw Thy earthly day
Should miss Thy heavenly reign!
Jean Ingelow.
God with us.
I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.--John X. 10.
Who did leave His Father's throne
To assume thy flesh and bone?
Had He life, or had He none?
If He had not lived for thee,
Thou hadst died most wretchedly
And two deaths had been thy fee.
Herbert.
The life of man is the knowledge of God. But this knowledge lives and moves. It is not a dead thing embalmed once for all in phrases.
Westcott.
Then haste Thee, Lord! Come down,
Take Thy great power and reign!
But frame Thee first a perfect crown
Of spirits freed from stain--
Souls mortal once, now match'd for evermore
With the immortal gems that form'd Thy wreath before.
Keble.
Not heralded by fire and storm,
In shadowy outline dimly seen,
Comes through the gloom a glorious form,
The once-despised Nazarene.
"Fear not, Beloved, thou art Mine,
For I have given My life for thee,
By name I call thee, rise and shine,
Be praise and glory unto Me!
Thy life is hid in God with Me,
I stoop to dwell within thy breast."
"My joy for ever Thou shalt be,
And in my love for Thee I rest!"
F. R. Havergal.
------------------------------
[009]
God with us.
He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.--John 1, 11.
Earth breaks up, time drops away,
In flows heaven with its new day
Of endless life, when He who trod,
Very Man and very God,
This earth in weakness, shame and pain,
Dying the death whose signs remain
Up yonder on the accursed tree,--
Shall come again, no more to be
Of captivity the thrall,
But the one God, All in All,
King of kings and Lord of lords;
As His servant John received the words,
"I died, and live for evermore."
Browning.
Advent through the cold dark air
Blows a shrill blast of warning, and the Night
Is wellnigh spent. Do thou and I beware
Lest the Judge come, and we, in Love's despite,
Be found with cruel hands rais'd up to smite
Our fellow servent!
Burgon.
O God, O kinsman, loved, but not enough!
O Man, with eyes majestic after death,
Whose feet have toiled along our pathway rough,
Whose lips drawn human breath;
By that one likeness which is ours and Thine,
By that one nature which doth hold us kin,
By that high heaven where sinless, Thou dost shine
To draw us sinners in;
Come! lest this heart should, cold and cast away,
Die ere the guest adored she entertain--
Lest eyes which never saw Thy earthly day
Should miss Thy heavenly reign!
Jean Ingelow.
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May. 20, 2007
The Cloud of Witness pg 6 and 7
[006]
Monday. First Week in Advent.
God with us.
Behold, the Brideguoom cometh; go ye out to meet Him.--Matt. XXV.6.
Thy care is fixed, and zealously attends
To fill thy odorous lamp with deeds of light.
And hope that reaps not shame. Therefore, be sure
Thou, when the Bridegroom with His feastful friends
Passes to bliss at the mid hour of night,
Hast gained thy entrance, Virgin wise and pure.
Milton.
He lifts me to the golden doors,
The flashes come and go;
All Heaven bursts her starry floors,
And straws her light below,
And deepens on and up! The gates
Roll back, and far within
For me the Heavenly Bridegroom waits,
To make me pure of sin.
The Sabbaths of Eternity!
One Sabbath deep and wide--
A light upon the shiming sea--
The Bridegroom and Hes bride!
Tennyson.
Faithful soul, prepare thy heart for this Bridegroom, that He may
vouchsafe to come unto thee, and to dwell within thee.
Thomas A. Kempis.
Oh! that Thy steps among the stars would quicken!
Oh! that Thine ears would hear when we are dumb!
Many the hearts from which the hope shall sicken,
Many shall faint before Thy kingdom come!
F. Myers.
------------------------------
[007]
Tuesday.
God with us.
I came down from heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him
that sent Me.--John VI, 38.
For judgment I am come into this world.--John IX, 39.
Oh quickly come, dread Judge of all;
For, awful though Thine advent be,
All shadows from the truth will fall,
And falsehood die, in sight of Thee.
Oh quickly come: for doubt and fear
Lide clouds dissolve when Thou art near.
Tuttiett.
We believe that Thou shalt come to be our Judge
The night is well nigh spent: the world fulfils
Her season--on the everlasting hills
Bright burns the day-star! Yet a little more
And all that lets will be for ever o'er! . . .
Wake while ye may--or sleep for evermore!
The great Judge stands already at the door.
What? will ye slumber till the day of doom
Dispels your darkness? Must the dull, cold tomb,
More quick to hear, more keen to feel, than you,
Yield up its dead, to prove the warning true?
Burgon.
Great God! what do I see and hear,
The end of things created,
The Judge of all men doth appear,
On clouds of glory seated.
The trumpet sounds, the graves restore
The dead which they contained before:--
Prepare, my soul, to meet Him!
Great Judge! to Thee our prayers we pour,
In deep abasement bending;
O shield us through that last dread hour,
Thy wondrous love extending!
May we, in this our trial day,
With faithful hearts Thy word obey,
And thus prepare to meet Thee!
Trans. from Luther.
Monday. First Week in Advent.
God with us.
Behold, the Brideguoom cometh; go ye out to meet Him.--Matt. XXV.6.
Thy care is fixed, and zealously attends
To fill thy odorous lamp with deeds of light.
And hope that reaps not shame. Therefore, be sure
Thou, when the Bridegroom with His feastful friends
Passes to bliss at the mid hour of night,
Hast gained thy entrance, Virgin wise and pure.
Milton.
He lifts me to the golden doors,
The flashes come and go;
All Heaven bursts her starry floors,
And straws her light below,
And deepens on and up! The gates
Roll back, and far within
For me the Heavenly Bridegroom waits,
To make me pure of sin.
The Sabbaths of Eternity!
One Sabbath deep and wide--
A light upon the shiming sea--
The Bridegroom and Hes bride!
Tennyson.
Faithful soul, prepare thy heart for this Bridegroom, that He may
vouchsafe to come unto thee, and to dwell within thee.
Thomas A. Kempis.
Oh! that Thy steps among the stars would quicken!
Oh! that Thine ears would hear when we are dumb!
Many the hearts from which the hope shall sicken,
Many shall faint before Thy kingdom come!
F. Myers.
------------------------------
[007]
Tuesday.
God with us.
I came down from heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him
that sent Me.--John VI, 38.
For judgment I am come into this world.--John IX, 39.
Oh quickly come, dread Judge of all;
For, awful though Thine advent be,
All shadows from the truth will fall,
And falsehood die, in sight of Thee.
Oh quickly come: for doubt and fear
Lide clouds dissolve when Thou art near.
Tuttiett.
We believe that Thou shalt come to be our Judge
The night is well nigh spent: the world fulfils
Her season--on the everlasting hills
Bright burns the day-star! Yet a little more
And all that lets will be for ever o'er! . . .
Wake while ye may--or sleep for evermore!
The great Judge stands already at the door.
What? will ye slumber till the day of doom
Dispels your darkness? Must the dull, cold tomb,
More quick to hear, more keen to feel, than you,
Yield up its dead, to prove the warning true?
Burgon.
Great God! what do I see and hear,
The end of things created,
The Judge of all men doth appear,
On clouds of glory seated.
The trumpet sounds, the graves restore
The dead which they contained before:--
Prepare, my soul, to meet Him!
Great Judge! to Thee our prayers we pour,
In deep abasement bending;
O shield us through that last dread hour,
Thy wondrous love extending!
May we, in this our trial day,
With faithful hearts Thy word obey,
And thus prepare to meet Thee!
Trans. from Luther.
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May. 14, 2007
The Cloud of Witness pg 5
[005]
Advent Sunday.
God with us.
Behold, thy King cometh to thee.--Gospel For The Day.
Hark! what a sound, and too divine for hearing,
Stirs on the earth and trembles in the air?
Is it the thunder of the Lord's appearing?
Is it the music of His people's prayer!
Surely He cometh, and a thousand voeces
Shout to the saints and to the deaf are dumb!
Surely He cometh, and the earth rejoices,
Glad in His coming, Who hath sworn,"I come!"
F. Myers.
Thou art coming, O my Saviour!
Thou art coming, O my King!
In Thy beauty all resplendent,
In Thy glory all transcendent;
Well may we rejoice and sing!
Coming! in the opening east
Herald brightmess slowly swells,
Coming! O my glorious Priest,
Hear we not Thy golden bells?
F. R. Havergal.
Oh, quickly come, great King of all,
Reign all around us and within!
Let sin no more our hearts enthral,
Let pain and sorrow die with sin!
Oh, quickly come, for Thou alone
Can'st make Thy scatter'd people one!
Tuttiett.
Surely the time is short,
Endless the task and art,
To brighten for the ethereal court
A soil'd earth-drudging heart;
But He, the dread Proclaimer of that hour,
Is pledged to thee in Love as to thy foes in Power.
Keble.
Advent Sunday.
God with us.
Behold, thy King cometh to thee.--Gospel For The Day.
Hark! what a sound, and too divine for hearing,
Stirs on the earth and trembles in the air?
Is it the thunder of the Lord's appearing?
Is it the music of His people's prayer!
Surely He cometh, and a thousand voeces
Shout to the saints and to the deaf are dumb!
Surely He cometh, and the earth rejoices,
Glad in His coming, Who hath sworn,"I come!"
F. Myers.
Thou art coming, O my Saviour!
Thou art coming, O my King!
In Thy beauty all resplendent,
In Thy glory all transcendent;
Well may we rejoice and sing!
Coming! in the opening east
Herald brightmess slowly swells,
Coming! O my glorious Priest,
Hear we not Thy golden bells?
F. R. Havergal.
Oh, quickly come, great King of all,
Reign all around us and within!
Let sin no more our hearts enthral,
Let pain and sorrow die with sin!
Oh, quickly come, for Thou alone
Can'st make Thy scatter'd people one!
Tuttiett.
Surely the time is short,
Endless the task and art,
To brighten for the ethereal court
A soil'd earth-drudging heart;
But He, the dread Proclaimer of that hour,
Is pledged to thee in Love as to thy foes in Power.
Keble.
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May. 11, 2007
Fragonard Gets With the Times
I think it's admirable when classic artists don't allow themselves to get stuck in tradition, but stay relevant by keeping in step with current trends.
(OK, so it wasn't really Fragonard's idea; I synced his painting "Girl Reading" with a commercial photo of my PDA, and I combined the two images, blending the edges pixel by pixel in MSPaint)
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May. 11, 2007
The Cloud of Witness pg 4
Starting the book from the beginning . . .
[4]
Advent Eve. First Week in Advent.
God with us.
Watch ye; for ye know not when the Master of the house cometh, at even,
or at midnight, or at the cock-crowing, or in the morning: lest coming
suddenly He find you sleeping,--Mark XIII. 35,36.
Lo! as come venturer, from his stars receiving
Promise and presage of sublime emprize,
Wears evermore the seal of his believing
Deep in the dark of solitary eyes,--
So even I, and with a heart more burning,
So, even I, and with a hope more sweet,
Groan for the hour, O Christ, of Thy returning,
Faint for the flaming of Thine Advent feet.
F. Myers.
It may be in the evening,
When the work of the day is done,
And you have time to sit in the twilight,
And watch the sinking sun,
While the long bright day dies slowly
Over the sea,
And the hour grows quiet and holy
With thoughts of Me;
While you hear the village children
Passing along the street--
Among those thronging footsteps
May come the sound of My feet.
Therefore I tell you, Watch!
By the light of the evening star
When the moon is growing dusky
As the clouds afar,
Let the door be on the latch
In your home,
For it may be through the gloaming
I will come.
B. M.
The Master is come, and calleth for thee.
John XI. 28.
[4]
Advent Eve. First Week in Advent.
God with us.
Watch ye; for ye know not when the Master of the house cometh, at even,
or at midnight, or at the cock-crowing, or in the morning: lest coming
suddenly He find you sleeping,--Mark XIII. 35,36.
Lo! as come venturer, from his stars receiving
Promise and presage of sublime emprize,
Wears evermore the seal of his believing
Deep in the dark of solitary eyes,--
So even I, and with a heart more burning,
So, even I, and with a hope more sweet,
Groan for the hour, O Christ, of Thy returning,
Faint for the flaming of Thine Advent feet.
F. Myers.
It may be in the evening,
When the work of the day is done,
And you have time to sit in the twilight,
And watch the sinking sun,
While the long bright day dies slowly
Over the sea,
And the hour grows quiet and holy
With thoughts of Me;
While you hear the village children
Passing along the street--
Among those thronging footsteps
May come the sound of My feet.
Therefore I tell you, Watch!
By the light of the evening star
When the moon is growing dusky
As the clouds afar,
Let the door be on the latch
In your home,
For it may be through the gloaming
I will come.
B. M.
The Master is come, and calleth for thee.
John XI. 28.
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May. 10, 2007
Threat to Internet Radio
I love internet radio, I have it on most of the day to my favorite classical radio station.
But internet radio is under a threat.
"Recently the Copyright Royalty Board announced new royalty rates for streaming sound recordings of music over the Internet. The new rates are much higher than before and threaten to shut many webcasters down as soon as July 15th when the rates go into effect . . . . If you want to weigh in on this issue, contact your congressman and ask him or her to co-sponsor H.R. 2060." Read more here.
But internet radio is under a threat.
"Recently the Copyright Royalty Board announced new royalty rates for streaming sound recordings of music over the Internet. The new rates are much higher than before and threaten to shut many webcasters down as soon as July 15th when the rates go into effect . . . . If you want to weigh in on this issue, contact your congressman and ask him or her to co-sponsor H.R. 2060." Read more here.
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May. 7, 2007
The Cloud of Witness pgs 533, 534
These are the last two entries for this devotional; now it will be a matter of filling in the first 300 pages of the book so it will be complete (I din't start at the beginning, but somewhere in the middle!)
[533]
Entry into Rest.
I, even I, am He that comforteth you,--Isaiah LL.12.
When some beloved Voice that was to you
Both sound and sweetness, faileth suddenly,
And silence, against which you dare not cry,
Aches round you like a strong disease and new,--
What hope? what help? what music will undo
That silence to your sense? Not friendship's sigh,
Not reason's subtle count . . . Nay, none of these!--
Speak Thou! availing Christ!--and fill this pause.
E. B. Browning.
When our beloved rise
To gird them for the ford, and pass
From wilderness to springing grass,
From barren waste to living green,--
We weep that they no more are seen,
And that the River flows between.
Ah, could we follow where they go,
And pierce the holy shade they find,--
One grief were ours--to join the Blest Unseen!--
To plant our steps where theirs have been
And find no River flows between!
C. Fraser Tytler.
Why then their loss deplore, that are not lost?
They live! they greatly live a life on earth
Unkindled,unconceived; and from an eye
Of tenderness let heavenly pity fall
On me, more justly numbered with the Dead!
But why more woe? More comfort let it be!
Nothing is dead--but that which wish'd to die;
Nothing is dead--but wretchedness and pain;
Nothing is dead--but what encumber'd, gall'd,
Block'd up the pass, and barr'd from real Life.
Young.
I bless thee for the wonder of Thy mercy.
Which sortineth the Mystery and the Parting!
Buchanan.
---------------------------------
[534]
Entry into Rest.
The Souls of the Righteous are in the hand of God.
Wisdom 111.1.
Brother! Thou art gone before us,
And thy saintly soul is flown
Where tears are wiped fram every eye,
And Sorrow is unknown;--
From the burden of the flesh
And from care and fear released,
Where the Wicked cease from troubling,
And the Weary are at rest!
Sin can never taint thee now,
Nor Doubt thy Faith assail,
Nor thy meek trust in Jesus Christ
And the Holy Spirit fail;
And there thou'rt sure to meet the Good
Whom on earth thou lovedst best,--
Where the Wicked cease from troubling,
And the Weary are at rest!
*Earth to Earth and Dust to Dust*
The solemn priest hath said;
So we lay the turf above Thee now,
And we seal thy narrow bed;
But thy Spirit, brother, soars away
Among the faithful blest--
Where the Wicked cease from troubling,
And the Weary are at rest!
And when the Lord shall summon us,
Whom thou hast left behind,
May we, untainted by the world,
As sure a welcome find!
May each, like Thee depart in peace,
To be a glorious guest--
Where the Wicked cease from troubling,
And the Weary are at rest!
Milman.
Well done, Good and Faithful Servant! . . .
Enter thou into the Joy of thy Lord!
The End
[533]
Entry into Rest.
I, even I, am He that comforteth you,--Isaiah LL.12.
When some beloved Voice that was to you
Both sound and sweetness, faileth suddenly,
And silence, against which you dare not cry,
Aches round you like a strong disease and new,--
What hope? what help? what music will undo
That silence to your sense? Not friendship's sigh,
Not reason's subtle count . . . Nay, none of these!--
Speak Thou! availing Christ!--and fill this pause.
E. B. Browning.
When our beloved rise
To gird them for the ford, and pass
From wilderness to springing grass,
From barren waste to living green,--
We weep that they no more are seen,
And that the River flows between.
Ah, could we follow where they go,
And pierce the holy shade they find,--
One grief were ours--to join the Blest Unseen!--
To plant our steps where theirs have been
And find no River flows between!
C. Fraser Tytler.
Why then their loss deplore, that are not lost?
They live! they greatly live a life on earth
Unkindled,unconceived; and from an eye
Of tenderness let heavenly pity fall
On me, more justly numbered with the Dead!
But why more woe? More comfort let it be!
Nothing is dead--but that which wish'd to die;
Nothing is dead--but wretchedness and pain;
Nothing is dead--but what encumber'd, gall'd,
Block'd up the pass, and barr'd from real Life.
Young.
I bless thee for the wonder of Thy mercy.
Which sortineth the Mystery and the Parting!
Buchanan.
---------------------------------
[534]
Entry into Rest.
The Souls of the Righteous are in the hand of God.
Wisdom 111.1.
Brother! Thou art gone before us,
And thy saintly soul is flown
Where tears are wiped fram every eye,
And Sorrow is unknown;--
From the burden of the flesh
And from care and fear released,
Where the Wicked cease from troubling,
And the Weary are at rest!
Sin can never taint thee now,
Nor Doubt thy Faith assail,
Nor thy meek trust in Jesus Christ
And the Holy Spirit fail;
And there thou'rt sure to meet the Good
Whom on earth thou lovedst best,--
Where the Wicked cease from troubling,
And the Weary are at rest!
*Earth to Earth and Dust to Dust*
The solemn priest hath said;
So we lay the turf above Thee now,
And we seal thy narrow bed;
But thy Spirit, brother, soars away
Among the faithful blest--
Where the Wicked cease from troubling,
And the Weary are at rest!
And when the Lord shall summon us,
Whom thou hast left behind,
May we, untainted by the world,
As sure a welcome find!
May each, like Thee depart in peace,
To be a glorious guest--
Where the Wicked cease from troubling,
And the Weary are at rest!
Milman.
Well done, Good and Faithful Servant! . . .
Enter thou into the Joy of thy Lord!
The End
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May. 7, 2007
The Cloud of Witness pg 532
[532]
Entry into Rest.
Blessed are they which are called unto the Marriage supper of the Lamb!--Rev,
XIX ,9.
Heaven gives us friends to bless the present scene,
Resumes them to prepare us for the next
Young.
He wakes or sleeps with the enduring Dead;
Thou canst not soar where he is sitting now.
Dust to the dust! But the pure Spirit shall flow
Back to the burning fountain whence it came,--
A portion of the Eternal, which must glow
Through Time and Change, unquenchably the same,
Whilst thy cold embers choke the sordid hearth of shame!
Peace, peace! He is not dead,--he doth not sleep!
He hath awakened from the Dream of Life--
'Tis we, who, lost in stormy visions, keep
With phantoms an unprofitable strife!--
And in mad trance strike with our spirit's knife
Invulnerable Nothings!--*We* decay
Like corpses in a charnel;--Fear and Grief
Convulse us and consume us day by day,
And cold hopes swarm like worms within our living clay!
He has outsoared the Shadow of our Night;
Envy and Calumny, and Hate and Pain,
And that Unrest, which men miscall Delight,
Can touch him not, and torture not again.--
From the contagion of the world's slow stain
He is secure;--and now can never mourn
A heart grown cold, a head grown grey in vain;
Nor, when the Spirit's self has ceased to burn,
With sparkless ashes load an unlamented urn!
Shelley.
Sweeter far is Death than Life to me that long to go.
Tennyson.
All the Souls of those that die
Are but sunbeams lifted higher!
Longfellow.
Entry into Rest.
Blessed are they which are called unto the Marriage supper of the Lamb!--Rev,
XIX ,9.
Heaven gives us friends to bless the present scene,
Resumes them to prepare us for the next
Young.
He wakes or sleeps with the enduring Dead;
Thou canst not soar where he is sitting now.
Dust to the dust! But the pure Spirit shall flow
Back to the burning fountain whence it came,--
A portion of the Eternal, which must glow
Through Time and Change, unquenchably the same,
Whilst thy cold embers choke the sordid hearth of shame!
Peace, peace! He is not dead,--he doth not sleep!
He hath awakened from the Dream of Life--
'Tis we, who, lost in stormy visions, keep
With phantoms an unprofitable strife!--
And in mad trance strike with our spirit's knife
Invulnerable Nothings!--*We* decay
Like corpses in a charnel;--Fear and Grief
Convulse us and consume us day by day,
And cold hopes swarm like worms within our living clay!
He has outsoared the Shadow of our Night;
Envy and Calumny, and Hate and Pain,
And that Unrest, which men miscall Delight,
Can touch him not, and torture not again.--
From the contagion of the world's slow stain
He is secure;--and now can never mourn
A heart grown cold, a head grown grey in vain;
Nor, when the Spirit's self has ceased to burn,
With sparkless ashes load an unlamented urn!
Shelley.
Sweeter far is Death than Life to me that long to go.
Tennyson.
All the Souls of those that die
Are but sunbeams lifted higher!
Longfellow.
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Apr. 30, 2007
The Cloud of Witness pg 531
Another page typed by my son. This one needed less proofreading. :)
[531]
Entry into Rest.
"Lord, if Thou hadst been here, my brother had not died." . .
"Whosoever liveth and believeth on Me shall never die."--John XL 21-26
Weep not, my friends! rather rejoice with me!
I shall not feel the pain, but shall be gone,
And you will have another friend in Heaven.
Then start not at the creaking of the door
Through which I pass! I see what lies beyond it!
Longfellow.
Oh, what were Life, if Life were all! Thine eyes
Are blinded by their tears, or thou wouldst see
Thy tresures wait thee in the far-off skies,
And Death, thy Friend, will give them all to thee!
A. Procter.
Loss is nothing else that change. Things are changed this way, it is true, but they do not perish.
Marcus Aurelius.
Rue not my Death! rejoice at my repose!
It was no Death to me,--but to my woe;--
The bud was open'd to let out the rose,--
The chains unloosed to let the captive go.
Southwell.
How must a Spirit late escap'd from earth--
The truth of things new blazing in its eye,
Look back astonished on the ways of men!--
He mourns the Dead, who lives as they desire.
Young.
I see them muster in a gleaming row
With ever youthful brows that nobler show;
We find in our dull road their shining track;
In every nobler mood
We feel the orient of their spirit glow,--
Part of our life's unlterable good,
Of all our saintlier asperation;
They come transfigured back
Secure from change in their high-hearted ways,
Beautiful evermore!--and with the rays
Of morn on their shields of Expectation!
Lowell.
[531]
Entry into Rest.
"Lord, if Thou hadst been here, my brother had not died." . .
"Whosoever liveth and believeth on Me shall never die."--John XL 21-26
Weep not, my friends! rather rejoice with me!
I shall not feel the pain, but shall be gone,
And you will have another friend in Heaven.
Then start not at the creaking of the door
Through which I pass! I see what lies beyond it!
Longfellow.
Oh, what were Life, if Life were all! Thine eyes
Are blinded by their tears, or thou wouldst see
Thy tresures wait thee in the far-off skies,
And Death, thy Friend, will give them all to thee!
A. Procter.
Loss is nothing else that change. Things are changed this way, it is true, but they do not perish.
Marcus Aurelius.
Rue not my Death! rejoice at my repose!
It was no Death to me,--but to my woe;--
The bud was open'd to let out the rose,--
The chains unloosed to let the captive go.
Southwell.
How must a Spirit late escap'd from earth--
The truth of things new blazing in its eye,
Look back astonished on the ways of men!--
He mourns the Dead, who lives as they desire.
Young.
I see them muster in a gleaming row
With ever youthful brows that nobler show;
We find in our dull road their shining track;
In every nobler mood
We feel the orient of their spirit glow,--
Part of our life's unlterable good,
Of all our saintlier asperation;
They come transfigured back
Secure from change in their high-hearted ways,
Beautiful evermore!--and with the rays
Of morn on their shields of Expectation!
Lowell.
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Apr. 28, 2007
The Cloud of Witness pg 530
I guess I kind of abandoned this project. I just got tired of it. But my son just passed his online typing course and, for practice, he's going to start typing a page a day. Here's his first page, proofread by Mom:
[530]
The Hour of Death.
Entry into Rest.
The Lord hath need of them.--Matt, XXI, 3
But to reach out empty arms is surely dreadful,
And to feel the hollow empty world is awful;
And bitter grow the silence and the distance!
Buchanan.
There is no Death! What seems so is transition;
This Life of mortal breath
Is but a suburb of the Life Elysian
Whose portal we call Death.
She is not dead--the child of ouf affection,--
But gone unto that school,
Where she no longer needs our poor protection,
And Christ Himself doth rule.
In that great cloister's Stillness and Seclusion,
By guardian Angels led,
Safe from Temptation, safe from Sin's pollution,
She lives! whom we call *dead*.
Longfellow.
The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away.
"God lent him and takes him" you sigh;
Nay, there let me break with your pain:
God's generous in giving, say I--
And the thing which He gives, I deny
That He ever can taken back again.
He gives what He gives! Be content!
He resumes nothing given--be sure!
God lend?--Where the usurers lent
In His temple, indignant He went,
And scourged away all those impure.
He lends not;--but gives to the end,
As He loves to the end! If it seem
That He draws back a gift, comprehend
'Tis to add to it rather;--amend,--
And finish it, up to your dream.
E. B. Browning.
As is the Heavenly, such are they also that are Heavenly.
1Cor. XV,48
[530]
The Hour of Death.
Entry into Rest.
The Lord hath need of them.--Matt, XXI, 3
But to reach out empty arms is surely dreadful,
And to feel the hollow empty world is awful;
And bitter grow the silence and the distance!
Buchanan.
There is no Death! What seems so is transition;
This Life of mortal breath
Is but a suburb of the Life Elysian
Whose portal we call Death.
She is not dead--the child of ouf affection,--
But gone unto that school,
Where she no longer needs our poor protection,
And Christ Himself doth rule.
In that great cloister's Stillness and Seclusion,
By guardian Angels led,
Safe from Temptation, safe from Sin's pollution,
She lives! whom we call *dead*.
Longfellow.
The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away.
"God lent him and takes him" you sigh;
Nay, there let me break with your pain:
God's generous in giving, say I--
And the thing which He gives, I deny
That He ever can taken back again.
He gives what He gives! Be content!
He resumes nothing given--be sure!
God lend?--Where the usurers lent
In His temple, indignant He went,
And scourged away all those impure.
He lends not;--but gives to the end,
As He loves to the end! If it seem
That He draws back a gift, comprehend
'Tis to add to it rather;--amend,--
And finish it, up to your dream.
E. B. Browning.
As is the Heavenly, such are they also that are Heavenly.
1Cor. XV,48
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Apr. 6, 2007
Come Ye Disconsolate
We're reading Little Women - actually, we're listening to the audio book, and we're near the end of Book 2, which isn't Little Women, but Good Wives. Chapter 20 says,
"But [Amy] did show something better than brilliancy or skill, for she sang Beth's songs with a tender music in her voice which the best master could not have taught, and touched the listener's hearts with a sweeter power than any other inspiration could have given her. The room was very still, when the clear voice failed suddenly at the last line of Beth's favorite hymn. It was hard to say, 'Earth hath no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.'"
I was curious, so I looked up those words and it led to a poem by Thomas More, which was altered to make it suitable as a hymn. Here are the lyrics, and the MIDI tune is here.
Come Ye Disconsolate
Come, ye disconsolate, where’er ye languish,
Come to the mercy seat, fervently kneel.
Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish;
Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.
Joy of the desolate, light of the straying,
Hope of the penitent, fadeless and pure!
Here speaks the Comforter, tenderly saying,
“Earth has no sorrow that Heaven cannot cure.”
Here see the Bread of Life, see waters flowing
Forth from the throne of God, pure from above.
Come to the feast of love; come, ever knowing
Earth has no sorrow but heaven can remove.
"But [Amy] did show something better than brilliancy or skill, for she sang Beth's songs with a tender music in her voice which the best master could not have taught, and touched the listener's hearts with a sweeter power than any other inspiration could have given her. The room was very still, when the clear voice failed suddenly at the last line of Beth's favorite hymn. It was hard to say, 'Earth hath no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.'"
I was curious, so I looked up those words and it led to a poem by Thomas More, which was altered to make it suitable as a hymn. Here are the lyrics, and the MIDI tune is here.
Come Ye Disconsolate
Come, ye disconsolate, where’er ye languish,
Come to the mercy seat, fervently kneel.
Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish;
Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.
Joy of the desolate, light of the straying,
Hope of the penitent, fadeless and pure!
Here speaks the Comforter, tenderly saying,
“Earth has no sorrow that Heaven cannot cure.”
Here see the Bread of Life, see waters flowing
Forth from the throne of God, pure from above.
Come to the feast of love; come, ever knowing
Earth has no sorrow but heaven can remove.
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Jan. 13, 2007
The Cloud of Witness 523, 524 Death
[523]
The Hour of Death
"Entry into Rest"
"Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, Iwill fear no
evil, for Thou art with me."
Prayer
O Lord God most Holy! O Lord most Mighty! O Holy and most merciful Savior! deliver us not into the bitter pains of Eternal Death! Thou knowest, Lord, the secrets of our hearts; shut not Thy merciful ears to our prayer! but spare us, Lord most Holy, O God most mighty, O Holy and Merciful Saviour, Thou most worthy Judge eternal!--suffer us not at our last hour for any pains of death to fall from Thee.
---------------------------------
[524]
Entry into rest.
The Master is come, and calleth for Thee.--John xi. 28.
Come to the Land of peace!
Come where the tempest hath no longer sway,--
The shadow passes from the soul away--
The sounds of weeping cease!
Fear hath no dwelling there.
Come to the mingling of repose and Love,
Breathed by the silent Spirit of the dove
Through the celestial air!...
In thy divine abode,
Change finds no pathway, memory no dark trace,
And oh! bright victory--Death by Love no place!
Come, Spirit, to Thy God!
F. Hemans.
When Heaven bids come, who can say no?
Heaven calls her--and she must away!
Heaven will not,--and she cannot stay!
Crashaw.
With the patriarch's joy,
Thy call I follow to the Land Unknown;
I trust in Thee, and know in Whom I trust;
Or life, or death is equal; neither weighs!
All weight in this--Oh let me live to Thee!
Young.
There are things
Known but to God and to the parting soul,
Which feels his thrilling summons.
F. Hermans.
Never weather-beaten sail more willing bent to shore--
Never tired pilgrim's limbs affected slumber more,--
Thank my wearied sprite now longs to fly out of my troubled breast.--
Oh come quickly, sweetest Lord! and take my soul to rest!
Campion.
If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there ye may be also. John xiv. 3.
The Hour of Death
"Entry into Rest"
"Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, Iwill fear no
evil, for Thou art with me."
Prayer
O Lord God most Holy! O Lord most Mighty! O Holy and most merciful Savior! deliver us not into the bitter pains of Eternal Death! Thou knowest, Lord, the secrets of our hearts; shut not Thy merciful ears to our prayer! but spare us, Lord most Holy, O God most mighty, O Holy and Merciful Saviour, Thou most worthy Judge eternal!--suffer us not at our last hour for any pains of death to fall from Thee.
---------------------------------
[524]
Entry into rest.
The Master is come, and calleth for Thee.--John xi. 28.
Come to the Land of peace!
Come where the tempest hath no longer sway,--
The shadow passes from the soul away--
The sounds of weeping cease!
Fear hath no dwelling there.
Come to the mingling of repose and Love,
Breathed by the silent Spirit of the dove
Through the celestial air!...
In thy divine abode,
Change finds no pathway, memory no dark trace,
And oh! bright victory--Death by Love no place!
Come, Spirit, to Thy God!
F. Hemans.
When Heaven bids come, who can say no?
Heaven calls her--and she must away!
Heaven will not,--and she cannot stay!
Crashaw.
With the patriarch's joy,
Thy call I follow to the Land Unknown;
I trust in Thee, and know in Whom I trust;
Or life, or death is equal; neither weighs!
All weight in this--Oh let me live to Thee!
Young.
There are things
Known but to God and to the parting soul,
Which feels his thrilling summons.
F. Hermans.
Never weather-beaten sail more willing bent to shore--
Never tired pilgrim's limbs affected slumber more,--
Thank my wearied sprite now longs to fly out of my troubled breast.--
Oh come quickly, sweetest Lord! and take my soul to rest!
Campion.
If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there ye may be also. John xiv. 3.
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Jan. 9, 2007
Picture
This is Miss M. I'm not sure why this was in my photo folder, I posted it to my blog six months ago before we had folders to upload photos to, but I resized it to make it smaller and now I don't know where it's supposed to go. 
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Jan. 9, 2007
Snow Day!
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Jan. 8, 2007
God is Like . . .
Miss M, age three, wanted me to read her a book. She picked it (the Little Golden Book of Prayers) and sat down and said, "No, I'll read it. First you read it." So I did, and then it was her turn. She opened the book and began:
"This girl is praying, and there's a very dangerous . . ." (I could see her grasping for the most dangerous thing she could come up with) "a TABLE!" I guess it's early, the cobwebs still aren't all out yet. Next page. "God is like . . . a butterfly."
This reminds me of people who won't believe in the God of the Bible because "a loving God wouldn't . . ." or "I just don't think God could . . ." or "I just don't see how a merciful God would . . ." So instead, they make up their concept of God. I'm involved with a secular egroup, and some of the things I hear about God make me shake my head and wonder where people come up with some of their ideas about God! I googled the phrase "I think God is like" and here are some I found:
I think God is like abstract art.
I think god is like Yoda.
I think God is like the fiery yellow-orange-red power that comes out of the big explosion they call the Big Bang.
I think God is like a little kid, fascinated by this new toy he has: a little doll house with little dolls that he can play with. No real implications, no consequences for what he does with these dolls, whether that be playing dress-ups or throwing them in the bin when they get ragged and worn out.
I think God is like my kitten. I love my kitten, but she isn’t real anymore.
And then Miss M's "I think God is like a butterfly."
And then I found this, which is the truth:
"It doesn't really matter what I think God is like. What matters is what is He really like."
"This girl is praying, and there's a very dangerous . . ." (I could see her grasping for the most dangerous thing she could come up with) "a TABLE!" I guess it's early, the cobwebs still aren't all out yet. Next page. "God is like . . . a butterfly."
This reminds me of people who won't believe in the God of the Bible because "a loving God wouldn't . . ." or "I just don't think God could . . ." or "I just don't see how a merciful God would . . ." So instead, they make up their concept of God. I'm involved with a secular egroup, and some of the things I hear about God make me shake my head and wonder where people come up with some of their ideas about God! I googled the phrase "I think God is like" and here are some I found:
I think God is like abstract art.
I think god is like Yoda.
I think God is like the fiery yellow-orange-red power that comes out of the big explosion they call the Big Bang.
I think God is like a little kid, fascinated by this new toy he has: a little doll house with little dolls that he can play with. No real implications, no consequences for what he does with these dolls, whether that be playing dress-ups or throwing them in the bin when they get ragged and worn out.
I think God is like my kitten. I love my kitten, but she isn’t real anymore.
And then Miss M's "I think God is like a butterfly."
And then I found this, which is the truth:
"It doesn't really matter what I think God is like. What matters is what is He really like."
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Jan. 8, 2007
The Cloud of Witness 522 Convalescence
I'm going to be slowing down on these--pressuring myself to type a page a day of this is getting to be tedious and more than I want to have on my plate. I have a dozen more pages til I get to the end of the book, but I never did the first 350 pages, so there's plenty more when I feel the need to take on another project. :)
[522]
Convalescence.
I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord!--Psalm cxviii. 17.
Spirits! that round the sick man's bed
Watch'd, noting down each Prayer he made,
Were your unerring roll displayed,
The pride of health t' abase . . .
How should we gaze in trance of fear!
Keble.
Teach me to live! 'Tis easier far to die--
Gently and silently to pass away--
On earth's long Night to close the heavy eye,
And awaken in the glorious realms of Day!
Teach me that a harder lesson---how to live,
To serve Thee in the darkest paths of life:
Arm me for conflict now, fresh vigour give,
And make me more than Conqueror in the strife!
Teach me to live Thy purpose to fulfil!
Bright for Thy glory let my taper shine!
Each day renew, remould this stubborn will!
Closer round Thee my heart's affections twine!
Teach me to live, and find my life in Thee,
Looking from earth and earthly things away;
Let me not falter, but untiringly
Press on, and gain new strength and power each day.
Teach me to live! with kindly words for all,
Wearing no cold, repulsive brow of gloom,--
Waiting with cheerful patience till Thy call
Summons my spirit to her heavenly home!
Although this present life be burdensome to our feelings, it is now by Thy Grace made very gainful.
Thos. A Kempis.
To have suffered much is like knowing many languages. You have learnt to understand all, and to make yourself intelligible to all.
Whether I live, I live unto the Lord, or whether I die, I die unto the Lord.
[522]
Convalescence.
I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord!--Psalm cxviii. 17.
Spirits! that round the sick man's bed
Watch'd, noting down each Prayer he made,
Were your unerring roll displayed,
The pride of health t' abase . . .
How should we gaze in trance of fear!
Keble.
Teach me to live! 'Tis easier far to die--
Gently and silently to pass away--
On earth's long Night to close the heavy eye,
And awaken in the glorious realms of Day!
Teach me that a harder lesson---how to live,
To serve Thee in the darkest paths of life:
Arm me for conflict now, fresh vigour give,
And make me more than Conqueror in the strife!
Teach me to live Thy purpose to fulfil!
Bright for Thy glory let my taper shine!
Each day renew, remould this stubborn will!
Closer round Thee my heart's affections twine!
Teach me to live, and find my life in Thee,
Looking from earth and earthly things away;
Let me not falter, but untiringly
Press on, and gain new strength and power each day.
Teach me to live! with kindly words for all,
Wearing no cold, repulsive brow of gloom,--
Waiting with cheerful patience till Thy call
Summons my spirit to her heavenly home!
Although this present life be burdensome to our feelings, it is now by Thy Grace made very gainful.
Thos. A Kempis.
To have suffered much is like knowing many languages. You have learnt to understand all, and to make yourself intelligible to all.
Whether I live, I live unto the Lord, or whether I die, I die unto the Lord.
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Jan. 6, 2007
The Cloud of Witness 521 Convalescence
[521]
Convalescence.
. . . of Suffering.
This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God.--John xi. 4.
The day is over, the feverish careful day;
Can I recover Strength that has ebbed away?
Can even sleep such freshness give, that I again should wish to live?
Let me lie down! No more I seek to have
A heavenly crown: Give me a quiet grave;
Release and not reward, I ask--too hard for me
Life's daily task.
T. T. Lynch.
Not now my child!--a little more rough tossing,
A little longer on the billow's foam,
A few more journeyings in the desert darkness--
And then the sunshine of thy Father's home!
Not now!--for I have wanderers in the distance,
And thou must call them in with patient love;
Not now!--for I have sheep upon the mountains,
And thou must follow them where'er they rove.
Not now!--for I have loved ones, sad and weary:--
Wilt thou not cheer them with a kindly smile?
Sick ones who need thee in their lonely sorrow:--
Wilt thou not tend them yet a little while?
C. P.
May Heaven ne'er trust my friend with happiness,
Till it has taught him how to bear it well
By previous pain.
Young.
Back then once more to breast the wave of Life,
To battle on against the unceasing spray,
To sink o'erwearied in the stormy strife,
And rise to strife again! Yet on my way,
Oh! linger still, thou light of better day,
Born in the hours of loneliness!--And you,
Ye child-like Thoughts, the holy and the true,
Ye that came bearing, (while subdued I lay),--
The faith,--the insight of Life's vernal morn,--
Back on my soul,--a clear bright sense, new-born,--
Now leave me not!
Felicia Hemans.
Convalescence.
. . . of Suffering.
This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God.--John xi. 4.
The day is over, the feverish careful day;
Can I recover Strength that has ebbed away?
Can even sleep such freshness give, that I again should wish to live?
Let me lie down! No more I seek to have
A heavenly crown: Give me a quiet grave;
Release and not reward, I ask--too hard for me
Life's daily task.
T. T. Lynch.
Not now my child!--a little more rough tossing,
A little longer on the billow's foam,
A few more journeyings in the desert darkness--
And then the sunshine of thy Father's home!
Not now!--for I have wanderers in the distance,
And thou must call them in with patient love;
Not now!--for I have sheep upon the mountains,
And thou must follow them where'er they rove.
Not now!--for I have loved ones, sad and weary:--
Wilt thou not cheer them with a kindly smile?
Sick ones who need thee in their lonely sorrow:--
Wilt thou not tend them yet a little while?
C. P.
May Heaven ne'er trust my friend with happiness,
Till it has taught him how to bear it well
By previous pain.
Young.
Back then once more to breast the wave of Life,
To battle on against the unceasing spray,
To sink o'erwearied in the stormy strife,
And rise to strife again! Yet on my way,
Oh! linger still, thou light of better day,
Born in the hours of loneliness!--And you,
Ye child-like Thoughts, the holy and the true,
Ye that came bearing, (while subdued I lay),--
The faith,--the insight of Life's vernal morn,--
Back on my soul,--a clear bright sense, new-born,--
Now leave me not!
Felicia Hemans.