Thoughts from the Psalms, 16

What wonders from You have I tasted
Blessings without measure or compare
Use me so my life is not wasted
So with others Your blessings I share

I am forever tempted to stray
Fleshly pleasures seek to end my life
Preserve me as I look to that Day
Where there is no more sorrow or strife

Secured in Your shielding of my fate
Teach me to find my life's work for You
To replace the temptations so great
And live well as one of Your few

Thoughts from the Psalms, 13

How long O Lord must I seek?
All is dark, all is bleak
How long O Lord will You tarry?
Doubts grow heavy that I carry
Come O Lord, show my ignorance
Dash my doubts, bring Your presence
Come O Lord, I will bless Your name
Proclaim Your works, increase Your fame

Thoughts from the Psalms, 12

This fallen culture
Threatens to overwhelm, God
Will preserve His own

Thoughts from the Psalms, 11

My soul is troubled, tempted by offers
To escape. Many routes lay open, paths
For the coward. My foundation threatened,
Seemingly shaky, "avoid this battle
Pretend all is well," each temptation screams
But this must be fought, must be confronted
To renew and prove my trust, for the Lord's
Throne has not been left vacant, my God is
The righteous and just ruler. Walk in Him
Knowing He will lay waste to the wicked
But smile on the righteous, the pure in heart
Will see His face and return joyous praise!

Thoughts from the Psalms, 10

Since pursuing You, life is turbulent
With each trial, my way, sent
Here another, You step back
To reveal all the ways that I lack
I know that this is Your time to shine
But forgetful, I treat this part as mine
Teach me to look to Your strength first
And consider mine as worst
To always walk near You, this I yearn
So to trust in You, I must learn
Not knowledge abstractly taught
But practiced, through toil bought

Thoughts from the Psalms, 8

There was nothing, all was void
Then there was at Your breath
Creation birthed by Your command
Hints of glory all about

From the dust was culled man
Made uniquely to know You
Given reign o'er all so good
Wonder sparked for such love

Thoughts from the Psalms, 6

Darkness seeks a hold
Obscures Your name from mind
In every which way I'm pulled
Struggle to keep on Your path's line

Each offered path will beckon
But I've traveled there before
Know how later each will darken
Yet leave me still wanting more

So I pray, while still sane
Shine Your glory, light my way
Fill my mouth with Your refrain
And hedge my path, so I'll not stray

Thoughts from the Psalms, 4

Father, instruct me
In Your ways, remind me of
Your deeds, encourage
To continue on in You
Steadfast, rooted in Your Word

Thoughts from the Psalms, 3

Enemies swarm around

God is hope in this test

Instill fear, quaking ground

God calms weary to rest

Weapons drawn, evil grins

God is shield, none can best

Perfect strength, so He wins

God be praised, we are blessed!

Thoughts from the Psalms, 2

Remember the end
Fear He who will rule, honor
The Sovereign One

Thoughts from the Psalms, 1

Before I met God, life was a lazy
Stream carrying me on varied paths:
Straight and twisted, slow and racing
Never resisting, accepting life's happenings
Now He is my guide, revealing the true
Nature of this river. Some currents
Need be resisted; others, used
With care, follow His lead, His way is sure and pure.

Six Things

So apparently I've been tagged for another meme by Michelle.

The rules for this meme are:
(1) Link to the person that tagged you. (2) Post the rules in your blog. (3) Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself. (4) Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs. (5) Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

1. There is a letter which makes a relatively common sound that I cannot pronounce well. Mockery when I was younger taught me to avoid the sound which has resulted in some unusual sentence structures in my speech that I don't even really think about now. I've since learned what the problem is specifically -- I don't curl the tip of my tongue to make the proper sound and instead end up with the sound of the letter "i". The most obnoxious part of this problem is that the letter and corresponding sound can be found in my last name, so generally when I introduce myself I will only give my first name.

2. Often while walking about, I entertain myself in the age-old game of trying to avoid stepping on cracks. I try to plan ahead and measure my pace to match up to the cracks ahead so that it does not look too unnatural. Unusual rules regarding doorways and tile have crept in to make usually nondescript areas more interesting to walk in. As such, I identified closely with this comic.

3. I have trouble making myself content with not knowing things which are fairly easy to learn. So whenever a topic comes up in conversation where there is a general lack of knowledge of how something works or where something originated, etc, I make a mental note about it. There is a decent chance that if you are involved in such a conversation with me, the next time you see me it will not be unknown for me. Most of the time I won't share that, though, unless it comes up again naturally. (For example, recently two people in a group setting were using quotes from a movie they had seen, but they were unwilling to admit their source. I probably would not have been willing to admit the source either ;) ).

4. Somewhat related to the previous, Chain Emails are a significant time waster for me. Not in the usual sense, I refuse to send them on, so I get them with less regularity, but I feel compelled to research their contents and often Snopes is not sufficient for me. Now my mom and sister send 2-3 of these to me a week asking if they are true.

5. I always have a pen with me. I carry it in my pocket and thus have lost a few over the years, so I've settled on a fairly cheap, but (in my opinion) good quality pen. So far not so interesting, but I've noticed that I gain a fair amount of anxiety and, well, neurosis whenever I lend it out. I can't let it out of my sight for anywhere near a minute. I get more anxious the further it gets from me and calm only returns when it is safely back in my pocket. The times I've accidentally left it somewhere have launched full-scale searches the likes of which might suggest I had lost an heirloom rather than a $2 pen. There are a few other quirks about my pens: there is always a backup at home in case my current, even if it is new, begins to falter in performance, I put the cap on as it is pictured (pen name aligned with clip) in the above link whenever I write, and I'm reluctant to throw away these pens until they are definitively out of ink, so my house is littered with pens of questionable dependability (low on ink).

6. I generally err on the side of caution, balking at change, and stick to the habits of what works. I think the only area this is not true in the least is food. I suspect it has something to do with being allergic to a great many foods and so there is a willingness to explore the more unusual types of food that do not overlap with those allergies. Whenever I spot something unusual on a menu, it is hard to resist trying it out; I generally don't bother trying to resist. I think the most unusual thing I've ordered is boiled chicken feet.

Those last two rules for this meme are not going to be kept. Especially because I currently read only three personal blogs that are still active and one of them tagged me for this. Galant is out there writing, but not posting; perhaps tagging him would wake him. I'm less sure I want to distract Gem with yet another meme, as fun as her quirks are. But if she sees this, she is welcome to either consider herself tagged or to have eluded my reach per her imagination of the game. A similar invitation can go to Jaclyn.