Conviction jars like
Rumble strips on the shoulder
Of the interstate
Care to share yours?
4/26/2007
4/24/2007
"One Summer" by Steve Turner
One summer you
aeroplaned away,
too much money
away for me, and
stayed there for
quite a few
missed embraces.
Before leaving,
you smiled me that
you'd return all of
a mystery moment and
would airletter me
every few breakfasts
in the meantime.
This you did, and I thank
you most kissingly.
I wish however, that I
could hijackerplane
to the Ignited States
of Neon where I'd
crash land perfectly
in the deserted
airport of your heart.
.......................................
Someone gave me this poem years ago but not the name of the poet. I've always loved the playfulness of it. Years later, someone else read a poem in class at Wheaton that had such a familiar sound to it. I asked who it was. Steve Turner. Immediately I went to the library and looked him up. Sure enough..."One Summer" was by Steve Turner. I later discovered that he was a man of many talents. If you're a Christian in the arts or interested in them, I highly recommend his book Imagine: A Vision for Christians in the Arts.
aeroplaned away,
too much money
away for me, and
stayed there for
quite a few
missed embraces.
Before leaving,
you smiled me that
you'd return all of
a mystery moment and
would airletter me
every few breakfasts
in the meantime.
This you did, and I thank
you most kissingly.
I wish however, that I
could hijackerplane
to the Ignited States
of Neon where I'd
crash land perfectly
in the deserted
airport of your heart.
.......................................
Someone gave me this poem years ago but not the name of the poet. I've always loved the playfulness of it. Years later, someone else read a poem in class at Wheaton that had such a familiar sound to it. I asked who it was. Steve Turner. Immediately I went to the library and looked him up. Sure enough..."One Summer" was by Steve Turner. I later discovered that he was a man of many talents. If you're a Christian in the arts or interested in them, I highly recommend his book Imagine: A Vision for Christians in the Arts.
4/23/2007
4/15/2007
What's in a Name?
Don't you love etymology? No, not the study of bugs. Etymology--the study of word origins.
My first name, Nathan, is a biblical name and comes from the Hebrew "he has given" or "gift." Kind of nice, eh? He was a prophet, too. Can't beat that.
But wait...what about Nate, my nickname? Turns out that that's a whole other story.
According to the American Heritage Dictionary, the term nates is a Latin plural noun meaning..."buttocks." I kid you not. So, while the singular is actually natis and not Nate, we are in America speaking English, and I simply have to face the fact that my nickname is "buttock."
Well, no wonder I feel like one on such a regular basis!
Humbling...
What does your name or nickname mean?
My first name, Nathan, is a biblical name and comes from the Hebrew "he has given" or "gift." Kind of nice, eh? He was a prophet, too. Can't beat that.
But wait...what about Nate, my nickname? Turns out that that's a whole other story.
According to the American Heritage Dictionary, the term nates is a Latin plural noun meaning..."buttocks." I kid you not. So, while the singular is actually natis and not Nate, we are in America speaking English, and I simply have to face the fact that my nickname is "buttock."
Well, no wonder I feel like one on such a regular basis!
Humbling...
What does your name or nickname mean?
4/11/2007
Body Worlds 2
"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Psalm 139:14Today I had the long-anticipated pleasure of seeing "Body Worlds 2" at the Museum of Science and Industry. Fantastic!
I've always been intrigued by anatomy and physiology. I loved biology and a&p in high school and began college as a pre-med/psychology double major. The way God "knit us together" has never ceased to amaze me.
This may sound like an almost heretical analogy, but this exhibit did for my book studies in school what the recent "Gospel of John" drama did for my understanding of the written biblical text. Though the people were dead, the grandeur of God's design was really brought to life for me. Forget DaVinci...God is the ultimate artist and engineer. The human form...aesthetically beautiful and masterfully engineered.
I highly recommend this exhibit. It only runs through the end of the month, so get your tickets now.
4/05/2007
Good Friday
There I stood at Golgotha.
It was warm, windy and dry. Dust kicked up and blew against my face. A small crowd of men--soldiers--talked loudly nearby. Protruding from their midst was a wooden cross laid on the ground. A man was lying on it, but I could only see his legs. One soldier called to another and a shabbily dressed prisoner was brought to the cross and given a heavy mallet. The upper arm of the man on the cross had been tied to the crossbeam. A soldier forced the forearm flat against the wood and and pinned the hand down with the heel of his sandal boot. The muscles tensed in the bound man's arm and the prisoner began palpating the wrist, determining the easiest path through. He then put the tip of the spike to a groove in the wrist and gave several swift blows with the mallet, securing the arm to the wood. As the final blow faded, I heard a voice clearly...
"That's how much I love you."
It was warm, windy and dry. Dust kicked up and blew against my face. A small crowd of men--soldiers--talked loudly nearby. Protruding from their midst was a wooden cross laid on the ground. A man was lying on it, but I could only see his legs. One soldier called to another and a shabbily dressed prisoner was brought to the cross and given a heavy mallet. The upper arm of the man on the cross had been tied to the crossbeam. A soldier forced the forearm flat against the wood and and pinned the hand down with the heel of his sandal boot. The muscles tensed in the bound man's arm and the prisoner began palpating the wrist, determining the easiest path through. He then put the tip of the spike to a groove in the wrist and gave several swift blows with the mallet, securing the arm to the wood. As the final blow faded, I heard a voice clearly...
"That's how much I love you."
4/01/2007
Addy/Daddy Dates
I don't get to date my daughter as often as I'd like, but I cherish these times when I get them. We had a couple little dates this past week, though, and they warmed my heart.
One evening, Addy and I had candlelight dinner at home then worked with a sign language book for a bit. She ate it up--kept wanting more and more signs and thought it was pretty funny that girls are a thumb along the jawline while boys are a pinch of the brim of an invisible cap. We're going to have our own "secret" language before long.
A couple days later we went out to lunch. Two highchairs, please--one for dolly and one for Addy. Funny the things that don't embarrass you as a dad. We had a great lunch--getting some great laughs when Daddy set a place for the doll and "fed" her. Then we went grocery shopping. She got to drive the "pink car" grocery cart. If you've never tried one, they're very unwieldy and pretty cheesy looking, but high adventure for Addy. [Incidentally, I don't know what it is about a dad with a little girl. I could hang out all day in the grocery store and not get a single glance, but have a cute kid in tow and you start getting "ring checks." What's up with that?!]
Anyway, here's a song by The Choir that always reminds of my little girl with the copper-tinted "curlies."
Cherry Bomb (linked in case you want to buy it--great album)
Words by S. Hindalong, Music by D. Daugherty
She makes a lot of trouble, yeah
When things don't go the way she plans
Discusses strange theology
Nobody understands
She makes noise
She breaks toys
She fills my heart with joy
Cherry bomb, cherry bomb
With a face just like a cherub
She’s a bomb, yeah
She makes her presence known
Cherry bomb, cherry bomb
With a face just like a cherub
She’s sweet as anything I know
She never takes things lightly, no
Her little heart explodes sometimes
I hold her tightly in my arms
She really blows her Daddy’s mind
She thrills me
She kills me
She spills grape juice on me
Cherry bomb...
She thrills me
She kills me
She makes noise
She breaks toys
She fills my heart with joy
Cherry bomb…
One evening, Addy and I had candlelight dinner at home then worked with a sign language book for a bit. She ate it up--kept wanting more and more signs and thought it was pretty funny that girls are a thumb along the jawline while boys are a pinch of the brim of an invisible cap. We're going to have our own "secret" language before long.
A couple days later we went out to lunch. Two highchairs, please--one for dolly and one for Addy. Funny the things that don't embarrass you as a dad. We had a great lunch--getting some great laughs when Daddy set a place for the doll and "fed" her. Then we went grocery shopping. She got to drive the "pink car" grocery cart. If you've never tried one, they're very unwieldy and pretty cheesy looking, but high adventure for Addy. [Incidentally, I don't know what it is about a dad with a little girl. I could hang out all day in the grocery store and not get a single glance, but have a cute kid in tow and you start getting "ring checks." What's up with that?!]
Anyway, here's a song by The Choir that always reminds of my little girl with the copper-tinted "curlies."
Cherry Bomb (linked in case you want to buy it--great album)
Words by S. Hindalong, Music by D. Daugherty
She makes a lot of trouble, yeah
When things don't go the way she plans
Discusses strange theology
Nobody understands
She makes noise
She breaks toys
She fills my heart with joy
Cherry bomb, cherry bomb
With a face just like a cherub
She’s a bomb, yeah
She makes her presence known
Cherry bomb, cherry bomb
With a face just like a cherub
She’s sweet as anything I know
She never takes things lightly, no
Her little heart explodes sometimes
I hold her tightly in my arms
She really blows her Daddy’s mind
She thrills me
She kills me
She spills grape juice on me
Cherry bomb...
She thrills me
She kills me
She makes noise
She breaks toys
She fills my heart with joy
Cherry bomb…
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