Walking in the Light

Musings from a son of the Father

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Tonight, I have a headache. I am tired. I am feeling worthless because of the ungodly number of cream puffs and eclairs I consumed. I miss my bed aka futon. I am tired of being the one in charge of things, and I am tired of being the only dependable person. I just put in a call, and the waaambulance is on its way.

Sometimes, I wish had broader shoulders.

So anyway, in the spirit of cheering up everyone who has had a bad day today, I offer you this: a realistic portrayal of the actual size of our problems:


Have a happy tomorrow, guys.




Orfeus.


I know. I didn't choose the name. Or how to spell it. Don't look at me. I'm up on my Greek Mythology, baby. And I feel like the fact that I can correctly spell "Eurydice" suggests that I can be trusted to correctly spell the name of her determined beloved.

(Please fail to note that I have not actually spelled it correctly yet. Thank you.)

And don't be tricked by that dark, angsty, Werther-meets-Tim-Burton look on his face.

Told ya. This is Orfeus with a charming girl who is not his girlfriend.


And this is him with another girl, equally charming and equally not his girlfriend.

He gets around.

Okay, all joking aside, there is a reason why I'm creepily blogging about this guy at a quarter after three in the morning. Actually, two reasons:

1) I know he does not follow this blog, and will therefore not be creeped out by his unwilling presence here, and

2) I love this guy! He's just a straight up fun, real, God-loving guy. I'm blessed enough to count him among my friends and brothers, and I just wanted to take this opportunity to show anyone who reads this blog just how thankful I am for him, and just how blessed we all are to live in a world with people like him.

He's a rare kind of guy. Oh, sure, he falls into a lot of stereotypes - he can strut and preen with the best. He's incredibly pesky that way. But he genuinely cares of people, and he genuinely cares about growing in the eyes of God and men. In a lot of ways, he's a real inspiration. You can see the joy shining in his eyes, can't you? That's something that is purely God-given.

Anyway, he's one of my household brothers, and I was just doing some reflecting on my relationships and the friends God has given me, and Orfeus particularly stood out. Who knows why - as I mentioned before, he's pesky. But he's also great.

I hope that everyone has someone like him in their life. I'm super lucky to.

Posted by Kori comments (2)

Just saw the John Legend concert. It was pretty awesome – John put on a great concert. But the real treasure was the fact that he reminded me of just how important singing is to me. Anyone can sing – and everyone should. Because singing, more than any other form of music, more than any other instrument, means touching and bringing forth something that is deep inside, that is completely and uniquely and soulfully you. The tangible and the intangible marry in singing; it’s a conduit into your heart. It’s something that’s inside of you, and bigger than you at once. It’s a means of tapping into all the ecstasy of the world, and the anguish. It is one of the greatest, one of the most divine gifts given to us. Because in singing, we become someone else – someone who has the ability to express what we cannot with silence alone.

No one needs a stage, or a band, or a concert, or a career to be a singer. This gift is not reserved for the “talented”. We are all talented with this ability. Sing, friends. Sing to no one. Sing to yourself. Sing to your own spirit. If there are no songs for what you feel, do, or are, then sing aloud the song already being sung by your heart. Don’t let this gift go wasted; don’t let this opportunity fly away. When there is nothing else, when all have abandoned you and even Christ seems far away, you still have the gift of music. Use it.

This is the song that I sing today. Maybe it’s your song, today, too.


When it’s cold outside

There’s no need to worry cause I’m so warm inside

You give me peace

When the storm’s outside

Cause we’re in love I know it’ll be all right

All right it’s all right.

I know, I know, two in one hour. It's too much!


But I love this prayer so much I had to share it with whoever is looking. It's St. Patrick's Breastplate prayer, and it really awakens my masculine heart to pray it. It pumps me up, prepares me, makes me feel like I'm ready to conquer and vanquish my foes, surrounded as I am with the power of Christ in me!

So check it out. It's amazing.



I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness
Of the Creator of creation.

I arise today
Through the strength of Christ’s birth with his baptism,
Through the strength of his crucifixion with his burial,
Through the strength of his resurrection with his ascension,
Through the strength of his descent for the judgment of Doom.

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of Cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In prayers of patriarchs,
In predictions of prophets,
In preaching of apostles,
In faith of confessors,
In innocence of holy virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I arise today
Through the strength of heaven:
Light of sun,
Radiance of moon,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of wind,
Depth of sea,
Stability of earth,
Firmness of rock.

I arise today
Through God’s strength to pilot me:
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s way to lie before me,
God’s shield to protect me,
God’s host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptations of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone and in multitude.

I summon today all these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel merciless power that may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man’s body and soul.

Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me abundance of reward.
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness,
Of the Creator of Creation.

Posted by Kori comments (1)



"Jesus needs nothing but your humility and your confidence to work marvels of purification and sanctification in you. And your confidence will be in proportion to your humility, because it is to the extent that we all realize our need of Jesus that we have recourse to Him, and we sense this need to the extent that we justly realize our unworthiness.

Think of the woman of Canaan: she is a pagan, a foreigner. She asks Jesus to cure her daughter who is possessed by a demon. Jesus lets her see that since He has come for the lost sheep of Israel, He has nothing to do with her. Humbly she accepts this, which is the truth, but confidently she insists, 'Lord, come to my aid.' And Jesus shows Himself to be apparently even harder. Often He acts this way with souls to whom He wishes to grant a high place in His love, in order to test their faith. He answers her, 'The bread of the children is not to be thrown to the dogs.' The Canaanite woman then finds, in her humble confidence, this exquisitely appropriate response: 'That is true, Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their master's table.' She asks no more than a crumb at the banquet of merciful love!

Jesus is conquered!

'O woman, great is your faith; be it done to you as you will': Fiat tibi sicut vis.

'You have stolen my Heart; you have stolen my will from me by your faith filled with love; I can refuse you nothing.'

Is it too much to say, after that, that confident souls steal God's omnipotence?"

-Fr. Jean C.J. d'Elbee, I Believe in Love, 37-38

I cannot identify 100 things that make me happy.


No worries, I was the firstborn child. I am in no way suffering from any kind of angst or depression. That's the middle child's damage. But it is exceedingly difficult to think of 100 things that make me happy. I got all the way up to 73, but that's it.

I'm not talking about big ideas. Just little things. Look, I'll show you the 73 that I've got.

But this is the challenge for you guys - try it. Try to sit down and write out 100 things that make you happy. I think you'll be surprised at how hard it is - and what kind of things come to mind. And if you can get it, post it. I'll be looking out for it.

Here goes:

100 Things That Make Me Happy

1) Jesus

2) My mom

3) My family of friends

4) Being out in the middle of the night

5) Watching bad movies with friends (and commenting on them)

6) Taking walks with people

7) Finishing a good book

8) Suspense (Movies, Books, TV Shows, etc.)

9) Overcast days (not rainy, just cloudy)

10) Pop Culture References

11) The smell and (especially) the sound of coffee percolating

12) Crème Brule

13) Being thought of

14) The smell of bouillon cubes

15) Dreaming

16) Doing themed things

17) Light, meaningless music

18) Laughing

19) Getting little gifts that are really simple but thoughtful

20) Pan’s Labyrinth

21) Fuzzy slipper socks

22) Socks that are right out of the dryer

23) Romantic Ideas (Not like lovey romantic but just Romanticism)

24) The cups at Charlie’s Coffee

25) Studying with people

26) Hanging out with my boys

27) Discovering songs I really, really like

28) Eating the marshmallows from the Lucky Charms

29) Wearing fun/silly T-shirts

30) Getting mail (Especially letters) or e-mail from someone

31) Poetry with really sensual, tangible language

32) LOST

33) Really colorful flowers that are growing in a totally random place

34) Coffee

35) Looking at people I love

36) Staying up late watching TV

37) Staying up all night reading a book because it’s so good you can’t put it down

38) E.L. Fudge cookies

39) Honey

40) Fruits Basket (and analyzing the characters)

41) Finishing work

42) Jigsaw Puzzles

43) Reading

44) Raw Cookie Dough

45) Pop Culture References

46) TV on DVD

47) Making cake and/or brownies

48) Lorelai Gilmore

49) Girl Scout Cookie Season

50) Hitting the Snooze Button

51) How the French word for Blueberries is Bleuets.

52) Dark chocolate

53) Meaningful Conversations

54) Milk

55) Being true to myself

56) Mawsy and Poppa

57) Hot baths

58) Bubbles

59) Slush Puppies

60) Falling asleep to a lightening storm

61) Foreign Films

62) Pomegranate Juice (Pom Wonderful)

63) Beethoven’s 9th Symphony

64) Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite

65) The Smell of Cocoa Butter

66) Finishing a hard workout, run, or plyometrics

67) Cooking something that looks AND tastes good

68) Deconstructive Reading

69) The sound of a whistling tea kettle

70) Mary

71) The Rosary

72) Smoking pipe with my boys

73) My futon

Does evil have to exist for virtue to exist?


Discuss.

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