Walking in the Light

Musings from a son of the Father

This is my new favorite card art:



A little background. The card is Ardent Plea. Cost: 1UW. Exalted (When a creature you control attacks alone, it gets +1/+1 until the end of the turn). Cascade.

Overall, the card isn't amazing, but it has its place, like every card in Magic. Imagine Bloodbraid elf > Ardent Plea > Spreading Seas. Suddenly you have a 4/3 basher, another card in your hand, and your opponent is mana screwed. It can work out.

But what really delights me about the card is the art. That picture up there? That's Elspeth, Knight-Errant. She was born on the sharded plane Grixis, a world of death and decay. In a desperate attempt to find happiness, Elspeth walked away from Grixis and landed on Bant - a life of happiness, life, justice, love, peace - pretty much Nirvana.

Here, the forces of Grixis are invading Elspeth's new home, and she's praying for divine blessing and strength and aid as she prepares to face the evil hordes.

So why is this card my new favorite? Because it's beautiful, in every way. The art is beautiful, and so is the message. Let me try to explain.

We live in a world of the walking dead. Sin and depravity meet us at every turn. We all face on a daily basis the carrion world of the enemy. Everywhere there is hate. Everywhere there is despair.

But like Elspeth, each of us is offered the chance for salvation. A great Guide who shepherds us from the darkness of our world into the light of His. And many of us have followed this guardian guide, have been introduced into His luminescent world and the life of love He has offered us.

We live now in the cool garden of our hearts, along with He who is our Beloved. But this oasis sits still in the middle of the Dead World. And we are often called to defend ourselves and our land against the invading forces of our great foe.

Elspeth realizes she can't do it alone. She turns to that great Source of Light for comfort, strength, and inspiration. In doing so, she is our example. We are called imitate Elspeth, Knight-Errant, and shout our Ardent Pleas to our mighty King. And He will in turn bless our swords and reinforce our resolve, and equip us to face the horrors of the invading world as we fight for Paradise.

Posted by Kori comments (0)


It's been a rough day. I had a bad fight with mom and we're not speaking to each other. This time, I think it will be for a long time - by my choice. I'm not going to be ready to talk to her again for a while. She said some really hurtful and unfair things. She doesn't know how deeply her words can hurt me sometimes, I think.

I got out of the car on the way to Mass. I just didn't want to sit through Mass next to her, with all this ill will between us. I walked home, grabbed my computer, my book, and my mythic deck and came to Starbucks. I figured if anything can cheer me up write now, it's a cup of tea, Richard and Kahlan, and my new lotus cobras. Which are ballin', by the way.

But it's time like these that make me wish that I had never finished undergrad, that we were all still living together. Because you guys - I know it's only you guys who are going to read this - you guys were so many things to me. You were there to help me get my mind off the bad stuff, even if you didn't know you were doing it. And even if I wasn't laughing, your laughter was always like the sun shine. I could never be down or upset around you all. You knew exactly what to do to keep my spirits up, no matter what.

But I feel like that's gone now, and that leaves what feels like a gaping hole in my heart. Yes, I know, we'll all be friends still. I'll see you a lot. All that's true. But I won't be around you guys during the darkest nights, when I need you the most. And that scares me. Because I don't know if I know how to handle everything on my own.

Now uncreated universe, illumed

By that which God hath first created, sits

In heavy silence, void of music’s touch

And want of even sighs, breathless and dumb

Till with a booming rush fall waters pure

Crystalline and bright, sparkling with life

Reflecting silent slivers of gold light

Radiant from heavenly face divine.

Such waters fell upon the new formed earth

As someday would for dumb man’s flock divide

And crash back onto hard-hearted pursuit.

Such waters fell upon the virgin world

With such volume and such velocity

As never would be seen again by man

By God or angel fair, before or aft

The righteous son of Lamech and his sons

And two by two each yet uncreat’d thing

Should for his goodness life perpetuate

And find reward in covenantal seal

Of Iris’s train, and dove with hero’s branch.

Such waters came with overwhelming roar

That even angels stared in wonder dumb

And would with wonder dumb stare once again

When selfsame water poured upon the head

Of Son of God and Savior purify

On man’s behalf t’ begin his ministry.

And God said, “Let exist the firmament

To separate these waters pure and strong”

And waters did at His command divide.

Some sat under sky, and some above

With azure color to adorn the world.

With wonder the heavenly choir broke to praise

With harp and trumpet th’ grandeur of their God

The great creator of all things fine and fair.

And God saw all the work that he had done

And felt familiar satisfaction in

His heart of love, and grandly did declare:

“This all is good, and good that thee rejoice

The beauty of the work of my fair hands.”

He smiled upon his angel hosts and beck’d

Night from her shady hideaway to emerge.

And thus the day was done, the second day

And God’s great temple closer to complete.

Dear creature of divine creation, thou

Art not so wise as thou art wont to seem.

You say that I am goddess-like in grace

And beauty, but as I have learned thus far

No man or any oth’r created thing [5]

Could challenge our Creator’s divinity.

So far below the state of goddess fair

Am I that thine words fall upon deaf ears

And ring with falsehood worst, with ignorance best.

Direct your praise and worship from meek Eve [10]

Unto He who has Eve so fair designed.

So thankest I thee, serpent, for thy praise

But must in rightness redirect thy words

To God above, to whom all glory be

And praise and adoration rightly owed. [15]

If serpent has of Knowledge’s Tree indulged

And suffered no harsh fate, then know that thou

Art creature, far below mankind, and must

By diff’rent expectations live and act.

God has decreed: should man to tempter fall [20]

And eat the fruit of Knowledge, then will man

And woman suffer long the curse of death.

If thou hast been not curst, then it be clear

That serpent lives by different rules from man

And may indulge, though man may not. Indeed [25]

No creature save but man must see and tend

To Eden’s Garden, beautiful and lush

Though beast be lower on creation’s scale

Than man. It seems quite clear, in light of this

That different regulations do apply [30]

To man and beast, so though thou ate and lived

Man surely will not live, so sayest God.

Now of thy claim that this be nothing more

Than yet another trial, then listen well.

Not yet in my whole life, brief though it be [35]

Has God instructed so, and opp’site meant.

Our God and our Creator is all good

And neither with deception nor deceit

Hast treated Adam or his humble wife.

And best thee watch thy words, beloved beast [40]

Shouldst thou attribute trickery to God

And Deity offend, then I shall pray

That thou be not stricken down by He Who Is.

So thank thee for thy words and kind intent

For trying to improve my state of life [45]

But know, dear beast, and then be on thy way

That when thy words and thy suggestions do

God’s words and God’s commandments straight oppose

Then thou art wrong, and right away conform

The products of thy tongue to God’s intents. [50]

So fare thee well, fair serpent, but I must

With gracious heart but prudent mind intact

Decline thy invitation to indulge

In th’ forbidden fruit of Knowledge’s Tree.

We live in a strange world. A world populated with creatures like the platypus, or this thing:



But nothing - NOTHING! - found in nature can compare to the weirdness that can be concocted in the human mind. To prove my point, I present to you this pinnacle of creepiness, in all its bizarre glory: GLAMOURPUSS!!!



Yes, that's right. This is a whole book full of pictures of cats with creepy wigs on them. I don't even have anything to say about it. I'm just going to let you soak it all in.


Check out this one. I like the Reba McEntire meets Bozo look he's got going on.




Or check this one out. Very Fifth Element.


Be still, my heart! If I wasn't creeped out by cats enough before, this really seals the deal.

I just don't even have any words.

Except these: if ever the was a cat that needed a wig, it's this guy.

So I'm in Milton mode. This means blank verse poetry about Creation. So I threw this together today. It's a first draft, of course, and I'll definitely polish it and probably lengthen it, but here you go.


The First Day


Sing, Angels, of the origins of light
Which does our cold world nurture and renew
With rays like benedictions, soft and warm.
Like golden kisses do the sunbeams flow
To light the once unfallen Paradise
And still to fallen man direction give
Though undeserving, through Creator’s grace.
Sing, hosts, the song of light that dances just
Beyond the grasp of reas’n or fancy fair
For how can man describe the voidless world
Before it’s premier tenant radience filled.
In deepest darkness, cold and void, the light
From blackness springs, ethereal and bright,
Light unacknowledged but by angels’ eyes
Though not in want of source, for source divine
Illuminating power does provide.
Now dark is by its opposite defined
And appellated “night”, and light named “day”.
Now God Creator saw His work was good,
For in the rays of light is darkness bann’d
And abundant nourishment for life
And source for future thriving growth produced.
In rays of light dark sin, unfathomed yet
And yet to come, as God well knew that day,
Which thrives and feeds in absence of bright Sun
Would scorchéd and obliterated be
By brilliant beams from source eternal and good.
Thus did our Lord find light acceptable
And pleasing in His holy eyes, and thus
First evening came, first morning quickly next
And so the first created day was pass’d.


This is my car.


I was shot at today on the way to lunch. Actually, not even close, a rock hit my window. But apparently I might have been shot at. There was a distinct possibility I was shot at. Or so I was told, before the police laughed at the idea I might have been shot at.

Regardless of why, I am now rocking a ghetto carriage the likes of which my subdivision has never seen. It is thug nasty.

But wait, it gets better.

This is my brother.



Why is he at the police department? Why, because he was arrested tonight, of course, as my mother and I were informed via phone call from random high school student tonight at about 10:30. Yes, that's right, just in case my life wasn't ghetto fabulous enough, my brother gets handcuffed in the middle of the stands of a high school football game and thrown into the back seat of a cop car. When we arrived at the police department, he was being detained in the interrogation room.

He said they threw him behind bars at one point.

Oh, my life is so ghetto.

But hey, it could be worse, right? My life will never be this ghetto.

On a totally different, un-ghetto-fied note, here's the hilarious image du jour:


It's capturing moments like these that makes me remember how much I love photography.

Copyright 2009 - Walking in the Light

Blogspot Theme designed by: Ray Creations, Ray Hosting.