Thanks Dad :)

I just posted on Zach's blog about alumni band weekend. This was a pretty tough time for me, because I don't think I had ever marched in alumni band that Dad wasn't there. It was something we looked forward to every year - he loved it when we came roaring through the tunnel.

Well, it turns out that with the new stadium renovations the tunnel isn't really there the way it was before. Also they have moved us way up in the upper deck, so we ended up marching up 12 ramps to get to our seats. The drums kept the cadence going the whole time, so that was actually kind of cool. But it appears that we may never come roaring to the tunnel again. Maybe that's as it should be.

Last year Dad was at the game, and we had the craziest halftime ever. While we were on the field, there was a giant rainstorm. As we played the Eyes of Texas, it was pouring down rain on us. We made it through, and it was somehow very moving. That was Dad's last alumni band game, and it was the last time I would see him before we found out he was sick.

Anyway, this year we had beautiful weather. After our trek up the 12 ramps, we got to our seats up in the sky and the sun was still beating down. It was about 5:00 so we still had a couple of hours of daylight. But about 5 minutes after we sat down, a single cloud moved over the sun, and immediately we felt the relief. That cloud did not move for two hours. It stayed there, covering the sun, until it was just about to dip below the upper deck, which was also time for us to go down for halftime.

The girl next to me kept commenting on how nice it was to have the cloud there. I finally remarked, 'you're right, that is weird how that cloud is just sitting there'. She said 'I know! It is a gift! It's like someone is doing that for us!'

And I was just quiet. :)

Then we went down and did our halftime show and it was awesome.

I will not leave you comfortless
I will come to you yet again
And your heart shall be joyful
Alleluia

Chuckle Sob

We have a security guard in the parking garage at work. He is there in the little booth every day and waves at you as you come in. He is a very nice man. He has a little whiteboard, and every day there is something new written on it, designed to make you smile as you come to work (I assume). Unfortunately (for me), these little sayings started right around the time Dad got sick, so my reactions range from anger to mild amusement to despair, depending on the groanocity of the puns he tends to prefer. The worst is when there is one that I normally would pass on to Dad. It definitely has the opposite effect of what security guard is going for, I'm sure. Today was one of those days:

My uncle has a wooden leg.
My aunt has a cedar chest.

He Went to Paris

He went to Paris looking for answers to questions
That bothered him so
He was impressive, young and aggressive
Saving the world on his own
Warm summer breezes, French wine and cheeses
Put his ambition at bay
The summers and winters scattered like splinters
And four or five years slipped away

He went to England, played the piano, and married
An actress named Kim
They had a good life, she was a good wife
And bore him a young son named Jim
All of the answers and all of the questions
He locked in his attic one day
'Cause he liked the quiet clean country living
And twenty more years slipped away

War took his baby, Bombs killed his lady and left him
With only one eye
His body was battered, his whole world was shattered
All he could do was just cry
While the tears were falling he was recalling
Answers that he never found
So he hopped in a freighter, skidded the ocean
And left England without a sound

Now he lives in the islands, fishes the piling and drinks
His Green Label each day
Writing his memoirs, losing his hearing
But he don't care what most people say
After eighty-six years of perpetual motion
If he likes you he'll smile and say
"There was some of it magic, a lot of it tragic,
But I had a good life all the way"

He went to Paris looking for answers to questions
That bothered him so

(Waylon Jennings)

Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing

This version is longer and a little bit different than the one we're used to, but I really like all the words. Click here and here for a little bit of history...

*****

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love.

Sorrowing I shall be in spirit,
Till released from flesh and sin,
Yet from what I do inherit,
Here Thy praises I’ll begin;
Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Here by Thy great help I’ve come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.

Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood;
How His kindness yet pursues me
Mortal tongue can never tell,
Clothed in flesh, till death shall loose me
I cannot proclaim it well.

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

O that day when freed from sinning,
I shall see Thy lovely face;
Clothed then in blood washed linen
How I’ll sing Thy sovereign grace;
Come, my Lord, no longer tarry,
Take my ransomed soul away;
Send thine angels now to carry
Me to realms of endless day.

“Dancing with the Angels”

Memories surround me,
But sadness has found me.
I’d do anything for more time.
Never before has someone meant more,
And I can’t get you out of my mind.

There is so much that I don’t understand,
But I know…

You’re dancing with the angels,
Walking in new life.
You’re dancing with the angels.
Heaven fills your eyes
Now that you’re dancing with the angels.

You had love for your family,
Love for all people,
Love for the Father, and Son.
Your heart will be heard
In your unspoken words
Through generations to come.

There is so much that I don’t understand,
But I know…

You’re dancing with the angels,
Walking in new life.
You’re dancing with the angels.
Heaven fills your eyes
Now that you’re dancing with the angels.

We’re only here for such a short time
So I’m gonna’ stand up, shout out,
And sing Hallelujah.
One day I’ll see you again…

Artist: Monk & Neagle

This is getting ridiculous!

A few months ago at church, they asked everyone to submit their favorite hymn and why. I entered 'Come Thou Font of Every Blessing' of course, because it was my dad's favorite. We ended up singing it at Dad's service. The last month or so, each service has included one of the top 10 hymns. I've missed quite a few weeks so I figured they had run through all of them already. Today I went to choir practice and there was a full list of the results, broken down by age group and some other categories. I quickly scanned the list and didn't see it on there anywhere, so I figured the general church population just isn't as enamored with the word 'Ebenezer' as Dad was.

I then went to my seat and picked up the rehearsal schedule, which always starts with the hymns for Sunday, and there it was, #400 (nee #93). At first I wondered whether Mark had read my submission and had selected it for me. But then he started rehearsal and announced that this hymn was the #1 pick of our congregatation. It turns out that the hymn survey was throughout the whole conference or something, but our particular church's favorite hymn is 'Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing'.

Way.