Poetry: Stuart Hine
Music: Swedish folk melody
(I haven’t included the lyrics here because they are still under copyright. But I’m sure you know them anyway!)
Category: photography
Photos from Séroule Park
When I went to Europe, one of my fears was isolation from the natural world. And while it did turn out that I was surrounded by civilisation and buildings nearly all the time, it was not long before I found a place of solace and retreat in the busy city of Verviers.
Séroule Park was twelve minutes walking distance away from the building where I was staying. It isn’t anything spectacular, but it contains a small forest and a pond, as well as a nice network of short trails on which to wander. Here are some pictures of this special place.
My First Week in Georgia
Chattahoochee River photos on Flickr
Here are some pictures from the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area where I went hiking this evening. The weather was fine, and river running full and clear over the shoals. Over the next several weeks I’ll be exploring different places to hike and camp, and I’ll try to take pictures to share. And maybe eventually I’ll get used to driving in the city! Oh, how I miss the transportation and compactness of Europe.
In other news, today I finished my first week of work at Truth For The World. It has been very good so far, and I’m starting to get in the groove of working eight hours a day and making the most of that time. There are parts of the job I enjoy more than others, and things that I’m really looking forward to working on in the near future, but I try to do the best job I can with what’s assigned to me. Also, for the first time in my life I have an office, complete with a blackboard wall!
It was wonderful to worship with the Duluth church on Wednesday, and I felt very welcomed. My family there was so excited for me and my new job, and I’m looking forward to learning all their names and getting to know them. Now I can’t wait till Sunday—not only will it be my first full Sunday at Duluth, but I’m hoping to go over to worship with the Spanish-speaking Christians at Buford that afternoon. Also, today I begin learning Korean! I’ve already been trying to decipher signs around town, and there’s a Korean-English language exchange group here in town that meets every week, so I’m hoping to attend that as often as I can to practice, and maybe to help others learn English, too.
God has certainly blessed me! Here’s a scripture thought for today: “And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none.” (Ezekiel 22:30) I am so thankful for Jesus Christ who stands in the breach between me and God, transcending the sin between us!
Evening Song
Faintly the voices are flying to me;
Fragments and snatches fall here and fall there.
Shall I draw nearer, or will the song flee?
Pines of the forest are dark, yet I see
The light of a fire, all blazing and fair—
Faintly the voices are flying to me.
Strange is the melody, wild, and free,
Chanting of happiness, love, and despair.
Shall I draw nearer, or will the song flee?
Softly I steal through the dim-lighted lea,
Earnestly seeking that uncanny air.
Faintly the voices are flying to me.
Almost I catch it; again it breaks free.
What is this song, so familiar, so rare?
Shall I draw nearer, or will the song flee?
Finally I break through, the brightness I see!
Then blackness, and silence, and nothing is there.
Faintly the voices are flying to me:
Shall I draw nearer, or will the song flee?
Bon Voyage
I always enjoy gaining insights into other cultures, especially through their own languages. I came across one recently that really made me think, and you may find it interesting, too.
On Facebook I “like” a Greek musician, Areti Ketime. And being one of her likers, her posts show up on my newsfeed. I enjoy reading them to practice my Greek, even though they usually consist of announcements for concerts that I can’t go to. But this time it was different: she posted something that alluded to the recent passing of an (apparently) famous Greek musician. What caught my eye, though, was not the post, but the comments that followed it. People said the things people usually say when someone like that dies—expressing how much they loved his music, etc. But almost every commenter also included the phrase “Καλό ταξίδι!”, or some form of it, addressed to this deceased musician. That’s the Greek way of saying “Have a good trip!”, or “Bon voyage !” if you please, and in this context it intrigued me.
Greece is known as one of the most religious countries in Europe, and while I don’t know what the Greek Orthodox beliefs on the afterlife are, it was apparent that these well-wishers had full confidence that this man was on his way to a new destination. I like this point of view, and perhaps we should remember more often that those who have passed on are not dead forever, but only gone to another place; and if they were faithful in this life, we may see them again if we follow the same path.