Pic o' the Week-o of What I've been hearing

A few CDs I've gotten recently that I'd recommend:

Emerson Drive - Countrified (4.5/5)

I didn't really have any country albums in my collection, so I went out in search for a country band. I stumbled across this band. I honestly think the lead singer has one of the best voices in country music. The songs have a positive message. They are upbeat and catchy, but not too twangy. If you're a country fan, or are willing to give country music a shot, give these gents a listen.

TOP TRACKS: A Good Man, Testify, Moments, Devil Went Down to Georgia (cover).

Josh Groban - Noel (4.75/5)

I didn't know he had a Christmas album out until recently (the album was released in October). I gave it a listen online, and it's a very good album, as you might expect. Groban does duets with Faith Hill and Brian McKnight. All in all, I'd say it's one of, if not the best Christmas album that I own. If you're a Groban fan, this CD is a must have.

TOP TRACKS - Little Drummer Boy, I'll Be Home for Christmas, The Christmas Song, The First Noel (with Faith Hill)

Relient K - Let it Snow, Baby... Let it Reindeer (4/5)

This album is comprised mostly of songs from a previous album (Deck The Halls, Bruise Your Hand). There are a few songs new to this album which are in typical fun, silly, light-hearted, Relient K fashion. If you enjoy punk rock, or Relient K, you may be interested in this album. There are a few Relient K originals, and some really good versions of well knowns, but it's definitely not your typical, classic Christmas album.

TOP TRACKS: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Sleigh Ride, Merry Christmas, Here's to Many More, Good King Wenceslas

SPLOG Wednesday

First of all, have you noticed the handy little scoreboard over there on the left sidebar? You can choose which sport to view and all kinds of cool stuff.

It's sad to hear about Sean Taylor's senseless murder. I just hope he turned his life around from previous indiscretions and knew the Lord prior to his passing.

About a NCAA football playoff, I used to be for trying to figure out how one could work. Maybe it's because of the craziness of this regular season, and the fact that I know someone will always be unhappy (e.g. if a non-conference winner gets in over a conference winner, the #9 team will be upset if it's an 8 team playoff, same with #17 if it's a 16 team playoff, some bowls will get shafted, etc). It seems like the best team generally wins or at least has the opportunity to play for the title. I don't see it as a broken system. A playoff wouldn't be a perfect solution, so I'm for leaving it as is at least for the time being.

BCS Standings
1. Missouri
2. West Virginia
3. Ohio State
4. Georgia
5. Kansas
6. Virginia Tech

Well this is no longer possible. However, I would be very pleased to have picked one of the two teams to play for the title after this crazy year. Personally, I'd love to see it end as it is now, with a Mizzou vs. WVU finale. I've really grown fond of Mizzou. However, with the way this season's gone, I wouldn't be surprised if both teams lose next week and idle Ohio State plays LSU (who'll jump over Georgia and Va Tech if the the Tigers beat Tennessee).

High on:
Chase Daniel - Will be a great pro QB.
Darren McFadden - Will be a great pro RB.
Colt Brennan & receiving corp - I'm finally on the rainbow colored bandwagon. Better late than never. Colt is a solid player and the receiving corp is quite possibly the best in the nation.

Down on:
Andre' Woodson - Kept KY in it versus TN, but also lost it for them. He doesn't seem to have the "it" factor, the internal clock that Daniel has.
LSU - I knew they'd lose at some point. They were possible the most overrated team in the 2nd half of the season.
Hawaii - They are better than I thought, HOWEVER, I am not on the bandwagon that if they go undefeated and win their bowl game, they should be the nat'l champs, as I've heard some say.

Predictions (7-3 last week, 35-25 overall)
Since it is the last week of college football before the bowl games, I'll pick every college game this week, as well as 2 pro games to make it an even 20 picks. Since it's twice as many games, I'll leave out the commentary.

NCAAF
(1) Louisville over Rutgers (2-0)
(2) Fresno St. over New Mexico St. (3-0)
(3) Central Michigan over Miami (OH) (4-0)
(4) Navy over Army (5-0)
(5) UCF over Tulsa (6-0)
(6) Virginia Tech over Boston College (7-0)
(7) Troy over Florida Atlantic (7-1)
(8) LSU over Tennessee (8-1)
(9) Nevada over Louisiana Tech (9-1)
(10) USC over UCLA (10-1)
(11) Oregon St. over Oregon (11-1)
(12) BYU over San Diego St. (12-1)
(13) North Texas over Florida International (12-2)
(14) California over Stanford (12-3)
(15) West Virginia over Pittsburgh (12-4)
(16) Missouri over Oklahoma (12-5)
(17) Arizona St. over Arizona (13-5)
(18) Hawaii over Washington (14-5)
NFL
(19) Dallas over Green Bay (1-0)
(20) Miami over NY Jets (14-6)

Weekly Poll

Greetings, loyal readers! Stephen and I took a little hiatus last week in order to spend time with each other and my family over the Thanksgiving holiday. We had a great time in Memphis with my parents (our new picture was taken in front of the Christmas tree / fireplace at their house), and I think we both kind of hated having to get back into the daily grind, but then, who didn't feel that way? I'm in the middle of grading a bunch of papers, and it's going ever-so-slowly and will more than likely result in little blogging from me for a while. Only 8 days of school left, though!

It appears that our readers would want to fly, if given a superpower. Flying is the option I selected, as I think it would be both enjoyable and convenient (unless the weather was bad). :)

For this week's poll, we're wondering how much of your Christmas shopping you've done. Are you completely finished? Do you have a few more gifts to buy, or have you not even started? Leave us a comment here and let us know who is the hardest person to buy for on your list. Happy voting!

Pic o' the Week-o/Weekly Poll Question

It will be a short blogging week, so I'll amalgamate posts. Eerie the similar poses of Mr. Heisman and Mr. Tebow, eh?

Speaking of superheroes (segue), this week I'm wondering what superpower you would most like to have. I'll just make some up and put an "other" category since there are countless possible superpowers.

Happy Tryptophan Day!

SPLOG Wednesday (Monday edition)

This being Thanksgiving week, I won't be putting up a Wednesday blog, so I'll just do it today instead.

* This is looking like more and more of a possibility as the weeks go by. I'm pulling for it.
*If Tebow doesn't win the Heisman after his record setting year (first player with 20+ TDs throwing AND 20+ TDs running), the Heisman will be a joke. Granted he is a Sophomore and not in the running for the national title, he's still had an amazing year and is most deserving of the award.
* Orlando continues to pile up the wins, as they knocked off the previously undefeated Celtics. Stan Van Gundy for coach of the year.
* The Rams are falling further back in the chase for the top pick. They are tied in record with the Jets, Raiders, and 49ers with 2 wins, and the Dolphins are still winless. Oh well, they still should be able to attain a solid player with a top 5 pick.
* Lloyd Carr retired as coach of the Michigan football team. I wouldn't be surprised to see Les Miles from LSU take the opening. It would be funny if Mike Shula took the reigns at LSU. That would be one big rivalry every year with Alabama.

Predictions (8-2 last week, 28-22 overall)
NFL - Thanksgiving games
(1) Green Bay over Detroit - 10-1 for the Packers after this one. Who'd've thunk it?
(2) Dallas over NY Jets - The Jets has a surprising victory over the Steelers last week. They'll get rolled by the Cowboys this week.
(3) Indianapolis over Atlanta - Indy is struggling, but they shouldn't have much problem posting a win against the Falcons.
NCAAF
(4) Boise St. over Hawaii - The Fighting Rainbows should have gone down last week. They will go down this week.
(5) Kentucky over Tennessee - Will propel Georgia into the SEC title game vs. LSU for the right to lose against LSU.
(6) West Virginia over UConn - WV, on their way to the title game, rolls over UConn.
(7) Oklahoma St. over Oklahoma - The Sooners' QB and RB iffy, OSU takes the battle for bragging rights in the state of Oklahoma.
(8) UCLA over Oregon - No Dixon = no W.
(9) Florida over Florida St. - The Gators win this rivalry game, get ready to return to championship contender next season with "Heisman" Tebow, Percy Harvin, and Emmanuel Moody leading the offense.
(10) Missouri over Kansas - The 2nd of 2 undefeateds go down. A Mizzou win against Kansas, and loss to Oklahoma will propel WV into the title game.

Random Ramblings...

* The Magic are rolling along. They could be a top 3-4 seed in the East. Dwight Howard is a monster. The best news about him? He'll turn 22 December 8th.

* Oregon lost their Heisman hopeful (Tebow's biggest competition) and their shot for a title. If LSU can win out, they'll probably be playing one of the Big 12 schools (my money's on Oklahoma).

* I saw Memphis play last night. They weren't as dominating as I thought they'd be. As I've mentioned ad nauseum, I love Derrick Rose. My concerns about Memphis as a team: they're not a great 3 point shooting team, not a great free throw shooting team, and they don't have a great inside scoring threat. It may be UCLA's year.

* I don't want to hear any more about steroids, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, O.J. Simpson, Kobe Bryant trade scenarios, the possibility of the Patriots going undefeated, or how Tony Romo is the next Brett Favre.

* Is anyone else watching The Next Great American Band?

* Next winner of American Idol? David Cook. Write it down.

* We're going to Memphis this weekend to see the Grizzlies play the Hornets. It'll be my first time at the FedEx Forum. Should be a fun game to watch. It will be nice to get out of town for a couple of days.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Pic o' the Week-o -- Bailey, up close and personal

Thursday Thirteen #11

Thirteen Things I'm Thankful For

In honor of Thanksgiving next week, and because I need to think positively, I'm going to list some of the blessings in my life.

I'm thankful for...

1. My sweet husband who loves me and cares for me and makes me lunch and even dinner, too.
2. My parents who have always supported and loved me and gave me the most beautiful wedding I could have hoped for.

3. My brother whom I respect so much and is so different from me.

4. My job that I love (most of the time) even though I'm grossly underpaid. :)
5. My sweet, crazy dog Bailey, who is always glad to see me when I get home.
6. Friends who keep in touch, even though it's hard and we're all so busy.
7. A place to call home.
8. A car to drive.
9. Having enough money that we can eat out sometimes when we want to.
10. Living in a country full of more opportunity and blessing than other people across the globe will ever experience.
11. My in-laws, who have welcomed me into their family with open arms.
12. Having two degrees that no one can ever take away from me.
13. The love and salvation and mercy and wrath and holiness and justice and sovereignty and omniscience and faithfulness of God. Without Him, I would be nothing.

What are you thankful for?

Top TV Icons

TV Land put out a list of the 50 Greatest TV Icons and Legends. Here's the top 10:

10. Dick Clark
9. Homer Simpson
8. Jerry Seinfeld
7. Mary Tyler Moore
6. Carol Burnett
5. Walter Cronkite
4. Bill Cosby
3. Oprah Winfrey
2. Lucille Ball
1. Johnny Carson

Who'd be on your list?

I'd have to have Andy Griffith and Dick Van Dyke in my top 10 for sure. I have a hard time disputing Johnny as #1.

SPLOG Wednesday

Offseason Baseball
There's a decent chance the Cards are going to part ways with Scott Rolen, as there is a rift between he and Tony La Russa. The Birds could have a whole new left side of the infield next season.

NCAAF
First, I want to say how happy I am that Illinois beat Ohio State last week. That was the game of the year for me. Even though I didn't pick it here, I did pick it in my Yahoo! Pick'em League. The Illini should be even better next year.

New BCS (toughest remaining game)
1 LSU (In the SEC Championship, probably against Georgia)
2 Oregon (@ UCLA on 11/24)
3 Kansas (They play Mizzou on 11/24, if they win, they'll likely play Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship)
4 Oklahoma (Kansas or Mizzou in the Big 12 Championship)
5 Missouri (They play Kansas on 11/24, if they win, they'll likely play Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship)
6 West Virginia (@ Cincinnati 11/17)

Other teams of note
12 Florida
19 Illinois
20 Tennessee

My Take
LSU goes down to Georgia in the SEC title game. The name to "know"? Knowshon Moreno. Heisman caliber in a couple years.
Oregon wins out.
Mizzou beats Kansas.
Oklahoma beats Mizzou.
WVU wins out.
Oregon and Oklahoma in the National Championship.

Tim "Heisman" Tebow season stats
Comp. 176
Att. 255
Comp. % 67.8
Passing TDs 23
INTs 5
Yds passing 2532
Yds rushing 718
Rush TDs 19

Predictions (5-5 last week, 20-20 overall)
NCAAF
(1) Clemson over Boston College
*These teams are playing for the lead in the Atlantic Division of the ACC. BC has dropped 2 straight and Clemson is on a roll. BC continues their downward trend.
(2) West Virginia over Cincinnati
*This is a big game for WV. First of all, however remotely, they're still in the run for the BCS Championship, so winning is necessary. Secondly, a win over Cincinnati this week, and a win over UConn next week, and they'll win the Big East. WV has the motivation and the talent. If only they hadn't lost to South Florida, they'd be undefeated and likely playing in the title game.
(3) Nevada over Hawaii
*Hawaii will fall from the ranks of the unbeaten. Colt Brennan got a concussion last week, so it's iffy as to how with it he'll be. He has one fewer day to recover, since this is a Friday night game. Nevada scored 67 against Boise St. in a loss, so they can put up the points. They also run the ball, so they are a better balanced team than Hawaii. The Wolfpack win in a shootout.
(4) Ohio State over Michigan
*One of the biggest rivalry games in college football. I wouldn't have picked Michigan to beat Wisconsin last week had I known the health of Henne and Hart. The Buckeyes will look to get back in the W column this week.
NFL
(5) St. Louis over San Francisco
*I am a Rams fan. I'll admit, at this point in the season, with no playoff hopes, I was hoping they'd lose all their remaining games to get the top pick in the draft. With their injuries and underperforming so far, they've looked horrible. That being said, the 49ers turned in the worst team performance I'd seen all year. They may be making a play for worst team in the league. The Rams start a winning streak.
(6) Houston over New Orleans
*I just can't figure out the Saints. Big win over Jacksonville 2 weeks ago, then a loss to the Rams last week, raising them from the ranks of the winless. Houston's coming off a bye, will probably get Andre Johnson back. They'll top the Saints.
(7) Cleveland over Baltimore
*The Ravens are horrible offensively. The Browns are great offensively, and adequate defensively, and take care of business, in this game of big division rivals.
(8) Seattle over Chicago
*Two mediocre NFC teams, who people thought would be contenders. Both teams have their problems, but the Bears have more than the Seahawks.
(9) Jacksonville over San Diego
*What a bipolar team, those Chargers. They give up a record breaking single game rushing total 2 weeks ago, then beat the Colts last week, albeit in ugly fashion. Jacksonville controls the clock, and plays solid D, and knocks off the Chargers.
(10) NY Giants over Detroit
*I had the G-men beating the Cowboys last week. Didn't quite come to fruition. I do think the Giants are the third best team in the NFC (behind the Cowboys and Packers) and will knock off a solid Lions team.

Question of the Week

Looks like Ron Paul is the choice for Prez among readers who voted. Fred Thompson is next, followed by Huckabee.

This week's question will not be a poll, but will require comments. It's a question that's been around for quite a while, in one variation or another...

You're about to be banished to a deserted island, but are granted the ability to take 3 items with you. Which 3 things do you take?

You can post anonymously if you wish, but I'd be interested to hear as many people's responses as possible. I'm definitely going to have to think about this for a little bit before I respond.

Comment away!

Poem of the Week: "Annabel Lee"

I was in eighth grade the first time I read this poem, and I remember reading it over and over again because my little eighth grade soul, a lover of all things romantic and tragic, was fascinated by the language and story inside this poem. I memorized the poem and recited it in eleventh grade when we had to pick an American poem to recite. It's so odd to me that some of my most vivid memories are not about things I did as a child, but things I read.

Annabel Lee
by Edgar Allan Poe

It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea,
But we loved with a love that was more than love,
I and my Annabel Lee;
With a love that the wingèd seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her highborn kinsmen came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in heaven,
Went envying her and me;
Yes! that was the reason (as all men know,
In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we,
Of many far wiser than we;
And neither the angels in heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee:

For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling—my darling—my life and my bride,
In her sepulchre there by the sea,
In her tomb by the sounding sea.

HymnSunday - Holy, Holy, Holy (Acapella)

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty.” Isaiah 6:3

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity!

Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore Thee,
Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee,
Who was, and is, and evermore shall be.

Holy, holy, holy! though the darkness hide Thee,
Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see;
Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee,
Perfect in power, in love, and purity.

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All Thy works shall praise Thy Name, in earth, and sky, and sea;
Holy, holy, holy; merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity

New Adventure

I've started a message board. I put a link to it on the right sidebar above the Recent Comments. On the board, you can post topics for discussion or polls about anything you'd like to talk about. If you'd like to put a link to your blog and what's going on there, feel free to do that as well. Once on the forum page, just click on "New Thread" or "New Poll" located in the blue bar, and post away. You don't even have to register! I hope this works out to be a fun and engaging environment for open discussion. As always, your involvement is most welcome. We'll still be posting blogs here, so it's not a change in location; just an extension of this blog. We thought it would be fun to take it on a test run and see how it works.

Join us at THE DISCUSSION ZONE.

Pic o' the Week-o -- Young me

Acts 6:15b (in reference to the Biblical Stephen), "...looked intently at him and saw that his face was like the face of an angel."

Thursday Thirteen #10

Thirteen Things about Erin Thirteen Favorite Bible Verses All of these Scriptures have been influential in my walk with Christ in one way or another. Click on the verse to read it. 1. Isaiah 61:10 2. Philippians 2:5-11 3. Romans 11:33-36 4. Isaish 41:10 5. Psalm 139:7-18 6. John 15:5-17 7. Galations 2:20 8. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 9. Zephaniah 3:17 10. Isaiah 6:1-8 11. Philippians 4:12-13 12. Psalm 145 (I love it too much to just pick part of it!) 13. John 3:30 May the reading of God's Word bless you as it blesses me. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. Sandee (Comedy +) 2. Amy 3. Susan Helene Gottfried 4. Lori 5. MissMeliss 6. ellen b 7. SJ Reidhead (The Pink Flamingo) 8. Sue

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

SPLOG Wednesday

NCAAB
The Memphis Tigers' basketball team have a couple of wins on the year already, and Derrick Rose has lead them. As I stated previously, Memphis is my pick to win it all, and Rose is my pick not only for freshman of the year, but also for college basketball player of the year.

NFL
If the NFL season ended right now, the playoff teams would be:
NFC
1. Dallas
2. Green Bay
3. Tampa Bay
4. Seattle
5. NY Giants
6. Detroit

AFC
1. New England
2. Indianapolis
3. Pittsburgh
4. Kansas City
5. Tennessee
6. Cleveland

High on:
Steve Hutchinson - blocking for Peterson's record breaking day.
Green Bay - tied for best record in NFC.
Randy Moss - his sticky fingers won the game for the Pats.

Low on:
San Diego - a team that was supposed to contend in the AFC can't give up that kind of rushing, and lose to a mediocre Vikings team.
Denver - the win against the Steelers is the only brightspot of the year.
San Francisco - were supposed to compete in the west... they look like doormats.

NCAAF
BCS top 10 (remaining schedule)
1. Ohio St. (vs. IL, @ Mich)
2. LSU (vs. La. Tech, @ Ole' Miss, vs. Ark)
3. Oregon (@ Ari, @ UCLA, vs. Ore St)
4. Kansas (@ Ok St, vs. Iowa St, vs. Mizzou)
5. Oklahoma (vs. Baylor, @ TX Tech, vs. Ok St)
6. Missouri (vs. TX A&M, @ Kan St, @ Kan)
7. West Virginia (vs. Lou, @ Cincy, vs. UConn, vs. Pitt)
8. Boston College (@ Maryland, @ Clem, vs. Miami)
9. Arizona St. (@ UCLA, vs. USC, vs. Arizona)
10. Georgia (vs. Auburn, vs. KY, @ Ga Tech)

Predictions
I did better last week with my picks. 6-4, 15-15 overall. Here are this week's picks:
NCAAF
(1)Michigan over Wisconsin
*Michigan continues to roll despite their inauspicious start. The Badgers played 1 good half against the Buckeyes last week, but got blown out in the 2nd half. The Wolverines continue to roll.
(2)Arkansas over Tennessee
*McFadden is stating his case for the Heisman after his performance last week. I say he continues this week with his partner Felix. They run over the Vols.
(3)Florida over South Carolina
*The Gamecocks are tumbling, but Spurrier will be ready to face his former team. SC cannot stop the run, which means they'll have a doozy of a time against Tebow and Harvin.
(4)Georgia over Auburn
*The Bulldogs are first in the SEC East, and will widen their margin with the Vols' loss, combined with their win over the Tigers.
(5)Cincinnati over UConn
*I desperately wanted to pick Illinois over Ohio St. here, but the common sense in me wouldn't allow it. This game is pretty close to a toss up for me, but I'll go with Cincy over UConn, who should have a slightly worse record than they do.
NFL
(6)Pittsburgh over Cleveland
*The Browns are pretty impressive on offense, and are in line for a playoff berth. The Steelers are playing for the 2 seed (and first round bye), so they'll be motivated to stave off the up-and-coming Browns.
(7)Green Bay over Minnesota
*The Packers will do everything possible to stop Peterson, and will. Favre and company continue to lead (along with Dallas) the NFC.
(8)Tennessee over Jacksonville
*Tennessee can stop the run, and that's about all that Jacksonville does. The Titans give the Jags another loss, and leave them out of the playoff chase.
(9)Indianapolis over San Diego
*The Colts won't lose 2 straight, as the Chargers continue their descent down the ranks in the AFC. Who knows how many yards Addai will get?
(10)NY Giants over Dallas
Upset of the week. The Giants defense is really good. Eli is improving. The offense is balanced. The G-Men pull off the upset over their division foes.

Poll of the week

People like Christmas best, according to our last poll. Thanksgiving and Easter tied for 2nd.

Given the fact that the next presidential election is 1 year away 2 days ago, I felt it appropriate to get the opinion of you, the reader. Who do you feel is the best candidate for the gig? I've listed the top 6 republicans and top 6 democrats based on recent polls.

I've mentioned before, but I'll say again, the votes are all anonymous. We have no way of knowing who voted for what.

Results this time next week.

Vote away.

P.S. Here's a website to take a look at the candidates stands on the issues, if you'd like to check it out.

Poem of the Week

It's been a while since I've posted a poem, and even though I'm probably the only one who enjoys them, I'm posting another one. :) The poem is by one of my favorite poets, James Wright, whom I "discovered" while taking a poetry class in college (I mentioned him in a post on my old blog). I have his collected works and have read all of his poems, and his words thrill me every time I read them.

A Blessing

Just off the highway to Rochester, Minnesota,
Twilight bounds softly forth on the grass.
And the eyes of those two Indian ponies
Darken with kindness.
They have come gladly out of the willows
To welcome my friend and me.
We step over the barbed wire into the pasture
Where they have been grazing all day, alone.
They ripple tensely, they can hardly contain their happiness
That we have come.
They bow shyly as wet swans. They love each other.
There is no loneliness like theirs.
At home once more,
They begin munching the young tufts of spring in the darkness.
I would like to hold the slenderer one in my arms,
For she has walked over to me
And nuzzled my left hand.
She is black and white,
Her mane falls wild on her forehead,
And the light breeze moves me to caress her long ear
That is delicate as the skin over a girl's wrist.
Suddenly I realize
That if I stepped out of my body I would break
Into blossom.

HymnSunday - Great is Thy Faithfulness

“His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!