Just a Closer Walk with Thee

Just a Closer Walk with Thee

I am weak but Thou art strong;

Jesus, keep me from all wrong;

I'll be satisfied as long

As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.

Just a closer walk with Thee,

Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,

Daily walking close to Thee,

Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.

Thro' this world of toil and snares,

If I falter, Lord, who cares?

Who with me my burden shares?

None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee.

Just a closer walk with Thee,

Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,

Daily walking close to Thee,

Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.

When my feeble life is o'er,

Time for me will be no more;

Guide me gently, safely o'er

To Thy kingdom shore, to Thy shore.

Just a closer walk with Thee,

Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,

Daily walking close to Thee,

Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.

In this song, we acknowledge our human inability to live righteously, but we also express awareness of the grace and strength that God gives us in our daily walk. Even such an esteemed saint as the apostle Paul acknowledged his need for this grace: “But he [God] said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” … For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9a, 10b ESV)

This song is one of my all time favorite hymns.  Though I was raised in the church of Christ, my mother was raised a Baptist.  She and her sister played the piano and the organ at their church growing up.  Mama always loved to sit and play hymns at the piano in our living room.  More frequently than any other song, mama would play "Just a Closer Walk with Thee."

Moment or Zen: Snowflakes

Sleeping In

Today is the day I am taking for my birthday holiday at work, so no work, no blog. I'm sleeping in. If the mood strikes, I may write something later, but for now, this is it.

Post Birthday

Thank you all for your well wishes on my birthday. Last night to celebrate, I had some sushi and a bottle of prosecco. Both were delicious. Then I went to bed early. I'm taking tomorrow off as my birthday holiday, so today is my last day at work this week. I hope all of you have had a wonderful week.

My Birthday

Today is my birthday, but it's not a particularly joyous one. First I'm up here all alone with no one to celebrate with. It's also been a tough year. Last year on this day, I found out that one of my dearest friends had died in a car wreck the night before. It's been a year of depression and anxiety. Just when I thought I was doing better, my last grandparent, Granny, died. It's certainly been a year of heartache.

I do not know what this year brings. I have hope that it will bring a good companion into my life. I have hope that it will be a year of less depression and anxiety. I have hope that I will be able to lose some weight. I have hope that I can get my life back onto a track of happiness. A year ago, I was on that track of happiness and i got severely derailed, but things are looking up. I have hope that they will continue to look up.

By the way, I turn 39 today. This is my last year in my 30s. What will the future hold?

I'd Grown Accustomed to His Face

I've grown accustomed to his face

He almost makes the day begin

I've grown accustomed to the tune he whistles night and noon

His smiles, his frowns, his ups and downs

Are second nature to me now

Like breathing out and breathing in

I was serenely independent and content before we met

Surely I could always be that way again and yet

I've grown accustomed to his looks, accustomed to his voice

Accustomed to his face

He's second nature to me now

Like breathing out and breathing in

I'm very grateful he's a man and so easy to forget

Rather like a habit one can always break and yet

I've grown accustomed to the trace of something in the air

Accustomed to his face

Originally this song was "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" from My Fair Lady. Diana Krall, however, changed the lyrics a bit. I'd change one thing. I would change I've to I'd as in I had. You see, a year ago, one of my dearest friends died. I woke up almost every morning to texts from him, and there would be his smiling face. We would always text as we were getting ready for work, or soon thereafter. We would text during the day, and each night before we went to bed, we'd text "Goodnight. I love you." I never heard him whistle but I knew his ups and downs. I knew his mood from the type of texts I'd get, and I knew when something was wrong.

I was independent if not lonely before we met, but he encouraged me to get out there. He encouraged me to date and he encouraged me to get the job I have now. I'm trying to be what he encouraged me to be, but it's hard. I feel as if I've let him down in some way. I fell into a deep depression when he died in a sudden and horrible car wreck a year ago today. I haven't wanted to put myself out there, though I've tried a few times. New England just isn't that friendly of a place, and Vermont has tons of lesbians but is a little low on sane gay men.

Texting him was like second nature to me. We were constantly in contact though we lived many hours apart. When I lost him my breath, not to mention my joy, left me. I'm doing better these days. It's been a year, and I am coping much better. Antidepressants help with that. He's not so easy to forget, however. He was one of the most loving and generous person I've ever known. He wanted to be able to give as much as people had given him when he'd been on hard times. Sadly, he didn't live long enough to be as generous as he had wanted to be. He left a legacy though that can't be forgotten. He will always have a place in my heart, and I'll never forget his beautiful face. The face I'd grown accustomed to.

Gilmore Girls

I don't know if any of you were a fan of the show Gilmore Girls but I remember watching it when it was first on. I was so happy when Netflix announced that it would be doing four more episodes of the show, and I spent this weekend watching those four episodes. I laughed, I cried, and I laughed and cried some more. It was a very satisfying end. If you were a fan, don't miss it.

In the Morning of Joy

Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled:‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’   ‘Where, O death, is your victory?   Where, O death, is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labour is not in vain.

1 Corinthians 15:51-58

In The Morning of Joy

When the trumpet shall sound,

And the dead shall arise,

And the splendors immortal

Shall envelop the skies;

When the Angel of Death

Shall no longer destroy,

And the dead shall awaken

In the morning of joy:

In the morning of joy,

In the morning of joy,

We’ll be gathered to glory,

In the morning of joy;

In the morning of joy,

In the morning of joy,

We’ll be gathered to glory,

In the morning of joy.

When the King shall appear

In His beauty on high,

And shall summon His children

To the courts of the sky;

Shall the cause of the Lord

Have been all your employ,

That your soul may be spotless

In the morning of joy?

In the morning of joy,

In the morning of joy,

We’ll be gathered to glory,

In the morning of joy;

In the morning of joy,

In the morning of joy,

We’ll be gathered to glory,

In the morning of joy.

O the bliss of that morn,

When our loved ones we meet!

With the songs of the ransomed

We each other shall greet,

Singing praise to the Lamb,

Thro’ eternity’s years,

With the past all forgotten

With its sorrows and tears

In the morning of joy,

In the morning of joy,

We’ll be gathered to glory,

In the morning of joy;

In the morning of joy,

In the morning of joy,

We’ll be gathered to glory,

In the morning of joy.

I've had this song in my head lately. As I sang it to myself, tears rolled down my face. This song was sang at my grandmama's funeral, and I often sang it when I was the song leader of my church. It brings me comfort, since I know that in that morning of joy, I will be reunited with my friends and family.

The above sculpture is called "Angel of Grief" and is an 1894 sculpture by William Wetmore Story which serves as the grave stone of the artist and his wife at the Protestant Cemetery, Rome.

Moment of Zen: Rivalry Weekend

Whether you root for Michigan or Ohio State, Georgia or Georgia Tech, Florida or Florida State, Ole Miss or Mississippi State, Clemson or South Carolina or more importantly Auburn or Alabama, this is an exciting weekend in college football. I couldn't name all the rivalries, but I named some of the more important ones. Of course to me, the most exciting of them all is the Alabama vs. Auburn game. Who will win? We shall see.

Black Friday

Today, of course, is Black Friday. It means a lot of people are shopping today. I will not be one of them. First of all, I hate crowds. I don't mind shopping, but I hate the crowds of people shopping on Black Friday. I plan to spend the day inside watching movies or tv shows on Netflix. Then I will watch some football. Will you be shopping today? What will you be doing?