Wednesday

*sigh* again... My feet ache. I went to the grocery outlet and back and then to the library and back today.

I got a Charlie Brown comic book at the library. I never really liked Charlie brown very much, but I watched the Christmas one this year and liked it. :) I've always thought it was really depressing how he wants to talk to that little red haired girl and never did...

In choir we are working on the hardest one yet... :P I really really really really really really really want voice lessons again......

I just recently burned all my radiohead cds that a friend gave me and I've been going to sleep to The Bends all week.


I love this cd more and more every time I hear it. My favorites on it, I think, are Bullet Proof... I wish I was, Black Star, and Street Spirit fade out.

I'm very tired, but I don't want to go to bed...

On Friday there is a Graduation/Engagement party for a couple at Church, and I'm really looking forward to that. :) But it's only Wednesday and I have a feeling that Thursday is going to be a very long day...

*sigh*....

I'm not supposed to get on Google talk in the evenings but I really want to! Blah......

*sigh* .... again...

I can't think of anything else to say, so maybe I'll just go sit lie in bed and not sleep for an hour or two... BLAH

Shayleen

The Fifth of the Seven Penitential Psalms

Psalm 102

A Prayer of the afflicted when he is overwhelmed and pours out his complaint before the LORD.


1 Hear my prayer, O LORD,
And let my cry come to You.
2 Do not hide Your face from me
In the day of my trouble;
Incline your ear to me;
In the day that I call, answer me speedily.
3 For my days are consumed like smoke,
And my bones are burned like a hearth.
4 My heart is stricken and withered like grass,
So that I forget to eat my bread.
5 Because of the sound of my groaning
My bones cling to my skin.
6 I am like a pelican of the wilderness;
I am like an owl of the desert.
7 I lie awake,
And am like a sparrow alone on the housetop.
8 My enemies reproach me all day long,
Those who deride me swear an oath against me.
9 For I have eaten ashes like bread,
And mingled my drink with weeping,
10 Because of Your indignation and Your wrath;
For You have lifted me up and cast me away.
11 My days are like a shadow that lengthens,
And I wither away like grass.
12 But You, O LORD, shall endure forever,
And the remembrance of Your name to all generations.
13 You will arise and have mercy on Zion;
For the time to favor her, yes the set time, has come.
14 For Your servants take pleasure in her stones,
And show favor to her dust.
15 So the nations shall fear the name of the LORD,
And all the kings of the earth Your glory.
16 For the LORD shall build up Zion;
He shall appear in His glory.
17 He shall regard the prayer of the destitute,
And shall not despise their prayer.
18 This will be written for the generation to come,
That a people yet to be created may praise the LORD.
19 For he looked down from the height of His sanctuary;
From heaven the LORD viewed the earth,
20 To hear the groaning of the prisoner,
To release those appointed to death,
21 To declare the name of the LORD in Zion,
And His praise in Jerusalem,
22 When the peoples are gathered together,
And the kingdoms, to serve the LORD.
23 He weakened my strength in the way;
He shortened my days.
24 I said, "O my God, do not take me away in the midst of my days;
Your years are throughout all generations.
25 Of old You laid the foundation of the earth,
And the heavens are the work of Your hands.
26 They will perish, but You will endure;
Yes, they will all grow old like a garment;
Like a cloak You will change them,
And they will be changed.
27 But You are the same,
And Your years will have no end.
28 The children of Your servants will continue,
And their descendants will be established before You."

The Importance of Being Earnest

We're watching The Importance of Being Earnest right now. :) I love this movie... Watching it makes me want to do another play! I would love to do this one. It makes me laugh. :D I can't tell whether I like Cecily or Gwendolyn better... They're both hilarious! :D

Algernon. Did you hear what I was playing, Lane?

Lane. I didnt think it polite to listen, sir.

Algernon. Im sorry for that, for your sake. I dont play accurately - any one can play accurately - but I play with wonderful expression. As far as the piano is concerned, sentiment is my forte. I keep science for Life.

Lane. Yes, sir

Algernon. Oh! there is no use speculating on that subject. Divorces are made in Heaven - [Jack puts out his hand to take a sandwich. Algernon at once interferes.] Please dont touch the cucumber sandwiches. They are ordered specially for Aunt Augusta. [Takes one and eats it.]

Jack. Well, you have been eating them all the time.

Algernon. That is quite a different matter. She is my aunt. [Takes plate from below.] Have some bread and butter. The bread and butter is for Gwendolen. Gwendolen is devoted to bread and butter.

Jack. [Advancing to table and helping himself.] And very good bread and butter it is too.

Algernon. [To Gwendolen.] Dear me, you are smart!

Gwendolen. I am always smart! Am I not, Mr. Worthing?

Jack. Youre quite perfect, Miss Fairfax.

Gwendolen. Oh! I hope I am not that. It would leave no room for developments, and I intend to develop in many directions. [Gwendolen and Jack sit down together in the corner.]

Jack. If you dont take care, your friend Bunbury will get you into a serious scrape some day.

Algernon. I love scrapes. They are the only things that are never serious.

Jack. Oh, thats nonsense, Algy. You never talk anything but nonsense.

Algernon. Nobody ever does.

Algernon. [Raising his hat.] You are my little cousin Cecily, Im sure.

Cecily. You are under some strange mistake. I am not little. In fact, I believe I am more than usually tall for my age. [Algernon is rather taken aback.] But I am your cousin Cecily. You, I see from your card, are Uncle Jacks brother, my cousin Ernest, my wicked cousin Ernest.

Algernon. Oh! I am not really wicked at all, cousin Cecily. You mustnt think that I am wicked.

Cecily. If you are not, then you have certainly been deceiving us all in a very inexcusable manner. I hope you have not been leading a double life, pretending to be wicked and being really good all the time. That would be hypocrisy.

Algernon. [Looks at her in amazement.] Oh! Of course I have been rather reckless.

Cecily. I am glad to hear it.

Algernon. In fact, now you mention the subject, I have been very bad in my own small way.

Cecily. I dont think you should be so proud of that, though I am sure it must have been very pleasant.

Algernon. It is much pleasanter being here with you.

Cecily. I cant understand how you are here at all. Uncle Jack wont be back till Monday afternoon.

Algernon. That is a great disappointment. I am obliged to go up by the first train on Monday morning. I have a business appointment that I am anxious... to miss?

Cecily. Couldnt you miss it anywhere but in London?

Algernon. No: the appointment is in London.

Cecily. Well, I know, of course, how important it is not to keep a business engagement, if one wants to retain any sense of the beauty of life, but still I think you had better wait till Uncle Jack arrives. I know he wants to speak to you about your emigrating.

Algernon. About my what?

Cecily. Your emigrating. He has gone up to buy your outfit.

Algernon. I certainly wouldnt let Jack buy my outfit. He has no taste in neckties at all.

Cecily. I dont think you will require neckties. Uncle Jack is sending you to Australia.

Algernon. Australia! Id sooner die.

Cecily. Well, he said at dinner on Wednesday night, that you would have to choose between this world, the next world, and Australia.

Algernon. Oh, well! The accounts I have received of Australia and the next world, are not particularly encouraging. This world is good enough for me, cousin Cecily.

Cecily. Yes, but are you good enough for it?

Algernon. Im afraid Im not that. That is why I want you to reform me. You might make that your mission, if you dont mind, cousin Cecily.

Cecily. Im afraid Ive no time, this afternoon.

Algernon. Well, would you mind my reforming myself this afternoon?

Cecily. It is rather Quixotic of you. But I think you should try.

Algernon. I will. I feel better already.

Cecily. You are looking a little worse.

Algernon. That is because I am hungry.

Cecily. How thoughtless of me. I should have remembered that when one is going to lead an entirely new life, one requires regular and wholesome meals. Wont you come in?

Algernon. Thank you. Might I have a buttonhole first? I never have any appetite unless I have a buttonhole first.

Cecily. A Marechal Niel? [Picks up scissors.]

Algernon. No, Id sooner have a pink rose.

Cecily. Why? [Cuts a flower.]

Algernon. Because you are like a pink rose, Cousin Cecily.

Cecily. I dont think it can be right for you to talk to me like that. Miss Prism never says such things to me.

Algernon. Then Miss prism is a short-sighted old lady. [Cecily puts the rose in his buttonhole.] You are the prettiest girl I ever saw.

Cecily. Miss prism says that all good looks are a snare.

Algernon. They are a snare that every sensible man would like to be caught in.

Cecily. Oh, I dont think I would care to catch a sensible man. I shouldnt know what to talk to him about.

Hehehe :D I love the bit where Algy and Jack are fighting over the muffins.

Shayleen

The Fourth of the Seven Penitential Psalms

Psalm 51

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David when Nathan the prophet went ot him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

1 Have mercy upon me, O God,

According to Your lovingkindness;

According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,

Blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash me thoroughly from my inquity,

And cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I acknowledge my transgressions,

And my sin is always before me.

4 Against You, You only, have I sinned,

And done this evil in Your sight--

That You may be found just when You speak,

And blameless when You judge.

5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,

And in sin my mother conceived me.

6 Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts,

And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.

7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;

Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

8 Make me hear joy and gladness,

That the bones You have broken may rejoice.

9 Hide Your face from my sins,

And blot out all my iniquities.

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,

And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

11 Do not cast me away from Your presence,

And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,

And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.

13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,

And sinners shall be converted to You.

14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,

The God of my salvation, and my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness.

15 O Lord, open my lips,

And my mouth shall show forth Your praise.

16 For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it;

You do not delight in burnt offering.

17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,

A broken and a contrite heart--

These, O God,

You will not despise.

18 Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion;

Build the walls of Jerusalem.

19 Then You shall be pleased with the sacrifiices of righteousness,

With burnt offering and whole burnt offering;

Then they shall offer bulls

On Your altar

The Third of the Seven Penitential Psalms

Psalm 38

A Psalm of David. To bring to remembrance.

1 O Lord, do no rebuke me in Your wrath,

Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure!

2 For Your arrows pierce me deeply,

And Your hand presses me down.

3 There is no soundness in my flesh

Because of my sin.

4 For my iniquities have gone over my head;

Like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.

5 My wounds are foul and festering

Because of my foolishness.

6 I am troubled, I am bowed down greatly;

I go mourning all the day long.

7 For my loins are full of inflammation,

And there is no soundness in in my flesh.

8 I am feeble and severely broken;

I groan because of the turmoil of my heart.

9 LORD, all my desire is before You;

And my sighing is not hidden from You.

10 My heart pants, my strength fails me;

As for the light of my eyes, it also has gone from me.

11 My loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague,

And my relatives stand afar off.

12 Those also who seek my life lay snares for me;

Those who seek my hurt speak of destruction, and plan deception all the day long.

13 But I, like a deaf man, do not hear;

And I am like a mute who does not open his mouth.

14 Thus I am like a man who does not hear,

And in whose mouth is no response.

15 For in You, O LORD, I hope;

You will hear, O LORD my God.

16 For I said, "Hear me, lest they rejoice over me,

Lest, when my foot slips, they exalt themselves against me."

17 For I am ready to fall,

And my sorrow is continually before me.

18 For I will declare my iniquity;

I will be in anguish over my sin.

19 But my enemies are vigorous, and they are strong;

And those who hate me wrongfully have multiplied.

20 Those also who render evil for good,

They are my adversarires, because I follow what is good.

21 Do not forsake me, O LORD;

O my God, be not far from me!

22 Make haste to help me,

O Lord, my salvation!

Some Videos

I thought this was a very encouraging video. :)

This song is also very encouraging. :) God is great!

Love you :)

Shayleen

The second of the Seven Penitential Psalms

Psalm 32

A Psalm of David. A contemplation.

1 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,

Whose sin is covered.

2 Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity,

And in whose spirit there is no deceit.

3 When I kept silent, my bones grew old

Through my goaning all the day long.

4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;

My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah

5 I acknowledged my sin to You,

and my iniquity I have not hidden.

I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,"

And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

6 For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You

In a time when You may be found;

Surely in a flood of great waters

They shall not come near him.

7 You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble;

You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah

8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;

I will guide you with My eye.

9 Do not be like the horse or like the mule,

Which have no understanding,

Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle,

Else they will not come near you.

10 Many sorrows shall be to the wicked;

But he who trusts in the LORD, mercy shall surround him.

11 Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous;

And shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

I think this psalm makes it very obvious that we should turn to God with our sins, instead of waiting for Him to turn our hearts towards him.

Shay

Ash Wednesday

Wednesday was the beginning of Lent so we had our Ash Wednesday service and the choir sang Be Merciful Unto Me O, Lord by John Blow. I think from now on I'll post the responsive reading from each Sunday and I'll start with the Wednesday service ones.

Psalm 6 To the Chief Musician.

With stringed instruments. On an eight-stringed harp. A Psalm of David.

1 O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your anger,

Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure.

2 Have mercy on me, O LORD, for I am weak;

O LORD, heal me, for my bones are troubled.

3 My soul also is greatly troubled;

But You, O LORD--how long?

4 Return, O LORD, deliver me!

Oh, save me for Your mercies' sake!

5 For in death there is no remembrance of You;

In the grave who will give You thanks?

6 I am weary with my groaning; all night I make my bed swim;

I drench my couch with my tears.

7 My eye wastes away because of grief;

It grows old because of all my enemies.

8 Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity;

For the LORD has heard the voice of my weeping.

9 The LORD has heard my supplication;

The LORD will receive my prayer.

10 Let all my enemies be ashamed and greatly troubled;

Let them turn back and be ashamed suddenly.

Shay

Moved

I moved my blog here! :)

Shay