Is This Home?

Is this home?

Is this where I should learn to be happy?

Never dreamed

That a home could be dark and cold

I was told

Ev'ry day in my childhood:

Even when you grow old

Home should be where the heart is

Never where words so true!

My heart's far, far away

Home is too

Is this home?

Is this what I must learn to believe in?

Try to find

Something good in this tragic place

Just in case

I should stay here forever

Held in this empty place

Oh, that won't be easy

I know the reason why

My heart's far, far away

Home's alike

Is this home?

Am I here for a day or forever?

Shut away

Until who knows when

Oh, but then

As my life has been altered once

It can change again

Build higher walls around me

Change ev'ry lock and key

Nothing lasts, nothing holds

All of me

My heart's far, far away

Home and free!

When I heard this song for the first time the other day, I had to find the lyrics. I thought they said exactly what I felt at that moment. Then as I read them today, I thought this really pertains to all of life, not just my time in DC. As long as I am on earth, I am eagerly awaiting the day when my heart truly is home and free... with my God.

"Before history is written down in books, it is written in courage."

That was my favorite soundbite in President Bush's State of the Union Address. Below are a few more excerpts I really liked.

Strongest statement concerning the war...

There is no peace in retreat. And there is no honor in retreat. By allowing radical Islam to work its will - by leaving an assaulted world to fend for itself - we would signal to all that we no longer believe in our own ideals, or even in our own courage. But our enemies and our friends can be certain: The United States will not retreat from the world, and we will never surrender to evil.

The most emotional part of President Bush's speech was the letter he read, written by a fallen soldier, Marine Staff Sergeant Dan Clay, to his family:

“I know what honor is. It has been an honor to protect and serve all of you. I faced death with the secure knowledge that you would not have to. Never falter! Don’t hesitate to honor and support those of us who have the honor of protecting that which is worth protecting.”

The most overtly religious statement of the night...

A hopeful society has institutions of science and medicine that do not cut ethical corners, and that recognize the matchless value of every life. Tonight I ask you to pass legislation to prohibit the most egregious abuses of medical research - human cloning in all its forms, creating or implanting embryos for experiments, creating human-animal hybrids and buying, selling, or patenting human embryos. Human life is a gift from our Creator - and that gift should never be discarded, devalued, or put up for sale.

Direct threat to terrorist...

Lacking the military strength to challenge us directly, the terrorists have chosen the weapon of fear. When they murder children at a school in Beslan, or blow up commuters in London or behead a bound captive - the terrorists hope these horrors will break our will, allowing the violent to inherit the Earth. But they have miscalculated: we love our freedom, and we will fight to keep it.

Sugar-coated slam on those who have turned anti-war when the going got tough...

Along the way, we have benefited from responsible criticism and counsel offered by Members of Congress of both parties... Yet there is a difference between responsible criticism that aims for success, and defeatism that refuses to acknowledge anything but failure. Hindsight alone is not wisdom. And second-guessing is not a strategy.

A personal favorite for obvious reasons... =)

Fortunately, this nation has superb professionals in law enforcement, intelligence, the military, and homeland security. These men and women are dedicating their lives to protecting us all, and they deserve our support and our thanks.

Definition of a True "Gentle-Man"

"Brave men are all vertebrates; they have their softness on the surface

and their toughness in the middle. "

~ G. K. Chesterton

Could You Believe?

A friend asked me not that long ago, "if people really believed in heaven and hell, would they live the way they do?" OUCH! That one hurt. =( It was a reminder that I really needed, though... It is important that what I do matches what I say.
I was listening to Could You Believe?, by Twila Paris, this morning and it made me think of that conversation.

Here are my favorite parts of the song...

He was a friend to sinners
He was a gentle man
Beautiful, humble master plan
His voice could pierce the darkness
Quiet an angry sea
I hear Him saying follow me

I look in your eyes and I tell you these things
But somehow I know that it’s hard to believe

Could you believe if I really was like Him
If I lived all the words that I said
If for a change I would kneel down before you
And serve you instead
Could you believe if I stood here transparent
And through me you could see his eyes
Could you believe if you saw right inside
Me and there was no disguise

Could you believe if I was really like him
If I lived all the words that I said
If it was clear that I held in my heart
What I know in my head
Could you believe, could you believe
Looking at me, could you believe
Could you believe?

~ Twila Paris

His Blood be on Us and on Our Children!

I read through the gosepl of Matthew last week and I came across a phrase that I had never noticed before.

So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves. And all the people answered, His blood be on us and on our children! ~ Matthew 27:24-25

The people did not realize what they were actually asking for, but in their ignorance, the requested the one thing they really needed.

The blood shall be a sign for you... And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you... ~ Exodus 12:13

It's easy for me to forget that I too am guilty of putting Christ to death and so this verse was a good reminder that the one thing I need cost Christ His life.

Amusing Calvinist/Arminian Quote

By Ravi Zacherias (of course). It was the intro to his answer on a "once saved always saved" question.

You know that Calvinists have TULIP (Total depravity, Unmerited favor, Limited atonement, Irresistable grace, and Perseverance of the saints)... well the Arminians have their own flower. It's called, He loves me... He loves me not...He loves me... He loves me not...