Thursday, August 28, 2014
John Newton (Amazing Grace Movie)
"Although my memory's fading, I remember two things very clearly. I'm a
great sinner and Christ is a great Savior."
Monday, August 25, 2014
Nature's Party
Little leaves dance with swirls of wind,
the trees heave, keeping time,
The thunder claps a drumming beat,
and the lightning flashes like party lights,
Pitter, patter, joins the rain,
Nature's party, storm's the name,
Safe inside, warm and sound,
Watching the drops fall to the ground.
Drip, drip, rainy music,
Leaves dance to the pattern,
The wind joins in the chorus song,
This storm might last all night long.
Saturday, August 23, 2014
Anne Frank
"How true Daddy's words were when he said: all children must look after
their own upbringing. Parents can only give good advice or put them on
the right paths, but the final forming of a person's character lies in
their own hands."
Monday, August 18, 2014
The Legend of the Rivar
Written here is the account Andris Rydar of Tiaos told the girl he called his daughter, over whom he stood guardian, of the history of the festival he brought her to see when he took her across the mountain range to the East to see the many kingdoms there. The girl was still very young and it was many years before she wrote this account down.
"At the foot of the mountains called Altaiku is a country called Hesereth where my guardian, Andris of Tiaos, took me when it became necessary for the safety of all for me to leave the girl I was companion to, to whom I was as close as a sister, for a time. This was on our way to a farther east country called Kumray, ruled by a dear friend of my guardian. In Hesereth, we stayed with the Rivar, a race of thinking creatures who are of the river and are related to humans. My guardian informed me that they were once of the Ocean; distant and land-and-river-dwelling relatives of the now legend Eauto, who lived in the Sea all around our world. It was a time of celebration and festivities, all of which to me were ethereal and wonderful. Night fell and my guardian urged me not to grow tired yet, for a performance I would remember to my dying day was about to begin. He had no need for concern, it would be many hours before I would even begin to weary. On one bank of the river, where the grass is a deep green, were many seats ascending in a stairlike manner. The sandy area was clear. On the opposite side on the grass there was a stage, with curtains and light tricks that the Rivar learned to master. The river, both sandy banks, and the built stage were all used in the performance. The violins and drums and wind-instruments began to play, the lights were wielded like swords, and dancers and singers came forth. Their feet moved like water and fire, my eyes and ears struggled to keep what I saw and what I heard together. I was awed. That night, my venerable guardian carried me to bed, but I pleaded him to tell me what I had just seen. This is what he told me:
The performance is of two love stories. One of the Daughter of the Mountain, Rivera (Riv-veer-uh), and the Son of the Ocean, Cea (See-uh). The other is of Deverella and Tallu, the elder Daughter of the Mountain, Lady of the Land and and her lover, the Sea, Nephew of the Ocean. Rivera lived with her ladies, Daughters of the River they were called, on these very banks. They lived peacefully and happily alone. The daughters oft came and danced and made merry on the riverbank while finishing their work. Later Rivera herself would come and dance among the grass and water. Sometimes the Lords of Night would come and try to steal her away, bringing alluring gifts like Stars and once they even brought the Moon herself, promising that she and her ladies would serve her, but Rivera knew that the Moon served no one but the Sun and the Stars were too far away to listen to a mere river princess. She would shake her head and flee away returning with her ladies to be sure the Lords of Night had gone. If not, she and the Daughters of the River would fight them off, for the Lords of Night were very weak when they were not in their own realm. Meanwhile, Rivera knew that Cea was coming. Everyday drew him deeper and deeper into land as she would travel closer and closer to the Mountain of her Mother. She was to marry Cea, though she had never met him. But first he would have to come to her and she wanted to know how far he was willing to go for her? Would he be willing to come to the foot of her mother, so far from his father, to find her? He must if he wanted to bring her back to his father's house were they would live in happiness forever. The Moon, still mistress of the night, rose and fell many times and the Sun, governess of the day, governed many times. The Lords of Night returned and fled time and time again, but the Ladies of the River chased them away. At last they had arrived at the village of the Rivar where girls and boys hoped to find their love lest they remain single forever. It was also the place where Rivera would either meet and marry the Ocean's son or return to her home in the riverlands to remain a maiden to the end of her days like her sister, Deverella, who's late lover died by the Lords of Night when he was tempted to their realm by their daughters while on his journey. Her lover and love, Tallu, was not of stature enough to marry a Daughter of the Mountain, who's glaciers, of which Deverella was once lady of, are from which the water pours. Rivera went often to the river banks, where she dipped her feet into the river, waiting for her lover's arrival. She dreamed often of his face, waiting, waiting to feel his arms around her, promising her a home in the vast, beautiful ocean where she longed to go. She imagined the celebration that would be held, the weddings soon to be announced, and she pleaded for Cea's safety, that she would be among the brides receiving loving husbands that blessed season of spring, so that the summer can be brought. She was pleased the village was so far from the Ocean, it would make her time with him all the longer before they reached their home. How sweet that sounded. Their home. The Lords of Night would send their handsome sons to her to claim to be Prince Cea come for her and they would woo her and enchant her with all soft words, empty promises, and gifts. Rivera would only flee returning with the men of the village to defend her, for the Lords of Night's sons had grown stronger since their assaults down the river. This happened again and again and Rivera's heart began to sink. No one had seen Cea, nor any of those who belong to the ocean. As the Moon took the place of the Sun, Rivera wept bitterly, her salty tears contaminating the freshwater river, whose sandy banks she sat upon, dipping her feet and calves into the water. Her distressed face was covered by her long, sandy-blonde hair. The tears in her eyes caused her silver-blue eyes to turn glassy and to shine when the light hit them. It was too late when she raised her head to find herself surrounded by the Lords of Night. The Moon was hidden behind trees and darkness surrounded her, how quickly night had fallen. Rivera lept up and backed into the river, breathing deeply, calling in her soul upon her mother to order the Ruler of the Glaciers to send down his waters to swallow her. Suddenly something like lightning flashed and many men came out or the surrounding vegetation and fought back the Lords of Night. A sword was handed to the daughter of the mountain and she, too, joined the fray. The Lords and their sons fled. When Rivera turned to thank her rescuers, there was only one man still there. His eyes were as deep as the ocean blue and his hair as dark as the sunless ocean deeps. She allowed her weapon to drop to the sand, and he his. She expressed her gratefulness and he assured her he was honored to do so. Without speaking their names, they spent the night talking and learning of one another, until, as the Sun's rays peaked over the mountain, they rose to return to the village hand in hand. There was no doubt that this was Cea. He had come at last. Yet farther up the river, Deverella and her love, Tallu, also sat lovingly by the riverside. They watched the Moon shine and sang softly to each other, promising to love each other to the end of their days. Tallu told Deverella that he thought that if he could bring the Skies and Seas to meet, her mother might look more kindly upon their devotion, for at this time, only she from land touched the Skies. Deverella pressed her face into his chest and asked him if it were not dangerous? He would have to find the entrances into the kingdoms that would lead him there, for there was no map to the Sky. Only the Lords of Night knew how to come to and fro, surely he would have to pass through their realm. Tallu replied that he would face a world of dangers to be able to be with her. The lady, though deeply disturbed at the thought of losing her love, agreed. So Tallu left her to approach the Mountain and speak to her mother, Lady Altaiku. She wept when nights later, the mountain seemed to roar and tremble and lightning and swirling winds were seen, fearing for Tallu. The preparations for the lovely weddings only deepened the hole in her heart and though she knew it would not be in this season or perhaps the next reasonable for her to expect his return, she waited by the riverside every day, haunted it at night. She lifted her voice in song, low and sweet of the sorrows of love, the long waits, the disappointing hearts, and finally the fulfilled promises of life together in marriage. And all who heard it felt it's heart and realized the gravity of love. Ladies and Men entering matrimony could not hear the song, but come away more solemn but content. For love is patient, love is kind, it keeps no records of wrong, and it always waits. The wedding festival arrived and all the girls and boys danced. Rivera and Cea danced together all night long, until dawn, when, one by one, they all gave their vows. Rivera returned with Cea to the Ocean, but Deverella stayed in the village of the Rivar. Seasons came and season passed with no sign of her lover. Near spring of the third year, the Lords of Night would send their sons to her. They would haunt her steps, urge to to return with them to their kingdom. They whispered to her that he was unfaithful and a married a girl in their realm, then when that failed, they were assure her that he was dead. But, even with tears running down her cheeks, Deverella only turned away, sometimes without heart enough to order them on their way. The Lords of Night themselves came to her and tried to wind their darkness around her, confusing her into coming with them. But she would cry out and the Moon, taking pity, would shine a ray through the darkness and allow her a light path to the village; or the Sun would realize with rage that Darkness invaded her kingdom, and send down her light to dispel them back to the realm from which they came. Deverella would pray, then, that Tallu had found his way through the realm of the sun to the sky and not the lords of night. Spring approached and very soon the Rivar would gather again for celebration. The Lady of Mourning, the Lady of Land, lifted her voice in song once again. This time a shadow came out from the moon's rays and as Deverella stared, she realized it was her Tallu. He had come back! Running to him she embraced him. He whispered to her, 'Let us join the celebration and take our vows, but first, I must tell you something.' She listened. He told her how he made his way through the realm of the Lords of Night and reached the Sky. He told her that he created the ends of the Earth. 'They are beautiful,' he told her, 'where Sky and Ocean meet in a cloud always shining like the Sun is just beneath it. That is the ends of the earth. It is my kingdom. I am lord of the sky and all it's water. But you are Lady of the Land. I can only come to you with the Rain, before I must return to my own kingdom.' Deverella only smiled and said that if she could not come with him to his kingdom, that must suit. So Deverella and Tallu took their vows.
And that is the legend of why it rains and why all rivers lead to the ocean.
And as I closed my eyes that night to dream of the ends of the earth, I whispered, 'Is it true?' To which my guardian only replied, 'Sweet dreams, my dear. I'll wake you in the morning.' I have heard many myths and legends, but this one is by far my favorite, for in my childlike mind, reality mixed with fantasy, making it the more wonderful for me and even though now I know it for what it is, I have never forgotten the sweet wonder I felt when watching the portrayal and hearing the story from my dear papa's lips."
Note: It is supposed that the majority of the marriages in this story were arranged and that these girls had met their future spouse many times before during the festivals. Either party had every right to refuse if they so pleased. Rivera and Cea were the only ones who had not met, for Cea lived so far away and the journey inland was perilous .
(Inspired by the Riverdance)
-Lynsi Keye
"At the foot of the mountains called Altaiku is a country called Hesereth where my guardian, Andris of Tiaos, took me when it became necessary for the safety of all for me to leave the girl I was companion to, to whom I was as close as a sister, for a time. This was on our way to a farther east country called Kumray, ruled by a dear friend of my guardian. In Hesereth, we stayed with the Rivar, a race of thinking creatures who are of the river and are related to humans. My guardian informed me that they were once of the Ocean; distant and land-and-river-dwelling relatives of the now legend Eauto, who lived in the Sea all around our world. It was a time of celebration and festivities, all of which to me were ethereal and wonderful. Night fell and my guardian urged me not to grow tired yet, for a performance I would remember to my dying day was about to begin. He had no need for concern, it would be many hours before I would even begin to weary. On one bank of the river, where the grass is a deep green, were many seats ascending in a stairlike manner. The sandy area was clear. On the opposite side on the grass there was a stage, with curtains and light tricks that the Rivar learned to master. The river, both sandy banks, and the built stage were all used in the performance. The violins and drums and wind-instruments began to play, the lights were wielded like swords, and dancers and singers came forth. Their feet moved like water and fire, my eyes and ears struggled to keep what I saw and what I heard together. I was awed. That night, my venerable guardian carried me to bed, but I pleaded him to tell me what I had just seen. This is what he told me:
The performance is of two love stories. One of the Daughter of the Mountain, Rivera (Riv-veer-uh), and the Son of the Ocean, Cea (See-uh). The other is of Deverella and Tallu, the elder Daughter of the Mountain, Lady of the Land and and her lover, the Sea, Nephew of the Ocean. Rivera lived with her ladies, Daughters of the River they were called, on these very banks. They lived peacefully and happily alone. The daughters oft came and danced and made merry on the riverbank while finishing their work. Later Rivera herself would come and dance among the grass and water. Sometimes the Lords of Night would come and try to steal her away, bringing alluring gifts like Stars and once they even brought the Moon herself, promising that she and her ladies would serve her, but Rivera knew that the Moon served no one but the Sun and the Stars were too far away to listen to a mere river princess. She would shake her head and flee away returning with her ladies to be sure the Lords of Night had gone. If not, she and the Daughters of the River would fight them off, for the Lords of Night were very weak when they were not in their own realm. Meanwhile, Rivera knew that Cea was coming. Everyday drew him deeper and deeper into land as she would travel closer and closer to the Mountain of her Mother. She was to marry Cea, though she had never met him. But first he would have to come to her and she wanted to know how far he was willing to go for her? Would he be willing to come to the foot of her mother, so far from his father, to find her? He must if he wanted to bring her back to his father's house were they would live in happiness forever. The Moon, still mistress of the night, rose and fell many times and the Sun, governess of the day, governed many times. The Lords of Night returned and fled time and time again, but the Ladies of the River chased them away. At last they had arrived at the village of the Rivar where girls and boys hoped to find their love lest they remain single forever. It was also the place where Rivera would either meet and marry the Ocean's son or return to her home in the riverlands to remain a maiden to the end of her days like her sister, Deverella, who's late lover died by the Lords of Night when he was tempted to their realm by their daughters while on his journey. Her lover and love, Tallu, was not of stature enough to marry a Daughter of the Mountain, who's glaciers, of which Deverella was once lady of, are from which the water pours. Rivera went often to the river banks, where she dipped her feet into the river, waiting for her lover's arrival. She dreamed often of his face, waiting, waiting to feel his arms around her, promising her a home in the vast, beautiful ocean where she longed to go. She imagined the celebration that would be held, the weddings soon to be announced, and she pleaded for Cea's safety, that she would be among the brides receiving loving husbands that blessed season of spring, so that the summer can be brought. She was pleased the village was so far from the Ocean, it would make her time with him all the longer before they reached their home. How sweet that sounded. Their home. The Lords of Night would send their handsome sons to her to claim to be Prince Cea come for her and they would woo her and enchant her with all soft words, empty promises, and gifts. Rivera would only flee returning with the men of the village to defend her, for the Lords of Night's sons had grown stronger since their assaults down the river. This happened again and again and Rivera's heart began to sink. No one had seen Cea, nor any of those who belong to the ocean. As the Moon took the place of the Sun, Rivera wept bitterly, her salty tears contaminating the freshwater river, whose sandy banks she sat upon, dipping her feet and calves into the water. Her distressed face was covered by her long, sandy-blonde hair. The tears in her eyes caused her silver-blue eyes to turn glassy and to shine when the light hit them. It was too late when she raised her head to find herself surrounded by the Lords of Night. The Moon was hidden behind trees and darkness surrounded her, how quickly night had fallen. Rivera lept up and backed into the river, breathing deeply, calling in her soul upon her mother to order the Ruler of the Glaciers to send down his waters to swallow her. Suddenly something like lightning flashed and many men came out or the surrounding vegetation and fought back the Lords of Night. A sword was handed to the daughter of the mountain and she, too, joined the fray. The Lords and their sons fled. When Rivera turned to thank her rescuers, there was only one man still there. His eyes were as deep as the ocean blue and his hair as dark as the sunless ocean deeps. She allowed her weapon to drop to the sand, and he his. She expressed her gratefulness and he assured her he was honored to do so. Without speaking their names, they spent the night talking and learning of one another, until, as the Sun's rays peaked over the mountain, they rose to return to the village hand in hand. There was no doubt that this was Cea. He had come at last. Yet farther up the river, Deverella and her love, Tallu, also sat lovingly by the riverside. They watched the Moon shine and sang softly to each other, promising to love each other to the end of their days. Tallu told Deverella that he thought that if he could bring the Skies and Seas to meet, her mother might look more kindly upon their devotion, for at this time, only she from land touched the Skies. Deverella pressed her face into his chest and asked him if it were not dangerous? He would have to find the entrances into the kingdoms that would lead him there, for there was no map to the Sky. Only the Lords of Night knew how to come to and fro, surely he would have to pass through their realm. Tallu replied that he would face a world of dangers to be able to be with her. The lady, though deeply disturbed at the thought of losing her love, agreed. So Tallu left her to approach the Mountain and speak to her mother, Lady Altaiku. She wept when nights later, the mountain seemed to roar and tremble and lightning and swirling winds were seen, fearing for Tallu. The preparations for the lovely weddings only deepened the hole in her heart and though she knew it would not be in this season or perhaps the next reasonable for her to expect his return, she waited by the riverside every day, haunted it at night. She lifted her voice in song, low and sweet of the sorrows of love, the long waits, the disappointing hearts, and finally the fulfilled promises of life together in marriage. And all who heard it felt it's heart and realized the gravity of love. Ladies and Men entering matrimony could not hear the song, but come away more solemn but content. For love is patient, love is kind, it keeps no records of wrong, and it always waits. The wedding festival arrived and all the girls and boys danced. Rivera and Cea danced together all night long, until dawn, when, one by one, they all gave their vows. Rivera returned with Cea to the Ocean, but Deverella stayed in the village of the Rivar. Seasons came and season passed with no sign of her lover. Near spring of the third year, the Lords of Night would send their sons to her. They would haunt her steps, urge to to return with them to their kingdom. They whispered to her that he was unfaithful and a married a girl in their realm, then when that failed, they were assure her that he was dead. But, even with tears running down her cheeks, Deverella only turned away, sometimes without heart enough to order them on their way. The Lords of Night themselves came to her and tried to wind their darkness around her, confusing her into coming with them. But she would cry out and the Moon, taking pity, would shine a ray through the darkness and allow her a light path to the village; or the Sun would realize with rage that Darkness invaded her kingdom, and send down her light to dispel them back to the realm from which they came. Deverella would pray, then, that Tallu had found his way through the realm of the sun to the sky and not the lords of night. Spring approached and very soon the Rivar would gather again for celebration. The Lady of Mourning, the Lady of Land, lifted her voice in song once again. This time a shadow came out from the moon's rays and as Deverella stared, she realized it was her Tallu. He had come back! Running to him she embraced him. He whispered to her, 'Let us join the celebration and take our vows, but first, I must tell you something.' She listened. He told her how he made his way through the realm of the Lords of Night and reached the Sky. He told her that he created the ends of the Earth. 'They are beautiful,' he told her, 'where Sky and Ocean meet in a cloud always shining like the Sun is just beneath it. That is the ends of the earth. It is my kingdom. I am lord of the sky and all it's water. But you are Lady of the Land. I can only come to you with the Rain, before I must return to my own kingdom.' Deverella only smiled and said that if she could not come with him to his kingdom, that must suit. So Deverella and Tallu took their vows.
And that is the legend of why it rains and why all rivers lead to the ocean.
And as I closed my eyes that night to dream of the ends of the earth, I whispered, 'Is it true?' To which my guardian only replied, 'Sweet dreams, my dear. I'll wake you in the morning.' I have heard many myths and legends, but this one is by far my favorite, for in my childlike mind, reality mixed with fantasy, making it the more wonderful for me and even though now I know it for what it is, I have never forgotten the sweet wonder I felt when watching the portrayal and hearing the story from my dear papa's lips."
Note: It is supposed that the majority of the marriages in this story were arranged and that these girls had met their future spouse many times before during the festivals. Either party had every right to refuse if they so pleased. Rivera and Cea were the only ones who had not met, for Cea lived so far away and the journey inland was perilous .
(Inspired by the Riverdance)
-Lynsi Keye
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Monday, August 11, 2014
We Are Authors
We don't see a person
without an entire life
We don't see a life
without seeing the thousands of adventures within
We are authors
We understand the complex, intricacies
The web of meetings and effects
We know the power of a word
We can see the outcome of a smile
We are authors
We put your pain into words
We feel the pain acutely
We understand each heart knows its own,
How can we judge too harshly
We are authors
We see the epics in your life
We see your victories,
We commend you your battles,
We congratulate you your wins
We understand your losses and your wounds,
We understand how deep they go,
Because they hurt us, too
We are authors
It's you our characters are modeled after,
it's you who inspire their adventures and trials,
it's you who make it possible,
We are authors
We know how mountains make men,
We know how storms make women,
We see tears make strength,
We see shattered hearts glued together to make villains,
We see broken pieces pieced together to make heroes,
We see the choices affect the lives that are lead,
We are authors
We know pain comes before joy,
We know hardship before success,
We know iron sharpens iron,
It's hard to see, inside that story,
but we take a larger view,
We are authors
We understand a story is not about the adventure,
without an entire life
We don't see a life
without seeing the thousands of adventures within
We are authors
We understand the complex, intricacies
The web of meetings and effects
We know the power of a word
We can see the outcome of a smile
We are authors
We put your pain into words
We feel the pain acutely
We understand each heart knows its own,
How can we judge too harshly
We are authors
We see the epics in your life
We see your victories,
We commend you your battles,
We congratulate you your wins
We understand your losses and your wounds,
We understand how deep they go,
Because they hurt us, too
We are authors
It's you our characters are modeled after,
it's you who inspire their adventures and trials,
it's you who make it possible,
We are authors
We know how mountains make men,
We know how storms make women,
We see tears make strength,
We see shattered hearts glued together to make villains,
We see broken pieces pieced together to make heroes,
We see the choices affect the lives that are lead,
We are authors
We know pain comes before joy,
We know hardship before success,
We know iron sharpens iron,
It's hard to see, inside that story,
but we take a larger view,
We are authors
We understand a story is not about the adventure,
A story is not about the circumstances,
it’s about the people,
who they were, who they are, and what they choose to become
It’s about their responses to the many trials they have
Because in the end, who we choose to be, isn’t that all we really control?
We are authors
We know that heroes are not born,
Greatness is never thrust upon,
we understand the importance of a single choice,
in a single person’s life
We are authors
A great author does not create infallible characters,
a great author does not birth heroes,
a great author develops their completely ordinary characters,
into extraordinary people,
We are authors
We understand the potential of passion,
the purpose of each person,
the ripple effect of love,
the storm that hate creates,
we understand the intricacies of life,
We are authors
And so is God
Saturday, August 9, 2014
Obesity????
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