Who are you to blow the whole thing?

There ain’t no one home but me so I’m gonna play records as long and as loud as I want into the small hours.

The first up is Mardi Gras by Creedence Clearwater Revival. It is regarded as garbage (allmusic.com gives it one and a half stars). I don’t mind. It’s good enough for what it’s for tonight.

I can say that my only real regret for the 2010 Christmas season is not listening to my Tennessee Ernie Ford Christmas album. The holiday ended 35 minutes ago and I’ll have to wait a real long time before spinning that one.

A song that has been ringing in my ears for the past month or so is “Proud Flesh” by husband&wife. http://www.daytrotter.com/dt/husbandandwife-concert/20031305-3737785.html  Listen to it here. Download it for free if it gets you like it’s been getting me.

Of course I don’t believe in evil spirits but it’s hard to keep it up when they’re every place I see.

It’s important to remember as often as possible that you aren’t the only one having a helluva time. My Pa said something like that to me today speaking of someone he loves very much. It gets hard to keep your head up when the world gets ugly. But…

Don’t throw away your love. Who are you to know the whole thing? Who are you to blow the whole thing?

One of the greatest challenges is to avoid being embittered or jaded by pain and hurt. I think it is impossible to avoid without hope of something better. Things will work out. Don’t throw away your love. You can’t see what is ahead. The saddest thing would be blowing the whole thing by throwing away that love. Doncha do it, now.

Remember this: the road is long and there ain’t a bend in it. Not all accounts are settled in this finite existence. There is glory beyond what can be seen in these few years of life. Everything will be made right.

Thank you, husband&wife.

Blow Away.

Just watch it. I know it’s 5 and a half minutes but you won’t regret it. Just watch it. It’ll put the rest of this nonsense into a bit clearer perspective, if that is at all possible.

The world is a big tough place. As I get older and see more and more, that fact is driven home to me in sometimes brutal ways. There is significance in the term “endure to the end” found in some religious texts. It’s because that is sometimes all that we can do: hope to not be burnt away in the refining of our lives. Endure. Hold on.

Gonna be a twister to blow everything down
That ain't got the faith to stand its ground
Blow away the dreams that tear you apart
Blow away the dreams that break your heart
Blow away the lies that leave you nothing but lost and brokenhearted

I've been holding onto some dreams that need to be blown away. Someone a lot wiser than me described faith as hoping for something that can't be seen but is still true. My expectations of the future have left me a bit lost and broken hearted because they lacked that truth. Lacking the truth means that they can't have the faith to stand their ground when the twister of life starts a-blowin. And thanks to God that it does blow. By golly, it hurts and it's scary and sometimes all we can do is endure but that twister serves a great and divine purpose that is pointing us all towards something better. So pack your bags and head straight into the storm.

Leaking

I got this:

Because I got this:

My right elbow may never heal again.