my careless contagion

I know it's weird I'm already posting again, but I wrote the last post a while ago, so now it's not weird, right? Yeah, probably still weird. But I write when I get the urge, and last night, I got the urge, thus, I wrote. Haha. I hate using the word thus. Or thusly. How about the word firstly? Talk about a dog of a word. Haha. Hey, it's my blog. I do what I want. Onward.    Youth Brigade was founded in 1980, and they still tour, and even someone as bad at math as me knows that is a long time for a band, especially a hardcore band, to be around. It may help that three brothers founded it. They also founded Better Youth Organization, and they were always a positive voice for the next generation. I don't recall if they were straight edge, but I always thought of them that way. Loads of respect.    Last Day of the Year was always my December 31 anthem, going back maybe 20 years. When I lived in a college town the lyrics were appropriate because I could see "people ...

It feels good to close the door on this year. Holy crap. It was a decidedly horrid year. And now it is in its waning moments. This was the year I ran out of everything. It was like the world stopped. A lot of people know what I'm talking about. Suicides went off the charts. Drug and alcohol abuse soared. People lost hope. And we got to see what the new world order looks like.  Will next year be better? We can only hope. And pray. And pray some more. Heads up: this is a long post. Kinda hard to sum up this disastrous year with few words.   I close this year with a confession of error. I was wrong about something very important to me, something which I sought God about literally thousands of times (or, it is possible I was simply unable to do what God told me to do, but the outcome is the same). I am beyond humbled. My consolation is everything was submitted to God long ago. This thing needs more prayer because I'm not settled in my understanding. I have an easier time accepting...

Consider the body of love letters I've written. Consider the songs, the poems, the promises, still soaked in hope. It feels like I wrote my wedding vows a thousand times, inscribing them on my heart with a diamond pen. What could I add to those words? What have I not already said? How could I say it better? In For You , written in 1986 (I was 9 years old) and released in 1988, John Denver said it better. There comes a point when words can't say it; they simply cannot express the feelings you have for someone. Music helps, but it is still only part-way there. This song comes pretty close to saying it, though, doesn't it? Surely this song saw many a man and woman married, just as many of John's songs did (and probably still do). The song is longing, plaintive, waiting, steadfast, but burning. I thought every single one of its lines. I felt them far more. I do offer a prayer for her each day (and more than one). And if anyone wonders, I would give my life for her. In a hea...