The Plans I Have For You.

There have been two little tidbits that I've read so far this morning that have made me stop, pause, and either laugh really loud or grin really big. And here they are.

First, in the WoW Insider hunter post, which happens every Thursday, the writer today discussed 10 things that SHOULD be in patch 4.2 for hunters. It was a sarcastic, humorous post, and I was doing a pretty good job just smiling a little bit and continuing my reading until I got to thing number 9.


"Blizzard's been doing a pretty good job of slowly picking through the hunter bugs that have been around since the beta -- steadily chopping away at a few of them each patch. Now's the time to hit the big ones. In particular, there's a persistent hunter bug that's been around forever in which hunters can be reduced to zero health, and then die. If it can't be hotfixed, let's at least address it in the patch."

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!

Second, and more seriously, I think I may have just found my second favorite Bible verse in the entire history of the world.  

"I will sing of steadfast love and justice; to You, O Lord, I will make music." Psalm 101:1

I love this because it is everything that I desire and dream about in one semi-coloned declaration.  The steadfast love and justice is my heartcry for cities. Of all of the characteristics of God, those are possible the two that I cling to the most, that astound me. Yes, His grace and redemption are definitely the greatest and most scandalous gifts, but does that makes love and justice less beautiful? If anything, I think it adds to them, because it's only out of a heart that has been completely changed by grace that true love and justice can be learned and shown and lived out. The people that I most want to pour my life out for have seen hate, and injustice, and hardships. They're proud fighters that need God and His love, to see that justice does exist. I mean, think about it, if our government and society hinged on those two principles, how much different would everything be!

And then, there's the music part of the verse. I love music and know that I want to make it a huge focus in my life, that I want to make it and teach it with kids. I know that. But the course of studying it and jumping through all of these hoops - it's too often a chore instead of a joy. For instance, I'm trying to devote a lot of time this summer to practicing, because I have a senior recital next semester. I'd rather run three miles every day than practice every day. That's messed up. There's no joy in it for me right now, and I hate that. The question is - who am I making music for? If' it's to appease the professors, that's sick and lame and thin and it's no wonder that I dread going to the Fine Arts building every morning. If it's for myself, that's a much better reason and it's a good reason to make music, but when the practice sessions get hard and I playing the same four measures over and over again, that motivation dies out. Playing for myself is only motivating if I truly am playing whatever piece I want purely for enjoyment, and that doesn't carry over into practicing. But if it's to make God smile, if it's to thank Him for the talents He's given me by using them for Him - that runs deeper. My heart is so frustrated with the fact that there hasn't been joy in it so far this summer, and it's as if God's saying through this verse, "So let Me bring the joy back into it for you. Play for Me, just for Me. I promise I'll love every note of it." It's not about a recital, or getting my single stroke snare rolls softer and faster, or all of this other stuff. It's about music and the gift of it and the fact that the God who gave it to me wants me to enjoy it again.

So, yeah, My yearning for the city and my desire to make music. There's a lot of joy and promise and comfort in that one verse.