Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Tuesdays with Buechner!!!!

I almost forgot!  Check out this cool little java script gem:

Monday, August 29, 2011

Solid Declaration

hmm... post #400.  Nice.
I love being a Lutheran for so many reasons.  I'm not talking the cheeky, stereotypical, give a chuckle reasons either.  In fact, I'm not the type of Lutheran who eats lefse, and I hate Sauerkraut so there goes those.  I smile and don't mind clapping, so those are gone as well.  No, I love being a Lutheran of the conservative ilk, because it means that I have been blessed to have been given and taught the proper understanding of God's Word.  Yep, I'm going to say it.  If you're not a (conservative) Lutheran, than you do not have a proper understanding God's Word.  Namely, you misunderstand the sacraments and (probably) conversion.  I'm not saying I'm better than you or that my tribe is greater than your tribe, I'm just saying that, quite frankly, you have been misled, thus you're missing out on a wonderful piece of God's overwhelming grace.  I'm not saying we're perfect, far from it!  But we as Lutherans have a scandalous and unique understanding of how God imparts His grace on His people, and I happen to believe that it is the truth.
I realize that sounds pompous and horribly haughty, but I know what I know.  And, really, if I didn't know that Lutheranism = truth, then why would I be a Lutheran?  If I thought the Baptist understanding of the sacraments was right, you'd hope I was a Baptist, right?
Anyway, this whole diatribe comes from a discussion we as a pastor staff were having this morning about the Lord's Supper and forgiveness.  There are those among us that feel that we are merely reminded of our forgiveness as we partake, and those (like me) who believe that our sins are tangibly and actually forgiven with the consumption of the body and blood of our Savior.  It was a great conversation because we are Lutherans!  As Lutherans we have this AMAZING collection of our statements of belief called the Lutheran Confessions.  I've always been one to roll my eyes when one speaks of the Confessions, but that was because I never dove into them.  The truth is they are amazing in their eloquence and exposition of God's Word and, truth be told, they are completely unique in all of Christendom.  What a blessing they are!
As I was reading the Confessions in regards to the Holy Supper, I came across this beautiful passage in SD VII, 69-71.  Enjoy!
The true and worthy guests, for whom this precious sacrament above all was instituted and established, are the Christians who are in weak faith, fragile and troubled, and greatly terrified in their hearts by the immensity and number of their sins, and think that they are not worthy of this precious treasure and the benefits of Christ, and who feel the their weakness of faith and deplore it, and desire with all their hearts that they may serve God with stronger, more joyful and resolute faith and pure obedience.  
As Christ says, (Matt. 11:28): Come unto Me, all who are weak heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Also (Matt. 9:12): Those who are well need not a physician, but those who are sick. Also (2 Cor. 12:9): God's strength is made perfect in weakness. Also ( Rom. 14:1&3 ): welcome those who are weak in faith.., for God has received him. And, for whosoever believes in the Son of God, be it with a strong or with a weak faith, has eternal life  (John 3:15f). Moreover, worthiness does not depend upon great or small weakness or strength of faith, but upon the merit of Christ Jesus our Lord.
OK, so they really liked commas in the 16th century... But wow!

Lord, make me a true and worthy guest of your table  May I always be weak and fragile before you and troubled by my sins.  Not that they would burden or hinder me, but rather I would look at my filthy rags and I would always turn to you, leaving my weakness and sin at the empty tomb and be made whole and strong in your perfection.  May I always desire to serve you with a stronger, more joyful and resolute faith, granted to me by the power of your Holy Spirit who is living within me.  Thank you for giving me your body and blood in which I receive the forgiveness of sins, assurance of Eternity in Heaven, and the strengthening of my faith.  In the name of your perfect and risen Son, Jesus I come to you, my rock and my redeemer.
A-men.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

lotto!

It is fantasy football season and I am kind of freaking out.  I'm in four leagues this year and they're all very serious.  Gone are the days of checking on my team from time to time and allowing the computer to draft for me.  No, now I have all the research in front of me and I'm checking injury reports and mock drafts and all the websites for the latest news so that when I draft my team I pick the best guys.  Its tough work!  Certainly not for the faint of heart.  There are some MAJOR bragging rights on the line!  You never know how the people you choose will perform, so you have to know your stuff in order to pick reliable, consistent players.  I have to make sure I pick the right guys lest my team is terrible and I spend 16 weeks of football bottom-dwelling and hearing about it from my opposition.

2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 says: But we ought always to thank God for you because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
It seems to me that God didn't do His homework.  If He was to have read the fantasy report on you and me, He would have seen that we are consistently rude, spiteful, lustful, prideful, unreliable, and downright unpleasant.  There's no way that He would choose me.  I don't bring anything to the table except my filthy rags and inadequacy.    And yet, chose me He did!  He took my dirty rags upon Himself and clothed me in the splendid robe of His glorious righteousness.  He took my rudeness, spite, lust, pride, flightiness, and every other defiancy and He nailed them all to the cross.  He CHOSE me.  It wasn't because He didn't know me, or because He was unaware of my weakness.  Rather it was because He DOES know me and He is FULLY aware of my weakness that He was nailed to a tree and chose me to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit.  He knew I was too weak to do it on my own, so He chose to suffer and die that I might live.  Wow.  Thank you Lord!

New stuff from Aaron Shust

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Tuesdays with Buechner!!!

"I not only have my secrets, I am my secrets. And you are yours. Our secrets are human secrets, and our trusting each other enough to share them with each other has much to do with the secret of what it means to be human." 

"Compassion is the sometimes fatal capacity for feeling what it is like to live inside somebody else's skin. It's the knowledge that there can never really be any peace and joy for me until there is peace and joy finally for you too. "



Monday, August 22, 2011

sunday funday

another year of church league softball finished tonight.  Both games were decided by one run... well, we tied the last game... so lame.  But man, softball is such good fun.  I wish I had the athletic drive I have now back in high school... regardless, sunday nights in the summer I'm living the dream, baby!

Anyway, this is a big and busy week.  Fall planning is in full effect and some of the things that I proposed were more or less adopted, so now it falls on me to follow through... sometimes I really need to keep my mouth shut. :) good times, though!
yep.  big week.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

most vexatious.

wow.  GRE vocab lists are categorically quixotic.  To imbibe such lexeme is inanely absurd.  It is incontrovertible to ruminate that I will recollect said lexeme or their morpheme once this assessment is concluded.  Oiy.

Friday, August 19, 2011

clang a lang

This isn't a well flushed-out thought, so forgive me, but I've been thinking about this and I wanted to get it out on paper... er... screen.  I'll add it to my "work on later" list... anyway-
This past Sunday I had the privilege of cheering on some friends as they ran a mini-triathlon.  I had a great time cheering on my favorite people ever at the TC marathon last year, and I'm doing the same for my roommate this year, so I jumped at the opportunity to once again rah rah rah for people who are attempting a feat that I would never even dream about doing.  I respect their drive and determination.  BIG TIME! and it is really fun to see the look of relief and sheer elation when it's all over.  Honestly, they are genuinely fun experiences. 
Anyway, I was standing on the curb waiting for the first of our cheer recipients to pedal by when a guy my age and his two little kids settled next to me.  The kids were cute and he was obviously supporting his wife.  No big deal, right?  Well the thing is about cheering for running events is people sometimes bring noisemakers.  The family to my left brought cowbells.  Like 10 of them.   So every time someone rode in front of us,  the kids would frantically shake their cowbells and cheer wildly for the sweating stranger swiftly speedy by.  By the forty fifth minute, it had become almost nauseating.  I, a mature and seasoned cheerer, opted for the more civilized cheer of "Go!  good job ladies!  Keep on pedaling!"  (It was an all female race).  I would yell this out randomly as I was carrying on a conversation with the rest of our cheering section. The cowbell kids made enough noise for the bulk of us.
Really we were all annoyed with the constant cowbell clattering, so when their mom rode by and they moved on to cheer for her elsewhere we were all relieved.  But then something strange happened.  We all started talking and sharing stories and we kind of stopped cheering at all.  That's when a woman rode by and scolded us, "Hey!  Make some noise!!"  she clamored.  (Full disclosure, I could have sworn she said, "Hey, my Illinois!," but I was assured she wanted us to support her).  I was quickly reminded that I wasn't there for me and my conversation, rather I was there for the participants of this insane feat of physical strength and endurance.  So I cheered with all the gusto of Sparky Polaski.  It seems as if what had become annoying to us was sweet music to the strained ears of those actually exerting themselves. 
After our riders had rode by we made our way to the finish line which is so much fun.  People are going nuts and runners can't help but smile as there is a tunnel of people encouraging them on.  Well, as luck would have it the cowbellers were right next to us again.  This time it didn't really bother anyone because the whole crowed was going bananas.  After their mom had finished- she had an amazing time- she ran over to them and give them a big, undoubtedly moist, hug and she looked her kids in the eyes and said, "thank you so much for shaking those cowbells and making so much noise! I could hear them and they made me go faster and faster!" or something to that extent.  I was once again reminded that this cheering thing wasn't about me... it was about those swimming, biking, and running.  And, in that regard, it is obvious that the cowbells work.  There's a reason why corporations give them out at marathons, I suppose...
So, here are my thoughts on this.  I want to be an encourager.  I greatly admire people who, without even trying, are able to give that word of praise that just sends people over the moon.  Who doesn't love that feeling?  Its wonderful to be thought of and to know people who are thoughtful.  I was paid a supremely high compliment a couple of weeks ago when someone I didn't really know came up to me and said that even though she didn't know me she liked me because I was good at encouraging kids to do their best.  I don't know if that is true, per say, but I do indeed try to encourage.  Sometimes its all I can do, you know?  I can't run the marathon for you, but I can, and do, take real joy in cheering you on as you trot on by.  Its the least I can do.  And, when I remember that it's not about me, I think I do an OK job of cheering people on.  But the thing is I don't want to be a cowbeller.  I mean I don't want to be a cowbeller to the people that I'm trying to encourage.  What I'm trying to say is I don't want to be annoying.  It's a fine line, isn't it?  I want people to know that I care and that I'm in their corner and I want them to succeed and have all their dreams come true, but if all I do is stand there and clang the cowbell... well, that encouragement falls on ringing, annoyed ears.  Sometimes encouragement comes in rah rah rah's and sometimes it comes in a simple high five...  I guess I just hope and pray I can always give the right kind of cheerleading... is that an odd concern?
As I write this, I don't know why it is such a big deal to me... but it really is.  I guess I'm just very conscious of how I come off lately and I just don't want to annoy...  I want to give love and support the way the people need to be loved and supported... which is often easier said than done.
I want to be a Timothy, who was sent to the Thessalonians to encourage them.  I don't want to make this about me, but rather focus on those God has given me and lift them up as they race on by, you know?  I think that's a pretty fantastic goal.  So, Lord, I guess my prayer is may I be an encouraging cowbell ringer, not an annoying one.  May you use me to inspire the attitude of that mom to her kids rather than the attitude that I had toward them.  Yep, if one day people are sitting around drinking beers talking about the kind of guy I was... I think if I could choose what I'd like to be known for, it would be as an encourager.  That would be pretty great.  Now I need to get me a cowbell, baby!

Its a shame about ray

ten points for anyone who knows the band who's album is this post's title...

So you know how I said I wanted some new tunes?  Well, I revived my love of Ray LaMontange for the past couple of days... man he can sing.  BUT, tonight as I was on my way to basketball I went up a couple of clicks on the ole iPod to Ray Boltz. Why not, right?   I know he's now on the outs... literally... but back in the day he was a big deal.  I still remember when my dad came home with his album Allegiance.  He sat my mom and I down and played Pledge Allegiance to the Lamb at least twice.  The whole album, however, is just really solid.  For real.  I've always had a place in my heart for it, and even though I've sung Pledge Allegiance no less than 9,000 times in my life, my favorite song on the album is The Anchor Holds.  Its the last song of three called "The Storm".  It starts with the up beat Set Sail talking about living life knowing God is in control, then there's an instrumental interlude that goes through a storm- building and chaotic- then calm.  Then comes The Anchor Holds... It spoke to me tonight as it did back in '93 when I heard it for the first time.  I am really glad God has made music such a major part of my life... I just can't imagine a tune-less existence.  As Luther said (I think it was Luther...) after the Bible, music is God's greatest gift to His people,  afterall, it is the only thing we can take with us to Heaven... well if Marty didn't say that, he should have, cuz it's genius! :)
SO, if I may... please enjoy The Anchor Holds... ALSO enjoy Ray Boltz's mullet.  It is glorious.



I have journeyed through the long dark night,
Out on the open sea, by faith alone,
Sight unknown; and yet his eyes were watching me.

The anchor holds,
Though the ships been battered.
The anchor holds,
Though the sails are torn.
I have fallen on my knees as I face the raging seas.
The anchor holds in spite of the storm.

I've had visions, I've had dreams;
I've even held them in my hand.
But I never knew they would slip right through,
Like they were only grains of sand.

The anchor holds,
Though the ships been battered.
The anchor holds,
Though the sails are torn.
I have fallen on my knees as I face the raging seas.
The anchor holds in spite of the storm.

I have been young but I'm older now.
And there has been beauty these eyes have seen.
But it was in the night, through the storms of my life,
Oh, that's where God proved His love for me.

The anchor holds,
Though the ships been battered.
The anchor holds,
Though the sails are torn.
I have fallen on my knees as I face the raging seas.
The anchor holds in spite of the storm.

I have fallen on my knees as I face the raging seas.
The anchor holds in spite of the storm.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

gts

man, tonight was a good hang!  I sat and told post-high school stories with 2 guys that lived through some crazy times with me back in the day... I can't believe 1- how stupid I was in my early 20's and 2- how gracious God is that I didn't serve an extended sentence in jail... haha.  Seriously though, we are blessed to be alive to tell some of those tales... good times.

I'm in a spot right now where I really, really desire community.  Like I miss hanging out with people who are in the same stage in life as me- and don't have kids... that's a big caveat.  I talk to people who have that community, that group and they find it at church.  Well, my church doesn't have something like that.  If I didn't work there, I could probably go somewhere else and find said community, but I do, so I can't.
BUT I DO work there... so perhaps I can create a growth group of folks in their mid 20's-mid 30's... that would be sweet... and yet, it's something I want to be a part of, not lead, and, since I'm on staff, even if one of the other rev's leads it, I'll still be looked to as some sort of leader... that might not be a bad thing, but its still a little... ugh.  Ultimately, however, this is another tiny little piece of the pie that says, "Hey maybe you need to move on."  ...or maybe its just a prompting to start something new that can impact people at your church... I'm sure I'm not the only one with this desire and few places to have it fulfilled... I just wish I could spend more time being ministered to, rather than doing the ministering... this, I fear, is the plight of the called worker.  le sigh.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Tuesdays with Buechner

This is my newest idea!  Every tuesday will be Buechner quotes!  Do you know what that means?  It means I get to read lots of Buechner!  Horray!  Here's a couple I just came across:

Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don’t be afraid.

You can kiss your family and friends good-bye and put miles between you, but at the same time you carry them with you in your heart, your mind, your stomach, because you do not just live in a world but a world lives in you.
Frederick Buechner, Telling the Truth

Sunday, August 14, 2011

swing set

man i have this desire to bla(h)g... but I really have no topic.  Odd, I know. I get sick of just rambling about my own schtuff, and I feel like if every thought I have is devotional, they just become the same sounding. So... what to write?  Politics?  no thanks.  Sports?  well, I'm a baseball fan and my Twins are doneskis for the season... really, the only bright spot in Minnesota sports is the Lynx are kicking butt... WNBA... oiy.  The weather is nice.  SO SO nice, in fact.  I am not typically a summer lover, but this year it was quite wonderful.  I can't count the times I just closed my eyes and looked to the sun allowing the heat and light to just cover over me.  mmm.  lovely.
Lets see... Oh, I more or less accidentally got a bread maker today.  I bid the minimum bid on Ebay 3 days ago and it won... SO, I'm looking forward to some nice whole wheat goods.  I have so many counter-top gadgets.  I think my roommate is getting a tad sick of them.  I have the Jack LaLane, the Ronco food dehydrator, I have a blender, and a hand mixer, battery operated mixing cups, a crock pot, and even a hot dog roller!  I'm not going to lie, I'd love to have a magic bullet, but other than that I think I have everything I need. :)  And, truth be told, I could get rid of the dehydrator.  It isn't as awesome as I thought it would be.  Ironically, it was one of the few things that wasn't stolen from my car back in January.  Hmm, that made me think of a "year in review" type thing... this has been a pretty crazy year.  Stay tuned for end of December highlights. :)
what else? good books?  ah! Yes!  I read a pretty sweet book about Mr. Rogers a couple of months ago, methinks I will write about it when I have my notes that I took... they're at my office currently.  Currently, I'm reading a book about apologetics that uses stories to share the message.  It is pretty stellar.  I'm in a mood to change up my music again.  That happens every 6 months or so... I think I need to get deeper in to country.  I've never had this feeling before... haha.
OK OK for trying NOT to ramble, I just did... my apologies for wasting your time.  Today was a very productive day and I'm grateful for it.  Tomorrow will be lots of rah, rah, rah followed by yappin' capped off with some real live church league softball.  Not a bad little Sunday.   :)

Friday, August 12, 2011

Farmer Bob.

I don't know what people did before blogs when they couldn't sleep, but this thing is my Lunesta sometimes, I tell ya... I have a hankering that this weekend will be important in the story of me, but I don't have too good of a feeling about it...
Regardless, a couple of days ago I collected 98% of my garden's harvest.  We still have corn that I hope survives the attack from the mutant beans and a couple of peppers that are either dwarf or stunted, because they've not changed in 2 weeks...
Gardening is an AMAZING thing!  I've never done it before and I am really bad at it, truth be told, but it is just a fascinating phenomenon!  In fact, I really can't get over how awesome it is.  I mean 3 months ago we put these teeny tiny seeds into the ground and now we eat them.  I know this process has been going on for thousands of years, but it is the first time I've had a direct connection to the process and it is mind-blowing.
Gardening is teaching me things.  More than anything else in recent memory, gardening has taught me how to trust.  God invented this system of seeds growing fruit from the very beginning.  It is nothing new.  I had good seeds planted in phenomenal soil with plenty of sunshine and water, and yet I still doubted that things would grow.  The plants looked too little and they took too long, or they were growing underground and all I saw was the green shoots that marked their rearing-ground.
I had to trust.  Trust that the system is not broken, that God knew what he was doing when he made it up.  I had to trust that the seeds had what they needed by means of nutrients and sunlight and that given some patience they would indeed grow into these amazing little vegetables that are sitting on my counter right now.  I had to trust.
But man it is hard to trust.  When the plants are small and the rain is so hard the wind blows through that field, certainly they are too weak to withstand that weather, certainly I need to do more- weed more, water more, watch them and talk to them more.  But all my intervening did was make them more vulnerable to the elements (by washing away some soil and pulling out weeds too quickly) and sometimes I picked the veggies before they were ready- unripened jalapenos are no bueno.  I had to trust.  And because I finally did and I just let it go and just watered when it hadn't rained for a couple of days, I have some amazing vegetables to enjoy. 
My life is a garden and the seeds of relationships and my future and my status quo- they are all in the fertile soil of God's loving arms.  He knew me before I was born, and he knows the plans he has for me.  So I have to trust.  But man, that rain is hard and that wind is strong and there are so many things I can do to make that plan better, right?  nope.  I just gotta trust.  Trust he knows whats best.  Trust he is bigger than loneliness, uncertainty, and my own stupid attempts at blazing my own trail.  Trust that I can only see a teeny tiny part of the big picture, but God knows all.  Trust that He is the God of my life.   I love him and he loves me immeasurably more.  If he makes the pea pods sprout and the onions of my garden grow perfectly and according to plan, then how much more will he take care of me his dearly loved son? I believe the mantra of AnAnon is apt: "Let go and let God."  His system works.  His refiner's fire is a blessing and his plan is perfect.  So I gotta shut up and just trust. 

What God ordains is always good:
His will is just and holy.
As he directs my life for me,
I follow meek and lowly.
My God indeed
In every need
Knows well how he will shield me;
To him, then, I will yield me.

What God ordains is always good:
He never will deceive me;
He leads me in his own right way,
And never will he leave me.
I take content
What he has sent;
His hand that sends me sadness
Will turn my tears to gladness.

What God ordains is always good:
He is my friend and father;
He suffers naught to do me harm
Though many storms may gather.
Now I may know
Both joy and woe;
Someday I shall see clearly
That he has loved me dearly.

What God ordains is always good:
Though I the cup am drinking
Which savors now of bitterness,
I take it without shrinking.
For after grief
God gives relief,
My heart with comfort filling
And all my sorrow stilling.

What God ordains is always good:
This truth remains unshaken.
Though sorrow, need, or death be mine,
I shall not be forsaken.
I fear no harm,
For with his arm
He shall embrace and shield me;
So to my God I yield me.

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Without Running Away

JG sent me his new album a couple of days ago and it was truly a gift from God.  All of Jason's albums have a theme, and while it wasn't his intention, his newest has the theme of brokenness.  Needless to say it has spoken to me and his ministered to me like few other albums have.  I am thankful for it and I am thankful that I can call such an amazingly talented man of God a friend.
My favorite song is called Without Running Away.  The instrumentation is stunning but so are the words. In the liner notes (ALWAYS read Jason's liner notes!) he writes about this song:
Perhaps it’s too obvious that it was written during a dark season in my life. I’ve worried about whether or not it was appropriate to even include it on the record. But for those who might need a song like this, I hope it helps in some way to lighten the load. I risk including it here in hopes to encourage those in their own dark season to not give up. In the shadows you will find a hand you can trust - the hand of the high priest who understands you, a man of sorrows himself, well acquainted with grief, one who will not break a bruised reed.

So, please enjoy this feast for your eyes.

Without Running Away
by Jason Gray


I’ve spent some days looking
For a length of rope
And a place to hang it
From the end of my hope
But where I thought hope had ended
I always find a little bit more

It’s not like I’m trying
To be optimistic
If the truth be told
I’d rather dismiss it
And be free of the burden
Of the living that hoping requires

To bring my heart
To every day
And to run the risk of fearlessly loving
Without running away

Jesus is speaking
But it’s so hard to hear
When disciples with swords
Are cutting off ears
Broken and bleeding
I’m waiting for healing to come

But wounded is a part
I’ve learned to play well
Though the wound may run deeper
Than I know how to tell
Where pain’s an addiction
That keeps me buried alive
But when it’s all that I know
I’m afraid to leave it behind

My heart is not lifted up
My eyes are not lifted up
But calm and quiet is my soul
Like a babe with its mother is my soul

After awhile in the dark
Your eyes will adjust
In the shadows you’ll find
The hand you can trust
And the still small voice
That calls like the rising sun
"Come!"

So Jonas

I just watched Camp Rock 2...
I was waiting up since I was asleep last week... turns out I shoulda slept...
ANYWAY, the movie touched me. 
haha
For real, it really was pretty good and actually very apt. 
Thanks Joe Bros!

Saturday, August 6, 2011

inspo

Garrison Keillor once said something to the extent of there's nothing a good walk can't fix; the severity of the problem determines the length of the walk.  Well, I've been walking a lot lately.  Really, I just enjoy the warm summer air, but being that I have an hour alone with my thoughts, my mind wanders and races.  As such, I haven't taken to this here bla(h)g as much as I'd like, only because I work things out in my head and by the time I sit down to write them I'm tired and they've lost their edge...
Anyway, there are many walk-worthy things swirling in my world lately... so many things I wish I knew, words I'd like to say, letters I've written only in my head that will never be sent, allegorical stories that I will probably never tell... The fact is that I am mourning several losses currently and it just weighs heavily.  I'm at the point where it seems as if there will never be resolution, like this knot will never untangle... but I've thought that before... so many times before.  But, yet again,  God is patient and gentle with me and he reminds me who he is and who I am... but still I walk and as I walk I remember to trust and I recall the memories and I pray to the rhythm of my steps.  I miss these things that I've lost... or at least I feel as if I am losing.  Pieces of me -some bigger than others, some far away, some coming back soon- are scattered around the earth... and, truth be told, the biggest piece is now buried below it... its a hard journey, man...
But God is good and He is close to the brokenhearted.  He is working.  I can see Him moving in the hearts of His people... Its a remarkable thing.  It seems as if He's making His presence known to a lot of people around me, and they are being moved.  Its awesome.  God is awesome.  So tonight I really miss the fliest of bros, but I rest in the gentlest of arms of the merciful-est of Saviors.