a few more years shall roll

it’s late in the day, but don’t miss the lunar eclipse happening tonight.
check here for further info.

i might just take a hot cup of tea outside and enjoy the spectacle, if i can find a good view of the moon close to my porch. i miss the days in my childhood, when all the skies around my house were open for viewing!

i’m not sure what caused it, whether it was the somewhat frustrating and hectic preparations for our church missions luncheon this sunday for my team or listening to the sounds from caedmon’s call’s new album Share the Well, but i have been reminded of my trip to Nepal back in 1999 and decided to scan in some of the old photos from my scrapbook.

In the song Sarala, there’s a verse that reminded so clearly of my time in Nepal:
Ricksha walla begs the question
Are all these red lights just suggestions
Oh, it’s gonna be OK
They know dead men can’t pay, Sarala

riding in tiny taxis through the streets of kathmandu was one of the more frightening, yet somehow exhilerating experiences of the trip. the sensory overload of a foreign culture always excites me. i remember this brightly colored, wonderful smelling market:

and, in the village we visited, the after church fellowship meal for which preparations began in the morning with the slaughter and butchering of a goat.

In my wednesday morning prayer and theology group, we’ve been discussing the deity of Christ the past few weeks. This morning, while touching on the mystery of the incarnation, my pastor made a comment about the continual unfolding of the mystery of God even in heaven that got me thinking.

So often, people talk about getting to heaven and asking God all their questions, finally knowing all the answers, or seeing the big picture. (See Chris Rice’s “Questions for Heaven”)

But part of the wonder of heaven is that God will still be God. And although we will be perfected, we will not become God. I do think we’ll see more clearly and understand things we never thought we would, but understanding all the mysteries of God? That seems impossible. Maybe we’ll know all we need to know at each given moment (if time exists in heaven), but God will continue to reveal Himself to us over eternity. Since He himself is eternal, it will take that long.

i love fall. not just because the skies are blue and the air is crisp and the leaves are changing, but also because great music is happening! summer is the time of festivals and fairs, which i enjoy, but which do not come close to the more intimate setting of individual concerts. this fall looks to have a few interesting possibilities for me.

10/2 Bebo Norman (and Jason Morant and Bethany Dillon)
…ok that one’s past, and i really went because i knew gabe scott would be there playing with bebo. jm and bd were not my favorites.
10/13 the Roots at Penn (our new president’s favorite group apparently)
10/15 Bill Mallonee in Willow Grove*tentative–i may go home for the weekend instead
10/25 Indelible Grace in Glenside, PA
10/30 Reformation Hymn Festival at Tenth Presbyterian (not a concert, but music-related, so I’m listing it.
11/4 Joseph Parsons and Christopher Williams at The Point, Bryn Mawr, PA
11/9 Marc Cohn at World Cafe Live in Philadelphia
11/13 pedro the lion in Philadelphia
11/17 Eddie from Ohio at World Cafe Live
11/20 Caedmon’s Call in Burlington NJ
12/3 Andrew Peterson’s Christmas Tour in Greenville, SC
12/12 Andrew Peterson’s Big Christmas Show (see, all caps) at the Ryman in Nashville, TN