love has got to be one of the greatest experiences of anyone's life. to fall in love and the world stops. suddenly the past, the future, they don't matter anymore - only the present. it's like golden waves crashing down all around, leaving you with an almost helpless feeling, but it's all good. my moment - every day since that first day in math class when i asked her for her calculator.

i think the love i am able to share with my wife helps me to understand the love i have for God even more. we share an "i will not let you go" love - hesed. it is a covenantal love that promises unconditional love. mmm, those three little Hebrew letters pack a punch.

and the fact that love can also cause pain contributes to it's greatness. love has great power over us, even if we fail to admit it. the fine print at the bottom of the page says there will be pain with this love, but it helps us to grow. the fine print doesn't seem very important in the moment, but it's real.

love and some verses - love cannot stand alone. it is accompanied other hosts of greatness. that's what makes it so tricky, but it's also half the fun. live it, experience it. it's a trip.

i have always been interested in songs like lullabies. i couldn't tell you why, but i have. even throughout the years of loving hard rock and such, lullabies have always been appealing.

perhaps it is their calming nature. they are written to help us settle down, calm, relax. in this crazy, hectic world sometimes that is just what we need. a sweet melody and a soothing voice to tell us everything is going to be ok.

i recently learned where the term lullaby came from. there is a theory that suggests eve was not adam's first wife. it suggests that a woman named lillith was adam's first wife (because of the two creation accounts in genesis). lillith was unhappy with adam because she felt like she was being dominated (the first femanist?). she left adam, promising to curse his children and haunt children in their sleep forever.
parents who believed that lillith was haunting their children's dreams would sing comforting and soothing songs to them, often boding goodbye to lillith through song - "lulla bye"

personally, i believe that this suggestion is inaccurate and quite silly, but i like to know where things came from and how we got to where we are today.

matt vander ark, a good buddy of mine from dordt came to visit us for thanksgiving. it was wonderful and refreshing! we had duck, we drank beer, we ate a lot, and we enjoyed each other's company. thanks friend!

to the rest of our friends back at dordt - we miss you, and we can't wait to see y'all in a few.

last night i went to a rosie thomas concert. it was spectacular. sheila saputo made a guest appearance, and josh caress opened for her. the music was absolutely amazing. rosie makes aprons too, and i was going to get one, but they were all pretty girly.

my friend brian from school went with me. we went out to get a beer after the show, at this place in downtown GR. it was a cool little place, and the beer was awesome! new holland lucid microbrew - mmmm, delicious.

i'm off to see another concert put on by the gospel choir at calvin today. jana sings in the choir, and it's always a treat to go watch her sing. but before that, i must clean! onward and forward.

I changed the title of my blog to "love and some verses". This reflects the title of a song written by Iron & Wine, of the mellow folk genre.

My previous title was "anywhere but iowa...", and while that reflected my sentiments toward my home state in the not so distant past, I have now realized that iowa, though stinky and closed minded sometimes, is really not all that bad a place.

it's getting colder outside, but the colors are beautiful. every autumn i seem to be more and more amazed at the artistry of God. He paints a new picture every year, with a seemingly brighter, more vibrant palette of colors.

Sam Gutierrez came to visit yesterday, and we had a wonderful time. we made steak and talked about the places were God leads. it's always nice to see friends.

I always thought playing rugby would kill me, but I enjoyed it so much. thanks to the youth group, i have another favorite sport to play.