Doe The Next Thynge - Fear not tomorrows, Child of the King

A friend of mine shared this with me a couple weeks ago and it moved me so much that I thought I would share it with you:

"From an old English parsonage down by the sea
There came in the twilight a message to me;
It’s quaint Saxon legend, deeply engraven,
Hath, it seems to me, teaching from Heaven.
And on through the hours the quiet words ring
Like a low inspiration: “DOE THE NEXT THYNGE.”
Many a questioning, many a fear,
Many a doubt, hath its quieting here.
Moment by moment, let down from Heaven,
Time, opportunity, guidance, are given.
Fear not tomorrows, child of the King."
-Elizabeth Eliot

I'm not going to try to elaborate on that. I think the poetry says it all.

I wrote this one myself, a couple days later, trying to capture the power in the phrase, "Doe The Next Thynge" (it's best in Old English:) ).

But there is another thing too. There is "much expected of those to whom much is given," and there is the horrible thought that one day we might look back on our lives and say, "I wasted it." That scares me more than anything else and I wanted to express that in the poem.

Goethe says, "Nothing is worth more than this day" and although that may not be strictly true, I think there is a lot more in that line than we realize. After all, in my own life it will always be "now." It will never be "tomorrow" - that would be absurd. So ultimately, the way I live my life RIGHT NOW is the way I live my future...

THE WAITING

It’s the waiting that takes so long,
It’s the waiting that wastes your life.
And you don’t know till you’re old and bitter,
And look back on your life of lonely winters
And see your dreams in a million splinters
Buried beneath the snow.

It’s the waiting that takes so long,
It’s the waiting that wastes your life.
And you don’t know till you break the rhythm,
And death swings by and takes you with him
Then at last you’ll finally listen
But then it will be too late.

It’s the waiting that takes so long,
It’s the waiting that wastes your life.
And you don’t know till your heart’s been stripped
Of zeal for the for One who rescued it,
And you realize that somewhere along you slipped
And didn’t get up and deal with it
And you lost your life in an iron grip
And finally you say, “I wasted it.”
But you can’t have it back.

It’s the waiting that takes so long,
It’s the waiting that wastes your life.
Don’t wait until the glass is full,
Pour out what you have of love and skill,
If you don’t do it now, you never will.
This is your life, so LIVE!

Seize The Day!
-StrongJoy

So This Is Christmas

Some things I'm loving about this Christmas in Texas:

Our 9 foot tree- big, like everything else in Texas!


Christmas music on the radio - (one of the greatest thing about being back America!)

My Celine Dion Christmas CD:

(Especially the songs, "War Is Over," "God Bless Us Everyone", "O Come All Ye Faithful" and "O Holy Night" and...- well, all the other ones :) )

The Christmas Carol:

My favorite Christmas Movie

Our fireplace that actually works!

(Almost every one of the many houses I lived in overseas had a fireplace- that didn't work.)

The chocolate popcorn my aunt sent:


ENYA HAS A NEW ALBUM OUT!

(I don't actually have the album but I heard "Trains and Winter Rains" on the website and as soon as the CD hits the stores here - and my wallet recovers from Christmas - I will have it. )

Being able to play Christmas songs on the guitar at last! (Especially "O Come All Ye Faithful")

(Let me tell you: Christmas songs on the guitar is no joke. Every syllable is a different chord.)

We have goats this year! These are three of the one-month old kids. The music is from Loreena McKennit's "Good King Wenceslas" and I'm the one filming...


Just being here with my whole family, everyone safe and healthy...I hope you have a wonderful Christmas too - and God Bless Us Everyone!

Seize The Day!
-StrongJoy