"God shall bless us...

...and all the ends of the earth shall fear him." Psalm LXVII. That's what I wrote down in my journal. The question I was answering, was: what was I believing for; and that was the first thing that came to mind. I know that some people think we should not delude ourselves with visions of the world "getting better" with time. Some would say we should "get as many people saved" (from "Hel") as possible before we get raptured out and the tribulation begins. Honestly? The day I stopped thinking like that was such a happy day!

Now, I simply do justly, love mercy, walk humbly with my God (Micah 6:8), and take Psalm Sixty-Seven to the bank! AND Psalm Seventy-Two, AND Psalm Eighty-Five... AND Psalm One Hundred and Nineteen! I am listening to it right now! I could be watching it, but somehow watching myself recite that Psalm (Part 1, Part 2) doesn't make as much sense as listening to it. It is good to listen to it, though, because it allows me to relive the experience of recording the video(s).

See, I had already wanted to record myself reciting that Psalm for a REALLY long time! I mean, I had waited... and waited... and waited... and practiced... and practiced... and practiced. Then, my second cousin offered to let me use his Macintosh Computer to record the Psalm. And then I go to record it? And I make at least two mistakes! Maybe even three! Because my second cousin and I worked to "sound record over" two of them! And I just realized that there is still a mistake in the second video.

In fact, as soon as I made it, I knew I had made it! And I paused! It was so frustrating! Finally, I simply decided I had better go ahead and finish the Psalm. It is one of the reasons I may look and sound depressed. It is because I was!

That Psalm? It will suck up WHATEVER time and energy you care to POUR into it! You think you know it, but then you take a long walk on a hill (which I did a few weeks ago). Seriously! I thought I knew the thing, already!

It reminded me of the fire I found on a beach one night, on an island in South Korea. I kept that fire going for a night, a day, and another night (at least as much of that night as I could endure! It was a lot colder that second night; so I had to get up and get moving across the 12km causeway back to "시흥" (Shi-Hihng)!)

During that night, day, and night, I burned so much wood... It was absolutely "heavenly heavy". It is one of those experiences that makes me SO thankful God had not given me a wife, as I had wanted him to, yet. I still remember a Korean man learning of all the places I had visited and lived, and he said I was "lucky". Me? "Lucky"? I asked him if he had a family. He said, "Yes". I thought, "He has a family, and he thinks I am lucky?" Well, looking back on being on that beach, I can at least see where he was coming from.

I mean, I would go find logs that were so heavy, I couldn't lift them! I had to DRAG them over to the fire. Some of them were soaking wet! It didn't matter! I would put them on the fire and watch the water evaporate out of the portion of the log that was on the fire! (Often, they were too big to fit completely on the fire! Even better! Then I could push the unburned part of the long into the fire once the middle section had burned...)

But wait! THAT part! The log actually burning? Completely! Oh! Did that ever seem to TAKE for ever! Again, the water would have to evaporate. Then, the burning of the log could begin. It would actually seem like nothing was happening! After all, I couldn't see the underside of the log.

Good thing I had all night, though! AND all the next day! AND a good part of the following night! Because I RAN OUT OF WOOD (I.e. I had to walk so far to get it, that it was, for all intents and purposes, out of reach)! On that beach! And I burned A LOT OF WOOD! I think it might have been over a thousand pounds of wood! CONSUMED! How did it happen, though? If it seemed to be taking for ever at the time, then how could hundreds if not over a thousand pounds of woods be changed into heat and light energy, smoke, ashes, and mere embers!

T-I-M-E! That log? The underside would slowly but surely start to glow, and "snap, crackle, and pop". Eventually, the log would start to CHANGE! Break apart. Over and over, I would work with logs to get them to the point where I could tap them with my stoking stick and... actually... NOTHING! "Not yet!" It would be as "hard as a rock"! And I had already been working with it for SUCH a long time!

THAT! Is how it felt to walk in Nose Hill Park a few weeks ago and find that I STILL didn't know Psalm 119 as well as I would love to. I was STILL discovering "HARD SPOTS". Spots where I didn't know it as well as I thought I did. When you've been practicing something like that for as long as I have, that is a rude awakening!

Back to that fire, though? EVERY ONE OF THOSE LOGS got BURNED! COMPLETELY! They did NOT stay "hard" for ever! There DID come a time where I tapped them with that stoking stick, and they CRUMBLED into EMBERS! Not one of those logs "stayed hard". It seemed like they would, but they didn't!

That gives me hope - that I am going to "tight-rope-walk" COMFORTABLY through Psalm 119 - able to go as fast or slow as I want (not "rushing through" certain verses, unsure of my footing). "Soft". "Crumbled". "Red hot" - emitting heat, warmth, light, and revelation. All, of course, in God's good time.

I know, I talk a lot about certain personal dreams - and they do mean a lot to me. One time, I read that one ought not to marry someone they can live "with", but rather someone they cannot live withOUT! See, when I remember that? It really does actually become a no-brainer! At least, it does, in my opinion.

In particular, it is the love, I cannot live without!

Love,

Daniel