from c.s. lewis' the last battle
“The term is over: the holidays have begun. The dream is ended: this is the morning.”
for my dear friend, ed hague, the holidays for him began right as we went back to school.
he wrote his own obituary to be published on his blog. you can read it by clicking HERE. it is beautiful, hilarious, poignant, and full of hope with a touch of snarkiness. which is so perfectly ed. who is actually even more perfectly ed today than he ever was here on earth.
and his obit made me think about my obituary. WHICH SHOULD BE ALL IN LOWERCASE, am i right? but it made me think about the things that i want to LIVE into during whatever days God can stand for me to be a mere shadow of the perfection of lea that He has in mind for me. and let's hope it isn't too much longer, cause this mortal coil is really a bummer.
and in typical lea fashion (and my love of musicals) i have some musical aspirations for my life... there are a couple of songs that i listen to in the mornings that really help me to focus on my intentions each day...
FIRST: that i would not be AFRAID to love anyone, anywhere, at anytime. and that i stay so close to that Source of Love that i can't help but leak it out on anyone close to me...
Stir in me a love that’s deep
A love that’s wide
A love that’s sweet
And help me Lord to never keep it to myself
And if my heart should dimly burn
And if my feet should fail to run
Call my name and I will come right back to You
There’s no fear in love
I want to stay close to You
It’s really that simple
I want to stay close to You
Just as simple as this song
I want to stay close to You
It’s really that simple
I want to stay close to You
My whole life long
SECOND: that i know the ART OF CELEBRATION. that i celebrated everything and anything that i could. that i never was afraid to bodily approach the Throne of Grace. because one day i am totally looking forward to approaching that Throne and that is going to be one awesome celebration!
By grace alone somehow I stand
Where even angels fear to tread
Invited by redeeming love
Before the throne of God above
He pulls me close with nail-scarred hands
Into His everlasting arms
When condemnation grips my heart
And Satan tempts me to despair
I hear the voice that scatters fear
The Great I Am the Lord is here
Oh praise the One who fights for me
And shields my soul eternally
Boldly I approach Your throne
Blameless now I'm running home
By Your blood I come
Welcomed as Your own
Into the arms of majesty
Behold the bright and risen Son
More beauty than this world has known
I'm face to face with Love Himself
His perfect spotless righteousness
A thousand years, a thousand tongues
Are not enough to sing His praise
Boldly I approach Your throne
Blameless now I'm running home
By Your blood I come
Welcomed as Your own
Into the arms of majesty
This is the art of celebration
Knowing we're free from condemnation
Oh praise the One, praise the One
Who made an end to all my sin
Boldly I approach Your throne
Blameless now I'm running home
By Your blood I come
Welcomed as Your own
Into the arms of majesty
THIRD: everything by ryan stuart. really there is nothing to add to this song. other than it has woken my up many mornings. woken up my heart to be fixed on the One that gave up Everything so that He could be my Everything.
God in my living There in my breathing
God in my waking God in my sleeping
God in my resting There in my working
God in my thinking God in my speaking
Be my everything Be my everything
Be my everything Be my everything
God in my hoping There in my dreaming
God in my watching God in my waiting
God in my laughing There in my weeping
God in my hurting God in my healing
Christ in me Christ in me
Christ in me the hope of glory You are everything
so, ed hague, i will see you in the next chapter... it is going to be AMAZING and ETERNAL and full of HOPE and HILARITY. the best kind of HILARITY.
“And as He spoke, He no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on for ever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Last Battle