Africa

Words from a Paul Colman song, from http://paulcolman.com/intro.htm:

"Africa

Africa
I came to change you but instead you changed me
And I confess I came to frame you in a photograph
But you showed me why
And you turned this heart around
And I see your smile how it can be
So much brighter than me
And your silent eyes they scream
Of hunger and meaning and eternal dreaming
Africa

Africa
We smiled at you from behind the glass
And without reserve and whiter than snow
You smiled back at us
And you showed me who
And you turned this mind around
And I see your hands reach out to God
So much higher than ours
And your silent eyes they scream
Of hunger and meaning and eternal dreaming
Africa

Afrika mimi naku penda
Dedicated to Mutisya (World Vision - Kenya)"

Memory, Feelings, Change

Augustine -- "...the remembering is far different than the experiencing. Without rejoicing, I remember the joys I once felt. Without renewed sorrow, I recollect past sorrows. I can review old fears without being afraid and remember what I once wanted without desire. In reflecting on some memories, I now feel the opposite emotion I felt then" (p. 151 , The Confessions of St. Augustine, Modern English Version, abbreviated).

I'm glad certain feelings won't last forever... Why is it that feelings can be so piercing in certain areas, and in regard to other aspects be almost numbed?

Fresh starts

I often lack eloquence in regard to my speech and social interactions. But if attention is drawn to my social awkwardness or inadequacies, perhaps this impression will become more deeply implanted into people's minds. I would like people to allow me fresh starts. I then should give others the same grace. Do we have to carry the same weaknessess day after day? Although it may be common to continually struggle with particular burdens, do we have to be necessarily bound by those? If we treat others or ourselves with an "every day is a new day" approach in regard to weaknesses, would we be ignoring recurring problems that may need to be addressed?

Humility & Anxiety-Casting

"Anxieties: To Be Cast Not Carried"

By John Piper

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/
1993/843_Anxieties_To_Be_Cast_Not_Carried/