quote of the day...

trust in Allah...but tie up your camel.

-hand-lettered sign at the entrance to the Fifth Squadron airbase
Skardu, Pakistan

let's do lunch...

right now, a goon sitting next to me is wearing a blue baseball cap with a shark on it. under the shark, a caption reads, "let's do lunch." i thought it fitting for a title.

have you ever seen those people who ride their bikes to class? no, i'm not talking about those who kinda cruise into the bike parking lot. i'm talking about the people who ride the crap out of their bike like it's a wild bucking bronco, trying desperately to break free from their mount so it can do somersaults in a nearby field. i'm talking about the people with their bike seat slammed down to the lowest position so that their knees almost nail them in the chin. i'm talking about the people who refuse to switch gears because they would rather spin their legs at 5000 rpm (while nearly nailing their chin each time). i'm talking about the people who's tires are about 3 p.s.i. from going flat and everytime they hit a bump or make a turn you think it's going to dent the rim or, worse, roll the tire off the rim.

i love seeing those people.

or how about the people, mostly guys, who wear flip flops that are about 10 sizes too big for their already monstrous feet. or the ones who wear super long polo shirts with super short aftco shorts and it looks like they aren't wearing any pants? and of courses you've got the lego hair brigade, who have their dome immaculate sculpted into a perfectly, helmet like apparatus on top of their head.

auburn is awesome. some people think it's boring for people watching, but you have to look for the gold. you have to look beyond the normal goth/trendy/fratty types and look into the subtypes. i'm talking about the "i only wear sandals because my feet are too wide to fit comfortably into shoes," or the, "yeah i know it's 30 degrees outside but i'm going to wear these gym shorts all day because i don't think it's that cold, when actually i'm just absurdly stubborn and refuse to "give in (to common sense)" by adjusting my wardrobe.

this is what i do riding my bike to and fro. while i may appear glued to my headphones, my eyes and ears are always wandering, combing the landscape for people of interest. i wonder if you fit into one of these categories???

the shack (pt. 2)...

oh yeah. the shack was pretty good. there were some interesting issues brought up in it that i probably wouldn't have thought about otherwise and i enjoyed it. even though i had to fight a residual skepticism to the book, i think the fact that i finished it in a week speaks well enough of its readability. the only thing i have to say about it is that it seemed that every other page somebody was bawling about something or there heart was exploding into tears or they were on their knees crying and hugging and sobbing and stuff. maybe it is just the stoic male in me but that kinda got to me a little bit. overall it was a great book though.

started on "generation ageless" which is really interesting as well as "suburban nation" - a great book about how the effect urban planning has on our everyday lives.


what are you reading?

the past two weeks...

have been pretty crazy/fun. boston was super cool. went to fenway park for a red sox game, my favorite part of which did not even have to do with baseball. clay and i decided we were going to have the fenway experience and get a "10 dolla beeh and a 15 dolla suwasage," and that we were going to order them like true bostonians...so i got in line for the sausage and he was in line for the beers. after ordering the sausages, i asked the lady "yous got an mustahd?" in the thickest accent i could, and without looking up she told me it was behind me - a high point in my journey being that her nonchalant disconcern with my northern accent spoke volumes for the authenticity of my delivery...;) . anyway, clay lays on the same accent for the beers..."i'll take twoo heinekens pleaths." and the lady asks for his i.d., whereupon clay hands over his alabama driver's license. noticing the incongruence in accent and home state, the lady merely looks up at him with that "yeah right" look and moves along.

hilarious.

but you probably had to be there.

the north is an awesome place to people watch. so many interesting people. especially gweedos....

but now i'm in saratoga, ny, about to be on my way home tomorrow to start class. saratoga has been awesome. had a fun fly fishing trip, ate some awesome food, met some cool people, and for the first time, left the week with more money than i started. now i am by no means into gambling. i'm more into the horses themselves (bloodlines and trainers, etc.) and i'm much more the type who would rather take home his paycheck than try to improve it by gambling, but lady luck was with me and things were good. when you know more about what happens behind the scenes it makes the races more enjoyable.

so i'm officially not pre-med anymore. i'm still going to be a psychology major, but i'm going to add an economics or marketing minor. i've been looking on auburn's website about business minors and, being that there aren't too many, we'll see what i turn out with. i'm pretty excited about it though, i feel like i have finally found something really worth turning into an adult for...

i'll let you know how it goes.

the shack...

started reading it yesterday and i'm already on page 88. that's a pretty big chunk in one day for me. i kinda went into it with a bit of skepticism but the story is good, albeit a bit over-dramatized at points. i'll let you know when i'm done.

speaking of books, i finished "sex God" on the airplane two days ago. i thought it was really good. i enjoyed it better than velvet elvis. velvet elvis was good, but there were a few points that were a bit post-modern for me, but i still really enjoyed it and would recommend it to anybody. but sex God was really great. you should go read it.

Next on the list is a book called "generation ageless" and was actually by my second cousin or something (i'm not quite sure of the relation but not too far off. i think it's my mom's cousin). he is president of a company out of atlanta called Yankelovic, Inc. and does market research and analysis. supposedly he coined the term "baby boomers" and "gen x'ers", so he's pretty on top of things. generation ageless is his book about baby boomers and i guess just a description of that market and how it will change as they get older. my aunt suggested it to me and suggested i talk to him sometime because even at this point i really have no idea what i want to do when i grow up. we'll see.

leadership...

so lately there has been something weird going on in my life - i have been interested in the news/current events. it's crazy. for the past 3 weeks i have read Newsweek and Time every week, an issue of Forbes front to back, and listening to talk radio sometimes while i drive. i refuse to believe it's because i'm getting older and becoming an adult. no, it must be just a phase...

actually i really enjoy knowing what's going on around the world and it's a necessary transition as i get older and closer to integrating* myself into "the adult zone." so if you want to talk about news, let's get together at gnu's room or taylor's.

anyway, the meaning of all this is to tell you about and urge you to read an article in the latest issue of Time magazine about one of my heroes, Nelson Mandela, entitled, "The Secrets of Leadership." It's basically gathered information from a man who spent an extended amount of time with Mandela, helping him write his autobiography. It covers 8 amazing points of leadership, all exemplified in real life, by Mandela, which are:

1. Courage is not the absence of fear - it's inspiring others to move beyond it.
2. Lead from the front - but don't leave your base behind.
3. Lead from the back - and let others believe they are in the front.
4. Know your enemy - and learn about his favorite sport.
5. Keep your friends close - and your rivals closer.
6. Appearances matter - and remember to smile
7. Nothing is black or white.
8. Quitting is leading too.

Here's a link to the article online.

if you're interested at all in South Africa's fight for freedom from Apartheid, check out No Future Without Forgiveness by Desmond Tutu or Country of My Skull by Antjie Krog. They are both amazing books that detail a lot of Mandela's life and the struggle under and through Apartheid in general.

*it took me forever to think of that word. i had to look it up in dictionary and thesaurus and it's not even the one i was thinking of. oh well.

Hallelujah...

Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley. own it. please.

john mayer is ridiculous awesome. i'm going to see him august 29 in hotlanta. my friend clay's dad has a buddy in atlanta who apparently owes him some big favors and got 4 front row, center tickets for the show. needless to say i'm probably going be pinching myself the whole time...can't wait.

however, before that i have some business lined up. but fun business.

this thursday the 17th i'm heading to vail, colorado to do some fly-fishing/mountain biking for 5 days. i'll get home monday.

the day after i get back (tuesday) i am driving my grandmother's car 16 hours up to Saratoga, New York so she can have it there for the month of august. she goes up there every end of july through august for the horse races. i'll fly home from there on thursday. - p.s. if you are bored and/or looking for an adventure/road trip, i have an opening(s) for co-pilot(s)...

friday i'll leave to go to Savannah, Ga to race at roebling road raceway. race saturday and sunday.

monday i head up to north alabama for fbc's youth retreat. i'm pretty stoked about this...i missed out on youth group when i was younger and have never been on any sort of 'retreat' before. plus i get to play music a lot!

then, a week and a half later, i go back to saratoga for an extended stay to go to the horse races with my grandmother and hopefully do some fishing on one of the days.

at some point during this craziness i have to find time to move into my new house and get ready for school. got some exciting days ahead. i'll keep you posted...

silver wings...

here are some thrice lyrics to read and re-read and mull over...

from tender years you took me for granted

but still i deign to wander through your lungs

while you were sleeping soundly in your bed,

(your drapes were silver wings, your shutters flung)

i drew the poison from the summer's sting,

and eased the fire out of your fevered skin.

i moved in you and stirred our soul to sing;

and if you'd let me i would move again.

i've dance 'tween sunlit strands of lover's hair;

helped form the final words before your death.

i've pitied you and plied our sails with air;

gave blessing when you rose upon my breath

and after all of this i am amazed,

that i am cursed far more than i am praised.

nashville...

saw thrice in nashville this friday at rockettown and it was one of, if not the, best shows i have ever seen. it rivaled seeing sigur ros at the ryman. part of it was just the performance. they were so tight and the whole production was flawless (lights, transition, tones, everything). attach to that unmeasurable sentimental value and you can imagine about 1% what it was like to actually be there. i think part of it was that i feel that they are one band that has matured in some similar ways that i have. just from reading the evolution of their lyrics and style, not to mention the fact that they have transitioned from the punk look to the wise, old man beard, it's easy to see why i've kept coming back to this band.

also, i had my first win in a superbike race this weekend. actually, it was my first real win in about 10 or 11 years of racing. in years past, i have always ridden a class up - with faster people to make me better. this was a good win too because there were about 5 of us in my class that were all within a second of each other during practice and the saturday race. so at the beginning of the race i was in third. the 5 of us were on each other's rear tires in a line for about 2 laps and then i passed second place. the following lap i made the pass for first in the same spot as second. then i just got in a groove and started to pull away. i finished about 5 seconds ahead of 2nd place. it was really cool to win a tough race like that. felt really good.

however, in the last race of the day, whitey, one of the 5 of us who were battling, passed me on the last turn to win the race. i was pretty pissed because after the 1st lap i had led the whole race. oh well, i'll just do the same thing to him next weekend at barber.

also, i've been looking at '70's era honda motorcycles to buy and i may have found one. it's a 1972 honda cl 350. it's in pretty rad condition and is from the original owner. i'm heading to marietta, ga to look at it on wednesday and will possibly be coming home with it. for only $1500, it's a pretty awesome deal.

hope is the thing with feathers...

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chilliest land
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

-emily dickenson

hosea...

a while ago i was talking to one of my good friends russ powell about some stuff and the conversation moved to discussing the book Hosea. russ gave a really interesting illustration he had seen from the text that i had never heard before. i thought it was really awesome. basically, God commands Hosea (a prophet to Israel) to marry a prostitute, Gomer, which he obediently does. Although Gomer bears 3 children throughout the course of their marriage, she is repeatedly unfaithful to Hosea. we can imagine Hosea's nauseating flux of emotions being married and faithful to a prostitute. His heart is repeatedly broken by Gomer when she is unfaithful, and then fulfilled, albeit tragically temporary, when she comes back to him.

Russ explained this to be an illustration for the church's marriage to Christ in the sense that we play the roll of Gomer. We are constantly rebelling from God, being unfaithful to him. Christ's heart is repeatedly broken by our unfaithfulness and sinful nature. However, when we come back to the lord (whether this is by our own will or not i don't know) we can only imagine the happiness, love, and fulfillment in Christ's heart. Christ is ever faithful to us, always there, always waiting for us with open arms to come to Him, no matter how unfaithful we have been.

In Hosea 2:14-23, the Lord tells of his love for unfaithful Israel...
"But then I will win her back once again. I will lead her out into the desert and speak tenderly to her there. I will return her vineyards to her and transform the Valley of Trouble into a gateway of hope. She will give herself to me there, as seh did long ago when she was young, when i freed her from her captivity in Egypt."
"In that coming day," says the Lord," you will call me 'my husband,' instead of 'my master.' O Israel, I will cause you to forget your images of Baal; even their names you will no longer be spoken. At that time I will make a covenant with all the wild animals and the birds and the animals that scurry along the ground so that they will not harm you. I will remove all weapons of war from the land, all swords and bows, so you can live unafraid in peace and safety. I will make you my wife forever, showing you righteousness and justice, unfailing love and compassion. I will be faithful to you and make you mine, and you will finally know me as Lord."
"In that day," says the Lord, "I will answer the pleading of the sky for clouds, which will pour down water on the earth in answer to its cries for rain. Then the earth will answer the thirsty cries of the grain, the grapes and the olive trees for moisture. And the whole grand chorus will sing together, 'Jezreel' - 'God plants!'
"At that time I will plant a crop of Israelites and raise them for myself! i will show love to those i called 'Not loved.' and to those i called 'Not my people,' i will say, 'Now you are my people.' then they will reply, 'you are our God!."

for a while now...

i've tried to find an old, beat up copy of shel silverstein's "the giving tree" in a thrift store. i think it would be so ironic/cool/telling. been looking for about a year and a half to no avail. but i'm sure one day it will happen and it will be a pretty cool moment.

i've started writing music again. it's exciting because i feel more inspired than ever.

ubuntu...

in south africa, we have a term, "Ubuntu," which refers to the spirit of the community. It is a shortened version of a south african saying that comes from the Xhosa culture: "Umuntu ngumuntu ngamuntu." This means that I am a person through other people. It means that my humanity is tied to yours. This is probably the single most important aspect of living in a highly connected planet: Our humanity is tied together. We must respect each other, and we must always keep our interconnection in mind. -Julian Hewitt


"a person with ubuntu...has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed."
-Desmond Tutu


"Ubuntu does not mean that people should not enrich themselves. The question therefore is: Are you going to do so in order to enable the community around you to improve?"
-Nelson Mandela

chocolate rain...

ever have one of those days where you can't get that chocolate rain song out of your head? yeah you know what i'm talkin about.


had one of those today.


i hate that song.


if you don't know it, click here so that it can infect you...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwTZ2xpQwpA

living the dream...

yeah that's right. i did it.

last night my upstairs neighbor/lars ulrich wannabe once again started entertaining his hungry "e-fans" on rock band at 10:30 p.m. i thought to myself that surely he wouldn't go for very long, so i figured after i had taken a shower, done some dishes and taken the trash out he would probably be done. Wrong. at 11:45 he was feverishly pounding away at his plastic drumset, fueled by the roar from a crowd of people living in his t.v. so i walked up stairs, knocked on his door, and waited. after a short time he opened the door just enough so that he could see who i was (this was kind of awkward...made me feel like a creeper or something). i extended a request for him to put his sticks to rest and that if he couldn't get a score of 90% on Dani California after an hour and fifteen minutes, success probably wasn't in his near future. He somewhat sheepishly apologized and sunk back into the armchair of his single occupancy apartment/drum throne amid a sold-out concert hall filled with excited fans. i walked back down to my place, speculating on the next time i would be awoken at 6:30 a.m. by the thump of a kick drum, struggling to keep from getting booed off the stage for too poor a performance of When You Were Young by the killers.

mary, mary...

this is probably the most angry song i have ever been a part of, maybe heard. but it gave me chills every time we played it because it was such a statement of freedom at the time (for my friend and the rest of us who were close to him at the time). it is about one of my best friend's relationships that went bad. it was really hard for me and my other friends to watch how this relationship was killing this person, whom we cared for so much, from the inside out. here it is

mary, mary

take your hand from this, bear.
take, that smile off your face.
burn all the letters i wrote,
pretend i didn't mean it anyway.

and i hate this cross that i bear,
to fall in love with you.
i'll still come crawling back,
no matter what you do to me.

this is goodbye.

and take all your pictures back.
take off that mask that you made,
to hide who you really are.
take, because it's all you did anyway.

this is goodbye.

and i'm not going to change who you really are,
i've tried too long to see straight through,
the calloused girl who cares for nothing,
except for keeping me close to you.
to take all the love that i gave,
i drove to far and it's all that i have.
you are the centerpiece,
that raped me of what dignity i had.

Signals...

another one from the brantley vault. if anybody wants to talk about how much they wished life would slow down, give me a call.

Signals

meet me on the other side,
where the sea won't fight the sand.
i can't see, i can't believe i can love you,
without holding your hand.
and all the time i walked alone,
they said you where right there.
but this is my cry of desperation,

as i'm falling through the air.

and all that you forgot here,
was this porcelain heart, that died
with apathy, deception, and running away.

she's cutting with the knife they call affection.
it's gentle but that doesn't ease the pain.
and i was dragged a thousand miles
to prove this bleeding's real, and it's alive.
oh and it's alive.

where are you running when there's
nowhere to go.
what are you looking for, did you think
that you'd find home?

and all that you forgot here was
this porcelain heart that died,
with apathy, deception, and running away.
and this burning red, this burning red
ignites the signals, in the sky
that take over my day, over my day.

and it pounds so hard
in the back of my chest.
and this is bleeding and it's
pouring from my side.
and i was dragged a thousand miles,
and i'd be dragged a thousand more
to feel you one more time, to feel you
one more time.

and all that you forgot here was
this porcelain heart
that died with apathy, deception, and running away.
and this burning red, this burning red
ignites the signals, in the sky
that take over my day, over my day.

Brantley...

i was going through my ipod the other day, on the way to florence, al, and decided to open up the nostalgia closet and listen to some of my old band's songs. kinda one of those times when you get clouds in your eyes thinking about how fast time moves on. i hate it. anyway, my friend Ryan Hurd is one of my favorite lyricists, and here is a sample of words to some of our old songs. in case you want to hear them, i think they may be on www.myspace.com/brantleymusic

Orphans

don't dim the lights too hard, because
we might ruin the mood. i think
the starving here are entertained
by the luxury of fools.

and, we'll sing a song and shake a hand
and laugh at what they say
i think we're all still feeling warm inside,
we're the devil of the day,

we're still the devil of the day.

let's cheer the orphans.
give them a smile for their pain.
let's just ignore them.
it's all the same, it's all the same.

God is a beggar,
and a woman with no name.
i'll take this prostitute for heaven,
this is a shame.

and what a worthless wretch,
too poor to raise her hands up high,
to a husband she doesn't love,
she wears a ring she doesn't recognize.

and i am the poorest,
and i am the pauper,
and it's just like breathing underwater.

we sing words like grace and awe
that we know nothing about,
and we say that this is beautiful,
but we're just putting it in the ground.
so look away, mother, look away,
'cause there's nothing to steal in hell.
look away, look away, mother, I,
have nothing to sell.

and i am the poorest,
and i am the pauper.
and it's just like breathing underwater.


Close Enough

beautiful,
she's a brilliant sky.
and i don't have the strength,
to break the silence in her eyes.

and i want it all.

i can't get close enough to you.
you're so far away,
you're still so far away.

i saw the boy you used to love.
did you look in his eyes,
like you look into mine?
'cause he's so cool,
and i'm so strange.
and there's nothing left to say,
'cause he already has,
he already has.

and i want it all.

i can't get close enough to you.
you're so far away,
you're still so far away.

and i want it all.

i have a dream...

that one day i will rise up and tell the goon who lives above me to stop playing rockband drums at 6 in the morning. i really don't think this kid sleeps. yesterday morning i woke up to go hunting at 4:30 and i could hear him talking and walking around. pretty ridiculous. and this morning he got to banging on the drums at 6:09. it is now 10:26 and i still hear them. i'm about half ticked off, half amazed. it doesn't sound like he's very good though. i mean i can tell he's gotten a little better since he got the game in february (yeah i realized what was going on real quick the first time he brought it home). but anyway, one day i'm going to march right up there and give him a piece of my mind...i hope.

S/T...

This Will Destroy You - S/T

you should buy this album

community...

for the past year or so, maybe more, the word community has been on my brain. maybe "idea of" is a better prefix. i just feel like, due to everything america has become (politically, economically, and otherwise), has made people have a strong desire for close knit community with fellow believers, and fellow citizens. i think maybe the ol' "american way" has come to bite us in the butt, in a way. our city planning with residential suburbian homes, complete with "privacy fenced" backyards, and places of work 15 miles (or about 3.30 cents depending on what you drive) away, have given us a sort of independence that satisfies one part of our hearts, yet leaves another depraved. advancements in technology have exponentially distanced us from our colleagues, neighbors, etc., but that's not really what i'm getting at. i feel like this call to community that has been pulling at us is from the deepest place in our hearts.

below i copied an excerpt from Lanctatius' Divine Institutiones to which i replied. this was a portion of a paper i wrote last may that i chose to cut from the final draft. basically, Lanctatius describes our being created in the image of God as the body of believers acting humanely towards one another in a community; the image of God is community. He further states that having community and treating each other humanely is an act of worship. i think that is the reason we long for it...

anyway, here it is.

LACTANTIUS
I have spoken about what is due to God; now I shall speak about what is due to other people, although what is due to people still equally relates to God, since humanity is the image of God (homo dei simulacrum est). The first duty of justice concerns God and binds us to him; the second concerns humanity. The name of the first is religion; the name of the second is mercy or humanity. Religion is a characteristic of the righteous and those who worship God…God made us naked and fragile in order to teach us wisdom. In particular he gave us this affection of piety in order that we might protect our fellow human beings, love them, cherish them, defend them against all dangers and give them help. The strongest bond that unites us is humanity. Anyone who breaks it is a criminal and a parricide. …The bond that unites our souls is therefore stronger than that which unites our bodies. So Lucretius does not err when he declares: Finally, we are all the offspring of heavenly seed. To everyone that same one is Father. …We must therefore show humanity if we want to deserve the name of human beings. And showing humanity means loving our fellow human beings because they are human beings, just as we are ourselves.

Lanctatius has a very interesting outlook on this concept of the image of God. He explains that humanity is the image of God, not just our appearance as individuals, but also our humanity all together. Lanctatius begins stating that, “Religion is a characteristic of the righteous and those who worship God…God made us naked and fragile in order to teach us wisdom. In particular, he gave us this affection of piety in order that we might protect our fellow human beings, love them, cherish them, and defend them against all dangers and give them help. The strongest bond which unites us is humanity.” This is a gorgeous statement because it brings all glory back to God. His statement about religion being a characteristic of those who worship God sets up his next depiction of God making us naked and fragile in order to teach us wisdom. Lanctatius is saying here that those who follow God and from whom worship overflows do so in the light of God. In other words, the sense of self-awareness (awareness of our own brokenness) that comes from an honest relationship with the Father humbles us, or, as Lanctatius puts it, makes us realize our nakedness and fragility. It is only in this state of humility that we are open to the wisdom found in God’s leading hand. From this gracefully bestowed wisdom, or Christian perspective, we yearn to, “protect our fellow human beings, love them, cherish them, defend them against all dangers and give them help,” not only as simple acts of stewardship towards our brethren, but more so as acts of worship to God. It is here that the fruits of the Spirit overflow from us to our brothers and sisters. Looking back at Genesis 1:26, the author quotes God as saying, “…let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." Lanctatius emphasizes the work of God in us, in particular the fruits of the Spirit, as what sets us above all other creatures of the earth and it is here that God’s “likeness,” is found. This is what Lanctatius defines as “humanity.” He states, “We must therefore show humanity if we want to deserve the name of human beings.” An interdependent cycle of God’s wisdom and glory is seen in the process, which seemingly encompasses much of the life of the Christian. Religion inevitably flows out from an inner relationship with God, which leads to worship, which leads to humility, which leads to stewardship, which allows the Spirit to work through us, which separates us from all other creatures and also completes our blessing of the ‘likeness,’ of God.

spring is springing...

go outside!


more on this later...

out of the silent planet...

decided to start putting some thoughts down. hope it will help me sort them out and make more sense of them. partly because i wish to know myself...partly because i wish to be known. that's the plan anyway.

i just finished reading the book from which this entry is named. i thought it was fitting for what i'm doing, as this blog could be seen as the equivalent to Ransom's space ship, and the internet as the "space" that C.S. Lewis so intricately describes. if you haven't read out of the silent planet, i suggest you do so. it is good if you are in the mood for fiction, but still want spiritual relevance in the text, as it is part of a more metaphorical work (the space trilogy); an older kin of sorts to the Narnia series, written for a more mature audience. Lewis's description of a world without sin is beautiful.

so anyway, i'll leave you with the lyrics to my favorite hymn, for which this blog is named.

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.