Topped out

The river is finally topping out here.
Farther north, it has swamped roads
and threatened homes.

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Spot the Tropical Storm

This is tough. See if you can tell where the
storm hit on this graph.

That is a huge amount of water to put on the
ground at any one time.

Rain, Rain Go Away

Almost a foot of water on the St. Johns since yesterday.
My yard is as deep as I ever seen it. And, we may have
today and tomorrow with this continuing monsoon.
Very stressful.

Almighty and most merciful Father, we humbly beseech
thee, of thy great goodness, to restrain those
immoderate rains, wherewith thou hast afflicted us.
And we pray thee to send us such seasonable weather,
that the earth may, in due time, yield her increase
for our use and benefit; through Jesus Christ our
Lord. Amen

More from Mike

Here's more from my friend Mike Madaris. Haven't seen
him since '79, but I'd know him anywhere.

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Sole Man Back at It

Jamie Soles' has a new album:

Pure Words is a collection of songs from the early Psalms.
Several of them have been around for at least a couple years,
and most of them are being used in our church. When I
gathered my thoughts for this project, I had probably 8 or
9 of them written already, and I set out to finish the remainder
of the first 16 Psalms. I did not succeed as I wished; you
will notice the absence of Psalm 9. Perhaps one day I will
be man enough to write a song for Psalm 9, but that day is
not yet.

It seems to me that the Church should be singing the
Psalms, her ancient songbook. In a number of places in
the New Testament the psalms are spoken of or quoted
as though they had been uttered by the Messiah. If this is
the case, and I believe it is, and if the believer‚s task in life
is to grow more into the image of Jesus, then mastering the
Psalms would be a wise way to learn the mind of Christ. Do
you want to be like Jesus? Well, here is a treasure trove of
the way that Jesus thinks and expresses Himself in song.
Learn to sing them well. Jesus is pleased when His people
know how He thinks.

Most of these songs are taken word for word from the ESV
Bible. I have taken artistic license in a few places, particularly
in older songs, but I have found that the ESV makes doing so
unnecessary. There is something very musical about this
translation, something which accommodates it to contemporary
song without need of revision. This is a very good thing,
because today's churches need to be singing the Psalms, and
doing so in a fashion which makes sense to the modern ear.

To the Church of Jesus Christ the King; may these songs be
useful for you, and helpful in your pursuit of Him.

Jamie Soles

July 30/2008

Grande Prairie, AB.