The (Transiberian) Orchestra

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Christmas Time in Texas

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So much has happened in the last couple of weeks. I don't know exactly where/how to start. Like I said in the previous post, Lilly was a bit overwhelmed. What I did not say though was that she was not alone! I have been so overwhelmed ever since she got here. If it wasn't meeting family, it was meeting friends. If it wasn't meeting family or friends, it was planning for our wedding. If it wasn't any of these, it was work. Then, of course, there was Christmas shopping! Somehow, we managed to find some time (mainly in the mornings!) to spend together, and, the last couple of nights, we have had the opportunity to watch some movies together.

So, now, she has seen the church where the ceremony is being planned. We took a couple of pictures for her family, etc.


This is the outside of the church


This is from the balcony inside the church


This is also from the balcony, but facing the back

We went to the Christmas Eve midnight service there, and that was so totally beautiful. I remember Dan one time saying that he would like us to be able to go to any Christian church and enjoy the service as we recieve and hear The Gospel. As we sat there in the sanctuary that night, that was exactly what I was doing, and I enjoyed every minute of it. It was a stark contrast to the morning Christmas service Lilly and I had gone to at my parent's church.

I hadn't been in that sanctuary for a long time. I had forgotten how big it is!! I suddenly find myself wondering how we will fill it! Hopefully we can though!

In the process of meeting family and friends, we met with the family who had been my neighbors since I was about three until I moved out of my parent's house. They have since moved elsewhere in the city, but they are still as close or closer than a lot of my family. (That tends to happen when you live next door to someone for approx. 26+ years!!) We had a wonderful dinner with them, and it was a pleasure to introduce them to Lilly. We have been wanting to ask the father to preside (is that the correct term?) over our ceremony, and we had a chance to talk to him about that. It looks so far like that will be able to happen! :-D

While we were there, they gave us a couple of tickets to the Northpark Train exhibit. We went the next day, and I confiscated Lilly's camera while we were inside. I took pictures until the camera was full (it was close already), and Lilly kept insisting that no one would want to see them. However, here they are anyways!! (There's a lot of them!!)


The view from outside the exhibit





























So, ya, that's a lot of photos of trains. Maybe it would of been best if I had not posted so many, but I couldn't resist.

I would like to give a special "Thank You" to Tree-in-Forrest, who craftily paid for several of our meals the other night at Black Eyed Peas without warning. It was a much appreciated and awesome deed, my friend!!

The same day that Lilly and I went to the train exhibit in Northpark, I also showed her the Galleria. They have much cooler stores there than at Northpark, but ice skating instead of trains. (We didn't go skating though...)


The Galleria Christmas Tree


The ice skating at the Galleria


Lilly was starting to get into a Texas groove

And now, I'm really tired, and I need to sleep. So, I'll just post a couple more pics of Lilly and I actually together, and that'll be it. Goodnight, y'all!


The Nativity scene at my parent's house


A Dallas sunset

And, now, some pics of Lilly and I. Enjoy!








The woman I love.

When we were children we were grateful to those who filled our stockings at Christmas time. Why are we not grateful to God for filling our stockings with legs?

- G. K. Chesterton

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulders; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

An Overwhelmed Verlobter

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I'm sitting on my couch watching Lilly write on her german blog something about all that has been happening to her here. I have **no** clue what she's writing. So, I'll write some in english.

We went Christmas shopping today. It's krass how many things here overwhelm her.



It's completely understandable though. Since she's got here, we've been doing "something" every night of the week. That first night we had planned to just meet my parents real fast and go to my place and relax since we hadn't seen each other for so long. Instead, my parents detained us for 2+ hours! We (Lilly esp.) were so tired after that! The next day, we went to church, she met a bunch of my friends from there, we went to lunch with them, we saw the Nativity Story, and I took Lilly around Dallas a little bit. I took her to a couple of stores, out to where I work, and then downtown. She was overwhelemed by the buildings and hadn't seen anything like them before!







* note: I never quite finished this post...so, it's showing up much later than when I wrote it... I'll add more later

Who has time? Who has time? But then if we never take time, how can we have time?

- Merovingian in The Matrix Reloaded

The Waiting - Part 3

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I don't know how I'm supposed to sleep tonight. My heart is racing so fast. Lilly's on her way here! I've been cleaning my apartment all evening. My desk has been covered in crap for about 3 1/2 years now. Here's what it looks like now:

My desk after being cleaned

I dug through some of my old pictures, and I managed to find a fairly recent one with my desk in it.

My desk before being cleaned.

I don't have any "pre" pictures of my coffee table, but, trust me, it was bad.

My living room coffee table

And, finally, because I often like to show off way too much, here is my favorite music player software, amaroK, being played on the wall.

amaroK on my wall

Now though, I am sitting here, listening to sappy love songs. Now, I don't listen to a whole lot of Steven Curtis Chapman, but one of his songs is on my playlist at the moment: When Love Takes You In Now, this is practically the definition of sappy love songs. But, as I was listening to it, the first verse and chorus caught my attention:

I know you’ve heard the stories
But they all sound too good to be true
You’ve heard about a place called home
But there doesn’t seem to be one for you
So one more night you cry yourself to sleep
And drift off to a distant dream

Where love takes you in and everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart
When love takes you home and says you belong here
The loneliness ends and a new life begins

The thing is that, as recently as a year ago (actually, more like 11 months or so), these words might as well have been spoken directly to me. That's how I felt. All the stories sounded too good to be true. Everyone had someone except me. It's really hard when, as a Christian, everyone tells you all your life that all you need is God, and then, even though He is a central part of your life, you still feel alone. I thought that, for a long time, God was not bringing someone into my life because I could not be satisfied with just Him. It wasn't until a year and a half or so ago that the truth dawned on me.

The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."

Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field.
But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

The man said,
"This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called 'woman, '
for she was taken out of man."

For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

Genesis 2:18-24

It was so great to realize that this fear of mine was wrong. God has created us in such a way that we often need that companion, that helper, a wife. (obviously, for women, you would change "wife" in that sentance to "husband") Furthermore, as I read one in a fuller context one of the passages that had always convinced me my desire for a wife was wrong, I realized that, even there, it does not say what I was thinking it did.

Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I am.

1 Corinthians 7:8

When I read it in a fuller context though, I read also this:

Now for the matters you wrote about: It is good for a man not to marry. But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband. The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife's body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife. Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. I say this as a concession, not as a command. I wish that all men were as I am. But each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.

1 Corinthians 7:1-7

The truth is that, as I read verse 8, I was seeing my present single status as implying that I should not get married. I am so glad I was so wrong. I wonder if other people get trapped in this logic?

The next verse of that Steven Curtis Chapman song described my deepest earthly desire. Namely, that:

And somewhere while you’re sleeping
Someone else is dreaming too
Counting down the days until
They hold you close and say I love you
And like the rain that falls into the sea
In a moment what has been is lost in what will be

The words are beautifully written in that verse. And, now, as I sit here in the early morning (or late night, depending upon how you look at it), unable to sleep because I know that my "someone else" is on a plane in route to come to me, I can't help but wanting to stand up before all the single, looking to not be single, Christians in the world and shout out: "Don't worry! God has a 'someone' in store for you, too!"

I know that the reality really is that, in some cases, there never is someone. I pray for those lonely hearts because I know what it is like wondering if one is going to be one of those cases. I think though that, if one wants a special someone, and is willing to wait for God to bring him/her to them, God will do it. He loves it when we have faith in His provisions. And, as Paul says:

But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

1 Corinthians 7:9

Just never give up hope. And, most importantly, never give up on prayer. Always ask, in Jesus name, for the things you need. Our Lord is the one who sees our needs and provides.

"Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."

Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided."

Genesis 22:12-14

*Note: All pictures were taken after this was written (hence why that song doesn't show up on the amaroK playlist...Because I *know* you care....hehe

When Love Takes You In

I know you’ve heard the stories
But they all sound too good to be true
You’ve heard about a place called home
But there doesn’t seem to be one for you
So one more night you cry yourself to sleep
And drift off to a distant dream

Where love takes you in and everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart
When love takes you home and says you belong here
The loneliness ends and a new life begins
When love takes you in

And somewhere while you’re sleeping
Someone else is dreaming too
Counting down the days until
They hold you close and say I love you
And like the rain that falls into the sea
In a moment what has been is lost in what will be

When love takes you in everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart

And this love will never let you go
There is nothing that could ever
cause this love to lose its hold

When love takes you in everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart
When love takes you home and says you belong here
The loneliness ends and a new life begins
When love takes you in it takes you in for good
When love takes you in

- Steven Curtis Chapman

"Lord, Please let all the flights run smoothly, and let her get some sleep on the plane! Thank you for her, Lord!"

The Waiting - Part 2

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Lilly comes tomorrow, and, yes, I have a countdown running. (I'm such a dork!) Currently, as of the time of posting this blog, it is:
1 days, 8 hour(s), 25 minutes, and 32 seconds

I'm so ready for that countdown to be at 0.

This morning, I woke up with a pretty sore throat, and went to the doctor's office. It's like some kind of fullfillment of Finagle's Law that I get sick right now, but I'm confident that, with the medicines from the Doctor and, more importantly, God's grace, I will be feeling fine by tomorrow evening when my Musankisha arrives. And, the doc did give me quite a few meds. hehe.

Anyways, I should be working now, and not writing blog posts. But, I wanted to share my excitement. She's almost here!

Anything that can go wrong, will—at the worst possible moment

- Finagle's Law of Dynamic Negatives (also known as Finagle's corollary to Murphy's Law)

"Oh, Lord, Please protect her on her way, and let us be together soon!"

The Waiting - Part 1

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I know I haven't posted much on here lately. That doesn't mean I've gone missing or that I've stopped writing. I've been busy and preoccupied lately. Lilly is coming here on Saturday! I'm so excited! It feels like an eternity since September!

So, here are a couple of videos to tie you over since I am obviously too busy to post anything substantial!

"Though patience be a tired mare, yet she will plod."

- - William Shakespeare - Henry V

Number Three: Is it really worth it Caprica? Is the love of that man really worth possibly losing all of this?
Number Six (Caprica): If you had ever experienced love, you wouldn't have to ask.

Battlestar Galactica - Season 3, Episode 1 - Occupation/Precipice