Sometimes...

Sometimes you just need to escape.

Sometimes you need to lose yourself.

Sometimes you need to find yourself somewhere else.

And since escape destinations aren't exactly commonplace in Smalltown USA,

Sometimes you need a beautiful picture.

Or a beautiful painting.

Then, after a sigh and a deep breath of that adventuresome air, you're ready to dive back into the real world and all it's chaotic depths.

May your paths be blessed.


(All pictures copyright their respective owners, taken from a wallpapers app)

Listen to the Sound

Open your window.

What do you hear?

The twittering of birds on a quiet street?

The hubbub of traffic at a busy intersection?

The sawing of cicadas in the woods?

The crash of surf on the shore?

The silence of snow falling from the sky?

The moaning of the wind as it rushes past?

The murmur of folk passing on the sidewalk?

The hum of distant machinery?

I'll tell you what I hear:

All of them.

Running around inside my head like ghosts of a memory.

The sounds of all the places I've been, or seen, or heard.

And there's one more sound.

It's the Still, Small Voice of the Great Musician, spinning His melodies and cacophonies of sound throughout my existence.

It connects every sound together, weaving them into the single, unified sound that is Earth. All of Creation is woven together into this single song.

Many parts are dark and broken, shadows of what they were meant to be. Some parts have altogether dropped out of the orchestra. Some parts have tried to place themselves above the others.

But the orchestra remains, still sounding the Creator's praise.

You Have *3* New Messages

Message 1:

*Ahem*
This is Abby, calling about your blog.
You need to post some more.
Right now.
Thank you, and good night.

Reply to Message:

Hey Abby! I'll be sure to now I'm back! Keep your eyes peeled!


Message 2:

*coughs* Hey Farjag, it's TD. Sorry I haven't been commenting on all the amazing posts, but I find myself lost for words in the aftermath of your awesomeness. So, even if I don't say anything, I've been reading every single one. At any rate, come back as soon as possible. Hope to see you around the blogosphere soon! Please don't be dead!

Reply to Message:

Howdy, TD! I didn't die! And thanks for reading everything, that means a lot to me. :) Now I'm back, I hope to be posting plenty more, but you'll have to decide whether it's awesome or not. :P Catch you 'round!

Message 3:

*ahem* Good afternoon, this is Hannah. I'd like to sell you a wonderful product for your graying hair....Just kidding. ;-) I've been missing your posts! I hope you are unbusy soon, and if you are dead I will kill you. Wait, how does that work??? ;-) Just don't be dead and make it easier for all of us...

Reply to Message:

Why, thanks, Hannah! Well, if I do die now I'm back, it certainly won't be because of any graying hair! As you can see, I am alive and well, and hopefully you won't be missing my posts for very long. Expect more real soon! Later!

Thank you, everyone who left messages! I'll have to do this more often... when I leave for extended periods of time... which I hope not to... Oh dear. :P

In the Garden

In the garden silence cries soft
For the innocent has been slain
Laid to rest in the weeping stone
The earth sobs in pain

The streams laugh no more
The trees their sorrow hears
The rain has come twice again
As the heavens let fall their tears

Can the dawn even come this day?
Should we not be left in the night?
For who would care to begin
Another day without the Light?

But, hark! Listen to that sound!
And turn your eyes to the place
Where his body lies at rest
Wrapped in cloth, covered his face

See, the stone has moved!
The door has been rolled away!
And inside, no body to be found
For our Lord has risen today!

He's alive once again
Risen and glorified
Death could not hold him
Our sin's been sanctified

What I've Been Working On

Hey everyone, I'm not dead yet!  And I'm back. Well, temporarily. See, for the entirety of the last two weeks I've been working on this baby: 

Remember that Dune Crossover project I was brainstorming for in Architectural Design a while back? Well, this is it! All done, finally! And if anyone remembers that far back, I was struggling to come up with a concept that I could represent in a non-literal fashion. (I.e. no giant fishes to represent... fish) So, I finally found a concept I liked, and that was Time. And this is my representation of time.

Now, it's a bit abstract, so it isn't as good a solution as I'd like. In other words, looking at that doesn't necessarily remind you of time unless I told you that was what it was. The first five rings (smaller ones), would actually rotate completely around if this was built for real, and be marked in minutes, hours, days, months and years. So the first part is actually a clock. But as you pass under the clock, and head down to the beach, the rings get farther apart and time stops. Because who wants to be reminded of what time it is while they're on the beach? So that's my explanation, though I'm not sure if it passes muster. Hopefully I get an A. :)

But, hey! It looks good, functions well, and came out nice! In case anyone's interested, I used balsa and basswood for most of the structure, and poplar for the rings (sturdier for cutting with a bandsaw).

So, now that that's done, I get to come back, right? Wrong! And that's a good thing. Why? Because Holy Week starts today, and as a way of preparing my heart and mind for Resurrection Sunday, I am going to cut down on all unnecessary computer time, which, of course, includes blogging. So, I'll be gone till after Easter, when hopefully blogging life will return to normal. Well, as normal as blogging life gets, that is :)

Until then, my friends, fare well!

 Oh, and I'll be answering all those messages on my phone when I come back for real!

Busy...

*Ring, ring, ring*

*beep*

Hey, you've reached Farjag's phone. I'm currently either busy, away, or dead, and am unable to pick up my phone at the current time, but I'll get back to you as soon as I am able, provided I am not dead. Please leave a detailed message if you'd like, unless you're trying to sell me something, in which case you should give as little information as possible. In fact, you can hang up right now. Have a nice day! 

*pause*

If you're still listening, chances are that you're not trying to sell me something, in which case you can leave me a message. Catch you later!

*beep*

Feel free to leave your 'message' in the comments! :)