love quell my doubt and dread

Father whate’er of earthly bliss
Thy sovereign hand denies
Accepted at Thy throne of grace
Let this petition rise 

Let the sweet hope that thou art mine
My life and death attend
Thy presence through my journey shine
And crown my journey’s end 

Give me a calm, a thankful heart
From every murmur free
The blessings of Thy grace impart
And make me live to Thee 

You raise your hand to still the storms
That rage inside my head
Revive my heart with gratitude
Love quell my doubt and dread 

Give me a sure and rested soul
From every fear relieve
The spirit’s power and presence mine
To ever comfort me 

Give me a sure, a restful heart
From every fear relieve
Thy spirit’s power and presence mine
To ever comfort me. 

Give me a calm, a thankful heart
From every murmur free
The blessings of thy grace impart
And make me live to thee. 

[Anne Steele & Sandra McCracken, "Petition"]

the language is a bluff

Le Penseur by Auguste Rodin, 1902

"I’m always amused that so many social studies or science concepts must be, in about equal parts, 'described,' others 'analyzed,' or 'discussed.' It is perfectly plain that these verbs were assigned arbitrarily and that the language is a bluff; our tests never ask students to truly analyze or explain or discuss anything. They ask students to choose the correct answer on multiple choice items... " 

[Mike Schmoker]

full, ready, exact

“Reading maketh a full man;
conference a ready man;
and writing an exact man."

[Francis Bacon] 

our understanding of them is primitive

"It is not that the primitive Eskimos are simple, but that our understanding of them is primitive."

[Marshall Shalins, paraphrased in Fienup-Riordan in Eskimo Essays] 

Nocturne in C-Sharp Minor

This is the next song I want to learn on the piano. Breathtaking.

we must understand Jerusalem and Athens

All the hopes that we entertain in the midst of the confusions and dangers of the present are founded positively or negatively, directly or indirectly on the experiences of the past. Of these experiences the broadest and deepest, as far as we Western men are concerned, are indicated by the names of the two cities Jerusalem and Athens. Western man became what he is and is what he is through the coming together of biblical faith and Greek thought. In order to understand ourselves and to illuminate our trackless way into the future, we must understand Jerusalem and Athens.

[Leo Strauss]