Whatever my God ordains is right...

Hymns are filled with such a richness and depth. I've been pondering this one recently:

Whate’er my God ordains is right:
His holy will abideth;
I will be still whate’er He doth;
And follow where He guideth;
He is my God; though dark my road,
He holds me that I shall not fall:
Wherefore to Him I leave it all.

Whate’er my God ordains is right:
He never will deceive me;
He leads me by the proper path:
I know He will not leave me.
I take, content, what He hath sent;
His hand can turn my griefs away,
And patiently I wait His day.

Whate’er my God ordains is right:
His loving thought attends me;
No poison can be in the cup
That my Physician sends me.
My God is true; each morn anew
I’ll trust His grace unending,
My life to Him commending.

Whate’er my God ordains is right:
He is my Friend and Father;
He suffers naught to do me harm,
Though many storms may gather,
Now I may know both joy and woe,
Some day I shall see clearly
That He hath loved me dearly.

Whate’er my God ordains is right:
Though now this cup, in drinking,
May bitter seem to my faint heart,
I take it, all unshrinking.
My God is true; each morn anew
Sweet comfort yet shall fill my heart,
And pain and sorrow shall depart.

Whate’er my God ordains is right:
Here shall my stand be taken;
Though sorrow, need, or death be mine,
Yet I am not forsaken.
My Father’s care is round me there;
He holds me that I shall not fall:
And so to Him I leave it all.

-by Samuel Rodigast

A Heli Ride

"This is an awesome thing."

A Day in the Life

Here are some random pictures from my first day back in Skagway.


As I walked to the hiking trail with some friends, I passed my neighbor who was cutting up some dinner: a bear he just shot. I stopped to talk with him and about half way through our conversation I realized that for most of my friends, this wouldn't be a normal occurrence. Ah yes, I am back in Alaska. And I like it!

We made our way up the hiking trail and found ourselves sitting on a large rock looking over the peaceful lake.

We laughed, told stories, and laughed some more while playing the HAHA game. I like my Tennessee friends.


I stopped to catch my breath as I overlooked the beautiful Skagway harbor. Someone told me today that it's the 12th largest cruise ship port in the world! I never would have guessed it, especially on a day like this.


The town was pretty empty this evening. Sometimes it's nice to be a familiar place.


As I unpacked my bags this evening, I smelled a wonderful aroma coming from downstairs. Ryan cooked up a roast and thankfully invited me to join him. Come to find out, the roast was from a mountain goat--that is, a mountain goat from the mountain a few miles down the tracks! Not only that, it was organic, free-range, antibiotic-free, and hormone-free---Whole Foods doesn't even offer that! Rumor has it, the train rulebook now has a new rule: no mountain goats are allowed on passenger trains.... Mmmmm, it was mighty tasty!

It's nice to be back in Alaska.

My Journey North

Some photos I took on my way to Alaska! (Sadly, I didn't get any pictures of the deer, porcupine, 7 dall sheep, or 2 moose that I saw on the way!)

Looking out the window at perhaps my favorite place in the world: the San Juan Islands

The Drive into Skagway:

Caffeine and Nicotine

So I'm adding some videos from a recent coffee house to my myspace. Here's the first installment.

it's about time

How does this always seem to miss mainstream US media? I'm glad to hear the FBI is actually doing something to discourage sex-trafficking.

M&M's

How many M's are in M&M? Two. 

Precisely my point.

pleasantly surprised

so this band wrote me and said "we're better than the picture." I thought to myself "yeah right". But for some reason I decided to give them a try--probably because i saw they were from seattle. as i perused their shabby and cluttered myspace site i tried to convince myself that they were terrible. yet somehow, i couldn't. to be honest, it's not the most creative music, but they are tasteful in their instrumentation and have some solid vocals. i know nothing about them but i enjoyed the listen. 

Weeping for yet on account of the President

A word from John to the President

Wingsuit Jumping in Norway!!!

This is sick!!


wingsuit base jumping from Ali on Vimeo.

Simeon Waits

Simeon Waits
by Paul Ranheim

Away in a manger no crib for a bed,
The precious Lord Jesus lays down his sweet head.
But off in the city awaits an old man,
Who wonders when the day his savior will come.

The shepherds draw near to kneel at his feet,
A child they see but a savior the meet.
The wise men are off’ring their gifts to the king,
Still Simeon waits for his savior to see.

Simeon lies awake at night.
Hasn’t slept in 22 years or so.
Wonders when his day will finally come…
He’s lying awake, praying:

Please Father please, remember me and the word you told me,
Oh let me die in peace.
Please let me see Christ the king, wont you let me hold him,
To see the day He’s born, let me live till Christmas morn.

A hope for his people, a hope for his heart
A hope for a light in a world growing dark
Comfort for his people—salvation soon will be
But Simeon waits for the time and the king.

Simeon prays to God each day With every prayer he’s closer to the grave
Closer to the child in Bethlehem… Simeon he waits, praying:

Please Father please, remember me and the word you told me,
Oh let me die in peace.
Please let me see Christ the king, wont you let me hold him
To see the day He’s born, let me live till Christmas morn.

Christmas ended many days ago; there’s still no sign of the baby boy.
Christmas ended many days ago; there’s still no sign of the baby boy.

The shepherds departed, the wise men are gone,
The stable is silent, no visitors will come.
The birthday party’s over, and its been over a week,
Still Simeon waits for a savior to meet.

Mary and Joseph pack their things, And travel to the city and the priest.
Simeon’s eyes are watering watering, watering watering now.
He falls to his knees, singing:

I see, but how can it be, that finally, oh you let me hold him.
Now I can rest in peace.
See, come and see, this is He, this is Christ my savior.
The day this child is born will be known as Christmas morn.
Come and see, this is He, this is Christ my savior,
The day this child is born will be known as Christmas morn.

Copyright 2008 Paul Ranheim Music

An Uncle Again!

Welcome to our world little man!

Musik of my moment

punch brothers 

fiction family 

david mead - i really like this guy's tunes and you can download them for free!

red mountain x-mas

josh groban noel 

so elated's  christmas album (also free)

radical face 

barcelona 

It's about time to revive this

Well, it's been over a year since I made any posts on here. My bad. I'll see if I can start especially since folks are already asking for a pic of my neph. So I'll get on that.

Meet me in St Louie

A lot has changed since I last put something on here (which was about 6 months ago now...oops) so I figure it's time to at least write a brief update. My time in Alaska was wonderful, in fact, it was the best summer in Skagway so far. Why? Well, the weather was a lot better! But I also had friendships grow deeper with those I knew from years prior, and I got to meet some pretty amazing new friends as well. My tour-guiding came to a halt when I took a job as a brakeman (if you don't know what this is, just think of a conductor--it's relatively the same) and I enjoy that position much more. I'm pretty sure I'll be heading up north in the summer for at least the next couple years.

Now I'm living in St Louis, not quite the beauty of Alaska, but a good city none the less. I am enjoying living close to by brother again (which hasn't happened in over a decade!) and playing around with my nephew whenever I get the chance. My classes start in January full time at Covenant Seminary and I'm only getting more excited as time proceeds. For now, I'm enjoying the break, filling my time with writing music and studying Greek.

I could write a book just on God's faithfulness to me over the past 6 months, and another book on all the things He's taught my heart along the way--but this is a brief update and I'll keep it that way for now.

Alaska Bound

In a few days I pack my bags and head north for another season in Alaska working aboard the White Pass & Yukon Route Railway. The past couple months at home have been beneficial and productive which is all I can ask. I've spent some time recording music and working on a hymn project of old hymns I've rewritten. (If you want a taste of that rough project, check out www.myspace.com/paulranheim). Anyways, the reason why I write is to say if you are coming to Alaska (perhaps on a cruise), be sure to swing by the little town of Skagway and say hello.

That's all for now from my neck of the woods. Cheers!

The Nephew

Some of you have been asking to see more pictures of my little nephew. My brother does a good job of posting pics every few weeks on his site. Check it out.

http://southernnorwegian.spaces.live.com/

The Newest Ranheim

Well, it's sad news to anyone who knew her. She was a good friend, very faithful and dependable, through rain or sunshine, she persevered. Perhaps you remember her. Maybe you came with us and enjoyed the countless hours of driving across the country, or listening to tunes on the way up to the slopes, or just enjoying the stillness of a conversation in the driveway. Well my friends, those days are over. She was old, but she didn't die from old age. She was just a little fragile. It all came to pass while we were in rush hour traffic about a week ago when we ended up in the midst of an accident. We were only traveling about 5mph so I didn't get hurt at all, but she took a hard hit. It was merely a flesh wound, but at her age it proved to be serious. When word finally came back about her condition, they only said: "There's nothing we can do. She's just too old." My heart sank. What will I do? I loved her... maybe. I can't go anywhere without her.

It's true. She has passed on to another place. That's right my friend, my subaru has died. And although we know she can never truly be replaced, well, she's already been replaced. I know, it looks bad; she dies and almost instantly she's replaced by a younger, prettier, more attractive blond. It's not that way, but it is.... Anyways. Let me introduce to you the newest member of my family:

Thoughts on Money from Piper

The point is this: he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that you may always have enough of everything and may provide in abundance for every good work. II Cor 9:6-7

In God's mathematics the best way to increase a sum is to subtract from it.

Verse 6: "He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully."

Most people operate on exactly the opposite principle to this one, namely, We will have more if we give less. But the Bible says, You will have more if you give more. This doesn't sound like good mathematics. Ten minus one is nine. And ten minus zero is ten. So if you want to have ten instead of nine, you subtract zero from the checkbook on the first day of the week. Right?

Wrong! The problem with that math is that it leaves God out. That's what I am trying to change this morning--to put God and his promises back into your finances. God says: if you subtract more seed from your bag you have more than if you subtract less seed from your bag. That's God's promise to you. Put him to the test. If you ask, How can this be?, we will see more as we move on.

This not some prosperity gospel--it is not a business principle to cash in on God's amazing interest rate. But it is an opportunity for joy in delighting in what God loves, since He loves cheerful givers.

God loves for you to be happy in your giving.

Verse 7: "Each one must do as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."

This is an utterly wonderful truth about God. You may feel it if you imagine what the universe would be like if God were not like this. What if God were like a father who was basically irritated by happy children? What if on Christmas morning a little child has wrapped up some clay hands in a praying position that he made in pottery class at school with a poem to his mother that says,

I made these hands the size of mine,
And make a promise too.
Would you please take them as a sign
That I will pray for you.

And what if he is so excited about giving this gift to his mother that he can hardly sit still and says, "Open this one next, mommy, open this one!"--and the father snaps at him, "Just shut up and be still. She'll get to it!" Or worse, what if his joylessness was so great that he said, "What are you so excited about! They're just some crummy praying hands"

If God were like that the universe would collapse into a black hole of nothingness for me. So you can see why I love verse 7. God loves a cheerful giver. God loves when his children are happy in their giving. God joins every childlike saint on the edge of his throne to see and savor the joy of every gift given and every gift received. God cannot be irritated by excessive joy in giving because there is no such thing. The heavens are the limit, and he is pushing us in this text to as much joy as we can possibly experience.

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How strangely irrational this seems in light of our current cultural values which attempts to find happiness and purpose in possessions and self-gratification. But that we might find happiness and purpose when giving away our hard-earned money is unheard of. Yet God loves people who realize their treasures are in Heaven and are eager to be generous. And I think this is why we are sometimes given more than just enough. We are given enough to live, and an abundance to give.

God's power and grace combine to give cheerful givers enough for themselves and abundance for others.

Verse 8 (literal translation): "God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that by having all sufficiency always in every way, you might abound for every good work."

The point is that God gives us more than we need, and the reason he does that is not so we can store up the excess, but so that we can provide for good works--the poor, missionaries, ministries. The verse can be summed up: God gives enough for us, abundance for others.

Or to link it up with verse 7: the reason God gives you more than you need is not so that you can reduce your joy by keeping it, but increase your joy by giving it. Remember, in God's wonderful way of calculating, if ten minus one is more than ten minus zero, then 15 minus 6 is lots more than 15 minus zero.

Verse 8 makes crystal clear what the meaning of wealth is. Wealth is the God-sent possibility of multiplying the joy of providing for every good work."

"When we gunna wake from our naivety,
To find that there's more than a world full of me.
When we gunna snap from this funk that we're in,
To find that there's freedom only when we give."
~PJR

Excerpts By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: www.desiringGod.org. Email: mail@desiringGod.org. Toll Free: 1.888.346.4700.