Goodbye Lats!

January 1st (tomorrow) is the day that the official currency in Latvia will switch over to the euro. This will be the second time in history that Latvian lat will be phased out.

The Economist wrote an article "Lat it be" on the history of the lat and its last days in Latvia. A country having its own currency is a always bit charming and time will show if joining the Eurozone was a good thing for Latvia. I'm certainly not an economist and can't say if it will end up helping or hurting Latvia's economy, but I'm a bit sentimental to see the lat go!

Paldies Latiņam
by Aarzem Nieki

Ir pienācis brīdis, lai atvadītos
no drauga, kas bija ar mums.
Ja dažreiz viņš arī man nebija blakus,
tas bija liels zaudējums.

Jau lidostā pirmais, kas sagaida mani,
ir autobuss sabiedriskais.
Par piecdesmit santīmiem mājās es tikšu-
tas taču galvenais.

Konduktors saka: „Man žēl,
bet par koferi piecdesmit vēl!"

Paldies Latinjam, Latinjam...

Viss sākās ar lasi, kas šodien man varbūt
Vēl kabatā mētājās,
Un stārķis, kas draugos ar sēni un skudru,
Par dzīvi šo bēdājās..

Pat skursteņu slauķim, tam nebija laika
Laimi no jumtiem man nest,
Un Pētera baznīcā tagad ir klusi,
Jo gaili laiks līdzi vest.

Vilciens jau debesīs brauc,
Vēl pēdējam iekāpt ir ļauts..

Paldies Latinjam, Latinjam...

Kas esi tu, svešais, no kurienes nāc,
Lūk tāds ir mans jautājums,
Vai būsi tu kārtīgs un uzticams draugs,
Un paliksi vienmēr ar mums?

Kāpēc tik grūti ko jaunu ir sākt,
Kad vecais vēl derīgs mums šķiet,
Kaut zinām, ka gailim un skursteņu slauķim
Tur augšā tik labi iet?

Nāc, milda, man drīz kabatā
Tur laša vairs nav tik un tā.

Paldies Latinjam, Latinjam...

My Current Jams

There have been two albums that have been like medicine to my soul over the last two weeks. Wanted to share them with the rest of you!

1) Loud Harp - Loud Harp

Beautiful songs with simple and worshipful lyrics. Highly recommended! You can download the album for free (or leave a tip) below;

The Loud Harp guys talking about how their debut album came about;

2) Dustin Kensrue - The Water & The Blood

Dustin was the lead singer of one of my all-time favorite bands, Thrice. He recently stepped away from touring with the band to take on a position as worship pastor at Mars Hill Church in Bellevue. This is his first official solo release in the "worship" genre and each song on the album is powerful and Gospel-centered. Very highly recommended! You can stream the album for free here, or buy the album on iTunes or from Mars Hill Music here.

YouTube of the Month: December

To close out the year, I wanted to post a video that represented the last 12 months well. This clip is a compilation of different scenes from the movie "The Tree of Life," set to a song from the film, John Tavener's "Funeral Canticle." It is a visually stunning movie with a powerful story that shows much of the beauty and ugly in life. Just like the movie, 2013 was a year for us that was filled with much growth, joy, sorrow and trials. "The Tree of Life" was my favorite movie I saw this year, and thought it is not an "easy" film to watch, I highly recommend it!