Month: January 2013

Bible Drama

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I like a book
Times I can tell by its cover
it won’t be like any other
it’s a hook

Draws me in to read
just a little of the lead
I have to know
more of the story

One thing leads to another
like the Bible story of the brothers
Cain and Able
they each brought something to the table

Cain was the first human born
not created
God said his sacrifice
compared to Abel’s
was lower rated

and Cain was jealous
he was a pretty angry fella
he struck out
and Abel went down

“Where is your brother?”
said God to Cain.
“What is that sound,
his blood crying from the ground?”

so God cursed Cain
for Abel’s brother things were never the same
he was left to wander with a mark
a sign for those tempted to cause him harm

Am I my brother’s keeper?
Does God see what I do to the least of these?
Am I an honest seeker?
Is it me or God that I seek to please?
God examine me as I drop to my knees.
God please look in my heart as it’s You I seek.

It is difficult to find the right words, “try as we might.”

indytony's avatarA Way With Words

This blog is devoted to words.  I spend a lot of time exploring how words are used in the writings of others and experimenting in my own writing ways to best use words to express beauty and meaning.  I firmly believe in the value of finding just the right words to communicate effectively.  Try as we might, though, we always fall short.  Our words are ultimately imperfect offerings.

And so, more than anything, I devote this blog to the “final, perfect Word” celebrated in this song by Michael Card –

 You and me we use so very many clumsy words.
The noise of what we often say is not worth being heard.
When the Father’s Wisdom wanted to communicate His love,
He spoke it in one final perfect Word.

Chorus:
He spoke the Incarnation and then so was born the Son.
His final word was Jesus, He needed no other one.

View original post 112 more words

First Haircut

The moment his mom sat him
in the chair at the beauty shop,
he knew in his very small heart
he’d be losing his favorite locks.
The ones he’d been working on growing
from when he was smaller still,
than today, the day when they sat him,
and he felt just a little ill.
Not the sick you feel when you’ve eaten
too much ice cream and berry pie.
Not even the sick you experience
on a twisty turning car ride.
No, this was more like foreboding,
if he knew what foreboding meant.
It was the fear that his mirror at home
would never be the same again.
So for now best to think up a strategy,
again, if he knew what one was,
to make all scissors go away
and in their place put a brush.
Don’t cut his hair for a while now.
He’ll need some time to recover
from this time he was sentenced to the chair
and experienced such a trauma.
He’ll grow his hair for some time
and come up with a weird design
fitting for a teen age.
You might then wear the face
he’s sported this day
when his favorite locks went away. ©

My First Big Laugh

I love to make people laugh. That’s something that strikes me as being a little strange when I consider my personality. I really think of myself as a bit of an introvert, although that might surprise some people who know me. However, there are a handful of times that I remember especially well when I consider getting big laughs. Of those times, the first ranks near the top.

I was around six I think, and the whole family, including my parents, two brothers, and my sister were eating dinner together. Mom was a pretty good cook, and took pride in putting out a well balanced meal. This particular evening one of the vegetables on the table was squash. I had never seen it before, but since I already had experience with vegetables I didn’t like, I figured anything new only deserved suspicion until proven innocent. Seeing that I had been given something plantlike to eat, I proceeded to give it the evil eye. Looking up from my plate, I looked at my mom and asked, “What is this?” She said, “That’s squash.” In response, I exclaimed, “Squashed something!” It brought the house down, the house at that time being my family. I’m sure it struck me at the time that turning words and their meaning around in surprising and fun ways can make people laugh, almost in spite of themselves. Ever since that first taste of success, I’ve been looking for ways to make it happen again. I don’t know who is having more fun, myself or the people laughing.

Some Writer Types

Writers
Put words onto pages
or onto screens
in this digital age you know what that means

Wordsmiths
remove thoughts from the ether
and bring them to earth
where we cast them about
debating their worth

Some famous scribes
have been known to imbibe
but it’s not necessary
to drink when spreading ink

Lyricists
can write songs by the score
while their heart’s on the floor
amidst the notes that they wrote

Poets
eschew convention
with their own invention
which becomes… convention

Dramatists
know all the world’s a stage
and seek to engage
those in the seats
patrons they may never meet

Very Inspiring Blogger Award

very-inspirational-blogger

Yesterday I mentioned that I had been nominated for the “Very Inspiring Blogger Award” by Tony Roberts of the blog, “A Way With Words” http://writingforfoodinindy.wordpress.com Today I’m going to continue fulfilling the conditions for acceptance, which are:

1. Display the award logo (see above)
2. Link back to the person who nominated you (also see above).
3. State 7 things about yourself (see below)
4. Nominate 15 other bloggers for this award and link to them (see further below)

7 things about myself (definitely not in terms of importance).

1. I can play the tenor sax (badly). I sing better than I play the saxophone. I can’t dance, don’t ask me
2. I became a Christian at a church summer camp in 1972.
3. I am the father of one and the grandfather of two. You might ask, “Of what?” I assure you they are humanoid and often bring tears to my eyes, mostly tears of joy.
4. I have successfully completed over 30 years of marriage to the same wonderful woman and I’m grateful for each day, including the extra day in leap years.
5. Though my wife treats them like the most delicious treats, I have never completely come to terms with Brussels sprouts.
6. I have a very large tattoo of a dragon on one side of my chest and an equally large tiger on the other side. I added a Celtic cross to my right forearm recently. The comment I have received most over the years: “You don’t seem like the kind of guy who would have tattoos.”
7. I have survived many years in the retail world, most of them selling books.

Now, on to the blogs I find inspiring. I will gradually add to this Inspiring blog list until there are 15.

Soul Artist: “Giving Hope When Times are Hard” http://soulartist.blogspot.com

Raising 5 Kids With Disabilities and Remaining Sane Blog: http://5kidswdisabilities.com

Life Out of the Box: Giving back in Nicaragua. http://lifeoutofthebox.com

God and Stuff: “Christianity, not just for old people” http://www.godandstuff.com

A Devoted Life: “Practical Daily Devotions for the Real World” http://boyslumber.wordpress.com

Mine?

First, I would like to say thank you to Tony Roberts, of the blog “A Way With Words” http://writingforfoodinindy.wordpress.com for nominating me for the “Very Inspiring Blogger Award.” (See left) I’ll post more on this later. Now, on to today’s post.

‘The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,’ declares the Lord of hosts.
Haggai 2:8

“But who am I and who are my people that we should be able to offer as generously as this? For all things come from You, and from Your hand we have given You.
1 Chronicles 29:14

Our attitude towards money and time often reflects that of our children’s towards their possessions. Anyone who has had to referee an argument over the ownership or right to play with a toy is familiar with the back and forth exclamations of: “Mine!” “No, mine!” Our perception of what we own or deserve is often skewed by our sinful nature. It doesn’t take practice to develop, it’s right there from the moment we take our first breath, and we may not always know what we want, but we’re pretty sure we want more.
You probably have a drawer of things that you just can’t seem to give or throw away.
Mine.
We have garage sales to get rid of our clutter, only to take the money to buy other people’s clutter.
It was yours, now it’s…
mine.
If you have the wherewithal, you may just fill a warehouse full of beautiful cars, boats or whatever.
Mine.
Matthew 6:28 says, For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Where is your heart?
Really, where is it?

Here on earth in the mire
I find of my own making
gathered tight in my arms
the things that I’ve been taking

only to find what what I’ve held so tight
turned to refuse and dust.
What first appeared as jewels and silver and gold
turned to sand and rust.

What if I became instead
a caretaker, investor, steward
eager to add value for my Lord
instead of by possessions lured?

Would my attitude change?
Would I become a conduit?
Would I by his love and wisdom give away
all of the time and money and things
by fear of loss kept to stay?

Instead of building prisons of possessions
by our Lord’s mercy might we open doors.
Pray blind eyes like mine be open and see
to give away God’s stores.

Giving of Ourselves

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. Romans 8:18

Our time in this world can weigh on us so
that some days we can seem almost crushed,
and our relationship with God can suffer
when we do what is good because we must.

Instead we should give in joyful expectation
as Gods presence in our lives is revealed,
sharing our gifts because we want to,
not just fulfilling our end of the deal.

A heart that is filled to overflowing
can’t help but give joy away.
All creation is waiting to assist you.
He can use you. You’ll be amazed.

Don’t try this at home

Waking up in an emergency room can be quite disconcerting. I know, of course it would be. And it’s not like this has happened to me before. It’s just that it took me a while to figure out what happened. I had this vague feeling that I was here because of something stupid I said or did. Like I said, it took me a while. It’s not a long story, but definitely one men should learn from.

It all started with a minor difference of opinion between my wife and I concerning how we should decorate the dining room. I thought we should paint, but Lori fell in love with a wallpaper pattern. I had my doubts when I saw it on the roll, but when she actually put it on the wall my doubts were replaced with a terrible pain located in the area where my head used to be. Also, it’s difficult to describe the wallpaper. I can’t really, because in addition to the pain, my mind has apparently chosen to protect itself by not allowing me to remember the pattern. It made life in our house difficult because to make a point I started avoiding the dining room altogether by going outside through one door and coming back in through the back door to access the rest of the house. What was difficult for me though apparently put my wife’s blood on a slow boil. However, what really set her off was “The Speech.” Now, I won’t pretend Ronald Reagan was my favorite president, but the man’s time in motion pictures taught him how to deliver a speech well. His writers must have loved him because he was so good at it. Now, something guys will do occasionally is say or do something to get a reaction. I had been pushing Lori’s buttons about the wallpaper for a while and decided it was time to go out with a bang. Here’s what I did. I asked her to meet me in the dining room. I’m sure this caused her to be suspicious since I had been putting on my show about avoiding it for so long. In the center of the room I placed a little makeshift stage, complete with the American flag and other red white and blue decorations. I then gave a speech which, while not long, was filled with references to love of freedom and how we, as a people, must fight those forces which threaten it. I went on and on, thinking that at some point Lori would crack a smile. She would laugh. I would laugh. She would congratulate me for being able to keep up my charade for so long and I would say I was sorry about carrying it to such an extreme. Peace would once more reign in the land. The reason I brought up Reagan was the one line that everyone remembers even if they don’t remember anything else he ever said, the one he wanted Mikhail Gorbachev to hear. I stood a little straighter and with my best imitation of President Reagan I said, “Mrs. Tipple, TEAR DOWN THIS WALLPAPER!” I looked down at her and the last thing I remember is a little twitch in the corner of her eye. After that, everything went black.

Well, I have high hopes that once I’m fixed up Lori will let me back in the house. And no matter what it looks like, I’m sure I’ll think it’s just great! Really honey!

New Baby Song

Seasons have a way of changing
Whether or not you’re ready for them to
Just when I thought I was through growing
God gave me more to do
Bring in one more small life
One little voice
One more cry demanding for hugs
One more tummy for food
One more mind for thought
One more heart to fill with love!

Make my arms strong enough
To hold another child
Help me to believe I’ve got enough
Because it’s been awhile
I know if you’ve given me more to do
Somewhere inside me it’s there
All of those things
A small person needs
It’s not too much for me to bear

Here’s an album of photos from the future
Parties birthday and slumber and swim
There’s a shot of the cast for his elbow
When he ventured too far on a limb
Good decisions mixed with unwise ones
Here’s graduation, a girlfriend, a car
If it’s not too much to ask for
God can you please
Help his angel keep up with his star

I imagined long ago how my life would be
Now I’m climbing a ladder of faith
Trusting as I lift each foot up
The rung will be there

Make my arms strong enough
To hold another child
Help me to believe I’ve got enough
Because it’s been awhile
I know if you’ve given me more to do
Somewhere inside me it’s there
All of those things
A small person needs
It’s not too much for me to bear
Not too much for me to…
Bear