Month: September 2013

First Rain & Ninja Umbrella Surfing

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I suppose technically this isn’t really the first rain of the season. But these are the first decent sized drops we’ve experienced in our neck of the woods in some time. In our part of Northern California (read Oregon/Washington, not that place with the sun and beaches) this Summer has been nice in the extreme, so nice in fact that we’ve been issuing warnings to non-natives to not get used to it. We’re low on water right now so we’re grateful to see any precipitation. But what does one do when that deluge comes along and you’re caught out in it with no umbrella? The answer isn’t carrying an umbrella all of the time. Instead, become a Ninja Umbrella Surfer!

There’s a tactic I use when caught by the first rain.
It isn’t because I can’t stand being wet or that I’m vain.
But invariably when the heavens begin their leaking
I have to resort to what I call Ninja Umbrella Surfing.
It works best on city streets where there’s likely to be a crowd.
Frankly, in smaller locales it’s generally not allowed.
You find a fairly friendly looking vict…, I mean, person, holding a
good sized umbrella and start up a conversation, pretending you’re
a normal fella (or lady. Our program is not sexist). Continue
the discourse, keeping a weather eye, being ready to move on to
another umbrella, should you lose the one you originally caught.
Ninja Umbrella Surfing. Why carry your own umbrella?

© Joel Tipple

Iron Dragonfly

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Your name belies your disposition, not hard at all. You started life catching wind on a poorly designed chime.
Now you adorn the door to the backyard shed. When you landed here, the shed’s paint was dark gray. Now the paint
is peeling and faded, every bit the hue of battleship gray, after the battle. No, you aren’t hard, but you do endure.
You do endure.

© Joel Tipple

Opaque

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Do I think myself opaque, Lord?
Not transparent, though I surely am.
Hesitant, do I seek to hold back
some part of me from your plan?
Help me surrender every aspect,
reveal you in me as I do.
Mold me, oh great Maker.
Perfect me for Your use.

© Joel Tipple

Speak Into My Life

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Speak into my life hope.
The horizon appears bleak sometimes
and I’m looking for a length of rope.

Speak into my life light.
At times it seems so dark and I can’t see well to fight.

Speak into my life strength.
I’ve tried too long to make it on my own
and feel I’m about to break.

Speak into my life faith.
I started with what seemed enough.
Now my belief feels second rate.

Speak into my life and pray.
We both need God to fight for us
and help us win the day.

For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
Matthew 18:20 English Standard Version (ESV)

© Joel Tipple

sleep

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(S)entient beings need to be recharged
(l)et’s face it, to live large
(e)xtra hours awake becomes a losing proposition
(e)levate your health
(p)ursue more dreams asleep and catch more when you’re awake

© Joel Tipple

Convivial Hot Spot Privity

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For the world at large
or the world at small
convivial places are not so common
as we all
would like them to be,
though the patrons of corner watering holes would
beg to differ.

We read
or see
or hear about
nations at war with their own people,
hot spots,
where shifting political and financial fortunes
leave a few men in dubious authority while families seek in vain
for solid ground.

Is our future so bleak as the daily news would lead us to believe?
Would the privities shared between a few power brokers determine our future?
Is there another way to live that circumvents
the schemes of morally bereft leaders?

We have a representative who truly advocates for us.
He proved His moral authority and leadership by His literal sacrifice on our behalf.
Jesus Christ has already fought and won our battles for us.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses. Instead, we have one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet he never sinned.
Hebrews 4:15 International Standard Version (ISV)

© Joel Tipple

in my backyard

Photo by Urban Wall Art & Murals
Photo by Urban Wall Art & Murals

in my backyard
army men
fought their battles
with plastic guns
and melted crayolas

an old aquarium
with a handful of tadpoles
from the ditch
grew legs and hopped away
couldn’t say which
way they went

the sandbox
shared by the cat
how I lived through
the germs that
i played in
i don’t know

the old barn
seemed huge
and dark beyond measure
smelling of old wood and hay
and ancient treasure

the coins a friend
and i buried
in a box we carried
up the hill
someday maybe they’ll
find it and wonder

days lasted forever
the future was far away
time to ponder that later
for a boy in the country
a whole world ago

© Joel Tipple

All Right

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Some days
I dunk my head in a cup of coffee.
It doesn’t have to be any way but hot.
By the time
I’ve sipped it down I’m feeling more ready
for whatever wonky things this day brings.

The clatter of leaves blowing in like fall
brings news of changing weather. Change is coming.
But it didn’t ask me, didn’t ask me, didn’t ask me.
But it’s all right.

It’s all right and I’ll just roll right into heaven.
No reason to stop just cause this life ain’t cake.
It’s all right all day and into evenin’.
It’s all what God gives you and it’s surely what you make.
It’s all right.

© Joel Tipple

Heaven in Our Hearts

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5 1-5 “For instance, we know that when these bodies of ours are taken down like tents and folded away, they will be replaced by resurrection bodies in heaven—God-made, not handmade—and we’ll never have to relocate our “tents” again. Sometimes we can hardly wait to move—and so we cry out in frustration. Compared to what’s coming, living conditions around here seem like a stopover in an unfurnished shack, and we’re tired of it! We’ve been given a glimpse of the real thing, our true home, our resurrection bodies! The Spirit of God whets our appetite by giving us a taste of what’s ahead. He puts a little of heaven in our hearts so that we’ll never settle for less.”
The Message (MSG)

Heaven in our hearts,
a bit of beautiful against a background of despair.
So much is haywire in the world
and it does battle with the question we all carry to the cradle
and forward…
is it fair?

This notion of justice we apply with no schooling,
maybe before we ever speak at all,
have you noticed?
Somehow we know.

In our anguish,
we seemingly hire God
and fire Him
at will.
Evil speaks itself into our world
and our notion of justice
becomes one of proximity.

But,

God is still God,
whether an innocent child
dies
in Belfast,
Kampala,
or
Des Moines.

Now, that isn’t the typical
winning marketing formula
espoused by Madison Avenue.
“Thank you very much, Mr. Tipple. Ah, we have your number. No, no. We’ll call you.”

But,

At the same time,
a child is born
in Belfast,
Kampala,
and Des Moines
For those who have passed
and
for those who live,
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
English Standard Version (ESV)

© Joel Tipple