Poetry

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. ©

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

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.

I was always here

Here, before the beginning of time as you know it, before the perfection of My design.
Before temptation and the fall which separated us.
Here when you heard my call, which had been broadcast all along, only waiting for you.
Here in your struggles, in your pain and your joy.
Here, when you turn from me, searching where I am not.
Still here, when you turn back to the truth.
When you submit to being used as my hands and feet I am here.
When the world you touch needs to see all I am, I am here.
Here even when all of your senses reach out and can’t prove it,
when all you have is faith to go on, I’m still here.

Morning Rush

Etched against the gray/blue morning sky outside my window, cold wet tree branches reach out, etch-a-sketching their winter story. Rain drops begin a random descent to the earth and pause briefly on each branch’s twigs. The sunlight reflected within every drop’s tenuous grip flashes a coded message: though a distance away as the calendar speaks, spring is coming. Two nervous hummingbirds stop in the dogwood, itself a study in contemplation, all bark and no bite. The first short-winged bird pauses a quarter second longer than its partner, which quickly goads it back into flight. Hummingbirds are always first in line for coffee.

An Understanding Heart

Sebastian Temple composed a wonderful hymn in 1967 based on the “Prayer of St. Francis.” The refrain from that hymn says:
Oh Master, grant that I may never seek
so much to be consoled as to console.
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved, as to love with all my soul.

The great King Solomon, the son of King David, represents one of our best models of a wise man. The wisdom he possessed came through his proper relationship with God. The Bible mentions Solomon’s request of wisdom from God in 1 Kings 3:2-4:34. In verse 9 he says, “So give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?” Solomon knew that if he was to have any chance of being a proper King and judge over his people he would have to see with God’s eyes.

When I look at the world, Lord
I see through the lens of my own clouded eyes
and it becomes a scene of my own making.
With Your surgeon’s hands clear my sight to see in hearts
as though from a dream I’m waking.

Light and Life

Those familiar with forest ecology will tell you of the miracle of renewal that a forest experiences following a fire. Many plant species require fire to germinate and flourish. People whose communities have been devastated by earthquake or storm gather together, and neighbors who may have never communicated bond to demonstrate true unity in the face of loss. Whether a particular tragedy is suffered by one or many, the ripple effect touches us all, first with sorrow, then with hope. Hope brings light to places we would never expect the darkness to leave once it has spread its cloak.

Lord, when the walls close in on me
and I think that I’m alone
when all I feel is despair
help me remember the life you’ve designed
to emerge from the ashes
remind me of those who have gone before
with your Son’s example to guide them
what might seem so fragile a breath could break
through a wasteland of fear still passes
the hands that tightly hold a flame
that fades and flickers and gutters
will once more grasp hands of hope
leading the way through foreboding passes
never alone on the journey
never alone on the journey
never alone on the journey

Holy

Just bring up the word “holy,” even among Christians striving to escape society’s race to the bottom, and you’re likely to get feedback ranging from doubt to despair. I wish. You’ve got to be kidding. Me? You? But there it is, in 1 Peter 1:16. Peter, referencing passages in the Old Testament, says: “because it is written “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” Unlike the animal sacrifices of the past, which had to be done again and again, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ was done once. Once to cover our sin. Once to allow us to enter into the presence of God. Once to give us the power, with the arm of our Lord over our shoulder, to walk in holiness. We fall, over and over again. We get up, over and over again… until we rest.

God, look with me. See in the mirror there. How can that man there be holy? He falls and he fails and his clumsy attempts are so laughable. Really? But you’ve still called us to be…

Holy
just as our Savior is
Holy
written in your word
why God, can’t I just be good?
Holy
it’s a word meant for better folks
people with clean sheets and shiny floors
and a conscience not full of shame
Jesus, I’m desperate for your name.

Thank goodness we don’t have to do this alone.
Thank God

Here Comes the Sun

The mercy of sun after a night of cold greets both the meek and the bold. One turns slowly toward as though risking a wound, the other with palms open awaits a boon. The first fears knowledge of things best left unsaid, the second couldn’t leave a new book unread. The one fears what new light might reveal, the other with steely nerve breaks the seal. The former with a sigh gives in to his fate, the latter with a burst of courage pulls open heaven’s gate.