Your Word

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So will My Word be which goes forth from My mouth;
It will not return to Me empty,
Without accomplishing what I desire,
And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
Isaiah 55:11

Your Word
Lord
sustains me
without it my likeness is poorly drawn

Your Commandments
direct me
push me
to run on

let me hide your Word
inside my heart
may it fill me from within

let it soothe the ache
caused by this world and
expose the damage of sin

help your Word
complete in me
what You’ve seen from the start
a destiny not of this place
but kept safe in Your Heart

Time Out

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One weekend
I decided,
being of the giving kind,
to take my friend Time out,
might he need a break to unwind?
To my view he’d been working too hard,
passing everything in sight,
until night blurred into day and daytime into night.

I asked him, might he speak with his boss,
to request an extended leave?
He replied this was unlikely,
as his boss, Greenwich
was a hard taskmaster and mean.

Nonetheless, upon the issue I prevailed,
until my friend agreed
to take a two-week-sail.
For that 14 day period,
he did not once count,
though he was the only one who knew
since no functioning clocks could sound.

From that day back
and forward
Time has taken occasional rest
because even a man like time
needs to take himself out
to be his best.

I’d like to be…

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i’d like to be
as strong as a tree
that grows stronger
with the wind
turning over new leaves
while learning to breath
tasting news of where the wind’s been.
my roots would wind
down
toward the earth’s middle
halting before they burned
with so deep a grasp I’d survive
though swiftly the planet might turn
then after thousands of years
and lightning and wars and men’s tears
with one limb left green
teachers would take little ones to me
to wonder
and marvel
and dream

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How will they hear?

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But how can people call for help if they don’t know who to trust? And how can they know who to trust if they haven’t heard of the One who can be trusted? And how can they hear if nobody tells them? And how is anyone going to tell them, unless someone is sent to do it? That’s why Scripture exclaims,
A sight to take your breath away!
Grand processions of people
telling all the good things of God!
But not everybody is ready for this, ready to see and hear and act. Isaiah asked what we all ask at one time or another: “Does anyone care, God? Is anyone listening and believing a word of it?” The point is: Before you trust, you have to listen. But unless Christ’s Word is preached, there’s nothing to listen to.
Romans 10:14-17 The Message

“Your actions speak so loudly, I can not hear what you are saying.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

I need to hear of God.
I may not know I do.
I may not know His word contains the key
to a relationship I was made for before the world was.
My intellect, my will, my judgment, will be present.
But salvation speaks like a laser to the heart, to the soul.
I do not know yet the unvarnished truth of the gospel, how it will reveal something
so natural I’ll wonder why it took so long to become a reality in my life.
And why would He choose a human being to reveal this truth?
Why not send an angel, or a blinding light?
God could do that.
God chose you,
and others…
people.
For some reason, God is really about relationships.
Don’t think I need someone perfect to tell me about Jesus.
What I really need,
even though I may not know it yet,
is for someone to be authentic, warts and all.
Be real to me.
Care.
I’ll recognize that.

What I Say

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Don’t just say you see
what I do
what I say what I say
don’t just do
what you can prove
say what I say what I say
all the day all the day
what I say what I say
stop

jump in jump in spin
jump in jump in spin
do a quick revolution
jump out

ever since the day
we got married
been a holy ride
love done never ended
holy ride holy ride
on

jump in spin jump in spin
jump in spin jump in spin
do a quick revolution
jump out

Lori sweet Lori
train gets a goin’ cross country
dreams of rails and coattails
we got goin’ with a mist of steam
dreams of rails and coattails
ain’t never lost what it mean

jump in spin jump in spin
jump in spin jump in spin
do a quick revolution
back on

dance to the Lord’s revival
dance to our sweet Lord’s tune
dance to Jesus’ music
sweet sounds in your room

jump in spin jump in spin
jump in spin for it do you in
Lord lead a quiet revolution
with your strong constitution
say when

Well Met

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rise
child of God
as the sun rises
meet your Maker with meditation

quiet your mind
child as you meet Him
that the first steps
into your day
are blessed

sacred moments
bereft of discord
burnished bright
with praises
to birth
a joyous dawn

Yes, you May.

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Even though the first day of May isn’t for a few hours yet, it’s May somewhere. Here’s a poem in honor of the month.

Some folks celebrate May Day, there’s Cinco de Mayo, and don’t forget Mother’s day, but I think we should celebrate the whole month in honor of what its name signifies: permission.

Take a stroll on a sunny, windy day?
You May.
Stay up late before you hit the hay?
You May.
Pluck petulant pansy petals so more will have their way?
You May.
Get deep into Spring cleaning to get ready for Summer days?
You May.
May’s the month with a built in okay for every good thing.
It’s the correct word for misapplied cans. It’s a great time
for early sunning at the beach, be you any age woman or man.
It’s a month for pushing Winter out the door,
and putting Spring flowers to bed.
You might have your own favorite month, it’s true,
but my fave
is that month after April
and right before June
called May.

Thank You

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Just before or after last Christmas I decided to be more consistent with my writing by resurrecting a WordPress blog that had been dormant for quite some time. I had recently received a lot of encouragement and it gave me the incentive to write more poetry. While putting together the new blog I noticed a challenge put out by WordPress to post every day for 2013. I decided to give it a try and let everyone who read my blog know by putting the badge on my cover page. Today will be my 137th post. Accounting for a few days that I’ve posted more than once, that means I’ve posted over 130 days in a row. I’m looking forward to doing the whole 365.

There have been a lot of great things to come out of writing and publishing every day. For one, it has forced me to investigate different kinds of writing. I’ve explored poetry, song writing, devotionals, and humor. Along the way, I’ve gotten to know fellow bloggers who also believe strongly in writing, especially writing that moves them. I’ve had days when I thought I had written something relevant, only to get little in the way of results. But then I’ve had other days when I wasn’t all that thrilled with what I had put out, only to get lots of positive comments. It continues to be a fantastic learning experience and I just want to sincerely thank everyone who has read, commented, and shown me how fun and rewarding blogging can be. God continues to bless it. It’s my prayer that He is honored by what I write.

How Great Thou Art

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Tonight, I was listening to Pandora background music as I began my post. I was about to write about another hymn when “How Great Thou Art” began to play. That led me to remember that George Beverly Shea passed away recently at the age of 104. For years his beautiful bass-baritone voice highlighted the Billy Graham crusades. As magnificent as his voice was, the words of the hymns he sang were always the star, because the message they conveyed helped lead others to Christ. He was able to remain humble because he understood what a gift and responsibility it is to represent the gospel to the world. No matter how large or small you may believe your sphere of influence to be, someone is affected by the message you represent. Being a child of God is a gift, privilege, and responsibility. As we begin a new week, let’s all pray a little longer and reach a little higher. God does have a plan for you, short term and for the rest of your life.

How Great Thou Art

O Lord my God
When I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds
Thy hands have made
I see the stars
I hear the rollin’ thunder
Thy power throughout
The universe displayed.
Then sings my soul
My Savior God, to Thee,
How great Thou art
How great Thou art
Then sings my soul
My Savior God, to Thee
How great Thou art
How great Thou art!
When Christ shall come
With shouts of acclamation
And take me home
What joy shall fill my heart
Then I shall bow
In humble adoration
And there proclaim,
“My God, how great Thou art!”
Then sings my soul
My Savior God, to Thee,
How great Thou art
How great Thou art
Then sings my soul
My Savior God, to Thee
How great Thou art
How great Thou art!
How great Thou art
How great Thou art!…