soft summer moonlight
heaven’s night light shines on all
illuminates earth
photo by lynn
maybe God’s like motel 6:
I’ll leave a light on for ya!
blessing poems
28 Jun 2017 11 Comments
in free verse, prayer Tags: blessing, God, Irish, poets, prophets
Paul at dVerse suggested “blessing poems”. Here are my thoughts…
At our wedding reception, a couple sang an Irish Blessing, which was later read at our second son & bride’s reception. (We’re not Irish but the sentiments are beautiful):
At the end of a worship service, a pastor usually gives a blessing (benediction) such as:
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace. (Numbers 6:24-26
_______
“Give blessing” and “say grace” are synonyms for prayer. At home, we fold our hands and close our eyes before meals to thank God for his provision. One prayer we taught our (young) children:
Thank you for the world so sweet, thank you for the food we eat,
Thank you for the birds that sing, thank you, God, for everything.
_______
Thinking about how we really need His blessing on our lives and on our world:
There’s no blessing without a blesser
left to ourselves, the “good” grows lesser
pretend we can fix it by wearing mask dressier
outside of God’s plan, our messes get messier
There’s just no blessing without a Blesser!
And finally…
May God bless
the poets
and
the prophets,
inspire them with
words worth
smithing
and
insight worth
pithing
may steel
words reveal
deepest darkness
shatter
false piety
and
scatter
hot light into
life’s mysterious
corners
amen.
attitude of gratitude
05 Jun 2017 17 Comments
in rhyming verse Tags: daisies, desert, God, gratitude, hills
Weekend writing challenge on “gratitude” with Sammi Cox
For undulations of the hills
for desert, daisies, daffodils
for love’s sweet longing family fills
God give us grateful hearts.
For grass to grow, mow everywhere
for pizza, pickles, peach and pear
for every breath we breathe of air
God give us grateful hearts.
For hiking, biking mountain steep
for swimming, surfing oceans deep
for every day our lives you keep
God give us grateful hearts.
For puppies, kittens, goldfish, frogs
for horses, cows, and baconed hogs
for reading books and writing blogs
God give us grateful hearts.
image from wikipedia
can i pray for you?
03 Apr 2017 11 Comments
in haibun, prayer Tags: communion, God, prayer, presence, silence, wrestling
Prayer is practicing the quiet presence of God. It is crawling up into the lap of our abba – daddy and crying to hear him whisper comfort in our ear as he wraps us in his strong, everlasting arms. Prayer is communion, connection, conversation; our privilege as children since Jesus opened door. It may be a mighty wrestling, his will bending ours to grant a greater blessing than we can imagine. In amazing love and grace, God invites us to pray and he initiates our prayers. He wants us to come to him. In his presence, our brokenness begins to heal, our emptiness to fill. Prayer is relationship, not religion; desire, not duty. It is our lifeline; vital as breathing, inhale – exhale. If we cannot pray? Jesus intercedes, the Spirit groans and the family of God lifts us up, before his throne.
listen in silence
dew refreshes, green renews
spring rain for the soul
a poet in his pocket
14 Mar 2017 8 Comments
in free verse Tags: God, grace, home, mountain, pocket
someday
i’ll meet
God
on a
mountain
or beach
maybe at a
coffee shop and
we’ll instantly
recognize each other
with neck hugs
and back pats
then, awed
i will bow
low and
God will
smile grace,
reach down,
pick me up
and put me in
his shirt pocket
near his heart
to carry
me
home.
reformed quote#4
27 Oct 2016 2 Comments
in quote, Uncategorized Tags: Calvin, duckling, God, love
3 Day/3 Quote Challenge: People celebrate Halloween but many have forgotten that October 31 is Reformation Day for the Church. So I will post a series of quotes by Protestant Reformers. That “ugly duckling” may become a swan!
children of God
18 Aug 2016 Leave a comment
in american sentence, scripture Tags: Athens, God, offspring, poetry
(written as “american sentences” of 17 syllables each)
Yes, Paul quoted poetry in his speech at the Areopagus —
As even your own poets have said, “For we are indeed his offspring” *
Athenians made many gods, even built an altar to “unknown god”.
(Ever wonder how people who knew so much, understood so little?)
Man cannot create God; his Spirit moves, unconfined to our image.
*from Cilician poet, Aratus, in Phaenomena, and also Cleanthes, in Hymn to Zeus.
Taken from historical/biblical account in Acts 17:16-31. Beth Moore’s Portraits of Devotion gives fresh insight (sentence #4 is hers).
but Ava knew Jesus
02 Nov 2015 5 Comments
in scripture, tanka Tags: Ava, death, God, grass
-with prayers for family of Ava Dieleman
why four-year-olds die?
life brittle as frosted grass
bleak october day
God listens to our lament
frozen tears in his bottle
_______
“Surely the people are grass.
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God stands forever.” Isaiah 40:8
photo credit: Carpe Diem Haiku Kai
seeking Truth, finding God
24 Jan 2015 4 Comments
in american sentence Tags: death, God, Jesus, relationship, religion, sword
Following a false religion might just be a subconscious death wish.
Yet we probably agree that he who lives by the sword, dies by it.
Desire a real relationship with God, not religiosity.
credit: Nazarene symbol
By knowing Jesus, we come to understand that
God is truly love.
(“american sentences”: poems of one sentence containing 17 syllables)
1. religiosity. [ri lij′ē äs′ə tē]. noun. the quality of being religious, esp. of being excessively, ostentatiously, or mawkishly religious. (yourdictionary.com)
2. Religiosity is an inappropriate devotion to the rituals and traditions of a religion. (gotquestions.com)
religious rhetoric
24 Nov 2014 5 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: God, questions, religion, violence
Who will tolerate the suppression of women threatened to silence?
What kind of god calls his followers to murderous acts of violence?
When do you know you’ve been accepted by fulfilling all requirements?
Where can people be free to make informed choices of what to believe?
Why would God need defending and why is conversion forced on neighbors?
How is it possible to restore our right relationship with God?
I will hide my eyes from you;
even if you offer many prayers,
I will not listen.
Your hands are full of blood;
wash and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds out of my sight!
Stop doing wrong, learn to do right!
Seek justice, encourage the oppressed.
Defend the cause of the fatherless
plead the case of the widow.
“Come now, let us reason together,”
says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.”
(God writes poetry to us through the pen of Isaiah; chapter 1:13-18)
