God’s Provision | Gloryteller

One Last Mountain

04 Apr 2013 2 Comments

by Gloryteller in Allegory, Belief in God, Christian Poetry, Christian Writing, Evangelism, Faith, God's Gifts, God's Grace, God's Provision, Good News, Holy Spirit, Hope, Life, Metaphor, Personal Testimony, Salvation Tags: Climbing, Death and resurrection, doubt, Faith, Life, Metaphor, Mountain, Mountaineering, old age, One Last Mountain, Testimony, the final frontier, uncertainty

One Last Mountain

painting by John McNaughton

Re-posted for R. L., a dedicated reader who liked the way this format “walks” across the page.
It’s actually a quirky glitch in the WordPress transposition of the way I really wanted it displayed. 🙂

I only recent conquered one
Not so distant past
But each peak now seems harder than
Was climbing up the last

Perhaps I’m almost finished
My climber says I’m not
My will is not diminished
My body not quite shot

But one can hardly ever tell
When one’s nice trail will end
What waits beyond horizon’s hill
Or ’round next river bend

And there will be that one higher
More fright’ning to attempt
Looming there one last hard climb
Where no one is exempt

Daunting doubts I reckon
Uncertain and unknown
Cold airless shadows beckon
To scale it all alone

You fool you will not be alone
The trail well-marked and lit
The crags will have beginner’s holds
You surely will not slip

Up toward my final peak
The one on which I’ll stay
I’ll wait until He finally speaks
Then lifts my soul away

Thus will it be that in the end
I’ll rest there where He Is
In the beauty of the Endless Land
With Him and all of His

Rejoice! Rejoice! With All Your Might, Rejoice!

30 Mar 2013 6 Comments

by Gloryteller in Bible, Christ, Christian Poetry, Christian Writing, Christianity, Easter, Evangelism, Faith, God's Glory, God's Grace, God's Love, God's Promises, God's Provision, Good News, Gospel, Holy Spirit, Hope, Inspirational Writing, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Life, Love, Metaphor, Personal Testimony, Redemption, Resurrection, Resurrection Sunday, Salvation, Thankfulness and Gratitude, Worship Tags: christianity, Crucifixion of Jesus, He Is Risen, Holy Spirit, Rejoice!, Resurrection Poem, Resurrection Sunday

Rejoice! Rejoice! With All Your Might, Rejoice!

Hardly a day goes by that I don’t think, in some way, about Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection.
Today is no different.
But wait, it is different, for today is the church’s official celebration of that creation-changing, world-changing, life-changing Day.
Today, let there be loud singing and joyous dancing.
Let there be massive celebration over all the Earth, for our Jesus is alive!
Let there be all of that but, most importantly,
let Him be the Lord of your life.

Rejoice, My Soul – All People, Rejoice!

I celebrate this holiest
Of all the days of holiness,
For as the sun appears to rise in the East,
The Son of God did arise
On Easter – Resurrection Day,
The greatest Day the Lord Has Made.
I rejoice and I am exceedingly glad in it,
For my Savior lives!
Oh, Lord, He lives!
Now and forever, He lives!
And because He lives,
So can I!
For my heart, too, was sealed
With hardened stone,
And in that darkened tomb
Dwelt death.
With tender touch He moved
The hardened part away
To let in light and life
So death was put to death.
The Holy Spirit Jesus sent
Was sent to live in me.
As Christ began to breathe again
I felt my spirit leap.
It leapeth still in Heaven’s realm,
So graciously removed from hell
That I can only raise my hands and say,
“Rejoice, all people, rejoice!
Hallelujah, praise God, rejoice!”
For our Savior lives and breathes in us!
He arose!
He conquered bitter death and saved!
He does that still, today!

With love,
Your Gloryteller

Resurrection Sunday, 3-31-2013

One Last Mountain

25 Mar 2013 1 Comment

One Last Mountain

painting by John McNaughton

I only recent conquered one
Not so distant past
But each peak now seems harder than
Was climbing up the last

I’m walking so much older now
Much slower than before
It’s time to lay some burdens down
And shoulder them no more

Perhaps I’m almost finished
My climber says I’m not
My will is not diminished
My body not quite shot

But one can hardly ever tell
When one’s nice trail will end
What waits beyond horizon’s hill
Or ’round next river bend

And there will be that one higher
More fright’ning to attempt
Looming there one last hard climb
Where no one is exempt

Daunting doubts I reckon
Uncertain and unknown
Cold airless shadows beckon
To scale it all alone

You fool you will not be alone
The trail well-marked and lit
The crags will have beginner’s holds
You surely will not slip

Up toward my final peak
The one on which I’ll stay
I’ll wait until He finally speaks
Then lifts my soul away

Thus will it be that in the end
I’ll rest there where He Is
In the beauty of the Endless Land
With Him and all of His

Meet Xian (Christian), Part II

14 Mar 2013 3 Comments

by Gloryteller in Allegory, Christ, Christian Humor, Christian Writing, Christianity, Faith, God, God's Gifts, God's Provision, Jesus, Life, Metaphor, Personal Testimony Tags: ABBA, Aramaic, Bible, Chi, Chiasm, Chiasmi, Chiasmus, Chiastic structure, Christian, Hebrew language, Jesus, Meet Xian-Christian, Xian- a symbolic character

Meet Xian (Christian), Part II

Well, you can’t win them all (said anyone who has written a blog).
My post ( https://gloryteller.com/2013/03/07/meet-xian/) about the genesis of my “Xian” (Christian) character, a.k.a. “Chi” was a big flop. I don’t think anyone even read it, let alone liked, rated or commented on it.
That’s life!
However, I’m not one to give up, even when giving up might seem the prudent-est course.

Perhaps it seemed childish, superfluous, or irrelevant, but I like to branch-out; to write in different styles about different subject matter. It keeps me flexible, keeps me thinking, helps me focus, helps my creativity, keeps me growing as a writer. I could go on, but I might get boring. That’s one thing I don’t want to be, for that would dishonor the One I write for, Who is never boring, always exciting, always awe-inspiring, always creative, and in Whom there is never a dull moment!

So! There’s more to Chi (and that rhymes with my guy) than meets the eye:

Chiasmus

Chiasmus is a literary figure of speech (and how I love a good figure of speech) in which two or more clauses are related to each other through a reversal of structures in order to make a larger point. Chiasmus means, in Greek, “to shape like the letter X,* thus the sentence structure looks like this: When read left to right, up to down, the first topic (A) is reiterated as the last, and the middle concept (B) appears twice in succession (Also, the middle concept could appear just once).*
I will try to give you an example:
“I don’t want the symbol ‘Xian’ to be boring, to keep ‘Xian’ interesting is my aim.”

Many long, complex chiasms can be found in Shakespeare and in Greek and Hebrew texts of the Bible. You knew I would get around to The Bible didn’t you! I was amazed when I noticed how many ways my study of the letter Chi led me to connections with Scripture. First, the chiastic pattern shown above is well known as the “criss-cross” pattern. The apostle Peter was martyred on an X-shaped cross. “X” also invokes to me the shape of the cross of Jesus.
Second, the chiastic pattern is also known as the A-B-B-A pattern. ABBA! One of the most dear names of God, ABBA is Aramaic for “the Father”, and arguably, is Hebrew for “Daddy”. It was used as an intimate, yet respectful way to address one’s father, and in a very special sense, one’s Heavenly Father.

The classic Scriptural chiasmic ABBA structure is from Matthew 19:30 wherein Jesus says, “But many who are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.”

Finally, I say that not only is Xian a most interesting little “guy”, but delving further into “his” origins has yielded a wealth of interconnected knowledge, knowledge which touches the very origins of my faith, all begun by a little drawing of a “guy” I call Xian (Christian).

Did you see what I did there? 😉

*From Wikipedia

Meet Xian

07 Mar 2013 Leave a comment

Meet Xian
AKA, Chi – My Kind Of Guy

He has shown up twice in my latest posts.
Who is he?
Reader, meet Xian.

This is his story:

When I first started reading Christian-oriented material, “Our Daily Bread”, for example, I used symbols to mark and highlight passages that were important and inspiring. I used the five-pointed star: It is easy to draw without lifting the pen, but it has pagan connotations, so I went to the six-pointed star:

Two triangles, voila – a Star of David. But that takes a little too much time to draw, so I went to the asterisk:Three quick, simple lines that intersect. My ODB, and books, and Bible are full of them. However, for some reason, (who can explain ME) I recently began to take the X out of the aster, and just use that. I may well have been led to do it:So there it is. X .

You knew I would get around to this, didn’t you…..I began to think about how the X in Xmas stands for Christ. I found that the X is actually Chi, the first letter in the Greek word, Χριστος. I hope I got that right, because, hey, it’s Greek! Anyway, that Greek word means Christos – the Anointed One – which is a translation of the Hebrew “Messiah”. The X in Xmas is derived from the Chi (pronounced “Ki” which rhymes with “my”, or “guy”) in this word: Χριστος. X came to denote “Christ” sometime in the sixteenth century. Xmas is often misinterpreted as a modern secularization of “Christmas”, thinking that it is an attempt to remove religion from the holiday. If it is, it has backfired! “Xian” has been -used as an abbreviation for “Christian”, as well. These are merely abbreviations, not to be used in formal writing, and words are symbols, so maybe it is much ado about nothing, but the things words stand for, especially when they stand for people, and God, and Godly concepts, are important. But I diverge.

One morning, I looked at the X and saw a figure with hands raised. I don’t know what made me put a head on it, but that’s what I did. A trinity of lines.

It came to life! Xian (Christian) was born! (You can surely tell that art comes naturally for me).
Xian has since become just slightly more than a symbol to me, more than a stick man. He is naturally worshipful. You can see how he surrenders his all to the Almighty. His hands are raised in surrender and praise. He somehow expresses “giving glory to God in the highest”. Sometimes I call him “Chi – my kind of guy”. Three simple lines with a lot of heart.

Image by Gloryteller

An Expanded Prayer To My Father In Heaven

06 Mar 2013 2 Comments

My Father

Oh, my Father-God and my Lord, Who walks the vast halls of Heaven,
Where You live, and breathe, and reign sovereign
Over everything finite and eternal.
From where You speak,
From where You write Your Word,
From where You see all, know all, and do all,
From where You give Your unfathomable grace,
Your mercy, and forgiveness,
From where You open Your hands and pour out goodness,
And from where You sent Your Love Incarnate, Immanuel.

Your name is Holy.
Let me kneel humbly, respectfully,
In reverence to Your glorious name.

May Your kingdom, Your realm, be established,
May Your kingship be proclaimed,
May everything You desire to happen
Be done here on Earth, just as it is in Heaven.

I ask that You continue to provide all I need
In the form of wholesome food and water to nourish my body,
As well as The Living Bread, and The Living Water,
And understanding of Your Word, with personal revelation,
To nourish my soul.

I ask that You help me remember how You paid my debts
On the horrible cross of torture.
How You took my sin upon Yourself, Jesus,
How You gave Yourself in propitiating atonement, and in conciliation,
And appeasement, for my trespasses against You, Father-God.
Help me Lord to continue to learn to forgive others their debts against me,
Their trespasses, wrongs, crimes, and sins against me,
Just as You have so mercifully and graciously forgiven mine through Christ.

I ask You, Lord, to lead me away from the temptations of this world.
Help me keep your Word, Your principles, in obedience.
Lead me through the minefields, the snares, and the pitfalls,
For they are many, and my enemy shows me only the bait,
But hides the trap well.
Protect and deliver me from that devil, from that evil one, in Jesus name!

And finally, Almighty Father, I want to proclaim Your Kingdom.
It is the Kingdom of kingdoms, and You are the King of kings!

I proclaim that Your power is absolute. It is the power that created
Beautiful Creation in its entire completeness.
It is the power to create human beings in Your image,
Human minds, souls, and hearts.
It is the awe-inspiring, miraculous power to change those hearts,
And save those souls.

And, I proclaim Your Glory, Lord.
How can I explain Your Glory?
It is too beautiful, too splendidly colorful, too exquisitely bright!
It blinds my eyes, baffles my mind, closes my mouth.
It is love unleashed, fervent, and intense.
It is Your inexplicable mercy, and grace, and kindness, and generosity.
It is as inexplicable as You, my God.
You’re glorious in Your Glory.
You ARE the Most High Lord, Holiness Itself, Ancient of Days, The Great I AM.

Yes, Yours is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory,
For all time, and through unfathomable eternity.
You are my ABBA, my Heavenly Father-God to Whom I pray this prayer.
In Jesus’ most holy name.
Amen, and Amen.

Image by Gloryteller

A Writer’s Prayer

06 Mar 2013 Leave a comment

A Writer’s Prayer

“Lord, inspire me.”

Yes, that’s it.
Short prayers that speak volumes are best for me,
And He has never failed to answer in volumes.

Image by Gloryteller

Beyond My Understanding

02 Mar 2013 5 Comments

Beyond My Understanding

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5

Way beyond my understanding.
All I know is
It was a miracle that remains
And the miracle was a gift
Delivered to crumbling doorstep
Outside my sagging door locked tight
Nailed shut,
Yet breached,
It sat inside on rotting floor
Shining to be opened.
To be believed past unbelief
By miracle, not my doing.

Gift

It is salvation wrapped in grace undeserved.
The gift of faith to see hope once unseen.
A new heart unchained
Full with compassion
And repentance like a changing wind.
Heart to feel abundant love long unfelt
And mirror eyes to see myself as I am seen
Then others too, the same.
And mercy, charity, a call to pray,
A heart to sing, a heart to praise,
Hands to raise, a Book to read
All unwrapped and taken out,

When gift, upon gift, inside gift, unveiled
Then took away all fears and doubts
Healed my aching soul complete
And full and whole, then more, and more
A heart to tell of gifts and Glory,
Of His Great Love,

Holding out poor offerings,
And gratitude, a heart of thanks,
I thank you JESUS, thank you LORD!
That You should care for me.
To rebuild my house,
To give me gifts,
To give me Yourself.

Oh, Miracles beyond my dull understanding,
Though nothing is beyond Yours,
I can but sit in rejoicing gratitude.
And no better gift
Nor more precious treasure
Could forever enter
Through my splintered door.

Image by Gloryteller

Procrastinate. Give Up Later!

19 Feb 2013 Leave a comment

Procrastinate. Give Up Later!

Procrastination can be a good thing.
You can put off saying or doing something hurtful.
You can put off anger and wrath.
You can put off revenge.
You can put off breaking a heart.
And, perhaps best of all, you can put off hurting yourself.

Remember,
You can always give up later,
Never give up now.
Right now, put off giving up,
Always later, never now!
LS<

Image by Gloryteller

He Follows Patiently. Your Turn.

17 Feb 2013 2 Comments

by Gloryteller in Allegory, Christ, Christian Poetry, Evangelism, Forgiveness, God's Grace, God's Love, God's Provision, Good News, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Metaphor, Salvation Tags: Ask Him to lead, Bible, Christ, Christian Poem, Jesus Christ, Jesus follows, The book of your life, turn to Him, your path, Your walk, your way

In the book of your life,
Jesus follows you closely, quietly,
As you walk your path.
Turn the pages, He walks with you.
If you run, He runs.
Lie down, and He lies down nearby.
If you try to outrun Him,
Or get away,
He effortlessly stays right behind.
Veer right or left,
He is faithful in the turning.
Stop, and He stops.
Continue in your way,
He continues with you.
But turn around and look back,
He does not turn around.
Not ever.
He looks into your pleading eyes.
Always.
Turning to Him is all He wants.
Asking Him to take the lead
Is all you need.
To write your new page.
To fill the complete book of your Life.

Carrier!

30 Jan 2013 4 Comments

Carrier!

Do Not be alarmed by what I have to tell you.
How do I phrase this? ……………………… I’ve been infected.

Years ago, I was exposed. The infectious agent was introduced into my heart through an opening that had not been there before. It was my own doing that it was left open, though. I meant to do it because I had made a choice. I had chosen to invite Salvation in, and thus was exposed to The One Truth, and The Only Life. I was immediately overwhelmed and taken over! Infected! Much like a computer is “infected” by downloading a foreign program that takes over its operation. Much like a human virus that, once inside you, replicates inside one’s cells, not killing, (although I did die to my old self) but changing the DNA. Thus I succumbed.

As a side note, do you know that some scientists propose that nearly 10% of the human genome (the entire “code” of human genetic information) is composed of leftover viral DNA that humans have carried around in their own genes for many thousands of years?

In a like manner, I have been carrying “Heavenly information” left within me by the infecting power of Holy Spirit. I am a Carrier! I have been imparted, and implanted, with belief in the Good News of Jesus Christ! Being a Carrier of information this important, and because of the nature of this glorious infected state, I have a driving need, a compulsion, a commission, to pass it on to others. That’s not so difficult since it’s airborne and contagious. Those who have developed resistance through long exposure to the enemy’s anti-Body, may take longer by varying degrees. But, sharing a few words of my own testimony, of the wonder of my own infectedness, or of Jesus’ great love for the prospective infectee often has the desired effect. The agent I carry is so infective that the mere sight of me carrying this Life, this Joy, is sometimes enough to transfer it. Often, I share a gift of food, or supply needed materials that I’ve liberally infused with Holy infectedness, and they catch it. Other times I have to leave seed and spore of the Good News where the Spirit bids, and He sees to it that it infects and grows in His good time.

I was infected by a Christ-follower. That’s the only way it can be spread, but it can spread fast when fellow carriers each do their part to make more carriers.

The thing is, once this infecting Agent is fully established in the heart, in the very DNA, it is there for good. I mean that in every sense of the word. I have never heard a person say they wish it hadn’t happened. Truth, Salvation, Life, and His unfathomable Love are infectious like that.

Image by Gloryteller

He Sees You

16 Jan 2013 Leave a comment

He Sees You

Prophetic note

To a searching friend:
To a searching church:

Regarding your “search” for fulfillment, here is what God wants me to tell you:

You Are Seen. Maybe not by the people you want to be seen by, and maybe not in the ways you want to be recognized, but by Him Who made you to carry His spirit. He knows you exceedingly well. You may be searching for something you cannot find. Let Him provide the finding. Therefore, be still and rejoice in just being, for awhile. Sit, and rest, and bathe in the love He has for your willingness to serve. You do not have to be physically present, simply present your heart.

What does this mean to you?

Image by Gloryteller

Shards

15 Dec 2012 6 Comments

A FORE-WORD

I feel very strange. The day before yesterday I was strongly led to write this unusual piece – “Shards”. (unusual, for me, in its pain and darkness – I’m more into joy)
Around noon yesterday (Friday, 12-14-2012) I saw the horrible, heartbreaking tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut on the news.
I had not planned to give God much of a part in this poem. I intended it for encouragement for one individual, that “they” might be encouraged by it and know that they are not alone in their plight of brokenness. However, yesterday morning, as I awoke, I was strongly led to change it, and include His compassionate nature in the final stanzas.
I hesitated to post this in fear of being inappropriate, but I feel strongly that He wants someone to read this. I emphasize that this was written before the tragedy. It is my hope and prayer that it will draw someone to Him and lead them into his arms.
Today I will post “Shards”. I have no answers to the usual questions which tend to make people turn away from God in times like these. “Where’s God?” “Why does God allow innocent blood to be spilled; innocent lives to be taken?” “Why does He so often allow evil to prevail?” “Is it because of the rebellious and disobedient nature of mankind?” “Is it because when we, as a people, decided to ‘go it alone’ without Him, He decided to show us how that would work out for us?” I don’t know.
This is all I know at this moment: I refuse to let these questions shatter the faith that I, with His grace, have gone through so much to maintain. I refuse to be captive to my own meager understanding. Jesus didn’t come to earth to eliminate murder. He came to comfort the brokenhearted, for one thing. We still live under the curse of evil and we all face death – old and young alike – but Jesus came here to address death and defeat it for each of us through His resurrection.
I refuse to let evil steal my joy and my hope, for this is what it boils down to, for me — that our only hope to be reunited with those innocent souls is through Jesus Christ. I am absolutely certain that Jesus’ compassion for innocent souls, those taken too soon, is immense, for, in a sense, He was one of them. It is through faith, trust, and belief in Him alone that we will be allowed to rejoin those beautiful innocents again in full joy, to sing, and dance, and laugh, and love with them forever.

Shards

The countless shards of one shattered heart,
An exploding, expanding sphere of chaos,
Spreading wide and scattering apart,
Across the world, a swarm of loss.
Shards acutely sharp,
Across the heavens, destruction hurled,
Shards immutably hard,
Dark devastation unfurled.

Small flechettes ripping flesh and bone,
Piercing even the fragile membrane
Between the body and the soul,
Replacing joy’s song with despair’s refrains
Shredding the universe into coarse turmoil,

~~~

Unsharded

Where, in the lovingkindness of His heart of compassion,
God gathers them all in His arms, and His hands,
And skillfully, then, He begins to re-fashion
Refitting them back as only He can.

Remaking, shaping, forming, unshattering,
Deftly rounds off the pain and re-tunes – it’s an art,
He fits them all back, in a shape that’s most flattering.
Then removing the thing that tore them apart,

He creates a new unshatterable heart.
He creates a brand-new unshardable heart.

Image by Gloryteller

The Perfect Christmas Gift

11 Dec 2012 Leave a comment

“The Perfect Christmas Gift”,
written and performed by Sandy Howell.
Uploaded by Bob Marshall.
Many thanks to you both.
My friend, I give you the gift of a song; music with a video. It speaks for itself.

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Image by Gloryteller

Now I Lay Me Down – For Davey Christopher

08 Dec 2012 4 Comments

Now I Lay Me Down
A Bedtime Poem and Prayer

This is the bedtime prayer that my mom taught me. I was told to say it every night without fail:

“Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
If I should die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take.”

The dying part scared me. The implication of the possibility that I might die if I went to sleep was too much for my young mind to grasp, so I rushed through it which took the whole meaning, purpose, and heart out of praying it.
Recently, when I researched the history of this classic children’s prayer, I found that the earliest version of that prayer was perhaps written in 1711 by Joseph Addison in an essay appearing in The Spectator. Mom’s version came later from The New England Primer. Several different versions exist, some including child-watching angels.

I decided that Davey Christopher (and I, as well) needed a better bedtime prayer. Davey’s prayer is a new version of the classic:

“Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
Stay with me, Lord, in dark of night,
And wake me with Your morning light.”

Davey made another verse:
(I helped him with the spelling)

“And as I go to sleep, dear Lord,
I’d like to ask for one thing more:
Be with me all my waking hours,
And keep me, Lord, for I am Yours.”

Here is Davey’s complete bedtime prayer (without all his personal “God blesses”):

“Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
Stay with me, Lord, in dark of night,
And wake me with Your morning light.”
And as I go to sleep, dear Lord,
I’d like to ask for one thing more:
Be with me all my waking hours,
And keep me, Lord, for I am Yours.”
“Amen”

Parents, think about your children’s prayers. Pray with them. Think, and pray, and teach them well.

Image by Gloryteller

GRATITUDE

22 Nov 2012 Leave a comment

by Gloryteller in Christian Music, Christian Poetry, Christian Writing, God's Bounty, God's Gifts, God's Provision, Thankfulness and Gratitude, Worship Tags: Giving Thanks, Giving Thanks: The Gifts of Gratitude, Gratitude, Nichole Nordeman, Thanksgiving

Gratitude

Gratitude,
Let me have a heart of gratitude.
Thankfulness,
Let it be my soul’s beatitude.
For blessedness beyond words,
Let my thanks be unconditional toward
You

Here is one of my favorite songs about gratitude:
Thank you, Katherine Hardman, and thank you Nichole Nordeman.
Happy Thanksgiving 2012, everyone!

By Grace I Am Un-Limited

20 Nov 2012 2 Comments

Oh, Lord, I have swum astounded, deep into clear Hawaiian lagoons
Holding my breath in the pressing foreign world
On my own before I knew You
In rocky marine corridors where fear is, and faith calls
Twenty feet down in discomfort, but not crushed
Where beautiful creatures live and breathe effortlessly
Looking up in urgency, life and light seemed much too far away
Yet I rose up from distress and received life through Your mercy.

Oh, Lord, I have climbed to dizzying heights in the Rockies
Only on Your power, not my own, amazed that You allowed it
Where breathing became gasping and cold winds blew
Where even clouds and birds played far below my perch
And glorious formations waited for me to stand upon them
Inhospitable, the threatening no-man’s-land, even dangerous
Hesitation overcome by hope of life renewed
In flatter places well-made for my warmth and breath.

Oh, Lord, I have delved deep into vast, southern subterranean chambers
Where squeezing darkness rules in uneasy peace
Where tunnel and precipice wait and bat wings warn
Where immeasurable crushing weights loom overhead
Where magnificent earthly artwork poses to be admired
Exploration of being — of Spirit, of Earth, and of Spirit again
Who am I to be adventuring out of self and into You who creates
From a Living Love so unrestricted, so infinite, so boundless?

Oh, Lord, Your grace has pulled my heart, my mind, my very soul
Strongly, surely, toward quick-receding limits
Then beyond limits where that beautiful grace can be grasped
Where hope, and faith, and mercy can be held, and felt, and measured
Where peace is palpable, and there is no end
Where Your very Love can be embraced, and seen, and heard
And where, only through Christ, my being, my existence, my overwhelming joy
Is released, freed, and un-limited from the ends of Earth into Life Without End.

In 8/4 time…….

Image by Gloryteller

Cottage, Pain, and Palace

07 Nov 2012 Leave a comment

Cottage, Pain, and Palace

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of – throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”
― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

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By Grace Un-Limited

01 Nov 2012 2 Comments

by Gloryteller in Belief in God, Christ, Christian Poetry, Christian Writing, Creation, Evangelism, Faith, God's Bounty, God's Glory, God's Love, God's Provision, Inspirational Writing, Jesus Christ, Personal Testimony, Redemption, Worship Tags: Adventure, Cavern exploration, Christ, Climbing High Summits, Divine grace, Diving Hawaiian Lagoons, Earth, Exploration, God, Grace, Jesus, Knowing God, Lord, Receding limits, Spiritual exploration, Unlimited through faith

By Grace Un-Limited

Oh, Lord, I have swum astounded, deep into clear Hawaiian lagoons

Holding my breath in the pressing foreign world

On my own before I knew You

In rocky marine corridors where fear is, and faith calls

Twenty feet down in discomfort, but not crushed

Where beautiful creatures live and breathe effortlessly

Looking up in urgency, life and light seemed much too far away

Yet I rose up from distress and received life through Your mercy.

Oh, Lord, I have climbed to dizzying heights in the Rockies

Only on Your power, not my own, amazed that You allowed it

Where breathing became gasping and cold winds blew

Where even clouds and birds played far below my perch

And glorious formations waited for me to stand upon them

Inhospitable, the threatening no-man’s-land, even dangerous

Hesitation overcome by hope of life renewed

In flatter places well-made for my warmth and breath.

Oh, Lord, I have delved deep into vast, southern subterranean chambers

Where squeezing darkness rules in uneasy peace

Where tunnel and precipice wait and bat wings warn

Where immeasurable crushing weights loom overhead

Where magnificent earthly artwork poses to be admired

Exploration of being — of Spirit, of Earth, and of Spirit again

Who am I to be adventuring out of self and into You who creates

From a Living Love so unrestricted, so infinite, so boundless?

Oh, Lord, Your grace has pulled my heart, my mind, my very soul

Strongly, surely, toward quick-receding limits

Then beyond limits where that beautiful grace can be grasped

Where hope, and faith, and mercy can be held, and felt, and measured

Where peace is palpable, and there is no end

Where Your very Love can be embraced, and seen, and heard

And where, only through Christ, my being, my existence, my overwhelming joy

Is released, freed, and un-limited from the ends of Earth into Life Without End.

What Was Closed Is Open

22 Oct 2012 Leave a comment

For evil to flourish, and for evil to prevail, good people need only do three things:
Close their eyes to it.
Close their mouths about it.
Close their twiddling hands behind them and turn away.

Therefore keep an eye open to discern evil.
Openly denounce it.
With open palm extended, oppose and reject its advances.

All the above from a strictly physical place.
While effective, this cannot begin to approximate the power and certainty
Of the spiritual answer to evil. Openness to that is at the root of the ultimate defeat of the evil one. Seek it. Seek Him. He has already closed the door on evil and opened the door to paradise.

10-22-12

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Latest Musings

Pages: My Way of Glorytelling by Storytelling

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Please Scroll To The Bottom Of This Page To Find Links To Christmas Music, Book Reviews, A Map, And Other Delightful Info

About The Music Links Below

Christmas Music Videos

The Basic Christian Library

Compelling Christian Fiction Reads

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Write Me Here:

Email Subscription

My Signature Story

Great Sites and Sounds

For Your Reading Enjoyment, This Is Like A Park, Use It, Enjoy It, and Leave Everything Where You Found It.

Meet Xian
AKA, Chi – My Kind Of Guy