Too Much Me In me
19 Sep 2012 2 Comments
Too Much Me In me
There’s too much me within me, Lord,
There’s too much me in me
So much too much, I wish you’d take
Away the excess You don’t need
Then more’s the room You’ll make
For work and glories You can use
Lord, empty all the wasted me
Replace the empty space with You!
Languages of Love
27 Aug 2012 Leave a comment
in Apologetics, Christian Poetry, Christian Writing, Creation, God's Glory, God's Love, God's Provision, Inspirational Writing, Worship Tags: art, Creativity, Hearing, language of love, Languages, Math, Mathematics, Music, nature, scripture, the heart, the senses, Word
Languages of Love
He speaks every moment
Every place in time
In all interrelated spatial positions
To every creature
And to all creation
Primarily to every heart
And soul who will listen
Every searching mind
May hear the delicate
The precise presiding mathematics
See it in waveforms dancing
Lyric logarithmic
It is indeed everywhere
And in everything
Numbers the letters
Equations the words
Complex sentences paragraphs
Chapters books
Libraries
Explaining the structure
Form and function
Of a tree of a seashell of salt
Of music
Of us
~~~
Music too is everywhere
And in everything
For every hearing heart
Are you listening
Do you hear the numbers flow
Babbling rhythmic audible
The noted tones the letters
The bars and lines the phrases
The soaring passages
Of operas concertos
Whole symphonies
Overtures to all creation
Explaining things unseen
Abstract substance
Beauty illuminated
Emotion elucidated
Eternity exclaimed
Glory exponential
Singing artistic creativity
Dignified craftsmanship
Timely invention
Science hums insights
Poetry counts the treasures of thrift
Word and The Senses recite truth
Look and you will find
Faith comes by hearing
Taste and see
A sweet fragrance to Him
He touched their eyes
~~~
He shows Himself everywhere
In everything His Heart speaks
What was made
We didn’t make
Unworthy creatures we
Surely not math
Surely not music
Not art not science
No not Love
Only trouble
~~~
His Image His Nature His Love
He would communicate
To hearts souls minds
He speaks so many languages
Signs and wonders abound
Science Thought Art Inventiveness
Sight Hearing Smell Taste Touch
Math
Music
Word
His many sacred Languages of Love
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Written fast as He gave it sans punctuation
Stream of consciousness
It is packed pressed down and running over
All saying read me again
Making demands on a reader
Did you rise to the challenge?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Copyright 8-27-12 Gloryteller.com
Divide and Conquer – Decrees of Evil
23 Aug 2012 2 Comments
in Belief in God, Christian Humor, Christian Poetry, Christian Writing, Evangelism, Faith, Inspirational Writing, Jesus Christ Tags: Divide and Conquer, Division as a Tool, Evil Decrees, Evil Plans and Strategies, Our Arch Enemy, The Current Culture, The Result of Selfishness
$&$&$&$
“Begin The Great Dividing!”
My First Decree:
“Divide them up! Divide them down!
By age,
By gender,
By color,
By country,
By wealth,
By poverty,
By religion,
By belief,
By ideology,
By politics,
By education,
By rank,
By lack,
By abundance,
By every division, and disparity,
By every difference and distinction,
By every dissimilarity and variation, no matter how small.
But, most of all, separate them into billions and billions
Of little selves which exclude all others.
Selves, each of which love only I,
Which care for only myself,
Which cherish only mine,
And thus worship only me!
Apart they are weak!
Chop them up like the onions in our hash!
Separate them all!”
Decree II:
“Deceive and distract,
Show them the bait but hide the trap.
Make them a tempting supper, perhaps.
Whip together a dash of hot anger and a dollop of hate,
Beat in a good measure of jealousy; delicious to taste.
A spoonful of envy,
Some grated ungratefulness,
A cup of covetousness
Into their fattening-food.
Mix in maximum revenge,
Make it all feel so good.
Throw in a fistful of greed,
Add a pinch or two of bitterness and blame,
Then a generous handful, of sweeet unforgiveness
Stirred up in their feed!
(My poetry is magnificent, indeed!)
Thus we will capture and conquer;
Self-divided!
Thus we will assimilate them all;
Self-poisoned!
Thus they give their selves over.
Our slaves, our sheep, our food.
They have no way to defend themselves from this dividing,
For it agrees with their very nature.
One whisper, and they divide themselves!
The age of Darkness is at hand!
Divide them up! Divide them down!
They won’t even know it happened!
(Until it’s Too. Late. For them.)
Then the world will be all mine….. Excuse me, ours, to rule!”
Would I lie to you?!
Your Supreme Master,
Lord S.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Intelligence-Advisory Memo (I-AM) :
Thus speaks, thus dictates,
Thus plots our arch-enemy…….
But we do have a defense, and he knows it!
He knows he cannot divide nor conquer us
If we live in the unity of the Holy Spirit’s nature that binds us together as one
In the peace of the Word of The Famous One, The Great Uniter.
One body, one family, saved by One Risen Man’s sacrifice.
One eternal life, together inseparably, with Him!
Boiled Down
10 Aug 2012 7 Comments
I have taken a hiatus, of sorts, from writing during this demanding season, but the heat has at least served to boil something down for me. Today, while doing the most mundane work, wrapped in sweat and dirt, I was given renewed purpose and also a new way to express my purpose:
To come to know my Father-God’s GLORY in new, deeper, more exciting, more relevant terms, whether the individual revelations be particulate or magnificent; and then, in my own way, with His guidance, to constantly make known that GLORY to all the people who have eyes to see, and for all nations who have the ears to hear.
I have faith in His faithfulness to bring this to be in me.
Solid stone heart made tender and pliable.
Unworthiness made righteous.
Dreary unforgiveness fading as the grey flees sunrise.
His Selfless Love replacing selfish “love”.
To come to know and, in the knowing, to make it known…..
Yes, this will be do-able.
He boiled it down.
Satan Summer – Temporary Season, But Deadly While It Lasts
30 Jun 2012 2 Comments
Satan Summer, Back Off!
~~~~~~~
You are a bully, I’m oppressed
Your endless drought gives me no rest
You’re in my pers’nal space
You’re all up in my face
You’re breathin’ brutal monster breath
No matter what, I still have faith
My Lord will put you in your place!
Love’s Deep
20 May 2012 2 Comments
in Biblicly-based Fiction, Christian Fiction, Christian Writing, Evangelism, Faith, God's Bounty, God's Glory, God's Love, God's Promises, God's Provision, Good News, Inspirational Writing, Worship Tags: Dream, Fathomless, God, Intense Love, Lord, Love, Romance, Unconditional Love
Love’s Deep
He awoke suddenly, startled into full consciousness from a deep sleep. It was the reverberation of the dream that had roused him. He blinked and turned onto his back. From experience, he knew that when he awoke right after having a dream that he could remember that dream, but this was different. It was as though the memory had preceded the waking. It had been so intense, so vivid, so full of implications that weren’t apparent at the moment. So…….. intentional………
He had just opened the door to one of the stalls in Grandpa’s old red barn so that he could get his riding mower and cut the grass around the house. He had paused for a moment, turning to enjoy the clear blueness of the Spring sky and the excited singing of the birds, when he saw her walking toward him from the direction of the house. His beautiful young wife was smiling as she approached. She was full of life and showed it in the confident way she carried her tall, slim frame, and in the way she was dressed. Today she was wearing a black, form-fitting dress with white trim circling the neckline, the sleeves, and the bottom hem. There was quite a contrast between her dress and his short-sleeved blue work shirt, jeans, and boots, as well as between her light hair and eyes that matched the sky, and his dark hair and deep brown eyes. As she came closer, he remembered that she had a Ladies’ Group meeting at church at ten o’clock this morning. She was coming out here to say goodbye. That was sweet of her. He felt his love for her welling up as it always did at the mere sight or thought of her. He ‘drank in’ her look, from her long, straight, light brown hair, to her blue eyes, to her amazing lips framing an even more amazing smile. He also ‘drank in’ the look in her eyes. The look of love she usually had for him was unusually intense this morning! It was remarkably deep, even mysteriously so. Enthusiastically ardent. Strongly, deeply emotional. Then the touch of her hands on his face was tender, implying a deep spiritual desire; her kiss, intimately personal, fervently powerful, her affection fiercely burning, evoking blazing bonfires and wild horses galloping, their muscles rippling. Enigmatically, mysteriously inexplicable, it was. He had heard of unconditional love, but this time it was palpable – graspable in a new way, and solidly unchangeable. And now the surfaces and interfaces between them were disappearing and they were somehow moving into each other, not necessarily becoming one, not this moment, but inhabiting one another completely. This was the way they both wanted to stay forever. This was love. Maybe seconds, maybe millennia later, she withdrew from the embrace, running her hands down his arms. Squeezing each others’ hands, they still inhabited each other – occupied each other, their eyes locked, arms still reaching toward the other. Transfixed in wonder, he had never known such a loving feeling directed toward himself. He watched her turn………. and then he was awake and alone in awe and frustration in his dark bedroom.
The dream, itself had only lasted a few seconds. Short, as dreams go, it was over much too quickly. “And, how strange,” he thought, as he reflected on it. “We were so young………..”
He was sixty-eight now. Grandpa had been dead for fifty years. After Grandpa had passed on, his dad and he had taken over the farm Grandpa built. Four-hundred acres of row crops, pastures, livestock facilities, and grain storage buildings had been a handful. After Mom died, Dad was never the same. His windmill no longer turned in the wind and he had died too. Then he, Dave, and his new wife, Mary, had run the place until it became too much for them and they leased out the croplands on shares. He still called it “Grandpa’s farm”, though, and the barn was still “Grandpa’s barn”. That part was true to life, but in the dream he was young, and the worst part of all was that the young ‘wife’ in the dream was not Mary………. . Mary had been beautiful, yes, but she’d had dark hair and hazel eyes. And she had died three years ago. But his dream had seemed so real. The girl was a stranger, yet had ‘really been’ his wife. It was like another reality – a different life. And her love – the love between them was real – overwhelmingly real. “Get a hold of yourself, Dave,” he muttered to himself.
“Ohhhh God, You know I’ve been so lonely, why would You do this to me? It felt like I was cheating on the memory of my Mary. What was the good in that?
Why would You show me a love like that, so intense, so powerful, when even my true love, Mary, and I hardly ever had moments that deep?”
He thought about the overwhelming, intensely deep, real love he had experienced in the dream. He wanted that so badly. How could a man taste that and not pursue it forever? His silent inner-weeping welled up.
“Ohhhh, Lord ………..”
Then a quiet voice spoke so intensely into his soul that his whole body jerked:
“That’s The Way I Love You” …………….
The revelation swirled through him, his whole being tingling. The realization that it was true permeated his being with a warm joy, a welcome peace……..
“Ohhhh, my Lord, I never knew it was like that.”
His whole being was being flooded with astoundingly wonderful word-pictures. The Lover and the Beloved. Visions filled with fragrance, with music, with flavor, and color:
Love’s deep, yearning pursuit…….
Love’s deep, longing, desire……….
Love’s deep summoning……………..
Love’s deep, fiery-wild embrace…..
Love’s deep, caring concern…………
Love’s deep, all-inhabiting indwelling.
Love’s deep Romance……………………..
“Your Deep, YOURS, my Lord …………………….. Oh, how You romance us! And that is only part of it, isn’t it. That’s only the tip of the iceberg that my human heart can perceive, isn’t it? But….. but, Lord, I still don’t understand why You didn’t use my Mary to show me……………………..”
“You had to know the difference.”
…………………………………………….“ Yes, You are sufficient, Lord. I’ve been needing something, but I just didn’t know what. I feel a lot better, Lord, and I thank You. You love me that much?
“Now and evermore have I loved you both.”
I only wish I could return that kind of love”………..
”You can, in your way. It is within you.”
He tried and tried to find the right words to describe the miraculous encounter, the precious revelation. How could he tell it to others? Love’s selfless deep? Love’s wondrous deep? Love’s unreserved deep? Love’s unconditional deep? It was so mind-boggling. Love’s fathomless deep! Yes that’s it!
“Be vigilant, child. Your commission is set. Now find your new heart.”
He tried to go back to sleep and continue the dream. Once in a great while, that actually worked………..…………………
The next morning was Sunday morning. He got ready for church with a new passion for praise and worship of his Almighty Loving Father and Savior. He had a feeling that this service would be special.
He was drawn to sit toward the back of the auditorium, on the left side. He usually sat in the center, but the center seemed too crowded. As the soft pre-worship music permeated the large space, he became aware of the conversation of the two ladies who sat in front of him. He was not one to eavesdrop, yet he couldn’t help but gather bits and pieces of their conversation, mostly from the one on the right who spoke rather too loudly and too much. He determined that the lady on the left, who was more soft-spoken, was visiting from out-of-state. She seemed about his age. There was something about a young man, possibly her son. Something was all wrong. He was in love with the wrong girl, perhaps. He saw a tear roll down her cheek, and heard the words “lonely”, and “Joe”, and, “ intense personal relationship”, and “ he loves so deeply”.
“Looks like I’m not the only one thinking about love today,” he thought.
The worship songs were fervent and meaningful. The message by Pastor DeWayne wasn’t about love, as he had expected, but was about rescue and redemption, which, when he thought about it, had a lot to do with love. The end of the service was coming too quickly for him.“Now it’s time to stand and form groups of three or more to pray for each other,” said the pastor. Since Dave was part of the church’s prayer team, he knew what to do. There was no-one close except for the two ladies in front of him, so he leaned forward and said, “How can I pray for you sisters this morning? My name is Dave. Do you have any prayer needs? I, personally have some back pain I could use some intercession for, but mostly I have praises.”
“Oh, I have some arther-itis in my fingers that’s been botherin’ me,” stated the one on the right, the louder and shorter of the two, “I’m Betty and this is Sarah. She’s from Texas, ya know,” she inserted, before the taller, more reserved woman could respond. “Pleased to meet you,” everyone said at once.
“Let’s join hands, if that’s all right, and form a circle. You know Jesus said that wherever two or three or more gather in His name, He will be there in their midst.” They did, and Dave poured himself into praying for Betty’s fingers, and into praises for their Lord. Betty prayed about Dave’s back, rather too long. “Amen,” Dave smiled to himself when she finished.
“Sarah, you haven’t said much. You don’t have to be shy around here. Isn’t there something we can pray for you?”
“Well, it’s complicated, but I think I’m okay. Thank you so much for the thought. I have mostly praises myself, like you said.”
“No she’s not okay,” blurted Betty. “She’s all in a tizzy because she dreamed of this young man last night and she felt like she was cheatin’ on the memory of her husband, Joe. On top of that, she’s been beside herself with loneliness – jist emptiness, poor thing, since Joe passed. Could we please talk to God about that?”
“I can relate, Sarah,” Dave said softly with compassion, “I lost my wife, Mary, too.” He felt Sarah’s discomfort. The hand he was holding began to sweat and so did his. Her hand was so soft……. . What Betty had said began to sink in.
“I told you all that in confidence, Betty,” she said calmly, “But you missed the point. God used that dream to show me His immense love for me, and I’m at peace now. She looked at her hand in Dave’s. His hand was so strong…… . She began to blush. Dave looked at her face. She was downright pretty! That smile looked very familiar. His face began to flush.
“Uhhhh, what’s goin’ on here,” Betty demanded.
Dave noticed that he had dropped Betty’s hand and that he was holding Sarah’s in both of his.
What was going on? Dave’s eyes met Sarah’s clear blue eyes and hers met his deep browns. And in that moment they knew their new hearts.
“Sarah, did you, by any chance, ever have a black dress with white trim?”
Her eyes began to fill with tears. “Did you ever have an old barn?”
“Yes, and I still have it!” they both exclaimed.
(“Now and evermore, I have loved you both, He said.”)
With that, an increasing knowing passed between them and they began the long fall into the Deep of one another. No, not the depths. That’s another thing. The Deep – not a place, but a state of being! It was the manifestation of His all-encompassing, all-pursuing, all-inhabiting Romance imparted from God to person and from person to person, the Deep calling to the Deep , the Deep occupying the Deep, the Deep exquisitely alive in the Deep!
“Selfless Deep?” Dave asked, wide-eyed.
“Yes. Wondrous Deep?”
“That’s right. Unreserved? Unconditional?”
“Love’s Fathomless Deep?” They both began to giggle like children.
By now, Betty was beside herself, feeling very left out. “You two know each other, right? Or is this some kind of coincidence? You’re speakin’ your own language. Please, give me a clue.”
“More like a Godincidence, Betty,” quipped Dave without ever taking his gaze from Sarah’s eyes.
“My friend, we have a lot to explain. We will fix your befuddlement,” said Sarah warmly. “I met Dave last night in my – our – miraculous dream, then in person just now. We knew each other – know each other. It’s hard to explain but we have been given something, and have been shown something very special that is going to knock your socks off! First we will tell you all about it, then we will tell the whole world. Spreading the message of His universal love for His people is the mission He is calling us into as we speak. It’s as though He is outfitting us with everything we need for a long journey. He is strengthening our connection with each passing second.”
(“Your commission is set, He said”)
“That’s the truth, my dear. Let me take you both to lunch and we will fill you in, Betty,” Dave proposed, never letting go of Sarah’s hand. “Sister, God’s love for each of us is so much, well, more than we ever thought, or knew. You’re not going to believe the way God loves you, and He’s telling us that we could use your personal testimony as an eye witness to our miracle as we travel, if you are feeling the strong pull of the Holy Spirit in that direction.”
“If only you knew,” now Betty’s emotions were rising. “I’ve been needin’ something myself. Been feelin’ restless, and I’ve been havin’ thoughts and dreams and ideas about goin’ out and tellin’ the good news of Jesus. I never much thought I would be a good evangelist, but the good Lord has been preparin’ me in little ways that I didn’t much notice until now. I had a feelin’ He would send somebody to me sooner or later. That’s the way He works. He sends jist the right person at jist the right time. His timing is always good. I was kinda hopin’ for Him to send a sister………..or a man……………but, anyway, I cain’t wait to hear what He revealed to you two. I love to hear personal testimonies and you must have a doozie! I love to tell mine too. It’s jist little and simple, but there is great power even in a little story about Him. Yep, I think the fields are white for the pickin’ and I’m ready to go, I’m ready to learn and grow and give my life to Kingdom work! Oh! Praise the Lord, I’m so blessed! Yes! I’m up for lunch and I cain’t hardly wait to learn from you two. This is my calling, I jist know it! You’re not gonna believe how much I like to talk. Prolly too much! Oh, my heavens, I’m doin’ it again aren’t I? Hahahaha!”
Dave and Sarah smiled intently as they heard every word Betty said, hearts beating wildly, hand in hand, and all the while immersed in the rich, deep, love inside each-other’s eyes.
It’s something like this……
Copyright © by Lenn Snider 5-3-2012
All Rights Reserved
A Way With Words
17 May 2012 2 Comments
~~~~~~~~
Some say I have a “way with words”.
My hope is that The Way will be found in my words.
~~~~~~~~
Your Daughter, My Mother
04 May 2012 5 Comments
in Christian Poetry, Christian Writing, Christianity, Faith, God, God's Glory, God's Promises, Prayer Tags: A Mother's Day Poem, A Poem For Mom, Family, Home, Jesus, Lord, Missing My Mother, Mother, Mother and son, Mother Dear, Mothers Day, To Mom From Your Son
A slightly melancholy look at a child’s love.
A celebration for, and of, my mother.
A prayer for one whose absence is always felt.
Love You, Mom,
Me
Your Daughter My Mother
Dear Heavenly “Grand”-Father,
Many years ago; more than twenty-two,
You made Mom a place to live
When she went away
To live with You.
Would You go there today,
Right up to her house,
And give her, for me,
A nice new dress, a flowery skirt,
A pretty blouse?
Would You give her
Nice-looking sandals,
Some beautiful shoes?
Oh Grandpa, today I’m getting the blues….
Please tell her I miss her.
We are too far apart.
All the time and the distance,
She’s still in my heart.
Would You put a sparkling
Crown on her head?
Or just hold her hand?
Would You give her, today,
A big Daddy-hug?
The warmest kind as only You can?
And tell her that her prayers for me
Were answered by You,
And are being still,
To this very day.
Tell her I’m finally free.
I’m on Jesus’ path,
I’m following Your Way.
Maybe not all that she hoped and she prayed just yet,
But much closer, Grand-Daddy,
Much closer this day.
Today, she just seems much too far away….
So thank her for me.
It’s heavy to bear,
That it’s Mothers Day here and she’s way up there.
But tell her I will soon see her, perhaps!
Until then, maybe give her a dance.
Will you give her a flower?
Lord, give her a laugh.
Tell her that I can hardly wait.
I’ll see her at the garden gate –
The one on the west,
When I finally come.
Meantime, Grandpa, please give her my best.
Your best too, ’cause we love her.
And just because she’s Your daughter,
And because she’s my mom!
Good Friday? Good Sunday!
06 Apr 2012 4 Comments
in Christ, Christian Fiction, Christian Music, Easter, Forgiveness, God's Glory, Good News, Jesus Christ, Redemption, Resurrection, Resurrection Sunday, Salvation, Worship Music Tags: Christ, Easter, God, Good Friday, Good Sunday, Jesus, Kristyn Getty, Resurrection Sunday, the cross, The Empty Tomb, The Power of the Cross
It is Good Friday. This is the day of remembrance of how my Lord Jesus suffered the agony of torture and death. A part of me died with Him that day – the part that needed to.
When I stood accused of selfish sins and crimes that I knew I was guilty of, He effectively said to me as He stood there weak, trembling, and covered with blood: “Don’t worry, you’re good. Get behind Me. I love you too much to let this happen to you. I’ve got this.”
His torture and death were my fault. (my brothers and sisters argue that it is theirs, but I am the guiltiest) But He forgave me that fault and went ahead and saved me anyway. “It’s forgotten,” He said, graciously.
So, I don’t know about the “Good” part of Good Friday. It is also called Black Friday and Holy Friday, either of which I can relate to, especially “Holy Friday”, but hardly Good Friday, except that good resulted from it. You can’t have a resurrection without a death, especially THE Resurrection following THE Death that rocked the foundations of the world.
If anything should be called “Good”, it is Resurrection Day – “Good Sunday”, the joyous day that I lived through Him, and had Life because of Him, and was shown the true meaning of Love.
I once again turn to Stuart Townend, Keith and Kristyn Getty to express with music and images what cannot be expressed with words alone. I pray that every heart that hears and sees this will be broken, transformed, and renewed at the foot of that one horrible, and glorious, cross………..
Thank you victoryinjesus123 for uploading this beautiful video.
Oh, and one more thing – the power of the cross is only the beginning. The power of His victory over death lies at the doorstep beneath the joyously-open doorway of His empty tomb! THANK YOU, JESUS!
Rejoice! Rejoice With All Your Might! Rejoice!
05 Apr 2012 5 Comments
in Bible, Christ, Christian Poetry, Christianity, Easter, God's Glory, Good News, Gospel, Inspirational Writing, Jesus Christ, Personal Testimony, Redemption, Resurrection, Resurrection Sunday, Salvation, Worship Tags: Christ, christianity, Easter, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Lord, Son of God
Hardly a day goes by that I don’t think, in some way, about Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. Today is no different. 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!
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
Re-posted For Resurrection Sunday, 4-8-2012
Dawning
27 Mar 2012 4 Comments
This Dawn Will Endure
Dawn opens its sleepy eyes slowly 
One at a time, softly blinking
To behold dimly the horizon in waking
Always amazed with the revealing
Beginnings, ever-refreshing
Impatient to see expanding light
So terribly long it could but dream of sight.
As it had been blind in the slumb’ring
~~~~~~~~~~~
The dawn is a seriously great metaphor!
The light increasing, the sun rising.
Well, here’s what “dawned” on me:
God ! That Jesus, my Savior lives!
The Son literally rising in my life!
~~~~~~~~~~~
We Jesus-followers all have our own special story about how Jesus “dawned” on us.
The sun also “sets”, and the love of The Son “sets” us to testifying of His Kingdom, of His saving grace, and of His great glory!
And we pray for those who haven’t truly seen the dawn.
Oh, Lord, let that Dawning spread wide, covering your people from horizon to horizon. Amaze them at Your revealing, Lord. Make them impatient to awaken. Make them to see that when the Dawning of Christ arrives, it will endure forever in their lives. Amen
Proverbs 4:18 – The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full light of day.
To Remember Uncle Ed
19 Mar 2012 7 Comments
To Remember Uncle Ed
Uncle Ed is my wonderful wife’s uncle and my wonderful uncle by marriage.
It was during the long drive between the airport and the country home of his departed sister’s family that I had the privilege to get to know Uncle Ed and Aunt Jane on a deeper level. I had volunteered to retrieve them from the airport so that they could attend his sister’s (my dear mother-in-law’s) funeral. It had been a tough flight from Birmingham with long waits, including nearly an hour waiting on the tarmac in the stiflingly hot plane. That added up to a long day for all of us.
However, as we drove west toward the hot June sun, we commiserated and mourned, talked and laughed, and formed a close bond. We shared family stories, told jokes and anecdotes, and we shared stories of our faith in the Lord.
The conversation and fellowship was so good that the weary miles melted away. I’ll never forget that trip with Ed and Jane.
Going back about eight years ago, Ed had found out that I had been diagnosed with a type of cancer that he had also had a difficult struggle with. I was scheduled for surgery, but had a two-month wait before the procedure. He took it upon himself to call me several times to reassure me, comfort me, advise me, and make sure that I knew I was not alone in my struggle. He was compassionate and kind and sincerely concerned. He was lovingly humorous. I laughed. I felt better. He made me happy just by his caring words. I’m certain that he sent forth many prayers in my behalf. What a great example of a human being. Thank you, Uncle Ed, I will never forget that! The remarkable thing is that, at that time, I was not a fellow believer with Ed and had no redemption nor salvation – yet. That miracle would not happen for another five months in 2004.
Uncle Ed knew that he was a son of The King. That was extremely important and comforting to him. He is with our Father even now – at Home.
He also knew his home here was temporary. Now he is in his permanent residence which was prepared especially for him. I believe that he is in his newly glorified state, eternally happy and joyously walking with our Father God and His Son, our older Brother. Those are my beliefs and my strong hope and I stand upon them forever.
That is of great comfort to me, however difficult it is to contend with this earthly grief. I groan for you, Jane. I weep and mourn at your/our seeming loss. But his love is still with us, for death can’t erase love. Not ever. There is no power that can separate us from the God kind of love………
Here’s the thing: Despite his own struggles, Uncle Ed made people happy. In the quiet of the evening, I realize that he is doing that even still.
Forever Home
19 Mar 2012 6 Comments
Forever Home
When our count of days goes way too fast
When earthbound lives are gone and past
In sad, lamenting grief we’re cloaked
We limp to You, our only hope
We lost them, those who were our own
Or were they not, and just on loan
With great compassion You lift us up
For what You gave them, they left with us
By Your grace, it’s their Love we’ve enjoyed
So eternal, enduring, death can’t destroy
Fragrantly lingering, it wafts through our hair
Like tropical breezes, love whispers its care
And we know they are with us, as You’ve been from the start
For their love warms our being, lifts our limbs, and our heart.
So, there lies our hope, it’s Your love and Your faith
You care about us, Your plan is in place
We lack understanding, only You know
How to bring home your people, You care for each soul
For You have given us this sleep
The one that, here, we think so deep
Yet it is light, and lasts but a whit
So brief, and at the end of it
We waken to You, forever home
At last, Your Treasure is our own.
At last! Your Joy is now our own!
A Day In The Ire
17 Mar 2012 Leave a comment
Happy St. Patty’s Day!
The pow’r of The Gre-en springs lov’rly o’er Em Isl’nd
Me-et me quick at thie Blarney fer sem stone-bolde climbin’
And later ‘ne-ath the Jig Tree for fiddles aen’ pint, er thrie !
Dust aff the Gael – bring f’rth the ale-bread aen’ che-ese,
A day in the Ire fer me Mairgrie aen’ me.
A Study In Black
22 Feb 2012 4 Comments
in Bible, Christ, Christian Poetry, Christian Writing, Creation, Faith, God, God's Glory, God's Promises, God's Provision, Inspirational Writing, Jesus Christ Tags: A Study of Black, A Study of Darkness, blackboards, Blackness, chalkboards, Creation, darkness, Light, sleeping tricks, the nature of black, the nature of darkness
The color black has been maligned all through history, but I’ve been using one of the benefits of the arguably-ominous color for years. Most nights, when I close my eyes to attempt sleep, I’m deluged with a flood of images, pictures, scenes, and mental videos brought about by the thought of today’s events and tomorrow’s coming trials, and the accompanying problem-solving that my brain performs whether awake or asleep. Like many people, I think in pictures but it is extremely difficult to go to sleep with the chaos of racing picture-thoughts overstimulating my mind. The back of my eyelids should be a calm, restful, black, and not a screen for an action-adventure movie. So I devised a “device” by which I could stop thinking and turn off the projector. I began to visualize a blackboard which I could erase with a standard black eraser.
In case you are too young to know what a blackboard was ( I could be wrong, but it seems to me there are hardly any left these days, having been replaced by “green blackboards”, “whiteboards” and “smartboards”) it was a large piece of slate (which is a thin, black, kind of rock) cut into a large, thin rectangle and hung on the wall of a school room to be written on with chalk. Thus they were also called “chalkboards”, and my educational life (all of it) was spent sitting in front of, if considered in total, The Great Wall of China in chalkboards. Whether due to various punishments, or by choice sometimes, I erased lots of them. I was good at it. Obsessively so. Thorough and meticulous beyond the call of duty. So it came naturally to erase the blackboard behind my eyelids. If the pictures try to come back, I keep erasing them until I achieve a smooth, plush, black-velvety surface. At first it required concentration and focus; persistence and perseverance. With practice, it became much easier, almost second nature. Now I associate the whole process with sleep. It’s like biofeedback. As soon as I get the “eraser” out, the thoughts and pictures flee and the next thing I know, it’s morning!
So, one recent morning I started thinking about “black”. ( Hahaha, some lead in, huh?) Black is a strange thing. It helps me sleep. It is a color. It is also a non-color – a condition. It depends on the source of the particular blackness we are considering. In our normal day-to-day life, blackness is a color due to pigments which reflect or emit very, very, little light. Some people say that black contains all the known colors. That is false. Contrary to logic and even intuition, the truth is that white light contains all the colors.
When the source of blackness isn’t pigment, it is simply the absence of light. In the first case, blackness is due to something we can see, and in the second case it is due to something we can’t see. The subject can be made more complicated than that, but I’m trying to keep this simple. The scientist in me wants to go into voluminous detail here, but I will spare you that. If you were wondering, I also want to make it clear that skin colors have absolutely no bearing on anything said here and will not be addressed here. That is a separate subject, but I will say this: As far as I know, souls have no color. It is only souls that matter. In my book, God created them all and loves them all the same.
So, there are black objects and there are times and places that are dark because of the lack of light. I suddenly realized that most of us possess both of these categories of black things in a very obvious place – in the pupils of our eyes! As soon as I thought of that, I rushed to the mirror and stared at my own pupils – the portals through which light enters my physical being, to be focused through a dark place, to enable me to perceive it. I was observing light entering that dark part of myself by using that very same dark part! I stared in awe for a long time just thinking of the interplay and relationship between light and darkness. The paradox, the mystery, the epiphany I felt was an astounding experience – a wonder – you should try it! 
I could go on and on, because that is what I do, but, in the interest of getting to the point, I will simply list some of my thoughts about “black”, and “darkness” for you to think about. Yes, as usual, I actually have a point.
Black is the color of darkness.
Black and darkness are synonymous, but are different.
Black is the color of these words; of this study.
{Methinks “A Study In Black”
Used black ink to write all that.}
Black-darkness gives context and lends contrast to light – helps to define light.
Black is the canvas on which lights are painted, the milieu in which the galaxies stew.
Black is the tapestry on which the epic Story of Light is recorded.
Black is the blanket which tried in vain to cover and smother the power of The Light.
Black is the substance of light hoped for, the evidence of bright glories unseen.
How could light run and play, spin and dance, without its expansive playground of darkness?
Light was the first thing created. Does it go unsaid that darkness had to be put in place first, to provide light with a place to be?
The brothers Black and Darkness have lots of negative connotations associated with them, but I like them.
{They help me to sleep.
They help me to write.
They inhabit my eyes.
They help me see light….}
And Darkness saw the light, but could not apprehend it, comprehend it, understand it, nor perceive it. Darkness opposed the light, but could not overwhelm it, cover it, extinguish it, overtake it, overcome it, nor overpower it.
I have to wonder if, on that darkest day on Calvary, when all Heaven and Earth despaired, perhaps all Creation’s Light hid itself in its grief and mourning, returning only when The Life returned…….
God’s creation of the color black and the condition called darkness surpasses our understanding, yet, we can be certain that it serves His purposes for the good of those who love Him.
Here’s the point. Even in considering darkness and blackness, I point to God and glorify Him with this writing. God created darkness, and, in my opinion, He created blackness, among numerous other reasons, to give the darkness a color. Faith tells me that He had reasons and purposes for darkness that we, as creatures of The Light, don’t fully appreciate nor understand.
Isaiah 14:24 The Lord Almighty has sworn, “Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand.
Isaiah 55:9 “Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts are higher than your thoughts.”
Just as the crisp, dark, night sky and the deep-cold, empty black of space help me to see the piercing light of the far stars and planets, so does the invisible black-darkness of the opposition make clear the penetrating Light of My Life, Jesus Christ.
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To Believe
20 Feb 2012 Leave a comment
in Belief in God, Christian Writing, Evangelism, God's Glory, God's Provision, Inspirational Music, Personal Testimony Tags: Belief, Free Gifts, God's Glory, God's Grace, Jackie Evanco, Spiritual Gifts, To Believe
God extends His grace to the large and to the small, to the “advanced in years” and to those few in years. He extends it to everyone who will take it. Grace is free. It costs nothing but belief in Him, which is also free. Sometimes there are those who accept His gifts thankfully and use them humbly to illustrate His majestic glory. One such individual with a powerful message is the delightful Miss Jackie Evancho:
Alone in the Rockies.
Gloryteller 