Category Archives: Poetry

Menu of Choices

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Life comes at us every day

Today’s choices have much to say

 

Right now, Option A looks quite good

Wishing for luck, knocking on wood

 

Infinite possibilities

Some become liabilities

 

One choice navigates life forward

Life seems so straightforward

 

Another turns life upside-down

Flipping plans into dark ghost town

 

Daily question:  What choice to make?

Tomorrow’s answer now at stake

 

Opportunities from choices

Watch out for temptation’s voices

 

Making choices, powerful tool

Please just one, become a jewel

 

Life’s mistakes searching for feedback

Answers help to keep us on track

 

Menu of choices fills desires

Lighting up our inherent fires

 

Near life’s hot stove, always aware

Certain choices may burn, beware

 

Searching with hands, hearts, and minds

Our next choice, what will it now find?

  

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To Whom Shall We Turn?

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From Isaiah 65:1:  “I was ready to be sought out by those who did not ask, to be found by those who did not seek me.  I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’ to a nation that did not call on my name.”

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Life’s stormy tribulations

Landscape filling with despair

Asking, to whom shall we turn?

God’s love coming forth, He cares

 

Darkness waits at each doorstep

Evil tramples tender reeds

Asking, to whom shall we turn?

God’s caring, sows fertile seeds

 

With each day, doing our best

Failure waiting once again

Asking, to whom shall we turn?

God’s seeds, breaking chains

 

Persecution waits nearby

Enemy lines up to strike

Asking, to whom shall we turn?

God’s breaking bread, fills life’s dike

 

Passing years taking their toll

Burdens never seem to leave

Asking, to whom shall we turn?

God’s life plan, always believe

 

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American Methodist preacher and gospel hymn composer, Charles Albert Tindley (1851-1933), wrote the lyrics to “Stand By Me” in 1905.  Gospel singer Marvin Williams adds his own interpretation to this beloved hymn.

Soul-Searching (Haiku Series #183)

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Edge of Darkness

Harsh rhetoric harms

Angry political camps—

Nation tears apart

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Stepping Forward

Division falls back

Country must always come first—

Democracy breathes

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Time for Compromise

Conflict’s stormy waves

Navigating nation’s course—

Finding common ground

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Overcoming Storms

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From Matthew 14:23-25:  “And after He [Jesus] had dismissed the crowds, He went up the mountain by Himself to pray.  When evening came, He was there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them.  And early in the morning He came walking toward them on the sea.”

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Facing challenges

Feel nourishing calm

Fed with Living Bread

Holy Spirit’s balm

 

Sailing into wind

Swelling, stormy waves

Seeking God’s compass

Eternal grace saves

 

Witnessing hardships

Gale arrives today

God never leaves us

Teaching us to pray

 

Smothering tempest

Evil’s wrath scolding

Finding God’s refuge

His peace beholding

 

Overcoming storms

Daily lessons teach

Hearing Gospel’s call

Rescued from tide’s breach

 

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From Proverbs 10:25:  “When the tempest passes, the wicked are no more, but the righteous are established forever.”

Fatherhood’s Journey

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Growing up, young lad’s treasured dreams

Playing on big league baseball team

 

Fun-filled adventure marks most days

Journey’s actions conquer life’s maze

 

Thoughts of family seem remote

Happy to fish from Dad’s new boat

 

Learning life’s lessons on God’s watch

Scripture’s heroes always topnotch

 

Far too soon, years advance along

Melodies of love, life’s new song

 

Marriage joins young man with his bride

Sons and daughters, soon at their side

 

God’s fatherly lessons made clear

Maturity quiets each fear

 

Fatherhood blesses this Dad’s soul

Making him feel alive and whole

 

Collecting lifetime of keepsakes

Children love his homemade milkshakes

 

Years move quickly, home’s empty nest

Dad’s wisdom guides each child’s quest

 

Creating humbleness of heart

Fatherhood ignites life’s jumpstart

 

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Hope’s Redemptive Peace (Elfchen Series #105)

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Faith Believes

Sharing

God’s glory

Accepting His grace

Boasting in our sufferings

Hope

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Salvation Purchased

Jesus

Unselfish grace

Justified by faith

Lasting peace with Father

Redemption

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Life Awakens

Spirit

Filling heart

With hope-filled peace

Strengthening endurance molding character

Everlasting

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All of the above verses are inspired from Romans 5:1-5:  “Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God.  And not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.”

Worth Waiting For

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From Psalm 25:4-5:  “Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.  Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long.”

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Praying for His guidance

Seeking His protection

Always worth waiting for

Seeing God’s perfection

 

Living steadfast in faith

Trusting His Holy Word

Always worth waiting for

Grasping mercy’s password

 

Teaching about life’s kindness

Guiding with compassion

Always worth waiting for

Witnessing God’s passion

 

Bearing life’s suffering

Receiving Spirit’s fruit

Always worth waiting for

Loving God, taking root

 

Knowing His divine plan

Forgiving darkest ways

Always worth waiting for

Walking with God each day

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From Galatians 5:22-23:  “By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  There is no law against such things.”

Weekly News Headlines

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Singer Johnny Mathis still going strong

Bewitching vocals, smooth as silk in song

 

Warblers’ springtime plumage brightens landscape

Shades of blue, green, yellow, orange take shape

 

Farmers’ fertilizer prices spiking

Increased overhead not to their liking

 

Brown paper bags, twigs, plastic onion sacks

Collage recycles artist’s new syntax

 

Coffee-shop lunch counter welcomes noon time

Never forgotten, Woolworth’s “five and dime”

 

Belgian bluebells removing anxious stress

Nature’s medicine blooming to suppress

 

Most precious art comes from life’s inner heart

Handmade, with heartfelt love, creates folk art

 

Rethinking world’s disrupted supply chains

Rising shipping costs cause production strains

 

Walking, life’s underrated exercise

Fitness and health, energized at sunrise

 

Transforming river’s filthy slime and grime

Barge harvests garbage, one bag at a time

 

Everything’s shrinking except these prices

Consumers enduring sacrifices

 

Sports teaching much more than loses and wins

Lessons from playing field, wisdom begins

 

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Lifetime of Lessons (Haiku Series #182)

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Reaching Out

Express gratitude

Sincere appreciation—

Send handwritten note

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Evening to Morning

Night’s quiet moments

Preparing for tomorrow—

Embrace our blessings

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Wisdom’s Endurance

Life’s endless highway

Patience and perseverance—

Journey of waiting

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Monday Memories: Quietness Speaks

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[From March, 2020] I took a recent neighborhood walk, and the surroundings were definitely not the norm.  Quiet streets and hardly anyone outside on a gloomy, spring afternoon.  I crossed a busy road, without the usual volume of traffic.  The entire experience brought many thoughts to mind, some of which found their way into this poem.

grayscale photography of waiting shed near open road at night

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Morning rush traffic, missing in action

Downtown streets resemble empty ghost towns

All of this, most unusual for many

Life experiencing major breakdowns

 

Atmosphere of dark, winter gloom arrives

Quiet neighborhood lanes, filled with stillness

Sheltered-in-place covers the entire land

Fear and panic, with visions of illness

 

Households, overflowing with family

Quite unique for a midweek afternoon

Only essential employees at work

Life differs from a “Charlie Brown” cartoon

 

Spring’s portraits and sounds, arriving on schedule

Trees bud out, grass turning green, robins sing

God’s creation reminds us, He is near

His steadfast, faithful hope shall always ring

young grain

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From Lamentations 3:21-23:  “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:  The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”