Driving hidden roads
How did we ever get lost?
GPS offline
Back to the office
In-basket overflowing—
Is it Friday yet?
Boss tells teenager
Need to use more elbow grease—
What on earth is that?
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Expressions of hope are written throughout the Old Testament. At times, the people of Israel lost hope, but God always found ways to restore their trust and hope to believe in Him.
From Psalm 65:5: “By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance, O God of our salvation; you are the hope of all the ends of the earth and the farthest seas.
Broken faith with God
Flicker of hope remains
Have hope, seek God
Hopeful in His deeds
Place our Living God
Above all other gods
Light turns into darkness
Hiding in the shadows
Yet, God remains close
Hope grows once again
Living tree of hope
Will live into eternity
New buds always sprout
Strength from the Father
There is always hope
Even in darkest times
Life’s trials uproot hope
Adversaries line up against
God hears our cries
Intervenes when hope’s weak
Ancestors of Jacob witness
Their hope in God
The God of Jacob
Always God of Hope
God keeps His decrees
Believe, look to God
God remains always faithful
Our Lord reigns forever
For God’s righteous believers
Hope ends in gladness
Way of the Lord
Offers refuge with wisdom
Follow God with hope
Always in our hearts
Tree of Life endures
Ready to sustain us
Hope shows the light
Steady on life’s course
When spirit is dried
Hope quenches our thirst
God opens hope’s door
Inviting us to enter
From Psalm 16:1-2: “Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.'”
Seeing foolishness
Walking darkest roads
Life’s journey of faith
Coming to crossroads
To whom shall we choose?
Evil’s empty book
Filled with deception
Flesh becomes his hook
Wilderness calls out
God’s refuge protects
Love filled with goodness
Earning our respect
Boundary lines set
Marching in God’s trust
Chosen path of life
Faith removes our lust
Always before us
God’s daily support
His right hand’s guidance
Grace never falls short
From Psalm 16:11: “You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
Life no longer singing wintertime blues
Summer’s sweetness rocks around timeless clock
Easy life, driving nature’s express lane
Planning fun times on each neighborhood block
Fresh-cut wood pile, next to backyard fire pit
Little granddaughter’s eyes, poised to light up
Marshmallows, graham crackers, chocolate
Making sweet S’mores, summer’s perfect line-up
Nighttime fun never really wants to end
New memories flicker around fire’s glow
Please, please . . . let us stay for another hour
Darkening fire gracefully ends night’s show
On my, another blessed summer night
Dreaming later, tomorrow taking flight
Searching
Life’s wilderness
Where’s stability found?
Nothing shall shake God’s
Cornerstone
Faith
Deeply challenged
Whom to trust?
Christ’s love builds His
Cornerstone
Waiting
No longer
Finding empty tomb
Jesus fulfills faith’s empowering
Cornerstone
This series of poems (written in the German-inspired style of Elfchen or Elevenie) shares a total of eleven words in each poem, with a sequence by line of one, two, three, four, and one words.
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?
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.”
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
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.
Harsh rhetoric harms
Angry political camps—
Nation tears apart
Division falls back
Country must always come first—
Democracy breathes
Conflict’s stormy waves
Navigating nation’s course—
Finding common ground
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.”
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
From Proverbs 10:25: “When the tempest passes, the wicked are no more, but the righteous are established forever.”
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
Big Sky Buckeye 