Walking through life’s fire
Never to blindly stumble—
God always walks close
Darkness testing faith
Patiently trusting Father—
Accepting His plan
Holy Spirit seeks
Guiding tongues in bringing forth—
Pure and blessed speech
Lying awake in bed, feeling ready to write
Morning light feeling much too bright
Searching in my head for ideas to write about
Will today’s words offer and deliver much clout?
Sitting, thinking, and sitting . . . nothing!
Why can’t my mind create something?
Perhaps more coffee will warm up my mind
Hoping that possible ideas may soon be mine
Do all writers usually feel this way?
With little or nothing to really say
Hunger offers quick, necessary break
Nutritious breakfast, now I will make
Finished eating and returning to my writing table
Satisfied appetite doesn’t make me anymore able
Struggling through another writer’s block
Tired eyes continue watching the ticking clock
Wow! This short poem I now create
Finally, fulfilling my writer’s fate
From Zephaniah 3:14-15: “Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away the judgments against you, He has turned away your enemies. The king of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall fear disaster no more.”
Looking inward, changing selves
Repenting, reversing course
Searching for life’s cherished peace
Joy spreads from Bethlehem’s source
Reading, praying, reflecting
Preparing our minds and hearts
Beaming starlight in dark times
Joy brightens, world seeks restart
Rejoicing always, Lord is near
Restoring fortunes, Prince of Peace
Renewing tomorrow’s hope
Joy transcends Father’s new lease
Trusting in God’s promises
Waiting with welcoming grace
Singing praises, justice calls
Joy blossoms in this birthplace
Proclaiming mercy-filled peace
Glowing, rising midnight sun
Igniting life’s dormant faith
Joy worships birth of God’s Son
You are invited to join in prayer: Lord God, your love and mercy promise hope, joy, and peace. During this season of Advent, open our hearts in preparation to receive our Savior. Amen.
“Joy to the World” is frequently sung during the Advent and Christmas season. Written in 1719 by English minister and hymn writer, Isaac Watts, this hymn has been a favorite for well over 100 years in North America.
Blessed
Living water
Grace and forgiveness
Walking to eternal life
Jesus
Sinfulness
Seeking redemption
Looking to Jesus
Integrity and character sidetracked
Repentance
Remembering
Every morning
Our baptismal waters
Salvation found in Christ
Promises
Clouds of war, envelope life
Humanity’s endless strife
Fog of war, shrouding landscape
Breathing despair, no escape
Darkness of war, days collapse
Lost in night’s maze, without maps
Scars of war, covering earth
Global peace missing its berth
Children of war, empty hope
Tender hands without faith’s rope
Wounds of war, shall never heal
Hope travels on broken wheels
Horrors of war, drained faces
Exhausted lives, gloom races
Refugees of war, wonder
Dreams, hopes, and lives plowed under
Terror of war, raging on
Tomorrow’s forgotten dawn
Faces of war, children grieve
Life robbed by battlefield’s thieves
Future of war, never ends
Talks of peace, no dividends
Hopelessness of war, cries out
When will blossoms of peace sprout?
From 1 John 4:9-10: “God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent His only Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
Father reigns from above
Revealing divine love
Heaven’s whispering dove
God’s love never changes
Spanning earth’s vast ranges
Blessed interchanges
Mankind living in sin
Loving Christ, life begins
Cross becomes faith’s linchpin
Lasting love, none greater
Needing no translator
Grace shines, from Creator
Love’s divine foundation
Nurturing salvation
Life’s eternal station
From the words of American pastor and Christian teacher, Charles Stanley: “We didn’t earn the love God has for us, and that’s why we can never lose it.”
Friday night dinner
Mom’s day off in the kitchen—
Bucket of chicken
Teenager’s first drive
Seatbelt fastened and secure—
Still parked in driveway
Open for business
Fridge full of tasty morsels—
Door always unlocked
From Isaiah 40:3-5: “A voice cries out: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.'”
World’s brokenness cries out
Peace sprouts, despite faith’s drought
God’s salvation shares grace
Every time and space
God’s love prepares His way
Light of peace on display
Paths straightened, valleys filled
His promises fulfilled
Anticipation warms
Preparation now forms
Mercy reigns, blessed peace
Endurance shall not cease
Faithful waiting with hope
Love focused through God’s scope
His joy draws up new lease
Spirit breathes, filled with peace
Mothering God prepares
Peace surrounds David’s heirs
Of events now to come
Hope’s steady, beating drum
You are invited to join in prayer: Lord God, your love and mercy promise hope, joy, and peace. During this season of Advent, open our hearts in preparation to receive our Savior. Amen.
As we leave to go on with the rest of our day or night, here is an Advent hymn to send us out with prepared hearts, “Prepare the way, O Zion.”
Entrusting
Holy Father
Repenting for transgressions
Life’s new page turns
Righteousness
Accepting
Father’s guidance
Follow with obedience
Walking life’s new season
Faithfulness
Desiring
Father’s world
Honoring His covenant
Grace breathes new life
Deliverance
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.
Bed and Breakfast invites
Weekend relaxation
Away from city lights
Delightful plantation
Pace of life taking pause
Shangri-La’s sweet bouquet
Morning’s welcoming hosts
Breakfast’s homemade entrees
Warm hospitality
Conversation and more
Informal ambience
Window view of lakeshore
Scene repeating each day
Taken from writer’s prose
Like reading Hemingway
Fragrance of blooming rose
Enchanted visit ends
More memories to write
Return engagement booked
Weekend’s welcome starlight
Big Sky Buckeye 