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
From Matthew 28:19-20: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Forgettable years adding up
Spiritual health needs checkup
Winter’s never-ending season
Now asking, “What is life’s reason?”
Empty heart filling with sorrow
God not waiting for tomorrow
Lost on dusty shelf, answer speaks
Holy Bible verses now seek
God’s guiding hands open each page
Grace unlocking life’s gloomy cage
Gospels speak of Messiah’s love
Son journeys to earth from above
Jesus speaks truth with conviction
Mercy’s faith heals each affliction
Son of God tells of one to come
Spirit beating hope’s steady drum
Lord’s Advocate, incessant voice
Each day fills with His divine choice
Trust and obey our Triune God
Righteousness shatters sin’s facade
Unforgettable years beaming
Spiritual health now gleaming
From 2 Corinthians 13:13: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.”
Nothing ever small
Dreaming, another novel—
Writing with bigness
Pick baseball or golf
Swinging for fences or greens—
Which swing shall I use?
Congress at impasse
Where’s spirit to compromise?
Buried long ago
Morning arrives, but not really too sure
Mysterious blanket stretches overnight
Thick, silent fog covers, dense and pure
It’s no wonder, not a single soul in sight
Tree tops arise above this soupy fog
Creek bottoms with clouds, so dense
While the sun waits, taking a long jog
Waiting on nature, makes huge sense
School delays pop up on the morning news
Students appreciate an extra hour of sleep
Busses wait, roads totally hidden from view
Headaches for parents, their day in a heap
Calmness and stillness thrive without wind
Street lights linger awhile, as if it is night
Damp, low clouds bring their mist to send
Out of focus, a hazy light ponders flight
Nearby airports close, everyone “socked in”
On the big lake, a lighthouse shines bright
Sky’s ceiling drops lower, gloominess within
Warning all of danger, fog covers the light
Small town’s main street, deserted to all
Pair of tiny car lights, puncture through
Darkness filling with gloom, as it crawls
Local police look out, very little to view
Deciding to wait awhile to do his chores
There is time for another cup of brew
A rancher returns for coffee and more
His wife’s cinnamon rolls, ready on cue
Morning waits, fog thicker than momma’s soup
Better the early birds, hang out in their coop
From Isaiah 11:1-2: “A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.”
Fragmented prayers lack faith
Hope’s seeds lost, now scattered
World filled with endless despair
Dazed, bruised, and battered
Hope conceived, chosen virgin
God preparing love’s way
Nothing impossible for Him
Holy Spirit holds sway
Bethlehem’s star shines at night
God’s love lights hope’s beacon
Future sparkles from His grace
Mercy never weakens
Heavens prepare peace and joy
Darkness brightens, rejoice!
God plants Holy seed of hope
Angels sing with His choice
Father’s goodness overflows
His everlasting gift
Living water promises
Hope transforms faith’s gearshift
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.
Originally written in Latin during the 8th or 9th century, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” is a frequently chosen song during the season of Advent.
Prayer
Seeking God
Focusing on Him
Grasping His Holy text
Dependence
Prayer
Righteous faith
Praising Lord Jesus
Growing knowledge of Him
Transformation
Prayer
Spirit’s interaction
Divine grace transcends
Love touches each heart
Faithfulness
Looking out kitchen’s window
Hot coffee warming chilled hands
Cherishing deepest blue skies
Thankful to breathe freedom’s brand
Geese fly across nearby pond
Wishing life could be simple
Photo of children smiling
Catching each happy dimple
Sensing morning’s frosty air
Furnace cranks, erasing cold
Listening to nature’s peace
Fewer song birds to behold
Airplane flying overhead
Gliding to scheduled landing
Mankind dances with nature
Asking, without demanding
Looking toward tomorrow
Life’s cards showing all Aces
Feeling blessed beyond reason
Cherished keepsake embraces
Early morning is my preferred time to craft poetry, short stories, and other writings. Occasionally, the pre-dawn atmosphere outside of the kitchen window encourages my pen to just take off and write. There is no real plan or objective, but the words flow until a rough outline is coming together. This poem is a result of such an endeavor, and hopefully you–the reader–will find your place in the verses as well.
From John 16:20: “Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy.”
Frightened, behind closed doors
Sorrowful tears cry out
Yesterday, filled with light
Today, darkness brings doubt
Disciples and others
Bewildered and scattered
Christ’s death crushes spirit
Faith’s fragileness shattered
No place to run toward
Trapped and shut-off from God
Tomorrow’s hope now gone
What makes this picture flawed?
Peter, John, and Mary
Cold, empty tomb proclaims
Resurrection witnessed
Evil’s planning in flames
Sorrow turning to joy
Messiah comes to save
Bloodied cross bears man’s sins
Chains no longer enslave
From John 20:18: “Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord’; and she told them that He had said these things to her.”
Horizon merges
Pulled along by setting sun—
Stirs nocturnal bliss
Autumn’s entree fades
Winter’s taste arrives on cue–
Sweet frosting and all
Facing challenges
Nature transforms to survive—
Will mankind follow?
Photo by Fabiano Rodrigues on Pexels.com
What is so special about simple rain?
Have you truly witnessed God’s gift of rain?
Everywhere, anticipation of rain
Withering crops crave God’s rainfall today
Farmers wait faithfully for rains to come
Without rain, hearts and plants start to decay
The farmland depends on these vital rains
Last year, little rain arrives to help out
Sunny skies chase away clouds too often
“Next year” cries out from thirsty lands of drought
Farmers sow their spring crops on faith alone
Waiting for nature to moisten the ground
Praying to the Lord, asking for His rain
Rain arrives, new life rising skyward bound
God sends righteousness, in the form of rain
Fulfilling prayers, easing farmers’ pain
From Isaiah 45:8: “Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the skies rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation may spring up, and let it cause righteousness to sprout up also; I the Lord have created it.”
Photo by freestocks.org on Pexels.com
