Uncertainty stirs
School bell rings with excitement–
Hello Mister Hink
Listening to tunes
“Please put your device away”—
Back in the saddle
“Hurry Doug, hurry”
Yellow bus driving away—
“My record’s perfect”
From Ephesians 4:31-32: “Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.”
Life’s battered bucket sometimes overflows
Facing daily challenges, too immense
One challenge standing apart from the rest
Using forgiveness seems much too intense
Our righteous Father teaches forgiveness
Extending His mercy through earnest hearts
Breathe every truth in its entirety
Receiving His grace with humble hearts
Take in God’s Word, His Holy Commandments
Burying bitterness, it lifts the heart
Always best to forgive, forget, move on
Beating with freedom’s light, opens the heart
As humans, reacting much too quickly
Expressing heated anger, fixing blame
Slow to forgive, even more to forget
Stepping now with humbleness, drowns the flames
No longer in the enemy’s darkness
Praying the sun does not set on one’s rage
With our Lord’s truth, filling with righteousness
Following God’s way, life writes a new page
From the words of American pastor and Christian author, Jim Cymbala: “Looking back over my life, all I can see is mercy and grace written in large letters everywhere. May God help me have the same kind of heart toward those who wound or offend me.”
Originally published July, 2020.
Each sister, each brother
Walking with Christ, our Lord
Supporting one another
With grace, arriving on board
Faith immersed in Christ’s Word
Trusting always His light
Revealing peace to be heard
Enemy’s darkness takes flight
Christ, faith’s firm foundation
Transforming every stone
Building path to salvation
Filled with hope, never alone
Believers marching on
Following in Christ’s steps
Witnessing Heaven’s fate drawn
Mercy knocks at each doorstep
Each sister, each brother
Sharing Christ’s Living Bread
Accepting one another
Called to serve with truth now fed
God’s
Divine nature
Trusting His spirit
Filling creation’s eternal breath
Reality
God’s
Holy Word
Revealing His character
Teaching from righteous light
Expectations
God’s
Clear vision
Loving His Son
Clothing Christ in flesh
Revelation
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.
Morning’s gifted sunrise
Destiny of new day
Creator’s journey
Balance in life’s ballet
Nature’s comforting hand
Nurturing, rhythmic pace
Creator’s presence
Everything in its place
Seasons change, one by one
Yet, harmony remains
Creator’s patience
Trust in heavenly reign
River’s endless spirit
Mountains standing above
Creator’s landscape
Treasured delights of love
Every generation
Unique in its domain
Creator’s splendor
Lifetime of sweetest grain
Gentle breeze turns life’s page
Tenderness breathes from heart
Creator’s passion
Setting sun now departs
Then over field and hollow, grass and grain; the loud, crisp whiteness of the nearing rain.
October’s orchestra plays softly on the northern forest with its thousand strings.
Emily Pauline Johnson (1861-1913) was a Canadian writer, poet, and stage performer. Her father was a Mohawk chief, and her mother was of English heritage. Her stage name was taken from the Mohawk language, Tekahionwake.
From Hebrews 10:24-25: “And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Peering into depth of darkness
Seeking remedy to life’s ills
Light of perseverance comes forth
Trusting to obey Father’s will
Filling hope with light’s endurance
Tasting Father’s sustaining grace
Spiritual awakening
Walking toward salvation’s birthplace
Entering light’s sanctuary
Calvary’s cross, bloodstained
Redemption from sinful darkness
Forgiving debts, no longer chained
Thirsting to follow Christ, thy Lord
Receiving light of peace each day
Replenished from living waters
Embracing His hope-filled pathway
Replacing darkness with His light
Following Father’s divine Word
Righteousness fills faith’s every breath
Witnessing truth as prophets heard
From Hebrews 10:37-39: “For yet in a very little while, the one who is coming will come and will not delay, but My righteous one will live by faith. My soul takes no pleasure in anyone who shrinks back. But we are not among those who shrink back and so are lost but among those who have faith and so preserve our souls.”
Ice cream bell ringing?
Memory bank mistaken—
Trolley car coming
Engineer at work
Oops . . . building blocks falling down—
Right back to square one
Swallowing loose tooth
What about the Tooth Fairy?
Dreams filled with magic
From Psalm 107:28-29: “Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He brought them out from their distress; He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad because they had quiet, and He brought them to their desired haven.”
Life meeting relentless turbulence
Perpetual, never ending storms
Shaken by overwhelming defeat
Sinking beneath unending harsh swarms
Downtrodden, now hungry and thirsty
Clinging to life, in darkness and gloom
Shackled by sin’s shame, harshest irons
God’s steadfast love delivers from doom
Crying out to our Father above
At final end of life’s fraying rope
Nowhere else to turn, escape darkens
Realizing now, God’s way restores hope
Cutting and freeing lives from bondage
Storm’s wrath consumed by transformation
Into valley of richest harvests
Redeeming lost souls from damnation
Fleeing life’s turmoil, rescued by God
Trusting Him leads to gladness and praise
Faith grows by yards instead of inches
Life’s turbulence quiets, hope ablaze
From American pastor and Christian teacher, Charles Stanley: “God knows we sometimes need to reach the end of our own resources before we will turn to Him.”
Originally published January, 2021.
From Psalm 5:11-12: “But let all who take refuge in You rejoice; let them ever sing for joy. Spread Your protection over them, so that those who love Your name may exult in You. For You bless the righteous, O Lord; You cover them with favor as with a shield.”
Spirit infuses Scripture with God’s joy
Rejoice in His masterpiece of each day
Nourished with grace, forwarded to enjoy
Always Holy, shall be His fruitful ways
From heart’s depths, God composes grace with joy
Righteousness forever breathes from above
Mercy descends in Savior He deploys
Forgiveness rebuilds empty faith through love
God’s blessings harvest His fullness of joy
Truth’s timely interactions, never gray
Promises of faithfulness He employs
Gateway of grace received, let all now pray
Salvation’s light transforms darkness of sin
Joy praises covenant of faith’s linchpin
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.”
Big Sky Buckeye 