Teen’s summer wallet
Idleness experienced—
Running short of cash
Thinking career change
Job singing summertime blues—
Shifting tides come home
Summer heating up
Mercury scaling new heights—
Dog days, welcome back
From the words of Dr. Martin Luther King: “Courage faces fear and thereby masters it. Cowardice represses fear and is thereby mastered by it.”
Worry arrives with concerns never to come
Building upon past fears, stoking future ones
Life’s landscape fills with looming mountains
Instead of gentle molehills, fear gathers and stuns
Concerns about future challenges come forth
Transforming into worries, fueling more fear
Darkest clouds come together and gather
Who will grab the wheel and start to steer?
Waiting for our Lord, He renews our strength
Living by faith, His Word restores our soul
Rejoicing in hope, patient in suffering
Renewed by the Spirit, we feel more whole
God always walks with us, seek Him in prayer
Darkest valleys ahead, His love casts out fears
With compassion for our sufferings, hear His Word
Comforted by His rod and staff, God never veers
Asking of our Father, seeking His counsel
Bringing clearer witness, through His precise scope
His guidance renews our hearts, calming fears
His wisdom touches minds, filled with Gospel hope
From Mark 5:35-36: “While He was still speaking, some people came from the leader’s house to say, ‘Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?’ But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, ‘Do not fear, only believe.'”
Originally published June, 2020.
Courageously
Standing tall
Trusting the Almighty
Strengthening through His benevolence
Hopeful
Son
Faithfully
Accepting Savior
Teaching with truth
Standing on firmest Rock
Righteousness
Glory’s
Renewing faith
Uniting presence’s breath
Fulfilling with hope’s peace
Witness
Mountain stream’s birthplace
Creator shall lead
Treasured, flowing grace
Winter’s snow feeds
Journey downstream flows
With patient pursuit
Valley waits below
Douglas fir salutes
Tiny creeks joining
Green landscape ahead
Filled with rejoicing
River’s growing thread
Water’s quiet poise
Nature’s faithful love
Rainfall adding joy
Strengthened from above
Around every bend
Timeless spirit’s fate
Welcome dearest friend
More surprises wait
From Psalm 142:3-4: “When my spirit is faint, You know my way. In the path where I walk, they have hidden a trap for me. Look on my right hand and see: there is no one who takes notice of me; no refuge remains to me; no one cares for me.”
Floundering at life’s darkest end
Feeling trust in patience sinking
Plunging ever deeper . . . deeper
Faith’s emptiness never shrinking
Wandering away from Shepherd
Seeing only darkness ahead
Feeling last breath of hope fading
Faith missing blessed, daily bread
Following one more false promise
Running into final dead end
Finding lost anchor’s solid rock
Faith at last, refuses to bend
Rising with hope’s trusted beacon
Lighting way on Emmaus Road
Praying without ceasing to God
Faith’s living water, overflowed
Worshipping in Gospel’s safe place
Facing each new day without fear
Tracking to follow Shepherd’s voice
Faith’s tomorrow, forever clear
From Psalm 23:1-2: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside still waters.”
Window’s morning view
Feeling pull of forest’s tune—
Heart breathes harmony
Sunset’s gentle breeze
Turning heavenly pages—
Endless horizons
Summer soon fading
Waiting for autumn’s return—
Filling with color
From Proverbs 30:5: “Every word of God proves true; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.”
Feeling weary and lost
How can any prevail?
Desolate road ahead
Actions will surely fail
Lost in darkness of life
Our Father lights the way
Filled with His righteousness
God’s road map saves our day
Our Lord’s Word speaking truth
Daily meditation
Bible’s meanings ring clear
Leading to salvation
Study God’s Holy Word
Share its hope and Good News
Trusting each promise
His commands, we must choose
Inhale, breathe it all in
Fed by the “Bread of Life”
Quenched by “Living Water”
Transforming daily life
From the words of American-born missionary and Christian theologian, E. Stanley Jones: “The Gospel is not so much a demand as it is an offer, an offer of new life to man by the grace of God.”
Originally published July, 2020.
From Psalm 9:1-2: “I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your wonderful deeds I will be glad and exult in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.”
Singing highest praises
Receiving daily gifts
Blessings from Savior’s breath
Steering man from sinful drift
Witnessing blood-stained cross
Declaring Christ, our Lord
Rising from darkened tomb
Crushing evil’s sinful sword
Suffering no longer
Driving fear from each heart
Warming to Heaven’s light
Forgiving sins, life’s fresh start
Trusting in God above
Giving thanks for His grace
Bringing faith renewed strength
Erasing sin’s dark embrace
Sending peace down to earth
Designing joy’s blueprint
Raising new hope through truth
Marking love’s lasting imprint
From Psalm 9:9-10: “The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know Your name put their trust in You, for You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.”
Receiving
Father’s grace
Nourishing future hope
Flowing with Spirit’s guidance
Deliverance
Pursuing
Tomorrow’s peace
Fulfilling Father’s promises
Building faith’s mighty fortress
Salvation
Rescuing
From darkness
Resurrecting fallen Savior
Lighting with eternal life
Redemption
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.
Facing overwhelming odds
Single voice stating its case
Stepping out from shelter’s light
Today, darkness loses race
Standing alone with courage
At last, time for change arrives
Trampling down twisted darkness
Today, faithful light survives
Clinging to truth’s conviction
Multitude of pain erased
Extinguishing all darkness
Today, humble light embraced
Understanding life’s purpose
Human rights boldly proclaim
Recalling depth of darkness
Today, light forgives all blame
Learning from history’s past
Actions taking direct route
Offering nation new light
Today, darkness falls—no doubt
History has amplified the single voices shown below as a testament to taking a stand, respecting the value fellow man, and putting others above self. Top left and moving clockwise: 1989, Tank Man stopped tanks at Tiananmen Square in China; 1877, Nez Perce Chief Joseph surrendered to American cavalry near Bear Paw Mountains in Montana Territory; 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her front seat on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama; 1930, Mahatma Gandhi led peaceful protest during India’s Salt March; 1945, Anne Frank used her diary’s voice as her final witness of living under the brutality of war. (All photos courtesy of Pinterest)
Big Sky Buckeye 