Now Traveling Light

From Psalm 55:22:  “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never permit the righteous to be moved.”

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Life’s stumbling footsteps

Sullen heart weighed down

Darkness at doorstep

Day’s final breakdown

 

Burdens never light

Load much too heavy

Collapsing at night

Floodwaters’ levee

 

Spirit’s tiresome tone

Christ walks alongside

Merciful seeds sown

Faith breathing, clear-eyed

 

Shelter’s welcome place

Prayer’s trusted reach

Overflowing grace

Christ’s faithful outreach

 

With every new day

Worry taking flight

Christ’s open gateway

Now traveling light

 

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From Matthew 11:28-30:  “Come to Me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”

Tomorrow Can Wait

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Sunrise greets morning

Life’s precious rewrite

Opportunity

Second chance takes flight

 

Lifetime’s intentions

Journey not complete

Treasure each minute

Spirit’s breath, upbeat

 

Always share kindness

Chase gray clouds away

Smile warms someone’s heart

Brighten one more day

 

Tomorrow can wait

Walk this cherished route

Embrace love’s moments

Before time runs out

 

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Monday Memories: Nothing Pursues Something

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Half-empty coffee cup

Hoping to find something

Peering down, never up

Searching darkened nothing

 

“Seinfeld” gathers awards

Endless shows with nothing

Jerry’s name on billboards

He’s caught on to something

 

Writing with empty words

Dreams filling with something

Missing all the keywords

Amounting to nothing

 

Scanning digital files

Words lost, dreading nothing

Writer facing trials

Mining life for something

 

Photo on dusty perch

Triggers newfound something

Memories begin search

Looking beyond nothing

 

Nothing pursues something

Something subdues nothing

 

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The American sitcom “Seinfeld” entertained viewers for nine years with the creative humor of comedian Jerry Seinfeld.  With a setting in New York City, the cast featured regulars Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander, and Michael Richards.  The success of the show has often been referenced to a “show about nothing.”

Here is a short clip from the show, featuring Jerry Seinfeld with guest star Brad Garrett.  The scene is titled “You barely know your car.”

Originally published October, 2020.

Tomorrow Offers Hope

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Journey’s destination

Seeking life’s unknown

Coming to night’s station

No one answers phone

 

Voices remain muted

Chasing shadow’s trace

Feeling spirit looted

Darkness giving chase

 

Freedom’s ember cloaked

Walking toward peace

Igniting flame, well-stoked

Distant voice won’t cease

 

Tomorrow offers hope

Hearing wartime’s calm

Grasping sunrise’s rope

Listen, no more bombs!

 

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Promised Grace

From Psalm 118:1:  “O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His steadfast love endures forever!”

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Christ shall endure forever

Witnessing His steadfast love

Forgiveness heals brokenness

Righteousness flows from above

 

Christ journeys to Calvary

Bringing man’s darkness with Him

Sin’s valley of death’s shadow

Light waiting at heaven’s rim

 

Christ becomes faith’s cornerstone

Yielding to Father’s design

Truth waiting at Roman cross

Sacred blood pays every fine

 

Christ foils enemy’s insults

Shedding eternity’s wrath

Love borne, no matter its cost

Promised grace reveals faith’s path

 

Christ builds heaven’s trusted bridge

Rising from now empty tomb

Passion’s flames light mercy’s quest

Brought forth into Father’s room

 

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From Psalm 118:19:  “Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord.”

Howard Crosby Quote

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Every path that leads to heaven is trodden by willing feet.  No one is ever driven to paradise.

From Psalm 119:105:  “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

Howard Crosby (1826-1891) was an American pastor and academic professor.

Monday Memories: Back in Time

Walking along the ancient canal towpath fills my mind with thoughts of years ago . . .

Early morning walk, going back in time

Autumn’s breath creates thoughts, filling with rhyme

 

Trekking along canal’s ancient pathway

Thoughts caress past moments, plenty to say

 

Gentle breeze, sending leaves twirling on down

Mind arrives at different time and town

 

Dreaming . . .

 

More simple times, without high tech living

Days invite, delightful and forgiving

 

Riding bareback along this old canal

Looking for trees to climb with school-age pals

 

Fishing one final time, nearby pond waits

When icy winter comes, change to ice skates

 

Creepy, storm-filled nights, reading classic prose

Edgar Allen Poe’s words, scary shadows

 

Looking for literature’s lighter themes

Whitman, Hawthorne, Melville adding to dreams

 

Quiet evenings filled with family time

Gathered around for radio’s primetime

 

Crisp, fall afternoon, gridiron titans clash

College football rivals looking to smash

 

Romance blossoms, courtship takes center stage

Life filling with sweetness, each turning page

 

Back to reality . . .

 

Journey runs into closed gate at Rager Road

Turning around, grateful for time borrowed

 

Looking forward to walking here real soon

Fondest memories, let them sing a tune

 

A quiet place for fishing, conversation, and winter ice skating.

Originally published October, 2020.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer Quote

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If Jesus returns tomorrow, then tomorrow I’ll rest from my labor.  But today I have work to do.  I must continue the struggle until it’s finished.

From Galatians 6:9:  “So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up.”

German-born Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) was a Lutheran pastor, theologian, and anti-Nazi dissident.  Many of his writings express the role of Christianity in mankind’s daily lives.  He paid the ultimate price for his activism against the Nazi regime during World War II.

Love Comes Alongside

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In tomorrow’s shadows

Worry waits to jump out

Disappointment crashes in

Filling waves with doubt

 

Aspirations seem dashed

Sunrise seemingly locked

Yesterday not forgotten

Seeing future blocked

 

Breath of sorrow surrounds

Hope seen flowing away

Another storm standing tall

Searching through its gray

 

Dreams no longer brightened

Today’s voyage postponed

Been at this moment before

Feeling self disowned

 

Freedom shares patient heart

Journey no longer drowned

Faithful love comes alongside

Sailing homeward-bound

 

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O. Henry Quotes

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Inject a few raisins of conversation into the tasteless dough of existence.

It ain’t the roads we take; it’s what’s inside of us that makes us turn out the way we do.

O. Henry, the pen name of William Henry Porter (1862-1910), was an American writer who mastered the art of crafting short stories.