Luke 6: 48

My roots run deep into the rock

That shields me from the storm,

And though my world is tossed and whipped

I’ll come to no great harm.

 I may be battered by the gales,

And weep before it’s done,

But with my roots deep in the rock

I know my fights been won. 

I love to rise up in the sun

And feel a gentle breeze,

But I can hold on through a blast

That shatters mighty trees.

For I am rooted in the rock

And my roots still will grow

Deeper each day into that rock

From which true strength will flow.

Luke 6:48
They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.

Generations

 

The soft breeze touches her grey hair,

She bends into the wind.

She’s not as spry as she once was

As she draws near the end. 

And all that knowing she has learned

She gladly shares with them.

They cluster near her one more time,

The graceful and the slim, 

To hear the wisdom she’ll impart

Before she goes away.

They linger with her in the past

Where her memories play.

For she is all the world to them,

She watched as each one grew.

She loved them, showed them how to live

And taught them all she knew. 

But now she’s ready to move on,

Her love’s already there,

So all her young ones gather close

To tell her that they care.

My Little Red Car

You’ve always answered when I call,

I take you for granted,

And yet you’ve never let me down,

Left me somewhere stranded.

Perhaps it’s not quite politic

To praise a metal steed,

But it’s the things we can count on

To help us meet each need

That get us up and down the hills

That life puts in our way.

And we too often fail to see

Blessings so every day.

And she has been a faithful car,

Though we’re not much to show,

That dirty little CRV

Is my get up and go.

So thank you for another run

Along life’s curvy way.

I really do appreciate

You more and more each day.

The Butterfly

Be still, I see a miracle

Upon that crimson bloom.

It’s basking in the exquisite

Blossom’s sweet perfume.

It doesn’t see us standing here,

We’re far to large to see,

But if we move too suddenly

It will most likely flee.

Great things are moving all around,

But it sees only all

The blossoms and the stems of grass

That are so very small.

And that is all it needs to see

To fill its place in life.

It never needs to know the ills,

The worry and the strife

That fill the world of larger lives

That it goes flitting by

And we can but desire such peace

With a soft, wistful sigh.

There is so much that can be said

For living life that small;

You give up much that makes life rich,

But you don’t give up all.

I wonder if, to God, we are

Much like that insect sprite;

He loves to watch us as we live

Though he’s beyond our sight.

Do we reflect such beauty to

His doting, watchful eye?

And does he hold his breath each time

He sees us flitting by?

When the House Reflected My Heart

With each child who spilled through the door

The house filled up with glee;

It bounced back from each wall and nook

And echoed joyously.

It knew that they were why it stood,

The reason it was built.

It knew that it could only live

Within their laughter’s lilt.

So as the time drew closer to

The day they would depart

A single tear of loneliness

Spilled from its wooden heart.

Dancing in the Change

Change can be a frightening thing,

A dark and looming sky;

Often it comes cascading in

And we don’t know quite why.

Like rain, change bursts out of the blue

And hammers dust to mud;

It thunders through your quiet world

And sends chills through your blood.

But change will lead to clearing skies

In sweeter shades of blue;

Rainbows remind you once again

That God will see you through.

So when the sky turns grey from blue

Don’t quake in fear and cry,

Put on your rubber boots and dance

Beneath the changing sky.

Sunrise

The sky was turning lighter fast,

The sun was on the rise.

I really wanted a good shot

Of those rich, golden skies.

But I was tired to the bone,

Could barely raise my head,

And I was really not inclined

To even leave my bed.

So I decided that I’d catch

Sunrise another day,

For I was certain that it would

Rise again, come what may.

But then a thought occurred to me,

While more dawns lie in store,

I am not equally assured

To have that many more.

And so I rose up from my bed,

My camera in my hand,

And as the sun cleared the ridgeline

I caught God’s golden hand.

John 4:13-14

Everything changes,

There’s sorrow then pain;

First they say sunshine

And then they say rain.

The world’s in upheaval,

There’s no solid ground

And moments of peace

Are hard to be found.

I’m shaken, weary

And dying of thirst;

I’m lonely and lost,

Unsure which is worst

I want to go home

Or to run away;

I can’t catch my breath

Long enough to pray.

Then, in the chaos,

The whirlwind of strife,

I stumbled back on

The spring of true life.

I stopped at the shore

And buried my face

In your healing love,

Your enduring grace.

Chaos still reigns here,

But peace washes in;

I know I’ll survive

The bedlam again.

John 4: 13-14
Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

On a Dying Bee Still at Work

Carrying forward as he dies,

Gathering his nectar,

His diligence is undeterred

By death’s looming specter.

The busy bee relentlessly

Laboring at his chore,

Never resting until he falls

And can labor no more.

I felt a bitterness creeping

Upon me as I gazed;

Am I a drone that I too strive

Until, battered and dazed,

I crumble down upon my knees

So weary I can’t crawl?

Or can I learn to realize

I cannot do it all?

There are so many who will help

In carrying the load;

I have to learn to take their hand

While travelling this road.

For even He, his labors done,

Took time to rest one day.

So I will leave my bloom to them

And go take time to play.

Exodus 33:14
The LORD replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

Hiding in a Hole

You gave me so many blessings

And still I sit and cry.

It’s hard to count my blessings when

My cheeks are never dry.

Some times I want to find a hole

Just crawl right in and hide,

But I have yet to find a hole

With any grace inside.

Sometimes the heartache’s not the test,

It’s just what you’re into.

The test is whether you have faith

Enough to push on through.

For on the other side of pain

Is where you’ll find the grace,

But you must pass through the storm’s heart

Before you reach that place

Where all the storms have ceased to rage,

The dark clouds blown away,

And blessings far beyond your hopes

Are there upon display.

But if you hunker down and hide

And hope it passes by

You’ll never make it through the storms,

You must get up and try.

So though I long to find a hole

And hide my tearful heart,

I also want to get through this.

So, Lord, please help me start!

A Step Outside My Comfort Zone

Yesterday I lived outside of the lens,

It made for an interesting day.

The world is bigger than you might think

And it’s life in chaotic array.

While life is precise when viewed through the lens,

A microcosm on display,

It overwhelms me when I’m in the mix

And it set my nerves all a fray.

I like it that life fits into my lens,

That it’s simple and easy to read,

But now and then it helps me to look up.

I think it’s something I need.

A bit of chaos, the frenzy of life,

All moving at a dizzying speed,

Helps me appreciate my quite world.

That’s a lesson that I plan to heed!

Happy Father's Day

You ride upon the whispering wind,

You’re in the work I do.

I smell you in the new mown grass,

When he flies by, it’s you.

I hear your voice in summer corn

That rustles in its rows;

I see you in the dark rich dirt

Where your garden still grows.

I see you in the orchard’s boughs,

Each fig and apple tree,

And, when I saw him sitting there,

I saw you watching me.

You loved to watch the eagles soar

Above the windy sea

And every time I call to you

You send one back to me.

I try to fill in where you stopped,

To do what you would do,

And when I watch the eagles fly,

In them, I still see you!

I miss you still, though time has passed,

You’re gone and I still cry,

But I am comforted each time

I see the eagles fly!

Hosea 6:3

You’re always there in the morning;

You guard me through the night.

Even when clouds robe the sky

The day dawns with new light.

As surely as the sun will rise,

You’re always there for me

And as the sun returns each day

So you will always be.

Hosea 6:3
Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.”

Simple Faith of the Every Day

The simple little faiths of life

We use to see us through

Spring from the things of everyday,

The things that we’re used to.

The blossoms bloom with summer sun,

The rain assures they grow;

The little bee gathers its gold.

They all do what they know.

They step into the every day

With faith that what they do

Is done because it fits the plan

That was laid out by you.

And so I try to keep in mind,

Though things may not seem right,

That you control the universe,

The darkness and the light,

And if, in faith, I spread my wings

You’ll lift me up in flight.

Waves of Love

Some days I’m not your finest work,

Short tempered, weak or bad,

You’ve given me such endless love

Those flaws must make you sad.

And yet you still send wave on wave

Of love upon my shore

And when I’m weakest in my faith

You simply give me more.

Please help me work on all the flaws

That I often embrace

And which keep me from growing in

Your never ending grace.

And help me know that though I’m flawed

You’ll always treasure me,

Your love will spill up on my shore

Wherever I may be.

Because She Was Patient With Me

She drips her tea across the floor,

When I’m hot she’s too cold.

She pours her pills into her hand

And spills what she can’t hold.

I try to keep my voice real calm,

I try hard not to scold,

But sometimes I know I sound sharp

When I watch things unfold.

I find myself frustrated, Lord,

By all that I behold,

Then I remember her patience

When I was young and bold.

I school my heart to calm again

 And keep my voice controlled,

For I know some day I will age,

I’ll need help when I’m old.

Please shape those who will care for me

From as patient a mold.

Job 14: 14

There in the last light of the sun,

Before the day grows dark,

I catch a glimpse of all you are

Within the sun’s last spark.

The light that brings all life to earth

The light that’s ever true

The light that shines though all is black

A lost life to renew.

Job 14:14
If someone dies, will they live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal to come.

With My Feathers in a Ruffle

With my feathers in a ruffle,

I faced down the new day,

And everything I did in haste

I had to toss away.

But then I stopped to catch my breath,

To close my eyes and pray.

Then started over with the tasks

That I had left today.

Busy as a Bee

While working through the busy day

I failed to stop and see

All of the beauty you had made

And laid out just for me.

I fussed and fidgeted with things

That weren’t that hard at all

And just when I wanted to cry

I heard your quiet call,

“Stop now and see what this day holds

Before you hurry through.

I filled it with the finest things

And gave them all to you.”

Riding the Light

Your grace has so redeemed my life

My spirit rides the light,

For you have lifted me from death

And brought me through dark night.

I praise you. though the way is hard

And I must often fight

The demons that beset me still

To draw me from what’s right.

So keep me in your care, dear Lord,

Defend me from the blight

Of sin that drags my soul back down.

Protect me with your might.

Learning to Let It Go

Learning to take it easier,

Learning to just let it slide;

Learning not to stir the pot,

It’s okay to let it bide.

It’s not always important

To get things all done right now ,

Sometimes you have to let go

Even if you don’t know how.

Find a peaceful place to rest,

Then let the world drift away.

It will still be waiting there

To handle another day.

I have What I Need

 

Why do I always long for more

When you give me all that I need?

I have never yet gone without,

Nor do I think I suffer greed,

And yet there is that endless quest

To have that one thing I’m without.

There’s always something else I “need”.

I’ve got to figure this one out!

Or maybe it’s just broken me

That wants to have that something new,

Because I know while I’m on earth

I’m never quite fully with you!

Philippians 4:19

“And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”

Taking a Breath

You have the scope of every day

Laid out within your hand,

While everything I worry on

You have completely planned.

I know that I must do my part,

Rise up and meet the call;

But all the rest is up to you,

And you can do it all.

I’m blessed that each day’s not a fight,

A game of life or death.

I have to trust you’re in control

And learn to take a breath.

For life may not go as I wish

But it will be okay

And I can worry all I want,

But it will go your way.

So let me learn to take a breath

And flow with all life brings,

For there is peace where this world meets

That place where your grace springs.