We are at odds

We wait for His birth
We wait again
Season after season
time and time again
the waiting is near
yet so far away

The Christ has come
The babe is born
to manhood He grows
to teach and instruct
to make ready
to give His life
to be the sacrificial lamb
to love
and love again

We wait for His return
and remember
His life
His death
His rebirth

He lives
in me, in you
our hearts
sing with joy

In this season of love
we wait
for His coming again
when all things
will be made new.

(c) December 4, 2011

For "He, who sat on the throne said, 'Behold I make all things new.' " -- Revelation 21:5

Look up, Look up ... to Jesus

Look up
Look up
wherever you area
The Lord has come
is coming again

He seeks you
at every turn
every corner
every roadblock

He understands your pain
surrounds you with
love and compassion
is everywhere
you go
everywhere
you are

Look up
Look up
into the heavens high
The Lord has come
will soon return

This is the season -- Christmas
A time of Love
We remember the reason --
God the Father
came as flesh -- one of us,
a human being
His Son
Our Lord
Jesus Christ

Look up
Look up
wherever you are
in dark of night
and dark of day
Star-studded sky
brightly shine
One pointing the way.

Look up
Look up
wherever you are
Do not delay
There is no time
The Lord is coming
The Lord has come

The Lord is here --
in your midst,
all around,
within your heart

He beckons still
to those lost
and forlorn
Don't despair

Look up
Look up
It is Time.

(c) December 3, 2011

"Redemption Draweth Nigh" by Ernie Haase 

Only One

Between The Beginning
and The End,
The Alpha and The Omega,
there are many roads
to travel
but
Only One True Path
to follow
to set us free
from sin
to make us whole
and complete.

The path
that leads
to our salvation,
Jesus Christ,
The Son of God
Our Savior
Our Redeemer
Our Lord
and Master
and King
to our eternal home
in the heavens most high.

Only One Path
Only One Life --
We are many
but He,
The Lord,
is One
and
it is His Life
with whom
we pattern our life.

Only One Savior
Jesus!

The God of the universe
created you,
formed you
from dust,
loved you
unto death

and He -- as flesh --
Jesus,
The begotten Son of God,
came
into the world of mankind
to show ...
"whoever believes in Him 
should not perish 
but have 
everlasting life.
For God the Father 
did not send His Son 
into the world to condemn
the world, 
but
that the world 
through Him 
might be saved." 
(John 3:16-17)

Only One
Path
One Life
One Problem -- SIN
One Solution
One Truth
One Savior

(c) December 1, 2011

Is life ...?

Is life ... vanity ... is it grasping for the wind ... or is it more? 

A child is born 

A child dies 

To all there is 

in everything, 

there is a season

a time 

appointed by God 

to take that first breath of air 

to have 

to hold 

to rejoice 

to dance 

to laugh

to encourage 

to build up 

to keep 

to speak 

to comfort 

to learn 

to work and labor 

to embrace 

to find fulfillment 

but too, 

appointed by God

that last gasp of air

to mourn 

and grieve

to break down 

to cry 

to discard 

to kill 

to labor and labor and

constantly toil 

to discourage

to tear down

and destroy 

to keep silent

and in between,

precious moments

that last however long

God has given us. 

All of time 

belongs to God

is appointed by Him

We cannot,

should not approach life

like it belongs solely 

to us,

think whatever 

we do 

can enable 

whatsoever we desire. 

God gave us life 

each and everyone 

of us 

Individually

it is our 

earthly mothers and father

but beyond, 

it is our 

heavenly Father 

and in everything

there is a season, 

a time 

appointed by Him 

The Lord Almighty

A time to love .... 

and to hate 

A time of war ...

and of peace.

In all of life 

there is love 

and hope 

and faith

but the greatest 

of all 

is love 

Love takes you 

to and through 

places 

unknown to you

Without love 

in every aspect of our life

we are not,

have not, 

do not 

and sometimes, too, 

with love, 

we find ourselves 

lacking, 

sorrowful 

deep within

for all 

we are not, 

all we have not

all we do not.

"Seek those things 

which are above -- 

where Christ is. 

Set your mind on things 

above,

not on things 

on the earth." 

(Colossians 3:1-2)

Love

The Love God bestows 

bears all things 

believes all things 

hopes all things 

endures all things.

Without failing, 

feelings of failure,

of fear, 

of worry

Memories 

of precious moments 

hold together 

our love 

for another 

who has passed from us. 

Pursue life 

given us by God

Pursue love 

given us through Christ 

Pursue God

our creator, our sustainer, our everything

stay one with Him,

walking with Him, 

and even in the midst 

of much trial and suffering,

we will be at peace. 

(c) November 24/28, 2011

(Thoughts taken from Scripture found in Ecclesiastes 1-3 and I Corinthians 13:7, 13)

Are you sure Lord?

Are you sure Lord I am okay?
I am where I am to be for this moment?
Probably not.
Always seeming to be unsure.
Always it seems
I look to what others see in me
and wonder if what they see is real
is what you Lord desire them to see
I fear I am not.
Not even among friends
or those I think are friends
do I feel secure in that friendship
Fearful
I should not care
I imagine
I should just move on.
Rely totally on you.
Perhaps I am not
I never feel good enough
I'm not good enough
I will never be good enough
But friendship is important is it not?

Tell me Lord what I should do.
I feel sometimes no matter what I do, it's not right.

How should I
How do I
rise above
all that I feel
all the remorse
and sadness I feel

It isn't where I want
to be.

How Lord
How

I don't know how.

.... I can choose
to dwell
on negative thoughts
or I can choose to dwell
on Godly thoughts.

The choice is always
ours alone to make.

I am because of God
because of who God is
and what He is

No matter how strong
another thinks he is
God is stronger
God is more powerful.
God is mightier
God is.

And because of God
I am

Not because of me
But because of Him
who is greater
than I will ever be.

That doesn't make me a failure
God doesn't make failures.
Only in our own minds,
when we dwell there
and become distraught,
disillusioned within
we think we are a failure
But not to God
To Him we are a work in progress.

Today's devotional
Flawed and Frail
reminds me
The Lord is not
looking for super heroes
but rather those who are
frail and flawed.
That I am.
Through our frailness
and our flawedness
The Lord brings about strength and grace

Be willing
Be available
God will work in you
Through you
To reach another.

(c) November 8, 2008

Me oh My

My legs itch.
My selfishness gets the best of me at times
My plans go awry
Me
Me
Me
My feelings
My loss
My dreams
My everything

What does God think of me?
Where am I

Is He happy with me?

Can He see my love for Him?

Is He ashamed of me

Does He consider me an evil doer
a foolish woman
a prayer warrior?

Is God pleased with my attempts to honor Him?

Does God consider me
His daughter?
Or am I alone

Should I withdraw into myself
Should I hide
Should I withdraw from activities

No one sees
No one responds

My fears
My concerns
My desires

What does God see in me?
Where am I

Am I sunshine
or clouds of gray
Am I caring
Or do I care less

Do you Lord see my love for others
Or have I betrayed you

What does God think of me
Am I growing
or am I stagnant

Is this all selfishness
to write so much
about nothing
Am I nothing


Who am I Lord
Where am I

Am I in the midst
of others with greater

I know where you are Lord
I talk to you daily
I read your holy Word
I think about what you
have to say to me
You are here, right here,
in my heart.
But where am I Lord?
Who will answer?
Ed Ames once sang a song,
"Who will answer?"
Who am I Lord
Where am I

Am I where you want me to be
Are you pleased with me

Do I bring you any joy
or only anguish

It's not all about me.
But always there is a me.
The body of me make up mankind.

Woe is me

(c) November 3, 2008

I AM with you

"Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." - Isaiah 41:10

It happened
The unimaginable
A child dies
A job is lost
Health deteriorates

Our concern
gives way to anguish
as we pursue
over and over
and over again
in our minds
the possible reasons

But the source
of all that is
The One
who knows
the whys
and wherefores
stays silent

Where do we go
What is the next step
How do we move on
past this point
of deep despair?

He tells us
to stay focused
not on the what if's and buts
not on the what once was
and is now gone
not on what we wish could return
No,
He tells us
to remember Him
to "Fear not,
for I am with you;
Be not dismayed,
for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes,
I will help you.
I will uphold you
with my righteous right hand."
(Isaiah 41:10)

We see,
but do we see Him?!
Does the brokenness of our hearts
cause us to dwell
more on our pain
than on the Lord
who can heal us?

Jesus,
our beloved Savior and Lord,
shows us
the way to peace.
Through Him
we find comfort and consolation,
we find beauty and love,
we find hope.

We must be in His Word,
study His Word,
talk with Him,
listen to Him.

We must not settle
our selves on events
in and of the world
that will cause us to stray
from
The One
who gives us life,
who is our life.

(c) November 18/19, 2011

Guilt

Guilt.
Amazing how another can make you feel
Not build you up
Not encourage you
Not say I'm praying for you
Not asking how a loved one is doing
   or how you yourself are doing ...

simply amazing.

You receive what you think
is an act of kindness
but find it is not.
Given under false pretense,
wrong motive

Guilt.
Feeling you need to apologize
for the situation you're in
Feeling you need to explain
why laundry and dishes
and grocery shopping
and preparing meals
don't get done
in a timely fashion.
Feeling you need to come to your own defense.
Of course I know how to cook.
I know how to do laundry
and wash dishes
and buy groceries
and pay bills.
Knowing how is not the issue.

Guilt.
Feeling the need to rest,
to relax,
to put your feet up
and do nothing for an hour or two
is wrong.

I am guilty before God,
but He does not condemn me.
He forgives me for all of my shortcomings.
He forgave me at the cross.
He forgave me when I asked Him into my heart.

(c) November 16, 2011

Near or far, He is there

Far far away
He is
but NOT.
We don't seek Him
We don't care.
We live,
thrive
on day-to-day pleasures
disinterested in our personal
eternal security.
We endure
the pain
and weariness
for what!?
What do we gain --
Our strength is weak
Our despair overwhelming
We collapse under our load
of guilt and remorse and
yes, frustration too.
We miss His nearness
yet, He is near.
He is always near
It is us, you and me
who has moved.
He seeks
always searching
We not necessarily so.
He is near
He is beside you
He is within you
He gives your life purpose
He is your purpose
He is forever faithful.
Our faith,
ever so small,
we think futile,
but not so.
With God
nothing is impossible
He is our hope
In Him,
we find comfort
forevermore.

(c) November 13, 2011

Help me Lord

Help me continue to move forward
Not go backward.
Bring me relief
from pain
and weariness
Let me feel your loving arms around me
Bring me encouragement
as I encourage my Jimmy
Give me time
Help me know
what is important
day by day
minute by minute
what your preference is
for the needs
and must do's
You are my comforter
yet I of late feel so
disjointed.
So much to do
So little time
Still,
I continue to find time for You.
Without You I am nothing,
nowhere
Yet,
sometimes,
I feel so alone.
But I'm not.
But the aloneness comes
and I feel helpless in it
feel I'm being
swallowed up
and the devil laughs.
I will not surrender.
Help me Lord
I pray
Help me
to continue to move
forward
one step at a time.
Amen.

(c) November 10, 2011

Help me to wait, to not be hurried

What is, was
What will be, has
Round and round
The lives of all revolve
Struggle to maintain balance
sanity
clearness of mind and thought
Fearful of the unknown
So much there
God said He would be with us
All
Nothing
is so perfect we can move without thinking
We cannot be in a hurry
But hurried we are
Harried too
Must rest
Must pray
Must stay rooted
Must seek His guidance
Must
Must
Must
So hard
Help me Lord
Help us all
Keep us mindful of all You are
Help us to not be in a hurry over anything and everything
Nothing is trivial
Everything we go through You are aware of it
Help me, help us to wait
Help me to be confident
in You, to trust in You,
Your answers, Your timetable.
I pray in your name.

(c) November 11, 2011

I AM is greater than i am

The Lord sees our oppression
He hears our cry
He knows our sorrow

He comes to deliver
to protect
to guide

I AM WHO I AM
is greater
than I am

He brings us up
out of the affliction
He meets us
at the point of our greatest need
He stretches out His mighty hand
to keep us safe and secure
and to strike down the enemy.

The Lord seeks,
asks of us,
His children
created from a speck of dust
to turn
from disceiving
conniving
selfish paths
to Him.

The Lord desires us
to keep our eyes,
our minds and thoughts,
our hearts
focused
entirely on Him.

The Lord WILL provide.

We accept, believe
without a doubt
His Son was sent to save us
from our sin.
But that is not the end!
Only the Beginning ...
The beginning of a
heart-filled love relationship.

Our fears
need not become
a steppingstone
of dismay,
setting us up for failure,
but a realization
that anything and everything
we can do
is futile
and meaningless
if our faith in the Lord Jesus
is not
and if also,
that faith does not grow.

For the Lord
there is no boundary
There is nothing He cannot do
He is everything,
all around us,
our Master and King.
We are His servants
And when we are in Him,
there are endless possibilities.

First we start
Then we continue
We don't look back
We look up
We stay focused
We don't stop
We trust Him
We obey Him
We believe in Him
We remember

Every step forward
is a gigantic leap of faith.

(c)  October 28, 2011

The Ten - God's Covenant of Love

The commandments,
The ordinances,
The regulations,
The rules,
The Covenant --
set forth
by God
to and with His people,
designed to shed light,
to be Light
to give instruction,
guidance
for holy living.

The Lord God seeks
a willing heart,
a love-filled heart.
The gifts, offerings
we bring
show our reverence
to the Lord,
our Master and King.

Those (gifts) given selfishly,
without love
and devotion
to Him,
the giver of life,
are not accepted,
are not approved.

If in our living
it is not to
The Most Holy One
our total allegiance
lies,
we have failed.
Our reward is just --
we face
eternal punishment,
eternal damnation,
eternal separation.

God's Covenant --
He has made many such pacts
But,
The Ten
boils down to
LOVE
"Love the Lord
with ALL your heart,
ALL your soul,
ALL your mind,
All your strength
and
Love your neighbor
as yourself."
(Mark 12:30-31)

Jesus,
son of God,
The Most High,
The Most Holy One,
tells us
no other commandment
is greater than these.

Jesus,
The One
Whom God the Father
destined would fulfill
His plan to bring mankind
to Him,
to Eternal Glory.

Jesus,
born of God and
the Virgin Mary

Jesus,
born to suffer and be rejected,
persecuted.

Jesus,
born to die,
to hang from a cross
pounded nails into flesh
Our Sin, Our Sin!

Jesus
paid the price.

Born to die,
to rise from the dead
to live forevermore
within our hearts
to bring mankind to a
saving knowledge
to Eternal Security
Eternal Life

Jesus
"the living stone
chosen by God
and precious"
(1 Peter 2:4)

Jesus Lives!

(c) October 25, 2011

God's Love

Love
is
patient

Love
is
kind

Love
is
fresh and new
each day

Love
is
viewing life
clearly
plainly
without grudges
without pretense
without masking feelings
that are false
and hateful

Love

True Love
is
God's Love

"It bears all things,
believes all things,
hopes all things,
endures all things."
(I Corinthians 13:7 NKJV)

(c) October 24, 2011

Him

He spoke.
His Word
Became flesh.
His Son
His only begotten
full of grace
and truth
dwelt among us.
Jesus.

He spoke.
His Word
full of grace
and truth
shows us
His commandments
His judgments
His promises

Fulfilled.
In Him
Through Him
in His time
now
and to come.

(c) October 22, 2011

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."         - John 1:14, 17

His glory ... everywhere

His glory
Everywhere
It surrounds us.
We think
sunny
cloudless days
are the best
We feel better
about living
about life
But
even in the midst
of darkness
and seemingly dismal
cloudy days
or lightning storms
He is there
Ever present
Our guiding light
Our protector
over every enemy
that stalks us
We praise Him
for the good
we receive
and perceive
But for
days that make no sense
praise belongs too
He preserves us
for another time
a better time
perhaps
His glory
always shining
We must seek
His word
to find His way
and rejoice
in all
that comes
For we are
only because
He is.

(c) October 21, 2011

We can be complete

God's glory
His power
His majesty
His completeness,
whole
and without blemish

We stand on the rock,
waiting
We want to see
His ...
Him
as He is

But,
His response?
"I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion." (Exodus 33:19)

But, however,
"You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live." (Exodus 33:20)

And so,
He sends His Son --
complete
whole
and without blemish --
JESUS
who is the rock.

"Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected by men, but chosen by God ... a chief cornerstone, a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense." (I Peter 2:4, 6, 8)

We want to see
and when we do
We reject
We rejected God
We reject His Son

We only reach out
when we glimpse
the results
of what sin has done to us.
When we accept
When we believe
When we choose
obedience to Him,
who passes by,
who shelters us
in "the cleft of the rock
and covers us with His hand." (Exodus 33:22)

Obedience
to the King of Kings
who was
and is
and is to come
He is our salvation
our truth
He makes us too
complete
Not pure,
not without blemish
But still complete

We are One with Christ
One with God
One with the Holy Spirit
His grace
His glory
and we are His
... a child of the King.

(c) October 18, 2011

A Prayer for You

O Lord, I pray
Keep these Your children in perfect peace,
 sheltered beneath Your wings.
Let nothing come to separate them
from Your mightiness,
all power and strength
Surround them
with Your compassionate love.
Renew them to a new day, full of life,
here still – I pray it’s Your will --
to bring another to faith in You
You alone Lord
for You are the answer
and yes, the question too
O Lord
Keep my fears away
out of sight, out of mind
Prevent the distress of the situation
from escalating
Bring me a calm assurance
that You are here, You are with me
With You there is
nothing whatsoever to fear
With You, My God,
All things are possible
Deliver me O Lord,
to the possibility hoped for.
Amen.

© October 15, 2011

Find a moment ... for laughter

God is the master ...
turns our burdens
into blessings

The stress
and trauma
and unending pain
in our lives

why do we stay there?

I go
to talk,
visit a friend

life is short
why spend so much of it
churning the turmoil
into bigger

laughter
a better medicine
remembering,
reminiscing,

pleasing the Lord
a much better plan
than distressing
oneself.

I think ...

when I get old
I shall laugh more

but wait,
I am getting old
why wait longer

from the moment of birth
age creeps upon you

how much older do I need to get
before I laugh more
before I see the lighter side
the humor

even in the dark,
there can be laughter.

We mustn't let
all that is
not-so-good
overcome us,
overtake us.

Find a moment
and then find another
for laughter

(c) October 14, 2011

I

I feel somewhat down today
Is it because of the cold
the time of year
the many projects I have
and not all my own
why is it?
not just today though
it has been many days
sometimes

I feel so burdened
I think of many
There are many
who cross,
who come,
who are there

Some
I visit with
through Facebook
or
Twitter
or
E-mail
or
phone
or
mailed letter

Some
I make attempts
but success
is fleeting
No answer
No reply
No comment.

They are not there.
And I don't know
where
or why
or what that means
If there is
something
I should be
doing
I do not know.

The tiredness I feel
is not
necessarily
sleepy tired
but
sort of
tired from thinking

would like to
be free
from it all

not
free from being though

Not
interested
in ending
my being.

There is only
One gospel
There is only
One way
To life eternal
There is only
One Christ
One son of God
Only One

That One
is there for me
He can
lift my burden
if it is
His will
My desires
are not
necessarily
His desires --
His will is what matters
ultimately.
But He hears
He listens
to my turmoil
my fears
my concerns

There are
some
They are
everywhere.
think
they
are
Failures
Junk
Unwanted
Unloved
Bored

So easy to fall
in a trap
of self
So easy to fall
into
believing
what another
says of you

Harder to
ignore
to step aside
to push away

Harder to
recognize
you are worthy
a Child of the
King
of Jesus Christ.
His son
His daughter
His.

So hard to do
So very hard
to do.

Help me
Lord
Lift me up
Lord
Show me
Lord
Where Lord
you would have me
go
or do
or be
Today.

Be me?
Do I hear
Him

Does He

"Be my child."

(c) October 28, 2008