Bees in My Bonnet

Pardon the poetry these days.  Sometimes it just spills out here and there.  Words emerge in mingled masses until I throw them on a scrap of paper, only to be lost somewhere along the way.  Here and there I may get them into this blog, for a more permanent chronicle of the gazillion thoughts that I think.  This one is mostly thoughts I am telling myself.  Am I the only one who talks to myself?  Hope not! Re- Re- tell, Re- write, Re- alize. Re-engage, Re-turn -  A turning again to what once was, that might have missed its place -  the place of significance, of priority, of impetus on your journey. Re-think, Re-new, Re-birth: Because these all flow,  each from the other. Re-open - open your eyes to see what has been there, but you never dared to see.   See reality.  See yourself.  See the love you haven't held. Re-visit - the things you tossed aside as useless - Gifts of heritage and faith...

Do not think much of me for the things I say. Do not think much of me for the things I do. In fact, do not think much of me at all. Think much of Christ - of His greatness, worth and love, and then, Only then... Think much of me as His broken child - needy, helpless and empty; Waiting to be filled by Him, To be soul-fed by His real food and bonded to Him by His real drink. I thirst, and am nothing but a hungry child. Think much of my want, my lack, my nothingness. And think much of the Christ I love; the perfect Treasure of grace and truth, Whose supply abounds. There is nothing much to think of me, And oh, so much to think of Him.

I fill my home with words - on windows, walls, microwave, fridge and oven. Volumes full of words arranged on shelves form libraries of verbiage to plow up in search of some novel nugget - to turn slowly in the polishing chamber of the mind. No room shall lack them - words tucked in hidden places, Not the least: bathrooms, where one might flee for solitude and reflection. Words here will not be meaningless - lifeless chatter to fill empty spaces... floating around us merely with their wisdom and wit - Much more than arrangements of letters and words: Grace, love and joy spill from crevices, catching the eye, and maybe the soul unaware; Prompting a thought yet unthought - An impulse not quite begun. For those with ears to hear, eyes to see, and hearts ready to receive the seeds of truth will sit and wait - Beckon in their silence To all who enter.

Sometimes I am uninspired to write.  And then I discover (or re-discover) the joy of Haiku.  So I wrote three today.  Here they are! ********************************************** Never be settled Immune to the Voice of God His song is your joy. ********************************************* Bitter, cold winter Invites reflection inside Soul-work not quite done. ********************************************** Being and Longing Meet each other and rejoice. Married, they Belong. *********************************************

Someone asked me today what I thought my trajectory might be for 2016.  I said I really have no idea.  It isn't something one can answer off the cuff, if that one is me, I suppose.  After some thought I'm sure I will come up with something.  I like the word 'trajectory' better than 'goals', 'ambitions', or the dreaded, 'resolutions'.  (Sounds so final, and defining and confining, that one). You may have ideas for my proposed trajectory.  Or not.  But regardless, I felt a word of poetry was in order, because it has such rich meaning, and a great message for us all.  And since I didn't write it, I can commend it to you: Sleepers, Awake These are the dangerous days Christmas elation is past ornaments now put away bells are no longer ringing carolers cease their singing clean snow slowly grays. These are the dangerous days as we turn from adoring the child to adding up income taxes  to writing thank-you letters no ...

This past Sunday Caleb was asked to close out the Kids' Christmas Program with a short talk.  He and I collaborated on it a bit and so I'll put it here in case anyone wants to read it.  This is the unedited version - his was a bit shorter. Why Does Christmas Matter? In this season of Advent we wait - looking ahead to Christmas day - the day we remember and celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus.  For us kids, front and center of our minds is of course  the presents we look forward to opening - and the goodies, sweets, treats and desserts that we will enjoy in the coming weeks.  For many of us, we imagine sipping hot chocolate by a warm, softly glowing fire and the songs of children - singing of truths we can hardly grasp in our own minds.  The songs we have sung and played today contain meanings and depths we can only hope to someday begin to understand. The birth of Jesus means more than a tree, presents, lights and fancy feasts.   So, let's expl...

These past months I have been reminded again and again of how very brief and unpredictable life is - or can be.  A man lost his life at age 27 - due to some internal conflict with his illicit activities or family members I suppose.  Every day people lose their lives - some unexpectedly, some with short warning, some with longer warning.  I am 38 - and have been given the gift of these years.  I cannot presume to expect 40-50 more of them - that is for God to decide. I see those who have lived life fully - with purpose, love, devotion to God.  And then I see a life ended prematurely on our lawn.  The Bible tells us to 'number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom.'  I don't want to be morbid in reflecting on death, but I do want to gain a heart of wisdom.  I want to embrace life - all of it.  Yet there are times I shrink back from the living of life.  Sometimes I can't help it, other times I simply lack courage (read: heartiness ...