Two Red Bowls

      It's something of a family joke~two cheap bowls that keep showing up at family dinners filled with food, usually a tossed salad. It got me thinking.

Two red plastic bowls
Inexpensive, disposable
red plastic bowls
From the bottom shelf
at Wally World
Use 'em once, throw 'em away.



But they were bought
by one who washed them
and filled them
with all good things

To serve at family feasts
year after year after year.
Two red plastic bowls
Set apart, valuable
red plastic bowls.

It was thrift that moved the buyer of the bowls
But is was stop-at-nothing Love
that purchased earthen vessels
to carry heaven's glory,
The temporary
to contain the eternal,
and the stressed out to be a home
for the Prince of Peace!

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called the children of God!...I John 3:1
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God and not us. 2 Corinthians 4:7

It's Christmas!

Snow dresses fields in white

Sunbeams wreathe the hills in gold 


Clouds adorn themselves with red

Birds embellish trees

All nature joins to sing
Glory to the newborn King!

 Let the heavens rejoice and the earth be glad....before the Lord: for He cometh!!!!...Psalm 96:11-13

She knows?

She knows the answers
black or white, no in-between
In gray mist, a swan.

Does she cover it?
excuse it, deny it exists?
Or bow before the One
Who knows swans.

Sanctuary

You are with me always, this I know
But sometimes I need to fly
to some cathedral not made by man   
to wait in silence
for You.















We have thought on Your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of Your temple. Psalm 48:9

Early Snowfall

One October day     
winter bursts into fall    
catches him painting leaves
invites him to play.














Snowflakes sprinkle leaves

Adorn evergreens

Tumble into waterfalls

Tease motorists 













Captivate photographers 

Winter retreats
Leaves autumn to his glory
He just came to play
One October day

Lilies and Sparrows

Terrorism threatens

Unemployment is high

The government is broke

There's drought in the west

Food prices are rising

So much to worry about

What will I do?

Consider the lilies
They neither toil or spin
Yet Solomon, the wisest
richest man in the world
was not dressed as well
as these.

Consider the sparrows

They do no sow or reap

They don't store in barns
Yet Your Heavenly Father
continues to feed them
Are you not worth more
than lilies and sparrows?
So do not worry or be anxious. Your Father knows you need these things.
(From Matthew 6:25-34)

Giving Thanks?

     

                                                      



Why are you worried?













Yummm



Plenty for all

Tufted titmouse joins the feast 



That looks good!





 



Ending or Beginning?

Like a desert mirage    
the promise shimmers
beckoning, tantalizing
but eluding my grasp.

"It's not for you, it's not for you,
It's for the chosen few"
Despair chants the words
that mock the toil
struggle and strain
I wasted, to reach
the unattainable.

With no answers left
I give up.

But what's this? Does God
sing country music?
(with apologies to Kay Savage, Sandra Seamons, and George Jones. )
"Walk through this world with Me
Go where I go
Share all your dreams with Me,
I love you so,
And now that I've found you

New horizons you'll see  
Come take my hand
And walk through this world with Me."

Rain Dance

Rooster crows        
I roll out
rush to work
fill my day
task to task
spinning my wheels
day is done
if time is left
say Hi to Him.

Uh-O

Stealthy as a cat
Drought throttles my soul

Barren, I reap dust.

Lover of my soul
will not give up

He woos me to rest      
in His embrace.     

I am a child again     

as rain
caresses my face,

dances on my arms,

tickles my toes,

washes away the dust.

Let me live in His rest

as a child, carefree

Barren no more.

"It ain't over till the barren woman sings!" see Isaiah 54:1

Some rain haiku

The river catches              
the rain as it falls headlong      
The two become one.

Till the sun takes the
water to a cloud and it
falls headlong again.

Or you could say:

The river
clutches the rain
Inseparable.

Vaporized
by the sun's rays
it tumbles again.

Of Butterflies and Men

Snuggled in a cocoon             
a larva fell asleep
and knew not a thing
until her bed
became a prison.
She stretched
and snapped her bonds
She hadn't been there to stay.

                                                       

A butterfly opened her wings
to the ardor of the sun
She heard the call of the wind
and lifted her wings to soar
She hadn't come there to stay.


She delighted in dandelion
clover and lilac
She danced with her mate
with diving, swirling steps
then slipped away
to hide her eggs
Her life's work done
she departed her nest
She hadn't come there to stay

It was the evening
of her brief day
Her wings were scratched
and torn
Her youthful color fading

Weakened, she fell to earth   
Her helpless feet
pummeling the air.

Gently she grasped my finger
As I lifted her to the sun
her soft wings fluttered
and carried by wind
to a tree, she rested
and absorbed the sun.
Revived, she set sail
higher and higher
till I saw her no more.
She didn't come here to stay.


In the funeral home
an aging gentleman gazed at his lifelong friend and said, "We didn't come here to stay."

Between a Rock and a Hard Place?

A seed tumbled
into a rocky grave
and disappeared.


But the murky tomb
was a womb disguised
Nourished by love
the seed took root
and reached for the light.



Embraced and sheltered
by the Rock that birthed it

the seedling developed,             
matured, flourished,
and became a reflection
of the Creator's love.

Upside Down

In a world turned upside down      
Milk spills, trees fall
Daughters carry mothers
Memory peeks through curtains
Mothers say goodby to sons

And God dies
so I may live.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

The Storm

A storm came in the night
that lashed my soul
and dimmed the light
of hope

Fear howled around my door
and sapped my strength
made me forget
whose I am

But...                                 

The Morning Star arose

filled my heart with love

opened my eyes to see

the storm was gone.

I will be glad and rejoice in Your unfailing love, for You have seen my troubles, and You care about the anguish of my soul, You have not handed me over to my enemies but have set me in a safe place. Psalm 31:7,8 NLT

Transformation

The dull gray clouds of winter       

are swathed in rainbow colors
when touched by the sun
as it rises and sets
each display unique
each  one beautiful

The dull gray clouds of life       
display the Master's glory
when embraced 
by the rays of the Son



But to you who reverence My name, the Sun of righteousness will arise with healing in His rays... Malachi 4:2