Mary

She could have said –

      “But Lord, why choose me?

      There are so many

      That are richer

     And more powerful

     Than I.

    Why choose me?”

But instead she accepted

And let it happen

As God would have it.

Christmas is Coming

Christmas is coming

Sooner than I want.

I cannot find

The joy of it

Anywhere.

Alone,

I walk along

Finding nothing but sadness

Everywhere I look.

Oh God,

Help me to find

The joy and celebration

Of Christmas.

    From the 1970's

God is

God is love,
Not hate.
God loves
All people;
Can we do
Any else?

Some Questions

            Can we all learn to love one another and accept each as a child of God?  Or is it already too late for us?  We make too much of differences between people.  And there is the problem – we make of differences a reason for hatred when hatred should have no place in us.  Can we learn to replace hate with love and redeem the world?

The Wonder

The wonder of me,

How much

There is within,

Unknown,

Unplumbed depths

And heights.

And only God

Knows

The whole of it.

And in love

God is always there

To help me

Find my way

Through the wonder

And mystery of me.

The Singer

I am a singer.

I love to sing,

Singing often

Praises to God.

When I can,

I join a choir

To help others

Praise our God.

The Writer

I am the poet,

The scribe,

The observer,

Watching the events

Around me

And reacting,

Sometimes

With questions

To which there may be

No answers.

The Shepherd

I am the shepherd,

Caring for others

That God

Has given me.

I may not know

All the people there,

But still I care

And pray

For them all.

The Builder

I am the builder,

I can work

With my hands

Or with other skills

To build

That better world

Where all people

Can live together

In peace and love.

The Servant

I am the servant,

The laborer

Who, as a part

Of the group,

Works to do

What is needed

To get things done.

The Manager

I am the manager

And see that

Everything

Runs smoothly.

I organize things

So that people

Can work as a team

And the work

Gets done.

The Sparkplug

I am the sparkplug

Helping others

With their ideas

And getting

Them started.

I see what is possible

And help

Make it happen.

The Host/Hostess

I am the host/hostess.

I welcome all

Who come my way.

Come, relax

And be at home

For this is

A place of peace.

The Reconciler

I am the reconciler,

The bridge builder

Seeking to make peace

Between people.

I would heal

Conflicts

Between all people

And help them

Live together

Without fighting.

The Nurturer

I am the nurturer,

The caretaker

Who helps you

Find your way

To who you

Are meant to be.

The Healer

I am the healer,

Comforting all

Who need it.

I can help heal

Wounds of the soul

For I have been

Wounded too.

My prayers are

Always there for you,

Just tell me.

The Friend

I am the friend,

There for all

Who need

Any type of care.

There is no one

Who is any better

Than any other,

For all people

Have needs

And I am there.

The Liberator

I am the liberator

And I long to free

All people

Who are oppressed

Or suffer any kind

Of injustice.

I would remove

All obstacles

That keep anyone

From being

Who they are.

The Prophet

I am the prophet,

The disturber of peace

And the dreamer

Of a more

God-centered life.

It can seem

That there is

No one else

Who sees the truth

That I do,

But I tell it anyway.

The Lover

I am the lover,

Caring for all people

Accepting them

Where they are

And who they are,

For all of them

Are God’s children.

The Artist

I am the artist,

Creating images

Of great beauty,

Showing God’s creation

To all people.

The Witness

I am the witness.

I know how to tell

In words, aloud,

And in written text

And in my actions

All about God’s love

For all people.

The Listener

I am the listener.

I hear the voice of God

Speaking within me

And the people around

Telling me their troubles.

I listen to all the people

Without judgment

And do not gossip.

I am also happy

In the quiet places

Where I can hear

God talking.

Unique

I am me,

Unique

In all the world.

There is no one else

Quite like me,

For no one else

Quite has

My combination

Of experiences

And genetics.

So here I am,

See me

And accept me

As the special person

That I am.

How Mighty

How mighty are your works, oh man!

Mighty are the works of your hands;

But besides the works of God,

They are nothing at all.

For the works of God,

The creations of His hands

Are the stars, the planets,

And everything that lives.

Even you, oh man,

Is created by God above.

How mighty are your works, oh man,

But mightier still the works of God!

1964

Thoughts on Love

More power in love, in loving people.

Love is the power that can set the world free.

Love is the strength that can set the world free.

Love is the strength that keeps us all going.

Love is the root of all life.

Love is God’s power loose in the world.

Love is a healing strength.

Love is complete happiness.

Love is life; eternal, full and complete.

Love is God.  God is love.     

Love is the key that can set all free

Love grows when there is trust and caring on all sides.

Love includes all people.

Love does not reject anyone, no matter what they believe or who they are.

Love does not pick and choose on the basis of what a person looks like.

Love accepts ALL people as they are.

Love is a constant, always there for us.

Love is inexhaustible, if we will only give it away.

Love is unlimited.

Love is unfailing.

Love is unconditional.

Love is what makes the world easier to live in.

Love makes it all worthwhile

Love is wanting the best for whoever you love.

Love is not grasping, holding on, but a setting free so that whoever you love can wander, then come back to you.

Nothing is so great, so wonderful as love.  Yet we know so little about it. 

The Love of God

            The love of God; how shall I describe it?  It is immutable, unchanging, but to what can it be compared?  That love is more than mere words can tell.  It is deeper, fuller than can ever be told.  We try to tell of it, and thus put human limits on something that has no limits at all.  And thus, we come to the final joy that knows no bounds, God loves me!  Without conditions, God loves me!  As I am, with all my sins, God loves me!  And there is no one who can take that love from me: that love is too complete, too fully there for anyone to be able to tell me anything else.

            And because of that, I know, I am sure that God loves ALL other people just as completely and fully as I am loved.  No one can take that from us.  The love of God is there for us whether we turn around to take it or not.  And isn’t it marvelous!  It does not matter what the differences are between us, we are all equally loved, for we are all God’s children.  We were created by God and each created differently, but still loved.

From the 1990's

               There was a time when I had become broken into many pieces, fragmented.  There was no joy for me; sadness and despair were my lot.  I knew not where to go nor could I find any peace.  Then I remembered that there one person who I could turn to, who had always been there, waiting for me to turn to Him.

            Now I am whole again, and complete; not fragmented and broken as I was before.  Joy has returned to me; and a peace better than any I knew before, for He has touched me and healed me.

            Where could I find another like Him?  For He is ALWAYS there for me to talk to, even when I want Him not, for I will not always listen to what He says, and need someone else to tell me His word.  But still, He is there for me, always.  And never will I be completely alone.

            And He holds my hand, nor will He ever let me stray far from Him, but lovingly keeps me close by.  He is my Counselor, my Guide, and my Friend.  He keeps me on the straight path, and I flourish and grow only when He is near.  For I have no strength of my own.

            He is the sun, I the moon.  I shine only in His glory.  My light is only reflected light, reflected from Him.  I do not reflect that light perfectly, but what light I do reflect is only His.

            Where could I go for someone as patient and loving as He?  Nowhere!  For He has infinite love and infinite patience, He is at once my God and my Father.  He is the one who made me and gave me life.  He is all life and all love.  And only in Him is complete love and complete peace. 

            I can never know all of Him.  The more I know about Him; the more there is to know.  He is greater, mightier than I could ever conceive.  He is everything to me, my complete life.  And without Him, there is no life, there is nothing but chaos. 

            My joy is all in Him, my peace and happiness, His.  He keeps me going through all the troubles and sorrows of this life.  He is everything to me, my whole life.

The Dream

            I had gone to bed.  For a time, I could not sleep, but tossed and turned restlessly.  Then, as I finally started to drop off to sleep, I had the strangest vision, or if you will, a dream.

            It seemed as if I was so large that this solar system of ours was as a toy to me, and I held in my hands our planet.  It was as a ball or a precious jewel.

            It seemed so perfect, this jewel I held, all blue and green, with shifting streaks of white.  But as I looked more closely, I could see flaws.  The scars of war were there, old wars and the bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  And the newer wars of Vietnam and Bosnia.

            Then with penetrating sight, I looked and saw flaws more hidden.  The flaws of hate and suspicion ran across the face of this jewel I held.

            Suddenly, I feared to let go of this ball, this jewel, for if I let it go from me on its appointed rounds, I feared that it would come back to me in fragments, exploded, or as a blackened and dead world.  But yet I let it go, and watched more carefully, for it had become suddenly very precious to me.

            Then I was myself.  And I thought and then wondered if God were not at times afraid to let go of this world of His.  For it seems that however hard He tries, we people turn from Him and choose, instead of the path of glory and light; other darker paths.

            Then my dream returned to me.  And I seemed to watch, afraid, as this precious world of ours wound its way through the starry night. 

            

Mourning

I am in mourning
For all the people
Of this world of ours.
Too many wars
In too many places.
And the people
Have little chance
For a good life.
Terrorists
Are all around,
Making it harder
To be happy
And feel safe.
When will we all
Learn to live
Together
On this world of ourrs
In peace and love?

Lift Up Your Voice

Psalm 34:1

Lift up your voice,

Praise God.

Sing your praises

And bless our God

Who has created

All that is!

Psalm 40:1-4

Wait patiently,

For God will come

To help you,

For your voice

Will be heard.

Sing a new song

Of praise

For our God

Is come to you!

Psalm 100:1-2

Sing for joy,

Let all the world

Hear your voice.

Sing out loud,

And shout

For sheer joy.

Psalm 105:1-4

Give thanks,

All people!

Sing praises

Of our God,

Who gives strength

To all those

Who will seek

The face of God.

Isaiah 51:11

Up to Zion

We will go.

Joy will be ours

Because our God

Has redeemed us!

Lift up your voice

And sing praises

To the God

Who loves

All people!

Isaiah 56:3-8

Lift up your voice

In praise,

For all people

Who will follow God

In faith and love

Will find joy

And none of them

Will ever

Be turned away!

Come and always

Praise our great God!

Imagine

1

For this space of time,

Let us imagine

That a better world

Is coming to us,

A world

Where all people

Will learn peace.

2

Imagine there is food

Enough for all

And no one

Ever goes hungry

Or thirsty;

For all will have

What they need.

3

Imagine shelter

For all people

And no one ever

Need be homeless.

4

Imagine there is

Clothing enough

For all people,

Enough that no one

Need worry again.

5

Imagine that wars

Will cease to be,

And all people

Around the world

Will learn to live

Together in peace.

6

Imagine that all

Will learn the love

That accepts people

Who are different

As human

And worthy

Of being loved.

7

For this time,

This year,

Let us imagine

That we can build

A new world

Where all people

Will have a place

And be accepted

By all others.

8

Think what

Could be done

If we imagine,

Then put those ideas

Into action.

Just imagine!

9

Just imagine

If we let God

Lead us all

And teach us

How to truly love,

And treat all others

With gentleness

And respect.

Just imagine

What could happen!

Help, oh God

Psalm 39:1

Help me, oh God,

That I might

Learn to watch

What I say.

Help me to control

My tongue and my brain

That what I say

Will not hurt another.

Romans 7:21

You, oh God,

Are my help

To keep me

From the wrong

That I would do

Or from saying

Anything that would

Hurt another.

I want to say and do

Only the good,

But without you near,

I have no strength

To walk in the right.

Ephesians 2:8-9

It is you, oh God,

Who has come to me

And by your grace,

Saved me.

You have shown me

The way to go,

That is not of anything

That I might do

But only

Through faith in you.

Titus 3:5

Oh my God,

I often do or say

The wrong things.

But through your mercy,

I am saved

And your spirit dwells

Always with me.

Hebrews 4:14-16

And now I can

Approach your throne

With confidence,

Because Jesus has come

And shown me the way.

Always grace

And mercy are mine,

Because I believe

That Jesus is your Son,

And He shows me the way

That is best,

And your help and love

Always is mine.

On Paris

photo by:  unknown ranger in Alaska

Why such hatred?
What do they fear?
What do they want
Of us,
Are we too different?
Why won't they talk
With our leaders,
Why no negotiations?
Why, why, why?

Sounds

Sounds of war,

Sounds of violence,

Women and girls

Beaten and raped

Many people killed;

Africa.

Sounds of war,

Sounds of violence,

Car bombs and gunfire

People wounded and killed

All for land;

The Middle East.

Sounds of war,

Sounds of violence,

Farmers losing crops,

Drug runners winning

Rebels fighting government;

Columbia.

Sounds of war,

Sounds of violence,

Planes crashing

Buildings falling down,

People killed;

America.

Sounds of war,

Sounds of violence,

Bombs and gunfire

In a far off land

A change of government;

Afghanistan.

Sounds of war, 

Sounds of violence,

Bombs exploding,

Guns being fired,

People being killed

Hostages taken

Terrorizing all people,

Paris, France.

Sounds of war,

Sounds of violence,

All over the world.

Oh God, when

Will all the people

Learn to live together

In peace and love?