Feb 18, 2013

Running the Race

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.  Hebrews 12:11

We want to run the race of life
And we want to run it well
With goodness and perseverance
So we can hear the welcoming words, 
"Well done, good and faithful servant."
And we are engaged in running that race.

But sometimes we're a world that runs a different race
Runninghere, running there, do this, don't forget that
A frantic pace, fitting all we can into our days
And sometimes forgetting the gift of solace.

And as Easter people
Don't we want to run up ahead?
Let's get to the joy
Let's move beyond the cross,
to resurrection.

But Lent calls us to do something so different--
To fall on our knees, to stop and to sit in silence
To just be, spending time in solitude and quiet
Learning to truly be still and listen intently

And to think about the cross and what it means
God gives us the courage to look deeply inside
And longs for us to give our extravagant attention
And sit in the gift of communion He gives.

To 
Explore
Observe
Consider
Transform.

A journey worthy of the cross.



Feb 17, 2013

Wonder

Let us live in wonder
Allowing our faith stories to take hold
Reminding us to learn to live the Word
Within our hearts and in community

Let us live in wonder
Of your amazing love
As we mediate on Jesus' teachings
And His sacrifice for our sins

Let us live in wonder
As we see ourselves
In the cast of characters
Of those who loved Him,
Who rejected Him,
Who betrayed,
Who put Him to death.

Let us live in wonder
Because through this journey
We know that Resurreciton comes.
Intensify our need to strive to be
"Christ in You"

Let us live in wonder
That by recalling and understanding
Our own flaws and darkness
We live in the amazing, unconditional love
That only our Creator gives.

Let us live in wonder
For our Maker
Our Sustainer
Our Shepherd
Our Friend
Our Redeemer

The lover of our souls.

Feb 16, 2013

My Heart Garden

In my mind's eye, I can see them--
The amazing and brilliant
Flower gardens
On the family farm where I grew up.

I can remember my mother's
Joy in working on them
In planting the new flowers
And weeding so they would flourish

Or the Mother's Day
That my sisters and I planted
A whole new garden of annuals as a surprise
In the rock garden that was shaped like a heart.

And I think about the lushness of those gardens
How my mother would teach us the names of the flowers
And how the pinks and purples and hues of orange and red
Would grace those gardens, bringing so much beauty and joy

And that's the gift of Lent--
What is broken and what needs restoring
Can turn from winter into spring
As the earth breathes new life

And slowly what is dull and lifeless
Becomes vibrant and colorful
For the soil has been nurtured
And there is a resurrection song

But we are on the journey
Reflecting and examining and changing
Growing somehow the garden
Of our hearts and souls.

Journey On.

Feb 15, 2013

Listening

As I walk the Lenten journey
Help me to examine myself
With introspection, let me see my soul
And open me to your transformation.

More than that, help me to listen--
To listen with ears of faith
To listen not to just what is said
But what is left unspoken

Keep my eyes focused on You
And keep my heart focused on hope
As you do the work in me to draw me
Ever closer to Your throne of grace.

Let me listen to the cries of the world
And teach me how to respond in loving compassion
And let me not be quick with my words
But thoughtful, taking in all that I am hearing

Let me listen for seeds of promise
To the earth and all its life
To hearts of others that dream
Let me listen for hope and healing.

Let me learn that solitude
Is a gracious of gift
Of sitting with you in silence
And being wrapped in your generous love.

Teach me how to listen.

Feb 14, 2013

A Watered Garden

A friend of mine kept a Lenten poem I had written a couple of years ago, and asked if I could share again during this Lenten season.


Lenten Poem: A WATERED GARDEN


Thinking about the journey to the cross and Jesus' time in the wilderness began my thoughts of our own wilderness, our own hunger and thirst for the Holy, the sacred.


The earth, still untilled
Surface layer hardened by winter
Barren, brown and dry
Brittle and broken stems
Lifeless, dull, fruitless

But through the soil
The tiller digs in deeply
And uproots the dried blossoms
And gives new life to what lay dormant
Forcing its way through a winter crust

Feel the blazing of bright sunlight
The warm wind blowing freely
The deep thirsting for rain
To bathe with refreshment
Waiting, wanting, longing

Sensing the approach of a rainstorm
Hearing the wind and the thunder roar
Its rumbling drawing nearer
Crack of lightning blazing the sky

And now just stillness...
The air is heavy
And one raindrop falls
Then another and another
Tumbling down upon you...
Splashing and dancing and dribbling

Through the openings of the soil
Falling faster and faster
A steady pace now
Trickling rivulets
Sinking deep into all
The readied and prepared spaces

The watering refreshes
The newness invigorates
The roots deep within and new shoots
Cleansed and purified, now flourishing

From wilderness to thriving
From emptiness to fullness
From bleakness to abundance
From death of resurrection
From despair to hope

Feb 9, 2013

What Comes Forth


I am always so amazed
At the the beauty that
Grows through the struggle
That we face.

Sometimes gently, sometimes boldly
But new life springs forth
Whether in perspective
In unmerited grace
In hte softening of a heart...

The struggles seem to lie dormant
And then hit us by surprise many times
But learning Who to lean on
How to be transformed
And being open to new life
Has something to do with the view.

Now when I look back
I realize if I had not faced a struggle
Of one kind or another
I may not have been molded
To bring me to this very present place.

And somehow even through
The cracks that appear
On the armor and walls we erect
His light makes its way through.

You are the Potter
I am the Clay