What Is It About?

What is it about this babe in the hay

That we should love Him so?

I ask, “Is He just an innocent Child,

Or does He mean so much more?”


What is it about this man on the road,

That others should flock to Him?

I ask, “Is it just the healing He does,

Or is it the words He speaks?”


What is it about that man on the cross,

That others despise Him so?

I ask, “Is He just the King of the Jews,

Or is He the Son of God?”

Psalm of Gratitude

Hear, O God of all nations,

Hear as we sing of your glory.

We praise you, O Lord.

Your river of grace overflows our banks.

In gratitude we sing to you.

In gratitude we praise you, O Lord.          Selah!

 



Though all life is not peaceful

Still we thank you for pockets of peace.

Though anxious thoughts press upon us

Still we know you are in ultimate control.

Though beset with problems at every turn

Still we praise you, our Rock, and our Redeemer.

Because of you we live,

We breathe,

We have our being.

Because of you our souls rejoice.       Selah!


Blessed are those

Who acknowledge their dependence

On the God of all nations.

May our gratitude rise to you

On the incense of our actions.

Are You the One

      (to the tune of Finlandia)
Are You the One, or shall we seek another?
Are You the One, or just a holy man?
How will we know, how we can love each other?
How can we now prepare ourselves for Thee?
O Lord, our God, the nations, ever warring,
Refuse to know what we, ourselves, can’t see,
How can we help the nations see their weakness
When all they think is “self“, and never Thee?


When You return, O Lord, in pow’r and Glory,
There’ll be no time to ask it then of Thee.
Are You the One, the One we’ve been expecting?
And how shall we prepare ourselves for Thee?
If you’re the One, we seek Thy tender mercies.
But, dare we ask, when we refuse to see,
When yet we know how sinful we are being;
When all we think is “self” and never Thee!

Prepare

A favorite song of this Advent season goes:

 

A Voice cries out,

prepare the way of the Lord.

Make straight the highway of our God."

 

 

John the Baptist cried out, "Repent! He is near!"

Two thousand years ago, most Jews believed His coming would transform the political situation by overthrowing oppression.  But, Christ arrived, desiring to transform US!  He came to free the prisoner ... not from jail, but from sin. He came to heal the brokenness ... not of bones, but of spirit. He came to change lives ... from self-centeredness to a focus on helping others. He cam to overthrow the oppression of the soul!

 

Does His advent still speak to today's world?  A resounding, YES!

Again, not politically, but as release from anything that binds us, keeping us from fullness of life.

 

We are called to "make straight all the crooked places." The nearness of God's reign still brings healing to broken lives. We are called to repent, and to stop waiting. Be God's transforming agent of healing in the world. The word "follow" is an active verb.

 

As Wm. Barclay wrote: "Keep us from everything that would make us difficult to live with today."

 

Prepare! He is coming! Watch for Him!

Surrender to the Silence

It's Ready!  It's available!!!
Check it out on
http://www.electiopublishing.com/index.php/bookstore#!/~/product/category=4758361&id=30408274

Windmills of Hope

          I love this landscape of the windmills along the sand dunes of California. The dunes look bleak, but the rail along the edge of the highway, and the windmills, speak of human habitation.
          I took the photo the week of my sister Bea's funeral. The bleak scene definitely fit my mood that day, yet the windmills reminded me to keep moving along. Those puffs of white in that great blue sky told me, God is indeed still evident, and is always watching over us.
          We are never so far from God's love that He will forget about us. And isn't that amazing? The God of the Universe is "there" ... in whatever situation we find ourselves. Not only is He present, but He also CARES!
          May you find joy and peace in His watchful love!

It's Coming!

Surrender to the Silence, the new book (of devotional poetry), will be here soon. I received word that the publishing date has been set: November 15th.


Surrender to the silence.

Listen to the pulse of wonder.

Diffuse the shadows of the darkness.

Life is more than merely living.

Yep, that says it! 

Hopefully what I write brings a "pulse of wonder," and "diffuses shadows" from your life.