Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Changes

Changes
And the possibility for change
Are always with us
And yet it catches me by surprise so often
As I live in this breath
And not yet the next
Lord, You warn us of some things to be
And yet there is much You leave a surprise
As I embrace this joy called life

Sunday, August 14, 2016

Summer of Learning

A summer of learning
(But what am I learning?)
Instagram
Twitter
Watching others set up a website
Questioning
How?
Why?
What should we be doing?
(So really--what am I learning?)
Even as I write
A little bit each morning
Getting ready to tackle a website
Of my own
To learn how it works
How it pulls together
Into a finished product
Expressing a group or a person
For the community to see

Thursday, August 11, 2016

Stories

Stories bubble up
From the depths of the Bible
Stories of people following the Lord
And finding freedom
Stories are found in the most unexpected places 
As the gospel moves out
Into the lives of real people
Willing to embrace the freedom found in God
And so a Samaritan woman 
Tells the good news to the people
Of Sychar, her city
And a band of brothers
Answer a call to Macedonia
Where they meet a band of sisters
By the river in Philippi
Ready to answer the call to believe
And to work in utter freedom
In the kingdom of God
Stories bubble up
And we see more of our Father's heart

Friday, August 5, 2016

Words

It's all so tentative 
This putting words on paper
To take a story of worth and power
And find the words that will convey it
With grace
Our Lord came to earth
With an end in mind
And his purpose was achieved 
So now we go and tell
All who will hear
With whatever words
Share this truth

Sunday, July 31, 2016

Let Me Tell You a Love Story

A man on a journey who stops at a well
Where he meets a woman
Equals a love story

This plot saw Isaac married to Rebekah
Even though Isaac never visited that well
This plot saw Jacob married to Rachel
And this plot saw Moses married to Zipporah
A love story to make the little ones giggle
And the older ones settle in to listen
The motif is trusted
For it takes us back to our roots
To our ancestors
Even for every one of us in the church
These are our roots

A traveling man, a well and a woman
Equals a love story of profound importance

And so a day came when Jesus was traveling
From Galilee in the north
To Judea in the south
And he had to pass through Samaria
He and his disciples arrived at Sychar
While his disciples went into town
To find food
Jesus rested by the well
In the heat of the day
For he was tired and
The well was a quiet place
Until a woman came along for water
And found a traveler 

But wait, that's the signal for a love story
A love story

Don't you remember who this woman is
She has had five husbands
And her present man isn't married to her
This cannot be a love story!

And yet as she came to the well
Jesus spoke to her asking for a drink of water
Water
That sparkling, glittering liquid 
That quenches thirst

Will you give me some water?

Why are you speaking to me?

If you asked me, I could give you living water
And you'd never be thirsty again

But you have nothing with which to get 
The water

But I give living water
With it you would never thirst again

Their conversation moved onto worship
And she learned of worship
In spirit and in truth
Then she learned of the Messiah
That he was there with her

And through it all
One truth radiated out for her
God loved her
And that truth grew into hope
God loved her and her people
And that grew into joy
So she went back to the city
To bring them to Jesus 
That everyone could be a part of
This greatest love story 
Of all time

Saturday, July 23, 2016

Rose Belle

Rising early to prepare for the day?
Only those close by know if this is true, but
Sunshine and summer heat
Excitement building and
Busy details as
Everything is finalized for the wedding
Love plays a role as
Lives are joined together before
Everyone who has come to celebrate

Stories

Short stories
Family stories
Stories to help a little girl read
Simple stories
Adventure stories
Taking us out on the wind and waves