Another Ending

Another month is ending

Even as the year still feels brand new

How does time speed up like this

As I get older?

And yet the constant through it all

Is you, Lord

Whether I am out walking in the rain

Or meeting with others to discuss websites

Making dinner for two

Or planning a party to launch a book

Through it all

You are the only constant guaranteed

And, Lord, that allows my happiness

Knowing I can never lose You

Connections

A letter

A phone call and

Memories come rushing back

Of years past and moments in time

When the people in another place

Were part of our story

And yet our lives have continued

Out of sight of each other

You, Lord, bring people together

For a time

Or a moment

Only to change it all again

Another day

But the memories remain

Buried under the rush of now

Joy Surfaces

The relentless movement of time

Can overwhelm

Until a spark of joy finds its way

To the surface

And a smile lights up life

From the inside

And You, Lord, provide that joy

As I remember

This is all a gift from You

A Walk

A walk in the woods

With visitors as the spring flowers

Awake and emerge

From the cold ground of winter

To brighten the wilderness

He Is Risen

Hallelujah! The dead has

Escaped the grave

In triumph

Set free by the power of God

Risen to glory

In the heavenly places

Seated on the throne

Eternally God

Never again facing death

The Exodus (Part 4)

Moses stepped into the story

When he left the palace

To see his own people

But death followed him

As anger erupted in his bid to see justice done

And death became his response to mistreatment

But secrets don't stay hidden

And he fled to Midian and a new life

As a shepherd

The Exodus (Part 3)

Lord, You work slowly

When You set in place

A shift of massive proportions

And so Moses grew into his calling

One simple breath at a time

Eighty years in Egypt as prince

And in Midian as the tender of sheep

But each piece has its place

In the story of You, Lord

Setting Your people free

From the tyranny of oppression

The Exodus (Part 2)

Moses faced death from the beginning

A baby boy born under an evil law

That demanded his death

Yet You formed a coalition to keep him

Alive and thriving

His parents kept him quiet for three months

Before they released him to Your care on the Nile

Where a royal princess stepped in

To protect him as her own son

And so the baby sent to release a nation

Grew up in the enemy palace

Hopes

The dreams spark from the heart

Without me seeing them coming

They dwell in my imagination

For a time

Intense, vivid--so real

And then are replaced by another

Yet over time each returns 

With more clarity

And the ongoing ability

To make my heart soar

Lord, if it's all one dream from You

There are many pieces waiting

To be connected into one reality

The Exodus (Part 1)

Israel found themselves in misery

As life in Egypt spiralled down into slavery

A nation within a nation

Growing day by day in strength

Putting fear into the hearts of rulers

Who retaliated with harshness

Until the cry went up to You, Lord

And help was born in the midst of distress

A tiny little baby who would show 

The power of God

Spring

Drip, splatter, drip

As the wind blows through the rain

Landing on the roof of the house

Early this morning as I wake

To face a new spring day

Moving Forward

A party for April 1st

To launch my first book

A celebration of choosing

A direction for life and work

Even as new directions spring up

Before me

Waiting to be explored

That would allow me to invest in people

--As the proverb says

If you want to go fast go alone

But if you want to go far go together

Thank You, Lord, that ways

Are opening up for us to go together

Time Off

A leisurely day off

With a quiet morning at home

Before we both walked to the university

To drink a cup of tea

Overlooking the campus

Enjoying time together

Before we simply went home again

Enjoying crocuses in gardens

And the antics of squirrels in the park

Heart

Learning to follow my heart

Is a slow process

Because somehow my brain

And the will of others around me

Seem to work together

To discourage it

Yet I will continue

Since my Lord has given me

A new heart

By which to navigate this life

Discussion

How to begin a business

With friends?

The question has been following me

For quite awhile

But now the conversation

Has begun

And so we can follow it

To see where it will lead

Song

To sing a note

And joy wells up

Releasing music around me

And the smile begins

Inside

Jamie

Just

A young

Man

Inspired to live

Extraordinary

Happy birthday!

Words In The Morning

The early morning fills with words

Even as I'm enjoying the quiet

And so I am thankful for the gift

Of words on paper

So much time is spent ensuring

We know how to read and write

And so much of life opens up

When we can both interpret

Lines scratched on paper

And keep our thoughts handy

For future reference

Book Launch

Book release becomes

Official with a party

On Friday, April 1st at First Baptist London

Keep on living through the process

Learning what is involved

Announce the book and the event

Until I'm comfortable with doing publicity

Now that I am a writer

Currently

Honing my skills for launching future books

Friendship

Quiet pauses and

Conversation over tea

With a kindred soul

New Habits

Letter writing has become

A new habit for me--

But that is only step one

As the goal is conversation

And so the waiting begins

As I wonder how many of the letters

Will be answered?

One letter and three phone calls

Have been the response so far

Which has been interesting

And so the conversation starters

Continue being written

One day and one letter at a time

The result is seriously

Adding up into a mountain

Of words shared with others

Andrew

Sixty years alive

Filling up the need to know

With noise and sparkle

Happy 60th Birthday Andrew!

Time To Think

One foot in front of the other

Taking me into a space of my own

So that my thoughts can soar with the birds

Or dig deep into my next project

Working with words

Requires time

Quiet

And monotonous doing

A long walk

A long bike ride

A long drive

A long swim

A long monotonous something

Opens the mind to answering questions

Or untangling pesky knots in the brain

Rooted

Home can encourage roots to grow

As time passes in one place

But is rooting

This digging deep for the strength to grow tall

Caused by place

Or by the people in that place?

And so can those who move frequently

Feel just as rooted 

When they're with family

Conversations

The introvert and conversations

Often don't go well together

If one of the persons involved

Prefers to speak non-stop

But a written conversation

Slows it down to a speed

That involves both

An ongoing dialogue

Balanced by paper and time

Writing

A key element involved with learning to write

Is simply to put words on paper

Daily

I've used the stream of consciousness approach

But now find a need to move outside

Just my own thoughts

And so my Mom's teaching about letter writing

Is resurfacing

And so begins a new process

Write to family and friends

To see if anyone is interested

In developing a conversation

Long distance

Return

My walk by the river

Is filled with returning sounds

As the robins and red winged blackbirds

Have arrived back

The rubber tips are back on

My walking sticks

As the ice and snow has disappeared

From the walkways

My light jacket is out

At least for a few days

As the sun warms our space

Into spring

Reading

The joy of reading

Grows over time

And this Thursday

I begin again to share that joy

With a little one

Who at six years old

Simply needs some time

One on one with an adult and books

Pinned

A book cover posted on Pinterest

A link to amazon.ca

Reality as an author draws closer

As I still await the arrival of 

My books to sell

And so it is time to move forward

To arrange a book launch

To officially present

My little mystery to others

Memories of Home

My brother posted photos

Of the old house

The one Dad built

And the memories replayed

In my mind

Trees, gardens, lying on the lawn

A bedroom overlooking the lake

[On a good day

A tiny piece of blue

Different from the sky

Could be seen over the house tops

And past the trees!]

The first place I ever had

A room of my own

(With a door that closes)

A place I could dream

Teaching

Teaching draws me again

As we have been asked to share 

Encouragement from 35 years of marriage

At a couples' event

And I have been asked to tutor

A young child in grade one

Which takes my memories back

To homeschooling

Toward Spring

The brilliant sunshine

Bouncing off snow

Has punctuated life this March

As winter and spring

Continue battling for place in our lives

Snow or melt

Overcast or sunshine that's

Beginning to hold heat

That radiates into our homes

Cosy sweaters are still wanted

But snowboots are being forgotten

At home more and more often

As the sun reaches through the

Snow piles to the very earth beneath

BFF

Best Friends Forever

Has become something to throw around 

So easily

But if the words are changed to 

Bought Free Forever

BFF becomes almost code for salvation

And the relationship standing we can have

With God

Through belief in Jesus Christ

And so also

The relationship standing we can have

With our spouse and with others in the church

Recap

A mystery on location in London, Canada

A journal of poetry

The Bible stories for vacation Bible school

A marriage seminar by a couple

Married more than thirty-five years

The list of books to write is growing

Book one is off the press this month

Book two is at the publisher's

Books three and four are still ideas

Waiting to be written 

But with confidence I can clearly say

"I am a writer."

Letter of Endorsement

The publisher has backed my book

With a letter of endorsement

And I'm awed by the encouragement

That has produced in me

And in Andrew

Feelings of anxiety have faded

For the moment

As the excitement returns

About a mystery novel

Published this month