The Song of the Hopeful

When Joy found me,

I ran to greet her.

When Sarah sang for me;

I danced for Liberty.

The sound of

Children’s voices-

Arise to heal our land.

For every empty promise,

The bell of freedom rang.

In towns and inner city,

The crowds of hopeful

Come.

Not in the pretty or

The witty,

But the Cross of God’s

Own Son.

Says the Poet....

The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.  God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring. Acts 17:24-28

Nearer than a heartbeat,

Sovereign as a breath,

Closer than a newborn

Is the eaglet in her nest.

Higher than a mountain.

Stronger than a surge

Faithful is the courage

of the pinion of this bird!

Soar with wings like Eagles,

Seek until you rest.

Live and Move from Being,

Says the Poet to the blessed.

Yellow Rose

Bright,

Beautiful,

Fragrant,

Yellow

Rose.

Softly I

Reach Out

 to you,

As to

not prick

Myself

to bleed.

Thorns

cover

Your thick

 stem.

I suppose to

Protect

yourself

From me.

 I suppose

To isolate

 yourself

in beauty.

I, longing

To come closer

And hold you

In the palm of

my hand.

And you,

Longing to

Be-free-

Just as
I am.

Bright,

Beautiful,

Fragrant,

Yellow rose.

In Joy-

I turn my

Head.

The

Fragrance

Of a

Simple

Breath.

The thorns

In which

We bled.

The Little Children

 He called a little child, whom he placed among them. And He said: "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:2

I am not a parent, but I have the privilege, honor, and challenge of being a preschool teacher to little children.  I call my job, the furnace of transformation.  Children are like a mirror, revealing parts of yourself you would rather not see.  Children are uncensored.  They will say and do whatever comes to mind.  Children are in touch with their emotions no matter how strong. 

The best parts of children are that they are carefree, they are open, they are responsive, they are receptive, and for the most part they are engaging and happy. I call children little “Spirit-beings”. At times, you can get a sense of direction if you listen to children because children are present and live in the moment.

As Adults, we have a lot to learn from children in our spiritual lives.  God values innocence, vulnerability and pure-heartedness.  Since, He is our Heavenly father; He wants us to be open, responsive and receptive to His presence and His Word.

He wants us to be present to others and experience divine moments as they come to us.

He wants us to engage in our surroundings, and to be in touch with our emotions.

There are some qualities that children have, I believe we should never outgrow.

Maturity grows us up in Love and makes us see beyond ourselves to others needs, but let us not
loose childlike wonder and trust in a God who fearfully and wonderfully made us.

Be My Light

Be my light

When darkness

Closes in.

Shine it bright,

Let rays

Softly in.

In the night,

When weakness

Folds me in.

Be My light

To shoulder

Burdens.

Be my song

To lift me

Up when

Light grows

Dim.

Hope along,

The cry

For souls

To win.

Message in a Bottle!

“The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves.  He will take great delight in you; 

He will rejoice over you with singing.”  Zephaniah 3:17

God is like a Father, who delights in His children.  How much we need to know the delight of a Heavenly Father. 

I was praying tonight with my husband, and God brought to mind a summer when I was longing for adventure and I decided I was going to send out a few messages in a bottle. 

So, I got some bottles with corks and I filled them with God’s Word.  I believe one of the verses was 

from John 3:16-"For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life!" 

With my messages in a bottle in hand,  I went out to an Island and tried to secretly cast them into the water.

I was on a mission, and I did it!  Can’t remember if it felt adventurous or not, but tonight I was reminded that God delighted in me!

He delights in the small and funny things that we do, because we are His children.  I like to envision God with a smile on his face, and laughing.  We think no one is watching, but we have His full attention, even in our secret missions!

The Joy of the Lord is My strength!

“The Joy of the Lord is my strength!”

(Nehemiah 8:10)

We need Joy!  The Joy of the Lord is our strength.  I had a dream last night that I was praying for Joy.  Joy is a taste of heaven coming to earth.  There is strength in Joy.   Joy is an overcoming quality of the heart.  When we are in Joy we feel strong and the wind of our sails reach harbor. 

Say, “The Joy of the Lord is my strength” out loud to yourself, your coworkers, and your family members.  Let the power of God’s spoken Word take effect in your life. 

Don’t let joyless living be your mantra.  Activate Joy in your life.  Pursue it.  It’s not always easy to experience Joy.  It can be elusive.  Take lessons from children.  The older we get the harder we have to fight for Joy to be predominant in our life. 

Joy is strength- Joy is love - Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls. She gives most who gives with Joy.  Mother Teresa

Pray for Joy.  Pray for the Fruits of the Spirit to be active in your life.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Galatians 5:22-23

Amen.