opportunity knocked

no classes today

I was feeling useless

wasting time with nothing to do

though many were relishing free time

opportunity knocked

certainly not by circumstance

but design as we joined several others

riding via public transport

to the large city hospital

the wards were large

nothing close to privacy exists

I was almost embarrassed

to think of the richness

of our facilities at home

I gazed into eyes shining with pain

or fear, hollow above sunken cheeks

limbs stick like, lacking substance

we ministered side by side 

with the chaplains

encouraging new believers

praying for the sick

I helped one young man

who was sitting at his mother’s bedside

pray a prayer of surrender

to the Lord, releasing his old life

for new, reborn

angels were rejoicing today

we stopped for an ice cream cone

after the return trip home

the taste refreshing

but not nearly as sweet

as heaven’s salvation song

happy to be backed at Kelli's where the rhythms are all His

 

Did Mary know? Do I?



Image via Wikipedia

 

Did Mary know
when the angel came
what her surrender
would accomplish?

Then Mary said, Behold, I am the handmaiden of the Lord; let it be done to me according to what you have said. And the angel left her.  Luke 1:38 Amplified

Questions will remain unasked,
unanswered
not every stop will be marked
neatly on a map
I may not know the why
but must believe that the Who
can sort out the how
and my part
the simplest and most difficult
is to say "yes"

because nothing I can imagine
can compare
and all that is good, in me
is His

according to His Word
according to His will
let it be done to me
let it be done through me



Jamming with Bonnie and unwrapping Jesus

also joining the others imperfect but redeemed at Emily's

 

Paper Angels by Billy Coffey

I was blessed to receive an Advanced Readers Copy of Billy’s Coffey’s novel Paper Angels which releases today from Faith Words - Hachette Book Group.

I’ve been waiting excitedly to tell you about it.

Andy Sommerville might not have had the very best life one could imagine, but it was a life. When an unexpected turn left him the victim of a violent crime his quiet community was shaken. So was Andy.

When Elizabeth, a woman he assumes to be a counselor appears in his hospital room he finds himself forced to face significant memories and events of his life.

As he revisits these memories, we not only learn more about Andy but are invited to dig deeper into the journeys of those around him.

In the same way Snow Day wove the stories of many into one complete tale, in Paper Angels Billy Coffey shows us how many parts add up to more than the whole.

I felt as if I was sitting next to Billy, in a rocking chair, on his favorite spot on the porch, listening to him spin words into stories of truth.

This is a novel not to be missed. And while you’re at it, if you’ve never read Billy’s first novel Snow Day, pick up a copy and read it too! In fact, pick up extra copies of both to give away for Christmas.

You can follow Billy as he weaves truth and God’s love into tales of ordinary life on his blog at http://www.billycoffey.com/ and find more infor about his books at Faith Words.


 

I didn't fly alone...

It was going to be a long day of traveling. I had two flights ahead of me. I had selected aisle seats for a bit of extra legroom and to avoid feeling trapped. I was surprised at the number of people traveling so early on a Sunday morning and it seemed that many of them were going to be on this same plane.

I always pray for safe travel and for divine encounters that God arranges for His purposes, so I usually don’t hesitate to speak to strangers. As I located seat 23C I noticed a tiny, older woman already seated in the center seat of the row. I said a quiet “Hi” and she looked up at me with a friendly smile....

Read the rest of this story Here at Internet Cafe Devotions where I'm sharing about the company of strangers.