psalm 10

psalm 10

and even if the sun refused to rise

and even if the darkness closed in thick and heavy

and even if I could not count a friend among the living

and even if I wandered long with no direction

and even if I lost my words

my soul would yet rejoice

my heart would elevate in praise

You are worthy, more than worthy

greater still than “even if"

all in the waiting

I said to my soul, be still, and wait without hope

For hope would be hope for the wrong thing; 

wait without love

For love would be love of the wrong thing; 

there is yet faith

But the faith and the love and the hope are all in the waiting.

Wait without thought, for you are not ready for thought. 

So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness, the dancing.

T.S. Eliot

One year ago, it was not the Saturday of waiting

for the glory of Easter Sunday, no

that day of rejoicing had come

and gone, weeks before

last year today was a Friday

a different day of waiting

for what we knew would come

but could never prepare for

and by Saturday, she was

simply no longer here

grief is sticky, having 

it's way with me

there is no calendar

for mourning

no limit to tears

I wait for Sunday

in the stillness with Sandy

 

God's sense of humour

Our bathroom renovation continues, and with it dust, ongoing mess and a sense of upheaval.

Once finished we will have the room I have dreamed of for years.

Soon we won't be here to live in it.

I could almost see our God winking and snickering when I read the following in an email I received today about our potential mission placement:

"We make use of outside bathroom facilities and cook over charcoal and gas." 

Outside bathroom facilities?  There is no doubt this is His sense of humour, so I will laugh with Him and rejoice in the life He chooses for us.

 

hot days growing shorter

a large moon is rising as day's light begins to fade

earlier and earlier each day

the pattern speaks of Autumn

but temperatures sizzle 

finally announcing Summer

If I listen, I think I hear the corn plants

singing as their ears grow

they have waited long for this

as have I

so even as sweat drips

and heat prickles my skin

I will rejoice and not complain

soaking in the warmth

knowing the long dark months

are soon to come

 

birthday thoughts

as of today

I have drawn breath on this earth

for fifty-seven years

for the first forty-three of those years

I did not acknowledged the Lord's presence

I admit to often wondering 

how different the years could have been

if my eyes had been open

what blessings did I forfeit?

yet I am saying no to regret

knowing that all the while

I did not walk with Jesus

He still walked right beside me

I never was, and never will be

out of His sight

He knew me

shaped me

chose me

as His beloved

for that and more

I am ever thankful

I will rejoice

and in the stillness of this moment

listen as He sings a happy birthday song to me

I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.
    Before you were born I set you apart
Jeremiah 1:5a NLT

 

New steps

 

Rejoice in what has gone before

it made us who we are

but without looking back

take the new steps before you

following no footprints but His

 

Sunset to sunrise

The sun sets to end a year

Tonight we gather 

to laugh, weep, pray 

and rejoice in all that He has done

In the morning the sun will rise

the dawn of another year

May we live each new moment

to bring glory to His name

 

Birthday word

This is the gift my Father spoke into my heart this morning:

I know things you will never know

things you will never understand

I, yes I alone have brought you to this day

Happy birthday, child.

Choose life.  Choose joy.

Choose to trust that My plans are indeed good plans.

Your grateful heart is a gift to Me.

I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I'll listen. When you come looking for me, you'll find me. Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I'll make sure you won't be disappointed. Jeremiah 29:11-13 The Message

This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.  Psalm 118:24 NKJV

Free indeed

So if the Son liberates you

[makes you free men],

then you are really

and unquestionably free.

John 8:36 Amplified

Stopping this morning to rejoice in Who He Is

with Deidra and the chorus of awe

 

Christmas tears

It has been an Advent of searching and finding and rejoicing in His love.  Tonight we will gather to join hands and hearts and sing of His miraculous birth.

But today, as I wait, I am awash in tears.  I am reminded that the same thing happened to me last year, so I share the words I posted, true then, true now...

Having time to ponder the glory of His coming, into a world as stark as this --

Yet come He did, and come again He will, not as a child but as our King. Yes, I rejoice in the wonder of His promises and the completeness of His gift, indeed my praises rise.

Still today my heart is troubled for those who do not recognize His birth or hope for His return; those who cannot see the light behind the clouds. Tears flow as my spirit aches, a groaning deep, an exhalation of sighs, every breath a prayer.

Lord, may they know You.

The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. John 1:9-10 NIV

 

Rejoicing in the season

It is a time of baking, candy making, gift wrapping and ribbon tying.
Thinking of the One Who came.
Tree lights sparkle, reflect in glass angels, small nativity scenes, patridges, owls and doves.
Rejoicing in the One Who Is here.
I place my gift for Him beneath the tree, an emptiness for Him to fill.
Waiting for the One Who will come again.


 

More, much more

Seeking nourishment
a bit to nibble
crumbs
instead You spread
upon my table
a lavish feast

no scant drops
of water

You poured

the sweetest of wines

I needed shelter
from winds, rain
prairie snow
four walls
to make a home
"not just that"
You said
by giving us
rooms to spare
and acres of green

Yes, I would have

rejoiced

in cottons, coarse wool

practical clothing

but You've chosen

the finest fibres

of cashmere

wrapping me soft

in the riches of Your love.

God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us. 
Ephesians 3:20 The Message

My response to the cashmere writing project at T. S. Poetry Press

 

Ready to run...

L. L. Barkat writes here about a poetry seminar held last weekend at the writer's retreat at Laity Lodge.  Please click over to read her post and that will explain the following prompt for Random Acts of Poetry.

Make a bowl of fortunes to use as triggers. You can copy phrases from another poet’s work or perhaps from songs, to make your fortunes.

I decided I would use the verses from Psalm 19 and a random number generator.  The computer selected verse 5:

It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. Psalm 19:5 NIV

Here is what it triggered:

Impatient at the gate
many times
having trod this course
victory predicted
assured, yet delayed

The bride
broken, bruised
scrubbing stains
endlessly
impatient at the gate

Not time, not time
rejoicing waits

Linking to T. S. Poetry Press Facebook page

Stranger

Voice of the enemy
like old vinyl, scratched
caught in a groove
screeches endless
repetitions

You do not belong

It sneaks in
through cracks
leaves trails of shame
muffles truth
creates barriers

I step away from others
as it knocks me down
and comes in
for the kill

You do not belong
you are different, odd
not like the rest

Yet a voice
wiser, clearer
rises in perfect pitch

A harmonious Yes

You do not belong
for you are set apart
a stranger here
by My design

Rejoice
alien, child of Mine
Rejoice
Stranger by HisFireFly


 
Joining with the other warriors, sharing poems prompted by the word stranger

 and also sharing with others out loud at Nancy's a Little Somethin'

Summer things

I'm singing praise and recounting His goodness in the things of summer over at The Everyday Testimony Project today.  Come join me here

Praising His goodness!

To many of you living in warmer climates this may seem a bit delayed, but today, here in Manitoba,  I rejoice to see the fulfillment of God’s promise of Spring....

I'm rejoicing and thanking Him for Who He Is over at The Everyday Testimony Project today.

Come join us HERE to read more and let your praises resound.

Incomplete

We are artists here.  Writers, painters, photographers.
There is a drive to create deposited within us by the One Who created all.
We hold our works in progress tenderly, seeds in our hands, in our hearts.
At times we move too quickly, impatient to see the end result.
More often, we are slow, afraid to move, build, breathe, lest we make a mistake.
Fear builds fences, gates, walls of stone, prisons.

We too are works in progress,  in the Father's hand, clay on His potter's wheel
for He, even He, takes time and care to perfect that which He creates
He is jealous for His glory and will not share it, so that He alone is the Perfector

What we shape is incomplete, by His design
we are not meant to finish the work
but in submission, in surrender, bend to His plan

So I rejoice with the others here in the imperfection of our works
as offerings of worship
and the fire that drives us on.

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong 
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 NIV

Stop by Emily's to join us, the imperfect


Jamming with Bonnie today about perfectionism

Change is evident

For the duration of the long winter the view from our windows was static; snow blanketed everything and our lives appeared in black and white.  The months from October to May at times seem endless.  The mind holds on and remembers what the heart sometimes forgets;  Spring does come again.  Colour returns.

Though damp from rain, the grass is turning green.  The falling sun sets the sky ablaze.  It won't be long before the first wild flowers appear, johnny jump-ups pushing their way into the light of a new season.

My heartbeat quickens as I rejoice in all He has created to surround us, as I take in the beauty of each moment.  I open windows to the scent of new and breathe Him.

He made the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down.

 Psalm 104:19 NIV

Snaps of joy

This week Bonnie asked us to share a photo journey of joy.  There is so much.  Yes, everything that surrounds me.  For are we not exhorted:

Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Philippians 4:4 NLT

So for the road He sets before me

and the one He chose to walk beside me

for the generations that will follow
there is joy!

For expressions of His unconditional love

the softness of His touch

His glory both fragile

and majestic
I give thanks and rejoice.

For time to meditate on Who He Is

in scenes of silent beauty

that lead me back to all that is important
I rejoice.  Joy, indeed.  Unspeakable joy!




Jamming with Bonnie today - come join us HERE