..............VALENTINE POEM............

Be my Valentine, Lord!

My heart, yours entire;

All that I hope for

And all I desire.

Be my first thought

When day has begun

And linger there always,

My treasure, Dear One

Be near to comfort,

Your presence, so sweet;

Teach me and guide me

My soul to complete.

Be the center of everything

Dear to my heart.

Indwell me, Divine Master,

And fill every part.

Be my object of devotion,

My reason to live,

To tell all the world

Of the love that you give.

YOU ARE

You are.....
the one thing needful,
my heart's desire,
my soul's longing
my body's craving.

You are.....
my ever-waking thought,
my meditation,
my song's theme,
my story's happy ending,
my peaceful sleep.

You are.....
heaven's glory,
earth's treasure,
yesterday's memory,
today's confidence,
and tomorrow's hope.

You are.....
love's reward,
passion's prize,
life's goal.

SENSES

My eyes shall see what my heart has known,
when I behold his face
and I gaze into the eyes of love
that saw my sin and loved me still.

My hands shall reach
and hold and feel
the nail-scared hands that carried sin
and paid the price that I might live.

My ears shall hear in a different way
the sweet sounds of heavens air
and peace like waves upon the shore
shall wash away my cares.

My nose shall smell the sweet incense
of prayers of all the saints
as we gather round the throne of God
to praise his holy name.

My mouth shall taste the wine of heaven
that he promised to share with all
who long for him and live for him
and love not their life, but  him.


Revelation 21:5a   And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.

The Creative Process

Start with an empty page,
a blank canvas,
a collection of data,
a pile of materials,
time,
a waiting face,
expectancy.

Yielding to the hand that guides,
not knowing the destination,
but, simply obeying the call,
to be ready.

Chosen for a specific task,
that flows from the heart,
driven by an insatiable desire,
a Divine spark,
compelled to shape and mold,
God-inspired.

Watching as the beauty unfolds,
feeling so alive,
giving thanks to God for,
the creative process.



Exodus 36:2   And Moses called Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whose heart the Lord had put wisdom, even every one whose heart stirred him up to come unto the work to do it.  (The work of building the tabernacle).

If You Seek God, You Will Find Him

I have seen  you, Lord;
Seen you in the sunset, seen you in the storm,
Seen you in the face of my newborn baby. 

I've seen you in my friend,
Seen you in your servant,
Seen you in your Word.

Most of all, though,
I've  seen you in my singing,
seen you in my prayers,
seen you in my quiet times,
seen you in my tears.


You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29;13)

Maybe

Maybe I will go away for a while.

Maybe then you will see the truth,
Maybe then you will know that I care.

Maybe if I am gone, you will have time to think.

Maybe you will remember the words I said,
Maybe you will even understand.

Maybe in time you will see things differently.

Maybe you will not think me so archaic,
Maybe you will be able to see with your heart.

And maybe, just  maybe, you will see me.

Prayer of Openness

Open my mind that I may know the truth,
discerning good and evil,
and choosing to walk in your holy way. 

Open my eyes that I may see,
your presence and power with me right here,
teaching and leading me to follow you.

Open my mouth that I may speak,
of your wonders and mighty acts,
sharing boldly with everyone I meet.

Open my hands that I may give freely,
from the abundance that you have given me,
blessing and sharing with others.

Open my heart that now belongs to you,
write upon it your words of eternal life,
that I may be a living testimony to thee.

JESUS IS

Have you ever heard one of those exhaustive lists of the names of Jesus?  Every time I hear one the Holy Spirit rises up in me and I feel like 'shoutin'.  The preacher starts in Genesis and goes all the way to Revelation speaking the names used to describe Jesus in the Bible.  This week in our Tuesday morning Bible study we started a study of the book of Hebrews.  One of our exercises was to list all the descriptions of Jesus found in Chapter one.  It is quite an impressive list that the writer of Hebrews gives us to establish the supremacy of Jesus over the angels.  In Hebrews 1: 1-14 we read that Jesus is:

•  God's son
• Heir of all things
• The one who made the worlds
• The brightness of God's glory
• The express image of God's person
• The one who upholds all things
• The one who purged our sins
• The one who sits at the right hand of the Majesty on high
• The one who laid the foundations of the earth
• The one who made the heavens
• The one who remains, who is the same, and shall not fail 

Continuing through the book of Hebrews we find other descriptions of who Jesus is.

• In Chapter 2 - He is the Captain of their salvation
• In Chapter 3 - He is the Apostle and High Priest of our profession
• In Chapter 8 - He is the Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle
• In Chapter 9 - He is the Mediator of the new testament
• In Chapter 12 - He is the Author and Finisher of our faith
• In Chapter 13 - He is the Great Shepherd of the sheep

Don't you just love lists; bullet points that make things clear and concise.  We make shopping lists, to-do lists and we use them for evaluation purposes or in making decisions.  A list can be a useful tool.  I felt that it would be beneficial to make my own list of names for Jesus.  Of course, my list is not all inclusive, but simply descriptions of Jesus that I could recall from memory.  Sweet words because it is like worship, yet powerful because of what they represent.  So here goes!  Jesus is:

• The Alpha and Omega
• The Beginning and the End
• Creator
• Provider
• The I AM
• The Sacrificial Lamb
• The Captain of the Host
• The Bread of Heaven
• The Living Water
• Savior
• Redeemer
• Friend of the Sinner
• The Great Physician
• One like a Son of Man
• The Word of Life
• The Way, the Truth, and the Life
• The Light of the world
• Everlasting Lord
• Eternal God
• Begotten, not made
• The Maker of heaven and earth
• The Lord God
• The Suffering Servant
• The One who takes away the sins of the world
• The only Hope of mankind
• The First born from the dead
• The Head of the church
• The soon and coming King
• The Bridegroom
• The Lion of Judah
• The Lamb of God
• Jesus, He  is  Jesus

The Beautiful Sleep

Beautiful sleep, blessed sleep
covers tight around my chin
wrapped in warmth
enveloped in quiet
inhale, now exhale
exhaustion gives way
drifting
afloat on the sea of unconsciousness
like a babe
no worries or fear
escape into nothingness
sweet dreams
full of people; babies, and family and friends.

Toss and turn and twist
fluff the pillow
throw off the covers
no comfort in this bed
the clock shrieks the time
waiting, waiting
longing for the sleep that never comes
and then to wake with irritation
and envy
for those who sleep
the beautiful sleep.

Proverbs 3:24 
When you lie down, you will not be afraid; When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

Psalm 4: 8
In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for thou alone, O Lord, dost make me to dwell in safety.

Sin is Ugly

Sin is ugly;

no matter who wears it.

It's our fleshly garment,

our fatal flaw,

our parental curse;

ugly, marred, destructive,

none can contain it,

like cancer,

it spreads its dark fingers

where we cannot see.

It makes us do the unspeakable.

I thought I could out-smart it,

that it wouldn't get me.

But, I was wrong;

none can escape it's deathly grip.

And now, whenever I see it,

it makes me sad,

it hurts,

because I've seen what could have been

and I weep for what is lost

and I pray,

God help us!

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Romans 6:23

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

2 Corinthians 5:21