Eschew/Renew

We sketch our lives in
Invisible ink on these walls
Of air, earth, fire, flesh;
We pass like roses, beauty,
Only present a short while.
Our hands busy, selves,
Creating foundations for
Futures never ours,
Generations we offer
Our best gifts, accomplishments.
Now, we sing against
Doubt, fear, insecurity –
Fighting shadow blight
Where the fruit will flourish, brave,
In gardens of delight, saved
From degradations,
We erase with consistent
Labor over years
Paying in earnest, never
Letting faith, hope, slip away.
Love, our guiding light
Though we fade in brightest glare,
Almost completely
Unknown, contributing hearts
To lives, we wish to see free.
Words cannot bring
Every dream into being,
But speaking, a tool,
Purpose-built to encourage
Change within lives reached, inspired.
Plentiful, we, examples
Scattered over time, what minds
Mend, creating more sublime,
Love, part an art, taught hands-on
Driving history toward grace
Still, counting every life, face,
A precious gift to embrace,
With confidence, each person
Has meaning, purpose, reason,
Position in time and space.

Heart/Soul

Caesurae

Salute to those
who have traveled
with me.
I hope you
enjoy whatever
journeys you
undertake.
Sometimes,
what we hope
never appears
and we fail
to understand.
I am quiet;
so be you
and find
your best true.

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I did my Creativity Project for about a year and a half on Chronicles and have done it about the same here.

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WORDs Worth

It all began with The Word,
And the life I live
Began with words, as well.
Nothing
I learned came without
Lettered meaning.

Each day, happily,
Brought more words,
Greater understanding.
It soon became my lot
To gather and arrange
Words
To transmit to others
What intelligence
Allotted me.

WordSmithing
Is not easy
And sometimes
The messages that found
Purchase in my mind
Had little validity
For others.

Still,
I honored what
Was given,
Set it down.

Words always –
Abound.

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The second poem here was a set of paragraphs in my journal today. Often my prose is poetic. Is yours? As a prompt, take something you have written in one form and transform it into another.

Adding Up

Did you stop to hear the bird sing,
See the beauty of a rose,
Wonder at the singularity of humans,
Have your face licked by a dog?
Do you know with these things
Beloved, God pours out His love?
He counts you precious treasure
And has filled life with His riches,
You are the child He smiles upon
Be confident in the Savior’s heart
You exist with infinite worth.

It Is Better…

I will put a little different spin on this, but the quote is: “It is better to burn out than to fade away.”

My thoughts run like this, if we belong to Jesus, we are candles burning that point toward the Savior. Often we suffer depression, grief, mental anguish, physical pain, existential loss, all the things that occur when living in the world.

Even though we are God’s children, we live here like everyone. Christ in His wisdom put us here to exemplify the depths of His love. He has not abandoned us. Within us burns God’s love; the Holy Spirit lives in us.

We may come to places too terrible to bear, pain that overwhelms us, desertion by those we love. Even so, we can abide in the hope given in Christ Jesus that we have an eternity that will outshine any difficult circumstance we encounter here. Life on Earth is only a beginning, and the promise of Heaven will exceed all our hopes and dreams.

Those who do not have the hope of eternity with Jesus will fade away. As with all that death touches, these will turn to dust.

But, the living, hope, there is an opportunity to assure eternal destinations. It is not God’s desire that any should perish. Jesus came that all might have life and it more abundantly. He took our sins to the cross and died in our stead. Jesus arose in victory. If we believe in Christ and ask Him to take charge of us, He will, and we will not see the second death but will spend forever with the Lord and His saints.

It is only a small thing that we endure, for we often receive miracles. Oh, what wonder to know Jesus. Burn bright, be a light.