Poem

Miss Kate let the five minute Friday word slip out a day or two early this week.  I was grateful for that.  It gave me moments in the busyness of my life to ponder a simple word.  Still.  We’ve pondered this word before which I wrote about as stillness.  As I pondered this word I found myself rejecting the idea of writing about being still, but seeking more after the idea of quietness.  And so I came to this poem Take the Quiet. 

Take the quiet

Take the quiet
a moment here and there

Take the quiet
to listen
to ponder a thing anew

If you take the time
Daily to read
To see history
Through the eyes of God

If you grab a moment
to consider the
creator of the world, and
all that he has done
for me and you.

You’ll find yourself
surprised at how
those moments add
life and vitality
to your life and
increase your faith.

Add to those moments
of pondering,
of reading God’s Word,
adding now conversation, to thank,
to praise, to confess,
and before you know it
A living relationship formed.

All it takes
Is to take the quiet
Taking a moment
to reflect, To remember,
to see something greater
than you thought possible.
And you will find yourself
seeing God and,
bringing stillness within.

What Does God Have to Say?

Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of he Holy One is insight.”

Psalm 46:10   “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

Mark 1:35 “And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.”

2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Romans 12:1-2 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. ² Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Purpose, so much depth hidden in that word.  I recently listened to a two books that talked about purpose.  One a fiction book, the other a faith based one.  I’ll link to them down below I think.   Very different styles, with a similiar take on it I think.  I find it interesting how such divergent books focused on having a purpose to hold.  Having this purpose gives a focus to life that nothing else really gives. 

Know your purpose
the litany entones.
If you know your purpose
the rest of your life will unfold.

In a story a gal
needs to discover
a way to beat back
A rather difficult mother.

Can she discover
a purpose to hold?
A end goal in mind
To combat a magic so bold?

She needs to not only think
but to gather her heart
It wasn’t enough
A role is just a part!

The other brings along
a samurai warrior
Impatient an apprentice
wants to run past the barrier.

The training so hard
The working it through
His master teaches
Life focus, not just work pursue.

Know your purpose
NOT YOUR goal
the master reminds
Purpose will bring control!

Purpose gives focus
requires more than thought.
The heart needs to engage
Or all is for naught.

The same goes with God
And the faith we live out.
Our purpose? To worship and
glorify God, us the devout.

Purpose affects the
very life that we live.
Does all that we do
show what we believe?

Scriptural Insight

This morning as we continued our journey to read through the New Testament as a family this year, we were reading in Matthew 13.  We’ve been inspired to read through the New Testament through Danika Cooley’s book Help Your Kids Learn and Love the Bible.  As we read through the parables Jesus used when teaching the crowds I kept thinking about how God set out to rescue his people.   How?  Jesus talked in parables, stories with meaning hidden within.  In a way I suppose you could say that his job was to rescue through stories. 

Kate gave us the word prompt Rescue for us to test our skills on. 

Rescue through Stories

In Matthew 13
parables told
Stories by Jesus
His words extolled.

A sower with seeds
a pathway, rocks and field.
From nothing but trouble
to various yield.

The disciples did wonder
why stories do tell?
Jesus responded,
This information might befell.

Listening, hear, or not.
Seeing, see, or not.
Parables tell, without telling.
Kingdom bound, perhaps befraught?

Good seed sown,
Secretly weeds brought in,
Collect them now,
or wait til harvest begin?

The smallest of seeds,
Grows a mighty tree
Like yeast that leavens
for a breadmaking spree?

A treasure, a pearl
What will you give?
A wealth untold
It’s worth all you have?

A net full of fish
Oh the wealth untold
Tossing the bad, and
Keeping the good yes Behold!

Can you listen?
Oh, can you see?
Jesus spoken to all
hidden mystery!

Listen … HEAR
Look … SEE
Don’t you hear it?
He’s calling to thee!

Hidden in stories
truth hidden well
but if time taken
This truth will swell.

Scripture Speaks

Matthew 13 has many words that speak.  Parables interwoven between words such as these: 

¹¹ He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. ¹² Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. ¹³ This is why I speak to them in parables:

¹⁴ In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:

Miss Kate has listed today’s Five Minute Friday word.  Honestly, I had hoped to do this last night but couldn’t squeeze it in.  Yesterday was hot and muggy so it was hard to get things done during the day.  The intense heat just made me sleepy and slow-minded.  So at night I did things outside when it was cooler.   It’s been a pretty good summer though with work, a good garden, laughter and good conversation.  Things are opened up again for the most part which means people are less desperate in their interactions with each other. Let’s see where rambly thoughts take me today.

Less Desparate

Sometimes when I look
at the world at large.
Seeing pain and suffering
As if I sit on a barge.

Like in the Olympics
in a river they sit
Affected by nothing
Just holding a glyph.

Not really affected
Observing the world.
The troubles are countless
So much to be healed.

I wonder at times,
just how do I show,
in these times of great troubles
A way out of woe?

I can pray this I know
But sometimes hollow feels
reaching out to God
Changes nothing I do.

I know it’s not empty
It goes not to a void
but sometimes more wanted
perhaps needed the word?

I wonder at this need
that’s floating inside
God-driven or just within
Busyness a place to hide?

I can’t heal Haiti,
I’ve been there before,
I can’t fix Afghanistan
Thousands there roar

I remember a conversation
with my mom this week
about the sameness between
Fanaticism and Fanatical.

I wonder how I show
my fanaticism for God
Without broaching into
fanatical bringing fear.

How does my devotion
to God (my fanaticism)
Lead to less desperate
measures in others?

This week at the foodbank
So busy it was
Not the normal people
Drop-ins did abound.

It makes me wonder
when things open are
Why more people coming
when less desperate should be?

Does it matter my efforts?
Do my prayers difference make?
This push to do more
Whose life is at stake?

I don’t know the answers
Struggle internal real
The tomb is now empty
That grave has no seal.

More to be said?

I’m tired.  I’m tired of feeling like in the end… does anything really matter?   The food we give out, people come back next week again (or a month later).   The need is unending around this whole world.   

Yesterday reading in Stranger on the Road to Emmaus (aff link) the author pointed out how people used to live for 100’s of years and in those years they actively pursued evil.  MOST turned their backs again God.   God preserved a remnant.  Over time the results of sin have led to shorter life spans, more sickness in people, and such like.  BUT that man’s desire to pursue evil remains undiminished.  

Today that feels so defeating.

I have to fight to remember this truism.  GOD HAS WON THE BATTLE. 

He has.

So someday, possibly way in the future, possibly tomorrow, since no one knows.  People will be less desperate.  Less desparate because either we will be of God, or we will permanently NOT be of God. Those who are of God won’t have to struggle against the desparate need of people cause God will have finished the battle that he’s already won. 

We need to remember this eh?