A Net in Time

Curriculum and book reviews, faith, homeschooling and more!

poetry

Some will come

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This morning in church we had our monthly communion service.  Pastor Luke was clear about who should, and who should not take part. Have faith in God and his redeeming work, come to the table.  Lack faith stay put in your seat.  As I’ve been mucking about this afternoon wondering if I’d ever come up with something for Miss Kate’s word prompt, I thought perhaps this might be hold the answer for me?   Some will come, others will not. 

Balancing scales with text some will come

Some Will Come

Twixt gardening, extra work
and a busy, yet foggy mind
the word some left me hanging
wondering if this week is
one I’d have to skip.
Tired this morning I was
tempted to church not
to make, but hubby was eager
so off we went.

Yesterday see,
left us both feeling discouraged.
Projects undertaken, but
not completed. Feels a bit
the bummer you know?
And when weird dreams in the
night follow, it leaves
a foggy, befuddled brain.

Youth pastor Luke talked
to us about the words
Law and Word as found
throughout the book of James.
Speaking to how the
gospel is found in James
in the use of these two words.

He tied that in with
communion, the Lord’s supper,
if you will.
And how God’s grace
allows us to come.
but some shouldn’t come
because they won’t
acknowledge God’s grace
in their lives.

And for those some who
will come, we do see God’s
grace so evident in our lives,
in his forgiveness of our
deep wrongdoing.
but for those
some who won’t come, they
should stay in place, and
contemplate the word, and
the law, and how it showcases
the good news found within
the book of James.

Sermon in a nutshell

The word is God’s word, his truth
imparted to us, that is
implanted in our hearts, so that
we can be doers of the word.
The law is a perfect thing,
that brings us liberty, and comes
to us from the King of Kings,
and let’s us find rest in the
freedom of forgiveness.

That’s the good news you know?
Some of us will come, and
Some of us won’t. Will you be
one to stay and ponder? To see
the good news of James for the first
time? And then come, be one who will
come and share the table, with
others who’ve seen the same truth?

We can talk if you’d like. 🙂

It’s Almost time

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Five minute Friday word prompt today is Almost.  Though not as many people participate as in times gone past, most people who join in write posts worth reading.  Even better most (but not all) make it very easy to comment as well.   Last words spoken at work today led to the title of today’s poem “It’s Almost Time.”

it's almost time, text with picture of hour glass

It’s Almost Time

“Almost time”
a voice quietly says
“time for you to go
home and rest that weary head”.

I smiled, looking behind
a manager’s face
smiling encouragement
as I climb down the ladder.

This week has felt
long, today even more so,
battling a sore back
and remnants of
nightmares crashing in my head.

After work I stopped
at a friend’s house,
she took one look at me
and offered up a hug.

Sometimes, even when you
aren’t a hugger, leaning into
a hug, is indeed
the best thing ever.

We chatted a bit about
this and that.
Her parents have struggles,
the family pitches in,
but things will be hard.

but you know this?
her parents believe
that God is real.

Many in her family
are the same, seeing
the reality of God, and
then living that reality out.

Hard doesn’t stop
the people of God.
We still do what
needs to be done.

Whether it’s baking
cookies to bring smiles
to co-worker faces.

Or caring for parents
when the system lets them down
or praying for loved one
(and their loved ones) when
distance separates.

for we know this,
it’s almost time,
not quite there yet
(for obvious reasons)

but it’s almost time
for Christ to return
Wars, rumours of wars,
natural calamities, and more

the signs are there,
and in the twinkling of an eye,
Christ will appear
in the clouds before us.

So though a weak
might be hard with
physical and mental
strain, it doesn’t stop
the reality.

One must keep on
keeping on, until
the Lord comes
in all his glory.

It’s almost time.

gray scale photography of clock near trees
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

God speaks to us

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18

16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Matthew 6 selected verses

4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.

26 “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 

A fact of life

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Miss Kate threw out the word prompt Lonely today.  Loneliness is often a fact of life, one that people need to deal with sometimes on a daily basis.  Too often individuals fail to see the one who can get them through bouts of loneliness.  This poem speaks to that.    I’ve spoken on this word in the past with the poem, If only the lonely. 

loneliness, a fact of life. Image of sad lady looking out a window

A fact of life

loneliness is a fact
of life, sometimes filling a day
And sometimes disappearing
into the woodwork not to be
seen for the immediate future.

Being alone, lost in a crowd,
a workplace, a school, is not
the same as loneliness.

Loneliness, in my mind’s eye,
is a feeling
within of having no
one, not a single person
available who gives a rip
about your existence.

A feeling that persists
despite knowing that the
truth (that people really
do care) is not the same
as feeling.

One can feel lonely at a family
gathering, filled with laughter
and reminiscing.
Lonely, singing before a crowd
that sings along with you.
it’s an emptiness sitting
staunchly within

creating anger, desperation,
tears, sadness, and
and sense that nothing
really ever matters.

Fighting against loneliness
I’ve learned, there is only one
cure.
turning to one who is bigger
than myself/

(not my hubby and he
no longer is since he’s lost
almost a whole person now)

though the hubby helps
so much more than he knows
but he’s not bigger than
me, no person is.
but he often shows me
the spirit that is bigger
than me in his actions, care
and concern.

Who is bigger than me?
Is there really one who is
bigger than anyone I know?
yeah, he walked the earth,
He created all that is around me,
despite science trying to
tell me different.

God the father minding me,
The son holding it all together,
the spirit bringing
things to mind.
This God, this one being
is greater than all
and holds the loneliness,
the separateness at bay, and
reminds me that some
separateness it to be expected
because I might LIVE in this world,
but I don’t belong to it.

God speaks to me and you

1 John 5:19

We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

1 John 2:15-17

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

 

Put a Limit to Your Actions

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“Put a limit to your actions put a limit to your words” rang through my mind as I pondered the word Limit, a word prompt provided by Miss Kate.  I don’t know if they are lines to a poem I read or a song?  But they were so immediate I figured they had to be something.  The thing is… can I turn those lines into something worth reading?   What would God have me write today?

put a limit to your actions

Put a limit to your actions

Those lines

Put a limit to your actions
Put a limit to your words
by doing so you know
you’re living by the WORD

These words run through my mind
making me think perhaps
it was a song learned back
in Sunday School. Alas
the rest of the song is lost
to the travails of time.

Last night I had a blast
selling some of my homeschool
material. I started the evening by
killing two birds with one stone.
I gave away candy! I know, it’s silly.
But for everyone setting up a table
of goods I said “Want a treat?” Almost
everyone smiled and took one.
The second stone REMOVED that candy
temptation from my life which means “I”
won’t be able to munch on it. Woot woot!

I chatted with lots of people,
and gave away stuffies
to young children with big smiles.
And through it all
made back a trifling of what
I’ve spent over the years.

Connections made

How does this connect with the line
Put a limit to your actions?
Well you see
I made children smile.
I brought moments of joy.
Time was taken to move forward
with goals of passing forward
what I’ve received and limiting
the intake of the unnecessary.
I’ve stopped hanging on the
past with things I don’t need to keep.

God calls us to change.
Weird huh?
He accepts us as we are, and yet
says “hey, I see better for you,
let’s help you embrace that.”

To do so means I have to stop
some actions (limiting them),
and I have to move forward with
some new actions.
Over time I learn even more
new actions I have to limit,
and figure out
new habits to embrace.

And by doing so I guess I’ll
live out those last line
of Living by the WORD.

How can it be so complicated?

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So I’m normally not up this late on a Thursday night.  It’s getting on 1045 already but I forgot to put my bedsheets in the dryer and so have to wait for them to be done.  I’m trying hard to stay awake!  No napping in my ever so comfy chair!!  I decided to see if Kate had posted the Five Minute Friday word prompt and she did!   The word is complicate.  How can it be so complicated is what comes to mind.  Let’s see where God takes this word eh?

How can it be so complicated? text with road signs

How can it be so complicated?

Sometimes I wonder how
life can be so complicated?

Grudges held,
People betray,
Feeling hurt,
Words are said that perhaps
shouldn’t have been.

I grew up knowing
somehow, in the haze
that is my life,
that people aren’t
so easy to know and love at times.

At the same time as people
can be awfully hard to understand
Laughter, conversation,
Jokes, and hugs, and positive connection
also dots the landscape
that is the plight of humanity.

It seems the extremes are right there
showcasing the complications that
make up any given person’s day.

I had reason to ponder that
today and came to the conclusion
that despite my questions on
How can it be so complicated
It’s part of how God molds us
into his image.

He uses these strains in
relationships to remind of us
what is means to love each other
even when people infuriate us, or
hurt us, or simply confuse us by
their life decisions.

God regularly uses the
“hard things” of life to
deepen our understanding of
who he is and whose we are and
what that means in the
nitty-gritty of life.

BUT you know what?
We have to be open to it you know?
Open to change and
being something more
despite the inner turmoil
that change can bring.

It’s a good thing to be
something more don’t you think?
It helps us to better
cope with the complications
of living a human life. 🙂

See What Time it is Already?

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When I went to work this morning I had no idea what I would do for my Five Minute Friday post.  Kate’s word Already didn’t really resonate with me.  But at the end of my work shift a colleague provided me with just the perfect thought.  See What Time it is Already?  It’s an excellent way to end a shift you know? 

See What time it is already? text with image of girl with clock smiling

See what time it is already?

Annette, the call came
from behind back.
Look, see what time
it is already?

Oh Great!
Time has flown
It’s 1 p.m. time
to go home!

Need a ride?
Hubs comes to get?
Nah, I got my board
Thanks anyways, ‘Net.

Short shifts on busy days
Greeting all
Happy Easter Weekend
receiving much in return.

Smiles and laughter,
little girl grins
Moms with weary smiles
A Dad wrangling twins.

Normally a store where
seniors abound, but
on holidays weekends with
strangers resounds!

“Can you help me?”
“Do you know where _____?”
Answering obvious questions
from strangers unaware.

A happy busy workplace
Short shifts are a blast
on holidays weekends
As it’s all work and smiles.

And that holds over
’til the following week
when it’s back to the same old
Stocking shelves and being helpful.

shallow focus of clear hourglass
Photo by Jordan Benton on Pexels.com

Pondering more

Seeing as it’s Easter weekend I’m taking the time to ponder this thought a bit more.   Do we as Christians see what time it is already?   God’s told us clearly in his word that we are forgiven in Christ.  He’s told us that we can’t know when Christ is returning.  So we need to live within that. 

To live as forgiven people.  People who are aware we don’t deserve forgiveness (ergo we can’t take it for granted) and yet here we are… fully forgiven.  And we have to stay here, being useful, because it’s not yet time.   The time is coming, but until we actually see Christ again we know that can’t say to each other “See What time it is already?”.    We just can’t.   And until then we need to try to help others see the time is right for them to turn to the Lord.  To live in a way that helps the hurting stop hurting quite so much. 

So in a way we can say to each other See What time it is already?  Because now it also our time.  As much as the world wants to claim it is theirs, and the time is only for them, the world is wrong.  We aren’t lost and alone.  We are strangers for sure, living in a world that is often senseless, but our duty, and our love is clear.  Love the lost.  Care for the fallen.  Show hospitality and concern for those around us.   This is what God calls us to, and it’s our time to follow through.

Who Can I Blame?

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So, here it is, a week before Good Friday.  I was asked this week if I wanted to work on Good Friday.  I stopped to think about it because you know, it’s Good Friday and I’m a believer.  Church is a must is not?  But over the years, I’ve become convinced that I don’t have to attend services on special days to show I’m a good Christian.   That’s not me saying it’s not isn’t good to attend services on special days, only that it is not mandatory.   And it’s hard sometimes right?   Right now it’s a struggle to financially make ends meet. 

Is that a good excuse to not attend Good Friday services?  Not really.  It’s part of the puzzle though.   I asked hubbers what he thought I should do and he was good either way.  He understood the bind, then extended the grace to see what I could figure.   So when I saw the the word Blame I thought of how some would blame me for choosing finances over attending services, and would I accept that?  Helping further make me feel alienated from God?   Or would I see something different?  A remembering of truth?  Therefore, somehow, God led me to this poem “who can I blame?”

Text: Who can I blame. Image: finger pointing in blame at man

Who Can I Blame?

Who can I blame
myself or another
how can I make myself look good
in the eyes of this other?

Should I look good or
shall I accept fault?
What happens if the latter
My worries are fraught.

Is blame always negative,
that leads to some shame?
Or can it be a positive
What shall I name?

One took the fault for us
a time long now past
celebrated on Easter
same this year as last.

Believers remembered a
blame wrongly took
Can we persuade others
to come take a look?

See the darkness of Friday
of blame tightly held
Releasing three days later
darkness to light meld.

A father’s plan
a beloved son blamed
so the rest of this family
never be shamed.