poetry

OH!   The word this week is choose!  Has me thinking all kinds of thoughts.  Thoughts about decisions to make, choices in life, what to choose in regarding to a variety of things in life, and more.  There are just so many options so I guess we’ll have to see what I choose. 

What I Choose

What I choose
sometimes is to be a bit
too honest and sometimes appear
to be a bit too blunt.
To let my inner voice
be heard in a public forum and
have people question what I think
and see and do.

Sometimes what I choose
makes me uncomfortable
as I see the uncomfortableness
I raise in others.
But sometimes I think
we choose not to be honest enough.

I can’t say I like
feeling uncomfortable
but I dunno… sometimes I think
God is making me too comfortable
with myself and my own insecurities
and concerns about the things in life
that he lets my inner voice be heard.

But I don’t know.

Sometimes I choose to shut down
that inner voice. To merely sit in
silence even as others say I should
be doing or acting in a particular way.

For instance, I have a friend whose
child is going through a difficult time
and I’m choosing to sit back and let
her family and close friends minister to her
as I quietly keep her daughter in prayer.
It doesn’t mean I don’t care, but
I am letting those most important to her
hold and be and stay close so that
she doesn’t need to expend extra energy
on me so she can focus on her hurting daughter.

Perhaps though I am projecting
my thoughts on how I would feel
given that same situation.

What I choose
is to live with myself,
sometimes uncomfortable with
how I live my life, but always secure
that God who saved me,
that God will mind me full well, and
will guide my every footstep and word,
and call me on it when my deeds match not
my heart and knowledge of him.

God has planned out my days.
So when I open my inner voice
and shock people at a bible study,
having them wanting to solve the situation,
or to correct my approaches to problems,
that just perhaps God is doing so for a reason.

But I don’t know

Even if I can’t understand it.
Even if I find myself saying hmmm…
perhaps I need to consider something more?
And just perhaps, that’s the work he wants me
to do, to consider further, not just to be a
small pokey stick in the lives of proven
people of faith, comfortable in their faith.

I dunno.

It’s just a frustrating type of day
that leads to introspection
and questions of what I choose.

Tell me.
What choices do you make?

God speaks to us

GAH… the vulnerable part of me what’s to erase this whole post.  But a while back I committed in my heart to let God guide my writings of these FMF posts.   So what comes out is what I deem he wants to have come out. 

What I choose is sometimes a tad uncomfortable…. 

But what would God say? 

Psalm 37:23-24

The steps of a man are established by the Lord,
    when he delights in his way;
though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,
    for the Lord upholds his hand.

Proverbs 16:9

The heart of man plans his way,
    but the Lord establishes his steps.

 

Here we are again, five minute Friday, one of my favourite days of the week.   This week Miss Kate has given us the word Assume to work with.   One Could Assume that I know what I’m going to write about, or that I’ll do what I normally do…and just start writing.  🙂   The first would be correct, the second.. not this week!  Are you surprised?    🙂 

One Could Assume

listening to books
on audible
I find myself immersed
into the imagination
of authors and, the
what often feels life like,
lives of others.

Seeing their struggles,
hurts, joys, and
often the everydayness
of their lives.

But I don’t just listen to
books but I read them as well
bringing a variety of
books along with me to work.

Someone asked the other
day… after walking into
me listening to my latest read
The Last Mortal Bond.
“Annette, do you
listen to everything?”
I see you with so many books
and they seem so different”.

I took some time to think
and finally answered
“I will read books that
I would never listen too”.

For you see, I can read a
murder mystery much more
easily than I can listen to one,
simply because some authors make
evil feel so real that reading
it would give me nightmares.

I choose not to read biographies
of people who have lived through
horror particularly if reviewers
point out that the horror lived
through is too graphic, not mitigated
enough by grace or beauty.

And honestly, some books
I start listening to and find
myself enjoying until a new character
arrives with a foul tongue, or a
dark demeanor and I stop, because
listening to such, I find my
outlook on life becomes darker
as well or my tongue needs more minding
and who needs that?

Is a fine-tuning needed?

As I sit here pondering
my selection of what I would
listen to, as opposed to what
I might read, I wonder if I need
to fine-tune my reading choices
even more. Or if I should leave
more room to try listening to
books like “keeping faith in
an age of reason”. If I could
find such a book in audio format.

Cause I have a pile of such books
sitting on my shelf, but because they
require thought, when I just want to read
I tend to grab the easy fantasy, or
light Christian fiction. So it becomes
a waste of money if they sit unread!

Yet, because they sit so openly
on my shelf, one could assume
that I’ve read them
all or that they are next on my
list to be read.

So perhaps you could help
me, by suggesting some good
non-fiction Christian audio,
available on Audible, that
would help me think! 🙂 

God’s word

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.

Philippians 4:8-9

⁸ Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 

The five minute Friday word prompt just posted at Kate’s blog.   This week we are working with the word access.  Writing for five minutes with no editing…  🙂 GAH… I have to admit, sometimes I do go back and edit you know!  Public access is what I started thinking about so let’s see how this goes. 

Public access means different things to people, like entrance into museums, shopping malls, and the like.  To others it means information at your fingertips, or the ability to video and more.  What does it mean to those who follow Christ? 

Public Access

The public has the right to know
as so is able to ask
to see documents and to
look into things that sometimes
you’d rather they didn’t.
But the lack of privacy sometimes
is forgotten in this day and age
of “but the people have the right to know”.

One needs to be mindful when
out in public that sometimes
people think that since you are out
in public they can film you as they
wish, even if you’d rather they didn’t,
but being in the public’s eye,
whether famous or not,
sometimes means others take liberties
that they wouldn’t want taken of themselves.
And they fail to see the relevance of that.

But something we need to remember
in this day and age of public
access, and it’s incumbent lack of privacy,
is that it provides windows of opportunity
to share with others
the fact that we have faith in
a God who is FAR bigger than
anything the world presents to us.

It makes us ask the question,
how does the world see
the things we say and do,
and does it give them a
glimpse of the glory of God?
What would a snapshot or a
video of moments in your days
reveal about your relationship
with the creator of the universe?

God’s word to us

I have to admit, I don’t always do the best in the moment-to-moment aspects of my life.  I do keep trying, but so often, I just see my failure you know?   And yet God continually calls to us… give him glory in all that we do.  Let people see our faith in action! 

Colossians 3:12-17

¹² Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, ¹³ bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. ¹⁴ And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. ¹⁵ And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. ¹⁷ And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

The Five Minute Friday word prompt this week is Ignore.   This may be a good word for me to ponder this week since I am learning to ignore some of the stuff a co-worker does. And as I think on this word I’ve realized there is a lot in life that I’ve learned to ignore.   Let’s see how this poetic endeavor goes today shall we? 

Learning To Ignore

Can’t say it’s easy
Learning to ignore
the silly things of others
that can annoy a body so.
The boss chooses to pay
me to do a job again,
that if only done correctly,
would save time and pay again.
Still a work in progress.

Can’t say it’s easy
learning to ignore,
When words I’d rather
not hear are used frequently
in conversations surrounding me
Needing to remember to
focus on the people first
not the language they use.
Coming easier all the time.

Can’t say it’s easy
walking down a street
learning to ignore
the rudeness that sometimes greets.
People not sharing the sidewalk
or blowing snow in the face
cause they don’t take the time
to look so as not to disgrace.
A Canadian sorry, works charmingly well! 🙂

Can’t say it’s easy
learning to ignore
“can you say a prayer” while
you are down there
from people often mocking,
instead choosing to turn
it into a cheerful
“yes I can, what
would you have God know?”
This comes more easily now.

Just because
it doesn’t always come
easily to choose to ignore,
I’m learning the benefit
of a closed mouth, and
an open heart. Bonds are
more easily built that way
I’m finding out well.

Three weeks ago “can you say a prayer for me while you are down there” (sitting on the floor putting groceries away) from a voice I know will mock the Lord.  The cheerful response of “sure I can, what would you like to say?” Got a stunned moment of silence and then “my daughter’s not well”.   And so a very brief conversation turned, I hope, a mocker into a questioner, and that is always a good thing no?

I do find it hard sometimes to mind my tongue, but I’m learning and growing, and hopefully, through my mindfulness and cheeriness people will see God at work.   Seeing God at work, who knows?  Might make more people willing to question the reality of God and turn hearts to him. 

The Lord would Speak

Colossians 3:23-24

 ²³ Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, ²⁴ knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

1 Peter 4:7-10

⁷ The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. ⁸ Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. ⁹ Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. ¹⁰ As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: ¹¹ whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Fake is a term, is the title that immediately jumped into my head when I saw the Five Minute Friday word prompt.  Then I had to figure a poem to go with it!   Something easier said than done, but here we are a bit more than five minutes later.   You’ll forgive the thinking time though I figure!  🙂 

Fake is a term

Fake is a term
well-known these days.
From pretend news stories,
cat-fishing, spam, and ads
pretending to be breaking news!

How many times have
you got suckered in
by one such as those?

The other day a phone call
was made by one such
as me… well to be true
it was me! 🙂

A well-played email
had me concerned
until they asked me
on my computer to be.
Suspicions arose, I
soon allowed a dial tone,
hoping that no long
distance to be charged.
FAKERS!

Subtly they work, these
Fakers and pretenders,
you find them everywhere,
even with the church.
Pretending to be faithful, when
a true relationship with God
they have not.

It is so sad to say
that even within, what
should be a loving, connected
family, loved by the God
of the universe, that we
can be surrounded by hearers
of the word only, not doers.

So watch, and see,
be aware of the prowling one,
let not down your guard,
and teach your children full well.
To see who is a hearer only,
and whose actions and words show
truly of the church of God
in all their doings.

God’s word

1 Peter 5:8-9

⁸ Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. ⁹ Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 

Isaiah 29:13-14

¹³ And the Lord said:
“Because this people draw near with their mouth
    and honor me with their lips,
    while their hearts are far from me,
and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,
¹⁴ therefore, behold, I will again
    do wonderful things with this people,
    with wonder upon wonder;
and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish,
    and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.”