A Winter Faith

Cruel wintry winds
Howl, hiss and blow
Across the ice
Over the snow

Bare trees poke up
No life is seen
The ice gives all
A glassy sheen

Nothing moves
Lest blown about
High up above
Cold stars are out

Your face is numb
Your fingers chill
Breath a brief cloud
And all is still

Below the snow
Below the ice
In buried peace
Lie seeds and mice

Fish dream fish dreams
Deep in the ponds
While cruel winds whip
The cattail fronds

Chipmunks sleep tight
And dream of sun
Of nuts and grain
Of chipmunk fun

Down in the mud
The frogs all sleep
Turtles mark time
In burrows deep

Warmth will return
The ice will go
And life will rise
And water flow

Snow drops will leap
Out of their grave
Then crocuses;
These plants are brave

The buds will swell
And burst and bloom
The earth will shed
This wintry gloom

But bravest, first
Sign of the mild
The Christmas birth;
The holy Child

Reminding us
This wintry strife
Lies briefly over
Our vibrant life

From out of dark
Comes life and light
Showing us God's
Power and might.


Perhaps on a similar note: The Winter of Contentment

Dreaming of the Father

I dreampt that I was a father,
An adoptive father,
Posessed of a particular race,
A race different than my usual;
And that I had seven adopted children,
Of all different races,
At first I was suprised,
That I had adopted so many children, and that I had dared to adopt children of other races;
But then I saw what a joy and wonder it was;
and how full of love we were;
I saw that it was good in a profound way;
And very, very right.

Happy Dreams
LE

Jesus The Small and Meek

Tonight, the television showed me a person going into a church.

The person was shown moving up an aisle, with chairs stretching wide on either side. The church was huge. The next shot showed someone praying, eyes closed, from the level of the prayer's face.

You could see the first person approaching from behind, but barely could pick out the back wall, which ascended out of view.

Finally, the shot looking forward. The two people are small figures, dwarfed, like the seats and everyone there, by the immense wall with it's giant, resplendent, red-robed Jesus.

Which is wrong.

Way I hear it, Jesus wasn't that tall, and didn't go in for robes, or making people feel small.

His idea of worship was a few people gathering and talking about God, some prayer, a blessing and a spot to eat and drink, oh, and a psalm to end the meal.

The whole point of Jesus, it seems to me, is his approachability.

God came to be with us, as one of us. Not as a giant, red-robed, inscrutiable vision, but as a friend and counselor, who would have a bite with you, tell you a story, and be with you no matter how mean your estate.

I don't mean to De-God Jesus. By no means. My point is Jesus is the God who loves us so much that he takes on our very matter and life, and lives as us.

So take heart: no matter how small and fallible you are, Jesus is coming to meet you. And you'll be able to look him in the eyes.

Peace
LE

I originally titled this post 'Jesus the small' but then I got thinking of Dorothy's line from 'The Wizard of Oz'...

Words of Comfort

There are many who feel rejected and judged by the faith - judged unworthy - found to be reprobate - irredeemable and vile, doomed to torment, cast out of community, shunned.

It is for them I copy out the following words of comfort. May meditating on them bring you joy in this Advent season:

From John 12:

And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.


From John 3:

God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, to the end that all that believe in him should not perish, but have eternal life.


From 1 Timothy 1:

This is a true saying, and worthy of all men to be received, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.


From 1 John 2:

If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the propitiation for our sins.


From Romans 8:

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? [...] I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.


From 1 John 1:

And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.


May you find joy in your path this Advent season, wherever your wanderings take you.

-LE

Are you Saved?

Are you saved... ...when were you saved?
People used to ask a lot.
We do speak of salvation sometimes now,
But more often not.

Is saving what happens in this life?
Or does it happen when we die?
Can it happen a long time later,
When in the grave we lie?

Can we be saved in both,
Can we be saved again?
Do we know what saving is?
Can you please explain?

Is saving like pickling,
Or like a photo that we take?
Or is saving like a change
Like love or when hearts break?

And did Jesus save us long ago,
Or does he save today?
And when we say our God came down to save us,
What do we mean? What way?

And if the saved can fall, can they fall from grace in death?
Can you still fall from grace when you can't draw a breath?

Are these important questions,
or do we all just need
to hear God's word and do it?
That would be good indeed!

Welcome To Advent

Welcome, Welcome to Advent
Welcome to the Season of the expectation of Christmas.

Gather your love and faith,
And pray, and find things to do;

Things to make this season special and joyful.

Help strangers;
Be a new friend;
Give, and share joy!

Revel in the season;
Jesus is coming!

Don't make Christmas a burden:
Do less of the things that don't last;
Give less time to things,
And more time to people.

There is so much to do!
Do what you can with joy,
And make your Christmas a joy.

Good Tidings!

We are Blessed!

God Loves Us so much that God Comes To Live as One of Us!

Peace and Advent Blessings!

After The Second Psalm

Why seek to thwart the Lord;
Or work against his will?

And plan for your own gain,
Via your neighbors ill?

Although you be a prince;
With force at your command,

You are a tiny mote
Within God's mighty hand.

The rules that God set out
Apply to one and all.

It is at your own risk
That you ignore God's call.

God's eyes they are not dim
God does not doze or sleep.

Today if you sow ill
Tomorrow ill you'll reap.

In Zion stands the king
His hand upon his sword.

The wise doubt not his will
The prudent hear his word.

Plot not harm or evil;
Don't kill or cheat or steal.

The Lord God is watching
And his wrath is real.