I Help and Stand Back (Reprise)

I am reprising this post to honor Maple Leaf Lutheran Church of Seattle who voted overwhelmingly yesterday to host Tent City 3 against not insignificant opposition.

Proposed Antiphon: We are all one in God's great scheme, in God no lonely ways. ; But myriads of blessings over an infinity of days.

I help and stand back
I open the door and get out of the way
I show you those in need and you reach out to them
I whisper a question in your ear and you find a solution
I find you a little cash and you donate it
Some food, and you share it
A moment of peace...
An ounce of grace...
I am a silent helping presence while you work
You invoke me and credit me
But I was just a signpost and a prop
You pushed to your feet
You stepped in harm's way
You tangled with hardship
You struggled with need
You made do with little
You loved in the midst of carelessness and hate
You do not stand without help, it is true...
But you stand
And I love you

Bless you, each and every one

Original post here.

Throw Me Away

Proposed antiphon: God blesses us and keeps us, and hereafter will make us new

Sometime in late spring
The pansies were discarded
Dumped in the common area
Behind the houses
Where the blackberries grow
And the morning glories dance
Twisting from cane to cane

There the soil is rich,
Full of grass cuttings and bits of bark
Discarded potting soil
Leaf mould and pine needles -
The detritus of years past

There the essence of green life
Spirals up like slow flame
Through the stems and leaves
Through the curling growing tips
And into the air

You can smell it, see it
Wafting from the full petals
And shining from the generous faces
Of the pansy blooms that grew there
Burgeoning with beauty and life

Throw me away
Cast me aside
Into the dung-heap of creation
Let the sun beat down
And the wild rains fall
Let me bloom

Get More Signs, Dreams and Visions...

More of the inspiration that you came here for - in a 132 page book available in paperback via Amazon's CreateSpace (here), and in 'e-book' form on Kindle (here).

A great way to give the gift of inspiration, or to take a little bit of the spirit wherever you go!

I'm also pleased to share on this blog the publication of my 'Gospels in Parallel' - a great bible-study and preaching resource that not only shows you parallels between the gospels, but also parallels and prefigurings from the Old Testament. Available via Amazon's CreateSpace (here) and on Kindle (here).

We Wander in the Wilderness

Proposed Antiphon: Creation starts with chaos

We wander in the wilderness

And all our stars are out of place

We hide in holes and in ditches

And the wind passes over where we lie

We have little

And what we have is taken from us

Once our counsel was sought after

But now we are counted as fools and idiots

Once we spoke and others leapt to obey

Now we speak and only the beasts answer

Friends are struck down

And family members suffer and die

We persist in our prayers

And call out to our God

Where is the path of truth?

Where is the way that leads through this desert?

We wander in the wilderness

And all our stars are out of place

These Broken Parts (Reprise)

I have many topics to write about and yet today this previous post is inspiring me in my life of broken parts.

Proposed Antiphon: Push Towards The Light!

Today a little person
Was trying to re-make her bed
She thought she must have been doing it wrong all week
Because the sheets wouldn’t lie flat
And tended to come off

But really her bed
Was made this week with sheets that weren’t quite right
They were an odd size
Big enough
Workable
But not perfect
And she thought it was her fault
I laughed and explained the problem to her

And thought
That life is like that
Funny but functional
Wrong but workable
Makeshift and marvelous
And that we are forever filling the cracks
And jumping the gaps
And thinking we must be doing something wrong
When in fact, we are doing marvelously
With what we have
Which is enough
Which is workable
Which is a blessing

Perfect is some other world
Not the one we live in
No, we are surrounded by
Appendices of errata
Panda’s thumbs and horse’s toes
Scars and defects
Duct tape and bailing wire

See, in a perfect world
Where everything works well
You would already be at the goal
And that’s not what we’re about
We’re about the next thing
The thing you can barely imagine from here

The thing that you can make if you cobble together
These broken parts
With the contents of the junk drawer
And some duct tape
And bailing wire
And whatever else happens to be lying around

And when we get close to that barely imagined thing
We’ll mostly make it work
But not perfectly
Because we are already busy
Working on the next thing
The thing you can barely imagine from there

And I think God meant us to be this way
Always a little broken
Always working on that next thing
That we can barely imagine from here

That's Still Nuttin - 8,000

As of today, this blog swept past eight thousand visitors.

That's quite a few folks wandering by since December 9th, 2006, and with me posting less lately, due to the interesting nature of my life, it seems like a milestone I should mark by reprising my poem 'That's Nuttin!'

...And thank you for dropping by, all eight thousands of you. See, there was plenty of room after all...


That's Still Nuttin:

Eight thousand folks came knocking
Eight thousand at the door
Eight thousand people searching
Eight thousand, and now more

Eight thousand hidden smiles
Eight thousand who came by
Eight thousand from all countries
Eight thousand who drew nigh

Eight thousand quiet moments
Eight thousand friends to tea
Eight thousand 'I understand's
Eight thousand friends for me

Eight thousand people questing
Eight thousand asking why
Eight thousand gleaming stars
Eight thousand in the sky

Eight thousand cups of coffee
Eight thousand bits of toast
Eight thousand hands held in comfort
Eight thousand times a host

Eight thousand questions answered
Eight thousand, more or less
Eight thousand joined in prayer
Eight thousand joined to bless

Eight thousand is so little
Eight thousand is so small
Eight thousand is not many
I have space for one and all

So come in off the doorstep
Come in, come through the door
Come into my guest room
There's room for many more

Thanks to each of you for coming
I'm sad when your visits end
And please do come back often
And please do bring a friend

I'll be waiting by the doorstep
I'll have the kettle on for tea
Come by whenever you want to
And spend more time with me

-LE

The King Awoke

Proposed Antiphon: 'How wonderful and encouraging that you can serve God as an Angel'

The King Awoke;

And the over-servant shouted; ‘The King Awakens! The Great and Powerful King! We Worship the King!’

And the under-servant arose from tending the fire and brought him a steaming cup of spiced wine.

The King put on his riding cloak;

And the over-servant shouted; ‘The King Rides Forth! Praise the King! We Worship the King!’

And the under-servant arose from his seat at the doorway and brought forth the King’s horse.

The King rode out into the city;

And the over-servant shouted; ‘Way! Way! Make Way for the Great and Powerful King! Praise the King!’

And the under-servant steadied the King’s horse as the King rode out into the crowded streets.

An old seamstress fell as she tried to make way for the King, and a young boy ran out from the crowd to help her up.

And the over-servant shouted at them; ‘Praise the King! Make Way for the Great and Powerful King!’

And the under-servant lifted the old woman to her feet.

And the King stopped;

And he said to the over-servant: “I believe that this seamstress needs your help more than I do. Go and serve her from this day forward.”

And he said to the under-servant: “Good and faithful servant, you have served me well. Please continue to do so as my over-servant.”

And he said to the boy: “You have shown yourself worthy of my service. Please join me as an under-servant.”

And the boy bowed in assent.

And the King rode on;

And the old over-servant was silent.

And the new over-servant ran beside the King to steady his horse, with the new under-servant beside him.

And for a moment everyone was silent, and you could hear the clip-clopping of the horse's hooves;

And then the people all shouted:

‘Make Way! Make Way for the Glorious King! Praise the Beloved King!’