Close all other doors
But one
Step through that one
And watch
The infinite amount
Of possibilities
Arise and emerge
Unfolding as
You move
Forward
Monthly Archives: April 2013
Now
God is present
So I come to His presence
In this present
And pray
Which is my response
To His presence
In this present
My Front Door
There is a world out there waiting
An adventure ready to unfold
When I step out my front door
It’s uncomfortable at times
I don’t know my neighbor
I don’t’ know how to ride a bus
Or start a conversation
But once I take that first step
Say that hello
Make eye contact
Smile
The journey has begun
The question moves from
Who is my neighbor? To
Am I a good neighbor?
What if we each do our small part?
What if we stepped around fear?
What would we find?
Perhaps a new friend
Or some way I can make a difference
A new purpose to keep me going
Put a new spring in my step
Northwest Sunshine
When the eagles soar
High over the high ways
I have to be careful
Not to bump the car ahead
There were four the other day
Two the day before
Did they notice the sun was out?
A rare occurrence in the northwest spring
Were they just being like the rest of us?
Drunk with sunshine
Low tolerance for it
Only a little makes us giddy
And run out the door
To Boston With Love
Yesterday, in-between watching CNN, I sat down and wrote a blog on building Parent/Child Connections: http://faithfullparenting.wordpress.com/ This was one of my responses to the unfolding drama in Boston. I know it is just one piece, the parenting piece, in the complex array of broken pieces in this tragic story.
Why did this happen? There is the emigrant story, the broken piece where the emigrant does not assimilate to the American culture and life. To understand this more Mary Pipher does an excellent job in her book: The Middle of Everywhere: Helping Refugees Enter the American Community
Then there is the broken piece of radical religion. How does loving God mean doing something like this? It does not. God is love and this is not love.
Perhaps another cultural broken piece is family loyalty trumping everything. An older brother influences a younger brother to join him in an atrocious act. We could find and name so many broken pieces.
It is important to work through these questions on the road to recovery. Along with this, in order to heal we need to choose our response. There is a lot of hard work ahead to do in order to heal. Will we become haters? If we choose that route we align ourselves with the same spirit that motivated the terrorists and they win. We become like them. Anger is a normal response to grief, but we can’t stay angry and let it poison our souls. We must move beyond it to the hard work of grieving, sadness, and the seemingly impossible process of forgiving. Hate, revenge, and bitterness are not the answers we need for healing. They never are. They will only destroy us and turn our hearts to stone.
Dear Boston choose the harder path of healing and recovery and you will find yourself surrounded by heaven ready to help. Our prayers are with you.
Love Challenged
There are some days when love is challenged. Today is one of those days for many after the Boston Marathon Bombing. For some, every day love is challenged. It depends on where you live or where you happen to be when a bomb goes off or a shooter shoots. A personal tragedy or trauma can challenge love.
“In this world you will have trouble.” It’s a guarantee. There is no “bed of roses” promised. What is promised is His presence. Emanuel: God is with us.
Anyone who has seen love chosen, love in action, knows it changes things. The ripple effects of love grow wider and wider. The “pay it forward” factor comes into play and not only one person is loved but many as the ripples continue on. Love is powerful that way. But, there are days and times for us all when love is challenged. It is much easier to give in to fear, hate, revenge or hopelessness. We wonder if our world is a lost cause, or if our acts of kindness will make any difference? This is when we need to take some deep breaths and pray. Then get out there and do something good. It might be to give blood, to pray for those hurting, to release anger and fear, to forgive someone, or to just step out your front door and see what good you can do today.
When the Church Became a Building
When the church became a building
She forgot her founder’s call
She chose instead brick and mortar
to build herself a wall
The doors she built
Locked some out, others in
Proclaimed who was holy
And who was still in sin
She lit the candles
Said it was time to pray
Blew out the lights
Now time to go away
She is made of salt and light
Her stones, they are alive
You cannot keep her in a box
If she is to going to thrive
Her glory is far greater
Than four walls can hold
She is to be a city
Shining bright as gold
She is to be a healer
For weary, lost, and sore
A comfort to the broken
And oh so much more
When the church became a building
She made a room for strife
When outsiders didn’t fit her mold
She crushed their heart and life
Church you are not a building
You’re Christ’s body and His bride
You’re His hands, feet, and heartbeat
The love He cannot hide
© 2013 Julie Clark
For All My Girls
Cause a raucous
Cause a stir
Stand up and let your voice be heard
No more low maintenance girls here!
Cause some drama
Shake us up
You have every right to be heard
No more low maintenance girls here!
Your thoughts are important
Your feelings count
Stand up tall and straight
Your gifts are needed
The world cannot wait
You too bear the image of God
Not just your brother or your mate
Brothers hear this cry:
“When you squish me
You are less
Than you are meant to be!”
© 2013 Julie Clark
Jesus Said
Abraham
Pleaded for mercy
For a city full of brokenness
I hear voices today
Calling for judgment
Jesus said:
Don’t pull up the weeds
Wait
Wait for the end
When everything is ready
Otherwise
You will pull up the wheat
With the weeds
Who is wheat?
Who is weed?
We don’t know
Time will tell
Things change
People change
There is always hope
Lets stop judging
Or we will be judged
Maybe
When we judge
We are pulling up wheat
After his resurrection
Jesus said:
You follow me
Don’t worry about anyone else
Perhaps
If we concerned ourselves
With ourselves
In this way
There would be
Less strife and judgment
More love
And peace on earth
© 2013 Julie Clark
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