God uses the fodder
of our everyday lives
to fuel the flame
of His passionate
Refining
Transforming fire.
The result:
unimaginable beauty,
pure gold.
Poetry
Ash Wednesday
The big problem
of pain or illness
is it is constantly
screaming for attention.
It drives me away
from anything else but myself,
pulling me steadily inward.
This is no way to live
or die for that matter.
I want to learn
new strategies
of living and caring
in the midst of it.
I have a role model
to study and learn from.
I think of Jesus.
His last days of life
His suffering and agony.
He didn’t go inward
and far away.
He stayed with us.
He instructed his friends
to put away their swords.
He looked at Peter
at the rooster’s third crow.
He had a few words
for Pilate.
A few more for the woman
on the path to the cross.
He took care of his mother.
He forgave his tormentors.
He brought comfort to another dying man.
He looked up.
He gave himself to God.
© 2014 Julie Clark
A Lifeline
Be a lifeline of hope
a connection of kindness.
We never know who we will meet
on this winding road of life.
I may have just what that person needs.
The interesting thing is:
What we practice comes
rolling back, multiplied
upon us.
One day I may need
some hope
or my children
kindness.
It’s a wise investment.
Who Are We?
I Practiced What I Preached on Sunday. I asked about my new name since battling my third cold of the season I was feeling rather Sick and Tired. The answer is embedded in the following poem as well as some excerpts from the sermon.
“Who are we?”
Asked the Poet King
the Battle Weary Psalmist.
There are days I feel
just like a Breath
or a Passing Shadow
as this Shepherd of Sheep
and a Kingdom felt.
What is my name?
Surely not
Sick and Tired.
If I listen open-hearted
the message will come
With an eye of faith
I can almost see it written
on the wing of the messenger:
Overcoming One
Who Loves My People.
That’s a name I
can grow into.
My identity is not
in how I feel or
how another calls me
or sees me.
No, it is in
How my Maker made me
to be like him
Image Bearer
full of Glory
full Grace.
New Year 2014
Resolution
Just to live each day in the light it comes
Hunting for the treasures
sparkling in their not so hidden places
delighting to be found.
A New Day, A New Year
Morning by morning
earth life is renewed
Thanksgiving for sleep giving
new perspective in a new brighter light
Thanksgiving for second chances again and again
for lifelong learning of how to live grace filled.
Last year’s slips and slides
can be my teachers
to grasp hand, rope or ladder extended
to pull me out of self-inflicted
muddles and messes
A gracious life begins with
receiving it for myself
then the transfer of giving it away
to others is smooth as silk
gentle as a dove.
Categories: beauty, Faith, Life, Poetry, Seasons
Tags: dove, grace, iight, New Year, perspective, resolution, silk, treasure
2 Comments
Advent: Peace
Prepare the way
prepare the home
prepare the table
prepare my heart
Fix those potholes
line the streets with
flowers and lights
Clean every corner
dust and sweep
gather and hunt
Fill the house with
color and fragrance
flowers and fruit
to center the table
Now the hardest part –
my heart
Dark and dusty places
replaced with light and
fragrance from hidden
fruits sown and grown
the greatest is love
centering all
In that clear night sky
long ago
the angels could not contain
the joy
and sang of peace
the world is yet longing for
Where will this peace be found
if not first in our hearts
cluttered with care and
discord
Prepare ye the way
© 2013 Julie Clark
Advent: Gifts
When your best
isn’t good enough
When your acts of kindness
go unnoticed or
fall flat like a pancake
missing the plate
onto the dusty floor
When the recipient
of your kindness
doesn’t appreciate
your efforts
Remember
how God’s kindness to us
was spurned
At the inn:
“No room here, try the stable.”
At the cross:
“Crucify Him!”
He knows
He sees how we suffer
He can relate
When our deeds
go unnoticed
He on the other hand
appreciates our every effort
and receives each with
a warm singing heart
and outstretched hands
Thank you is his response
to our feeble gifts
May our thank yous
ever increase
as our hearts expand
to become
grateful people
© 2013 Julie Clark
Advent: Musings of a Mother
He’s a puzzle, a mystery, a riddle
This person I know so well yet not at all
I only see a part not the whole
I can’t get inside his head, his heart
his skin for that matter
I don’t know why he does this or that
Says it that way instead of this way
I admit I am perplexed and mystified
I wonder at times if his mind is overloaded
Some what imbalanced
Yet, he is the one the angel
called me to bear
The one we have been waiting for
I know
I said yes, and I did what I was asked
I was not ashamed
I knew where he came from
But what kind of deliverer will he be?
How is he going to save us from our enemies?
He is so gentle and kind
This babe I once wrapped in rags
Where were the angels when I writhed in pain?
I heard later they were off singing to some shepherds
who came in awe to see him
I will continue my daily watch
Pack up and move with him
He is so weary and spent
He may need me again
Before this day is through
© 2013 Julie Clark
Advent: The Seed
Take a seed, any seed
If you didn’t know what it was
you would write it off as a speck of dust
blowing in the wind.
Yet,
the wind
the rain
the earth and sky
all together working
with the DNA
encased in the hard shell
and the far-reaching possibilities
of that seed are immense
as the stars in sky
and the sand
on the shore.
Each of us
a seed
blowing on the wind
falling then planted
growing.
The potential for good
is great
for making a difference
on the earth
among all people
to be peacemakers
lovers of God and man.
It’s all there from the beginning
locked away and waiting
to be released
in the right time.
Seed of David, Seed of God
Son of Man, Son of God
bringing peace on earth
We hear
heaven is coming
and we will see the King.
Even so
come.
© 2013 Julie Clark
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