Posted in Different Moments

Because I was forced to spend time in quiet…

There is quiet.FullSizeRender

It’s not far, but it’s often a world away.
Today, I’ll say there’s no way it could be near. It couldn’t be here.
Because here is noise, busy, and hurry. Here’s worry. The scene is blurry,
And clarity? The lens hasn’t been cleaned for a while. You smile,
Holding tight the commitment you’ve made for tonight.
“I’m doing alright.”

And so are we all, but as Fall turns to Winter you realize,
There might be lies in the Truth. The Truth lies bare when given a moment to spare.
And there, in slow breathing and heart beating, you find it.

There is quiet.

Leaves have turned, and are falling. The silence is calling
For those willing to press pause on the pace, and face a world less moving.
Less proving, and more being. More seeing. Freeing you from shackles unfelt.
Moments melt into Sabbath. You catch your breath. There is life. There is death.

There is quiet.

Breathing deep, drenched in nothing.
Absence that feels like more substance than you’ve had in a while.
You smile, remembering what it’s like to wander.
In body and thought, you’re caught up in wonder, staring at the clouds
As if they contain a story you’re anxious to hear.
You stumble, lost in your surroundings,
A leaf-covered path, the aftermath of Autumn.
Emerging to a lake, you take it all in with a grin
And begin to lose yourself in the wealth found in the surface
Of water undisturbed.

There is quiet.

Heavens reflected in smooth glass
Trees stretching deep down into the sky
Fooling the eye, you sigh.
This is why

There is quiet.

You can’t stay in this place
But you scoop up the pace, and put some in your pocket.
Commit to remember, as you head into November

That there. Is. Quiet.

Posted in Uncategorized

S-wordplay. (a written, spoken word)

He came not to bring peace, but a sword.
Not a knife to spread the butter, not uttering words that pacify the masses
No rose-colored glasses here.
But Truth, Capital “T”, completely free of bend or filter
The off-kilter ways of sin, and what a mess we were in.sword
Valuing money over time, entertained by crime, the signs were all there
Jesus looked it square in the eye, and dared evil to deny –
It was fooling you and I. Sure enough, evil sighed.
More like roared, seeing the sword as wolves surrounded the sheep
Daring Christ to keep each one safe, taunting with flashing teeth
And clenched jaw. But what evil saw next was powerful.
All-powerful God became lamb. Jamming signals of the expected.
Rejected by men, by those He came to save,
Brave wasn’t the aim, the lame walking and the mute talking had one word on their message:
Love.
Not love with construction paper hearts, sweet tarts, and doilies glued on for measure

Not treasure tempting us to come near, appearing like the obviously better choice

But a soft voice, speaking divisive words, beginning with “Follow Me”
Not because it’s easy, because you’ll probably die. And as he cried, he knew
His fate, the plate would not pass from him, nor does it leave our tables,
He enables us to follow, to swallow the red pill, releasing our will to His
And the life that He gives echoes our first breath.
But to the world, looks like death.
And so, a sword.
Man against his father, daughter against her mother, not apologizing
Or making excuses, just revealing what the Truth is,
and the Truth. Is. Love.
The Truth is, it’s enough.
The World wants a conquering savior, flashing sword not meant to divide but to slash and kill.
To spill blood like wolves on dusty ground, but instead? the sound of sheep.
Not threatening, they bleat, and keep following their master in ways of love.
In a “one-up” contest, they’re one-ing down. Setting down crowns of gold,
Crowned with thorns, receiving the scorn of an empire built on sand, no demands
Freed from the burden to sway the uncertain.
Not called to win in His name, but to realize He’s changed the game.
When the swords cease to sound, and fall to the ground, they’ll finally realize
Love abounds.
And they’ll stop fighting for it.

Posted in Different Thoughts, Uncategorized

seeds.

There are plenty of things I don’t like to see.

Like the receipt of expensive seeds that never took. The end of a great book.
Like dirty side-walks. Or my own hands, holding a shovel.
Like dirt turning to mud, or birds eating seed I’ve just put down.

I don’t like to see young men and women make horrible choices.
Voices of lives taking turns in directions not great.
“Fate” blamed for bad decision, indecision, and pride.

Gates wide with people losing sight and sound of words spoken of them by God.
Seeking identity in every corner but His. Every source but Him.
Lights dim, believing the sun is setting, not rising.

I don’t like to take my family down paths that are winding.
Blinding roads that don’t end up where I told them we were heading.
Jesus sweating tears of blood as He takes on our sins.

But in the midst of it, something new begins.

Forgiveness comes to all, restoring relationships
As grace is flipped upside down, poured out on the ground.
And the round-about I’ve taken my family ends up being found
Right in the middle of Kingdom coming.

Lights dim, and here comes the Son.
False identities crash hard, and façades are torn away.
Because you can’t take costumes with you to jail.
As sails are torn, and offered to God,
He tills the sod, protects the seed. Becomes all that we need.
Holds what has died in the palm of His hand.

And up comes New Life.
Here lives the New Man.

photo