Held

+

You can Let Go

Because I never do

You can relax your hold

Because it is I, The Most High

Who Holds You

Let fly, Let fly

My little one...

You are Mine

You are Mine

You are Mine

I AM height, I AM depth,

I AM width, I AM breadth,

and you are braced in Me

What fear can possibly remain

when you are so perfectly Loved,

when you have My Word

that Never, will I Ever, Ever forsake you?

What clinging can continue

when you are carved, My Beloved,

into the Very Hand of God?

+

"God Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support.  I will not, I will not, I will not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let you down nor relax my hold on you!  Assuredly not!"

-Hebrews 13:5 (Amplified Version)

Resurrection...

+

Feel Me

My Love

As close as Breath

And Inhale

Deep

Deep,

As Adam did

That First Breath

Which Began Life

In The Beginning

And Breathes Still

Lay Aside

dogma, deeds, dead works

(all these counterfeit conduits to Me)

And Come

Naked, Open Handed, Empty

Let Me Breathe Again

Breath of Life

Know, as Adam did

This intimate intubation 

Deity inseparably interwoven

with Dust

Enfolded,

Enmeshed,

Emmanuel

With you

In you

One with you,

and

Live

+

"Prophesy unto the Wind...and say to the Wind,

'Thus says the Lord God:

Come from the four winds, O Breath, and Breathe upon these slain,

that they may Live."

-Ezekiel 37:9

Here Comes the Sun....

+


.....sorry to so shamelessly 'borrow' from the Beatles there,
but Harrison said it so well, it bears repeating......

....especially today.....

it finally happened.....

the first day of

Spring

We made it.......

through the falling, the darkness, the dying......

the cold, the fear, the hard broken road........

Here We Are

on the other side...

Winter now graciously concedes,
her important work completed.

Satisfied, she steps aside,

to make room for Light,

for Life coming back,

for All Things New....

Here comes the Sun my friends,

it's going to be Glorious.

+

"Their Path is like the light of dawn
which shines brighter and brighter
unto the Perfect Day"
-Proverbs 4:18

Dark

"I will give you the treasures of darkness,

and hidden riches of secret places"

-Isaiah 45:3

+

It is a sacred trust to be subjected to the dark night of the soul.

True treasure is not brandished in broad daylight,

not before it is unearthed from punishing pressure,

considerable confinement,

darkness that feels like death,

black as night,

the treasure hunter subjected

to the same surroundings

as the treasure itself,

deep calling to deep

There is a communion with Christ which only happens

when we share in His sufferings,

when we are crucified with him,

when we undergo the extreme duress

despised by those content with cubic zirconias...

Therein true riches are found

Therein Gift is formed

From this burial we are unearthed

Resurrected

and we become the Reveal

of the One True God,

The Treasure

+

"I, the Lord, form the light and create darkness"

-Isaiah 45:7

be healed....

+

Healed, we become healers

A beautiful relay of Redemption

A domino effect of Divine Energy

and Grace

Paying forward what we could never have paid for

Freely Given, we freely give

and become fountainheads

for all who are thirsty

for all who need beauty

for whosoever will...

Quenching the thirst of thousands

Soothing weary souls

Holy hands holding gently,

tenderly,

broken hearts,

as our hearts are Held...

...till they too become whole

till they become healed

and in turn

come to know

for themselves

The Healer

+

"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me

to heal the brokenhearted"

-Isaiah 61:1

Beginnings - a haiku ...

+

The waters subside

Tempest transformed to New Day

Noah's dove finds Rest...

+

Isaiah 54:11,12

now....

~*

...the smoky taste of my coffee

brimming in my moody maroon mug..

Perfect...

puppy snoozing, breathing softly,

she knows all is well....

Vanilla and Sandlewood

flickering, burning away,

silent and golden in waning winter's light...

and steady Oaks

standing their snowy watch,

ancient and noble outside my window...

their stillness staying me,

grounding me,

in the gorgeous gracious Gift

of

now.

~*

Good Shepherd....

+

He is good, you know....this Shepherd of ours......

not some distant deity,

but here,

nearer than touch,

eating, sleeping, breathing with us,

in it with us,

 for the long haul....

...through green pastures and the shadow of death alike,

guiding us,

rod and staff at the ready,

not to clobber us over the head for misdeeds and missteps,

but to Comfort us,

To Comfort Us....

He looks for and delights in, as all good parents do,

the wonderful in his children,

not what's wrong with them...

That misperception has been impressed on us

by others

by hirelings,

who do not know His heart...

A Heart so consumed with His Beloved

His Chosen

His very own Creation,

His Magnum Opus...

We have a Shepherd Who will go head to head

with anyone who dares say differently

A Shepherd Who will defend to the death

His own,

and indeed,

did just that,

at Calvary...

Shepherd became Sheep,

became Lamb of God,

taking the blows we could not bear,

dying the death He could not bear to see us die,

so that any doubt of His Devotion

of His Deep Abiding Love

would be removed Forever,

so we would follow,

unflinchingly,

fearlessly,

The Good Shepherd

+

"I AM the Good Shepherd.  
The Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep.  
But a hireling, he who is not The Shepherd,
one who does not own the sheep, 
sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.
I AM the Good Shepherd; and I know My sheep,
and am known by My own."

-John 10:11-14

Live

+

It's Safe now

The Storm has passed

Relax your bracing against the blast.....

.....It's Over.

You hung, my Love, feeling helpless

fearing I had forsaken you

when all the while it was I, hanging there with you,

and you with Me,

held by the nails of 

bewilderment,

betrayal,

disillusionment,

despair...

You were never alone, my Beloved,

not for one moment...

I was with you,

bled with you,

in your Garden of Gethsamane...

I walked with you this ancient Way

the road to this death...

But this death,

that felt so terrible,

that was so terrible, my Love,

so merciless,

brutal beyond bearing,

has set the stage for New Life,

for Knowing Me in a way you could not have otherwise,

for making Me known....

There is a time to die,

That time is Done.

You bore the cross with Me,

now it's time to be Born...

Here comes the sun, my Beloved One,

You died with me,

Now Rise with Me,

and Live.

+

"I AM the ressurection and the Life;

though he died, yet shall he Live."

-John 11:25

Lost

+

Still your frenetic searching

your manic movements

and frantic feeling around...

Quiet yourself,

Come to center,

Relax your tight grip,

and Realize...

The Light

is looking

for

you

+

"The Son of God came to seek and save those who are lost"

-Luke 19:10

Heaven on earth...

(Wintergreen, Virginia)

+

Let my eyes be so Filled

my soul be so Flooded

my body be Lifted

by Your Beauty

all around...

Your sun pour into my spirit

Your mighty oaks take root in my mind

Your watercolors in the sky

soak deep

and course through

my entire make up,

All of me...

Let Your sacredness make me sacred

In Your Beauty make me Beauty

Enrapture me in Your Ebb and Flow,

The Ocean of You

Till I am,

with all of nature,

a view of You,

of Heaven on earth

+

"Since the creation of the world 

His invisible attributes are clearly seen,

being understood by the things that are made,

even His eternal Power and Godhead;

in nature we see His Divine Nature."

-Romans 1:20

Beloved

Song of Solomon 4-6

+

Oh Beloved,

Blow into this, your Garden,

that its spices may flow out

Kiss me with the Kisses of Your Mouth

and Breathe once again

into dust your Deity...

let me inhale You deeply

and exhale Creation...

With the work of a Skillful Craftsman

Make me the door

through which You come into earth

as You are in Heaven,

and become

for them also

Beloved

+

"He is altogether lovely,

this is my Beloved, this is my Friend."

-Song 5:16

hidden

(Pollak Vineyards - Greenwood, Virginia)

* * *

...hard to believe they'll bloom,

much less bear fruit again,

this landscape of a thousand crucifixes

looking lifeless

and beaten...

but within each cross

flows the blood of beginnings,

perennial promise

of return...

of resurrection...

beneath the stillness,

this suspended animation,

are stirrings...

The scene which holds for the eye only death

belies unseen Life within...

welling up,

mustering,

and moving in ancient circadian concert 

with all of Creation

as it readies itself

for

 The Reveal.

* * *

"To everything there is a season, 

a time for every purpose under heaven"

-Ecclesiastes 3:1

a time to be born

* * *

...still a little nighttime left,

this Path we walk

to Morning,

where New awaits

- a princess poised for the Kiss

that will waken her from sorrowful dreams... -

...I pull my wrap tight around me

huddled up in the cold and deep 

of winter's womb

wherein Life

is fearfully and wonderfully woven,

wherein I breathe,

in and out,

breath that looks like Spirit...

and wait....

Light will be born

out of darkness

where Life begins...

thus it has ever been,

but our disillusionment at the fact never fails -

Dark places are not always wombs

but wombs are always dark places

where all that is good and necessary

is nurtured and knit together

...so I will whisper thanks

into the gloaming,

yield to eventide,

and pause for a moment

to look up,

to see the celestial reflection

of soon-coming sunlight,

and to let the little dipper

ladle me out

a few stars...

* * *

"He has made everything beautiful in its time...

no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end."

-Ecclesiastes 3:11

Redeemer?

* * *

healing, wholeness

another round

still spinning...

seed squandered

is still seed

flung to the wind

carried

to take root

and bloom

in another place

at another time...

...I'm hoping to make that rendezvous...

* * *

"Beauty for ashes"

-Isaiah 61:3

Art

* * *

An unfinished Painting

Rests on the easel,

Impossible to judge...

Miles to go,

Many Brushstrokes

yet to be added...

Stories evolving
some still to be told...

So, Sit Still, My Beloved,

Rest while I Work...

Keep Composure,

Just So,

Just there...

Trust Me to cast you

in Beautiful Light

and allow Me to Finish

My Masterpiece

* * *

"He Who began a good work in you

will continue until the day of Christ's Return,

developing that good work,

perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you."

-Philippians 1:6

Go with God

* * *

Your Journey

carries you

far from Home

Into Cold

and Dark

  and Grey...

Seer of seers

you carry with you

Eyes to See

to Awaken

 to Immortalize

those whose beauty sleeps,

long buried,

unaccustomed to being seen...

You brave this far country,

this forbidding world

to unearth its Treasure

and Return it

to

Light of Day...

How like you

How like Him...

Dos ve danya,

ступай с Богом

Go with God

* * *

"...for the Son of God came to seek and save that which was lost..."

-Luke 19:10



Invitation...

* * *

We are Homing beacons

to find,

to follow

We are Windows

through which Heaven can be seen

We are His Path personified

aflame with white blazes

and trail magic...

We are His hand

to hold,

and be held

We are the way to The Way

where there seems to be no way...

Given to Him

we are given

"Here am I, send me",

and we are Sent

Beautiful
Handwritten invitations
to

Come Home...

........R.S.V.P. ......

* * *

"I have loved you with an Everlasting Love..."

-Jeremiah 31:3

flight

 

 

 

* * *

 

once upon a time

there was a girl

who was Loved so well

that she Became

Wings

 

her beloved watched over

her waking and sleeping

he bore her

and bathed her

in morning light

and moonlight,

he kissed her with the kisses of his mouth

he told her stories of the

Great Wide World

and showed her

how to See

Beauty

in

Everything...

 

...together they walked

Hinds' Feet on High Places...

 

he poured himself,

his very spirit,

into hers

all that he had,

all that he was,

till the two could not be told apart

till they could never be divided...

so that he would

always

be with her....

 

...*always*.....

 

....then,

he bid her,

to trade tangible shore,

to trust invisible Wind,

to leave terra firma for terra incognita,

 

to let go,

 

and Fly...

 

...she rose, higher and higher

with trembling heart

trembling wings

lifted on the breath

of his bitter-sweet benediction

to Be

to Become

all that he knew she could be

for a world

who had yet to See

His Beauty......

 

 

 

  ....Fly with me...

 

 

 

* * *

 

"Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away"

-Song 2:10

Dandelion

 

 

 

*

 

I have been Blown

like a Dandelion seed

and felt myself floating

(fearfully, grasping for familiarity,

for something to hold on to

for the Dandelion that so gently held me

then let me go...)

 

But

Quiet now...

 

I See

 

That the Wind will carry me

to New Ground

 

Where the Life of the Dandelion

that bore me

will be born...

 

I am to be planted

and Become

not just one tiny seed...

 

But a Beautiful Blossoming Field,

 

a Whole,

Dazzling,

Delightful Array,

 

of

 

Dandelions...

 

***

 

"Now, oh Lord, what do I wait for and expect...

My hope and expectation

is in You."

-Psalm 39:7

In Spirit

 

"...though I am away from you in body

yet I am with you In Spirit"

-Colossians 2:5

 

 

*

 

 

Come now, My love,
and Rest for awhile
out of the cold and the bitter winds
out of the windiness and the wild...

I Am the fire which warms you
I Am the breath on your ear
telling you,
whispering
that All really is Well...

Zoom out from your narrow view
on life as it seems
and See what Is

Let it go now, My love
Let it go
Relax your tight hold
and feel, instead,
that you are Held...

.....all the plans, people, possessions you father
are in your Abba's Loving Hands...

Oh Beloved of Mine
Feel yourself now,
enveloped in Me
in Love,
in Rest...

...and Know
in this moment
as Mary did,

The Secret
The One Thing:

I AM with you

I AM with you

I AM with you
 

 

 *

 

 

"Nothing in all of creation

can separate us from the love of God..."

-Romans 8:39

Gratitude

 

***

 

thank You,

 

for my Life

exactly how it is,

 

for what has gone before

exactly as it was,

 

for the riches

of my past

folded beautifully into my present...

 

thank You

 

thank You

 

thank You.

 

***

 

"goodness and mercy follow me

every day of my life."

-Psalm 23:6



Prodigal's Prayer - a haiku

 

 

 

+

 

I ran, far and wide

and ended up with ashes...

now Your will be done

 

+

 

"...beauty for ashes..."

-Isaiah 61:3

 



relay

 

 

 

^~+

 

 

this is where we hope that

Prayer hits the road and sticks the landing,

that everything we've been taught and believed holds true...

 

That it's when we're outta cards,

God delights in slipping us aces

(I realize the potential perception of sacrilege there,

relegating God to the role of card-shark-in-the-sky....

why do I not think He minds at the moment?)

 

That when we've fumbled and bumbled

with our broken pieces,

with spit and glue

with a wing

and a prayer

(and maybe not even so much the wing)

when we've taped and patched

and plugged and pasted

and in general exceeded our

cosmic supply of duct tape

not to mention our quota of

flailing, thrashing, and gnashing of teeth...

 

...when we've thrown our hands up in the air

and given up entirely

(for the fourteenth time - no-really-this-time)...

 

 

That God Steps In.

 

 

to be continued......

 

 

~+/\

 

 

"Stand still and see the salvation of your God."

-Exodus 14:13

broken

 

 

 

*

 

broken cisterns

cannot hold water

 

broken baskets

cannot carry bread

 

broken hinges

cannot open doors

 

broken lanterns

cannot light a room.....

 

 

.....but the break of dawn

can light up the world

 

 

broken ground

can yield a harvest

 

broken bread

can feed so many

 

broken roads

still lead somewhere

 

and broken hearts,
in spite of themselves,

can still hold Love...

 

 

...mysteries of the universe......

 

 

*

 



unbroken...

 

 

*+*

 

...maybe

sometimes

life being cyclical

our beginnings

and endings

overlap...

our comings

and goings

indistinguishable,

one and the same...

 

...in Nature's Rorschach test

is a shattered seed

an end

or a beginning?

what about a broken cocoon?

a birth?

or even a death....

 

Even God

is

at once

Alpha

and Omega...

 

for me this duality,

dispels fear of finality,

 

and I find myself

looking

 

in The End

 

for The Beginning

 

*+*

 

"from the first to the last, I AM He."

Isaiah 41:4

 



Redemption - two haikus

 

 

 

+

 

All is never lost;

The Ring was given again

to the prodigal

 

+

 

second chance?  no, friend;

seventy times seventh chance...

my Redeemer lives

 

+



2014

 

 

*

 

"The land is like the Garden of Eden before them,

and behind them

a desolate wilderness."

 

-Joel 2:3

 

 *

In the Beginning...

 

 "forgetting the things which are behind,

reaching forward to the things that are ahead,

I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call

of God in Christ Jesus."

-Philippians 3:13, 14

 

*

 

back turned

to back doors and bridges

which promise safe passage

into the past...

that never never land

which no longer exists...

 

eyes fixed like flint

on what is forward

what is for real

the Gift you have for me

and have for me to be...

 

sure-footed, walking

into Future's fallow ground

my very footsteps making fertile the soil,

seeding each day with the Seed Himself

till death defers

and Life becomes

the defining characteristic

of this Landscape...

 

As it was In The Beginning...

make it so In This Beginning,

 

Let there be Light

once again...

 

....and let it change

 

Everything

 

*

 

"Here am I, my Lord;

Send me."

-Isaiah 6:8