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

The Walk...

 

**

 

Walk with me, My love

over this threshold,

into New Day...

 

Trust Me enough to loosen your grip

on what has gone before

Trust that there are good gifts still ahead,

not just behind...

Those Gifts I carefully chose

and gave to you are yours,

and will *always* be,

the Gold of those Gifts

has been skillfully

and wonderfully

woven into your very makeup...

integrated into your innermost beautiful being...

 

so leave off with fearfully, needlessly clinging

to something that is,

and always will be,

part of you...

 

...there is more building to do,

more I want to ingrain in you,

dimension still to be added

even more Beauty I want to bestow....

 

More than you can ask for

More than you can expect

More than you can imagine...

 

Oh Beloved of mine,

Let me open your eyes to see

Let me gently take your hand

and Lead you into even more Good,

 

Walk with Me, my Love

My Treasure

My Child,

 

There is still so much Good...

 

**

 

"The God of Heaven Himself is with us;

we His servants will arise

and build."

-Nehemiah 2:20

 

Gift III

 

 

 

*

 

fill me

with the fullness

of You

 

envelop me

in Your

embrace

 

tie me

with cords

of loving kindness

 

give me

as You were given

to the world

 

until I, myself

Become

Gift

 

*


~**~
 

Bridge

**

 

How graciously You share with me

 this space,

In Your Stable

In Your Kingdom

 

You teach me to be,

in both,

equally at Home,

as You are,

seamlessly moving

between the two

which are really,

and always,

One

 

Both hinds feet and High Places

are needed...

ashes and Beauty

relative obscurity and Royalty...

 

I am Your tender touch,

with one hand cupping the face of Your beloved,

with the other cupping the Face of Heaven

 

I am the golden scepter

held in Your steady Hand

extended toward your beloved

banishing fear

conveying Your call

to Come

to Breathe in Your Presence

to know the Kindness of their King

revealed in a Carpenter,

a Foot-Washer,

in One Who left Heaven

to hold Earth,

 

to form a Bridge,
 

and to make of us,

 

Bridges.

 

**

 

Merry Christmas,

from one beloved to another...

 

Gift II

 

 

*

 

so I pray, "Be Thou My Vision",

thinking to see

into Realms Unknown

and Mystery

and Things secreted away...

 

...but instead - or consequently -

I suddenly See,

Sunlight

diffused through my morning window

Golden

Moving like Water...

 

and the Beauty of it

makes me smile.

 

*

 

Gift

 

 

 

*(

 

250,000 miles to the moon,

500,000 there and back...

 

...amazing the lengths the heart will go to Love,

the capacity for which it's been graced

by a Creator Who Understands,

indeed Who formed the heart

for this very Purpose...

 

to Love,

to Be Loved,

to hold Love,

like an acorn

holds an oak tree...

like a stable

holds a Savior.

 

Wishing you God's Greatest Gift

this Christmas,

and *always*,

in the million miraculous ways

He makes Love known...

 

*(

 

"I have loved you

with an everlasting love."

-Jeremiah 31:3



wise men, seek Him

 

 

 

+

 

we move

amidst heaven and earth

hinds feet and high places

ethereal, untethered to terra

the Lovers...

we who know Him

are not always found where you'd expect

just as He was not found where expected

not under some steeple, but in a stable,

in loathsome obscurity

among forbidden things...

we speak, as He did,

not always from pulpits (vulgar barrier between Beloveds)

but at lakesides, firesides, tablesides.....

if you would find the extraordinary

peer into the ordinary...

You who seek Him

seek Him also where you would not;

seek Him in the places that scandalize your faith

and free you from dead dogma

look up from your pew

and see Him also

en plein air...

let not your walk with Him

be trudging and begrudging

but Dancing, Flying

Know the One who would be known

not as a prop in your precarious presbytery,

 

but as the One who's power is purveyed

in nothing your house of cards can hold.

 

+

 

"For Thine is the Kingdom, and the Power,

and the Glory,

Forever."

-Matthew 6:13

 

Beauty

 

 

*

 

Oh heavy heart

Let Me sing softly to you

Let Me soothe you

and remind you

of what you know,

what maybe you've forgotten for a moment...

 

That candlelight is lovely

especially in the

Cold and Dark and Night

That Love persists

even long after...even when far away...or not yet...

 

That hearts can heal,

falling leaves are lovely,

and that against the backdrop of a winter sky

silhouetted still standing Oaks,

bereft and stripped bare

are still one of the most beautiful sights to behold...

 

Oh My heart,

Remember Beauty.....

 

There is 

 

Still

 

 so much

Beauty.

 

*

L'Chaim

 

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord."

-Isaiah 55:8

 

~*

In our Western mindset, "suffering" is seen as inherently "bad", something to be avoided at all costs.  Our paradigm suggests if we are suffering, that "something must be wrong".  Whereas in other, more ancient cultures, suffering is seen as simply an integral and inevitable valid state, an intrinsic fundamental part of  the Life cycle itself.

No suffering, No Birth

 

When we attempt to subjugate suffering with pills, potions, drink, diversions, we stagnate in the very suffering from which we are trying to escape and stifle the intended end result: new Life.  When we resist the process, we stand in the way of the very excavation which will make room in our hearts to hold what comes after......

 

and there is an "after"

suffering need not have the last word,
if we'll let God finish His sentence.

 

When suffering is seen as some sort of stigma, we miss the opportunity, the doorway granted,

 

into new depth

 

into deeper communion

with each other

with our God

with the One "acquainted with grief"

 

we miss the Gift.

 

As we enter into this Season, celebrating the Birth which allowed all of us to be Reborn,

Let us remember the suffering that precipitated that Promise,

the death which preceded - and was servant to - the Life

Let us, in turn, see sorrow in a new light,

suffering for all that it is worth,

not as an end

but as a means to the intended end

which is,

of course,

and always,

 

The Beginning

 

~*



"I have come that they may have Life,

Abundant Life."

-John 10:10



Thanksgiving ~

 

 

 

*

 

The incomparable Gift of Love

even the smallest Glimmer of it

No Greater blessing can pour from

the Windows of Heaven

 

The Love of a moment

- or a Thousand Days -

can fill a heart for a Lifetime,

the Miracle and Magic

lingering long after...

 

It is nothing less

than Homecoming,

this Finding

this being Found,

and one can never be lost again

once the way has been shown

and walked together...

 

the Landscape is changed forever

lush for having Love's

footprints upon it,

loamy with the treasure

lent it for awhile...

 

...such a sweet while...

 

For this supreme Grace

This climax of Creation

The Almighty's Magnum Opus

 

May the Lord make us

 

truly

 

Grateful

*

"Now abide faith, hope, and love;
the greatest of these
is Love."
-1 Corinthians 13:13