Sunday, December 31, 2017

sweet robin


















oh
that i could sit with you 
for awhile

that i could 
hear the thrumming
of your little heart

and see up close
into the pools 
of your tiny 

magnificent eyes




"Art thou the bird whom Man loves best, The pious bird with the scarlet breast, Our little English Robin; The bird that comes about our doors When autumn winds are sobbing?"
                                                      -William Wordsworth


I end the year 2017 with this wish for you in the year to come: I hope you see more beauty this year than ever before. I hope you are startled by little things like robins, raindrops, and tiny red berries…for even the smallest things have their part in telling the story.

Saturday, December 16, 2017

doe


















and suddenly
they were
there

in the middle
of the
meadow

i marveled
at the
sight of them

"and the lion
will lie down
with the lamb"

imagine

walking with elephants
petting the panther

running with wolves


"In that day, the wolf will lamb will live together. The leopard will lie down with the baby goat. The calf and yearling will be safe with the lion, and a little child will lead them all."  ~Is. 11:6

In the past few months i have read several books that have enlarged my thinking and vision of what lies ahead. The hope of heaven and the renewal of all things is becoming more real to me. I seem to be coming across this message everywhere. Here are some books to investigate if you are so inclined.

All Things New by John Eldrege
Heaven by Randy Alcorn
King’s Cross by Tim Keller
The Story of Everything by Jared Wilson
Surprised by Hope by Norman T. Wright This one is a heavier read and takes some wading through (N.T. Wright is a world renowned new testament theologian)…..i read it with a friend so we could bounce thoughts and questions off one another. 

"Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while.  The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him.  For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing:  there was light and high beauty forever beyond its reach…….Putting away all fear, he cast himself into a deep untroubled sleep."

                                                  J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

Friday, December 8, 2017

morning coffee and contemplation





have you ever
wondered

how you can sit
in a chair
on a cold december morning

drink a cup of coffee
and read a chapter or two

while the house you are in
in the country you are in
on the planet you are 
on

is shooting through space
while simultaneously spinning 
(at some thousand miles per hour)
round
    and
       round

and this
on an axis
invisible

have you ever wondered why 
you aren’t dizzy?

some would say
“it’s simply gravity”

but if you are like me
you rarely 
give things like gravity
a simple second thought

and that,
i’ve come to believe
is a thing 
of gravity

too 



   I’ve been contemplating the wonders of the solar system of late and am struck anew by an obvious design and plan that far exceeds my intellect. I am amazed that there are some very smart people who say this all “just happened”. It would be like a Rembrandt “just happening” because some wind came along and blew some paint cans off a table onto the floor and “wa la” ……. a painting is born; hmmm, shall we call it “The Return of the Prodigal”?