MESSIAH HAS COME! LIFT UP YOUR HEADS! Messiah has come! Lift up your heads! The fullness of time has arrived and the grace of God is revealed for all of mankind. His arms are wide open to give His embrace. Messiah has come! Lift up your heads! The angels deliver the message of peace for God has sent Jesus from heaven to earth to deliver from death--its power will cease. Messiah has come! Lift up your heads! True life has come for people on earth The promise is given for those who will seek. Messiah has promised for each a new birth. Messiah has come! Lift up your heads! One day we will stand in his presence in heaven, free from life's sorrows and sickness and pain, free from the hold of sin's old nature's leaven. Messiah has come! Lift up your heads! Let rejoicing begin and our praises ring out, for Jesus has come to show us God's love. Messiah has come! Of this we will shout. (2021)
All posts by busy lady
I am back
I haven’t been on my blog for awhile. Too many things interferred! But I am going to try again and do some posting. I have missed it. To start the process, here is a Thanksgiving poem, late for Thanksgiving Day, but never too late for life!
BLOOMING FLOWER. Like a flower blooming in arid place, thanks will turn the desert into a land of grace. (2019)
FEARS AND TEARS
We have just celebrated Easter! Praise God for the Resurrection. Now through Jesus we have peace with God and can live in peace. He is near in our trials. When we hurt, He hurts with us. He is worthy of praise.”
I TALKED TO GOD
The other day I talked to God
while driving down the road.
He sat beside me on the seat
and listened as I drove.
With heavy heart, I told my tale
of trials in my way.
When all was said, I felt His hand
reach out to mine that day
He dried my tears and I saw His;
He walked my path with me.
He took the load that I had borne,
and traded it for peace.
(2018)
THE ICE STORM
Winter is here with its cold and snow. Well, not so much snow this year, just lots of cold. I am reminded of a time many years ago of experiencing my first ice storm. I remember how beautiful it was, with everything coated in ice. It was not fun to be out there in the danger of tree branches giving way and ice threatening every step. My thought was: stay home and drink a hot cup of cocoa.
THE ICE STORM
Snow falls, the trees wear their blanket of white.
Rooftops are covered in canopy bright.
How lovely the sight of the new fallen snow.
Everything’s white and so clean. How it glows.
Winter winds blow; there’s a chill in the air.
Look all around; there’s ice everywhere!
Tree branches creak at their cold, icy guest.
The air cracks, the limb falls. They could not resist.
Roads glow with dark patches of glass no one sees
Until it’s too late. Drivers skid on the freeze.
Houses and cars become icicle farms,
Plying the world with diamond-like charms.
Sit back and relax as the snow keeps you home.
There’s nothing to do for once more winter’s come.
2004
FAMILY VISIT
Yesterday was a neat day. My daughter took three of her children and me to visit my sister in the next state. It was about a 2 1/2 hour drive. We had a nice lunch, then my sister put in a DVD for the kids–Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. We enjoyed the afternoon.
My daughter is not well acquainted with my sister. She has seen her a few times as she was growing up and then as an adult. But there is that connection of family I think she is longing for. I am glad, not only for her desire, but that my sister wants it too. That is nice for me. Some families don’t have that closeness and I am glad that it is there for us.
I remember time spent with aunts and uncles and cousins when I was a child. When I was 12 we left the area where they lived to move several states away, but I never forgot them. I did get to see them from time to time as an adult but they lived in another state a distance away so it wasn’t often. Even at that, I felt a sense of family that went beyond just my parents and my siblings.
Perhaps my grandchildren will feel a connection to family though they are spread far apart. I think that adds to life. It does to mine.
When the song of the angels is stilled,….
This is so lovely I wanted to share it.
Artwork: Andrew Wyeth
Text & image source: Garden of Bright Images https://www.facebook.com/GardenofImages/
THE LIGHT HAS COME
Christmas has passed but the Light does not. May it never go out in my life. May it never go out in yours.
THE LIGHT HAS COME
The Light has come
for Christ was born.
He came to earth
to face men’s scorn.
The Light has come,
in manger laid.
His life poured out–
the price is paid.
The Light has come
to lift our souls
from darkness’ hold
to make us whole.
The Light has come.
He died, now lives.
He’s ransomed me.
True life He gives.
2019
CANDLE OF HOPE
God’s candle blazes in the dark
among the shadows, cold and stark.
It sends its warmth against the chill
of death that lurks, waiting to kill
the seeking heart. But this bright light
draws close to seeking hearts with might
to fill with light where there is none.
It lights the way, bids seekers come
to find the kingdom of Jesus Lord
who fights the dark with Truth’s sword.
The dark dispelled, the light is cast,
God’s hand will hold the seeker fast.
2016
Life is never easy. About the time it settles down, something else happens.
Last December, I totaled my car and dealt with a sprained shoulder. My kind sister gave me her car, old and needing some repair, but got me around. After a couple months, for various reasons, I gave it to my daughter for her son. It wasn’t that I was ungrateful, but decided it was the best procedure for me. I asked my sister if it hurt that I gave away her gift to me. She said no, it had a good home.
Last June, I fell and sprained my right (I am right handed) wrist. It is hard even to write. At times it feels like it is healing, but the past couple weeks, it feels as if the healing has stalled.
The arthritis in my knee and hip have been acting up. I am grateful for the exercises I have. They help.
Now my kind sister tells me she has lymphoma. My baby sister. I lost my dad in 1978, my brother in 2012 (my younger brother) and my mom in 2014. My heart grieves for my baby sister as I pray for her healing.
So what do I do in the face of trials and suffering? It is easy to let the suffering get me down and honestly, at times it does. But I know God has a purpose for it. I live in a broken world. I reflect that Jesus came to a dark world, caught in the enemy’s grip to bring life. Jesus’s suffering gave life to those who embraced Him. Then He rose, and I see His promise to me is real. I am eternal being and He points me to life eternally in joy.
But how does that speak to my trials and suffering? Just as Jesus suffering brings comfort and life because He understands what I am feeling, so my suffering can help others experience life. I wrote a poem book of my emotions on the deaths of my loved ones. As I give it to people who are experiencing loss of loved ones, they express how grateful they are. One lady said she knew I understood; I had been there. I see life birthing into people’s hearts through my understanding.
I see my own understanding grow when someone ministers to me through their trials as they put their arms around me and give me their love. Or even as I watch their lives and see how they deal with their situation.
It will never get better until Jesus returns and sets all things right, fulfilling His promises to His people. This time on earth seems long to us, but as I get older, I see how short it is. Then He will dry my tears and as I live with Him, I will be able to serve Him in joy.
Meanwhile, I take stock of my blessings and ask God to give me a grateful heart for His many gifts. Key to living through my sufferings.
Sacrifice of thanks
One of my favorite verses from Scripture is Psalm 50:23 NIV:
“He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way that I may show him the salvation of God.”
I may not feel like saying thanks, of offering my thank offerings, but if I am willing to make that my sacrifice to God, He will honor me. Giving that sacrifice of thanks makes me more aware of the blessings He has given me, which are many. It brings an awareness that I can trust Him, and patience to wait for Him.
More than once when I have done that, I find peace and joy way ahead of the answer to my prayer.
Two Christmases in a year?
I am amazed at how fast summer has gone. It isn’t gone quite yet, but as I watch the preparations of my grandchildren to prepare for school, I know the year is progressing far too fast. I think my sister was right when she said awhile back, “Do you suppose if time keeps going this fast that we will have two Christmases in a year?”
I am thankful that God has given us seasons. The changes in the weather remind me of His promise after the flood: “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, summer and winter, day and night will never cease” (Genesis 9:22).
