First Coming

He did not wait till the world was ready,
till men and nations were at peace.
He came when the Heavens were unsteady,
and prisoners cried out for release.

He did not wait for the perfect time,
He came when the need was deep and great.
He dined with sinners in all their grime,
turned water into wine. He did not wait.

till hearts were pure. In joy he came
to a tarnished world of sin and doubt.
To a world like ours, of anguished shame
he came, and his Light would not go out.

He came to a world which did not mesh,
to heal its tangles, shield its scorn.
In the mystery of the Word made Flesh
the Maker of the stars was born.

We cannot wait till the world is sane
to raise our songs with joyful voice,
for to share our grief, to touch our pain,
He came with Love: Rejoice! Rejoice!

~ Madeleine L'Engle

Recommended Reading for Christmas "break"

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis

The Reason for God by Tim Keller

Peace Is Here

Little children, born to chaos, sojourn by the stars appear,
Though your fears wrap all around you, love has come and peace is here.

Men to men, in violent rapture,
Wars lay sons in fields unknown,
Hope to quell the disappointment,
Justice born and mercy shown,

Gloria, Gloria, peace is here,
Gloria, Gloria, peace is here.

Angels sing in righteous envy,
Kings of Earth kneel by the throne,
Born to push against the fall, as far as the curse is found.

Gloria, Gloria, peace is here,
Gloria, Gloria, peace is here,
Peace is here, peace is here.

Na, na, na-na-na-na,
Na, na, na-na-na-na, na,
Na, na, na-na-na-na,
Na, na, na-na-na-na, na.

Gloria, Gloria, (peace is here)
Gloria, Gloria, peace is here,
Peace is here, peace is here.

~ Jars of Clay

Pooh Bear loves his auntie

New York at Christmas

is a very pretty place.

one-liners

We do not want joy and anger to neutralize each other and produce a surly contentment; we want a fiercer delight and a fiercer discontent. We have to feel the universe at once as an ogre's castle, to be stormed, and yet as our own cottage, to which we can return at evening. ~ G.K. Chesteron

(ok, so that was more than one line.)

Excerpts from The Praying Life

Imbedded in the idea of prayer is a richly textured view of the world where all of life is organized around invisible bonds or covenants that knit us together. Instead of a fixed world, we live in our Father's world, a world built for divine relationships between people where, because of the Good News, tragedies become comedies and hope is born.

~ Paul E. Miller (p 217)

Trust thou thy joys

Trust thou thy joys in keeping of the Power who holds these changing shadows in His hand; Believe and live, and know that hour by hour will ripple newer beauty to thy strand.

~ Thomas Wentworth Higginson

one-liners

I am immortal until God's work for me is done. The Lord reigns.

~ Henry Martyn

one-liners

Soaring whispers

Shouting fears

Both are just as real.

~ Mom

You are the God of the early mornings

You are the God of the early mornings, the God of the late at nights, the God of the mountain peaks, and the God of the sea; but, my God, my soul has further horizons than the early mornings, deeper darkness than the nights of the earth, higher peaks than any mountain peaks, greater depths than any sea in nature - You Who are God of all these, be my God. I cannot reach to the heights or to the depths, there are motives I cannot trace, dreams I cannot get at - My God, search me out.

~ Oswald Chambers

one-liners

Nothing happens by chance, but by the far-sighted wisdom of God.

~ St. Julian of Norwich

The best place

The best place is wherever He puts us, and any other would be undesirable, all the worse because it would please our fancy, and would be of our own choice. Do not think about distant events. This uneasiness about the future is unwholesome for you. We must leave to God all that depends on Him, and think only of being faithful in all that depends upon ourselves. When God takes away that which He has given you, He knows well how to replace it, either through other means or by Himself.

~ Francois Fenelon

Matthew 5, 6, and 7

one-liners

Duty is ours; results are God's.

~ John Quincy Adams

one-liners

I would give nothing for that man's religion whose very dog or cat are not the better for it.

~ Rowland Hill

one-liners

What would you do if you had no fear of failure?

~ Matt Cassidy

Frosty Morning

one-liners

Ask boldly; surrender completely.

~ Paul E. Miller (from his book The Praying Life)

one-liners

Make wherever you are the eye of the storm. Be all there.

 ~ Janice Joyhart