Winter Morning

I have recently revived my site haikugesundheit.wordpress.com where i focus on silly or humourous haiku. Over on this site, however, i thought I’d once again try my hand at a haiku more traditional in nature.

dawn’s easterly glow
silhouettes bare tree branches
– the wind tells stories

Parables of Earth – Part VII

The Farmer won’t let things get it of hand
in any part of his business. Between
harvest and seeding, while snow hides the land,
it may seem that He’s nowhere to be seen,

but that is not the case. The Earth may sleep
beneath its wool blanket, but in His shop,
out of sight, the Farmer has tasks to keep
Him busy through the winter. He won’t stop

doing chores like mending harnesses or
resharpening ploughshares until the Spring’s
warm dawn pulls back the covers, and once more
He’ll work His land as He joyfully sings!

Even before the warmer months arrive
Hard work is needed for a crop to thrive

Parables of Earth – Part VI

“The grass withers and the flowers fail, but the word of our God endures forever.” Isaiah 40:8

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

The crops that grow will struggle to survive
in those years when the sky seems hard as brass.
When rain is scarce, how can anything thrive?
All fades…withers…like the flowers and grass

But if you watch the Farmer, you will see
that he toils all day long, bringing pail
after pail of water from the stream. He
won’t willingly allow his crops to fail

Around his land, the earth is cracked and dry;
The Farmer’s fields, though, are fertile and green.
It’s when rain clouds don’t appear in the sky
that the Farmer’s work is most clearly seen

Though our lives often don’t go as we’d planned,
the Farmer won’t let things get out of hand.

The painter’s praise

“Sing songs of praise!” The pastor said,
“extolling God above
for is there any better way
besides of course to stop and pray
to show to Him our love?”

And as he looked out at the crowd
they all rose up to sing
except one man, still sitting down
looked up and stated, with a frown,
“I have no song to bring”

Upset by this, the pastor asked,
“Why don’t you wish to praise?”
“I do not have a singing voice
so I don’t sing. That is my choice
yet glories still I raise!”

I paint, you see, and canvas is
where I see God most clear
with ev’ry brush stroke that I place
I breath His name and feel His grace
and know that He is near

At this the pastor paused and said,
“I see that you are right,
that praise in song is just one way
to tell God of our love each day
and walk within His light”

So maybe singing is your gift
Perhaps though it is not
My friend if praising is your aim,
we don’t all have to praise the same
Just praise with what you’ve got!

Lily

A rather poor attempt at painting a lily… but probably my first attempt to use water colours since, oh, elementary school.

Parables of Earth – Part V

If rocks or thorns are left upon the ground
by those who have been hired to tend to
his field, the Farmer won’t keep them around
very long. Instead, He will look for new
farmhands who will care for the land. The crop
is, after all, the purpose of His field.
He will seek for workers who will not stop
striving to find ways to increase the yield
produced by the land. Labourers like these
are worth every penny that they are paid,
but woe to those who do not seek to please
the Farmer. They have cause to be afraid!

Without care taken to help the plants thrive
The crops that grow will struggle to survive.

~~

Just a note about the image:  I decided to try my hand at drawing a thistle.  I’ve never been much of an artist, but had the desire to try anyways.  Watercolor pencils on paper.  I utilized the “watercolor” aspect of the pencils in the top of the thistle only.

Philipians 2:6-11

In the church that I attend, or pastor taught us that many scholars believe that Philipians 2:6-11 was actually an early church hymn. I wanted to try my hand at turning the text into a poem/song. I haven’t set this to music yet, but here are the lyrics:

You were in very essence God
and could have worn a crown
but that’s not why you came to earth
and so you set that glory down

Becoming nothing for our sake
the flesh of man you wore
you chose to fill a servant’s role
though you were worthy of much more

Chorus:
In heights above and depths below
and here upon the earth
let each knee bend down at the name
and ev’ry tongue and voice proclaim
let praises and Hosannas flow
extolling Jesus’ worth

To please your Father was your aim
with each and ev’ry breath
you humbly sought to do his will
obeying even in your death

Willingly you faced the cross
and willingly you died
so God exalted you on high
to where you sit on His right side

Chorus:
In heights above and depths below
and here upon the earth
let each knee bend down at the name
and ev’ry tongue and voice proclaim
let praises and Hosannas flow
extolling Jesus’ worth

Pyramids

do
you think
that the pyramids
were constructed to make
us wonder about Egyptian technology
or would those ancient Egyptians engineers
wonder why modern technology isn’t more advanced?

Wite-Out

I could not abide your inflammatory words
your writings that went against the status quo
and so I took your pages and painted over
all the objectionable verbs, nouns, adjectives

I redacted you down to “ifs”, “ands” and “buts”
to snuff out each spark of revolution
not knowing what you were trying to teach
and not caring to understand

So now I stand back
and watch a conflagration
of my own making

too late did I learn:
my Wite-Out® is flammable too

~~

This whole piece was inspired by looking at a bottle of Bic® Wite-Out® correction fluid and seeing a label indicating “Danger: Flammable”

Shepherds: Part 5 – Bethlehem (Christmas Day)

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. -Lk 2:16-18, NIV

All at the same time they began to talk
“Let us go and do as the angel said!”
They quickly found a safe place for their flock
that they might go and find the manger bed

In Bethlehem the shepherds found the boy
exactly as the angel had foretold
and when they saw him, they were filled with joy:
this was their Saviour promised from of old!

that night before the Lamb those shepherds bowed
those keepers of the sheep a Shepherd sought
and then they could not help but speak aloud
about that infant in his straw filled cot

The shepherds’ whole world changed that Holy Night
and so they shared the News with great delight!