Peace With God

Peace, a much sought after quality,

Earnestly we seek it,

Always desiring it,

Can't seem to find it,

Elusive peace.

With God alone is true peace possible,

In Him there is perfect peace,

Total peace, perfect peace,

Heart soothing peace.

God is peace!

Only in Him will you find it,

Desire of Him brings it.

Beauty

Beauty surrounds me,

Everywhere I look,

All is grace,

Utter beauty,

Total awe,

You are an awesome God!

Hektor

Hektor is my big white dog,

Everywhere he follows me,

Knows my moods, senses my needs,

Totally devoted,

Only a dog,

Rare, priceless friend

Samson

Samson is silly,

Always questing,

Mischievous in motion,

Sniffing and digging,

Often a nuisance,

Nonetheless loved.

Summer

Summer is here in all it's blazing heat,

Ultraviolet rays burn the flesh,

Mornings are the cool refreshing times,

Murderous heat quickly follows,

Everywhere dry and parched,

Ravenous for relief.

Grace

Grace amazes me,

Radical grace,

Abounding grace,

Captivating grace,

Everywhere grace.

Morning

Morning has broken,

Opalescent sky,

Radiant the sun,

Night has passed

Ignescent rays stream forth,

Nearby birds sing joyfully,

God is present, God is good!

Bella's New Shoes

Bella got new shoes today!

Earthbound she was not.

Leaping into the air,

Lost her new shoes!

After we put them on again,

Settled in them she was.

New doggie shoes!

Efficient for walking.

Wayfaring shoes.

Shoes for Miss Bella,

High lifting feet,

Onward she goes,

Elevated steps,

Sassy Miss Bella.

WORK

Work calls to me.

Obligation beckons.

Resistance is futile.

Knowing this, I go.

STORM

Storm rolls in,

Thunder booms and roars,

Onstage the lighting dances,

Rain pours down in violent sheets,

Morning breaks fresh and clean.

TIRED FEET

Tired, tired feet I have,

itching to be free of heavy boots.

Red hot feet, tired feet.

Ecstatic at the thought of freedom.

Feet, sore, tired, aching feet.

Electrified feet, yearning for relief.

Eager for air.

Tired aching feet.

NEW GOLF CLUBS

New golf clubs,

excited husband,

waiting, waiting, to take them out.

Golf clubs shiny and new,

 outrageously priced in my opinion.

Loving gift bestowed on husband.

For his enjoyment and delight.

Clubs to replace those

lost to a thief

unknown to us

but God knows them.

So we leave it in His hands.

TREE SONG

Tree branches stirring in the wind,

rustling leaves, softly singing, 

enthralling music to ears that hear.

Eldritch song, creation crying out.

Song of the trees,

oft unheard by those with stopped ears,

nature singing to her Creator.

"God is worthy of praise! "

 

God Almighty is a Mighty Fortress

A beautiful Castle that shines brighter than the sun!

His battlements are impenetrable!

His walls reach into the heavens!

There is safety in His courtyard!

There is peace in His cathedra!

But alas I cannot breech His mighty fortress,

I cannot scale His towering walls.

Who am I but sinful dust?

Who am I that He, the Mighty Warrior would allow me shelter?

God Almighty shouts from His tall tower,

Enter in all who pay the price!

No sin may enter here, but he who is without sin may come,

He who has kept my laws may freely enter!

I am undone, I am like a worm upon the hot sand,

My flesh melts under the heat of His gaze, like wax from a candle,

I cannot stand before His might,

His sword cuts my flesh,

my sins flash before me,

no hope for me,

I shall die and return to dust,

forever outside His holy walls.

Who will deliver me?

Who will transport me to His cathedral?

Behold the Son!

He lowers Himself from the splendor of the castle,

to touch the dirty earth that binds me to it,

that holds me to the dust from which I was made,

He shouts out to the masses

Only death can pay for sin, only blood shed can pay your price!

The Son dies,

My sin the nails that bind Him to the tree,

My hand holds the hammer,

My heart is torn within me, like a cloth caught between the teeth of dogs,

The sky is darkened,

day becomes night,

The earth shakes like a mighty behemoth

A wall cracks open,

An open door appears before me,

But I cannot cross the chasm between me and the castle that is Almighty God,

The Son rises, clothed in splendor,

Nail scarred hands outstretch,

He lays down, stretched out before me,

A Mighty Drawbridge,

The light of the Castle that is my God shines forth from the open door,

I walk across, upon the sacrifice of the Son,

The Drawbridge that leads me home.

My debt is paid,

My sins are covered,

I reside in the Castle that is my God,

I dwell behind the shelter of His towering walls,

I have peace within His cathedral.

My God is a strong Tower, a mighty Fortress, a beautiful Castle!

    This Psalm was written as a writing exercise, my task was to compose a Psalm using metaphors to describe God.

  Happy Father's Day in heaven to my dad, Clyde Ottie Hall who was, and is the most influential man in my life. My father brought words to life. He defined them. Words like endurance, perseverance, and faith.

  He was born to a large family, in a tiny cabin in Hazel Creek, North Carolina in what is now National Park wilderness. His father was Marion Spurgeon Hall, and his mother Nola Laney Hall. He grew up in a tough environment, life was hard. The closest store was many miles away, and it only carried basic staples, like salt, and flour. There were no cars to get you there. Basic needs that we take for granted like shoes and store bought items were hard to come by. He often went without. He told us he was 15 years old when he first laid eyes on a store bought toy. He once played for weeks with a tiny chocolate turtle that he received in his Christmas stocking. He told us that for most Christmas's they got an orange and some hard candies in their stockings, but that one year there was the turtle, covered in foil. He learned to farm and to hunt, not for recreation but for life. When he was a little boy, he once killed a groundhog with his bare hands, and his family had food. He told us of one hard winter when his dad trapped song birds so they could have meat for the table. Life was difficult growing up in the Appalachian wilderness. 

  He fought in the South Pacific in many famous naval battles. He was known as a fierce man, and his shipmates were amazed when I informed them that Clyde "Gabby" Hall had been changed by Jesus Christ and was called to be a pastor. One man told me that my father would have been last on the list of shipmates had he chosen one for that profession.

  There were many things in his background that I never saw personally. How he loved to fight, and was a fierce fighter. He had a huge scar on his arm from a bar fight. He once threw several persons through a bar window. He once stood in a ring with a prize fighter for the required time, earning his shipmates huge winnings. He manned one of the big guns on board his ship, and he told of shouting his rage to the heavens as the Japanese pilots swooped down so low that he could hit them with a potato. He had some problems with the law in his younger days and it is said that he helped build the Blue Ridge Parkway, with a ball and chain around his ankle. He never shared that one with us, but it was told me by one of his sisters, He drank a lot in his younger days. I never saw these things, other than a brief stint of drinking when my mother walked away, and a willingness to defend us kids against anyone and anything that promised harm. His life was a living testimony to the power of Christ that can completely change a person, and take them to heights they never dreamed possible.

  In his past he had been a reprobate, a sailor, a moonshiner, a coal miner and a farmer. He married Geneva Wilson, and they had a son James Steven Hall, and a daughter (me). One day he went to work, to the long hard day at the cotton mill, and on that day she left him. My brother and I met him as he walked home. It is a day that neither I nor my brother will ever forget. For a short time my father lost his anchor, and we wandered adrift. But he soon found his strength and faith again. He raised us two children alone and he poured his heart into us. He worked in a cotton mill (brutal work) full time. He always plowed, planted and maintained a big garden, and he pastored a church full time.

  He demonstrated daily with his life the qualities that have kept me whole all the days of mine. He never gave up, I have seen him weep, seen him tired, seen him in such pain, but he always managed to keep going. His life was anything but easy. He never had much, but he was content with what he had. He depended on God and demonstrated faith and how to walk with God through the hard places.

  I can't recall a meal that he didn't bless with prayer, and I have many memories of sitting around the table as he blessed the food. He loved to cook, but he wasn't very good at it. I guess if you survived your childhood on groundhog and song birds, then stew with bits of meat, purple cabbage and walnuts was pretty darn tasty. My brother and I never thought so.

  He loved my brother and I with a fierce love. He wanted us to have more than he did, he wanted us to be better people, he desired to protect us from the mistakes he made as a young man. I felt safe with him. He was larger than life to me as a little girl. He became even larger when I finally understood the things he labored so hard to teach me.

  I loved to see him laugh, and he took joy in simple things.He took great joy in his garden and the planting and harvesting always excited him. He loved God, and God's word. He preached every Sunday and most Wednesday nights in the churches he pastored, and he often preached on the radio.He was never once ashamed of the gospel. Indeed many of the times I saw him cry were when he was talking about the grace of God.He knew exactly who he had once been, and that God, by grace alone was the One who changed him.

  My final memory of him was at his wake. I stood next to my brother at the head of my father's casket and shook the hands of a mass of people as they filed by to pay their respects. They told me they came to Christ through my father's preaching, how he had baptized them, how he had visited them when they were sick, how he taught them the scriptures, mentored them in their ministries, performed their weddings, their ordinations to ministry, person after person declaring how the life of this one man, a terrible sinner saved by grace, a man born, raised, and died in poverty had touched their lives.

  I miss him, would give anything to be able to sit on the back porch with him. I wish my boys could have known him. He would be so very proud of them both. I wish my sons could sit on the back porch with him, hear his war stories, hear him speak of Jesus, for he demonstrated to the world how you can be a strong, manly man, full of fire, fierce and loyal and yet devoted and unashamed of his Lord.

  I miss you dad. I will ever be thankful that you were my earthly father. You taught me more than any other person apart from our Lord.I do believe our Lord has allowed you to look down on us in that great cloud of witnesses from time to time, for my heart has and doth hear you cheering us on. You shall be the first face, after His, that I search for. Until then Papa, happy Father's Day in heaven.

 It had been a long day, a trying day, and a very draining day. As I retired for the night my spirit was greatly burdened.  The enemy of my soul bombarded me with the day’s news, gleefully crying “where is your God?”  There had been news of brothers in the Lord beheaded, news of terrible atrocities inflicted upon humans, and countless stories of terrible cruelty inflicted upon poor creatures, and my heart was drained of all peace. My own dear ones, for whom I prayed so very hard, were still struggling in their prisons, and I powerless to save, powerless to change. I felt drained, I felt undone.

 I lay my head upon my pillow; I sighed and closed my eyes, my pillow wet with tears.

  It seemed only a brief moment passed between the closing of my eyes and my finding myself standing upon a ledge, a mighty angel of the Lord beside me. He shouted out, “Be not afraid beloved child of God, behold the work of the Lord!” and he thrust out his hand in front of him. I peered through the dense darkness, attempting to see what he was showing me, but the darkness was thick and unrelenting. My ears could hear the crashing of mighty waters, as they churned and roared as if they were swirling about in a massive storm, yet there was no wind, no breeze, no scent of any kind in the air, only darkness.

 And then there was a light, a light so pure and brilliant that I fell to my knees, and I heard a great voice, like the sound of rushing waters, like the roar of a great wind, like a mighty trumpet……..Let there be…………and to my wonder, to my amazement I realized that I was beholding the creation of the world!

 I know not how long I stood upon that ledge, a ledge floating in a sea of nothing, it might have been days, weeks, months or years, or perhaps it was mere moments. I believe I was outside of time as I stood there, next to the angel, who steadied me as I alternated between standing and watching and falling upon my face trembling with the awe of it all.

 By the light of the One who created, I watched as the seas separated from the dry ground, and as the waters separated from the sky. I beheld in wonder as the plant life sprang from nothing into full and vibrant life. I watched by His light, and then by the light of the great blazing sun that He spoke into being.  I watched as evening, and morning passed again and again. I stood upon that ledge and watched my Lord speak all things into being.

 I recall how the sound of the waters changed, from the deep churning, roaring twisting void, to the gently whoosh of the waves lapping up against the newly formed earth. Where there had been no scent at all, now the smell of the salt, and the smell of the vibrant and arrayed plant life entered my nostrils. I who had ever been one to stop and smell the flowers had never in all my days smelled such delight. The fragrance of the flowers that He spoke into being was rich, and soothing, and beautiful. Although within my 55 years I had stood upon many a mountaintop, many a meadow, many a forest, beholding the beauty of the earth in some of it's most spectacular place, I was driven to my knees by the sheer beauty before me, the raw and untarnished beauty of this new place was beyond description. It was truly good, just as He had called it.

 I marveled at the stars in the heavens, Although I had often stood under many a desert sky, beholding the majesty of the heavens, I had never beheld such grandeur and I reeled at the sight of those blazing newly created stars and planets. I do believe that my Lord sustained my life during this time, for my breath was taken from me, I who had called many scenes breathtaking now truly understood what the phrase meant.

  Then He spoke again, and the sky above the earth teemed with a multitude of birds, and they swooped and flew with grace and majesty, arrayed in an assortment of vivid colors, a multitude of birds, singing their praise to the Creator who had called them into life. My friends, words fail me in describing the scene that was before me; no matter the words I choose they will fall short. It was astounding. Then I noticed the seas churning, with a multitude of fish, and mighty sea turtles, dolphins and whales, leaping and dancing before the Creator. Had my eyes never gazed upon another scene, had I been struck blind at that very moment, it would have been enough to carry me all the rest of my days. I prayed at that very moment, oh Lord, oh Father, grant that this scene be ingrained forever more upon my mind, grant that I forget not one bit of it. Twas glorious, twas awe inspiring to watch the evening sunset, upon that peaceful scene.

 And again I was shaken, at the sound of His voice as He spoke, and there sprang forth from nothing, a multitude of creatures, some of which I had never laid eyes upon before. Everywhere I looked, upon the green and vivid earth; it teemed with life, beautiful graceful life. I watched in amazement as a multitude of deer, antelope, giraffe,and elephants, alongside majestic lions and tigers, leapt and danced upon the earth in praise of their Creator. It was more than the senses could process. I was overcome and fell upon my face and worshiped the Creator of all things. Oh yes Lord, it is indeed good.

 And then it became still and quiet and I behold a figure clothed in white walking among the creatures. They all approached without fear, and I watched as his hand went out here and there, to touch a head, to caress a back. The birds swooped up and around Him, and on occasion landed upon his arm. I watched as He spoke to them and visited with them, I know not how long I watched. I knew without question who this glorious figure was, there was no doubt; it was my Lord, my Saviour, the One who died for me.

  I watched as He walked through the mist and to a beautiful flowing stream, and He knelt there next to the water. I could see that He was taking up earth into His hands and forming it and I realized that I was about to behold the creation of our ancestor Adam.  I was far above all this, still standing on the ledge, the angel’s hand upon my shoulder. I strained to see what was transpiring far below me. It seems that as my Lord knelt and crafted something large from the clay that He was singing softly. I watched as He gently blew upon the mass of clay upon the ground, and I gasped as the most beautiful human being that I had ever beheld rose up upon strong legs, a smile upon his face, laughter flowing from his lips as he took the outstretched hand of his Creator. I could feel the love, the peace, the joy radiating through the air, even the creatures, the birds and animals danced in delight at this new being. Some time passed and I beheld my Lord and the man, walking among the plants and animals, and sometimes the man was alone. The man spoke to the animals, and caressed their beautiful coats, and sometimes I watched him nap with his head upon the flank of a great lion. I know not how much time passed as I beheld these things; truly I could have stood there and watched forever. There simply was no concept of time; there was nothing pressing, nothing to rush to, only peace and a beauty of which I am at a loss of words to convey.

 

  At some point, when my Lord was walking in the garden, I saw Him touch the man, and the man fell asleep, and my Lord gently lowered him to the ground. He hovered over the man, performing some act that I could not clearly see,  but I suspected that I was now witnessing the creation of my sister Eve. And in a small space of time (although time is not an adequate word) I watched, again in awe and amazement as the most beautiful woman arose from the ground and took the hand of her Creator.  Her laughter was musical, I had never heard such perfect laughter, she danced and swirled and bowed and my Lord smiled. I could see that He was so pleased with what He had made. At a word from my Lord, the man awoke and stood, how delightful it was to behold the look on his face as he stared at the woman. Then his face split apart in a beautiful grin as my Lord took the hand of the woman, and placed it into the hand of the man. The entire creation seemed to sing out its praise, in birdsong that put to shame the most beautiful orchestra’s that I had been blessed to hear, and the animals danced in delight, even the trees sang out, their branches and leaves rustlings in the gentle breeze.

  All of creation praised the One who had spoken and called them forth from nothing. The peace and the delight of the place flooded my soul, and I would have stood upon that ledge for a million years, but the angel gently touched my shoulder and said “it is time to go; you have witnessed all that He wanted you to see.”   And with sadness I turned away from the beautiful perfect scene below, turned away from the image of the man and the woman, walking with the Lover of my soul. I sighed deeply, and the angel spoke again, “be strong in the Lord, and in the sureness of His love and mercy, and remember His promises. He has redeemed you and called you by name, you are His. He will create new heavens and a new earth and all shall be as He intended it to be, be strong, hold fast, and run your race that He has laid out before you. Hold to the promise that He made that all will one day be as you have witnessed here.”

 And my eyes opened, my head upon my pillow, in my bed, the morning sunlight streaming through the window. I sat up, the scenes I had witnessed still vivid in my mind. Was it a dream? A vision? I know not, but I do know that He spoke to my soul, for it was renewed within me, and I arose with a song of praise on my lips, ready to go out, into a broken and hurting world, and share His peace, His love, and His mercy.

 

 The above story is fictional, and part of an exercise in creative writing that I am doing. I hope you enjoyed it. Although it is fictional and I had no such vision, no visit from an angel, no glimpse of my Lord walking in the garden, the story is built upon truths that we can rely on. Our world is broken, sin has marred it, evil and cruelty at times seem to run amok, but He is in control, He is working out His plan of redemption, and when all that He has ordained has come to pass, He will make all things right. Until then, hold fast to His promises, and be about His work.

Grace and peace be with you, now and forever. Amen

 

 

Dan DeWitt wrote a little book called, Jesus or Nothing, which I am currently reading. It has brought back many memories. The book is very well written, and concerns the subject of atheism, and the choices many make as to either place faith in the existence of God or to discard it and choose instead to believe in nothing.

  I can relate too many of the atheistic views discussed in this book, and Dan asks some very valid questions of those whose faith is in nothing. Why do we often choose to reject God, to discard the concept of God? One phrase leapt out at me as the author discusses a man named Zach, who has chosen to believe in nothing.

“But I do think Zach should honestly consider whether his trajectory away from Christianity is based on the central claims of the gospel or on the all-too-often ridiculous nature of many who profess faith. These are two very different claims.”

 I personally once called myself an atheist, although in retrospect I believe I was just an angry agnostic, a disillusioned believer. I grew up in Christianity. I grew up the daughter of a pastor. I grew up watching my dad constantly suffer, and be so often mistreated by “pillars” of the church. I experienced very judgmental people, and a lot of “thou shall not’s”. These things, and my life experiences, drove me to reject the church and to develop a disdain for most Christians.

 Fortunately for me, I saw true faith in my father; sadly there are folks out there that did not have that experience. For them, most everything they have experienced has been negative. Consider the words of Paul in the book of Colossians 4:6, where he states “Let your speech always be seasoned with grace, as though seasoned with salt so that your will know how you should respond to each person.” And in 1 Peter 3:15 we have  “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,”.  You see, we, the people of the cross, the ones who say that we follow Jesus Christ; we are a type of gospel, to those who do not know Him. We may be the only gospel that some people ever see. If my words, my life, my actions are such a contradiction to the message of the gospel written in scripture, people will reject my message, and may never even make an attempt to understand the true gospel that God has given in the pages of scripture.

 In the book, the author quotes a minister who said these words; “The single greatest cause for atheism in the world today, is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyles. This is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”

  I can only tremble at the thought of how many folks, across my 26 years of walking with Christ I may have turned away from the gospel, where my actions, my words, my blindness preached something else to them and therefore helped them along the path of rejecting God. It’s a heavy thing to reflect on.

  Going back to the quote that I shared, from the book, I can say for certain that my path away from faith, away from Christianity was based on the all too often ridiculous nature of those who professed faith. It was the judgments, it was watching a deacon in church stand up and pray, and talk about grace, while knowing that it was his voice on the phone that I answered, his voice telling me that “they would run my dad out of town on a rail for hanging out with #$^% (not even gonna share the word used.) Here was a “pillar” of the church, and he was a racist. Also included in my choice to walk away, was the church lady, whose favorite song was “How Great Thou Art” and who informed me that she did not believe black people had souls.

  Now one thing I must point out, before I lose the thought, is not everyone was like these two I have mentioned. There were a lot of decent persons in my youth, who did display Christ to me, my dad being one among them, but the truth of the matter is, and it’s especially true for young folks, is one negative can outweigh a hundred positives. In the mind and heart of a zealous young person, one negative can send a powerful message. For me, the message was clear, decent, kind, uneducated folks, mean well, but they are ignorant of truth, there is no God, because look at how people who say they believe act, look at the pillars of the church. It’s all a farce, a crutch created, because the world is harsh and dark and we need something to believe in. That was pretty much my view of Christianity.

  Fortunately, the God of the universe, the One who spoke all things into being, is gracious and kind, and continued to pursue me across the wastelands, and brought me to an understanding and knowledge of the gospel, and I realized that it is Him that I must consider, it is Him who sets the mark, and that every last one of us, from Mother Theresa on down, miss that mark. As to why we have so many harsh, mean and judgmental people within the walls of the physical church, I cannot say for certain, only that perhaps they are not yet in the place that God wants them to be, in their walk with Him, for it is a process of growth and understanding, or perhaps they are the ones that He speaks of in Matthew 7: 21-23, but for me, it matters not for I know Him now. My faith is firm, it is unshakable. I may falter in walking it out, I may not speak when I should, or as I should on any given moment, but my belief in Him cannot be shaken. As Job cried out, “though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.”

  I understand what it is to have no faith in a personal God. I have been there. I have been atheist, I have been agnostic. I pray that all those who struggle, all those who have rejected, will be moved to deeply examine their reasons for so believing.  Do not let life experiences or broken people be the cause of your faith in nothing. Examine the scriptures; examine the historical reasons for believing, examine the scientific reasons for believing in a Creator. Examine and I will trust God to do the rest.

 For “if the resurrection is true, then racist deacons and anti-intellectual Christian teachers don’t negate its authority and power. They do however illustrate that we are unworthy and that we all have a long way to go. At the same time, no faith is more multi-cultural and has motivated more intellectual inquiry than the worldview whose story of creation, fall, and redemption through resurrection wrestles honestly with our failures—and the process of overcoming them.”

 

  It is my prayer that; You will know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable to His death. Philippians 3:10; and I pray that Christ may live in your hearts by faith. I pray that you will be filled with love. I pray that you will be able to understand how wide and how long and how high and how deep His love is. I pray that you will know the love of Christ. His love goes beyond anything we can understand. I pray that you will be filled with God Himself. Ephesians 3:17-19

 

Jesus or Nothing, a great little book and well worth your time in reading it, regardless of whether you are a believer firm in your faith, or a skeptic, or a seeker.

 

 Here is an older post of my personal testimony, for any who may be interested.

http://allisgrace.posthaven.com/confession-is-good-for-the-soul