A poem for the grads!

Dear Graduates
On this day in 2010
Your life is about to change again
No longer under the protection of those who have taught you,
You will need now to apply all to the future new.

A lifetime of work to learn the basic tools
This will serve you after you leave school

English, math and science, history too
Will be used in good times and the blue

This is a joyful time to celebrate all you have done
The finals, papers, homework and test fun
Now behind you, now you can get a tan in the sun.

But, let me warn you now,
Life is not always a celebration, wow!
Events and people will kick you hard, POW!

You will be tested again and again,
Your have a choice with which to begin
Will you be force for healing
Or will you hurt others sending them reeling?

Will you love with all your heart
Will hate from you soul depart?
Will you care for the stranger
The weak, the child, without anger?

God calls you, yes you,
To answer the question who are you, who?
Are you the one who will pray
To see if you can bring joy in this day
Or will you be the one who causes destruction?
Will you listen for the instruction,
Of saints, friends and the Spirit Holy,
Or will you choose spirits in a bottle lowly?
Will drugs be your choice of high
Or will you seek God of sea and sky?

All these choices will define who you are
Showing others your true nature.

There will be no assignments from teachers
Only support from fellow seekers
When you choose you will never be alone out there
Your church, your family will offer care
As you travel down life’s crooked path.

Even if you were bad at math
Could not write a perfect paragraph,
Or remember who invented the telegraph

As you graduate this day
And go to work for pay

God’s Spirit, our love, will remain steadfast
As you take up a new task

Where ever the road may lead
Let me plant this seed,
Choose to walk with God
Walk with Jesus
Walk with the Saints
Walk with us
Allow all the blessings to enter you soul
And your life will be blessing to all.
No matter what problems befall.

SPM June 5, 2010

Nashville and the Flood

We just returned from Nashville from the Festival of Homiletics, a time of immersion in worship, music and fellowship. Being there so close to the floods that impacted the area on May 2-3, I had the opportunity to witness the some of terrible devastation, hear the stories of those who lost homes, lives.
So often being immersed is used as a positive thing, but being immersed in flood waters is messy and toxic. So using this insight from my wife, I wrote a poem that contrasts these two ideas.

Water
Water, clear, pure, shinning in the light.
Water, muddy, toxic, flooding in the dark.
Water contained, managed, purified,
Water wild, uncontrolled, escaping,
Water flows in us, flows in the world
Sometimes uninterrupted,
Sometimes channeled,
Water we cannot live without
Can sometimes cause death
Both reminders of the power of the one who created water.
SPM 5-22-10

Mother's Day 2010

Mother’s Day 2010

We live in a world full of threats
People, events, which cause upset
Waking up sometimes with dread
We feel if not for a bit of luck we could be dead.

We live in a world full of love
People events, which at our hearts tug
Waking up sometimes with abundant hope
We feel the blessings, wrapped in a protective coat.

On this Mother’s Day Sunday in church
We pause to give God thanks
Honor our families
Dare to believe in the promise.

We are not alone no matter what life brings,
Our treasured companions
Steady our nerves, make our soul sing.

Some on this day are mothers for the first time
And for the first time some have said goodbye,
All seeing life differently than before

Families come with all kinds of differences
Some sad, some fun, some easy, some tearing apart,
Families can also be a place where righteous and peace kiss each
Other,
All called to practice peace
To be a safe harbor
Amidst all the fierce passions
Causing war all around.

The task might be hard, huge, impossible
The resources so inadequate
God seems so unapproachable

In those confusing, dangerous, burning moments
We need to rely on the creative, unending, breathtaking
Lord all-powerful
Drawing upon the Spirit to inspire us to love, no matter what.

On this day, we give thanks for all who have chosen the path of peace,
Who have given their every last precious drop of care
Those who stand firm in uncertain times
And have passed on such wisdom and
warnings:
Brush your teeth
Be careful
Don’t run with scissors
Make sure you go to the bathroom before you get in the car
Brush your hair
Pick up after yourself
Time to get up, go to bed, take a break, get back to work
Go outside and play
Eat your vegetables
Let me kiss it and make it better
Here let me do that for you
I am proud of you
I love you.

Help us O Mother God to
Love steadfastly
Trust you deeply
Care for one another peacefully

Help us to protect each other from harm
To find ways of transforming our world
From a dreadful place to a glorious home

Help us to plant seeds of hope
In our daily adventures
To allow hate to die from inattention
Help us to turn again, and again, and again towards your light
Allowing your arms to hug us

Help us to listen respectively to the concerns of others
Breathing compassion in all our actions.

All these things we pray on this Mother’s day, Amen
SPM 2010