Today

 One morning as I talked by phone with my daughter, she said, “What do you have planned for today?”

“Nothing is on my calendar, but I will do many things.” After mentioning several of them, I added, “It feels good to have an open day and not have to hurry, hurry, hurry.”

After the conversation ended, I remembered this poem I had read earlier that morning:

 

Today

So here hath been dawning

Another blue Day;

Think wilt thou let it

Slip useless away.

 

Out of Eternity

This new Day is born;

Into Eternity,

At night, will return.

 

Behold it aforetime

No eye ever did:

So soon it forever

From all eyes is hid.

 

Here hath been dawning

Another blue Day:

Think wilt thou let it

Slip useless away.

~ Thomas Carlyle, a Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher (1795-1881)

 

Although the language is outdated and the punctuation rather odd, his probing question is relevant today--and every day. Will we, dear reader, let God's gift of this new day "slip useless away"? Or will we thank God for it and use it in ways that please and honor Him and bless others?

Designed by Johnnie Ann Gaskill

Sensing His Presence

As I read Patience Allison Hartbauer’s poem entitled Footprints, which I recently found in a pocket-sized booklet I’d had for years, I recalled many experiences similar to the one she describes.

I, too, have walked along the beach and marveled at all the things God has created. I, too, have felt a renewed sense of peace and hope. I, too, have worshipped God as I walked on sandy shores. I, too, have concluded that, although I did not see His footprints in the sand, I knew He was walking with me. 

(c)2017, Sanibel Island, Florida

I pray you have had a similar experience. You may have sensed God with you at places other than the beach. The place we experience Him could be anywhere. According to the Bible, Paul and Silas felt His presence while in a prison cell. David knew God was with him even while David was hiding out in a cave. Moses experienced God out in the desert. I’ve felt His presence in a hospital room. On a mountaintop. In the grocery store... 

He is everywhere! How extra blessed we are when we sense Him--wherever we are. 

Lord, I Am Willing

Lord, I am willing

To receive what You give;

To lack what You withhold;

To relinquish what You take;

To suffer what You inflict;

To be what You require.

~unknown

I found that powerful prayer (poem) in a book a friend gave me for my birthday. Its words remind me of this insightful statement (attributed to Amy Carmichael) that Elisabeth Elliot often shared on her Gateway to Joy radio program: In acceptance lieth peace.

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The Encounter

I wrote the poem below after reading the Bible passage (John 4) that tells about what happened centuries ago when Jesus came to a certain town. I urge you to read it for yourself and to believe, as the woman and the other villagers did.

I took this photo during a musical presentation at a local church.

Jesus came to my town one ordinary day

And really surprised me with what He had to say.

He told me who He was and all I’d ever done,

So I believed Him when He said He was God’s Son.

I told all my neighbors, “You need to meet Him, too!”

And we invited Him to stay a day or two.

As He spoke, we realized all He said was true.

Many believed in Him—way more than just a few.

The encounter with Jesus changed many a life,

Though the plain truth He spoke often cut like a knife.

I’m glad He spoke with me one ordinary day

And completely changed me with what He had to say.

Everyone can tell I’m truly a “happy girl”

Now that I know and love the Savior of the world.

To know Him is to love Him, and I surely do!

And there's more good news: He loves ME—and also YOU!

We Lived, But Now We Lie...

Several years ago, a friend stopped by a day or so before Memorial Day. During his visit, we talked about many things, including the poems our teachers required us to learn when we were in elementary school (more than 50 years ago). 

"Did you have to learn 'In Flanders Field'?"I asked him.

Rather than give me a "yes" or "no" answer, he began to quote the poem: "In Flanders Field the poppies grow between the crosses row on row."

I tried to join him in reciting the poem. However, I dropped out of the recitation after I'd said the words above. He did, too, although he probably could have recited the entire poem word for word, since he has an incredible memory.

The following day, I searched the Internet for a copy of that poem. I found it, as well as information about who wrote what has become the world's most famous memorial poem. I learned that it was written by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae on March 3, 1915, the day after his friend (and former student) Alexis Helmer had been killed in the second battle of Ypres, Belgium. He composed it at the battlefront.

All the words evoked strong emotion, but the ones that stood out to me were these:

...short days ago 

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow

Loved and were loved, and now we lie in Flanders Field.

Yes, all too soon (from the human perspective), their lives had ended, as will yours and mine. Hopefully, they were prepared to meet their God. Hopefully, they honored Him and served Him and their fellow man during the days they lived. May that be true of us, as well.

One of the many sections of the Georgia National Cemetery in Canton, GA

To hear someone read the entire poem aloud, please click here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6BlOkpdkg8

Pray for the Children!

Several years ago, while listening to Elisabeth Elliot's radio program, Gateway to Joy, I heard her quote one of Amy Carmichael's poems. I loved the poem, found it on the Internet, and learned that it was included in the book, Toward Jerusalem, which is a collection of poems by Amy. But the poem Elisabeth quoted is one of my favorites.

The poem is actually a prayer Amy was praying for the children under her care at the Dohnavur Fellowship (a refuge for underprivileged children) in South India when Amy was a Protestant missionary there from 1895 until her death in 1951. It's one of the sweetest prayers I've heard for children. 

Copyright restrictions prevent me from sharing the entire poem, but I can share a summary of her thoughts. She asked God to protect them from the powers of evil, which can pull them down--like whirlpools and/or quicksand do. She asked God to guide children through life's troubled waters and to cheer them in the midst of life's battles. 

There's more, much more, and Amy expressed the deep desire of her heart far better than I can summarize. I encourage you to buy the book and/or click here to read the poem (it's the third one) and then offer her words as your prayer on behalf of all children.

Don't Be Anxious!

The robins have returned to our area. As I observe them in our yard, I think of this little poem I've read often through the years.

Overheard in an Orchard

Said the robin to the sparrow,

“I should really like to know,

Why these anxious human beings

Rush about and worry so.”

Said the sparrow to the robin,

“Friend, I think that it must be,

That they have no Heavenly Father,

Such as cares for you and me.”

~Elizabeth Cheney, 1859

Note: The sparrow was wrong. We do have a Heavenly Father who cares for us. It’s just that we don’t often realize we do! Neither do we pay attention to these words spoken by Jesus said in Matthew 6:25-34, ESV, emphasis added:

²⁵Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 

²⁶Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 

²⁸And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, ²⁹yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ³⁰But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

³¹Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ Or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the Gentiles [unbelievers] seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. ³³But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

³⁴Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow…

Wabi-Sabi

At the conclusion of a Toastmasters meeting, the leader said, “The theme for our next meeting will be wabi-sabi.”

Well…that theme was quite different from recent ones, such as enthusiasm, being prepared, rise and shine, etc., all of which were easily understood. But wabi-sabi????

Naturally, I made a bee-line for her after the meeting and smiled as I asked, “Just what is wabi-sabi?”

“It’s a Japanese word that means a way of seeing beauty in things that are imperfect, like a cracked vase. People who understand wabi-sabi intentionally place the vase so that the imperfection can be seen rather than hidden.”

After the meeting, I logged on to the internet to find out more about wabi-sabi. I learned that ancients Greeks once prized beauty; westerners desire perfection; but those who practice wabi-sabi value authenticity. They see beauty in things that are imperfect, impermanent, and/or incomplete. For example, they find beauty in things that are rough, irregular, natural, rustic…things with “character,” such as a table with a few dings and dongs, a chipped cup, wrinkled faces, etc. 

      My goodness! I thought. I’ve been practicing wabi-sabi for years and didn’t even know it! To prove it, I looked through my collection of digital photos and found many images I’d made of what I considered beautiful “finds.” I’d found them in unexpected places. For example: an outhouse made of rough wood standing beside acres of sunflowers in full bloom, outgrown children’s shoes being used as small planters, an old worn-out shoe providing a home to a plant in need of care, textured walls in an abandoned building, dried blooms silhouetted again a November sky…

 One of my all-time favorite wabi-sabi photos is one of my mother’s hands, taken when she was 86 years old. I liked it so much I even wrote a poem about her hands and placed those words onto the photo itself.

The more we accept the imperfect elements in our environment and consider them interesting and beautiful, the more willing we’ll be to let go of our relentless quest for perfection—not only in things but also in people—including ourselves!

Fall Has Arrived

The hot, humid summer now is past.
It looks like Fall has come at last.
I feel a slight nip in the air
As the cool wind blows through my hair.

It’s time to pack the shorts away,
Since cooler temps are here to stay.
The nuts are falling down, down, down!
Leaves are turning from gold to brown.


Soon we’ll move the potted plants inside,
Checking them first for insects trying to hide.
The deck chair cushions will be stored away.
We’ll get them out again some warmer day.

As the wind blows leaves across the ground,
I enjoy the signs of Fall I’ve found.
The sight of mums blooming in a pot
Reminds me that I like Fall a lot!

(c) October 24, 1999, by Johnnie Ann Burgess Gaskill. For permission to use, please contact her.

Fall's First Blush

Like a blush rising in a maiden’s face,
Fall is arriving at her own slow pace.
A hint of color here and over there
Makes me say, “Oooh!” or just sit and stare.
A touch of pale red, a burst of soft gold…
Aaah! Soon these colors will be rich and bold.
As Fall’s blush deepens and spreads day by day,
I like to linger long along my way.
For all too soon Fall’s colors will be gone,
Leaving trees and vines barren and alone.
But, for now, Fall’s lovely blush delights my heart,
Each time I gaze at the Great Creator’s art.

© September 14, 2003 by Johnnie Ann Burgess Gaskill. For permission to use, please contact her.