Stonewashed

husky jean coonskin cap kid
shuffling through the woods
stone-washed pockets filled with dreams
front right pocket holds a memory
dad pouring out a case of beer and starting over
back left pocket holds a tiny model of the planet Uranus
the name makes him giggle
his buddy Matt's pocketknife clipped to a belt loop
handy, prepared, faithful like his friend
a tattered tag labeled "Made in Frankfort, IN"
hangs by a thick invincible thread
he fiddles with it when he's bored, homesick,
or just hungry for a hot dog
his Levi's smell of campfire and coondogs
backyards and bike rides
licorice and laundromats
They whistle like Andy Griffith
paint like Bobby Ross
and daydream like little Stevie Spielberg.
this little boy I never met
this man I always loved
who softens and stretches
sees beauty when I'm worn out
my rock who keeps me
stonewashed



"Don't marry the person you think you can live with; marry only the individual you think you can't live without."
James C. Dobson 

Marriage is not a place to “stand up for your rights.” Marriage is a decision to serve the other. 1 Cor 7:9 (msg)

"A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person."
Mignon McLaughlin 

Honey, Be

this mind a beehive to behave
eyes dart like anxious wings
thoughts collide like bumble cars
my voice an annoying buzz
like a Saturday morning alarm
this hexa-comb home doesn't close on weekends
they think I work hard to hoard honey
my heart lost its stinger years ago
all I want to do is share You
lip smacking sweet
freedom fly
honey, be
me




“The bee is domesticated but not tamed.” 
― William Longgood

"Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body." 

Proverbs 16:24 ESV

“The bee's life is like a magic well: the more you draw from it, the more it fills with water” 
― Karl Von Frisch, Bees: Their Vision, Chemical Senses and Language

sNOw worries

snow
icy feathers stinging grace
descending slow
sky to Earth incarnation
no sound, no rules, no worries

snowflakes
white blanket covering ugly
beauty bundling up
melting to offer life water growth
like You did, like You do, like You will.

“Whenever this happens, my heart stops— I’m stunned, I can’t catch my breath. .. His mighty acts staggering our understanding. He orders the snow, ‘Blanket the earth!’...No one can escape the weather—it’s there. And no one can escape from God...Whether for discipline or grace or extravagant love, he makes sure they make their mark."Job 37:1-13

"Snow was falling,
so much like stars
filling the dark trees
that one could easily imagine
its reason for being was nothing more
than prettiness.” 
― Mary Oliver

"Soak me in your laundry and I’ll come out clean, scrub me and I’ll have a snow-white life. Tune me in to foot-tapping songs, set these once-broken bones to dancing. Don’t look too close for blemishes, give me a clean bill of health. God, make a fresh start in me, shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life. Don’t throw me out with the trash, or fail to breathe holiness in me. Bring me back from gray exile, put a fresh wind in my sails!" Psalm 51:7-15

“I have been talking of the past (your past and mine) only in order that you may turn from it forever. One wrench and the tooth will be out. You can begin as if nothing had ever gone wrong. White as snow.” 
― C.S. Lewis

4 Letter WORDs

There comes a TIME
for a FOUR letter WORD
that doesn't BURN a HOLE
or SNAP at ones you LOVE
but leaves a DOOR OPEN
lets a BELL RING
gives a LAKE its MIST
a TREE its LEAF
a WIND its GUST
a WAVE its TIDE
a SIGH its KISS
a HAND its GRIP
A FIRE its GLOW

but when RAIN turns to SNOW
Every HOUR is RUSH
you're a FISH on a HOOK
your BATH grows COLD
your LACE RIPS
your EYES LEAK
your MIND RUNS

and you want to HOWL at the MOON
JUMP off a ROOF
CLAW your EYES and
BOOK a ROOM where you can
YELL at yourSELF

At the end of your ROPE your BOOK your MILE
At the end of your LIFE your POEM the LINE
You FALL off into the ARMS
of ABBA HOLY
And LAND in
HOPE


“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.” Martin Luther King Jr.

"God’s the one who rebuilds.He heals the heartbroken and bandages their wounds...God puts the fallen on their feet again"Psalm 147:2-5

"Choose to be okay with not being okay. God's main purpose for you is not what you do. It's who you become." Pete Wilson #LetHopeIn

"Why are you down in the dumps,dear soul? Why are you crying the blues?Fix my eyes on God—soon I’ll be praising again."Psalm 43:5

"The best life artists practice the discipline of gratitude-which makes their life art.True masterpieces are painted in the dark."AnnVoskamp

That.

that she will grow into a Godly woman and stay my baby all at once
that she will always see snow as a snack and life as an adventure,
that she will grow to cling to You, like she reaches for "pinky" the elephant every night
that she flies out of her selfishness, fluttering empathy to others, and find hers true self
that generous words, deeds and new ideas would flow from her like a steady spring 
that a smile trumps an eye roll, relationship trumps task, and You trump all else
that her "dorky Jesus mom" gets off her nerves and dives deep in her heart
that her gratitude floodgates open until keeping up with the Joneses is washed away
that peace envelopes her mind like a river swim with Samson
that confidence cleans her mirror and imagined judges disappear
that humility invades her soul, usurping pride to set her free
that You help me raise this perfectly imperfect reflection of You and me
that I can shut my mouth and just be
that she will see and choose You over me
That is what I pray.
That.


"As parents, then, instead of concentrating on – and sometimes fretting about – whether and how our kids are living “righteous” lives, we have the opportunity to help them discover, access, and strengthen their trust and faith in Jesus Christ. In so doing, the righteousness they eventually display will be the product of the Holy Spirit. A good faith conversation doesn’t equal convincing your kid that what you believe is best." 
Powell & Clark, Sticky Faith

“Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands.” 
― Anne Frank

"Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." 
Proverbs 22:6 
.

Seasonal Slush

The slump hits like a flu in January
the postpartum of Baby Jesus beauty born
White Christmas melted down to grey slush
after party mess of mud-puddle potholes
peppered with concrete crumbs and dead bug floaters
Head drooping as if looking for a hole to hibernate in
As I look down in the sooty soup bowls
reflections force me to look up in this inverted world
a brown blurred drowning to be born again
to "Die Empty" "Steal Like an Artist" and live "Hands Free"
to get out of bed with the "how" and "what"
to walk out the front door into the negative degree sting of the "why"
nose buried in books to soar to new heights in the new year
like the shivering birds who fly overhead
who choose to stay even though they could go to Florida
without having to call in sick or pay for a hotel.
Stupid birds…or are they on to something?
This icy sickness that slows, clips the wings
forcing me to rest in the shouting silence of the slump
eyes darting around, searching for bootstraps
to pull me up out of this muddy pothole funk
to close my eyes, end the search
to open my ears, begin to listen
for that slow steady icicle drip whisper
of You repeating…
"I got this.
I got this.
I
got
this."
Whether it's months away
or as close as my next step
You will always bring back the Spring.

God’s loyal love couldn’t have run out,
    his merciful love couldn’t have dried up.
They’re created new every morning.
    How great your faithfulness!
I’m sticking with God (I say it over and over).
    He’s all I’ve got left. 

Lamentations 3:22-24 (msg)

"Embrace the importance of now and refuse to allow the lull of comfort, fear, familiarity, and ego to prevent you from taking action on your ambitions...The cost of inaction is vast. Don't go to your grave with your best work inside of you. Choose to die empty."
 Todd Henry, Die Empty

“People will misinterpret you and what you do.
They might even call you names.
So get comfortable with being misunderstood, disparaged, or ignored—
the trick is to be too busy doing your work to care...
Today isn't just another day. Today I'll create something beautiful.”
― Austin Kleon, Steal Like an Artist

"There's more to life than the inconvenience you first see.
By adjusting your perspective, there just night be an opportunity,
a blessing or a gift disguised in that 'problem'...
I chose to 'Love all I do' rather than "Do it all"…
there is breathing room.
There is room for laughing, playing,
memory making, and (gasp)
maybe even a little relaxing with the people I love the most.
There is room for what really matters. There is room to live." 

Rachel Macy Stafford, Hands Free Mama

Singers and dancers give credit...“All my springs are in you!”

Psalm 87:7

Catharsis

The open field yawns into the line of the sunset horizon
I run through the stabbing muscle cramps,
sprinting to exhaustion,
Reaching, chasing, and collapsing in the end
From the weighty rock growing in my chest.
It's beautiful and my phone died
Landing in the truth that I may never possess it,
never hold it in my hands
never taste it on my tongue
Lemonade from mud
bubble gum music soundtrack to a bloodstained war movie
smiling at the funeral of ideals
today I just sit down in it
filthy hands reaching up to You
covered in gloopy soot and sharp twigs
and dreaming of summer lemons
while ice envelopes winter branches.
The storm clouds hover and bares trees loom,
Tearing off band-aids from broken limbs
The sun still caresses the horizon with Your promises,
Like when I push Lauren's hair from her eyes as she sleeps,
Full of lemonade wishes, love, and a whisper
the whisper of a muddy hope.

Relax, everything's going to be all right; rest, everything's coming together; open your hearts, love is on the way! Jude 1: 2

"When I said 'My foot is slipping,'
Your love, O Lord, supported me.
When anxiety was great within me
Your consolation brings joy to my soul."
Psalm 94:18-19