A poem for Advent, celebrating the with-us-and-in-us God, based on Isaiah 7:14: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”
My dad is a gentle giant. An unsung hero. A quiet example of God’s love in action. One whose own father died when he was young, he yet passes on a heritage of love.
A poem to honor my dad, Leo Boucher, this Father’s Day.
CutiePyeGirl entertaining Gramps.
Listening and hearing
Serving and seeing
Knowing and encircling
A father’s love
Patient and true
Laying foundations
Practicing kindness
A father’s hands
Gentle and strong
Fueled by hope
Glimpsing the unseen
A father’s heart
Telling the truth
Speaking in love
Calling forth
A father’s heir
This morning I’m digging into one of my favorite activities – writing some Bible reading notes. This will be a set for Inspiring Women Every Day, for the month of November 2015, on the theme of foreigners and strangers. After the Garden of Eden, we’re all strangers now. Here’s a little poem I wrote as I reflected on Psalm 137. Do you feel foreign?
I’m continuing to write a daily poem based on my Advent reading – an old bookmark from NavPress called “Christ in Christmas.” So baffled was I by one of the readings that I even sent an email to a NavPress editor to check that it wasn’t a typo, but he graciously set me straight, helping me to see the interpretation.
My reading this morning is apt as I rest, fighting some kind of lurgy that’s traveling around among small children and adults. It helps me to remember that the Lord carries us close to his heart, tenderly caring for us. I know many who are struggling with flu and colds – this one’s for you too.
In Christ, the answer is “Yes.” I was chewing over 2 Corinthians 1:1–11 recently, thinking about how God wants us to know this Divine Affirmation. Yes, he says. Yes. Yes!
Holy Week. I feel busy this week. Too busy. But I offer this poem that I wrote some years ago to remind myself to stop and consider the grand story of redemption being played out this week.
Advent is all about waiting for the coming of the Lord. Well, it’s supposed to be. I’ve now cleanly disposed of any and all of my good intentions this year, having started Advent already behind. I was going to do less – fewer cookies and decorations, more time in prayer and meditation. Nope, that didn’t last.
But God is with me. Even with my failed intentions and manic pace. In the early morning, when I wake, mind racing with my to-do list, I force myself off Facebook and emails and snatch a some moments to pray and read the Bible. I leave refreshed and hopeful. Reminded of God’s love and care.
Jesus came to earth. He’s with us. That’s the message of the season – a message I’m going to try to hold within my heart this day.
Zechariah as depicted by Michelangelo’ on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Photo by Missional Volunteer as found on flickr.
I leave you with a prose poem based on Zechariah’s song about his son, John. He who had been silent for months was filled with words that have remained for centuries.
Prepare the way for the Lord
He’s coming again
To earth; to our hearts
So that his people might know
Salvation
Lasting freedom
The forgiveness of sins
A clean slate
Wrongs put right.
Through God’s tender mercy
The rising sun comes
From heaven to earth
Shining through darkness
Illuminating our way.
Even in the shadow of death
He guides our feet
Into the path of peace.
Come, Lord Jesus.
Come, Lord
Come.
Based on Luke 1:76-79; Zechariah’s song about his son John
The virgin will conceive
And give birth to a son
And call him Immanuel
God with us
God with us
Never to leave us
God in us
Transform us to new
And this will be a sign
The virgin will conceive
All will know he is God
A man and God a King
His name is Emmanuel
He is God with us
Not a God far away
But a God at hand
© 2014 Amy Boucher Pye
