Guide us in the way we should go,
That Your plans we may not forego.
Open our eyes that we may see,
That from Your will we may not flee.
Our ways are not Your ways, oh Lord.
So form our hearts in one accord.
May Your glory be what we seek,
For through You we will not be week.
Living in a beautiful valley in Western Washington, Mt Rainier (or as locals call her, “The Mountain”) seemingly stands guard over us like a sentinel. The beauty of this mountain, though, seems to hide the fact that our old girl is an active volcano. It’s beauty is intoxicating and never gets old. Maybe that is why we sometimes forget her potential explosive side. Whatever the case, it’s this masterpiece of creation, shrouded in mystery, that has inspired the following…
Majestic in beauty,
Masked in mystery,
Seemingly docile,
But you are oh so not.
Taken for granted as people live unawares.
Enjoyed and photographed,
People standing in awe.
Your presence so imposing,
Your potential almost ignored,
You stand over our valley,
Seemingly on guard.
I know that you are there,
Yet I never tire of the scene,
Your radiance is ever changing,
Always taking my breath away.
I could stare at you for hours,
And never get bored,
Your artistic beauty is always there,
Your splendor pointing me to God the Creator.
You seem larger than life,
But I know that is not true,
For God Almighty is bigger still,
Whose majesty is unmatched.
And so I stare and stare and stare some more,
Gazing at you,
You are so beautiful,
Reminding me that God my Father is more.
The congregation that I serve has been renting space for 10 years but today we looked at a potential building to buy. There are a lot of questions to be answered yet, but hopes are running very high with people. Selfishly, I/we want this building, but God is in control, and so we need to pray; listening and obeying. The following poem was birthed out of this praying…
To follow God is never easy
To follow God can make you queasy
But to keep your eyes on Him alone
Is to have your vision fully honed.
So trust and trust and trust even more
And God will present an open door
So don’t create your own self-made path
For you won’t enjoy the aftermath
In the morning I do wake
In this day that You did make
Joyful for the life I live
Joyful for the Life You give
For my sin You did convict
In my sin we have conflict
But Jesus died and rose for me
Therefore I will live with glee
I am a pastor but you can’t be serious all the time, and thus what you will read next. On March 2, I wrote my Ode to Bacon, so it only seemed appropriate (for this coffee snob) to follow that up with my Ode to Coffee. Enjoy…and then go have some coffee 🙂
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Oh coffee, oh coffee,
You provide so much glee.
You are most glorious.
Anyone will agree.
The bean of great glory,
YES, you certainly are.
Never out of my mind,
Always on my radar.
Oh most perfect of drinks,
A precious gift from God.
If my wife reads this poem,
She will think I’m most odd.
Oh coffee, oh coffee,
I cannot go without.
“Would you like a refill?”
“Well duh, without a doubt.”
Inspired by Philippians 1:21 (ESV) ~ For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
To live is Christ, to die is gain,
To live for me I will abstain,
For my life is so very frail,
So fraught with weakness it will fail.
To live is Christ, to die is gain,
To live in fear I will refrain,
For this world does not win the day,
For this world only has today.
To live is Christ, to die is gain,
To live for Him I can’t complain,
For God does love me this is sure,
And from Satan He did secure.
To live is Christ, to die is gain,
To live in Him I’ll be sustained,
For Jesus lives and I will too,
For in his life I am renewed.
“I will remember the deeds of the Lord ; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds.”
[Psalms 77:11â€-‬12 ESV]
Yes!
Awesome and mighty You are.
Awesome and mighty are Your deeds.
Yes!
You are full of wonder.
You are full of strength.
Yes!
I will ponder and meditate on You.
I will recount Your amazing works.
You created all I can and can not see.
You set everything in motion.
You are the breath of life.
You are…
You remain faithful though I am faithless.
You sent Jesus to save.
You are on high.
You are…
You have defeated king after king.
You have made Your enemies Your footstool.
You are victorious.
You are…
You redeemed me.
You have established Your everlasting throne.
You are Lord and King
You are…
Mighty You are, oh God my Father.
Mighty You are, oh God my Lord.
You are merciful, just and right.
You are loving, compassionate, and healer.
You are
You are
You are…
As this day begins to wind down.
As this body begins its rest.
As this evening takes its hold,
I praise You, Lord, for I am blessed.
You gave me each and every breath.
You gave me each and every moment.
You filled my day with awe,
and I’m left to sit back and say, “ahhh…”
To see my children laugh.
To watch them joyfully play.
For each and every moment, Lord,
I praise you as I rest.
Amen.
I cannot see the wind but I feel it on my face.
I cannot see the air but I know it’s necessary to live.
I cannot see nutrients but I know they sustain my body.
I cannot see Your Spirit but I know it gives me Life.
Working behind the scenes.
Working without much notice.
You bless my days.
You bless my days with grace and love.
You bless my life with Your Son.
You give and give,
but yet I don’t thank as I should.
Your blessings come and come,
but I go about my days.
All that You do would be noticed if You stayed Your gracious hand.
Oh Lord, please do not stay Your hand as You should.
Oh Lord, as stand before You as a blessed one.
Oh Lord, thank You.
Holy and loving Father,
In this world there is tribulation.
In this world there is strife.
In this world there is conflict.
In this world there is no life.
Fear and death and wars and fighting.
Disease and walls and racism and hatred.
All these things run a muck.
All these things lead to despair.
But peace is peddled by politicians;
deceiving the masses into thinking they are a savior.
Peace legislated,
giving false hope.
Peace is marketed,
profiting only the privileged.
There is no safety net in this world.
There is no fortress strong enough.
There is no weapon to defend us.
There is no one who is tough.
But all praise be to You,
holy and loving Father,
that Jesus came into this world.
Jesus came into this world to die.
Jesus rose and left death destroyed.
My life, through Jesus blood, you did buy.
All praise be to you, Father, that You have overcome,
and thus, I have lasting peace.
In Jesus name, Amen.
The Heart of a Pastor 