Grace is... - summer

can a kind and gentle soul

be bought with silver or gold?

is love to be insisted on -

or simply there to hold?

we reach out

searching desperately

yet it's not what we grasp -

it's what we receive;

so be still my soul

for He will arrive

through no striving of my own

by His grace 

He alone 

provides

The Cove - summer

the cove in the hills

held us fast

kept us close

with our lives unmasked

here we breathe

and natural be

while out there

fades to anonymity

and like dancers

to the music we

take comfort

with familiarity

amid the unspoken

ties that bind

a warmth envelopes

soul and mind

a shelter

for a lifetime sought

sweet return

oh haven - 

here within

my thought

servant seed - summer

servant seed

fall to the ground

no servant is worthy 

who is found to be proud

it's the lowly of heart who rises above

the wrongs of this world

on the wings of God's love

gentle grace - summer

gentle grace

set your Holy place

among we who need thee so much...

there is pain

we're bearing it's name

and we long for your merciful touch

turn our eyes

from what lies

before us here

and let us find

you, soft and kind

as we feel you, oh so near

Simpler Times (a must read) - summer

On Monday mornings we could rise

to amber meadows, azure skies,

and hear the still, small voice inside

so silent is the dawn.

*

With work no farther than our door

asking little, receiving more

not knowing whether rich or poor -

content with what we have.

*

We'd live God's time - by sun and moon

all else is later, now, or soon

no ticking clocks say "nine" or "noon"

no measured time of day.

*

By evening, filtered golden rays

of sunlight slant through radiant haze

while house lights twinkle as twilight fades -

God grant us simpler times. 

The Leaves at My Feet - fall

The leaves are scattered

at my feet

a life of living

in victory over defeat

clear skies shine through

vacant trees

the earth has come to fall

on its knees

after so much bounty

it has received

yet here I stand

in testimony to the demands

that God is the power

and there is no other

who is as replete

than He who has 

scattered life's leaves

at my feet.

Hearth and Home - fall

On this sunless, chilly day

let us pull a tighter shawl

as our eyes seek out the warmer

places here in autumn

all

to find a fire and gather ‘round

to drive away the dampness’ cloy

as harvest past

we meet with joy

around a table spread with food

and loving folk knowing this is good

for fall has given

us each a prize

that seeking a hearth

and home

revives.