Mother's Day

Well, if things had gone as planned I'd be eating lunch with my Mother-in-law right now. However, it is painful to sit here @ the moment, or stand. Watched our service @ home today, once again reminded of how it is a world away from being in LW on Sunday morning. Thought I'd post a poem or 2 today, so here goes...

Mother

I'm told so very often

that you are always smiling

you & I remember

when that wasn't true.

my earliest memory

is of you crying

over the loss of your mother

you knew

you told me

where Grandma was

where she is still

when she left

you told me
she was now holding

her son

you gave me
you introduced me

to two fathers

whom I love

one an echo

of the other

your love

for all whom
the Heavenly Father has made

is a fragrance
no flower can dream

compare

You have given me many things

most treasure-able

is your love

for Jesus,

Dad,

Mick,

her family,

my friends

my nieces

thanks for being so very joyful

thanks also

for the blessing of tears

for crying

over me

in car accidents

with me

when two little boys

were born
without a sound

telling me
yet again

"Well, my Mama will love on them

till you get there"

thanks for the gifts
that never go out of style

and the world

sadly

has too little of

thanks Mom for being you

& loving me,

love

your son

Jesu,

I don't know why...

so many things

could end that sentence

I don't know 

why our stories

why my story

has to have such sad

confusing

chapters in them

yet when they do

I cling to one thing alone

I may not know

where this leads
but I do know
who holds
the pen
it's nice to know
that the pen
writing my story
is a nail scarred one

b.e. noll
[well, I must change positions now...]

not sure what to say

Saw this tonight @ group. It really resonated.
I've said: "I know God too well to be mad at Him, but not well enough to know what he's doing." This is that in a song...
JJ Heller - Who You Are
 I enjoy seeing the hammers inside the piano on this video. Brings back memories, of helping my Grandfather re-string a couple of pianos. Being in his workshop, the smell of him sanding some hammers down to be used to restore a piano.
When she sings "you have a father's heart, & a love that's wild..." I think of Lucy Pevensie in the Narnia books, asking Mr. Beaver if Aslan the lion is safe. "Of course he's not safe, but he's good."


I've had some puzzling moments lately. However, it's late, so I think I'll save that for later on...

not much to say...

things that are in my mind as I reflect on the Boston tragedy....

the odd formula

such a strange thing

such strange math

1 selfish violent act

causes multiplication

of heroic deeds

I do so wish

we could have much more of the latter

without so much of the former
-b.e. noll

a few songs by Sting
Fragile
Dead Man's Rope
Book of my life

a link to a post on art

a quick post today. I like this blog post [twloha, by a woman named Alyce Youngblood. on art by a man named Kevin Russ] Titled "The Art of Humanity". Nature, as I've surely said before, is such an inspiration for me. An Organic Temple to the Living God. Made by his hands. Inspirational therapy [if there is such a thing]. enjoy his photos... [suddenly I think of a song title by Spock's Beard, "The Healing Colors of Sound"]. Have a great weekend...

photo post [York County Heritage Rail Trail]

Hope you enjoy the joke above.

 

...and some flowers to help usher in spring. 

Here we might actually get up to 60 over the weekend!

 

 This was a fun, short walk on Good Friday. Glad a friend [& partner in "photographic crime"] joined me.
b.e. noll

The rest of the story...?

I wonder if Saturday was the longest day in history. If Jesus died on Friday, yet wasn't raised till Sunday...how long was Saturday for them? The in between day. The day before the first rays of a new dawn. The dawn of a hope never to be extinguished. Today was great. I began by watching the final few minutes of The Passion of The Christ. I had watched most of it on Fri. I was struck again by the brief scene where Satan is in ...Hell I presume. He was confident in every other scene, except this one. Where his robe is torn, & he is screaming & waving his arms around. Sorry, it would have been fun to watch how this played out for real. Jesus strolling into Hell walking up to Satan & just holding out his hand & saying "Keys". Receiving them & walking out. I have an image in my mind of 2 keys in a hand with a hole in it. The keys have skulls as the part you'd grasp with your fingers. On one is written Death, the other Hades. Just wild. This year I had several images in my head. Jesus carrying a cross that was made of words...like abuse, shame, loneliness, murder, self-injury,... And one of a tombstone... with the word "DEATH" written on it. I imagine someone saying: "You will not be missed." and then  dancing away.

Rich Mullins - Nothing is Beyond you
Neal Morse - The Temple of the living God [reprise]

Jesus
today we celebrate
your rising
& coming out of the tomb
The beginning of you
making all things new
coming
to live in our hearts
in my heart
You lived without sin
yet
you died carrying every single one
you did not have to die
you chose to
you chose to be
the last blood sacrifice
the greatest sacrifice
for us
for me
I cannot fathom this
you chose me
you give me value
when so much in my life stole value from me
you gave me value
What can be said?
how do we wrap our minds around such love?
I get to live with you
and you did all the work
to make it possible
I could not climb the mountain to God
to you
and you could not wait for me
so you climbed down
live with me
and
one day
you will gather me into your arms
and carry me up the mountain
Thank you
Jesus

Good Friday

Loved the Good Friday service at LW. I so loved the appropriate song Jesus... by Rich Mullins. [Thank you Lord, for having Jenelle sing this.] My friend Byron over at Hearts & Minds posted a link to some poems for this day. So I will put a link here to them. They are by Malcolm Guite.  They are quite good. 
We, who know Jesus, wonder...how the son of God could go through this. We grasp at ways to sing, write, speak of such a love as this. In a murder trial the question is often asked: "how do you put a price on a human life." The cross is God's answer to how much your life is worth, at least to him. The cross is Jesus saying I love you. It's almost as if you can hear him from it... "can you hear me now?"
Heaven in his eyes by Rich Mullins
With the Tired Eyes of Faith by The Swirling Eddies
[the only thing wrong with the lyric posting is at the end it's actually "but with the tired eyes of faith, you'll sing resurrection day"]
The Trumpet Child by Over the Rhine [a poem/song for today...& a long anticipated day]

Thank you Jesus, for Joe
and our long walk today
thank you Jesus
for friends coming to see us
before the service tonight
it was good to see them, too
thank you Jesus
for being the reason
for this week & weekend
thank you for showing us
that sometimes
losing
is really winning
in disguise

Thank you Jesus
for making life unfair
I sinned
you got punished
you lived a perfect life
and I
get to share your prize with you
[though
in all honesty
you
are
the greatest prize of all]
Thank you Jesus
for being you
and loving me
this much
b.e. noll