poetry i.

2/28/06

You are fettered
by the lures of this world.
They've twined around your ankles
like a seductive voice
You are bound
by things that lie &
say they love you,
ideas that say they are easier
& people who say they are your friends

when in actuality;
they hate you,
they are harder & painful,
& they could hardly know you less.

They don't know your eye color,
much less the shape of your heart
the feel of your ideas & the strength of your values.

You need to free the man inside.
The one God created to be.
The lame man Jesus made to walk.
The blind one that has merely been
holding his lids closed.

He is a strong, courageous, joyful,
beautiful man made for an amazing
relationship with his Father.

& perhaps as he walks along
holding his Father's right hand,
one day he'll see there is a woman
holding his left hand.

A woman that captures your heart
because He captured hers.
She is beautiful only
because He is in her.
& that is what she will see
& love about you.

Your open eyes & the shape of your heart,
& strong values & the walking,
the walking you do with God.

_______________________________________
11/4/05
Retreat-

Sometimes I need to retreat
Its only You & me now
In a soft grass field at night
Light of a thousand pinpoint stars
tip my fingers and touch my heart
Living forest at the edge of awareness
calling out in the voice of crickets and rustling leaves.
Midnight blue reaches down, enfolding me
Are you laying right net to me
Breathing on me with early fall coolness
and crisp pine needles underfoot.
Your creation speaks to me, calls my name
tells me of your passion, for me.
And I retreat, withdraw, turn from myself
And you are there. You always were.
I see you now. I feel you now.
Love caresses me in midnight blue,
cricket song, pine tang, and the
still
bright
stars
reaching down to hold even my hand.

_____________________________
7/2/05

his eyes do not see

why

are his eyes closed
or merely looking away

is the blindness forever
or only for today

would a soft touch upon the lid
release the seal to clarity

or are they clamped tightly shut
because his mind has decided not to see

perhaps a soft breeze
or the offing of a blinding light
would allow him to look

to now see

me

You Ate What?!?

So, I've been to a few interesting places in the world and as a missionary have not had the pleasure of turning down what one might call "questionable" foods. In fact, I've eaten some pretty gross stuff. As an act of catharsis, and because some of them are pretty funny, here's a list of 'Craziest Foods Eaten by MaidofClay.' Enjoy, even if your stomach wouldn't...

1. stir fry eel - basically just chopped into 4 inch lengths and served with rice, not bad flavor, but very challenging to extricate 'meat' from bone

2. seaweed & bean dessert - made by a dear friend, a bit unusual of a combo, but quite tasty, granted it remains difficult to think of seaweed as a dessert

3. sheep brain soup - my friends assured me it was, "good for your health" but I had a hard time with this one, unobjectionable broth, but I could only bring myself to eat some of the 'floaties' (probably meninges) the solids were definitely too close to neuroanatomy for comfort

4. pumpkin and bladder soup - on a real roll with the soups! pretty tasty, but who really wants to eat that kind of collection vat!

5. bitter melon stir fry - looks fairly innocuously like zuchinni, but once it wraps around your tastebuds, you're whole face will squinch in on itself in agony, **note**pretty hilarious to watch a friend eat unexpectedly though!

and the Granddaddy of them all, worst thing I've ever eaten...

6. Jellyfish - ICK! imagine long flat noodles mated with neoprene and a funky, off fishy taste, it fails both in the flavor and texture catagories, and I'm supposed to smile while eating this?!


That's about all I have. The roasted pig nuckles were yucky, but I think I was too hungry to be disturbed, snails are actually quite tasty, and I happen to think it is normal to eat calf fries. Mmmm.

"Fall"ing Down

Leaves.

I love the way the leaves look crisp on the trees in the fall. It makes me appreciate my contact lenses. I went for years without having my vision corrected and once it was done the most remarkable thing to me was the leaves. You can actually see them bend and fold in the wind.
The light and shiny sides turning this way and that to reflect light. Such an amazing swirling motion bending and flowing with the wind. Our lives are like that. God’s wind, His Spirit, blows through us causing us to bend and sway.
Sometimes to a point that we think we will break. But it is when we are bending, swaying, creaking and groaning that we reflect His light most dazzlingly.

A friend, J, opened up some passages from Ephesians for me today that dazzle.

“Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
Therefore do not associate with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.
Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.
Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light.
Therefore it says, ‘Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’”

A New Page...

I've never blogged before, but due to recently enjoying a friend's blog here I am.

I will post my thoughts be they funny, serious, irreverent, passionate, silly, or whatever. If you have interesting thoughts to share in response, please do so.

I will also probably ad some pictures from some of the places I've been. I think they are cool and some of them I think are awesome.

Hopefully it can only get better from here.