Praising, Praising, Praising

Tags

God

LORD, I praise You, praise You, praise You,
And I praise You once again
Because You loved me where I was
Before I knew You were my friend.
So, I want to live to praise You:
Praise my best and dearest Friend.
Let me spend my life in praising
‘til my life on earth will end.
Then continuing in heaven,
On my thankful knees I’ll bend,
And forever through the ages
With Your people praises blend.

by GwennonR
October 31, 2016

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Change Me, Lord God

Tags

acrostic, acrostic poems, God, Jesus, pain

Suppose I were to give my all,
Only to find a bad reward?
This fear controls, consumes, APPALLS:
How can I trust a distant Lord,
All-powerful, but far away
To urgent needs I have today?
My heart wants more, but little knows
Your plans for me, who feel alone.
How dare I trust THE ONE WHO KNOWS
Enough with this sad heart of stone?
Arise, LORD, do not stay away:
Relieve these fears I have today!
These wounds run deep, while faith runs small—
THE PROMISE seems to other’s giv’n.
Repeating sorrows on me fall,
Uprooting faith and hope of Heav’n.
Sustain me: Do not stay away:
This heart needs Jesus’ help today!
Surprise me now with Your good plans,
Your plans that OTHERS SAY ARE GOOD.
Outstrip me of life’s hard demands.
Uplift me better than I could.
Release these bonds! DON’T STAY AWAY!
Savior, please hold me close today!

by GwennonR
September 7, 2015

Celebration

Tags

dog, doggie-loves

You groaned that time I left you,
And it was the sweetest sound:
A tribute to the fact
That you liked having me around.

You don’t express your feelings,
Like your fellows with a word.
And if you started now,
Your friends would label you absurd.

You are always keeping busy,
For of friends you have no lack.
So I cherished ev’ry second
We were sleeping back to back.

Resetting my alarm,
I did the best that I could do
To delay our separation
And thus spend more time with you.

Resisting this new change,
I found us sleeping like a log.
How I loved each precious moment
I spent hugging you, sweet dog!

for “Roosevelt”
my sweet German Shepherd

by GwennonR
October 28, 2016

Directly

Tags

God, Jesus

A compass shows direction
But can not do too much more:
It will not pick up the reins
Because that’s not what it is for.

So, then, let me like the compass
Point to Jesus, our TRUE NORTH,
Then let others use their brains
And wills as on they venture forth.

It is not my job to tell them
Just exactly how to live,
But to point to Him Who made us
And then leave HIS job to HIM.

I should always point to Jesus:
I should illustrate what’s true,
But to force folks or control them
Never was MY job to do.

by GwennonR
July 15, 2015

 

Road Block

for Lacey and Damien

Some careless kid had left a stick
Just lying in the road.
Or, maybe it had been a trick:
A toy to just unload.
Until we had to stop and stare—
This must be a mistake!—
At this long thing just lying there:
A living, breathing snake.
We looked intently at its eyes:
Glassy, still, unblinking.
This really was a bad surprise!
What could we have been thinking?
We should back off.
To let us be so close was just insane,
When that there snake with one quick bite
Could plunge death in our veins.
Retreating we walked home at once
To get the camera there
To document this monster
We’d discovered unaware:
This placid, resting sun-warmed snake.
Perhaps he’d strike a pose!
Then all would know—make no mistake!—
That we’d been nose to nose
With this amazing wild thing,
Our own monstrosity.
As we shared vivid photographs
For all the world to see.
But when we got there once again,
The reptile there had moved.
And so our tale with photographs
Could never now be proved.

by Gwennon R
August 2008

for an event that occurred around 1100 on Thursday, July 17, 2008

The snake, which I hope was a bull snake instead of a rattlesnake, must have been about ten feet long and was four or five inches across the middle. It had a red and brown diamond pattern along its back. I don’t remember ever being so close to such a large snake outside of a zoo exhibit.

These days, as John Heinerman, PhD in Garlic recommends in his excellent book, The Healing Benefits of Garlic, I try to remember to keep fresh garlic with me whenever I trek into the great outdoors for long periods. That way, should something poisonous (like this snake) bite, I could counteract the poison by chewing the garlic into a mash and packing it into the would. Apparently the volatile garlic compounds interact with salivary enzymes to create a compound that deactivates poison. Years ago my family used this to counteract the bite of an unknown intruder (most likely a spider or centipede) right before we planned to head on out to the emergency room. But by the time our ride to the hospital had arrived, the pain was gone and symptoms were fading.

For an overview of how a person might treat poisonous bites, with or without garlic, please see my article “Affordable Treatments for Poisonous Bites” on my health and short story blog

specialcreationwoman.wordpress.com

Thank you for your consideration.

 

 

 

 

Dogged Pursuit

Tags

animals, circular poems, doggie-loves, humor

Bad food is not what dogs are for!
He’s had enough: HE’LL TAKE NO MORE!
He sinks his teeth in mangoes first
Before red onions catch his eye.
Although I can’t imagine why,
His dog food fails to satisfy.
I wonder now what might be next:
Do juicy oranges call his name?
Improved food intake is his aim,
Since what we’re feeding him is lame.
He’s had enough: HE’LL TAKE NO MORE!
Bad food is not what dogs are for!

by Gwennon R
October 21, 2016

for “Roosevelt”,
who probably has no idea
how much comic relief he provides

Cloaked

Sometimes greatness disguises itself
Behind a mask of deep wrinkles,
Or beneath layers of acne
That nothing seems able to relieve.
Or greatness hides itself quietly
Behind a raspy voice,
Or around a frail, arthritic frame,
Under clouded lenses,
Broken teeth,
And grey or thinning hair:
The very things
The world labels
Weak
Foolish
Irrelevant
But
That Our God calls
Mighty.

by GwennonR
March 16, 2016

That Hunger

Tags

God, Jesus, pain

Ya know, that hunger
For THE HAPPY
In my tummy
NEVER leaves
When all of life
Is joyful
Or when sin
Or sorrow grieves.
That hunger
Tells me stories
That I know
Cannot be true.
Please, Jesus,
Fill that hungry place
With You.

by GwennonR
August 5, 2016

Mercy!

Tags

God, pain, prayer

Oh, LORD, please do have mercy on
Your weary, worn-out saints:
Who want to keep on serving,
But whose muscles scream “I CAIN’T!”
The ones who’d rather die for You
Than hang on one more day.
In all this have Your way.
But help Your weary saints.

by GwennonR
February 19, 2015

Joyce Meyer says that Satan’s goal
is to wear out the saints. I believe it.

Thank You, Lord God, That You Are

Tags

acrostic, acrostic poems, Acrostic Quasi-Villanelle, Forgiveness, God, God's love, Jesus, pain, Villanelle

Tried, my tired forgiver must look above.
Help comes from the One Who loves me most:
Encouraged, I relax in Your pure love.
Gains are made for a time, and then I leave
Right thinking behind. On feelings I coast,
Exasperated, until I look above.
Aggravations tear my eyes from Your love.
Turning back to Jesus, again I draw close,
Enabled to relax in Your pure love.
Saddened once more when people push and shove
Those in their way, I find You and Your love
Forgotten until I have looked above.
Outnumbered down here, with Your love rebuffed
Religiously by the masses – opposed –
Gladly, I rest in Jesus’ tender love.
Intent on just what I am thinking of,
Vigor fades. In this world I feel exposed.
Excellent help comes when I look above,
Relaxed completely in Your tender love.

by GwennonR
September 24, 2016

Even on my best days, forgiveness is often a stretch for me. I forget to go to God for help. But He is always ready every time I ask. I hope this will help me to remember. So, here you can see me ping ponging back and forth between a desire to please God, and a desire to please myself. In heaven this miserable process will finally be ended, and I am so looking forward to that.

This, being Columbus Day where I live, may be a good day in history to focus on national and ethnic forgiveness for past wrongs, both real, imagined, and those engendered or magnified through gossip on one level or another.