At the end of the wild ride,
dizzy from the speed of it,
panting from the fright of it,
tears in my eyes from the beauty of it,
I meet Your eyes, and laughing, say,
"Again! Is it over?"
And You smile and say,
"It's not over; it's only just begun!"
-HJ Dec 1, 2010

Repentance Tree Harvest

Matthew 3:8 "Produce fruit in keeping with repentance."

To follow the One Most Beloved,

also known as Familiar With Sorrow,

must I leave all I value in this life?

Must I give up today for tomorrow?

To follow the Only Begotten,

must I give up on having my own way?

Must I let go my will and desires

to take hold of Thy Will Be Done each day?

To live by the Word Become Flesh,

which became Word spat on, crucified,

must I live in full faithful obedience,

of the Spoken, the Suffering, the Died?

Must I follow by changing direction,

taking up the cross carved just for me,

picking fruit from the tree of repentance

for an offering worthy of Thee?

To follow the Way, Truth and Life,

must I step onto pathways unseen?

So I must, but with help of the Spirit,

go where Jesus before me has been.

-HJ Nov 21, 2010

I thought I saw a movement
Like something drifting by
While I worked near my window
With its cloudy autumn sky.

Too small for a falling leaf,
Too compact for a feather,
Too airy for a drop of rain:
Could it be a change in weather?

Was it a downy messenger,
A light and fluffy sign?
Could it be snow? The sparkly flakes
Declare it’s winter time!

To You Who Are Hurting



The intricacies of the eternal mind lean toward mercy;
the veins of the eternal heart run rich with love.

The Christ, when He didn't need to,
came to live in the hurting world.
Never was there such wounding.
Besides the nails, the torture of the cross:
the colossal burden of total darkness of spirit.
The light of God-connectedness
blocked off by the massive barricade of
rotting flesh piled up on His shoulders
in a daunting-to-anyone-less-than-God
nuisance ground of filth and shame.
The Christ, who didn't need to,
acquiesced and accepted,
became pain-sharer by becoming human,
and then pain-bearer by becoming debt-payer
in place of us, who richly earned it.
-HJ Nov 2010

The finger-pointing accuser stands
jeers "You are" (through gritted teeth) "spirit, holy, just, eternal, and so much more of that," with an ever-ready sly grin.
"You have by your very nature been One-Cut-Off from your creatures
who are weak, blind, self-seeking and oh-so-easy to sway.
You cannot be bound by flesh, vulnerability, lenient forgiveness, time and such,
to intervene in your system as it stands."
A smokey cackle, a too-soon-claimed victory.

Spirit/Holy/Just/Eternal/so much more of that
answers,
"I who created reason cannot be out-reasoned.
The laws I have set will stand forever.
And the Supreme Law of Love, which is my Pure Nature, can and does surpass
what you call binding
and thereby accomplish.
The weakness of flesh, the impurity of sin, the lenience of forgiveness, the temporality of death are all canceled/redeemed/paid/changed by the Mystery Love, when taken on for Love, endured for Mercy, redeemed by Compassion."

Rule-Bender-For-Love takes on otherness, satisfies law, and remains,
Worthy Forever

-HJ Oct 2010

It's Coming
Old are the oak trees and green their velvet skirting
as grouped around the clearing they stand stoic awaiting winter.
The grasses long have laid them down and pulled up leafy covers.
Here, long ago, we laughed and ran between wind and sun and forest.
Now I trace tracks on the very narrow path between hazelnut bushes,
where slim deer and lithe rabbits have paved a twisting way,
and I take note of messages left for my dimming eyes.
The oaks are solid and will remain as long as woods are wanted.
But take the leaf, now brown and crisp, and read between the lines.
-HJ Oct 17, 2010

Storm
In the stillness of the spirit speak Your word and let me hear it.
Let me listen quietly, closely,
let me know it deeply, slowly.
Let my stormy troubled thoughts
be stilled by Your word spoken clearly,
in my heart and in my life
let Your peace calm every strife.
Make my life a smooth reflection of Your love and Your perfection.
Though troubles come and always will, speak to me Your “peace, be still".
-HJ

Lord, you have set us free
and here we sit inside the gate
still stupidly dwelling in captivity
though the very breeze of freedom
drifts in and tantalizes our nostrils

we hold onto that which we will not let go
and cannot grasp that which will never let us go

Dispossession Date
On the morning of the big day
we waken early and cannot sleep
having prepared for the big move
the night before
we set off into the new day
loaded down with all that we can take with us
memories of the dear old place we are leaving
precious possessions and lists of lifelong friends
skills we have gathered
good deeds and failures packed in cardboard boxes
we set off to the new house
the journey takes a span of hours
spent in
anticipation and apprehension
of the unknown that is soon to be upon us
fear and excitement
of the approaching unfamiliar as we shed the old
we finally draw near to the new dwelling place
we hold our breath and the doorknob
at the entrance
and simply step through
-HJ

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. -Romans 12:12

The joy is missing. It may return,
but don`t look for it, just watch and yearn.
And patience has been worn so thin
it cannot hold even one sigh in.
All that`s left for me to do
is to remain faithful in prayer to You.
So here it is. Now it`s been said,
You`ll do your work; I`ll go to bed.
-HJ