A Poem I wrote

God you beauty inspires me
The freshness of rain
The sweet coolness refreshes
Cleanse me again as you do with the earth

The innocent squeals of delight
As a father and daughter hug so tight
Let me be as that daughter to You
Hugging so tight and squealing with delight

The dragonfly, the birds,
The sweet flower too
All of creation cries out to you
Let me praise you with the things that I do

Yet outside these walls are the lost lonely poor
Our rebellion caused them to hunger
And our greed keeps them there
Oh how your heart must break at the sight of your world

God I want to be like You
But I am so far away
Teach me Lord to give of myself

How do I respond to the hurt all around
Give me endurance to stay in the race
To put my pride on the ground
And to pick up your grace

Treause in unexpected places

I was on my way home with my friend the other day and we stopped into a posh(ish) bakery to buy a treat for some friends. As I was waiting outside I saw a family. Their job was to empty the rubbish bins from the shops along that street. Now this job is not like it would be in the west, no rubbish sacks neatly tied. Just rubbish in varying states of decomposition.
But did this family seem dejected at the menial work that had to do to eat each day, no. They had joy on their faces. They had scored the best street to collect rubbish. This was the street that the rich came to indulge themselves. As they emptied the rubbish bins they foraged as if they were looking for buried treasure. Amongst the flies and decomposing food they found treasures, the left over’s of the rich’s indulgence.
I watched the youngest boy. There was more of him in the rubbish bin than out. Finally he emerged holding triumphantly a half eaten biscuit. He didn’t notice the flies or the fact that it had been sitting in the bin for who knows how long. What he noticed was he got to eat and he was excited. He had a smile on his face from ear to ear. I wish you could have seen it.
I see this sort of thing every day multiple times a day. But this time I stopped to notice. It helped me to remember to take stock and look for the treasure, even when it seems like your rummaging through the rubbish bin.

A Song that speaks of my heary

Thought I would share the words of a song that speaks so much of where my heart is at.
It is written by T.S.Eliot

Beauty for brokenness, hope for despair
Lord, in the suffering, this is my prayer
Bread for the children, justice, joy, peace
Sunrise to sunset, Your kingdom increase

Shelter for fragile lives, cures for their ills
Work for the craftsmen, trade for their skills
Land for the dispossessed, rights for the weak
Voices to plead the cause, of those who cant speak

God of the poor, friend of the weak
Give us compassion, we pray
Melt our cold hearts, let tears fall like rain
Come, change our love
From a spark, to a flame

Refuge from cruel wars, havens from fear
Cities for sanctuary, freedoms to share
Peace to the killing fields, scorched earth to green
Christ for the bitterness, His cross for the pain

Rest for the ravaged earth, oceans and streams
Plundered and poisoned, our future, our dreams
Lord, end our madness, carelessness, greed
Make us content with the things that we need

Lighten our darkness, breathe on this flame
Until Your justice burns brightly again
Until the nations learn of Your ways
Seek Your salvation, and bring You thier praise

God of the poor, friend of the weak
Give us compassion, we pray
Melt our cold hearts, let tears fall like rain
Come, change our love
From a spark, to a flame

Pretty much sums it all up doesnt it
Blessings
Pip

Henri says it best

The last few weeks have been hard, so hard. I have and am having conflict in the house (something which I try to avoid at all costs), aggression and rude comments on the street and this morning it all felt just too much. I wanted to press pause, figure things out, too come up to air and take a deep breath before I had to dive back in.
I was wondering how did it all get so overwhelming, and suddenly I clicked it is because I haven't not been making time to abide with God. I needed to be reminded of who I am..... I am a child of God who is deeply loved by Him.

Henri says it best....
"Your true identity is a child of God. This is the identity you have to accept. Once you have claimed it, you can live in a world that gives you much joy as well as pain. You can receive the praise as well as the blame that comes to you as an opportunity for strengthening your basic identity, because the identity that makes you free is anchored beyond all human praise and blame. You belong to God, and it is as a child of God that you are sent into the world."

Not only is this true for me but it is true for those who are hostile to me on the street. It is true amongst the conflict.

When I take the time to remember who I am in Christ (a beloved child) everything becomes somewhat easier to deal with. I don't need to rely on other people to love or affirm me. Neither do I need to feel discouraged when things go wrong. Rather I need to remind myself of the security I have as a beloved child of God.

To turn to Him in times of trial, to rest in the comfort of His loving grace.
It doesn't make hard times disappear but it does provide comfort to know I am not doing this alone. I can hand everything on to Him and He will carry me, giving me the deep breath I am so longing for.

Blessings

NB Quote by Henri Nouwen taken from his book The Inner Voice of Love - A Journey through anguish to Freedom