SANCTUARY

Shafts of light
Through cathedral windows.
Dappled shade
Upon the leaves
Beneath my feet.
Bird song
In the branches above.

In the distance
Hind and fawn
Cross the forest track.
The sweet fragrance of autumn
Fills the misty air.

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ETERNAL JOURNEY

As the crimson flame of life
Breaks slowly
Above the horizon,
The white, frosted meadows,
With trees and hedgerows
Of sculptured ice,
Speak loudly
Of your presence.

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SILENT FLIGHT

In the silence
The clarity of your voice,
Climbs high
Upon the eagle's wings.
The chains of doubt
That imprison my soul,
Fall away beneath my feet.

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WHERE IS GOD IN THE FLOODS?

Where is God in all of this, people start to ask?

If God is watching over us, shouldn’t we be blessed?

Why are people suffering, and losing all their stuff?

Mums and dads and kids are lost, cars and houses too.

Businesses are wrecked, and crops beyond repair,

As rivers of rushing water flood our thirsty land.

Many just recovered from a devastating drought,

Are asking who’s in charge of this,

Who controls the taps?

When God made the world, He saw that all was good,

He put our food and water there, and said to take our fill.

Populate and tend the earth was what He said to us,

“Watch over My Creation, take care of everything.”

He gave us plans to live our lives in ways that would bring joy.

But man had other plans, he chose to live his way.

He decided greed was good, and power was supreme,

In fact, he even turned his back on all that God had said.

“I’ll do it my way”, became a well-known song,

We’re only here by chance, was even taught by Science,

So let’s just do what pleases us,

And to heck with all the rest.

Read more of WENDY BONIFACE's Where is God in the floods?... | more... |

ANGELS, POETRY AND HOPE

We all know what December 25th is, don't we? That's when we celebrate Christmas, Jesus' birthday. Let me tell you some stories about Jesus' birth. Part of the story is the poetry in which the story has come down to us: poems by an angel, poems by a priest called Zacharias, and poems by Lizzie his wife.

Zach was uncle to a young woman named Mary who was also a deft hand at writing poems. This story helps us discover that God has gifted angels who compose pretty powerful poetry!

Uncle Zach was married to Cousin Lizzie. They wanted to have children but none had come. They were getting on in years. Our first poem was composed in the temple one day when an angel visited Uncle Zach. He had come with God's message for Zach.

Stress less Zach
God has heard your prayer
Now you will become a dad
Liz your wife a son will bear.

Read more of BRUCE C WEARNE's rendering of part of the Christmas story... | more... |

CHRISTMAS 2052

It’s 2010. Christmas time again

and things are at their best.

We set up our tree. See old family.

And take a well earned rest.

Chloe hangs up our star so that from afar

It spreads some Christmas cheer.

There's mum and dad and we are all so glad.

That Christmas time is here.

Dad and his band will have a hand

in Carol's Wednesday night.

It should be fun for everyone

it's going to be a sight.

The choir sings of angels wings

that they have heard on high.

And as we see the Nativity

Stars appear in the sky.

Read more of CHRISTIAN ALI's Christmas 2052... | more... |

MOVING FORWARD THROUGH FORGIVENESS OF SINS

Jesus was baptised into the world at a late age, but he knew what there was to know about God before he was born.

Just like us. We know.

Then we seek, we lose.

Unfortunately sometimes failure, suffering, sin means we lose but never find because we don’t look at the Lord and say, “Forgive me, Father, I have sinned.”

Read more of VANESSA MALISA's Moving Forward Through Forgiveness of Sins... | more... |

THOSE EYES
The day that I was born into this world

I stared into her beautiful eyes and I said

'Mother, tell me what I already know.’

And then I developed into a playful little boy.

And while I kicked the soccer ball on the open field,

And hit the cricket ball eagerly with my school friends,

I looked into innocent eyes and,

I saw.

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AMEN SAYS GOD

The Cross

Reminds me

Of love,

Hope, fragility,

Strength, virtue,

Impossibility changed...

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PSALM 23 - NOT
The TV is my shepherd
I shall always be in want
It makes me sit down in comfy chairs
With my feet up on the table
It destroys my soul

It leads me into paths of imaginings
For the dollars sake

Yea though I flick through the valley of
the shadows of commercials
I will fear no evil
For the remote is with me
The pictures and noise they annoy me

Read more of LIZ's Psalm 23 - Not... | more... |

THE NEWS

Tonight I watched the news
There were stories of countries
In the midst of war
People, like you and me
Experiencing the tragic everyday
Having to find food and shelter
Having to find beds in hospitals
The loss of loved ones
Read more of JESSICA COLLINS' poem The News... | more... |

UNTITLED
Father, I love You
Thankyou for who You are
God, You're wonderful
You take the weak and make them strong
The weary and fill them up
The downcast and fill them with joy
Read more of JESSICA COLLINS' untitled poem... | more... |

ANOMALY

Generations, now, have held to the official line
that our collective soul, ashened,
is destined for some black hole
in impersonal space.
(The pharaoh remains entombed in his pyramid
stuck on the starting blocks.
The emperor and his army are terracotta
and Jesus' mansion is a castle in the air.)
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UNTITLED

give me space
I need to breathe

not
the short, sharp gasp
not
the 'need it now' suck

give me space
I need to breathe

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MAYBE

maybe she's too wild to live
with 'niceties' and caution
maybe
she's a child struggling
with an adults' portion
maybe though her thoughts are free
her joy has felt the knife and
conventions dressed as righteousness
are draining her of life

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PSALM 130 - AN ASCENDING SONG

From deep within, my yearning call
Lord, I cry out to Thee
O Lord please hear my crying
Tune in your ears to me
Has not my ceaseless pleading
Reached up to where you'd be?
I'm in the depths of grieving
Have you not heard from me?

Read more of BRUCE WEARNE'S Psalm 130: An Ascending Song...
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