A Hand Reaching: Stronger Series - Tim Knipp (Mark 1:1-13; Mark 15:37-38)

When weakness shivers
our bones
and broken glass
cruelly carpets 
the path ahead,
the Stronger One 
is there
to lead us through.

Magnetic pressure
warps us out of plumb -
away from our ideal selves -
and statics our connection
to the Father.
Yet we stray into danger
again and again.

Into the murky Jordan
Jesus plunged.
As He rose, dripping,
God cracked heaven wide
in a galaxy grin
and showered blessing
down.
Once again the Spirit 
hovered over waters,
stirring up new life,
then pulled Jesus sandward.

Tramping
over sterile terrain, 
He faced pressures
to conform, to satisfy,
to escape pain, to play with power; 
tempted in every way as we are.
For forty days He
was assaulted,
bombarded, pulled
and pummeled,
yet did not give in.

Powerful forces
ignite turmoil,
draw us - willing or not -
into their whirlpools
and we drown.
Through waves
of shame and
self-loathing
the Stronger One
reaches a hand
to guide us back
to our 
True Selves.

Celebrating Past & Future

We look back to forge ahead -
pausing on the trail
to catch our breath.
Fellow travelers gather 'round,
some joined just now,
some footsore and travel-worn
but grinning through the grit.
Some wounded souls gasp for air,
hands on knees and heads bent low;
stragglers trudge in clouds of dust,
streaked faces still aglow.
The trail winds back
through scrub and pine,
down rock-strewn gullies,
o'er rivers wide.
We recall the boulders -
seemingly impossible to scale,
the triumphs hard won
and setbacks enough to challenge
even the hardiest of souls.
We marvel yet at answered prayers,
moments of beauty unparalleled:
echoing canyons, skies achingly blue,
vistas stretched like oil-painted canvas
incredibly huge.

On the trail ahead
we see throngs to be,
cheerful hikers in twos and threes
embarking on side paths
surrounded by trees;
outsiders welcomed to hearth and home,
warmed and nourished to fuller bloom,
befriended and valued as unique boons.
We envision friends yet unknown,
who'll come alongside;
those we can encourage and
lead and inspire.
We hope for calm weather
but pack up rain gear,
realistic but hopeful
for the upcoming year.

Look Up and Out: The Art of Being Human series - Christian Lindbeck

Isolated islands,
we dig deeper moats
the closer we crowd
together.
Shields up,
walled into class cubes,
we feel
no touch
upon our needy skin.

We are the lonely.

Reaching out 
short circuits
when fitting in boxes
is required
and claustrophobic
corsets misshape our souls.

We are the lonely.

Created to fit together,
we long for the other
to warm and weather gales with -
a forest stands
long after the lone tree falls.

Hustling about our busy way,
we gloss and ice over
interactions,
skimming the surface
and avoiding deep dives
at all cost.
Celebrated strong and silent
types are one-dimensional
facades,
made simpler to maintain
by selfies posted
in various poses
suggesting
intimacy. 

Curling inward 
is instinctive
when wounded,
but becomes a 
deformity when
maintained.

Hold out a hand,
open a door -
expect to receive a gift
with whoever
walks in.
Require no dress code
or masks -
let us see your mess
and imperfect attempts
to follow Christ.
Perfectly polished
performances
push connections
aside.
Look up and out.
Choose to be open
to whoever the wind
of God
blows in.

We are the lonely.
We are the thousands
who walk alone
in your midst.
Look around.
See us.
Invite us in.

He is There: The Art of Being Human series- Tim and Christy Knipp (Tim. 5:23; 2 Cor. 1:3-11)

We worry and
we fret,
it's just something
we do.
We open the door 
to this poison -
odorless and colorless,
it creeps across
thresholds
and into our very blood.

Doing battle
means
a bit of boot camp:
disciplined action
and mental grit
while sending sighing
prayers heavenward.

Grab hold of a 
grounding stone
and breathe -
in, then out.

Body, soul and spirit
function together,
gears mesh or clog
as each is oiled
or filled with gunk.

Find an ear to speak into -
a trusted soul to hear.

Into the worry pools 
and eddies,
God's presence exists.
Learn to see Him
in the dark;
reach out your fumbling,
stumbling hand
to find His there.
Though He may not seem
to speak,
He is there.
And that "there" is more solid
and actual
than the storm that rages
around and through you.

Let the God of comfort
hold you
as you tremble.
Let the Father
of compassion
feel your anguish,
take it,
mold it
and
continue the good work
He began.

Trust His faithfulness
to see you through.

We are weak
yet He does not flee.
We lack trust
yet He remains faithful.

We worry.
We fret.
It's who we are.

He cares.
He shows up.
It's who He is.

Inherent Danger: The Art of Being Human series - Christian Lindbeck (Eph. 5:15-17; Gal. 2:20)

Gadgets galore
chitter and glitter,
bling, bling -
give me more!

Double-edged swords:
potential soul suckers
and awesome achievements
each and all.
Designed to meet needs
we never knew we had
until
we can't exist 
without them.

Juggling chainsaws
might be safer
than navigating
smart phones today.
Dynamite in your pocket -
handle with care.

Sacred minutes are
limited things -
golden coins 
to spend 
or waste.
Oh, the treasure chest
a day is!
This gift
is ours to invest
or ingest
but are we free
to choose
or pulled by strings
tied on to gadgets
by merchandisers
devoted to devouring
our golden minutes
one by precious
one.

Beware, beware -
all that glitters
and chitters
and pulls and pulls
is not gold,
and ultimately
can never satisfy
since its very purpose
is to produce
craving
and therefore
chains.

Handle
with care,
inherent danger
is everywhere.

World of Wonder: The Art of Being Human series - Tim Knipp (Ps. 8)

What an astonishing world
You have made!

And into the midst of 
this masterpiece,
You crowned us 
as almost angels
to serve 
the multitudinous 
life forms
that crawl and crab,
stalk and soar;
herbage that blossoms
with bud and thorn,
bristle and leaf; 
surfaces diverse with 
granite and glacier,
sand and seas,
mud and marsh.

Let me not forget
to wonder
at fern fronds.

In the eyes 
and on the lips
of babes
dance the mysteries
of myriad
universes;
skies star-freckled
or cloud-castled
invite inquiry
and inspire imagination.

Look and see.
Listen and hear.
Pause and ponder.
Clean the windows 
of your soul -
scrub away the 
clouds of cynicism;
learn to laugh with 
delight again
at the hard k's in 
the word "skunk";
tremble with anticipation
at a raindrop's slow
path down the window pane -
gaze out at 
the world in wonder
and 
worship.

What an astonishing world
You have made!

Scandalous But True - Scandal, God was Born series: Christian Lindbeck

Unbelievable shame -
audacious claims -
stupendous stories -
swallowed and
banked on
by millions!

Scandalous...
yet true.

A Jewish family
of the house of David -
lineage intact.
A virgin teen
encountering
an actual angel
with astounding news. 
Her curious mind alert
in spite of quaking knees,
she blurts the obvious: "how?"
and receives
a mystery for answer.
Instead of insisting 
on diagrams and proofs,
she bows her head
accepting
the mysterious scandal;
so much teeters
upon her answer.

Why her?
Why her people?
An unexpected choice
from an
unpredictable God
who will not be boxed in.

God is a lover 
of irony -
choosing to be born
into a Jewish
peasant family
at a time when Romans
held pomp and power
and Jews were
merely dust between their toes.
But it's not as though
he didn't warn us
using an entire Testament
to allude and foreshadow
his plan.
From a woman (promised
from day one),
will come the seed
that will rescue us all
from the bite of the
Serpent.

One man 
from a particular people,
calls together
all people.
Instead of "the Other"
defining the group 
we are part of,
it only illuminates
another lovely branch
of this multi-faceted
world he created.

We are his
before we are families,
ethnicities and
nations.

Scandalous...but true.