Poetry Sunday ~ A New Year

Pss. 51: 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

A New Year

***

The New Year comes in a cool swift wind

Time for change in the hearts of men

Trees are bent some boughs are pinned

Seasonal snow once again.

The tides of change, a raging sea

Tossed me about this year of need

All my friends heard my plea

Reached out to me in blessed deed.

With twists and turns the year gave rise

Silent echoes stirred the night

Stars they dripped from the skies

An answer to, my inner plight.

My soul made whole by years end

The stormy sea now rests.

A new day unfolds, my body to mend

I embrace the new years quests!

***

Isa. 40: 31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Rom. 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Quotation Saturday

NEW YEAR

“Hope
Smiles from the threshold of the year to come,
Whispering 'it will be happier'...”
~ Alfred Tennyson

“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes.

Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're Doing Something.

So that's my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody's ever made before. Don't freeze, don't stop, don't worry that it isn't good enough, or it isn't perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life.

Whatever it is you're scared of doing, Do it.

Make your mistakes, next year and forever.”
~ Neil Gaiman

“Tomorrow, is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one.”
~ Brad Paisley

“We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day.”
~ Edith Lovejoy Pierce

“The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul and a new nose; new feet, a new backbone, new ears, and new eyes. Unless a particular man made New Year resolutions, he would make no resolutions. Unless a man starts afresh about things, he will certainly do nothing effective.”
~ G.K. Chesterton

“Make New Year's goals. Dig within, and discover what you would like to have happen in your life this year. This helps you do your part. It is an affirmation that you're interested in fully living life in the year to come.

Goals give us direction. They put a powerful force into play on a universal, conscious, and subconscious level. Goals give our life direction.

What would you like to have happen in your life this year? What would you like to do, to accomplish? What good would you like to attract into your life? What particular areas of growth would you like to have happen to you? What blocks, or character defects, would you like to have removed?

What would you like to attain? Little things and big things? Where would you like to go? What would you like to have happen in friendship and love? What would you like to have happen in your family life?

What problems would you like to see solved? What decisions would you like to make? What would you like to happen in your career?

Write it down. Take a piece of paper, a few hours of your time, and write it all down - as an affirmation of you, your life, and your ability to choose. Then let it go.

The new year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written. We can help write that story by setting goals.”
~ Melody Beattie

“The great miraculous bell of translucent ice is suspended in mid-air.

It rings to announce endings and beginnings. And it rings because there is fresh promise and wonder in the skies.

Its clear tones resound in the placid silence of the winter day, and echo long into the silver-blue serenity of night.

The bell can only be seen at the turning of the year, when the days wind down into nothing, and get ready to march out again.

When you hear the bell, you feel a tug at your heart.

It is your immortal inspiration.”
~ Vera Nazarian 

“Faith is why I'm here today and faith is why I believe I can achieve something in my life.”
~ Jonathan Anthony Burkett,

“It is with each New Year that you realize: you’ve grown, you’ve matured, you’ve won the battle...of yet another year!”
~ Joni Zipp 

Happy New Year to all! 

My friends, my foes and everyone in between. 

May you have a blessed start to a New Beginning! 

I know I will!

Poetry Sunday ~ Twinkle Twinkle

Pss.12: 1 Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men

A Tragedy

Crimson has stained the world
As we mourn the life of youth.
No joyous sounds, no jingle bells
Stolen was the age of truth.

Blood has washed over our hearts
stained is our Christmas glory.
We sit in wonder of it all
as some are raging in fury.

Oceans of pain has erupted
on this luscious land we adore
Corruption has slithered along to find
we’ve welcomed all we abhor.

Tragedy unleashed its sorrow
in brutal ungodly fashion.
Wiping out the hearts of men
who are strong with Godly passion.

What better way to slash at God
then to slaughter His purest on earth;
to take away the moment in  time
that we celebrate Jesus’ birth.

How can man even fathom
as we grapple in the dark.
For one shining ray of hope
to the everlasting spark?

Often times as the path grows dim,
And we search for a ray of light.
High above there’s a shining star
Guiding us through the night.
***

Twinkle, Twinkle
***
Twinkle, twinkle
My little star
How I wonder
Why you’re off so far
Way up high out of my reach
So many things I’ve yet to teach.

Twinkle, Twinkle
My little star
In God’s hands
You’re not so far
Up above the moonbeams sigh
Can you see me as I cry?

Twinkle, Twinkle 
My little star.
How I wonder

about this scar;
Left upon my soul so clear.
By my child, once so near.

Twinkle, Twinkle
My little star
Hold my place
Right where you are
Remember we’re not far apart
A place for you is in my heart.

Twinkle, Twinkle
My little star.
All the world
Knows who you are.

***
In remembrance of the children of the Dec. 14th  Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre

Pss. 14: 2 The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God


Heaven shines a little brighter, as a spiritual renewal washes over.

Silent Night

The Rain of Pain

By: Adam Zipp

***

Burn away countless pain

Here alone dark companion

turn to hell burn my soul

someone weeps in a corner

silent rage brings violent endings.

The voices heard no more
Laughter just a factor

Silent bells the won’t hear

Turn away and ignore the pain

Softer now it begins to rain.

Come with me and feel their pain

They had no voice,

for they were empty,

Now to hear their cries

we have to beg and pray.

Turning in our sleep

We feel alone;

at least we can

Hold our own

Turn up the night

To hear the lullaby.

They have no names

Because none are needed

Those tiny hands

Will never hold again.

Listen to their cries

And feel their pain.

Turn up the night

Just to hear the rain

Even though they weep

We only see their graves

Candles burn in the dead of night

Softened by the rain that falls

Walk so tall, just to fall

The tears can mix

Within the rain.

Even though they died

No one hears their cries

Desperate we strive

Just to fall and cry.

Maybe it’s to late

To feel the pain

No smiles

No tears

No gifts

No one hears

No pain

Just listen to the rain.

***

The above poem was written by my soon-to- be seventeen year old son. It was written on the Monday after the tragic hellish nightmare in Newtown Connecticut.

It pained me to send him to school but I know in my heart that this boy has a heart and feels. This is an expression of just one among millions of children that have to face schools again and he deals with the tragedy though writing.

I love you Adam!
***
What was written below was sent via a forwarded email. This needs to be heard too. I give the writer full rights, this is just to heavenly to let pass by:

God Bless These Families

Written by Cameo Smith, Mt. Wolf, PA

Twas’ 11 days before Christmas, around 9:30am, when 20 beautiful children stormed through heaven’s gate.

Their smiles were contagious, their laughter filled the air,

they could hardly believe all the beauty they saw there.

They were filled with such joy, they didn’t know what to say,

they remembered nothing of what had happened earlier that day.

“Where are we?” asked a little girl, as quiet as a mouse.

“This is heaven.” Declared a small boy, “we’re spending Christmas at God’s house.”

When what to their wondering eyes did appear,

but Jesus, their savior, the children gathered near.

He looked at them and smiled, and they smiled just the same,

then He opened His arms and He called them by name.

And in that moment was joy, that only heaven can bring,

those children all flew into the arms of their King

And as they lingered in the warmth of His embrace,

one small girl turned and looked at Jesus’ face.

And as if He could read all the questions she had,

he gently whispered to her, “I’ll take care of mom and dad.”

Then he looked down on earth, the world far below,

He saw all of the hurt, the sorrow, and woe

Then He closed His eyes and He outstretched His hand,

“Let My power and presence re-enter this land!”

“May this country be delivered from the hands of fools “,

“I’m taking back my nation, I’m taking back my schools!”

Then He and the children stood up without a sound,

“Come now my children, let me show you around.”

Excitement filled the space, some skipped and some ran,

all displaying enthusiasm that only a small child can.

And I heard Him proclaim as He walked out of sight,

“In the midst of this darkness, I AM STILL THE LIGHT.”

On another note: This was written by a dear friend from church. Thank you Mrs. Carol Roth, what a beautiful soul that God has placed in my life.

THE CHRISTMAS STORY as found in Christmas CAROLS.

Many people see the Christmas season in a far different light than those who prefer to observe "the REASON for the SEASON", Jesus. They would rather "Deck the halls with boughs of holly", have a big evening out with "Frosty the Snow man" and "Good King Wenceslas" singing "God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen". Most celebrate and "Ring Those Bells", those "Silver Bells"and keep "Jingle Bells" going on and on.
But most important, remember "It Came upon a Midnight Clear", on a "Silent Night" that "We Three Kings of Orient ", following the "Star of the East", said to each other "Go tell it on a Mountain" . "Angels From the Realms of Glory" sang "The First Noel"--."O Holy Night". "While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks" they paused, because of the "Angels We Have Heard On High" and "There 's a Song in the Air. They knew that they should go to "O Little Town of Bethlehem" because "A Babe is Born in Bethlehem". In Bethlehem, they found the Babe "Away in a Manger" because there was "No Room in the Inn" and there was "No Place but a Stable". They gathered around the "Newborn Babe" asked "What Child is This?" Worshipping the Child, their response was "This is Christ the King". They sensed this was "Love Beyond Measure".

"Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow." (James 1:17) "O Come, All Ye Faithful", join together in praising God for His Perfect Gift. "JOY TO THE WORLD! The Lord is come. Let earth receive her King. Let every heart prepare Him room, and Heaven and nature sing, and Heaven and nature sing. And Heaven and Heaven and nature sing.!"

I hope you enjoyed my compilation of our best Christmas carols!

Poetry Sunday ~ Harvest of Souls

Soul Harvest

*** 

The time is near, the hour nigh,
moonbeams droop in a blackened sky.
Blazing sun scorches the land.
Earth erupts in a quivering stand.

Encircling us is ravaging hate,
lust and greed severs our fate.
I sit and watch as lives unravel,
the boulder of strength now merely gravel.

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust,
souls bewildered by mistrust.
Doubt and fear, they give rise;
to muted pleas and mournful cries.

As souls ascend and souls descend,
it is our own that we must mend.
Bringing forth joy, love and peace,
the decorum of beauty will never cease.

Firmly tread as the time is here,
to boldly proclaim, all we revere.
The harvest of souls its beckoning plea;
it's craving you; devouring me.

Come forth and share your wholesome beauty.
unleash love, our soulful duty.
Reap what you sow, seek and find.
then you my friend, won't be left behind. 

***

Copyright ©joni zipp

Quotation Saturday

HOPE

“Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me... Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.”
~ Shel Silverstein

“The world is indeed full of peril and in it there are many dark places.
But still there is much that is fair. And though in all lands, love is now
mingled with grief, it still grows, perhaps, the greater.”
~ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

“to love life, to love it even
when you have no stomach for it
and everything you've held dear
crumbles like burnt paper in your hands,
your throat filled with the silt of it.
When grief sits with you, its tropical heat
thickening the air, heavy as water
more fit for gills than lungs;
when grief weights you like your own flesh
only more of it, an obesity of grief,
you think, How can a body withstand this?
Then you hold life like a face
between your palms, a plain face,
no charming smile, no violet eyes,
and you say, yes, I will take you
I will love you, again.”
~ Ellen Bass

“Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around - nobody big, I mean - except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff - I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be.”
~ J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

FAITH

“Do not think that love in order to be genuine has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired. Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.”
~ Mother Teresa

“You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is like an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.”
~ Mahatma Gandhi

“To have Faith in Christ] means, of course, trying to do all that He says. There would be no sense in saying you trusted a person if you would not take his advice. Thus if you have really handed yourself over to Him, it must follow that you are trying to obey Him. But trying in a new way, a less worried way. Not doing these things in order to be saved, but because He has begun to save you already. Not hoping to get to Heaven as a reward for your actions, but inevitably wanting to act in a certain way because a first faint gleam of Heaven is already inside you.”
~ C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

LOVE

Pss. 40: 16 Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: let such as love thy salvation say continually, The LORD be magnified.

Pss. 97: 10 Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked

Isa. 63:99 In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.

Matt. 19: 14 But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

Poetry Sunday ~ The Road

Phil. 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

The Road

***
The road is blemished in an odd way
it started with my waking day.
A pebble here, small stone there
tossed about without a care.

My road is darkened, often bleak
I wander the path for all I seek.
Purged from innocent winds I fly
longing to know the reasons why.

Throw in the towel and give it all up
am I worthy to drink from His cup?
He kissed my head, held my hand
gave me strength for which to stand.

The path was lit in a rainbows flare
my eyes soon saw possibilities there.
All from me or blessings from Him,
the road now bright no longer dim.

Sometimes we see no light to guide

False truths, mistrusts we long to hide.
Inner peace is not from this world
nor in agenda of a flag unfurled.

Struggles are often the seeds of growth
I am full owner of them both.
As I stand and knock at pains door
a blossoming blessing rocks my core.

It’s not about our physical sight
that gives us all the will to fight.
Simply put it’s how you revere love,
as muddy waters or a snow-white dove.

I give it my all in withering strife,
the road less traveled becomes my life.
It’s not the road, in which you travel,
It’s that which you sow in rich soil or gravel.

Quotation Saturday

DECISIONS

“Crying is all right in its own way while it lasts. But you have to stop sooner or later, and then you still have to decide what to do.”
― C.S. Lewis

“Trust your heart if the seas catch fire, live by love though the stars walk backward.”
― E.E. Cummings

“You can't make decisions based on fear and the possibility of what might happen.”
― Michelle Obama

“It does not take much strength to do things, but it requires a great deal of strength to decide what to do.”
― Elbert Hubbard

CHANGE

“Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”
― Apple Inc.

“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”
― Mahatma Gandhi

“The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.”
― Albert Einstein

“When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not yet ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back. A week is more than enough time for us to decide whether or not to accept our destiny.”
― Paulo Coelho

SOUL

“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche

“Laughter is the sound of the soul dancing. My soul probably looks like Fred Astaire.”
― Jarod Kintz

“Whatever you are physically...male or female, strong or weak, ill or healthy--all those things matter less than what your heart contains. If you have the soul of a warrior, you are a warrior. All those other things, they are the glass that contains the lamp, but you are the light inside.”
― Cassandra Clare

“The soul, fortunately, has an interpreter - often an unconscious but still a faithful interpreter - in the eye.”
― Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre

Poetry Sunday ~ Together on a Journey

“The only journey is the one within.”

~ Rainer Maria Rilke

***

Together on a Journey

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We’ve weathered many storms

rode the raging seas

Together on a journey,

that brought us to our knees.

Sometimes we had a full sail

at times we drifted away;

times we wanted to turn back,

to the sea we gave no sway.

Enduring callous crashing waves

that tossed us to and fro,

Together on a journey

one which we didn’t know.

Light shone round about us

a beacon to behold.

It guided us to safer shores

if all the truth be told.

Forging ahead to safer shores

where heart and soul can mend.

Together on a journey,

to which there is no end.

Quotation Saturday

Picture by Elaine DeBaucher (all rights reserved)

ANGELS

“Saint Anthony said, in his solitude, he sometimes encountered devils who looked like angels, and other times he found angels who looked like devils. When asked how he could tell the difference, the saint said that you can only tell which is which by the way you feel after the creature has left your company.”
~ Elizabeth Gilbert

“He reached forward to cup my cheek, the touch surprising me. "Please understand that no matter what I am or what has happened in the past, I am yours. I am devoted to you above all else, including my own life."
I exhaled after holding my breath for what felt like forever. "That's pretty heavy, Will."
His expression was impassioned, and the backs of his fingers brushed the side of my neck.
"It is a burden I am glad to carry.”
~ Courtney Allison Moulton

“Why does she have wings?'
So she can fly.”
~ Sarah Dessen

“Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.”
~ Alexander Pope

BIRTHDAYS

“With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come.”
~ William Shakespeare

“Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that the people who have the most live the longest.”
~ Larry Lorenzoni

“I grabbed a pile of dust, and holding it up, foolishly asked for as many birthdays as the grains of dust, I forgot to ask that they be years of youth. ”
~ Ovid, Metamorphoses

“Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good.”
~ Maya Angelou

WIND

“And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair”
~ Kahlil Gibran

“I believe in going with the flow. I don't believe in fighting against the flow. You ride on your river and you go with the tides and the flow. But it has to be your river, not someone else's. Everyone has their own river, and you don't need to swim,float,sail on their's, but you need to be in your own river and you need to go with it. And I don't believe in fighting the wind. You go and you fly with your wind. Let everyone else catch their own gusts of wind and let them fly with their own gusts of wind, and you go and you fly with yours.”
~ C. JoyBell C.

“A sailor chooses the wind that takes the ship from a safe port. Ah, yes, but once you're abroad, as you have seen, winds have a mind of their own. Be careful, Charlotte, careful of the wind you choose.”
~ Avi, The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle

“A cold wind was blowing from the north, and it made the trees rustle like living things.”
~ George R.R. Martin

JOURNEY

“Not I, nor anyone else can travel that road for you.
You must travel it by yourself.
It is not far. It is within reach.
Perhaps you have been on it since you were born, and did not know.
Perhaps it is everywhere - on water and land.”
~ Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass

“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.”
~Heraclitus

“The only journey is the one within.”
~ Rainer Maria Rilke

“The month of December is the birthday of many men whom I have journeyed with in my life, my beau, Steven, my sons Christopher and Adam and my father. What a blessing to have such great company!”
~ Joni Zipp

Happy Birthday Christopher, born-died ~ December 2nd,1982, 

~ Steven ~ December 4th, Adam ~ December 27th, My dad ~ December 30th