I'm just me

I'm just me

Living on the edge

Listening to the voices

Seeing all the pain

Feeling the emotions.

I'm just me

Sitting in the gutter

Close to the margins

Watching life

Whistling a tune.

I'm just me

Can't you see me?

I've been watching

Waiting for a moment

Quietly whispering.

I'm just me

Really a nobody

Gazing at the stars

Silently praying 

For you to see...

©revdjo 1/12/13

I am a Weary Traveller

        

I visited a pub called 'The Weary Traveller' recently. The events of the day and subsequent weeks have culminated in this poem. I hope you enjoy it. May you travell well in your journey of faith. 

I am a weary traveller

I wander far and wide

Searching for an answer

To the pain inside.

What's this love of which you talk of                     

Can I find it in the gutter?

Is this grace really opportunity 

Or something that you mutter?

I am a weary traveller 

I've journeyed many miles

Sat beside the fireside

Reflected in the hours.

I desire to find the meaning

To the mystery that is life.

Do I surrender to God's mercy

And accept him in my life?

I am a weary traveller

Weak and on my knees

As the embers give their last glow

I hear the gentle breeze...

'You are a weary traveller but

There's no struggling required.

Relax, take off your boots

I know that you are tired.'

The travelling is over

The road no longer tread

I've finally met my maker

And I rest my weary head.

©Revdjo 24/11/13 

Today has been a blessing

Today has been a blessing 

That lights the darker times.

A glimmer of moonlight

It ignites the evening sky.

The joy of knowing Jesus

Reflected in their eyes.

Simplicity of childlike faith

Unknown to you and I.

The love that radiates

Across unknown divides.

Smiles that echo truth

Amidst the world's lies.

They may not have an answer

To the mysteries of life.

But grace and mercy meet

Inside a heartfelt rhyme.

Today has been a blessing

That lights the darker times.

Something to hold on to

In months and years gone by.

©Revdjo 21/11/13

Seasons of the soul

Ecclesiastes 3:1 ~ For everything there is a season ~ and a time for every purpose under heaven

Seasons change as time unwinds

Leaves fall and sorrow grows

Tears flow

Loss is mourned.

Winter hits

Cold bites

What once was 

Now is ice.

Look and see

Green shoots

Flowers bloom

Spring unfolds.

The sun shines

All is well

Summer joy

Warmth and fun.

Seasons change as time unwinds

We wonder why

But life goes on...

©revdjo 6/11/13

Chris Duffett's painting Marathan

Chris Duffett is doing a painting marathon to raise funds for The Light Project. Have a look at his blog which is fab as are his paintings. A gifted man of God. http://duffett.wordpress.com/chris-november-painting-marathon/

Time, love and grace entwined

Time is precious so is love

Beating together,

Held forever,

Shared.

Time ticks minute by minute

Moments inspired,

Thoughts transpired,

Lived.

Love wrapped as a gift

Grace expressed,

Width, breadth,

Depth.

Time and love delicately held

Hand-in-hand,

Past, present,

Future.

Loved memories held in time 

Encapsulated heart

Felt emotion,

Love, pain... And grace entwined.

©revdjo 27/10/13

The Purple Teddy Bear

My purple teddy bear sat in his favourite place.

 A poem for Joyce...

 

I have a purple teddy bear
Who sits upon my dresser.
Head to toe in big white spots
He looks like he is poorly.
I wonder what's inside of him
But that's another story.

Should I take him to the hospital?
Should I wrap him in a blanket?

Today I simply say to him,
'You're lonely not forgotten.'
I gaze upon his smiling face
Remembering his warm embrace.
I say a silent prayer for him
And remind him he is loved.

Should I try and make him laugh?
Should I talk of days gone by?

I place him by the tissues
And mop his silent tears.
Endless hours he sits and stares
Days and months and years.
He doesn't say a word to me
But I hear him and his fears.


©revdjo 15/10/13
 

My heart is God's

My heart is God's

My life is his.

I will follow his call 

And entry in.

Where next God?

My spirit yields.

I seek a church 

With open doors.

I see a church

Within my soul

Without a roof

Without the walls.

I long to serve

My Saviour, King

To follow his lead

And set sail with him.

I've Got to Have Faith

I have been preaching on the subject of 'faith' over the last few weeks. I opened one such service with: George Michael once sang. 'Because I've got to have faith.' The song is a classic 1980s track and I couldn't resist singing it a little. It is a song of my youth in many ways. I could say miss-spent youth but that's another story. He is talking about relationships and that you have to trust and have faith in someone for a relationship to work. Being a Christian means having a personal relationship with Jesus - accepting him as Lord and Saviour and seeking to follow him. Being a Christian means putting our trust and faith in God. When everything in life is going well faith can either be strong or neglected. Why would we want to open our Bibles and search for God's heart and a word into our situation when life is so great? When life gets tough again we can go either way we can wallow in our own self pity and focus on the storms of life or we can seek God's face. I wonder if God gives us trials in life to focus our attention on him? People seem to be more likely to pray when the proverbial hits the fan.

Today we had a theatre company come to entertain us at church this afternoon. Burton Inclusive Performing Arts (BIPA) is an inclusive group who love to entertain, many of the group have learning difficulties and special needs, none are professional singers all had a smile on their faces and a song in their heart to share today. I felt so blessed by their presence. Having promoted the event as much as I could I woke up this morning with a stinking cold and in panic mode. Will anyone come? Will it just be me and a couple I send up one of those arrow prayer - help! At 2.39pm people I've never seen before started to come in through the doors and they kept coming inthrough the   doors. God is good! I went home with a smile on my face. As I drove into my road George Michael's voice came on the radio, 'I've got to have faith...' God's humour is never lost on me. As I write this I hit the Sky Plus planner button to watch Mount Pleasant that I recorded the other evening and in the opening scene they are listening to the radio and 'Jitter bug, Jitter bug, Jitter bug, Jitter bug you but the boom boom into my heart...' God has hit me with a Wham! - HAVE FAITH.

Have you met my Saviour?

He held out his hand

And whispered my name.

He smiled 

Wide as the earth

Holding my glaze.

He looked at my heart

It flipped a beat

Held in His hands.

Dust at my feet

I felt naked once more.

Nothing can be hid 

All is revealed.

Emotions contained

Spill out of my soul.

Touching his garment 

He heals and

Love is revealed.

One question remains 

I ask you my friend,

'Have you met my Savour

Who holds out his hand

And whispers your name?'

©Revdjo 4/10/13

My tears wash the feet

I have been away on the East Midland Baptist Association's ministers' retreat this week. We were blessed with two fantastic speakers again this year, Julie Kilpin (you can find her on twitter @julietkilpin) from Urban Expression (@urbanshalom) and Ian Stackhouse. Juliet was talking about alternative expressions of church and Ian on his book Primitive Piety. I have already blogged on Ian's book - when I eventually find the post I will post you a link! Why am I always so amazed at how much God speaks to my heart during this time?

We ended the retreat with praise and worship and Ian spoke to us on Luke 7: 36-50 - the women who anointed Jesus feet. As I reflected on the following verse and the love expressed I wrote this short poem.

'As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.' Luke 7:38

My tears wash the feet

My tears wash the feet

Of the Saviour I meet.

My scares are seen

In his hands and feet.

In the mirror,

That once was dark,

I see the light.

Reflection seen,

The picture of me

And Christ inside.

©Revdjo 27/9/13 

The Mind of Christ

Baptist Church meetings are all about finding the mind of Christ. They are not a democracy where everyone votes in an expression of their opinion but rather a theocracy where we seek to find the mind of Christ and listen to what God says about any one issue. This was on my mind as I wrote this poem. Let me know if you like it. I always have difficulties in knowing if what I write is hitting the spot or not. 

The mind of Christ

Is always there.

We search in earnest

And see him there.

He's in the midst

He weeps with you.

Sorrow and pain

Are in his stare.

Look up to Jesus

Nailed to a tree.

forgiven sinner

that's you and me.

Watch, listen.

Understand.

We tread the path

on solid ground.

And pray we must

to seek his face,

With bended knee

Humility.

The mind of Christ

He's in the midst.

Look up to Jesus

Watch, listen

And Pray we must.

Revdjo 18/9/13

Caught in a World

Caught in a world 

Silently trapped.

No crying heard.

No going back.

Motionless movement.

Only a stir.

No dancing jig.

No evening twirl. 

Memories vivid.

Dreaming inside.

No recompense.

No chance for regret.

Patiently waiting.

Wanting to hear.

The voice of the maker

Say I'm over here.

©Revdjo 15/9/13

No words can express

In the silence of night,

And cool autumn breeze,

My wandering mind

It falls to its knees.

Struggling to think,

Spiralling pain,

Empty inside

I call on your name.

No words can express,

I struggle to say,

As I pour out my soul 

Transformed by your Spirit.

Memories fixed,

Won't be forgotten,

Forgiveness and love

Grace reconciled.

Justice for all,

Or only the righteous?

These are the questions 

Please answer them Lord.

©Revdjo 11/9/13

There is a cost

There is a cost

That God requires

My heart,

My mind,

My soul.

There is a cost 

To follow Him

Repent,

Forgive,

Baptism.

There is a cost

To living faith

Stand-up,

Proclaim,

And shout

There is a cost

Already paid by

Jesus,

Our Lord,

Saviour.

This is our prize

Now shout it out

Refined,

Set free,

Delivered.

Know the Saviour's

Love today

By grace

You are

Forgiven.

©Revdjo 26/8/13

The tune of the hymn by Horatius Bonar that was going through my head when I write the above.

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“Come unto Me and rest;
Lay down, thou weary one, lay down
Thy head upon My breast.”
I came to Jesus as I was,
Weary and worn and sad;
I found in Him a resting place,
And He has made me glad.

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“Behold, I freely give
The living water; thirsty one,
Stoop down, and drink, and live.”
I came to Jesus, and I drank
Of that life-giving stream;
My thirst was quenched, my soul revived,
And now I live in Him.

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“I am this dark world’s Light;
Look unto Me, thy morn shall rise,
And all thy day be bright.”
I looked to Jesus, and I found
In Him my Star, my Sun;
And in that light of life I’ll walk,
Till trav’ling days are done.

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“My Father’s house above
Has many mansions; I’ve a place
Prepared for you in love.”
I trust in Jesus—in that house,
According to His word,
Redeemed by grace, my soul shall live
Forever with the Lord.

Ministry

It's a calling
Ingrained in the heart,
No going back
God's love to impart.

It's a calling
Full of God's hope,
Ministering the Word
God's love to impart.

It's a calling
Bubbling with joy,
His Spirit's anointing
God's love to impart.

It's a calling
Faith - if you will,
Trust and devotion
God's love to impart.

It's a calling
A challenge, a way,
Take it or leave it
God's love to impart.

It's a calling
Will you stop praying,
And tell me
What do you say?

©Revdjo 20/8/2013

Clean

I've been cleaning the house tonight. Here's a poem that arrived as I soaked awake my aches in the bath - one of my places of inspiration. I hope to like it.

'Throw out the rubbish'

I heard you say.

I emptied the bins,

for the sake of my sins.

'What about those spots?'

I looked around..

And scrubbed and cleaned,

I washed the pots.

'The dust in the corner.'

'The speck over there?'

I hovered the rug

And under the chair.

I listen for your voice.

I hear only a din.

The music next door.

I open the gin.

Drowning my sorrows

I put up my feet.

It's comfy here.

I fall asleep.

'What about your hands?

And the state of your heart?'

I open my eyes.

You gave me a start!

©Revdjo 7/8/13

Sharing the shame

Lost in my body

My soul escapes.

It ventures the road 

others won't take.

Tears lost inside

Pain is my name.

Shouting at me

Sharing my shame.

If only you saw 

The man at the door.

Watching with me

As I look at the floor.

They use me 

And abuse me.

They look

And they prod.

Day after day,

Hour after hour,

Minute by minute

I look at the clock.

I wonder if I 

Will ever remember,

Sunshine and freedom

The rain in September?

©Revdjo 21/7/13

Today we had a speaker, Andrew Wrath, from Hope for Justice. When will human trafficking end? We commemorate the abolishing of the slave trade but yet it still continues. Human trafficking is the slave trade of this century. It needs to stop; until then we share the shame. Please Lord let it end.