A Law Officer’s Wife

You married well

She is a fighter

Glorious and strong

She shines brighter

You step out to fight

She remains still

Her strength is hidden

In a fiery will

Brave and lonely

You keep to yourself

She sees you truly

And fuels your stealth

Badged with an honor

To serve and protect

She’s got your six

You’ve earned her respect

No matter the distance

She follows you close

The most difficult path

Abandoned by most

Assured in her knowledge

Of your merciful of heart

She loves you truly

And accepts her part

Tried with the truth

Of the fallout of life

I am proud to say

I am a law officer’s wife.

Listen

Listen with your heart

And you will understand

Jesus had it right

The wounds are in His hands

Angry mobs are burning

Violence in the streets

Voices heard through madness

Where pain and trauma meet

Hatred stirs more hatred

Destruction leaves a void

Hardened hearts are blinded

Where hope has been destroyed

Pay attention to the wounding

The pain displayed is real

Stories need a reading

Acknowledge first to heal

We contain the power

The love of God resides

Believers hold a brightness

That darkness cannot hide

A hopeless world seems empty

The news would make it seem

But grace is in the beauty

Of the Healing Water streams

The secret of the Kingdom

Contained in listening

Pay attention to the sources

It matters where you cling

Truth is like a bedrock

A firm unmoving place

Ancient ways resounding

When you slow the anxious pace

The faces of the hurting

Wear many different colors

In shields, in fields, in cities

The same love and mercy hovers

Ready for the taking

A time to heal must come

Compassion holds the healing

When all is said and done.

‘The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. ‘ Genesis 1:2-4 NKJV

…“Listen with your heart and you will understand!” (Jesus) Luke 8:8 TPT

Thy Way

Standing before the ocean

The great and mighty sea

Waves roar and lightly land

Power turns soft at my feet

Deep and inescapable

As far and wide as my view

Wonder sinking to the depths

My God, my God, where are You?

Answers deep inside my chest

My heart can hear the calling

Thunder rolls in water crashing

Louder than my yearning

Trusting what my eyes can’t see

Open hands surrender

Breathing deep and grounded now

I know that I must enter

The Red Sea story beckons me

A miracle of parting water

He was in the unseen deep

Deliverance from the slaughter

I cry aloud with fear and praise

Trading bondage for His freedom

Arms raised high with surrender

Aware of how I need Him

Thy way is in the sea my Lord

Your paths are in the deep

I cannot see your footsteps

But my soul is Yours to keep

Faith steps in and takes my hand

My fear is slowly fading

I step in and find dry ground

The Promised Land is waiting.

Inspired by Psalm 77

“Thy way is in the sea, and your paths are in many waters; and your footsteps shall not be known.” v19

New Normal

Shedding the scales of the old ways

Believing the new ways will come

Forced to exist in a smaller domain

There is nowhere to run away from

A heavy storm of sickness and fear

Has washed across the earth

Page after page in a never ending chapter

What was our previous life worth?

Missing the chaos, we want to return

To places we knew too well

Somehow we know this is crazy

Yet our heart is too desperate to tell

The longer the pause, the more we settle

A chance to consider the past

Maybe this reset and unwelcome halt

Reveals we were living too fast

Reaching for things we thought would bring joy

Pursuing pleasure and lust and money

We forgot how to feel the pain of too much

And bitterness tasted like honey

A new normal set into the rhythm of life

Hidden things come bursting into view

Some things are dark and some filled with light

Most of which we already knew

The power to choose when the world opens up

Holds a chance for the life we desire

I pray that the chaos cannot recover

And the shadows don’t kill back the fire

There is a smoldering spark of redemption

Patiently waiting to burst with a hopeful flame

All we must do is fill with God’s love and recover

Knowing our stories will not be the same.

Advent 2019

In a season of waiting

Each morning unfolds

Open hands to receive

The story being told

Clenched or closing

Refusing new grace

Shackles old thoughts

No mercy embraced

Sun rises slowly

Brings light to new ways

Trusting the process

Turns color from grays

A blanket of snow

Warms earth underneath

To bear the cold season

Hope springs new relief

For so many years

God’s people were yearning

A Savior foretold

A long time of learning

The birth of a baby

In a manger of hay

The answer to prayer

In the Father’s way

The King who came walking

Just like one of us

His holiness hidden

To love and not crush

This love that was given

Is heavy to bear

Yet when I receive it

I learn how to share

From Advent to Christmas

I must travel alone

Hand in hand with Jesus

To learn what He knows.

She Does

Blades of grass

Soft under her feet

Gift of a journey

A mission to meet

Called from the chaos

A moment of rest

Time slowing down

To gather the best

Her grip is loosened

Uncontrollable things

Falling behind her

Like butterfly wings

A gentle voice guiding

Faith is her strength

Joy is the weapon

She uses at length

Never forgetting

The battle at hand

Obedience leads her

To new spacious land

Aware of the darkness

Existing with light

Following her Father

Persevering with might

For now like Mary

She chooses the good

At the feet of Messiah

She does as she should.

 

“His love broke open the way and he brought me into a beautiful broad place. He rescued me—because his delight is in me!” (Psalm 18:19)

Inspired by Luke 10:42

“But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

 

Shift

Weightless but grounded

Like a feather in dirt

Softly kept freedom

Rises above the hurt

Wakeful with prayer

Salted with grace

Voice spoken words

A smile on my face

Breathing in deep

Life upon lungs

Another day opens

Where yesterday hung

Light upon shadows

Like waves upon sand

Washing away

Mistakes of my hand

Morning brings promise

An unopened gift

Carefully unwrapping

Joy takes the next shift.

Memorial Day Tribute

Gratitude gleams in the sunshine

Reflecting on tears that have fallen

Red, white, and blue, stripes given

From a hero who walks life uncommon

A call of the duty that beckons

Brothers and sisters in arms

They take up the cross that burdens

To protect and keep love from harm

Pause and reflect on the cost

Notice the eyes of those who have served

Join me and pause to see them

These warriors with hearts submerged

Sometimes the rough exterior

Will hide their hidden kindness

They deserve the searching

Treasures found in exteriors that blind us

Losses and pain kept secret

Heavy like balls and chains

Lets us be seekers with gracefulness

To bind mercy in the life unchanged

Honor to those who gave their lives

Forgiveness for those who remain

Hope in the promise of Jesus

Who’s love sacrifice was one in the same

He is the only Redeemer

The One who understands our pain

No matter the life we walk while on earth

His love and healing will stay

I lift my hope this Memorial Day

For those who are lost and alone

That the sadness you feel would be planted

Into beauty this fought for freedom can grow.

What Love Does

When you give your heart away

There is floating in between

A place of honest giving

Trust in how it will be received

The truth in giving love

Is to draw from our Redeemer

The One who gave it all

To the frail and flawed receivers

Faded flower calling in colors

Take a second look before you pass

New does not always mean best

Return to the the richer past

Knowing and loving and being true

Words to solve a puzzle

Understanding why is not so bad

Soak into my loving nuzzel

The question of how does not matter

My heart has been rooted in God

Loving a man that is in a battle

Is a wife’s holy and graceful nod

Moving to the next me brigade

Is nothing compared to commitment

A vow to be what I could not be

Without my Saviour’s commission

A love was protrayed in agony

A sheep praying for her wolves

Nailed to a cross with a silent prayer

Sacrifice is what love does

New Wings

With wings you can fly

Soaring from place to place

Nothing else but freedom

Discovering beauty and grace

Hungry storms crawl in

Glance behind your shoulder

Determined to stay on course

Freedom becomes bolder

Bliss is changed to forced

A door is opened wide

Unbeknownst it is cage

Decision based on pride

Enter through at will

Escape a painful chase

Giving up too soon

To find a friendly face

Joined by those in prison

Trapped by choices made

We are in this life together

I hear distant songs of praise

My heart of faith is willing

To step ahead with prayer

To sing the songs of a risen King

He will meet us here

When prison doors fling open

I will be here waiting

Do not fall upon your sword

New wings are for the taking.

Inspired by Acts 16:25-34 The Passion Translation (TPT)

25 Paul and Silas, undaunted, prayed in the middle of the night and sang songs of praise to God, while all the other prisoners listened to their worship.

26 Suddenly, a great earthquake shook the foundations of the prison. All at once every prison door flung open and the chains of all the prisoners came loose.

27 Startled, the jailer awoke and saw every cell door standing open. Assuming that all the prisoners had escaped, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself 28 when Paul shouted in the darkness, “Stop! Don’t hurt yourself. We’re all still here.”

29 The jailer called for a light. When he saw that they were still in their cells, he rushed in and fell trembling at their feet. 30 Then he led Paul and Silas outside and asked, “What must I do to be saved?”

31 They answered, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved—you and all your family.”32 Then they prophesied the word of the Lord over him and all his family. 33 Even though the hour was late, he washed their wounds. Then he and all his family were baptized. He took Paul and Silas into his home and set them at his table and fed them. 34 The jailer and all his family were filled with joy in their newfound faith in God.