The tawny hills with golden flecks
The summer’s air, the wilderness
The lazy buzzing of the bees
The grass that tickles calloused knees
The welcomeness of gentle breeze
All these and more my heart do swell
And then my soul says, “It is well”
The wilderness a sacrament
The vibrant stillness infinite
The wind that rustles in the trees
It seems that time will never cease
A window opens to a place
Which weary soul can now embrace
The gift of silence like to gold
My heart will ever, always hold
Empty without You,
Bereft of all things,
Nothing to offer,
Nothing to bring.
Only a skel’ton,
A frame without flesh,
A small, empty vessel —
Without peace, without rest.
Until You do fill me,
Until You bring grace,
Until You infuse me —
I need Your embrace.
You tear back the curtains,
You dissipate dust,
You melt all the misty,
You fill up my cup.
You bring into focus
What once was unclear.
The picture once blurry
I face without fear.
Why the truth I tend to hide?
Refuse to God my sins confide?
Reluctant Doctor God to see;
Confess that I’m in agony?
Hiding the hate, the fear, the sin;
Hiding all that lurks within.
Not to say that I’m no good,
Just that I be honest should.
And not to hide behind a smile;
Let down the acting for a while.
Not conceal behind a mask
My weaknesses — that is my task.
O why pretend, my weary soul,
That I’m the person in control?
The circumstances of my life
To Him I yield, let go the strife.
(Inspired by the heavy rain today.
I felt it was washing me clean as I drove along in my car.)
Wash me clean, Oh Lord!
Like drops of rain that coalesce,
Cleanse me with Your tenderness —
Oh, wash me clean.
Like rivers rushing to the sea,
Like waterfalls that roar at me,
Like river rapids wild and free —
Wash me clean.
With Holy Spirit water let
My soul revive and not forget —
My sins were scarlet —
Now washed clean.
Let rain fall down from up above,
Cleanse the stain of sin with love,
All filth and dirt are washed away;
Close by Your side my soul must stay.
There is a far and distant land
Of which we all must dream
Where tears turn into diamonds
And laughter runs in streams
Where children play along that shore
And dance in bright sunbeams
Where hungers are all satisfied
And wounds long held do mend
Where strife and sin are but a dream
And troubled thoughts at end
There is a far and distant land
To which we all must look
And if I knew it very well
I’d write it in a book
‘Til then while life’s strains take up time
Our hope is in that land divine
April 12, 2012
When darkness falls,
Light hides His face,
It’s then you must
Lean on His grace.
Deny the lies
That come your way
Upon His cross
Your eyes must stay.
Rejoice that He
Has let you weep.
For suf’ring shows
His love so deep.
And should the sun
Break through the clouds,
A greater joy
He will allow.
clarakatalin 
The Twelve Steps Of Idiots Anonymous
Just in case people are not aware of the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, (for example, see
http://www.silkworth.net/aa/12steps.html ), this is a parody of that. I recently “joined” Idiots Anonymous, due to my mistakes regarding God’s love for me.
1) We admitted we were powerless over our blindness to God’s love — that our lives had become unmanageable.
2) Came to believe that His love could restore our sight.
3) Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4) Made a searching and fearless inventory of our blind spots.
5) Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our unbelief.
6) Were entirely ready to have God remove all the aspects of our blindness.
7) Humbly asked Him to remove our blindness.
8) Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9) Made direct amends to such people whenever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10) Continued to take inventory, and when we were blind or myopic, asked God for the grace to confess it.
11) Sought, through prayer and meditating on God’s word, to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12) Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to everyone we know, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
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Christian, Commentary, Hope, Spiritual
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