Simply Soul Searching
HOW IS GOD LOVING ME – AND WHERE IS GOD LEADING ME?
A PICTURE AND A POEM: OUT
THE DIFFERENCE
“Three strikes and you’re out!”
When the rules
and the world
suggest we can’t win,
you gently encourage,
“Let’s try this again.”
“I’m sorry, but we are all out!”
When there isn’t
enough
for people in need
you lovingly nudge us,
“Please, go and help feed.”
“I am outdone!”
When the day
overwhelms
and our plans fall apart,
you quietly promise,
“You’ll have a fresh start.”
“Keep out!”
When these words
are proclaimed
on borders and walls,
you warmly invite us,
“I’m open for all.”
“I’m completely worn out!”
When we are
exhausted
and this is our plea,
you peacefully whisper,
“Come, rest in me.”
“I feel so down and out!”
When souls are
depleted,
and days feel so drear,
you kindly assure us
“For this I am here.”
~~~~~
“And remember, I am with you always…”
And we are
so grateful –
when out, you draw in,
when empty, you fill us,
when done… you begin.
Photo by Karen
Bible verse is Matthew 28:20 NRSVUE, found at https://www.biblegateway.com/
Simply Soul Searching 
Beautiful!
I’m out of this, I’m telling you,
even if you say I pout,
and for this mealtime I am through,
and I won’t eat no sauerkraut,
because, first, it smells real funny,
and it’s mostly made of cabbage,
and my dear ol’knotted tummy
with that stuff has got some baggage.
“Just one bite!” you smile and plead
while I push away and shriek,
for I know that’s all I need
to taste it in each burp all week.
It’s loved by all of Germany,
but it ain’t the dish for me.
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Hilarious! Thanks, Andrew.
It seems to me that you and I
should gather when we eat.
Yes, you don’t care for sauerkraut –
and I don’t eat red meat!
(Jim is actually making a Reuben casserole but leaving one side meatless. Bless him.)
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Love your quatrain, and I actually don’t eat meat either. I figure, love animals, don’t eat them.
Barb says that I make St. Francis of Assisi look like a blood-crazed carnivore.
And tangent to this… do you think that the spirit of the tree lives on in a woodworking project? I do. I find that wood will speak to me, and ask to be treated with a kind of humble respect.
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Oh my yes… and perhaps as we honor all of creation, we will hear the message more clearly.
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It’s wrong to kill, simple as. When we take a life, even a small one, we kill a part of what God’s made, we kill a part of Him, the part that dwells within.
Not that there may be necessity; living on a desert mesa, I have to set traps for the mice that would otherwise overrun us. But I do pray for each one caught, and ask God’s forgiveness.
Barb thinks that I am barking mad. But this is what I have to do.
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