Peace

Part 1

Dear Peace,
Where did you go?
I searched in vain to find you.
Not in friends, family or anyone I know.

Why don't you stay?
I see a glimpse of you, every now and then.
But you just nod, smile and pass away.

What have we done, that you allude us so?
Surely you will be back again.
For without us wanting you,
willing you and wishing for your presence,
you will desert us.

Oh Lord, help us to desire peace.
Bring Peace to us , as you do in Christ.
Make us like you, willing to forgive and forget.
Help us to remember your ways.
Shape our minds, hearts and actions.
Show us the way to peace.

For there is no one in heaven and earth like you.

Part 2 

1 Corinthians 1: 10-14:

'I appeal to you, brothers and sisters,
a in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that all of you agree with one another in what you say
and that there be no divisions among you,
but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.

My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household
have informed me that there are quarrels among you.
What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”;
another, “I follow Apollos”; another,
“I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.”


Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you?
Were you baptised in the name of Paul?'

If we divide what will be left of our unity in Christ? 
How can we share words of hope, faith, and love,
if we cannot find peace together?
Why throw away what God freely gave us in the sacrifice of his son?

Let us not tie up each other in knots.
Others will try to do just that every minute, of every day.
Instead let us pray; 'Father lead us to find peace, teach us your ways'.

New Book

Hello Readers,

First of all, thank you for taking the time to read the poems I write.
Because I know that they are being read,
I recently decided to do something daring.

I've collated my poems into a book of poems.
All by me and available on my publisher's website;

Xibris: https://www.xlibris.com/Bookstore/BookSearchResults.aspx?Search=while%20we%20wait

My new book can also be found on;
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com.au/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_10_6?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=while+we+wait&sprefix=while+%2Caps%2C352&crid=2FZZT6OTCGMIR&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Awhile+we+wait

So please, if you would like to hold my book in your hands, click on the links above.
Thankyou 😊

Driving

In our culture if you don't drive you lack a skill.
One that you should learn.
People see the benefits of driving.

But consider the benefits of not driving,
rather than the defects.
Independance. Less pollution.
Less fatigued drives on the roads,
and therefore risk of accidents.

This could result in healthier more active people,
catching public transport, getting work done,
books read and listened to,
being able to just look around them and take note.
 Not just experiencing road rage,
but even walking or riding to work.
Arriving at their destination not irritable, but calmer.

Yes, I do concede that there are advantages to driving.
Faster commute, helping other people get places,
who can't catch public transport.

Why do we press only one point of view?

Relationships

Hard. Easy. Partners. Friends.

Family. Colleges. Questionable.

Why do we value each relationship?

Do we value that person in our lives?

or just how it makes us feel?

What we can get out of it?

Good or Bad?

People come in all shapes and sizes.

They come, and they go from our lives.

Those that mean something to us are the ones that stay.

So, who do you make time for and who makes time for you?

How do you show that you care?

When was the last time that you told them?

Hugged them? Sent them a message?

Self-sacrificing love means going out of your way to

demonstrate that you care, making you words match your actions.

Making someone dinner, doing their laundry, driving them home.

All are examples of self-sacrificial love.

This is how Jesus loves us. Without us having loved him first.

Often, we serve others in the subconscious knowledge that they

may well return the favour, love us in return.

When was the last time you simply loved someone without that expectation?

In a way that hurt you and helped them?

Lord teach us how to love.

Ghosts

I try to sleep but am haunted by ghosts.

They are made of memories.  

Becoming so clear in my mind that when I eventually sleep they continue to occupy me. 

To take up the space where they may orchestrate. 

What it plays on the back of my eyelids.

Sometime ago I had a dream where I was tired from a severe lack of sleep.

As a result, I went through my working day, getting everything wrong.

My initial thought was that surely this prediction would be fulfilled. 

It made sense.

However, after gaining some perspective,

I concluded that my brain was simply warning me.

Warning me to take care, be aware of my stress and fatigue, and its impact.   

A tool to use in my competition with this ghost- failure.

Once I looked at it in a new light it no longer scared me.

In fact, I thanked it for its warning. 

It's warning of a genuine danger. 

For not all dreams, recollections, and ghosts are helpful. 

But this one was. That is why I stopped to acknowledge it. 

After all, it did me a favour.  

An Entreaty

Mark 9:23-25 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”

Sometimes I wonder if I'm just going through the motions.

If the way I think and what I say and how I act is just a facade. 

Do I really believe that God sent his son to die and rise again, to save not only me, 

but everyone else too? 

I want to. But It's not easy. I question if I really do believe, or do I just want to believe?

I'm influenced by those around me to keep hold of what I refer to as my faith. 

Is it really my faith, or is it their faith projected onto me so I may perceive it to be mine? 

Are we just encouraging one another to believe in the world's biggest lie? 

Yet how can a lie go undetected? The gospel has spread like wildfire across the centuries. Surely it would have been totally disproved, and its followers disbanded by now if it were of man's invention.
But time and again academics who began as atheists, become not only Christians, but evangelists.
Fulfilling what Gamaliel the Pharisee said, when the gospel first began its spread:

"Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God." (Acts 5:38-39)

Those whom I care about I who care about me...

People whom I trust and value their options...

Most of these people are Christians...

But some have turned away, slowly giving up their faith.

It was no longer precious, but instead turned into something that they resented and rejected.

Dear God, I don't know what kind of person I would be without you living with me.

Directing my heart, soul and mind every day.

I am guided by you for give up the God who is just yet whose love surpasses all understanding.

Please my Heavenly Father, remind me every day where I stand.

Let me remain supported by Christ, the solid rock, and not give in and tread down upon the sinking sand. When you call me home, may I then in Him be found. 

Shared...

'It is not good for man to be alone'
Genesis 2:18

So many things are better when shared.
Shared, experienced and treasured by two. 

When you stand still in awe and wonder there is no one there to hear your exclamation.
When you stand together you share your thoughts, conjectures, and perceptions.

Trees need a Xylem and a Phloem to function.
To be healthy, to grow, and support one another as each day passes.
They are together as one.

Good relationships are like trees.

When two people are devoted to caring for one another.
When two people can share faith, values, goals, beliefs...
slowly becoming of the same heart, soul and mind.

Of course, due to the presentence of sin, this isn't always the case.
We let each other down sometimes, forget the needs of the other and want things done our way.
Yet with God's help and intervention repairing the damage is possible.
If only we are willing and humble enough, to ask for his guidance and his aid.

I pray that my relationship will grow to be like a tree one of these days...