Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Shalom

Shalom...

Father Bob says it means Gods peace and presence... Even if things around you are not so peaceful. So here I am at church prayer, asking God for His peace and His presence. I am aware that I am being greedy with this request. God has blessed me so much already. All my life He has called me and made Himself known to me, yet I ask for more of His presence in my life. All my life He has provided for me and yet, I ask for more provisions. I am keenly aware that I am insufficient in being able to provide, and produce in any way for myself and my loved ones. It is God who makes all things happen and who orders my steps. It is God who will one day watch me take my last breath and command my angel to bring my spirit to Him. In the mean time I wrestle...against this fallen world...against my fallen soul. I am the most unworthy, and yet, spoiled by my Father. With all this I pray, Lord Jesus, Father God give me your shalom. Lord God, Father God I come to you with my fears and dreams, shepherd me I pray. Amen.

Saturday, July 11, 2015

The Staircase

1.   Just another day Gin thought to himself, another day full of the same old boring chores. The sound of fathers constant yelling was causing Gins ears to ring. Although, Gin thought to himself, as he emptied the burlap bag of rubbish onto the backyard fire pit, life here in the meadow land is peaceful...too peaceful perhaps.
2.   Gin could hear his mother calling him from inside their small thatched cottage home "be careful not to burn yourself Gin, do you hear me?" "Yes mother!" Gin yelled back with a tone of annoyance. "How many times have I burned the family rubbish?" Gin asked himself, "only a thousand times!" was his quick answer to himself.
3.   night fell as the fire grew and faded. Gin laid next to it on the grass starring at the night sky. The stars looked amazing on these clear summer nights. What if I could somehow go up to the heavens and commune with the ancients who lit the stars so long ago? What could they show me? What could they teach me? Many in the meadow lands are saying that perhaps the stories of the ancients were just legend, like fairy tales, but Gin, he was a believer, and he knew up there, or somewhere far away there were great things!
4.   "Hear ye Hear ye!" came the morning call. Gin jumped up from his earthen bed, he must have fallen asleep and now the whole village was in a stir as the kings messengers were yelling and posting the kings proclamation on various post and doors throughout the village. Gin did a quick morning stretch and then quickly ran to the front of his families cottage. Mom, dad, and little brother were already there. dad had the kings proclamation, which was nailed to their door, now in his hand...mom looked worried.
5.   "Says here that King Xavier is calling all , able bodied, young men to his service" "what's it about?" Gins mother asked as she looked at Gin. "Doesn't say" Gins father replied. "But all qualified candidates have to be ready by sunset tomorrow, the kings regiment will come through to pick them up" Gin looked down at Sammy his little brother at age five he surely would not be a candidate, Gin however, had just celebrated his nineteenth birthday last week. It was a merry celebration indeed with too much food and too much drink, it took a couple days for Gin and his friends to recover. Funny,  Gin thought  I sure didn't imagine this coming. What is going to happen to me and my friends now?
6.   to be continued...