Christian Nature Poetry: joy

Showing posts with label joy. Show all posts

Friday, March 15, 2019

Sledding

2006, Northern Arizona

2012, East of Albuquerque

2017, Yellowstone

Snowcoaching

Jan, 2019 near Grand Canyon

Feb, 2019 N. AZ

Sledding in summer clothes? Fooled you.

2009, White Sands, NM

Saturday, December 1, 2018

The Word

[repost]

THE WORD "became Flesh and so-journed among us..."

(John 1:14)

THE WORD was spoken at Creation,

And all things came into being.
In the beginning,
All Nature resounded with THE joyous WORD.

THE WORD was recorded by the prophets,
God's Holy Men of old.

"In the beginning was THE WORD,
And THE WORD was with GOD,
and THE WORD was God.
This One was with God in the beginning." (John 1:1-2)

THE WORD was spoken to the Virgin Mary,

And she received THE WORD by the Spirit's power.
She conceived and bore a Son,
For in the fullness of time,

God sent forth His Son to be born of a woman.

(Galatians 4:4)

She wrapped Him in Infant's clothes
And laid Him in a feed trough,
For there was no place else for Him.

Shepherds heard THE WORD from Angels,

So they themselves came to examine THE WORD for themselves.

They gave thanks for THE WORD

and spoke THE WORD to others.

Wise men came to view THE WORD,
Led by their star's bright light.
THE WORD gives men wisdom,
For THE WORD is, itself, WISDOM. (Proverbs 8)
The Wise Men gave THE WORD gifts,
But THE WORD gave them greater gifts.
Though they left Bethlehem,
THE WORD never left them.

THE WORD has been handed down now
Through countless number of ages.
But THE WORD still stays among us,
Speaking as plainly to people as ever.
So, we, too, have seen His glory,
The glory of the One-and-Only-Begotten from the Father,
Full of grace and truth. . .
"Your WORD is TRUTH." (John 17:17)

THE WORD still illumines the walk of the saints,
As it has from time immemorial. . .
"Your WORD is a Lamp unto my feet
And a Light unto my path." (Psalm 119:105)
THE WORD brightens and cheers the walk
And leads us to Himself.

---C. Marie Byars, 1989
St. Louis, Graduate School
(original Bible Translations)

Saturday, December 2, 2017

On Christmas Night All Christians Sing*

On Christmas night all Christians sing
To hear the news the angels bring:
News of great joy, news of great mirth,
News of our merciful King’s birth.

Angels with joy sing in the air,
No music may with theirs compare;
While prisoners in their chains rejoice
To hear the echoes of that voice.

So how on earth can men be sad,
When Jesus comes to make us glad;
From sin and hell to set us free,
And buy for us our liberty?

When sin departs before His grace,
Then life and health come in its place;
Angels and men with joy may sing,
All to see our newborn King.

Then out of darkness we see light,
Which makes the angels sing this night
“Glory to God and peace to men
Now and forevermore. Amen.”

---A folk carol of rural England & Ireland,
*known in some versons as "The Sussex Carol"

Sunday, September 3, 2017

Fountain of Life

These pictures are from Fossil Creek in Northern Arizona. The waterfall and pool make me think of "Cauldron Pool" in The Last Battle, Book 7 of "The Chronicles of Narnia."

from Psalm 36

Your love, O Yahweh, reaches to the heavens,
Your faithfulness to the clouds.
Your righteousness is like the mountains of God,
Your judgements are like the great deep.
You, O Yahweh, preserve both people and animals.
How priceless is your unfailing love, O God!
Humanity's children take refuge in the shadow of Your wings...
You give them drink from Your river of delights.
For with You is the fountain of life;
in Your light we see light.

Oh, continue Your love to those who know You,
Your righteousness to the upright in heart.

(BTW, here is a picture of an interesting rock type I've never seen before: thin sheets of granite "frozen" in lava! All over the place at Fossil Creek, but no one who'd visited ever told me about this.)