Wakefulness

I don’t usually deal with wakefulness.
Something is stirring now, though,
And I wake after four hours, or six,
And I find myself wondering what’s up
In the heavenlies,
On earth,
As the year
Runs out.

Accumulated Failures

When my oldest was born,
I assumed I would make sure he
Memorized much scripture,
Prayed diligently for the lost,
Maybe even evangelized some.

Life happened.

I read today about two children who prayed
Every day
For a missionary and five villages
Who had yet to respond to the gospel.

Only five years later,
Those villages were transformed.

It took us five years just to build a house.

Maybe I have an idea for a New Year’s
Resolution.

Being Known

To be known means that
When something happens to you,
Others know the significance
Because they know your story.

So when my friend said,
“I would take that guy’s life,”
That meant, in part, that any future
Singleness

Did not have to mean desolation and defeat,
But faithfulness and usefulness—
Life suffused with the goodness of God
And the fellowship of the saints.

Temporary

When the boys are all in bed,
I start to feel a little twitchy
For some transcendence
Or at least a little creativity.

So I might read a poem,
Or I might write a poem,
Until my soul is mollified
For one day more.

Pinochle Neophyte

When Grandpa explained that
A king and queen was a marriage,
Jadon asked if a jack and king was

A bachelor party.

Hashtag for the Year

I used to ask for a word for the year,
A simple summary of where a person has been.

Perhaps a hashtag is a better request,
Offering a medium for a few words.

Not everyone has a good year.
And there is space for sigh, for enigma.

But what joy for #released, #affirmation,
#thankfulrestoration, #mypeople.

God is at work, and we celebrate
How he was at work this year.

God Tells a Man

Siberian winter,
Pastor in prison,
Wife and children hungry.

God tells a man: go.
Man protests: may die.
God tells the man:
Don’t have to come back.
Just have to go.

Man went.
Wife and children saved.
Man returned
To tell this story.

Success not guaranteed.
Obedience required.

Humbly, I receive this lesson.