In Prayer

Some months ago, I asked the Lord for a word.

“Look to the Beauty”

Was what I heard.

I ask the Lord to

Unite my heart,

Enlarge my heart,

That I may praise with my

Whole heart.

Word for the Year

As I look ahead to this school year,

I get to choose a word

That I hope to embody.

I feel at sea in a slew

Of aspirational choices,

No clarity on which should be mine.

Hope

Intentional

Simplicity

Together

Staying afloat

I wonder if

Hope

Is the word that is most

Foreign,

Most needed.

The Rooster's Near-Death Experience

Caleb loves the single white rooster

That accidentally snuck through

In the shipment of red hens.

He goes out to carry Buck around

At every opportunity,

Tucking the bird under his arm.

Then one day the rooster

Vanished. The boys searched, but

Found neither bird nor feathers.

Suddenly Phil ordered Isaiah to

Check the food buckets

Quickly.

And there was Buck, under the lid,

On the mound of food,

Slowly roasting, suffocating,

But yet living.

Caleb won’t go alone in the pen for a while.