gentle & lowly

 Txt from friend:

From: "Gentle and Lowly - The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers(Dane Ortlund)

---

Response2txt:

So lovely - his love is. Lowly is he.

Not High and Mighty, though highest he be,

and mighty his love that's never ending -

creates a world for work, home, and friending.

First of all home, then friending, then work.

As a babe's womb-world, is no place to shirk -

the whole point is growing, towards the mature,

even a foetus knows more than   "manure".

Muck-own-i-um happens, inside a womb

but many a babe is still borne from that room

and lowly, hum-bly, Love stays with them then

to give them a chance to choose to be "friend",

instead of "hater" who'll "proudly compete",

more options later (with friendship that's sweet)

appear and will gently allow one to greet

trials as friends which will make you complete.

---

like you

 

---

Oh God, we like you very much, espesh-

ly how your children are a bit like you.

We know you've planned a grand Way, Truth, Life, meshed

with ecosystems all 'round what you do;

our small minds, aching hearts, and mortal lives,

are lines of poems that still need some more..

more lines that follow on. 'Till each arrives

we miss our rhymes, we need a stable lore,

or meter to enable us to read,

to even understand what we once  wrote.

So here we are, we'll listen, & we'll heed,

what you are try'na do, with ev'ry note.

We're seeing you are very like some Jazz

musicians who are playing as a band,

with not much music written. No ONE has

the score all sorted. They play "as they can."

You know the kind of music you might play,

but most of all, it will be with your kids,

and so together is the sort of way

they make their music - even banging lids.

---

dearest of the lot

 

---

Dear One who is the dearest of the lot,

the one who gives us glory to show off -

not shared with diff’rent members who each got

a bit of glory, to share like a cough.

Not just a quite distinct commodity,

that's sep'rate from ourselves, something we own,

but part of who we are at core, so we

won't  lose it. If we choose it, we'll be known

as such, and then can choose to serve as well,

and bring more light of love into this world,

until there is no room here for the hell

we otherwise might bring, and see unfurled.

The glory of the story of the un-

conditional and positive regard

that is the source of glory (& of fun)

and comes from life that's loving though it's hard.

It's not for any single individ-

ual, 'cept it be the Father of us all -

and Father God it seems has had a kid,

or rather "lamb", his child whom he would call

to share the fam'ly glory, which is made 

to emanate as love is shared between

the parents, children, lovers, who would wait

& watch, to spread God's glory in this scene.

So as the glory of this God is Christ,

the light that's sent out by him to the world;

and as the Christ sent us out, saccrificed,

his glory spreads in us, and grows uncurled,

like little flags of fern shoots that bring more

such ferns into the world with spores as well,

so God's good life was living, way before

he made up time and space, and we brought hell.

---

This life was rife with love above all else

 

---

Dear dear young Anne-Marie you've gone and gone

and beaten us right to the intro's end.

You know the end of this small tale. You've shone

a light to finish off the start, my friend.

End posturing & proving that folk do

to show we are as good as the next one..

you've left such goodness in those who know who

you were; your husband, daughter, friends, & sons.

And we are left behind feeling our loss.

I like your work of love, & real true stuff.

I see you've followed he who had that cross

to die upon, though he just lived from love.

So thank you for the times we spent, & smiles,

your friendship when I prob'ly was too brusk;

your beautiful example all the whiles...

of finding what or who you could still trust!

---

our Mark unParked - but Roamin' round..

---

Oh God, we like you very much, espesh-

ly how your children are a bit like you.

We know you've planned a grand way, truth, life, meshed

with ecosystems all 'round what you do;

our small minds, aching hearts, and mortal lives,

are lines of poems that still need some more..

more lines that follow on. 'Till each arrives

we miss our rhymes, we need a stable law,

or meter to enable us to read,

to even understand what we once  wrote.

So here we are, we'll listen, & we'll heed,

what you are try'na do, with ev'ry note.

We're seeing you are very like some Jazz

musicians who are working as a team

with not much music written. No ONE has

the score all sorted. You know what I mean.

You know the kind of music you might play,

but most of all, it will be with your kids,

and so together is the sort of way

they make their music - even banging lids.

This day we're spread around the world a lot,

there's Graeme & Bev up North, and Gill away, 

with Kath & Fabe (condition that he's got

means they're around, but sometimes he feels "grey".

And Marty's off and zooming, Sarah's gone

today somewhere, as Anna might be too,

And Sandy might be at the Walker's on 

some premises. We trust ourselves to you.

---

friendship's flow

 Friends have friends staying over for a few days...

---

Go well, dear bro., & sister with you  too,

and may this time with friends be kind of like

the fam'ly of humanity made new,

relating as we will when ends this hike,

or journey, or gestation time on Earth;

both serendipitous & vuln'rable,

when finally we pass through, at our birth,

and shine as Jesus, then impregnable.

---

A prayer

A Prayer

---

Txt2me: Gedday Paul. Unfortunately Jo and I are not going to be able to make it this weekend. I've been crook for the last few days and I'm not up to the drive, and want to avoid passing any bug on. Sorry for the late notice - was trying to give it plenty of time to work out.

---

TxtsFromMe: 😞; Sorry to be missing you two; Thanks for filling us in.; 

God, please bless these two with not just your health,

but in what they do (& don't  do), your "self"

the essence, culture or spirit of God

be like a mulcher, that turns a good sod

out from man-u-re, and rubbish of life

down here 'coz you are the turner of strife

into the most bless-ed things that are good,

for you and your "hesed", do more than could

be done three dimension-al-ly, or four.

Creative love's bench-mark's creation, and more,

this New one's coming from Jesus's door-

way that's a summing up. We can explore!

So "Thank you our Father. Thank you for Mike, 

and Jo, we would rather have them. We like

what you are doing, both down there and here.

We trust ensuing things strengthen and cheer!

---

 

GRATEFULNESS -> giving thanks

---

Thanksgiving/Gratefulness: the act of giving thanks; grateful acknowledgment of benefits or favors..  an expression of thanks.. 

https://thriveglobal.com/stories/why-is-thanksgiving-important/ Some ideas… and a suggestion…

Mr. Walker in a class today, poem on giving thanks:

---

So someone said these very wise words to

the people who were list-en-ing back then,

within a country occupied by who

was doing Empire in their known world when

we started ou-r C.E. time at “nought”,

(the end of BCE, and start of next

new era in the history of the world)

to make a change towards being more blessed..

He said it was “More bless-ed” as things went

“to give, than to receive”. They're funny words.

But as you think about them, Good things sent

from you to other folk, that's even nerds,

might mean you are a better conduit for

such gifts to be dispersed, from source of good.

And if that source had sense, it might see more

things were dispersed through that method, or could.

So if you want to be more blessed, then do

see that you give away, 'swell, as receive.

For when you give the chance to give, then you

can give when you receive, i do believe.

But key to all this is "Which one's on top?"

And which is undergirding what I do:

Is giving just my chance to get? Then stop,

and swap them 'round. My God! - to be more true!

I'll take to heart what good I've heard and now

have come to understand a bit more 'coz

I saw a person live like this somehow,

and I would like to be now as he was!

---

problems & opportunities

 

a day in a school in this ol' world

Well here we are today in Class Eighteen.

There’s Deacon here and Jay - know what I mean?

And Jay is firing on all cylinders, 

he’s finished check in, and done his Maths first,

with BobbieJoe, who’s helping things along.

And now they’re onto English. What’s gone wrong?

It’s Nine thirty plus six, and here they go!

And Deacon’s onto English too, I know

because (there’s hardly any students here,

So he’s been visiting a classroom near

with Mr. Mortimer and Suzzie there),

he came to get his laptop, so beware(!)

there’s hard-work happening in this ‘ere school

with focus and a trying not to fool

around so much, they’re starting habits good

well, for a bit until they really could

not just keep on, and win all of these things.

They might fall flat, but learning to take wings,

so “flying” is a happening again,

at least for a short time. There’s still some pain,

but also there’s exhilaration too -

Each bit’s a tiny win. I hope they do!

At least this problem of few students has

been turning ‘round. It’s not one more “Alas!”

and online training, and some visiting

is happening with staff to help to bring

more goodness here, where humans do their things

of ruling over matter, so life sings!

handling difficulties 2

(handling snakes & scorpions)

Not for the sake of my fame, glory, or

apart from you, "on my own" any more!

I'll follow threads, where you have been before,

& in directions that may seem a chore!

Describe my situation well, just now,

my own terrain - emotions & events;

as strange as it seems God put me, somehow

right here, & it is him I represent!

In doing well, creatively, this job

above, I find I'm conscious of more things.

Sometimes my situation seems a blob

of dire-ness. I'll use these greater wings…

to keep aloft, or shelter me beneath

& let your wisdom/ understanding, come

& be my help, your grace to now bequeath

the pow'r that separates to make life, some-

- what able to be lived down here once more

until the final reckoning. We'll wait

& watch for hints, to join in now before

the very end, in apprehensive state,

recalling this is not "a principle" -

a way to get ahead without much help.

This is a new & living way that null-

-ifies all death, & turns it on itself…

This is a way of life from higher realms,

with strength & wisdom far above "my own" -

a change from one of many single cells,

to part of multi-celled creature with bones.

---

handling difficulties 1

Recalling an interchange on the phone last week with Nat B. re handling difficulties… then talking a bit with Sam yesterday about that too…

Overarching analogy or metaphor:

• thinking of the grandmother's thread in George MacDonald's story book: "The Princess and the Goblin" and the interchange between Princess Eirene & Curdie Peter'sSon, down in the Goblin caverns, when Eirene is led by her Grandmother's thread to the little room that Curdie has been locked into by the Goblins...

… and how that works with "the psalms" in the Jewish and Christian Scriptures, and their model of (creatively, in God's presence)...

1. ...describing the emotion-al and event-al terrain they presently find themselves in, within God's world - as God's children, in God's presence, as truely (& creatively) as they can. (And in that process, somehow...

2. we are enabled to see,  understand, and discern paterns within; and, recall, or somehow bring to mind, more, which we find …  (repeat number 2; and, from that

3. when God's wisdom, insight, or help come, we can move on. 

points to note in the process:

1. It will probably involve waiting, (and watching). Sometimes it happens before the end of the psalm, sometimes not. 

2. It's not just a principle, a way to get on, without any help; but a way to acknowledge that we need help, and to set a way of living that will never again spurn good and timely help, but rather celebrate it!

3. It is sort of like swapping your whole paradigm from a single celled creature to being a cell within a multicellular organism. Which can only work if a god says, "I will never leave you, or ever forsake you", and if you thought this god to actually be trustworthy). Or changing your approach to seeing a dictionary as describing a community of practice's practice, rather than the model of the dictionary being the "definer" of the language, how it works and what it means.

---

Text2FriendInFam

Text2me: Hey Paul,... Hope you're going well and are acutely aware of Gods endless love for you!….

---

My txt back:...

I was going to say "mostly I'm unaware of God's love..", but then i realized that wasn't true. 

It is true that I don't perceive his presence directly, like i see a blue light, but i am aware of it as i become aware that someone is home next door when i see the blinds go up and a light turn on in the bedroom. And if they turn their music up to medium loud, I might become accutely aware of their presence.

I must live with interpretive inferencial grids for everything in life, because most things that happen around me, I don't perceive directly, I infer. And it is the inferences, made within a grid of understanding, that make me aware of the actual occurances …

In this way, I have indeed been, yesterday while travelling, & today while walking & talking, eating & playing with R-bell, Sam & Eb, & Katrina, acutely aware of God's goodness, wisdom, & love surrounding us.

Thanks for putting your hope into words.

I tried to express this in these two attempts at describing and communicating:

Yesterday 1) https://appallinglife.blogspot.com/2021/11/trip-up-and-down-so-bendy-here-we-go.html 

Today, 2) https://appallinglife.blogspot.com/2021/11/famly-get-together.html 

---

Fam'ly get together

---

Well we've  got time for celebrating now

the life that lives and grows in us, somehow

it's carried in this body that relates

in ways creative love just celebrates;

for even when discomfort seems a pest -

sometimes some kinds of change will lose their zest:

the beasts of burden need to take a rest -

and gracious gardens garnished shine their best

when folk lie down inside them and around

and celebrate the life that has been found

by now enjoying it, not being bound

by anything that's less, without a sound,

good reason that would celebrate "hesed"

the love and loyal-ty by which we're led.

They faithfully keep focus, not just shed

the old and tired, or to whom we're wed 

- not by a contract, with its penalties,

but covenant from whom we are, so these

bind people in a way that's surely known,

but not as facts of data can be shown

to be residing on a disk or tape

or in some spots of brains* of man or ape,

but as a friend is known themselves by friend

who shares and listens well, to help and mend,

and works out stuff about, but too, for them,

since they are on the same team as their friends.

This body of a famil-y is made

to signify those chicks in their hen's shade.

---

*  hippocampus and neocortex etc .. https://qbi.uq.edu.au/brain-basics/memory/where-are-memories-stored 

---