The Children's Week-end Went Well!

Thank you God for hearing prayers

for such good things, as Jo said,

for each child who, unawares

of your work, slept well in bed.

You were there, while we were here,

you helped each group in their task.

I don't "get" how you bring cheer

so well; though we often ask..

.."How it is that you don't care,

that you stand so far, aloof?"

Help us (as your children, rare),

to recount our vision to..

..friends & family & such,

& the trees & flowers too,

with wild animals, so much

as their "priests" would do, to you.

Oh, that we would also be

prophets, of your word to them;

kings & queens who Rule & "See";

parents who would serve & mend.

And, as all you've made us, we

would like to say that you are

the one behind each good thing,

& who's let us help so far.

How you do it, we don't get.

But you do, & we are glad.

"Greatest Adventurer Yet"

is your name, & you're our "Dad".

Amen.

Dear Brother Jase!

God, help in this,

very hard place.

Something's remiss,

please give your grace,

until the bliss

- we see your face-

you can still kiss,

your small child Jase.

We live by this,

this is our base:

your breath, word, kiss;

our hiding place.

Your mouth to his

breathes living space!

As lungs release

(but they're defaced)

flowing gases

help him to trace

a loving-ness,

and please displace

what-ever is

(gets) in the way.

God help in this,

our (too?) hard place.

More proverbial wisdom

Deciding about aesthetics

God help us to spend

your time & resources

well for your kingdom,

by all means, & forces.

A response to God, with a mate..

SMS from Pete: Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.  [Romans 12: 1b-2]

God bless you my brother
This really helps smother
Our old quite demented
And self oriented
Way of living on Earth
That's dogged us since birth.
...
God take this bag o' bones
make your music with it.
Sometimes they're quite strange tones,
like 'pipes played. Tho' hithert-
-to unheard of music,
may still make one home-sick.
To rebel 'gainst this world -
just being like others.
Yet, as a flag's unfurled,
some folk go 'gainst brothers!

Excerpts...

I was reflecting this morning that my wife & her husband

seem to be growing more different (not more bland).

I hope it isn't just that I am getting (sometimes I feel) grumpier.

The normal problems of life: 

opportunities to trust the Father for daily bread, 

or to fret instead. 

(which for me almost seems

to have nothing to do with the system I am in.

I mean, I think the system (though it is important, 

& can be more or less useful) is simply a servant. 

And if it doesn't serve well, then it misses out, 

because God will raise up another servant 

to feed his people (thinking of Elisha 

being brought bread by ravens,

not the "system" of the Nation of Israel). 

But if the best way of developing (& showing off)

his children is for their prayers to appear unanswered

for  40 days in a row, 

then GOD can see that no bread comes through,

or (like with brother Yun), that his child lasts 

for 50 or 60 days without bread. ...

either way, I get to be on an adventure with

the creator of the Universe, 

the Father (& Mother) of all folk

that, though it starts this side

of the "Great Divide" (a little creek?)

bounds over it and

goes on into New Heavens

& a New Earth - the LIFE of the God

which needs neither light, nor breath, food, nor drink;

and is all of those to us!

Yipee!

David asks for prayer

God, Dave feels overwhelmed&
there's mountains of stuff2do
Help him (not to build on sand,
&) wisely listen2U.
That his head will clear right up
to see what's really needful,
with body strong (not tied up)
and heart that's very heedful.
For X's sake, we ask U take
This prayer&make  him2wake.
Amen

What an adventure!

Oh God, our help & safe place,

we don't fully understand,

we want to learn, & not dis-grace

you, in these things at hand.

We remember now that it's

good to rely on grace

from God; not as selfish nits,

trusting Who's in THIS place.

For YOU are our defining

place to stand, though you're not seen.

You say that you're refining

your people, not just mean.

We pray that your own spirit

will help these folk see what

we need, stay in the stirrup,

give this ride what we've got!

We will enjoy with courage

the snorting & bellows

and give it back with spurrage

though we fall with our fellows[1]!

Maybe there's better ways to

tame this beast for it's best use,

but this seems now the place to

hold on tight & ride it through.

Even if we fall down hard

we'll roll quick away to save

what we can, with your clowns/guards;

your life runs past the grave!

Amen!

---

[1] See2Cor6  v1-13

Self Portrait

A Mark turns 21

When you feel like Cain,
think, and think again.
Rely on God's grace
often, any place!

Don't take for granted
what you've been given,
but see you're slanted
towards "Thanks", not "driven"!

Then your MARK will be
like John Mark of old,
telling THE Story,
growing very bold!

21 years old
is 3 times 7!
So be very bold,
live life from heaven!

MillyPilly'sKneeRe- Con-struck-shon

Milly k'pilly-ka bo
you are the girl who will go
a long way as the daughter
of Jesus, and you've brought a
sweet spirit, with fierce flow!
Let that Spirit flow to you,
and in you, and then through you!

G, Matty is sick!

God, we pray for Matt.
Thank you for his health
& strength so far that
have been your great wealth..

showered upon him.
He seemed rarely sick.
Now his eye is dim
and he's lost his "kick".

Make him able to:
do all he must do [1],
strongly held by you,
and let the rest through..

his fingers, and not
fret when he ain't got
some other good gift;
make the "Second shift".

["First shift" being from
Darkness into Light,
when the second comes,
it shines on in Night!]

God, we stand with Matt
'gainst all things shoddy
that suck life, & that
grow not “the body”,

body of your son
who brings your life here.
Christ's battle is won.
Now we fight; then cheer!

a few days later..

God, please strengthen Matt.
& please make to work
immune systems that
seem they're on the shirk!


[1] Blessed Truth: Jesus seems to indicate (to Martha) that there's not a lot that is really necessary (Luke 10:38-42)

Prayer A

Abba[1], the  Word on your Wind
combines the Dust of your Earth
with the Work of your Hands &
Your Kiss of Life gave us birth!

Abba, the  Word on your Breath
combines the mud of your Earth
with the Work of your Lips, hence
Your Kiss of Life gives us worth!

Abba, your Worded Spirit
combines the ground of your Earth
with your Voice, now I hear it!
Your Kiss of Life gives us mirth!

Short url: goo.gl/QOkpr7

---

[1] Abba: what a small child, who speaks Hebrew or Aramaic, calls their daddy.

background...

After forming the Ardarm from the soil of the Ardarmah (ground) and his own breath, then after planting a garden (East, in Eden) with all kinds of beautiful trees to produce good fruit, and putting the Ardarm in it, and after naming two trees   in the middle of his garden, God says that the way forward for the Ardarm in Eden, was “You may eat the fruit of any tree in the garden, except The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil”  God went on to say, “You must NOT EAT the fruit from that tree-  for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die”[1].

Later, Snakey says “That is a lie! You won’t surely die!” In fact, (though he doesn’t command it straightforwardly, he sows doubt into Eve’s mind about the character and motives of the previous commander, with the view to tempting her to eat it, to get the knowledge of Good & Evil that it will supposedly give to them - when Eve & Adam EAT the fruit. Then, to compound things,  it looked like when they do eat the fruit, that they DON’T DIE - in that day! [it seems to me that God wasn’t  talking about the death of their biological life (bios) which came along years later]

But the whole sad story - after Genesis 3 shows something dead, lost, purposeless, stinking , rotten about humanity. We are “The living Dead”, zombies who are born, & move, grow old, have kids, do work to maintain the system (or work against it, to make another system basically the same) then die & perpetuate the cycle.. (of “life(bios)”). And, Jesus later says, “I tell you the truth (not like snakey), the time is coming, - the time has now come- when the dead will hear the voice of the son of God, & come to Life(zoe).”

Another thing from the bible... Israel is a tree planted by God in his garden. It is a “vine/olive-tree/fig-tree”, the planting of the Lord, meant to bear fruit for it’s gardener to eat. (Am I pushing it too far when I wonder whether it Is meant to be a tree to bring the knowledge of good & evil somehow to the onlookers or even non-partakers, & also wonder whether, in this new garden of God, it is  meant to be a tree of life to the nations?)

One more thing from life... two nights ago we had some mind-games/riddles on the way home from the Teen Camp. Jayden Sweeting told us one that was simple enough, but  we all gave up before we got it (We might have got it if we had acted it out concretely?). But solving it hinged on information gained not only from what happens, but also from what doesn’t happen in the scenario:

   

That, & the stories above that I had spoken of in class, alerted me to another level of story the next day, when I was reading or thinking about Jesus - on his way one morning to clean out the rotting “thieves’ den” of a temple[2] & then also the next morning going back to the same place[3].

And, since then, I've also been reminded of a  story from Israel's history; as they learned to be ordered as the people of God to serve the Nations and be a blessing to them... there was a time when the leaders quibbled over the power/authority and the spiritual leadership of God's people and (maybe a bit like snakey) didn't want to have God's choice of leaders (Moses or Aaron) "over them". Aaron and his descendants were given the priesthood via a sign from God: his dry stick of a staff/rod being miraculously given buds (and flowers, and fruit) overnight.

Ardarm’s Fruit-tree

“..in the day you eat of it, you will surely die.”

came the words to the first pair from the One On High.

Leader, he - named  that tree, then[4], to let children know,

and told them   how to spend life   with this tree[5], to grow.

And o-nly  one more tree was   named by Father God,

and we’ll see   what’ll be the   upshot of his nod,

his ok,  to today go   and find you’ve eaten[6]

fruit from The  LIVING Tree that   grows in God’s Eden.

Later on,  when second Ar-darm came to get fruit

from fruit-tree,  lovingly plan-ted in his “youth”;

poet he,  used that tree then   to let children know:

Ardarm came,  to it’s “shame” the    fruit-tree’s fruit dain’t grow!

And the Fa-ther must ’a said   something “like” back then

“..in the day   you don’t eat of   it, that tree ‘has been’!”

'cause sure e-nough when Pe-ter next day saw that tree

that there stood,  “Aaron’s Rod”, had    no buds to be seen

---

[1] Gen 2:16-17

[2] Mark 11:12-14

[3] Mark 11:20-25

[4] Gen 2:9

[5] Gen 2:16,17

[6] Gen 3:22-24