Scribbling Spiritual Sand…
Today it finally happened
thawing
across melting landscape
whitish
thick, trickling, tense
cold snow
shrinking from mounds to
moaning
slush under creaking snowshoes;
singing!
“He sends out His command to the earth;
His word runs very swiftly.
He gives snow like wool;
He scatters the frost like ashes;
He casts out His hail like morsels;
Who can stand before His cold?
He sends out His word and melts them;
He causes His wind to blow, and the waters flow.”
Psalm 147:15-18
Waves lap upon the shores
like dogs thirsty after a run;
they rise then fall. Tumbling
days, weeks, finally years;
as sands of time trickle truth.
Water is life, breaths life in
moderate wandering ways.
It’s foe, a piece of parched
earth dangling, drained and
dizzy from its unending thirst.
Weather rules day then night;
rain, sleet, ice, or snow grasp
gathering at will, builds walls,
halts life while still smirking;
for all man’s worth, he waits.
Water baptizes, transfers trader
to one tested by his faithfulness
now following Someone much
greater, who rules the waters
with a mighty, firm hand of power.
Waves of hope rise, tower above
like life giving sun at early dawn;
Living Water’s sacrifice brings new
life where desert land springs forth
new seed there, blooms in breeze.
“Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
John 4:13-14
With the creaking of dead wood,
the forest speaks harsh tones
while wild winds BLOW;
making whistling, whistling,
whistling screechy whispers;
shifting shadows in the trees.
Then it slowly stalks its prey…
Crunch, crunch, crunch
goes each solitary steady step,
into drifts of freshly fallen
flakes all unique, yet mound
and towered high stately piles
which obscure, ruin my view
drifts of snow in frozen earth.
Its growl invades the earth…
Stiff, so stiff the landscape
of glistening white swallowed
whole in blustery weather waiting,
waiting for noonday sun to raise
digits of zero or above; crippled
fingers rest in empty birds nest.
It wildly shakes its mane…
It’s in other things I find my rest,
where warmth fills frigid places.
There the sun streams soundly
in delicate, frosty window pane;
and filters across the written Word
which thaws the cold,cold heart.
It is He who brings about new earth!
“ Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.”
Revelations 21:1
As scented roses make center stage,
daffodils cry out from deep under
frosty layers of white wintry snow!
It is the middle of February and
each hour sings of love unfolds.
Chick-a-Dees crowd filled dangling
feeders and are welcoming with song;
my south window smudged with
grandkid’s sweet sticky finger prints
become a splendid blessing to the day.
Bleak is the land lingering before me,
empty are the jagged limbs of trees
once filled with delights of life;
where lush emerald leaves fluttered
with filled nests of speckled blue eggs.
Now, the very last meal of the day
makes haste as the early sun sets
against a dull, dreary wintry sky;
yet grandkids dressed in polar suits
climb atop high mounds of icy snow.
Stay the night my dear little loves,
for spring is near and arms ache
to carried bouquets of fresh daffodils;
waiting for children’s cheery laughter
to float on mild breezes; to trees dressed
in all of spring’s lush glory!
For now I’ll warm chubby hands,
stir their hot creamy chocolate, chat
about their wonderful winter play of
forts and caves built atop the daffodils.
Not arrows from Cupid’s heart,
but something a great deal more
are my tender off-spring. Benefits
from the winter season of my life;
their visits a scent of lingering joy!
“Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth.”
Psalms 127:3-4
What Lion’s mane can shake the earth
or fill the air with an enormity of fear?
Whose roar ricochet past barren plain
and circles slowly back to all the earth?
When is man just a man while beast
or brawn buries burdened paws in dirt?
Where is the One, King of Kings, who rules
and He is Maker of both man and beast?
He sits upon His white throne and feeds
the mighty lion and the humble lamb!
You make darkness, and it is night, In which all the beasts of the forest creep about. The young lions roar after their prey, And seek their food from God.”
Psalms 104:20-21
Soften snow swelters
beneath my snow shoed feet,
as sun glistens then stirs
each brisk February season.
It’s a time of sharing hearts,
of throwing kisses in the wind,
as length of days chatter
my drowsy woodland awakens.
Icicles drip, drip, drip rhythmic
tapping upon snow, echoes the
woodpecker a symphony of sounds
down lazy land, pastoral paths.
I still my stride in hopes of more
a robin, a bumblebee, a violet;
but only red tailed fox sneaks
across my winter wonderland.
It is said, February thaw melts a
frozen heart which beats for spring;
perhaps, the earth itself groans
then chills for a bit longer
all waiting in “time out” thinking
about its care endowed to each;
hearts blown in by spring breezes
grateful to gather thawed crocus.
Poem inspired by: https://earthweal.com/2021/02/01/seasonal-changes-1-imbolc/
Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years;
Genesis 1:14
“The fog hugged the earth as morning vapor intensified the salty air. Jemi breathed in the scent. She could not move as she took in the moment”
Jemi’s Noble Quest
In the first chapter of “ Jemi’s Noble Quest”, her adventurous spirit is revealed in activities of her daily life.
She looked across The Great Sea searching the horizon for Leviathan, a monstrous beast with terrible teeth, scales tightly sealed, sparks of fire shooting forth from his mouth and neck of immense strength.
Jemi’s Noble Quest
Description from the Bible is clear on this creature. It was very much like what we know as a dragon. However, it’s habitat was the sea.
The powerful hips of Behemoth and his bulky tail, like a vast cedar, brought mystery to her somewhat dull life in Dor. These creatures were seldom talked about in her little fishing village; for the people had forgotten the legends of these immense creatures.
Jemi’s Noble Quest
Some believe Behemoth was a type of elephant and ours believe it was a hippopotamus. More than likely, it was a beast like none we’ve ever known.
Call me to lie down in fragrance.”
D. Margoshes
Echoing past each drop
upon my rusty, tin roof
the scent of spring rain;
quiet honey bee,
no longer hears the sound
buried in the dirt;
as wild roses bloom
their fragile petals fall;
on the soggy earth.
Bee hives cannot sustain themselves without worker bees and would eventually die. This combination of events resulting in the loss of a bee colony has been called Colony Collapse Disorder.
EPA.gov
Scientists point to several causes behind the problem, including global warming, habitat loss, parasites and a class of bee–killing insecticides known as neonicotinoids (or neonics)
Environmental.org
Worker Bees: these are all female and their roles are to forage for food (pollen and nectar from flowers), build and protect the hive, clean and circulate air by beating their wings. Workers are the only bees most people ever see flying around outside the hive.
Natgeokids.com
Dug deep down in time,
against a perfect sky
layers of life are laced
among my cattail reeds.
It’s there the beams
of sun pool stagnant
in time, truth and tales;
as stretched years unfold.
Chick-a-dees crowd,
sandhill cranes gather,
spring peepers cumulate,
emerald dragonflies glide
and above towering pine’s see
glimpse of grey tail feather;
a sudden movement, swoops,
opens wings, dives for dinner.
Finally, the seasonal muskrat
beckons his kettled home;
among the broken reeds
rooted deep in folds of time.
Kettle Moraine is a large moraine in the state of Wisconsin, United States. It stretches from Walworth County in the south to Kewaunee County in the north
Wikipedia of Wisconsin
Kettles are depressions left behind after partially-buried ice blocks melt. Many are filled with water, and are then called “kettle lakes”. … Kettle lake basins were formed as the glaciers receded. While this was happening, a block of ice broke off the glacier, and just sat there.
Michigan State University
A moraine is material left behind by a moving glacier. This material is usually soil and rock.
National Geographic
Finally, the last meal of the day would be served. Fathers and sons all over the village would make plans for the next day. They would check fishing tools, mend nets and talk of the largest catch of the day. Here is where Jemi felt sadness for her father because he had no sons to help with the labor or to talk with him regarding men’s affairs.
Jemi’s Noble Quest
Houses in Dor during this time we’re very much like the diagram above. Extra living space was available on the flat roof. The family had no animals, since Jemi’s father was a fisherman.
Once everyone was at the table, Jemi’s father gave the blessing for the food. “ God of our Father Abraham and Job, we ask Your blessings upon this meal. We ask for strength for another day and wisdom for the next.”
Jemi’s Noble Quest
The table in this photo is not what I envisioned as I wrote Jemi’s Noble Quest. It would have been high enough for a wooden chair and benches to fit under it. It was the conversation place where decisions were made. More importantly, where things of God we’re taught. The simplicity of the room does capture the time period of Dor during the Intertestamental Period. This was when God was silent to His people. It is often referred to as, “the four hundred silent years”.
The wind caught her crimson shawl dropping it to the dusty ground while water sprinkled from the jar she carried atop her head.
Jemi’s Noble Quest
Jemi’s shawl was made of the finest wool unlike the fiber above. It was hand dyed by her deceased mother whose artistic ability was well known on the streets of Dor.
Jemi walked toward the outdoor oven and placed the saucer of dough next to an earthen oven which sat low to the ground.
Jemi’s Noble Quest
I know some grumble and complaint about cooking today. I can’t imagine what it was like to cook during this time period. Life was simple, so I assume meals were simple too.
Patti Wolf