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Articulating…

Filed Under: Poetry by Cara — Comments Off on Articulating…
December 7, 2015

I am finding it difficult to articulate
All the different mishmash of thoughts about
My spirituality, my spiritual walk with God,
My perceptions of spiritual reality versus
My perceptions of the world I function in.

The Light shines in the darkness and
The darkness can never conquer it!
I saw light shining out from the star in Stardust—
Obliterating all the works of darkness that
Tried to come against her, to overcome her.
This morning I heard a song by someone singing,
“I wish this was all a dream and I could wake up…”
I watched all the cars on the highway in front of me
Filling up the manmade world
Under dim winter sunlight and thought,
“Well, isn’t all this just a world-sized dream,
A dim reality that pales next to the more-than-solid
Spiritual dimension that surrounds us?”
This pale star giving us daylight fades to insignificance
Next to the glory of the Eternal God…
Who SPOKE LIGHT into existence,
But has always been so much MORE than
Light, as we currently perceive it, ever can be!
Lewis had some understanding of it, I think.

It all makes me want to try harder,
To see the truth of His presence,
To truly perceive Him not with my physical senses,
But with all of the core of who I truly am,
The eyes of my heart becoming stronger.

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unmerited favor

Filed Under: Random Thoughts, Uncategorized, Writings by Cara — Comments Off on unmerited favor
November 30, 2015

In my own weakest moments, I have never wondered if God exists. I have never ceased being grateful for all the things He has already done for me. But I do frequently wonder why He loves me, and I am often convinced that I do not deserve any action by Him on my behalf. Then I realize all over again that I have never “deserved” any of the blessings I have received. I could never earn, have never earned anything. The most powerful work of God in my life is His grace—absolute and unmerited. He gives me life because He loves me, and He loved me “while I was yet a sinner (Rom 5:8)” and “while I was alienated and an enemy in my mind by wicked works (Col 1:21).” Once I realize the magnitude of His grace and love towards me, I can once again approach the throne with boldness to ask what I need—healing, provision, encouragement, or protection. I can have absolute confidence that He is more than able to say yes to my needs, and if He chooses to say no, then I can trust that there is a greater good that needs working through.

Holy God, Maker of the Universe, let me never hold the false belief that I have “arrived” spiritually. Let me always strive for more of You in my life, more of Your word in my heart, more of Your Spirit moving through me so that I can come to know You better…every single day.

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When It Come To…

Filed Under: Poetry by Cara — Comments Off on When It Come To…
November 16, 2015

When it comes to faith,
Let us be known as a people of faith—
Not just creeds we spout by rote,
But lives lived in proclamation of
Who God is and that He lives…
Through us, not just in us.

When it comes to hope,
Let us be known as a people of hope—
Not clichés or pat answers for placation,
But earnest expectation and certain knowledge
That God tenderly cares and keeps us,
Walking with us through fie and flood.

When it comes to love,
Let us be known as a people of love—
Not merely spoken like drivel
(Some poetic affirmation of affection),
But real displays of real emotion…
Demonstrations of true, heartfelt compassion.

“And the greatest of these, is love.”

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Sonorous Silence

Filed Under: Poetry by Cara — Comments Off on Sonorous Silence
October 22, 2015

A deep, thrumming harmonic chord permeates the sonorous silence —
Not audible to the ear, but filling my heart and spirit with Presence…
You are the Music of the Universe, O God!
You lift me above myself in these moments of meditation
When I can be still and hear You.
You’re an ocean overflowing my soul with resonating peace.
Resonate… to sound again (and again and again).
Help me find rest in reverberation,
Tuning my whole self to Your frequency
Till all who hear me really can hear You through me.

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Grace

Filed Under: Poetry, Random Thoughts, Writings by Cara — Comments Off on Grace
October 16, 2015
Author’s note: I don’t recall ever feeling quite so reluctant to share one of my poems before. I know this is quality stuff. I read it at church last week and a former English teacher practically gushed about it. Still, for some reason…I dunno. I’m mainly doing it because I feel I ought to, and I sincerely hope that it helps someone. Please read S.L.O.W.L.Y.—as in one or two lines at a time so you can take it in properly. Then sit quietly at the end. You might even be able to hear Holy Spirit speaking to you when you are through…

We all run around like crazy…

Our moral compass kicks in,
So we try desperately to do and say all the right things,
And avoid saying and doing the wrong things.
We think if we DO,
We’ll feel better about ourselves…
Feel closer to God,
Feel more like what we assume we should feel like
(Whatever that may be)—
More pious, more humble, less prideful,
More happy, more peaceful, less anxious.

Then we worry about the relationship maze:
Making the right impressions,
Ignoring or paying attention to people around us
In an effort to balance our private lives,
Our family lives, and our social lives—
Including all those random encounters.
Do they love me, like me, or hate me?
Do I care what they think?
Is all this relationship stuff really necessary???

Those things, of course, are beyond the basics,
Our need to survive—
To eat, to drink, to sleep—
And our need to have some sense of aesthetics
Just for the sake of mental health—
The beauty we see and the order we need.

It’s all ridiculously jumbled together into
Jam-packed 24-hour time slots,
Where the clock keeps beating us over the head with,
There’s not enough time!
There’s not enough time!
There’s just not enough time!
Tick…Tick…Tick…Tick…Tick…

Then one day, time stops for us.
We die.
This could be literal,
Or it could be one of those rare moments
When just for an instant our brains and hearts
Find some kind of suspended equilibrium.
There’s suddenly mental space in our heads
Where just for a moment we realize,
We just ARE…
Until the chaos in our lives takes over again—
Mainly because we LET it!!!

Just. Stop.
Breathe.
Unfocus from the insanity.
Embrace grace…
God’s compassionate grace.

Trust the Holy Spirit to let you know
When to be concerned with
Our thoughts, our actions, our motives,
And how to interact with others,
But above all,
Trust God to help you know
When to DO,
And when to BE
…And when to be still and know
He. Is. God.

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Anvil of God

Filed Under: Random Thoughts, Uncategorized, Writings by Cara — Comments Off on Anvil of God
September 26, 2015

Men’s souls are shaped on the anvil of God under the pressure of circumstance. It is only by bathing ourselves in the fire of His presence that we can become malleable enough to be molded into the shape He designed for us from the very beginning. Being hammered upon without enough heat to enable change will only break us to pieces in the end.

Seek God in the glory of His goodness as Moses did, so we can display His unspeakable Love by our submission to the process. He designed all the happenings in our lives for each of us to be conformed to the image of Christ that is unique to the shape within our own DNA and brought to completion only in Him. It is not about shaping us into something unnatural, but is about bringing who we are intended to truly be out of our hidden core and into the Light for others to see. Only then can we be the perfect implement for His hand to wield…whether a sword in battle or a plow to till the field.

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My Weakness, Your Strength

Filed Under: Poetry by Cara — 1 Comment
September 22, 2015

In moments when I hit a wall,
Find I cannot move forward one more step,
I can only throw myself at Your feet, God,
To discover again the incredible
Depth of Your unfathomable mercy.

I face my shortcomings,
Knowing that in and of myself
There is no amount of will and determination
That will ever give me power to overcome.

It is only when I recognize my failure,
Acknowledge it to You, and cry out to You
That I find I can change after all.
By the power of Your Spirit in me—
Moving through me,
Making me more Yours every day—
Especially when I cannot do it in my own strength…

Which reminds me again, Jesus,
It is You…You…You…ALWAYS
Who makes me more like You—
Your grace, Your love, Your mercy
Moving through me to effect change,
Not only in me, Lord,
But also in the lives I touch every day.

Help me, Holy Spirit,
To hear You,
To obey Your voice,
To act and speak and move
To the rhythm of Your eternal heartbeat.

Holy Father,
Let me love You with all of me—
Heart, mind, soul, and strength—
Till I can give up my selfish, willful ways and
Find my rest in You.

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The Beckoning

Filed Under: Poetry by Cara — Comments Off on The Beckoning
September 22, 2015

Where are your hearts, my beloved bride?
When you stand here and sing,
Are you focused on Me?
Are you truly grateful for My grace,
My provision, My mercy, My love?
When you say you love Me,
Do you put your heart behind the words?

I long for you to come all the way in,
So I can give you more—
More life, more light, more love,
More compassion for those around you—
Because I love them, too!

Christ didn’t die only for you.
He died for ALL of humanity—
Redemption as a gift to ANY
Willing to accept the offer…
Not only those you know,
But to so many you don’t.
I love and draw ALL to Me.
Come with all you are to LOVE ME.

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Remind Us Again

Filed Under: Poetry by Cara — Comments Off on Remind Us Again
September 22, 2015

Father,
I am so incredibly grateful for Your mercy!
So many times I have passed judgment…
Even when I didn’t realize I was doing it,
It wasn’t right!
I cannot presume to know the hearts
Of those around me.

I can only press in for myself,
Crying out for Your Spirit to prevail
In the surrounding atmosphere.
I can truly trust that You are…
You are at work in all of us
Calling on Your name.

O Lord,
Break the apathy and complacency
That we tend to settle into
When things get comfortably familiar—
Like the order of a church worship service.

Holy God,
Remind us again Who we’re here for.

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What Do I Know?

Filed Under: Poetry by Cara — Comments Off on What Do I Know?
September 22, 2015

What do I know, Lord?
I’m a woman from a different town,
In a different church,
Looking for Your glory…
But it occurred to me just now
That surely with all the thousands
And thousands
Of church services that gather to seemingly,
Give You glory and honor,
Perhaps one gathering somewhere
Should realize that if (IF!)
We are really meeting together for You,
For Your benefit…
(I mean, isn’t that the definition of worship?)
If we want to worship You fully,
Would it not benefit us
To attend to a bit of silent reverence on occasion
To hear how we can accomplish Your purposes?
*Sigh*
Then again, maybe I’m missing
The point of worship—
The part where we give all of
What we are,
What we have,
At Your feet…simply…because…
We adore You.

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