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justhappeneduponthis
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Tissot Comes Alive
So little time,
So much to paint
Of lasting worth.
The years mis-spent.
The social rave.
The treats of earth.
Those cities gay
Where I would play
With earl and wench.
My shame today.
Take them away.
Their swirl, their stench!
For I have found
Much richer ground
From...
Jairus, Running, Hoping
Our little girl was almost gone.
The fever gripped her like a vise.
The eyes attending elsewhere, wan,
The fragile hands as cold as ice.
And I as useless as a child.
Her mother stroking soft the brow.
And something hidden, wanton, wild
Was pressing, choking...
Chaplaincy
Oct26 by justhappeneduponthis
Visit them. Share in the predicament. Exhort. Pray. Look them square in the face. Name their name. Smile. Wish them God’s blessing. Promise to come back.
I am reminded of an excellent book by Henri Nouwen. It was entitled The Wounded Healer. In it he...
Ecce Homo
As God's timetable for redemption came to the point of crisis in Passion Week, it was as if the people were constrained to speak truthful words on the plight of Jesus of Nazareth.
The High Priest was threatened by news of the raising of Lazarus from the dead. He suggested to...
Woman, Behold Thy Son
Nov10 by justhappeneduponthis
My Jesus tortured! Why?
Oh that a sword should pierce my heart
And rip it from my breast!
My son brought here to die!
A Roman gibbet follows hard
The trial and false arrest.
So few would mourn and cry,
That mercy, boundless reaching...
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Asparagus
Aug6 by justhappeneduponthis
Every time she ate asparagus
I knew it.
The place seethed.
Every time a bad dream
Rocked her night.
I kicked just a little.
She wasn’t alone, ya know.
Every time she sang to me
I pressed closer
To the wall to enjoy.
She would...
The Rich Man’s Death
Jun2 by justhappeneduponthis
I could have blessed the beggar
Found daily near my door
And never missed the outlay
With always plenty more.
And brought him to my wardrobe
And dressed him in last year’s.
And filled his aching belly
And washed away his tears.
But...
Not Nearly,Yet
Sep27 by justhappeneduponthis
Job and his Friends by Tissot
You have not suffered as did the righteous patriarch Job. Not nearly, yet.
In the stroke of a day sickness, impoverishment, homelessness, childlessness, oppressive self-doubt. But God was prepared to put His...
Ostrich
Aug18 by justhappeneduponthis
The Kalahari sands
Your playground.
Horse and rider
No match for you
At full tilt.
Mid-day heat
But small inconvenience;
The secret moistures
You have found,
And cooling strength
Under expansive
Night skies.
Bushmen lie in wait,
But sound ears
And...
Truth Despised
Aug25 by justhappeneduponthis
This “born again”
A phrase of men
That sits not well with me.
And all the blood
A cleansing flood
That flows from Calvary?
Must each address
His sinful mess
As if to start anew?
Will not the priest
And Easter’s feast
Suffice to see us through...
Brainerd Up the Tree
I hope the horse
Is ably hitched.
The pine-gum is
Strong and heady
In this stand of trees.
And I have only
The woolen saddle-blanket
To keep me dry
As the dew comes on.
Up this gnarled oak,
With its autumn brown
And orange all but gone.
The ride from the...
Final Rakings
Nov18 by justhappeneduponthis
Bagged at the curbside
And down from the trees
Loosened by rainfall
And autumn’s crisp breeze
Colours that childhood
Had kicked cross the lawn
Piled into play-house.
Those simple years gone.
Skeletal branches
Bemoaning their pride
Summertime...
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The Note
Jul1 by justhappeneduponthis
Frank had not had many days like this. Just six months into his new responsibilities at the firm, the announcement had hit like a thunder clap. Regional Branch Office closing after the amalgamation. Talk of redundancy and...
Darkness Comes
Still comes the darkness
To the saint who yearns for God.
To the one who walks in all he knows,
Some times alone are trod.
Still comes the darkness,
When he must leave earthly kin,
When he must through pangs of conscience come
Apart from all known sin.
Still comes...
It Takes More Than I've Got
That's what many say when presented with the prospect of living for Christ. Too much change. Too frightening. Too much invested in the old ways. Too many friends in the balance. Too...too...too much not my cup of tea.
Well, that may be the time to stop...
Returning With Thanks
Aug26 by justhappeneduponthis
Were there not ten
With my blessing
Leprous one moment, and then,
Sent for the priest’s
Absolution,
Clean and recovered again?
Was there but one
Back to thank me?
He, a Samaritan too.
Shameless he bows.
Adoration.
Here at the feet of a...
Down From the Mountain
Nov16 by justhappeneduponthis
You see him, Lord?
You see him?
For years this awful mess.
He scarcely can express himself
Can’t even wash or dress.
His antics get folks going
They fear what might come next.
He roars in hot frustration
Sore lonely and sore vexed.
The...
Surprising Welcome
He was one of the first people Cliff Barker met upon his arrival. Pleasant looking young man. Probably about twenty-three with open smile and generous handshake.
"Mr. Barker, it's great to see you. I heard something about your coming and thought I would come down to...
Case Study on Revenge
Watched it again this past Easter Sunday. Pulled out the old VHS cassette and RCA player to watch the conclusion of the epic film Ben Hur (MGM 1959). This remains one of my favourites. It stars Charlton Heston, Stephen Boyd, Jack Hawkins, Haya Harareet, Sam Jaffe and...
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There is a Smell
Jun23 by justhappeneduponthis
2 Corinthians 2:
15 For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:
16 To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And...