His Death, Our Life

Pierced by hatred
Pierced by thorns
Crowned with pain
He died for all

Unrelenting agony
Suffered He for us
Torn, jagged flesh
Whipped with cruel bone

Life, it left Him
Emptying, abandoning
Covering every sin upon Him
Crimson, yet spotless, He bled for me

Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide
In bondage to those nails
A prisoner; but free
Fulfilling the will of the Father

May we never cease to cherish
That cherished moment
When He cried, “It is finished”
Glory to God in Heaven, forever shall be

Amen … Let It Be

‘Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord.  Praise ye the Lord.’

Psalm 150:6 KJV

Inspired By A Child’s Love

Life it breathes
Fresh breath anew
Upon each golden
Day, so blue
And even though
This heart is blue
And shades of pain
Obscure the view
Of love beholden
Love shed forth
Love, so brilliantly
From stars of north
Freshness, green sprouts
New growth sings praise
And creatures lift heads
Amidst purple haze
Of dawn’s dusk pictorial
Sunset in sunrise
Crimson petals, azure fragrance
Alive in His eyes
The colours of royalty
Sublime grace, I’m in awe
And what prompted this poem … has
This heart’s ache, love-filled to the core.

image courtesy of http://www.all-free-download.com

‘Then the Old, Now the New’ in “Fragrance from the Spring”

‘I noticed the withering of the roses and leaves,

Being eaten, destroyed by grasshoppers in teams;

So I cut them back hard,

Their limbs were laid bare,

Then fell much-needed rain

And new shoots did appear.

*       *       *

When we are feeling dry,

Empty, forgotten or alone,

And much of our life feels it’s coming undone;

It’s then that the Lord,

In kindness, takes His Sword of Love,

Leaves us with nothing

On which to draw from but Him,

And then perfect, new growth

Will suddenly appear,

After Heaven sent rain feeds life from above.’

‘A Day in the Life of a Teenager’ in “Fragrance from the Spring”

(INNER TURMOIL)

‘The sun has a-risen,
Stunning (hah!) clothes to wear,
My hair needs a makeover,
I collapse in the chair.

The alarm’s still ringing,
Shrilling in my head,
An English exam today,
Why can’t I stay in bed?

No one understands,
What I have to go through,
Day after day and always,
A million things to do.

Mum’s yelling out,
And Dad’s on the move,
Why can’t they chill out,
And get with the groove?

Everyone fighting,
For breakfast, lunch and space,
What on earth is this all about,
This need to beat the human race?

No! I don’t know what,
I want to do when I grow up (some more),
I’m in a hurry, going to be late,
So I’m running out the door.

Why can’t they leave me alone,
Teachers, parents, friends?
I’m sure I’m trying my hardest,
Oh! Far out, I’ve forgotten my pens.

And as for that old English test,
The teachers all tell a different tale,
But it never finds its way onto the test,
I’m sure I’m going to fail.

My shoelaces need a-tying,
My shirt is all askew,
My shorts have slipped beyond the knees,
I’ll cry if I don’t laugh, so that is what I do!

And now there’s talk of war far off,
As if there’s not enough at home,
I feel so alone and lonely,
I think I’ll run away and roam.

I’m sure no-one will miss me;
But I had better think again!
I passed a church on the way to school,
Heard a distant voice – “help for pain.”

So I went inside the cool, dark church,
I sat at a pew and listened,
And the more the Pastor spoke,
The more my eyes cried and glistened.

I found what I had been looking for,
And I had definitely searched everywhere,
It wasn’t on the television, or in the music store,
It wasn’t in the mirror, or glossy magazine,
It wasn’t in the pantry,
Or in one of the shopping malls,
I’d always chilled out there … and …
I thought my friends would be all I wanted,
How wrong could I possibly be?

I nearly started smoking,
Drugs were next on the list,
No-one seemed to understand,
But now I know,
That I had indeed, been missed.

Because the Pastor explained to me,
For everything, just look,
Amongst all those ‘foreign’ words,
In God’s gift, the answer, His Book!

And now when things don’t go quite right,
And family life feels stressed,
I quietly try to re-direct them all,
So their minds do not get messed.

Thank you, thank you, Mum and Dad,
For making me walk to school,
For if I’d caught that little, old bus,
I would have turned out such a fool.’

Snow Covered Hearts … Now Thawed

Hidden ‘neath the frosty snow

New life waiting

* * * * * * *       * * * * * * *

And when hearts thaw

With the love of God

We are clothed with royal robes

And righteous crown

* * * * * * *       * * * * * * *

‘Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.’

2 Timothy 4:8 KJV

A Heart Alone

The Lord impressed upon me this morning how very alone we are if we do not die to self

–       –       –       –       –       –       –

‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.’

John 12:24 KJV

–       –       –       –       –       –       –

Alone and without hope

How alone …

Alone …

How alone without the Saviour

Literally alone

Friends, people may surround

But aloneness within prevails

And the heartbreaking thing about this is, that those afflicted, are unaware of it and therefore unable to comprehend the reason

… and the turmoil continues

In darkness alone

Emptiness

Despair

–       –       –       –       –       –       –

But The Light of the world is waiting on the edge of that darkness

(John 9:5b KJV)

Waiting to infiltrate the darkness of life and flood it with life-giving breath

Just ask

Eternal life awaits

–       –       –       –       –       –       –

HE  LIVES,  WE  DIE

The stone which hid, is rolled away

Jesus has risen; we are watching, swaying, and cry

Help us comprehend, dear Lord

He lives, the price, beyond our means was paid

***

He lives, hallelujah, we live

And because He lives, so must we die

Die to self, it’s our turn now

But all glory, He has blessed us to live in Christ

***

Surrender all your right to self

Grind emotions, thoughts and plans prepared

Let your Saviour’s power prevail in you

A new creation, tears and repentance succeed

***

Standing in the power of His mighty, precious Son

Escape the hold of earthly things

And acquaintances that beckon forth

Listen for that soft, small voice in turmoil that unfolds

***

Jesus calls us, gently leads us

We have no right or hold on the old life

And just as a flower bursts forth with sweet newness

In pain and anguish we are pushed out of hardness

***

Thank you for a life refreshed

Thank you for a life eternal

Thank you that You died, without surrender

We sing praises to our ever-loving Father

*

From “Fragrance from the Spring”

Every Tree Tells a Story, Every Story Waits to Bloom … Life

A little bud hides midst the billowing leaves

Yet to break forth, new life to release

And on that same limb of this family tree

Brown-speckled, parched maturity, adorns openly

–       –       –       –       –       –       –

Rain, sunlight ……. glistening dewdrops

Through life’s blessings, trials, teardrops

Each perfect morning, never the same

And every sweet day has its very own name

–       –       –       –       –       –       –

Please do not judge by appearance or beauty

For we all in this family have a reason and duty

Some yet to blossom, others now resting

I thank God for this tree, survived through much testing

–      –       –

© 2013 Liana Wendy Howarth

An excerpt from ‘Battling Forward’ in “Fragrance from the Spring”

Excerpt from “Battling Forward”

“Push through the hardships, toils and sorrows
For the Lord God, our very own God
He reigns triumphant”

*      *       *       *       *       *       *

He is mighty

He is worthy

An anchor in stormy seas

A lighthouse when all else is in darkness

A sunbeam shining through endless clouds

A rainbow of hope

Joy in the morning

A melody in the night

Rain in the drought

Sunshine in the flood

Shelter

Abundance

All-in-all

Freedom

Salvation

Love

Peace

Healer

Deliverer

Forgives all when forgiveness sought

Life

Mender of broken hearts

Full of mercies

And they are new every morning

“By the grace of God I am what I am” 1 Cor 15:10a KJV

Dewdrops on the roses

The sweetness of  a bird call

Yes, He is mighty and I could go on forever …….

So break through your burdens and grasp the hand of the One who loves you.

Would love you to add to the list ……. God bless.

Textures of Love

I guess by now you know that I love cats.

Only have the cheapest of cameras; but already love the textures that cropping brings.

Can’t imagine what I’d see with one of the best ones.

***   ***   ***   ***   ***   ***

One little kitten in this vast, vast universe.

Our God is an amazing God.