Know the dawn......
Know it completely.
If you know not dawn
at it's infancy
How will you recognize
it in it's constancy?
As stages in men,
the bard did say;
So stages of the dawn
also go by play.
Know the day
while in nurses arm.
Know the day for
it's schoolboy charm.
As mid-day lover
love it well.
Afternoon charms
as soldier to arms.
Embrace the day's fury,
but not lost in worry;
Let not mid-days battles
lose sight of the dawn.
Life is cursed with it's hurry!
Don't lose sight of all
that dawn had taught and brought
Afternoon arrives as fury does subside
leaving wisdom with," good capon-lined."
As Shakespeare did say,
"Alls Well That Ends Well"
evening concludes the day.
This day plays it's part,
and day before dusk
is a thing apart.........
A time to reflect,meditate,
and value all the day did impart.
Thus ends the day as a strange history
all bounded up in glorious mystery;
of second childhood at dusk's bequest,
thoughts return to the dawn......
If you know not dawn dawn at it's beginning,
how will you conclude the day with it's meaning?
Psalms " From the womb of the dawn you will receive the dew of your youth."
Thursday, January 21, 2010
One day Holiday a poem by Rob Neuschwander
I do cheat the week
in my one day retreat.
I play and think and plan
and make my day a year.
I chase away all my fear
with plans a-knew I dream
and scheme and revelation seek.
One day off may as well be a week.
Hebrews 4:9 " There remains,then a sabbath-rest for the people of God; for any one who enters God's rest also rests from his own work...."
in my one day retreat.
I play and think and plan
and make my day a year.
I chase away all my fear
with plans a-knew I dream
and scheme and revelation seek.
One day off may as well be a week.
Hebrews 4:9 " There remains,then a sabbath-rest for the people of God; for any one who enters God's rest also rests from his own work...."
Loss is but dross a poem by Rob Neuschwander
Loss is but dross,
leaving metal refined.
Loss I do but toss,
leaving all behind.
My metal does stay,
Fire did consume all but hay
and stubble; But I and my
metal still stand erect.
Through trials God does perfect
and in his image mold,
till all that does remain is gold.
Philipppians 3:7 "Whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more , I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness
leaving metal refined.
Loss I do but toss,
leaving all behind.
My metal does stay,
Fire did consume all but hay
and stubble; But I and my
metal still stand erect.
Through trials God does perfect
and in his image mold,
till all that does remain is gold.
Philipppians 3:7 "Whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more , I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness
Monday, January 11, 2010
Tree of Endurance
I submit this from my "Forest diaries" while working in Marysville Wa. I spent evenings and mornings camped on the Puget Sound near Kayak Point with a glorious view of the Olympic Mt's in the distance and Puget Sound at my feet.
" Broad spaces for broad thinking........I come to the beach to think widely. The forest is for meditative reflective thinking. The rivers ,meadows, beaches are for limitless applications and adventures in thought and prayer.
Thoreau does it again where he in pure genius says,'Read not the times, read the eternities. Conventionality's are in length as bad as impurities.....knowledge does not come to us by details but in flashes of light from heaven.' and, ' 'Only the character of the hearer determines to which it shall be open and to which closed. The mind can be permanently profaned by the habit of attending to trivial things, so that all thoughts shall be tinged with triviality.'
As I write and reflect I receive my own flash from heaven. There is an old fir tree I pass each morning on my way to prayer at the beach. The tree must be 4-500 years old marred by time, topless from a windstorm, burned thoroughly at the base by some severe fire a century or two previous, limbs broken.......but there it stands still living, green and growing. It stands for the wisdom of character, the victory of patience in time. Most of all, for want of possessing any defensive mechanism, it stands for patient endurance,long suffering, humility and grace.
Life has done it's worst to the tree yet it waits patiently and continues to function. It nourishes the forest with it's foliage spitting out oxygen and enriching the soil with it's used up needles,limbs and spent seed cones. With every breeze it dispenses life. What a great metaphor for serving under pressure with patience and careful endurance. I call it the tree of endurance.
My mind in prayer went to Romans 9:22 with my thoughts still lingering on the battered but enduring tree. 'What if God , choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the object of his wrath- prepared for destruction? What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy whom he prepared in advance for glory-even us whom he also called...?' Even if God chose me to be an object of his wrath to demonstrate his mercy, as in the case of the enduring tree, then so be it. He is incapable of wrong no matter how trying life and circumstances may be. Job said, 'Tho God slay me yet will I serve him', I add amen. Paul the apostle said,' Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.'
May I not be spent and used up by the trivialities and abuses of life, but mayI patiently endure with joy and cheerful service at whatever God allows me to do. I will be as wise and enduring as the old tree and without complaint take whatever life throws at me and continue to dispense life with every breeze."
" Broad spaces for broad thinking........I come to the beach to think widely. The forest is for meditative reflective thinking. The rivers ,meadows, beaches are for limitless applications and adventures in thought and prayer.
Thoreau does it again where he in pure genius says,'Read not the times, read the eternities. Conventionality's are in length as bad as impurities.....knowledge does not come to us by details but in flashes of light from heaven.' and, ' 'Only the character of the hearer determines to which it shall be open and to which closed. The mind can be permanently profaned by the habit of attending to trivial things, so that all thoughts shall be tinged with triviality.'
As I write and reflect I receive my own flash from heaven. There is an old fir tree I pass each morning on my way to prayer at the beach. The tree must be 4-500 years old marred by time, topless from a windstorm, burned thoroughly at the base by some severe fire a century or two previous, limbs broken.......but there it stands still living, green and growing. It stands for the wisdom of character, the victory of patience in time. Most of all, for want of possessing any defensive mechanism, it stands for patient endurance,long suffering, humility and grace.
Life has done it's worst to the tree yet it waits patiently and continues to function. It nourishes the forest with it's foliage spitting out oxygen and enriching the soil with it's used up needles,limbs and spent seed cones. With every breeze it dispenses life. What a great metaphor for serving under pressure with patience and careful endurance. I call it the tree of endurance.
My mind in prayer went to Romans 9:22 with my thoughts still lingering on the battered but enduring tree. 'What if God , choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the object of his wrath- prepared for destruction? What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy whom he prepared in advance for glory-even us whom he also called...?' Even if God chose me to be an object of his wrath to demonstrate his mercy, as in the case of the enduring tree, then so be it. He is incapable of wrong no matter how trying life and circumstances may be. Job said, 'Tho God slay me yet will I serve him', I add amen. Paul the apostle said,' Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.'
May I not be spent and used up by the trivialities and abuses of life, but mayI patiently endure with joy and cheerful service at whatever God allows me to do. I will be as wise and enduring as the old tree and without complaint take whatever life throws at me and continue to dispense life with every breeze."
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Wisdom.....half baked
I fell upon this from my diary entry last fall on the occasion of my birthday while camped on Flowing lake near Snohomish Wa.
"So this day's dawn will break upon me as wisdom half baked for I dare not say I have obtained anything other than a good education in pursuit of it. Wisdom is it's own reward and must be equally matched with discipline and clothed with humility. Wisdom without discipline is idle knowledge and will only puff oneself up.
In the past I have turned to wealth and it's pursuit but only to find it is a hard taskmaster. Notoriety was enjoyable,but by it's very nature is opposed to solitude and reflecting . Besides all that it sets one up as a prime target for enemies due to envy, for men cannot endure your success .
But there is value in having chased fantasy and the illusion of success. Having tested these illusions one knows personally their futility which results in experiential wisdom or rather wisdom owned. Solomon said,"Seek wisdom more than silver ,more than gold."Yet Solomon in all of his wisdom and knowledge failed to put God first. Wisdom applied should lead one closer to it's source which is Christ. The Apostle Paul said,"In Christ Jesus are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."Later in his letter to the Corinthians he says in knowing him intimately we,"possess the mind of Christ."
At this turn in the road I have decided to let wisdom bake fully and follow Paul's later advice to Timothy, " Make your ambition to lead a quiet life.....do something useful with your hands." and "Godliness with contentment is great gain.For we brought nothing into this world and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothes, with these we shall be content."Does wisdom necessitate simplicity? Or is simplicity wisdom itself by intentionally choosing,"less is more" Thoreau,Gandhi,Rousseau and Jesus thought so.
Our quest for any sort of certitude on any level ,(outside of Christ),is absurd . Tolstoy was obsessed with the transitory nature of life and it's constant endless motion. To place our peace and tranquility on having a slice of the pie of this life unchanged is setting oneself up for disappointment. " Certitude is mortals worst enemy",so said the bard. Macbeth is the tragedy of our quest for certitude and in yielding to it's call we must conclude with the story that," His illusion led to his confusion"Our pursuit of certitude on all levels is equally absurd, but worse, for in chasing it we follow Macbeth's tragedy and fulfill our own doom in our quest.
"I consider all things rubbish compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus."Thus spoke Paul on the futility not only of half baked wisdom but in all things certain outside of Christ.Man was never intended or designed to have anything outside of God himself. But because our sin separated us from him we have cultivated self will and self determinism. Evangelicalism has failed in it's mission to identify ourselves solely in Christ the author of wisdom.
Man was never intended to have self knowledge or wisdom of anything outside of God. We came up with foolish postulations and maxims like ;my personal saviour,my gifting ,my anointing all predicated on self will and self knowledge ;self this and self that. But Paul makes clear that,"I no longer live ...the life I live I live by faith in the son of God." And,"Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why as though you still belong to it do you submit to it's rules?"Elsewhere in Colossians,"You died and and your life is now hid with Christ in God."
It is apparent from scripture and some of the world's greatest thinkers that our mission and quest for wealth,notoriety,position or power are all illusions sure to disappoint. Truly what we are after is a measure of certainty in this life and we falsely believe these things will help bring us closer to some level of certitude. This can never be for God desires to be our only certainty and any knowledge or wisdom exercised outside of him is simply.....wisdom half baked.
"So this day's dawn will break upon me as wisdom half baked for I dare not say I have obtained anything other than a good education in pursuit of it. Wisdom is it's own reward and must be equally matched with discipline and clothed with humility. Wisdom without discipline is idle knowledge and will only puff oneself up.
In the past I have turned to wealth and it's pursuit but only to find it is a hard taskmaster. Notoriety was enjoyable,but by it's very nature is opposed to solitude and reflecting . Besides all that it sets one up as a prime target for enemies due to envy, for men cannot endure your success .
But there is value in having chased fantasy and the illusion of success. Having tested these illusions one knows personally their futility which results in experiential wisdom or rather wisdom owned. Solomon said,"Seek wisdom more than silver ,more than gold."Yet Solomon in all of his wisdom and knowledge failed to put God first. Wisdom applied should lead one closer to it's source which is Christ. The Apostle Paul said,"In Christ Jesus are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."Later in his letter to the Corinthians he says in knowing him intimately we,"possess the mind of Christ."
At this turn in the road I have decided to let wisdom bake fully and follow Paul's later advice to Timothy, " Make your ambition to lead a quiet life.....do something useful with your hands." and "Godliness with contentment is great gain.For we brought nothing into this world and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothes, with these we shall be content."Does wisdom necessitate simplicity? Or is simplicity wisdom itself by intentionally choosing,"less is more" Thoreau,Gandhi,Rousseau and Jesus thought so.
Our quest for any sort of certitude on any level ,(outside of Christ),is absurd . Tolstoy was obsessed with the transitory nature of life and it's constant endless motion. To place our peace and tranquility on having a slice of the pie of this life unchanged is setting oneself up for disappointment. " Certitude is mortals worst enemy",so said the bard. Macbeth is the tragedy of our quest for certitude and in yielding to it's call we must conclude with the story that," His illusion led to his confusion"Our pursuit of certitude on all levels is equally absurd, but worse, for in chasing it we follow Macbeth's tragedy and fulfill our own doom in our quest.
"I consider all things rubbish compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus."Thus spoke Paul on the futility not only of half baked wisdom but in all things certain outside of Christ.Man was never intended or designed to have anything outside of God himself. But because our sin separated us from him we have cultivated self will and self determinism. Evangelicalism has failed in it's mission to identify ourselves solely in Christ the author of wisdom.
Man was never intended to have self knowledge or wisdom of anything outside of God. We came up with foolish postulations and maxims like ;my personal saviour,my gifting ,my anointing all predicated on self will and self knowledge ;self this and self that. But Paul makes clear that,"I no longer live ...the life I live I live by faith in the son of God." And,"Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why as though you still belong to it do you submit to it's rules?"Elsewhere in Colossians,"You died and and your life is now hid with Christ in God."
It is apparent from scripture and some of the world's greatest thinkers that our mission and quest for wealth,notoriety,position or power are all illusions sure to disappoint. Truly what we are after is a measure of certainty in this life and we falsely believe these things will help bring us closer to some level of certitude. This can never be for God desires to be our only certainty and any knowledge or wisdom exercised outside of him is simply.....wisdom half baked.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Jerusalem Diary
Psalm 122:2 "Our feet are standing in your gates,O Jerusalem. Jerusalem is built like a city that is closely compacted together."
Thoughts from my diary while in Jerusalem Israel..........
Sunrise in Jerusalem is unlike anything I've ever experienced. This is not a place to visit it is rather a thing that happens to you as you walk it's streets and narrow corridors teeming with life.
It's people are it's treasure as much or more than it's history or architecture. It is a unique juxtaposition of cultures, religion,and history. The city is part "Trick or treat",part "Fourth of July", part hate, part love, universal with a narrow twist. It is religious and cultural and ethnic tolerance at gunpoint; a city divided yet united; a clash of cultures and a melding of cultures.
This is not a place to be visited in the casual sense; it is neither inviting you nor rejecting you. If you will allow, it will simply and profoundly confirm and challenge everything you believe about people, culture and faith.
The cheap mockery of faith is everywhere. Praying at the western "Wailing Wall", a young Hassidic man laid his hand on my shoulder to pray for me . I was touched by his expression of faith and kindness only to have my spirit and heart violated and cheapened by a more than casual request for money. He persisted though I told him I really just wanted to pray.This experience was repeated on several different occasions at the temple mount and elsewhere in the city. Various trinket, amulet and religious vendors all trying to capitalize on the mercenary fervor that can be had at faith's expense.
But in the midst of the circus like atmosphere I was struck by the sincere passion, reverence and faith by so many from all around the world. I could spend a lifetime writing of the profundity of this place and perhaps eventually I will do so.
Walking from the Mount of Olives at night I descended down the mountain through Gethsemane and it's shrines to the bottom of the Kidron valley. As I walked further into the cool , dark , and starlit night, the floor of the valley became quieted by stone walls and the smells
of orchard and grass could be inhaled and all at once I was translated into a different time and place . I walked past Absalom's tomb and tomb of Zechariah and of the kings of old. It became obvious to me that this was probably the same exact route taken by Jesus after he was arrested in the garden and hauled up the stairs to the temple where the Sanhedrin met. I wept near that place for many hours as I became acutely aware of my sinfulness and failure and felt a part of the burden that Jesus carried for me through that valley on his way to his final destination, Calvary. A caring priest saw me weeping and wanted to assist me. I motioned him away as I could only bury my head in shame and retreated into the chapel at Gethsemane where I wept uncontrollably for hours. I stained the rock of agony with my tears and felt the presence of God there comforting me.
I eventually composed my self and walked up the long hill outside the city walls back to where I was staying in the old city at the Citadel Hostel. As I climbed up the hill I heard a shot fired in the distance from Olivet where earlier in the day I had seen some unrest . Some Arab youth had set several garbage cans on fire to provoke some sort of reaction from the police.The rest of Psalm 122 came to mind....''Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; May those who love you be secure. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels"
Thoughts from my diary while in Jerusalem Israel..........
Sunrise in Jerusalem is unlike anything I've ever experienced. This is not a place to visit it is rather a thing that happens to you as you walk it's streets and narrow corridors teeming with life.
It's people are it's treasure as much or more than it's history or architecture. It is a unique juxtaposition of cultures, religion,and history. The city is part "Trick or treat",part "Fourth of July", part hate, part love, universal with a narrow twist. It is religious and cultural and ethnic tolerance at gunpoint; a city divided yet united; a clash of cultures and a melding of cultures.
This is not a place to be visited in the casual sense; it is neither inviting you nor rejecting you. If you will allow, it will simply and profoundly confirm and challenge everything you believe about people, culture and faith.
The cheap mockery of faith is everywhere. Praying at the western "Wailing Wall", a young Hassidic man laid his hand on my shoulder to pray for me . I was touched by his expression of faith and kindness only to have my spirit and heart violated and cheapened by a more than casual request for money. He persisted though I told him I really just wanted to pray.This experience was repeated on several different occasions at the temple mount and elsewhere in the city. Various trinket, amulet and religious vendors all trying to capitalize on the mercenary fervor that can be had at faith's expense.
But in the midst of the circus like atmosphere I was struck by the sincere passion, reverence and faith by so many from all around the world. I could spend a lifetime writing of the profundity of this place and perhaps eventually I will do so.
Walking from the Mount of Olives at night I descended down the mountain through Gethsemane and it's shrines to the bottom of the Kidron valley. As I walked further into the cool , dark , and starlit night, the floor of the valley became quieted by stone walls and the smells
of orchard and grass could be inhaled and all at once I was translated into a different time and place . I walked past Absalom's tomb and tomb of Zechariah and of the kings of old. It became obvious to me that this was probably the same exact route taken by Jesus after he was arrested in the garden and hauled up the stairs to the temple where the Sanhedrin met. I wept near that place for many hours as I became acutely aware of my sinfulness and failure and felt a part of the burden that Jesus carried for me through that valley on his way to his final destination, Calvary. A caring priest saw me weeping and wanted to assist me. I motioned him away as I could only bury my head in shame and retreated into the chapel at Gethsemane where I wept uncontrollably for hours. I stained the rock of agony with my tears and felt the presence of God there comforting me.
I eventually composed my self and walked up the long hill outside the city walls back to where I was staying in the old city at the Citadel Hostel. As I climbed up the hill I heard a shot fired in the distance from Olivet where earlier in the day I had seen some unrest . Some Arab youth had set several garbage cans on fire to provoke some sort of reaction from the police.The rest of Psalm 122 came to mind....''Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; May those who love you be secure. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels"
Friday, January 1, 2010
Purpose Unknown a poem by Rob Neuschwander
In my heart and mind's eye see
God's design for me is still;
unsure,hidden,tentative,and maybe.
But revelation says he must and will purpose fulfill,
all he desires for me in his perfect will.
Where and why and when he knows full well,
Though I unknowingly his will attend.
I shall not pretend to know the end;
Simply walk by faith through dark
untraveled,unfamiliar,unfriendly ways embark.
And live by faith not by sight
with all my soul surrender to his might.
2 Corinthians 4:18" We do not look at the things that are seen.For the things that are seen are temporary, but the things which are unseen are eternal."
God's design for me is still;
unsure,hidden,tentative,and maybe.
But revelation says he must and will purpose fulfill,
all he desires for me in his perfect will.
Where and why and when he knows full well,
Though I unknowingly his will attend.
I shall not pretend to know the end;
Simply walk by faith through dark
untraveled,unfamiliar,unfriendly ways embark.
And live by faith not by sight
with all my soul surrender to his might.
2 Corinthians 4:18" We do not look at the things that are seen.For the things that are seen are temporary, but the things which are unseen are eternal."
Cloudy with a chance of prayer a poem by Rob Neuschwander
The skies misread the sacred text,
" Pray without ceasing."
For rain without ceasing was next.
So I prayed for ceasing of rain,
but no answer for my pain.
Yet again the answer did come,
but not as I had planned.
For prayer is it's own reward,
and those whose rain will never cease,
will without relief remain perplexed.
No matter how I prayed for rain to ease,
rain without ceasing was next.
1 Thess 5:17 "Pray without ceasing."Ephesians 5:20 ,"Giving thanks always for all things..."
" Pray without ceasing."
For rain without ceasing was next.
So I prayed for ceasing of rain,
but no answer for my pain.
Yet again the answer did come,
but not as I had planned.
For prayer is it's own reward,
and those whose rain will never cease,
will without relief remain perplexed.
No matter how I prayed for rain to ease,
rain without ceasing was next.
1 Thess 5:17 "Pray without ceasing."Ephesians 5:20 ,"Giving thanks always for all things..."
I love verse a poem by Rob Neuschwander
I love verse but it seems
verse loves not me.
For try as I might
I'm blinded with sight
of what could, but may not be.
verse loves not me.
For try as I might
I'm blinded with sight
of what could, but may not be.
Conventionality a poem by Rob Neuschwander
Conventionality........
I will have none of thee
for you do not read the times
Tumultuous times demand
a new reality.
That which has been
is no more.
For darkness all around
knocks incessant at the door,
convention pretends
and lies still on the floor
as if nothing has changed.
Excuse me but all's been rearranged!
And I will not abide
convention's tide and hide.
No I'll seek new solutions
to this seasons revolutions.
Conventionality..........
I will have none of thee
for you do not read the times.
! Thess 5:2 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night.For when they say,Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction comes upon them as labor pains upon a pregnant woman."
I will have none of thee
for you do not read the times
Tumultuous times demand
a new reality.
That which has been
is no more.
For darkness all around
knocks incessant at the door,
convention pretends
and lies still on the floor
as if nothing has changed.
Excuse me but all's been rearranged!
And I will not abide
convention's tide and hide.
No I'll seek new solutions
to this seasons revolutions.
Conventionality..........
I will have none of thee
for you do not read the times.
! Thess 5:2 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night.For when they say,Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction comes upon them as labor pains upon a pregnant woman."
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