Random Thoughts Edition - 3/16/2000
Welcome to this edition of the poetry ring. I confess that I haven't prepared as well as I should have and I apologize. We're getting ready for the move. I've been driving up to Indiana to do a little house hunting but so far we haven't found the right place. I feel like I've been on the road as much lately as some of the bands that are currently on tour. If the poetry ring begins to go missing here in the near future, it will be because I am in the middle of house hunting and moving, etc ... you know, the general chaos of moving to a new place and trying to re-establish your internet connection along with all the other connections of life. Know that it is only temporary. Or as my accounting teacher once told us (in the middle of one of his long, colorful non-accounting stories), "This too shall pass."
Of course, no matter what is going on I try to take time out to read the Bible and to pray. I can do that on the road. It's easy to drive and pray at the same time. Prayer is a necessity when I drive through Nashville. Construction is a bummer when you're trying to make time on the road. When my husband is driving it gives me time to read a little (no, I do not get sick if I read in a moving vehicle - though I know that some people do have that problem). I know that I have a lot to be thankful for. I walk away feeling elated after I have praised God and thanked Him for every one of the blessings He has slipped into my life.
GIVING TO GOD
- Leslie Johnson copyright 2000
Giving to God
all He's given to me
all happiness converge
all praises to sing
Fill me to the core
with the joy of the Lord
finding beauty of Love
in everyday things
is merciful bliss
an end to coveting dreams
I wrote this next poem just after Christmas. I guess I was a little jaded at that moment. I saw so many people missing the point of not only the meaning of Christmas but missing the point of Christianity. Wearing a cross around your neck does not make you a Christian any more than putting up a nativity scene in your yard or having a piece of art depicting Jesus. Christianity has everything to do with what is on the inside of you - not the outside. Anyone can look the part put not truly feel it.
LET JESUS COME IN
- Leslie Johnson copyright 2000
A cold wind blows at Christmas time
the total nativity is in place
she turns from the beautiful gaudy scene
knowing she truly needs grace
blinded by Christmas lights
in her heart there's a fight
not good vs evil or right vs wrong
just an internal struggle to be strong
Let Jesus come in
let the healing begin
For us to be seeking
is not being weaken
in truth in Him
we belong
Inside on the mantle sits a polyresin Jesus
a tear falling, He's in agony on the cross
she looks without feeling and turns away without healing
in her humanity Jesus is lost
Modern theories of intellect
would strongly suggest
giving in to calamities,
to the world, and to vanities
Let Jesus come in
let the healing begin
For us to be seeking
is not being weakened
in truth in Him
we belong
She wears a cross around her neck
pretends that she never frets
believing she's an example of Christ
but in the garden even He asked God's advice
before He went to pay the price
Let Jesus come in
let the healing begin
For us to be seeking
is not being weakened
in truth in Him
we belong
You know, I like being honest about how I am feeling. I haven't always been able to be honest. A large part of my life was spent pretending that everything was fine and normal when it wasn't. It's a relief now, especially in my Christian life to be able to say, "Whoa! I am feeling pretty messed up right now." In admitting to ourselves and to others that we are having troubles and turmoils - including with issues of faith and belief - we can free ourselves not only to ask God for help (whom we should always go to first) but also ask of our fellow man.
UNBOUND
-Leslie Johnson copyright 1999
My hands are tied
every time I cry
I let myself be limited
every time I forget
that through You
all things are possible
My past is a pain
that leaves me bound
I drop to the ground
remembering to return
to You in prayer
You know my confessions
my prayers of repentance
before I ever speak them
I can feel Your warmth
that comes when we connect
You wash over me
only You exist as I am suspended
in Your light
You leave me unbound
Aside from my writing, I also do photography, pressed flower arrangements, quilting, and needlework as forms of art. I like how I can easily meld different colors and textures and shapes together to form something meaningful. It fulfills me in a way that writing doesn't. It's full hands-on creation. Just as I sometimes have poetic verse come to me, I also sometimes get poetic images that I can capture in cloth or thread. I have two such projects that I am currently sketching out. One was inspired by an old wooden window frame that I found on the property. I had the image flash through my mind of doing a small quilting piece for each of the 6 little squares in the window. Each mini-quilt would depict a scene of Jesus with the different women He encountered. Just Jesus and the women - and the love, belief, and faith they had with Him. This poem sorta came out of my other project in art.
BIBLE WOMAN
-Leslie Johnson copyright 2000
Reading my bible
I see parallels in time
lives of women in scripture
compared to mine
I might have almost been stoned
for dropping my veil
at the tomb of my brother
few words more a wail
Might need seven demons
causing sins driven out
but seeing my Lord at His tomb
I am alive with no doubt
I am the woman by the well
the one with the oil and the hair
the one who stole a touch of Jesus
the Virgin bride who gets kissed
I am a modern Bible woman
who's asked Jesus to come in
Join me and dance and sing
praises to our eternal King
People today aren't much changed
sin still creeps - seeping in
but the Light of my Lord
protects me to the core
my soul He always defends
I am a modern Bible woman
who's been freed from her sin
Join me and dance and sing
praises to our eternal King
Anyone care to take up the challenge of finding all the women I sited in that poem? They all trusted in Jesus and were freed because of their belief. Well, except for the virgin - that's from a parable. : ) I'll close with those thoughts. I hope that you've enjoyed this edition ring.
God be with you, keep you, and bless you. Peace, love, and forgiveness.
Leslie Elain
ps: Hello my sister! I love you!
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Email: shaken@angelfire.com