Rest and Be Thankful

YARROW REVISITED, AND OTHER POEMS
COMPOSED (TWO EXCEPTED) DURING A TOUR IN SCOTLAND AND ON THE ENGLISH BORDER, IN THE AUTUMN OF 1831.
XIII. REST AND BE THANKFUL!”
AT THE HEAD OF GLENCROE

          DOUBLING and doubling with laborious walk,
          Who, that has gained at length the wished-for Height,
          This brief, this simple wayside Call can slight,
          And rests not thankful? Whether cheered by talk
          With some loved friend, or by the unseen hawk
          Whistling to clouds and sky-born streams that shine,
          At the sun's outbreak, as with light divine,
          Ere they descend to nourish root and stalk
          Of valley flowers. Nor, while the limbs repose,
          Will we forget that, as the fowl can keep                   10
          Absolute stillness, poised aloft in air,
          And fishes front, unmoved, the torrent's sweep,--
          So may the Soul, through powers that Faith bestows,
          Win rest, and ease, and peace, with bliss that Angels share.

                                                    ~ William Wordsworth

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Colossians 3: 1-17 – The Message

HE IS YOUR LIFE

1-2 So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective.

3-4 Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you’ll show up, too—the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ.

5-8 And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death: sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy. That’s a life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God. It’s because of this kind of thing that God is about to explode in anger. It wasn’t long ago that you were doing all that stuff and not knowing any better. But you know better now, so make sure it’s all gone for good: bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk.

9-11 Don’t lie to one another. You’re done with that old life. It’s like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you’ve stripped off and put in the fire. Now you’re dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete. Words like Jewish and non-Jewish, religious and irreligious, insider and outsider, uncivilized and uncouth, slave and free, mean nothing. From now on everyone is defined by Christ, everyone is included in Christ.

12-14 So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.

15-17 Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.

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“Moving Away” by Jane Beal

“Moving Away“

now available in

 Convergence – Fall 2015 Issue

Dreaming of New Heights

by Joan Carroll Kudin

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Inspiration

Sometimes you have to go hunting inspiration.

jb

September Sky

by

Stacey Jones

*

(… and sometimes, inspiration finds you!)

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Haiku by Becky Zeigler

plunged in hot water

the tea-leaf

unfurls

 *

Becky Zeigler

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Truth

Truth is our ally.

jb

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“Came to my Rescue” by Hillsong

I called,

you answered:

You came to my rescue,

and I want to be

where you are.

~ Hillsong

“Came to my Rescue“

A local construction worker, suspended from a crane, rescues a woman who fell into the Des Moines River near the Center Street Dam in downtown Des Moines, Iowa Tuesday, June 30, 2009. A man who also fell into the water died. (AP Photo/The Des Moines Register, Mary Chind) ** NO SALES, MAGS OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT **

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