Thinking about a New Year's Resolution...

     COVER TO COVER II

 

     Among my most meaningful things to do

     while reading the Holy Scriptures through

     is write Messiah's Name in the margin

     of the Old Testament, where'er I find Him.

     Of course, I do not find Jesus' Name,

     but I certainly find Him, just the same.

 

     I find Him in the Lamb and the Lion,

     foreshadows of the Temple in Zion,

     find Him in Joshua, David, Passover,

     in the Song, the whale, cover to cover.

     I've thumbed through pages and jotted a few

     Messianic treasures to share with you:

 

     Messiah's birth’s foretold in Micah, five;

     seven centuries later, Jesus arrived;

     virgin birth proclaimed, Isaiah seven,

     a Son to be fathered by God in Heaven.

     Kings would bow down to Him and nations serve,

     Solomon's Psalm Seventy-two observed.

 

     He'd be pierced and mourned, said Zechariah;

     Our Redeemer, fifty-three, Isaiah,

     who prophesied resurrection glory!

     Genesis to Revelation, God's true story!

     The Word reveals a magnificent plan

     in this tome of Our Savior, God and Man.

 

         The year Twenty Fourteen is almost here—

         I’ll suggest a resolution without peer:

         Resolve to read before this year’s over,

         the Holy Bible, cover to cover.

 

         It contains everything you need to know

         about Love, Salvation and How to Grow.

        You’ll learn God’s story beginning to end

        all about your Sovereign and closest Friend!

 

     Maude Carolan

Special: For Children on Christmas Eve

‘TWAS THE NIGHT…OF ALL NIGHTS!

 

Children, gather round. It’s time for a story,

one that’s filled with hallelujahs and glory.

 

It’s about the glorious night of all nights,

angels and magi and sight of all sights!

 

About God, a virgin, the birth of a king,

wooly sheep, poor shepherds and gift giving!

 

My story takes place long ago, far away

and starts with a Babe in a crib full of hay;

 

His mother’s a virgin, His father is God,

the birth, a miraculous Heavenly nod.

 

The Baby is born in a Bethlehem barn

near a few smelly animals, like on a farm.

 

Poor shepherds in a field shudder with fright

when suddenly the dark sky fills up with light

 

as beautiful angels, bright splendors winging

tell of the birth with hallelujahs and singing!

 

So, the shepherds and sheep the very next morn

set off to visit this special Newborn.

 

Rich wisemen follow a bright beaming star

to the Bethlehem barn; the journey is far.

 

They ride astride camels, carrying treasures

to give to the One they’ll worship forever.

 

Why in the world would they do such strange things?

Why travel so far? Why great treasures bring?

 

The reason is simple, the Babe in the hay

becomes the world’s Savior, Who takes sin away.

 

His name is Jesus and He loves you and me

and wants us to love Him for eternity.

 

That was the night of all nights here on Earth…

the wonderful story of Jesus’ birth!

 

Maude Carolan Pych

Do You Ever Wonder...

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WHAT WAS GOD DOING WHEN HIS SON WAS BORN?

 

What was God doing?

What was He thinking

high up in His Heaven

when He sent the angel

to the virgin to tell her

about overshadowing

and childbirth

and salvation for the world?

 

What was God doing?

What was He thinking

high up in His Heaven

when in great anguish

Joseph didn’t believe his betrothed

and was about to call off their union

until in a dream he realized

they were a part

of an awesome and holy thing?

 

What was God doing?

What was He thinking

high up in His Heaven

when heavy with child

Mary traveled with Joseph

by donkey in the dust and hills

clip-clopping to Bethlehem

for the census

and once there,

there wasn’t a proper place

for them to stay

and time for the travail

had come?

 

What was God doing?

What was He thinking

high up in His Heaven

when in a cool cave

with livestock and hay

and dung and dampness

Joseph helped his wife

bring forth the Child

with rugged, splintered hands?

 

What was God doing?

What was He thinking

high up in His Heaven

when Joseph held the Babe

Heavenward, in thanksgiving

and blessing, then presented

Him to Mary,

who called Him, Jesus,

and nursed Him at her breast?

 

What was God doing?

What was He thinking

high up in His Heaven

when Mary wrapped Jesus

in swaddling cloths

and placed Him in fresh hay

her husband prepared

in the crude wooden trough?

What, oh what

was God thinking

looking down from His Heaven

upon His only begotten

born into the world

as the Least

and the Most?

 

What was God doing?

What was He thinking

high up in His Heaven?

Did He celebrate with the angels

before sending them Earthward

with their jubilant glorias

and triumphant trumpets?

Did His joy set ablaze

the beckoning star above Bethlehem?

Did He preen with pure pride

as shepherds and kings

came bearing their gifts?

 

Did He shudder an Almighty shudder

high up in His Heaven

at the movement toward fruition

of His cosmic plan?

Did He see flashes of thorns

and spikes and tree,

flashes of Blood

washing sin?

 

In the dark stillness,

as Joseph and Mary

fell into exhausted sleep,

did God reach quietly down,

chuck Jesus’ chin,

and whisper in His tiny ear,

“You have Your Father’s eyes,

My Son.”?

 

Maude Carolan

 

 

It's all about...THE LAMB Vol. 16; Issue 4

December 15, 2013
Vol. 16, Issue 4

 

 

It’s all about…The Lamb

Maude Carolan Pych/Quarterly Poetry Letter

 

 

“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches

and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.” Rev 5:12 NASB

 

 

It’s all about…The Lamb is a quarterly publication for lovers of the Holy Lamb of God, who also enjoy poetry. The purpose is to magnify our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and inspire an ever-deepening relationship with Him, the lover of our souls…

 

THE LAMB:

My favorite bedtime song to sing to my grandchildren is the words of William Blake’s famous poem, “The Lamb”. They ask me to sing it. Some of them know the words and sing along. I’ve printed the poem below. You can also find it being sung on YouTube.

 

THE LAMB

 

Little lamb who made thee

Dost thou know who made thee

Gave thee life & bid thee feed,

By the stream and o’er the mead;

Gave thee clothing of delight

Softest clothing, wooly, bright;

Gave thee such a tender voice,

Making all the vales rejoice;

Little lamb who made thee

Dost thou know who made thee

 

Little lamb I’ll tell thee,

Little lamb I’ll tell thee;

He is called by thy name,

For he calls himself a Lamb:

He is meek and he is mild,

He became a little child:

I a child & thou a lamb,

We are both called by His name.

Little Lamb God bless thee.

Little Lamb God bless thee.

 

By William Blake

 

Jesus is the dear little Lamb Who was born in Bethlehem. I’ve heard it said that it is likely He was born in springtime (not December 25^th) at the same time lambs were being born in the fields. We know Jesus died as the Passover lambs were being sacrificed and “as a sheep before shearers is silent” He became the ultimate sacrifice, the Passover Lamb.

 

It’s important to be mindful of Good Friday even at Christmastime.

 

 POTLUCK & POETRY:

A few poets and friends will get together at my home during the holidays to celebrate the birth of Our Savior by reading poems of the season and having a simple potluck supper and homemade Christmas cookies for dessert. The last batch of cookies came out of the oven a few hours ago.

  

TWO CHRISTMAS POEMS:

I have many Christmas poems and will share two with you now. The first is entitled “Before the Journey”. I wrote it this year and mailed it as my greeting card this season. The other is “The Gift Bearers” and is about the magi. The latter is included in my chapbook, “From My Heart to Yours at Christmas: Cookies & Poems”. (Ordering information appears at the end of the blog.)

  

+ + + THE POEMS FOLLOW + + +

  

BEFORE THE JOURNEY

 

Sitting quietly in the dim glow of an oil lamp

trying to get comfortable

in the sturdy wooden arm chair

made by her carpenter husband

Mary rests both hands

upon her taut, round stomach

and smiles at the gentle rumbling within—

The Son of God in utero

 

Although this is centuries before sonograms

Mary knows her babe is a boy child

and that they are to name Him Jesus—

for an angel told her so

 

Young and bewildered, she wonders

what her holy Son will look like and be like

if he’ll want to work with wood

She wonders about the cosmic plan

set in motion by her “yes”

and how a savior saves

 

She dares not dwell too deeply

upon what lies ahead

and why so lowly a maiden as she

would be highly favored

by the Lord her God

 

but she trusts Him

…and she’s obedient

 

Joseph is a good man—

She watches as he sands smoothly

the fine cradle he is building

and appreciates that he stands by her

shielding her from questions, innuendos

finger-pointers and gossip mongers

 

Their donkey is tied outside

the humble dwelling in Nazareth

She hears it braying and nuzzling at the door

 

It’ll go with them tomorrow

on their journey to Bethlehem

where they must register

for the census

 

She sighs, thinking of the long

arduous journey

especially in her condition

 

Well, I’d better get some rest

 

she tells Joseph

as she rises awkwardly from the chair

and carries the lamp closer

to where her husband is working

 

I’ve packed a bundle of swaddling clothes

…just in case

 

Maude Carolan Pych

 

 

THE GIFT BEARERS

 

Cosmic wonders, whats and whys

whirl in the East

as a singular mysterious luminary

beckons in the heavens

Is it brighter than the other stars?

Does it pulsate? Does it bounce?

Does it shoot across the sky

like a flame-tailed comet?

Does its lustrous splendor

rival the glow of the moon?

 

Gentile magi who study stars and Scripture

see it and curiously mount their camels

to follow it across the desert. But, why?

They say they are seeking

the King of the Jews. Why would they?

They say they want to worship Him

Why Him?

What do they know that the High Priest

the Pharisees, Sadducees

and all the Jews of Jerusalem

who are awaiting the coming of Messiah

do not comprehend?

 

King Herod summons them, diabolically

Feigns sincere interest in their mission

urges them to return with details

so he, too, may worship the King

A sinister plot forms in his evil mind

for even he knows…

there is something about that star…

 

Continuing on

the irresistible starlight shines ahead

until it shimmers above a humble house

in the village of Bethlehem

It stops, still…absolutely still

The magi realize they are at

destiny's door

They knock

and are welcomed, when

 

Suddenly

their eyes behold

a Boy Child

and their hearts leap!!!

 

and whether it makes sense or not

(whether any of this makes sense or not)

the magi, in rich array

fall prostrate

on the earthen floor

and fill the little house

with Hallelujahs!!!

 

They draw from their saddlebags, treasures…

            Gold…for surely this little family can use it

            Myrrh…fragrant foreshadow of suffering

            Frankincense…for a sensing in the depths

            of their God-given wisdom

            of a significant anointing

            somewhere in time

 

Mission complete

the gift bearers mount their camels

and still attentive to God's spirit

(this time in a dream)

do not return to Herod

 

The magi…

diligent seekers who found

Treasure

infinitely more valuable

than the precious gifts they bore

 

Maude Carolan Pych

 

Comments are always welcome and appreciated.

 

Look for the next edition of It’s All About…The Lamb, March 15, 2014

  

A FEW CLOSING WORDS…

 

Dear Reader/Subscriber,

I’d like to take this opportunity to wish you a holy Christmas centered upon Jesus, the precious Lamb Who came to save us…and a very healthy & blessed New Year as well.

God be with ewe,

Maude

 

After God’s Own Heart Publishing

P.O. Box 2211, Woodland Park, NJ 07424

 

thelamb777@optimum.net

http://maudespoems.com