Go to "Circles Of Faith" today

to read my poem

"I Can't Make You Love Him"

Just click on this link: http://www.CirclesOfFaith.org

I Visit Jacob's Well, Built 4000 Years Ago

First of all, I want to announce that one of my poems is being featured on the "Circles of Faith" blog, beginning Monday, June 29th. The title of the poem is, "I Can't Make You Love Him". I hope you'll click on the following link and check it out: http://www.CirclesOfFaith.org.

The poem I've selected to post here this week is "A Cup of Water from Jacob's Well". It is from my little book of poems, "A Pilgrim's Quest--A Poet Visits the Holy Land". The poem is about a visit to Jacob's Well in Shechem, during my first pilgrimage in 1986.

A CUP OF WATER 

FROM JACOB’S WELL

Israel Pilgrimage—1986

We arrive at Shechem

and make our way

to Jacob’s Well

It surprises me to find

this ancient water source

that I first read about in Genesis

still operating

and I’m astonished

to be offered

a refreshing cupful

drawn deeply

from a bucket

on a rope

The water is clear and cool

and tastes ordinary, but

what can be ordinary

about water drawn

from the very well

of the old patriarch

built 4000 years ago?

I purchase a small ceramic urn

filled with an ounce or so

of life’s most basic sustenance

It is sealed with a plug of wax

I’ll place it on a shelf at home

not because of any

mystical or magical powers

(It is ordinary water, after all)

but to remind me

of how far back in time

God’s amazing story goes

Maude Carolan Pych

God Bless All The Great Dads

Happy Father's Day to all the outstanding fathers in our family...they are all loving, "hands-on" dads, good providers, training up their children in the way they should go. I'm so proud of them...God bless them all!

Photo credit: greetingsquotes.com

The poem I've selected for Father's Day is one written in memory my father, Frank H. Walsh. It is a rather humorous rhyme written about something I tried to do to please him after he retired and moved to Florida, where he couldn't find any Limburger cheese...

DADDY’S LIMBURGER CHEESE

I’ll tell you a story that’s funny and true;

I promise I’m not pulling wool over you!
It's a story about really wanting to please...

about sending my father…limburger cheese.

Remembering back when I was a child,

coaxing Dad to eat a cheese that was mild

because his selection smelled like dirty feet!

We hated his favorite TV snacking treat.

It was not genteel; no lifting of pinky—

limburger’s both anti-social and stinky!!!

We wrinkled our noses, grimaced and fumbled…

As he smacked his lips, we mumbled and grumbled!

Then Daddy retired to Florida’s sun…

land of beaches and palms and warm weather fun,

but something was missing, he told us, to tease…

he just couldn’t find any limburger cheese!

So, I secretly sent him cheese in the mail…

Of course, I was careful to package it well.

As he drove from the post office…What smelled bad?

What on earth did his daughter send her old Dad???

A fragrance wafted in the tropical breeze…

the pungent aroma of limburger cheese!!!

At home he unwrapped his stinky boxed gift…

the cheese had EXPLODED! Phew! What a whiff!

I went to the cheese shop in my neighborhood

and asked them to send some, sealed up well and good.

They wrapped it expertly, so snug and secure…

Dad smelled it walking in the post office door!!!

Back to the shop I went with my sad story—

They said they’d try again. They were so sorry.

So, they triple wrapped it the best that they could…

This time when Dad opened it…Lo! It was good!!!

I picture Dad sitting, incredibly pleased—

with fruit and some Ritz and his limburger cheese!

Maude Carolan Pych

It's all about...The Lamb--Vol. 18, Issue 2

June 15, 2015
Vol. 18, Issue 2

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 followers of Yeshua/Jesus, the Holy Lamb of God, and people who enjoy poetry. The purpose is to magnify our Lord and Savior and inspire an ever-deepening relationship with Him, the lover of our souls.

JUNE IS BUSTING OUT ALL OVER…Finally!!!  After the harsh winter, it’s so good to see windows open with curtains fluttering, the glorious sun shining in and at the beaches, people sunning under umbrellas and splashing and swimming in the ocean, lakes and swimming pools. I love it!

POETRY WORKSHOP IN MONTCLAIR, NJ—

I enrolled in a spring poetry workshop sponsored by the Montclair Adult School at the Montclair Library. It is being led by Laura Freegood, who is stretching us in new ways during each exciting session.

FEATURED POET—

BARBARA SONIN-ROBBINS:

Barbara is a member of my congregation, Beth Israel Worship Center in Wayne, NJ. She’s been writing and sharing poetry for many years. Actually, she told me she began writing poems at the age of seven, with help from her father. “Writing has become a true anchor to my Rock…that being, God,” she said. “It helps me become aware of the connection we have to Grace.”

Barbara recently let me know that her son, Adam, a cancer survivor, is scheduled to have major surgery soon. “This poem and all the others that I write, help me to focus on what is really important in my life” she said. She sent the poem to some friends via email. After reading it, I asked if I could share it here and Barbara agreed. This poem rhymes and is titled, “Redemption”.

Let’s join Barbara in praying for Adam’s healing.

I browsed through my poems to select one to include in this edition and found one about pilgrimage. After reading it over, I decided to make a few revisions. I added this, omitted that, changed this, tweaked that. I’m always making revisions in an effort to make my poems stronger and better. This poem was originally written in 2012. It is about a personal experience during my first pilgrimage to Israel in 1986 with Wayne Monbleau, host of the “Let’s Talk About Jesus” radio program. I call it, “Blessed at the Mount of Beatitudes”.

I hope you enjoy Barbara’s poem and mine.

+ + + THE POEMS FOLLOW + + +

REDEMPTION

I do not claim to know the way that God, my Father plans

I only know His promises are coming on our lands

Today God’s Kingdom comes in power for every heart to claim

So, just say yes to all God has, He shares His Holy Name

The prayer was given long ago, but so few stop to see

The truth of love, forgiveness brings, the truth to set us free

I claim no wisdom, no great power, no specialness at all

Like everyone I’ve come to know, with fear I too will fall

But, Glory be to God, my King, who paid the price in full

Redemption HERE AND NOW FOR US; beloved, that’s no bull!

Barbara Sonin-Robbins

© 2015

BLESSED AT THE MOUNT OF BEATITUDES

Israel Pilgrimage—1986

At the Mount of Beatitudes

Wayne[1] suggests we each find

a quiet spot to spend

time alone with God

so I stroll along a pathway

surrounding the church

built in the name of

the Lord’s great message

to the multitudes

In a few moments I hear baa baaing

and follow the sound to the top of a hill

with sheep and a shepherd in view below

I sit on a low wall

to watch and carefully listen

for the voice of my Shepherd

amid plaintive bleating, for I, too

am one of His sheep

and don’t want to miss

anything He might have to say

This is communion—

a lamb with her Shepherd

I bask awhile in sweet serenity

aware of a holy presence

as the sheep graze

and the shepherd, like Jesus

carefully tends his flock

Afterward, we pilgrims come together—

No one else heard the sheep

No one saw the shepherd

The interlude was for me alone

a gift from my God—

a simple blessing

to one little lamb He loves

Maude Carolan Pych

© 2012

Comments are always welcome and appreciated.

Look for the next edition of It’s all about…the Lamb, September 15, 2015.

A FEW CLOSING WORDS…

Dear Reader/Subscriber,

We are redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb…Think about it!!! 

What an amazing God He is!!!

And...Oh! How He loves ewe and me!

Shalom, believer...

Maude

After God’s Own Heart Publishing

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

thelamb777@optimum.net

http://maudespoems.com

                                                                                                  

---

[1] Wayne Monbleau—Pilgrimage leader and host of “Let’s Talk About Jesus” radio program.

Celebrating Life, Precious Life!

Since I celebrated my birthday on Wednesday, I've decided to share a poem about my birth. It's about the preciousness of life and how my brand new life nearly came to an end a day or two after it began. This poem was written two years ago.

Photo Credit: pixshark.com

NUMBERED DAYS

 “For we are His workmanship,     

created in Christ Jesus for good works,

which God prepared beforehand

so that we would walk in them.”  Ephesians 2:10

I imagine her fright

was practically unbearable

when late to motherhood

those first contractions came—

too early

and I began traveling

down the birth canal—

prematurely

Oh, I’m certain she worried

as she endured the pangs

of relentless contractions

worried and wondered and prayed

as she watched hours tick away

on the clock on the wall—

worried

(until they numbed both mind and body

by administering ether)        

if I would make it

or if her lifelong dream

of motherhood

would be forever dashed

but her dream was not dashed

and they scurried to place me

in an incubator

I was very, very tiny

yet it looked as though

I would make it

but a day or two later

as she held me in her loving arms

and fed me at her giving breast—

I stopped breathing

and my flesh turned cold and blue

She screamed a scream

that surely shook the hospital walls

A nurse came running—

grabbed me by my feet

smacked me on the bottom

and praise God

I began to breathe again

and that indicates to me

that the One

Who has numbered my days

and multiplied my breaths

had a purpose

and the fact that I’m still here

sixty-nine years

and counting

indicates He has more

for me to do

and all I want Him to know is

Lord, here am I

Maude Carolan Pych