Don't worry, be happy...

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷ And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?^[a]    Matthew 6

Joining with others at Deidra's place Jumping Tandem for Sunday



Trying On Advent - Third Sunday

Waiting With Joy… Rejoice!

Instead of using the traditional pink candle to symbolize our joy in waiting for the Christ child, today I’m using a beautiful jade green.  I think you’ll see why below.  In following suit with my previous posts in this Advent series, I am reminded of the waiting process, and the beautiful colors I have observed while studying the metamorphosis of the monarch butterfly.  Come and see the  beauty in the stillness and waiting for what we know will become of the jade green chrysalis.   Celebrate the gift of knowing He will come again!

Christ in me, the hope of glory. 

Colossians 1:27

 

I find it quite wonderful that, in all of its yellow, black and white striped-ness, when the monarch caterpillar molts for the last time, it secures itself to its foundation and hangs upside down for about two days. 

It emerges as a beautiful jade colored chrysalis.   What a surprise!    It makes sense though.  All of its life it has eaten only the green milkweed plant.  In the transformation, it has become the very substance of what it has taken in.  In the same way then, if I faithfully take in the Word of God, shall I not become more like him?  While this chrysalis is a symbol of waiting for the return of Christ in all of his glory, it has also become a symbol to me of waiting for my resurrected life that is to come. 

Pray

We celebrate your presence with us, Emmanuel.

We rejoice in the hope that you are coming again.

We rejoice in the stillness and beauty of waiting, growing.

In the waiting, you are here, loving us, guiding us, changing us.

Thank you for the gift of time.

Help me to trust you in the waiting.

You have proved your faithfulness over all the ages.

Rejoice! Rejoice!

I am amazed by you, Oh God!

I love you and wait for you with open arms!

Come Lord Jesus!

Patricia Spreng

 
In his book (click... Discovering Advent, Mark D. Roberts writes that “In the Christian season of Advent we prepare for the “advent” of Christ at Christmas. Our preparation includes many things:

We remember Israel’s hope for the coming of God’s Messiah to save, to forgive, and to restore.

We remember our hope for the second coming of Jesus.

We remember our need for a Savior to save us from our sins.

We prepare to welcome Christ at Christmas into our world . . . and into our hearts.

Today we remember the joy of waiting, because we know how the story ends!”

(Roberts, Mark D. (2011-11-07). Discovering Advent: How to Experience the Power of Waiting on God at Christmastime (Kindle Locations 627-631). Patheos. Kindle Edition.)

Joining the faith building communities of Laura at The Wellspring,
Deidra at Jumping Tandem,

(urinary track)

to the train

all aboard

get on board

get on board

for the ride

to remember

you’ll remember

this train

***

he swore to the conductor

we ten were under twelve

discount for having so many, so close

let dad do the talking

clackity clack

don’t talk back

smile, be polite

say thank you

yes sir

before long

we owned that train

bar car

dining car

sleeping car

more

running down the aisle

playing hide and seek

making lovers squirm

in their dirty looks

wishing they were on any. other. train.

‘til one of us stopped

to catch a breath of fresh air
at the joint between cars

then we all did

right there

and that’s where we stayed

for the rest of the trip

refreshed

stuck our heads outside

leaning out over the gate

as far as we could reach

reaching, stretching
without falling

'No falling!'
(as though another new rule would deem it so)

wind blowing our hair

blue sky

sunshine on our faces

and the rain

the rain

the cool, wet rain

sprinkling our faces

in sunshine

refreshment

by the end

mother wondered why our hair was wet

shirts damp

the look of  horror on her face

was beyond understanding

as we begged

for her to join our joy
in our tale to tell
of being rained on in sunshine

looking for rainbows

'that was no rain'

she exclaimed

jaw clenched

low hushed

matter of fact

disgusted still

madly digging for a hanky

‘the......toilet.......flushes.......onto........the........track.’

***

train engines hissin’

train track pissin’

clackity clack

urinary track

rhythm of the rail

hear momma wail

clackity clack

urinary track

clackity clack

urinary track

don’t hold back

go baby... go...

baby...

go...

     just....

               go.

Patricia Spreng

Yes, this really happened.  In 1968, my parents took all 10 of us kids on a train ride to Taqhaumenon Falls in the upper peninsula of Michigan. We were having such fun, until we saw our mom's face.  My dad wanted to throw us all into the Falls.  Apparently, we all survived.  We still laugh about it. The minute Claudia mentioned "trains,"  this was the first and only story that came to mind.  =)   Submitted to d’Verse Poetics tonight where Claudia is asking for stories about trains.  Click here on d’Verse Poetics to read more train stories by the wonderful world of poets

Also skipping over to double dutch with Deidra and sharing laughter at Jumping Tandem, one of the marvelous places I've found through
The High Calling.  (I'm getting loopy from linking.)