Poetry for Introspection
- Thirst
A Good Friday Poem The Cornerstone perfectedOn a hill with olive treesAbandoned by disciplesEach to his own dreamsSweating blood in his distressSays Father if it’s your willWill you take this cup from meNot my will but yours be done Betrayed, marked by a false kissA bleary eyed discipleNow draws sword in his defenseCutting off a […] - Joy of Repentance
Approach repentance with all joy,Through its work, grace is deployedA direct line to the Emperor of all we seeTo ignore it is to live life foolishlyWe have eaten the fruit, tasted our liesIt drips from our chin, it stains our livesCowering in the bushes, dressed in our shameIgnoring the one who is calling our name. […] - Identity in Christ
Bind the darkness, show up to fight Speak His words, shine our light - The Idol is Me
No, we don’t worship idols in the statesOur civilization is far too greatWe drive cars like palanquinLive in temples with lawns so greenRooms with mirrors, shrines to our corpulence Our highest value is our happy abundance O crapThe idol is me Josh Cushman A few weeks ago I was sitting with some friends from several […] - Life of Worship
Called to live, not to surviveWhen lifting voice, when lifting a shovelThrough thick and thin, in Christ abideIn rest, in work, in mansion or hovelLiving water springing up insideUnder roof, with God’s holy people On a jobsite with dust and boards On our knees alone, feeling feeble Worship, living as the Lords Rising up on […] - Speak Life
See creative potentialPoint out strengthsEngage conversationallyAsk good questionsKind thoughtful wordsLift up interestsInspire confidenceFind common groundEncourage - Love Your Neighbor
There is less richness in McDonald’s signsRuling the earth by franchiseThan in a cottage industryWhere loving hands work in simplicityThere is less fullnessIn church productionsThan in home cooked mealsWith scripture and friendsLess wisdom in a thousand booksThan in “Love your neighbor” understood A few months ago our family was in a Cambodian village on outreach. […] - Cultivate Earth With Heaven
We’re not machines,Defined by workWe image GodInhabiting earthInfused with divinityPrecisely in our humanityIn charity, kindness, compassionCultivate earth with heaven - Walk With God
Walking the streets before dawn’s light,Feeling the city’s pulse slowly rise.Roosters crow, dogs bayHumanity greets the dayWalking, listening, feeling the creators delight As I went for an early morning walk here in Montana, I found myself missing my early morning walks on the village streets in Cambodia. Here I am surrounded by beauty. Quiet snowy […] - The Farmer and the PastorThere once was a rice farmer. He spent many days bent over, walking backwards in calf high water planting rice. At the end of the day, he would sit and pick the leaches from his feet before going home with his wife. There once was a pastor who ran his church successfully. His diploma sat […]
- He Calls Us FriendsFriends sit on the couchTime free of expectationsContent to beAcquaintances converseForced smiles, constant speaking Awkward in silenceFriends are who they areFishing, working, or sittingPretense far awayJesus Called us friendsWe confess, we petition Do we rest content?Do we rest with Him?Fishing, working, worshipingPretense far away As I was listening to a teaching on our call to relationship with […]
- ConnectedChoose,Lay down the phoneConnectRight at homeUndistracted, undividedWith your familyBe delighted
- IntentionallySetting out to be aloneWith the one who sits enthronedUpon the heavensSetting out to quiet my soulIt’s always hungry striving to ruleOver my perceptionsHoping to encounter restDrive roots into Christ’s presenceFree of aspirationsLeave my riches behindFrom Him the treasures findWhole emancipationBear circumstances without sinMaturity growing in disciplineHeavenly progression
- The Dead Tree Flowers
Symbol of Roman powerThe dead tree flowersResurrection at workLiving waters renew earthThe tomb cracks, water bursts forthLife springs up where it flowsThe cross itself begins to leafBearing fruit, come and eat!The place of death is now paradiseNew creation, re-creating,Through deathResurrection life - Gethsemane
Midnight approaches. Darkness envelops the earth. Three sleep oblivious of one’s great suffering. Agony wracking his body. Stress squeezing blood from pores. He sees imminent suffering, resulting, destruction. Releasing desire. He embodies Fathers love. Accepting death. Acquiring resurrection, beginning re-creation. - Run For Deliverance
Behind stone walls,Silent dark crypt,Fermenting shame,Addiction swallows time,Joy recalled,A different life,Once lived outside,In vanquished memory,None could love me,If they knew me,If they saw me,Husk of humanity,These lies, shackles,Obstructing hope,Choose truth, choose life,Loose the key in your mouth,Confess defeats,Reveal shame,Die to yourself,Accept resurrection,Your loved, wanted,Known, sought for, missed,Run towards deliverance Psalm 51:10 and 12 Create in […] - Name
A poem based on Isaiah 62:2-4 Written for Fandango’s One Word Challenge, FOWC with Fandango — Name Isaiah 62:2-4 2 The nations will see your righteousness,and all kings your glory.You will be called by a new name,which Yahweh’s mouth will name.3 You will also be a crown of beauty in Yahweh’s hand,and a royal diadem in […] - All In Poem
- Fatherhood
- Fly Away
- Home and Marriage#fowc
- Humility a Sadly Lacking GracePerhaps if we know truth, and feel the soil in our hands Recall the wisdom of the wise who have walked the land Living humbly, loving those we can Perhaps the intelligent will be satisfied with answers And the stupid will learn to doubt
- Trust
- Asking Why#fowc
- Attempt
- Trust
Much betterAt doing than beingAt praying than believingAt talking than hearingAt walking than waitingAt looking than seeingLilies, sparrows, trustRarely appealing ““No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can’t serve both God and […] - Grow
Great heightThe soaring greencool shade rests under leavesMajestic shelter, place of peaceVisibleBelowRoots tunnel deepQuiet, private, unseenGently gather nourish, upholdGreat heightQuiet timeAlone with GodSoaking in abiding loveHumbly prepared to sustainGreat height “He will be like a tree planted by the streams of water, that produces its fruit in its season, whose leaf also does not wither. […] - Marriage
ChoosingLife togetherHolding hands venture forthEngage daily in fresh romanceAbide. “Therefore a man will leave his father and his mother, and will join with his wife, and they will be one flesh.”Genesis 2:24 WEBUS - ParentingPresentExpanding dreamsNurturing confidenceMetamorphosis in your homeFly away Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
- Ep. J10 The Beatitudes in Poetry
A Podcast Meditation on the Beatitudes in Matthew Through Original Poetry. - Healing unto WholenessYour purpose is wholeness Not our health You seek our growth Not our comfort Your are Lord Then our healer We will seek you, Resting in grace In our groaning flesh, We will seek your face Heal us Lord, This we pray
- Creating AnewThe book Miracles, by C. S. Lewis has really stuck with me. In one of the chapters he shows the miracles of Jesus in light of creation.
- AuthorityHe walk into the desert to begin re-creation There, still holding Adams staff, stood the satan The satan tried, speaking half truths and lies But Jesus himself was the new rod in disguise Jesus snapped Saraphs rod over his knee Where ever Jesus goes, the satan must flee
- F. Pure in Heart
The Beatitudes in Poetry Listen and obeysummary of Jesus wayLoving God in word and deedLoving neighbors without greedObedience your heart reshapesFlesh heart from stone awakesWake from the matrix of sins holdSmell, taste, touch, feel, beholdSee God’s glory in creationIn humanity despite devotion,To false god’s we’ve bow the kneegods of war, sex, and moneyChose now, love, […] - D. Hunger and thirst for righteousness
In this meditation on Jesus’s words in Matthew 5:6, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled. I have associated each aspect of the Fruit of the Spirit described by Paul in Galatians 5:22-23 with something delicious. In doing so I hope that I have captured a little bit of what Jesus meant when He said we should hunger and thirst for righteousness. - Life of Worship
- PresentTurn off the TVFace the palpable silenceMind, unentertainedTurn down the radioNow face the quiet you dreadYour mind free to thinkNow you rememberEars tingling, unburdenedWho and where you areFree to imagineFree to breathe, create , explorePresent, in your brain
- E. MercifulKnow the value of clean water Bake bread when faced with hunger Sew when you sees nakedness Make a bed for the homeless
- C. Who is meek?He who stands before kings But Trembles before God, Who makes no promises But is diligent in love,
- B. Blessed are those who mourn
Comfort is Near, a meditation on Matthew 5:4. - All InSlave of comfort, subject to circumstance, Joy and kindness, victims of want Lord, I am tired of being my own slave My life, my purpose, its you I crave
- A. Who is Poor in Spirit
Humbly following Jesus lead She takes up her cross Her life is in heaven Her presents on the earth The kingdom of heaven Present on earth - Rest For the Living
There is a beauty in sicknessFeel mortality’s Approaching graspLocked away in a room aloneTime now slows down, Discontent restAll our labors, they’re placed on holdUnproductive, Yet time unfoldsWorld continues spinning alongSociety’s fine, Continuing onThis day what would we be doingDiligent work, Constant movingThis perpetual busynessNever ending,Behold The foolWaiting to rest, till tasting death I wrote […] - Trust the Author of our Story
My wife and I watch Mandolorian, the new Star Wars show, regularly. In the most recent episode there is a scene where two stormtroopers capture Baby Yoda. Baby Yoda is extremely cute and also helpless, he is being kept in a sack. The storm troopers are hitting the sack every time he makes a noise, […] - Discipleship CostsThis poem is written for pastors, youth leaders, teachers and parents. It is written to anyone who has ever poured freely into someone’s life, only to come face to face with rejection either of yourself, or of the truths you have tried to instill. Rejection of truth takes on many forms, addiction, divorce, unfaithfulness, suicide. […]
Metabolizing God's Word 
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