Listen without ears
Minus words and questions uttered, thought or considered
Listen standing still
Clean without expectation, planned receipt, investment or need
Listen in the silent space
Void of sound or with receptors foisted up, clear or crackling
Listen in a way
That my flesh does not know, in a way that You teach from within You, from within me
“Up has the right of way.”
(You) Stay on the path; stay as centered as possible; stay on the way to the top
(You) Keep to the man formed byway; keep each leg moving as a pendulum; keep your eyes down but mindful eyes forward and upward
(You) Allow your heart to lead; allow those behind and pushing to pass with ease; allow those descending to yield if they know or choose to
(You) Find your pace, your hike, your name; find your love, your smile, your hand; find your peak, your apex, your loft…as it is the right way.
The clouds have arrived again and are sliding just by
Sun peeks with muffled rays of newly arrived warmth
Turn kaleidoscope of green and brown splashed light through the eye to the meadow up there
Fade away again like a lens being refocused
Up the valley in the notch, they gather again
Small groups stand with milling ..men with hands in pockets, young gals with new boots and bright tops
The wind o’ gusting slaps at their hoods and hats
It is not so cold anymore but strong and whipping
I am waiting here in the gap for all of them
When they arrive they are sure to be soaked with sweat, tears, mists and rains
Swaggering and striding, some limping in from the miles and the moments they will all have had by this time tomorrow
I can’t wait to see them …I can’t wait to join them
You change me
From within
From without
From close in
From Afar
You change the room
From inside
From outside
From my heart
To the walls
You change everything
With your action
With your loving
With your spirit
With your blood
1 John 4:4
But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.
I have all kinds of excuses
For why I can’t
For why I won’t
For why I haven’t
I have all kinds of reasons
For why I don’t
For why I am
For why I go
I have shifted the onus
off of me
to you
to others
to some odd luck
I have taken the credit
For anything good
For anything right
For anything golden
I have stolen the the honor
From the King
From the Source
From our God
He has all kinds of actions
That make me able
That make me willing
That make me purposed
He has a reason
For what He will do through me
For what I am in Him
For where He will send me
He has taken on all of me
To smile upon me
To show me you
To show me His children
To share His Kingdom
He has done it all
Anything good
Anything right
Anything loving
He has restored my honor
He is my King
He is the source
He is God
I.
Oh where do I find strength?
Oh where do I find triumph?
@ WAR ???
In this modern world, the battle seems so internal…
even selfish…
are the stakes high?…not of life and death or country or boundary or even belief…
We war against fear and loss and status and placement…in the world.
The enemy has lifted status to the highest level
Shallow icons of achievement are available at every corner
Bounding defeats and embarrassment lurk also on every step
In our trophy rooms we gloat at our victories and seek recognition from our peers…all within the metal box of our asking…
II.
@ WAR???
In this modern world, the battle wages all around us
In multimedia waves of discontent
On flat moving billboards erected on every highway and byway and eye-way
We are beckoned by offense
We are drawn to join together to dis-join ourselves from certain groups
Our group, however, is a band of individuals bonded by faux transparent glue that does not bond
We look at banners of color and figure and smile proudly at our collective selves and yet we never touch one another
Our victories are shallow, and together as we we battle our foes..seemingly as a unit… but in the end, we would not extend a hand to a brother or sister on our right or left
III.
Oh where do I find the table?
Where can I supp upon the substance I so desire…..are we still….
@ WAR ???
Is this why I feel so hungry?
In this modern world, the ability to be filled, at first, seems so easy.
It is as if there is a plentiful horn or choice just awaiting my pointing, plucking and clicking…
Yet…I still hunger, I still thirst…
Yes…we are @WAR against a shallow and temporary filling
That assault seems benign, but as waves of starvation seep across my inner being, I stand desperate, desolate and teetering on the edge…
Oh where will we go from here?
IV.
Oh where do I find strength?
Oh where do I find triumph and freedom to walk in total victory?
@ WAR ???
We once were..on a grand scale and now only skirmishes break out against enemies that have yet to hear the word of their leaders’ white flag surrender
So…we walk fully in the land we were promised and under the protection of the King
In this modern world, time ticks on…but for our King, there is NO END!!!
His Kingdom reigns forever!!!
Yet…we stand watch to honor Him…to honor our vessels and the spread the good news that the war has been won!!
V.
Oh where does my love come from?
Oh how can I somehow give?
@ PEACE???
are we???
Oh yes!!! A stillness is available and is within actual reach
As the healing was lifted up on the pole in the forest,
So our peacemaker was elevated for that rest!
In this modern world, they say that nothing can be obtained for free….
…except for servitude to a force that creates and tries to sustain the aforementioned war…lost in time, but with futility still waging
Take great heed and be thankful that you are on the banks of a river that lead you to freedom and life and soon you will be looking back at that dead side and walking into life!!
VI.
Oh where does my rest come from?
Oh how do I enter in?
Have we taken the land?
Have we?
As I built a cairn to mark this crossing, I exulted in the promise and its delivery unto us!!
Yet, as I entered further into this modern world and strode the ridges and decended the valleys, I forgot the truth…
We had arrived…we had received rest and stillness.
Now today I see it before me, beside me, for me…
By the King and in His Name!!! Victory!! Life!!! Love!!!
Yaweh Amen
Vision
Sight beyond the horizon & higher than the stars in the night’s view
Insight
Intuition deeper than reaction & more in touch with your true heart & His
Purpose
Steps more directed than flight & connected to a plan written by the author of life
Adoption
Belonging to a Father perfect & reconciling the orphan spirit with completion
Love
Power greater than death & deeper than the darkness of doubt
Life
Gifted in a foundation of stone & enduring forever
When I wake in the late & dark hours to the mocking sound of a voice that snipes me and robs me of sleep & rest,
I turn to You.
You Vanquish that lie
You Show me the light & grant me rest.
When I pause in the day & hear a voice mustering dissent, anger and doubt that robs me of vision and joy,
I turn to You.
You Vanquish that lie
You Show me the light & grant me peace.
When I kneel at dusk as the sun dips & a fog of confusion and distraction turns me to self & robs me of meditation and worship,
I turn to You.
You vanquish that false god
You Show me Your Light & grand me communion with You!!
©hootiepepper
He speaks
He speaks clearly
His Word lights the pathway through
He speaks
You have listened
You have steered to the sound of His voice
He speaks
He speaks clearly
His Hand shows his work and His love for you
He speaks
You have heard Him
You have rested in the truth
He speaks
He speaks clearly
His Voice speaks peace to your spirit
He speaks
You have asked Him
You have been with Him and cannot fail.
Α
Jagged and broken
Cracked and crumbled
The strong stones of the wall that once protected us sit as rubble
Each is marred with lines and paragraphs of the story
That tale that will be told not far from here lauding the destruction of a titan that was once believed to be unassailable
∞
Dry and dusty
Brittle and ground down
The bones of the structure that once covered us are cast about the ground
Each is etched with severe notes of a song
That ballad that will be sung not far from here exulting the defeat of a warrior that was once believed to be immortal
∞
Solid and fortified
Girded and mighty
The new mesh of the hand that holds us has been forever solidified around us
Written on the magnificent sign in the sky are the words of truth
That book will be cherished here and afar speaking the life of that is imbued to the repairer of the breach
Ω
Hootie Pepper 