Posts Categorized: Pastor’s Ponderings

October is Domestic Violence Awareness month.   Five- The number of young men, 5, arrested In Martin last week- LAST WEEK- For beating their wives or girlfriends.   How many the week before- How many last year- How many in our lifetime- How many MORE?   Lord, have mercy- And Lord, have fury On us… Read more

There are those afternoons When I walk into a room and immediately Feel the pain of a rejection, And seem to recall EVERY rejection, Whereupon I ponder Every failing, Every error, Every shortage of graciousness Upon my part.   In those cursed moments I find my shelter in the knowledge I am baptized I am… Read more

MY PRAYER FOR US   Lord, we ask your forgiveness Because we are not praying together Nor working together. You know, Lord, how jealous We grow of another’s success. You know, Lord, how angry we get At another’s opinion. You know how stubborn we are And how insecure And how we like to feel good,… Read more

Have mercy on us, LORD, For there is a lot to do To undo what we have done- We could pray all day long, And yet not name it all. But pray we must, So gracious God, please Help us pray.   Help us pray for responders- First, and second, and all who follow Where… Read more

Last week, Trinity Presbyterian Church was awarded the Martin Beautiful award. Many thanks to the facilities committee for their faithfulness and diligence to our home.     The recipe for success Is a long road in a different direction: Start with a plan you are willing to scrap, if God wills, Willing to amend and… Read more

Walking on the blistering pavement On the hottest day of the summer On the hottest year in decades, I discovered Thriving in the split concrete of the walk Some sort of flowers, minuscule, That only God could have planted And only somebody looking straight down Would have noticed. They thrived there, And bloomed, When they… Read more

WHILE READING ABOUT SLAVES, ENDURING THEIR COMMON DESPAIR   The little bit of good That we do for each other Is not enough To heal the wounds Our hate and greed have caused- We still limp across the field, Coming home. We still go to bed hungry For what another had taken. We still despair… Read more

Oh, I hope so- And that hope Is forged in suffering, Hammered by prayer, Tempered by faith, Made rusty by waiting And sometimes Hope is all I have.   Yes.   But hope is also a seed, Not so much patient as stubborn, Eager to make an opportunity Of the slightest thaw, The slimmest break… Read more

The difference Between who we are And who we can be Is great, And it will take Lots of hard work To make that journey. Without repentance and forgiveness, We will become Lost in the wilderness, And without a half-peck of faith And a carload of grace We will never make it, Not at all…. Read more

Waiting in the hospital lobby, I saw two families leave With their brand-new babies, And I saw one family gather, Tears flowing, Prayers rising, Mourning a loved one’s death. We come into this world And then we leave.   In between we rise, We fall, We struggle, We persevere, We pray. We laugh, We cry…. Read more