Where is Your Rest?

Christmas Poem 2022

 

Caesar Augustus, ruler of the Empire

 Reclining on pillows of satin, brow wiped with linens,

 You usher a decree to your subjects-- report and number.

Resting in ability to make men move and heed.

Yet, foretold, only a pawn, 

For in the dawn, Joseph leaves with his betrothed

Registering  his Ancestry of David,

And with her, the Holy seed.

 

Where is your rest, O tyrant of a nation?

In political power, in subjugation?

The manipulation and fear brought,

The bombs you drop?

A True Believer fights emancipation

As refugees cross borders

And kneel in the dust of mortars.

Shepherds, ruler of the flocks

Heads lying on smoother rocks,

The sheep slumber on a clear cold night.

On watch in the fields—your rest

Broken, your bodies unclean

But to you is given a sight unseen.

The Heavens proclaim the New Born King

For all strayed, eyes closed in our dreams.

 

Where is your rest, O ruler of the dark?

Lurking deceiver, a wolf in sheep’s clothing

Determined to snuff out the spark.

Subtle and sneaky if not on our mark.

Spiritual warfare nears and rears

But the Heavens do battle--

Joy in victory tears; chains rattle.

 

Mary, O favored of God

Chosen one, as you proclaim,

“My soul exalts the Lord, and my

Spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour,”  

“I rest in You as I carry Your Son

Your will be done. Deliver soon.

As she straddles the beast sojourning afar,

A weary couple cannot find a room.

Where is your rest, Joseph, my servant?

For even in sleep, never deep

Your thoughts shake the bed.

You consider the facts,

Angels of dreams confirm your acts

And the Gospel is told to one so bold

As you walk the prophesy tracks.

 

Oh, where is your rest fathers and mothers?

Schools and bedrooms no longer safe

Bullets, pills, predators ready to take

What was once wrong now embraced;

Addiction, depression, estrangement unfaced

Sin remains the cause, fathers and mothers pause,

For Christ’s mercy we pray without haste.

Where is your rest, O little Holy child?

For from You the whole world’s unrest divides.

By Your sovereign plan, You-- the Messiah, Immanuel

Provide the peace for our lives to dwell.

“No rest for the weary,” as some may say

But God, a child named Jesus

–in His grace we are saved!

 

Where is your rest, O children of God?

Do you wonder and question this world—

Where is love? Is God above?

Are you bitter, uncertain,

Angry and alone? Is this really your home?

Come to the stable but kneel at the Cross

Close your eyes, rest, take heart--

Believe! Jesus Christ lights all your dark.

\John 16:33 “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.“

Silence Gifts

 

Inspired by the author, Ann Voscamp ( "A Thousand Gifts"), as well as Scripture, a friend from a group I fellowship with on a regular basis posts a prompt for every day in the month of November for us to reflect on this time of the year.

I Thessalonians 5:16-18 “ Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Here is today's prompt: Name three gifts found in silence. The three things below were my response.

The flutter of a butterfly wing. The Holy Spirit’s direction. Silence in and of itself.

Thought I’d write more on my blog today. 

Have you ever heard it? A butterfly wing—the movement of air and delicate powdery wings overhead? When I sit alongside my butterfly garden, especially in the spring when there are frequently more than one butterfly, I can hear it. It is a sound of freedom, of rebirth, of meeting a goal, a purposeful fulfillment of the master plan in do diligence of a greater will, magnificent metamorphic creation! 

Sometimes the Holy Spirit’s voice is very obvious and loud and we celebrate in corporate worship and song. But, sometimes, the voice of the Spirit is gentle in our quiet hearts, in our pleading and privileged prayers or in between the lines of God’s Word—a personal revealing direction to go ahead or most of the time, to wait and to trust. There is a strength that comes from this silence. Trusting in Him has its own sound; it is a sigh, a release of anxiety, a movement of debris so we can sit comfortably under the Rock, shut the doors of the Fortress from the world’s thoughts and ideas minus a sovereign God.

Sometimes, silence is a lonely feeling. One can miss the noise of a loved one gone, or working from home instead of the office, or just when there are no words to justify a wrong action or deep hurt. But silence can bring a reflection, an insight we may not have heard in the world’s rumble and continued banter of perceived truth. Silence in itself is a gift, because it is just that--noticed. We can use our other senses to take in more—stand in awe at the sight of God’s beauty in Creation, appreciate more of the tangible gifts we use every day and blessed by, that we can touch and share with others-- a soft cheek of a toddler, the pie dough coming together in our palms, the ding of a notification from a friend who shares how your story led them to see… hear God in a new way. We can taste the satisfaction, the swallowing and digesting of God’s Holy Plan and most importantly, the fullness in submission, the surrender to that plan in trust. The air around us fills our lungs and we breathe and smell the difference between what is rotten and what is righteous.

Gifts in silence are not silent.

They are loud explosions of love in our hearts that God is Good and that He loves us in our loud messy days and in our quiet humble moments. In silence is where are strength is increased.

Psalm 62:5-6 "My soul, wait in silence for God only, for my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be shaken."

And isn’t it just like God to grant me grace upon amazing grace as I finish these last few words, that my stereo is now playing a classic Christmas song by Bing Crosby, “Silent Night.”

Gifts in silence are Holy.  Oh, Hear His Voice in the silence of your own soul my friends. It is a beautiful moment going into all of eternity. 

All is calm, all is bright.

Peace, Coleene

Reflections on How to be Better

This week encompassed personally for me a conundrum of emotions, a great triumph seeing a dream realized and great sadness as I watched another dream unravel, the latter, a dream sought by many Americans, most notably quoted from the great Civil Rights advocate and inspirational leader of our nation in his day, the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This dream:that one day...all men will have equal opportunity and be known by their character, not their skin color. 

I first became aware of such differences, emotions, reactions and protests, the reality of racism in my white suburb of Los Angeles in the sixties. 

I studied race relations in college, took an interest in that very thing. I would not be the "P" word, ...prejudice. 

I thought I was OK. Both of my sons embraced friendships of diversity and the boys all frequented my home quite often. We played sports together, worshipped together, worked together.

Yet this week, I paused an examined my own thoughts, reflected inward, had a few dialogues with others and prayed. I prayed not just for the family of George Floyd, and the horrific incident that resparked an already simmering fire, but I needed to muster up humility to recognize my own bends away from God's truth,  for I am the only one I can change first. 

There is a prayer one needs to say at times like these, taken from Scripture, 
"Lord, ...see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me to the everlasting way. (Psalm 139:24). 

I thought about our country, our world  and all who have spoken out in poetry, music, essays, creative ways to express pain or challenge us in our own thinking. Compiling a few here, I challenge you to reflect as well. 

"As if it harm'd me, giving others the same chances and rights as myself--as if it were not indispensable to my own rights that others possess the same." Walt Whitman, Great American Poet. 

Lord, have I harmed anyone with my words? 

When peoples care for you and cry for you, they can straighten out your soul. 
Langston Hughes, American Poet.

Lord, Am I doing enough, am I understanding? 

After all, Scripture tells us, that Love is action. 

I John 3:18-19 "Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. We shall know by this that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. 

Lord, help me be Love in action, bring me opportunity and may I be obedient to Your direction. Use me as an instrument of Your truth. 

Lord, How do I see people? Do I see them as You do? Always? 

Tupac Shakur, in his rap and poetry spoke from his pain and challenged us. 

"You see you wouldn't ask why the rose that grew from the concrete had damaged petals. On the contrary, we would all celebrate its tenacity. We would all love its will to reach the sun. Well, we are the roses, this is the concrete, and these are my damaged petals." 

While gathering my thoughts and quotes, I took a break outside and captured this butterfly.
Do you see its compromised, tattered wing? 

Can you still see its beauty? The hope? Did it emerge from its chrysalis just for a doomed destiny or will it fly? I believe it will fly for I care, and I want to believe in the good we were created for. It brought me joy, thus it served  a great purpose already. 

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Lord, you gave me a voice. Help me to use it for Your Glory and speak up for injustices. Give me courage Lord to do that very thing. 

Proverbs 31:8-9 (NIV) "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy." 

Father God, guide me in my freedoms to be fair and just and loving, a good listener as well as responding in Your wisdom.  

Are we talking or are we listening? 

One of my favorite scriptures, Micah 6:8 "He has told you, O man, what is good and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?" 

Nelson Mandela said it well, "For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others." 

So did the Apostle Paul: Galatians 5:1 "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."

Lord, I humbly ask to continue to free me from my own thoughts that weigh me down and help me to be a chain-breaker for others. 

Psalm 119:45 I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts. 

Such a gift of grace we have received, yet may we never use that gift to inflict ungraceful actions onto another. Forgive me Lord of that sin in my heart. 

Help me Lord to obey and serve You best in Your greatest commandment, "Love your neighbor as yourself." 

Galatians 5:13-14 You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." 

"I do my best counting on you counting on me." ~Maya Angelou, American Poet Laureate 

Let us count on each other, hold each other up, but let it begin with you and me God.

Tupak Shakur 

Mandisa with Kirk Franklin and Toby Mac 

Every Knee

Every Knee

Christmas Poem, 2017

Behold! The Creation!

So perfectly made to move with us,

Bend for us,

Take us to amazing places to prove for us…

Yet we find frustration, gather in contemplation

To remove ourselves from Good.

Once done, the joints ache in the labor.

The walk is farther with no end in sight,

Always a fight

And a longing for something

That just might…change us.

So we run, run with the crowd, the masses,

Striving, winning and losing, living and dying.

Our muscles tense up, yet strong,

Full of opinions and commentary…

Painful sad songs in what wrongs.

Our head hangs lowered, eyes scrolling.

Time finds a way to become tangible

Marked now by scars, knee bumps and bruises.

We’ve let the world’s gravity keep us tethered

One disaster to the next.

What have we missed in all the texts?

Hearts so vexed

A plan all along,

We remember in the Season.

A cup of hydration in our weary run,

A sip of thirst-quenching water on our walk.

Was He the Giver? Am I the sinner? Can there be a winner?

The knee buckles.

We’ve carried our burdens far too long.

Dry bones ache and slow us down,

Temporary solutions, more contusions, retributions.

We’ve walked with this crutch, this open wound,

The world groans and longs for a healing,

Something redeeming.

Fall to your knees

And He hears our pleas

From the world’s deadly squeeze.

What does He give?

His Son for our soul’s very core,

Oh, Come Let Us Adore!

Immanuel, God with Us

In our critical condition

He heals the infection, bring us completion,

Transformation.

Heart replacement with Love’s precision,

Your decision, His Hope for our provision.

He disconnects, removes all our mess, gives us His best.

Spiritual therapy is guaranteed.

Peace begins with a bowed head and bent knees.

Every knee will bow

In rebellion or submission, in gratitude or omission

And every tongue will confess, He came to bless.

Find Him today and walk in His Light

Truth and grace came on Christmas night.

Merry Christmas & a Blessed New Year

Considerably yours, 

Coleene VanTilburg

The Prophet on the Pillow

There is nothing new about creepy, crawly things getting into our homes, especially in the summer months when bugs become more active, our hills are on fire, or just plain leaving the door open.   Our screen is torn a little from someone trying to walk forward before the door was all the way open and sometimes the neighbor's cat likes to sneak inside.  Of course, I live in an area that used to be predominantly dairy lands.  There are always flies, but since the dairies have moved out and industry and more people have moved in, the fly population is tolerable as long as they stay outside.  Chino and Chino Hills though, are really one big ant hill.  For the most part I have kept the ants outside, but as soon as August rolled around, their little mini-freeways were every which way throughout my garden. At my old house, I had a grocery store behind the 20 foot back wall.   Occasionally at night, if I was standing at the sink and looking out the back window, a possum and her babies would run across the back wall, silhouetted by the dock lights, looking like giant rats.  When I was a kid, the local newspaper came to our house and took a picture of the great horned owl that took temporary lay over in our big tree after a fire in the local foothills. 


 Last summer I had a lizard on my stairs...a big lizard.  I have a bed of impatiens and a bed of mums on either side of my front door, and one side of the house is dedicated to my vegetable and herb garden.  I enjoy gardening and enjoy the good insects!  If I were in Chino Hills, I would be worrying about snakes and tarantulas...now that would be a different story.
 

Which leads me to share my latest up close and personal encounter with Mother Nature.  Coming home this last Thursday,  as I trudged upstairs to take my revitalizing, beauty,  after school nap, (well I can't have my Starbucks right now)...something else had beaten me to the pillows.  It was on Ted's side if that is of any consequence... but a very large adult Praying Mantis had plopped itself in the center of one of my small throw pillows, it's humble posture mimicking a beseeching soul in faithful devotion.  Of, course I immediately went back downstairs,  got Corey and the camera and some kind of container to gently remove him from MY SANCTUARY! 

So, how do I turn this into an insightful, spiritual lesson for this blog?  Well, humor me here, Let's first learn some Praying Mantis facts.

                  The word "Mantis" comes from the Greek,  meaning  prophet.

So, I have a praying prophet on my bed!  I guess this is a good thing; it could have been a self -indulged heretic. I will say that this "sign", being on Ted's side of the bed meant that we are at a turning point with his job situation, things are getting a little better and maybe some changes are on the way.  (I know, I am stretching it here...) I believe in God's promises that he has a good plan for all of us.  (Jeremiah 29:11). 

            

 The Mantis has a triangular shaped compound eyes and can move his head 180 degrees. 

I worship and serve a God who is triune, meaning He is and is all, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.   God is omnipresent, able to see all his children, and be all for His children at the same time.  I am not saying this bug was God...just relating these features.

 The Praying Mantis has ultrasound ears and powerful eyesight.               

 Do you know when we pray with a humble spirit, this empowers us to do God's will?  I have found in my life that when I am in a "praying mode" all day long, conversing, in a thoughtful mindset that God is ever present with me, I become more insightful and more peaceful. (Ephesians 6:18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.  Colossians 4:2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.  James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective).

 
 And I found this most interesting:   One of the Praying Mantises’s (or is it Manti?) enemy is the bat.  The Creator has equipped this alien-looking insect with a hollow chamber that somehow can detect a high pitch sound of a bat in the area and the mantis will immediately get out of the path of oncoming danger. 

When the enemy wants to distract, attack, gobble us up, take us out; we have a detection device as well.  PRAYER!  (Matthew 26:41 "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."  Luke 21:36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man."  1 Peter 3:12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."

So, Mr. Mantis is now gracing our front planter.  How it ever got upstairs or in the house is a mystery.  Let me leave you with two quotes from a book I read a few years back, "The Kneeling Christian", author Unknown.
 

We may be assured of this:  "the secret of all failure is our failure in secret prayer."

"We are never so high as when we are on our knees."

Despite having this very large, strange-looking creature within my inner domain, (the bug, not Corey  lol...) I can be thankful that God continues to inspire me to write, and to see beyond the obvious.  Was  the mantis really praying?  I think he was: 


" Dear God, I flew into this place where there are no plants, and a ceiling fan...Not good...Can you see to remove me back to my stomping grounds? I'd appreciate it. Thanks."

 God answers prayer! 


Matthew 6:6  But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.