Friday, January 10, 2025

Carpe Deum (seize God)






Carpe Deum (seize God)


Seize the Day 

Life

Runs deep and far and wide

Gather the rosebuds along the way*

Life

A garland of grace for you



The present is a gift

Azure sky of bluest blue

A call of unraveling today- waves retreating 

“Oh, where has the time gone? The tide has moved quite far out now.”



Take hold of God

Today a “link to eternity”

Put away that fear 

Why run in the other direction 

The Author, the only One who sees us within, is capable 



Lay hold of The Light

The sky stunning blue

The shadows fall longer on the shore as the sun is setting

The Passage of time

“A perfect peace, a mind stayed on thee” **


Those we love looking on

A “bevy of bright eyes” paying attention,

seeing the past as light to the present

- unmoved and fixed on the future 

Closely watching and cannot look away 

 


Carpe Deum (seize God),  Glimpse poetry by Joe Holuta Inspired by holy is the day, Living in the Gift of the Present, by Carolyn Weber



About this poem-  Carpe Deum *** (seize God) is a poem about seeing God in the everyday. Many times we’re challenged to seize the day, to get everything possible out of life. A drive like this can be exhausting and not fulfilling as initially expected. At times we seek everywhere for meaning or direction when God knows us best and values us beyond our wildest dreams and is capable to see us through to beautiful days and lives ahead. - Joe Holuta



*“Yes, gather the rosebuds, to the glory of God. He will weave each one into ‘a garland to grace your head and present you’ (Prov 4:9)


**  “You, Lord, ·give [preserve/keep in] ·true peace [complete peace; peace, peace]·to those who depend on you [whose mind is stayed on you; whose purpose is firm],because they trust you.”

Isaiah 26:3 EXB


*** Carpe Deum (seize God) - holy is the day, Living in the Gift of the Present, by Carolyn Weber





Tuesday, December 31, 2024

Starlings

 

Starlings

I see the starlings and hear singing in the trees against the blue, blue sky 
Stories, Hope in this season of change-
I see the starlings that twist, turn, swoop, and swirl across the night sky 
“beautiful shape-shifting clouds”
"Flight like small, four-pointed stars"
starlings, chatty
all flying together in a whirling, ever-changing pattern
Moving together as one, unity, interconnectedness, family 
twists, turns, and changes direction at a moment’s notice
flying/ a large flock / a "murmuration,"*


Sometimes life speaks very loudly,
Sometimes lives “Speak in a voice, so low and soft it can barely be heard”
Cousins/ starlings/ flock and move as one 
Energetic yet sensitive/instinctively, knowing what to do next
Sweetest care and hearts toward her
Look closely, you see the colorful joy, the sheen/ the plume /loving gesture


They look at her with wonder as we looked on each of them
Holding dear happens even miles away
Caring/ moving together/ to guard/
“A banner, a signal to gather in safety” **
Star shape hearts beating in their chests
“Seeing her”, Steadying her pace
“Realizing life while they live it” ***


Starlings, Glimpse poetry by Joe Holuta

About this poem: Starlings is a poem about “seeing one another in this life”. Caring, appreciating, taking the time to build loving hearts. I see this so clearly with our grandchildren as they care for one another- moving together as part of a larger whole and especially as they gather around the youngest now. We have been fortunate to spend many times together to see life unveil care in both good and the not so good times. Time is a circle, and the clock doesn't stop but, moments like these if i could hit the [pause] button i would- and give myself five more minutes. ****- Joe Holuta


* AI info

Murmurations are huge groups of starlings that twist, turn, swoop and swirl across the sky in beautiful shape-shifting clouds. Just before dusk, small groups of starlings from the same area come together above a communal roosting site.

Starlings are chunky and blackbird-sized, but with short tails and long, slender beaks. In flight their wings are short and pointed, making them look rather like small, four-pointed stars (and giving them their name

Suddenly, you spot thousands of starlings, all flying together in a whirling, ever-changing pattern. The flock moves together as one, as smooth and fluid as running water. They fly as one huge mass that twists, turns, and changes direction at a moment’s notice

Their plumage looks black from a distance, but if you look closely, you’ll see that starlings are very glossy birds, with a sheen of purple and green feathers. 

These chatty birds spend a lot of their time in flocks, especially around the breeding and nesting seasons, or when they’re gathering to roost. 

A spiritual interpretation of starlings flying, particularly in a large flock known as a "murmuration," often symbolizes unity, collective consciousness, interconnectedness, and the fluid movement of life force, where individual birds seamlessly dance together as part of a larger whole, sometimes seen as a reflection of the divine order or the interconnectedness of all living beings

It is also symbolic of intuition and change. This makes sense as one must use instinct and energetic sensitivity to know what is supposed to come next much like the starlings flying with hypnotic fluidity, sensing the change in direction.


** "You have unfurled a banner for those who revere You,
    a signal to gather in safety out of the enemy’s reach.
[pause]*
So that Your treasured ones may be saved,
    rescue us with Your right hand, and answer our pleas!"

Psalm 60:4-5 voice
*to lift up

*** "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it? 

--every, every minute?”(Emily)

Thornton Wilder, Our Town



****

Time rolls by, the clock don't stop

I wish I had a few more drops

Of the good stuff, the good times

Oh, but they just keep on flyin'

Right on by, like it ain't nothin'

I wish I had me a, a pause button

Moments like those, Lord knows I'd hit it

And give myself five more minutes


Songwriters: Frank Rogers / Monty Criswell / Scotty McCreery

Five More Minutes lyrics


















Sunday, December 22, 2024

Christmas Love- Did you know







Christmas Love- Did you know


“Born this happy morning”
Love / a baby/ yet before all creation
Blind/ now I see
Deaf though
I did hear  
Essential / Love/ Did you know this love 
Not charity, never obscure


“...Moving mountains from its bedrock, yet I live without love” *
Tallying wrongs
Injustices 
Love - is not easy
Remembering those who put up with everything and anything /trust and hope no matter what
Consider this Christmas love
“And the people that remain reasonable and kind, 
I just feel like they need a special parade right now.”
They do.” *


God has purposes we cannot see—unfolding in the most difficult circumstances.
Quiet reverence/ face to face love
God knows what is on the inside-words and actions are not always necessary
Accepting the lot in this life
No time to despair over life, deep seated joy**
“God will give you all the grace you need in every situation you face.”****


Christmas love -did you know
Heaven’s perfect lamb
Seeing, walking, hearing 
Dead will live again 
Did you know - newness
Saving of sons and daughters 
Evergreen, light in all darkness
Crimson bow over all that is ununderstandable


 Did you know
“But one day, when Jesus arrives, we will see clearly, face-to-face”
“Born this happy morning”, Beginning and End
“Every tear from our eye wiped away”
Oh, how He loves, how He loves us 
Love remains / today 
The greatest is given on this Christmas Day


Christmas Love- Did you know, Glimpse poetry by Joe Holuta

About this poem: Christmas Love- Did you know is a poem about the love God has for us. God incarnate, becoming a man in Mary. Jesus lives, dies, and rose again to give us life and now seated in heaven. Thankful that once blind to salvation I now see. Many things happen in our lives that we only see in part and don’t understand and are heavy weight. The promise of God‘s love is always with us and someday all will be made clear and new to a wondrous eternity complete in every way that we now lack or struggle. Mary did you know is a song that covers the Love that never ends and was from all beginning for us.- Joe Holuta


Mary Did You Know 

https://open.spotify.com/track/1ZxRr3hL3kDelbL8WC43E6?si=s38d9Sj0Q1mGulpga0UosQ


*1 Corinthians 13  (voice) inspiration

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1Cor.13.5,1Cor.13.6,1Cor.13.7,1Cor.13.8&version=VOICE


**From Everything Happens with Kate Bowler: Feeling Crappy? Navigating the Highs and Lows with Kelly Corrigan, Dec 17, 2024

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/everything-happens-with-kate-bowler/id1341076079?i=1000680667706&r=3326


***Ecclesiastes 5:19-20

****

https://www.biblicalcounselingcoalition.org/2015/11/04/moving-beyond-god-wont-give-you-more-than-you-can-handle/


"Love... it’s never rude, crude, or indecent—it’s not self-absorbed. Love isn’t easily upset. Love doesn’t tally wrongs or celebrate injustice; but truth—yes, truth—is love’s delight!  Love puts up with anything and everything that comes along; it trusts, hopes, and endures no matter what.  Love will never become obsolete….” 1 Cor 13: 5-8 voice




Instagram Reel






Tuesday, November 26, 2024

Clouds- and “every cloud has a silver lining”




Clouds

The Clouds form a blanket

God speaks of the clouds

“Who blankets the heavens with clouds” *

“Do you know about the layers of thick clouds

 and how they are balanced and poised

 in the heavens”**

With clouds so thick

– Impassable they seem


“God, the weaver of heaven and earth.”

Extensive /elevated Birdseye view –

panoramic and sweeping/overseeing all/ the clouds rising over the whole earth/

The mountains, the fields of green,

“The word went out across the prairies and deserts, across the hills…” ****

The winding river’s course

The homes and peoples dotting the Bay and sound 

the vessel going to meet

The multitudes /

the compassion


Don’t fear or grieve or faint at clouds

“fight the good fight/ stay the course/ finish the race/ keep believing”

Hope when it seems like there shouldn’t be any

“Was I deceived, or did a sable cloud

Turn forth her silver lining on the night?”1


There are fields to sow 

and casting seeds- in tears if be

When will the harvest come?

Soon 

Soon you’ll be walking the rows- 

row after row

seeing the harvest***



Clouds- and “every cloud has a silver lining”, Glimpse poetry by Joe Holuta


About this poem: Clouds “every cloud has a silver lining” is a poem about hope and when we try to convey a feeling of hope when it seems like there shouldn’t be any. I dedicate this poem to my sister Diana. She has conveyed hope to others all her life- in her work, community, and especially her loved ones and family. Diana -even with heart breaking loss- is able to convey hope to us. I know she would want us to see “there’s a silver lining to every cloud that sails about the heavens if we could only see it.”2








******

“every cloud has a silver lining” 


convey a feeling of hope when it seems like there shouldn’t be any.


John Milton coined the phrase ‘silver lining’ in his poem Comus: A Mask Presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634:


I see ye visibly, and now believe
That he, the Supreme Good, to whom all things ill
Are but as slavish officers of vengeance,
Would send a glistering guardian, if need were
To keep my life and honour unassailed.
Was I deceived, or did a sable cloud
Turn forth her 
silver lining on the night?
I did not err; there does a sable cloud
Turn forth her silver lining on the night,
And casts a gleam over this tufted grove.


The first occurrence that unequivocally expresses that notion comes in The Dublin Magazine, Volume 1, 1840, in a review of the novel Marian; or, a Young Maid’s Fortunes, by Mrs S. Hall, which was published in 1840:

As Katty Macane has it, “there’s a silver lining to every cloud that sails about the heavens if we could only see it.


2 As Katty Macane has it, “there’s a silver lining to every cloud that sails about the heavens if we could only see it.


Glimpse Clouds ☁️ 

*"Who blankets the heavens with clouds,

    sends rain to water the thirsty earth,

    and pulls up each blade of grass upon the mountainside."

Psalm 147:8 voice 


 Above the clouds-

 for those of us weak, worried, or weary:)

 ⛅️☀️

** “Do you know about the layers of thick clouds

 and how they are balanced and poised

 in the heavens, 

The wonderful works of Him

 who is perfect in knowledge, "

 -Job 37:


***“Those who walk the fields to sow, casting

their seed in tears,

will one day tread those same long rows, amazed by what's appeared.

Those who weep as they walk

and plant with sighs

Will return singing with joy,

when they bring home the harvest.”

Psalm 126:5-6 voice


****“The word went out across the prairies and deserts, across the hills, over the oceans wide, from nation to nation:
"The Eternal has done remarkable things for them."
We shook our heads. All of us were stunned-the Eternal has done remarkable things for us.
We were beyond happy, beyond joyful.”
Psalm 126: 2-3 voice





















Carpe Deum (seize God)

Carpe Deum (seize God) Seize the Day  Life Runs deep and far and wide Gather the rosebuds along the way* Life A garland of grace for you The...