Joann Nelander Studio

Counting Stars

Posted by Be Holy on January 3, 2012

Posted in: Poetry, Prayer & Prose. Tagged: art, Catholic, Christian, dreamers, Joann Nelander, Original poetry, prophets, star, star gazing, universe. Leave a comment

I counted stars today.
As prophets and dreamers,
Glimpsing God through the darkness,
My wonder soared.
I, too, beheld
The promise of eternity,
Stretched across the eons.

Mere points of light
In a midnight sky,
Announcing Truth veiled in mystery,
Of things hidden and unseen,
Of ages long past and yet to be.
Who with me
Knows that there is more,
Much more?

Lanterns hung in the heavens
Make of me their lampstand,
That Eternal Light
Might shine more brightly,
Giving voice to creation.

No dumb marvel,
Rather angelic themes,
To sing high praises
In celestial chants,
For all who turn their gaze
Heavenward, counting,
And losing count,
Journey home.

Remembering the Seasons of My Soul

Posted by Be Holy on December 31, 2011

Posted in: Paintings. Tagged: grave, grief, joy, memories, New Year, rejoicing, remember, remembrance, sorrow, time. Leave a comment

Old year passes,

Becoming yet another ghost,

Withered as leaves,

Crumbled, and carried aloft

By winter winds,

Too soon scattered

By the breezes of Time?

Is it truly spent,

Dead and long forgotten,

Living but in memory?

May not reflection

Call it from the grave,

Uncover the gain

Hold it fast

To live again?

How has its many waters

Blessed thee and me,

As sacred signs?

Will it, as muse, retain a power

For its having been,

And then no more?

What saints and angels

Sent my way,

Colored its day?

In sorrow,

Who came to hold my hand?

In joy,

Who shared my hearth?

Were there hugs, and smiles,

And laughter to tilt the scale of grief.

Can kisses and embraces be resurrected,

That fires of love be stoked

To warm and blaze anew?

Has my thanksgivings

Been recorded in the pyre,

Written in the embers now glowing

As tiger eyes flashing from the ash.

Years come, doomed , too soon to go,

But let them not hurry

To a crypt without a wake.

Drink the happy wine of memory,

Sip, as the seasons turn.

Contemplate and savor

The seasons of your soul.

Obedience

Posted by Be Holy on December 30, 2011

Posted in: Paintings. Tagged: Christ, God Son, Jesus, Love, Mary, Saint Joseph, St. Joseph, The Way. Leave a comment

Today the Church sings, “Come, let us worship Christ, the Son of God, who was obedient to Mary and Joseph.”

My heart is singing , too, for as these words entered my soul, up sprang joy. Here within me was the path Jesus walked as He began life on Earth as the God Man. How can I not follow Him, as I prepare for a brand new year. The Way shows me, in my infancy, His Way. He turns my heart to Mary and Joseph, giving me the gift of loving parents to watch over me, to protect me, and to be all supplication on my behalf.

My happy resolve is to fix my eyes upon them and listen for their voices reverberating within me. My joyful way throughout the New Year will be to obey in imitation of my Christ and King. “Come, let us worship Christ, the Son of God, who was obedient to Mary and Joseph.”

Forget Not

Posted by Be Holy on December 30, 2011

Posted in: Paintings. Tagged: Born again (Christianity), Catholic, Christ, Christian, faith, Lord, Love, poetry. Leave a comment

As I walk in Your house,
May I never forget You are Master,
Lord of this domain.

May my thoughts
Spring as fruit upon the vine.
Sustain me, O my Beloved,
With the Bread of angels.

Hallowed Ground of my New Birth,
Give me Your heavenly Water,
That I may never thirst again.
Let it rise within me,
As an eternal spring,
And let it fall from heaven,
Like those “torrents
In the southern desert,”

Sheltered in Your arms,
Covered by the corner of Your mantle,
Fed by the Manna of Your Heavenly Body,
Who can forget to sing You songs of Love.

By Love Delivered

Posted by Be Holy on December 23, 2011

Posted in: Paintings. Tagged: deliverance, Jesus, Love, Magdalene. Leave a comment

Magdalene, O Magdalene,

With you in the wilderness of sin,

Together, we rejoice.

As sisters, embracing.

Dawn rose as the sun

Hope entered our lives with our Savior

Sinister evil fled His Presence

In our souls.

Jesus, Son of God,

Son of Man,

Freed us of all gods,

Loosed all obsession.

Cry out with me,

Emmanuel, God with us.

Kalamazoo Wonderland

Posted by Be Holy on December 23, 2011

Posted in: Paintings. Tagged: Christmas, decorations, Kalamazoo, Papa John, video, vimeo, wonderland. Leave a comment

Christmas Decorations…. from PapaJohn on Vimeo.

Now

Posted by Be Holy on December 22, 2011

Posted in: Paintings. Tagged: presence, Present, time. Leave a comment

Long now,

Time unending,

Enduring immediacy,

Poorly perceived.

Haiku

Posted by Be Holy on December 21, 2011

Posted in: Paintings. Leave a comment

Tiny dancers flight,

Wind blown snow, pirouetting,

Tumbling, now, to rest.

Advent – Prayer in Waiting

Posted by Be Holy on December 21, 2011

Posted in: Paintings. Tagged: Advent, Catholic, Christian, Christmas, food. desert place, stable, straw. Leave a comment

Advent is upon my soul.
Divine gift of season,
I listen for the cry of a First Born Son,
Begotten before Time begun,
And enfleshed in the Virgin’s womb.

I come to her,
Who is the Ark,
Your Mercy Seat.
Kneeling beside her,
In these pregnant moments,
I lay my head upon her lap.

Her wonderment, and awe,
In steadfast contemplation,
Inspire angels’ songs.

I hear their reverent voices
In my night.
Their chorus bids me come.
Come to the stable of simplicity.

Leave the noisy city for a deserted place,
The Wilderness, whose hidden way
Leads to the waiting manger,
Now, in expectant readiness,
For the Food, that will feed
The hungry world.

My Advent prayer,
Come, O Holy Infant!
Come to my straw

Advent – Prayer in Waiting

Posted by Be Holy on December 21, 2011

Posted in: Paintings. Tagged: Advent, Catholic, Christian, Christmas, food. desert place, stable, straw. Leave a comment

Advent is upon my soul.
Divine gift of season,
I listen for the cry of a First Born Son,
Begotten before Time begun,
And enfleshed in the Virgin’s womb.

I come to her,
Who is the Ark,
Your Mercy Seat.
Kneeling beside her,
In these pregnant moments,
I lay my head upon her lap.

Her wonderment, and awe,
In steadfast contemplation,
Inspire angels’ songs.

I hear their reverent voices
In my night.
Their chorus bids me come.
Come to the stable of simplicity.

Leave the noisy city for a deserted place,
The Wilderness, whose hidden way
Leads to the waiting manger,
Now, in expectant readiness,
For the Food, that will feed
The hungry world.

My Advent prayer,
Come, O Holy Infant!
Come to my straw