O Man, believe
That the Virgin did conceive
Her God and mine
And happily thine.©2013 Joann Nelander
poem
All posts tagged poem
A million miracles ride the deep,
And play beneath the surface
Of Your fury,
In fall of water,
Rounding o’er the rocks,
In rush and billows,
Froth and foam.
Swift river carry me
And write on my memory.
Though seated on the bank,
I sail in heart,
And hurry,
In your wake
Finding joy as a petal,
Skirting the obscured,
Dancing o’er temptation,
In an act of will,
To follow in Your stride,
O Master of the deep.
The glint of sun
In steady flash
To gild rocky edges
As You do my soul.
The wash of swift current,
Pouring joy as palpable
As bird song,
Swimming the swollen crowns,
Like ribbons of life,
Skimming hidden cliffs,
Caring and carrying me along.
Their path and destiny one,
In faith’s repose.
Let not the world
Still or interfere
To make me tarry,
When You bid me come,
Contemplate my end,
And sweet beginning.
One with Providence’s
Plan,
I fear not Thy wild ride.
A million miracles cry out to me
From the beauty
Of depth and mystery.
I am lost in Your Presence.
There You are
Smiling back at me.
I simply smile and gaze.
I am nothing and no one,
Yet You whisper,
In You and Yours,
I am more.
You sing to my soul,
And tell me beauty tales.
Of gaining all I leave behind
In Love’s pursuit.
Grace creates a place for me.
After the mind of God.
I surpass the wonders I behold.
Hold me in this instant,
To capture Paradise
For the journey onward,
Singularly one with everything,
And bound to all,
And none,
Save You.
©2013 Joann Nelander
Depravity now has its day,
The festering city
Erupts to spew abuse,
First on its children,
And then on those
Who come to its aid.
Perversity mocks virtue,
Opening it’s robes,
To welcome strangers for a night,
No home, no family, no love.
Let Sin not reign,
Call out again.
Seek liberty of spirit,
Spurn license,
And licentiousness.
Love the enemy
Within and without.
All men have sinned,
All suffer,
Abused and abuser.
Come, O Creator of Man.
Come holy plan.
Fight the battle
With heavenly hosts.
Build on these ruins,
A nation that is pure and just.
Copyright 2014 Joann Nelander
Light a fire in my lowly heart
That I may love Thee
More and more.
Accept my straw as kindling.
Ignite me as a sacrifice.
To be consumed.
Breathe on me in the furnace
Of your desires
For this child of Your creation.
Blaze to transform
By grace and Thy Holy Spirit,
My base metal into the finest gold.
Enflame my yearning heart
That love may burst forth,
Forevermore.
copyright 2014 Joann Nelander
Jesus, henceforth,
Live my life
In blessed union with me,
And accept my every breath and exertion,
As Your own witness to the Father.
Pour, through me, the graces,
That change the world,
In the power of the Holy Spirit,
So that I be a portal
In Creation’s web,
As gateway,
That Heaven may flow,
Entering Matter and Time,
As on Your Altar,
That I may say with Paul,
“I live, no longer I,
But Christ lives in me,”
To the glory of God, the Father,
God, the Son,
And God, the Holy Spirit.
Command angels fly to the aid
Of this fallen land,
As ever fresh Redemption,
Fighting Your battles in the air,
And announcing Truth,
To renew in You,
Those who You have not left orphans.
The lowly exalt You,
In the garden of Earth.
As we sing Your praise,
Turn up the volume of Your Word,
That even the deaf may hear.
Issue edicts of Love,
That, at Your command,
We be Holy,
As The Father is Holy,
And You are Holy.
Holy, holy, holy.
You dedicate Yourself, eternally,
To our sanctification,
That by Faith and “Fiat”
All creation blossom forth,
A New Heaven
And New Earth,
And Your reign recognized,
And the Lie undone,
Triumphantly in the Son.
© 2013 Joann Nelander
Here I am Lord
I have brought the world and my day with me
What a motley crew arrayed before You
But not in vain.
We come with a clatter
My noise, our noise,
To the Silence.
The deafening roar
To the hallowed stillness.
Whisper in the chamber of our meeting
Where we tent with You,
Hope for the dying,
Faith to the listening,
Love to the willing.
You spoke
And matter came to be.
Beauty and wisdom
Reigned over form,
And substance served
Your Thought.
You ruled the spheres and firmament
To create both void and fullness.
Your creation dawned in darkness,
And You let there be light.
First and last and all in between
Found a place in Time.
You spoke forth Man
And, in my time, me.
You said,
“Be perfect
As I am perfect,”
And set free the human heart,
That it might know,
And love,
And serve Thee.
Yet will resisted service
And loved naught but itself.
“Tortuous and beyond remedy”,
We hid from Thee.
In Time, You spoke, the Cure.
Announcing to the Virgin,
And by a Star
And angels herald,
Saving throughout creation,
Twisted hearts.
Jordan’s waters, purifying
By the Holy to make men holy,
Love made manifest
By descending Dove
Again You spoke,
“This is my Son.”
Now, bowing will,
Longing in Your Christ,
Receive me as son to Thee,
Anoint with Healing Balm,
Redeeming accursed Fall,
That perfect I, too,
May, please Thee, be.
When You speak
Life comes to be.
Speak now, the Perfect,
That I may perfect be
And, at long last, love Thee.
©2013 Joann Nelander
I say it so often,
“I am doing the best I can do.”
My heart breaks,
For I desire to do all for You,
Yet, I am full of myself,
And You seem silent.
I am still of the earth
And aspire to heaven.
I am so common,
Yet You call me “Beloved”,
And “Child of God”.
My end draws near,
As it does for all men.
Many count their days endless,
And take no account.
What of my end?
Do I please You,
Who number my days,
And promise endless life?
Abandonment draws me
To Your Heart.
Do everything for me,
And in peace
I shall rest in You,
Endless Love of countless days,
Receive me.
Hide me, Lord
On the mountain
Of Your Love.
Place me in the cleft
Of the Rock.
Play for me
The music of silence.
Shelter me
From the storm and noise
Of the world.
©2013 Joann Nelander
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Eons marked in time, an ocean drop by drop
Faith tested to the nth, suddenly to be here
Sand through an hour glass, seeds promising the crop
Eons marked in time, an ocean drop by drop
Cathartic rhythms purging like the wild hop
You wanted wine, we gave you beer
Eons marked in time, an ocean drop by drop
Faith tested to the nth, suddenly to be here
©2013 Joann Nelander
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