show me how to appreciate You.
show me to be in awe of your wonderful creation.
-seas and skies and depths and heights-
but teach me to find You in the everyday.

teach me
to smile when
the sun's rays creep in
through my curtains and with their warmth
kiss my face.

teach me
to listen quietly
to the sparrow that perches on my window,
singing his song
and glorifying You.

teach me
to marvel at
the rain that gently falls
and brings life
to a dead garden.

teach me
to laugh with
giggling children,
innocent and carefree,
and to treasure their thoughts and curiosity.

teach me
to be still
when You move around me
because that's where You hide-
in the small, everyday things

I bit open a lie and it tasted like you.

Would you have
     our stars not shine?
Would you have darkness
      be your shrine?

r ~ 5/5/14

Do you regularly wear an invisible,
‘do not disturb’ sign around your neck?
Are you on a real mission for The Kingdom
or on the adventure of a personal trek?

Can you be moved to help without limitations?
Are you consistently viewed as unapproachable?
Does your mind reflect an attitude of a servant?
Remember that genuine Love is always actionable.

Forget about the wickedness of the World,
for we are still the hands and feet of Christ.
The day of reckoning will eventually come.
Are you really living a spirit-filled life?

When divinely recreated by Him within your soul,
God imbued in you an inherent desire to do good.
Are you involved with community or just hiding…
behind the false claim of being misunderstood?

Are you being led by the Holy Ghost’s power
or leaning on the strength of human frailty?
Can you identify your underlying motivation?
Do you have an authentic grasp of reality?

Won’t you share your needed talents with others?
Can you name Him as a source of your inspiration?
What is the prevailing condition of your humanity?
Have you opened or closed your… heart of compassion?
.
.
.
Author Notes:

Loosely based on:
1 John 3:17-18; Eph 2:10, 5:2; 1 Cor 13:1-8;
Luke 10:25-37

Learn more about me and my poetry at:
http://amzn.to/1ffo9YZ

By Joseph J. Breunig 3rd, © 2014, All rights reserved.

Growing up
     is not what
it seems.

       That's why
there are
people in their fifties
         acting like
they're fifteen.

people will try to break you
and make you believe words
that are nothing but lies.
turn your back on them.
turn your back on the lies.
don't believe it when people say that
you're not good enough,
that you're not able,
that you're not beautiful.
tune those lies out and
sing a new tune.
a tune that speaks the truth,
a tune that says that you are
enough.
able.
beautiful.
important.
worthy.
turn your back on the lies,
because they're not true.
you know who you are,
and no one can take that away from you.

i wish i could get inside Your head
and figure out what You were thinking
when
You created the universe.
i wish i could get inside Your head
when
You made me.
what was going through Your head
when
You formed my tiny feet and hands
my face
my heart
my mind?
what was going through Your head
when
i said yes to You?
i wish i could get inside Your head
and figure out what You were thinking
when
Your son died for me.
i probably wouldn't
understand what was going through Your head
because
Your mind is
infinite and complex and everywhere
so i will settle
with thinking that You were thinking
that You loved
me.

all i can say is
thank You
thank You
thank You
because who looks at this
mess of a heart, of a soul
and finds beauty in it?
You.
who looks at the awful things i did
and instead of pointing a finger,
instead of casting a stone,
or turning their back
they smile and whisper that it's okay?
You.
who looks at this heart who everyone couldn't love
and tells it that it is the most loved heart in the whole entire universe?
*You.