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- Extreme Makeover--Footstool Edition
- What Now? I Failed.
- Son of Imlah: A Conversation between Ahab and Jehoshaphat
- Counsel, but not of me
- Room to Grow
- Re-alignment
- Hoarding Husks
- Water Me
- Ants Breaking Away
- Hornets, Hounds, and Horses
- Foolaphobia
- Wear the Coat
- Christian Admiration
Extreme Makeover--Footstool Edition
(
Nay, Everest is not lofty enough.
Our world is but His
spinning blue footstool.
How small we are in His sight:
as tiny, beloved grasshoppers.
On one chosen sliver
He lived and died and left--
with a promise to return.
When that promise is fulfilled
(He is not slack!)
there will be an extreme makeover
for this old footstool:
the curse lifted,
the deceiver forever cast out,
Eden refreshed.
A fiery footstool,
renovated, refurbished, and re-created:
a glorious footstool fit
for His sacred, wounded
feet.
lori fiechter
july 29, 2004
What Now? I Failed.
(I John 2:1; I Timothy 2:5; Psalm 73:23)
I failed in thought,
in tone of voice,
in action, choice, and will.
I failed to trust
and wait on God;
Will He forgive me still?
I bow myself and plead
for clemency and grace
for my Advocate to intercede,
my Lord to mediate.
He bows Himself to pick me up,
to hold me by His hand.
And by His strength, I'll walk aright,
and by His grace, I'll stand!
lori fiechter
7-03-04
Micaiah is one of my favorite of the lesser-known
Bible characters. (His name means "Who is like Jehovah?) I
like his attitude of unrelenting commitment to the truth, and I like his style! What a
parting shot to Ahab's "Feed him bread and water until we come back in
peace"--to paraphrase,
"If you come back in peace, then God hasn't spoken by me.!" Talk about
getting the last word!
But please, read the whole account for yourself in II Chronicles 18.
(II Chronicles 18)
--"I'm your man, Ahab,
But couldn't we inquire of God first?"
"You insist?"
--"I insist."
"OK, listen to these hand-picked four hundred.
They all say it's a go."
I said I wanted to inquire of GOD.
Don't you have any true prophets
still hanging around?"
I hate him! He never has good news."
Let me hear this Micaiah."
But Jehoshaphat went along anyway
and nearly got an arrow
through his kingly robes.
(With friends like Ahab, enemies are superfluous.)
Ahab "accidentally" received
a fatal wound.
I wonder what happened to Micaiah?
7-2-04
(Isaiah 30:1; Isaiah 55: 8,9)
I'll ask advice--of everyone but God.
He'll just say no.
His ways are not mine,
neither are His plans.
So I'll do this one my way.
Hey, if I really get into a jam,
He'll be there to bail me out, right?
I don't need a Guide,
just someone on the other end
of my 911 call.
lori fiechter
7-2-04
I failed that
test succinctly,
without any waste of time.
I didn't even realize it was a test
until I flunked.
Once more, I allowed
harried worry and hasty fear
to nibble my peace and trust
as readily as a rodent gnaws
through a box of opened Ritz®.
I failed.
And because I failed,
it means I still have room to grow.
So, once more,
I give to God my yo-yo worries,
my yappy decisions-on-a-leash,
and this time,
I let go of the string.
lori fiechter
7-02-04
2Pe 1:12 Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know [them], and be established in the present truth.
Re-alignment
Nothing novel, nothing new--
The only thing we need to learn
is how quickly we get
out of whack.
We hear and believe but
our driving's erratic!
We have knowledge;
it's application we lack.
Remind us; Remind me,
and more, re-align me.
I'm all askew again,
wheels running untrue again
I knew what to do--
it was nothing novel, nothing new.,
but I couldn't--no, I wouldn't--
steer off that old, familiar groove.
and I couldn't--no I wouldn't--
give the steering wheel to You.
lori fiechter
6-26-04
Hoarding Husks
We forget the things
we should remember
and remember the things
best forgotten.
We lose the pearls
and hoard the husks.
Forgotten is God's faithfulness
last week;
Remembered, a grievance
from twelve years past.
Well, we're only human!
And so, we marvel at those rare souls
who have discarded all the husks
and treasured the pearls.
While we keep forgetting
the things we should remember
and remembering the things
we should forget.
lori fiechter
6-26-06
I have a catnip plant that is living
in limbo. I'm not sure why I bought it. Inside the house, it dies of neglect; I
only remember to water it when it has nearly expired. But outside, its demise would
be instantaneous (We have a dozen cats.) I watered the catnip this morning; it
will live to fight another day.
(Psalm 63:1, Rev. 21:6)
parched and withered,
soil shrinking from the sides.
oh, so thirsty.
But plants don't meow
or bark or cry;
They droop in plaintive silence
like my neglected soul:
"Please, just a drop or two
to get me by today,
but then, promise a
slaking cupful tomorrow.
Don't let me die."
Leaves curling yellow,
shrivel and sigh.
june 16, 2004
Are
you the one ant with courage enough to break away from the crowd and stand up
for truth and right and justice--and Jesus?
Ants Breaking Away
(Genesis 7:1)
but we have turned our backs
to His face.
But our path is too well-worn;
we march like ants, away, away.
He says, "Come"
and this time,
one ant hears, hesitates, and turns.
One ant walks away from the line,
away from the crowd,
walking toward that Voice, alone.
He is the first to turn
but not the last.
Others watch and wonder
and later slip away
to follow the ant
that followed
when He said, "Come".
(2 Corinthians 10:5)
--only part-way in His presence,
pieces peaceful,
mostly restless?
How can we pull our soul together?
Rein in all the scattered thoughts?
some are hounds,
and some are horses,
some are goats,
and some are hornets.
We chew yesterday's cud
and think about tomorrow's meal.
But restless spirits cannot focus,
Unfocused spirits cannot worship.
Rein them in--herd, corral (and kill those hornets!)
Rein them in, all of them in
So peace can reign again, within.
6-14-04
Foolaphobia
It's my personal creed
I must never stand out,
I must never look weak.
So I'll not ask any question
when others seem to understand
And I won't be the first to smile
or the first to lend a hand.
I'll not admit to any faults
(unless they're popular to own)
I must not show too much emotion,
Nor show any interest in my tone.
I'll let you talk
and let you smile
but I won't be a fool.
My own creed is at stake here;
I must never look uncool.
6-8-04
Wear
the Coat
(Isaiah 61:10 and
64:6; Matthew 22:12, Galatians 3:27)
You won't get in;
You have to wear the coat.
Yes, I noticed your
very fancy sleeves,
embroidered with your own good deeds,
You think that God will be well-pleased,
but you have to wear the coat.
not a fishy-festooned tie;
God must see red--
the cross-stained red,
the saving red that Jesus shed;
and then, you'll get inside.
june 10, 2004
I am too much an idealist, I know. Still, it disappoints
me to see popularity cliques among Christians that differ little from the world's.
My values are not as upside-down from the world's as Paul's were, I fear.
Everyone deserves respect. God's image does not look exclusively like you!
(James 2, Jude 16,
Romans 2:11, I Cor. 1)
the quiet, the meek;
We give respect to the awkward,
and learn from the weak.
have our standards so changed?
Or do we still mirror the world,
the same pedestals in place
for the
rich and attractive,
athletic and strong,
the charming, successful,
Well, is it so wrong
to prefer
Brains, Beauty, and Brawn?
Of course, it's OK
if that's what God likes as well.
if He gives grace to the great and
HIs strength is made perfect in our strength.
But He honors the servant,
the quiet, the meek.
No respecter of persons
is He. Are we?
6-10-04