poems 2006B

1. As the Day Flops
2. Gospel in a Nutshell poem
3. Perspective Again
4. I Bit my Tongue Today
5. Who am I Trying to Kid?
6. I don't Know Why
7. Life on the Ledge
8. Leaven Crumbs
9. Remember
10. A Dog-eared Life

As a wise movie star once said, "I never read my reviews. I never believe either
the good reviews or the bad ones. I know I'm not as good as the good reviews,
nor as bad as the bad ones. I just try to do my job the best I can."

As the Day Flops

(Ecclesiastes 7:13,14; I Corinthians 1:27-29)

It all fell flat today,
fizzless, insipid,
soda gone stale,
bread with dead yeast,
a leaky helium balloon.

My ideas didn't pan out,
my advice was dishrag-limp
and as necessary as
a spare earlobe.

In the area where I often succeed without really trying,
I flopped.
It wasn't even a
spectacular belly-flop,
not even a very impressive failure.

And now I just want to hide for awhile,
wrap myself up in a woolly blanket of wounded pride,
berate my foolishness,
and keep reviewing my failure on tape
(like a frustrated football coach after an unexpected loss.)

But God is still God
and I am still His child,
whether things turn out well or badly,
whether my words edify or
make no sense at all,
whether my gestures of encouragement
are appreciated or misunderstood.
He knows I will not always succeed;
He knows it wouldn't even be
good for me to have unbroken success.

I am called to obedience, not to results,
to faithfulness, not to success.
God gives the increase,
 by His methods and timing,
through the servants He chooses.
Sometimes it is Paul, sometimes Apollos,
and often the most unlikely of saints,
in the most surprising of situations.

And so I leave it all in God's hands,
and try to learn today's lesson
so that I will not have to repeat it tomorrow;

I'll have a new lesson then.

lori fiechter
3-27-06

Gospel in a Nutshell poem

(Romans 5:10, 6:23, 8:32, 10:9-10)

First, the bad news.
(You can't have the good news first;
It would make no sense to you.)
It's pretty bad.
You won't like it.

Because God made you,
He has the right to give
you some rules to follow.
You broke some of them,
in thought, if not in deed,
unintentionally, if not on purpose.
In fact, you inherited this
law-breaking tendency
from Adam--THAT Adam.

Now you have a problem.
God can't just let you off, scot-free,
because He is a God of justice.
Someone has to pay the penalty.

Think you'll pay it yourself?
Run up a fat account at the good-deeds bank?
I don't think you've grasped
the magnitude of your debt.
You can't pay it off--
not if you work till you are 100,
earning  150 bucks per hour.
You can't even come close.

It gets worse.

There is this clause, in itty-bitty type
(hardly anyone reads it).
"By breaking God's law, you've aligned yourself with His enemy."

This enemy you unknowingly work for
doesn't play fair--
and the currency he pays is death.
Bluntly put, you are doomed
with no way to save yourself.
It may not look that way to you,
but that's just because the enemy
messes with your vision.

Bad enough?
Ready for some good news?
God has a way to forgive you
and get you back into His kingdom,
even to adopt you as His own child.
The catch?

You have to pledge allegiance
and trust and fealty and love
to the best Master one could hope for,
a Master who died for His enemies
so that they could become
His brothers and sisters.

What are you waiting for?
You don't believe it?
Which part--the good news or the bad?
They are both true,
whether you believe them or not.
Hey, it's better to know the truth, right?
There is no freedom in believing a lie.
But it's your choice.
God draws and calls and pleads,
but He doesn't coerce.
So what are you waiting for?
There is no better time.

lori fiechter
5-12-06

There was a beautiful full moon this morning in a clear 14 degree sky. It took me out of myself and my schedule and my Monday "better gear up for the week" attitude, if only for a few minutes.

Perspective Again

(see Psalm 8)

I'd forgotten the view from the mountain,
the scope and clarity and perspective.
Down here, I'm clavicle-deep in
daily details and routines,
weekly errands and appointments.
I can't see past my wrist watch.
I've cut myself off from panoramic views;
I just stare at thumbnail icons
and feel a headache coming on.

It scares me to ponder
Why I'm here--or why I'm still here,
and if I've made a mess of it all
and what God thinks of my
myopic mouse-like scurrying.

I need to climb a mountain,
or just a foothill,
to take a deep breath,
to be still and know God.

Mountains, however, are in short supply
this time of year in Indiana,
but cold, starry skies are plentiful.
I'll go outside and gaze about at
God's festival of lights and trees
and tapestry of sky.
I'll listen hard and breathe slowly.
And now I've shaken off that
mountain of sticky-notes,
like a dog after a much-needed bath.
I feel free again
and part of something bigger
than my overwhelming
lists-with-no-end.

lori fiechter
12-04-06

I Bit my Tongue Today

(James 3)

I bit my tongue today and
God noticed.
I didn't want to bite it,
didn't want to bridle it.
I wanted to give that spirited
tongue of mine full rein.
But I bit it.

Wish I'd done the same yesterday.

Yesterday I had an extra
piece of my mind and
gave it away--
gratis, unsolicited, and quite unwelcomed.
God noticed.
His Holy Spirit started poking me and
prodding me and tearing up all
my excuse slips.
I finally gave in and took
Two steps back to square one.
There must be a better way
to stay humble.

lori fiechter
9-11-06

Who am I Trying to Kid?

(Psalm 139, Hebrews 4:13)

All dressed up for God:
clean teeth and nails,
pressed cuffs and collar.
I'll just cut-and-paste an
attitude of reverence and joy--
There. I'm presentable.
We can talk now, Lord.

But He is not content
to deal with me
on a cleaned-up, superficial level.
He digs deeper; I wince.

But who throws a silk damask tablecloth
on top of reeking garbage?
Who sprinkles saffron on
a plate of old, moldy paella?
Who am I trying to kid?
(I'm trying to kid God? How daft is that?)

I pull up a chair and He notices.
I start to speak and He already knows
what I will say.
I didn't sleep too well last night;
He understands.
He listens when I don't even know myself
just what I'm thinking.

Perhaps it's time to stop pretending,
time to practice being real.
So go ahead and search me, Lord,
and tell me what You find.

I won't like it all, will I?
But if it takes being honest
to really know You, Lord,
to really get close to You,
then it's worth some small discomfort,
worth a little truth that hurts.
So go ahead.
No kidding.

lori fiechter 5-12-06

I don't Know Why

(2 Timothy 1:9; Acts 26:18)

I don't know why
You chose me,
Why You love me,
Why You called me.
I guess it's just Your
grace and sovereign will.
This knowledge is too much for me,
so vast, I cannot grasp it.
I've marveled at You choice of me,
and Lord, I marvel still.

What did You see in me?
Why did You stoop to care?
I don't know why,
but it's enough to know
that You sent Your Son to save me,
to buy me back
from death and sin.
You loved me Lord,
before the world began.

You gave me access to Your word
in a language I could read,
gave Your Spirit to
open up my eyes
so I could finally see.
No I don't know why,
but I know enough
to trust You and believe.

lori fiechter
may 12, 2006

Life on the Ledge

(Psalm 31)

Let go without fear
and without expectations.
Let go, only knowing
that your God will catch you.
Let go of the masks,
the supports you keep hidden,
of pretense and pride,
the little walls of protection
which are fallible, flimsy facades.

Hold on to the hope
that God hears you and loves you,
and won't let you slip
through His almighty arms.

There's no life on that ledge,
closed in on all sides.
You are tired and losing your grip.
Don't look down, but pray up.
God has a room,
full of mercy and grace,
but you have to let go
to hold on.

lori fiechter
may 10, 2006

Leaven Crumbs

(Exodus 12:15; Hebrews 13:20-21)

I thought I'd swept
the house of leaven,
whisked up every crumb of pride.
I even checked between the cushions,
stretched my arm beneath the bed.

And now I'm puzzled.

Although I'd dusted yesterday,
there is more pride here today:
Dust bunnies of self-sufficiency--
or rather, full-grown Fuzzy Lops--
of pride in every corner.
How can I still have so much pride?
Where does it come from, anyway?

I'm frustrated, bewildered,
and almost ready to--
I know what I have to do;
I must give God the broom.

Not yet.
Does my temple
have to be that clean?
Give me another chance
to clean things up myself.
Another chance,
and a brand new feather duster.
Right.

lori fiechter
may 10, 2006

The Bible is a book of history reminders, among other things.   Whole chapters are dedicated to remembering how God worked in the past, how He delivered and preserved the Israelites in Moses' time, and how they kept on rebelling against Him. What is the purpose of Psalms 77 & 78, of Psalms 105 & 106,  of the song of Moses in Deuteronomy 32?

--Learn from the past, don't repeat the same mistakes your fathers made. Holy feasts and fasts are based on remembering: Passover,  Pentecost (the giving of the Law), fasts memorializing the fall of both temples, Tabernacles (remember the wilderness wanderings when you lived in tents).  Read the law every seven years, have the king write out his own copy. Remember, don't forget, remember.  Why is there so much repetition in the Bible, even whole chapters at times? We must be slow learners and poor rememberers.

The New Testament adds a few more reminders.  Jesus reminds his disciples that they don't need to worry about bread (remember the 7 loaves and 2 fishes--how many were fed, how much was left over?) He reminds them about the dangers of looking back to their old life ("Remember Lot's wife"--that packs a wallop in just three words.) Jesus commanded His disciples to keep the last supper as a memorial--to remember Him, until He comes. The angels at the empty tomb reminded the women who bringing spices, "He is not here, but is risen"--remember what He told you when He was still in Galilee?

The book of Galatians consists of a rather perturbed Paul reminding the church that they were saved by faith in Christ, not by works of the Law. He had to remind a rather panicky church at Thessalonica not to be shaken by the persecutions, that he had told them about the conditions before the day of the Lord would come. And Peter, when he was close to death, wrote without apology that he would keep on reminding the church of things they already know.  Lastly, Jesus has John tell the churches at Ephesus and Sardis to remember how they used to be and return to that.  Remember how you were before your first love cooled off. Remember how you heard and received the word at first. You are slipping-- remember, repent, and return.  I don't think we are much different. When things look hopeless, the first thing we should do is to remember God's faithfulness in the past.  Otherwise, what good is this gift of memory He has given us?

Jdg 8:34 And the children of Israel remembered not the LORD their God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side:

2Pe 1:9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.

Jhn 16:4 But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them.

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.

So troubled, I cannot sleep.
Instead of counting sheep,
I tally mercies and wonders and
promises already fulfilled.

Who is so great a God
as our God?
How could I have forgotten so soon?
God will not wash His hands of us forever;
He will not always chide,
nor keep His anger forever;
He has not forgotten His promises,
and His mercy has not clean disappeared.

I will deliberately remember,
yes, I'll recount and even write down
His works of faithfulness.
His right hand is still strong,
bringing salvation and deliverance.

Is there anything too hard for God?
Remember how He created
the heavens and earth
by the breath of His mouth,
How He hung the earth upon nothing,
How He sent the flood
and sent the waters back again
and sent the rainbow as
He pledge.

He has kept every promise,
and will continue to keep them:
Promises of blessing
toward those who serve Him,
Promises of wrath
toward those who rebel
against the light.

Remember Who we are dealing with here;
Don't make the mistake of thinking
that God is like us, only
bigger, stronger, more powerful.
He will work, and who will stop Him?
There is none like Him,
no God beside Him,
no other Savior.
Remember that.

lori fiechter
2-21-06

I sat on the living room floor this morning, with my Bibles and other books piled to my left, when I noticed, directly in front of me, my sons'  paperback Spanish textbook.  The spine was duct-taped, the cover badly creased, the lower right hand edges all curled up.   There is a book that has been well-used, well-loved, or just not handled with care.  

I have other books sitting on the bookshelf that have never been opened at all, or but rarely. I like them, not for what's on the inside, but for how they look sitting on the shelf. (Although I really ought to dust them.) Which book is more like my life?

A Dog-eared Life

(II Corinthians 4:15-18; Psalm 138:8)

A dog-eared life,
one not spent
just taking up space on the shelf,
Not spent fretting over
maintaining a pristine appearance,
with unblemished cover
and crisp, white pages.

But a dog-eared life,
lending itself out.
A life that is open,
and willing to be read by others,
Not the sanctified, bowdlerized version,
but the original,
full of pain as well as blessings,
replete with defeats as well as victories.

By the grace of God,
I am this one particular book:
high points, low points, pointless points.
I'm not proud of certain chapters,
but I praise 
God's mercy and grace and hope
that have carried me thus far.

This is not my story,
it is His story, worked out in me.
And God has promised to
"perfect that which concerneth me."
So I lay aside every weight,
and press toward that ending,
that good and glorious ending.

lori fiechter
3-28-06