Lord, as I begin this day,
Have it Your way.
I seek not me, but Thee.
When bitter valley threaten,
And I count the cost,
I choose not me, but Thee.
In the dark night.
Trace Your path upon my heart,
That demons, seeking to terrorize and tempt,
Meet not me, but Thee.
When gift and labor
Bring merit and reward,
All glory to, not me, but Thee.
O Lord,
May those I meet upon Your Way,
See, not me, but Thee.
© 2014 Joann Nelander
A drop in the ocean of the Lord,
Minuscule,
Tear-sized,
Hardly felt upon the cheek,
Brushed away
To fall into the river of Your love.
Once alone,
Barely a something,
Really “a nothing”,
A lonely singularity,
But felt upon a Heart.
The tears of others,
Conjoined,
Confusion,
Profusion,
Holy joy in headlong rush,
Whisked over rock and rubble,
Carried by unseen arms,
Pressed on
By force of a Holy Will.
Cascades’ roar arousing fear,
Bewilderment,
Mingled vigor,
Hope rises to the surface
And churns the deep.
Fate creates a splash
And a rivulet of escape,
An instant of choice,
Puddle or precipice?
I hang upon a prayer,
Borne aloft in new fall,
Truly free fall,
Onto the rushing stream,
And weeping humanity prevails.
One drop,
Now millions,
Energy,
Direction,
Momentum,
Kinetic kaleidoscope,
Mirroring Divine power.
The tide of many waters,
Convergence,
At the edge,
And then the fall,
Not like the first,
In free abandonment.
One drop,
Transformed by divine law,
Holy Obedience.
Tumultuous streams
Carve the land without,
And all within.
Fertile flood of holy tears,
Serve now His Plan,
A drop in the ocean of God.
Copyright 2014 Joann Nelander
,
Joann Nelander
lionessblog.com
I adore.
You, my God, present Yourself to me,
As Mother to a nursing child,
And I nurse at Your Abundant Breast.
Your milk is sweet as honey,
And all I want to do is nurse.
I have chosen the better part,
And You spend Yourself upon my want.
God, You, Who calls forth Life,
And then feeds and sustains the needy,
With endless Love,
Succor and suckle me.
© 2016 Joann Nelander
“For thus says the LORD:
I will spread prosperity over her like a river,
like an overflowing torrent,
the wealth of nations.
You shall nurse, carried in her arms,
cradled upon her knees;
As a mother comforts her child,
so I will comfort you;
in Jerusalem you shall find your comfort.”
Is: 66: 12 – 13
My Jesus, I wait in humble expectation,
For the fulfillment of Your desires for me.
The Father wills,
That You be all in all in me
What will I look like,
When You fully reign in my heart?
How have I distorted Your Image?
How do I hold You at bay?
The most beautiful monstrance,
Without You at its center, is empty.
Shine out of me.
Be the heart of me.
Be Lord of this manor.
Be heart, hearth and home.
Draw the world to Your Table.
Feed the world with your Holy Bread.
Flesh and Blood, You,
Penetrate the Gift of Life.
With ever new hope in me,
You wait to fulfill all You Promise.
You are my Sweet Salvation
Given as unmerited and undeserved gift.
Believing and bowing low,
I am lifted!
Touching the hem of Your garment
My faith finds Your favor.
Holiness of the forgiven sinner,
Live the fullness of Your Life in me.
© 2016 Joann Nelander
It seems…
I am always talking to You,
That I am always with You,
And have no doubt
You are with me,
Listening and silent.
I am an endless monologue.
You, hovering Spirit,
Wordlessly eloquent
Abide.
You are Presence and Truth,
Listening and silent,
Thunderously silent,
Save for the stirring of my heart,
And the sometime rush of thought,
Coming, as it were,
From the bowels of my being
With frightening conviction,
And challenging my reticence
To speak aloud
The thoughts of solitude.
Reluctant always
To go about,
And leave the cloister of my heart,
Where in Your chambers I find,
And hold dear,
Private audience with the King,
The world without is a noisy charade,
And woos the pride of me take center stage.
Where suddenly I realize
I have been talking much, too much,
To my regret.
I, naggingly, suspect
I have diminished
What was my treasure
And ceased to learn.
Cacophany of me,
I cease to learn,
And simply rearrange,
That with which I am familiar.
Where do prophet, poet and a would be recluse
Find voice if not in You,
Rejecting even audience
To find You in my silence,
Your silence?
©2012 Joann Nelander
All rights reserved
Though I perceive myself without You,
I could not reach for You, as I do,
But for You.
Therefore You are with me,
In my waiting,
In my hoping,
In my believing.
Never alone in my great wanting,
Satisfied in my enduring,
Tomorrow felt in my longing,
Smiling with every tear.
I am of high and holy cheer,
Believing You are near,
Certain You are darkly here.
©2016 Joann Nelander.
Be Holy! 