Blonde Antithesis

A COMPILATION OF MY PHOTOGRAPHY, POEMS AND PROSE:

For a Little While…

Let me carry you for a little while…”

I hear it whispered in every gift He sends.

Still, I try - try to walk, to run, to give…

But my hands are so empty and my footing unsure.

I will fall, I know this - for I’m shaken and weak…

My hands are bruised for my trying - and still I fall.

Then, whispering…whispering softly I hear Him say,

“Why struggle so vainly…be still - be still…

Just let me carry you a little while longer.”

In my stillness I feel His power…In my weakness, He is strong.

Yet, in my stillness I travel further than I would have ever gone alone.

In His arms I am stronger than I was before…

For it is there that I am who I was created to be.

…it is there that I am truly free. -A.L.B.

…All She Knows

A candle in the wind - a flicker in the storm…still burning

but the winds rage on, and on, and on…

the candle doesn’t know she’s small - she only knows she must keep burning

while the storm blows on, and on, and on…

so the thunder rolls and the black clouds gather

and the candle dreams of calmer days

yet the clouds still gather - on, and on, and on….

but still she burns -

.for it’s all she knows.

just a little candle - just a tiny flame

so small the winds can hardly find her

so, still, she burns and flickers

(even faintly)

on, and on, and on…

she must.

.it’s all she knows. -A.L.B.

Stillness’ Whispers

Quiet day. Quiet mind. Quiet soul…

Quiet enough to embrace the gift that the quiet brings.

Quiet time.

Time to reflect. Time to dream. Time to listen. Time to breathe…

Time enough to remember and to know.

For in the stillness there’s time to gather up my courage…

for the times that make the quiet seem like a distant memory.

The stillness whispers to my soul, “Remember these times. Remember and be strong.”

These quiet times are like breath for more breathless days…

a breath that will lift me on wings of eagles -

to the place where my weariness is left behind.

So, in the quiet I will listen to the whispers…

I will listen, and I will breathe again. -A. L. B.

Safe.

Safe Place?

What is it? Where is it? Does it really exist?

Yes.

It lives, not in the grand and spectacular - but in simplistic and still.

It resides in the quiet places - the smallest streams of the soul.

It reveals itself in the whispers of mercy and care:

That whispered hug that says, “You’re safe with me.”

And when it is unearthed, I remember.

I remember and rest in the knowledge that it’s all okay.

It’s okay to just be - and to not be pretty, or graceful, or charming, or great…but just to be.

This is my safe place, my place to be - or not to be. My place to be…me. - A.L.B.

Let Me Not

Let me not be distracted by the common things
The little things that catch my eye and cause me to give a moment’s pause
Let me not linger too long in dismay over the evidences of my journey
The tell-tale signs of my struggles written on my face in deeper lines and creases
Let me not agonize over the fading of youth and beauty
But only ask what You see in the creases and the lines
Let me not gather the ashes of my yesterdays
In wishing for things discarded by Your hand
Let me not collect my scars like keepsakes held in pretty jars
To be admired and cherished for my own sake
Let me not be distracted by the common things
Let me not linger, agonize, gather, collect

Unless it is to:
Linger at Your feet
Agonize over another’s soul
Gather the evidences of Your grace
Collect the memories of Your blessings
In these I will glory and dwell
And from them, let me never wander too far. -A.L.B.

Grace

The only ugliness in this world is the utter absence of grace - for this is the absence of God…He dwells in the soul of grace, and from Him all beauty originates and grows.

To deny another grace, is to deny them the touch of God, and to deny His presence in our souls…in the very essence of who we are.

Absent of grace, we are bankrupt and devoid of the Image in which we were created. To deny grace is to deny our Creator and to deny His creation of His joy and promise.

May we embrace grace, and become a part of the very heart of God. -A.L.B.

Let Us Run!

How does He want us to live?
Like uninspired followers of an ordinary way?
Like unforgiving zealots of a target never reached?
Like selfish children fighting to be “teacher’s pet”?
Like bullies or like priests?
How should we live to represent Him well?

Should we not live like we are:
Seasoned runners with our eyes fixed on Jesus as our only prize…
One grace-blessed beggar sharing newly found bread with another…
Forgiven ones who see others as:
The future joy of heaven
The lost lamb for whom He has searched
His most treasured creation and expression of love
The reason for His life, His ministry, His death…

How does He want us to live?
He wants us to love abundantly, give unsparingly, pray unceasingly.
He wants us to give, to dance, and to sing - all in His name…
He wants us to run…like there’s no tomorrow…run like everything depends on the passing of the baton…run with our head back and eyes focused on the prize.

We must live, love, give, and run…and the “great cloud of witnesses” is always there cheering us on.

Because the face of heaven will be determined by how well we run, how much we give, how often we tell…
For how will they hear if we do not tell them, and how will they know if we don’t show the way…

How does He want us to live?
Our human minds cannot fathom the depths of His desires for us, but it is not for us to waste much time in contemplation, but rather to:

Go, do, love, give, dance, sing, rejoice, weep, comfort, forgive, embrace, and…RUN.

For tomorrow could very well find us on the other side with no more miles to give to the journey. And then we will have only what we made of today to offer at His feet.

So, let us make the most of the miles, and add one more to heaven’s number.
While there’s still time, let us run! - A. L. B.

Heaven Will Know

Tonight, I am thinking about sacrifice, grace, and real love.

These things are the arms, legs, hands, feet, and heart of the movement of God.

These things can change the world by making room at the table of grace for everyone.

These things can offer hope to the hopeless and suffering.

These things can take the hand of the desperate and dying and lead them to the open arms of a good and gracious God.

These things can change the face of heaven, as one more soul realizes how much they are loved.

Every tear shed for another’s eternity can water the ground upon which hope may grow.

Every heart that breaks for a stranger’s suffering is seen and mended by the ultimate Healer.

Every sacrifice made in the name of Jesus will return again in immeasurable joy.

This is the heartbeat of God…and it must be our mission - no matter the cost.

The Church of the Living God must be the hands and feet of His grace, and break out of our apathy -

This lazy religion that says we are only interested in the soul of a man and not also his blindness, lameness, or grief…

How much more open is the heart of the one who is no longer hungry, hurting, desperate or cold?

If we can turn a deaf ear to the cries of:

The little child being abused.

The mother desperate to feed her children.

The addict abandoned to the demons of his mind.

The religious who has blinded himself to the truth of God.

If we do not hear them, how will they hear us?

Love demands more: sacrifice, pain, even heartbreak to pave the path of peace.

Heaven can look different for our tears, or we can just tell ourselves that one more soul won’t matter…

The choice is ours. God made His choice when He sacrificed His most prized possession for us…for them.

What will we do with His choice, His sacrifice and His love?

How much are we willing to endure?

What is one life really worth?

Can a small group of committed people really change the world? They did two thousand years ago.

I guess it just depends on how committed we really are.

The world around us will know…heaven will know. - A. L. B.

The Eve of Tomorrow

On the eve of tomorrow, I will live for today

Trading the sorrows I bore yesterday.

On the ledge of forever, forgetting the fear

I will cast off each burden I’ve collected this year.

In the twilight of what has been, I’ll see what could be

As I step on to the promise that’s waiting for me.

On the eve of tomorrow, I know only too well

That the pathway to Heaven often leads close to Hell,

And each step toward the future may seem further from home

But with constant reminders that I’m never alone.

So tonight as the sun sets and fades on away,

I will choose to remember the things that will stay-

The cherished and unbroken, the tried and the true

The love that has changed me and carried me through.

For tomorrow is calling and it must be embraced

So I have to keep running and finish this race.

When the sun rises tomorrow, may I not be found here -

Staring back at the ashes and still gathering tears

Rather, may I be changing and moving - as day follows day

Living out in tomorrow lessons learned yesterday.

Tomorrow’s eve is upon us - a chapter closing once more

Let the past go it’s own way, for the dawn’s at the door!

So goodbye to the days gone - goodbye and farewell

All the lessons you’ve taught me…well, tomorrow will tell. - A.L.B.