{Lately martyrdom has been on my mind. Stay tuned on my blog to find out why. But then I caught a stomach bug and was quite miserable. The next day I listened to a sermon by Eric Ludy called "Extraordinary Courage" ... which really stepped on my toes. My thoughts, Mr. Ludy's, and some of Richard Baxter's are included in this prayer}

‘Tis so easy to romanticize
The notion of martyrdom.
The longing inside with the prayer
"Thy kingdom come.”

‘Tis so noble to want to die
For His glorious name,
Yet when the pain comes

**It took me ages. I know. Hopefully you'll like it enough to forgive me for making you wait so long...**

fog,

drifting,

ghost like

shadows, dark but alluring

meeting the sky.

I'm asleep in reality

not awake in a dream,

almost serene 

but aching.

silent weight

encompassing my hearts throng

turning it low and melodious.

I wish someone would sing along

to the forgotten bars 

of my song.

low,

deep,

sweet.

my heart beats

melting

with the orange glow; 

orange fading.

my hearts song, my life strains

the pounding quietly resounds.

Tighearnán couldn't understand it. The creature had only bitten him, and the wound was shallow. But as they struggled the last half-mile up the slope to home, Tighearnán was feeling more and more ill. Though it was a warm day, the breeze felt like ice where it touched Tighearnán's skin. The bite was bandaged tightly in a strip of wool torn from his own tunic, but it refused to stop bleeding and throbbed agonizingly with every step forward.

Dan was fighting bravely, but he was slowly wearing out. His larger adversary took advantage of this and drove Dan back to the edge of the cliff. Dan glanced around and saw Emily. She was standng against a wall. Her foe raised his sword and brought it down at her. Then his view was blocked and he heard her cry out. The sound rang through his mind. His shoulders slumped and his head bowed.

"Go ahead and kill me," he said, "I don't care anymore."

 The sun on tired brick is grace,

displacing last night's shadows with a mercy

newer than the morning that awakes

the birds in my back alley; they go baptizing

in the puddle on the garage roof,

rippling the water caught from a summer storm,

warmed by the sun, the smile

of a God who won't let the sparrows fall.

four arrows
pointing to
the direction of grace
the way of truth

as a compass

black lines
spinning
the letters smeared
it fills with your tears

you are

becoming lost
becoming rash
losing purity
living your past

look to

Him who saves
with black around
the sky
He conquered your lies

glorious

from east to west
He covered
you and your mess
for you He suffered

undone

your failure

Jacob gritted his teeth as a whip slashed across his back.

"No lagging, slave!'

He bent and pulled another rock from the pile in front of him. Straightening up, he walked as fast as he could with it to an ever-growing rock wall. He placed his stone carefully into a space in the wall and plastered it in with clay. He paused for a moment to wipe sweat from his eyes, and was rewarded by another whip slash on his back.

"No stoppin'! Back to work!"

the same place, a different scene
the same place, a different me
an older me

the same trees, a little taller
the same trees, different leaves
a newborn green

the same stones, a little smoother
the same stones, different tones
worn down, turned over

the same sky, different clouds
the same sky, different sounds
chase the pictures out

the same sun, the same shadows
the same shadows, different patterns
woven on the gravel

the same grass, the same color