Love Divine

 ~ Love Divine ~

Christ

Heir of Godde

Word of Godde

Promised Messiah

Only Begotten Child of Godde

Very Godde of Very Godde

there from the beginning

without whom nothing

was created that is

Christ

Godde’s Word made flesh

Begotten not made

One with Godde

Voice of Godde

Divine Love in human form

Godde’s long reach

to guide us home

Thanks be to Godde

JoMae

4/24/23

Winter Solstice

Winter Sunset - Photo by Emelia Spoelhof

~ Winter Solstice ~

Beyond the window skies are overcast

within the heart as well. Grey hovers

over Christmas with unseen clouds

of melancholy tempering one’s joy

Between - inside the room, a smile beams

if anyone should ask - we’re doing well

- a mask worn like a decorated cast

to hold one’s self together

It’s December, for some a month of loss

yet the season of expectation to be

joyful in spite of multi-level angst

pandemic pain, new mourning

Yet when the sun’s warm glow

creeps past cloudy edges amid

 cheerful bursts of Christmas tunes

smothered joy breaks through anew!

~ Messiah Mystery ~

Trusted Light of Hope

JoMae

12/22/20

Celebrate the Birth

 ~ Celebrate The Birth! ~

Celebrate Christ’s birth with thanksgiving and praise

Celebrate Christ’s life through imitation in our own

Celebrate Christ’s death by giving of ourselves

Celebrate Christ’s resurrection in our living

Celebrate the gift — Godde’s whole gift 

Let us celebrate with our whole being, our 

joyful rebirth of spirit in a life of gratitude

passing on Christ’s loving, respectful

attitude of mercy and justice to all

especially  those  mistreated

or in other ways in need

Celebrate salvation

thankfully, with joy

knowing we are

saved to serve

to be Christ’s

earthly care

- reborn for

purpose,

guided

loved

held

beloved by our Creator,

our holy birther, Godde

~ Celebrate the Savior’s Birth ~

find in this gift divine

your own anew

JoMae

12/19/20

Advent is Remembering

 ~ Advent is Remembering ~

advent remembers the gift -

Godde wrapped in mortal flesh

born an infant as are we, yet 

grown to mentor us - to teach how

we should live, behave, to honor

and obey our beloved creator

advent is remembering to

always love as Jesus modeled

- with mercy, justice, dignity

and respect for all

JoMae

12/16/20

Presents

~ Presents ~

Savour the Savior

embrace the gift

whose life brought

heaven to earth

whose Presence turns

deep sadness into joy

as surely as a seed will die

in bringing forth a flower

<><><><><><><>

The meaning of Christmas is embedded in Easter

and in life lessons demonstrated by Christ

Jesus taught with words,

with action and with attitude

showing love, respect and mercy

modeling dignity and justice for all

JoMae

12/24/14

10/23/20

Wishing you some quiet moments between the unwrapping of presents and the laughter of celebrating, to ponder Christ's Presence. And give thanks. -JoMae

Christmas Presence

CHRISTMAS

PRESENCE

May the

gift

of

Christ's

Presence

be

Present

Within

You

Always

JoMae

12/07

This small greeting was first created as a handmade book mark on parchment backed by firm colored paper.

Nest of a Nation

~ A Nest for all Nations ~

Newborn Jesus, swaddled and placed in a manger

within the nest so painstakingly prepared through

many generations - designed and protected by

Godde’s own self to receive the promised

Messiah, a long awaited Savior for all

human kind, come to model for us

the way of salvation, the way

back to the arms of our

maker, our divine

FatherMother

Godde

Jesus Christ
Incarnate Word

Hope to all the World

Holy Heir,   Holy Godde

born into a world woven of

human Hebrew fathers - and

of mothers who added blood of

many nations to the incarnation

Hebrew wombs,   Gentile wombs

’til in the fullness of time is born a

Savior - Good News for all people

<><><><><>

Godde’s grand design  and blessing

nurtured within a Jewish nest,  yet 

offering salvation to every nation
as the days were accomplished
for birthing the Christ Child
Immanuel, Godde's Holy
Presence ever with us

JoMae

12/22/18

Ephesians 3:2-13 (re Gentiles and Jews)

This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise of Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 3:6

Romans 8:1-17  (re heirs both male and female - not only sons)  Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. . . .  Romans 8:17

Acts 6 & 7 (re Stephan's message before being stoned)

(Nest Image by llh from Pixabay)

Bread Upon The Waters

~ Bread upon the Waters ~

As you cast your bread upon life’s river every day

Do you wonder who retrieves it and is nourished?

Where the morsels, swollen by the water catch?

Where your words find rest and like a buried

seed transform to sprout new thoughts to

grow new life, adapt a new expression

serve as a crutch to form another’s

prayer?

Thank You

JoMae

12/20/19

Thanks and a Happy New Year to all whose writings have enriched my life this year. You’ve helped me think and pray and grow - and sometimes have prompted a few words of my own. Blessings!

John's Advent Calendar

John's Advent Calendar

~ Christmas Eve Remembered ~

How many nights, the children tucked

I’d relax with my book and the music

while John slipped down to his shop

still finishing a treasured gift

I’d mute the radio, preferring to hear

him whistling to the carols as he worked

love wafting up - a sweet aroma 

all mixed with paint and sawdust

Finally he’d appear, join me on the couch

grinning ear to ear - pleased with success

confident the paint would dry by morning

ready for a glass of eggnog and a hug

I wish I had photos of all those toy soldiers,

forts and games he produced! Most now 

disbursed to new families that came along

keepsakes for grandchildren

JoMae
12/16/19

John's Advent Calendar Open

These were made for the grandchildren.  Each box to hold a treat and then be returned to its place in reverse.  The final effect revealing a picture of the whole family taken at a reunion. 

Advent Joy

Joy Stamp Reflected

John enjoyed creating cards with hand carved linoleum cuts.
This greeting read, "May your joy be complete" reflecting
Jesus' words found in John 15 (vs11) and 16 (vs 24)

(Of course the stamp is carved in the negative, so
the photo above is a reflection in the mirror.)

John's linoleum cut stamp for greeting:
May your Joy be Complete

~ Advent ~

Advent offers time to thankfully reflect on a

gift given so many years ago yet with us daily

and on the endless echoes of that gift exchanged

throughout the year: human kindness reflecting

Godde’s Love

JoMae

12/2/19

John's Tree

~ John’s String Tree ~

for years it was a string tree he had designed

and painstakingly rebuilt every December
then carefully stored away until the next

later, when age no more allowed the reach

atop the pole, came a huge three part bargain

decorated, yet too unwieldy to assemble at eighty

<><><><><><><>

the building of the tree

was often agony for me

the reason for my angst:

the stringing of the tree!

that old beloved tree, created in youth

of a tall bamboo pole, pegboard strips

screwed into a circle and Aunt Lydia’s

rug yarn (always patiently rewound

into a big green ball) was a bear

to put together every year

it was a puzzle to decipher worn instruction

 notes, frustration if a crucial peg were missing

or some gadget didn’t fit the way it should, while

five excited children sought to help - so eager
for the finished product they remembered

which was

a festive tree to grace our living room each

Christmas - sometimes with a train around it

always with the paper angels wafting to and fro

as if dancing to the music of the shepherd’s pipes

waiting above a growing pile of tantalizing parcels

JoMae

12/14/19

HaHa - I daydream a lot. And some dreams morph into a memory to keep.  JmkS

Remembering The Women

~ A GENEALOGY OF JESUS CHRIST ~

A genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of Miriam, the daughter of Anna:

Sarah was the mother of Isaac,

And Rebekah was the mother of Jacob,

Leah was the mother of Judah,

Tamar was the mother of Perez.

The names of the mothers of Hezron, Ram, Amminadab, 
     Nahshon and Salmon have been lost.

Rahab was the mother of Boaz,

     and Ruth was the mother of Obed.

Obed’s wife, whose name is unknown, bore Jesse.

The wife of Jesse was the mother of David.

Bathsheba was the mother of Solomon,

Naamah, the Ammonite, was the mother of Rehoboam.

Maacah was the mother of Abijam and the grandmother of Asa.

Azubah was the mother of Jehoshaphat.

The name of Jehoram’s mother is unknown.

Athaliah was the mother of Ahaziah,

Zibiah of Beersheba, the mother of Joash.

Jecoliah of Jerusalem bore Uzziah,

Jerusha bore Jotham; Ahaz’s mother is unknown.

Abi was the mother of Hezekiah,

Hephzibah was the mother of Manasseh,

Meshullemeth was the mother of Amon,

Jedidah was the mother of Josiah.

Zebidah was the mother of Jehoiakim,

     Nehushta was the mother of Jehoiachin,

Hamutal was the mother of Zedekiah.

The the deportation to Babylon took place.

After the deportation to Babylon

the names of the mothers go unrecorded.

These are their sons:

Jechoniah, Shealtiel, Zerubbabel,

Abiud, Eliakim, Azor and Zadok,

Achim, Eliud, Eleazar,

Matthew, Jacob and Joseph, the husband of Miriam.

Of her was born Jesus who is called Christ.

The sum of generations is therefore: fourteen from Sarah to David’s mother;

     fourteen from Bathshebba to the Babylonian deportation;

     and fourteen from the Babylonian deportation 

          to Miriam, the mother of Christ.

-Genealogy compiled by Ann Patrick Ware

This genealogy tracing Jesus’ great grandmothers was taken from Remembering the Women, a book of scripture readings that include women, compiled by J. Frank Henderson. ““A Genealogy  of Jesus Christ” was compiled by Ann Patrick Ware of the Women’s Liturgy Group of New York, who has graciously put this text in the public domain for all to use.” 

---------

During Advent, when many preach and reflect on the few women named in Matthew’s lineage, let’s also remember the many other mothers, both named and unnamed, both Hebrew and not, who were great grandmothers of Jesus. There are precious lessons to ponder here as well. Remembered here, of course, are mothers in Christ's paternal line. Mothers of the mothers are not recorded. -JoMae

May It Be Unto Me

~ May It Be Unto Me ~

Mary’s acceptance of the Angel’s pronouncement

of a circumstance beyond her control becomes

an example stretching beyond her own story

burrowing deep into individual experience.

Her life divided sharply with those words

her days will be forever split between

before and after. No going back.

There is no going back.

With only memories of the past

her sole vista now is forward

stumbling, pondering the

heart pounding news

she looks ahead.

Who was this messenger, this Gabriel?

Did Mary think of Sarai and of

Samson’s Mom, whose

angelic messengers

turned out to be

God’s Self?

Soon going to Elizabeth

she begins a journey

that will bring her

through the fear

and pain of

childbirth

and to the joy!

Young Mary sheds her blood to 

 bring new life into the world.

New hope.Then continues

on her journey mothering

her little one through to

the pride of who he’s

grown to be (“what

he says, do it”!)

and on to her

bitter grief,

the cross

<><><><><><><>

All are not called to shed our blood

but most will one day face worlds

beyond our own control - lives

changed even unto death.

Let Mary’s words remind us to accept,

to trust our selves, the future - and

most of all the ONE holding our

future cradled in holy hands

Almighty Godde

FatherMother

El Shaddai

Please mold us, grant us wisdom

that we too may accept all

that has been given

or taken away

with grace

JoMae

3/14/18

Luke 1:26

Gen 18:13

Judges 13:20-22

John 2:5
During the past two years, since the death of John, my husband and soul mate for 57 years, much of my work has been focused on learning about loss and how to accept it.  As I pondered and reflected, I came to see Mary’s acceptance to be a model for myself and all who journey through the joys and sorrows of life, praying for and finding the grace to move on.

Melancholy Christmas

Christmas
Mourning
~

If

grief

empties 

your season

remember this: 

suffering at Christmas

serves also to remind us that 

in time, renewal follows devastation

healing happens

spring comes

new growth

New You

JoMae

12/23/17

Facing the Darkness

Facing the Darkness

On a bleak and melancholy winter day

gloomy dark and icy cold outside 

feeling fragile, weary - missing John

I pick up Ann Weems’ Kneeling in Bethlehem

and am reminded once again to 

face the darkness

Not to run and hide but turn and

grapple with blind emptiness, for 

in the shadows one can better

See the Light

JoMae
12/20/17

-------------

Christ Jesus

Light of the World

Light of the Word

Word of Light in

A world so dark

JoMae
12/20/17

Christmas

Remembering folks the world over who are suffering this Christmas. These thoughts came while reading Leanne Friesen's The Grieving Woman and the Christmas Story - The Junia Project this afternoon.  

John's Beautiful String Tree

Christmas

We sing the joy of Christmas

sing with over flowing hearts

while others echo somber telling

of worlds in pain and ripped apart

The other side of Christmas

where a promise goes unfilled

where children starve, parents die

and life's a bleak cold winter chill

Even that first Christmas era as

the world was blessed with Christ

 many parents grieved sore losses

of their murdered baby boys

Please be present with us, Jesus

also amid life’s deepest pain, so we 

may heal; move through the darkness

renewed to find your joy again

JoMae

12/22/17