Highfields Church of Christ

A Welcoming Place

Poems

Not Again

· ·

The following is a poetic prayer of pain & grief to God after hearing about the Mass Shooting in Uvalde, Texas, USA at Robb Elementary School. My prayers, thoughts, condolences go to all the families hurt in this tragedy. Hopefully one day in the near future real change will happen so we never repeat the phrase ‘not again’.

Not Again……

I scroll to discover another mass shooting in my home country.

19 kids under 11 killed for no reason…

2 adults trying to protect them…..

A President gives a far too familiar heart felt speech…

Promising change and a stand against the NRA.

Does this mean a rejection of all the pro-gun lobby groups?

Their money funded every political official’s campaign……

Not Again….

A misconstrued commandment made when there were no automatic or semi-automatic weapons……

Before a National Military was sworn to protect the land….

Commandments were never meant to be static….

They are a living organism….

19 kids under 11 killed for no reason….

2 adults trying to protect them…

A hurt traumatised young men pulled a trigger to easily accessible…

The debate will run its course again….

Advocating both sides while….

19 kids under 11 & 2 adults are buried….

Endless debates that too often led to zero change…

Leading me to say……

Not Again……far too soon.

God help us change so we never again have to say….

Not Again.

Stuck

· ·

Have you ever felt stuck?

Where your body is unable to move,

The mind is unable to dream,

The heart is unable to hope.

Days seem to never end,

Your only escape from the Nightmare is sleep.

 Then you hear a small voice saying,

“Get up and walk with me.”

Your body begins to move,

The mind starts to dream,

The heart can hope.

Then you hear the voice again saying,

“I am here with you.”

A warmth and peace spreads starting with

Your body as it moves again,

Then your mind as it dreams,

Followed by your heart as it hopes.

The voice of Christ whispers to you again saying,

“You are my friend, and I need your help with something.”

Sin is Personal

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Sin is Personal.

We far too often forget that Sin is personal.

It is something that affects each of us different as an individual.

Sin separates us from God’s love and leaves us feeling alone.

Sin is personal.

We must take an inward journey to discover our sin.

Too often we avoid this by diagnosing the sin of others.

What if we stopped looking at others and focused on our sin?

Sin is personal.

Christ points us towards this truth by telling us to remove the log

From our own eye before getting the speck out of others.

Let us be brave and go on our inward journey addressing the sin within.

Sin is personal.

Sin stops us from showing love, grace, mercy, compassion,

And moving with God’s Spirit.

Let us be brave and address our sin as individuals, remembering that

Sin is personal.

All Around Us

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The Kingdom of God is always

Working, Moving, Breathing, and Dancing

All around us.

Help me to see this God because when I look, I see

Pain, Suffering, Distrust, Violence, and Manipulation of Power.

Help me to remember the parable of the Growing Seed found in the Gospel of Mark.

This parable allows us to see that the Kingdom of God is always

Working, Moving, Breathing, and Dancing

All around us.

You are calling for our partnership in this continued growth because

You are a God of relationship.

When I see

Pain, Suffering, Distrust, Violence, and Manipulation of Power.

You call me to partner with your Kingdom that is always

Working, Moving, Breathing, and Dancing

All around us

Even if I am unable to see it.

Like a seed that grows underground even when

We cannot see.

The Kingdom of God is always

Working, Moving, Breathing, and Dancing

All around us.

by Pastor Matt George

The Secret Embrace

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Before being born into the world of time,
The silence of pre-existence was all absorbing.

The transition from eternity to time
Is full of sufferings, fears, and little deaths.

But, in the transition from death
To eternal life,

The silence of pre-existence
Bursts into boundless joy.

All that can be manifested emerges
From the endless creativity of
That Which Is.

But

The Secret Embrace
Of
The Source of all creation
With
Infinite Transcendence
Can
Never be revealed.

—Thomas Keating

The Earth Remains

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I hear the words of the wise teacher in Ecclesiastes….

“Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.”

Really?

Or

Does our continued disconnect from God void our ability to see our shared connection to the earth?

How do we move back to connection with God and our Earth?

We have been trusted to steward our Earth, but we fight over science and

The wording….

Global Warming

Climate Change

Climate Patterns

Climate Cycles

Man Made Climate Change.

Why can’t we see our Earth is bleeding in pain and provide healing?

Forgetting the politics and arguments around wording.

Giving us FREEDOM to provide a change so the earth remains forever.

Connecting with God in a way that allows for us to see our shared humanity

AND

Our connection to the Earth rooted in our creation story.

God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.”

To subdue and rule we must provide healing to a hurting Earth.

Can we provide healing to our land or will we continue to debate who is causing the damage?

“Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.”

by Pastor Matt George

My Burden is Light

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“My burden is light.”

Rings in my head

Like a morning alarm.

How come I feel the weight

Of the world?

“My burden is light.”

Rings in my head

Like a morning alarm.

Does the lightness

Come from letting go

Of all my expectations?

The way I think life should be?

“My burden is light.”

Rings in my head

Like a morning alarm.

Knowing you are with me

In my here and now?

Willing to hold me close

No matter the smell?

“My burden is light.”

Rings in my head

Like a morning alarm.

By: Pastor Matt George

The RIGHT Place.

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The RIGHT Place

We rush from place to place.

Trying to figure out the RIGHT place.

The RIGHT place to speak

To know,

To be,

To hear,

To do,

To see.

What if in our rush we missed the RIGHT place?

The place where God waits for all.

In this place we sit at peace.

No longer rushing from place to place

Trying to find the RIGHT place,

Instead we sit in a place that is okay with the mystery.

Leaving the RIGHT place, where all the things are known, for God to dwell.

by Pastor Matt George

In Papa’s House

· ·

This gentle breeze is moving me

To sit and find a moment free

I wait a moment, take a breath

I scream your name, and the word,

“I have nothing left!”

Your voice it whispers

Like the gentle snow

“I love you more than you know”

As I listen, a butterfly passes me by

Then that voice I know so dearly

“I’m bringing change, I’ll make you grow

And you know I’ll always call you

Home”

by Kimberley George

Duck in Water

· ·

I write this to give whoever reads hope because we all feel like a Duck in Water at times. If you do not know what I mean by that, please let me explain……. What I mean by that is all of us at times feel in over our heads.

Above the water we look calm like a duck and others don’t even notice because we keep up the lie that we are okay……Below the water though our legs are kicking like crazy which is the same as a duck.  We feel in over our heads and at any moment we will be caught……

We think things like I am not smart, good, funny, or pretty enough……. soon people will find out my inability and weakness, so we do our best to look like a Duck in Water.

Do not be afraid because this is right where God wants us to be at times because in our weakness, we discover his strength. Maybe just like we know a duck is kicking like crazy underwater, people know we are feeling in over our heads…… What if part of finding that strength from God is realising, we all feel like a Duck in Water at times and that is okay……….

The water has always been transparent and in its depth, we find God.

by Pastor Matt George

The Good Shepherd

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The Good Shepherd

The Lord is my soul mate, who never loses sight of me.

He gives more than I ask, more than I can imagine.

The boundary lines He leads me to

Are pleasant, full of abundant goodness, generous provision.

Though He may lead me through places called ‘difficulty’ or ‘uncertainty’,

He is close by and leads me out into broad places of blessing again.

He strengthens my soul through this journey.

His comfort increases my trust in Him.

He gives me boldness and courage before adversity,

In the faces of all who torment me.

But I am not moved.

His goodness and mercy surround me on every side.

For all the days to come He will care for me.

I will remain together, forever with Him.

Nothing will separate me from His loving presence.

-Jennifer Woodley

Keith’s Reflection on Psalm 24

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At our Planning & Discernment Day for the beginning of 2016 we had a time of reflection around Psalm 24.  The wide range of responses that came from people in our church in this time of reflection were truly inspiring.

This is what came out of Keith’s reflection on Psalm 24:

 

Everyone is precious to God,

No matter how ugly they may seem.

For God sent His only Son,

To Allow us all to fulfil His dream.

 

The gates are open to one and all,

To enter and prepare for this precious gift,

That God has sent in His heavens to declare.

 

May our hearts be open like a gate,

Where others can see what truly awaits.

May God’s love truly shine in His church,

Where all will find ‘His Amazing Grace’.