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Out with the crappy,
the silly, the dumb,
Out with what leaves us
so distrait and numb.
In with the clearer,
the focused, the real,
In with our opting
to be and to feel.
Here's to less TV,
less chatter, less noise,
Here's to far fewer
distractions and toys.
Here's to more silence
and sweet solitude,
Here's to a new year
with spirit imbued.
Text and image © 2013 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.
Candles burn.
Baby cries.
Hearts return.
Mother sighs.
Church bells chime.
Love arrives.
Carols rhyme.
Sadness dies.
Snow flakes fly.
Devils fear.
Hope revives.
God is here.
Text and image © 2013 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.
All that stuff you've lost through the years--
Barbies and Hot Wheels,
LEGOs and barrettes,
baseballs and golf balls,
jobs and hobbies,
best friends and beloved pets,
lovers and loved ones,
innocence,
faith,
enthusiasm--
lo, he comes to find it all...
and he will.
He comes to find you...
and he has.
Text and image © 2013 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.
Today, the second day of Christmas,
is the Feast of Stephen,
the day, you may recall,
when Good King Wenceslas and his page
ventured out to help a poor man,
who was struggling to survive
the wind and cold
of a particularly nasty winter night.
When you hear or sing this carol,
with whom do you most identify?
Do you see yourself
as the sturdy and determined king,
moving with slow, singular purpose
on your mission of compassion?
Do you see yourself
as the king's loyal helper,
cold and frightened
but admiring your sovereign's strength,
trusting his guidance?
Or are you the one fighting for survival,
gathering sticks to kindle your meager fire,
never dreaming how grace approaches
even now through the blowing snow--
meat and mead and fuel--
carried by the hands of God?
Text and image © 2013 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
and ransom captive Israel,
who mourns in lonely exile here,
until the Son of God appear.
"It's cancer."
God is with us, still.
"Your services are no longer needed."
God is with us, still.
"I'm leaving you."
God is with us, still.
"Your mother and I are divorcing."
God is with us, still.
"We have to sell the house."
God is with us, still.
"He only has a few hours."
God is with us, still.
Emmanuel!
God with us,
still.
God is with us us;
be still.
Text and image © 2013 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.
O come, thou Key of David, come,
and open wide our heavenly home;
make safe the way that leads on high,
and close the path to misery.
The Key is on its way;
hold on a bit longer.
To those of us tired of shivering in the cold,
weary of guarding hearts and psyches,
so over standing on tiptoe to look in the windows,
this is welcome news.
Beyond the door
waits a warm hearth,
a laden table,
a secure, sincere embrace.
Safety.
Welcome.
Emmanuel.
Text and image © 2013 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.
O come, Desire of nations, bind
in one the hearts of humankind,
bid thou our sad divisions cease,
and be thyself our King of Peace.
The world, worn and weary,
barely able to rise from bed each morning,
tired of grieving for her children,
tired of tucking them broken beneath her drying skin,
oh, the worn and weary world
knows all desire points to just one thing,
knows she is but one mother
owned by none, belonging to all,
longs to her hot, molten heart
for this (finally!) Bringer of Peace,
would sacrifice herself
for the coming of this At-Long-Last Peaceful King.
Text and image © 2013 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.
O come, thou Dayspring from on high,
and cheer us by thy drawing nigh;
dispense the gloomy clouds of night,
and death's dark shadow put to flight.
We watch
not only through dark nights
but also dark days.
Who filled the world
with such unkindness?
Come, Burning Dawn:
see death run;
see cruelty writhe;
see injustice shrivel.
Welcome, Purging Light.
Text and image © 2013 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.
O come, thou Branch of Jesse's tree,
free them from Satan's tyranny
that trust thy mighty power to save,
and give them victory o'er the grave.
You come to free us.
Oh, and there is so much
to be freed from--
fear,
insecurity,
mistrust,
isolation,
oppression,
exclusion,
self-absorption,
arrogance,
judgment,
greed...
Come and free our locked hearts.
Come and free our shackled culture.
Come and free our bound world.
O come, O come, Emmanuel.
Text and image © 2013 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.
O come, O come, thou Lord of might,
who to thy tribes on Sinai's height,
in ancient times didst give the law,
in cloud, and majesty, and awe.
Shrouded Mystery,
Evolver of faith,
at your approach
breathing ceases;
I know only smallness.
This Christmas
what new tablets
do you bring to your people?
What ten new demands?
Thou shalt not harm...
Thou shalt not hoard...
Thou shalt not divide...
O come, O come, "God-with-Us."
Text and image © 2013 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.
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