GOD CALLS “GO-BETWEENS”

Christmas 1997

Lord, hear our prayer and fill the air with warnings that abound,
We sing with mirth of Christian birth that few of us have really found,
For high school students carry guns and mow their classmates down,
And dope and drink, and sex perversion, all still stay around.

“Media Madams”, matching mates in talk-shows all across our land
Make it difficult for youth to really take a Christian stand.
Holy days are days for work; the same as others of the week,
Or “week-enders” all go berserk; they fun or fortune seem to seek.

Our President, and Congress too, are often called into account;
Their moral measure in review, as lack of trust still seems to mount.
Our churches seem to sit enthralled, as God’s salvation they unfold,
But sitting is our problem; we do not walk as saints of old.

Where Christmas bells ring long and loud, as wise men kneel before The Child.
The “Light” we see comes through a cloud! Worship Christ - and still run wild??
Yes, “Mission” is the call we need; to people starving, homeless, lost;
But Christian flags must be unfurled in THIS GREAT LAND, whate’er the cost.

The church again must come around to telling forth THAT GREAT GOOD NEWS
In such a way that Christ is found, thus making LOVE what all men choose.
Love of God, and love of others, in church, and home, and on the street;
Tightly bonding, as all were brothers, a bond that does not know retreat.

We cannot focus on mistakes, or wrongs, or sins, or faulty choice;
But make the choice the Master makes; He loves until we hear his voice.
Then we know what we must do in times of toil and dark despair,
For as to all, we “ring quite true” they’ll know the Master is right there.

No more costly gift to give; it will cost us all we are,
As we help all people live, by following that Christmas Star.
The actual gift is His to give, and we but props within the scene;
No greater gift can I receive than to be His “go-between”.

JESUS

January 23, 1997

He speaks with the voice of an angel,
His words flow forth from fountains of love;
No brassy tinkling of a cymbal,
But truths imparted from above.

He has the gift of prophecy,
Understanding mystery and knowledge;
Through faith He can remove the mountains
Though He never attended a college.

He gave his goods to the poor,
His body He hung on a cross,
And in faith that is constant and sure,
He counts not the giving a loss.

His love suffers long and is kind,
No envy or boasting are known;
His behavior always so seemly
As He lives in behalf of his own.

His anger is justly evoked
When injustice raises its head,
But that anger is quickly revoked
When truth wins out, injustice dead.

His love bears up in everything,
His belief unending and sure,
And in hope we continue to sing,
As long as His love shall endure.

CHRISTMAS, NINETY-SIX

Christmas 1996

November was balmy all the way!
The Sun Flower State was a pleasure to all;
December has something else to say:
"You Kansas Kids are through with this fall!"

Frosty The Snow Man came blowing his breath;
Not with steam, but showers of snow.
All green plants just curled up in death
As the weather man said, "It's down to zero."

But Dorothy and Oj got in jump suits,
And did the chores with spirits bold;
For farmers don’t stay out of their boots
Simply because the weather is cold.

Down at the barn there was a great clatter:
Cattle were lowing and asking for grain;
Chickens were singing and cackling their chatter
And sheep joined in the Christmas refrain.

Inside with rabbits the heater kicked on
As Dorothy opened the rabbitry door.
In spite of the fact that fall was gone,
The rabbits that night had become a few more.

So goes it this Christmas on the old Lewis Place;
We’re "hale and hearty" and seldom "outta snuff";
If you need to relax and slow up your pace,
Just come on by and do some Lewis stuff.

KANSAS LOVE AT CHRISTMAS

Christmas 1995

Here we are at Christmas time
To bring you one more Christmas rhyme
We have not many thought-out views,
So let us share some family news.

Glenda nurses 1200 students,
Jerry fosters Marion prudence,
Zack holds forth at ol’ K.U.
While Coby studies in ol’ Missou.

So Anthony has all Pfeifer Place
To study, play and interlace
The family schedules with his own,
Which sometimes makes his parents moan!!

Terry is a major player
Both with Sydney and with Bayer.
Kristy works in child day care,
So Sydney knows that Mom’s right there.

Judy's Tiny Little Tours flies summer, winter, spring and fall,
And in between she gives her all to a Church we call St. Paul,
Andy Masters in Education Administration at the first of 97,
And then comes home, which for us all will be a great big chunk of heaven.

Ernie gathers soy beans, and does some flying in between.
Donnis subs in Bastrop school and teaches kids the Golden Rule.
George works hard for Uncle Sam while Allie aces a grade grand slam
At nursing school in Tennessee and keeps two sons as they should be.

Beth is also off at college, winning friends, pursuing knowledge,
And Loyola knows she is there ‘cause she fits in everywhere.
But great grands is our biggest boast, so it’s to them we make a toast.
Kieran and Killen Sherwood and Sydney Renee Gates.

Half a hundred and four more years,
Lots of laughs, and some few tears,
Ups and downs along the way,
But to sum it up, here’s what I say.
How could one couple be so lucky
As Mom and I?

GOD SPEAKS THROUGH LITTLE LAMBS

Christmas 1994

3:00 A.M. in 94:
A muffin and a glass of milk;
Warm coat on, and out the door.
Colostrums, as soft as silk,
Will feed the lambs too weak to nurse;
They need this milk to make them strong;
But how will God now reimburse
The shepherd tired, who walks along?

The night is clean and cold and white;
My snow-kissed lips conjure a song;
And hark, I hear it through the night;
A tiny bleat! - I walk along.
A little lamb voice soft and low,
Can preach more clearly than I can,
That God sends lambs to earth to show,
“His lambs, like He, can feed a man.”

No wonder that the Lamb of God,
Which Wise Men sought so long ago,
Seeing still, that we’re not shod
With grace and peace and hearts aglow,
Comes calling in our world’s dark night.
Like shepherds climbing out of bed,
He purges sin; he makes things right;
The Shepherd sees God’s lambs are fed.

HOME AT LAST

December 15, 1993

Now listen up and let us tell
Of Christmas joy in 93:
Andy's home, and doing well,
From two long years across the sea.
Kristy’ s home, and so darn cute,
Working hard at Cards 'N' More,
But work’s not all ; there’s more to boot ;
She’s in charge at that big store

Three great years in Germany,
With friends and family coming often,
Gives “International Eyes to See”,
Love for all, and hearts that soften;
But being home with our two kids,
All safe and sound at Christmas time,
Wraps up God’s gifts with fancy lids
That say, “Enjoy this Christmas Rhyme”.

WATCH OUT FOR BLONDES

September 2, 1993

On the way to Tulsa, in a tiny little town,
By chance I saw my fuel had run low,
And so I slowed our Escort and began to look around,
Until I saw a Quick Stop, which seemed the place to go.

Other cars had stooped there too, and some with little care;
In front of me a Cadillac had left slight room for me to park,
But edging in just all I could, I came at last to where
Unleaded gas could be pumped like threading needles in the dark.

Alas, across the pump supreme there stood a gorgeous blonde.
She smiled and said, "Hello" just as my tank was full;
And then, as though with magic wand
Presided o’er the stunt I’d pull.

“Oh “ she laughed, “you’ve stopped my pump ",
And strode away to tell the clerk,
“I need a refund, for this chump
Put his nozzle in my pump - what a jerk!”

And so, my Friends, this lesson I have learned:
"Nothing makes an old man feel completely like a chump
So much as when his head is turned,
And finds his nozzle in the wrong pump.

MASTER SEAMAN

Date Unknown

Like disciples on the sea of ancient Galilee,
My Master on the shore, my hands upon the oar,
I was sure that I could row through any winds that ever blow,
So, with no thought about the tide, I set out for the other side.

But then life’s winds began to blow;
From whence they came I do not know,
Except that they began in me,
Obscuring all that I could see.

The wind of pride became my "Bride";
She broke my every humble bone;
She gently sighed, as she lied,
Saying life’s in what we own.

Just plain greed in every deed
Became my prideful rule, my lead;
It never case to me at all
That pride ‘does go before a fall’.

I would be great - self elevate
If I could man this tossing sea!
Through this desire I’d hesitate
To take the help God offered me.

But tempest tossed when all seemed lost;
The Christ who saves walked on my waves!
He calmed my sea; He set me free;
And let me see who I should he.

TO A FAMILY MAN

March 1, 1993

What’s this I hear, spread far and near,
A boon to every winning coach.
The team won’t fear; she’s here to cheer,
Her name: Christin Nicole DeLoach.

I knew her Dad, when just a lad;
Among young friends, the best I had;
And by the news I’ve had from him,
He must have wed a perfect ‘GEM’.

So this team trained by this great pair,
Will stand out strong, and be quite rare;
Great strength in spirit, body, mind;
Their goals set high, to serve mankind.

The kind of folk our God must love
As He looks down from ‘UP ABOVE’
Upon a world, where by His Son,
This kind of work was first begun.

UNAWARE OF BROKEN DREAMS

February 26, 1993

Of all the gifts that love can bring
Few exceed the wedding ring;
The circle means eternal life,
And so it means to man and wife.

It seals a dream at last come true
When wed to one and one to you;
A dream that builds our castles tall,
And never sees love's’s flaws at all.

The sunshine comes, but also rain;
There is such bliss, but also pain;
It seems at times that we endure
Just because our love is pure.

But surely all love is not so,
For many rings just come and go!
Good marriages are really few;
Divorce breaks one of every two.

Two broken hearts; a shattered plan;
A quarrel-worn wife; a beaten man;
And often children shedding tears
From burdens far beyond their years.

Excluded where they used to share
Because their 'EX' just night be there.
Days and nights in loneliness;
Their dwelling’s haunt is homelessness.

What has the church to say to this?
Can She in conscience just dismiss
The clarion call to comfort these?
Their souls lift up? Their pain appease?

Car She not be a circle too
Where love is given to all those who
Abandoned by the dream they’d built
Lie pleading on their cot of guilt?

Yes, love is loving like our Lord,
And so the Church can ill afford
To act as though she sometimes seems -
UNAWARE OF BROKEN DREAMS!