This one goes out to my wife, Jessica
You’re a popsicle in the summer
you’re a water bottle for a runner
you’re the golden hour and the
April shower that grows the flowers in May
You’re the leafy tree that I run to for shelter
and I’m laughing too much—
you’re the words I can’t say
The invisible prism that
doubles the rainbow is you
the key to my door you’re my fire, my home
and my favourite place in this marvellous world
is just you
The days are longer, the weather is warmer, and it’s a perfect time to get outside and enjoy creation. This is also a great season to let your enjoyment draw your heart closer to the One who invented the sunshine, the growth, and everything else you see. Here are three books I’ve read and enjoyed recently that can help you focus your mind and heart on God this summer:
Continue reading Three Books To Draw Your Heart To God This SummerOne morning as my wife and I were waiting for a train at our local station, I cast my eyes over the familiar utilitarian scene with its phone-holding inhabitants and I noticed something I had never paid attention to before. On the far side of the tracks there was an unassuming yellow-plastic treasure chest. I could see a padlock on it, but the latch was in front of the lock, ready to open. On the front it had large, black letters openly declared its contents: “Grit Salt”. I realise that this may not sound like treasure to you, or interesting or surprising or exceptional at all—and that’s just the point.
Continue reading The Treasure Chest at the Train Stationlittle love-heart likes
like drops of red rain
rain upon my image
imagine the approval—
approval!
in my veins
in vain I try to keep it
it’s gone—the world moves on
on to ever newer stories
stories so sensational
sense is pushed aside
side yourself with someone
one side or the other—
other news is coming up
upward trending—multiplying
lying?
maybe, I can’t tell
tell you what I saw just now
now is moving far too fast
faster still, the flow won’t stop
stop!
or will it take us under?
understand that we will never
never find our fill
filling up on what this feed
feeds us
The problems in our world are easy to find. A quick glance at the headlines will prove that point at any time, any day. The more challenging search is for solutions that actually work, although there are always plenty of proposals. Every politician has a proven plan. Every organisation has a confident vision. Every government and charitable society invests its energy and resources into problem-solving—and yet, for all that, the problems persist, unsolved.
Continue reading The Trouble UnderneathTemptation is an enemy that greets you like a close friend. It always wears a warm smile, always knows what to say, and always laughs with that mischievous “won’t this be fun?” twinkle in the eye—until you give in. After that, the spark of excitement begins to fade, chilled by the steadily encroaching cold of condemnation until it freezes hard into an icy, straightforward demand: Feed me. And again, this time shouting,
FEED ME.
NOW!
Continue reading The Best Way To Resist TemptationWhat is a petal,
and how would you make it?
What alchemic mixes
would help you create it?
The basic ingredients
everyone knows—some
soil and sunshine and
air—then it grows
But how?
The microscope cannot define
the grand and mysterious
secret of life
We see it
observe it
and live it ourselves
we plant it
and grow it
and store it on shelves
But where did it come from
and why does it bloom
with a spring resurrection
on winter’s old tomb?
A petal’s a beauty you
cannot invent—
a wonder, an omen,
an Artist’s intent
The ad popped up and promised to help me become an interesting person at parties. Should I be offended at what my algorithm is implying?
It told me the best way for me to stop being boring is to use an app that summarises the main ideas of popular books. With a tool like this, I could get all the key talking points quickly and efficiently, and always sound thoughtful and informed. Would people be impressed? Perhaps. But I’m not going to buy the app. I think the ad made at least three major assumptions about becoming an interesting person that are just plain wrong (besides the assumption that I’m obviously boring at parties, which I hope is also false).
Continue reading Becoming an Interesting Person“God, please give me a sign”, I said quietly, as I stepped outside.
I was in the middle of a confusing situation. I didn’t know what to do, or how. I couldn’t see how anything could work out well. I wanted to know that God was near, and involved. I wanted to see a display of his care, and power. I’m not sure what kind of sign I was looking for, exactly—a sudden bolt of lightning out of a clear blue sky? A rainbow ending at my house? A rare bird landing on my shoulder?
Continue reading Searching for a SignIf you can take one seed
and grow a mighty tree
Lord, will the world see you,
if I am growing, too?
If you can use five loaves
to feed five thousand souls
I wonder what you’ll do
with the crumbs I offer you?
sethlewis.ie 