He sees all…

Every moment,

       major and minor

            a mother’s sigh

            a dimpled grin

            a toothless grimace

   and final shudder.

In the ebb and flow

of what’s called history

Every atom’s movement

swirls immediate

       under His watchful eye.

Can the past hide from His sight?

      Fade away in dim twilight?

      Disappear like fallen travelers

            in a puff of dust and vanished tears.

In a single moment of comprehension,

He sees every ripple,

            every cause and effect

                   and effect

                   and effect…

From beginning to end

         He sees,

            He knows,

                He understands.

The river surges unbridled,

         unspanned

                 untamed by human will

But with a single stroke of fingertip

            He sends a tsunami event.

A babe cries…a mama smiles…

            pink skinned Deity

            rests in fragile arms.

In the current,

   young carpenter swims

   He builds a bridge.

It stretches from days gone by

and those yet to come

                                    across

                        to the One who never changes

                                    across

from temporal

to timeless

                        from earth

to eternity           

A ripple, a splash

      A pig-tailed girl says “yes”

       to the tug on her heart

          Angels sing unabashed.

She steps into the river

    where water rises

            and darkness wraps about her.

She sees

     with eyes made new

Her hope

      on distant shore     

She gasps

    He sees her.

She realizes

    He’s always seen her.

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise…"

Psalm 100:4

Imagine a Thanksgiving Day parade marching through the gates of heaven. Talented musicians lead the procession while dancers rejoice in the goodness of God. Crowds stream from every direction to join the revelry.

I pray that the collection of Thanksgiving music playing on Living Above Neutral will usher you and your family into the Lord’s presence in a parade of praise!

Visit Writers In The Storm for this week's post regarding God's job description for each of us.

Good-bye.  

On my list of goofy phrases, this oxymoron ranks up there with civil war and benevolent dictator.

What aspect of separation, parting and farewell merits the word “good?”

I have decided to boycott, “Good-bye.” No more good-bye tears, hugs, or kisses. I’ve waved off the good-bye wave. Tossed out the good-bye message. Silenced the good-bye song. I’ve closed the book on tearful, sad, golden, final, emotional and last good-byes.

“See you soon” or “See you later” works for most benevolent partings.

For fun or frivolous farewells, I rely on: adios, toodle-oo, or cheerio.

But when the separation involves decades or an undetermined amount of time or the remainder of earth’s years, how do I address the occasion?

I find myself running to the original meaning of good-bye for a solution.

Good devolved from the word God…

Bye morphed from the short-hand of Be With Ye (bwye which further shortened to bye).

 God Be With Ye.

This Memorial Day I remember my uncle who fought on the blood-soaked beaches of the Pacific during World War II and I whisper with all my heart, “Uncle George, God be with ye.”

If you attended Tuesday's Get It Write Workshop, I want to thank you for participating and stopping by this site.

In class, I mentioned an exhaustive list of human emotions compiled by Dr. Raymond Lloyd Richmond. Dr. Richmond has this information available on his website. Click Guide to Psychology to retrieve the list.

As discussed in the workshop, understanding the scope of human emotion helps a nonfiction writer determine his goal. What do I want my readers to feel when they read my article?

The information assists fiction writers in character and scene development.  

I'd love to hear how you put this information to work in your writing. Jot a note in the comments section.

The month of May gives us Cinco de Mayo, Mother's Day and Memorial Day...days to recognize heroes who made history, heroes who make a difference today, and heroes who made our nation what it is.

Visit Writers In The Storm for this week's post looking at the correlation between heroes and Living Above Neutral