Diagnosis true and grim,
Dire predictions to the brim,
Shadows haunting milky film,
Chance of happiness totally slim.
But who can know tomorrow’s gift?
What chance may cause a shift?
Life buried in a deep snow drift,
May bring the spring and heal the rift?
What Satan means to destroy trust,
Turn flesh to fire and bones to dust,
Could be turned by God and must,
Be asked to heal heart and crust.
-dfav
—Donna
The air is spun with frozen fingers,
Tap dancing with Summer’s humid greens,
While hues of Autumn creeps on life’s stage
And Winter waits a few more days.
What does my heart hear God say?
What does God have to say?
I pray.
The fields give up the last of bounty,
Soil put to rest for Winter’s pass,
While bon fires blaze to hold off the cold
But soon the season will claim it’s right.
What does my heart hear God say?
What does God have to say?
I pray.
Ice and snow the duet shrill,
As Winter has laid ownership to time,
Days are short and long the night,
What lesson buried in bitter cold?
What does my heart hear God say?
What does God have to say?
I pray.
Whatever it is this season bring,
Remember I hearth fires blaze,
Fingers warmed by coffee mug in grasp
Heart exposed by Scripture explored.
What does my heart hear God say?
What does God have to say?
I pray.
dfav 10/22/17
—Donna
My hope comes in small doses,
Sliding through minute slits in stone walls,
Seeping past blocks of impossible odds
With God’s grace to guide it all.
My hope exists in ant like circumstances,
Huge supply carried on the smallest prayers,
Despite the reality of dark situations,
Faith remains in a God who cares.
My hope survives through the darkest night,
When deprived of reasonable reason to grow,
When hope should expire and fade away,
My hope believes God’s provision will forever glow.
My hope is forged in the belly of life’s fires,
When need is great and resources slim,
The day is dark and the night is long,
God is my hope and survives because it is Him.
dfav 9/29/17
—Donna
Into the darkness of mankind’s souls I peered,
Places dulled and racked with mocking jeers,
Places once I knew to be bustling with life,
Now endless plains twisted by fear and strife.
In silence I condemn and convict as judge,
Passing sentence to settle the grudge.
Where’s the woman I once knew myself to be?
What stripped me of everything I knew as me?
Tumbling over and knocked repeatedly about,
I took my eyes away from the truth with doubt.
Before I could catch myself I began to fall,
Losing my allegiance to God’s holy call.
Could this be the same Daughter of God I knew?
Could ever again the love of God be renewed?
Oh, yes we each posses the ability to turn
Become the fire fighter who starts to set the burn,
There lurks within each and every one of soul
The monsters we have fought to hide and control.
One wrong act willingly indulged and free,
Sets off a chain of evil with consequences still to be.
But into this abyss Christ plunges in,
One Son of God and man come to pay the debt of sin,
The same Savior who willingly died upon the cross,
Whose redemption cloak over me does toss,
And I am swept away by His mercy and grace,
Reminded I shall see Him face-to-face,
Despite how I repeatedly fail Him and His cause,
His promises to me never cease or pause.
Into the mess of mankind’s heart I peer,
From my face He bottles every single tear,
Despite my abilities for evil He has won my heart,
Evil as man representative I may be yet God upholds His part.
—dfav 8/15/17
—Donna
Photo courtesy of Shane Hobson.
Into Your presence I commit my spirit.
Unto Your will I surrender my plans.
To You and You only I offer my heart,
To You the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit,
Together as one You cannot be torn apart.
Before You I kneel with true awareness,
You are the Master of the Universe,
The God of Abraham, Jacob and Moses,
A God who has a history loyal to fickle man,
Who has pierced Him with thorns and neglected the roses.
To You I give up my selfish ambition.
It’s to You I release the love in my soul.
To You I turn for eternal salvation,
To You I concede I’m at my core a sinner,
And only in You, through You, can I have redemption.
Take of me whatever it is You can use,
Mold me and shape me by Your standard,
Remake, refashion, recreate the disciple You need,
Purge my heart ’til its whiter than snow,
Reap from my life where You’ve planted the seed.
When this life has passed for me,
Repentance will be far too late,
Hear my soul cry out to Jehovah God today,
As the sun breaks with brilliance across the sky,
It is to You, in You, with You I beg to stay.
—dfav 7/31/17
—Donna
What evil in mankind’s heart does lurk?
What vile thoughts dare not weave in?
Doesn’t everyone imagine wrongdoings check to skirt?
Oh, don’t forget to dance the band must get paid.
Not far beneath the mask worn each day,
Is the truth about who we are at heart,
Woven skillfully behind the words we say,
Man desires that which God names sin.
Though we may think we’re good at heart,
And sometimes nice things we do achieve,
More often than not we play the part,
Our hearts still remain stained within.
The day will come when life’s dance will cease,
An invoice for our actions be presented,
And payment in full will be expected without a please,
Are you prepared to pay the total cost?
Satan hopes to keep us pleasured and blind,
Thinking ourselves good, well-meaning people,
That man is basically, internally kind,
And that will prevail over the course of time.
Heed the warning and see the true situation,
Separate from God our eternity is cast,
To the destination paved with good intentions,
Unless we accept the price He paid.
The Son of God and man died upon a cross,
A heart pure having never sinned,
Who between God and us recognized the loss,
And willingly gave His life to pay the cost.
Though that act is over two thousand years old,
His Spirit still knocks upon our hearts door,
His gift He gave more precious than gold,
Seals our eternal home with God in Heaven.
–dfav 7-21-17
—Donna
With aching heart I turned to God,
“How can she treat me so terribly?
With no respect or understanding?
Dismissing my love so carelessly?”
I quickly named Him a top ten list,
Of the examples of her rude behavior.
And followed that by all the things
That left me with a bitter flavor.
When I at last grew silent and waited
For my Father to validate my hurt,
He said softly, “My Dear Child”,
You too have stomped my feelings into the dirt.”
Puffed up with foolish pride I said,
“No, my dear Lord, never have I!”
But I caught hold of countless memories,
That could fill the canvas of the sky.
The times I failed to thank Him,
For His provisions of the day.
Or times I didn’t try to hard at all,
To follow anything He had to say.
By my actions I have denied His place,
As my God, my Savior and Friend.
Truth is, I all too readily forget
To speak to Him for hours upon end.
Aren’t my sins what condemned my soul?
Aren’t they what put Him on the cross?
Wasn’t I the one upon His mind,
When the Son paid my sins cost?
Suddenly my complaints sound small,
My head is clearer and I can forgive,
I will think about my own attitude,
Pray harder for the life God have me live.
Before I can cast a stone at someone,
For a wrong they’ve done to me,
I must first be without sin myself,
My relationship with God where it should be.
—dfav 7/18/17
—Donna
Is God really silent?
Or do I choose not to hear?
Are there selective buzz words
That my ears want to bear?
Is God not communicating?
Or am I closing my eyes,
Am I refusing to read
The words in the skies?
Is God turned away from me?
My presence to ignore?
Or am I just unwilling
To open my heart’s door?
Am I prideful, strong-willed?
Can’t admit I’ve done wrong?
So by saying God is silent
Makes a more acceptable song?
Do I find the truth ugly?
Does me it even offend?
Sadly, yes Lord it’s true,
I am a fair-weather friend.
O Father forgive me!
May my selfish pride fall,
To You I must cling,
Your voice I hear call.
Wipe away all pretending,
May I seek You and find,
You’ve always been ready
To claim my heart, soul and mind.
—dfav 7/18/17
—Donna
There’s a storm brewing up off the coast.
A long, nearly black mountain range of clouds
Are planted in the horizon like angry boasts
That spill from the mouth of a bully.
Nothing I can do will prevent it from coming.
It has a path and an energy all its own
So I draw in and closer to You by praying,
Whatever the storm brings You will be there.
Let the winds howl with screeching suction,
Let the sand blast as if alive on it’s own,
Let the waves crest with their destruction,
You are here with me through it all.
—dfav 7/17/17
—Donna
In God’s silence
I hold my breath.
Waiting…
Praying…
Fearing…
Wondering…
Is He angry?
Will He punish me?
What will He do?
In God’s silence
Other voices overwhelm me.
Taunting…
Shaking…
Driving…
Haunting…
You’re not enough.
You never will be.
He’s taking it all.
In God’s silence
Is He somehow speaking?
Can I hear?
Do I dare?
Does He still care?
Is this rare?
Or does everyone feel
That God waits
To devour them?
In God’s silence
I cower and wait.
dfav 6/21/17
—Donna
