Tuesday, December 15, 2015

It's all about...THE LAMB Vol. 18 Issue 4

December 15, 2015
Vol. 18, Issue 4



It’s all about…The Lamb

Maude Carolan Pych/Quarterly Poetry Letter


Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches
and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.” Rev 5:12 NASB


It’s all about…The Lamb is a quarterly publication for followers of Jesus, the Holy Lamb of God, and people who enjoy poetry. The purpose is to magnify our Lord and Savior and inspire an ever-deepening relationship with Him, the lover of our souls.

A-Poem-a-Day Until Christmas

I’ve been posting a Christmas poem on my blog every day since the end of November. My objective is to provide an opportunity for a brief pause amid the hustle and bustle to reflect poetically on the traditions, the joys and the true meaning of the holiday. Today’s posting will be included in this publication. To access other Christmas poems, check the archive on the blog. Return to the blog tomorrow and until Christmas for future holiday postings at: http://maudespoems.com.

A Holiday Event at the Ant

Cathy Vita, Victoria Warne, Maude Carolan Pych
Performing at the Ant last December

Last December, I was the featured poet at a special holiday event at the Ant Bookstore & Café. Well, I’ve been invited back and the musicians have been invited back also. It will be a joyous evening of poetry, music and homemade Christmas cookies…and it’s all free! Come, join our celebration!

The program will start at 7 p.m. The Ant is located at 345 Clifton Avenue, Clifton, NJ.

The musicians who will be performing at the event are Victoria Warne and Cathy Vita. Victoria is a singer/songwriter and leader of the Victoria Warne Band. She has played in many local venues and has toured internationally and recorded two CDs that blend blues, rock, and jazz elements. Her many past collaborators have ranged from Spyro Gyra’s Julio Fernandez to jazz great Billy Eckstine. She’s a resident of Clifton. Joining Victoria will be guitarist Cathy Vita of Totowa.

A special thanks to Jim and Emily Gwyn who arrange and host monthly programs at the Ant.


Featured Poet:
Barbara R. Williams-Hubbard
Barbara R. Williams-Hubbard

I received a Christmas card in the mail from my poet/friend Barbara Williams-Hubbard. It included two poems. I called her this evening and asked permission to share one of them. It’s titled, “Announcing…”

By the way, congratulations to Barbara for her 33rd year participating in The Cathedral Choir’s presentation of “The Messiah” by George Frideric Handel at Hawthorne Gospel Church, Hawthorne, NJ, on December 5th.

The poem of mine that I will include here is my Christmas poem written two years ago, “Before the Journey”.

The poems follow:


ANNOUNCING…

The bells of Heaven rang
when the angels sang
announcing that the Lord
had come to earth.
The stars were twinkling bright
on that glorious night
when shepherds heard the words
of Messiah’s birth.
With candles all aglow
and songs of “Silent Night,”
on our way we go
to carry forth the Light
that Jesus came to bring
in this dark world of sin—
the love of God reached down to us.
In His peace, new life begins.

© Barbara R. Williams-Hubbard, 2015



BEFORE THE JOURNEY

Sitting quietly in the dim glow of an oil lamp
trying to get comfortable
in the sturdy wooden arm chair
made by her carpenter husband
Mary rests both hands
upon her taut, round stomach
and smiles at the gentle rumbling within—
The Son of God in utero

Although this is centuries before sonograms
Mary knows her babe is a boy child
and that they are to name Him Jesus—
for an angel told her so

Young and bewildered, she wonders
what her holy Son will look like and be like
if he’ll want to work with wood
She wonders about the cosmic plan
set in motion by her “yes”
and how a savior saves

She dares not dwell too deeply
upon what lies ahead
and why so lowly a maiden as she
would be highly favored
by the Lord her God

but she trusts Him
…and she’s obedient

Joseph is a good man—
She watches as he sands smoothly
the fine cradle he is building
and appreciates that he stands by her
shielding her from questions, innuendos
finger-pointers and gossip mongers

Their donkey is tied outside
the humble dwelling in Nazareth
She hears it braying and nuzzling at the door

It’ll go with them tomorrow
on their journey to Bethlehem
where they must register
for the census

She sighs, thinking of the long
arduous journey
especially in her condition

Well, I’d better get some rest

she tells Joseph
as she rises awkwardly from the chair
and carries the lamp closer
to where her husband is working

I’ve packed a bundle of swaddling clothes
…just in case

Maude Carolan Pych



Comments are always welcome and appreciated. If possible, please post them directly to the website.

Look for the next edition of It’s all about…the Lamb, March 15, 2016.


A FEW CLOSING WORDS…

Dear Reader/Subscriber,

The surest way I know of to have the merriest Christmas, the merriest life and the very merriest eternity is to have the blessed assurance that the Holy Lamb of God has a place of honor in our hearts…

O! How He loves ewe and me! Let’s love Him in return.

Have a blessed Christmas,

Maude



After God’s Own Heart Publishing
P.O. Box 2211, Woodland Park, NJ 07424





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