Sleep

Sleep, oh blissful sleep

How I love to count the sheep
Sleep, oh blessed slumber
How I want to count the number

Drifting off to lands uncharted

Seeing dear loved ones departed
Magic flows and spins on high
Makes me move, hover, fly

Darkest dangers and fears await

And I cannot unlock the gate
Trapped within the web of fear
Even asleep I shed a tear

 Lovely sleep where my mind renews

And my awesomeness accrues
Sleep is grand and you can scoff
I love sleep even when alarms go off


Duane Windell Phillips
Copyright August 2016


#poetry #poem #sleep

Yolanda and The Little Boy

If you are connected to any type of media outlet, you may have seen this picture. 

It is a haunting reminder of what mankind can to do other humans.  Omran Daqneesh was buried under rubble following an airstrike in Qaterji, Syria. When I look at Omran in this photogragh, I see a little face that reflects unimaginable thoughts.  Why are we drawn to this image?  Why does it stir something within us?  The picture reminds me of an interaction my wife and I had in Guatemala last month.

Yolanda, a single mom of 2 children whose husband abandoned them, had a little stand where she made and sold tortillas all day long.  This was her livelihood and means for providing for her family.  She gave us a large stack of tortillas and refused any payment.  Her tortillas are the best I have ever tasted and each was perfectly formed and exactly like the previous one. It was on our last day after finishing the home we were there to build Yolanda asked my wife to pray that she, too, could get such a home built for her.  Once Maria had translated her words to me, my Spanish isn’t as good as it should be, I wanted to hug her and say we would move heaven and earth to ensure she would get a home. All she wanted was prayer. 

_________________________________________________________

What does Yolando, a Guatemalan woman living in poverty with no bombs falling around her, have to do with Omran Daqneesh, a little boy injured in Syria?  They are both statistics. 

_________________________________________________________

Why was I so moved?  I could look her in the eyes.  I saw and experienced the kindness in her heart.  In spite of the poverty of this town, everyone we met was happy and giving.  Her simple request was our prayers for a house for her and her children.  I wanted to do more but we promised to pray.  We have been praying Yolanda and her children would get a home.  I would love to be one of the people on that build.

What does Yolando, a Guatemalan woman living in poverty with no bombs falling around her, have to do with Omran Daqneesh, a little boy injured in Syria?  They are both statistics.  Wait a minute?  They are not statistics!  In the case of Omran Daqneesh, the whole world has seen him.  We now know who he is and what he suffered. That right there, is the difference.  We know who he is.  My wife and I and those with us know Yolanda.  Statistics are not known.  I have come to realize people are not statistics when you have looked them in the eyes.  I cannot dehumanize someone I know to be like me.  As humans, we cannot look human need and suffering in the eyes and not be moved or changed.  We must do something.  We either must take action or quench the burning in our hearts and go on with our own selfish lives. 

Will our seeing and learning about Omran Daqneesh finally shine bigger and brighter spotlights on the violence in Syria?  Will our prayers for Yolanda make a difference?  Will people finally stop ignoring the suffering and need in the world?  One person on this tiny sphere cannot save the world but maybe, just maybe, one by one by one, we can meet needs, bridge gaps, offer hope and shine lights in the darkness. 

 

 

Olympics and Running

I ran track and cross country in high school and cross country in college.  I will never say I was one of the best runners in Illinois.  However, I did compete in State meets in high school and won a few track events.  I was the team MVP my sophomore year in college.  Running and racing have been very good to me.  Running taught me discipline and dedication and helped my self-image.  

The summer before my sophomore year in college, I dedicated myself to qualifying for the national meet as an individual.  My college was in the NAIA division and, as a team, we weren’t that strong.  Also, it was hard for us to have the minimum runners to make a team.  If I qualified as an individual, I would be the fourth or fifth person to do it and, I believe, the first who was not a senior. 

That summer was the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. (Yes, I am old.)   I got to watch Carl Lewis, Edwin Moses, Joaquim Cruz, Sebastian Coe, Carlos Lopez and Mary Lou Retton (and many others) in their gold standard events.  Every night I would be so pumped up, I HAD to go running.  It may have been midnight but I was running down gravel roads, looking up at the stars and envisioning how I would qualify for nationals.  I would wake a few short hours later and go work in the corn fields or my other job.  I loved it.   

There was a dynamic euphoria about those two weeks.  In my mind, I was watching people who were the embodiment of what I hoped to accomplish.  Then I went out and took the steps, literally and figuratively, I needed to take in order to reach my goal.  At that point in my life, other than being the next wildly famous and successful singer, I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I grew up.  I was beginning to wonder if I had what it took to push to the world class level of running.  As I flew down the road those summer nights, I got a glimpse of that horizon.  

In I Corinthians chapter 9, the apostle Paul speaks of how he buffets his body and makes it his slave.  Olympians understand this phraseology.  Their bodies are toughened in order to handle the rigors of their sport at that level.   Needless to say, I have enjoyed the Rio games.  In particular, I love the track events.  I have an understanding of what it took for them to get there and it always makes me a little sad when the games end. 

 

 

Mark Twain and Ulysses S Grant

As a lover of history and having visited there myself, I enjoyed a writing of Mark Twain about his visit to Pompeii.  Here are his thoughts as he reflected on man's desire for immortality (Please note he refers to the US Civil War General and President Ulysses S. Grant):

After browsing among the stately ruins of Rome, of Baiae, of Pompeii, and after glancing down the long marble ranks of battered and nameless imperial heads that stretch down the corridors of the Vatican, one thing strikes me with a force it never had before: the unsubstantial, unlasting character of fame. Men lived long lives, in the olden time, and struggled feverishly through them, toiling like slaves, in oratory, in generalship, or in literature, and then laid them down and died, happy in the possession of an enduring history and a deathless name. Well, twenty little centuries flutter away, and what is left of these things? A crazy inscription on a block of stone, which snuffy antiquaries bother over and tangle up and make nothing out of but a bare name (which they spell wrong) — no history, no tradition, no poetry — nothing that can give it even a passing interest. What may be left of General Grant’s great name forty centuries hence? This — in the Encyclopedia for A. D. 5868, possibly:

“URIAH S. (or Z.) GRAUNT— popular poet of ancient times in the Aztec provinces of the United States of British America. Some authors say flourished about A. D. 742; but the learned Ah-ah Foo-foo states that he was a cotemporary of Scharkspyre, the English poet, and flourished about A. D. 1328, some three centuries after the Trojan war instead of before it. He wrote ‘Rock me to Sleep, Mother.’”

Pray for our Leaders

Let me preface all of this by saying this is not a political message.  Still, I have felt convicted by the following:   

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people, for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. NIV I Timothy 2:1-4.   

Have I been praying for our presidential candidates?  No. 

Have I prayed for any of my representatives?  No. 

Have I been active in our elective processes in my life time?  Not really. 

Do I believe my brothers and sisters in Christ have done the above?  Probably not as much as they (we) should. 

I am pointing my finger at me.  If I want, at the very least, an honest person of high integrity leading this nation, it is on me to be praying for God to raise up honest people of high integrity to lead this nation.  If I want to have a peaceful life where I can live out my faith, I should not take for granted the foundation laid by our founders.  Freedom is not free.  There is a cost.  People have given their lives for what we have.  Is it too much for me to pray for this nation and our leaders?   

I am making a pledge to pray for the leaders of this nation and for our future leaders.  I will pray that God’s will be done in all that is done in America.  I will pray that God will be honored and glorified.  I will pray our leaders will execute justice and to honor and protect those who live lawfully and decently and punish those who do wrong.  I will pray they will follow the Lord and repent of any wickedness.  I will pray they will govern with wisdom for the welfare of the nation and not for personal gain or for the advantage of a few.  May God’s purposes be done through them regardless of their desire to serve Him.   

Who will join me? 

The Dog and Me

We’ve had a rescue dog for about 7 years.  The day we got Bailey was to be her last.  She is part Australian Shepherd and Labrador Retriever.  She is pretty smart unless it is one of her stupid moments.  If you own a dog, you probably know what I mean.

I like cats but prefer dogs.  You may have heard the saying that dogs think they are human and cats think they are god.  I have often considered the parallels between a human/God and the canine/human relationships. 

My view of God is based on the Christian faith.  Therefore, I believe God created the universe but made a special relationship with man.  However, man, having the ability to make choices, decided to not follow rules God made.  Consequently, a separation began between God and His creation.  At first, God gave a set of rules so mankind would know how to be acceptable.  Man was incapable to maintaining them. 

Then God sent His Son as an intermediary.  He was someone who could advocate for His fallen race.  He could bridge the gap of separation.  Since God’s rules said sin required death, He decided if He sent His own Son to die, all sin would be paid.  Following His death and resurrection, those who believed were made right and could claim a relationship with God as a son or daughter.  

Now that I’ve set the stage for my understanding of God and man, here are my thoughts of Man and dog:

Dogs always watch their master and other humans in the room.  They also want to be close by.  Sometimes Bailey will be on the other side of the room but most always I can see her.  Some people say dogs want to be human.  If dogs truly want to be human, constant observation helps.  If we truly want to be more like our Creator, studying Him is vital. 

Reading the Word is important for anyone who wants to learn about who God is.  The bible is the primary way God reveals Himself to us.  If He truly wants relationship with His creation, this is where we can learn how He structured such a relationship.  If you are like me, you can study it and try to apply it but I continue in my human ways. 

Dogs will become more like their master but still are stuck in their dog ways.  Bailey has been with us for several years now and we continue to teach her new tricks.  She has watched us for a long time and behaves more like what we want.  Still, she is a dog and does dog things.  She has to chase squirrels and she has to bark at anyone going by the house.  If it is a human or a black truck, she wants them to know she would tear them apart if she could.  In spite of our actions trying to get her to calm down, she continues.  (We don’t mind too much.  If the person going by is casing the house with the intent of breaking in one day, I’m sure she makes them think twice.)

As much as she may want to become human, Bailey never will.  As much as I want to become the person God wants me to be (sometimes that is more than others), on this side of heaven, I never will. 

We didn’t know she existed prior to visiting the animal shelter but we love Bailey and are happy we adopted her and brought her into our home.  How much more does the Creator of the universe love His creation?  How much more does the One who knew use before the foundation of the world love us?

I Found What I Was Looking For

One of the most influential books I've read is John Fischer's True Believers Don't Ask Why.  The opening chapter ends like this.

"Asking puts us back on track with God.  It assumes a need relationship with Him - a hand-to-mouth spiritual existence.  A vulnerable daily dependence.  In a society that rushes to fill every felt need, that steals away the soul of a person and offers to sell it back at a price, we need to rekindle what it means to ask God.

“O God, you are my God. Earnestly will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You, my body longs for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.  Psalm 63:1

“We hear this cry of David, but we know little of this thirst because there is so much around us to drink.  We live in a wet and weary land where there is water everywhere and not a drop to drink for our souls.  We pour so much liquid on our thrist-buds that our everlasting thirst is drowned out by the temporal.  And they sell this bottled water even at Christian counters.

“Ask, Jesus says.  Ask.  It's so simple - like a child.  Ask. And when you receive, keep on asking.  Don't accept a fake fill.  Live in your thirst and you will live in Him.  Open your Hand.  Ask."