Visions of Poetry

Sunday Sabbath  December 6 2015  EVERYDAY IS CHRISTMAS IN MY HEART

When I walked into the house after seeing the Christmas Pageant at the State Capitol I told Dave, “The Pageant always gets me into the spirit of Christmas”.  And then I retracted that sentence to say, “Actually, I feel like I have Christmas in my heart every day because I know Jesus is alive in me”.  And when I go to hear and view the story of Christmas all over again, and hear the singing, as I sing the words in my heart as the choirs sing, it somehow prepares me for the festivities in the days ahead.  We do so little in regards to decorating and gift swapping that we don’t really get caught up in the merchandising aspect of the “Holiday”.  Rather, it is more about worshiping and rejoicing over the fact that we are celebrating Christ’s Birth.  I wonder how many who celebrate Christmas really understand exactly what purpose Jesus had for being born?

I am including a poem here that I wrote four years ago about the reason Jesus came to earth as a baby.  As you read continue each line until you come to either a comma or period.  Often the entire thought takes up more than one line in a stanza.  I hope it will be easy to read and understand in the way it was written.

Born to Die So We Could Live

Kathleen Martens

November 29, 2011

God knows the beginning and the end,

And from the beginning he had a plan.

His ultimate desire to be man’s friend,

But walking with God in the garden was changed by man.

Sin entered the world—God planned ahead

That His Son would be the image of the Invisible God.

Without redemption man was dead,

So God gave His Son to change the odds.

He came as a Baby—vulnerable and alone,

In a temporary shelter—He brought hope to the world.

A king born without a throne,

No diadem or riches unfurled.

Just a Babe in Mary’s arms,

With a destiny—God’s divine plan

To provide escape from sin’s harm,

To provide redemption for all man.

To walk in humbleness—Jesus came as a baby

And God was please to have His fullness dwell in His Son.

Who Christ was, there was no doubt or maybe

That it was He, God’s appointed one.

Born to die—to redeem all who hear His voice,

He who is before all things and in whom all things hold together,

Not all who hear accept redemption’s choice

As some do not choose with God to tether.

So as you worship the birth we celebrate each year

Realize the reason that He came.

He came so that forever with us He is near,

And all we must do is call out His name.

He came as a babe so we could be set free.

Became our Savior in whom we confide,

We were reconciled to God by Christ’s death on the tree

And forever with Him we can choose to abide.

He was born so we might live

What a gift—He did give.

I have included some photos below this blog that I took this evening.  I hope you enjoy them.  Dave and I (especially me) enjoy the performance when we attend.  It was especially amazing this year as the choirs did an exceptionally beautiful presentation.  There is a huge choir that stands at the front (in the dark), and there is another choir with voices echoing the main choir.  The hidden choir is on the third floor.  It was quite crowded.  There are a few chairs for the elderly and infirmed and the rest of the crowd stands.  It is only 45 minutes long so it is not too difficult to stand for that length of time.  

It has been six weeks since Dave’s surgery.  The next two weeks are the crucial weeks for hernia healing.  He had two different foreign objects placed in his incision area.   His surgery was done through a large incision entrance above where the hernia was located.  He has the normal mesh that is used and his mesh was sewn in.  Often it is just placed over the herniated area and it will heal just fine.  Before he had the mesh inserted there was another object put in place that opened up once it was inserted and then supports the hernia.  I guess it depends on location and severity of the damaged area.  His surgery required this second step.  The doctor said that at six weeks the area would become quite inflamed and the body would start rejecting it.  This is the time that he must not do anything that would stress the area.  He was given strict orders to not bend at the waist very often, no vacuuming, no emptying the bottom level of the dishwasher or taking clothes out of the clothes dryer.  I think he liked those instructions! (I’m smiling).  He still tires a bit more quickly than he used to and takes little rests throughout the day.  Even with all that, he still does more than he should.  He is very helpful around the house and it is difficult for him to remember to not over do.  Oh yes, he went with me to the gym the other day so he could weigh.  He has lost a total of 67 pounds.  It is coming off a bit slower at present due to his lack of exercise.  He actually looks forward to getting back to the gym and working back up to a full workout.  That won’t happen until January.

Oh, by the way, while at the Capitol I checked to see if Anne Gaylor’s sign was still up about keeping church and state separate and it was there.  I had to search for it.  It was in an obscure location this year.  It wasn’t the first thing you saw as you walked up to the Christmas tree like it has been in years past.  That was kind of nice.

SO THAT WE MIGHT HAVE LIFE

By Kathleen Martens

December 6, 2015

Oh Lord, what joy in my heart

When I hear the choirs sing

About your birth so long ago

And the love that You bring.

Just a Babe in swaddling clothes

Born to save mankind.

Yet so many have not heard,

Your truth they’ve yet to find.

Thank you Holy Father above

For giving your only Son,

To redeem the sins of man,

Your Child, the perfect One.

He Himself was willing to die

That I someday would be with Him.

For He is the light of the world

That never will grow dim.

So when I think of Baby Jesus,

I too remember He suffered and died.

Just so my sins would be forgiven,

He was willing to be crucified.

And through that suffering there is hope

For every single woman and man.

That someday in eternity

With Jesus, by Your throne we’ll stand.

Wishing you a joyous time of celebrating the King of Kings who was born so you might have life, eternal life.

Good night.

Saturday December 5 2015  PEACE ABOUT FOREVER

Last evening was very enjoyable.  We joined our friends at church for a delicious pot luck dinner and then a show afterward.  The “show” was actually the children’s Christmas Pageant.  Though we do not have any children to watch in the pageant we love to attend.  My heart is always so sad when I look up on the stage and do not see our grandchildren participating.  I hope one year before they outgrow their childhood that they will have the opportunity to attend church consistently enough to be able to sing about the wonders of Christmas and the birth of Christ at the Children’s Christmas Pageant.  I would just love to see that performance.

The pageant was absolutely precious.  There is no entertainment better that a mass of children who are all trying to do their best and their best is just priceless.  There was a smile on my face all during the production as well as all the way home.  Their sincerity and innocence combined, creates memorable heartfelt moments.  The audience was full of beaming parents and grandparents.  I think the children’s pageant is my favorite Christmas service each December.

There is another special event we hope to attend tomorrow afternoon at the State Capitol building.  It is a group of children from all the area schools who combine to perform the story of Christmas, in still life acting, and singing.  Once upon a time there were fliers that were sent home by the schools informing the families of the opportunity to be part of the Christmas program.  I don’t know if you have ever heard of the name Anne Gaylor and her daughter Annie Laurie Gaylor who spear-headed the “Freedom from Religion” movement that began right here in Wisconsin in 1976, and which was incorporated nationally in 1978.  Now the schools are not allowed to advertise the event and the children must sign up outside of school to take part in the Capitol pageant.  The production is held in the Capitol’s Rotunda on thesecond floor,  The upper floors of the rotunda are also used for the still life acts of the Christ Child scene in the stables, and for the angels.  It is a magnificent depiction of the story of Christ with beautiful singing from the choir and musicians playing background music.  There is also a harpist also that adds so much to the event.  

On the bottom floor of the rotunda stands a very tall Christmas tree that goes up through the circle balcony above and can be seen at eye level on the second floor where the music and acting take place.  During our previous governor’s administration it was called the “The Holiday Tree”.  The current governor and his administration call it what it is, “A Christmas Tree”.   On the ground floor of the Capitol, next to the Christmas tree, there are always disclaimers about “mixing religion and state”.  Here is what The Freedom From Religion Foundation has on a large sign sitting in front of the Christmas Tree on the ground floor.  This is what is written on one of the disclaimers:

“At this season of THE WINTER SOLSTICE may reason prevail.  There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell.  There is only our natural world.  Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.”  Freedom From Religion Foundation

I find it interesting, that though the pagaent is kept totally separate from the schools, that the school children in the area make ornaments at school and the ornaments are then donated each year to decorate the Capitol Christmas Tree.  They are beautiful due to each child’s unique imagination.  We try to attend every year to support the fact that we can still sing about the birth of Christ in a state run facility.  Just who is it exactly that owns and pays for the building?  I believe the last time I checked it was “we the people”.  And I also don’t remember our Constitution stating that we have “freedom from religion”.  Rather, and I quote from the first amendment of the U.S. Constitution:

“Prohibits the making of any law RESPECTING AN ESTABLISHMENT OF RELIGION, impeding the FREE EXERCISE OF RELIGION, abridging the freedom of  speech,…” 

So, the way I see it, we have the freedom to express our religion when and where we like, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation has their right to the freedom of speech in their signage.  But look out people!  A lot of our freedoms are being eroded DAILY by laws that seem to go against what our constitution states.  Stand up for our Constitution and do not allow the government take our freedoms from us.

I actually did not mean to get on a high horse about the Capitol pageant, however, since I still have freedom of speech and the right to say what I want to say, I will speak the truth as I see it. 

Now, I would like to address the two poems I included at the bottom of yesterday’s blog.  I was informed that they didn’t make a lot of sense and that I am also sometimes difficult to understand.  So, if any others found that to be true, I do apologize.  I have taken 26 words that are normal every day words, and written poems that are the “spiritual” definition as to what I think the word means.   The first word I wrote about was ATTENTION.  The poem following that title best describes to me the spiritual aspect of what that word means to me.

The second poem I wrote about was the definition of IMAGINATION.  That poem may have been easier to distinguish the word which I defined by the poem.  Perhaps they were both just a big flop but I did put a lot of time and effort into their creation.  Sorry if it was a waste of your time to read.

This morning was a wonderful morning because I had all my workouts at the gym taken care of for the week and did not need to go today.  That always makes me feel as if I really have a day off.  So I spent the morning it in my library going through books which I bought on my trip.  I read parts of several and found the ones I will be studying this coming year.  One is a book by A.W. Tozer “THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE HOLY”.  Oh my goodness!  I am so looking forward to each chapter.  It is amazing how he opens up the meaning of who God is!  I think I may look up some of his other titles.  I also found a very interesting little something in one of the other books I discovered.  I will try to remember to tell you more about it this week.  It is too involved to write about today due to the length this blog already is.  So I will close with the poem I wrote this morning as I studied about God and who He is. 

PEACE ABOUT FOREVER

By Kathleen Martens

December 5, 2015

No matter how many times

I may walk away,

Jesus always beckons

Come, and with Me stay.

When I forget to say my prayers

The Holy Spirit taps my shoulder,

And speaks to me in loving voice,

“It is your prayers that make you bolder.

Lean not on self, but give trust

To the Lord who reigns on high.

Seek first the Kingdom of God

And all else will come nigh.”

And He receives me with open arms

And with love He fills me up.

And He bids me come and stay

And on His word to sup.

For there is no greater burden

Than facing eternity unknown.

But when I put my trust in God,

Peace is forever my own.

I hope this poem was a bit easier to understand.

Good night and God bless each one reading these words.  It is but 4:15 p.m. and it is dark, but in my heart a light shines brighter than the sun.  Or maybe I should say, “BRIGHT AS THE SON”.

Thursday December 3, 2015  I HEAR THE BEAT OF THE DRUMMER

I hear the beat of the drummer and each day it becomes closer and faster.  Twenty two days before Christmas and I will wake up one morning and it will be here.  JUST LIKE THAT!  At the snap of a finger.  There was once a time when it took forever for that special day.  Let me do a little reminiscing.

I know I have mentioned that as a child I lived in the project housing development, the place where there were no trees, all the project buildings were built alike, some one floor and some two floor, rectangular boxes with the clothes lines at the end or in front of each building.  Lots of cement all around the buildings and beyond that were rolling hills, usually brown and dry.  One reason they were brown and dry was because in the spring when everything came up like weeds, the project people came around with these big tanks on their back and sprayed everything with a slick oily substance of powerful weed killer to eradicate all the green growth.  Within hours the hills and all around the buildingS was black and dead from the potent spray.  But, this was always the fun time of the year for the ignorant kids of the projects.  As soon as the men were through spraying the poison, we kids in the projects would run and get our prized and hoarded cardboard, take it up to the highest hill across the street from our apartment building and slide down the back side of the hill on the slick slimy mixture, rolling in the muck at the bottom, as we tumbled to a stop.  It was a long hill and it must have felt much like it would sliding down in a sled in the snow country.  It was so fun because the grass was slick and cardboard went very fast.

At night I would come in with my slick shiny braids matted down to my head, smelling to high heaven, and my mother would make me take a shower.  My hair was only washed on Saturdays as I bent over the kitchen sink, so it had to wait until then.  It makes me cringe now to know I had that thick poison mixture on my scalp and in my hair, for who knows how many days.  Saturday my braids would come out and I had to hang my head over the sink as my mom would scrub my head until she LITERALLY drew blood (though just a few times that I remember).  Then she would send me outside in the nice weather and I would sit in the sun with my hair hanging down to my waist as it blew in the breeze, running my fingers through it so it would dry.  In the winter I had to stand by the heater that stood in the corner of the short hallway right outside the one bathroom we had.  My hair was thick and long and if I didn’t get it dry before bedtime I would wake up with damp hair.

The heater in the corner of the hall was a big boxy free standing gas burning apparatus.  There was a rope that was strung from corner to corner above it.  I owned one pair of socks and I would wash them out every night and someone would hang them up high by the toes with two clothespins so they would be dry by morning.  I had one pair of school shoes, usually white oxfords, which I took such pride in.  I insisted on polishing them every night.  Some of you may remember the little, rectangle fuzzy piece of cloth that you could hold over the opening of the white shoe polish bottle, turn it upside down, and then have the polish needed to add another coat of white on my oxfords.  I remember the polish becoming so caked and layered on the shoes over the school year that by summer they would be thick and cracked with all the diligent polishing.  But they were kept white that way.  I also had one pair of Sunday school shoes which I wore each Sunday morning and Sunday night.  But on Wednesday nights I was relegated again to wearing my over polished, painful oxfords.

Though we were hand to mouth poor my mother was fastidious.  She said we may be poor but we didn’t have to look like or act like trash.  She kept our apartment as clean as physically possible (with forced labor), of which I was part.  What I remember in the summer, was leaving the apartment as early as possible and heading out over the hills to be with the neighborhood gang.  I use the world “gang” in an endearing way because it was not like the gangs of today.  It was just poor kids banding together to play.  I sort of organized and ruled most of the time.  I guess in today’s vernacular it would simply be called “being bossy”.  I always had lots of ideas.  One of my best ideas was raiding the garbage cans after one of the apartments had a repair job on the wallboard.  The trash was then always full of big hunks and pieces of thick hard sheet rock, which made the absolutely best chalk.  Since we had so much cement space I became an instant architectural designer.  My best friend Albert, who lived downstairs right below our apartment, would help me draw the floor plans of the most magnificent houses on the vast expanse of cement.  We would not let anyone else come into our house or step on our chalk lines.  Later in life I visited the area after the apartments had been torn down.  The cement area was much smaller than I remembered it being at age six and seven.

Well, I have done quite a bit of remembering but totally off the subject of what I wanted to elaborate about.  Back to my thought of anticipating Christmas.  Christmas was always exciting when I was little because it was the only time of the year when we received a toy.    I actually have most of the gifts I received over the Christmases of my childhood, (except one doll that melted due to a fire in the neighboring apartment).  Our apartment did not actually burn to ashes but the apartment next door did, (twice) and we had a lot of heat and smoke damage in ours.   That’s another story entirely.  Back to Christmas.  As I sit here I remember several Christmas seasons.  One in particular that I will mention was the year my sister turned four years old.  I was ten.  I snuck out in the middle of Christmas Eve night, and there under the tree was a little metal table and chairs about the right size for a preschooler.  A big Chatty Cathy doll sat in one of the chairs and the other chair had a pink teddy bear with a pretty bow around its neck.  I was so excited for my Chatty Cathy doll, knowing that Faith would be receiving the pink teddy bear and table and chairs.  Boy, was I ever wrong!  The Chatty Cathy doll was for my younger sister and I RECEIVED THE PINK TEDDY BEAR.  After all, I was a grown up ten year old.  I didn’t hanker for a TEDDY BEAR.  I tried to cover up my disappointment.  In no way would I want to hurt my mother’s feelings.  I knew everything cost money and we didn’t have much.  I used to listen through the thin walls when my parents thought I was sleeping and hear them talking about money and worrying so about having enough for food and for what expenses were coming up.  That always lay heavy on my little young soul.  I certainly didn’t want to be the cause of any angst when it came to money.  I found out years later, if I recall correctly, that is was my sister Velma who bought the doll for Faith.

When I was a child, I counted my years by Christmas day.  On the day after Christmas the year loomed long before me.  Now, on the other hand, when March comes I always announce to Dave, we better start getting ready for Christmas.  And in the blink of an eye it is here.  And in the month of December the whole month is Christmas.  The drum of December beckons me on.  Another year gone and by March, Christmas will almost be here again.

 My day began at 4:45 a.m., I was out of the house by 6:10 a.m., and at my destination by 6:50 a.m..  Fortunately, I did not run into rush hour traffic so I made excellent time.  I was on Grandma duty today.  Occasionally my grandchildren do not have childcare coverage so the two Grandmas are called to arms.  It was a good day.  Drove the older one to school, stayed with the younger one all day, played cars on the hardwood floors, played two games of Blokus with the four year old, fixed a morning snack, played with building magnets, fixed lunch, went and picked up the older one, then snack time again.  I played cars once again with two opponents instead of one, settled a few minor disputes, helped with homework, did a detailed Bible study with the eight year old, and greeted mom and dad when they arrived home.  Oh yes, I also wrote the above blog between what I mentioned in this paragraph.  I just did a little here and there as I entertained two kids.  All in all It was an excellent day.

One more thing to add to my day.  My Sunday appointment to pick up the final wedding book of my career did not take place.  Well, I arrive home about 20 minutes before they were scheduled to be here this evening.  The book has been signed, sealed, and delivered (or at least picked up)!  I came up the stairs singing!  They loved it!

BECAUSE THEN I WILL BE…

By Kathleen Martens

December 3, 2015

Over the past three years

I’ve had so many endings.

Planning for retirement

Now is no longer pending.

Today is a momentous one

That has a lot of meaning.

My professional work is over!

Workload no longer steaming.

Two little projects left to do

For friends without the stress.

And when that is all finished

I will then be due my rest.

Because then I will be

Fully and completely retired!

But that is not what I intend,

Rather, I will be re-fired!

Today I lived a long time, very slow, very busy, and I’m not done yet!  I only watched a part of a movie last night.  Tonight I hope to finish it.

Good night and God bless you.