Wales' Tales

The signs of spring are all around,

The birds, the trees, the sun,

The promise of a changing scene,

New life has just begun.

The wind has changed,

The sky more blue

The world begins to wake,

To shed the cloak of winter drear,

Another road to take.

And with the coming of the spring

We find a new resolve,

A chance to grow and try new paths

Around which we revolve.

This is the time to take a breath

And smell the zest of life,

For winter’s gray has gone away,

And with it all our strife,

We need not fight the ice and snow,

Nor fear the northern blast,

The heat of summer is not far,

The cold is in the past.

Yet if you travel this small orb

For many years along,

You realize that this is life,

An old familiar song.

The highs, the lows, the heat , the cold

Is part of God’s great plan,

A rhythm that reflects truth

Of when this world began.

It comes a gift from God’s good grace,

Its pace was set in time.

And when we understand that truth,

We also see God’s rhyme.

We live within the ebb and flow,

A plan that does not cease,

We just enjoy these gracious gifts,

Immersed in God’s sure…

                                                Peace,

                                                Pastor Alex

Wales' Tales

Once in a while, the world seems to turn

At a pace that is not just the same.

Events will occur that surprise us anew,

As if they were not part of the game.

A plane disappears, just drops out of view,

It seems to fall out of the sky,

And no matter how hard the experts explain,

In truth we have no idea why.

A Vortex comes down from the far away north,

Creating a wintry mix,

with snow, ice and rain, it blasts ‘cross the plain,

and leaves us all in a fix.

A fire destroys a landmark that stood

For years as a gathering place,

And several die in the rubble and smoke,

A horrible loss we must face.

The way of the world is a challenge at best,

A struggle to know day by day,

How to deal with the changes, events as they come

Sometimes only thing is to pray.

We often pretend that we’re still in control

That we know the way things should go,

But when we faced with these trials and fears

We stumble and get up so slow.

Because we are caught in chaotic world,

In a place where the future’s unsure,

We need something more onto which we can hold

That provides us with truth that is pure.

And none can be surer than a cross made of wood,

Of a tomb that is empty at dawn,

Of a voice that can calm us and grant us real hope

In the face of the fears that can spawn

From not being in charge, of requiring our faith

For granting us grace and release,

The power of Jesus, alive evermore,

In the Kingdom of mercy and …

                                                                Peace,

                                                                Pastor Alex

Wales’ Tales

When the pressure grows too strong,

And we want to have it all

That’s the moment in our lives

When we probably will fall

Into the trap of greed and sin,

The devil’s plot for sure,

For which our human struggles

Need what only God can cure.

For when we have to make a choice

‘tween what we want to get

And what we really need for life

Will cause us to regret

That we are prone to choose the wrong,

The things that lead to hell,

And travel farther from God’s will,

Like Adam when he fell.

God only wants the best for us,

The gifts of life and love,

And when we get it right it seems

To fit like hand in glove.

But more the case, we choose the sin,

And disobey God’s call

To then discover we are lost

Our choice has cast a pall

O’er every corner of our life

O’er family, friend and foe

And like dark clouds of storm and gale

‘Twill follow where we go.

For we cannot remove the sin,

Nor make the sin turn right.

Our fate is soon a dismal trek

Into eternal night.

But God has sent the Holy One,

Who did resist the sin,

And by his love and sacrifice

Has help us enter in

The kingdom of God’s gracious light

Where sin God shall release,

To sing our praise and thanks to God,

Rejoicing in God’s…

                                Peace, 

                                Pastor Alex

Wales' Tales

Why is it Lord, that we love to hate?

With incredible acts that cause pain,

We strike out at others with hardly a thought

And allow all the hate to remain.

It’s nation ‘gainst nation and foe against foe,

And anger unbridled and deep.

We call them indignantly “subhuman groups”

Allowing our hatred to creep

Into the core of our being, our heart and our soul

Yet part of the whole human race.

Willing to fight, to kill and to maim,

As though they things we embrace.

Afraid of the stranger, the group up the street,

They threaten our safety and home.

We’re sure if we let them, they’d kill and they’d maim,

If they once get a chance just to roam.

Civil war, revolution, ethnic cleansing, the terms

That we use to describe what we do,

We act ‘cause we’re threatened. We’re prone to strike out

Be they Christian, or Arab or Jew.

They’re brothers and sister. They’re young and their old.

They usually just want to live,

But when we feel threatened, afraid of their dreams,

We’ll hit them with all we can give.

Why can’t we be civil? Why must we react

With violence, war and mistrust?

Why do we feel threatened by things we don’t know

When we know that we all turn to dust

At the end of our journey on this tiny globe?

We all share this planet. It’s our only home.

There’s more than enough that we share.

If we’d only stop fighting and try to relate

We might find there’s a reason to care

For our neighbors, to give to the poor

To cause all our hatred to cease.

We just might encourage a change in our foes

And together enjoy life in…

                                                Peace,

                                                Pastor Alex

  

Wales' Tales

Ever wonder why the world is round instead of square?

Ever think that as we age, life really isn’t fair?

Ever need to find a clue about the fix you’re in?

Ever question how some people always seem to win?

Life is a conundrum, full of twists and turns.

Often bringing questions with which my stomach burns.

I’d like to know the reason behind the way life moves,

To know the how and why of things as life itself behooves?

How great to have the answers to questions, large and small

As though by having knowledge we would understand it all!

It’s in the quest for answers that we really seek control.

We want to make things go our way to get us to the goal

Of making life fit our ideal, a perfect personal storm,

To go our way, to give us joy, a future we would form.

But human knowledge is so frail, a mist before our eyes,

So limited in power, fails to see where real truth lies.

Attracted to the glossy, entranced by things that shine,

Unable to reflect the light that falls so clear and fine.

We’re sure we know the path to take.

We think we know the way.

But when our vision fails to clear,

We’d best kneel down and pray.

For God is watching over us, directing from above,

And granting guidance as we move, a gift of joy and love.

It isn’t always easy. It isn’t always fun,

But when we reach the final goal, our life has just begun.

So if the questions drive  you bats,  just breathe and then release

The issues that belong to God and choose to find God’s

                                                            Peace, 

                                                            Pastor Alex

Wales' Tales

Amazing what snowflakes can do when they get their act together,

They all join hands and dance and move creating winter weather.

They pile up beside the door, across the yards and streets,

Creating chaos in their wake, in traffic stopping feats.

And yet they are incredibly small, just little dots of snow,

We brush them off without a thought, a wisp of white although

When pushed by wind and blown by storm they tender such a force

That humans haven’t got a chance against their chosen course.

With plows and shovels, picks and chains, and melting salt galore,

Those little snowflakes when amassed, turn out to be much more.

Much more than mortal folk can fight, much more than we might guess,

Those pure and fluffy mounds of white can really make a mess.

But that should teach us something else, beyond the winter truth.

That when small things are gathered up, can even stop Duluth.

Just think how much the church could do when we work hand in hand,

We have the strength to change the world, though small as blowing sand.

Alone we stand with power small, unable to do much,

But three or four and even more can change the world as such.

We feed the poor. We heal the sick. We teach of God’s sure love,

We find the strength to carry on, with power from above.

The church can be a mighty stream with justice, truth and hope,

A force of God’s eternal  might to help the world to cope

With evil, pain, intolerance; with darkness and with fear,

A chance to join arms with our friends to grow from year to year.

Together we can seek to bring the Kingdom and its joy,

To people all around the globe, to every girl and boy.

To be the Body of our Lord, to grant the chained release.

As One, we serve the risen Lord, and  live within God’s…

                                                                                Peace,

                                                                                Pastor Alex