Christ on Holy Saturday

Re: Deemed
by Mary Harwell Sayler

Consider the lily
of the moon.

Consider how
its spinning
does not toil.

Consider the lily-
shaped flames of hell
where the wretched
walk through water
on Christ’s back:

His face a lily
white with flame,

His tongue an
inferno for our
wrong words,

His eyes alight
with our cured souls,

His Body
our kind Host
of comfort.


© 2013, Mary Sayler, all rights reserved. “Re:Deemed” appeared on the Catholic Exchange website in 2007 and is included in the Kindle e-book, a Christian Poet’s Guide to Writing Poetry, available from Amazon.

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God’s promise from the prophet Isaiah

Promising Good Friday

Who believes what we have heard?
To whom has the strength of the LORD been revealed?
For the One we awaited grew up
like a shoot from a dry root in the ground.

He had no majestic form to look upon –
nothing in His appearance to cause desire.
Instead, He was despised and rejected –
suffering such grief, we wanted to hide our faces
from facing so much sorrow.

We saw no explanation for Him,
and so we despised Him,
even though He took on our infirmities,
even though He took on our dis-ease,
even though we thought Him struck down
by God.

But He was wounded for our transgressions
and crushed for our iniquities.
Upon Him came the full punishment
to make us whole, and by the stripes
borne on His back, we all are healed.

Like sheep, we all have gone astray.
We have all turned to our own way,
and, as the LORD laid on Him
the iniquity of us all, He had to pay
for us,
for our ancestors,
and for our children’s crimes.

When accused of our wrongdoings,
He did not even open His mouth
but went silently like a sheep before its shearers,
like a Lamb led to its slaughter,
like a perversion of justice taken wordlessly away.

Who could imagine He had any future?
For He was cut from the land of the living
and stricken for our transgressions.

Someone carved His grave among the tombs
owned by the wicked and the rich,
even though He had done no violence,
nor even had a deceitful word
to say. But, by the will of the LORD,
pain crushed His life into an offering –

the final sacrifice we had to bring
to God for sin – for us,
for our ancestors, for our children – all,
His spiritual offspring.

© 2013, Mary Harwell Sayler, prayer-a-phrase poem of today’s Bible reading in Isaiah 53:1-10

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Passover: The First, The Last

Promise of Passover

The blood of a lamb on the doorpost,
the blood of an unblemished lamb
on your doorpost,
the blood that drips from the crossbeams
is the sign on the house where you live –

the sign for death to pass over,
the sign for a day of remembrance,
the sign of the death of the firstborn –
of the Lamb who gave blood for your doorpost.


© 2013 Mary Harwell Sayler, poem prayer-a-phrased from today’s reading in Exodus 12

Bible prayer-a-phase of Isaiah 49

Staying Light in the LORD
by Mary Sayler

Before I was born, the LORD called me.
In the womb, God named me and made
my mouth a sword
hid in the hull of His hand –
a smooth arrow
quivering in Him.

And the LORD said to me, “Ah! You are
My servant who shines in Me,”
but I said, “No! I have served in vain.
I’ve spent my strength
for nothing but my own name,
while thinking myself pure, thinking
my cause was God-caused.

But the LORD, Who formed me to be
His servant as one who brings His own
back to Him in His own strength, not mine,
said, “It is too light a thing to raise and restore
My people who are My people, and so
I will give you as a light to the nations.
I will give you to the nations as a light,
and to the ends of the earth, this light,
lit only by Me, will shine My salvation
into the deepest dark corners of the earth,
lightening and lifting every unfinished end.”

© 2013, Mary Harwell Sayler, prayer-a-phrased poem evoked by today’s Daily Bible Reading in Isaiah 49

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Name change and changing plans

One of my favorite quotes comes from the movie Sabrina where the title character says, “Sometimes more isn’t better. Sometimes it’s just more,” to which I add, “Amen!” But I still wound up with 7 blogs and 2 websites so also add, “Oops.”

Too many good ideas, good activities, and even good ministries can be too much of a good thing.

Therefore, I recently let one website go but couldn’t get a handle on how to regroup the blogs. Since I believe in the importance of each one, I’ve been praying about this longer than Lent. But finally, clarity came the first day of Holy Week.

Having written about writing for many years, I have numerous articles to draw from that could be helpful, I hope, for members of the Christian Poets and Writers group on Facebook. Many of those articles, which will gradually appear in the Christian Poets and Writers blog, have previously appeared here, but In a Christian Writer’s Life is no longer my primary focus for newly written articles. The Bible is.

If you have visited my blogs on Bible People, Bible Prayers, Christian Healing Arts, and What the Bible Says About Love, I pray you’ll follow the newly revised blog here, where, Lord willing, new posts will most likely arise in prayer-a-phrases from Daily Bible Readings.

In addition some of my poems previously published in books or secular journals will soon be on the Poetry Editor blog, Lord willing, which means that the only blog of mine that may stay as is for now are reviews of new translations, study editions, and children’s Bibles on the Bible Reviewer blog.

With two new reviews still waiting to be winged, others may depend on whether Bible publishers add me to their list of reviewers. And, oh, I pray they do because when it comes to the Bible less just doesn’t work for me! Sometimes more is better.

© 2013, Mary Harwell Sayler

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Tips for a long writing life

Writing for traditional book companies, magazines, or other print publications may take a little time to investigate, think about, and prayerfully consider, but you gain a lot for the effort. Besides acquiring publishing credits with well-known publishers, you will most likely receive editorial feedback and immediately gain a wide readership for your work.

If that greater outreach appeals to you, you’ll be glad to know that many articles relating to your writing interests have already been posted on this blog. Lord willing, the following tips will also help you to build and sustain a long career in freelance writing:

Read and study well-written classics and contemporary works in your genre.

Think about what first drew you to each book, poem, article, or story and what retains your interest.

Re-read periodicals you like and get familiar with everything from the Table of Contents to Letters to the Editor.

Also notice ads to see what readers of a particular publication are drawn to and what interests them. If those same things interest you – and if the poems, articles, or stories do too – then add that publication to your list of Most Likely Markets.

Make a list, too, of your God-given gifts, special interests, experiences, and topics that come to mind as you read, considering and noting any gaps your work might fill.

Ask God to guide you in using your gifts and selecting a topic.

Find a relevant theme, focus, or goal for that particular topic and reading audience, again, praying for God’s guidance.

Research your subject well, creating a bibliography as you go.

As you begin to write, let your writing flow without hindering or criticizing yourself. Then let your work rest. Later, read each page as if someone else had written it.

Read aloud each revision, listening especially for unclear wording or discordant sounds.

Revise accordingly then place your best manuscript with an editor – one editor at a time.

Follow the writers’ guidelines carefully for each submission. (You can usually find these on the company’s website.)

Keep track of where, when, and to whom you mailed your work.

While you wait to hear from one editor, query another about your next idea.

Begin at the beginning of these suggestions.

Begin and end with prayer for God’s ongoing guidance, inspired ideas, and a long, blessed writing life!

© 2013, Mary Harwell Sayler, all rights reserved.

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Sending your poems and manuscripts to traditional publishers

Poets and writers often self-publish their work because they do not know how to go about getting published by traditional print journals, books, or e-zines. These tips, first posted here over 3 years ago, bear tweaking and repeating:

• Notice publishers of books and periodicals you like to read.

• Most of these publishers now have a website where you can study the titles in their book lines and read the poems and articles in their archives.

• Make a list of each publisher whose work is similar to yours.

• Study the writers' guidelines on each company's website.

• Some editors want a query first to get a quick idea of what you have in mind. Consider this a “sales pitch” meant to give the editor an overview that’s brief, relevant, and to the point.

• If an editor prefers your actual manuscript or batch of poems, great! Just follow the writers’ guidelines, submitting to one editor at a time.

• Keep track of where and when you sent your work. If you do not have a response in 2 to 3 months, follow-up.

• While you wait to hear about one poem or manuscript submission, start another.

• If the editor returns your work, don’t take it personally. The acceptance pile might be too big and space too small. But just in case, your work still needs work: Read it aloud. Listen for rough spots. Revise as needed, then submit the manuscript to the next publisher on your list.

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© 2013, Mary Harwell Sayler, all rights reserved. To give you an idea of the traditional publishing experiences that went into these suggestions, visit my Bio on my website.

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Praying Bible prayers

Bible Prayers: Praying for the glory of God

One of the most important aspects of a Christian writer's life is prayer, and I don't know about you, but sometimes I get tired of mine! Too many projects can overwhelm, and so can too few, but either starts an erosion process similar, I suppose, to ditch-digging, and I get in a rut.

For years I've turned to the Bible to enlarge my prayer life, and, well, get over myself. So, eventually, I researched everything the Bible presented on prayer and even had a book in mind to bring readers the scriptural references to Almost All the Prayers in the Bible. And then I discovered that Dr. Herbert Lockyer had been there and done that many decades ago in his "all" series, which, reportedly, brought Zondervan into the publishing business and off to a blessed start but didn't help my writing plans!

I tried revising the idea into a series of devotionals, which could work I guess, but I felt as though I were only repeating and, perhaps, updating Dr. Lockyer's work. So I gave up my idea.

And then the idea came.

With the Revised Lectionary getting Christians of all denominations to be, literally, on the same page, those daily Bible readings provided the source and impetus for praying Bible prayers that arise in the readings each week. Since I did not want to choose from the many fine translations available or bother with permission for usage of Holy Scripture, I began the habit of cutting/ pasting prayer-filled readings into my file (hmm, word scramble for life), looking up the passages in almost every English translation available, and then paraphrasing the prayers.

Often those prayer-a-phrases (as I've begun to call them) will come with a touch of poetry, which, come to find out, is the way about half of Holy Scripture originally came to the writers of the Bible – poetically! So all I can add is:

Glory be to God for potent prayers and poetry!

Glory be to God for the Bible’s timeless word to us as we look forward and toward the Word of The LORD, alive in our lives – and praying in, on, through, and all around us in Bible prayers.


© 2012 Mary Harwell Sayler, all rights reserved, but pass it on!

P.S. Eight years after writing the above, I had the joy of announcing the Book of Bible Prayers on Amazon!


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Deep See: Fishing for People

Fishing for fish requires some type of equipment, and fishing for people even more so. Either way Fisherfolk need a “hook.”

To catch your readers' attention:

Ask a pertinent question. Possibilities vary, depending on the audience, topic, and need, but for starters, consider the worries, complaints, and unpleasant subjects that often worm their way into a conversation. Then go from there.

For instance, how do we deal with greed? grief? grievances? guilt? gullibility? – our own or someone else’s. Such questions can hook readers quickly, but it takes research and credibility to reel them in (or rock the boat!)

Make a startling statement. Jesus did this when trying to get through to the Pharisees, who could see but not deeply. For example, “It’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a person who has everything to enter the Kingdom of God,” Mark 10:25.

Consider the lily pads in your fishing spot. Go below the flowers and the surface to anchor deep. For example, Jesus’ wise words “Consider the lilies” might bring to mind the poetic adage “Gather ye rose buds while ye may” or “Stop and smell the roses,” which overworked pastors might need to hear.

Similarly a field of lilies blooming profusely might remind readers that God does indeed provide without expecting them to work themselves into a worried frazzle. If you look closely at the shape or structure of an individual lily, you might also notice the quiet beauty of their trumpets and what that suggests for readers open to your deep see.

Get wise. Get a Bible. Almost any Bible that speaks your language will do in helping you to find a fitting voice for the godly wisdom that draws people to Christ.

This is not the same as saying whatever floats up or sounds deep when expressing shallow opinions. Even if such sayings have some basis in wisdom and truth, the deeper wisdom and truth of biblical saying add impact and depth.

Say, for example, I tell you in my most convincing voice, “God will celebrate and sing because of you!” Even with good timing for such a statement, your response might be, “Oh, yeah?” But don’t those same words have a more powerful impact if you know Zephaniah 3:17 said them first?

© 2012, Mary Harwell Sayler, all rights reserved, but pass it on – especially that quote from Zeph. Don’t you just love it! Here’s the whole verse in other English voices:

“The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing,”
Zephaniah 3:17, KJV (King James Version.)

“Hashem thy G-d in the midst of thee is gibbor; He will save, He will rejoice over thee with simchah; He will quiet [you] in His ahavah (love), He will joy over thee with singing,”
Zephaniah 3:17, Orthodox Jewish Bible.

“ADONAI your God is right there with you,
as a mighty savior.
He will rejoice over you and be glad,
he will be silent in his love,
he will shout over you with joy,”
Zephaniah 3:17, Complete Jewish Bible.

“The LORD your God
wins victory after victory
and is always with you.
He celebrates and sings
because of you,
and he will refresh your life
with his love,”
Zephaniah 3:17, Contemporary English Version.

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(c) 2012, Mary Harwell Sayler.

Bible verses on Thanksgiving

Traditional Thanksgiving Day celebrations in North America started with stories of newly transplanted pilgrims and Native Americans sharing a meal of wild turkey and any edible plants they could find, which, in my reenactment, would surely include popping fresh cranberries! However, the idea of thanksgiving began thousands of years earlier as Bible people gave their ongoing thanks to God our Creator, Provider, and Father of All.

Now, in our Christian writing life, these verses on thanksgiving, freshly plucked from the Bible, give us food for thought as we continuously give our thanks to God in all writing genres:

Leviticus 22:29
“When you bring a thanksgiving offering to the LORD, offer it appropriately for acceptance.”

2 Chronicles 29:31
“Then Hezekiah said, ‘Since you have consecrated yourselves to the LORD, bring your sacrifices and thanksgiving offerings to the Temple of the LORD.’ So the people brought sacrifices and thanksgiving offerings, and those with willing hearts brought even more."

Nehemiah 12:46
“Long ago David and Asaph began the custom of having choir directors lead hymns of praise and thanksgiving to God.”

Psalm 26:6-7
“I come to Your altar, O LORD, singing my thanksgiving and telling of all your wonders.”

Psalm 28:7
“The LORD is the strength and shield I trust with all my heart to help me, and so my heart is filled with such joy, songs of thanksgiving burst from me!”

Psalm 69:30
“I will praise God’s name with my song. I will honor God with my thanksgiving.”

Psalm 100:4
“Go into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise. Give thanks! Praise the name of the LORD forever.”

Psalm 107:1-2
Give thanks to the LORD for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. Has the LORD redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell everyone your God redeems.”

Psalm 116:17
“I will offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving as I call on the name of the LORD.”

Isaiah 51:3
“Yes, the LORD will comfort Israel again and have compassion on her ruins. Her desert will blossom like Eden. Her barren wilderness will become like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will blossom. Songs of thanksgiving will fill the air.”

Luke 10:21
“Filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit, Jesus prayed to God: ‘Oh, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank You for hiding wise things from clever people who think they're wise while revealing Your wisdom to the childlike.”

Corinthians 4:15
“As God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be more and more thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.”

Colossians 1:3
"We (Paul and Timothy) pray always for you and give thanks for you to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Revelation 7:11-13
“All of the angels standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living beings fell face down before the throne and worshipped God, singing:

“Amen! So be it! Blessing and glory and wisdom
and thanksgiving and honor
and power and strength belong to the LORD our God
forever and ever! Amen.”

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© 2012, Mary Harwell Sayler, all rights reserved, but pass it on.

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Prayer power!

Our recent Discussion about prayer in the Christian Poets & Writers group on LinkedIn evoked some great metaphors.

As Michael Spangle said, “Prayer has no more power than an electric cord. Plugging the cord into a wall outlet will connect the device the cord is connected to with the power in the wall outlet. Prayer is like that. It connects us to the power God has. Then power flows into our lives through prayers said in faith.”

When we see our prayers as a means of plugging into God for our current concerns we won't be shocked by the power we have in Christ. (All puns intended.)

A big concern, though, (thanks Rosalie Squires) is if a frayed cord interrupts the power flow to us from God.

To carry the analogy further, some have experienced violent trauma that broke the plug, while others (like me) have allowed ourselves to get circuit overload that caused static or burn-out.

As Christians in general and Christian Poets & Writers in particular, however, we do have prayer power – for ourselves, our country, other people, and the church.

The more open we are to God's healing work in us, the more likely we are to help our readers of all genres and become truly skilled electricians for Christ.

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© 2012, Mary Harwell Sayler, all rights reserved, but pass it on!

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How to have Bible values in what we write

A couple of weeks ago, I started a Discussion in the Christian Poets and Writers group on LinkedIn with the question, “Is the Bible an essential part of your work as a Christian poet, writer, editor, or publisher?”

One of our CP&W members responded with another important question, “How do we keep biblical values in our writing?”

I replied by saying something about how poems and writings in almost any genre reflect our Bible values then gave an example of “Blue Bloods,” one of my favorite TV shows that is "secular" but often ends by showing the biblical value of a family sharing a meal. People used to sit down and “break bread” together regularly but seldom now. What made the scene even better, though, was a televised demonstration of faith as the family prays before the meal – not with heads bowed symbolically but with full audio given to the prayer.

With that in mind and spirit, I went on to say in the CP&W Discussion that I’m not worried about Christian poets and writers omitting biblical value. Presenting godly values will just happen – naturally and supernaturally too, but what I failed to add is that this hinges on how well we know the Bible ourselves.

That thought has been on my mind even more since the CP&W conversation put it there because I then started to notice clever or catchy sayings that sound wise being posted by talented Christians, who might not know the difference between biblical values and what just sounds good. These poetic but pithy words seem sagacious yet have no nutritional value for spiritual growth because they just aren't true!

So how do we know if our writings have Bible value and not worldly ones that sound biblical but may merely be half-truths?

The best way, of course, is to know the Bible well, then keep on reading.

We can also research whatever does not sound right. The Biblegateway.com website eases such searches for words or phrases, but if that doesn’t reveal the real word on a hard-to-pinpoint topic, ask your pastor, preacher, or priest.

Look for clues, too, as you discern the difference between biblical values, popular expressions, or wise-sounding-sayings. Such words as “always,” “never,” “every,” or other absolutes may sound nice and pretty yet seldom be true.

This last word is, therefore, first and foremost: Pray!

Whether we write novels, poems, devotionals, children’s stories, nonfiction articles, or television scripts, our God-given values provide a strong spiritual antidote for remedying the contagious, ungodly values currently making the rounds!

If we ask God to help us speak clearly, ring truly, and be biblically accurate, we will communicate no ungodly dis-ease, but, in word and spirit, ease our readers into the true and healing word of God in Christ.

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© 2012, Mary Harwell Sayler, all rights reserved, but pass it on!

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