April 8, 2020

Why I murdered Jesus


[Spoiler Alert! We know we've all sinned, but this prose poem makes it personal.]


Even in the Garden of Eden, God wanted everything perfect. How could I fit in? I thought of fruit as food, not fare for knowing good and evil or other things over my head! Why entice me with beautiful berries wrapped in seamless silken skin – fragrance summoning me – and no seeds to navigate around, no hard core in the middle?

I admit I disobeyed. I ignored Your clear instructions, Lord. And then You murdered me!

You sent my now-limited life from the Garden in shame – spiritually dead, nothing the same, everything changed forever.

How hard I toil for fruit that spoils in a life filled with imperfection! I feel worthless. I question myself at every turn, fearing Your rejection.

Where do I go? How do I live with myself? How do I live without You?

Trying to be good and obey every dot and iota of the law didn’t do it! Neither did self-hatred nor mutilating remorse. I wanted to make things right, Lord, but I couldn’t, and You wouldn’t let me!

You sent Yourself –
Your Son –

The Perfect One –

Who perfectly suited
Your plan of redemption,
the Fruit of Yourself –
Your Pure Love – given
to exempt me from my own sin.

I’m sorry, Lord! I’m sorry, but
I could not stand
to look on such Whole and Holy Love
and live
as I’d been living.

What could I do but kill Him?




[EPILOGUE/PRAYER: Lord, help us to confess anything that keeps us from You. Help us to truly accept Your forgiveness. Praise You, Lord, for overcoming death, forgiving all who turn to You, and bringing us new life and a fresh start each day in Jesus' Name.]



March 20, 2020

Corona goes viral! What to do.


If you’ve been hearing about the Corona Virus, you’ve been bombarded with precautions such as: Stay home. Wash your hands with soap for at least 20 second every time you have been out. Sit and stand several feet away from other people. Avoid hugs and hand-shakes. Cough into a tissue – things I hope you’ve already been doing anytime anything is “going around.”

We who love God also count on the Lord to protect us, and certainly, our faith will overcome fear. But that doesn’t mean faith wipes out good sense! On the contrary, believers in God do well to investigate what our Creator has placed in nature that will boost health now - physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Physically

Vitamin C in reasonable amounts will help to protect your immune system. However, too much can send you running to the bathroom where, oh no! You might not have toilet paper! (Hmm. For that, God made big leaves, right?)

Echinacea is a natural herb with antiviral properties. Its “dirty sock” smell and earthy flavor keep us from downing it like candy, which means it’s not to be taken like a bag of potato chips or chocolate squares. The trouble is, this herb works in the mouth, not the stomach, so instead of swallowing an Echinacea capsule, open it and dump the contents into a honey-sweetened cup of tea.

Low humidity dries out body cells, making mucous membranes less able to filter out dust, pollen, and germs. Besides drinking lots and lots of clean water, use a humidifier. Or put water on the stove to boil, then add a few drops of cinnamon oil or eucalyptus or peppermint.

Find something to laugh about – the more belly involved the better. Listen to soothing music. Sing. Dance around to get your blood and those happy endorphins circling.

Mentally

Focusing on fear gives whatever we’re afraid of power over us as fear becomes the focal point of our lives. We can’t always control our feelings, but we can change the subject of our thoughts.

Instead of panic, choose faith over fear. (Yep, it’s a decision! Do we trust God or not?)

Read Psalms, Bible prayers, and poetry to stimulate faith.

Journal. Paint a picture. Color with crayons.

Relax. Watch the sun set. Get ample rest.

Spiritually

Constant worry puts the body into a fight or flight mode. Every time you start to worry about something, pray about it instead.

Look up “faith” in a Bible concordance. Find verses that speak to you and claim them for your own. (For me, for instance, it’s Romans 8:28 and John 3:17.)

Pray the Lord’s Prayer aka Our Father as though it were an outline for praying. As you say each phrase, let God bring to mind the people or situations for whom you’re to pray. For example, “Give ___ today the bread needed to feed their family.” Or, “Lead us not into the temptation to give in to our fears.” Or, “Deliver us, Lord, from the evil of faithlessness, greed, and hardened hearts.”

Count your blessings. Thank God for each gift. Praise God as The One to Trust – The One Who Wills to work for your good, no matter how scary things seem.







February 26, 2020

Happily Ever After Fifty Years


Marital advice and tips on staying together seem to be almost everywhere. If, however, you’re a married couple in Christ, you might want something more than a worldly view.

I might be able to offer that, but I’ve been reluctant to discuss marriage for a couple of reasons:

  •         My husband and I married young. I was still a teenager, and his parents had to sign for him. (FYI: our bio child was born twelve years later!)
  •          We didn't really know each other. i.e., We met in early February and married mid-May.


To be very clear: I do not recommend that pattern! Nevertheless, by the grace of God, we have been married to each other for fifty-plus years.

What’s the secret? Having no secrets sounds like sound advice. However, too many variables keep it from being a solid tip, applicable to all.

The most reliable guidance can be found in God’s Word for only God truly knows what we need! For example:

Have a godly attitude. Accept your equality in Christ.

“Submit yourselves to one another. Husbands, LOVE your wives. Wives, RESPECT your husbands,” Ephesians 5:21, 33.

“Husbands, love your wives, and don’t be harsh with them,” Colossians 3:19.

“Husbands, be considerate of your wives. Treat her with understanding. She might not be as strong as you, but you are fellow heirs of the grace of life. This way your prayers will not be hindered,” 1 Peter 3:7.

Remain true to each other.

“Marriage must be honored by all, and husbands and wives must be faithful to one another,“ Hebrews 13:4.

Have each other’s back! Be supportive of one another.

“Encourage one another. Build each other up,” 1 Thessalonians 5:11.

Call on the Lord. Ask for God’s help – especially during or after an argument!

Jesus promised, “Whenever two or more gather in My Name, I Am there with them,” Matthew 18:20.

Remember: Praying together is the most intimate thing you can do.

“And, this I pray: That your love keeps growing in true knowledge, discernment, and insight, so you can discern and decide what is best,” Philippians 1:9-10.


Mary Sayler, ©2020, Christian poet-writer, forever wife, and author of What the Bible Says About Love


December 13, 2019

Breaking with Christmas nostalgia


All of my life, I have loved my family’s tradition of traipsing through the woods to cut and decorate a real tree that filled our home with the fragrance of evergreen. Strings of lights wrapped warm colors around the branches and a wealth of ornaments (each with a story) dangled in the glow. In the shade beneath the tree, carefully chosen gifts gradually appeared, while carols played on the radio.

For many years, I’ve truly enjoyed that tradition. But this year, after I’d recorded, briefly watched, and deleted “Christmas specials” on television, the false gaiety made me sad as one show after another was neither special nor relevant to the annual mass for Christ – The One for Whom this holy day is named.

Even Santa Claus aka Saint Nicholas (an actual Christian Bishop in the fourth century) doesn’t seem to get top billing, but uniformly decorated trees grow on every channel as do commercials that bulge -- bigger and bolder every day.

And so this year, we set aside the fake tree and boxed ornaments in favor of a nativity set with large ceramic figures placed in or around a wooden stable with non-carnivorous animals alongside the scene.  The set sits on a wooden bench in our living room with colorful gifts placed way off to the side to keep the focus where it belongs.

What a difference this change of emphasis makes! Instead of walking through the room, wondering if I’d forgotten anyone or worrying about whether they’ll like the gifts I bought, I see the beautiful reminder of that first holy night when Jesus Christ was born.

May we never forget Christ in Christmas.




November 12, 2019

How public is the public domain?


After publishing the Book of Bible Prayers, which I’d collected from many translations of the Bible and prayerfully paraphrased (prayer-a-phrased) into everyday English, I became aware of the need for another version of the prayer book in KJV only. For many people, the King James Version is the only Bible to read.

Since King James of England commissioned the KJV translation in 1604 (published in 1611), we’ve been assured in recent decades that this beloved version is in the public domain and, therefore, can be quoted as much as we like as long as we identify the source. That’s almost true! But we’ll get back to that.

Contemporary translations have usually been commissioned, too, often by a Bible society or a Bible publisher, who holds the copyright. Generally, you can quote X number of verses (usually 250, but sometimes 500) without having to get the publisher’s permission. (The front matter of the edition will specify.)  Then you just have to acknowledge the copyright date and publishing company in your credits or on your title page.

I didn’t need to obtain permission with the Book of Bible Prayers because the text is an original compilation in my paraphrase with the exception of the Lord’s Prayer from the Gospel of Matthew, which I quoted and acknowledged as being from the KJV. However, the KJV version of the book having those same Bible prayers turned out to be another matter!

Come to find out, the KJV is indeed in the public domain – in the United States! If, though, your work profusely quotes the King James Version, as the Book of KJV Prayers does, for publication in the United Kingdom, guess what! You have to get permission from the crown!

After King James commissioned this translation into English, the British crown continued to renew the copyright as needed over the next 400 years! So, to avoid getting in trouble with the queen, the Book of KJV Prayers will be available in the United States only. Lord willing, I’ll occasionally post prayers from that book on the Bible Prayers site – but with an acknowledgement, of course.


Mary Sayler, ©2019



October 7, 2019

Tell a writer. Tell the world.


With easy-to-do yourself book publishing through Amazon Kindle and easy-to-do blogs via Google’s Blogger aka Blogspot, poets and writers have become more and more likely to publish their own work. Equally enticing, both forms of self-publishing are free!

A big obstacle arises though in getting out the word about the words written. With none of the advertising or publicity help that traditionally published poets and writers can rely on, the self-published author counts on you the reader to let friends, fellow readers, and social media followers know which books and blogs might be worth their reading time.

You don’t have to be a writer yourself to help the publishing community or literary world! Just tell people what you like as though you’re talking to them in person. Be specific about the unique aspects you found especially appealing or why you’re drawn to the work of a particular poet or writer.

If, however, you run across a “bad read” you wouldn’t recommend to anyone, don’t say a word – at least not in public! Instead send a note to the poet or writer if there’s something you feel strongly about; otherwise, let it go. It could be that the work hit a nerve or that whatever bothered you simply conflicts with the personal preferences or beliefs to which you’re both entitled.

As you review and laud 5-star books on Amazon and other sites, you add your voice to the literary community. You influence other readers, and your show appreciation for work well doneYou may never know for sure, but your reviews can encourage a poet or writer enough to give momentum for the next book. At least, that’s what happened to me.

After decades of researching what the Bible says and shows about prayer, I “suddenly” knew I wanted a book that collected Bible prayers into a contemporary prayer book we can use to refresh, deepen, and empower our prayer lives. The immediate responses to the Book of Bible Prayers were so positive, I began the next book right away before my enthusiasm waned.

Maybe that’s why I’m up, writing this appeal before daybreak! Of necessity, poets and writers spend much of their time in solitude in order to get any work done, so your encouraging words matter a lot! And, who knows? Your positive review might give the momentum needed for the next manuscript that inspires and encourages you!




September 11, 2019

A poem of comfort: 9/11


Jesus walked through flames for us.

He brought calm
to the terrorized planes.

The Twin Towers came down
around Him, 

holding
your husband, your wife, your child.


Mary Harwell Sayler©2018/09/11

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