Jesus in the LandRover

Thanks to so many people who took up our Christmas in Verse invitation, posting something small to capture the "big things of Christmas." I did not have room for all I would have liked to feature. So I hope you'll click through the full list of participants at the end. So much to love.

When you look at each offering, consider how the writer took something big and managed to express it in a small space of words. What is the secret behind doing this effectively? I think the answer may have something to do with the ability to repackage and layer.

Beyond just words, music is one of my favorite ways that artists manage to accomplish the layered miracle of packing glory into small, unlikely places. So I asked the HighCalling Team to tell me some of their favorite music (and poetry) too. Then I put it in the blue box below. Now you know what we listen to (and read . Personally, I'm waiting for a Country singer to write the song "Jesus in the LandRover." Though Erin already got a good start in that direction...

Erin’s rearranged

I find the baby Jesus
Stuck to His plastic manger
On the floor by the toy bins,
Squashed down between the couch cushions,
Next to an empty purple sippy cup,
Inside a shoe.
His face doesn’t change–
Uncanny perfect peace on a newborn–
Though He is far from His stable
And His little plastic mother,
Found this time stranded on the third stair
Behind the gate.
I guess this is the Savior’s reality
Since taking flesh to dwell among us–
Spending time in our deep, hidden places,
Lost amid our messes,
Forgotten in the middle of all our busy lives.
And His face shining grace always
Never changes toward us.

Once again I put Him back where He belongs.

A Simple Country Girl’s Threadbare

With gusto, I rip the raggedy hood
off 20-year old, threadbare sweatshirt.
Toss one piece in the trash and pull the other
portion on over my wet head.

Steep spicy tea to soothe

Look at mountains of cardboard boxes,
labeled a third time with red tape
All of it,
Waits.
Ready for unpacking.

Decide instead to sip
from a just-found cup,

while I mend my edges with white lights
and hand-sewn angels.

Strung with gold wire
and crimson beads.

Popcorn with salt sounds good too.

For tending to the threadbare soul
I just uncovered
in my living room.

Excerpt of Jenne’s Crech and Matin

Flare up, fire
I give you a pine knot
Would you steal out
Over the hearth
To end our charade
With a conflagration?

I hum a magnum mysterium
in my cave, writing
Psalms to the wind.
It is late on Christmas Day.
Safely separate now,
We dream our way along
the years' dark red ribbon.

Photo by Erin Kilmer. Used with permission. Post by L.L. Barkat, author of God in the Yard: Spiritual Practice for the Rest of Us.

All Participants

Danielle's Ghost of Christmas Present
Joelle's Comfort
Maureen’s To Break the Hold
Monica’s Besides, the Color is Right
LL’s Ms. Addonizio Advises Me on a Christmas Poem
Marcus’s Lovers Paying (Christmas) Bills and Advent (at TheOoze.com)
Apesydaisy’s The Christmas Story
Michelle’s Night is Holy
Susanne’s Rocking History
Craig’s Love Still Follows the Star
Melissa’s Ecstatic Joy
Karin’s Rejoice, Yes Rejoice
Glynn’s The gods are dying
Laura’s Gaudete
Jessica’s This is Love
Dianne’s Dreaming of the Light
Amy’s to finally get it
Kathleen’s Bundled
Tea Girl’s December Frost
Erin’s rearranged
Jenne’s Crech and Matin
A Simple Country Girl’s Threadbare


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