Not What She Meant

The "Suppertime" poem which was my last post received an interesting review. If you haven't read it you can scroll down and see it. I send my poems two different places to have them reviewed by other authors. One wrote the following message: "Heart touching poem and good style and word flow. Hope the brothers reunite soon for supper."

What? In order for me to join my brother in that supper I would have to die. I don't think she thought that one through. It's like the woman who told the pastor he should have his sermons published in a book. He said, "Posthumously I presume?" She said, "Yes, and the sooner the better." I don't think that's what she meant.

Another woman (why is it always a woman?) told the pastor that the sermons were like water to a drowning man. I don't think that's what she meant. Another (let's say it's a man this time) said to the pastor that each sermon is a little better than the next. I don't think that's what he meant.

It's so easy to say something that we don't mean to say. The young man can say to his sweetheart, "When I look in your eyes, time stands still." That's OK. But what if he said, "One look at your face would stop a clock." I don't think that what he meant.

I hope you say things the right way today and that it brings joy to others.

I will be working at a Camino from Thursday through Sunday. I hope I say the right things. Please pray for me.

A Song That Grabs My Heart

A Song That Grabs My Heart
By Larry Linville

There’s an old gospel song that I can hardly hear.
Each time I hear it I go back many a year.
When the song begins it brings memories sublime.
It’s title is “Come Home, Come Home, It’s Suppertime

Polio hit my brother when he was only five.
And for a while we didn’t know if he’d survive.
The hospital where he went was many miles away.
And he went there often for a long lonely stay..

When my father returned from one of those long trips
he shared a little story with his trembling lips.
The car radio began to belt out this sad song
and tears appeared on that child who tried to be so strong.

He wouldn’t be coming home for suppertime that day
and neither would he go out in the yard to play.
Several weeks would pass before he’d hear that call,
but even with those tears he attempted to stand tall.

When I hear that song today it grabs at my heart.
My eyes swell up with salty tears which begin to smart.
But someday that call with come and I’ll be able
to join my sweet brother at the supper table.

Animal Skins

This is my third poem from camp. This one is a little more serious and reflects on a presentation about the wonders of nature around us.

Animal Skins
By Larry Linville

They left their skins for us to see.
The fox and rabbit and squirrel gray.
Although they could not talk to us
their hides had much to say.

They were all different and much the same
as they show us how to live.
Each one in its special way
had so much to give.

Their fur was there to keep them warm
and at death they left them behind
so they could continue the task
of giving warmth to humankind.

Ticks

Ticks
By Larry Linville

“Why did God create the tick”,
is a question I often ask.
Why was it so important
in his first creation task?

The spider, wasp, ant and the snake
aren’t on the list of things I would make.
I do think caterpillars are nifty
when, as butterflies, they go at fifty.

Next time God decides to make more
I’ll gladly tell Him which to ignore.
If I get a chance His mind to pick
I’ll ask if he’ll get rid of the tick.

Church Camp

Church Camp
By Larry Linville

It was hot, so terribly hot,
I asked God to relieve the pain.
It cooled off, cooled off real nice
but then we had some rain.

There were people all around.
I always had to stand in line.
But as I got to know them
everything turned out fine.

I was missing Mom and Dad,
heck, I even missed my cat.
But I replaced them with my new friends.
Can you imagine that?

They fed me food I didn’t like,
I couldn’t clean my plate.
But my second meal had what I liked,
Next time I’ll not be late.

I wasn’t sure about the camp
and you might think it’s queer
that I am going to beg my folks
to let me go next year.

No Poem Today

My blog gets about 10 to 15 hits a day on the average. I like to add something regularly because you aren't going to check in if it never changes. The last couple of weeks I was flooded with good ideas for poems. The last several days I have been so snowed under that my creativity has been hampered by my schedule. It's Wednesday already.
The last poem I posted was written for my sermon at Trenton last Sunday. I will be preaching at Avondale this Sunday and I'm going to share a poem that I wrote many months ago. That means I will not be working with a sermon for a poem idea to hit me that way.
There are poems in my mind. I have one about the woman at the well. She was there alone because the other women didn't include her. That one hasn't began to bloom yet. I want to do one about muscle memory but it's far from being ready.
While I wait, let me say that I'm having fun! My beginning with the Paradise Church has me very excited. I've only preached there once but I will be attend VBS tonight. I communicate with leaders from the church on a regular basis through the good old email. I will be helping lead a grandparent/grandchild camp at Wilderness from Monday through Wednesday night week. I have a Camino coming up in August. I keep very, very busy these days.
I hope you will be checking in on a regular basis. I'm sure there will be some good poems (he said humbly) on the way. On those times when the poetry is sparse I will share some thoughts with you.
Today is the only day you have to serve God. Yesterday is gone and tomorrow hasn't arrived yet. I pray that God will inspire you and use you to help spread the love which Jesus demonstrated while he walked the face of the earth. GetRdone!

Plant, Water and Harvest

I will be preaching at Trenton, MO on Sunday. I left there about 19 years ago. This sermon will be based on 1 Corinthians 3:6-9 and this poem came to me as I worked on the sermon.


Plant, Water and Harvest
By Larry Linville

For the spreading of God’s work to take place
People are employed as God’s points of grace
There are three tasks that must always be done
And we may be called to do more than one.

The first task is always to plant each seed
To meet each person at their greatest need.
We cultivate the soil for the sowing
And after that’s done we may be going.

Watering the seed must always come next
Moisture and seed in the ground soon connects
The maturing small seed begins to sprout
And then several roots begin reaching out.

The harvest comes when the time is just right
When the plant grows to its ultimate height
The crop is finally placed in the bin
There to be eaten or planted again.

Sometimes we plant God’s seed in tender love
But its growth always comes from God above.
Sometimes we pour water so it can grow
while we wait for growth which God can bestow.

Sometimes we get to harvest the new grains
Which from the beginning God will sustain
And sometimes we are asked to do all three
With the help of others we never see.

Seeds we have planted while we are here
someone else harvests in another year.
This cycle would seem to be very odd
If the growing wasn’t done by God.

So plant, water, and harvest where you are
so humbly because you are not the star.
And in God’s kingdom your heart will know
You had a big part to help it grow.

Not Like The Old Days

“Not Like The Old Days.”
By Larry Linville

“Not like the old days,” she said
with a discontented sneer
as she rode on her mobile
which was in the slowest gear.

She’s had all that she could eat
while sitting with a big crowd.
Though the music was from her day
it was just to blasted loud.

The residents’ families
had all come to celebrate.
But just as you might have guessed
her family was always late.

She’s been outside for an hour
and would like a place to hide.
As she rode past me in haste
to go to her room inside.

Next time there’s a special thing
she’ll be the first to arrive.
But something will upset her
and her joy it will deprive.

It isn’t like the old days.
There is truth in what she said.
She wouldn’t be in that wheel chair
perhaps she’d still be in bed.

Bumblebee Dance

Bumblebee Dance
By Larry Linville

It was way back in the days of old
when cars without air cooling were sold.
I drove with the windows open wide
and a big bumblebee flew inside

He hit my chest and fell to the seat
somewhere between my belt and my feet.
I did not know just where he went
but my quick searching would not relent.

I’m sure he must have been stunned a bit
and I saw that devil right where I sit
while driving sixty down the road
I tried to move before he’d explode.

With foot on the pedal I tried to stand
so I could reach him with my right hand.
The car was swerving and so was I
trying to keep him from stinging my thigh.

We must have driven for several miles
with other drivers giving me smiles.
At last I got that pest to the floor
and gave him a kick right out the door.

When put to music this awkward prance
is my invention of a new dance.
Not like the twist but it could go far
if I could just do it outside the car.

My Willer Won't Will

I preached a sermon at Paradise this morning based on Romans 7. Paul is talking about doing the things he should and not doing things that he should. I used this poem to look at his situation in our lives today. I hope you like it.


My Willer Don’t Will
By Larry Linville

My willer don’t will
and my don’ter won’t don’t.
My doer won’t do
and won’ter don’t won’t.

I don’t know what
has come over me.
When I try to do right
it’s the wrong thing I see.

My willpower is
always doing fine,
but my won’tpower
is on the decline.

I’m a wretched man
this I must admit.
When I want to go
I just have to quit.

Who can save me from
this dreadful state.
Only Jesus Christ
on whom I must wait.

Jesus' First Sermon

Jesus’ First Sermon
Larry Linville

He wasn’t sent there by a Bishop.
No pulpit committee gave a call.
But he stood up to preach just the same
and with God’s help he spoke to all.

He read the scroll with Isaiah’s words
about bringing good news to the poor.
He said it was fulfilled when he spoke
and he quietly walked out the door.

People were shocked at this home town boy.
In anger they drove him from their town
to push him off of the highest bluff
but through the mad crowd he walked back down.

They were mad because the things he said
were not the things they wanted to hear,
but he knew he had to speak for God
and make God’s message clear.

When your preacher gets under your skin
and says thing you think are absurd
be thankful he’s not trying to please
but is only preaching God’s Word.

My Twenty-Second First Sermon

My Twenty-Second First Sermon
By Larry Linville

I’ve preached a first sermon twenty-one times
in churches both large and small.
Some were located in small country towns
and some in no town at all.

Some were in buildings in county seat towns
with a very tall steeple.
Others found their place in a big city
with the pews full of people.

There’s one thing common in every sermon.
I became nervous each time.
But I stood up and never let it show
and tried to speak so sublime.

As I prepare for my sermon this week
good old number twenty-two.
I know I’ll be nervous, but I’m doing
what God’s asking me to do.

She Turns Forty Today

She Turns Forty Today
By Larry Linville

Forty years ago today
my wife woke me up to say
it was time to deliver
our baby, which made me shiver

I drove to the emergency
where the doctor said he would be.
I parked the car and went upstairs
to those with tender loving cares.

I sat calmly to wait my turn
And then the things began to churn.
Nurses rushed all over the place
as I sat with my puzzled face.

Soon there appeared a friendly nurse
with a line she had to rehearse.
“I know things have been a big whirl,
but now you have a baby girl.”

So now she turned forty today
it seems like only yesterday
that this girl came to live with us
after causing such a big fuss.