To go beyond
And give your all
Without complaint
A challenging call
To show up lift up
In rain or shine
To set aside self
And what we call “mine”
Extra extra
Is what it’s all about
Beyond the ordinary
That’s without a doubt
Though life may weigh down
Then persist and be true
Gain strength from above
To be faithful to do
Extra extra
Let His light shine
To be to happen or to do
Hope for good upon each day
Achievable desirable
Possibilities before us
Shall we believe
That in all God is able?
Though sometimes things
Seem undone… impossible
Be still and know in quietness
Helping, loving, and persisting
Positivity makes a difference
Strength for better
Possible
From “My Words to Live By”
Charlotte-Anne Allen
What has happened in this world
And what is now to come?
God’s prophets told of things to come
When the time was right… it came to pass
Jesus spoke such words of truth
When the task was finished… it came to pass
Goodness came to fill the void
Where humankind tried to strive alone
We rest assured that as we follow
With God, great things will come to pass.
Charlotte-Anne Allen
When the Hebrew people were in the land of exile, home of the Babylonians, God first spoke to the Jewish priest named Ezekiel. He was only thirty years old! … God had allowed the people to be taken into exile because they had turned from Him, worshiping idols, offering their children as sacrifices, living immorally, violently, and selfishly.
God gave words to his new prophet Ezekiel to call them back to Himself, hard words and difficult messages. There were some really weird visions!
In one vision, there was a valley full of dry bones!
“Ezekiel, can these bones live?!”
“Only You know sovereign God!”
“Prophesy, speak to these bones. I will restore them and put breath back into them.”
And so, Ezekiel obeyed, and God did as He said He would.
Wow! Dry bones. Dead. Without life. Unable to stand. To walk.
God spoke, breathed on those dry bones, and restored life.
Sinews. Flesh. Bones knitting together.
I’ve had times, and perhaps you have too, when I felt like those dry bones. Like the Hebrew people, we can be drawn away from the true source of life, God eternal. Life experiences, disappointments, unfulfilled expectations, tragedy, and pain shape us and can skew our perspective and understanding.
Yet, like those dry bones, the breath of God’s Spirit will fill us. He raises His children to stand in that dark valley of dry bones. God’s breath! Within us! Ezekiel’s story is an amazing one, one of promise and of hope for us all, isn’t it?! The breath of His Spirit moves within us when we follow God. We begin to take on more of His character, not perfect but striving to serve Him and to care for others. Examining the areas we need to grow in or change is a lifelong process.
We are redeemed. We are restored. We are given new life.
Edited and re-posted
Happy and cheerful
Brightens your day
Shines in warm sunshine
With good things to say
Brimming with such energy
Canaries singing or buzzing bees
Drawing attention inspiring hope
Finding the positive in what it sees
Cautions to proceed with care
Head uplifted to solve a problem
Yet creative optimistic inspiring
Not defeated or overcome by them
A touch of light to cheer you on
As a butterfly floating… is joyful yellow
From “On Colors”
Charlotte-Anne Allen
What’s this I see,
So large before me?!
Scurry hurry back-and-forth
Take a pause and draw a breath
In this small mite
Things seem so daunting
Mountain high or wall before me
Perhaps a chasm so deep and dark
And yet with wings
We rise and lift to the sky
With feet we stand and climb
Or cross over on bridges firm and true
Is not our Creator
Ever surrounding uplifting
Bringing us up over and through
Revealing beauty and shining promise?
In our smallness
We know God’s greatness.
Charlotte-Anne Allen
Clean and inviting
Washed, fresh, and pure
It is what you see
Real, genuine, and sure
Peaceful and good
Full of beauty and grace
An uplifting spirit
And encouraging face
Forgiveness, acceptance
Yields hope and builds might
Shining like snow
To the darkness… brings light
Combining all colors
… from God is true white
From “On Colors”
Charlotte-Anne Allen
In rising wind and slashing rain
Storm breaking, pounding, roaring
Trees do dance… They break and tremble
Whipped by nature’s grasping breath
Do we yet cower… or stand in awe?
We in our weakness before God’s might
Surrendered to those cleansing waters
Breathing in His freshening wind
Look now… A Light is shining
Glowing, filling, warming…
Ever speaking of storm passing
Securely held in its wake
Charlotte-Anne Allen
Elijah! I love Elijah. Mighty prophet of God. Strong. Assured. Obedient to God’s commands. Through Elijah, God displayed His authority and great power to the people of Israel who had turned away! Fire from heaven burned up the soaking wet sacrifice… after futile attempts by the priests of Baal, god of fertility and nature, were unsuccessful. “Your god is no god!” … and 450 prophets of Baal perished.
Through Elijah, God withheld rain and a great drought resulted.
Through Elijah, God ended this drought with wind and abundant water… and Elijah miraculously ran before the chariot of King Ahab to a town fourteen miles away.
…Then a vengeful Queen Jezebel declared death to Elijah and he ran away in fear… and ran… and ran… until he ended up in a faraway cave in which to hide.
There God spoke to him, “What are you doing here Elijah?
And Elijah replied, I have given you my all God! Haven’t I obeyed you as best I can? I’ve been very busy doing all these things for You. Now look at these hard-headed, self-centered, angry people! They have rejected you and killed all your other prophets and now I’m the only one left! It’s useless. I might as well die too!”
I love Elijah! Doesn’t his story express the fear and discouragement we all feel at times?!
So, God passed by before that cave. There came a great wind, earthquake, and fire… but God was not in them. He who had spoken so forcefully and powerfully previously so that all would know His authority, did not speak through them this time… God had Elijah’s full attention! But where was God?!
Then there came a still small voice, a quiet calm. Elijah heard the voice of God asking the same question He had asked before, “What are you doing here Elijah?” …and, still focused on himself, Elijah gave the same answer!
But in the quiet of that moment, came assurance that God was with him. “Go back Elijah. I have a job for you. There will be others to help you, kings to anoint and a prophet to succeed you. Why, there are 7000 prophets who will rise up to serve me!”
I love Elijah! His story gives us all hope and assurance. “Go back. I’m with you. You are not alone,” God says. And so, He speaks in that still small voice, in quiet calm amidst our storms. God had not given up on them. He hadn’t given up on Elijah and He hasn’t given up on us! He is mighty. He is faithful.
May we find rest and courage in Him, giving thanks for His promise and faithful presence. Amen.
*Elijah’s story – 1 Kings Chapters 17-19 & 2 Kings Chapter 2
Charlotte-Anne Allen, 5/7/2017
Revised 1/28/2023
• See the beauty woven into the fabric of life
• Hope is like drops of dew amidst fragile strands shining in the light
• Outward fragility can belie strength and purpose
• When sticky situations rear up, hold on to what is good and kind
• Dishonesty builds tangled webs of deceit
• Nurture that which builds lasting relationships and overcomes storms
• Attend to tremors and shakings signaling significant arrivals
• If caught unaware, we run headlong into that which can trap us
• Know there is still purpose when we are dusty and spent
• Recognizing our smallness builds humility and empathy
• The spider’s mountain is still a mountain
• We are nourished as we are being formed
• Be one who draws others to receive healing
• When ragged and torn, turn to God who makes us new
– From “Reflections from the Everyday”
Charlotte-Anne Allen
The Still Small Voice 