Full of Joy

Colors of Brokenness Penny Heilman (Read more about Penny here .)       A fallen leaf before its time While others flourished green Torn and taken from the tree O spinning, spiraling me   Why did the others get to stay While I was called to wither And take my place here on the dust Where frightening creatures slither   The view was better from up high So clear and undisturbed But since I’ve settled to the ground My vision has been blurred   Rays of hope from the sun Visit on occasion Revealing shades I’ve never seen Around my deep abrasion   Yet in the shadow of the wound I cannot remain The colors of my brokenness Bring peace into the pain   A fallen leaf before its time Offensive still it seems Yet being transformed by God’s hand O changing, colorful me     © 2012 Penny Heilman

Hey All! I've asked my friend, Penny to share some of her beautiful poetry and photography  with us for the next couple weeks. I met Penny through my beloved group, The Write Space which meets as a division of Infused Arts through Living Word Community Church . I'm so honored to share her artistry with you readers! Please enjoy! Dandelions – An Acrostic Poem   D eeply rooted, faithful, A rrive on time each year. N ever have the dandelions failed to reappear. D oes it ever make you wonder why this weed is so despised? E very time we take its life, it only multiplies. L ittle yellow wonders, I nvite us to embrace their O vercoming power, despite the things we face. N otice how the dandelions give way to the wind. S tanding tall, they give their all, so new life can begin.   Penny Heilman, Copyright 2016   For Reflection:   In what ways do dandelions remind you of Jesus?

Heavy heart. What is next? So much fear. Are my loved ones safe? Who will be targeted next? And why? Why so much hate? Why? Hate comes from anger. Anger comes from hurt.   Jesus came for the hurt. Jesus came to bring peace. Jesus came to fight for His children. All people. All. God is Love.     For God so loved every person. Every. Person. He gave His one son. His only son, Jesus. To die for every person. To pay the penalty for our sin. Our hate. Our bitterness. Our anger. Jesus paid it all.   Whoever believes this. Whoever. We will not die. We will live. Forever in Heaven. Because Jesus paid the price.   We don’t need to “just love”. We need the love of Jesus first. Then we love. With His love. Jesus is Love.  

The other night, Chuck and I rented a romance movie- it was my turn to pick. I assumed he would fall asleep, as per the norm, but he stayed wide awake. The movie ended up being painfully dumb. Very cheesy. Very unrealistic. But, it did get me thinking. There was a scene where the newlywed wife was sitting out on the front porch gazing at the ocean. Unbeknownst to her, the husband was standing in the doorway gazing longingly at her. I turned to Chuck and said, “Nobody does that. You never just stand there and stare at me, or me at you.” We chuckled imaging ourselves doing that. Having just celebrated our 7 year wedding anniversary, my mind has been aware of love. Love between a husband and wife isn’t what it looks like in movies. It may resemble that kind of cheesiness when a couple first starts dating, or first gets married, but that kind of infatuation takes a back seat after awhile. My younger brother just got married, and from what I hear from family, he and his new bri...