High in the Himalayas
hidden from view
Far from prying eyes
known to but a few
a distant paradise....

Shangri-la
Perfection on earth
No war, no sin, no harm, no hurt
Food, shelter, pristine weather
All that brings man pleasure.

This is man dreamin'
of the long lost garden of Eden
A place we know deep down exists
It's more than just a myth
For God never destroyed it
but set an angelic guard
One day intending to reinhabit
The place from which man was barred
the place of man's betrayal so tragic.
This place is real
more than a dream
The way concealed
now clearly seen
By following Christ
in sacred Fellowship
The path of Life
in no longer hid.
The tree of Life is ours to ingest
for it's Christ himself - our wine and our bread
Our ressurection, our life from the dead
Our only key to the garden's reentry....

As he said to the dying thief -
"Soon you will find relief
for today you will be with me in paradise
where I will wipe every tear from your eye
The pain you now feel
is a temporary thing
What you'll find is real
is the love I am now sharing.
I, your Christ, choose now to forgive
that you, my son, will not perish but live"

And he breathed not his last breath
but merely took his rest
from this mortal soil
He went to Hell to release
those in captivity
Setting the captives free
in a magnificent burst of Glory!
Those who died in faith
received Faith's reward
As those in Abraham's bosom
were delivered by God's mighty sword
to dwell on high
in paradise
with God forevermore.....

Some can't see past their own nose
Of others around they pay no heed
They take no pause, they make no note
They only care for their own needs
Their only concern is "what's in it for me"?

Others give of themselves selflessly
Constantly caring with gracious deeds
Giving away their most precious commodity -
thier time, just to make others happy
Their chief concern is "how may I serve thee"?

Now ask yourself this - which one are you?
Maybe a combination of the two?
I understand that balance is sometimes necessary
but do esteem others first and of pride be wary.....

Haiku

Far away - thunder
War is closer than we think
Trees shake in the wind.

The Cardinal paused
looked askance, then, flew far, high
now a memory.

Pathetic tableau
Man tries to be in control
of his destiny.

Life cannot be found
outside God's eternal bounds
Devil's deception.....

I wish I had no ability
to see the evil around me
When people despise or ignore me, ah
I wish I had no idea
I don't want to know good from evil
I just want to eat from the Tree of Life and be full
When people disdain and hate my very name,
I wish it didn't cause me such pain.
I wish I was like a child who
like Narciso Perez, has no clue.
I wish I could love everyone I meet
through and through
and be dead to the evil people do
I don't want to know evil anymore
in any of it's myriad forms
Oh crud, I'm whining again
too much time do I spend
complaining and dwelling on sin
But that's my life
a series of peaks and valleys
bright lights and blind alleys
ups and downs
smiles and frowns
cruise ships and galleys.....

"Fret not thyself because of evildoers"  Ps: 37:1

The pagan saints are out in force these days
that is, those who mix the Holy and profane
They go to church, they sound godly
but other gods they hear and obey
They cannot separate from the world
they are swine trampling God's pearls
But they really believe they are ok
that God is fine with their filthy ways
He will separate what they will not -
someday soon, the royal from the rot
And all will know what they don't now -
what God will and won't allow
Devils and saints should never fellowship
God rebuke these unholy relationships
and may the Holy Spirit alone
be the one they bow to and follow
All that is unclean - God will soon be removing
So carefully examine whatever it it you're doing
Don't end up being thrown out with the rest of the trash
Buy white robes and put them on fast.......