Master of Artistry Totally Tuesday

The extravagant gesture is the very stuff of creation. 

Annie Dillard

Master of Artistry

I relished bright costumes full of patent pizzazz

Skirts and dresses of sparkling jazz

Wonderful, fantastic, delightful array

The sweetest conceptions of  a "dizzy-land" day.

However so darling, creative, and bright

Still cannot compare to the crafter of light

Who amazes us daily with gorgeous designs,

The face of the earth he loads and he lines

With figures, with shapes, with styles that delight us

Astound us, amaze us, amuse us—treat us

To glorious creations of plants and bright flowers

Which show in their beauty his marvelous powers,

His penchant for color is stirred into the picture

His fine sense of humor and a splash of adventure

No man holds a candle to what He can make

When the master of artistry shocks us awake.

©2014 Elece Hollis, author of Limitless Grace,  available  at Mardel's or on Amazon http://amzn.to/1uEcfUM

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Praises Totally Tuesday

"Praise Him in the morning when you see the sun a'rising

Praise Him in the evening cause He took you through the day.

And in the in between time when you feel the pressure coming,

Remember that He loves and He promises to stay."

Song lyrics by John Fisher

Hibiscus makes a sweet red tea;

Its bloom is shelter for the bee

Its pods––a singular mystery;

Its petals, softest finery.

Flowers shoot from red-stemmed leaves

With buds—pale pink puffs—like the sleeves

On little girl's dresses. On summer eves

Open to the falling light achieves

A fragrance from its trumpets wide

Heart resting—with all fears aside

It heaves a convoluted sigh

And sings Hosanna to the sky!

© 2014 Elece Hollis, author of Meet God in the Morning Poems for the Heart of Prayer, with Helen Steiner Rice , with devotionals by Elece

Hidden Beauty

Hidden Beauty

You will find treasures there

In the bosom of a rose—In a tulip’s heart

Inside the flesh of a lily, a trillium, an iris,

A zinnia, all bound up

Treasures finer than pure gold

 Like gemstones

Nestled among velvet wrappings

 Hidden deep inside until

The sky's heat-lamp warms it;

Rain caresses, 

Coaxes petals back;

 Colors some out to sing

The real flower is unearthed.

People rush along—hurry—hidden

Swallowed by coats and sweaters;

Fleeing a critical world,

Protecting their hearts,
Shielding their souls,

Then the light dawns—Jesus!

He shines more and more

He comes with peace that heals
Deep wounds.
Soft rain of truth 

Wonderful light of His face

Warms and beautifies

Layers fall back
Petals unfold—showing true selves

Authentic—open and honest
Smiling back at the world once more;

Precious as the day

He made them.

© 2014 by Elece Hollis, author of  A Celebration of Family with Helen Steiner Rice   http://bit.ly/1m7uCeK

Read Elece's other blogs:  http://whatsgoodabouthome.blogspot.com/ 

East Texas Morning

Not without design does God write the music of our lives. Be it 

ours to learn the tune, and not be dismayed at the rests.

~ John Ruskin

On a bright hot Texas morning

You can hear the bees a-buzzing

Cicadas blend their voices

With the rustling of the leaves

The pine tree's nighttime whisper has

Become a soft, brushed rhythm

Wildflowers dance beside the road;

Cars in passing stir a breeze. 

Mockingbird joins in the chorus,

Sings the songs the flowers dance to,

Grazing cows find shelter 

In the shade of spreading trees.

© 2014 by Elece Hollis, author of  A Celebration of Family with Helen Steiner Rice   http://bit.ly/1m7uCeK

Read Elece's other blogs:  http://whatsgoodabouthome.blogspot.com/ 

Fireworks

Open your eyes and the whole world is full of God.

Jakob Bohme

Like a bursting firework rocket

Shouting out the praise

Of God the master craftsman

Crafting wonderful displays.

Tight inside a sprouting seed

Bulging up the stalk and now,

Building, growing, bursting bud

From inside out kapow—oh wow!

Grow me up inside, Jesus;

Fill me up with your true life

Stuff me so full I swell and burst 

A colorful blossom sparked with fire.

© 2014 by Elece Hollis, author of  A Celebration of Family with Helen Steiner Rice   http://bit.ly/1m7uCeK

Find Elece's other blogs:  http://whatsgoodabouthome.blogspot.com/       http://prairieplaces.blogspot.com/

Fields in Summer

The fields are dressed for summer

Beneath the broad blue sky,

Decked out in every gleeful color,

Waving to the passerby!

Dancing in the heated wind

Lining ditch and alley

Susan with her big brown eyes

Yellow-skirted—smiling! 

Native sisters in bright blankets

Nod with the summer rhythms

Wine, yellow, orange, and red

Woven striped and beaded—see them? 

 Pink Prairie Gentians

With blond sun-washed curls,

Are garbed in soft pink dresses

Like ballet-dreaming little girls.

You never know who you might find

Among the meadows grasses

A fellow in a brown fur hat

In a coat of rust and yellow passes 

Yes, the fields are dressed for summer

Hoping you will slow your pace

Not miss the festival of color

Spread across the earth's green face.

By Elece.Hollis, author of  A Celebration of Family with Helen Steiner Rice   http://bit.ly/1m7uCeK
Find Elece's other blogs:  http://thoughtsjoinletters.blogspot.com/       http://prairieplaces.blogspot.com/