Song and Dance

Sing a song of seasons,

Something bright in all,

Flowers in the summer;

Fires in the fall.

Robert Louis Stevenson

Song and Dance

By C. Elece Hollis

Come Summer late with marigolds, with zinnias, and with cosmos

Splash the green with colors like the sunset from the hill

Come Summer, sing of Autumn—prepare us for her visit

Let us store up warmth and light within our souls—until

We can dance the dance of winter;

We can shout the joy of spring!

We can wait for seasons changing—passing

Learn to trust what God will bring.

While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, 

and summer and winter, and day and night will not cease.

Genesis  8:22 nkjv

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

Blazing Stars—Prairie Jewels

Everywhere I find the signature, the autograph of God.

Joseph Parker

Blazing Stars

By Elece Hollis

 Lavender spears wave

In August's super-heated wind,

Calling butterfly and bee

To feast the summer's end.

Lilac wands sway

Above the prairie grass,

Where by day meadowlark sings

And by night deer quiet pass.

Amethyst scepter rises

Lifted to the wide Oklahoma sky

Stop here and see the wonder of me

Before you rush on by.

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©Elece Hollis, author of Limitless Grace

“But though I had been such a great sinner before conversion, yet God never charged the guilt of the sins of my ignorance upon me; only He showed me I was lost if I did not have Christ, because I had been a sinner. I saw that I wanted a perfect righteousness to present me without fault before God, and this righteousness was nowhere to be found except in the person of Jesus Christ.”

                                                             —from Grace Abounding by John Bunyan

Welcome to a unique and memorable reading experience, where classic meets contemporary, with Limitless Grace. In this lovely devotional—inspired by the writings of John Bunyan—dozens of contemporary devotions offer refreshing reminders of God’s exceeding goodness. Each reading is paired with selected text from Bunyan’s Grace Abounding, making it a fresh way to experience one of the greatest Christian classics of all time.@@@@

Marketplace

Marketplace

"I think God's love is meant to be encountered, received, embraced, even guzzled and gobbled by famished souls, but not necessarily understood."

Steven James

Marketplace

By Elece Hollis

To the market we go 

To buy zucchini squash and carrots,

Peppers, peaches, tomatoes red as fire engines.

 We go for glads and dahlias to put in a glass pitcher,

To grace the breakfast table,

For fresh baked bread and goat cheese.

To watch a woman weaving baskets, 

Listen to a singer belt out his version of 

Amazing Grace,

To watch a juggler spin plates.  

We are not leaving without being

Inspired by this place, these people, 

Pieces and parts of patterns— 

A patchwork quilt-top.

We won't leave without thanks

Swelling up in our hearts 

At the sounds, 

Music, voices, laughter, water splashing in the fountain;

 At the sights—the colors, the diversity, the flavors!

We won't leave without feeding our souls 

A feast of flowers, 

Watching butterflies and dragonflies fly,

And bumblebees bumble.

Without watching gray-suited doves strut on the sidewalks,

Winging to the overhangs of nearby buildings.

 We won't leave without speaking to God's children, 

Without drinking in the freshness 

Without looking upward to the blazing blue sky 

Singing Hallelujah!

 Without knowing what a great God

Our God is, 

 Without hearing his eternal message

"I love you," 

Without hearing His elegant electric voice.

 Hallelujah!

"Life is a church." David Phelps

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

Weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning.

Psalm 30:5

A garden plot's a healing spot.

 I know the feel of sod

Was my mother's way to say,

 "I've touched a bit of God."

 June Masters Bacher

As the years pass, I am coming more and more to understand
 that it is the common everyday blessings 
of our common everyday lives
 for which we should be particularly grateful.

Laura Ingalls Wilder

In the Morning

By Elece Hollis

I meet God in the morning 
when the dew is on the grass

When the sun has just come up 
And a soft breeze trundles past.

I meet Him in the quiet spot 
Beside the garden gate
While the birds come singing-winging,
 He arrives; He's never late.

I meet Him in the garden rows
 He sends a butterfly to kiss
My shoulder or my hair, my face
 A dew-new greeting I must not miss.

I meet Him as I kneel down
 Plucking peas and pulling weeds
He meets me there and touches me.
 With simple peace, He meets my needs.

I meet God in the morning
He goes with me through the day
 I thank Him for the joy and love
He gifts me with along life's way.

Have you noticed how many of the flowers and trees have heart-shaped leaves? Could it be that God is saying, "Hey there, somebody loves you!"

C.E. Hollis

The quest for a simpler life is in itself

 an infinite journey toward God.

Wanda Urbanska

©2014 Elece Hollis, author of Limitless Grace,  available  at Mardel's or on Amazon http://amzn.to/1uEcfUM
If you would like to leave a comment. Click on "comments" or "no comments" below and tell me which of these photos you like best and why?
Please follow me on this once-a-week blog of home grown poetry and photography and don't miss Totally Tuesday.