i used to love to write poetry, it is a gift i have let lay dormant for too long.
hold me closer
i can’t feel you yet
tighter
i need to forget
or maybe to remember
that i’m not dead yet
please don’t let go
it is too much like dying
and i cant be without you right now
i can still see the box closing
on a friend too young to die
if you let me go
it feels like i may lose you
forever
i cant live
with that
Go slowly summertime
Be kind to my children
Don’t speed past stealing away with your sweetness and wonder
Creep by haltingly summer days
Let the delicious joy
Of popsicles and pool time
Linger past their allotted time
Leave the memories when you go please
As these are the times they will remember most
When days seem to last forever
And nights are full of magic
Where friends come and go and stay and linger
and the smell of barbecue is always on the wind
Where parents are young and grandparents are still with us
Where they can almost taste the love
That is theirs
Stand still for just a minute summertime and let me stare at your glory
reflected in their tanned and laughing faces
You go too quickly summertime
Always leaving us wanting more
That must be what makes you so precious.
So I woke up today with a strange feeling of hope; hope that the tide is shifting; hope that the conversation is taking a new shape. Hope in the face of setbacks like a female attorney who bows to the will of her client, by wearing a burqa; a client, who if he had his way, would have prevented her from becoming an attorney in the first place and who would strip her of her freedom to practice law and even from leaving her home unaccompanied if given the opportunity. Setbacks like the state of North Carolina passing an amendment that robs fellow Americans/humans of enjoying the same privilege to marry their beloveds and not to be alone, that is why God designed marriage, remember? It is not good for us to be alone, we need someone who is a perfect fit for us.
But like I said, I am feeling hopeful today. Why?
1. The existence of Kent Krabill; Proof that God loves me.
2. The existence of my children who live and breathe and change the world with their love.
3. The existence of Novitas (aka the island of misfit toys) who continually challenge me to love more and judge less.
4. The existence of the countless new friends I am discovering daily.
5. The existence of inspiration. I finally feel like I am learning who I always was.
6. The existence of the Holy Spirit who continues to lead me into the truth and to change me.
7. The existence of the amazing Rachel Held Evans (who inspires me over and over) and her new article.
8. The existence of Justin Lee and his 30 confessions.
9. The existence of magical moments. I mean did you see Josh Hamilton hit 4 home runs in one game? Have you been to Disney World?
10. The existence of Sixty Percent and people who write such things.
11. The existence of Kathy Escobar and The Refuge, Alise Wright, Amanda Miller Garber and RISE church and Pam Hogeweide and all the other UNladylike women of the church.
12. The existence of Brian McLaren, Wade Burleson, Rob Bell, Jay Bakker, my husband and every other men who supports the UNladylike women of the church.
13. The existence of Bert & Evelyn Waggoner and the influence he had on my life and the seeds of change planted in Kent and I at the Sugarland Vineyard.
14. The existence of Derek Watson who set in motion the tectonic plates of our lives.
15. The existence of Laurie Watson and the work she does as a sex therapist who happens to be a follower of Christ.
16. The existence of the parents I know who are trying to teach their kids to love people, all people.
17. The existence of a shift that has begun in our country and the church toward freedom, equality and acceptance.
18. The existence of people who fight for these things every day.
19. The existence of groups like Christians for Biblical Equality.
20. The existence of the Marin Foundation.
21. The existence of common ground: President Obama and Vice President Chaney both support gay marriage.
22. The existence of Matthew Vines.
23. The existence of people who refuse to stop loving or believing better of people; even the ones who disagree with them.
24. The existence of my parents and grandparents and all the people who have helped to make me who I am.
25. The existence of art, music and poetry.
26. The existence of my God who never stops loving, never stops pursuing, who will one day make EVERYTHING right, who loves all and gives everything to bring his children home to him.
27. The existence of…YOU. YOUR EXISTENCE GIVES ME HOPE
Margaret Thatcher
Hilary Rodham Clinton
Jael – Biblical personality
Rachel – Biblical personality
Deborah – Biblical personality
Ruth – Biblical personality
Priscilla – Biblical personality
Lydia – Biblical personalit
Miraim – Biblical personality
Madeline Albright
Mary the mother of Jesus
Mary Magdeline
Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike
Marie Anne de Cupis de Camargo
Betty Ford
Nancy Reagan
Aleksandra Mikhaylovna Kollontai
Ruth Graham
Anne Graham Lotz
Catherine Boothe
Valentina Vladimirovna Nikolayeva Tereshko
Alexandrine Pieternella Francoise Tinne
Rachel Held Evans
Sarah Bessey
Ann Morr – my mother
Gladys Elliott – my Grandmother
Doris Morr – my Grandmother
Beth Moore
Judge Barbara Lynn
Chief Judge Edith Jones
Justice Ginsberg
Kathy Escobar
Pam Hogeweide
Mariah Smiley – Teen founder of Drops of Love
Laurie Watson
;
This is a list of women who currently hold CEO positions at companies that rank on the most recently published Fortune1000 lists (the Fortune 2012 list). Women currently hold 3.6 percent of Fortune 500 CEO positions and 3.9 percent of Fortune1000 CEO positions.
And millions and millions more whose hard work, dedication, LOVE and passion change the world EVERY SINGLE DAY.
Sir, you should be ashamed.
Plumbing the depths
And
Exploring the edges
Makes
For questions
About
My salvation
Now
I know how Jesus must have felt
When
Confronted with the company he kept
Strange
It seems like the makings of family
Breathless
And trembling I gaze in the face of
Love
Imagining that this is what heaven is
Where
Everyone and everything is as it
Always
Should have been
So today I thought I would catch you up to what has been happening in the world of Word of a Woman thanks to you all.
Recently, WordPress has started keeping track of the countries where you all live. I am shocked and amazed at how my words have traveled all around the world thanks to those of you who have re-posted and shared my blog with your friends. Thank you.
To date the blog has been viewed 5,428 times.
Since Feb 25th, when WordPress started keeping track, the blog has been viewed in 36 countries including, the US, Canada, the UK, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, UAE, Philippines, India, France, Germany, Venezuela, Uganda, Belgium, South Africa, Slovakia, Netherlands, Switzerland, Indonesia, Taiwan, new Zealand, Jersey, Iraq, Puerto Rico, Norway, Brazil, Croatia, Republic of Korea, Portugal, Jamaica, Turkey, Russian Federation, Spain, Italy and Jordan. I am humbled. Welcome everyone!
So far there have been 231 comments. I would love to see this number go up! I would love to hear your thoughts on the blog. I would love for your voice to be heard. We can all learn from one another.
Feel free to share Word of a Woman on your facebook account or reblog any of my posts, please just remember to link back to wordofawoman.com if you reblog.
Without further ado, I would like to share what you all have enjoyed the most…
Your top 10 favorite posts have been:
2. Dear John Piper, Would You Like a Ride on my Toboggan?
4. Homosexuality & God: Part 1
5. Girls can’t/shouldn’t/wouldn’t want to do that. -or- Rick Santorum & the DISD are out of touch.
6. Sledding Down the Slippery Slope.
9. I don’t like the word slut and you can’t make me use it.
The top 10 posts that you have liked well enough to share are:
5. Dear John Piper, Would You Like a Ride on my Toboggan?
6. I don’t like the word slut and you can’t make me use it.
8. How to Get the Right Guy to Like You? Really???
9. Some are More Equal than Others
Here are some of my favs that didn’t make your lists:
Sledding Down the Slippery Slope.
I’m Celebrating Arbor Day Early This Year.
Also, any of my poetry
I would also like to ask you for your help…
Please take a minute to read, Let me Help You with Your Luggage or Coming Out of the Church Closet.
If you know anyone who would be willing to share their story, or if you would like to share your story, please forward this post on to them.
Thank you my lovlies for being here with me in this life. I am overwhelmed by each of you.
like the ever expanding universe.
love.
jumps in.
bleeds out.
runs over.
filling.
empty.
spaces.
ever expanding.
overflowing.
never ending.
love.
there are harsh words enough in the world
to break a thousand hearts
enough stones to batter and crush
a million innocent bodies
enough misconceptions and judgments
to lock the door
and stay inside one’s narrow mind.
but I will hold my tongue
and breathe in kindness
until I can only speak love
I will seek to heal
the wounds I have inflicted
letting go of grudges
––Angela Beloian
make slow the clock
that measures out the time
of life I make with the partner of my heart
of love made, and songs sung, of laughter and the relief of being totally understood
of fleeting moments when magic exists and my breath stops
of heart swells that bring waves of love and the desperation to wring every glistening drop of life i can muster from my tininess
of enjoyment and experience of all made right and love that wins no matter the darkness it faces
make swift the clock
that measures out the time
of separation from the ones who comprise my heart
of hard talks, and hurt feelings, and the pain that comes from hearing hard things
of moments that make me feel like hope has lost
of hearts breaking because of injustices suffered, innocence lost and the discontent of brokenness
of hatred and the gulf of separation between us and them, you and me, heaven and human
word of a woman 