What it takes to be totally healthy

I’ve come to see that wellness
is much more than being fit.
A healthy body needs a healthy soul.
And while dieting and exercise
can do a body good,
a person really needs a higher goal.

It’s great to run a marathon
or jog five times a week,
but running after peace has merit, too.
And while walking before supper
can burn dreaded calories,
a daily walk with God is good for you.

To bend and flex has merit.
So, we strive to stay in shape.
As we age we must maintain agility.
But God also wants to stretch us
to expand our usefulness.
It’s His will that we become all we can be.

Yes, our bodies are a temple
that deserve refurbishment
lest through disrepair they start to fall apart.
But a temple’s just a building
if it’s just an empty shell.
So let’s exercise our souls and guard our hearts.

How Don Schoendorfer is helping change the world

There’s Donald Duck and Donald Trump
and Donald Rumsfeld, too.
There’s Don Quixote, Don Corleone
and Don Ameche who

are quite well-known in movies, news
and even on TV.
But there’s another Don I know
who means a lot to me.

This engineer from M.I.T.
was not content with fame.
Don Schoendorfer quit his job
to serve and help the lame.

Free Wheelchair Mission is his cause.
It’s a global charity
that lifts the lame from off the dirt
and grants them dignity.

The night of shame and loneliness
that held the helpless down
has been displaced by rays of hope
in villages and towns.

This Don who models God’s free grace
to those who crawl on clay
is one I proudly call my friend.
The Don of a new day.
 

www.freewheelchairmission.org

Listening to Lincoln at such a time as this; Dear Congress

A House Divided
Listening to Lincoln at such a time as this

Because our folks can’t get along,
we kids are suffering.
They’re acting childish (not grownup).
Their tantrum outbursts sting.

Why can’t they learn to compromise?
Why can’t they work things out?
We kids deserve our parents’ care,
but they gave us timeout.

A troubled marriage hurts the ones
who really aren’t to blame.
We are the politicians’ pawns
in this abusive game.

A marriage counselor named Abe
was just a common man,
but he spoke truth when he declared
divided homes won’t stand.

A Letter to Congress
With advice our mother might give

Dear Congress,

Take heed to what your mother said
before she tucked you into bed.
“Don’t close your eyes and fall asleep
before you say your prayers.”

And as you pray look deep inside
for evidence of greed and pride.
Please ask the Lord to help you
love your neighbor as yourself.

Forgive the one who calls you names
and in their anger places blame
on those they target as the cause
for making such a mess.

Ask God to help you get along
with those you feel are just plain wrong.
Remember, kids are taking cues
from what they see in you.

A poetic observance of National Coffee Day (September 29)

St. Arbucks is my patron saint.
I call on him each day
to help me stay alert to life
as I go on my way.

Unlike St. Jude or Christopher,
St. Arbucks slakes my thirst.
His cup of warm is Heaven-like
when I feel at my worst.

St. Arbucks watches over me
with tender loving care.
And whether near or far from home,
I find he’s always there.

His omnipresence comforts me
when I am feeling faint.
That’s why St. Arbucks owns my praise.
He is my favorite saint.

What can long-winded preachers learn from filibustering senators?

A senator waxed on and on
about green eggs and ham
while protesting Obama care
might bankrupt Uncle Sam.

He rambled on into the night
for twenty-two long hours.
It was an ego trip of sorts
that made him feel empowered.

On Cruze control, the senator
refused to brake or slow.
Full speed ahead, his motor mouth
provided quite a show.

Too often preachers follow suit
and filibuster long.
They love the sound of their own voice
and just go on and on.

But in the process they ignore
the needs of those they serve.
A shorter message with a punch
is what their flocks deserve.