Partial Observer

The State of the Union (Revisited)

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos

Contemplating the health of our nation, marriage and relationship with God

So what is the state of the union?
It depends on what union you mean.
When it comes to our nation there’s schism.
There are blue states and red ones and green.

But what of the state of your marriage?
Is it marked by contentious regrets?
Is there lack of forgiveness and rancor?
Are there words that you’d like to forget?

Or is it a union of soulmates?
Of partners who strive every day
to work through their issues by listening
and pausing in silence to pray?

And what of the state of your prayer life?
Is it marked by the wonder of grace?
Are your prayers empty phrases and “gimmes”
or candidly seeking God’s face?

Bottom line, what is true of our unions
depends on the work that’s involved.
In our nation, our marriage, or prayer life,
faith at work finds dilemmas resolved.

El Niño Has a Calling Card

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos

Pondering the devastation in his wake

El Niño has a calling card
he tends to leave behind.
And what is left when he moves on is bad.
His flooding waters devastate.
His weather is berserk.
The cost in lives and property is sad.

What’s worse is that he’s here to stay
for six to nine long months.
This uninvited visitor is rude.
He’s not content to just behave.
He’s ornery and brash.
El Niño loves to fuel a global feud.

In One Year and Out the Other

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos

A New Year’s Eve prayer

In one year and out the other.
Time just always seems to fly
for the life we’re given isn’t very long.
And lest we choose to change routines,
we’ll waste God’s greatest gift.
Yes, today’s a chance to right regrets and wrongs.

In one year and out the other.
There is oh so much to grasp
for life’s Teflon-coated truths don’t always stick.
The lessons God would have us learn
(like time) can fly away.
So, today’s a chance to light a flameless wick.

In one year and out the other.
All our days turn into months.
And before long we are singing “Auld Lang Syne.”
This New Year’s Eve (like last year)
is a wake-up call of sorts.
And today’s a chance make the most of time.

In one year and out the other.
Life is fragile. It is brief.
We are closer to our death than to our birth.
Lord, please help us be deliberate
in the way we spend this year
for today’s a chance to calibrate its worth.

Operation Christmas Child

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos

The big truth behind the little baby

It would take an operation.
Twas a life and death affair.
The problem was a terminal disease.
Adam’s offspring was infected
and there was but one known cure.
A blood transfusion was the only key.

A Child born at Christmas
long ago and far away
would provide the only antidote for sin.
Placed within a small container,
He was God’s most precious gift given
to a world infected from within.

This small Child grew to manhood
without guile, shame or guilt.
He then sacrificed his life for you and me.
And the blood He shed infuses
what alone can truly heal
so to guarantee we’ll live eternally.

Now at Christmas we send boxes
to poor children overseas
to surprise them with a picture of God’s grace.
As they hear salvation’s story
and then open up their gift,
you can see the joy of Jesus on each face.

http://www.operationchristmaschild.org

In Praise of Christmas Carols

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos

There’s no reason for silent nights this time of year

I love the carols that we sing. 
They bring joy to my world. 
While shepherds watched their flocks by night, 
the angels praise unfurled.

Oh little town of Bethlehem, 
you heard the first noel. 
It came upon the midnight clear. 
Its lyrics we know well.

I heard the bells one silent night. 
A holy night it was 
“What child is this?” I heard him ask.
“It’s Jesus, Santa Claus!”

The little drummer boy’s convinced.
But Mary did you know 
the holly and the ivy point 
to Christ’s birth long ago?