Recounting a rather remarkable life

The Prince is dead!
Long live his memory!
A Royal refugee.
A Greek Adonis.
A Queen’s consort.
A house husband
in the House of Windsor.

A complicated companion
in a complex institution
deemed outdated by many.
This great-grandson
of Queen Victoria
and great-grandfather
to an American prince
will be remembered as one
who married a princess
once upon a time
a very long time ago.

By God’s grace,
may she live happily ever after.
Long live the Queen!
God save the Queen!
God comfort the Queen!

Cataloging the timeless volumes we cherish

While Sheltering in Grace
amid Streams in the Desert,
I hear Jesus Calling.
“Come Away My Beloved,” He says.
And so I do.
We gather in The Upper Room
where we are nourished by Our Daily Bread.

My Utmost for His Highest
is all that matters to me.
I know that by spending Time with Him
I will be Experiencing God.
It inspires me to Live in Grace and Walk in Love.
And through it all I discover 
The Christian’s Secret to a Happy Life
includes Cold Tangerines.

Morning and Evening
The Pursuit of God beckons me
with Daily Light.
The Confessions of St. Augustine
as well as Devotions by John Donne
offer me Spiritual Friendship.
As I walk among The Little Flowers of St. Francis of Assisi
I look Unto the Hills.
Though shrouded by The Cloud of Unknowing
I sense Revelations of Divine Love.

In the Wisdom of the Desert I find
A Testament of Devotion.
It is A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life
providing me with A Simple Way to Pray.
By Practicing The Presence of God
I discover The Sacrament of the Present Moment.
In The Healing Light
I glimpse The Imitation of Christ.

Through Deeper Experiences of Famous Christians
Jesus Always invites me to share Life Together
in an Interior Castle.
And among the countless volumes of this devotional library,  
I am immersed in The Life of God in the Soul of Man.

A new hymn text for Resurrection Sunday

Easter breaks. Our faith is stirring.
Hope awakens with the dawn.
Fear of death that held us hostage
bows to Truth that bids us on.
We’ve been vaccinated fully
from the dread of dark despair.
We can confidently worship
One whose Spirit fills the air.

Easter breaks. A new day beckons.
We’ve no cause to mask our joy.
Christ is risen! Hallelujah!
Christ has leveled Satan’s ploy.
We’re not prisoners any longer.
Though our eyes may close in death,
through Christ’s resurrection power
we will claim eternal breath.

Easter breaks. Our world is broken.
Yet Christ’s promise still is heard.
He will never, ever, leave us.
Of His Spirit we’re assured.
Peace for which we long as Christians,
will be given in God’s time.
And when plagued by global chaos,
we can trust God’s grand design.

by Greg Asimakoupoulos
tune: Ode to Joy

A celebration of Springtime

Spring is nature’s way of saying,
“Death gives way to life.”
The dark and cold of winter’s grave
gives in to warmth and light.

What once was lifeless, bare and brown
erupts in pink and red.
The yellows of those bulb-born blooms
announce new birth instead.

Yes, spring invites us to resist
the pull of past regrets.
There’s glory in a crocus choir.
What’s past we can forget.

“Unwrap the gift of new beginnings!”
Spring shouts loud and clear.
“Use your senses. Praise your Maker!
The Master Artist’s here.”

Celebrating a somber season of trust

It’s a journey that leads
to the crux of our faith
as we take up our cross day by day.
Acknowledging weakness,
confessing our need
we embrace all God wills as we pray.

Through the desert with Jesus
we walk step by step
well aware of temptations to doubt.
We stumble at times,
but we fall on God’s grace
as we puzzle to figure things out.

It’s a time for reflection,
for looking inside,
well aware of where this journey ends.
The shadow of death
creeps across what we fear,
but the outcome surprises God’s friends.

At the end of the tunnel
there is cause to rejoice.
But for now we trek on as we wait
for that day we call Easter
when the dawn’s early light
will reveal God’s on time (never late).

*This poem was written for my friend Doug Thomas while awaiting a heart transplant.