Monthly Archives: February 2015

Metamorphosis 2015-49

Posted in Contemplation, Poems by

This is just me, being me, with thoughts of mis-trust, with no compromise in life and the way things are in our country.  We can do nothing or something, but letting those that make decisions what we think is important. I believe that, the only thing is HOW we do that is also important and many have just un-kind words or actions that hinder the process. A change from a caterpillar to a butterfly is an example, and to change from a do nothing to a changer of some sorts is a metamorphosis in life for any……….

                   Metamorphosis   2015-49

To say that all the things are wrong

around us and need replaced – is wrong.

and that is what I say now.

 

To state our country is going to Hell

with no hope of recovery – I disagree

or want to and need to.

 

To believe our leaders are all not good

can’t be true, and is not, and that is

what I feel or know, or again need to.

 

To agree with those that have no kind

words about anything, is not what I want

or will do, if I can.

 

To be a cynic and not know it – a horrible

thought, – one I pray is not

correct or hope so.

 

To change, and become a changer in life,

a positive influence of making things

right or better,  I must.

Den Betts

Cauldron 2015-47

Posted in Nature, Poems by

This poem is sort of different!  In rhyme for each line, but really not typical of all the poems I write.   Sort of tells a story of how a storm would suddenly appear.  Maybe I was lazy the day that I wrote it and made short sentences for that reason, don’t know.

Cauldron    2015-47

Darkness flies

Light goes by

Pinpricks lost in sky

 

Clouds in mass

Dewdrops on grass

Water turns to gas

 

Lightning hits the ground

Thunder makes sound

A veil drops down

 

A witch’s brew

As the mixture grew

The weather flew

 

Den Betts

Earthlings 2015-46

Posted in Contemplation, Poems by

I wrote this before, but post it now as a thought on how we are, living on the planet Earth, as groups of people, but also as individuals.  We speak different languages, have different customs, religions, beliefs, but we are all human, but sometimes don’t act that way. The majority of us (I think) believe in our God, but I just wonder what God really thinks about us at times, watching the goings on that we do to each other.

Earthlings  2015-46

All of the inhabitants are Earth People,

Living in many lands with different names.

Sharing in resources of this world,

Responsible for the continuation and each other.

Created by only ONE supreme being ruling over all– God,

Regardless of individual faiths or names given.

Conflicts in the name of faith, in wars and clashes.

Can only be classified as actions of primitives.

The races, all rich in the heritage of their own,

Once living in isolation with their same kind.

All having something to share, to lend to the others,

Yet now mistrusting the others in a most nascent way.

Primitives, thinking that they are the most intelligent,

The absolute hierarchy of knowledge in the universe.

Perhaps not knowing that actions, their thought patterns,

Classify them as one of the lowest in actuality.

Den Betts

 

Chaos of Life 2015-45

Posted in Contemplation, Poems by

          A well-known theory of weather mixed with one of the reality of life with each other. A mixture of the two to give a simile that makes one wonder. 

                Chaos of Life   2015-45

A butterfly – on a flower in a field in Beijing

Lifts up its dainty gossamer wings to fly in the Spring

Creating eddies and swirls of current in the air

affecting wind patters to places so afar

changing multitudes of a here and there Isobar.

 

Chaos reigns from a small simple act

making weather prediction not a foregone fact.

 

What changes in life are made every day

from a simple whisper in an ear

of what we might say

Far reaching changes that touch one or another

due to an action made with man’s sister or brother.

Who can not say that what we do

may forever affect whoever who…..

Den Betts

Choices 2015-44

Posted in Poems, Statement by

We wake up each day and decide on the choices we will make to more than just get though the day. Those choices make up the decisions of life that we make. We can look forward to the future or behind at the past, but what choices we make are final.

Choices  2015-44

Choices are the good and bad

decisions of life

What we decide now, will affect

us in the future

What we decided on before

are impacting us now

Foresight is a component

many of us lack

Hindsight about decisions is something

in which we all excel

We all make choices in life and live

with the repercussions and joys

of those decisions

Den Betts

 

Being Saved – Lenten Thought 2015-43

Posted in Disciplines, Religious by

Being Saved – Lenten Thoughts     2015-43

What is Being Saved? Depending on your faith; be it Jewish, Christian or Islam, there are different thoughts about this question. All are basically different in their theology. Different denominations in the Christian faith have variations of this theme also, which can be confusing to some. I will write about the Christian faith that I follow…..

What do we mean by “Saved”?  It, in its simplicity, could mean, being rescued! It also could suggest that those of the Christian faith would experience being saved from something and also being saved to something. Think about that thought…..

If a person is being saved, it might mean they are to turn away from a life that is without God. I feel I was saved a few years ago because then, I was not connected with God and did not have a relationship with Him. When I finally believed and knew that I DID have a relationship, things changed for me. How? It can be complicated to explain, but the easy answer is that I became one with God. I allowed Him to enter my life and in the process, I was saved. I left behind my ego, thoughts of power, feeling of importance, the thought of needing things, some comforts, and instead centered on something else; Him……

The somewhat easier answer is found in Scripture of the Bible. I do NOT take any of Scripture lightly, and will include it here. I have heard and read, (such as in John 3:16) that we will be saved if we believe in Jesus Christ.  Someone could say, “OK, I believe in Jesus, so I am saved; right?” Well, not exactly in my mind. You can SAY you believe in Jesus, but do you really? Do we also live the life that Jesus wants us to, or are we just going through the motions, like going to church, or not going to church, but still saying we believe in God and Jesus? Just a thought!!!

For over 65 years, I did not believe in the way Jesus wanted me to do. I went to church, I said the Lord’s Prayer, took communion, gave some money to the church, and other piety type things by rote. BUT, I did not have a relationship with God or Jesus Christ.  When that did happen, I mentally and honestly believed I was starting to walk with Jesus Christ instead of trying to just follow Him and say I believe in Him. There is a difference……

I posted on Feb 16 on my blog, an article about Disciplines. I wrote these in the past and posted them when I started my blog in December of 2014. I suggest to those that may have their own questions of believing or questions of being saved, you go to that blog (#2015-40) which refers to the Disciplines written and posted in Dec 2014.

At the blog they are listed under DISCIPLINES and the posts are numbered from 2014-15 through 2014-27. If a reader goes to the “About” page on the top Menu, and on the right sidebar, scrolls down to where the Disciplines are listed under Spirituality, you will find them.

These disciplines are a start. They are something of a way of beginning to have a relationship with God that might be different than what you have now. Just a suggestion……………….. If you truly believe that you are saved and don’t need any help, fine, I am glad for you.

Den Betts

Song of Happiness 2015-42

Posted in Statement by

Sometimes I write poems like this and afterwards wonder if what I wrote really means anything. Or, just sounds like la-la land type thinking. Then I ponder, (like I was told the other night) I don’t give a rat’s ass what other people think. I believe in certain ideas and my thoughts are what they are and that is the way it is.

Song of Happiness  2015-42

Sing a song of happiness,

Make it a song of joy.

Sing a song that touches the heart

Of every girl and boy.

Let them know of peace and love,

To share with one another.

Sing the song while holding hands,

As your sister or your brother.

Sing this song and look in their eyes

Let them know you care.

We only live once in this wide, wide world

So enjoy and join in prayer

Sing this prayer of understanding,

Between the opposites in life

Hope that this will heal in time

All the pain, turmoil and strife.

Sing the song of happiness,

And make it a song of joy.

And sing this song that touches the heart,

Of every girl and boy.

Den Betts

Passage Overland 2015-41

Posted in Contemplation by

We were on a trip to San Antonio, Texas via an Amark train. I remember the trip paralleling the Mississippi River and seeing the homeowners that put their junk stuff, out of sight behind their garages, in clear view of the train passengers. The trip was wonderful, even after I went to the bathroom and pushed the wrong button. Instead of flushing the toilet, the shower came on and I left the bathroom dripping wet with my clothes on. My wife stood there and just howled with laughter, looking at the water drip from my nose onto the floor below.

Passage Overland  2015-41

The clickity-clack on rails so thin

A lulling sound to ears so round.

Fleeting through the countryside.

 

The underbelly of the land – beside

Backyard garbage on vivid display

Throwaways of peoples being passed.

 

Too, scenic wonders of hills and dells

Rivers, bayous, so very grand,

All exposed to travelers eyes.

 

Speeding by with detached care

A journey made from here to there

An echo of the past, now in the air.

Den Betts

Christian Disciplines for Lent 2015-40

Posted in Disciplines, Religious by

Christian Disciplines for Lent   2015-40    (Neat that it is #40)                

Don’t want to give up chocolates for Lent? Or, pizza, cookies, TV, Internet, etc? These are a sampling of things people give up for Lent. These are something we choose to not have to perhaps show God that we are sacrificing something for the purpose of denying ourselves for the remembrance of Jesus Christ and what He did for us up to the time we celebrate Easter.

I question—- are these things, by giving them up for 40 days, bringing us closer to God? This has been debated by church people over and over again. Let me also ask this. How about doing something different? Instead of giving up a trivial thing, could we DO something for Lent that has meaning and DOES get us somewhat closer to God?

Our pastor suggested this and gave us some examples of what to do.   Everyone can try doing what was suggested. What is it????

Let us all endeavor to follow a Holy Lent whereby we honor sacrifice by taking on disciplines that will enrich our life with Christ and help us more fully appreciate the suffering and death of our Lord and the glory of resurrection on Easter morning. This is a different type of doing!  I challenge you to try this!!!

Last year in December, when I started this blog, I posted twelve disciplines that can be attempted. They are listed under DISCIPLINES and the posts are numbered from 2014-15 through 2014-27. If a reader goes to the “About” page on the top Menu, and on the right or bottom area,
scroll down to where the Disciplines are listed under Spirituality, you will find them.

I think that some of them are appropriate to try and I have summarized them under each title. Which ones to try????  Well, I will use the ones Pastor suggested. Meditation, Prayer, and Fasting are good ones to look at for now or pick another one if you wish.  I realize now that ANYONE can partake of these disciplines, as a way of life, regardless of any faith or belief, if they have a god to listen.  Just a thought…….

Quoting Pastor, “Resist the temptation to go all out or expect too much of yourself in the beginning. Disciplines are something that we grow into… they take time to work over our old habits and instill new ones!! Choose one, and do your best at it throughout Lent.  God calls us to center on Him, to listen for the voice of God calling out in the wilderness. God’s voice is there. Come journey with us as we seek to quiet our lives more attentively to the voice of God.”

Since I Meditate and Pray daily anyhow, I am going to try Fasting as a Discipline. It will be MY Lenten way of sacrifice, but it will be a MODIFIED fasting one, which I have done  before. That means I will adapt it to my age, my health and will not be a somewhat Normal Fasting that is written about by others. It WILL be between God and I and He will understand..   Another thought— “To be able to fast is another gift from God” This Fasting is a Spiritual fasting and not a lose weight type of fasting, BTW…….. Ask me, if you have questions, ok?

Den Betts

A Man 2015-39

Posted in Religious type by

 

“Just how do we feel about those that are not of our kind or looks. It is so easy to be judgmental and turn away from those not like us.  We do have much to learn about being more tolerant and forgiving to others that do not appear like us”

A Man   2015-39

I saw a man as if in a dream,

His hair was long like a once called hippy.

 

The sandals he wore appeared as old as he,

The smell of sweat was in the air, not clean.

 

Looks are not true of a man and his beliefs,

But, only are signs of what and how things just are.

 

Should I criticize the longhaired or bare footed,

Or those that are not like me?

 

A man died for me once who was like this,

Would I judge him today like he was then?

 

Do I cast a verdict for those not like me,

The outside looks are not the inside thoughts.

 

The self-righteous man has much to learn,

From those that walk the ways of life.

Den Betts