Silent Day, this Boxing Day

Boxing Day: We celebrate Boxing Day in Australia but some countries don’t celebrate Boxing Day. See note below about Boxing Day.*

Silent day, this Boxing Day, 
After Christmas's busy day, 
There is time, yes time to sit.
As rushing ends 
A peace descends.
There are hours, yes hours to not commit. 

Silent day, slower day, 
When bustle has been put away.
There is time, yes time to muse
Upon the blessing 
Of Christmas messing. 
There is bliss, the bliss of time to lose. 

Silent day, peaceful day, 
Before the glitz is put away, 
There is time, yes time to be. 
A welcome pause, 
Replenishing stores
Of peace, yes peace down deep in me. 

Silent day, gentle day,
For putting things back in array, 
There is time, yes time to stay
And quietly pray, 
Give thanks today
For joy, yes joy on Boxing Day. 

© Ellen Carr 

* Boxing Day has nothing to do with the sport of boxing! In the United Kingdom and some other countries, particularly Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, Boxing Day is a holiday on the day after Christmas, on December 26^th. Historically this was a a time in which servants, tradespeople, and the poor were presented with gifts. Rich households would box up Christmas food and give it to the poor. This led to naming the day ‘Boxing Day’. These days it can be a quiet after-Christmas day, or for some, a day associated with shopping and sporting events.

Good Friday

It was not a gentle, cosy scene

of pastel-coloured calm

where quiet exchanges saved us.

Nor a handshake place,

where deals were dealt

and everyone left happy.

No.

It was a time of rage and cruelty,

when justice fled,

and innocent blood was shed.

It was a dark and deadly place,

the sun obscured at noon

as the earth quaked.

Good?

Could this Friday be Good,

when evil reigned

over innocence?

Could this death be Good,

this agony downplayed,

this seeming failure glorified?

Oh yes!

For good was done that day.

A way was made for us

to be restored.

For us the unachievable,

to stand in purity,

before our God.

The flawless one became

the perfect intervention,

His life for our salvation.

It was a Good Friday.

Ellen Carr 2023

Your Shoes

What sort of shoes are you wearing today
in your ordinary everyday life?
Are they racy and flashy, a fashion display?
Do they tell people you have arrived?

What sort of shoes do you have on your feet
as you walk around doing your thing?
Are they practical, down-to-earth, comfortable-neat,
with nary a skerrick of bling?

While the shoes that you wear help you to go
where you need to go, in style,
are they shoes that only go with the flow?
Will they walk the extra mile? 

Do your shoes encase some beautiful feet
that bring good news to the lost,
feet that carry a message that's sweet,
though it may be brought at a cost?

Are your shoes the sort that you put on
as you prepare to go
on a gospel-of-peace marathon
to see God's kingdom grow? 

As you don your shoes, whether dull or bright,
and venture into your day,
remember the One who walks beside
to direct your feet on their way. 

May your feet walk only where He leads. 
May they follow His steps and His plans.
May they turn you to notice others' needs,
and may you reach out for their hands. 

© Copyright Ellen Carr 2019

Don’t Turn Away

Don't turn away
from the confronting,
the heart disrupting 
Good Friday scene.

Don't think it madness
that the Son of God,
divine and human,
should have to die.

Don't minimise Him
to a great teacher,
a man of compassion,
for He is more. 

Look well at His story,
pivoting history,
the man crucified,
the sacrifice.

See how He told it,
why He went through it,
why God had to do it,
that awful day.

Feel how He moves you,
He speaks his love to you,
He offers renewal,
because he died.

Feel the joy of his rising,
divine resurrection,
reversing rejection,
defeating death. 

Don't turn away 
from looking much deeper;
the meaning is greater.
You will find gold. 

(If you are interested in reading the Bible's account 
of what happened to Jesus at the first Easter 
you can find it in the Gospel of Luke, 
chapters 22-24, in the New Testament.
There are also accounts in the other Gospels:
Matthew, Mark and John.)


© Copyright Ellen Carr April 2021

Image by Raheel Shakeel from Pixabay

Like No Other Spring

Like no other Spring this one arrived,
defiantly pushing open its buds,
whistling its swirling winds,
speaking of renewal,
in the midst of life shut down.


Like no other Spring this one shines out,
lengthening the days with cheerful light,
lifting the winter grey,
brightening garden hues,
as the world keeps cautiously still.


Like no other Spring this one rings out,
stirring awakening life
with magpie songs of joy,
carolling morning tunes,
declaring warmer days,
while we keep ourselves apart.


Like no other Spring this one is strange,
drawing our anxious thoughts to the fore,
longing for healing to come,
calling us to our knees,
leading us God-ward
to the perfect peace of his love.


But like each other Spring the sun will shine,
pouring golden rays upon our land,
bringing forth abundance,
pointing out its beauty,
showing in the midst
of trying times God's in control.

© Copyright Ellen Carr 2020

Locked Down in Melbourne

Locked Down in Melbourne

(by Ellen Carr, 21 July 2020)

Are you masking?
Just asking .. .!
Are you multi-tasking?

Home schooling,
kids stalling?
Really gruelling?

Are you home-working,
not shirking?
So disconcerting!

Are you home alone,
with just the phone,
in lock-down zone?

Are you doing it tough,
and you’ve had enough?
Finding it rough?

Are you doing your finest
to bypass the virus,
the pandemic crisis?

Well, hats off to you!
You’re going to get through!
We’re praying for you.

Take some time out,
Do a mini workout,
Let the kids shout.

Make a hot cuppa,
a great cheerer-upper.
Ignore all the clutter.

Do a little dance.
Jump, twirl and prance,
in those old tracky pants.

Put all your cares,
this state of affairs,
at the foot of the stairs.

Let God do the lifting,
the moving and shifting,
his strength enlisting.

Give him your worries,
your messes and hurries.
It’s those that he carries.

Let him walk with you,
guiding you through,
as he wants to.

But keep on with the masking,
And don’t give up laughing
For this time is but passing.

Old and Older

Gnarled old tree what have you seen,

and who has sat beneath your green?

What long-past elders sat and spoke

beneath your arching leafy cloak,

sharing wisdom, guiding folk?

 

Widest sky of blue unfurled

once spread a roof across the world

of men and women of this land,

the families of every clan,

a simple-living hardy band.

 

Ancient mountain rising high,

where princely eagles soar and fly,

you have seen the ebb and flow

of the people down below,

Sometimes joy, and sometimes woe.

 

Alpha Father of us all,

created us but let us fall.

You gifted people with free will,

to choose for good or choose for ill.

Always near us, with us still.

 

Eternal-from-forever Word,

present when the world appeared,

You came to live upon the Earth,

born through human virgin birth.

You give us life, you give us worth.

 

Before the Earth had come to be,

the oldest mountain, deepest sea,

You always are and always were,

Superbly holy, rich in care,

You’re everlasting, everywhere.

© Ellen Carr 2020

To the Mums

 

 

 

 

 

 

To the brand-new mums

the nappy-poo mums

may you have joy.

 

To the seasoned mums

the much-needed mums

may you have delight.

 

To the funny mums

the sunny mums

may you laugh some more.

 

To the neatness mums

the sleekness mums

may you sit and relax.

 

To the sleepless mums

the bleakness mums

may you have sleep.

 

To the stressed mums

the can’t-get-dressed mums

may healing come.

 

To the empty-nest mums

the welcome-guest mums

may you be fulfilled.

 

To the would-be mums

The should-be mums

may you have peace.

 

To the used-to-be mums

the grieving mums

may you be consoled.

 

For the mothers we’ve loved

the mothers we’ve lost

may we give thanks.

 

To all the women of Earth

you women of worth

may you be blessed.

 

Ellen Carr 8-5-2020

 

 

There is Resurrection (Easter: Part 3)

This was written a few years back but it’s still true! May God give you hope on this Easter Sunday even in this time of the pandemic and its sad impact. God is still in control. Christ is Risen!

Postbox Poetry

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So Much, So Dear

Green hills stretch out and a breeze blows in
as I step into the familiar,
so close to my heart,
so much my home.

The path by the house is my well-trodden way,
that leads to the brown back door,
so usually open,
so much my home.
 
The welcome that meets me whenever I go,
reaches me deep in my soul,
so rich is its warmth,
so much my home.

Though the years have passed slowly by
and I now live far away,
there's history at work
around my dear home.

Now the memory pictures play
on the vivid screen of my brain,
though others now live there
in my dear home.

Memories of family and fervent faith,
of a father on his knees
in prayer each night,
so dear my home.

Pictures of laughter and gentle love,
of a mother who did so much
to bring me to faith,
so dear my home.

The lessons I learnt of sharing and love,
of grace and an open door,
have stood me well
in my new dear home.

Knowing the value of warmth and faith,
of well-worn tables and chairs,
has guided the welcome
in my new dear home.

Green lawns stretch out and a gentle breeze,
wafts round this shelter of love,
not just a house,
so much my new dear home.

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