Haiku of the day 2-8-11

Dead winter branches
Green- and pink-tinted edges
How could I forget?

senryu of the day 2-8-11

The funny thing is
Ev'ry goodbye seems final
To you when you're young

Valentine's Day 2011

Rotic Valentine's
Friendship served up with dessert
Just between us girls

(We threw a "rotic Valentine's" party this year--it was more fun than the law of averages allows, but I'm more than happy to break that law on occasion *wink*)

Haiku of the day 2-7-11

Leaf-patterned carpet
Cold, white, plush to booted feet
God redecorates

senryu of the day 2-6-11

Day of joy and tears:
Thrilled over children's verses
Crying at midnight

senryu of the day 2-5-11

Key to Success Campaign (a month-long verse-quoting contest)

Life discourages
Quoting verses by volume
Brings back my gladness

Haiku of the day 2-4-11

slight smell of matches
spurt of flame, yellow and blue
tiny crackling fire

(woodwick candles are so much fun!)

senryu of the day 2-4-11 (2)

Tonight I recall
How young I am and weak, small
Young but old somehow

senryu of the day 2-4-11

Not okay tonight
Having trust trouble again
Weary in my soul

Haiku of the day 2-2-11

Still house, low music
The house settles into sleep
Night has come once more

Haiku of the day 2-1-11

Candy-coated trees
Lift sugared limbs to the sky
Winter candy land

Haiku/Senryu of the day

I began an exercise during the month of February in which I attempted to capture something about the day in haiku or senryu form. (actually, the exercise itself only lasted through the month of Feb)


The basic format is 3 lines of approximately 17 syllables, usually 17 AT THE MOST. Typically, the first line has 5 syllables, the second 7, the last 5 again. Also, the goal of haiku is to encapsulate a moment, a vivid moment, rather like a very focused picture. The goal of senryu is to capture a juxtaposition of human character (esp. foibles) and circumstance. I am afraid that most of these do little justice to either form, other than following the syllables (usually), and some require more explanation than is their due. But it was a fun exercise, and I hope that they will be enjoyable =)

I will be labeling them by the date as I post them. I actually wrote more than one on most days.

Enjoy!

They were not men to stand on ceremony, he thought, and they knew that true authority came from sharing the hard work, not attempting to place oneself above it.

I can't expect the kingdom without the cross

In preparing for yesterday's Sunday school lesson, I just ran across Matthew 16:21-26 again. It's the passage in which Jesus--right after Peter has spoken aloud the truth that Jesus is the Messiah of Israel--explains the part of the Messiah prophecies He has come to carry out: He has not come to rule but to die. That doesn't line up with Peter's expectations for the Messiah, no sir! It's at this point in the story that Matthew 4:8-10 comes to mind for me; Jesus was offered a short-cut to gaining the kingdom He has been promised by God the Father . . . & He refuses to take the easy way. He chooses the part of suffering; He chooses the cross & all the shame & indignity & misery & defeat that comes with it. That choice is what He explains to the incredulous disciples in chapter 16. The way of the cross seems an unlikely path to  greatness, to power, to influence--to any of the things we long for down deep inside. But according to Christ, this death is the only way to the life I truly want.

Traitorous nostalgia!--lying to me that the flowers of the past contain everything I long for, while All I truly desire is in the present! Luke24:5b & John8:58

III John 4

Just heard from a former student of mine. I taught him in 7th grade, and he graduated last June. In his first year of college, God has been working in his life and he plans on going on a missions trip this summer. He was writing to ask for support--prayer and financial if possible. I'm reminded of III John verse 4 "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth."

He ended his letter with this: "Today during Bible Study, we went over a small bit of 2 Timothy and I was fondly reminded of how you made our class memorize the whole entire book, it was worth it."

That does this ol' teacher's heart a world of good today =)

Just heard ad on the CA classical station: "The San Francisco Symphony presents the St. Louis Symphony this Saturday @ Davies Symphony Hall"!

Just realized that I'm nearly done with my 8th year of teaching. It's hard to believe that many years have gone by already! Yet it's how I live my life :)

"I'm of the opinion that for every one person who wants to teach, there are thirty people who don't want to learn." ~ Sarah Jane from New Faces, New Friends

"Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in Thy presence is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." Psalm 16:11 :)