The Name Above All Names--YHVH

Photo Credit: Godisreal.today

THE NAME

YHVH

the tetragrammaton

the unutterable

four consonants

of the Most Holy Name

of the Great I Am

Who was, Who is

Who is to come

Whose shining Face

eyes of mortals

could not behold

and live

Whose Holy Ark

mere mortals

could not touch

and live

until He

Who always was

came in the Person

of His Son

and mortals flocked

to hear Him speak

children climbed

upon His lap

sick and lowly

sought His touch

even grasped

at His hem

By His Word

even the dead arose

When He

Who always was

shed His innocent Blood

upon Calvary’s Cross

the thick woven veil

to the Holy of Holies

tore top to bottom

that all may enter in

By His Holy Name

Salvation comes

Now we know Him

as our Brother

Savior, Friend

We call Him

Jesus—

the Christ

Maude Carolan

The Blessing of Friendship with God

Photo Credit: tommyboland.com

MY FRIEND

"…there is a friend

who sticks closer than a brother."

Proverbs 18:34

Sometimes I go to God's house, sometimes He visits mine;

He often comes to work with me and helps me pass the time.

He's with me in the kitchen when I cook and as I scrub;

I meditate upon Him while lolling in the tub.

He keeps me company driving and when I take a walk;

God and I stroll quietly and other times, we talk.

God's there when I am shopping and watering my flowers;

He inspires my writing, in computer weary hours.

He's in me as I minister and hears me as I pray,

lifts me up when I am downcast and helps me through the day.

He sups with me at table and He joins me in my rest.

Oh, when we are communing, they're the times I like the best.

God loves it when I worship Him and glorify His Name;

He shines His face upon me and ignites me with His flame!

I read to know God better, for He knows all about me;

fills sleepy thoughts at bedtime with His sweet tranquility.

How blessed I am to know Him! Love overflows my heart!

I count upon His faithfulness and know we'll never part.

My heart is filled with gladness every moment that I spend

with the Creator of the Universe, Holy God, my Friend.

Maude Carolan

Christian Rock Concert--Ocean Grove

Photo Credit: examiner.com

ROCK CONCERT,

GREAT AUDITORIUM, OCEAN GROVE

It was good for us to be there

even though our silver pates pounded

and our ears were so deeply traumatized

by each deafening decibel

our hearing actually dulled, temporarily

The thundering beat bounced off

walls and rafters, ceiling and floor

reverberated in our seats

and sent tremulous vibrations

through our entire beings

It was a rock concert of worship music

with smoke and strobe and spotlights

PowerPoint and praise to Jesus. Hallelujah!

Amplified drums and crashing cymbals

the resounding cymbals the Psalms speak of

It's the very same music we enjoy over the radio

when we have control of the knob

There was no adjusting the volume tonight

The lead singer leaped across the stage

and sang so loudly we couldn't hear words

We attempted to sing along as best we could

we clapped and shouted and raised our hands

along with thousands, mostly young

with wonderful innate enthusiasm

and accustomed, receptive ears

We even did "the wave" with them

until we all were reminded

of the balcony's 100 year old fragility

We were reminded of our own 60ish fragility

We really wanted to stay. We really wanted to enjoy

We really wanted to span generations with great jubilation

We didn't mean to weenie out, but

looking one to the other

realized our pinched faces weren't reflective

of the fired-up ones one third our ages

so we ducked out midway through the second performance

Tomorrow we'll go to church

We'll sing, "Come, Thou Almighty King"

Number 392 in the frayed pew hymnal

but we'll treasure aspects of tonight

like the little girl in ribbon-tied pigtails

both hands raised way up high

like the cool guys with their big silver crosses

their earrings and bandanas

black tees emblazoned with The Name

like the twelve year old in the row in front of us

who kept spinning his green glow stick

as he danced in the bleachers praising his Jesus

with all the fervor of the shepherd/king of long ago

who led that remarkable gambol of wild abandon

before the Holy Ark

Maude Carolan

Camp Meeting Week, Ocean Grove, NJ

My husband Bob and I just returned from a weekend away at Ocean Grove at the Jersey Shore, otherwise known as "God's Square Mile". A bonus to the weekend was that our pastor, Rabbi Jonathan Cahn, of Beth Israel Worship Center, Wayne, NJ, and author of "The Harbinger" and "The Shemitah" was the guest preacher in the Great Auditorium on Sunday morning. He delivered a rousing sermon entitled, "Handwriting On The Wall" to usher in the 145th Annual Camp Meeting Week in the grove.

Rabbi Jonathan Cahn     Photo Credit: dailystorm.com

Several years ago, while vacationing in Ocean Grove, I wrote a poem in honor of Camp Meeting Week. I'd like to share it with you now.

The Great Auditorium, Ocean Grove, NJ
Photo Credit: joeiovino.com

CAMP MEETING WEEK

An hour and a world away

is a charming place we love to stay,

where time stands still a little while,

in fact, some call it, “God’s Square Mile.”

Our spiritual retreat vacation

at this gem within our nation

is where we find more than we seek,

at Ocean Grove, Camp Meeting Week.

The Great Auditorium’s surrounded

by quaint tent houses, abounded

by flower gardens, every hue;

coral, magenta, lavender blue.

Great preachers come from far and near,

expectant pilgrims come to hear

the preaching and angelic choir

as the great pipe organ sends its fire

of resounding music through the air,

inviting all who will to prayer.

All this takes place beside the sea

in a grove of sweet tranquility.

Stroll tented lanes in ocean breeze,

past tabernacle, B & Bs;

Victorian landmarks give a show

of “painted ladies” row on row.

Visit eateries, little stores

and take the garden trolley tour.

This Jersey shore town gives to each

respite, chapels, sandy beach,

a quiet boardwalk and pavilion,

where perhaps, more than a million

over the years have stopped and heard

Gospel concerts and God’s good Word.

So come, find more than you may seek

at Ocean Grove, Camp Meeting Week.

Maude Carolan Pych

Celebrating Summer With a Poem...

A summertime pleasure...butterflies dancing in the sky!

Photo Credit: philsantamaria.com

 SKY DANCERS

There's something happy about butterflies.

They flit-flitter as they flutter by,

flying flowers against the azure sky.

They alight upon the milkweed, and then

they circle, soar and alight again,

toe-dancing on pink petals in the glen.

Ever dwelling in hue and sweet fragrance,

in garden splendor they flicker as they dance.

Pollination is purely happen-stance.

I delight in their overflow of joy.

(They wouldn't even know how to be coy.)

A flame of mirth! A whirligig! A toy!

Do they recall they once were grubby worms,

remember well their dark and squiggly squirms?

Reborn, now grace and beauty each affirms!

This almost seems to be sheer fantasy,

sky dancers as enchanting as can be,

springing from blossoms right in front of me!

So, merrily a-nectaring they go,

reaping and sowing sweetness in day-glow…

Seems they have learned what all of us should know.

In contemplation of their simple ways,

I wish to add their ballet to my days,

to sky dance Heavenward on wings of praise!

Maude Carolan Pych

Missing the Monarchs...

Photo Credit: fineartamerica.com

Have you seen a monarch this summer? I haven't and I miss them. I read in "The Record" newspaper this week that the monarch butterfly population is dwindling greatly and that it's likely because weed killers are destroying the milkweed plants necessary for their survival. Environmentalists are planting milkweed in the hope of saving the butterflies and increasing their population again.

My poem, "There Used to be Butterflies in New Jersey" follows. It is one of my earliest poems, a true recollection of a day, probably around 1977, when hundreds of monarchs surprised us by suddenly appearing on Cupsaw Lake beach in Ringwood, NJ.

Let us hope we will see God's fanciful and beautiful winged creations fill the air with "tangerine profusion" again.

Photo Credit: wired.com

There Used To Be Butterflies in New Jersey

I remember the day the monarchs held court

on Cupsaw Beach

And filled the air with tangerine profusion

As they soared and danced

with natural choreography.

There used to be butterflies in New Jersey.

They haven’t left completely,

But I see fewer every year

And miss their lilting frivolity,

color and grace.

Today, I strolled a lane in South Carolina,

And was gifted with more species than I know,

The sum greater than I’ve seen in years.

Praise God,

they simply filled my heart with joy

As they danced with gay abandon

among the wildflowers.

They flitted against the sky with petal-soft wings

As resplendent in hew as the blooms

They landed momentarily upon, then sprang

Into fanciful Fantasia pirouettes.

Maude Carolan

!!!Now is the Time for Fireworks!!!

Photo Credit: webexibits.org

UNCLE KEVIN & THE FIREWORKS

For Logan

Mid-June and through July

especially weekend evenings

the nighttime sky erupts

with intermittent flashes of firelight

and thunderous booms—

Fireworks over Erskine Lake

Ringwood, New Jersey

Summer, 2007

Grandma puts 3 ½ year old Logan to bed

when a sudden deafening blast

shakes the bedroom

(or so it seems)

Logan reaches for her arm

and says, I'm scared

Of that? asks Grandma

tousling his dark brown hair

Let me tell you a story

about Uncle Kevin

when he was a little boy

not very much older than you…

Not far from here

there's a grassy meadow

we call, "Sally's Field"

Our family went there

at the end of every summer

to watch a big display of fireworks

We put blankets down

and sat and gazed upward

as brilliant fiery flashes

burst in the darkness

We oooohed and ahhhhed

at their vibrant beauty

as we watched the sky in awe

but it was Uncle Kevin

who liked the booms best of all—

He'd stand up

and wait for a thundering boom

then he'd clutch his chest

as if he were shot

(Uncle Kevin watched too many

cowboy movies, I guess)

then he'd fall to the ground

and laugh

then he'd stand up

wait for the next big boom

clutch his chest

fall to the ground

and laugh

then he'd stand up

wait for the next big boom

clutch his chest

fall to the ground

and laugh

Sleepyhead Logan asks Grandma,

Why did he laugh?

She replies, Because Uncle Kevin

likes big! bang! booms!

Two weeks pass

Grandma tucks her grandson in again

Again, a fireworks boom rocks the house

Again, Logan reaches for Grandma

I'm scared

Again, she says, Let me tell you

a story about when Uncle Kevin

was a boy

This time Logan perks up and says

Uncle Kevin heard, 'Boom!'

Logan puts his little hands

over his chest, remembering…

He fell down

Then what happened, asks Grandma

Then he laughed, says Logan

with a grin

Grandma lingers at his bedside

while Logan drifts off to sleep

then kisses him softly

on his forehead and whispers,

God bless you. I love you. Goodnight.

Maude Carolan Pych