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Tag: BibleVerses

Celebrating Our Events

Published January 22, 2022 by h. renell
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During the dedication of the new Jerusalem wall, all the Levites throughout the land came to Jerusalem to assist in the ceremonies and to take part in the joyous occasion with their thanksgiving, cymbals, psaltries, and harps.
Nehemiah 12:27 TLB

Occasional poetry is, as the name suggests, poetry written for an occasion. The emotional range is wide: it can be celebratory or a time of grief. German writer Goethe (18th through the 19th century) wrote that occasional poetry was “the first and most genuine of all kinds of poetry.”

United States poet laureates are assigned the task of writing occasional poetry.

Though Robert Frost wrote The Gift Outright in 1942, he read it at President Kennedy’s inauguration in 1961. And although most Americans don’t think of The Battle Hymn of the Republic as an occasional poem, it is.

Nehemiah rebuilt the wall. And when it was finished, they celebrated.

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Anchored In Dance

Published January 14, 2022 by h. renell
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Photo by Etienne Boulanger on Unsplash

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil,
Hebrews 6:19 NKJV

In Praise of Dancing
St. Augustine
I praise the dance, for it frees people
from the heaviness of matter
and binds the isolated to community.
I praise the dance, which demands everything:
health and a clear spirit and a buoyant soul.
Dance is a transformation of space, of time, of people,
who are in constant danger of becoming all brain,
will, or feeling.
Dancing demands a whole person, one who is
firmly anchored in the center of his life, who is
not obsessed by lust for people and things
and the demon of isolation in his own ego.
Dancing demands a freed person, one who vibrates
with the balance of all his powers.
I praise the dance.
O man, learn to dance, or else the angels in heaven
will not know what to do with you.

In my younger years, I danced in ballet and tap classes, and during college, I took a modern dance class. The pictures of me in a tutu and ballet slippers lay in a box with other photographs.

I still dance while doing the dishes or only to express my joy.

This expression, this dance — my Lord of the dance has sustained me, has been my anchor during the dark days of today.

Put on your ballet slippers, tap shoes, or whatever footwear you have (modern dance uses your bare feet) and express your joy in the Lord in an upside-down world.

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Crackin’ the Poetry Books

Published December 17, 2021 by h. renell


A wise man will hear and grow in learning. A man of understanding will become able to understand a saying and a picture-story, the words of the wise and what they mean.
Proverbs 1:5-6 NLV

When I was ready to take writing poetry seriously, I went to my default setting of books. By the time I was finished with one, it was liberally highlighted with either pencil or a yellow highlighter.

Poetry for Dummies was my first. It gave me a broad overview of everything poetry. Then I read any recommendation lists or reader reviews to find others to help me along the way.

In order to learn, we must also take those first baby steps with our pens, pencils, or keyboards. The same applies to our Christian lives — at some point beyond reading the Bible, we must step out in faith.

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Writing and Group Dynamics

Published December 11, 2021 by h. renell
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For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall,
Ephesians 2:14 NASB

Writer’s groups are varied, depending on the genre and type of critique. Some are all-purpose, and some confine members to a single genre. Some are in-person, and some are video/online conversations. Some prefer the solitary way of books.

I have been a member of a few writer’s groups. Most of the time, the members were supportive of our pages.

A few times a disruptive person would join the ranks and cause discord. Often it was the subject matter or crowding the table/computer screen. Or both.

Our minds were joined to improve our writing craft. And to foster Heavenly creativity, the disruptive writers needed to be given other options.

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Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

Published December 4, 2021 by h. renell
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For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed.
Hebrews 4:2 NIV

Broadside ballads were the street literature of the time. The news of the day and ballads – sometimes illustrated with woodcut illustrations – lined one side of the printed page.

One gentleman expressed his outrage, however:

The vulgar ballads of our day, the “broadsides” which were printed in such large numbers in England and elsewhere in the sixteenth century or later … are products of a low kind of art, and most of them are, from a literary point of view, thoroughly despicable and worthless.1

Though the ballads were considered doggerel, the broadsides did document the culture of the time. The performance and publishing of street art are timeless and tactile. No matter the era.

No matter the means, no matter highbrow or lowbrow, God works through it all. Proclaim away!

1Francis James Child from The English and Scottish Popular Ballads.

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