Mary Harwell Sayler's Blog: In a Christian Writer's Life, page 11

Bible Reviewer: The Enduring Word Bible: ESV

Bible Reviewer: The Enduring Word Bible: ESV: The Enduring Word Bible, which Concordia kindly sent me to review, makes a good start for the New Year as you color Bible memory verses and respond to God’s Word in the wide margins on each page.

Bible Prayers: Jacob prays for deliverance

Bible Prayers: Jacob prays for deliverance: 

May God help us to let go of the past as we humble ourselves before Him and begin the New Year in prayer, praise, and appreciation.

Bible Prayers: Simeon prays over the Infant Jesus

Bible Prayers: Simeon prays over the Infant Jesus: 

God fulfilled His promise to Simeon, who then blesses the Baby Jesus and encourages the Lord’s parents with this prophetic prayer.

Poetry Editor: New column for poets on Interlitq!

Poetry Editor: New column for poets on Interlitq!: The International Literary Quarterly (Interlitq ) recently began posting my new column, “Poets Who Make Us Better,” which I hope you will welcome and enjoy. First up is T.S. Eliot, then Caryll Houselander.

Don’t be afraid to give!

This morning, I woke up thinking how people often say, “I don’t know what to give them for Christmas. They have everything.” Then another thought came to mind: “I don’t know what to give them for Christmas. They have little or nothing.”
The poor have our prayers, but it occurs to me that the well-to-do might need them more! Sometimes wealth insulates people from being kind or generous for fear they might be taken advantage of, which is understandable but so sad for the cynicism and poverty of spirit it brings.
Conversely, I recall an actual incident that happened when I was a child, who was unexpectedly given a glimpse of genuine generosity. This might not seem like a Christmas poem, and yet it expresses the spirit of Christ at Christmas and throughout the year.

Down Kinney Town
Feet bare, the girls came up today,and Mama gave them ouch-grown shoesthat once belonged to me or Kay,but, oh, I longed to give them too.
Two girls they were: soiled blonde, unkempt –not like Mama's girls who shonein new sewn clothes and often dreamtof finer galaxies than home.
With clean hands bare, could I, a child,share much with girls from a small shack, wild?But one said, "Come," so I went down –down the tangled path to Kinney Town.
Theirs was adventure I could play.A cold potato rationed me –eyeless, grown in soil, unbent. Theygave that last leftover. Free.
I took.Then home I went with backward look.
by Mary Harwell Sayler

May God bless your holy days and give you the prayers to pray for the poor and prayers for those who seem to have everything, but don’t.
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Bible Prayers: Magnificat: Mary’s Magnificent Prayer

Bible Prayers: Magnificat: Mary’s Magnificent Prayer: 

The amazing events surrounding Mary caused her to burst into joyful praise in a Bible prayer, often called the Magnificat.

Bible Reviewer: Portals of Prayer Devotional Bible

Bible Reviewer: Portals of Prayer Devotional Bible: 

The Portals of Prayer Devotional Bible from Concordia Publishing House has over 700 devotions relevant to the adjacent text in this hardback gift edition of the English Standard Version (ESV.)

Bible Reviewer: The Growing in Faith Bible for children and beyond...

Bible Reviewer: The Growing in Faith Bible for children and beyond...: 
Besides unique features meant to meet a child’s needs and interests through childhood and beyond, this edition, which Concordia kindly sent me to review, presents the highly accurate ESV (English Standard Version) in a sturdy volume that should last for many years.

Breaking with Christmas nostalgia

All of my life, I have loved my family’s tradition of traipsing through the woods to cut and decorate a real tree that filled our home with the fragrance of evergreen. Strings of lights wrapped warm colors around the branches and a wealth of ornaments (each with a story) dangled in the glow. In the shade beneath the tree, carefully chosen gifts gradually appeared, while carols played on the radio.
For many years, I’ve truly enjoyed that tradition. But this year, after I’d recorded, briefly watched, and deleted “Christmas specials” on television, the false gaiety made me sad as one show after another was neither special nor relevant to the annual mass for Christ – The One for Whom this holy day is named.
Even Santa Claus aka Saint Nicholas (an actual Christian Bishop in the fourth century) doesn’t seem to get top billing, but uniformly decorated trees grow on every channel as do commercials that bulge -- bigger and bolder every day.
And so this year, we set aside the fake tree and boxed ornaments in favor of a nativity set with large ceramic figures placed in or around a wooden stable with non-carnivorous animals alongside the scene.  The set sits on a wooden bench in our living room with colorful gifts placed way off to the side to keep the focus where it belongs.
What a difference this change of emphasis makes! Instead of walking through the room, wondering if I’d forgotten anyone or worrying about whether they’ll like the gifts I bought, I see the beautiful reminder of that first holy night when Jesus Christ was born.
May we never forget Christ in Christmas.
MaryHarwell Sayler, ©2019
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Poetry Editor: Prime Time for Rhyme

Poetry Editor: Prime Time for Rhyme: Rhymes have the best success when they accentuate the meaning, theme, or purpose of a poem.