I should note that the quality of my rhymes is in no way a reflection on the quality of the posts to which they link. It is, rather, a reflection only on the all-too prosaic nature of my soul. Some posts fueled more creative juices than others, so if you wish to offer new poems for any of the posts (including your own), email them to matthew dot L dot anderson at gmail dot com and I will be happy to post them here!
Without further ado, then, here are this week’s submissions to the 181st–a decidedly poetic number–Christian Carnival.
Ann Schorb: Listening is Caring
We talk a lot, and rarely stop
To listen to our friends.
Yet Ann found out that
When we do, we follow Him
Who takes away our sins.
Christian PF: How to Make More Money With Your Emergency Fund
Prepare, be prudent.
Earn money while you save it.
Thrive in a crisis.
Richard Anderson: Entrance Liturgy
Entering the temple, singing a song
Clarity depends upon following along.
Psalms 15, Micah and more
The “entrance liturgy” can open the hermeneutic door.
Trivium Pursuit: Alexander Whyte
Our souls in perpetual danger
Of dallying and neglecting prayer,
The folly of procrastination
stifling communion, is nothing less
than “spiritual suicide.”
Thinking Christian: Two Churches, Two Races, One Heart
The profound paradox of union in diversity
remains a mystery, even when it happens.
Two churches, two races, but one “common vision”
came together around a mission.
Tom recounts the moving story,
of faithfulness, love and acts of mercy.
Pseudo Polymath: Sola Scriptura and the Icon
Crizematt: Simple Terms
The simplicity of a child
Reaching up, grasping,
To comfort, to hold, to caress.
The simplicity of a child
Trying to take away the hurt of the Hurting One.
Team Hammer: New Earth Creation
Water becomes wine,
Science says that’s fine,
But cannot register an opinion.
The earth begins from nothing,
Due to God’s speaking,
where science finds its limits.
Philosophical Midwife: Christianity and the Rise of Science
Science and the Faith
Were thought to be at war.
But that hypothesis
Won’t get you very far.
Romans 15:4 Project: Institutionalized Immorality
The vices of the age rampage in the streets
While Christians sit idly by,
May as well be singing a lullaby.
Jody’s Devotionals: Handling Scandal
The path is fixed before us
But peril marks the way.
When revenge is a temptation
Ensure you do not stray
By reading this post today.
Jody Along the Path: Nurses take the Hits
The challenges nurses face are no less
Than those in any other field.
Prudent advice, rebuke those who transgress,
Will help nurses know not to yield.
Everyday Liturgy: The Dance of the Liturgy
Movement, dance and order
Keep time by the rhythms and seasons of life,
The oak tree sprouts, grows, lives, dies.
Sign and symbol, ikon and hours
Draw us in to the dance that is at the center,
The still movement of the center of the world.
The rhythm of heaven meets the rhythm of the kosmos,
An explosion known as “liturgy.”
Light Along the Journey: The Faith Fueling Visions of Zechariah
The people of God return to Jerusalem
Lacking the faith on which flourishing hangs
Visions from heaven to Zechariah given
To aid them on their way.
No eye has seen, nor can tongue explain
The ineffable word of God.
Except when they can.
Jordan’s View: Arminian vs. Reformed Theology–Answers to Objections to Unconditional Election (Part 4)
The Word stands secure, victorious over sin and shame
Like a man stands looking out over the fields that he has plowed,
Tired without exhaustion, satisfied without pride.
Despite Israel’s rejection, the Word will not, does not fail
But is bound up in the doctrine of election.
Does God choose, and if so, whom? This is the challenge of Romans 9.
For us one thing remains, as Jordan explains, which is to believe.
Parableman: Evangelicals and Fred Thompson
To vote Fred! or not vote Fred?.
That is the question
That Jeremy is asking.
Evangelicals are giddy,
But would not support Rudy.
Which seems like it should result in some cognitive dissonance.
The Journey: The Simpsons Go to Church
I sing the song of Bart, Homer
And all the other Simpsons characters.
Crass, rude, underachievers, reveling in their debasement,
provoking interesting conversations
with their moral quandaries.
Oh, Simpsons, paradoxical Simpsons
What shall we do with thee?
That’s it for this week. Late submissions will be put up by Wednesday evening.
I hope you enjoyed this week’s carnival–feel free to stick around Mere O as long as you want. We love company here.
Update: One more submission came in. Here it is!
The Peculiar Club: How to Make Good Choices
Breaking the endless cycle
Is not so very easy after all.
Courage, discipline and–
I’m sorry, were you saying something?
When confronted by ourselves,
I’m sorry, were you saying something?
Confronted by ourselves, we face
choices for good, ill or whatever may come.