words and the Word: a new collection of poems
Poetry can be especially potent when it leans on the truest and greatest words in existence. Plus, I'm celebrating 15 books!
Maybe this will be the “year of poetry” for me. In addition to reading much more poetry (Mary Oliver, George Herbert, Leslie Bustard, G.K. Chesterton), I’ve just published my second book of poems: word by Word: Poems Inspired by Scripture.
This is a special book for me, since it’s actually my 15th published book, which is a sort of landmark for book writers. God has been so good, and so giving! I’m fully convinced that nothing I’ve been written would have been possible without the Spirit leading me to the words I needed. When I wrote The Book of Giving, I was very aware that it was a book about God’s giving to me, as much as it was an encouragement for others to see God as a divine Giver. To all those who have encouraged me in my writing journey: thank you. Having thoughtful and prayerful readers is a blessing beyond description!
I took some time to make the video below, where I’m reading 5 of my favorite poems from word by Word. Scroll down to read one of them, “Ichthus,” which plays with the image of Jesus as a fish. I hope you’ll give the collection a chance and tell other interested readers about it!
Ichthus
Down through the water he came and swam.
I am. I am. I am.
He found the atmosphere
dark and diseased.
Our fins were thin and tight,
our hope held together
with muscle and bone.
Even this weak,
we still set out our possessions
on sandbars,
swimming the perimeter
to protect them, as seals.
But I am gathered no things.
I am brought the gift of light
down to the water,
that by his scales
he might redeem the dark.
With his fish body,
baptized in sorrow,
he laid himself upon a plank of wood,
calling all schools together.
He was lifted up, above the waters.
And then down to the water he went,
shuffling his fins in the deep.pth| 5
We thought he was spent,
but he was only asleep.
Prayers for Next Book
I’m currently reading a few books on the beauty of God. And then I’ll start drafting my next book, Insider-Outsider: How God Makes Insiders from Outsiders & Helps Us Talk about Our Faith. Please pray for the Spirit’s leading, for the measuring and weaving of words that would honor Christ, uphold the truth, and call a new generation to think of the beauty, glory, and love that can only be found in God.
PTH