RELIGIOUS POEMS #3

The Providence of The Supernatural GOD

Our GOD is The Divine Power
sustaining and working in our world
to accomplish His Purpose.
Jesus taught us to call Him - FATHER.
"Our Father who art in heaven."

When I look back at my life,
I am amazed at the times God has helped me!
By a book sent to me by someone.
By an article read at the right time.
By a note from someone.
By a phone call from a long lost friend.
By a visit from a total stranger.

God is still today working in His world.
But as Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene
in the garden that resurrection morning,
we cannot always recognize Him
in the form in which He appears.
But He IS there! in each one of life’s details!
And the more faith grows, the more
I am able to see HIM in my life!


Praying for America
(by Dutch Sheets)

God Bless America!
America will never be the same.
In light of recent events,
more people are praying together
for protection, for guidance,
for God’s will to be done on Earth
as it is in heaven.

Our country was founded as
"One Nation Under God."
May America return to its roots
and become a country that trusts God
and fears no one but God Himself.

May we stand united, patriotic
and humble as a nation.
May we turn back to our faith in Jesus Christ,
may God Bless America once again!


GOD DOLES OUT HIS SPIRIT (Gal. 3:1-6)

You had the full works on why
Christ the Liberator died.
I gave you the full presentation
live and interactive!

Did you get pumped full of God’s Spirit
by keeping every rule in Moses’ book?
NO, you got it by taking God at His word!
Abraham had his slate wiped clean
by believing - taking God at His word.

Moses’ books are bad news for people
who can’t check "100 %" on keeping
every single rule in Moses’ book.
But Christ the Liberator bailed us out!
He had the Judge drop the charges!
How? By swapping places with us!

He bought us back to make God’s promise
to Abraham come true!
Check your history - God made His promise
more than 400 years before Moses
wrote his book of rules.

Did Christ die in vain - NO WAY!
God’s Kids - that’s the only label we need.
So if you’re one of the Liberator’s crew
you’re like a great-great-great...grandchild
of Abraham himself - you’re in on the promise
you’re in the will - joint heirs with Christ!

Question. Why did the liberator set you free?
Answer. TO MAKE YOU FREE!
Guilt free and in contact with GOD!
WHAT A GREAT PLACE TO BE!


Times of testing for the whole earth
(from Rev. 3:8-11)

To the faithful church in Philadelphia:
I have set an open door before you
and no one can slam it shut.
You didn't deny Me when times were rough.
Because you kept My Word, I'll keep you safe
in the time of testing that will be here soon.
Every man, woman, and child will be put to the test.
I the Lord am on My way; I'll be there soon.
Hold a tight grip on what you have
so no one distracts you and steals your crown.



EASTER MORNING - CHRIST IS RISEN!

Ah, but do we really believe it—
this crowning event in the historical life
of Jesus and God's ultimate seal
upon Him as the Christ of our faith?

For Easter is a lot to believe.
That Jesus lived, died and then
was raised up by God on our behalf (Rom 4:25);
that, bonded with Christ by Baptism,
we, too, are raised up and can
"live in newness of life" (Rom 6:4).

It's a lot to believe that
"the One who raised the Lord Jesus
will raise us also" (2 Cor 4:14),
that His resurrection has given us
"the victory" over sin,
that evil cannot finally triumph—
why, even death has "lost its sting" (1 Cor 15:55-57).

We know for sure that we will all die,
but can we also trust the truth that
"in Christ, shall all be brought to life!" (1 Cor 15:22.)


I TOUCHED HIM!
R. D. ICE
Hot dry dusty air, and
the numerous odors of the city
perspiring people, animal droppings
voices in the crowd
children whimpering
a few moans from the sick
all waiting for HIM.

HE came.
Jairus had been waiting.
His daughter
lay dying.

Jesus!
Holy Man of God.
Come to my house
Heal my daughter.

Crowds had gathered and
they swarmed around Jesus
as He turned to go to
Jairus’ house.

I stood there, a woman
with an issue of blood,
outcast,
unclean,
even from my husband
who could not touch me.

HE could heal!
All the money I spent and the doctors
could do nothing to help.
But HE is the Holy Man of God!
Surely HE would not notice me
as I slipped through the crowds
coming up to Him.

And I touched HIM!
I strained forward and my hand
touched the hem of His garment
and joy flooded my soul!
I had TOUCHED HIM!

HE KNEW ME!
HE said my faith
had healed me!
Go in peace.

As I think back, He
pressed me
to reveal myself
to the crowd.
Me, who had hidden
from the stigma of my
long time illness.

BUT I AM HEALED!
I can hold up my head!
No longer unclean!
I am whole again!

HE accepted
a relationship
with me!
Jesus the young Rabbi
called me "daughter!"
HE ACCEPTED ME!
Praise God the All-Powerful!


ON WHITE’S MOUNTAIN
R. D. ICE

There’s a church on White’s Mountain,
I went there yesterday;
To see the leaves with their vivid colors,
To visit memories, and to pray.

Sam Rettin, died 1794,
I found the stone which marks his grave,
Sidney Potter, and his wife, Becky Ann,
Killed in an Indian raid.

What was life like back then?
Was it free and easy,
Out here in the wilderness?
Surely they had their worries,
Wild weather, wild animals,
Wild people.

I thought of my friend, hurt by a falling tree.
What would they have done?
No helicopter, no trauma center,
Would they have found help?
Or hope?

I sat in the church on White’s Mountain.
I tried to feel the past and to remember.
What would they think of me,
Their descendant, my life so fast.

I sat in the church on Whie’s Mountain.
I tried to look into the future.
My great-great-grandchildren -
Would they find my headstone,
Will they think and feel the past?

There’s a church on White’s Mountain.
I drove up there yesterday;
To look at the leaves with all their colors,
To visit past memories,
And to pray.


ELECTROSHOCK
R.D.ICE

The world of TV is
Jerry Springer, disfunctional,
exciting, in a banal, anal
way, never serious.
But the real world is
a harsh reality
such as
Ward 81.

Strapped down to the bed,
mouth packed with gauze
to keep from biting
her tongue.
A patient in a mental facility
has one last chance to
live a "normal" life.

The technician administers
the anesthetic to put her
into a deep sleep
while the doctor
hooks up wires from the box.

The electroshock unit,
which will send a surge
of voltage
into her brain,
perhaps bringing relief
for a while.

Barbaric?
Yet the only way
this troubled person
may find
a degree of relief.

Bedlam! A name out of the past
when there was no treatment
to deal with the violently
disturbed.

Surely this is more humane
to permit her
to function
in some degree
of happiness.
Electroshock.


ANDERSON HATFIELD
R. D. ICE

An aged man, being led
out into the creek
near Logan, West Virginia.
"Upon your confession of faith
I baptize you in the name
of the Father, the Son, The Holy Spirit."

Preacher Anse Hatfield
was a different man, not this one.
Devil Anse, of feuding fame
was the man in the water.

Preacher Garrett, formerly
of Hatfield's band of soldiers
in the War Between The States,
did the baptizing.

A long and bloody era
had come to an end.
Devil Anse was a new man.
Lives can change and
the past can be forgotten.

A new day will dawn
when one turns to Christ.
Preacher Dyke Garrett
baptized a long succession
of Hatfield descendants
into Christ and the Lord's Church.

Many who trace back
to Devil Anse, proclaim the
"peace that passes understanding."
In 1976 Hatfields and McCoys
joined together in a picnic where
the old days were forgotten.

Recently two great-grandsons
came back to Logan to be
baptized into Christ
at the family church.


THE HANDMADE QUILT
R. D. Ice

At least a year of loving handwork
by the "Sew & Sews"
and others of the community
who sewed cross-stitches,
did the embroidery,
hours of sitting at the
quilting-frame
performing a work of love.

The Union Church of Christ
and the Union Community
are almost the same
group of people -
all family,
all joined together
in this special honor
which was being created
as a token of appreciation.

Special people, taken to
the heart of "Union,"
lives touched and
held close in bonds of
love and koinonia
(that's special fellowship)
a sharing of who we are.

Over the years many events
and happenings take place,
hours of sadness and sorrow,
hours of happiness and joy,
hours of just ordinary things,
but life lived together,
shared in friendship.

Thank You, Lord, for
sending us to Barbour County.
We thank You for the
help in times of sickness,
for the love and concern
we have found, for
lives touched in so many ways,
for men and women who care!


Inscription with the Quilt

This quilt presented to R. D. and Gwen Ice,
on September 14, 1999, in appreciation of
their dedication and service to the community
and brothers and sisters in Christ.

The community did the embroidery work,
and the Sew and Sews did the quilting.
The following is a list of names that have
come to know R. D. and Gwen over the years
they have lived in our community.

Each has been touched by them in some way.
Some are no longer with us and
if we have missed names, we beg forgiveness.
[appended is a list of eighty families in the Union Community,
plus the names of those who have passed on
from here in the past fourteen years or so.]


WE LIVE IN A HOUSE
R. D. Ice

We live in a house,
near the bend of the river,
just over from Kenny's pond,
amid trees and bushes,
flowers and birds.

Indians once lived among
these hills and rocks and trees
on a grassy plain
sloping gently from
the hilltop to the river.

Many-hued blankets
fluttering in the sun
curling columns of blue smoke,
children running
picking apples and cherries
and wild berries.

Indians built no houses,
lived in caves
and teepees,
always on the move.

We live in a house with all
the memories of many years
and Gertrude, age 94,
can still tell the tales
of the past.

Jed Jones used to live here.
Don't you remember him?
That was before
our time. But it is still
Jed Jones' house
to the very old people.

Grandfathers and grandmothers
have fond memories
of the "old days"
and the good times
remembered.

The Great Depression
raises haunting memories
of very hard times, but also
of resilient people and
their struggles.

But change comes, and
new houses and new families
have sprung up
rooted deep in the rocky soul
of mostly forgotten years.

People rented the "old store"
across from us,
to house their families,
then moved on.

We live with the memories
of fourteen years (now twenty two)
and the many lives
we have touched
by our presence.

These will be the good times
in years to come, and
future generations will look back
and say R.D. and Gwen lived
in that house
that is very old
but still standing.


I THINK I SHOULD BE HAPPY
R. D. ICE

Retirement homes are not
all they advertise.
I do not think so,
yet what can I do
when the years
have passed me by?

My car took me out
to be free,
to travel, to see,
to be part of life,
and I could live!

But now the traffic
terrifies me.
So many people.
Don't they have jobs?
Why are they all out driving?
They seem to do nothing else
but cruise the streets.

I do have an apartment
in this retirement home.
But it isn't the same
as the house I once had.
It doesn't feel the same.

I eat in the dining room,
restaurant style.
They try to please me,
but I would like to be
in my own home.

I have a tiny refrigerator
in my room.
I can make a sandwich,
but I'm still not
satisfied.

"Backward, turn backward,
O time in your flight."
Yet I wouldn't want to
do it all over again.
I want to leave the past
in the past.

Where's that brochure?
I want to read it again
to find out just how
happy I should be
to be here
in this
retirement home.

Written in honor of
Areta Hartman in
Apple Valley, CA.



ANOTHER DOCTOR!!!
R. D. Ice

"But Doctor, I'm only borderline.
My sugar level is not that high.
Why are you sending me to
yet another doctor? I don't
think I need all this."

"Borderline diabetic is like
being borderline pregnant.
You will live another
thirty years.
You must prepare now
to prevent the bad days
that could lie ahead."

Wednesday morning
I went to Morgantown.
I met the new doctor
who proceeded to give me
a complete physical.

She gave me a lecture
on diabetic complications,
changed my medication,
a new pill for sugar,
a new pill for blood pressure,
a new water pill.

Well, what can I do?
She sent me to a dietician.
"Think of it as a new
life style," she said.
"Not a diet, but a new
way of eating
for the rest of your life."

"Look at this booklet,
all the good things to eat,
fruits and lots of vegetables,
even ham and bacon -
sometimes."

I can live with that.
I suppose I will learn
to eat that way. It will
grow on me. I do
like variety, although
everything tastes better
fried!

I'm not ready to die yet.
I have too many
things to do!
To see grandchildren
grow up, to see
great-grandchildren.

I have sermons to preach
classes to teach
stories to write,
poems, and
who knows what else.

The good Lord
may have much more
for me to do.
Tomorrow is a new day
with new opportunities.
Thank You, Lord!
I'll do my best!


A DEDICATION Written to the Governor's wife.

To Hovah Underwood and the Stand For Children,
a token of our thanks for your good work
from the people of Barbour County.
We present this coverette of remembrance.

CELEBRATING THE PAST
R. D. ICE

Remembering the past -
nostalgia, good times,
what seem to us
the glory of the
days of old.

This coverette, produced
by the Union Senior Citizens
pictures what once was
and the Covered Bridge
which still is.

We present this coverette
as a token of appreciation
for the continuing progress
in meeting the challenges
of the future
which impact us daily.

We join in working for the future,
for grandchildren and the generations
yet to come in our beloved
State of West Virginia.

Thank you! Thank you!
Remember us as you
turn your eyes to these
pictures of the past.
The people of Barbour County.


TO THE DOCTOR, AGAIN
R. D. Ice

"Fried!" still tastes better,
but the microwave is OK.
I’m learning, and it is
a new way of life. Also
more fruits and vegetables.

Cholesterol good. Blood pressure
good. Sugar level 94! It must
be working! But weight
is still a problem.

I have been large most of
my life, certainly since 1950.
But my health was
good - exceptional I thought -
until the Big C struck
in 1997.

My crisis caused me to
touch and be touched by
many lives. Surely this is
part of the process which God
is working in and through us.

God brought me into contact
with a team of doctors who
used surgery, radiation,
chemotherapy - and prayer.

I am cancer free for three years now!
[eleven years as I write!]
I would hope never again
to need extreme measures.
But, life has no guarantees.
I must take whatever comes.


A VISIT TO ALDI's
R. D. Ice

"Service is what sells!" my son tells me.
I learned something about this when
I stopped at the ALDI store yesterday.

They have really good Salsa and so
I had to stop and buy a few jars of it.
"We stock only 700 different items,"
their web page said, "rather than the 25,000
a supermarket would carry.
But these are 70% of
the things you would buy
for your use at home."

I had to put a quarter in a lock to get
a shopping cart. "You get it back when
you bring the cart back," I was told.
I could see their wisdom.

Everything was on the floor in boxes.
I saw only three workers in the whole store,
who appeared to take turns checking out,
and restocking the boxes.

The store was filled with senior citizens.
I could see why when I saw the prices.
I saw no name brands at all, although
labels and boxes were printed
to mimic name brand items.

But I had to have some Salsa, and
some other things just jumped into my cart.
I have been happy with their house brands.
They seem to taste good
and the quality is OK.
I suppose their other items
are equally OK. I tried only a few.
I came for their Salsa.

At the checkout I found paper bags were
five cents each and you had to bag
your own groceries, which I did.
I proceeded to my car and loaded the
two bags into it. Then I returned
the cart to get my quarter back.

Their system is extremely efficient.
But, I missed the service which
I usually get and take for granted.
My son is right, "service sells."


THE FOOD POLICE
R. D. Ice

Our Government is getting ready
to do to the food industry
what they did to tobacco.
Very low fat vegetarianism!

Imagine Fast Food veggieburgers,
Broccoli and bean sprout salads
with delicious fat-free dressings
and fat-free mayonnaise.
Hold the olive oil and nuts.

Doctor Dean Ornish is billed
as SCIENTIFIC in large letters.
He has been successful in
reversing heart disease
in some patients.
Vegan - extreme vegetarianism
may be the way to go.

Will it work? Can we live with it?
Time will tell.
Here seems to be a chance to
unstop clogged arteries,
and improve the health
of many!

Other methods that may also
open clogged arteries
are pushed aside
and labeled "unscientific."

200 years ago the idea of
draining blood out of patients
to cure them was "scientific,"
a proven time-tested therapy.
Now we are given blood transfusions,
a "scientific" way to save lives.

What will the future say about
Dr. Ornish and his vegetarian
very low fat diet?
Certainly food as medicine
has come of age, and perhaps
we will live longer
and healthier.


AMERICA MOURNS
R. D. Ice

The writers of Science Fiction ask
"What if?" And then they embark
on flights of fancy and imagination
to explore possible futures.

"1984" Big Brother is watching you!
"Animal Farm" One tyranny exchanged for another.
"Frankenstein" Medical marvels gone awry.
"Dracula" The "undead" stalking the world.
But the truth is sometimes stranger.

"We could afford to lose 23 million people."
So said an Indian politician
looking at possible nuclear war.
"We have the authority to kill millions
of Americans." Said by a terrorist leader.
"America is the Satan we must destroy."
America is the present day Roman Empire.

Not by huge armies, tanks, planes,
but a handful of intense anarchists,
who attack us with weapons
of our own society.

Not crazy, not irrational, not demented,
intensely clever and diabolically focused.
"God has commanded us to destroy
America the land of sinners."
America must respond! No choice!
Our world has changed and
we cannot get back our old one.

We must adapt to "now"!
Richard Hughes once wrote of
America as: "the Nation with
the soul of a church" - meaning
America has a sense of divine purpose.

Ezekiel of old spoke as God's prophet:
"Put a mark on the foreheads of all those
who weep and sigh because of the sins
they see around them."
"The entire land is filled with murder,
the city is filled with injustice."

"They think the Lord doesn't see it.
The Lord has forsaken the land."
But God Bless America!
We reach up to God in anguish,
mourning the incredible loss,
trying to understand what is happening.

"The Eagle sharpens its claws."
Government has a vengeance function.
Evil must be opposed.
All the world must do this.
God Bless President Bush!
The buck stops with him.
Give him wisdom and patience.
We hold each other in unity.


CLONE
R. D. ICE

Clone - a word in the news.
An individual grown from
a single body cell of its parent and
genetically identical to the parent.

Joe Doaks decides to have himself
cloned. But what do we have here?
A new individual, unique, discrete,
the same DNA, yet not Joe Doaks.

Born of a host mother, the clone
arrives as a helpless baby
needing to go through the usual
stages of growth and development.

Could the clone repeat the life of
Joe Doaks, be able to take Joe's place
in the world of business and industry,
make the choices and decisions?

Surprise! The clone does not have
the memories of Joe Doaks, nor
the personality nor the character.
We are products of our environment.

What legal rights does the clone have?
Is it disposable, a throwaway?
Would killing it and disposing of it
be murder? Lots of questions.

Could the clone be cut up and used
for body parts to repair Joe Doaks?
A heart, lungs, kidneys, whatever?
What about the ethics?

Could the cloning technique
be used to grow only those spare parts
needed to repair Joe Doaks?
This would be more ethical and
would not raise such perplexing questions.

Nothing is ever simple it seems.
New technology raises even more questions.
Someone is always willing to try forbidden things,
regardless of possible consequences.

Sci-Fi writers have been imagining
this scenario for many years.
But every possibility contains the seeds
of its own destruction. "What if"???


UNTITLED
R. D. Ice

I was waiting in the Mall.
My wife was searching for items of interest
and enjoying just seeing what was in the stores.
As I sat waiting, I observed the people
who were coming and going in a constant stream.

A man rode in an electric scooter,
his one leg stuck out straight ahead.
Perhaps his knee was immobilized from
an accident, or some medical problem.

A woman who seemed bored with it all
came to the checkout counter and
the harried clerk seemed to take too much
time in checking things through.
Which did not please the woman.

A mother pushing a double baby carriage,
with what must have been twins
not looking too happy with their
lot in life at this stage.

A woman pushing a cart in which
an oxygen bottle sat, hooked up to
the breathing apparatus which she wore.
Lots of young people bright eyed,
full of energy, looking for some special
shirt or jeans or perhaps even a dress.


WWW.TERRASERVER.MICROSOFT.COM
R. D. Ice

Surprise! Big Brother has been watching you
and taking pictures from Space.
Satellite photos were taken in the 1970s
to make a topographical map of the USA.

Satellite photos are still being taken.
Whitehouse, KY, where my Grandmother lived.
I logged on and zoomed in to see.
There it was in detail. Son Butcher cemetery.

I remember Son Butcher,
blind for the last part of his life.
I remember his daughter
who was about my age, Alice Jean,
and his granddaughters who were younger,
Margaret Jean and Melchorine.

My Ohio Grandmother took me to
visit Grandmother Webb during WWII.
I got to play with the other children
there in Whitehouse,
an old mining town that still survived.
Now there are only a few houses left.

I used the search function to find
Chardon, OH, where my daughter lives.
I zoomed in to see Brown Road,
Grennan’s Trailer Park,
but I couldn’t see the individual trailers.

Philippi, WV. I zoomed in to see
Union Road and all the twists and turns.
I saw my house (a little square) and
Kenny’s Pond behind it.

While I was online, I went to
TheBrits.com which is a web page for
transplanted Brits (which I am not).
I looked at the language translator.

The USA and Britain are two countries
divided by the same language.
I learned that digestive biscuits are
what we call Graham crackers.
Potato chips are French fries to us.
Our French fries are potato crisps.

But our world is shrinking and we
cannot stop what is taking place.
We must learn to adapt to changes
and accept that our old world is gone.



RACIAL PROFILING
R. D. ICE

Children grow up learning to fear
certain people just because they
look "different" in some way.
Just who the certain people are
depends upon the circumstances
of the children themselves.

The police look suspiciously
at certain people whom they think
are more likely to be up to something
that will bring them afoul of the law.

In the recent sniper killings the experts
thought it more likely that the sniper
was a white supremacist, a militiaman,
who had a grudge against the Government.
That was in fact racial profiling.

It seemed a good bet, yet the reality
was something else, something unexpected.
The shooter was an African-American,
who had been a soldier in the Gulf War,
a member of Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam.

Were his actions a sudden aberration?
a madness? still to be discovered?
In fact there were two shooters,
both African-American.
The most frightening thing is that
copycats could do it again.