Author - clay

SPECIAL PLACES

Craig, Phyllis, Carla, Mel

SPECIAL PLACES

Special little places
Seen through active eyes
Off the beaten path
Coming alive as we pass

A garden of roses
Cobbled stones
A treasure through a key hole
St. Peter’s gorgeous dome

Rome is full
Of special blessings
If we look
And feel the touch of time

So many things
We walk by
Often holding gold
Stop and let its story unfold

Hurrying along
No special things
Walking away
Disappointed by the day

Then thru a friends eye
A story is told
That stone has a history
Now it is known

As I walk back alone
I treasure things known
I alone have seen
This very special place
CC 3/17/04

MIRACLES

Carla near Via Veneto

MIRACLES

Miracles march
Thru our lives
Unbidden and silent
Gifts of care from Christ

Unnoticed
Yet guiding our steps
Touching our hearts
Lifting spirits quietly

And yet we don’t believe
They happen to us
We discuss
What others get

We don’t see
The gifts we get
We only see God’s blessings
Touching other’s lives

Perspective is the key
Knowing we are loved
Assured of His presence
Feeling our worth

Miracles are all around
Those in us abound
Our Father is active
Working in our lives
CC 03/17/04

TOO HARD?

Clay at the Pantheon

TOO HARD?

Is anything too hard for God?
Is my life a test to prove?
That God can use a weakling

I whine and moan
My selfish needs
In spite of the pain I see

God has a plan to use me
If I will let Him make me
Useable for His work

My view is always clouded
I cannot see ahead
Fear and ignorance sidetrack me

My Father knows the future
He knows what I can do
And His plan is suited for me

The Father loves me
Christ is in me
The Holy Spirit guiding me

Jesus knows my heart
If I will let go
Christ will equip me

Obedience is required
Questions aren’t the key
Willingness empowers me

Nothing is too hard for God
He can prove it in my life
If I will live like Christ
CC 3/16/04

STANDING THERE

STANDING THERE

Paul was standing there
Seeing all the pain
Knowing Rome’s fame
Realizing his life was at an end

Yet Paul loved Christ
He listened to His advice
Obedient to the last
Living under God’s control

Often left alone
Feeling fear’s cold hand
Bending his heart to Christ
Living as Jesus called

He talked a lot with Christ
Even made mistakes
But Paul never erred long
His focus was on God’s throne
That was the place he called home
Jesus never left him alone

Everything Paul did
Was done before the Lord
Trusting in God’s Word
Claiming strength from Him

At last Paul’s battle done
He summoned all his friends
Telling them all Christ had done
Calling them to follow Him

CC 3/16/04

MYCENAE-AN EVIL PLACE

MYCENAE-AN EVIL PLACE
An evil place
Where families killed
And ruthless men
Ruled the day
Heartless acts of power
Claimed its way
And Helen launched 1,000 ships
To sail across the seas
Ten years for the battle
Troy burned and crushed
No joy in the victory
Mycenae burned with lust
Where is its power?
All I see is stone
No people live in houses
Dirt has claimed their
homes
In my mind
I see this thriving town
Everything was spent
On things that turn to
stone
What is the wisdom?
That we can claim
From this story of evil
From this play of pain
Know that Jesus saves you
In Him you can live
When this life is over
New life Christ will give
11/24/03

ATHENS ARRIVAL

 

ATHENS ARRIVAL

Dennis waiting at the gate
We arrived on time
Pretty weather
Athens was new

The trip to town was slow
The scenery and greenery
Traffic and streets
We were in Athens, Greece

Christiana met us
Crisp and kind
Waiting to share
Her city and mind

Smiling people
Strolling throngs
Ancient shadows
Holding on

Roads designed to disappear
Vendors on the move
It feels wealthy and poor
Nationalism at the door

Street cafes
Beckon with their smells
Lining storied streets
Thinkers knew well

It started here
What I am
The way I think
The life I live

Words defining
Who we are
Listing life
In thought and song

Acropolis guarding
Athenian homes
Sundown and lighted now
Evokes in me wide-eyed stares

My words to you
Help you feel
The scenes I see
Athens is real

Hear me
Hear my joy
Excitement expressed
Our first day in Athens

11/20/03 CC

ASKING THINGS FROM GOD

ASKING THINGS FROM GOD

Asking things from God
Do not belittle us
But encourages
Reminding who is in control

Asking deepens our awareness
Of who God is
And what God sees
Encouraging us of Christ’s care

Laying out before Him
Our needs and plans
Helps us focus
On the things the Lord demands

Obedience is better than sacrifice
Listen as Christ gives
The things we get are burdens
Responsibilities to be met

Much can be learned
From the struggles of the poor
Many trust in Jesus
Even though they are poor

Life is more than mammon
Leave success at the door
Our Father loves completely
All have gifts galore

I am marked and unique
Tomorrow never comes
Today is when I serve Christ
The victory is already won

Now is when God hears me
Stop and speak your heart
Jesus offers comfort
Now is the time to start

Go to God with pleading
Ask for all you think
Our journey is majestic
The Lord is pleased to speak

11/20/03 CC

Jail at Philippi

AIRPORTS ARE

AIRPORTS ARE

Airports are
Movement and sound
Stopping points
That feed on time

Connecting nations
And people groups
Sending cultures around
Pulling down God’s hold

I am on my way
A journey filled with faith
Looking to the past
Seeking life today

Speeding sounds
And foreign toilets
Litter travel ways
Part of the travel scene

Moving us beyond our intellect
Choking off reality
Standing in a time warp
And yet time moves on

Giving us a sense of strength
Knowledge without truth
Once the airports behind us
Our day in Greece has begun

11/19/03 CC

 

Cafe in Athens

 

DREAMS OF ROME

Colosseum on a Sunday

Romantic dreams
Of scenes unseen
Streets of marble stone
Hands that ruled the world
And scattered souls alone
Temples built for a thousand years
Cold as the dawn
And yet the people
Changed the world
To be a place for homes
Now the city stands
With faded glory glare
Yet again the people live
With honor, joy and homes
Excitement swirls amidst the pain
That daily life so quickly brings
If we could make our lives as clear
As marbled stone can seem
I love the food and noise
Accompanying a walk on cobbled stones
Rome’s a place of joy
And history’s precious home.
©Clay 3/22/03

ISRAEL PILGRIMAGE – JANUARY 11-20 – 2001

Israel Pilgrimage
January 11-20, 2001
How you’ll experience Israel in 10 Days

Day 1(1/11-Thursday)  Depart New Orleans

tombrimmergalilee.jpg (4322 bytes)Day 2 (1/12-Friday)  Depart Zurich at 9:55A and arrive Tel Aviv, Ben Gurion Airport, at 2:40 pm where we will meet Tom Brimmer, and our NET bus.  We will  drive thru the citrus groves of Sharon Plain thru the Wadi Milek, cross the Jezreel Valley and up the Jordan Valley to overnight at Ein Gev on the Eastern Shore of the Sea of Galilee.   We will spend three nights at the Kibbutz Ein Gev.  We encourage everyone to rise early on Saturday morning to greet the dawn on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.  This will be a once in a lifetime experience for most people and we will get to spend three nights on the Sea of Galilee.

mountbeatitudes.jpg (17009 bytes)Day 3(1/13-Saturday) Israeli breakfast each day.  You will find the breakfast meal interesting and delicious.  We will have a devotional on the bus shortly after we depart our hotel at 8:00 a.m.  Tour begins at Kibbutz En Gev.  We will make a quick stop at Kursi where Jesus healed the domoniac.   Then continue our tour with a boat trip across the Galilee to Nof Ginosar.  We will see a fishing boat like Peter would have used from the time of Jesus. We will visit Tabgha, Primacy of Peter, Capernaum, Chorazim and Mount of the Beatitudes.   We will travel north and see ancient Hazor, visit Caesarea Phillippi and weather and time permitting travel up Mount Hermon to visit Nimrod Fortress.  We will complete our day by crossing the Golon and traveling back down to Ein Gev where we will overnight.

 galileeearlyworship3.jpg (16742 bytes)Day 4 (1/14-Sunday) We will depart En Gev at 8:00A and journey across the Galilee visiting Cana of Galilee, Nazareth, and the ancient city of Sepphoris.   Then we will journey to the Mediterranean Coast and visit Rosh HaNikra, the Lebanon border and completing our tour day at the port city of Akko.  We will travel back to En Gev for our evening meal.

korazim.jpg (18551 bytes)Day 5 (1/15-Monday)We will have our bags down for loading on the bus at 7am, breakfast and departure at 7:45am. We will travel to down the Jordan Valley to Bet Shean where we will visit that ancient Roman and Philistine City.  When we depart Bet Shean we will visit Megiddo, and    Mount Carmel where Elijah slew the prophets of Baal.  We will have lunch on Mt. Carmel at a local restaurant.  Caesarea on the coast will be our next stop. Then we will travel down to Jericho and visit where Joshua and the tribe of Israel entered the Promised Land.

Crusader City.jpg (3904 bytes)

betshean.jpg (5000 bytes)  When we depart Jericho we will travel down to Qumran then back to the Old Roman Road to Jerusalem from Jericho and arrive in Jerusalem at 6:30pm.   We will check into the St. George’s Cathedral Guesthouse where we will have our evening meal and spend our evenings for the remainder of the trip.

megiddowatertunnel.jpg (9945 bytes)0209romanroadenroute.jpg (6969 bytes)

Day 6 (1/16-Tuesday) After an 8 AM visit to the Garden tomb, we will spend all day in Jerusalem.  Some of the things we will visit will be the Arab Market, Damascus Gate,  Kidron Valley, Western Wall, Moslem Quarter, Christian Quarter, Russia Church and the Temple Mount.  This will be an extremely interesting day.

jerusalemviadolorosa.jpg (17143 bytes)Day 7 (1/17)-Wednesday) Today we will visit Masada, Tel Arad, and Beer Sheva.   We will journey back to Jerusalem on the Kiryat-Gat to Jerusalem highway.  We will turn right at Kiryat-Gat and travel up the ancient road past Lachish, see where David slew Goliath and Samson wooed Delilah.

Day 8 (1/18-Thursday) Today we will visit Bethlehem in the morning and travel around the area visiting some of the significant sites including the Mount of Olives, the Jerusalem overlook, St. Peter in Gallicantu, Mt. Zion and other locations as time permits.   One of the important activities today will be to discuss the city of Jerusalem and get a good sense of where things happened during the Davidic kingdom.

domeodrock.jpg (7597 bytes)Day 9 (1/19-Friday) We will be visiting the Jewish Quarter, several archaeological digs and the Burnt House.  The afternoon will be free for revisiting a place that we hurried past or for shopping and collecting the few things that you would like to bring back home.

Day 10 (1/20-Saturday) We will depart Tel Aviv in the early a.m. and arrive at home in the early evening.

Hotels:
*Ein Gev Resort Village, Galilee.  011-972-6-675-8027 (fax 675-1590)
*St. Georges Cathedral Guesthouse, 20 Nablus Road,  Jerusalem 91190Tel 011-972-2-6283302,
                         *Fax-2-6282253

Contact in Israel will be Tom Brimmer.  (H) 011-972-2-676-0862; cell phone 011-972-052-874-285;  011-972-053-464-718

CAESAREA- Theater