Category - Italy

CARLA “CONTESSA de GUIDE”

Lunch at a local restaurant with Carla Zaia

Carla “Contessa de Guide”

Carla, you have blessed us
As you have shown us Rome
We owe you admiration and respect
Thank you for helping us see Rome

We’ve grown with you teaching
Our hearts are filled with thoughts
We wanted to tell you
That you have blessed our souls

You are a gifted guide
Insightful and skilled
At leading groups through history
And through the Roman hills

You bring life to your subject
Your animation enlightened us
Grabbing our attention
Encouraging us

A bright and shining teacher
An outstanding, capable guide
Who inspires her pupils
To think and grow wise

Sensitive to our questions
Equipped to discuss your Rome
You prepared our minds
So that we could walk and see your home

Strong and energetic
Flexible and tireless
You invested your heart
Thank you for your time

Carla of Rome
You are a Contessa de Guide!
We will not forget you
You’ve blessed our time in Rome

CC 3/23/04

Ostia Antica

OSTIA ANTICA

Ostia Antica brown and frayed
Occupied by leaders
Who ruled their day

Bread and goods for the Empire
Sold and stored
Building great wealth

Now it’s gone
No names we know
Deserted and all alone

There is a lesson
We can learn
Buildings aren’t people
Wealth can ruin

When people count
And are put first
Wealth is stored
In a place without rust

Jesus calls us to be
His hands and feet
Telling His story
To all that we meet

Caring for the hurting
Bending our knee
To the needs of people
Christ will set them free

Clay Corvin 3/23/04

FRIENDS

LUNCH

JIMMY DUKES

A New Testament scholar
Able to share God’s word
In an humble, understandable way

Nothing ordinary about him
Creativity is his strength
Using it for service
In his life Christ is king

Caring for his students
Training them for Jesus work
A Godly friend and servant
Christ is all to him

He is the Lord’s workman
Exemplifying Jesus
Giving of his life
Each day proclaiming Christ

Many years of preaching
About our risen Lord
Living life with Jesus
Strong in the Lord

Clay Corvin 3/22/04

GERALD

A gentle man
Hardworking and faithful
True in all his ways
Living for Jesus every day

Demanding
And committed
Open to the Lord
Always following Jesus
Listening to Christ

Obedient to Christ’s call
Serving with his all
Equipping those God calls
Refusing to fall

Careful as he teaches
Sharing God’s Word
A wise and able servant
His life is committed to Christ

Clay Corvin 3/22/04

ARCHIE

Archie is amazing
Solid in his faith
Able in his views
To communicate Christ to you

Swigging diet colas
Expounding God’s word
He lives Jesus purpose
So Christ can be heard

Humble with his wisdom
Straight from God’s heart
Faithful to God’s work
Unbowed by the world’s hurt

A wise and helpful teacher
Tireless and true
Energetic teaching Jesus
So students will know too

A faithful man with family
Careful in his work
He is Jesus follower
Who lives out Jesus word

Clay Corvin 3/22/04

BILL WARREN

Bill Warren is a servant
A man who walks with God
Focusing his life on Jesus

He loves his students
Seeking to empower them
So they can develop
The gift God’s given them

Unassuming scholar
Courageous in times of trial
Walking humbly with Jesus
Confident in the Lord

A kind and devoted parent
Who dearly loves his wife
A gentle man of service
Who never brings strife

A learner of significance
Who is never confused
He loves Jesus
And shares him with you

Clay Corvin 3/22/04

MARGIE WILLIAMSON

A Godly woman
Wise beyond her years
Kind and easygoing
Laughter is her gift

Energetic and hardworking
Strong in her faith
Unwilling to be second rate
Or take the easy way

Loves the Lord Jesus
Works for Jesus’ cause
Open to be His witness
Faithful to her call

A loving, gently parent
Godly, faithful wife
Margie is a blessing
As she serves Jesus Christ

Clay Corvin 3/22/04

JOE CUMMINS

If you ever need a kind word
Joe Cummins is the man
He loves Jesus
He will give a helping hand

He loves to talk of Jesus
He works hard each day
Always with a smile on
And a gentle, kind way

Joe is always welcome
By those he knows
Because he mirrors Jesus
Even when struggling with woes

A faithful, godly layman
Devoted to family and friends
Serving and caring
Jesus loves him

Clay Corvin 3/22/04

DON RICHARD

A man who loves Jesus
Faithful to his wife
Raising a Godly family
Always sharing Jesus Christ

Gentle, with great wisdom
Peaceful in his ways
But a tiger in court
Justice will be served

A tireless man of wisdom
Exemplifying Christ
As he serves in his business
And in his daily life

He is a friend to Baptists’
And a friend to all who hurt
Don Richard serves Jesus
In all of his life’s work

Clay Corvin 3/22/04

A WEEK IN ROME

A WEEK IN ROME

A week in Rome
A long way from home
Reached across the years
To bring me closer to Christ

It helped me see
Sacrificial lives
Living for Jesus
Speaking to me

I will not forget
The things I’ve seen
The history I’ve learned
The places that testify to Thee

Titular churches
Aqueducts and roads
Buildings that stand
Spoke to me

I am not alone
History is long
Jesus is the same
Yesterday, today and tomorrow

I also saw what pagans think
They ignore Jesus’ name
Even though they can see
They live enslaved and bound

Clay Corvin 3/22/04 

St. Peter's from the Vatican Garden

THINKING OF JESUS

THINKING OF JESUS

I spent today
Thinking of Christ
Grateful for His presence
Thank you for you grace

This trip to Rome
Has helped me see
The lost you love
And the need for Thee

Thank you for the good weather
It’s made walking easier
Helping us see Rome
Giving us a sense of the past
Healing our hearts as we missed home

Christian’s through the ages
Reaching out to us
There are no grandchildren
On heaven’s bus
It’s all of Christ

I saw the ancients caring
Enough to die for me
All their faithful testimony
Reached America for me
And told of Jesus love

Thinking of Jesus
What a world He has
A place I have worth
As I follow and tell of Christ’s birth
And life and resurrection that sets man free

Clay Corvin 03/22/04

Menorah in the Arch of Titus in the Forum

 

I’VE HAD ROME

I’VE HAD ROME

I’ve had Rome
Ancient streets
Hewed stones
Up and down the avenue

I’ve had Rome
Thru dark streets
And Pizza joints
Beautiful strollers
Bikes and buses
Gelato stores

I’ve had Rome
Cesar stood where I walked
Paul was beaten
Peter was beheaded
Christianity flourished
In Rome

I’ve had Rome
The Forum was full
The Colosseum still stood
Caught many busses
And ate great food

I’ve had Rome
Espresso quick
And that’s about all
I walked the Tiber
And loved all I saw
I’ve had Rome

Clay Corvin 3/22/04 

On a street near the Colloseum

I WANT TO SEE

I WANT TO SEE

I to see Jesus
In everything I do
King of kings
Lord of me

Equipping and enabling
The work I’m to do
Jesus knows my limits
He’s called me for you

I’m to be His speaker
That tells you of His love
Guiding you to His Scripture
And a life that God can love

I’m to be His hands and feet
To show you Christ
Making sure my service
Doesn’t cloud your heart

Jesus is the answer
To all the questions of life
Christ loves you
And provides you with His love

Every day with Jesus
I will grow in grace
As I live in obedience
I will see His face

Clay Corvin 3/21/04

PANTHEON

BEYOND THE END OF TIME

BEYOND THE END OF TIME

Archie has a great mind
His devotional explored time
And the way God sifts men’s designs

We walked into time
Reached out to see
What the Romans did
And it affected me

Along the way we talked
Many thoughts
Our steps tracked through tears
Of slaves and burdened years

How do I fit?
In God’s kingdom work
What can I change?
That will glorify God’s name

Sad that Nero
Is remembered so long
I still felt the evil
That impacted the catacombs

We don’t have the names
Christians glorified Christ
God’s book has those names
And they won’t be forgot

When we get to heaven
There will be no Nero’s there
If our name is in His book
Christ will remember us

Each thing that we’ve done
Nothing hidden from the Son
The reward will be great
Time will be undone

Christ will take you on a stroll
And your feet won’t hurt
We will see His forum
Where we’ve been written up

I won’t forget this Sunday
It is etched in my mind
And Christ won’t forget me
Beyond the end of time

Clay Corvin 3/21/04

Piazza Navona

CELEBRATIONS

CELEBRATIONS

Sunday is a grand day
Of celebrations and joy
We walked thru history
In a Roman convoy

What a panorama
The Forum of Rome
Anchored by the Colosseum
Held together by many thrones

The Palatine is now swept clean
Overlooking all of Rome
Where the emperors sat
Feeling strong and tall

What have all the years done?
To a society that ruled the world
Reducing it to rubble
And now it’s gone

It was a violent society
Self-centered on its need
Greedy causes flourished
Led by men with evil needs

Celebrations are deceiving
Many sedate the soul
Rome ignored Jesus
And now it is gone

Clay Corvin 03/21/04

Lunch

 

NO ESTEEM

NO ESTEEM

We covered history
As we crisscrossed Rome
From early to the middle Ages
Looking at their homes

We listened to the eras
Across two thousand years
Presenting themselves
In bricks and stones

Nero still remembered
Evil was his throne
Always hurting people
His hurt still is known

Everywhere we traveled
Death reared its head
All those people
Struggled until they were dead

Now the façade is religion
Churches everywhere
All those hurting people
And the world doesn’t care

Rome is not unusual
Man is very mean
The strong live for ego
And people get no esteem

Clay Corvin 03/21/04