July 10, 2023 · 11:00 pm

Pieces of Peace

My mom, Raynette Forister Eitel, passed away in September of 2022, age 85, drifting away into dementia. It was tragic to watch this woman who loved words, who was a poet, fade away into wordlessness after a lifetime of crafting poetry. To honor her, I’m sharing some of her poems. To read more of her poems, keep coming back here.

Mom grew up in the desert, and she had plenty of southwestern poetry that we enjoyed (which I will share!). However, another love of hers, which grew as she and her husband Jim spent time in tropical climates, was the sea. Far from tropical, though, was the beautiful area off the coast of Washington, a collection of islands called the San Juans. They tried to stay for a month each summer, to get away from the Las Vegas heat. She fell in love with the area.

Pieces of Peace
(on Orcas Island, Washington)
by Raynette Eitel

Here is tranquility in quiet seas
Surrounded by sentinels of silent pines.
Here a plane lands on still waters
Beside sailboats like a boy’s favorite toy.

And from the summit of Mt. Constitution
Comes a dazzling glimpse of a snow-cloaked Mt. Baker
And green islands circling Orcas like a necklace
As eagles soar beneath a smooth sky and indigo straits.

In July, night comes slowly as light lingers long and low
Over waters littered with glitter of newborn stars.
A soothing song settles over the land like a lullaby
While we settle into the peace, wrapping it about us.

Dawn will not be long in coming,
But it will tiptoe across the island’s eastern edge
Swathed in a soft pink robe
Trimmed with fog as white as ermine.

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July 6, 2023 · 11:15 pm

Strive With Me in Prayer

God’s presence in the midst of your prayers
Part 2, Striving with Me

When writing to the early Christian church in Rome, Paul the apostle has what seems to be a strange request. “Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me…” (Romans 15:30). Sometimes the Christian life is described as hard, and here it seems even praying is hard work (striving)! What does he mean?

Paul was one of the early missionaries, having traveled throughout much of the Mediterranean region to spread the Gospel. Writing his letter to the Romans while he was in Corinth, he laid out some of his plans. Although he wanted to come to Rome to speak with Christians there, he knew he needed to bring some financial aid to Jerusalem first. Then, he told the Romans, he planned to head to Rome on his way to Spain. However, as we Christians could understand, he knew his plans might not exactly have been God’s plans! And it turns out that though he did make it to Rome, it came about through completely different circumstances.

As the book of Acts describes, when Paul got to Jerusalem, a mob attempted to kill him. The Roman soldiers in Jerusalem, seeing a riot ready to break out, took Paul, bound him in chains, and dragged him away.

Arguing that he was a Roman citizen with rights, Paul was eventually brought to Rome (with many adventures and trials along the way). He didn’t go as a free citizen, but as a prisoner. But Paul was able to preach the Gospel along the way to anyone who would listen—including the soldiers who held him. How many people heard the Gospel who might not have otherwise? How many more directions did the Gospel travel in, as a result of his detours? We will never know, but we do know that Paul didn’t resist; he used his circumstances to preach the Gospel and bring God glory.

Given the dangers he went through after he wrote that letter to the Romans, his small reference to striving in prayer has more significance. Paul knew that though he had plans, God is ultimately in control of all the details, and so he submitted himself to God’s will before all things.

Why did he ask his readers to strive with him in prayer?

Prayer is, above all things, submission to God’s will. Prayer acknowledges God’s sovereignty. Paul submitted his plans and desires to his Lord, and let his Lord take care of the details.  Essentially Paul was saying, “I’m turning my feet in this direction, but I will let You turn them aside however and whenever You want.” Ultimately, Paul says, God’s plans are more important than his own.

Imagine Paul praying. He lays out to God what he wants to do to spread the Gospel. But he knows this is not about Paul; it’s about God. So if God has detours along the way, Paul trusts that God will care for him.

Now imagine how he asked the Romans to pray: strive with me. Do the hard work of praying that nothing gets in the way of God’s plan. Pray that whatever happens, God will accomplish His will. Pray that I can come to you safely, he says, but if not, God will get the glory anyway.

Someone else prayed similarly, back in the Old Testament. In the book of Daniel, when Daniel’s three friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to worship another god, their punishment was to be thrown into a fiery furnace. They said to the king, “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us from out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up” (Daniel 3:17-18). The three friends trusted God more than some handmade gods, and they were absolutely certain in their trust of Him. They didn’t back down. When they were tossed into the furnace, not only did God spare them, He allowed the onlookers to see the visible presence of another person, perhaps an angel or the pre-incarnate Christ, walking with them in the fire. Walking with them in the fire!

So strive in your prayers to God. Do the hard work of submitting your requests to Him. Be assured that He will answer your prayers, not always in the way you picture it, but His presence will be with you regardless of the outcome. And He will walk with you in the fire.

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July 5, 2023 · 7:02 pm

Patriotism Reborn

My mom, Raynette Forister Eitel, passed away in September of 2022, age 85, drifting away into dementia. It was tragic to watch this woman who loved words, who was a poet, fade away into wordlessness after a lifetime of crafting poetry. To honor her, I’m sharing some of her poems. To read more of her poems, keep coming back here.

Our mom, like so many, was horrified by the events of 9/11/2001. Some of the patriotic poems she penned afterwards were published in an anthology of poetry titled 911: The Day America Cried.

Patriotism Reborn
by Raynette Eitel, written 2001

I never knew years of singing
About the sweet land of liberty
Was wedging love so securely
In my heart
That it might break.

I never dreamed humming
“God Bless America”
Would become a daily prayer
To deliver my country
From evil.

I never suspected that
All those times I bellowed
“The Star Spangled Banner”
Just before the first pitch
Would one day be so
Filled with anger.

I have lived from sea to shining sea
Beside that purple mountain
Just above the fruited plain
In a country where I
Took freedom for granted,
Worshipped God as I chose,
Said whatever I pleased,
Bore arms when I wished,
Never truly grasping
My extraordinary birthright.

It is a time for remembering
What America is all about,
Songs still sung,
Hands held over broken hearts,
Flags waving proudly
From the New York harbor
To the redwood forest,
Tears streaming down our cheeks,
Thoughts of Bunker Hill,
Gettysburg, Verdun, Pearl Harbor,
The 38th Parallel, Viet Nam,
Twin towers.

Now that I am reborn with tears
And smoke and fire
Into patriotism,
Drinking the milk of freedom,
Wrapped in the red white and blue
Of my old flag,
I sing new lullabies
Of the songs of my fathers
And vow to protect and defend
America the rest of my life.

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June 28, 2023 · 10:57 pm

Queen Mountain (Pikes Peak)

My mom, Raynette Forister Eitel, passed away in September of 2022, age 85, drifting away into dementia. It was tragic to watch this woman who loved words, who was a poet, fade away into wordlessness after a lifetime of crafting poetry. To honor her, I’m sharing some of her poems. To read more of her poems, keep coming back here.

We grew up in Colorado Springs, at the foot of Pikes Peak. That lovely mountain dominates the city with its beautiful blue skirt, pink top, and snowy-white hair. A scar near the base, from an old gravel pit, hardly detracts from its beauty (but even as a little girl, I hated that someone had defaced it even a little). Every winter a team of climbers summit the mountain and, when we ring in the New Year down below, they set off fireworks from the Peak that, on a clear night, can be seen all the way to Kansas. The white blanket of snow reflects the glorious lights from the fireworks. You really should make a point of seeing it once.

I learned to ski on that mountain. Every day as I grew up, I ran to look out at the Peak from the window of our home and never ceased to marvel at it.

Queen Mountain (published in Colorado Springs Free Press, 1961)
by Raynette Eitel

She stands silently,
Smiling down upon us.
Sun and snow she tosses
Down and down forever,
Her gift of love—as though
She doesn’t hear our grumbles,
Grinding our teeth at nature.
Griping that it’s blowing,
Growling at the snowflakes.

She slumps shamefully,
Half her sparkling crown
She loses to machinery—
Scrape, scrape, screeching
Up her very self, it tears
And scratches a pathway
So nosy, noisy beings
Can strain and swear and
DAMN their heating autos, and
      DON their winter jackets, and
      DELVE into a snowbank.

She scoffs searingly.
At those who reach her summit,
Squinting down upon us—
The valley-her domain.
She cloaks her highway richly,
Wrapping ermine clouds securely,
Chuckling as cars chug downward—
The drivers, flatland farmers,
Fearful lest they fall.

She sighs sleepily—
Her crown a fire of fury
As King Midas comes to call.
And now no more invasions
Save us who love her beauty
Born of golden glory,
Mingled with dark pine trees,
Reaching for the sky.

She sleeps softly.
Covered, oh, so gently
With Heaven’s great white blanket
Unspoiled by any touch.
And to one more invasion,
She shows but cold indifference.
Bold men in annual pilgrimage
Can’t intrude upon her rest.

She stirs slightly—
Her crown in all its glory
With blazing jewels exploding,
Their colors flashing skyward,
And we stand staring upward,
Our hearts bowed down and prayerful
Praise Hosanna for this mountain!

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June 23, 2023 · 7:56 pm

Striving in the Christian life

Strive With Me, Part 1 (Part 2 here)

A pastor of mine, years ago, preached that the Christian life is very difficult. That got my attention. Is Christian life impossible?

It’s hard to stand up in a culture that is so antithetical to the message of the Gospel. It’s hard to withstand temptations that bombard us from every direction. It’s hard to overcome past habits and present distractions.

Then we read verses like Luke 13:24: “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.” What are we to make of that?

That word “strive” means struggle. The Greek word for “striving” gives us the English word “agony.” Well, if that’s what it means to be a Christian, how can I ever manage it? How can I ever work so hard that my striving becomes agony?

I could give up if I were to stop right there. But the Christian was never meant to stop at striving. I could never achieve heaven by striving alone. I could never succeed in my Christian walk with endless struggling.

Late theologian RC Sproul commented on this passage from Luke: “What Jesus is saying is that there must be passion, real effort in striving, not that human effort would ever get anybody into the kingdom of God, but the person who has been quickened by the Holy Spirit, who has caught a glimpse of the reality of Jesus, must make the seeking of the kingdom of God the main business of his life” (A Walk with God: An Exposition of Luke). The element of most importance here is the Holy Spirit.

We sometimes forget that the Christian walk is not a solitary one. I mean that in two important senses.

First, and foremost, before He suffered on the cross, died, and rose again, Jesus made a promise. He would not leave His followers alone. “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you,” He says in John 14:25-27, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

The Holy Spirit is the power of the Gospel living inside each believer!

Second, the Christian walk was meant to be lived alongside other Christians. The walk was never meant to be solitary.

If you are discouraged in your faith, if you are a new Christian just trying to figure it out, if you’ve been one for a long time and find yourself running low on energy, answer these questions:

Are you part of a fellowship of Bible-believing Christians? Do you study the Word with other believers? Are you looking one another in the eye and holding one another accountable?

You can’t do that if you’re still watching church services online. You can’t if you are only reading blogs about Christian living either!

You need to be walking side by side with other believers. Praying with them. Studying with them. Worshipping with them.

Many examples from the New Testament support this. In Acts chapter 2 believers “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” The book of Acts describes many times the early believers—the early Church—had gathered together to hear preaching, to worship, and have fellowship with one another.

Paul tells believers in Ephesians 5:15-21, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

When you isolate, you will begin to doubt. You’ll get discouraged. You aren’t giving others the opportunity to know you, to love and encourage you, to hold you accountable to the faith that you profess. And you will miss out on the opportunity to build meaningful relationships with other believers. You have no idea of the riches you will miss out on by NOT getting involved!

So Christian, if you are discouraged by trying—striving—to be a Christian in an un-Christian world, stop striving alone! Realize that the Holy Spirit is with you to encourage you and give you peace. And know that a Bible-preaching church is where you need to have the fellowship with other believers who will help to build you up in the faith. You’ll find other people who, just like you, find life challenging, and who know that there is power in the Holy Spirit.

If you’re struggling to find a Bible-preaching church, you can start at 9marks.org for churches in your area.

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June 22, 2023 · 11:14 pm

From Birds

My mom, Raynette Forister Eitel, passed away in September of 2022, age 85, drifting away into dementia. It was tragic to watch this woman who loved words, who was a poet, fade away into wordlessness after a lifetime of crafting poetry.

To honor her, I’m sharing some of her poems.

To read more of her poems, keep coming back here.

From Birds
by Raynette Eitel

Each morning birds awakened her
With poems.


Through her dreams she heard
Soft cooing of doves,
Thrum of hummingbird wings,
And robins singing of spring.

Once a hawk swooped down,
His mighty beak
Too near her eyes,
His shriek terrible to bear.
She bolted upright in bed,
Heart pounding.

Sparrows twittered poems
In syncopation
With rhythmic sounds
Of mockingbirds,
Giving her snatches of verse
Stolen from another place.

But when she heard the meadowlark
Singing full voice,
Heralding dawn in full chorus,
She knew it was time to arise
And write it all down.

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June 20, 2023 · 9:20 pm

I Have Grown Old

My mom, Raynette Forister Eitel, passed away in September of 2022, drifting away into dementia. It was tragic to watch this woman who loved words, who was a poet, fade away into wordlessness after a lifetime of crafting poetry.

To honor her, I’m sharing some of her poems.

To read more of her poems, keep coming back here.

I Have Grown Old
by Raynette Eitel, 1999

I have grown old, my love.
Words I stored like sliced apples
To dry on the roof
Are waiting to be
Folded into a sweet autumn pie
Or stirred into a smooth sauce
Sweetened with the savor of my life.

I have grown old, my love.
My arthritic fingers write slowly
Keeping up with wrinkled thoughts
From the cloth of a lifetime.


Stories I heard as a child,
Songs sung as I fought sleep,
Sayings that salted my grandmother’s speech,
Laughter, tears, and bitter anger
Simmered through the years into the syrup of my days.

My poems will be stirred until the
Essence is exactly right,
I will give you the first taste.

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June 19, 2023 · 8:31 am

Faith is the Thing

My mom, Raynette Forister Eitel, passed away in September of 2022, drifting away into dementia. It was tragic to watch this woman who loved words, who was a poet, fade away into wordlessness after a lifetime of crafting poetry.

To honor her, I’m sharing some of her poems.

To read more of her poems, keep coming back here.

Faith
Raynette Eitel

You see, faith is the thing
So it doesn’t matter
Who derides you,
Who places a crown of thorns
On your head
Or hands you a cross to carry.

When you know
Someone turned water into wine,
And you are sure
Stones can be rolled away
From caves where the dead sleep
And One who was put there didn’t stay,
You don’t need to see it.

You have that peace
Coming from understanding
That holding evidence in your hand
And storing evidence in your heart
Are not equal
In order to believe it.

You know it is true
The same way you know
A rainbow will
Fill the sky after a rain
To make certain you remember about faith.

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June 18, 2023 · 9:36 pm

But what about my doubts?

Faith in a world full of questions

It’s easy to know what you believe when everything is going well. When the sky is blue, and your pantry is full, and you have a job to go to tomorrow.

But then there are the dark days of doubt. When what you believed you understood last week, you’re not sure about this week. When one thing after another goes wrong. When it’s hard just to get up every morning. What about then?

The answers don’t always come easily, and they aren’t always easy to accept. But if you are a Christian, if you believe that there is a God whose truth is universal and unequivocal, then the answers are there, within your grasp.

And if you’re wondering if there is truth you can always rely on; if you’re wondering if there’s something better, something bigger than yourself, you need to ask yourself one thing: What do I know to be true?

Truth is, there is a God. He is the one true God, the all-powerful Creator of heaven and earth. Truth is, He holds the answers to every deep, philosophical, existential question ever pondered. Whether you believe Him or not, this is the truth.

Now, for those dark days. Because He is the author of life, nothing in this world surprises Him.

God knows your doubts, and where they come from. And He wants you to rehearse to yourself those truths that comprise the Gospel. (If you’re not a Christian, hang on–you might just find what you’ve been missing!)

Here they are: Sin exists. It’s real. And each of us struggles with sin every day. Sin misses the mark of what God requires. And there is a consequence of sin: eternal death, for which there is no release, no hope of a do-over.

BUT.

But there is one person who never sinned, who walked this earth, and who defeated the evil in this world. And because He never sinned, because He preached good news that had been promised from the beginning of time, his enemies put Him to death. That man is Jesus.

And that man who died, who was buried, He rose to life again, conquering death. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father.

What does that have to do with you? That essential truth is everything. Hang on to that truth, because it means eternal life to you. It means that though you die, you will be raised again to live eternally with Jesus in heaven.

And here’s that BUT: But what if I don’t feel it? What about the terrible things that are going on in my life? What about the worries I have, that are very real, that don’t seem to go away? What about that deep hole I dug for myself, that I just can’t seem to climb out of?

God has the answer:

BUT GOD.

Here’s what He says in His Word, the Bible, in the book of Ephesians, chapter 2: “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ–by grace you have been saved–and raised us up with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

If you’ve already believed that, hang on to it. It’s the one truth that never dies. Believe that God sees what you’re going through, sees the doubts that you have, sees the darkness threatening to overtake you. What’s more, He doesn’t tell you to hang on for dear life because you might slip and fall.

Instead, He tells you this: “I give them [my own–my sheep, He calls us] eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:28). His sheep are precious to Him, and He guarantees that once they believe, they will never get left behind.

But what if I don’t feel it? But what if I have too many terrible things in my past? But…?

But God.

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June 18, 2023 · 3:30 pm

Stepping Stones to Shakespeare

My mom, Raynette Forister Eitel, passed away in September of 2022, drifting away into dementia. It was tragic to watch this woman who loved words, who was a poet, fade away into wordlessness after a lifetime of crafting poetry.

To honor her, I’m sharing some of her poems. This poem, one of my favorites, explains why I am a writer and why I became an English teacher. Mom and I shared a love of words.

To read more of her poems, keep coming back here.

Stepping Stones to Shakespeare
Raynette Eitel, 1999

When you were a child, I offered stepping stones to Shakespeare,
Handing you delicious words, like mints, to melt upon your tongue.
The language did not take us straight to castles of the Bard
But along quiet paths twisting
Around enchanted forests through thick and leafy phrases.
You wore pajamas and smelled of innocence.

I held you close as ghosts whispered shadowy secrets.
We strolled straight through the looking glass together
Collecting magic moments like small white doves
Which we could later pull from a hat and watch fly away.

Oh my dear, the lands we saw and the characters we met
Gave us stories like soft silk scarves to slip from our sleeves when needed.

Each night we traveled our well-worn path with laughter or terror or sadness until
Your eyes became heavy with sleep.
I took your small sweet hand and led you straight
To your safe sailboat of a bed.
Kissing you softly, I sent you off
To embark on a midsummer night’s dream
Of “flights of angels singing you to your rest.”

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