Posts Tagged: ‘Worship’

THE WHITE BIRD by Donna Swanson c.2011

01/13/2012 Posted by mindsinger

 

The morning sunlight made the white bird’s feathers shine and sparkle.  But the white bird’s thoughts did not shine or sparkle.  She was sad and worried.  Her master had tossed her up into the air several days ago and now she had forgotten what she was supposed to do or where she was supposed to go.

 

“I do not see anything that is familiar to me!” she cried.  “And I can’t even go home for I’ve forgotten that as well!”  A tear glistened on her cheek feathers as she looked once more at the meadow beneath her tree.  A little child was standing there looking at her.  A tear was on his cheek as well.

 

“Oh, beautiful white bird! Can you help me find my way home?” he called.

 

The white bird flew down to his shoulder.  “Which way did you come?” she asked.

 

The little boy pointed.  “Over there.  But I cannot see my house now!  I think it must be gone!”

 

“Oh, no, little one; I think it must be over the hill where you cannot see it.  But it is still there!  Let me fly to my tree branch and look.” The white bird flew back to the tree and looked in the direction the little boy had pointed.  Yes, there was a small cottage.  “Just turn around and walk back the way you came,” said the bird.  See, I will fly ahead of you!”

 

The little boy clapped his hands.  “Thank you, beautiful bird!”  And together they found the path that would take the little boy home.  He waved goodbye as he ran up the lane.

 

The white bird flew back to her tree.  Her heart was lighter now for helping someone; but she still did not know where she was or what she was supposed to do.  She did know she had been sitting in this tree too long.  “Perhaps if I fly farther I, too, will find my home.”  So off she flew over the meadow and over the next few hills.

 

But nothing familiar came into sight.  She did find a wheat field and ate a few grains for her breakfast.  As she pecked at the wheat she heard a sad sigh.  She looked up and saw an aged farmer cutting the wheat.  He looked very sad as he worked.  “Oh, my!” she heard him say, “The crop is so poor this year and the work remains just as hard! If only I could hope for a better day!”

 

The white bird fluttered up from the ground, “How sad you look, Grandfather!  Surely there is something good to think about!”

 

The farmer dropped his scythe and let the white bird sit on his hand.  “How beautiful you are!” he exclaimed.  “What a wonder my field has hidden within it!”  And the old man smiled at his guest.  “What are you doing way out here in the fields?  Surely you live in those fancy houses rich men keep on their rooftops in the city!”

~*~

White Bird is on a journey that will take her through time and over many lands.  Her destination is a mystery for she cannot remember where she is going or from where she has come.   She knows only that she must continue to fly West.  Journey with her and meet those who help her along her way.

If you are interested in learning more about THE WHITE BIRD and its use as a worship tool, contact Donna Swanson at swan2son@gmail.com

SING ME HOME!

09/25/2011 Posted by mindsinger

 

Terah’s body lay in state before the thrones in the Hall of Song.  Washed and dressed, the wounds were left visible as tokens of his sacrifice and honor. He lay on a rectangular block of pure amethyst. The thrones behind him were empty for the King and Queen stood with the assembly that packed the huge hall.  Shoulder to shoulder they stood in silence. The Alari, sized down to miniature, hovered just above the people. Except for Angari. He stood between the thrones; his robes were glistening white, his hair and body golden. His wings were spread wide and his hands were raised, palms upward, to Heaven. He was not the blindingly bright creature revealed when the Great Bells rang in unison, but he was undoubtedly an angel.

Now, he began to sing. His words were unintelligible to the humans, but sounded like bells and music. The King and Queen joined him then, and, slowly, sweeping from front to back, the whole assembly joined the stately chorus. When the music had swelled so that the building vibrated with power, Angari stepped forward, lifted the broken body of Terah, and flew over the heads of the people. Escorted by myriads of Alari, he disappeared through the doors.

Silently the fallowfolk left the Hall until only the King and Queen and the Thomases remained. “Oh, John,” whispered Sarah, “there are no cemeteries. There are no cemeteries on Windfallow! How beautiful!”

c.2011 excerpt from The Deceiver; Book III, Volume I, The Windfallow Chronicles, Donna Swanson

In the Woods

07/28/2011 Posted by mindsinger

 



I can hear the spring wind building before I feel the freshening breeze upon my face.  It stirs the trees in the orchard and sends before itself a million soft sighings.  And, as it passes on, I sit in the calm once again even as I hear it moving on to ruffle yet another tree-clad hillside.
I feel the wind, I hear it, But I don’t know its origin or its destination. Why, then, must I labor so diligently to understand God’s Spirit which he tells me to accept as freely and as innocently as a child free in the springtime? Why should I fear the ceasing of words when it was not I but the Spirit who caused their appearance?
O Father, make me as free, as trusting, and as pliant as the tall sycamore swaying gently in the caressing wind!  Standing there on the creek bank, its roots exposed by years of springtime flooding, it offers me its gift of hope.  Help me to remember it when my own floods come.  Or when the soft breezes of the spirit become gales of sorrow or pain.
It is beautiful here.  No sound but the busy scurrying of last year’s leaves as they tumble and dance before the wind.  The trees, bare of leaves, create their own beauty as each stands in the uniqueness of its construction.
And through it all flows the living water.  The soft sound of its voice soothes my mind and stills my soul.  And I rise renewed.  Was it so with you, Jesus?  Is that why you withdrew to those wilderness mountains?

Exceprt from SPLINTERS OF LIGHT c.2011 by Donna Swanson

http://mindsinger.com/book-store/splinters-of-light-book/