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Lord, with the gentle fall of snow,
With the opening of a rose,
You have shown Your love for me.
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Then, when the day has turned to nigh’,
When the angels touch the sky,
You have shown Your love for me.
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How could I ever doubt you’re there,
With the wonders that we share,
Everyday and everywhere.
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Lord, keep me humble in my walk,
Let me teach as You have taught,
Show the world how much You care.
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Written as a song on 1991
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Breath of Heaven,
whispers down,
soothes,
caresses,
covering,
with sweet oils,
of the anointing.
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The face of God,
reflects in the tears
of the worshiper.
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Water and oil,
flowing together,
drips to the ground.
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Called to earth,
by the sweet fragrance,
of sacrificed praise;
sweet,
fresh,
Rose of Sharon.
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His robe whispers,
billows,
whispers,
as His feet gently tread,
on Holy Ground.
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The Angels sing,
Holy,
Holy.
The anointing flows,
covers,
soothes,
caresses.
✝
Holy, Holy,
as the voice of God,
reaches the lost,
and bursts forth,
once again,
in Praise.
✝
Written 7-17-97
We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: 2 Peter 1:19
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You take the darkness of night,
Through the chill of dawn,
And burst forth the morning sky,
Opening in fragrant gold,
As a beautiful yellow rose bud,
Firm yet delicate,
Opening its vulnerable petals,
To bless the waiting soul.
…
The colors race across the sky,
Painted by the wings of Angels.
The sun rises,
Orchestrating warmth and life,
Bringing hope.
…
It’s a new day!
…
And as these miracles of morning,
These miracles of life,
Explode all around,
So many pass right by,
Unaware.
…
My Spirit cries out,
“Look what God has done,
Look what He has made for you.”
They pass right by,
Unaware.
…
Let me always cling,
To the miracles of the moment,
Always aware,
Always grateful,
For the hand of God.
Written 4-2-97
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“I will accept you with your sweet savour, when I bring you out from the people, and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you before the heathen.” Ezekiel 20:41
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I love flowers. I could study the simple beauty of a flower for hours – breathing in the gentle aroma that lifts from the petals. I am completely convinced that when God created the Heavens and the earth He knew I was coming and created flowers just for me!
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I most enjoy the age-old garden variety flower; the one with bugs and bees. The kind you can smell without having to bend down and stick your nose in. I grow them in pots at home, as well as in my office. Being blessed with an office window and a door to the outside, I now enjoy the fresh color every time I have to deliver a memo. God is so good!
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This last Mother’s Day I was given a carnation by a local restaurant. It was a beautiful peach color. It immediately brought back memories of buying carnations from the “Flower Children” in the 70’s and 80’s as they held their street corner stations. I quickly buried my nose in the cool petals, but was surprised and dismayed at the absence of its sweet perfume. The was no aroma – no sweetness.
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A few days later I was given a rose boutonniere, left over from an awards presentation. The leaves were perfectly formed, the bud slightly opened – the rich red petals were awesome – but no aroma.
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As beautiful as these two flowers were, there was a hollowness, an incompleteness, like a peach without flavor, or a lamp without light. The first flower I thought was an oddity, but the second was more than coincidence.
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All that week, as I passed retail flower shops, I would stop to smell the flowers – NOTHING!! “Lord,” I prayed, “where is the sweetness You created with this gift? Why is it gone?”
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The answer came as simply as asked, “There is no fragrance without the sun.”
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These plants had been grown in greenhouses, under artificial lights, in special climate controlled conditions. No warmth of the sun, or cool of the night. No rain from Heaven, just processed city water. No fragrance.
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We, too, are like greenhouse flowers. We can be beautiful to look upon, and give the “Impression” of sweetness from a distance, but without the Son, kissing us every day with His soul feeding Word, we have no sweet fragrance. Impressions only last a moment, but beauty, blessed with sweetness, will remain a pleasant memory for a lifetime.
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The Bible refers to our praise and sacrifice as a sweet savor, rising up to the nostrils of God. An eternal pleasure in God’s memory.
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Lord, let me always be a sweet savor in Your thoughts. Remind me, daily, that without the Son, and the gift He gave, there will be no fragrance.
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Written 5-23-00
I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys. Song of Solomon 2:1 KJV
You came up, out of the desert, as a pure white rose, born in a wilderness, breathtakingly fragrant. You stood for all that was true, in a land without water, in a world wroth with sin, forged in pain. People searched you out, grasping at your petals, a sweet scent to hold on to, until only the stem remained, circled about with thorns. When it seemed to all, that nothing was left, You bloomed again, as the Phoenix bird, rising from the ashes, lifted high above the crowd, on an unfinished wooden cross. In your final flower, the new petals fell, each bearing the name, of sin and pain, all that was removed, from our condemned lives. The petals falling, willingly given, to redeem the lost, every provision considered, every provision met. First fell shame, for not recognizing, who You were, then guilt, for the pain You endured. There was sickness, depression, fear, sins of the past, broken in travel, to the generations, of the future. On and on they fell, one by one, stripping away hopelessness, giving new life, in the sight of eternity. As the last petal fell, Your Father, our Father, gasped, shaking the earth with His pain, dimming the light from the sky. There You hung, looking no more, than a dry broken twig, soon to be buried, in the bowels of the earth. Yet, inside that twig, lay a seed, a new life, taking root in the earth, preparing to grow, preparing to bloom, as Aaron’s rod, a sign to the nations, of God’s perfect love, in the gift of, the Rose.
Written 11-14-98
“I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys”. Song of Solomon2:1 KJV
In the valley of life,
Where Israel and Egypt,
Dwell together,
You walked.
—-
You searched,
This way and that,
For the Pure of Heart,
To call Your own.
—-
In the garden,
Tended by Israel,
Grew a rose.
It grew upward,
Spreading its leaves and petals,
To the light and the warmth,
Of You.
—-
It grew past the thorns,
Through the winds,
During times of drought,
During the flood.
—-
It grew ever up,
Seeking fellowship with You,
Fully opened,
Exposing the tender inner parts,
Deep within.
—-
As You knelt down,
To savor the beautiful blossom,
You blew gently against it,
Sending the sweet fragrance,
Toward the emptiness of Egypt.
—-
Some caught the fragrance,
In their hearts,
And came to share in the joy,
Of the rose,
Joining Israel in victorious praise.
—-
Others were left, only briefly,
As Israel tends the garden of life,
Watering and feeding,
Pruning and grafting,
Preparing once more,
For the opening of a rose.
—-
Linda J. Humes 