Deeper Furrow

  Beware Of Dog Guitar (E, A, B7)   Gray around the muzzle Claws click the floor Barely climbs the cushion Her legs seem rather sore   Beware of dog Beware   Rabbits don’t run When she makes her presence known They keep a modest distance And she leaves them alone   Beware of dog Beware   We have signs on the doors Signs in the back Warning all who enter Of a fanged attack   Beware of dog! Beware of dog! Beware of dog   All that changes When the grandkids come on by She meets them at the door And her tongue licks their smile   Beware of dog Beware of dog Beware     Shadow is showing her age.   How ironic it is to post signs of this ferocious dog on the premises! With the policeman’s recommendation, we put up warning signs because of her bark.      

  We Are His Workmanship      I am an Automation Technician level 7 in the Tyson job description.   From 2:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., I wear that hat Thursday through Tuesday.   But those responsibilities stay on that side of the river.   In Iowa, I am something else.   Not so with Christ.      “For we are His workmanship…” Ephesians 2:10 at the start.   This verse can be read as it applies to us.   But this morning I saw Him.   In my mind I saw a man in a pottery room.   With apron on, He motioned me back to see His latest creation.   To have a workmanship, there must be a worker.   More than that, we are His livelihood .       Jesus sums up His passions for us.   They entertain His thoughts by the hour.   So dedicated to them, we see the Potter over the wheel intently focusing the work.   His hands meet her as she spins elegantly.   The hands of...

  The Newness Of Life Romans 6      It sits itself as a long proverb.   Put off the old and walk in the new.   Those in Rome were encouraged to forsake past sinful paths and run the route which led to freedom.   A Roman flogging about a shameful alley was all sin promised.   That road led to death.   Paul invites those to find the new path out in the countryside.      He uses servanthood to illustrate.   He speaks in the manner of men to argue a point with them.   Understanding slavery, our master be to death or life.   Sin to death and obedience to life.   As we are given a code book, rules accompany both.   Sin has its “musts” and righteousness likewise.   We decide.   To vacillate between means we get ostracized by both.   Hypocrisy earns laughter from one camp, sadness from the other.      Dedicated servanthood requires discipline.   Job knew...

  Faith Gives God Permission      God is not a show boater.   He does not find satisfaction in showing off.   However, for our sakes, He requires an account that we may know the source of all good things.      In the last chapter of James, we see the elders gathering over one who is sick.   They anoint him with oil, and he is healed physically presumed.   Why the ceremony?   Because God knows we need to set things apart in our minds.   Glory is to be given to the One who saves.      In the garden, God gave Man the order of keeping the earth and having charge over her.   All authority was given to Adam.   He became the spiritual gateway.   In that position, he could permit or exclude God from His creation.   Did he want God’s help or did he want to do it on his own?   We read and find out that answer.      Spiritual permission.   God hon...

  Lord, Please Take It!      As a fisherman, when I cast a lure it goes forth and lands in the water.   From there it sinks out of sight.   However, my line is still attached.   So are our cares as we cast them upon God.      Emotional pain is not desired.   When we hear that a loved one is suffering, God calls us to feel.   We are not to harden ourselves in self-protection mode.   We are to feel one another’s pain.   What kind of God would command this?   The One who let it collapse Him on the cross.      If we are to feel, our souls threaten to break under the stress.   Routines of the day are put aside if we despair wondering how Grandma will make it through the surgery.   God knows our abilities.   Therefore, He comes to help. 1 Peter 5:7   “Casting all your care upon Him: for He careth for you.”      The same God that commands yo...

   Head Games   Russian roulette is not a paired favorite Sinking a bullet deep within does not do her justice Father by sure is the stretching of the bandage Over a wound so easily marked   The noise within echoes off contours The incessant whine weaves in and out Shrilled shrines cause a wince not becoming Edging bets by bookies in the cage   H ead games I’ve yet to become one Player by the sideline I share no zeal When the hurricane passes I’ll keep what’s given Contrivance knows her happy state When nestled in a warm bed   Psychological warfare does not keep a marriage running.   To undermine a spouse is to undercut one’s own footings.

  Strong Man Guitar (E,A,B7)   Jumped the fence to shout a warning “Do you know who lives here!” I yelled Pilfering through his garage doors Could come with a cost   Heard he dropped a man While his friend held a shovel Saw him weather the lonely road He had been no stranger to suffering   The blues he had known Strong man Strong man   He likes squirrels on his roof And bunnies in the grass Is that ok? Butterfly poem he wrote When he was asked to put the pen   Jim, you’re a strong man Strong man Strong man     This one is dedicated to Jim Hollins, our next door neighbor of nearly twenty-five years.

Her Own Woman   I respect her being I do not touch that way She belongs to another And I am comfortable with that   The person she’s become Commands an understanding Seeing her today Walking in her mother’s steps Makes me happy   She is her own woman As she submits to her head With that light tether She flies in freedom   How glad I am To hand her off To a blessed man Who does not wreck her   Woman Rise to conquer the land I only dreamed of

  Spiritual Interface Units      I am so glad that God our Father has created beings such as these.   Oh, the sheer complexities that lie behind a simple hello!   Walking on two feet, our eyes meet, and our face tells the story.   A myriad of mix as the soul embellishes the eyes in agreement or discouragement.   Not to say least, but our body language in itself paints the picture at a distance recognizable that we can even tell the identity at serval paces.      He defines awe.   We creatures truly are awesome.   Not stoic sculptures in a museum but changing with every moment.   I hear robotics have mimicked.   However, nothing that man creates comes close to the embryo.   A start of life.   We cannot give life to inanimate objects.   Breathing life into dust He reserved for Himself.   Elemental we are, being derived from the earth.   Our corpses decay falling back to the gr...

  When I Correct      As a Godly man of fifty-five years old, being an elder and an overseer in a local congregation having his walking with God in excess of forty years, I maintain the right to correct as needed.   If I see error, I suffer patiently for a right time to address the issue.   However, something pulls at this reasoning of mine.   I am a bipolar man and my tendency to anger has been documented by hospitals.      So where is the balance?   I am troubled and unsure lacking confidence and even a good night’s sleep that I have corrected in accordance to the severity of the problem.   Am I entering into a hypomanic state?   Will the tell-tale signs emerge have as they have done in the past?   Will this be the start of the proverbial snowball rolling down the hill gathering momentum and mass as it treks?   Will I artistically become more obscure not relating and growing in confusion?  ...

  When We Believe Lies Joshua 9 especially verse 14 14  And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the  Lord .      It only takes a simple prayer.   “What do you think, Lord?”   We hear many things.   A cacophony of sounds streams along in the wind.   Sometimes they get organized to agree with our inner thoughts and suspicions.   As a seed, it must be watered.   Sputtering lips shout obscenities.   Against such, we dismiss.   It is the gentle, continuous rain that soaks the ground even undetected.   Before long, our fertile ground becomes a swamp smelling of dank odor.   The vine wraps to warp other perceptions of ourselves if we believe.      I heard a counselor say it quite often is a core lie.   In his experience, troubled ones have swallowed a primal misconception from which other skewed thoughts emanate.   Have you believed anoth...

Shadow      For those of you old enough to remember, Shadow has been a fixture in our home.  Given to us at an early age, this Malinois mixed dog with great coloring and excellent obedience has blessed our house with gentleness.  Thriving on MilkBones, she routinely does her duty in the back yard without a hitch.  Graying around the muzzle now has limited her to long naps and low snoring about the living room furniture.      I am writing this because she has become a part, and I hesitate in saying part, of our family.  One must realize that she is an animal.  She belongs to me.  I have final say in the number of her days.  As God has said, I am to be responsible for the “beasts” in my possession.       There is a blurring now days.  When $100 to $1000’s of dollars are spent to dress these domesticated ones up or to surround them with luxuries.  Thus, they have become the a...

  Secret Service Guitar chords (E, A, B7)   Woke up with brunch on my mind And with no wife to dine I drove solo to the local Johnnie Mars   It was a dismal rainy day Wondering if there’d be a place for me to stay Judging by the parking lot full of cars   "Wait to be seated" the sign read While others were being fed So, I humbly took my stand   At the counter right there The waitress showed me an empty chair Then suddenly by me sat an elderly man   Blue cap with veteran sewn upon Gold stitching told of a mission he'd been on Some years back he was eager to say   Another vet to his left caught his eye Before long they reminisced about days gone by While I quietly enjoyed my steak   Six years with the Air Force had brought me in Although my cap didn’t announce when And with no medal with which to pin That day I became secret service That day I was secret service Today I am secret servic...

  The Brothers At Johnnie Mars Joshua 5      Went in for lunch today at a Sioux City icon.   Sitting at the counter, I conversed with a vet.   He was going to the honorary Vietnam supper tonight.   He had his cap to prove it. I wore mine, a simple baseball cap with an American flag on it.   To his side sat another vet.   His cap also told a story.   Mine, just a plain old cap.       Serving six years in the Air Force has meant nothing to me when comparing myself to those seeing combat.   I hesitate to say I served because I was medically discharged.   Someone recently told me not to discount it.   Everyone’s time looks different.   True, but a common thread links us.      God’s army crossed the Jordan with Joshua in the lead.   A certain thing lacked.   A loose end that Moses never tied up.   All the children born in the wilderness wandering were...

  Thirty Years Running Chords (G9, C9, F9) She was something special On a Friday night Made our own fireworks When I held her tight And that’s how it goes Yes, that’s how it goes When it’s thirty years running   When she said “I do” You know it was done Solemn oath taken Under the Son That’s how it goes Yes that’s how it goes When it’s thirty years running Pretty daughter Looking through the photos today Some are smoother Then the wrinkles she had in May But that’s how it goes Yes, that’s how it goes When it’s thirty years running When it's thirty years running      Mr. and Mrs. Cory Cvrk September 1, 1990 Reverend Bill Banks, Pastor Disciples of Christ Church Aurora, Colorado    

  Memories Chords (D, C, G)   I remember the proof We were in the family way Stage of life they say Comes in and blows away But those memories keep me warm Yes, the memories keep me warm On a cold day   She sure is busy Tending works under the Son Blessings from her open hand He rewards in what she’s done And those memories keep me warm Yes, the memories keep me warm On this cold day   Late tonight I’ll meet her When the lights have all drawn down Pillow talk will reassure me I don’t need to run around Still those memories keep me warm Yes, the memories keep me warm On a cold day On a cold day On this cold day

  I Remember Spanking, A Lot      Foolishness is surely bound up in the heart of a child.   We used a rod to drive it far from them.   Redirection meant nothing to us.   We did not reason with them.   Quick obedience is what we aimed for.   It was the bar.   Anything less met the hand of correction.      Steering a small army of seven meant the older served the younger.   Jackets, shoes, and such.   From command given to troop movement, time was essential if we were to be mobile.   If I called a name upstairs, the accepted response was “Coming!”      Their mother and I came from no large family.   Mine catered to  little self-indulgences.   I typically enjoyed my own room.   Servanthood I did not know.   Marriage and family life shocked me when I was expected to sacrifice.   We trained our children oppositely.      I reme...

  What He Prepares Us For      We will not grieve as those who have no hope.   When life breath stops, we look to Another to take them away.   He bridges our gap of understanding.   From what we see unto the eternal, His word assures final victory.   So, we sow our tears in hope knowing we shall reap a consolation.      I watched her frame lie in bed.   On a sunny day with family around, we watched as the nurse pronounced her dead.   Final breath left and closure ending its work, a great sigh left relieving the tension of months prior.   They saw her decline and now to final rest.       Jesus talks of our spirits.   How tied they are with our souls.   Although her body showed no signs, her awareness was never greater.   I sang a song personally to her.   Believing she heard every word, I laughed and made conversation while comforting her.   She was free...

  The Secret      September 1, 1990.   That’s a good date for marriage.   Today puts our days together past thirty-four years.   Of course, being equally yoked and with Jesus as hope of change, puts an immense advantage.   Another component keeps the spin.      I find Laura Anne Cvrk an incredibly interesting person.   She does not showboat herself, so I ask twenty questions while prodding her ways.   Whether it be in the kitchen or at the sewing table, she works her crafts and produces the goods.   I am commanded to dwell with my wife with understanding.   I am to pay attention to her.   Deliberately.   On purpose.      One way I have found is to come along beside her.   We kid ourselves in becoming “Wonder Twins” (an old T.V. cartoon).   Church effort is a great outreach that keeps our house healthy, spunky with new thoughts and challenges.   A greate...

  No Right Angles      Idolatry is our tangible imagination.   Since Man thinks upon an X,Y, and Z axis, our creations reflect limitations in spatial arrangement and time.   We indeed are “block heads.”   When God does something new, He manifests His own superiority. Exodus 20:25  “ And if thou wilt make Me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone : for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it. ”      Masonry brick is very convenient.   Bearing the marks of Man, its form is purely functional as each is identical.   Conformity is strictly implied through straight lines of congregate.   Hence, the builder has no use for the individual.   Effort, efficiency, and return dictate the plan.   God is not so. 1 Peter 2: 4   “ Coming to Him  as to  a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God  and  precious, ”   ...