An invitation to meet Royalty.

I've been getting my act together and it nearly made me late
My attire for the Royal visit has been the source of much debate
And how should one address the King? Or should I be quiet, not speak?
And is photography allowed, or would that be a cheek?
I've been trying to learn the protocol, by watching the TV
Practicing my curtsey, how low it has to be.
I've been fretting and quite nervous, full of worry every day
For I've heard a whispered rumour, that the King is on His way.

But He's not a King of nations, He's the King of Kings, and He
Is mightier than the highest power that you and I might see
When the Kings of all the countries, wear their finest robes and crown
It is nothing in comparison, this King beats them all hands down
For our King is robed in majesty, He is gloriously crowned with light
He is splendid, mighty, awesome, and He came one silent night
and they laid him in a manger, not a palace, just a stall
What a humble, odd beginning for the Lord, the King of all.

It is Jesus whom we speak of, He's the King for whom we wait
But the fact is, He is here now, it's a lot to contemplate
He's the reason that we celebrate, and he looks upon our hearts
He knows about us all, each one, and still his love imparts
He's not a King who stands far off, He cares about the way
That life affects us, all our fears, and all our joys today.
We do not need to be dressed up, we come just as we are
Just like those shepherds and the wise men, journeying from afar

Will you dare to meet with him today?  Will you seek the King of Kings
Can you grasp how much He loves you, whatever issues you may bring
No matter that we're struggling, that we're tired or getting old
He welcomes you and values you more than precious jewels or gold
He's seeking out your face among the many people here
He's calling out your name today and longing that you hear
Will you listen?  Will you answer? Will you give him everything
Will you make today, the day you dare to meet the King of Kings.

Karen Holmes
19th December 2015

Transformation.

Transformation.

(Written for the theme of Kidderminster Arts Festival 2015)

We ache for change, beyond our norm - an inner yearning to transform.

I think within us all we have the power of transformation
A seed of hope, a dreamlike thread
A wealth of information

A hidden spark, a breath of something

bigger than we feel

A goal, an aim, a longing

A passion and a zeal

to grow, become much larger, far bigger than we seem

to somehow reach beyond ourselves and grasp our wildest dreams

A knowledge that we're meant for more, a soul that wants to fly

We thirst for metamorphosis, becoming butterflies
We long to throw off our disguise, emerge from dark cocoon
To dance to different melodies, compose our unique tune

Lets lift our heads, be all we can, be utterly renewed
we have the power within ourselves to be all that we choose
Let creativity be found, come dance through life today
A few will laugh and jeer but we'll heed not what they say
There's power in transformation lets start a revolution
Don't think that it's beyond you, dig deep for your solution.
We're not held captive, free to morph
Empowered to redesign
Our lives, our words, our essence
Our plans to redefine

Oh transformation, I embrace

your challenge, be my saving grace.

Karen Holmes
August 5^th 2015.

Hey you - it's God......

Where do you think you will find me?
Why are you searching in vain?
I'm walking so closely beside you
Yet you miss me each time - it's a shame
For you're looking so hard in the places
You think the Almighty resides
As if I would dwell in some long ago words
Or in vast cathedrals I'd hide.

I've been calling your name in the silence
I've been holding your hand in the dark
I've been guarding your heart through the shouting
I am that glimmer, that spark
That subtly you are aware of
Yet cannot find words to describe
I have been here every moment
I've never moved from your side

I'm not hiding but rather I'm waving a flag
To get your attention, to welcome you back
I'm painting the flowers to capture your eye
I'm lighting the stars as you stroll idly by
I'm sending the raindrops to help you awaken
The sunshine to thrill you with the steps I have taken
To capture your heart and to make you aware
That I want to be found by you, I truly care.

Karen Holmes
August 2nd 2015

The Rock of My Salvation

Psalm 61:2 "From the ends of the earth I call to you.  I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I"

The world offers many attractions
Bright lights suggest fortune and fame
Eat, drink and be merry, just live for today
Life's just one incredible game.

The world offers many solutions
But it's promises fail, they are lies
All it's answers will lead to confusion,
disappointment and pain in disguise.

I'm looking for something much better Lord
Something stronger, more lasting, more true
The treasures the world has to offer
Are nothing compared to you.

I need someone bigger than me Lord
For I am so weak and so small
When I try in my own strength to get through the day
I find I can't do much at all.

I falter and struggle, don't know who to trust
My treasure is tarnished, my plans turn to dust
And this world deceives me so much that I cry
"Lead me to the rock that is higher than I"

Oh God will you be a strong tower for me
When fears crowd in and the path I can't see
My soul can find hope and rest in you alone
By you I am loved, by you I am known.

Lead me to the rock that is higher than I
And let me be safe in your care
When all of life's treasures are faded away
I know that you'll always be there.

The world offers many attractions
But let me keep my eyes fixed on thee
my refuge, my rock, my salvation
Lord be a strong fortress for me.

1990 (ish!)

Little Old Me

Written after reading this "You are not what you think you are, you are what He says you are"

I'm created for your purpose
But I feel so unprepared
I step outside my comfort zone
And suddenly, I'm scared.

You really should know better, God
I'm not the one you need
There's loads of other Christians
Oh - use someone else, I plead.

Somebody more outspoken
Someone who has more nerve
Find me a quiet corner
And gladly there I'll serve.

It was all very well when you called me
I was feeling brave and strong
But now I'm beginning to doubt Lord
Perhaps I heard you wrong.

Perhaps it's all a big mistake
You meant to use somebody else
Somebody clever and learned
Or someone with better health

Oh Lord I'm clutching at straws now
And any excuse will do
I'm created for your purpose
But how can I serve you?

I'm just me, Lord, Just little old me
And I wish you'd understand
You need someone greater than me
For this task which you have planned.

Ask anyone - they'll tell you
You've made a most foolish choice.
Yet still in the back of my mind
I hear your patient voice..........

"Yes I am your creator,
There's nothing I don't know
I planned each detail of your life
the ways that you would go

When you look into a mirror
You see the outer shell
But I can see the inner you
The one I know so well

And you have no idea
of the things that I have planned
If you let me lead you forward
If you take hold of my hand

You are pointing out your weaknesses
but in them, I am strong
so step outside your comfort zone
and let me prove you wrong"

Karen Holmes
14th September 2005.

An Empty Cross

Oh how their hopes must have fallen
Trampled underfoot in the dust
Waiting for something to stop the process
For surely something must.

They'd believed in him – been so certain
That he was God's son as he claimed

Yet here he was, sentenced to death
Hideously tortured and shamed

How their hearts despaired, now leaden

Empty of life, somehow betrayed

Seeing how deeply even he agonised

As in the garden in darkness he'd prayed.

And God – dare we say we comprehend
That desperate loss of hope

That extinguished flame, that darkness
that fear that we'll never cope

As we rend our clothes – our souls lay bare
Wounded, tormented, questioning, lost
We cry out for a resurrection
An Easter morn, an empty cross

Oh God, in our afflictions come,

Bring us new life in greater measure

new strength to rise again and live

through sorrow somehow find our treasure

For Lord, you know the reasons why
we beseech you for your grace

From the ashes bring redemption
Send your healing to this place

Victory for those first disciples

Hope reignited, Light restored,

Victory ours through our redeemer
Risen, glorious, sovereign Lord.

Karen Holmes
2/4/2015

The Love I've known

Laughter, smiles and fun filled moments
Cream filled cakes and ice cream cones
Fairground rides and icy pavements
These are the gifts of love I've known

Snowball fights and fits of giggles
Broken down trains and late nights home
Borrowed clothes and pink carnations
These are the gifts of love I've known.

Roaring fires and long, lost stories
Friends that mean I'm not alone
Photographs and loving hugs
These are the gifts of love I've known

Bright balloons, long, loving letters
Silly conversations on the phone
A hand that reaches out to mine
These are the gifts of love I've known.

Simple things life's daily happenings
Wonderful memories all my own
Daily I offer prayers of thanks
For the gifts of love which I have known.

Karen Holmes.

2009

Mouse Moral

A mouse in the cupboard had died
His family probably cried
But Karen and Paul
Had no clue at all
So it lay there, unnoticed, inside.

We've lived here 6 years and yet still
We had no idea he was ill
No doctor was called
His plight was ignored
And so the poor mouse wrote his will.

And nothing was even suspected
For years he remained undetected
In thick dust and hair
His body lay there
The cupboard not often inspected!

The moral of this tale is clear
Do your housework at least once a year
Behind that cupboard door
could be bodies galore
But the dead cannot talk, do not fear.

Karen Holmes 22nd June 2008

It should be pointed out that it was in the airing cupboard that the skeleton of a mouse was discovered, not in a food cupboard!!!

Be Still and know that I am God

Still?  You must be joking God, I've no time to be still
The only time anyone rests these days is if they're taken ill
Do you know how many demands there are, each moment of my day?
Being still just doesn't happen, it's simply not the way.......
life is, not now, 
I don't know how 
Things were when you were here
But life must have been much slower
That certainly seems quite clear.
Nothing is still anymore God
Everyone's rushing around
We're all so busy,
we start to feel dizzy
Bombarded by movement and sound.
The phone rings incessantly, my mobile keeps bleeping
My mind still works on even when I am sleeping.

I can't really hear what you're saying God
There's too many things going on
Perhaps there'll be time for you later
But I blink and the day has gone.

And I still haven't grasped that you're God
I'm too busy surviving each day
There's no way that I can truly be still
When I've hardly a moment to pray.

But I'm wondering how long I'll continue to dash through my life at this pace
I was never designed for this madness, treating life as a long, endless race.
Oh, I know that your word speaks of running - and keeping our eye on the goal
But that's totally different to this, Lord, running breathless and out of control.

Still? Well, perhaps in my heart and my soul
A quiet, restful place that is calm
Knowing the God in whom I believe
Is keeping me safe from harm.

Still, in complete, glad assurance that God is the one I know
An oasis of calm in the desert, my safeplace wherever I go.

Perhaps I can nurture that stillness within
Where God can commune with my soul
For only in knowing that He is God
Can life be in any way whole.

Be still then - and know that He is God
Be still for a moment, He pleads,
and let it take root in the depth of your being
That God, is God indeed.

Karen Holmes
29th January 2009

No Thank You

I called into the Post Office, a single stamp to buy
she asked if I've a credit card, surprised I questioned "why?"
I know that postage costs have changed and maybe it sounds flash
But I'd planned to buy my first class stamp with good old fashioned cash.

"I have a credit card" I smiled, "I don't want anymore"
And hoping for a swift retreat I turned towards the door
"Perhaps you'd like a leaflet then, please don't leave empty handed,
it's possible you'll change your mind" she gently reprimanded

...and pointed to the leaflets with their shiny, glossy finish
she was really on a roll now and nothing could diminish
her passionate ambition to change me for the better
when all I really wanted was a stamp to post my letter.

I paid a visit to my bank to pay some money in
the cashier at the counter gave a reassuring grin.
She took my money from me and stuffed it in a drawer
and gazed at her computer, then gazed at it some more.

Now, reaching a decision, she leaned a little nearer
"Would you like to change your mortgage? as I'm sure that yours is dearer
than the new one we are offering, many other folk have changed
It would save you heaps of money and is easily arranged."

Well I think she saw me yawning or the glazed look in my eyes
For she quickly changed the subject and pulled out a fresh surprise.
"Your account is rather old now and it really needs updating,
my colleague will advise you, take a seat whilst you are waiting"

A young girl with three inch heels, mousy hair streaked red with henna
informed me that my new account would cost me just a tenner
"A ten pound payment every month? My present one is free"
"But look at all the benefits you'll get" she smiled at me.

She reeled them off, as I began to softly weep and groan
What use is breakdown cover for a car I do not own?
Or holiday insurance when I do not travel far
The furthest I have gone this year is a day in Droitwich Spa!

I left her stood forlornly with a folder in her hand
and went to spend some money on a treat I hadn't planned.
I felt I'd been harassed enough, was tired and battle scarred
I didn't want fancy bank accounts or a deck of credit cards

So as I made my purchase I was not amused to see
The assistant had a leaflet and was waving it at me
"Would you like one of our store cards? You could make an instant saving
You'd be a fool to turn it down, it's just the thing you're craving."

Now here, just for the record, may I make my feelings plain
All these tempting new initiatives are driving me insane.
If I want some extra help then I will ask for it quite clearly
Though your offers might sound generous, I know they'll cost me dearly.

I'm happy as I am thanks, so just leave me alone
I've had enough of your advice, I'm tired, I'm going home!

Karen Holmes
Date unknown.

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside........

Dreams of a holiday, warm golden sands
Waves marking time for the playing of brass bands
Deckchairs once bright, now faded and scarred
Ripple in the breeze on the vast promenade.
Sweet fluffy candyfloss, matching pink rock
Bikinis and sun hats and sandals with socks!
Cheap buckets and spades with windmills and flags
Flipflops and suncream in carrier bags,
pedestrian crossings and CCTV
Open topped buses and clotted cream teas.
Unruly children, old ladies on scooters
kids on their skateboards and girls with their suitors
kisses and cuddles and "kiss me quick" hats
hotels and wine bars and self catering flats.
Ice cream to die for, too many to choose
melting and dripping on sandals and shoes
popcorn and do-nuts and hot dogs and chips
grease on your fingers and salt on your lips
Old balding men and fat wobbling ladies
Pierced belly buttons, teenagers with babies.
The funfair, the pier lit up now with lights
The scavenging seagulls as day turns to night
The deckchairs vacated, collected and stacked
The beach slowly empties, the pubs become packed.
And that's how the great British holiday goes
We've salt in our hair and sand in our toes
We're sticky with suncream as the beach we depart
But a day at the seaside has gladdened our heart.

Karen Holmes
date unknown.

Regrets

How I wish I'd spoken sooner
To spare you years of pain
I would reach out and embrace you
If I had my time again
But it's easy to be wise now
For the moment has long passed
Even though our words were clumsy
Truth was understood at last.

Karen Holmes
Date unknown.

Words

I wish I hadn't spoken all the words that just poured forth
Now thinking back I realise they didn't hold much worth
I felt I had to say or write the things I thought I knew
But now I wish that I'd reached out and taken hold of you.
I wish I'd had the courage, which was hidden all along
Instead of using clumsy words and risking being wrong,
To throw all caution to the wind, it would have been okay
To let my hugs and love express the things I tried to say.

xxx

Karen Holmes
Date unknown.

The Railway Station

Somehow you've managed to absorb, the farewells, the goodbyes
You've heard the promises we've made and known them to be lies
You've witnessed broken hearted pain
lives fated not to meet again
You've watched the young grow old and slow
You've welcomed us then let us go
You've dragged us from those we've held so tight
Observed our sad tears once out of their sight
For just an old building, you've had more than your share
Of drama and passion enacted out there.

And surely often there have been
Joyful reunions you have seen
Babies paraded by parents so proud
Excited children, voices loud
Expectations, hopeful hearts
Newly weds - a brand new start...

Intrigue too which you could tell
Secret loves and more as well,
tender smiles, illicit kisses,
Narrow escapes and near misses
Crimes of passion, anguished cries
Lost souls wandering with empty eyes
drunken stumblings, drug crazed rage
All of life on one large stage

The screech of brakes, the tannoy's drone
then finally you're all alone
From being the corridor of nations
You're just an empty railway station.

Karen Holmes
Date unknown.

Simply Beautiful

You are simply beautiful
God's special design
His wonderful masterpiece
Splendid and fine
A work of perfection
You bring him delight
You are cherished and loved
and He thrills at the sight
of your dancing, your praising
You're truly unique
And He hears your heart's whisper
Each word that you speak

You're so special, so lovely
the work of his hands
Your very existence
By Jesus was planned
He smiles as he watches 
his own work of art
your name is engraved 
on his hands and his heart

Please grasp today
You're a jewel in his crown
He knows how you feel
and he won't let you down
He is pleased with you
thrilled with you
longs that you'd know
That he'll never leave you
He won't let you go
He sees the full picture
Has plans just for you
You are safe in his keeping
He is faithful and true.


Karen Holmes
2007