A Sliver of light.

In recent days the emerging rethinking of well known and well respected evangelical Christians regarding the teaching on gay issues has been much in the public eye.  And my heart has rejoiced and my spirit has danced as never before.  This is my take on the process and my hope for the future.  The "it" at the beginning is the separateness, the silence, the fear of voicing an opinion, the fear of swimming against the tide.  I have long held the view that not only does the church cause more distress to gay men and women but it also makes itself less than whole.  Jesus talked about the "Body of Christ" and the different parts of the body that make up the whole and functioning body.  If for whatever reason we exclude our Christian brothers and sisters we leave ourselves less than whole, less than fully functional, less than complete.........

Dear God let this be a turning point, let this cause many to consider what is true and what is right.  Touch hearts I pray.  Amen.


It resembles a vast, high wall of stone
And few will dare to try
To reach beyond their certainties
Though hearts on both sides cry.
The lonely separation hurts
Divided we cannot stand
Even loved ones cannot find a way
To hold another’s hand.
Families fall divided
Long friendships bruised and battered
For words become as sharpened swords
And lives are torn and tattered.

Oh where is love?  Where mercy?
Where justice, hope and peace?
We’re called the broken hearts to heal
The captives to release.
Where are the hands of Jesus?
Who will be salt and light?
Who’s comforting the hurting ones
Who weep throughout the night?

Now tiny gaps appear there
The brickwork’s not so strong
And hands are reaching through to hold
The ones who have been wronged
There’s hope in once dead eyes again
And tentative relief
For hands are raised to heaven
To grasp long held belief.
God lead us ever onward
Into Your truth, your plan
Forgive our misconceptions
About our fellow man
Oh teach us, guide us, bring us
To where you’d have us stand
And govern every word we speak
So all will understand.

Karen Holmes
19 January 2013

Colour Blind Cat.

Christmas is coming,
We'll all be getting fat
I'm busy making Christmas cards
With a most half hearted cat.
It's really quite a blessing

I think he's colour blind
He's painted Santa purple
And the snow a sort of lime
My promarkers are vanishing
He hides them under chairs
And when I reprimand him
He says "I do not care"
So I'll do the rest myself I think
In colours that I choose
And if he offers help again
I sadly must refuse!

Traces of Gold

This poem was inspired by a friend who spoke of creating something beautiful out of the discarded and the unwanted............for you Helen.

Lord you take the discarded, all we cast aside
And you treasure and nurture, regard with great pride
for you name as your own each and every, bar none
Since you loved us enough to send Jesus your son.
No "unwanted", no "useless", no one "past their best"
Unhindered by age or ill health or the rest
of the things that we feel our worth would deny
Your perception is greater than our natural eye.

You delight in restoring the damaged and broken
with long term solutions, not temporary token
No half hearted "patching up" measures you take
For you deal in wholeness when souls are at stake.
You take broken pieces, the lost you restore
We come with so little, gain abundantly more
Your ways may we replicate, help us to view 
The people around us the way that you do,
To somehow look deeper, more clearly behold
Beneath surface grime lie traces of gold.

Karen Holmes
September 28th 2012

Safe Again

I just felt very strongly that I should write this poem.  Perhaps someone has been fooled or deceived into thinking that God has turned His back, that He isn't interested any more, that the relationship you once enjoyed with Him is ended forever.  This is not God's way, God holds open His arms to each and everyone of us - worship is about God - not us, let us recognise His voice as he calls us back into a place of safe keeping and let us remember that God is bigger than all our thoughts and all our deeds.

For a long time now I've held
to a misconceived belief
that our friendship, Lord was over
and I've cried such tears of grief.
All those years of walking with you
all the blessed times I've known
full Salvation through my Jesus
yet suddenly I felt alone.
For I thought that I had fallen
far from grace and cast aside
so I ran, confused and angry
from your presence tried to hide.

Oh my God, I'm hurting deeply,
Great Redeemer, Sovereign King
recently I've heard you calling
arms outstretched and welcoming.
Is it true? Oh Great Creator
Do you look on me and smile?
Do you seek to draw me nearer
as a loved and precious child?
Oh my God, my soul rejoices
As I run to your embrace
Safe again, your arms around me
Boundless love, Amazing Grace.

Karen Holmes.
June 15th 2012

Always the Answer

Inspired by a comment on facebook.  Having listened to the  song by Robin Mark "I will walk" which includes the lyrics "And I will walk with You and I will find a way to show your Word is truth"  I wondered aloud how I could do that - the reply - "Love is always the answer"  Thank you Debs.x

I only have love to offer
That’s all that I can give
I don’t have wealth or riches
A fancy life to live
I’ve the usual qualifications
And a couple more beside
But I don’t claim that I know much
I’m no scholar, though I’ve tried
I don’t have vast experience
I haven’t travelled far
I’ve not won any medals
Just a long ago gold star!
I don’t have all the answers
Sometimes words fail me as well
But I’m good at holding someone’s hand
Or lifting one who fell
I’m good at letting people cry
I’m good at joining in!
I’m good at walking side by side
Wherever you have been.
That’s all I have to offer
It’s not a lot, I know
But love’s always the answer
When there’s no place else to go.

Karen Holmes
April 24th 2012

Ducks

Yes this is true - it happened to me today, much to the amusement of a cyclist also on the tow path!

I was walking along the canalside
Being followed by a duck
I’d reached in my pocket for something
And that was all it took
It looked at me and quacked and so
I quacked back in reply
It then set off in hot pursuit
And others heard it’s cry
And looked up from their slumbers
And climbed onto the side
Their quacking rose in volume
Like a uncontrolled vast tide
They made me feel guilty
For I hadn’t any bread
I thought I should go buy some
The poor things must be fed
But in the end I didn’t
I forgot whilst in the Range
But when I walked back home
They still remembered me, how strange!
This time I did not talk to them
Or even meet their eye
Till I was safely past them
Then I bid them all goodbye!


Karen Holmes
12 April 2010

Good Intentions

Disclaimer - the person mentioned in this verse is entirely fictional and any resemblence to persons living or dead (of chocolate poisoning) is completely co-incidental!

As a healthy, good alternative I’ll have a boiled egg
I’ll cook it so it’s runny and toast a bit of bread
Some healthy olive spread and then some Bovril on it too
I think that this will be quite nice, and then a grape or two
Or maybe a banana or an apple crisp and fresh
I have no time for junk food, biscuits, cakes and all the rest
A cup of tea with  just skimmed milk, no sugar will I add
There’s no need for indulgences they only make you bad.

But then I think, a little treat would surely go down well
I bought myself an Easter egg, the smallest that they sell.
I thought I’d have a bit to taste then give the rest away
Just one small piece, after my lunch, to mark this Easter Day
I looked upon the pretty box and opened with great care
It wouldn’t do to mess it up, as this was meant to share
The foil looked so pretty, machine wrapped I suppose
And as I moved it to one side, the aroma hit my nose!

Ooh lovely, creamy chocolate, just waiting there for me
I tried to break it gently but there was no way I could see
So I hit it with my fist and grabbed the biggest piece I saw
And soon I’d eaten half of it - and then I’d scoffed it all!
Oh heck - that wasn’t what I planned
My healthy bubble burst
Although at least self righteously
I’d had some fresh fruit first!!

Karen Holmes
April 6th 2012