Forgiveness, Community, and Faith – My Tuesday Three

There are some really great Christian bloggers on WordPress, and I’ve decided that each Tuesday I am going to write about my thoughts on three of my favorites over the prior week. I’m calling it My Tuesday Three. (I was going to do just two, since that rhymes with Tuesday, but I wanted to showcase more than just two).

This week I’ve sort of been on a poetry kick, and I do love Christian poetry, so I picked three poems that I read on WordPress this week to share.

The first poem I want to showcase is Chains of Unforgiveness by LeRoy Dean over at Wordsmith’s Poetry. This poem is only three short stanzas, but the language is powerful. It speaks of the chains of unforgiveness that stubbornness and pride hold tight around us. I love this poem because it reminded me of the chains of unforgiveness that once bound me in a world of sorrow and depression. My favorite part of the poem is when LeRoy reminds us of how we can be free:

How do I loose these chains?
Forgiveness is the key.

I’ve long advocated the need to forgive as we have been forgiven (though that message was surely not original with me). Jesus is our example and strength in the realm of forgiveness. LeRoy as captured that message perfectly in this poem.

The second poem I want to showcase is Sometimes I Just Don’t Want to Write by Elizabeth Laryn over at From Mountain Tops. Elizabeth doesn’t usually write poetry, so this was a special treat to find this poem on her blog this past week. It is a free form poem about the blessing of the blogging community. It is a reminder that we write, even when we don’t feel like it, because of the connections we have with our fellow bloggers, especially Christian bloggers. My favorite part of the poem is:

And in the distance, I hear an echo.
“That is my life too.”
I find community. 
I find others with wounds like mine.

Elizabeth goes on to write that in the midst of this community she finds Christ. I have found that to be true with this blogging community, too. I have found others like me, who struggle with life but ultimately rely on Christ for strength. I have found encouragers, teachers, and friends, people who are the hands of Christ typing uplifting comments on my blog and writing blogs of their own that inspire me to be more like our Savior.

The third poem I want to showcase is But with His grace at Starry Night Reflections. This is a relatively new blog, this poem being only the blogger’s second post, but I am looking forward to more great poetry and other posts from this one! The thing I liked about this particular poem was the author’s word choices, which were quite unique. It doesn’t follow a traditional rhyme scheme, and yet there is a rhyme and rhythm to it that I really liked. My favorite lines are:

But with His grace hope abounds
His strength surrounds me

This poem illustrates the strength of faith and grace through Jesus Christ.

So that’s My Tuesday Three. There were many others that I enjoyed, and I could probably write a 3,000 word post about all the great Christian blogs out there. But who would read 3,000 words? Three will have to do. And come to think of it, three is the perfect number. I hope you all will visit these wonderful blogs and check out not only these posts but others as well. And leave a comment or two about what their poems mean to you. I’m sure they would appreciate it.