Saturday 24 November 2012

Imagine

By Lucy Wall

The words and format of this poem were inspired by the song also entitled "Imagine" which was written by the late John Lennon. Although his death was now many years ago, the song is still very popular today and I hear it used a lot on T.V. The 2012 Olympic closing ceremony being a prime example! Whatever Lennon had in mind for the song when he wrote it, it certainly seems to have become the "atheist's anthem" in society today.

I have a huge respect for John Lennon and I share and appreciate his desire for peace and unity in the world. At the time of writing this song however, he seems to come from the view point that if mankind can "erase" God then we can achieve this unity. I find this and some other ideas expressed in his lyrics to be extremely flawed.

For example, his first two lines read, "Imagine there's no Heaven. It's easy if you try." This statement makes no sense to me. "Imagine there's no Heaven? It's easy if you try?" Why would anyone want to imagine there's no Heaven when Heaven is a place of peace, comfort, love, encouragement and where people can dwell in happiness and contentment? A place that is the embodiment of all things good, where unity reigns and loved ones are reunited. Considering unity is what Lennon longed for so much, it seems very contradictory to want to try and erase the existence of such a place.

Thursday 22 November 2012

Wave Upon The Sand

By Lucy Wall

By Lucy Wall

Lucy Wall from Calvary London on Vimeo.


A singer/song writer friend of mine named Harold sent me an e-mail one day in late 2012 and in his message he said that he'd been having a chat with a neighbour of his the day before. As his neighbour departed to go his way he'd called over his shoulder to my friend and said, "See Harold, there's just too much to do before I die!" Harold told me that he thought his neighbour's words were interesting and that if I could write him a poem in relation to this statement he would like to turn it into a song.

After thinking about his neighbour's comment my thoughts went towards how fast time goes by and how short life is when we look at it with an eternal perspective. When I try to consider eternity (which can be a challenging thing to do considering eternity is infinite and I have a finite mind!) I find myself trying to picture what it would feel like to have spent the earthly equivalent of 500,000 years in Heaven and yet have no less time to go again and again and again!

Sunday 4 November 2012

Bottle Of Tears

By Lucy Wall


My inspiration for this poem came from Psalm 56:8 which reads,

"You number my wanderings;
Put my tears into Your bottle;
Are they not in Your book?"

This verse popped into my mind one day and for some reason the image really took root in my imagination. I started to think about what a bottle of tears would look like and not just any tears, tears from an entire lifetime! I started to think things like, "How big does the bottle need to be? Will it be the same size for everyone or according to how many tears they cried in life? I wonder if we'll remember what we were crying about and whether it was worth shedding tears over?"

Part of being alive means we go through a variety of experiences and a whole host of emotions. This led me on to the think about the countless different reasons why we might find ourselves crying.

Wednesday 24 October 2012

Toothpaste Etiquette

I've heard it said that when a man and a woman get married it can be like two rough stones being brought together and the more time they spend dwelling side by side the smoother they become. Having been married since 2009 which is a relatively short time in the grand scale of marriage, I have to say I can see the truth in this analogy. After all, marriage brings two flawed people together who then have to learn how to dwell peaceably with one another!

Some couples may find this easier than others but it's pretty much a guarantee that a difference in opinion or a conflict in method will arise over something at some point. This brings with it the decision to either continue in conflict or find a compromise. I've found that learning how to adapt seems to be vital for a good marriage and the more both parties are prepared to put the needs of the other first, the smoother things seem to go!

Wednesday 19 September 2012

Psalm 23


I’m sure it’ll come as no surprise that my inspiration for this poem came from Psalm 23! The passage reads,

"The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence on mine enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

This Psalm has a very special place in my heart. The first time the Lord really spoke to me through this chapter was when I was questioning whether a particular job was going to be an honouring project for me to be involved in. I wanted to make sure I was putting God first and not my own ambition so when I brought this to Him in prayer the Holy Spirit led me to Psalm 23.

Thursday 6 September 2012

Be Still

By Lucy Wall



I wrote this poem during a very difficult time in my life and the words are what came from my heart as I sat in the late hours one night thinking about the stresses of the day. That evening I knew I had a choice. I could spend the night worrying about my future, stressing over the things that were happening to me that I had no control over and subsequently getting myself into a teary mess over it all or I could offer up my fears to the Lord as a sacrifice. I could ask Him to lift the burden of stress from me and replace it with His peace.

I discovered very quickly how faithful God is to His Word. I learned that if I'm willing to let go of negative things and put my trust in Him, He is faithful to take them from me and as Psalm 46:1 says,

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."

Monday 20 August 2012

The Tea Test

By Lucy Wall



One day I was chatting to a Christian acquaintance of mine when he mentioned how his wife felt quite strongly about the subject of "appropriate attire" for Christians. As I walked home later that day I started to think about my own journey in this slightly grey area. At this point in time I had been walking with the Lord for six years and I started to think about how Jesus had really worked in my heart regarding this topic. I know for many people the issue of appearance really isn't a big deal but for me it was something I felt I really needed to examine in those early months of my Christian walk.

To put things into context, when I gave my heart to Jesus I was a youthful twenty four year old woman living in London, performing in the West End show "Chicago" and therefore was immersed in the image conscious world of Performing Arts. Taking into consideration that your image can very much influence how successful you are in this profession and can sometimes even dictate whether you get the job or not, you could say I had an invested interested in how I presented myself to the world. I wouldn't say it consumed me but it was rather high up on my priority list and what I wore could at times be influenced by quite a worldly perspective.

Sunday 12 August 2012

The Devil's Workshop

By Lucy Wall


Lucy Wall from Calvary London on Vimeo.

We know that as God’s children the devil can’t steal our salvation. He can never rob us of what Jesus paid for with His blood on the Cross. As my Pastor says, “You can’t have eternal life temporarily!”

Satan can however try to rob us of many other things in our lives. Things such as our joy, peace, good relationships with other people and the power of our testimony. Nothing ruins our witness quicker than hypocrisy or a compromised lifestyle. The Bible tells us in 1 Peter 5:8,

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”

The tools Satan uses will only ever seek to destroy and tear down what God has created and my poem “The Devil’s Workshop” addresses this subject. I began to write it as I was thinking with sadness one day about how there are so many different ways the devil can accomplish his wicked purposes and so often it’s through people. Even Christians can be used to hurt others if they’re not careful and this is because the devil’s devices are very subtle but extremely effective and completely destructive. It made me realise how important it is for us to not be "ignorant of his devices" lest Satan should take advantage of us. (2 Corinthians 2:11)

Wednesday 2 May 2012

So Many Songs!


My poem called "So Many Songs!" was inspired by a little bird I was listening to while I was on holiday in Florida. He was going through his repertoire of many, varied songs and as I sat there listening to him I thought to myself, "So many songs! It almost sounds like he's having an identity crisis!"

It was this thought that inspired me to write a poem about my little winged friend and his make-believe adventure of discovery. I wrote it as a story for children but I hope it can bring some joy to grown-up children too!

Tuesday 24 April 2012

Those Beady Eyes


This poem is part of my “Capturing The Moment” section on this website! These are various different poems which I’ve written over the years and are non-faith based writings. Often they’re observational or have been written for a specific occasion such as a Birthday or Anniversary. I hope these poems can bring you a smile and some colour to your day!

I felt inspired to write “Those Beady Eyes” when I was visiting family in Florida in 2012. One of the native creatures to Florida is of course the alligator and I was fascinated to discover we had one living in the lake right outside the house we were staying in! During a particularly heavy monsoon one afternoon, I watched as our toothy friend devoured a large fish he’d just caught before sinking under the water, hiding every part of himself except his beady little eyeballs which stayed just above the surface.

As I stood there looking at the tiny bumps on the water, I was amazed by the fact that these little blips gave no suggestion of the dangerous eating machine that lay just beneath! I thought to myself, “How sneaky! If I hadn’t just watched that huge reptile disappear under the water I would never even know he was there!”

It was this simple observation that inspired me to start writing my poem dedicated to my sneaky, agile friend. My nephews were both very small at the time so I decided to write it with them in mind as my target audience. I hope this little poem can be enjoyed by people of all ages though and bring a toothy smile to the reader too!

Saturday 21 April 2012

Ten Little Ducklings


This poem is part of my “Capturing The Moment” section on this website and as with my poem called “Those Beady Eyes,” it was written during a trip to Florida in 2012.

As I sat by the pool one day on our holiday, I noticed a mother duck coming across the water with her ten babies in tow. I thought, “My goodness! What a grand day out!”

Before long I found myself writing “Ten Little Ducklings” and I hope it can bring some happy images to children and adults alike!

Sunday 18 March 2012

Thank You Mum

By Lucy Wall


I wrote this poem because I wanted to show my gratitude to my Mum for everything she’s done for me over the years. From the little things such as putting plasters on my knees and comforting me when I fell to the much bigger things in life. Things such as her wisdom, guidance, encouragement and teaching me about the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

In hindsight I can really see the constant, godly influence my Mum has been in my life and how she has stayed faithful to her ministry even when I wasn’t staying faithful to mine. Although this poem has been written by me for my Mum personally, my hope is that others may be able to relate to the sentiment, the emotions and the gratitude of the poem too.

Sunday 11 March 2012

The Beginning Of Sorrows

It seems that the more time passes the further away from God society is moving. Sometimes when I look at the lost condition of the world and hear how hateful people can be towards God it fills my heart with despair. I often think of the Bible passage from Romans 1:28-32 which reads,

"And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them."

Wednesday 7 March 2012

I Remember

By Lucy Wall


“I Remember” is a poem I wrote for my Mum and Dad’s Ruby Wedding Anniversary and gave it to them framed as a gift. It’s quite a simple little poem but it speaks of just a few of the happy memories I have from growing up. It also shows my gratitude to them for all their love and hard work over the years and ultimately my gratitude to Jesus for blessing me with the family that He gave me.

Tuesday 14 February 2012

Valentine's Day

By Lucy Wall


I have to thank several FaceBook statuses on Valentine's Day 2012 for my inspiration for the first few verses of this poem. I was truly fascinated as I witnessed the different reactions to this man-made day, a day when romance and confessions of love apparently must rush into our lives! It seems that this has the potential to really affect our emotions and self esteem depending on where we feel we stand with our "love-life” status!

The stimulus was the same but the reactions were varied. I witnessed certain couples exuberantly gush about their Valentine's Day plans and gifts to the envy of everyone else on FaceBook. In contrast I noticed many singletons either drew attention to their status by cracking a self deprecating joke or else posted a heart-broken message that suggested they would be wallowing in self-pity all evening. It seemed that some people felt unable to face the apparent ”humiliation" of being single on Valentine's Day! What pressure this day brings!

Monday 2 January 2012

Ready Me

By Lucy Wall


As I sat reading my daily devotional on the first day of 2012 the author of that particular day's excerpt asked me a question. He asked whether I had considered the thought that perhaps it might be this year that Jesus returns to claim His bride. He then went on to ask, if I knew for a fact that it would be this year would it change the way I live my life in any way? Would it change the people I speak to and what I speak to them about? If I knew the days were running out when I would have an opportunity to share the Gospel would it change my priorities in any way?