Filed under: christian spirituality | Tags: christianity, poem, waiting on the lord
by Russell Kelfer
Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried;
Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate . . .
And the Master so gently said, “Wait.”
“Wait? you say wait?” my indignant reply.
“Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!
Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?
By faith I have asked, and I’m claiming your Word.
“My future and all to which I relate
Hangs in the balance, and you tell me to wait?
I’m needing a ‘yes’, a go-ahead sign,
Or even a ‘no’ to which I can resign.
“You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe,
We need but to ask, and we shall receive.
And Lord I’ve been asking, and this is my cry:
I’m weary of asking! I need a reply.”
Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate,
As my Master replied again, “Wait.”
So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut,
And grumbled to God, “So, I’m waiting for what?”
He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine . . .
and He tenderly said, “I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run.
“I could give all you seek and pleased you would be.
You’d have what you want, but you wouldn’t know Me.
You’d not know the depth of my love for each saint.
You’d not know the power that I give to the faint.
“You’d not learn to see through clouds of despair;
You’d not learn to trust just by knowing I’m there.
You’d not know the joy of resting in Me
When darkness and silence are all you can see.
“You’d never experience the fullness of love
When the peace of My spirit descends like a dove.
You would know that I give, and I save, for a start,
But you’d not know the depth of the beat of My heart.
“The glow of my comfort late into the night,
The faith that I give when you walk without sight.
The depth that’s beyond getting just what you ask
From an infinite God who makes what you have last.
“You’d never know, should your pain quickly flee,
What it means that My grace is sufficient for thee.
Yes, your dearest dreams overnight would come true,
But, oh, the loss, if you missed what I’m doing in you.
“So, be silent, my child, and in time you will see
That the greatest of gifts is to truly know me.
And though oft My answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer of all is still . . . Wait.”
Filed under: christian spirituality | Tags: adoption, christianity, orphans

Details are still in the works.
But I’m going to the Together for Adoption conference in Nashville.
God works in cool ways.
I know a mom, Jane, who reads my blog. She knows my heart for orphans and adoption. She saw the Web site for the conference and sent me the link.
The photo above is the exact day a strong passion for the fatherless became too great to ignore.
Filed under: new york city, photography, travel | Tags: photography, places I love, travel
My spirit is always uplifted by being at a place I love. There are some I frequent and some I can only hope I’ll get the chance to visit again. Here are several:
Mont St. Michel in Normandy, France:
the bandshell in Ames:
my little bed at school:
Pike’s Place in Seattle:
Greenacre Park in New York City:
in my car:
Haystack Rock on the Oregon coast:
Brooklyn Bridge in New York City:
Filed under: crafty, etsy, lists, love but don't need | Tags: etsy, journal
I’m turning into my mom. She loves little journals. She writes tons of lists in them. And look at me now…
Just bought this cutie to use at work:
I’m getting sick of the overuse of this term, but my purchase was definitely a money-saving “fail.”
This video and the one before make me ache to have kids. Someday. If it’s His desire for me.
Filed under: christian spirituality | Tags: adoption, africa, ethipoia, orphans
Filed under: random
Things I am currently excited about:
+ letters
+ adoption
+ honesty in fellowship
+ a co-leader
+ growing up
+ abundant opportunities
+ work
One regret from the summer = having not visited the 9/11 tiles along the fence in Greenwich
Lots of thoughts of the future today. I’m excited about some opportunities I may get to be a part of. More on that in coming months.
And with that, come some thoughts of social documentary photography. Photojournalism in poor nations.
Strange that I’m excited for plans that will make me so sad for and aware of the depravity of this world.
That’s how it works sometimes.
This brief slideshow by Jans Sochor is hard to watch. But well done. And worth your time.














