April Yamasaki

God of the Doubters, Broken, and Happy

While I’m celebrating the completion of Christ is For Us, I decided to give myself a vacation from blogging and introduce you to Dale Fredrickson, who is a pastor and poet from Denver, Colorado. He says, “I’d like to inspire the entire world but find that inspiring myself and my family and friends is work enough.”

Count me in as one of the inspired! I loved Dale’s earlier book of prayer poems, Help Me Be: Praying in Poems, and was excited to learn this week that he has just released a new book of poems called Keeping Pulse: Poems for the Heart. The collection of 26 poems is now available as a book with full-colour artwork, a PDF version, 14 spoken word poems as an MP3 download or on CD, an artistic print, or the full package. You can find more information by clicking on the title: Keeping Pulse: Poems for the Heart.

Here’s the opening of one of my favourites followed by the video version.

Doubters, Broken, Happy

You are for the Doubters, the Broken, the Happy:

You meet us in the asking, seeking, and knocking.

You are present in our darkest valleys.

You know that we’ve all experienced

Doubt

Despair

Disbelief

Disruption

In all things you give us Resurrection

Surprising newness

Compelling Love

You are the God of Resurrection. . . .

Watch the video version of this word poem. I hope it will encourage and inspire you as it has me. Enjoy!

Writing/Reflection Prompt: Do you identify more with the doubter, broken, or happy today?

_____________________

If you’re interested in more writing and faith-focused articles,
please sign up for my free updates.

Tags

, ,

For more on faith and hope, subscribe and receive a free copy of How to Pray When Prayer Seems Impossible:

Subscribe

Share this post:

4 responses

  1. Keith St. Jean Avatar
    Keith St. Jean

    Thank you for sharing this. I have just watched and listened to three of his spoken word poems and they have moved me deeply. I am now thirsty for more of his work.

    Reply
    1. April Yamasaki Avatar
      April Yamasaki

      You’re welcome! I’d love to see Dale in person, and appreciate this endorsement from Rob Bell: “Dale is bursting with life. I heard him give one of his spoken word pieces and you could feel the energy filling the room as he put language to grace and hope and love. And now, with this book, you can feel what I’m talking about…”

      Reply
  2. Mary Derksen Avatar
    Mary Derksen

    A Happy day! Awoke to sunshine streaming into my room! My kitchen table is filled with aromas of flowers I received for Mother’s Day. I tried a new breakfast. Bacon and eggs instead of the everyday cereal! Welcoming sunshine massaging my stiff body, contemplating on Daniel’s problem with the King’s impossible demand. Gazing on God’s masterpiece, a skyline of mountains against the clear blue sky, dotted here and there with soft fluff, I find challenges and demands, not as great as Daniel’s, but almost as impossible.
    Yes, impossible for me. All I can do is IMAGINE (my word for 2016) how God might answer!

    Thank you and blessings!

    Reply
    1. April Yamasaki Avatar
      April Yamasaki

      Hello, Mary – that sounds like a beautiful morning with a day full of possibilities. May you continue to meet the challenges of each day with faith and grace, and may God continue to enlarge your capacity to imagine great things!

      Reply

Leave a Reply to Keith St. Jean Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Faith and Hope with April Yamasaki

Visit my home page for an overview

I write, edit, teach, preach, and mentor in a variety of venues, platforms, and publications. The common thread? To encourage and inspire people of all ages to live with faith and hope. I’d love for you to join me!

In all the challenges, joys, and ordinary moments of daily life, God’s mercies never fail. They are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23).

Subscribe and receive a free copy of How to Pray When Prayer Seems Impossible
Check out my latest release—Hope Beyond Our Sorrows—and my other books.