A photo of photos
A blinking shudder
Indecency
Would make anyone shudder

A shot in the dark
A hit or a miss
Savagery
Its a home that we miss

A long ride back
A dive and a ditch
Helplessness
A memory we would ditch

A slob in a house
On the couch, doesn't move
Indolence
Solid hearts won't move

I was wrong today. I was not Christ-like. Let me tell you what happened.

I work at a swell company called National/Alamo Rent-a-Car. They have been good to me so far and have not put too much stress on me, which is good. I do, however, have to work the late shift until 12 on the weekends. What I do for the company is simple; i wash the cars that are brought in after the customer has finished using the vehicle. This is a simple yet time consuming job. (and you should see all of the nastyness that people leaving in those cars...its horrifying sometimes)

Tonight was just like any other night except we had an excess of cars on the lot that needed to be cleaned because of this festival thing that the company had on Friday. this is where the trouble started. The morning shift guys (bunch of bums if you ask me) decided that many of them wouldn't complete their 40 cars (our quota). so in the end we were left with 38 extra cars and one guy to do them, that one guy being me. So, the MOD (manager on duty), james, started to wash cars too. By 1130 i had completed my 40 cars (30 min early you morning shift slobs!) and needed that 30 extra minutes to close up but ole james was determined to finish the cars. "We must close clean!" he said with a downcast yet dignified look on his face. so long story short, I left him there with about 20 cars to clean at 12 o clock a.m. What is wrong with me? I should have stayed and helped him finish! He is probably still working out there and im sitting here in bed typing! I am so selfish. I didn't even think about him. All i was thinking about was myself. Hopefully I can earn my respect from him again somehow. Poor fellow.

Oh, and I took a hot pocket from the fridge that wasn't mine. And a Dr. Pepper. And a couple burritos. And someone else's water. Not at the same time, mind you...but over time I've done these things. and I owe Sam a dollar.

Father,
I am a sinner. In seriousness, my heart has moved from your presence. I have missed you and I pray that you have missed me too. Please forgive my sinful existence. I dont deserve your love and mercy.
Please be with Robbie as he is overseas fighting others. Keep him safe. Be with all of my missionary friends and all of the missionaries in our world. Including those who belong where they started. So i guess i pray for all true Christians then. Be with our body. I pray that it sticks together and never falls apart.
YOu are great and glorious my Lord and I magnify your name with all of my heart for as long as I live, whether in valley or mountain top. Whether in the desert or in the oasis. You are our God and we praise you in wheatever state we are in. We love you. Thank youf or your son dying for us. We never will deserve that blessing and honor. In Your Son's Name,
Amen

Take Some Time

If I had time
I'd watch the sun
Wake with the dawn
And go back to sleep
Where it began

If I had time
I'd take it in
I'd see the stars
Sparkle like crystal
And twitter to daybreak

I must make time
To live my life
To live for Him
And smell the flowers
Because He made them.

A/Muse

I will love more
I wont keep score
I will aid the poor
He will open the door.

We will give life
He will end strife
They will bend the knife
They will protect the wife

Read our moving lips
The tide turning tips
It falls, generation slips
To Him the true hand grips

And the body in which that hand is connected, lives.

End of the Foolishness

I had an epiphany. At least I think I did...or I just remembered something that had been forgotten. I was sitting here at the computer, minding my own business, reading some blogs, ya know, the usual, and it hit me. What hit me, you ask? Did the over usage of commas hit you? No. Did redundancy hit you? Not quite. Ill tell you, but i must start by giving you some background...do doo do doo(music from Twilight Zone)...
I, Landon Shuman, as you can see from my blog, love the literary arts. I love poetry and prose with equal amounts of intesity. I would say that I have a passion for it. To prove this, I am currently reading "Going After Cacciato" by Tim O'Brien. And it's not for school, it's because I want to. And because Tim O'Brien is the most incredible writer from the Vietnam War era.
Anywho, I also, for some time now, have been pondering on a subject matter for a novel. Yes, I want to write a novel. And here comes the problem.
Also for some time now I have not had Father on the forefront of my mind. Oh, he's definitely in there, it's I've been a positively horrific mess in my order of priorities. To put it simply, I am selfish, judgemental, and critical. And I also have been putting myself first, which, as we all know, and as I have recently been reminded, is a bum deal.
So, the connection of my novel with my distance from Father is clear. I have been thinking of writing things like how the rich are just as devilish and nasty as the poor except they are better at it because they can hide behind their money or the story of a man whose life is a distraught INCOMPLETE mess and no one knows it. A sort of Great Gatsby, but not really.
So the statement that finally came into my silly little mind just now was this: (our Father speaking) You, for one, are not connecting with Me. You know, you can include me on this. I am the Author of Life after all. It makes sense to, really. And two, you need not be incomplete. Or even feel that way. People's feelings come out in their thoughts, and for writers, in their written words. So now it's time to remember Me. I am in you and you know it, just put Me first for crying out loud. It's not so hard, or bad, and it won't cramp your style. You can even write about the sorts of things you want to, just include me, ok? This world was made so that you could do what you are attempting to do, so just invite Me, ok? I can help you out and you will be filled too so you get a bonus package along with My Presence. You need Me. So just have Me. Agreed?

Of course I agree. I have been so silly. Maybe even foolish. I could go on and on now, but i really think the most appropriate thing to do right now would be to pray.

Father,
I agree. I am so simple. Thank you for being our holy and merciful God. The one who knows our inmost being. The Ruler of His Children. The Author. The Maker. Thank you for revelation. Thank you for epiphany, its really a useful thing. Thank you also for granting us with passions and loves. I pray that we share those things with others and not keep them to ourselves. Thank you for being relevant and helpful, even when you don't have to be. You could be doing anything but you desire to stand with us. You are unbelievable, but i believe in You. Thank you, God. Thank you, our inconcievable Father.
It's in your fully human and fully divine Son we pray,
Amen

Why Not?

Be my absolution
Be my absolution
Be the one who changes my ways
My ears are cinder, just add water

Make a resolution
Make a resolution
Ancient are the months, the days
Not at all mine, she's your daughter

End my destitution
End my destitution
Locked in a never-ending maze
Walking endlessly, sway and totter

and in a way we can't escape, but do we really desire such a fate? No, we don't. Because we die daily, and we mistake pain for pleasure. Maybe we will get a clue and turn our pain and suffering into His glory. Because that is what it was meant to be in the first place.

Enough Said

I will use my words to speak a silence.
A silence that not many understand.
Something that can shake the world
without even the lift of a hand.
The crowds shake in its aurora
and tremble when they hear nothing
coming from unquivering lips.
And we will know who we really are
down in the deep, dark fullness of our hearts.
We will share a crown
when before we couldn't even share a handshake.
And when we wear it so
we will finally see a sad display,
the one we actually were.


Selah.