children

I’d Forgot the Hugs and Kissing

/ pastorpete51 / 11 Comments

After a much-needed long weekend break to recharge and rest I began tinkering with this poem last night. It pokes a bit of fun at someone who often takes himself way too seriously, but I am hoping that maybe you can identify with him just a little!

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While I was reading in the Bible 
I laughed about some fools 
Who made long lists of do’s and don’ts 
And for every twitch had rules! 

Over washing hands they worried 
And tithing Brussel Sprouts 
But on loving and forgiving 
They left those precepts out 

But as I snickered I recalled 
The many rules I kept 
From the early morning hours 
Till the evening shadows crept 

How at ten o’clock on Sundays
Off to meeting we must go 
And how I'd fussed about the kids 
When they were moving slow 

And our prayers in the restaurant 
Were always said before we ate 
Yet I griped about the waitress 
When she brought our food out late 

Then I hung my head in shame to think 
Of all the loving we’d been missing 
While dotting I’s and crossing t’s 
I'd forgot the hugs and kissing!

I'd Forgot the Hugs and Kissing 
By Peter Caligiuri
Copyright ©2023
All rights reserved
Photo by energepic.com on Pexels.com

My New Year’s Message

/ pastorpete51 / 4 Comments

The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. And he thrust out the enemy before you and said, ‘Destroy.’ Deuteronomy 33:27 ESV

17 years ago we used to bring two of our grandsons to church. At three and one years old this was a challenge during the song service, while I was alone with them and Nancy sang with the worship team. Nathan, who was the older, was generally happy to sit and clap his hands – but not AJ. Oh no, he wanted in on the action and decided that I had to hold him so he could see what was going on! Now, I loved holding him in my arms for the first song, but by the chorus of the second, he started getting heavy and by the third I was desperate for some help. Today’s verse talks about God’s everlasting arms and I discovered that mine most definitely were not!

As we enter this new year, with all of its challenges, opportunities and scary unknowns, we need the One whose arms alone can carry us through. If we will trust Christ as Savior, then whatever we face we can know that God’s got us in His arms. They are underneath us even when we are at our lowest and He will never let us go!

Before We Had Faces

/ pastorpete51 / 7 Comments 

Before we had faces
And we had no voice at all
When no one else could see us
And we were small – small – small

God pulled out the plans He’d made
And Laid them out to see
And then traced out the pattern
He would use for you and me

First He put in some happy days
To balance days of grief
Then over all he poured His grace
To help our unbelief

And stamped His image on our hearts
Then signed the bottom line
So we would be delivered
Just exactly in His time!


Before We Had Faces by Peter Caligiuri
Copyright ©2022
All Rights Reserved