Come!

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Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money,
come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Isaiah 55:1 NIV

When we lived in the mountains of Northeast Pennsylvania we had two Elkhounds: named Sonya and Thunder. Though they were sisters from the same litter, and looked alike, their personalities were completely different. Thunder loved nothing better than to sit with me and let her ears be scratched, but Sonya was always looking for a chance to escape and would usually entice Thunder to run after her. Late one snowy Winter night, I cracked the front door open to see how much had fallen, when Sonya suddenly shot out between me and the door, with Thunder close behind. “Sonya! Thunder! Come back!” I shouted after them, but rather than turning or even slowing down, they hurried off into the darkness. As Elkhounds I knew they weren’t in any danger from the cold, and since they were ignoring me, I simply shrugged my shoulders, closed the door, flicked off the light and went to bed. In the morning you never saw such a meek couple of puppy-dogs, curled up by our doorway and eager to be let back in.

Sometimes our walk with God looks like that night on the mountain. God loves us to come sit close to Him. He wants nothing more than to care for us and keep us safe in His presence. In today’s verse, He calls to us, “Come all you who are thirsty, come to the waters.” But sometimes our heart longs to run, and when we do God doesn’t chase after us. We think we are getting away with something, but in reality, we are trading a safe warm home for a night in a snowstorm of doubts, fears and false promises. How amazingly good it is that God doesn’t lock His door and vow to never speak to us again. Instead, when we limp home with our feet frozen from the cold, and huddle up outside His door, He calls us again, but this time He says, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest!” Can you hear Him calling? Are you ready to listen to His voice? The moment our heart says, “Yes” we will discover a rest that He paid for on Calvary and the home that He has prepared for us to stay in forever!

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-31 NIV

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Beneath Deep Drifts of Snow

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How are you all doing with your writing? Do you have days, (or even weeks) when nothing seems to come? I struggle in those times because I hate to wait, but waiting is something God loves! It is usually just about then that I remember how God prefers me to be quiet, or take time out for a walk, listen to what others have to say and finally rest in the fact that He has already accomplished everything I will ever need for all eternity. It is in those moments when I finally come to a full stop, that I hear His voice again, and He breathes a gentle thought for a poem, a song or a story into my heart. Today’s poem is a reflection on that moment, and I hope it may be an encouragement to one of you today.

God is working slowly
His purposes by grace
And every word He’s spoken
Forever stands in place

But I 'm in a hurry
I really hate to wait
Today I wish He’d hurry up
Because it’s getting late!

But then I remember
That sweetest apples grow
From trees that rest all Winter
Beneath deep drifts of snow

But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31 KJV

Beneath Deep Drifts of Snow
By Peter Caligiuri
Copyright © 2025
All rights reserved

The Fairest of Ten Thousand

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My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand. Song of Solomon 5:10 KJV

Singing “The Lily of the Valley” this Sunday, brought back memories from fifty years ago, of the occasional Sunday night when we would pile in the car with friends and head off to visit the Blue Bluck Pentecostal Church. Though it was a little church out in the middle of nowhere, we would find it packed to capacity every weekend. The “worship team” consisted of the pastor, playing bass fiddle, accompanied by three guitars as well as piano. When the people sang, “Lily of the Valley”, they would clap and stamp their feet. In that little church with its wooden floors the energy would cause the floorboards to roll beneath us in waves. But of all the memories, what stands out most was of one older gentleman, who would get so excited during the singing that between stanzas he would shout out, “O glory! Hallelujah!”. His voice practically shook the rafters and had me jumping out of my skin every time he did it. Now, we may be far too proper for such an outburst in our church today, but I don’t think Jesus minded a bit. In fact, if we have truly put all our faith in Jesus, then on the day that we sweep up to glory to see His blessed face, I will bet my bottom dollar that, “O glory! Hallelujah!” will be one of the most timid expressions of our worship! Try to imagine that we will see those Seraphim and Cherubim, that Isaiah told us about crying “Holy! Holy! Holy!” so powerfully that the threshold of God’s throne room will be shaken. Then Abraham, Issac, Jacob, along with Peter, John, James and Paul will fall on their faces and cast their crowns before the feet of Jesus in worship and God’s glory will fill the place. Then, for a certainty, we will know the depths of the truth behind the lavish words of praise in this old hymn. We will be reminded of how He never forsook us, that He fed us with His manna all along the way and that His presence remained a wall of fire protecting us and that His mighty hand led us safely all the way.