Artist at Work

the heart breaks, not in half,
but in a hundred thousand tiny pieces,
like glass,
smashed against a hardwood floor
that scatters.

the Master rebuilds, not in haste,
but lovingly and tenderly in time,
like a craftsman,
fashioning a work of art
restoring the shattered fragments of a broken soul.

from shards of glass, radiance!
a brilliant new piece is created,
glistening in the light of early dawn.
a vessel of beauty, Lord-built,
from the splinters of yesterday.

-- Jackie M. Johnson

A Time for Everything - About Waiting

When waiting seems hard
And things seem to be slow,
When the stoplight says, “wait”
And you just want to go,
Here’s a lesson in timing
For your life and mine:
God is not slow.
No, He keeps perfect time.

Can you say to a newborn,
“Get up and run?”
Or make the moon rise
In place of the sun?
Can you order a rosebud
To open up now?
Or hurry a calf
Being birthed from a cow?

To everything there’s a time
And an hour,
For our lives to unfold
And for roses to flower.
There’s a reason and purpose
For every delay,
And with patience and timing
We’ll get there someday.

For the work of waiting
Is finally believing
That it all comes from God
Who delights us in giving.
And His power will bring forth
What is best, and we’ll find
That deliverance will come,
For He keeps perfect time.

-- Jackie M. Johnson

A New Day Cafe Blog Reaches 98 Countries

Hello readers,

Today is a day to celebrate!

As of October 1, 2011 this blog, A New Day Cafe, has reached readers in half the countries in the world (98 of 196 countries).

My goal is to blog words of hope and encouragement--to help people to get over relationship breakups and to have a better life. And I want to thank you for reading. I hope you've found help and hope from these words--from God's heart, to my hands, and into your life.

Here are the countries who've read A New Day Cafe blog in the past two years. Thank you! I pray for my readers each day.

United States, Canada, United Kingdom, India, Australia, Macedonia, Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland, Sri Lanka, France, Israel, Bolivia, Qatar, Ukraine, Iran, Japan, Indonesia, Poland, Columbia, Spain, Ghana, Slovakia, Vietnam, Antigua and Barbuda, China, Pakistan, Denmark, Morocco, Russia, South Korea, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Zimbabwe, Philippines, Sweden, South Africa, Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Uganda, Belgium, Thailand, Nigeria, Tunisia, Guyana, Maldives, Mexico, Switzerland, Romania, Singapore, Palestinian Territories, Reunion, Greece, Peru, New Zealand, Jordan, Serbia, Finland, Kenya, Lithuania, Iraq, Trinidad & Tobago, Sudan, Hungary, Malaysia, Taiwan, Malta, Latvia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Namibia, Ghana, Belarus, Jamaica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Honduras, Algeria, Hong Kong, Senegal, Ukraine, Norway, Slovenia, Georgia, Italy, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Ecuador, Cambodia, Guatemala, Lebanon, Moldova, Kuwait, Oman, and Croatia.

Thank you. May you be blessed and find fresh hope for today!