What Jesus’ Last Hours Were Like

High on that hill of Golgotha, on Calvary,

Built on the garbage dump of the city,

The Christ, Savior of Sinners, everywhere,

Hung upon the cross.

Between two sinners, guilty

Of their crimes, Jesus wept.

One mocked him, saying, “Save yourself and us, too!

Where is that band

Of angels, son of Man?”

The other one told that one off, and said,

“This man has done no wrong.

He has chosen to die, so we all could live.

Soon, to go to heaven, away

With the wind, he will be swept;

So bother him not; just leave him alone;

I believe in him.”

Jesus had been put on trial,

After being betrayed

By one of his own disciples;

He had been ridiculed and

Beaten by a cat of nine tails or a scourge;

Thirty nine bloody , fiery stripes he bore;

Yes, for us, the straps of that beating, he gladly wore.

Bleeding, dirty, spat on and cursed by others,

By members of his own people, the Jews,

They turned away

And refused to accept him as the Messiah;

Never once did he grumble or say ‘please, no more’

He said instead; “Father, do as you will.

I am yours; I know sin is real,

And it takes a greater sacrifice

To give solace to the hopeless.”

As the crowds gathered around,

Jesus saw his mother on the ground,

And John the disciple stood beside her.

He called out to John, “She is your mother”

And ever after she lived in the house of John the disciple.

But as the hour grew later into the afternoon

He would hang there for us all, taking on our sins, he’d die,

And then his body; they would take it down.

A darkness gathered crouching over all, for the time

Was close upon the son of man;

Wind blew and the lightning flashed.

Night fell heavy in the afternoon.

Soldiers had taken his clothes; they had drawn lots.

Another had given him sour wine or vinegar for his drink.

Not a bit of mercy given him; not a bit of rest was his to wink.

They pierced his sides and let his holy blood flow.

They had mocked and placed a crown of thorns; oh woe.

People held their noses and carried on about the ‘ungodly stink;’

It hung in the air; a miasma of the worst smells sins can reek;

Oh, the ones who hated him, they looked on him with fear; this meek,

Mild, humble, man of peace whose one unshakable faith was his strength:

“No man shall see the Father, except he comes through me.”

In the last hour, Jesus called out, “Father, I am ready; call unto me.”

Even then, the mockers cried out, “No other has smelled so foul;

How is this a man of God? What a stink; he stinks with such horrid body odor;

Even the leper, whom this man healed, never smelled so bad as this!”

Staring at the man on the cross; dirty, bloody, beaten and abused;

His bladder and bowels had emptied their contents, soiling his bare legs;

They spat at him; they threw rocks, insulted him more,

Before they turned and walked away, and Jesus watched them go.

He said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”

On the ninth hour, the breath went out of Jesus,

And an ABSOLUTE darkness fell over the land.

He died to save us all; yes, every last one of us he offered his hand.

An earthquake split wide the rocks on the hillside cemetery.

God changed the face of the Earth for a short time.

From the cemetery the dead awoke, and

The saints walked home to their families.

A rich man agreed that Jesus would be buried in his tomb;

His body was taken down and washed and bound with the shroud;

And to the tomb it was moved as quietly as it could be done.

It was on a Friday; would he rise again the third day?

His betrayer, having remorse, tried to give back the 30 pieces of silver;

But the men would not hear of it and distraught Judas went away.

He had thrown down the blood money earned with a kiss;

And hearing the fate of Jesus, Judas killed himself, upon a Judas tree.

The money, as the prophets said long before,

Was used to make a potter’s field

For those who had nothing; a sign that

For all, one day, Jesus would yield

A place to be buried to those who had nothing.

Giving them a place to rest until the call to rise again would come,

When Gabriel would blow his horn on Judgment day

Jesus rose three days later, yes, I believe.

The first he met was Mary Magdalene,

And he forbade her to touch him; for he

Had not yet been to the Father;

He was still unclean from the days in the underworld;

Some call it purgatory; she must not touch him.

Did she hold her nose? For her lord gave off a mighty stink;

Not just of the grave but the lingering sins of the world,

Which his resurrection put to an end, and life regained its sweetness.

Not to say he was corrupt; his body was whole;

But he had been to the land of the dead

And he surfaced as a victor over death.

To the disciples remaining,

He showed the nail holes in his feet and in his hands.

He told them that he died so he could save man.

One disciple, Thomas, had to be given proof

that it was Jesus, their master and teacher.

“Thomas, do you not know your Lord?

It is I who stands before you.”

Holding out his scarred hands

Thomas knew it was true;

“The lord Jesus had risen!”

Soon he would go to Heaven to be

With his Father;

For his sacrifice to conquer sin

Has been filled;

And many centuries have passed by.

Two thousand years have gone by,

And I know, in my heart, that Jesus is still here.

Here, we find, all these many years later,

The Lord is our Savior.

You know he is there.

Open your heart and

Let him be the best friend you’ll ever have.

But as you go through your days

Remember all the ways,

Acknowledging Jesus Christ is the only way

You will see Heaven.

Think of the love for us Jesus has, he loves us;

He knew us every one; and knew it must be

 And he felt it was worth

All the suffering; Jesus is the Shepherd and he loves his flock.

Yes, he suffered for us, and aren’t you glad he did?

Think of being in a place of great burdens and facing the ultimate sacrifice.

Jesus did it; he gave his life for us sinners;

He loved us, and came down from on high to walk among us.

Now if someone had looked down on you, and said something hurtful,

If they claim to be Christian they fool only their selves;

For Christ became like one of us, yet he was innocent;

He was the lamb of God and for Adam’s children he gave his life.

Forget the way people treat you;

Live the Golden Rule; look around

And spread that big smile.

And if you find in your life

Someone who claims to be Christian,

But is picky and looks down their nose at you or others;

Someone who will fuss about

Something like someone's beard or maybe

A so called body odor, think back to the reality

Of the Lord’s last hours;

And if you think you smell roses, think again.

Don’t put down anyone else,

For there are times in life we all smell stinky.

We will all answer for our sins

When this World ends;

Every man, woman or child;

So keep your thoughts and opinions to yourself.

Everyone needs to remember not to put on airs,

And let on they are any better

Than another person, for whatever the reason,

Because the Lord of Lords loves us all the same.

So remember that when you pray in Jesus’ name,

Jesus in this day and time would be wearing jeans,

Have long hair, and a beard,

He might be shoeless; he might not have a dollar to his name.

Remember man’s wealth never meant anything to him.

Would you treat him differently

Or would you treat him the same?

He might look like a bum

But outward appearance will not stop Jesus from his path.

Don’t judge by the looks,

For you can't make one hair white or black

Mean anything more special to Jesus.

Don't make insults to others.

All of us should be sisters and brothers.

If you turn around and sneer at another,

Just because you think someone is less than they really are,

That is not Christ like behavior to act petty.

Jesus is the one who carries the scars.

If you cut down someone, belittling them,

Jesus is upset by your false heartedness

Be a good person; at least try your best.

And remember what it was like for Jesus

Those final hours of his life

He went through pain unimaginable

It wasn't pretty

And also keep in mind, that night

He died to put our sins right.

He gives us a hope for eternal life.

He made everything right.

Your sins are forgiven when

You are washed in the blood of Jesus.

With Jesus in your life,

It is easier to sleep at night.

Yes, be born again in water and of Spirit.

When you are saved, you will do no petty,

Backstabbing acts of jealousy again.

That is an act of evil; not of Jesus;

His act is one of unconditional love.

The time for setting your life right is now;

If you want to go to heaven above,

Get on your knees and accept Jesus in your life.

and for the rest of your life,

Live it right, live it for Jesus.

Jerriann Law and JD Couch, 8-30-2012

She’s With the Wind

(dedicated to my sister, Holly Angela Law, 

RIP, 1-8-1955/ 4-28-2012)

She’s with the wind

 She has walked on

Into the light, the warmth, the love

Not alone, or unloved

Her campaigns that she fought so hard upon are done

She’s conquered life

She’s with the wind

She’s with the wind

Her life has come to an end

No stone shall bear testament

That she was here,

Except her parents’ own

And there lies only the mother in a coffin;

The father, like daughter, was caught up by the wind

Dust in the wind

But what of this gentle soul

Who never meant harm to anyone?

But who harmed her self most;

Lost within the labyrinths

Of the mind’s confusion;

She became a ghost of her former self

She spent her fire to exhaustion

Upon beliefs only she understood

She’s with the wind

 She has walked on

Into the light, the warmth, the love

Not alone, or unloved

Her campaigns that she fought so hard upon are done

She’s conquered life

She’s with the wind

She’s with the wind

She influenced her sister so much

Impressed her with her wisdom;

She knew so many things

Her mind so capable of grasping complexities

Hers was a mind that reached so far,

But somewhere along the way

There can a day

Where she shot past the right entrance

And instead moseyed into a realm

She should never have ventured;

After-which she could never quite find her way back?

And she wandered aimless but thinking her goals

Were still worth attaining; not hesitating?

While leaving behind her previous goals

And finally, she was unable to work those plans nor did she try

There was a time she allowed her sister to take part

In her visionary escapades; what else could they be called?

Fantasy realizations that both believed to be all too true

Two aspiring young authors carried on the invention of other worlds

But there came a day she said to the younger,

“Go make your own world and

 People it as you will and put yourself in its center;

There can be no room for two females where I am;

For I am all that a female embodies and all men here belong to me”

It hurt so very bad to be told this; pushed away after so long of sharing

And the younger sister walked down the road one day;

And slapped her own cheeks a few harsh slaps

And said, “What a fool you have been”

And yet, it was not over; it went on several more years;

It was not even that bad at the time;

Not like it came to be.

She wasn’t ready to let go of the younger sister,

 Her one staunch supporter;

Nobody else was ever allowed to get as close

And so there was a bond to the end

The sister loved her older sister,

Regardless of what was said or done

She’s with the wind

 She has walked on

Into the light, the warmth, the love

Not alone, or unloved

Her campaigns that she fought so hard upon are done

She’s conquered life

She’s with the wind

She’s with the wind

And regardless who understood the truth about her;

She will not let anything stop her from that love

She never turned away and the elder sister knew she was there for her

Although times passed when it was difficult to visit

In those last years after mother died;

And five years passed before the father died

But he was in declining health;

She, the oldest child, never saw him again

And he only knew how she was when

 The sister told him how his oldest was;

He would nod; not say much; there wasn’t much to say

She had no family; they were dead; all but a sister;

She told those who took care of her in those last days in April;

She was right; since no other bothered to visit her, why

Would she think anything different?

She’s with the wind

 She has walked on

Into the light, the warmth, the love

Not alone, or unloved

Her campaigns that she fought so hard upon are done

She’s conquered life

She’s with the wind

She’s with the wind

What impression did she make upon this world?

Well it is hard to say, the sister can only speak of the impression

She left upon her; maybe that’s all that matters.

How she came across to others- it is neither here nor there

What the sister knows is she loved her and told her so;

But saying those three words back was near impossible to express;

Yes, that hurt, but her mental illness kept her

 Unable to express this emotion;

Not unusual, being from a family that found it hard to say I love you

Even though it was a tight unit and

It stayed that way until mother passed on;

And then the family fell apart; and a new chapter began;

One with the elder sister in a nursing home to the end of her life

The surviving sister thinks back to the early years

How she had gone with her and daddy while

The elder took lessons on the violin;

But after a few visits it ended; for more than one reason;

But one was the price of the lessons was too expensive;

Another being the teacher, Les Smithhart,

Disliked daddy’s simple, country ways;

Maybe even because the younger sister sat in his precious rocker

Which had been reserved for Hank Williams and

He didn’t want anyone sitting there

And the four year old sat down, not expecting the outburst;

After which she was banned from coming in.

But it occurred to the sister, many years later;

What a lost opportunity that had been; she could have been

Something like: Alyson Krause, if things had worked out;

She had a pretty singing voice;

Something like: Buffy Ste. Marie;

And if she had achieved that one goal,

 Many others would have come true too

And she might never have gotten side-tracked, as she did.

When the sister cried that last day she saw her,

She was puzzled as to why she was so upset

She didn’t understand the tears;

 She asked her why she was doing it.

Yes she’s in a better place; but the loss

 And the sorrow that things didn’t go well in her life

That’s why the tears; and when she asked why;

 the words were’ I love you’

But they weren’t returned and

When she left she meant to return,

But a ride back kept her away;

 And so eleven days later, calls came;

 She was gone; there would be no more seeing her in this world.

She’s with the wind

 She has walked on

Into the light, the warmth, the love

Not alone, or unloved

Her campaigns that she fought so hard upon are done

She’s conquered life

She’s with the wind

She’s with the wind

©JA Wayahowl 7-20-2012

A Native Message

Sad hearted, I wandered through the burnt forest; ear turned to the summer breeze.

Upon the smoke tinged breeze floated the cries of animal and bird, warning me;

And from out behind the blackened trees, five young Indian braves surrounded me.

The five braves did not surprise me;

I heard their footsteps upon the dry ground;

Only when in drought can they be heard;

All other times, their walk is silent.

 “We come to you, our brother Wisdom, in concern over the way

 People of the earth are treating our world;

They are careless, and

They act without the respect they should have.

The earth cries out to the Red Man, for our help.

She knows we are closest to her of any man.

The sky is dry and sheds no tears;

The river, so long, and normally full to overflowing,

Now it is weak and cannot move,

Sluggish with trash-logged mud,

Dead fish, rotting in the heat;

Or wide-cracked banks that even the frogs can’t spawn in;

Where is the water?” said one brave, ribs showing in his gaunt frame.

  “They have man-made reservoirs with filter plants;” a second one said,

They drink bottled water; they think, they are fine, in their head;

Don’t they know fresh water is a scarcity?

And without it, humanity

Will crease to be?

Don’t they know that without water, trees die?

And without the trees, man will choke on his own exhalations?”

“What we breathe out is poison to us, but trees need it,” said a third brave;

“And in turn the trees give us the oxygen we crave.

Not a single breathe we take should be

Taken for granted,

Yet most of humanity

Does exactly that; well, soon mankind will learn;

One day soon, for water, we all will yearn.

No fish and no animals will be found;

And then what will there be to eat; any where to be found?”

“If plants all dry up; animals have no food, nor will we,” said the fourth man.

“The forest is brittle, and heat lightning causes brush fires.

One day soon, our home will be the one to expire.

The mountain peak that touches the sky

Needs to send down the snow

To water everything that sits below;

It will fill the streams and life can begin again.”

“Tell us, oh Brother Wisdom; what should we do,” asked the fifth man.

“I, Brother Wisdom, I speak; we must do our part, for the world to be revived;

They say even the mountain is bare; that little snow is on its slopes;

Why do you come to me, brothers?

What do you expect from me that I can do that you can’t do?

Are there no more homes for the bear and caribou?

You must keep this planet clean and safe for us all;

Both human and animal spirit alike;

Do I climb the mountain and call out to Creator,

Begging for mercy upon this earth and her people;

People know that keeping our earth clean is saving our home.

Parts of this earth have gone past help from man, in any normal way;

Only Creator can return to life what is already dead;

Only with Creator is there hope for another day.

As long as you chant to Creator; in this, you’re not in the wrong;

But whatever remains, in Creator’s hands,

It is alive and will heal itself in Creator’s time.

Only miracles from above and blessings of love;

And forgiveness of our ill ways will bring the change

That gives us a chance to continue living on this earth, our home.”

“Oh, Great Spirit, surely you hear our cry,” I continue to chant;

Hear us call out for help to save our home;

This land is where we are all free to roam;

Chant with me, oh brothers; A’ho.”

“A’ho; see our hearts are open; we are true in our request,  

We chant to you, on high, mighty Creator;

We will keep working; we will do our best.

We praise you; for you are worthy, oh Creator;

No one on Earth could ever be greater;

Creator of this universe; Creator of the way;

We praise you; oh, let the healing rains come this day.

We will all do what we must do.

Let the blistering curse across this land be no more.

Let this world, our mother, be the jewel of beauty

In the sky that she is; and we upon her surface,

Let us be content and happy. A’ho.”

Raise arms high and chanting; “Creator, show us your concern; A’ho.”

And as we look up, down falls the wet cooling rain;

A healing balm to this thirsty world comes once again;

“A blessing from Creator; there is hope once more; A’ho;

Earth returns to her previous state, once again;

Beautiful is our world, once more pollution free.

New life in abundance;

Joy in every step of life’s dance.”

Six Natives go back into the forest, returning home.

“Blessed be this earth; A’ho;

Praise to the Creator who loves this earth so much, A’ho.”

            Heart Full of Hate

Why is it when we are children, and so young at heart;

Why do some of us have a childhood of being neglected?

Why are we abused, just because our Parent’s thoughts on a subject

Are often received, but for whatever reason, weren’t collected,

And when we didn’t do as they said to do, we are corrected;

To the child it just seems mean; a lot of yelling, cussing, hitting for what?

They never make it understood, except to say

 They told us and why didn’t we obey?

Being disobedient is a crime and it can reap severe punishment.

When a child received what they perceived as unfair punishment,

It brings anger, retaliation and resentment;

A child rebels and refuses to cooperate

It makes for a situation that gives leeway for a heart full of hate.

Do they not know how much we love them?

They will ask us if we love them;

Because we weren’t respectful

 And fought their attempt at correction;

They say we will ‘end up paying for much bigger sins,

Because if you start off young on the wrong foot,

You can only go downhill from there;

 Attitude will get you no where good, son.’

But do they ever take a look at them-selves?

Don’t they know to have respect given to them, it must be earned?

Sure they know it; they shove that rule in any misbehaving kid’s face

They want so much to put a kid in his or her place.

They only see faults in the child, never in them-selves.

They are the ones who don't open their eyes until it's too late.

No matter what they are trying to correct in the child

They are the role model the kid is meant to emulate;

And if they say, ‘eat your vegetables, but go on about hating greens’

What does that tell the child?

If it is all about the evils of smoking or drinking, but they do this;

Isn’t that just acts of confusion; if you preach it, then do it or shut up.

If you birthed a child at 15 years old,

 What message are you passing to that same child?

When you say, ‘no, don’t have sex so young;

 You’re not ready; don’t repeat the mistakes I did.’

Well, all the kid knows is ‘you did it and I am here;

And there you go saying I was a mistake?’

Their feelings hurt, feeling rejection; a heart full of hate.

They don’t see it was a bad arrangement of words;

It wasn’t that the child was a mistake

But that the steps to having the child was bad choices

In fact, usually made because their parents

 Tried to stop them from doing wrong;

And the kids will follow that train of thought with,

 ‘So why tell me anything; I’ll do as I please; it’s my body;

Hard headedness is a trait passed from parent to child.

The child can’t see the good points you make

Or why you are so frustrated;

They don’t realize you are upset

Because they want better for you;

But in fact most parents repeat

The same mistakes their parents did too.

One day, they will look in the mirror, and say;

 ‘Oh my God, I have sealed my fate.

No wonder my child grew up with a heart full of hate.’

Well this doesn’t just happen in America;

 Neglect and abuse of children goes on all over the world;

One day it will come to a screeching halt.

Parents will finally admit they did the things their parents did.

They never thought they would but the rebellious spirit puts them in those shoes;

Only if a child sees early on the truth and sets out to be different than others

Will the day come when they will find their children’s love is there?

And with it, respect for them, because they were fair,

And explained why any punishment had to be made,

 so that there wouldn’t be a misunderstanding.

For most, you best believe, and trust me;

If a child rebels it was due to anger earned;

 It is the parents at fault for not clarifying why

 The child should not do something or other.

Each set of parents reach a day

When they will take that final walk;

They won’t be able to say a word by then even if asked to talk.

So much about arguments is brought on by misunderstandings;

Before it’s too late, go to the Lord in prayer and ask forgiveness.

They should plead for the child to be relieved of that heart full of hate.

Only then can there be hope for families with grown children

Whose hearts are full of hate?

Don’t let it come to that; seek understanding.

I am a man who grew up with his heart filled with hate.

I thank God for great people who helped me change my fate.

I made a choice so long ago not to be like my Dad;

I said I would grow up to be nothing like the man;

He fathered me, but in most ways wasn’t a loving father;

Yes he and my mother brought me into this World.

I saw how cruel he could be to her, as well as any of her children;

I was the oldest of six; he made another family and six more kids;

I’m not sure he was any more loving to them than us;

It seems that way, but I know my daddy’s ways.

I think a man like that would find it hard to love anyone.

He taught me by his bad actions to be a more kind, concerned man;

I might get angry but I do my best to insure they understand I care.

 I will treat my Kids like they are angels every day that I can.

I will not let life go on, and they never see a loving Dad until its too late;

I Love them while they are young and they will know I always cared;

To me this matters more than anything else in life;

So I suggest to you, don’t wait;

Begin loving your children so that when they grow up

They know their own offspring is safe and will be treated well around grandpa;

Be sure they know exactly why you say ‘no, don’t’

And hold off on the abuse; it won’t help your case.

Remember anger only brings on the worst of feelings.

 I say this and I mean it with all my heart;

I refuse to let my Child grow up with a heart full of hate.

 JD Couch and Jerriann Wayahowl (7-4-2012