Now more than ever, we all need vocabulary and permission to talk about the hard things in life with pandemic, war and human rage as every day occurrences for us. Joel's poetry targets that need and helps others express their own hurt, pain and joy in prayers and reflections for life. His third collection of poetry, The Prodigal Chronicles: Poems for Coming Home (with foreword by Jon Mitchell, afterword by Basil Watson and special guest poet Amaris Watson), focuses on one of Joel's favorite topics: the Love of our Father in ...
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Now more than ever, we all need vocabulary and permission to talk about the hard things in life with pandemic, war and human rage as every day occurrences for us. Joel's poetry targets that need and helps others express their own hurt, pain and joy in prayers and reflections for life. His third collection of poetry, The Prodigal Chronicles: Poems for Coming Home (with foreword by Jon Mitchell, afterword by Basil Watson and special guest poet Amaris Watson), focuses on one of Joel's favorite topics: the Love of our Father in Heaven, and our desperate need for his daily welcoming. Here is Joel's introduction to the book: "For me, the one topic that never gets old is that of the love of God as told in the parable of the prodigal son. Maybe it is being a dad, or having "run away" from home so many times over, but knowing that Jesus has paid my way back to the Father never ceases to comfort me like no other news can. I recall as a college student, coming home one break to my own father throwing a dinner for me in the presence of my mom and brothers. He knew more than I did that I was a prodigal then. As he threw a robe over my shoulders (bathrobe, but a robe nonetheless), a gold ring and then hugged and kissed me in his joy and tears, I knew it was a permanent and divine moment I was living. Sitting down to dinner that day many years ago, I felt not an ounce of shame for my past, nor regret that I was being singled out because of the overwhelming fact that my dad had thrown me a party - just as I was. Almost 15 years later, I continue to need the homecoming that my earthly dad showed me that day. May these poems tell us all the deeper story of our woundedness and help beckon us close to the arms of our Father in Heaven time and again. May we never, ever leave home though it takes our whole lives to arrive."
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