Meditations: Set Your Affections on Things Above. Col. 3:2
by Patricia A. David
PageTurner Press and Media


"Don’t put off what must be done to dwell with Jesus, God’s dear Son."

Poet David brings to this wide-ranging assortment an engaging combination of scriptural reference, human hopes, light humor, and serious exhortations designed to stir readers to more diligent contemplation of Christian doctrine in everyday life. The first offering, “Heaven or Hell?” urges immediate attention to the possibility of becoming “Hell bound” by deferring one’s relationship with God until a tomorrow that may never come.

“God’s Will” is a fine example of David’s ability to entertain as well as educate, recounting a folksy tale in which a farmer leading a cow to sell at the market learns a valuable, if undesired, lesson about praising the Lord. In contrast, in “Dealing with Life,” the poet reminds readers (and herself) rather strictly that “we are not guaranteed another day,” posing the question, “Where will you spend eternity my friend?” One of the collection’s longest poems, “Heaven Home,” reveals the poet’s vision of guiding her audience toward their great reward, infused with scriptural quotations that stress the book’s significant underlying theme: David’s aspiration to share her own blessings with “millions of believers.”

David’s works provide a refreshing mix of rhyme, reason, and religious understanding based on years of practice in the art of poetry. On most pieces, the composition dates are given, with offerings like “Waiting on God Song” reaching as far back as 1974. In her brief introduction, David makes it clear that outreach is a primary motivation for her gathering and organizing these messages, and she prays for that connection throughout this grouping: “Make me a melody dear Lord, to a soul without a song.” David’s poems suggest that she, too, has wrestled with doubt and indecision. Her well-chosen words thus project empathy that may imbue readers with a sense of kinship and the impetus to enhance their faith.

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