Building Castles on the Rock

By Ann E. Slaughter

Poetry both profound and whimsical, inspirational and gentle, are found between the covers of this book. Ann Slaughter shares her love for words, her love for God, and her love for people on these pages. And for those who wonder where poets find their ideas, you can't beat the short notes accompanying many of these poems.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Sep 9, 2011
• ISBN: 9781462048571

Ann E. Slaughter

Ann Slaughter is a life-long lover of words and a writer of poetry since her mid-teens. For many years her unique ability to see relationships between the ordinary and the divine have fueled her writing. Ms. Slaughter's sense of whimsy also prompted a number of poems in this volume. When not working at her paralegal job in Manhattan, she lives with her husband and best friend Robert in the Bronx. Along with an active church life, they enjoy occasional dinners out, the New York Botanical Gardens, museums, and art galleries, and are more than pleased to have seen their first musical.

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Copyright © 2011 by Ann E. Slaughter.

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ISBN: 978-1-4620-4856-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4620-4857-1 (ebk)

Printed in the United States of America

iUniverse rev. date: 08/27/2011

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

(NIV reference)

Scripture quotation taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Contents

From My Heart To Your Hearts

Foundation

Shaping A Shapeless Void

The Price Of Enticement

We Are All The Slaves Of Egypt

A Different Sort Of Birth

If I Had Been The One

Just A Simple Wedding

I’m Not A Prodigal, No, Sir!

The Most Fragrant Gift Of All

What Kind Of Man Is This?

The Offer

Surrender

The Grand Prize

The Trade

Challenge Of Freedom

Empty Me, Lord

Build A Castle On The Rock

No Shape To Selfishness

Daily Commitment

Why Is It So Hard?

My Empty Bag Of Tricks

All The Fragments

Growth & Service

Walking On The Water

Perfect Vision

No One Held Your Hand

God’s Answers

Stripping Away The Mask

Henry

Innermost Place

I Am God’s Treasured Possession

Gracious Receiver

A Fair Hearing

Praise

That’s Who I Am!

A Fresh Creation

A Small, Sunlit Clearing

Eagle’s Eye

So You Want Joy?

As White As Snow!

I’d Like To Be A Child Again

Wrapped Up For Always

Such Present Joy!

The One Who Writes The Songs

You Crossed My Path With Love

More

Decorating Character

Picking Berries In The Wild

A Season Of Joy

Bits Of Silver Lining

It’s Quiet Now

Safe In His Hands

True Children Of The Trinity

Take A Moment

The Settling

True Welcome Mats

The Donor’s Heart

A Speaker’s Prayer

Consider The Lilies

From My Heart To Your Hearts

This book is a glimpse into my emotions at certain times. If you believe you don’t understand poetry, give these poems a try. Most of them are user friendly, if I can borrow that term, so I trust you will find yourself following the thoughts and feelings, and maybe even nodding to yourself—yup, that’s exactly the way it is. You may even find yourself giggling, or tearing up, or having one of those rare aha moments that come with quiet reflection.

Friends often wonder where my ideas come from. My best poems come when I promptly obey what feels like a mental nudge, hey, listen up, this is a poem idea. Ideas come from conversations, sermon comments, snatches of thought, dreams, nature, and Scripture. They come from my own aha moments, too. Sometimes I have written poems for specific occasions. For the curious-minded, short statements of origin are included after a few of the poems.

My poetry is a gift from God, and I am grateful to Him for giving me a love for language and an ability to see things differently. I thank all my poetry-loving friends and family