ALONG THE BARREN ROAD

Author: Justin Farley

  • Sparrow – A Poem About Nature and God

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    Justin Farley

    Sparrow – A Poem About Nature and God A house sparrow is busy outside my window Gathering bits of grass in his beak – Supplies needed for this year’s nest. Some biological impulse is pushing him, Performing actions he doesn’t even understand, An invisible hand directing his reason. It doesn’t take microscopes, telescopes, or theories…

  • The Writer and the Wild – A Poem About Nature and Writing

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    Justin Farley

    The Writer and the Wild – A Poem About Nature and Writing White winged wonder wandering, wobbling west beside water. Flitting feathers flying – flocks fleeing for fields of gold. Sun shinning. Stream shimmering. Chinook salmon swimming, spawning sacks, spewing semen. Man musing merrily, mindfully mapping manuscript In a mad, maniacal manner. -Poem Written by…

  • Beauty – A Love Poem

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    Justin Farley

    Beauty – A Love Poem There are no words fine enough, No metaphors fair enough, No lines long enough, To describe your beauty. Your move me with your mystifying glances That dance like fireflies Flickering in the summer breeze, Shooting sparks through the dark. My heart jumps with certainty Knowing that you are a rare…

  • An Ode To Joy – A Poem About Hope

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    Justin Farley

    An Ode To Joy – A Poem About Hope It is joy that spreads its wings and meets me in the midst of my melancholic musings and carries me through despair. Pain does not disappear, but is transcended by a power mightier than the trappings of the mind and the preaching Pity pouts from depression’s…

  • The Door of Discovery – A Love Poem

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    Justin Farley

    The Door of Discovery – A Love Poem She reigns, riding a white horse Across the barren landscapes of my mind And brings a glimmer of hope To a kingdom lost in darkness. She is the break of morning That belts out, “Awake! Arise! A new day has dawned. Your long, dark night is over!”…

  • “What’s Brewing Next Door?” – A Short Story For Kids Free Today

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    Justin Farley

    My children’s short story, “What’s Brewing Next Door?“, is free today only on Amazon through the Kindle Store. “When mysterious neighbors move in next door in the middle of the night, Katherine and Josh are sure there’s something not quite right about them – no one has ever seen them and their garage door is always…

  • Accepting and Being Comfortable With Our Weaknesses

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    Justin Farley

    “So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My…

  • Revival – A Christian Poem About Restoration

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    Justin Farley

    Revival – A Christian Poem About Restoration Take this wounded heartthat beats in its own keyand tune it to the beauty of your mercy. Gather these scattered fragments –pieces of man I yearn to beand mold me in the image of your Son. Bathe me beneath the waves of your living water.For you, you are…

  • Hope – A Christian Poem

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    Justin Farley

    Hope – A Christian Poem  When the world beats you down to the ground Love abounds between the beams of the cross, When you’re hopeless and lost, Riding waves that carry and toss You farther out to sea than your heart ever dared, There’s no reason to be scared. His love is always there, deep…

  • “When Fate Knocks At Your Door” – A Poem

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    Justin Farley

    Most of us have a vision of the way we think our life should go. We have a certain career path that is right. We have a certain type of spouse that is our fit. We have a certain idea of a family, a house, a life. But life rarely follows our course. And thank…

  • When Christians Love Their Religion More Than Their God

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    Justin Farley

    Originally posted on Stephen Mattson: Instead of promoting Christ, Christians often promote … world. their theology their culture their values their creeds their traditions their spiritual practices their specific type of baptism their required form of communion their style of sermon their church their denomination their definition of salvation their philosophy of evangelism their form…

  • Christians, Stop Dividing With Hate and Follow Christ

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    Justin Farley

    This weekend I was curious about a certain aspect about writer and Christian apologist C.S. Lewis’s life. When I sought the information on the internet, I stumbled upon a page and was appalled by the article that was written by a Christian pastor. He basically claimed that because Lewis did not come out and bash…

  • Tilling Truth’s Garden – A Christian Poem

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    Justin Farley

    Tilling Truth’s Garden – A Christian Poem My understanding grows like a thriving weed, Rising taller, but smothering the seed Of a beautiful garden of eternal truth. I, a child in the infancy of youth, By my feeble immaturity have become aloof, Walked astray, carried by foolish pride. In your ways let my soul confide,…

  • Sing to the Lord a New Song – A Christian Poem For Lent

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    Justin Farley

    “Oh sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth! Sing to the LORD, bless his name; tell his salvation from day to day.” Psalm 96:1-2 Sing to the Lord a New Song – A Christian Poem For Lent “Sing to the LORD a new song” that radiates from the…

  • The Abundance of Your Mercy – A Christian Poem For Lent

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    Justin Farley

    The Abundance of Your Mercy – A Christian Poem For Lent  In the hour of my tribulation, I fail the same trials and tests Time and time again. Delighting for a fleeting moment in my selfish pleasures Before becoming quickly convicted of my sin. Do I find peace, joy, or comfort in my lustful wallowing?…

  • In You I Trust – A Christian Poem For Lent

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    Justin Farley

    In You I Trust – A Christian Poem For Lent In the midst of my trials, May I not lean on my familiar ways, But walk boldly relying on only your deliverance Through the heat of fiery flames. And may I not trust in this fragile castle I’ve erected with stones of self-reliance and pride,…

  • The Light That Shines in the Darkness – A Poem About Hope

    The Light That Shines in the Darkness – A Poem About Hope

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    Justin Farley

    A Christian poem about hope and finding light during dark times that rhymes, titled “The Light That Shines In The Darkness” by Justin Farley.

  • Finding Myself – A Poem About the Journey of Self Discovery

    Finding Myself – A Poem About the Journey of Self Discovery

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    Justin Farley

    Being and finding yourself is hard. Each one of us is a unique individual, blessed with unique talents and gifts. But each of us also longs for acceptance – to feel wanted, needed, and understood by people. Having the courage to be true to ourselves and discover the individual God created us to be usually…


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My Poetry Collections

the book cover of Nature's Bounty by Justin Farley— a poetry collection about the beauty of nature with subjects on birds, plants, trees, animals, the forest, and God.
A deep poetry book about the beauty of nature and the natural world by poet Justin Farley.
the book cover of Frozen Rivers by Justin Farley— a poetry collection about depression and the hardships of mental illness, balanced with nature poems on the season of winter.
Deep poems about depression and the hardships of mental illness, balanced with nature poems on the winter season by poet Justin Farley. Book 1 of the Seasons series.
a mental health poetry book about joy and nature poems on the season of spring
Inspirational poems about mental health, healing, and spring by poet Justin Farley. Book 2 of the Seasons series.
the book cover of Summer Days Sunburnt Nights by Justin Farley— a mental health poetry book about bipolar disorder and nature poems on the season of spring
Deep poems about bipolar disorder and being neurodivergent, balanced with nature poems on summer by poet Justin Farley. Book 3 of the Seasons series.
the book cover of A Voice in the Wilderness—A Chapbook of Poems About God by Justin Farley. It is a deep Christian poetry collection about contemplation, the spiritual journey, and finding grace through Jesus.
A contemplative, prayerful Christian poetry book about the spiritual journey and discovering God’s grace, mercy, and love.
the book cover of Thorns of Love by Justin Farley. It is a deep love poetry collection about sadness of breakups, divorce, and heartbreak.
A deep love poetry book about the pain of break ups and the heartbreak felt when relationships end by poet Justin Farley.