Colors shoot out and hit their mark.
The lights drawing them in like flies.
Cheers, clapping, laughter... all sending a message.
This is fun! This is life! This is where it's at!
It's the circus.
People with faces made of plastic,
Faces that seem to smile,
But only because of paint,
And not because of heart.
They do it for their guests,
They must draw them in,
And they must keep them coming back.
It's the circus.
But let me not get ahead of myself,
For there is much more to this place,
Than just the clowns with their masks.
There are dancers who sway back and forth,
Lulling spectators into a sense of calm.
Acrobats who walk a thin line,
Saying, "You can do it just like me!
It's not hard, and you don't need any help!"
And the music... the music!
Such a key element to the circus.
It's like the oil that makes a machine run,
The wind that makes the windmills turn.
It captivates each guests' mind.
Filling it with euphoria and abandon.
And blinding them to the real story.
What is the real story?
It takes place when all the guests are gone.
The clowns all breath a sigh of relief,
Winding down like a wind up toys.
The masks come off, the dancers stop,
The acrobat falls, the music comes to a stop,
And the lights... the colors go dim.
What is left is nothing, nothing at all.
Just a facade...
For under the masks of the clowns are real faces.
Faces that frown.
And the lights are not real,
But can be turned off with a switch.
When the dancers stop, so does the "peace".
The circus is like one large magician.
It fakes reality,
By creating an illusion.
But my heart goes out to the guests,
Who tell their friends what reality is:
They say with excitement in their eyes.
"It's the circus."
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Monday, May 7, 2012
Choose Life
Just a whisper through the trees,
The leaves dance to the tune of the breeze.
Just a candle through the night,
The darkness hides from the light.
Just one word spoken with malice,
And the heart can form a callous.
Just a thought in the mind of a child,
Forms a dream so big and wild.
But with just a small taste of "reality",
It can shrivel up and die in totality.
Small things, little things.
So many times considered unimportant,
But whether given with medicine or poison
They're always potent.
One moment can be the difference between...
Light or dark,
Good or bad,
Heaven or hell,
Life or death.
"I am now giving you the choice between life and death, between God's blessing and God's curse, and I will call heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Choose life!"
Deuteronomy 30:19
The leaves dance to the tune of the breeze.
Just a candle through the night,
The darkness hides from the light.
Just one word spoken with malice,
And the heart can form a callous.
Just a thought in the mind of a child,
Forms a dream so big and wild.
But with just a small taste of "reality",
It can shrivel up and die in totality.
Small things, little things.
So many times considered unimportant,
But whether given with medicine or poison
They're always potent.
One moment can be the difference between...
Light or dark,
Good or bad,
Heaven or hell,
Life or death.
"I am now giving you the choice between life and death, between God's blessing and God's curse, and I will call heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Choose life!"
Deuteronomy 30:19
Monday, March 12, 2012
Shred it, Destroy it, Burn it, Kill it
Tear it apart, to build it back up again.
Shred it, destroy it, burn it, kill it.
Who knew a little crack in the wall,
Could be the result of a serious flaw.
Something was wrong from the start,
It went down all the way to my heart.
Buried so deep, I'm the master of disguise.
I'm dumb as a sheep, because I gave into the lies.
All God has to do is lay His little pinky
And though it may be a little stinky,
All the junk comes oozing out.
But nothing in me is allowed to pout,
After all, I couldn't stand it,
So I asked Him to shred it, destroy it, burn it, kill it.
Shred it with Your Mighty hand.
Destroy it by Your Sovereign power.
Burn it in Your Holy fire.
Kill it with Your gentle Spirit.
So why should I be surprised
When my weaknesses begin to arise,
They rise to the surface,
Moving towards the furnace.
I try to let go, but I want to hang on,
I've gotten comfortable with the pain,
Don't want to live without the stain,
Without them the difference would be stark.
They've truly become my trademark.
He gives me a look, like that of a parent.
And all of the sudden my sin becomes apparent.
I won't live in shame, or fear, or regret.
But I'll keep on asking it:
Shred it, destroy it, burn it, kill it.
Tear it up, to build it back up again.
Shred it, destroy it, burn it, kill it.
Who knew a little crack in the wall,
Could be the result of a serious flaw.
Something was wrong from the start,
It went down all the way to my heart.
Buried so deep, I'm the master of disguise.
I'm dumb as a sheep, because I gave into the lies.
All God has to do is lay His little pinky
And though it may be a little stinky,
All the junk comes oozing out.
But nothing in me is allowed to pout,
After all, I couldn't stand it,
So I asked Him to shred it, destroy it, burn it, kill it.
Shred it with Your Mighty hand.
Destroy it by Your Sovereign power.
Burn it in Your Holy fire.
Kill it with Your gentle Spirit.
So why should I be surprised
When my weaknesses begin to arise,
They rise to the surface,
Moving towards the furnace.
I try to let go, but I want to hang on,
I've gotten comfortable with the pain,
Don't want to live without the stain,
Without them the difference would be stark.
They've truly become my trademark.
He gives me a look, like that of a parent.
And all of the sudden my sin becomes apparent.
I won't live in shame, or fear, or regret.
But I'll keep on asking it:
Shred it, destroy it, burn it, kill it.
Tear it up, to build it back up again.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Psalm 28:13 "I am confident of this. I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord."
Wait. What an awful word.... that's exactly what I thought when I read this verse. I read it in the middle of this kind of prayer. See if you can identify with it. "Lord, I pray that you would show me what you want me to do. Jesus, I want to be used by You. Come and give me a work. Show me what You want me to do. At least give me a little encouragement. I'm desperate for You!" Sounds familiar? Oh and this is during a time when you are full of doubt, turmoil, loneliness. All you need is for God to say SOMETHING! And..... then He gives you Psalm 28:13. Wait. That's the Word. Wait, and seek My face. Be strong, take heart, and wait for Me. That's what God said to me at the beginning of the year. Waiting can bring out the worst in us. Have you ever been waiting in a doctor's office for hours before? First, you decide you're going to keep yourself really busy texting or reading. When that gets out you tap our foot against the floor impatiently, our eyes dart back and forth. After an hour goes by, you make a path in the floor, and thoughts are running wild, thinking... why is it taking this long? Finally you go up to the front desk, and ask his receptionist why it's taking so long. When she smiles calmly and says, "Just 2 more minutes", you feel like smacking her in the face. Waiting is the best thing God uses to reveal our sin to us. If our lives were perfect all the time, we'd probably get a little too comfortable with our sin. One thing about this illustration that I find interesting is that we try to stay busy to make the waiting period go by faster. We don't want to think about the fact that we're waiting. We can even prolong the waiting period by staying busy, because God wants us to come to the end of ourselves. Another thing that occurred to me when I read this verse was that, in order to wait for the Lord, I have to be in a place and position to wait for Him. I can't wait to see the doctor, if I'm sitting at home and refuse to go to his office. I'm definitely in this season of waiting. God just keeps putting it on my heart to stay in His presence. He says, "Wait for me. I'm coming. I have a work to do in this season, but just be strong and wait." And if you're reading this, be strong. Take heart! Wait on Him. Don't try and be busy with other things. Let Him work on You while you wait. We will see the Lord in the land of the living.
Wait. What an awful word.... that's exactly what I thought when I read this verse. I read it in the middle of this kind of prayer. See if you can identify with it. "Lord, I pray that you would show me what you want me to do. Jesus, I want to be used by You. Come and give me a work. Show me what You want me to do. At least give me a little encouragement. I'm desperate for You!" Sounds familiar? Oh and this is during a time when you are full of doubt, turmoil, loneliness. All you need is for God to say SOMETHING! And..... then He gives you Psalm 28:13. Wait. That's the Word. Wait, and seek My face. Be strong, take heart, and wait for Me. That's what God said to me at the beginning of the year. Waiting can bring out the worst in us. Have you ever been waiting in a doctor's office for hours before? First, you decide you're going to keep yourself really busy texting or reading. When that gets out you tap our foot against the floor impatiently, our eyes dart back and forth. After an hour goes by, you make a path in the floor, and thoughts are running wild, thinking... why is it taking this long? Finally you go up to the front desk, and ask his receptionist why it's taking so long. When she smiles calmly and says, "Just 2 more minutes", you feel like smacking her in the face. Waiting is the best thing God uses to reveal our sin to us. If our lives were perfect all the time, we'd probably get a little too comfortable with our sin. One thing about this illustration that I find interesting is that we try to stay busy to make the waiting period go by faster. We don't want to think about the fact that we're waiting. We can even prolong the waiting period by staying busy, because God wants us to come to the end of ourselves. Another thing that occurred to me when I read this verse was that, in order to wait for the Lord, I have to be in a place and position to wait for Him. I can't wait to see the doctor, if I'm sitting at home and refuse to go to his office. I'm definitely in this season of waiting. God just keeps putting it on my heart to stay in His presence. He says, "Wait for me. I'm coming. I have a work to do in this season, but just be strong and wait." And if you're reading this, be strong. Take heart! Wait on Him. Don't try and be busy with other things. Let Him work on You while you wait. We will see the Lord in the land of the living.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Points Back at Me
Observe observe, and you will see,
All that's wrong with the world will be,
Uncovered because I'll show you,
I'll open your eyes, and you'll know too,
How the world is seen by me.
Hardness hardness all around,
I can't stand the hardness; all this sound,
Like an empty room with hard hard walls,
Every time someone makes a call,
All that's heard is echoes all around.
Shameless shameless that's what they are,
Don't they have morals, or have they gone too far?
No glint of guilt, no sorrow filled eyes,
Even when their deeds are the cause of someone's cries,
All that's seen is Godless, that's what they are.
Ignorance ignorance is what they know,
They think they know, but it's just a show,
Like a clown, he has a mask,
Get him to show his face, quite a task,
Choosing ignorance is what they know.
Why does the world seem NOT to care?
Angry angry that's what I am!
Why can't they understand God's plan?
When will they finally grow up,
And stop drinking out of a sippy cup?
But then I see something like.......
Mirrors mirrors all around,
I cannot see beyond, there is no sound,
It shows the world, and all these things,
And when I raise my finger to point,
It just points right back at me.
Me.... hard, shameless, ignorant, and oh! a bonus one: anger.
OUCH!
All that's wrong with the world will be,
Uncovered because I'll show you,
I'll open your eyes, and you'll know too,
How the world is seen by me.
Hardness hardness all around,
I can't stand the hardness; all this sound,
Like an empty room with hard hard walls,
Every time someone makes a call,
All that's heard is echoes all around.
Shameless shameless that's what they are,
Don't they have morals, or have they gone too far?
No glint of guilt, no sorrow filled eyes,
Even when their deeds are the cause of someone's cries,
All that's seen is Godless, that's what they are.
Ignorance ignorance is what they know,
They think they know, but it's just a show,
Like a clown, he has a mask,
Get him to show his face, quite a task,
Choosing ignorance is what they know.
Why does the world seem NOT to care?
Angry angry that's what I am!
Why can't they understand God's plan?
When will they finally grow up,
And stop drinking out of a sippy cup?
But then I see something like.......
Mirrors mirrors all around,
I cannot see beyond, there is no sound,
It shows the world, and all these things,
And when I raise my finger to point,
It just points right back at me.
Me.... hard, shameless, ignorant, and oh! a bonus one: anger.
OUCH!
Saturday, June 25, 2011
A Life
There's a laugh to be heard,
A smile to be cherished.
There's a cry to be soothed,
A tear to be wiped away.
A life.
There's a heart to be loved,
A mind to imagine.
There's a soul to be saved,
A spirit to cherish.
A life.
There's legs to take long walks,
Ears to hear the birds singing.
There's hands to hold,
Eyes to see the beauty all around.
A life.
There's a destiny to be fullfilled,
A purpose for just one.
There's a life to be lived,
A baby to be born.
A life.
But.....
There's a devil who's bloodthirsty,
An evil that seeks to destroy.
There's a plan to be put in place,
A strategy to destroy before it begins.
A life.
There's a mother already lied to,
A father that's absent.
There's a doctor who is hardened,
A nurse who's ready to take,
A life.
There's a law in place,
A procedure that's "safe".
There's a lie that says there's nothing wrong.
A life is taken away.
A life.
But......
There's eyes that see,
A heart that breaks.
There's ears that hear
Eyes that cry for....
A life.
There's hands that hold,
Arms that hug,
There's a place to go,
A Being that cares for...
A life.
There's a God in heaven,
A God who's hates injustice.
There's a Son that lives,
A Son, Who long ago died for...
A life.
A smile to be cherished.
There's a cry to be soothed,
A tear to be wiped away.
A life.
There's a heart to be loved,
A mind to imagine.
There's a soul to be saved,
A spirit to cherish.
A life.
There's legs to take long walks,
Ears to hear the birds singing.
There's hands to hold,
Eyes to see the beauty all around.
A life.
There's a destiny to be fullfilled,
A purpose for just one.
There's a life to be lived,
A baby to be born.
A life.
But.....
There's a devil who's bloodthirsty,
An evil that seeks to destroy.
There's a plan to be put in place,
A strategy to destroy before it begins.
A life.
There's a mother already lied to,
A father that's absent.
There's a doctor who is hardened,
A nurse who's ready to take,
A life.
There's a law in place,
A procedure that's "safe".
There's a lie that says there's nothing wrong.
A life is taken away.
A life.
But......
There's eyes that see,
A heart that breaks.
There's ears that hear
Eyes that cry for....
A life.
There's hands that hold,
Arms that hug,
There's a place to go,
A Being that cares for...
A life.
There's a God in heaven,
A God who's hates injustice.
There's a Son that lives,
A Son, Who long ago died for...
A life.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
This Little Light of Mine
This world is a funny place. So filled with darkness and pain, yet there's so much beauty and joy. The sorrows are too many and too great, and yet the smallest things like a setting sun, or a budding rose can show you the greatness of God. That He's in control. You can read the news and easily get depressed, thinking about how the world is so messed up! But then see the innocence of a child and know.... there's still something good.
There's a place called Lamu, and as you may have heard, the darkness there is great. The population is something like 98% Islamic, and there's a spiritual heaviness that rests on that island. You see the ladies dressed in black. You hear the mosques at all times at night. You hear stories of abuse and divorce. You look for God in such a place, and you wonder..... where's the light? But there's a saying that I came to know as true when I went to Lamu, and it says: When it's darkest, God's light shines brightest. Amidst the thick darkness that covers Lamu like a blanket, the light that is there, is so brilliantly light. It's like when a prisoner is used to seeing the same four, blank walls for years and years, and is finally released. When he goes outside, and sees the richly blue sky, and the beautiful green trees, he doesn't take it for granted, but every color and sight is... meaningful. In Lamu, every prayer made, every ounce of love and compassion, is... meaningful. I'm not saying that it's less meaningful everywhere else, it's just so much more obvious there. It's a perfect place to learn about the awesome power and light of God. A place to learn that we posses that power and the light inside of us. The world is a dark and sad place, but God's light shines even in the darkest of places. There's beauty. There's peace. There's grace. There's love. But it's us, His people, that are responsible to bring all that about.
So it's up to me. I can be depressed by all that I see around me. I can listen to report after report, thinking, "This world is too far gone!" I can choose to dwell on the darkness and the pain and the hurt..... but then it would remain just the same, wouldn't it? But if I stand up, and shine the light put inside of me, be the world changer God made me to be, and tell of the freedom I received when I acknowledged Christ died for me.... maybe this world would be a different place. I don't know... just a thought. :-)
There's a place called Lamu, and as you may have heard, the darkness there is great. The population is something like 98% Islamic, and there's a spiritual heaviness that rests on that island. You see the ladies dressed in black. You hear the mosques at all times at night. You hear stories of abuse and divorce. You look for God in such a place, and you wonder..... where's the light? But there's a saying that I came to know as true when I went to Lamu, and it says: When it's darkest, God's light shines brightest. Amidst the thick darkness that covers Lamu like a blanket, the light that is there, is so brilliantly light. It's like when a prisoner is used to seeing the same four, blank walls for years and years, and is finally released. When he goes outside, and sees the richly blue sky, and the beautiful green trees, he doesn't take it for granted, but every color and sight is... meaningful. In Lamu, every prayer made, every ounce of love and compassion, is... meaningful. I'm not saying that it's less meaningful everywhere else, it's just so much more obvious there. It's a perfect place to learn about the awesome power and light of God. A place to learn that we posses that power and the light inside of us. The world is a dark and sad place, but God's light shines even in the darkest of places. There's beauty. There's peace. There's grace. There's love. But it's us, His people, that are responsible to bring all that about.
So it's up to me. I can be depressed by all that I see around me. I can listen to report after report, thinking, "This world is too far gone!" I can choose to dwell on the darkness and the pain and the hurt..... but then it would remain just the same, wouldn't it? But if I stand up, and shine the light put inside of me, be the world changer God made me to be, and tell of the freedom I received when I acknowledged Christ died for me.... maybe this world would be a different place. I don't know... just a thought. :-)
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