Not About Me

It’s not about me; it’s all about you
Shining Your light in everything that I do
It’s all about me receiving Your love
So I can give freely without giving up
It’s not about me

You call me Your loved one; You call me Your jewel
You formed me and shaped me and made me Your tool
You’re all that I need; You gave me Your heart
And filled me with hope to see all that You are
Making me to be, but it’s not all about me

You make me aware of Your goodness and glory
You give me Your Word to proclaim Your story
Created in love for peace, grace and joy
To rest in the faith You alone employ
And reign sovereignty, so it’s not all about me

Forsaken

Oh the things we will forsake in the pursuit of happiness. What will we do for goodness’ sake? Instead we embrace this madness. Oh the people we will meet. How many will we ever know, or merely pass them on the street? Another game within the show. Oh the needs we walk on by when there are places we can serve. Do we stop or let them cry? Will we all get what we deserve? Oh the things we will forsake in these decisions that we make.

Yellow Flowers

Yellow flowers in the meadow
Celebrate the month of June
Serenading every fellow
Beckoning to join the bloom
Pollinating feverishly
Laying seed now fertilized
Unashamed by what the need be
Done before our very eyes

Taken captive on a blanket
Passion stirs to her reply
Prior strangers come together
Nothing can compare to it
Opened beneath a watchful sky
Yellow flowers forever

The Wrong Way

I can see the stress level rising
I can see the wheels in your brain grinding
I can see the answers you are finding
All point you the wrong way
The poor decisions that you make
Only serve to complicate
The situations that frustrate
And steer you the wrong way

I can see the fear lurking inside
I can see the pain you try to hide
I can see the anger is your guide
Leading you the wrong way
The not believing in yourself
Wanting to blame somebody else
The selfishness disguised as helps
It takes you the wrong way

You’re such a rebel without a clue
About the forces driving you
But you’re doomed to failure when you speed
The wrong way down a one-way street

You think you have life figured out
But gain is not what life’s about
The greater things you do without
When you go the wrong way
I won’t say which way is best
Because you listen to the rest
But eventually time will attest
That you go the wrong way

Reassurance

I know my hands are empty, I know my time is short
That is why I’m asking You, What am I living for?
I know these days are troubled, I know these hours are few
So I need reassurance, that what I know is true
You hold me so gently, every time I fall
And softly whisper to me, the meaning of it all

I AM – I AM
More than you can ever imagine, know or understand
And you are but an instrument, a vessel made of clay
To shine My light and share My love with whomever comes your way
I breathe on you and play a song of beauty in your life
So go my dear, move on from here, everything will be alright

Be Careful How You Pray

I asked Jesus for a rose garden, but I forgot to mention to omit the thorns. Now I’m wading through a sea of flowers with my clothes and skin hopelessly torn. How can I appreciate all the beauty surrounding when my joy is subjected to the pain that’s abounding?

Well be careful what you wish for and be careful how you pray
Be mindful what you ask because you might get it someday
And although I know you think you want it or have found a better way
Every blessing you encounter has its own price to pay

I asked Jesus for a new promotion since I didn’t have a dime. I knew I could make it. I thought I was ready; it was certainly about time. So I put in the hours, neglected my family, and filled my house with strife. They don’t understand, I have a plan for a bigger and better life.

Roses are sweet, but they need tending
Riches are neat, but they’re not everything
So make sure you remember before asking the Boss
There’s always surrender and counting the cost

Video of Life

I’m sorry I couldn’t be perfection in a bottle
My one wish was to live a life for you to model
If the hands of time went in reverse
I’d undo this deadly curse
And keep the bad from getting worse this time
But the video has no rewind

I’ve made mistakes for goodness sake
Don’t hold my sins against me
It’s bad enough that I messed up
They don’t deserve repeating
If I could make the wrongs all right
The lefts would all be left behind
Eventually I’m sure we’d find our way
The video has no pause or play

Cause life keeps rolling from the time it starts
And your life’s recording in your mind and heart
And there’s no push-buttons , no remote
Just a little light blinking on the lines you wrote
So you’d better keep reading the story of your life
You’re on video tonight

Fighting the Giants

“Why did you bring me out to the wilderness to die?”
I cried out to the Lord after my divorce.
I moved to the desert, literally and figuratively.
How long must I run in circles?
Won’t You please deliver me?
Two and a half years later (sure beats forty)
I embark on a mission to enter the promised land.
But this is not what I expected or what I thought it would be.
What’s with all the giants?
Where’s the milk and honey?
I find one crisis after another: finances, health, loneliness.
Where are the promises?
What are the promises?
Maybe I’m staring right at them without recognizing them.
Maybe they’re all around me, more than I’m willing to admit.
Maybe I don’t have the promises because the giants are all I see.
Maybe I just don’t realize You’re fighting the giants for me.

Gratitude

You get so caught up in what you have to do to survivethat you forget all about what you get to do to thriveYou don’t need to radically change your life You just need to change you perceptionDon’t wait until you have a million dollars to be happyBe thankful for the ten bucks you’ve got, or even for the ten cents you’ve got in some cases If you are grateful for what you already haveyou will be given moreIf you are not faithful over the little you already have you will not be given more

Whether you are hiding from your responsibilitiesbecause you dread the work, or making excuses for not doing what you know is rightor if you’re letting fear prevent you from stepping out in faithIf you’re not trusting Godyou’re not going to receive his blessingsYou must first believe that you are all you need to beTo do what you are called to doYou must first believe that you can do itBefore you will ever see the fulfillment of your dreams

Almost Like Being in Heaven

I’m not pessimistic. I’m just realistic.
Sometimes this life can get you down.
Not hallucination or imagination
His truth can turn your life around.
The glory and the lifter of my head
I choose to live my life for You instead.
I’m not sick and lazy. I’m not going crazy.
It’s okay if you just don’t understand.
I’m not a wandering dreamer, not a thieving schemer.
His way is always a perfect plan.
Redeemer, Savior, Dearest Friend,
I’ll follow you unto the end.
It’s almost like stars shining in the night
but it’s more like Your love shining in my life.
It’s almost like all of my dreams are coming true.
It’s almost like falling in love from the start
but it’s more like Your love raining down in my heart.
It’s almost like being in heaven when I’m with You.

Fill this Place

I want to see Your face, not only once in a while, but for Your love to fill this place. It’s not enough to seek You in the morning when I wake and as I go to bed each night when I kneel down to pray. I need You every moment of every day, so fill this place. And fill this heart with Your love so I can see others in need. And fill these hands with Your grace to match Your Word with my deeds. Fill these eyes with Your mercy. Fill this mind with Your hope. And fill this life with the presence that’s unmistakably Yours. Fill this place. I want to feel You move, not occasionally,but in everything I do. It’s not enough for me to go only when it’s convenient or to doubt the words You’ve spoken when deep inside I know You mean it. But I need You to lead me through in Your special way, so fill this place.

Carried Away

When all hope is gone and desires fade and your bright tomorrow has become your yesterday, When life marches on and you’re in the way and it goes on without you, there’s something you can say.

Lift your hands to the holy one, sing praise for all he has done, call on his name and get carried away, oh, sing praise and halleluiah, his grace is what lifts you up, above the storm, where it’s safe and warm, sing his praise, get carried away.

He promises us there will be days we’ll want to hide and run away, he knows our hearts, he knows our strength, he knows our thoughts, and he knows our ways, it’s no surprise, to him at all when we stumble, or when we fall, but there’s a chance, that pulls us through, when there’s nothing else that we can do.

We lift our hands to the holy one, sing praise for all he has done, call on his name and get carried away, oh, sing praise and halleluiah, his grace is what lifts us up, above the storm, where it’s safe and warm, sing his praise, get carried away.

When there’s nothing you can say, when there’s nothing you can do, to defeat the troubles of this world that are defeating you, when you’re broken down with no strength to carry on, then listen to these words and choose to sing along.

And lift your hands to the holy one, sing praise for all he has done, call on his name and get carried away, oh, sing praise and halleluiah, his grace is what lifts you up, above the storm, where it’s safe and warm, sing his praise, get carried away.

The Game

Faking smiles
Flashes and glimmer
Playing along and
Winning the game

Exceeding my wildest
Expectations of
Welcoming grandeur
Paving the way

Derailing values
Doubtlessly worthless
Proving the price of
Winding away

Caring for nothing
Caustic abandon
Willing to forfeit
Providing a chance

Beckoning hope for
Backward type thinking
Picking persuasion
Wondering why

Abetting the champion
About to take over
Withstanding the questions
Pondering life