Death

Death
That grey passing
The nemesis of humanity
Inescapable
It's cold fingers touch each of us
With time unknown
The only guardian standing against it
Unnatural
We grieve when one is lost
Our souls know it is wrong

But for the lover of Christ
It is a doorway
The mist of mortality
Fades to glorious light
And the heart is finally home
The Maker and His creation
Reunited at last
The veil is lifted
Sin is shrugged off
And peace and joy fly limitless

As once was written:
'Death, where is thy victory?
O, Death, where is thy sting?'
Jesus has trod you underfoot
And for those who follow Him
You are but the vehicle
To our Savior

I miss you

I miss you though I haven't met you
I miss the times I dreamt of you
I miss the thought of your sweet life
Nestled sweetly deep in mine

But though I will not hold you here
On this faint side of heaven
I draw comfort from knowing that
Now you’re both waiting for me

Fine

"I'm fine."
Words usually uttered as a lie
Why is it we feel we can't share
When we're not fine?
Do we dread the sympathy?
The occasional overbearing nature
Of those who try too hard to comfort?
Or do we want to appear that all is well?
That everything is fine
That nothing is wrong
That nothing can faze us?

We all know that we're almost never
Just fine.
So we shouldn't try to fool anyone
Embrace the possibly overbearing encourager
Their words might be exactly what you need
Accept that you're not perfect
For we're all in the same boat
And we all know that when 'fine' is spoken
It is usually quite the opposite.

Trust

It comes down to it now
All I say I believe
Do I believe it?
I feel I'm standing at the edge
While the winds of imminent change
Blow all against me
Obscuring my view
Striving to topple me
From the Rock I say I cling to
Will I?
Or will I let the winds carry me
To places I never wanted to go?

I must choose this day
Who to trust
My God
Or my fear

My God

My God is many things
He is the Lion of Judah
He roars and the earth trembles in fear
Yet He is the Lamb
Tender, sweet and made for the sacrifice

My God is powerful
Like the fierce thunderstorm
And the raging sea
Yet He is gentle
Like the sweet, cool breeze
And the laughing, bubbling brook

My God is incomprehensibly big
The universe is His footstool
The sun but a grain of sand in His hand
Yet He is in the smallest of things
Clothing the flowers of the fields
And listening to the quietest of whispered prayers

My God is holy
No evil thing may stand in His presence and live
Yet He is merciful
Taking my sins and placing them on His own Son
Allowing me to come before Him
Pure and spotless

My God is the all-sufficient One
The Healer of heart, mind, body and soul
He is the guiding light amidst the darkness
The sweet song of love that swells in our hearts
He is faithful and patient
Never leaving us as we stumble through each day
He is all-knowing and forgiving
Seeing our deepest thoughts yet loving us the same
He is the beginning of all things
And the end of time
He is eternity
He is Love
He is my Savior
The Lover of my heart and soul
My friend and constant companion

This is my God

Forgiveness

I have done my share of sin
Ones that we can all attest to
And others I hold close
Hoping the wounds I inflicted upon Christ
Will remain secret
Only known to me
And Him
How I forget
That since I asked Him to take it from me
The Father sees it no longer

So often the deceiver drudges it up
Tauntingly, he dangles it in front of me
"Remember what you did?
Remember what a DEPLORABLE person you really are?
You, who pretend to be holy
I know what you really are."

And the shame
and remorse
returns
I shut my eyes
Trying to will the images
and thoughts
away

Then I remember the truth:
It is gone.
The dirty rags I dressed myself with
Have been made clean
There is no spot on them
My Savior has removed them with His own blood
I stand
FORGIVEN

So I fling back this anthem:
"That is what I WAS!
The Lord has made me new!
I know that I will fail Him
Daily
But, each day He gives
Is not another chance for me to disappoint Him
But to become more like Him!"

Overwhelmed

I cried today
Listening to a piece of music
To a song I'd even heard before
It has always been beautiful
But today
It overwhelmed me
Sitting at my desk
Amidst my daily work
It grabbed me
Sending shivers down my spine
Goose bumps all over my skin
All I could do was stop
Close my eyes
And listen:

The strings catapulted my heart
And I envisioned
Blue rain
And running
Flying
Over green, rolling hills
The crescendo
Pulling me higher and higher
Beckoning me
To a world I long for
That I have yet to see
My heart clinches as the drums roll
And tears, deep from the well of my soul
Pool in my eyes
My breath catches
As the song ends
And I heave a sigh
Of longing
Joyful that God let me experience Him this way today

*This is the song I was listening to:
http://grooveshark.com/s/Evey+Reborn/2vQg6H?src=5

Poetry

Sometimes I feel the urge to write a poem
But have no subject
(Like now, ironically!)
So I close my eyes
And try to form a thought
Around some beautiful
Or every day thing
That would stir the hearts of those who read it
Let's see....
What have I already written about?
Because those subjects are off the table
...For at least a little while
What impressive, "poetry" words could I use?
Words like
Languish
Disquiet
Envisage
Fancy sounding words
(That I find by looking up other words in the thesaurus)
What interesting pentameter (or lack of) could I use?
So the rhythm is felt
With each word I write
And flows off the tongue
With deepest delight
Ha!  Rhyme! 
I must get some kind of bonus poet points for that!
Could I chop up my lines
So that
Each
Word
Carries
Weight?
So many choices for a poet!
How about this?
I write a poem about writing a poem!
That should still the creativity in me
For at least a few minutes.

Time

My days are bipolar
Sometimes they sprint along and Time cannot hold them!
I slip through its grasp, glancing back and laughing at how I managed to fly through it, faster than mortals!
Other times, the days barely move
With Time gaining the upper hand
Holding me down
To wait
Like everyone else
Forcing me to be aware of
Every
Single
Second
That ticks by

A good story

A good story
Pulls you in
Makes you feel a part of the story
So often I find myself a friend
Of a fictional character
I follow their story
I hear their thoughts
I empathize
My own emotions mirror theirs
Heaven forbid, I leave them for a few minutes
For I carry their emotions into my own existence!
How bittersweet to reach the end of their story
Enjoying the culmination of events in one spectacular ending
But hating to leave them behind
For I've made a friend
Who I understand so intimately
Luckily, as the book closes at the last chapter
So it opens again at the beginning
And I can visit them once more

The heartbeat of my soul

Sometimes the heartbeat of my soul catches my attention
So I take a look inside
And so often, I'm saddened by what I see
A panting, wretched thing
Hardly able to stand
Its emotion overwhelms me
I remember the half-chewed bits
Of the Lord Almighty that I'd thrown to it
Like scraps from someone else's table
Words sought out by others
That I let float over me like the wind
I have trouble remembering the last time
I led my soul to the clear stream
Of Living Water
Was it so long ago?
No wonder it pants
Lying there
So pathetic
I have starved it of the One thing that sustains it
I have given it
Pretty
Well-intentioned
Trash
To feed upon
No wonder it feels like it's dying
My own heart cries at the condition I've left it in
Let it live in
So I rush to my Father and ask,
"Please breathe your Breath of Life in it
Again."

Music

Music is one of God’s greatest gifts

Tugging at strings in our hearts like nothing else can

Flowing like water

Like a balm over the soul

Reaching into our souls

Evoking the deepest emotions

Bringing forth bubbling laughter

Or prickling tears

Building joyous anticipation

Or moving us to dance

Igniting our souls with its beauty

Calling them home

To be with Beauty and Glory itself

Oh, how my soul flies!