from Him through Him to Him (Romans 11:36)
Good news from the voice of a friend
Makes merry a weary heart
Glad tidings from afar
Settles a turbulent mind
Blessings of peace
Encourages a hopeless soul
We are made complete
Through the gifts of YHWH
His name alone
Is our very breath
He calls us
He clarifies His glory and our standing
We are the redeemed
When we yield and surrender
There is an epiphany
A shift
A hush
And we can just be and know
Friendship with our Creator
Praise God! Our LORD, our Peace!
Peace comes
When you stop worrying
About everyone’s expectations
Except God’s
Peace comes
When you serve instead of insist
Peace comes
When you stop counting the cost
Peace comes
When you allow others
To express needs and
Fill those needs
Without pondering what they really need
Peace comes
When you stop to pray
During a fight
Peace comes
When you put aside your own desires
To help someone else
Peace comes
Because Peace came
To a busy little town
Whose residence and visitors
Weren’t looking for Him
So He sent messengers
To the shepherds who
Were busy counting sheep
And a sign to the wise men who
Were busy counting the stars
Peace comes
Because Peace came
Bore the cross
And rose again
Peace comes
Because Peace sent
His Spirit
To indwell in us
To create in us fruits
To transform and empower us
Peace comes
Not always on the outside
But to the inside
And into the future
Peace will come again
It had always been
A little troubling
From the day I brought it home
Plugged it in
The wiring was off
The fuses needed replacing
The knob needed a gentle touch
Our little Christmas tree
It leans slightly
And over the years
Sections of lights have gone dark
I brought it down
A couple weeks early
To consider its fate
The branches are in fair shape
But the lights
Life continued to press on
Not feeling the Christmas buzz
Waiting for cool weather
Tonight, I took it upon myself
To be the master gardener of sorts
Tree unplugged
Clippers in hand
Old lights were tediously removed
New lights carefully wrapped
Four hundred new lights
To be exact
And now, sitting by my well tended tree
There is that familiar buzz
That feeling of completeness
Of joyous waiting
Basking in the glow
I am renewed with thankfulness
One wild olive shoot
Grafted in
For all eternity
Praise be to our Lord Jesus Christ
If we are honest
Even adults are at times
Afraid of the dark
Or at least uneasy
Go spelunking and you will see
Dark like you never have before
It envelopes you
When I was a child
I would hide under the covers at night
Holding my Bible
I had trouble sleeping
So I spent a good bit of time
In this manner
One of the first verses I learned
Psalm 4:8
“In peace I will both
Lie down and sleep;
For you alone, O Lord,
Make me dwell in safety”
Even as a child I understood
The necessity of Shalom
For Shalom is like balm on a wound
It stops the damage
Begins the repair
Without peace
Chaos reigns
But not just in a busy way
Or a fighting way
It is deep within our being
We are unable to focus our eyes
We lose our stay on Christ
And like Peter our feet get wet
And we start to sink into darkness
But He is forever near
Our Savior
Our Light of the World
Our Prince of Peace
Cry out to Him
You are the God
Of the impossible
Well, at least what seems
Impossible to me
You speak
And Your Word
Never comes back void
I can rest in this
Have peace in this
Rejoice in this
Likewise I can rejoice
In brokenness
Knowing
A great healing is coming
Knowing
Suffering is the catalyst
To promote growth and
Further my hope
Jonah would never
Have called out to God
If his boat ride had been
Uneventful
If he had retired
In Tarshish
But waiting
In the belly of the beast
Is difficult
The taste I have had
Of Your kingdom
It’s the bellyache with no remedy
In this life
You Lord, You!
I look to You
I only want You
So I groan and pray
And wait and watch
And work and serve
And hope against hope
Romans 4:18, 8:18-38, Jonah 2
Teach me to wait in boldness
For the unseen
Teach me to hold fast
To Joy and Peace
Despite the chaos
Allow me to lean into You
I need Your strength
I need Your power
I need Your energy
When did struggling
Become negative?
We must toil, we must strive
Wrestle with God
Allow Him to change your name
He is
Our only hope
Romans 8:24, 15:13, Col. 1:29, Gen 32:28
A prefix
Meaning to do again or back
So, Lord
I invite you to be my re
Redeem (to back buy)
Restore (to again build)
Refresh (to again not stale)
Remind (to again remember)
Renew (to again make strong)
Revive (to again live)
Release (to again freedom)
And though I strive to walk
In a sacrificial way
Teach me the higher way
Obedience
Mercy
Refocus my perspective
Replenish my heart
With living hope
Matthew 9:13, Hosea 6:6, 1 Samuel 15:22, 1 Peter 1:3
There is nothing
I have done
He cannot undo
There is nothing
I have neglected
He cannot redeem
He sees me
He hears me
He knows me
Yet, I am but a vapor
A sojourner
I feel the rocks under my feet
As I travel in this land
Yet, it is not comfort I seek
It is the deep fulfillment that comes
Knowing He travels with me
He is my hope
when that thing that was a struggle
is a struggle again
when that weight that was around you
pulls heavier than before
when the knock at the door
is again an unwelcome guest
when the feelings inside are brutal
when the conflict outside leaves you destitute
in this there is hope
when I fall
I will rise
yet maybe there is something more
for in the struggle
in the weightiness
in the battle
in the emotional turmoil
there is hope
there is the realization
that I will fall
I will fail
again and again and again
but when I say
that I will rise
let a moment of honesty ring true
I will not rise
I will be lifted
Primitive camping
In the cool Yosemite air
Two-person tent
Water flowing nearby
The sun sets
And it gets dark
Dark dark
Time passes
Early morning
Before dawn
Things rustle
The nearby vegetation
Things that seem
Large enough
Hunkering down
Knowing it is ridiculous
There is fabric
Separating thoughts and reality
Checking the time
Waiting for dawn
Come. On. Dawn.
Sunrise will bring
Redemption from this weary night
Looking back
The path leading to this place
Looking forward
Knowing there is a different path out
Yet, even with the knowing
Forgive my unbelief
Teach me to wait well
Faithful Lines 