Unseen

For the beautiful barista

They may not notice
The way she smiles as she serves the morning coffee
But everyone knows
People are clueless when they're groggy

They may not notice
The way she listens as they voice their complaint
But they know not
The many woes she holds back with restraint

They may not notice
That she keeps a mental note so she may pray
But how can they know
The things they can't see anyway

They may not notice
Her smiles, her struggles, her tears, her prayers
But who is concerned
With a life that is not theirs

But she sees, she prays
When they need her, she stays
To listen and love
Imparting words from above

This unseen beauty
Not one in ten
Return with thanks
To her again
Weary yet faithful she
Still serves joyfully

And the Son said
"She is my Bride
For her I gladly died"
And the Spirit said
"She is my useful cup
And I will fill her up"
And the Father said
"I made her beauty. See
The glory she brings to me"

Shine in the Darkness

I've got a feeling inside
I'm not willing to hide
I'm a city on a hill
But I won't sit still
Gotta burn, gotta shine
'Til this candle of mine's
Shining like the break of dawn
Come on

I'm afraid of no night
For the Word is my delight
What I'm longing for the most
Is the mighty Lord of Hosts
He's my flame, He's my fire
He's my heart's only desire
Shining like the break of dawn
Life Him up. Come on.

Chorus
I'm a shine
I'm a shine
I'm a shine in the darkness
Not gonna turn it down
Let everybody see
I'm a shine
I'm a shine
I'm a shine in the darkness
'Til the whole world knows
He's shining in me

Now it's dark dark dark
From here to Central Park
And the only light I know
Is this candle's little glow
So I raise my candle high
So the light can fill the sky
Lift it high, life it up
Light the whole world up

So life your light with mine
Maximize that holy shine
Burning brighter, burning higher
Through our unified desire
Reach through all the dark and black
Shining on, no turning back
You and I, raise them high
Put your candles in the sky

Lift Him high, lift Him up
Lift Him high, lift Him up
Lift Him high, lift Him up
Light the whole world up

For the Daughter of Zion: Rising from the Ashes

Lowly, dejected
You sit there in your sackcloth and ashes
You cry there
Weighed down by guilt
Stained by sin

Your errors make you unsightly to yourself'
You feel naked and ashamed
And your fear makes you crippled

The Master walked by and took pity on you
But that was not today
He did that long ago
He touched your heart
Mended it
Healed your sores
Healed your bones

He called you to rise up
Cast off your ashes
Cast off your rags
Rejoice with Him
Rejoice in His righteousness

He has given you sight where your eyes were blind
He has given you a song where your voice only cried
He has given you oil for your dirty hair
He has given you His righteousness for your sinful shame
He has given you forgiveness for your penitence
He has given you salvation for your broken soul

Healed, loved, forgiven
Rise up my sister
Rise up and follow
The sweet Lover of your soul
He will feed you with His body
His blood will be your win
He will make your soul rejoice

You need never hunger again
You need never weep again
You will never need old ashes
You will never need old rags
He has made you new
He has made you blessed
He has given you new life
A greater purpose
A deeper meaning
A second chance with a clean slate

He will give you a new name
He will give you a home with Him
You will stand before him perfect
You will shine in His light
You will be most blessed with all His children
You will be most beautiful of all His daughters

Stand

for Dana, my sword sister

Sometimes I feel I am Elijah
One good guy in a world of bad
Where every girl is Jezebel
Where every guy is that Ahab

Right now I feel I'm on the run
Pursued by her lusty knife
And not a soul to stand beside me
I am afraid for my life

God send me one of your angels
Feed me with that holy bread
Let me find myself a broom tree
Under which to rest my head

Lead me to the cave so
I can hear your mighty thunder
Be awed by your fiery quaking
Still small voice will make me wonder

Why are you here? I'm here for You
I'm zealous for the Lord of Hosts
For myself I've no intentions
See, You are my only boast

Excuse me there, I'm interrupting
Do not delight in solitude
Live like a true prophet of God
And lose that fearful attitude

See I've reserved to me yet thousands
On their feet and standing strong
While you whimper in your corner
Writing this pathetic song

Don't look for strength from my thunder
Or comfort from my still small voice
I did those things for Elijah
What I do for you will be my choice

Get on your feet and take this message
There are still men who stand by you
I've prepared a king to aid you
I've made a man who's just like you

So stop it with your tales of woe
Stop whining about how you are alone
I am still God, I rule forever
Earth is my stool, heaven my throne

Rebuked I leave my solemn cave
Take up the rod of holy truth
Restless on my holy mission
Letting no man despise my youth

He has reserved that seven thousand
Not bowing their knee to Baal
Not giving in to their fears either
The bold and fearless shall prevail

The An Geadh-Glas Trilogy

An Geadh-Glas

for Brandon, who taught me to chase

Impossible

Untamed and invisible

So moves the Spirit

Like a might rushing wind

That's how you hear it call

Sure the Voice of God may be still and small

At times

But the heavenly flame bursts through

All that man confines it to

See true wind and fire

Are wild, they require

Definition with recognition

That the subjects scope and passion

Exceed the depth my poor words fashion

Can you contain divine elements?

Can you circle them with a fence?

Can you describe God completely

In a way that makes sense?

Even as I write

Questions say more than answers

And as I seek a pattern of

Stressed and unstressed

The freest flow works the best

And while my rhyming keeps getting messed up

And while I am serious

About making this poem snap and pop

I must stop

How can I do God poetic justice?

Like a child explaining the universe

The less I understand the more beauty I see

And that is how it needs to be

You see

God is infinity

I can never say it just right

Transcendent words are still finite

Try as I might

There is no way I can put all the truth of God into a poem

That does not rhyme and it never will

So from now on let’s just let the thoughts spill

Out

-----

Wild

The Spirit is wild

He is the breeze that

Laughs in the tall trees

The spring that burst through the rock

And gurgled where it pleased

The Ancients called Him the Wild Goose

Untamed, always loosed

Unhushable

Unquenchable

Unpredictable

But always chasable

And like all things made by God

As well as God

Indescribably beautiful

Why a goose and not a dove?

Why something so loud?

Is God domestic?

Do you scorn the Goose because He’s rustic?

Because He cannot be cowed

Into a cage so He can coo His love to you?

Life is a pilgrimage and not a pleasure cruise

You cannot have God take the form you choose

No matter your doctrinal views

It is best not to confuse

Your role and God’s

Who is to follow?

Who is to lead?

Life of godly devotion should be evidenced by constant motion

Not like saying prayers in a pew

It’s not about what you do

But where you go

If the Wild Goose calls, will you follow?

Or will you reside in the cage

You made for the dove

And nurse your pride

With self-love?

The Good is free

You should be too

Who can say they understand

All the things that God has planned?

Who can even say

“I know why God made this this way?”

You do?

And how do you know this to be true?

Not on your own, someone had to show you

Now who?

Many things are revelation

Not the least of which is God’s creation

But man must admit to his station

We know no truth without inspiration

And we know to be inspired

Means to be moved by something higher

You say you know it all

Why do you choose

To act so big when you are so small

And take glory from the Wild Goose?

If we know something

It is that we know nothing

The Bible says we cannot even pray

Without the Spirit

We don’t even have to words to say

But He interprets

So if we cannot even ask rightly

How do we act rightly?

Simple

Follow the Goose

“But, man, that doesn’t make sense!”

Easy there, who’s world is this?

Who’s wisdom did you just dismiss?

I’m sure you meant no offense

But your words smell of hubris

No one knows the mind of God

Except God and God’s Spirit

So without the Goose to guide us

God’s will, we won’t come near it

God’s deepest truth is mystery

God’s messenger is uncontained

Yet can be followed faithfully

Without needing to be explained

Who does God answer to?

Who tells Him what to do?

Which trials and journeys to use?

Questions say more than answers

The universe is without borders

No matter what we choose to believe

It is impossible to conceive

The God Who exists beyond the finite

But Who found it His delight

To lead us as the Wild Goose

-----

Chase

The Wild Goose calls

The decision is yours to make

Do you follow Him into the wilderness?

Do you let Him be your guiding Voice?

Are His straight paths your choice?

Or will you refuse to take

His paths? I do confess

That “straight” here seems relative

There is a structure to how he live

When we live in the Spirit

Obedience is required to live a life inspired

It is absurd to ignore the Word

When it says “if you love me you will obey me”

Set in stone by God Himself

So you cannot live for yourself without consequence

Following makes more sense

That part is clear

Black

White

Wrong

Right

But the path continues from here

Into the grey unknown

And the Goose has flown

On ahead

Will you follow or will you instead

Try to find a path of logic?

Is the good life too intense?

You have to find something that makes more sense?

Life is simple

Life is complex

Life is knowing

Life is unknown

Life is order

Life is adventure

It is simple to follow the flow of what we know

But when we do not know

Ready or  not we must follow

The Goose is ready to show us

The lofty wisdom that though seen as foolish proves the seeming wisdom of men to be foolish

So when the clear path fades

And the wilderness of life begins to overwhelm

Remember the Wild Goose

And let the Spirit take the helm

It may be crazy

It may be insane

There will be trials

There will be pain

But God works for our gain

If our aim is His fame

It may seem pointless to chase

Something impossible to embrace

Because it is so wild and free

Human nature does despise

The hunt that’s empty and without prize

But this chase is the reward

Following moves us forward

Helps us grow

Teaches us what we need to know

Indeed this insane adventure

Uncertain as it seems is sure

To take us where we need to go

And if we stand in the wood

Looking for a path when we should

Be looking upward to the Lord

We will reap more worry than we can afford

Life of devotion is a life of motion

The stagnant, the stubborn

Are barren and fruitless

The conflicted, the torn

Render themselves useless

The decisive, the chasers

To them belongs victory

Even though they surrender

To what they cannot see

They follow the Spirit

Whenever they hear it

Their questions are answered

When God so chooses

The lives they abandon

Are the lives that God uses

For the Daughter of Zion: Prelude to Perfection / Masterpiece

for the artist, my dear sister

Before the dawn of time
Before He rolled out the massive canvas of space
Before there was a rhyme
Before there was such thing as reason
Before ever there was a place called "Earth"
Back before your conception
You were a concept and vision
In His great mind
Divine inspiration
When you were conceived He stepped to
The canvas that was to be you
When you were born, He dipped the brush
Patient as eternity, He has no rush
Selah.

I heard you struggle
Find it hard to understand
The way life plays out
All the things you have planned
Have a way of getting mixed up
Then things need fixed up
So before you get fed up
Sister, lift your head up
Now there is a rhyme and reason and a scheme
Though for now it remains unseen
See your life is like a picture
But more than just a framed fixture
Truth is this glorious adventure
Is more like symphonic overtures
But lets get back to the picture
Of a portrait
Sistine Chapel is really more like it
Think of grandeur, scope and size
Think of more than meets the eyes
Its more detail than you realized
More beauty than you recognize

Now the Painter is His glorious design
Made you the brush that colors every line
And He holds you in His hand
With loving skill so grand
You can't even understand
Every detail He has planned
Right now
See you are finite
Try as you may will all your might
Life will always be a commotion
Like the waves upon the ocean
Always ceaselessly in motion
Se be guided by devotion
To Him
Recognize you must
His hand only can you trust
He will give you all you need
To follow Him in word and deed
All the gifts, grace to succeed
In dosage daily indeed
So if you feel you're running dry
No need to worry and this is why
He will always keep your brush filled
With the colors His wisdom has willed
So your life will be instilled
With His life
Design fulfilled
So if you don't know where today's line goes
You can be sure the Painter knows
He will give you strength to complete
Guiding grace to keep it neat
Life and color, shapely and sweet
Signed "Well Done" before the judgment seat

Abba

Father, Holy 
High heavenly above 
Yet you stoop 
And whisper 
"It is you that I love." 

Redeemer 
Bought back from death 
I stand 
You stand beside me 
And hold my hand 

Protector 
You never sleep 
And I 
Softly slumber safe 
While watch you keep 

Friend, of 
Sinners, lowly like me 
You never 
Will ever 
Abandon me 

My Rock, You 
Faithful have proved 
I stand in 
Your shadow 
"I will not be moved." 

P.S. I love you.

Originally published  December 19, 2008

For the Daughter of Zion: Morning

for Dana

You missed a lovely morning 
The silver sun shone through the trees 
And made the branches sparkle softly 
Frosted by the morning breeze 

You missed a lovely morning 
The sky was clear and icy blue 
The cool, clean air was so refreshing 
Cleansing and enlivening too 

You missed a lovely morning 
But I, I missed you 
And in my thoughts and prayers you rested 
All that lovely morning through

Originally published January 29, 2009

Exile

Sometimes it seems this world and all it holds 
Is some foreign, antiquated system 
The numbers don’t add up while the logic 
Seems to be out of rhythm 
The reasons for, reasons against 
Seem so contrived and childish 
And for a world that will make sense 
I long for, I often wish 

I am not home here 
I am an exile 
I do not belong here Just for a little while 

I fail to understand, I fail to comprehend 
Why people rush after the trivial 
Things are not made to last anymore 
They are no longer meaningful 
They fall apart as soon as 
They make it off the line 
If you want your heart to break 
Just don’t break mine 

My heart is in a place that seems like 
It is many miles from here 
A perfect place, a paradise beyond words 
Where everything will be made clear 
But that is still tomorrow's dream 
And until I may go home 
I walk this world of confusion 
But never walk alone 

Take my hand, and let me tell you 
Of a perfect world beyond the blue 
Take my hand, and let me show 
You the place where I long to go 
Take my hand, let me walk beside Let’s make it to the other side 

Originally published March 21, 2009

Shadow of His Wings

a psalm


Because you are my help, I sing 
In the shadow of Your wings
In the darkest nights I am safe
My soul finds rest in You alone
You are my Rock, my Cornerstone
And I, I will never be moved

I will never have cause to fear
So long as You are near
And You never will leave me
And I will glorify Your name
And I will glorify Your name
Because You are always the same

You are my soul's Salvation
Never will I be shaken
Your love is better than life
Overwhelmed I realize
Your faithfulness reaches the skies
Be exalted above the heavens

Because You are my help I sing
In the shadow of Your wings
You are my Rock and my salvation
And I will glorify Your name
And I will glorify Your name
Because You are always the same

Never changing, strong and sure
In Your love, my soul's secure
Every storm I can endure
Safe in Your loving arms
My soul cries out when it is weak
You hold me close and gently speak
How much You love me
How strong You are
How You shelter me
In the shadow of Your wings

Because You are my help I sing
In the shadow of Your wings
You are my Rock and my salvation
And I will glorify Your name
And I will glorify Your name
Because You are always the same


Originally published March 30, 2009

Trust

Death's valley yawns before me 
I, fearful, face the night again 
Knowing the trials and the pains 
Against which I have no security 

It's bitter and black inside 
The vale. The wind is piercing cold 
In vain I seek a hand to hold 
Search for a place to hide 

And none I see. I cast 
Myself to the ground and weep 
And drift into a troubled sleep 
Wishing the shadows would past 

Then You came and woke me 
You told me again of Your love 
Around I'd looked but above 
You were watching faithfully 

Forgive my pride and selfishness 
For fearing, cowering, doubting 
Now Your hand I'm trusting 
To carry me through the abyss 

Today I'll trust and tomorrow 
I will lift Your name high 
For You are there to hear my cry 
To carry me through pain and sorrow 

Father, like a child, 
I lift my hand to You. 
The storm is strong, the waves are wild, 
But I know You'll see me through.


Originally published January 1, 2009

Jump

I find myself on the edge 
Of a deep and mysterious ravine 
That cuts its way through the earth 
Filled with shadows and shapes unseen 

And I staring down 
As this chasm before me lies 
Search for a way to cross 
But none meets my eyes 

Around I turn to retrace my path 
And to my terror find 
The path impassable myself unable 
To return to what I left behind 

Again to the rift my eyes 
Shift and deeply gaze 
Upon the sundry shadows vainly trying 
To pierce that awful haze 

Alone I stand high up 
On this deadly precipice 
Behind me are untraceable paths 
Before me, the abyss 

Uncertain hesitant still 
I face a seeming suicide 
Yet knowing my path lies forward 
I must reach the other side 

No steps backward 
And fewer through the ravine 
Yet I find myself pressed onward 
By Someone unseen 

But oh the shadows! 
"Fear not" says the Voice 
And on the ledge I realize 
I have but one choice 

To jump 
And with a prayer 
I leave my ledge behind 
And leap into the air 

I fall, but wait 
Can falling be so free? 
I fly 
And the Voice speaks to me 

"You need not fear I shall 
Protect you when you land 
Fear not precious child 
I hold you in my hand" 

And where we shall go 
I know not but I know this 
He carried me in safety 
Across the dread abyss 

I shall not fall 
I'll safely land 
For He holds me close 
I'm in His hand


Originally published April 12, 2009

Stealth

Jokingly, I give myself the name 
Though it's not really what I want to be 
I act like it's all a game 
Seeing them not see me 

Sudden struck by the realization 
I might be the one that meets the eye 
But the purpose of this new creation 
Is to Another glorify 

So I will not mind the shadows 
If it's Him that takes the light 
He is the One that truly matters 
If no one sees me, I'll be alright.

originally published March 21, 2009

Cracked

Beat up bruised been
Battered and cracked
I play the hand dealt to me
Even if the cards are stacked
Tendency to be used
Been judged when I lacked
Been brutally abused
Always under attack
The haters always hate
But lovers aren't always lovin'
But I still appreciate
All the love, still lovin'

You can call me what you want
Heard it all a dozen times
Still wont have that nasty spirit
When I spit my rhymes
When the going gets tough
The tough get with it
Its strength through Christ
That allows me to spit this

I've been broken so much
Feels I'm always bleeding out
Sometimes it gets to me
Sometimes I fear and doubt
Sometimes I get angry
Sometimes I cry
Sometimes I shout
But the Lord is always with me
Time to just chill out
So I don't care if you stabbed me
I can still show you love
I'll forgive like I've been forgiven
By the Father above


You can call me what you want
Heard it all a dozen times
Still wont have that nasty spirit
When I spit my rhymes
When the going gets tough
The tough get with it
Its strength through Christ
That allows me to spit this

Broken hearts cracked up
Cards all stacked up
Against this jacked up life
Through the strife and the pain
This cross still is my gain
Claim the Name that bore my pain
My story for His glory my endgame
No shame to admit it
So I spit it

You can call me what you want
Heard it all a dozen times
Still wont have that nasty spirit
When I spit my rhymes
When the going gets tough
The tough get with it
Its strength through Christ
That allows me to spit this

The haters always hate
But God's always lovin'
The haters always hate
But God's always lovin'
The haters always hate
God, make me lovin'

Farewell to Ikarus

You were not born to fall

Your heavenly birthright suggests the sky

Leave off your waxen wings

And trust your soul to Adoni

  

True, you were proud

And seemed to shine sublimely

But you flew on wings

Not crafted divinely

  

Your own will and ways

Were not enough, they failed

And short you fell of heaven's rays

Behind your broken works trailed

Hard you hit the earth

Great was your demise

But through it you learned

The fear that makes us wise

  

Leave off the sadness

Embrace the Star of Morning

His light will warm your heart

His wings will set you soaring

  

Seraph now you shall be called

Singing in Daylight's grace

Resting in His wing's shadow

Joyful before His face

No longer crippled

Maimed and bruised by sin

Raidiant, redeemed raising

Eternal songs for Him

originally published June 20, 2011

For the Daughter of Zion: Lilies

for Lauren

Consider the lilies of the field

They grow without care of what they should do

Or whatever they should wear

But still they bloom

King’s cannot compare

Daughter of Zion remember Him

Who formed lilies of the field and sparrows of the air

Who every worry, your every care

Would on His shoulders bear

So you may bloom

And His joy share

Do not feel alone

For you are His Bride

Until you are grown

He will not leave your side

Then you’ll be His own

With Him forever to abide