We, the future.

My generation- well, hear talk of it, it would seem that we are going to the dogs.
We're doomed.
We are gone.
Turning away from God, morals, values, family, church.
Yeah, maybe.
But then again, maybe not.
Because here's the thing-
God is not dead.
He is not asleep.
He is alive and well.
And a lot of us- we love Him.
We are trying to follow Him.
We want our generation to see Him
But there's so much hurt.
Everywhere.
You say none of us care?
We all do.
But some, just so full of hurt.
Where to turn?
they wonder.
So much judgement.
Hypocrisy.
Empty promises.
Us "church kids,"
we can be exclusive.
Maybe not on purpose,
but still.
Worse yet, we can be hypocrites.
But some of us care.
For real.
And some adults care.
If we can make a difference,
even in just one life,
that's one stereotype shattered,
one heart healed.
God's not dead. 
He's  alive and well.
Working among us.
Changing hearts.
So to the doubters I would say-
Don't give up on us.
Yeah, we're messed up.
But aren't we all?
Isn't that the point of grace?
Jesus came to heal the broken,
not tend to the well.
We are His hands,
His feet.
And we are a generation who truly wants to be those things.
Yes, we will fall.
But He always catches us.


Love:)

R

After All (Holy)-David Crowder Band

Yes, yes, yes.

Love:)

R

Faithful

A new year has arrived.
2012
And we worry about the upheavel in our world right now.
But God is faithful.
The unknown is scary.
But God, he is faithful.

For the LORD is good;
   his steadfast love endures forever,
   and his faithfulness to all generations.

(Psalm 100:5)

This is the promise to us.

His love and His faithfulness.

Really, it is all we need.

How many times before have things been hard?

Since the beginning of time.

Life is so full of rhythms. The rhythms of the seasons, of the days, of birth and death. So many rhythms, and they make beautiful music. A song. And even minor notes are beautiful. The familiar rhythms are comforting. As long as there has been time, the have existed.  They will endure. The promise is that they will endure to the end of time.

 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

  a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 

 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

(Ecclesisastes 3:1-8)

This is simply part of the rhythm. The word used for time there emphasizes the beginning.

There is a beginning for everything.

Yes.

And it will ebb and flow. Change, become different. That is the nature of rhythm.

But God is faithful.

He does not change.

For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.

(Malachi 3:6)

For I the LORD do not change.

Even though everything else does, he does not.
Life is fragile, broken and ever changing.
But
God
Never
Changes.
Even
Though
Everything
Else
Does.
God is our refuge and strength,
   a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
   though the mountains be moved into the heart of the see.
(Psalm 46:1-2)

We are not afraid.
Because He does not change.
He is faithful.
And that is enough.

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with thee,
Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not,
As thou has been, thou forever will be.


As thou has been, thou forever will be.
Yes.

Love:)

R

Agape

English is so limiting sometimes.
I love how ancient Greek has four words for love, distinguishing between the different types.

Storge- Affection. Natural Love, like that of a parent for a child. The love within a family.

Eros-  A passionate, intimate love. Not a lasting one, usually, but a burning one.

Philia- Love between friends. it is a commitment, demanding loyalty, respect and friendship. It is a love of something good and enjoyable.

Agape- This, this is the hardest and best love. It is unconditional love, love that is sacrificial and deep and lasting. This is beyond Philia or Eros. This is the love that lasts through thick and thin. This is the word Paul uses in 1 Corinthians 13. This is the word used to describe the Love of God to us.

Agape.  It is a hard word to live out.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant  or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful. It does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.  Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  ( 1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

How many times have we heard these words read? At weddings, at church. We know them. But the word is Agape.
Suddenly it is different. These words apply not only to those we make an effort with, but to those we dislike. Those who have hurt us. Those who have not been consistent to us.

What a hard creed.
I say these words,  but can I live them?
Can I have Agape  to those who I dislike?Because the two don't work together.
I am struggling with that. How do you love the unlovable?  It is not easy to do.
I can love God ,who gave His life for me, with my whole heart. That is impossible not to do.  But because I love Him, there is this matter of Agape.
It, though, is the description of His love for us. He loved Me in the depths of my sin, in the blackness of my heart, and that is where he died for me, for us.
Agape.
It's a process.
Not an easy one. One that I fall in, mess up in, want to give up on sometimes. And yet he loves me anyway.

We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19)

If we, we who were loved in our unlovelyness, do not love the unlovable, who will? Who will Love them, be the physical demonstration of the love of Christ? We are the hands and feet of Jesus.
Agape.

Love:)

R

Beautiful Things- Gungor

All this pain
I wonder if I’ll ever find my way
I wonder if my life could really change at all

All this earth
Could all that is lost ever be found
Could a garden come up from this ground at all

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

All around
Hope is springing up from this old ground
Out of chaos life is being found in You

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us
You make me new, You are making me new
You make me new, You are making me new
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us


Thank God that He dose indeed make us new.

Love:)

R

The Waiting

As we sit here, waiting, we wonder what we're waiting for.
The day draws nearer, and we anticipate, but the question remains.
Advent is the waiting time. What, really,  are we waiting for?
It's the miracle. We sit here in the hopeful expectancy, waiting for the miracle day to become full, the Miracle to be born, to become part of this dusty, grimy, beautiful world of ours.
The Baby, born two thousand years ago of a girl perhaps my own age, a scared teenage girl, and God. The Baby who was, is and always will be the greatest gift.

O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
(from O come, O come, Emmanuel)

O come, o come, indeed. We are waiting. Waiting for the remembrance of the Word becoming flesh and making His dwelling among us.
There is beauty in the the waiting. We don't like to wait. We get impatient. But there is beauty in finding the peace to wait. He waited.
And then He came.
Came to us who were waiting. And showed up in all the grime of our earth. How in the world do we fail to see Him? We look right past the very thing we are waiting for! And yet He knew, and He still came. Still showed up, bloody and new into the stable.  Still took the sorrow of our sins upon him. Still walked our dusty roads, among us the sin-filled  people. Still died, covered in the blood that washed us clean.
 The waiting of this season is almost over. Look hard for Him. You will see Him in the most broken places. The dirty places. The messed up ones.  He will come. he always does. Only look.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.  (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”)  For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.
(John 1:14-16)

We have seen His Glory.
Love:)

R

I Celebrate the Day- Reliant K

And with this Christmas wish is missed
The point I could convey
If only I could find the words to say to let You know how much You've touched my life
Because here is where You're finding me, in the exact same place as New Year's eve
And from a lack of my persistency
We're less than half as close as I want to be

And the first time
That You opened Your eyes did You realize that You would be my Savior
And the first breath that left Your lips
Did You know that it would change this world forever

And so this Christmas I'll compare the things I felt in prior years
To what this midnight made so clear
That You have come to meet me here

To look back and think that
This baby would one day save me
In the hope that what You did
That you were born so I might live
To look back and think that
This baby would one day save me

And I, I celebrate the day
That You were born to die
So I could one day pray for You to save my life


Christmas...... God coming to meet with man. Inconceivable. And yet not. Because that's how He does things:)

Love:)

R

A Prayer

The love.
It captures me, surrounds me, fills me.
And it is so good, Lord.
That you would look upon me in my brokenness, my dirtiness,
and bless me like you have.
And love me.
And know me.
Oh, My God, you truly make beautiful things,
And I love you.
Even if you didn't love me,
Still would I love you.
Because you are too good, too beautiful, too worthy,
to have anything but my love, heart, and everything else that is me.
Why me?
I have to ask myself why you could love me, love us, in our sin.
But it doesn't really matter,
All that does is you.

Love Always and  Forever:)

R

For this is the whole duty of man.....

On the final day I die
I want to hold my head up high
I want to tell You that I tried
To live it like a song

And when I reach the other side
I want to look You in the eye
And know that I've arrived
In a world where I belong
Where I belong
 (From Where I Belong by Switchfoot)

In my small group the other day we got asked what we wanted people to remember about us, what impression we wanted to leave when we died, ,what we wanted remembered as the purpose of our life. A very good question.
 I love how Switchfoot puts it.
I want to hold my head up high
I want to tell You that I tried
To live it like a song

What, though, does God say our purpose is? Why are we put on this messed-up earth?

The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. (Ecclesiastes 12:13)

I think that just about sums it up. We are here to worship and glorify God, and whether we do that by impacting thousands like Mother Teresa, or living in a hospital room, that is our duty. Martin Luther King once said:

 "And when you discover what you will be in your life, set out to do it as if God Almighty called you at this particular moment in history to do it. don't just set out to do a good job. Set out to do such a good job that the living, the dead or the unborn couldn't do it any better.

If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, sweep streets like Beethoven composed music, sweep streets like Leontyne Price sings before the Metropolitan Opera. Sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry. Sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will have to pause and say: Here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well. "

See, here's the thing. God Almighty did call you to this particular moment in history, put you here to do what He wanted you to do. So fear God and keep His commands in whatever you do .....If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, sweep streets like Beethoven composed music, sweep streets like Leontyne Price sings before the Metropolitan Opera. Sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry....
 Worship God in how you live your life. In doing everything, whether it is helping at a soup kitchen or doing your geometry homework.

 Fulfill your purpose, so that when people remember you they will say
  "She had a purpose in life, and she wasn't afraid to fulfill it."  So if you become a street sweeper, they will say "Here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well. "

Live your life. You were created with a purpose for this time, and this place. it is up to you whether or not you step up to the challenge of having a purpose and a meaning in life. I hope you chose to step up.  So let me ask you.  What do you want remembered as the purpose of your life? I hope you can live it like a song.

Love:)
R

Psalm 16



Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.

I say to the LORD, "You are my Lord;
    I have no good apart from you."

 As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,
   in whom is all my delight
The sorrows of those who run afteranother god shall multiply;
   their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out
   or take their names on my lips.
 The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup;
   you hold my lot.
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
   indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
 I bless the LORD who gives me counsel;
   in the night also my heart instructs me
I have set the LORD always before me;
   because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;
   my flesh also dwells secure.
For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
    or let your holy one see corruption.
 You make known to me the path of life;
   in your presence there is fullness of joy;   at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Happiness is temporary. Joy is a lasting choice. Will you chose joy today?

Love:)
R

Looking for angels - Skillet

Going through this life looking for Angels
People passing by, looking for Angels.

Walk this world alone try to stay on my feet

Sometimes crawl, fall, but I stand up cause I'm afraid to sleep
And open my eyes to a new day, with all new problems and all new pain
All the faces are filled with so much anger
Losing our dignity and hope from fear of dangerAfter all the wars, after settling the scores, at the break of dawn we will be deaf to the answers

There's so much bigotry, misunderstanding and fear
With eyes squinted and fists clinched we reach out for what is dear
We want it we want
We want a reason to liveWe're on a pilgrimage
A crusade for hope
Cause in our hearts and minds and souls we know

We need it we need
We need more than thisGoing through this life looking for angels
People passing by looking for angels
Walking down the streets looking for angels
Everyone I meet looking for angels

So many nations with so many hungry people
So many homeless scrounging around for dirty needles
On the rise, teen suicide, when we will realize
we've been desensitized by the lies of the worldWe're oppressed and impressed by the greedy
Whose hands squeeze the life out of the needy
When will we learn that wars, threats, and regrets are the cause and effect of living in fearWho can help protect the innocence of our children
Stolen on the internet with images they can't forgetWe want it we want
We want a reason to live
We represent a generation that wants to turn back a nation
To let love be our light and salvationWe need it we need
We need more than this


I became a savior to some kids I'll never meet
Sent a check in the mail to buy them something to eat
What will you do to make a difference, to make a change?

What will you do to help someone along the way?
Just a touch, a smile as you turn the other cheek
Pray for your enemies, humble yourself, love's staring back at me
In the midst of the most painful faces
Angels show up in the strangest of places
Walking down the streets looking for angels
Everyone I meet looking for angels

We have a reason to live. Can you say that for all your friends?

Love:)
R

Psalm 63

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. But those who seek to destroy my life shall go down into the depths of the earth; they shall be given over to the power of the sword; they shall be a portion for jackals. But the king shall rejoice in God; all who swear by him shall exult, for the mouths of liars will be stopped. (Psalm 63:1-11 ESV)

Beauty: Redifined

The lie.
The lie is huge.
"You aren't beautiful. You are too fat, too skinny. Too tall, too short." On and on and on.The voices surround you........and you listen. I do. I do, and I shouldn't.

I'm not going to tell you that it doesn't matter. Because you won't listen. And, besides, it's not okay to tell you that it's okay that you're not good enough. Beacuse you are good enough!
   Our culture has this idea of beauty. We define beauty in a certain way, and we have this mental checklist that we go through, trying to check it all off.
  Here's the thing. You can't measure up. No matter how hard you try, as long as you're going through this checklist, you'll never make it. No one will.
 Here's what I'm going to ask you to do.

Redefine your idea of beauty.

Because, see, beauty is relative. Our definition and ideas of beauty are dependent on outside ideas of culture and time and place.
 Here's what I'm saying. God made you beautiful. Weather or not you fit your specific cultures definition of beauty, it doesn't matter to Him.  His definition of beauty is way different than yours . He looks at you living a life honoring to Him, and sees beauty. He looks at the way you serve. Who you are.

How beautiful upon the mountains
   are the feet of him who brings good news,
who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness,
   who publishes salvation,
   who says to Zion, "Your God reigns." (Isaiah 52:7)

  This person probably doesn't have pedicure-model feet. But their feet are beautiful because they are fulfilling the purpose the were made for. They are consistent with the design of their creator.
 That is what makes them beautiful.

When you fulfill your purpose, that is beautiful.

Not only that- you are beautiful inside and out because you are created in the image of the Living God. You are created to be like Him- you are beautiful because you are His handiwork! No one denys the beauty of natural wonders such as the Grand Canyon, or Mount Everest- but you are far morr important to God! Far more Loved. You are so beautiful! You are the beautiful workmanship of your God.
 When you're tempted to believe the lie this week, remember who you are.


Love:)
R

Ps: If you want more on this topictalk to me,or  read Uncompromising, by Hannah Farver. She is an amazing young women who is truly in love with her Savior.  Look it up! :) R

How He Loves

What I mess I am. I'm broken, shattered, dirty. But for the grace of Christ. What patience and Love my Father God has. There is no one who can condemn me. Because  I am His. There is no one who can do anything against you, because you are His. His perfect, beautiful, honored child. His grace is so wide and his love so deep, that even that which you feel is utterly, totally, unforgivable, is forgotten the moment you ask. Wow. Keep that in mind today, please. May His peace be yours, and may you feel His love in a way you never have before. I'm praying for you all.:)

Love:)
R

Where I Belong by Switchfoot

Feeling like a refugee
Like it don't belong to me
The colors flash across the sky

This air feels strange to me
Feeling like a tragedy
Take a deep breath and close my eyes
One last time

Storms on the wasteland
Ark clouds on the plain again
We were born into this fight

But I'm not sentimental
This skin and bones in a rental
And no one makes it out alive
Until I die I'll sing these songs
On the shores of Babylon
Still looking for a home
In a world where I belong

Where the weak are finally strong
Where the righteous right the wrongs
Still looking for a home
In a world where I belong


Feels like we're just waiting, waiting
While are hearts are just breaking, breaking
Feels like we're fighting against the tide

I wanna see the earth shaking
I wanna see a generation
Finally waking up inside
Until I die I'll sing these songs
Still looking for a home
In a world where I belong


This body's not my own
This world is not my own
But I can hear the sound
Of my heart beating out
So let's go boys, play it loud

On the final day I die
I want to hold my head up high
I want to tell You that I tried
To live it like a song

And when I reach the other side
I want to look You in the eye
And know that I've arrived
In a world where I belong
Where I belong

I still believe we can live forever
You and I we begin forever now
Forever now
Forever
I still believe in us together
You and I we're here together now
Together now
Together now
Forever now
Forever now

Forever

Thank you Switchfoot.....you tend to be right.

Love,
R:)

Luke 6:17-23

Coming down off the mountain with them, he stood on a plain surrounded by disciples, and was soon joined by a huge congregation from all over Judea and Jerusalem, even from the seaside towns of Tyre and Sidon. They had come both to hear him and to be cured of their ailments. Those disturbed by evil spirits were healed. Everyone was trying to touch him—so much energy surging from him, so many people healed! Then he spoke:

   You're blessed when you've lost it all.
   God's kingdom is there for the finding.
   You're blessed when you're ravenously hungry.
   Then you're ready for the Messianic meal.

   You're blessed when the tears flow freely.
   Joy comes with the morning.
 Count yourself blessed every time someone cuts you down or throws you out, every time someone smears or blackens your name to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and that that person is uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—skip like a lamb, if you like!—for even though they don't like it, I do . . . and all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company; my preachers and witnesses have always been treated like this.

One smile

  The girl stood in the hallways of her new school, looking around as thousands of other highschoolers walked past her without so much as a backwards glance. Yesterday her home conditions had gotten so bad that Child Protection Services had picked her up and taken her away to a foster home thirty miles from where she had grown up. Now here she was in her new school, and the day passed without anyone speaking to her, or even looking at her. One day turned into two. Two days turned into three. Three turned into a week, and then a month, and then three months went by without someone so much as saying "Hi" to her in the halls.  Finally the awesome pain of not having human contact became to much. No heart was meant to hurt this much. And so, sitting in the back row of her fourth period math class she decided to end her life. As soon as she made the decision, she felt better. All the pain would be gone. She could end everything and no one would even miss her. As she walked out to the hall after class a guy brushed against her, and her backpack spilled everywhere. She crawled on her hands and knees among the students walking past, truing to pick up the papers as everyone walked over them. 'This is just like my life,' she thought. She looked up from picking up the last paper and saw a girl watching her. She waited for her to laugh, and make fun of her. But she didn't do either. She just watched. And then she smiled. The girl looked behind her, thinking that she had been smiling at someone else. But there was no one behind her. Had the smile been meant for her?
 She went home, meaning to end her life. But she couldn't get that smile out of her head. One person cared enough about her to smile. She would wait another day.  After math she searched the halls.There she was. And there, again, she smiled! The girl couldn't believe it. All the rest of the school year, it became their little ritual. They never spoke, but that one smile was enough to keep the girl going another day. School ended, and the girl's prospects slowly became brighter. But she never saw the other girl again. That girl will never know that she saved a life, one smile a day. Just a smile. But it was enough.
 This is a true story. The other night I heard Kim Meeder speek, and she told this story. The girl in the story  is now a dear friend of hers.
 It made me think. What about you. Do you look to the outcasts, the loners, and say "Hi?" I have had a huge thing happening with me and God on how I see people. I had met this girl, and been initially turned off by her because she seemed aloof, and not very friendly. But then I heard her story, and realized how scared she was to ever trust people because of past experience. It made me stop and realize how much I judge people without knowing their story. I do that way more often than I'd like to admit. What about you? Even if it's just giving someone the benefit of the doubt, it makes such a huge difference. One smile can save a life.
 So what about you? Do you want to save a life?


Love:)
R

This is Church

Church was today. My church doesn't have a building. We meet in a building downtown, and in an elementary school lunchroom just down the road from my house.  Today, though, we met at the high school auditorium (the only auditorium in town) in one service. There were probably around three to four hundred people there. I don't know. I'm not a very good judge of amounts of people. What I do know, however, is that we met together as a body of believers to worship Christ.

  My friends, church is not where you meet. Church isn't about dressing up. Church is not simply going somewhere, listing to some music and the man up front, seeing your friends, and then going home. That isn't church. That is an empty, meaningless ritual. That is a reason people leave. It's boring. It's hollow. But it is not church, friend.
  Church is the fellowship of meeting together with others to worship. It is a sense of community as you come before God. It is the breaking of bread and the pouring of wine as you share communion.  "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.......This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you." (from Luke 22)
 It is eucharisto- the act of giving thanks. It is giving thanks as one body, one fellowship, even as we walk this shadowy road. Even when our world threatens to fall.
 It is the people of the body of Christ meeting together to hear God. To be encouraged. To be challenged in their walk. To learn together.
 This is church.
  Is that how you treat it?
 Especially as a younger person, sometimes it seems that church is boring. That it isn't,almost, worth it. I think this is a trap we fall into,sometimes. Of believing that it has become too old-fashioned, too high-powered, too whatever. What do you think it is? I personally shy away from mega church type things. How can they love God? They're just trying to get rich. It's too impersonal. Maybe. Maybe not.But it's not mine to judge. I hate it when people are judgemental. But here I am, doing it.  We forget, often, that its still okay, even if it's not something we often do. Gd never said you can't have a drummer, or you have to have a liturgy. He did say "For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them." (Matthew 18:20) 
 It's about an honest gathering of people to seek the face and will of God together. If that's what it is, than it is good.
 I want to challenge you today. For the next few months, as you go to church, don't say "Darn, it's time for church. I wish I didn't have to go."
  Go to meet God. Go to worship together. Go to learn, to listen. To apply. Don't let what is said be of no consequence. Don't go, listen, and leave. Don't spend the rest of you're week like nothing ever happened. Go from that place a different person. Let the love of your Savior show in your daily life through the week. You are being watched. People want to know if there's something different about you. Let there be.  Go to work, to school, and remember that communion with God, and with others. Show it. Let there be something different. Let that be God.

That, my friends, is Church. See if you can treat it like that.

Love:)
R

A prayer

Eternal Father of my soul,

let my first thought today be of You,

let my first impulse be to worship You,

let my first speech be Your name,

let my first action be to kneel before You in prayer….

Yet let me not, when this morning prayer is said,

think my worship ended

                  and spend the day in forgetfulness of You.

-John Ballie in A Diary of Private Prayer

Psalm 27

Light, space, zest— that's God!
   So, with him on my side I'm fearless,
      afraid of no one and nothing.

When vandal hordes ride down
      ready to eat me alive,
   Those bullies and toughs
      fall flat on their faces.

When besieged,
      I'm calm as a baby.
   When all hell breaks loose,
      I'm collected and cool.

  I'm asking God for one thing,
      only one thing:
   To live with him in his house
      my whole life long.
   I'll contemplate his beauty;
      I'll study at his feet.

  That's the only quiet, secure place
      in a noisy world,
   The perfect getaway,
      far from the buzz of traffic.

God holds me head and shoulders
      above all who try to pull me down.
   I'm headed for his place to offer anthems
      that will raise the roof!
   Already I'm singing God-songs;
      I'm making music to God.

Listen, God, I'm calling at the top of my lungs:
      "Be good to me! Answer me!"
   When my heart whispered, "Seek God,"
      my whole being replied,
   "I'm seeking him!"
      Don't hide from me now!

You've always been right there for me;
      don't turn your back on me now.
   Don't throw me out, don't abandon me;
      you've always kept the door open.
   My father and mother walked out and left me,
      but God took me in.

  Point me down your highway, God;
      direct me along a well-lighted street;
      show my enemies whose side you're on.
   Don't throw me to the dogs,
      those liars who are out to get me,
      filling the air with their threats.

I'm sure now I'll see God's goodness
      in the exuberant earth.
   Stay with God!
      Take heart. Don't quit.
   I'll say it again:
      Stay with God.