point of view

Child with the downcast eyes what's all this sighing for? Don't get so caught up in the battle that you forget we've won the war! You know these are principalities the powers of darkness and sin They're huge and they're scary but don't you forget who's the King! What silly little children who stand shaking their heads at the mountain they won't touch the shovel just sigh and shrug "that's that, then" Do you know that's the sun that you're holding, there in the palm of your hand? Why you haven't melted away long ago that's what I don't understand.

We are a broken people. But we do everything in our power to forget it. We are dead men walking. So we redefine life. We are drowning in pain. We pretend there's no such thing. We are hollow empty shells. We paste yellow smileys over our soul-screams and tell each other we're loving it. The soft, piercing notes of hope break into the clouds of death We put our fingers into our ears and sing loud "la-la-la"s to block it out. We are an incredibly stupid bunch. Thank God, There is a Redeemer! He pursues He hunts us down He shatters the bars of death He wakes us and breathes sunshine into our rotted lungs We are alive for the first time Captured and rebirthed by Healing We open our blind eyes We live, and our heart begins to beat out the song it was created to sing.

Well that was the occasion at least, it applies to all of us probably. Not the greatest but I wanted to post something anyway =) Father, Free us from the dungeon of thinking we know it all our proud swelled heads are top heavy so we fall Please stop us from finding false strength deep inside May Your wings over us be the strength that we find Please let us see the emptiness that's in us Show us our blindness Lord we are only dust Show us our need make us soft, make us seek Our appetite for You is abominably weak Teach us to listen open our blind eyes Make us parched with the thirst that is fully satisfied. Amen.

So I was sitting in church the other week listening to an excellent sermon about the Thessalonians and the Church. As I listened I got more and more excited. I was thinking ‘wow, if we get a hold of this, this will change us forever.’ I glanced around to see if anyone else seemed to be getting this too. Maybe people were getting it but I will never know because there were four men sitting there with their eyes closed. Maybe they were meditating deeply. Ha, ha. Maybe they had a really late night or something. I don’t know. (Though I do know that the pastor had about two or three hours of sleep that night). The effect this sermon had on me was, I think, rather different than what the pastor had in mind originally. Do you identify with me? Have you had this happen? Do you know how totally discouraging it is to catch a glimpse of a vision of what our churches could be and then be rudely reminded that a lot of the key people in this could care less? If you know who these guys ...

I was tutoring Josh (creative writing) today, when I came across an exercise in one of my notebooks from when I was in South Dakota. I used to tutor a couple girls in the school there, and one of the things I do is come up with random little exercises to warm up before we work on writing. One day I asked one of the girls to define a few different terms in her own words. Here are two of them: Happiness - when you do something good instead of bad. Pain - something that always stays with you and never goes away. I wonder what my brother Josh's definitions would be.  The girl from South Dakota lives in a place that's full of poverty, darkness, oppression and hopelessness. Josh is a year or two older (this girl was in grade seven, Josh is now in grade nine) and he's growing up in a home that is filled with peace, hope and joy. But my friend from the Rez hit the nail very close to the head. I hope one day I will be with her in the only place where pain will finally go ...

I do not mean for this to sound like I believe myself to be experienced, wise, dramatic, or to have anything figured out. I do not and am not (except perhaps the dramatic part, at least sometimes). I do feel the small things I have been through deeply, and I wrote this in sincerity I think. My eyes are bloodshot with tears I have looked and seen sin. My feet are caked with dirt and blood from the places I have walked. My arms are heavy from reaching unsuccessfully so far. My head aches with the echoes of the voices in my dreams. My shoulder scars are a little numb where the claws of sin went in. My hands are shaky from holding on My heart, well it's still bleeding I don't know how long it takes for letting go to heal. But I just got a much-needed reminder: One day I will see my Savior face to face every tear will be wiped away. Rev. 21:4 My Savior's in the foot-washing business. John 13:5 Underneath me are everlasting arms. Deut. 33:27 Some day His songs will forever ring...

Night with no moon will you sing me some praises tell me Who sees through the blindness of night speak soft the deafening words of His promise the Dayspring, the Sun, the giver of Light Night with no moon oh sing to me sweetly we need Gilead's balm for our bruised bloody souls open our ears Lord and teach us to listen Trust may remind frozen tears how to flow. Night with no moon I am here, I am listening here in the stillness I'm desperate for hope Tell me the story we both know so clearly I won't drop the lamp we need for this dark road Night with no moon please rebuke me and scold me I know day will come yet I gave up the fight Night with no moon, just once more sing it softly and lull me to sleep with my sword at my side.