A fault finding
critical spirit
that embraces bitterness
is a poison to one's soul

Sin

Sin is
attractive then seductive
always deceptive
it is
ultimately destructive

Like grinding teeth

Like grinding teeth
Like nails on the blackboard
Like salt in a wound
Are the words of a teacher
When the tone is consistently angry

Let me be

Let my ears hear the hungry
Let my eyes see the needy
Let my heart be willing
Let my hands be open

Our hearts rejoice
when fixed on you
Our minds at peace
when we contemplate
the way your unfailing love
rests on us

But suddenly in that moment
the tide of life's cares
sweeps away the peace
that we have when we remember
to whom we belong

Heavier than Stone

Take a sack of stones
put it around your neck
or fill it up with sand
and put it on your back

Carry that weight
from morning till night
it will drag you down
no matter your pow'r or might

Now imagine provocation
brought on by a fool
an inflammatory comment
that makes you lose your cool

Your mind begins to race
with angry words and thoughts
your heart beats with haste
much faster than it ought

You go about your day
thinking of how to prove him wrong
you repeat repeat repeat those thoughts
like lyrics from an irritating song

Your anger becomes a stone
that weighs upon your neck
your day is spent as if
a sack of sand is on your back

Proverbs 27:3 NIV
Stone is heavy and sand a burden,
but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both.

His hands hold the ocean
and hang each shining star
His hands hold my portion
and my deepest scars

His heart knows my sorrow
and is bound eternally to mine
His heart wrote my tomorrow
according to His design

To his heart and hands
I yield my dreams and plans
Fear is lost when I see his face
Dismay is stilled when I rest in his grace

A fight not his own

One day two wolves were arguing
About something small
Their teeth bared jaws snapping
The hair on their neck stood tall

A harebrained rabbit happened by
And said these two are brothers
Should I not try to intervene
And help them love each other

So he raised his voice and said
Friends you should not fight
Stop growling and snapping so
For as brothers it isn't right

The wolves did not hear him
They continued in their brawl
Their anger boiled into a rage
While the rabbit intensified his call

He jumped upon one brother's back
And grabbed him by the ears
The wolves paused momentarily
As the rabbit exhorted them through tears

Silent they stood till an empty stomach rumbled
One said brother I have a hunch
This rabbit's solved our trouble
No need to argue longer about what to eat for lunch


Like one who grabs a stray dog by the ears
is someone who rushes into a quarrel not their own.
Proverbs 26:17 NIV

Two dreamers

When they were young Mark and Todd had a dream each
But to their youthful eyes it seemed impossible to reach
They promised one another they'd see the world some day
Eventually they did but in very different ways

One kept the dream alive and worked and saved enough
The other in the trial said the trouble seems too much
Mark bought the ticket around the world to fly
Todd bought the TV and watched the world flash by

Foolish anger

If anger causes you to lose your cool
you're halfway to finding a fool
shut your mouth lest you regret
the venom that may spew from it

wasted worry

Opportunity so close, so golden it could have been tasted
But the anxious thoughts of what could happen were wasted
Because the way is blocked. And now you can only laugh
and wonder at how you could have been so daft
To not have rested in His peace from the start
Rather than worry and wonder "what if it falls apart?"

A plank up your nose

Jack walked around with a plank in his eye
it became a problem when he claimed to spy
a speck in the eye of a friend named Jim
Jack said to himself in love I must confront him

So he barged right up at the special time he chose
But the plank in his eye went right up Jim's nose
Despite Jim's protests Jack was quite undeterred
After all this was important and Jim was cornered

Boldly he went on and on with his censure
"What's wrong with you?" Jim roared back in anger
Can't you see your plank is stuck up my nose
But Jack's words continued to rain like arrows

Jim walked out saying I can't take anymore of this stuff
And Jack stood indignant in a self-righteous huff
He tried phoning him later but Jim refuses to talk to Jack
After all if he shoved a plank up your nose would you call him back

beauty for ashes

Sitting among the ashes
dressed in rags of sorrow
longing for a savior
she does not yet know

with gentle mercy He restores her
taking her rags and adorning her in garments
taking her ashes and giving her beauty
she had not known existed

the bitterness of her soul
is washed away by the cascading love
of the Savior
she now knows

Cable News Pundits

Guardians of "truth"
for the masses of prime time
no need for judge nor jury
when blunder the crime

the verdict foregone
the pyre stands ready
a tongue of fire
its design is deadly

The barrage is relentless
the mob roars for more
oblivious that truth languishes
on the editing room floor

Let Your Light Shine

Your song may only be for one
but don't let that fear silence you
your poem may only be heard by a few
but don't let that fear silence you
your artwork may not hang in hallowed halls
but don't let that fear silence you

You may not have light to illuminate the whole world

But don't
let
fear
silence you

let your light shine
that it may illuminate
the lives
of the few or many
who would otherwise
sit in darkness

November Gloom

His mind is shadowed by gloom
Like cold dark November clouds
taunting and threatening with angry menace
to unleash their torrent upon the helpless