I read this thing about your man
that you should do these things, if you can
to have a happy loving marriage
so both of you will not disparage
The first one said to give respect
and if you do, you can expect
that he will love and honor you
because you showed him that you do
the second, listen when he speaks
and into his heart you'll get little peaks
the third one, creating a safe place
so he can be vulnerable, his fears erase
be honest with him in all you do
so he knows he can trust you too
the fifth may be the hardest one
and it may make you want to run
but submit yourself to your man
and do the very best you can
give him a chance to grow and lead
and watch him blossom and succeed
six to serve with love and care
to do kind things and love and share
Seventh to have joy even in rain
not seeking him out just to complain
eight shows a huge amount of love
to ask God to help him from above
praying for another opens us wide
pulls out all of the bad things we try to hide
Nine is easy in the beginning
'cause *** within marriage isn't sinning
it's fun, and exciting and easy to do
sometimes later, you just don't want to
it's important to keep it going though
temptation to stray, lurks as we know
The last to affirm the good that you see
and not circle the drain of negativity
always focusing on the positive
all of this is good advice to live
Your marriage will be filled with love
and you can thank a good God up above

The devil does not want us to believe in love.
He wants us to be disappointed over and over
again till we stop believing it exists altogether.
Think of the love you wish you had from your crush,
or your boyfriend/girlfriend or spouse.
Think of how you want somebody who loves you so
much that they want to know everything about you,
and they see all the things that make you, you.
You want somebody who understands you,
and doesn’t judge you. You want somebody
who sees the things you are great at, and
who’s opinion matters so much to you that you
want to please them. Not somebody who
makes you please them and do things for
them to earn their love. You want to love
somebody you respect, and who respects
you back, and who makes you feel like you matter.
Somebody who listens to everything you say,
and always has your back. You want somebody
who is so confident and secure in who they are,
that your opinions don’t change them, but at
the same time they love you so much they
would die for you. That is how Jesus loves you.
He is the only one capable of loving you so perfectly.
If you want that kind of love, you have it!  
You just have to accept it and believe that it is real.
STOP listening to the lies that tell you that you aren’t good enough.

A 20 something boy afraid of it all
of all responsibility big and small
he ran from the girl who loved him the most
as if she were some terrifying ghost
he ran from the thought of settling down
and these fears ran him all over town
into bed with this girl and then that one next
sending so many girls a different text
couldn't keep track but thought it was funny
different girls when it's raining or snowy or sunny
as long as they told him that he was the best
and never put his fragile little ego to the test
but then one day they just stopped being fun
then tables turned, and they started to run
they ran from his charm when he offered dinner
and he started to feel like a ***** old sinner
nobody wanted him, he felt all alone
though occasionally one would throw him a bone
he loathed the attention of the girls that he had
they were all washed up and used up and sad
was this what was left what it all had come to
it's what he deserved, he knew that much was true
alone and broken, at the end of his rope
he downed some more *****, he'd lost all his hope
he cried out to Jesus to save him from despairing
from all of those mistakes he had made without caring
Jesus reached down, and said you are enough
relax now, I'll take care of all of that bad stuff
you are My son, I bought you with My life
You can still be worthy of a loving, smart wife
treat her with care and she'll love and respect you
I will help you be good to her in all that you do
she won't dishonor or make you look bad
and she'll hold you and care for you when you are sad
If you turn to Me and trust in My hand
I can give you a life that is really grand
throughout history I've made courageous men
and for you My son, I will do it again
I'll make you so strong that your ego won't break
I'll make you so confident, you don't have to be fake
I'll make you so loving you won't have to try
I'll make you a man, and it's ok if you cry

A wandering thought across a page
like meandering deer trails through the sage
you don't know where they will go
but you follow just to know
what mysteries may lie in wait
locked behind an iron gate
or in a pirate chest in the sea
words are always a journey for me

I refuse to be negative, I will not give in
I will rise above, I did come to win
I won't give in to the fear and the hate
caused by everyone fighting their mate
I won't give up on love or on hope
I won't let myself just sit here and mope
I won't read sad poems that just drag me down
I won't look at things that cause me to frown
I'll fill my head up with positive things
and let all my worries up and sprout wings
I won't be afraid and I won't let go
there's something else I think you should know
if you don't give up and you don't give in
and you don't become a slave to your sin
if you will lift your head and follow your heart
and don't let this dark world tear you apart
then you will give witness to miraculous stuff
and you will soon realize that you are enough.

I planned out my day, and then I planned my year
I plotted every single thing so I could see it clear
I chose the career path, and I clung to all my strength
I managed my thoughts positively and exercised at length
I saved up every penny, and strategized my life
then I planned out how to be the very perfect wife
I knew if I was perfect, that I could have it all
everything I ever wanted, whether big or small
Nothing seemed to work out right, I never could predict
and it got to the point where I just couldn't handle it
I thought that I was smarter and that if I was good
I would be able to have everything that I thought should
just think harder, just do this, and then I will try more
but the more I did this, it frustrated me to my very core
I lost sight of who I was and all I thought I knew
but then one day it hit me and I started to get a clue
all my life i'd tried so hard will giving you a passing nod
then it hit me one day, that I had thought that I was God

A pool of glistening tears, spreads beneath my knees
I hear the wind rustling, as it's blowing through the trees
I feel like I am broken, abandoned and alone
searching the whole world, to try to find a home
I used to be the loudest one, laughing in the room
now I'm in this empty place, quiet as a tomb
I drank till I blacked out, my head down on the bar
ashamed to say I've gotten, behind the wheel of a car
now my heart is broken, he ripped it into shreds
and I've never felt so horrible, as on my heart he treads
and yet I wonder now, as the gloomy lifts away
was I more broken then, than I really am today?
My head was full of thoughts of getting what I wanted
and all of God's great gifts, I ever freely flaunted
and now my heart is filled with sorrow and with prayers
but now I feel His touch, and I know He really cares
so I've come to the conclusion, though I thought I was fine
that all that self-assurance, was never really mine
that confidence I thought was running through my veins
was really just the devil, pulling on my reins
now I'm breaking free, and though it hurts at first
I know that had I stayed like that, it would have been much worse
so I've come to the conclusion, there's a purpose for the pain
and if you can push through it, you have so much to gain
Where once I was a shattered glass, the pieces strewn apart
now I am just dealing with a normal broken heart
It's been taped back together, but its not fully well
I'm afraid that everyone who looks at me, call always really tell
Those cracks across my surface are letting the light out
but they also let the love in, and that's what it's all about

Every time we speak, I feel like you are judging me
so I spout off without a care, nonsense to regret later
I don't know how you do it, but you make act defensively
when with everyone else, I'm a lover not a hater

I just want to talk to you the way I talk to others
but with you I cannot be myself, I don't know why
anyone else, can be instantly like sisters and brothers
but after you and I talk, I always want to cry

You make me so frustrated because I can't just be
and I don't know if it's you that's making this so tough
or if all this difficulty exists inside of me
All I know is that it never gets better it's always rough

You interrogate and fluster me and make me feel dumb
do you do it on purpose? Or is that just my perception?
then I leave our conversations feeling glum
It was so easy to talk to you at the relationship's conception

I think the best defense against this defensiveness
is to have a good offense of humility
I will stop trying with the impressiveness
and hopefully this will cause more tranquility

Your constant need for adoration is exhausting
but that is not my fault nor my job to fix
but if my own arrogance is part of it's causing
then I shall take that one ingredient from this awful mix

I don't know what problems are you in you
but I can do a lot to change the things inside of me
for some reason, I'm stuck on you like glue
I just wish that you could relax and be happy

A little boy stood on a stool
he looked up and asked, Daddy, what tool?
that one, he pointed to a little red heart
but dad, that won't work to rip this apart
I know, but we'll need it 'cause this will be tough
ok, but I just don't think it will be enough

A little girl stood next to the kitchen sink
well, mommy, what ingredient next do you think
this one, she pointed to a little red heart
but that will make this separate apart
I know, but you just need to trust your mother
but mom, that ingredient doesn't fit with the other

A young man stood and was punched in the face
later dad asked, what tool did you use in this case?
this one, he pointed to a little red heart
but dad, I just wanted to rip them apart
I know, I told you that this would be tough
ok, but I still don't think it was enough

A young woman stood and was called weak
she came home and mom asked, with what did you speak
with this, she pointed to a little red heart
But mom, it felt like they ripped me apart
I know, I told you to just trust your mother
even when turning one cheek and the other

A man stood and waited unnerved
thought of dad’s tools, the purpose they served
he knew that the tool for this job was his heart
even if it ended with it all torn apart
he knew that this job would sometimes be tough
but he knew that his heart in the right place was enough

A woman walked full of nerves, a smile on her face
she knew what ingredient to use in this case
she knew the ingredient was her open heart
and she hoped it would never get torn apart
she had trusted and listened to the words of her mother
now it was time to give her heart to another

A mother and a father watched their children with pride
as one gave away and the other accepted a bride
they hoped that the lessons they’d shared were used
that those little red hearts were never abused
and so they watched as two hearts became one
the next step of the journey had just begun

Rush of wind goes through the palms
it's Sabbath and I'm reading Psalms
I had a plan to sit by the pool
but the weather is a bit too cool
my roommate's painting in the shed
I decided to write poetry instead
I'm thinking 'bout our talk yesterday
and all the things I wanted to say
you always seem to cut things short
and I'm just try to be a good sport
texting just is not your style
and I'd rather hang out for a while
so invite me out and I'll say yes
and maybe God can both us bless

Be in this moment
this moment right now
don't think of the future
or stress about how
you'll get where you're going
not because you know
this life never tells you
exactly where to go
so live right this second
take a deep breath
you cannot control
the moment of your death
there is no formula
to repeat the past
can you not see
you're going too fast?
right now is the time
it is all you've got
spend it wisely
and realize it's a lot
you'll pass up your life
focused behind or ahead
don't you know yet
we all end up dead
It's the only life
that some ever get
I see why you're stressed
'cause you don't know yet
that God can take care
of all your petty needs
if you will go out
and plant His love seeds
so worry no more
'cause there is a life after
stress free and fun
and full of bright laughter

Hop and skip, I sometimes sing
This joy and all my wondering
the world seems to have come to life
I let Him handle all my strife
Little giggles bursting out
but not so "happy" I wear people out
I didn't do it, I don't know how
To explain what I am feeling now
No formula for perfect bliss
alone I could not manage this
We try to hold on to happy thoughts
like Peter Pan and Mrs. Potts
You cannot control your own mind
there's no solution you can find
just lift your eyes and let Him in
He gives you freedom, lets you win
I feel like I'm a wound up toy
bubbling over with so much joy
It's hard to walk when I want to skip
and dream I'm on a pirate ship
Just let Him handle all your stress
and then you will be so FEARLESS!

His name was Mort
he had a hideous wart
when he got into port
all the wenches would snort
but he waltzed up to the fort
and attended the court
where he drank some fine port
and had a nice chocolate torte
he had eyes on a consort
a tryst with her, he'd had to abort
his mission, her father did thwart
so he drank *** by the quart
and fought men for sport
the rich he'd extort
for he was that sort
for this fair escort
he would not resort
to actually court
her image of him, he dare not distort
and that is why, he'll always fall short
but he got a passport
and got on a transport
and learned to support
himself in Freeport
and that my dear friends, is all I have to report

Chips and salsa crunchity crunch
On these things I like to munch
no nutrition in this food
but it puts me in a happy mood
popcorn and a great show
are also married, don't you know
peanut butter jelly time
a quality pairing in this rhyme
I am in a silly mood
and so I'm playing with my food

You sit there alone, tears down your face
another dark night, morning full of disgrace
he said he would call, but you haven't heard
you sent tons of texts, but heard back not a word
he touched you so tender, his hands on your cheek
did things that made your knees just go weak
you talked and talked and he shared his life's goal
you both knew that you'd found a match for your soul
but now he is gone, and without a word
flew right out of your life, like some giant bird
you're shattered and broken, was it all a lie?
this pain is so much that you'd rather die
there is one who is there, He's sat by your side
He's caught in His hand, every tear that you cried
each moment you've spent in bed with popcorn
He's been there for you, watching you mourn
the loss of love that's been ripped from your life
the wounds that cut deeper than any sharp knife
He wants you to know that he loves you so
there is no place inside you so dark He can't go
He can bring joy back into your lonely heart
He is with you always, you're never apart
Though you've betrayed Him and treated Him rotten
He loves you so much, not alone, not forgotten

folded in upon herself
round curves and sharp lines
her brain all fuddled by it's grief
and her circumstance defines
she feels an empty shell
and so I've drawn her so
a girl without a face
for nobody can know
a person not themselves
but what others think they want
crushed inside this empty shell
the bravest soul to daunt
the empty loneliness engulfs
though surrounded by her peers
afraid to breathe or move or talk
locked inside her fears
and so she's sketchy pencil lines
for I have drawn her so
because one is not in color
until they can just let go
there is freedom in worship
but not if we are bound
we cannot even love ourselves
when worshipping those who walk the ground

a ragged little hand-me-down
a knotted ball of string
lots of broken pieces
of a copper clocky thing

the rain is coming down outside
her dress is ripped and torn
street cats scramble off to hide
while the wedding party morn

piano keys all broken
not a sound is heard
conversation felt not spoken
because sound would be absurd

a finger lifts her chin
to meet sparkling deep green eyes
in her he's found the twin
of his heart's mirror in disguise

I met a pretty man, like a vampire
and my loving heart he did desire
so I gave it to him willingly
and he ****** out my ability
to feel love again in my heart
once he'd torn "us" apart
he ****** the love right out of me

then I met a Man, like a zombie
His loving heart He shared with me
He gave Himself up willingly
and infected me with the ability
to feel love again in my heart
and to share it with every part
with all who came in touch with me

So love not like a vampire
consumed with your own desire
but love like a zombie
and 'infect' everyone equally

on a green hill with sun up high
you plopped down next to me with a sigh
we laid in the grass and talked for a bit
and I was charmed by your sharp wit
you reached out and took my hand
a gentle touch, made me feel grand
a breeze caught your hair as you looked at me
and I wanted to tell you what I see
your blue eyes with flecks of gold
your chiming laugh that never grows old
a hope for love is in your eyes
though you try hard to disguise
before I can stop it, my hand reaches out
my mind is racing, all my fears shout
I ignore them as I touch your face
then you pull me in, to your embrace
your features smooth a smile there
you look like you have not a care
I know God's smiling down at me
and now I can clearly see
how He has listened when I pray
and gave us this beautiful, sunny day.

Love has become so unfortunately tainted
that in order to find you must be sainted
people don't trust that any can love others
turning away from even their own mothers
women don't trust men and men the same
it's all just one sad little trick filled game
but these are lies that are meant to deceive
the outcome that they are designed to achieve
to isolate all of us, leave us all alone
so we will be mad at God and not atone
if we don't believe that another can love us
how can we believe in a God up above us
a God we can't see who's never around
when we are lost and just want to be found
He's always there and He answers our call
even when we're left with nothing at all
love others around you, don't be afraid
don't use them for interesting ways to get paid
people aren't ladders you climb to somewhere
others can tell when you really don't care
so open your heart and show you are real
everyone around you just wants to feel
Let God work through you to share a smile
and maybe we can all stop crying for awhile

One of those days when it all goes right
One of those days when you've got no fight
One of those days that fits like a glove
when to everyone around you extends some love

It's nice when you have a day that is happy
and though this poem might be a bit sappy
I had one of those days on this sunny day
and I'll tell you how it got this way

I have no idea, there's no formula for it
you can't run your life by control or whit
some days things go right and some go wrong
some days you cry and some days sing a song

The happiest days are gifts from above
showered upon us by God's great love
He brings peace and blessings to those who wait
we just have to trust Him with our fate

Don't seek out those days, they will come
if you struggle and strive, you will be undone
just relax and trust, I know it seems odd
but when they come, don't forget to thank God

Today I woke up in just the best mood ever
I've gone through dark times where that was never
Times I never thought I'd smile again
where I just could not ever seem to win
I don't want to talk about that though
because there's something I want you to know
It doesn't matter what you got going on
or how long everything seems to go wrong
dark times will pass and the sun will come out
you may not even know how it came about
I know how mine did, and that's why I'm here
to tell you what brought the end to my tears
I realized I'm loved, and that it's all okay
that God is with me, each and every day
If you think that it's just all rules and boring
or sitting in church with old people snoring
then think of it different, and just talk and ask
and turn your face to the sun and sit and just bask
you'll feel like you're talking to yourself at first
or God isn't listening, and you're somehow cursed
try to ask Him to give you freedom and love
ask Him to send His help from up above
tell Him it's hard and you can't handle it all
admit you're not God and to Him you are small
your problems are so important to Him
maybe I wrote this, just for you Tim
He can handle whatever you've got
so cast your cares on Him, even if it's a lot

Sometimes there is no action, that will not cause a rift
through lots of dumb scenarios, we sift and sift and sift
if I do this then that, all these effect and cause
makes us unable to act, we only can give pause
but to do nothing is an action too so what are we to do?
this round and round about is what leaves us feeling blue
the reason for this is, we're afraid of what others think
someone's always hurt or mad, it makes our stomach sink
we cannot see the future, but God is in control
constantly trying to predict, is what is taking toll
if you think about it with a positive spin
God can take whatever you do, and He can help you win
All things work together for good for those who love the Lord
so you don't have to fret about consequences you can't afford
now, that being said, that only means if you are doing right
because if not, you will end up in one big heartbreaking fight
So pray and pray and ask Him for His guidance on this day
then the consequences won't be too high for you to pay

I've been a bit prickly these past few weeks
and out of my eyes I've sprung a few leaks
bump into me, watch out for my sharp poke
'cause I've just been that sort of a bloke
sharp as a needle the thoughts in my head
I want to unleash them but keep quiet instead
your mind should be sharp, but with aloe-like words
and let yourself grow, and be friend to the birds

A dog jumps in the lake and splashes all around
my heart it thrills a bit at the joyous little sound
not a care he has as he runs about with ease
he's not a bit afraid of this rampant new disease
a bird calls up above, calling to it's mate
not a bit of fear, regret, or holding on to hate
a child laughs with glee at the butterflies around
she has no regulator on the loudness of her sound
the bright and golden sun dips down in a low bow
the bugs all buzz around, they know what happens now
the wind sounds through the pines a calming melody
all these things go on as normal, in perfect harmony
they don't fear tomorrow, what it brings or if it comes
they go about their business with their little nature hums
the Creator has a plan and they trust Him with their care
they never complain or whine, that life is so unfair
they're job in this world, their purpose is His glory
and that is why they know, that they never have to worry