"My beloved"
Christ calls from the grave
"My beloved, arise
For the winter is past
The cold of the night is gone
See the flowers grow in the land
For death has passed and I have brought life."

For our Lord came as one of us
He came and lived for us
And then He went to the cross
He died for us
But behold, He is risen!
The grave once dark and filled with death
Now is bursting with joy and life
And the dark of the grave is gone
Now there is a light brighter than the sun

And Christ, our Lord calls to us  from the grave
"See, my beloved, I have risen
I am here and have made all things new
The light from my empty grave shines
And it casts light into the darkness of this day
I stand here risen for you
I will call your name
And I will call you my beloved
For all things have passed away
And they have been made new
You will be my beloved
And I will be your God”

How lonely sits this city
Desolate on a lake's jagged shore
A forgotten city in a forgotten land
Awaiting a savior for the city's sins
This city shivers in the midst of the winter's chilling wind

This desolate city has frozen under the turmoil of corruption
And the people have drowned in a sea of the blood of young men
The children of this city have died before their eyes develop to see light
And the leaders have been hauled off to prison for their crimes
This city is paying a heavy price for the sins of her people

It seems this city will never be what it once was
Though the foundations of ancient days still stand
The architecture of those who have gone before still grace the city skyline
And on the outside, the beautiful city remains
But decaying like a corpse on the inside away from view

Under the boot of heavy oppression
The people of this city rise to seek justice
And they mourn the death of their own people
They mourn the lack of justice in this city
And seek to make their own justice

The people march down crowded streets doing funeral dirges
For boys have fallen too soon and in cold blood
And these people demand justice for these crimes against humanity
These crimes committed by the peace-keepers of the city
And covered up by the soulless corrupted leaders

How could the spring ever come to warm this land
After such a winter as this has ravaged against it?
When the ice has frozen over this once-grand civilization
And frozen the last vestiges of life here
How might the warmth ever return?

For the lake that once was filled with swimmers and summer
Now lies frozen, hard as a rock, stretching miles upon miles
For the winter has come and gripped this city
And the winter has choked away all life in this place
And all life has left this ancient civilization

The lights that once shone in the dark have fizzled out and died
And no one has come to replace the light
For when a light goes out
How can it be relit
If there is no light to ignite new brightness

For the light has gone out in this forgotten city
And the people outside no longer see the city
The people outside can no longer hear the city’s cries
And they know not even of the city’s existence
For they cannot see this city of lights in such darkness

How might this ancient city ever be raised up once again?
How could the hell laid upon this land be reversed?
And when will the light finally return to this once-great land?
Who might bring light back and put it in a high place
And also come to end this never-ending winter?

Coming for those in the midst of this terrible winter
A boy was born into the slums, to a mother of no nobility
In a place where the animals came and fed
But this baby boy came and died for all men
Then rose again from death, defeating its power

Yet the people of this city did not know of this savior
For how might they know if they are never told?
And how might they be told if the people of the Lord do not tell?
The people of earth know that something greater must be coming
Yet they know nothing of the Savior who has come and died and rose again

The people of this city wait upon the coming of something greater
To redeem them from their fallenness and brokenness
So the people of the Lord call out to the people of earth
Waking them from their deep sleep and ignorance, giving to them great news
"Awake you men of earth, come out of your slumber!
Rise up from the terror of your nightmares
And see this new day of wonder
For the Lord has come to this desolate place
And given life to this lifeless city
Awake to the reality of our Lord! Awake!"

The people of earth awake, revived from their blindness, resurrected from their death
And they see that all things have been made new
That this once broken city has been made whole again
Whole again through the holiness of the Lord
And all things have been redeemed

The frozen city has thawed and life has returned
The frozen water upon which the people once celebrated as water has melted
And the victims of great crime have found justice
The light has returned to this wonderful city of old
As all life has returned here to this desolate place

We are the light and life of the world
The hands and feet of the Lord Jesus Christ
For we carry the cross for the sake of the city
We brought life to those who had no life, through Christ Jesus
And brought light to a city filled with darkness, with Christ Jesus our Lord

For we are called for something greater
We were created for a land we yet do not know
With fields of joy and wildernesses of wonder
A place far north across the sea
Where we will dwell in this heavenly country for all time
With our Creator and Almighty God, who has redeemed us

Now come awake!

Fumbling through a wilderness of pain
Lost in a desert of doubt
Desolate in a winter of anxiety
Buried in a coffin of maladies
Alone in a city full of people

Time and time again hearing whispers of doubt
Negative opinions and false truths
That I am nothing
That I will become nothing
Then die with nothing and no one

For out of the dust of the ground I came
And to it, I will return
For all things under the sun are meaningless
And in the end, toil means nothing except death
For this life is a lost cause

Then the winds of the wilderness increase
And the disorient of the desert intensifies
The death and terror of the winter do not relent
This capsule of corpses latches shut, trapping me inside
And the people of the city war against me

My hands tremble with the fears of my heart
My heart aches with the troubles of my soul
And my head pains with the false-knowledge I know
For I am filled with lies upon lies upon lies
And how might I ever know truth in the midst of such treachery?

It is then, in the midst of my hell
When the weight of this life has all but crushed me
And I am about to give up and die
About to accept these lies I've been fed
But then, the Lord speaks to me

I hear the voice of a heavenly nature, and it says;
‘Son, be still, and know that I am God’
Then, like a miracle
My trembling hands and unsteady heart are cured, and I'm stilled
For He has always been God, and has never left my side
And to the day I die, and even beyond, He never will

A season of waiting
As the cold air has come and choked our land
Taking away our breath and our hope
Even making attempts on our lives with this cold
And almost succeeding in this terrible winter
Oh come oh come Emmanuel

Lonely sit these lands
Waiting for good things to return
And holding onto hope in this winter of anxiety and fear
That soon, our redemption may come for to carry us home
In these lands we wait, for it can't be much longer now
Oh come oh come Emmanuel

Our ancestors once cried 'over the next hill must lie our Promised Land'
And we now cry 'in the next year must come our Savior
For the Lord could not make us toil much longer
Lest our bones freeze and our bodies die
And all of this waiting would seem to be in vain
Oh come oh come Emmanuel'

Yet here we wait for years upon years and generations upon generations
For the promised king to finally bless our lands
And free us from the tyranny of this world
Leading us into a better life
And bringing us a better world
Oh come oh come Emmanuel

We wait this winter, knowing spring comes on the horizon with our Messiah
To end this long-lasting winter
And melt this world of snow and ice
To bring a green spring
Full of life and good things
Oh come oh come Emmanuel

For our Savior is coming
And He will redeem all things
He will end our exile in this winter
And bring warmth to save our souls
Oh come oh come Emmanuel and ransom us from this freezing winter

A boy born into royalty
Destined to rule over a great kingdom
But sent away by one with ill will for the kingdom
To be killed in a shipwreck
And leave a kingdom without their prince

But a lion pushed the boy in the wreckage to shore
Where a man stood wakeful at night
And took the boy in, giving him life
The man abused the boy in many ways
And the future ruler would leave to rule his kingdom

The boy had always wanted to go North
As if there were something good to the North
Something drawing him to the mountains and rivers
As he had northern blood flowing through his veins
So 'Onward and upward, to Narnia and the North!'

The boy fled his home on the back of a talking horse
Escaping the abusive nature of his supposed-father
To the north where he was meant to be, they fled
From the south the life he was fleeing from
His destined kingdom lying in this northern land to which he travelled

On horseback he rides in a forest
Before hearing the sounds of another horse
And then seeing the sights of another rider
Terrified the horse pulls forward
Then a wild animal gives its mighty roar

Hearing the roar of a mighty lion
The riders and horses go on running from this terror
Until they are united, together in their travels
Then the lion disappears into the mist of the forest
And the travelers, a boy and a girl, and two horses now travel to the north together

The boy stranded in the desert
Away from all things he had known
Without his horse or traveling companions
Without any water to quench his thirst
And he spends the night alone in the dark desert

There on the desert ground, terrified he laid
For behind him stood tombs of the kings of old
And to his forefront laid the desert
He imagined ghosts and ghouls that might come from the tombs
And terrified he laid, there on the desert ground

Then a kitten came to his side
The cat came und nuzzled behind the sleeping boy
It kept him warm through the cold desert night
The boy felt safe with the kitten by his side
As if no one or no thing could possibly harm him

As he slept, he heard the sound of jackals howling in the desert
The boy became fearful once he noticed the absence of the cat
Yet it was at this time that he heard the mighty roar of a lion
And the lions roar made him even more fearful than he was before
But then the howling of the jackals ceased and he was safe

He awoke again later in the night to the cat by his side
The cat comforted him in his loneliness
And kept him warm in the desert night
When it needed to, the cat became a lion and defended the boy
For the lion always wanted what was best for that boy

Then the four travelers ventured north across the desert
Racing against time, and against enemy armies
To get to the kingdom in the north on time to warn the king
But like any desert travelers, they quickly tired
And they required one final push

A lion's roar cams out of the silence of nature
And very quickly the horses sped up to leave the lion's reach
But to no avail as the lion gashed at one of the riders
The terror of the horses propelled them forward
And they made it in time to save the kingdom

The boy was reunited with his father, the king
And he himself became a king when it came high time
The boy married the girl, and became king and queen of the country in the north
For the Lion and the Kitten led them to the north, and to their salvation
Even when they did not know the Lion at all

The Lion is Jesus Christ, God Himself in the flesh
He came to save the boy, and his horse
And his wife and her horse
He came as a fierce lion to redirect
And as a kitten to comfort
He came as a lion to defend
And as a kitten to protect
Jesus Christ came to men
He came as a helpless fetus and infant
And as a small child
He came as a man to teach
And as a man to die
Jesus is fierce when needed
And gracious when needed
For He loves His children
And will not let His children stray far from Him
For much good is to come for the Children of God

Like waking from a dream
Waking from the horror of a nightmare
And seeing the beauty of the morning
Seeing the green of an Earth you had never before seen

For I hear our beloved saying to us;
“Arise, shine, for the light has come
The glory of The Lord has risen upon you
Come now my love, awake!
See the winter is past
The rain is over and gone
For Summer has come
Gone is the Winter and its ravages
Here is the Summer and its blessings
The warmth of the sun
The flowers flowing in the meadow
For good has come”
Thus says our Lord

For He has crushed the head of the Serpent
Like the King of Old has slain the giant
And the end of all things has come
The end of separation is arrived
The beginning of new things is here
The founding of the New City
This City was built, established by understanding
The rooms were filled by knowledge
Filled with all precious and good treasures

From the darkness of the night has come light
The sun has broken out with the dawn
And all wounds were healed
And the unrighteous became right
For the nations saw and came to our light
And kings came to the brightness of such light

On this New Earth there is no more pain or destruction
This Earth is full of the knowledge of The Lord
The cow and the bear graze in the field together
Their young lie down with one another
And the lion eats straw like an ox
All the depths of the Earth have risen up
The high points have been made low
The uneven places have been made level
And the rough ground has become a plain
For all things have been made good again
Like the Summer of the Garden, yet better

On this New Earth, roads have been made in the wilderness
And rivers bring water to the once-dry desert
For these new good things are being done
From the old things of nature come the sound of great music
Clapping from the trees of the field,
Songs from the mountains in the distance
From the ground come not thorns, but beautiful flowers

The ancient ruins of the old places have been built up
The cities of former glory have been rebuilt
The devastation of many generations have been healed
No more are we called forsaken
For our Salvation has come
And He has married our land
He has become one with our properties
No longer is our land called ‘Desolate’
But is now called ‘My Delight is in Her’
For His delight has come to us

On the Earth of Old we sold our possessions
We held onto treasures that would not fail
To moneybags that would not grow old
Moneybags that no thief could ever steal
Treasures no moth could ever destroy
And we dwell now with those treasures
As He had promised us before
We now dwell with Him in Paradise
In this paradise unimaginable
For no eye had seen, nor ear had heard
No heart had ever imagined this paradise
This great place God had prepared for us

We have been given one heart
And we have been given one spirit
Our heart of stone has been removed
And we have been gifted a heart of flesh
He bathed us with water
He washed us clean from our bloodstains
And He anointed our heads with oil
He clothed us with fine cloth
Shod us with good leather
He has wrapped us with fine linen
And covered us with precious silk
He sprinkled us with clean water
Cleansed us from unrighteousness
And took us from our idols
He had given us new hearts and new spirits
And His Spirit dwelled in us

We had died before, as He once did
We died, but now live forevermore
He too died once, but lives with us
Now, forevermore

We now dwell in this New Earth
For the first Earth has passed away
And in the New City of Jerusalem
For we are of the Bride for Christ, our Husband
For this New Jerusalem is a dwelling place
A place for us to dwell with God
He dwells with us
And we will be His people
And He will be our God
He has wiped away the tears from all faces
Death is no more, mourning is no more
Crying and pain are no more
Those who thirst have been quenched
Those who hunger have been filled
Those who were blind now see
Those who were deaf now hear
Those who were lame now walk
For the former things have passed away

A great shadow has departed
For everything sad has come untrue
For the voice told us;
“I have made all things new"

Remember those days oh so long ago
When you were too little to understand life
Where everything was given to you
And you were just a cute little kid
Back when nothing really mattered

Back when outside was a battlefield
For Cowboys and Indians in the Wild West
Or Fairy Tale Kingdoms with wars and battles
Always with sword fights with sticks and branches
When the most important thing was merely being outside

Remember when the raindrops would race down the car window
And when you would wait for your dad to come home from work at night
The days you would ride your bike to the far reaches of the end of the block
There were the days you would go for hikes in the forest
Exploring places never before known by another

Back when going to bed was hiding from monsters
The ones living under your bed
Waiting for your dangling feet
But then flying away, you were whisked away to a far land
Where your dreams would catch your every wish

Remember back when going to bed was being scared of shadows on your wall
Waiting in your closet for you to fall asleep
Then to get you in your peaceful slumber
But shadows do nothing to a sleeping little child
Because who could do anything to a sleeping child?

Don't forget those summers where you would chase fireflies in the night
And the times where you might have even caught one
But they would never stay long enough for you to love them
As soon as you had them they would fly away
And you'd never know what you missed

Remember when you would beg your parents for a play date
Where your friend could come over and play
And stomping off when they said no
Like a spoiled baby you were, since your parents gave you everything
And they loved you, how could they not?

Never forget when you couldn't wait to grow up
To get behind the wheel of a car, and take a pretty ******* a nice date
When you couldn’t wait to get away from home
To go off and discover the world apart from your parents
But today, all you want is their warm embrace once again

Remember those nights when going to bed was your worst nightmare
When that was the biggest problem in your life
You would beg your parents to keep the lights on
And when the lights went out you feared you would never see light again
That your parents hated you, but how could they ever?

Those days in the morning you’d wake up
And your parents would sing you awake
They would make you breakfast before school
They would hug you before they left for the day
And they loved you, how could they not?

The outdoors used to be a battlefield of imagination
Yet today merely waking in the morning begins the battle
And each moment of each day only fuels the war
The present is filled with fears and anxieties
And you only wish you could be young once more

You used to hide from the monsters that lived under your bed
But now you hide from the monsters that lurk in your past
The monsters that wait for you to take a wrong step
Where they might then devour you
But what could save you from these monsters?

You used to fear the shadows on the wall
But now you hide from the writing on the wall
Writing that tells lies and denigrates you
Instilling fears deep in the recesses of your soul that you may not be enough
Who could ever dispel these lies from your thirsty soul?

You used to chase fireflies in the night, and you could never quite keep them
But today you chase your dreams
And even though you might catch them
They seem still to slip through your fingertips
What could possibly put dreams back into your hand?

You used to avoid going to bed at any cost
But now you wish all the day long that you might be able to sleep
That the exhaustion might finally leave you
And you could close your eyes and get some sleep
But what could renew your infinite weariness?

You used to beg your parents that your friend might come and play
But now you don’t even know who in your life you might call a friend
There are many that surround you that call themselves friends
That falsely claim they have you at the forefront of their minds
Is there anyone that could truly be a friend to one who has no friends?

You used to shutter when the lights went off in your room and the dark came in
But now you shutter at the darkness in life
For what could pierce through the deep darkness of this life?
And save you from the terror of yourself
What could deliver you from yourself?

Remember when you would feel the warm embrace of your parents
But now you long for something even half as warm as such
As you fled from your parents, the people who love you more than anything
And you wish you might be able to feel their warm embrace in the cold of night
But there is something you might find that would be even better than that?

It is in this terrible sadness and anxiety
Where you wonder where this cold world is taking you
And you wish that you were young again in your parents house
A place where you would be safe from harm
A place where you would feel no pain

There is such a place, and it is not your parents’ house
A place where God on High looks over you
And He has saved you from the monsters that plague your mind
God on High has dispelled the lies that you are not enough
For He came to save and deliver you from all things

He has come to give you dreams that will not slip from your hand
Dreams that will come true one day, where you will be satisfied
And He came to renew your strength and **** your weariness
He came so that you may have rest, so that you will no longer tarry
He came to renew all things

He came to be a friend to one who has no friends
To stand by those who are lonely and have to one to turn
He came to deliver you from yourself
To free you from the ******* you have set yourself in
For He came to make all things new

God on High came and renewed all things
His love is warmer than a mere hug from a mother or a father
It could make even the coldest person in the coldest place of this earth warm again
He came to give life to those who have no life
For He is God on High, and we are His children, no matter how old we grow to be