other people’s words
made my words seem small
but my words are mine
my words are special
my words are mine
my words have threads
of my soul woven into them
my words are mine
my words have my fire
my words are mine
my words are beautiful
my words are mine
my words come from my heart
my words are mine
my words have my love
my words are mine
my words share my story
my words are mine
my words share my struggle, my fight
my words are mine
my words come from my lips
my words are mine
my words come from my hands
my words are mine
my words have my fingerprints on them
my words are mine
my words can’t be told by anyone else
my words are mine
my words can’t be written by anyone else
my words are mine
my words don’t belong to anyone else
and i'll sing it from the rooftops
and shout it from the mountaintops
that my words are mine,
my words are mine,
my words are mine.

Burst of hope
In my soul
Like a lightening strike
Short and sweet
Leaving a lingering taste
Of memories past and
Promise of more
Memories to cherish
Burst of hope
I can see
Through the storm
Through these battles
I keep fighting
I'm tired
I still keep fighting
But I hope
These bursts of hope
Never leave
These small pieces of light

one of these days you'll see me
smiling at the sun,
running freely in a meadow, picking flowers
and placing them on my hair.
one of these days you'll find me
writing my story in the sky,
singing the song of my
freedom and redemption.
one of these days i'll be
dressed in bravery and gold,
with fireworks in my eyes
and truth written on my skin,
with the taste of joy on my tongue
and bliss in my footsteps
because i will be free and
brave and carefree and hopeful
one of these days.

don't be afraid to dream
because dreams were made for you
and you were made to dream.
darling,
close your eyes,
and let your soul be surprised
by the fire kindled in your heart
and the spark that lights your eyes.
so darling,
close your eyes,
and let your soul be surprised
and let it marvel at the dreams
that were planted in your heart
and just like wildflowers,
let them bloom.
but darling,
don't be surprised
when the wildflowers blossom
and your dreams come true.

look up at the sky
and smile at it,
because as endless as the sky
is the hope you’ve been given
and the love inside your heart.
because as beautiful as the sky
are your dreams.
because you shine brighter
than the sun in the sky
and have more worth
than all the stars in heaven.
look up at the sky
and smile at it,
because heaven is your home.

joy shines through
the darkness and
the bitterness of the
season you’re walking through.
it shines through
your heart and your soul
and who you are because
you refuse to let your
joy be stolen.
instead, you give it away,
sprinkling and scattering
and showering everyone
you run into with streams
and beams and rays of
this pure and immaculate
bliss, this real joy
that doesn’t waver,
that doesn’t stumble,
that never ends,
that never fades,
that never goes away.
it’s a fountain, it’s a river
that comes from
living water,
a river that never
stops running,
a river that brings
life to everything
that surrounds it.

i didn’t want rain.
i wanted beauty.
i wanted to see the rising sun
touch the blooming flowers
and i wanted to fall in love
with the glow of the sunset.
but it rained.
maybe i needed the rain,
because i needed to remember
that rain makes
the blooming flowers grow
and rain brings rainbows
and it washes away the
ugliness and brings back beauty.
and maybe i needed the rain
to remind me that i won’t always
be broken, that the brokenness
will be made whole, that this
season one day will be a dim memory,
that You will wipe away my tears,
that You make it rain on my heart
so that flowers can bloom in it,
so rainbows can fill the
skies of my soul.
maybe i just needed it to rain.