Listen to the world around you
Take in all that it has to offer
Tune out the distractions of life
Tune in to the love of God in creation
Listen to the song of life and love
Feel the Spirit move in the air
And for a moment just be present, aware
There is more to this life we are living
We can be giving, we can be forgiving
We can find peace and joy when we stop
Or even if we just start to slow down
We are chasing after shadows
Insubstantial projections of what is really real
If you're not careful, your soul they will steal
So listen and let the Spirit surround you
So listen and let the love of God enfold you
So listen and let peace pervade you
So Listen

This man he is writing, writing in the sand
But the what and the why, I cannot understand
They condemn me and he bends down in the dirt,
Does he even care that I'm going to be hurt?
"Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone"
I look around and not one rock has been thrown
Once more he gets down and starts to write
I can't explain it, but somehow I feel like I'll be alright
One by one they start to leave, their stones left untouched
Stopped by a man whose only response was writing in the dust.
The elders leave first, and slowly, each go home
Until it is He and I standing there all alone.
What could he write that caused them to leave?
Here was a story none could explain and few could believe
He rose, turned to me, and said:
"Where are they who would have you dead?"
"They are left. They are no longer here"
The wind came and whatever he wrote had disappeared
"They do not condemn you. Neither, my child, do I.
Go now and sin no more in the grace of the Most High"
This man has given me a new life, a second chance
The man who looks at me with such a loving glance
I know not what he wrote or why he even cared
But from a stranger's kindness, my life was spared
So here I stand this day, this very moment
To witness to the power of atonement
So let me live as his word commands
And pay the price that true love demands
The wisdom of a stranger's writings in the sand

The mouth speaks what the heart feels
And hidden truths are now revealed
Our words can give life or bring death
The power of God is in our very breath
What is in our hearts comes out of our mouths
We have control over what is allowed
If we are what we consume
There shouldn’t be any room
For vileness and hatred to take residence
When we show the overwhelming evidence
Of love and truth gentleness and peace
Patience, faith and prayer that doesn’t cease
This is how they know us: they know us by our love
In this we show our kinship with the Father in Heaven above
And let us not dwell on other’s faults
But seek first to find our own
And bringing judgement to a halt
We find that we have grown
Love your sister and your brother
Though they may have a different mother
There are hundreds of languages in the world
But love is universal and a smile is unfurled
They know us by the fruit we bear of peace and unity
With eyes of love striving for a world in harmony
The outside is a manifestation of what is within
Do we reflect Christ or are we soiled by sin?
We are Christ bearers light bearers
Salt and light to the ends of the earth
We are truth sharers and Armor of God wearers
We are here to bring about a time of rebirth
So my friend guard your heart and guard your tongue
So you may stand victorious over the evil one
I pray your words would give life and your life would bless
And God provide what you need no more and no less
So Speaks the Heart

Won’t you take me back to a time before
When life was simple no one keeping score
When I was full of innocence and total trust
Before the dreams that I held turned to dust
I was filled with a sense of awe and wonder
I heard you in the soft wind and in the thunder
Over the years that faith has slowly faded
And life’s experiences have left me jaded
Won’t you take me back to when I was a child
Young and free, rambunctious and wild
I would leap off and with perfect faith I know
You would catch me and never let me go
You would set me right where I needed to be
I could safely be anything. With you, I could be me
I feel sometimes as though I’ve forgotten your voice
I’ve been distracted and concerned with the other noise
Help me relearn Lord like a child once again
To recognize the sound of your voice and then
To listen for you purposefully and with great care
In the stillness and silence I feel the breath of air
The spirit is moving and lifting and healing
The very word of God in truth revealing
Come upon me and illuminate the dark
I love your law for it helps me hit the mark
I know I can’t go back to where it all began
I know that it is all a part of your great plan
But if I could know again a little joy and laughter
It would help remind me why and what it is I’m after
Someday you will take me back and I’ll be home once more
To be with Him for all eternity: Jesus Christ my Savior and Lord

Be merciful even as your Heavenly Father is merciful
Thy kingdom come thy Will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven
Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
The Father who loves us died for us and paid the debt we could not pay. May we strive to be merciful, loving, forgiving for the small things. Let us be like Jesus to others. God is LOVE. The reason the world does not know God is because it does not know LOVE. And what is Love? Love is patient, love is kind, slow to anger, protects, trusts, hopes, believes, perseveres. Love never fails. Forgiveness is a great weapon. It disarms, diffuses, stuns, kills hate, squashes vengeance. It heals and sets free, but surprisingly it most often frees us. If someone can forgive you for something and move forward, never think for a second that God can’t forgive you and hasn’t already. God is so much better and so much more merciful and loving by far! The challenge is you need to learn to forgive yourself. God, help us to be merciful, forgiving, loving and kind to all, especially those who probably don’t deserve it. In these moments Lord, remind us gently that we didn’t deserve your mercy, forgiveness, love and kindness, but you gave it anyway and we aught to do likewise. Amen

Lord you reveal yourself to me in a way so profound
That if only I would seek you, there you would be found
For I opened the doors and there you were waiting
My steps falter and my words are now hesitating
I opened the windows and, on my heart, you alight
You were singing so happily like a bird that’s in flight
Once you were there you began to build a nest
And for now and always it is where you now rest
Lord I have found you in the hearts of the poor
And seen you dwell in those I thought were the least
I have known you when I doubt if anything is real
I have felt that when I’m hurting you helped me to heal
This is the revealing of the soul’s great lament
The moving of the spirit by which we are sent
The yearning to be united to our Lord once again
The working and waiting that we have until then
You know my inmost being Lord you know my every thought
Nothing is secret; all my efforts to hide are for naught
So Lord help me open myself to your holy and perfect will
To accept you and in my empty spots, won’t you fill
In your love and by your power, make me complete
Won’t you melt and refine me and turn up the heat
By the power of your passion, your burning love and desire
Burn me and brand me with your Holy Living Fire
Little by little you restore and reveal and I am being remade
Some things are sharpened and some places seem to fade
One day when this life is finally over
And I go walking through the golden field
Questions will be answered, eyes will be opened
And that which once was hidden, in truth, shall be revealed

I need someone to lean on and to trust
I need someone who will love me no matter what
I need someone who will find the hidden beauty
Someone who helps out of love and not simply duty
I need someone to defend me when I am under attack
Someone who is in my corner and who always has my back
I need someone to see the real me and still not leave
I need someone who will also give back not only receive
I need someone who is gentle and yet strong
I need someone at my side as we walk along
I need someone who will listen to me when I need a friend
Someone who is faithful and true to the very end
I need someone who will treat me the way that I deserve
I need someone who is willing to surrender and serve
I need someone I can turn to in any situation
Someone who will share in both sadness and elation
I need someone who understands what makes me what I am
I need someone who will be with me to hold me and take my hand
I need someone can tell when something isn’t right
Someone who will watch over me both by day and by night
I need someone who will tell me that things will be okay
I need someone who isn’t afraid to kneel down and pray
Someone to forgive me and help me forgive myself
Someone who makes me feel like there is no one else
I need someone who knows I am special and unique
I need someone who will be my light when life is bleak
I need someone to care to act with loving kindness
Who will open my eyes to see and remove my blindness
I need someone so rare there might be only one
And I pray it’s not too late before the search is done