Before the first Christmas
there was Christ.

Before the sleigh
Before the conifers
Before candles
and the paper decor,
there was Christ
before he became the suffix
to all that's festive,
before he became less Christ
and more Chris.

Before we suppressed his divinity,
took away his dignity
and replaced him
with a capital merry Me.

Before Christmas became
more about gifts
and the turkey
Christ gifted himself
and took the part that was key
to making a path back
(by way of a starker tree)
to the eternal city
where Christ is rightfully King
and the real party can begin.

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You left Your Throne for me,

Yet never lost Your sacred essence.

You came with purpose, burning bright —

To rescue me, to bring me light.

You are the Most High, the Messiah,

All power beneath Your sovereign feet.

No force, no darkness, no hellish scheme —
Nothing can sever what’s ours to keep.

The Cross is more than wood and nails,

It’s where You bled for all my sins.

You, Heaven’s Beloved, pure and true,

Yet still You chose to die for me too.

How unfathomable Your love is,

It floods my soul, a boundless sea.

I tremble, awestruck, in Your grace,

For You have made a way for me.

My love for You, I claim again,

And lay it at Your feet.

My days are far too few, I know,

Yet You promise me eternity

Steal a whisper from the breeze – wipe your shoes at the threshold
of Father Time; the embrace of Mother Nature bosoms over my gaze,
nourishing me with the vivid picture of life yearning for sustenance.
As a wailing child, wrap me in the blanket of my dreams; my sheets
stained with yellow – don’t label me as yellow, for I despise
being ******.

Capture a flair in a brushstroke – the delicate arch of an eyebrow,
lifted at the sight of the Cross; “I still ponder how,” they criticized the
woman who dried His feet with her hair – she must have been bold.
Now, resting at the foot of the Cross; I must be wise to take down
those footnotes.

Lend a smile from a tear – grinning through the pain, the ache of
existence is merely this relentless cycle within the machinery of time.
A lavish timepiece; cherish all that you have at hand; and arm your resolve to fulfil His Will.

Good morning
Ways open for us
Doors open for us
Mountains melt before us
Rivers part ways
Storms hold no sways
Why?
cos we're children of the most high
Above whom there is no one else
We're not afraid of the storms
Because we have the prince of peace in the boat
We just worry the boat won't hold if he doesn't wake up soon
But then, he can make us and all that's ours walk upon the waters,
Ride the storms as we would ride our boats
He owns the storm, he'll teach us to pilot it,
He'll give us a ship for the boat we lost
Make the hurricane the vessel that takes us to where we need to be
Anyways, it's win-win for us
Cos we have JESUS

I find myself dreaming even when I am awake.
Of life and death and what they'll celebrate at my wake.
Of every death I've seen before and know what it is to feel
I cannot be, it can only be dreams, it's not real.
But what can I say but, "I hear and obey."?

There was once a priestess in the time before Exodus who spoke in defense of Israel before Pharaoh and did not cease speaking even as she was walked deep into the desert.
I know what it is to thirst.

There was once a child who loved winter and who fell through the ice.
I know what it is to drown.

There was once an elder who was learned of medicine, who had no children but saved orphans of warring towns.
I know what it is to live with purpose and die fulfilled.

So when I dream and in prayer I hear Him say
To speak as I have spoken,
To go forward without fear,
And to hear His calling to purpose.
What can I say but, "I hear and obey."?

Up on the mountain he took them: Peter John and James
And before their very eyes, their Jesus was changed
His clothes became the most dazzling white
A cloud came in and they fell down in utter fright
The true weight of God's Glory came upon them that day
As Jesus went up to the mountain to pray
The disciples were given a special peek
Something to give them strength when they were weak
It was hope, it was light, and it was profound peace
In praying, that which we receive down on our knees
We are transformed with Christ; made new and clean
And while we may never have this very scene
We can have a similar experience and feel the glory
We can, today, share in this great Gospel story
We can adore and, like candles, burn in his presence
A gift for the greatest and least, for kings and for peasants

Lord, some days we can't see you because of the shadow, and sometimes we are blinded because you are so close to us. Most of us have been blessed to have Close Encounters of the Spiritual Kind and felt the weight of your glory. The pure power of the energy and love in that moment is like a nuclear reactor. We become radioactive and sometimes even positively glow from the experience. Though it may be forgotten at times, it is still in us. In our darkest moments, help us call to mind this sunshine and cast away the doubt and fear. In your goodness, you have given us this hope of resurrection that we are longing for on Easter Sunday while we wander through the desert of trial and temptation for these forty days to obtain the true conversion and transformation. Thank you, Lord, for Close Encounters of the Spiritual Kind that bring us into the light of your presence and the weight of your glory! Amen.

I remember crying waterfalls in my bed,
struggling to get out,
and then Jesus came.
Jesus saved me.
I accepted Jesus's grace,
and i finally understood.

I sit in stillness in this silent, dark room
Lit only by candles and the soft glow from the moon
I sit before Jesus, drawn in by his gaze
My heart is filled with a silent song of praise
I can hear my heartbeat: it beats for you
How my spirit aches to be united to you
The stars above- a hundred billion tiny lights
Comfort me even on the longest of nights
In your arms you lead me through a heavenly dance
You chose me to be a part of this sacred romance
Together we glide across the celestial dance floor
I am dancing with the one whom I most adore
I am taken by a love so profound I am shaken
And when I turned away, I was not forsaken
I sit with you and watch my worries disappear
You open my eyes, and it all becomes clear
All I need, all I want, is to be right where you are
I need you so close: please be never far
I am here just to burn in your presence
To bear witness to you in life's little moments
Just once, I want to spend an evening
With my Lord, just being and receiving
Not talking, but listening not rushing, but waiting
Being filled with courage and confidence, not hesitating
I sit here and surrender my heart for you gave me your own
Spending an evening with Jesus is like nothing I have ever known
It brings me in my weakness, down upon my knees
But there is strength and peace and the whisper of a breeze
The feeling of this fleeting moment
My soul holds now and forever
A memory so powerfully potent
To strengthen it in spiritual endeavor