Psalm 98:4

Lift up your voice and sing to the lord,

Let your songs sweep the earth;

For he poured his joy into our hearts

On the day of our birth.

Lift up your voice when life seems too hard

And sing a song of joy,

For singing can heal the saddest heart

Let not your voice be coy.

Sing out, oh sing out unto the lord

Lift your voice to the sky.

Let spill the joy that swells in your heart

And lift your voice on high.

Psalm 98:4

 4 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music;

Haven and Laughter

Sometimes I don’t know where to start

To count the gifts I claim,

But all of them come filled with love

And carrying your name.

The friends who offer shelter

In a far away place;

The laughter and the memories

The warm, loving embrace.

The simple moments made so rich

Through generosity

Have lifted up my weary heart

And given hope to me.

I’m grateful for the simple things

That I have come to know,

They are the soil in which great deeds

Find roots they need to grow.

Daffodills Forever

They’re withered now, upon their stalks,

Their beauty dulled and gone;

Yet still they shine on golden crowns,

For me they linger on.

Thus too, the words that you once spoke

Still bloom within my heart.

They don’t wither for they were born

Where all love got its start

The hand that shaped the daffodil

And gave its smile to me

Is he whose word will bloom in me

Through all eternity.

Escaping the Bog

The sorrow that pulls at my heart

Is dragging my soul down.

I cannot let it suck me in.

If I give in, I drown.

The cool seduction of the pain

That draws me further in

Until I cannot see the light,

Or find a light within.

But wallowing in grief or pain

And lingering too long

Can devastate a loving soul.

It cripples what was strong.

I have to rise upon the tide

And let hope carry me,

But sorrow doesn’t easily

Let go and set you free.

I close my eyes and pray to you,

Return my faith to me,

For faith is what will lift me up,

Your love will set me free.

Isaiah 30: 19-21

Rise up, rise up through the darkness,

Put grim clouds in their place.

Though pain and sorrow cloud your sky

Don’t let them hide your face.

Rise up, rise up from the darkness,

Your afflictions will cease.

Let joy spill out all around you,

Let praise reflect your peace.

Rise up, rise up above the clouds,

Let his grace be your guide.

For joy will heal adversity

While he is at your side.

Rise up and cast your grief aside,

Dark clouds will soon give way;

Reflect his glory to the world

For he will light the way.

Isaiah 30: 19-21

 19 People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. 20 Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. 21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”

Tears in Spring

I wept from deep within my heart

When I heard you were gone.

You fought so hard; you held your ground,

But you could not go on.

Spring is the season of new life

In abundant display,

But the spring that brought life this year,

Has taken yours away.

The sky spilled sorrow to the earth,

The blossom cupped its tears.

I felt that spring now held no joy,

And won’t for many years.

But as I wept you sent me word,

A rainbow swept the sky.

I knew that you were well with God,

And that we need not cry.

He Is Risen, Indeed!

He is risen,
He is risen indeed!
Hallelujah!

The sun rose softly through a rain washed sky
Tears of rejoicing; let the whole earth cry!
He lives again that man need never die
Our souls are washed clean with the rain drenched sky!

He is risen!
He is risen indeed
Hallelujah!

Why seek you the living, here with the dead?
The angels of heaven were heard to have said
The sins of death cleansed by the blood He shed
The soul of man lifted to Grace instead!

He is risen!
He is risen indeed!
Hallelujah!

Oh glory to God and to His Son today,
For though great evil, on earth, still holds sway,
It cannot undo what’s begun this day.
My heart lives to sing and my soul to pray!

He is risen!
He is risen indeed!
Hallelujah!

Matthew 28: 1-10

 1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

 2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

 5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

 8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

Mark 15: 42-47

Waiting at the door of the tomb
Listening to the sounds of the night
The chirping bugs, the rustling brush
Something scurries by out of sight

Waiting at the door of tomb
Watching as the stars cross the sky
They shimmer with the dew of night,
As if they paused a bit to cry.

Waiting at the door of the tomb
The dusty smell of death and gloom
The bitterness of useless tears
The unrelenting sense of doom

Waiting at the door of the tomb
I’m not sure why I linger still
Death doesn’t change its course for man
And yet for Him… I think it will!

Mark 15: 42-47

 It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid.

Good Friday

What have I done?
How can I stand here inured and insulated
from the horror of my own actions?
Denying what I know
Knowing that it happened because of me.

I see it all over and over
I hear the tearing of flesh
I smell the blood and the dirt
The drops on my face
Is it rain?
Is it something even I cannot bear to feel?

Broken and shattered.
I stand here and watch you destroyed
By my deeds
And I don’t even weep.
I can't weep
To weep would mean it's real
To weep would mean I must face it
Face my own guilt.

Even to breathe is brutal.
Your body, crushed by its own weight,
Covered in blood and tattered flesh.
And I did this.

How can you look down on me
And love me
And forgive me
When I am washed in your blood
Standing here at your feet
Looking up at you with eyes that cannot understand

I reel from the horror of what I have done

And crumble at the price I have made you pay.
I’m horrified knowing it is done
Done for me, because of me,
No…
Done for me, because of you.
Because you love me,
You treasure me above all else.

And you stepped forward, not gladly,
But knowingly and willingly,
because you knew.
You knew that I could never pay the price,
Meet the obligations that I had incurred.
You could not bear to live forever without me
And now I,
I cannot bear to live with the price you have paid
And yet, I have no choice.

You are gone. You stood, you bore the pain,
You died and you sleep in a tomb of sorrow
On a bed made of promises and betrayals
Sealed in by fear and greed and anger
And all the horrible things that I have done.

And I stand weeping outside because you died.
For me.
And I know that I am not worthy of that much love.
And I am alone.

Matthew 15: 33- 39

³³ At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. ³⁴ And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).

 ³⁵ When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.”

 ³⁶ Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he said.

 ³⁷ With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.

 ³⁸ The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. ³⁹ And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”

Maundy Thursday

Tonight, out in the garden,

A friend is wrapped in prayer

While I lie near by sleeping

As if I didn’t care

The burden of a sinful world

Will settle on his head

While I lie near by sleeping

Not lending strength instead

They’ll rend and break his body

They’ll tear at mind and soul

While I lie near by sleeping

My body safe and whole

He faces what is coming

Though he prays it might pass

While I lie near by sleeping

In the fragrant grass

Why am I still fast asleep

While he prays on alone

And when they come to take him

How, then, will I atone

Wake up, Wake up! Stay awake!

I cry out in my sleep

But I doze on while he prays…

Tomorrow I will weep

Proverbs 27: 19

The kindness of a stranger’s heart

Reflected in her deed,

She saw the worry on my face

And she handled the need.

She offered care to someone else,

Someone she’d never met,

And the kindness of that action

Reflects in my heart yet.

So, like the sun reflects its light

Within the water’s face,

That one simple act of kindness,

Reflects our father’s grace.

Proverbs 27:19
As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart.

Psalm 29: 11

I need a place of silence, Lord.

Where I can spread my wings

And sail within the morning’s calm

Where still dark water sings.

I need to find that quiet place

Where I can sing and pray,

I need to turn my face to you

With each new dawning day.

I need to rise within each dawn

And find that peaceful place

Where I can hear your voice again,

Where I can see your face.

My heart will soar within your peace

Where quiet waters flow

And it will sing you songs of praise

Before I rise to go.

Psalm 29:11
The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace.

Psalm 68: 4

How does he rule the heavens

And still have time for me,

The lord who spreads the clouds above

The slowly moving sea,

How does he have the time it takes

To tend to them and me?

For they are bright and fill the sky,

They tint the quiet sea.

I am not grand enough to fly

Above the silent sea,

And yet the grace he gave the clouds

Is less than he gave me.

The soaring beauty of the clouds

Reflects in the still sea,

But all the glory of his love

Reflects itself in me.

Psalm 68: 4

Sing to God, sing in praise of his name, extol him who rides on the clouds; rejoice before him—his name is the LORD.

Matthew 18: 12-14

I asked the Lord to find my lamb,

I feared that he was lost.

And I’ve lost far too many lambs,

I could not bear that cost.

I waited in my silent world

And worried for my lamb.

I prayed for all the scattered sheep,

From lamb to fiercest ram.

But my heart ached to find this one,

He had been gone so long,

And it was not like him to stray.

I feared something was wrong.

And then today my answer came,

My lamb turned up on line.

He was exhausted from the fight,

But he was safe and fine.

Too many lambs have not come home,

The darkness claimed their light,

But this brave lamb is fighting still

And I’ll sleep well tonight.

So thank you, shepherd, for your love,

For watching all your sheep,

And help us bide within your gaze

Where we are yours to keep.

Matthew 18: 12-14

 ¹² “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? ¹³ And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. ¹⁴ In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.

Job 6:11

Like the impatient buds in spring

That long to open wide,

I, too, long to burst from my husk.

Yet I must hide inside

With patience in my anxious breast.

My dreams must be denied.

But, I don’t have a patient heart,

It tends to chafe and chide

At waiting for my life to bloom;

And yet that, too, is pride.

For, even though I wish it so,

There’s no one at my side.

Teach me patience, and while I wait,

Please, let me bloom inside.

Job 6:11
“What strength do I have, that I should still hope? What prospects, that I should be patient?

The Sun Breaks Through

The darkness lowers o’er my world
And sorrow drips like rain;
The chill that seeps into my heart
Awakens all my pain.

Then from the grey breaks forth the sun
To dry earth’s bitter tears,
And beauty, that was lost in mist
Now suddenly appears.

You heard my cries, you lifted me
Releasing me from pain;
Dissolving tears and bitterness

As sunlight melts the rain.

Matthew 7:25

Sometimes the winds tear at my heart,

And rip into my mind.

I hunker down and just hold on

To anything I find.

But when I stand upon your word

They don’t seem quite as cold;

And though the winds may tug at me,

They never quite take hold.

I’ll build my life upon your word,

I’ll lean into the wind.

And I’ll be standing on your word

When all the storm winds end.

Matthew 7:25
The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.

Dancing in the Wind

The wind that whips my face and hair

And froths the waves to foam,

Is, for the eagle or the gull,

A haven and a home.

The rains that drench my world until

The puddles spill and flow,

Is what brings life to all the beds

Where blossoms stir and grow.

The darkness that hides all the fears

That sets my mind to weep,

Provides the haven that my body

Needs to rest and sleep.

For much of what is hard in life,

There’s also something good

And it would serve us well, most times,

To find it if we could.

To let our focus lie upon

The good that has been wrought,

Rather than focusing upon

The pain with which it’s bought.

So when the winds and rains become

More than I want to bear,

Please let me be the budding bloom,

The gull dancing on air!

The Light at the End of the Tunnel is Friendship

The day slipped quickly up on me,

The night was all to brief;

The sleep that never quite caught up,

The lack of much relief;

I thought I’d reached the ropes loose end

And found that it was frayed.

But I’m so glad I didn’t quit,

That I hung on and stayed,

For in the chaos of this day

I found more than my share

Of people bent on showing me

How very much they care.

There was the laughter and the hugs

Which spoke of so much care,

That all my weariness dropped off.

I left it lying there

And stepped into a whole new smile

That you’d laid out for me.

So thank you for this lovely day,

It fit me perfectly!

The Empty Place

The rains have stopped, the day is nigh,

The dawn’s already here.

I face another day with hope

Though my eye holds a tear.

For though I know that I can do

What is required of me,

I cannot seem to do it, yet,

Without some misery.

There’s still a sorrow in my heart,

An empty place unfilled.

A question, tingeing on self pity,

That cannot quite be stilled.

Why me, when I have loved you well,

Why am I made for pain?

Why am I called to suffer so?

Then I recall again

The one who loved you more than I,

Who served you all his life,

And yet his death was harder than

His life of work and strife.

He loved you well, and you loved him.

Yet still he suffered too.

Where selfishly I think of me,

He only thought of you

And of the souls that would be blessed

By that life which he lost.

He was willing to pay the price,

While I quake at the cost.

So I will rise to face the day

And wipe away my tears,

That empty place will not be filled,

With vane self pity’s fears.

A Weary Heart

I have no voice tonight, my lord,

I’ve just a weary heart.

I wanted to lift up a praise,

But I can’t even start.

Lord, please don’t think I’ve turned away,

That I’ve not done my part.

Just for tonight don’t seek my voice,

Please listen to my heart.

Psalm 51:12

Sometimes we just don’t want to see

The things we know are there.

We close our eyes, we hide our face,

We say we just don’t care.

But all of it will still be there,

The worry and the pain,

When we look up again to face

The burdens and the strain.

Yet how do we lift up our eyes

When they are filled with tears;

How can we rise above the pain

While drowning in our fears?

Please give to me a willing heart,

I lift my eyes to you.

For in you is salvation, Lord,

And that will get me through.

Psalm 51:12
Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Psalm 38:9

I have a restless soul, my lord,

I long for something more;

A better life, a sweeter love,

To walk a different shore.

I cannot seem to find the peace

I know you hold in store,

Because I’m busy missing all

That my heart’s longing for.

You know the longings of my heart

Much better than I do.

I’ve seen you answer prayers that I

Had thought could not come true.

Yet many simple human dreams

I’ve had to bid adieu,

And so my restless heart cries out,

In anguish, Lord, to you.

Please show me how to ease this heart

That beats so selfishly

And lead me to the peace, oh Lord,

That’s mine abundantly.

This longing heart, this restless soul

Bring empty pain to me.

I long to long less, to find peace

And learn to simply be….

Psalm 38:9
All my longings lie open before you, Lord; my sighing is not hidden from you.