entanglement

This is about clearing and cutting away chaos in order to see clearly and to move forward...and then... to do it again...and again..



this stuff

clings to me like a vine
binds my time
saps my strength
my heart
my mind
renders me immobilized

how do i untangle it
clear my head
prune my soul

it's about letting go

goodbye to old crutches
to just in cases
to fear of lack
the urgent temptation
to put it all back

this has dropped me to my knees
i have to go to raw extremes
the day has come to clear the deck
to cut away chaff
chip away at the stash
and blast my way through
pluck pull
and chase down
to bag
to burn
delete
until the pruning is complete

never again to ignore
the gnawing need

to weed

ready to believe

A song lyric about my own up and down struggle to trust God like a child.  Like a kid wanting to jump into his dad's arms, vascillating, hesitating. He's there, he's ready, arms extended.  Why, after decades of being safely caught, do I still hold back?

can i walk not by sight
but by faith in your light
can i trust an unseen hand
to lead me where i've never been
can i soar through the years
breathing prayer
instead of fear

i'm ready to believe
beyond what i can see
restore to me the faith of a child

you would speak words of peace
captive souls would be released
you would call the faint of heart
to venture out to where you are
when you ask
do you dare
to follow me anywhere

i'm ready to believe

beyond what i can see

restore to me the faith of a child 

high ground

This is for all of us who are facing a challenge that demands our everything--every resource, every shred of prayer.

we have a struggle on our hands

a battle for body and soul

so now we must raise our game

to the intensity of the athlete

of the olympian

of Paul

not merely begging for mercy

but shouting instead of God's sufficiency

it is now time to grapple

for the victory of God's peace

for the high ground of relaxed trust in the Provider

for the foundation of faith to win the day

instead of crumbling fear

for the braced body to be loosed of its chains

the power of God is something we eat and drink

we swallow and absorb it into our bloodstream

no longer cowering in the night

no longer buried in spirit

we will not be mastered by anything

we do not run aimlessly

we do not box helplessly at thin air

God You made the vessels of our bodies

the world filled them

and we absorbed it deep down

we now allow You through the currency of TRUST

to excise all poisons

to renew and regenerate

body and soul

we invite our rebirth

we welcome our cleansing

the jettison of all confusion

sabotage and subterfuge

never will the boot heel of fear crush us underfoot

never will dismay have its way

never will despair foul the air

never will our resolve dissolve

our hearts will instead expand

our souls will stretch but will never break in two

bitterness will not gain a foothold in our spirit

joy will not be strangled by weeds of dark thoughts

love will not be starved by regret and resentment

we submit ourselves to the hard work of healing

the discipline of letting go

allowing Your undaunted power

to heal and to liberate

pushing apart the flimsy doubt of the moment

all to Jesus we surrender

to obedience with abandon

to exuberant submission

to believing in the realization

of the perfect restoration

of this body

this heart

this soul

this grateful soul

ghost town

I wrote this for everyone who feels lonely in leadership, or like they have to start from scratch with next to nothing. Or... even the ravages of a personal loss.




well well

you and i are the last ones standing

it's quiet here isn't it

among the twisted girders

and the charred infrastructure

of what was

a bustling destination town

tumbleweeds rolling across broken up boulevards

abandoned four by fours on pothole parking lots

an occasional lost crow passing overhead

so here we are

you and me

what will we do

we will find a hammer or two

scoop up some nails

round up some old boards with a little life left in them

and we'll build a scaffold

we'll gather up some scrap tools

and get to work

and we will make this ghost town into a chapel

a house of prayer

and when we're all prayed up

we'll forge this chapel into a shelter

for the lost ones and the refugees

as they pass through in the storm

and find a home

rough around the edges

but solid and warm

one by one

little by little

this tumble down old ramshackle of a town

will rise again

and become

the city of God

genesis 3:8 (from Free Fall)

Free Fall is a short film based on Genesis 2-3 (see link).  What must it have felt like to be the Creator at the moment right before the world fell, and His heart broke?

it was the cool part of the day

and God was walking

walking

through the land he made

his ecosystem

so magnificently put together

about to erode

about to implode

before his sad and timeless eyes

he took one long last look

and kissed the innocence

goodbye




Free Fall by Prolifik Films.  Written by Greg Ferguson.
link to Free Fall video

first light (from a thousand questions)

A Thousand Questions (see link on this page) is a short film that tracks the journey of a soul to understand the rampant pain and injustice in the world.  But the film begins at the Very Beginning.  It was an absolute joy to write this piece and to try to get inside God's mind and heart, and to see it come together as a visual worship explosion on the screen.



back before creation

before the formation
of all that is

there was

You

God

Yourself

perfect

complete

needing nothing

but did you look out into that empty sky

with a lonesome ache for something more

something yet to be born

unformed

were you reaching for us

were you reaching

for me?

let it BE

you said

and with that one command it was all underway

light and energy

gravity synchronicity

orbits and galaxies

comets hurtling down galactic highways

a space time ballet

a thousand years but a day

a brand new planet

hot with the fires of creation

life under construction

cells replication

DNA code

imbedded commands of how to grow

make yourself at home

woman and man

walk the length of the land

scale the mountains

run the rivers

drink from the springs

let your free will wander down the pathways

of this garden

called

Eden

                   

o Lord we ask

you who gave the universe

and planted thoughts in human hearts

you hear the groans of every soul

and in this room I know you feel them

Lord we bow before you now

may we breathe your presence here

like Solomon before we ask

for victory or more success

o Lord we ask

we ask for wisdom

help us Lord as we go forth

to find your strength along the way

like at the Red Sea where Moses stood

we hold our breath

and take a step

o Lord we ask

to feel your power

like Paul was blinded by your light

and the scales fell from his eyes

let Your presence make us tremble

and move our hearts to move the world

o Lord we ask

for transformation

and Father as we journey on

we trust your navigating hand

we trust your guidance and protection

the perfection of your vision

we submit our hopes to you

separate the wheat from chaff

and now align us with your Spirit

and hear our longing when we ask

o Lord we ask

we ask for wisdom

for transformation

to feel your power

amen

a prayer for the new year

God I give you 

last year

with its close calls

rescues

traps and sorrows

collapses and renewals

crises and joys

stains and scars

and I hope somehow

I lived it well

in your wise eyes.

I give you this new year

with all its bright and shine

caution and hope

I lift it high up to you now

when it has barely broken the horizon

take it up into your hands

along with my soul

look them over with your keen eye

trim away the chaff

the chaos

the reticence

and re-fire me to go

poised at the gate

fueled with hope

blackened with the burn marks from last year

but rich with the hard-won lessons

and ready to go again

as the planet is ready

for a new revolution around the sun  

there is much to learn,

adventures to welcome and not to fear

as I step onto your proving ground

knowing you post your angels everywhere

and that the same providence

that guided me through the last wild ride

is all still there

ever aware

on the watch

and worthy of my second-by-second trust.

O God

say the word

I’m ready to go

into the rising new year

even though

my knees might be shaking

a little 

from the old one.