Tag Archives: Child

WHEN

17 Sep

“But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.” Luke 18:16-17 KJV

 

💖

The Lord keeps showing me, over and over,

images of the little child that rests inside each angry man.

💖

The baby who first discovered his fingers and toes,

or laughed with glee upon his first sighting of a butterfly.

💖

The little boy who wiggled through his first haircut,

he was so proud.

💖

The little boy who brought home weed-flowers

for his mom to put in a vase.

💖

The cut-out crooked hearts

with “I love you, daddy” scribbled across.

💖

The little boy who wanted to be a policeman,

a fireman or the President.

💖

The little boy who learned to ride a bike

and could almost keep up with dad.

💖

The little boy who chewed wild grass

and dreamt of flying a rocket to the moon.

💖

The little boy who made a 100% on his spelling test,

but couldn’t quite figure out math.

💖

When did he turn into an angry young man,

bitter, distant and lost.

💖

When did friends become more precious than family,

no matter when, no matter where.

💖

When did Christmas cookies turn to alcohol,

Mother Goose to pornography.

💖

When did alcohol turn to drugs;

to live for, to kill for, to die for.

💖

When did skateboards turn to drive-by shootings,

picnics to funerals, love to hate.

💖

When did he become an angry young man,

falling deeper and deeper into sin, into death, into Hell.

💖

If you look close enough you can see that little boy,

through the dazed eyes of drugs.

💖

If you listen carefully you can hear that little boy crying out for help,

for peace, for love.

💖

If you hug him long enough you will feel the shield and barriers fall away

– long enough for him to know someone cares.

💖

And if you walk with him long enough you can guide him along the path

to find that little boy again.

💖

 

 

Written 3/21/95

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

THANK GOD

16 Sep

 

“Surely “the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name: the upright shall dwell in thy presence.”  Psalm 140:13 KJV

 

✝

In the sunrise, in the clouds above,

In the gentle lifting movement of a dove.

✝

In the quiet of a sweet sleeping child,

Thank God, Thank God.

✝

In the Stillness of a star filled sky,

In the company of loved ones on a cold night.

✝

In the riches and the fullness of life,

Thank God, Thank God.

✝

Thank God, Thank God,

For the blessings brought before us everyday.

✝

For the wonders and the peace in our hearts,

Thank God, Thank God.

✝

For the Spirit, in the hungry soul,

For the Words of truth that teach us of His love.

✝

In the fire, when the pulpit explodes.

Thank God, Thank God.

✝

In the filling of a new born child,

In the words and tongues of Angels spoken prayerfully,

For the moments when He calls out your name,

Thank God, Thank God.

✝

Written as a song in 1991

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

REVOLUTION

16 Sep

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)   2 Corinthians 10:3-4 KJV

✝

Firmly we stand,

with pure hearts,

and cleansed souls,

fire coursing through our veins,

exuding the power,

of the anointing within.

✝

Are you ready for a Revolution?

✝

At battle status,

with sword and shield,

we take our positions,

as warring spirits,

in the battle ground,

for man’s soul.

✝

The army of God,

is cleansing a path,

for the graceful steps,

of the Bride of Christ.

✝

No enemy can draw near,

no dart can reach its mark,

for the strength of David,

the wisdom of Deborah,

and the faith of John,

take authority,

over all principalities,

and powers of darkness.

✝

Stand up, child of God,

renew your mind,

take your place,

as a Christian heir,

in the righteous army,

called to demand peace,

at all costs.

✝

REVOLUTION!!

Written 10/23/1999

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

LITTLE CHILD

12 Apr

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. Luke 4:18-19

…

Huddled mass, skin and bone,

Family gone, not a home.

Alcohol, to soothe the pain,

Curb the heat, repel the rain.

…

The future looks very bleak,

Live day by day, week by week.

Need to change, don’t know how,

Need it bad, need it now.

…

Little child, deep inside,

I am here, I am light,

Come to Me,

You’ll be free.

I am Jesus.

…

Every night, fight and steal,

Need the drugs, need to deal.

Seated deep, anger hides,

Worthlessness, fear inside.

…

Drugs help forget, take you high,

Just for today, it’s gone tonight.

Have to stop, too much strife,

I want to love, I want a life.

…

Little child, deep inside,

I am here, I am light,

Come to Me,

You’ll be free.

I am Jesus.

…

Daytime I sleep, nights work the street,

Sometimes it’s okay, sometimes I’m beat.

Don’t matter to no one, no one to care,

I can’t run away, I wouldn’t dare.

…

I still have a family, ran away from that mess,

Afraid to go back, they hate me, I guess.

I want to be wanted, want someone to care,

I need arms to hold me, someone to be there.

…

Little child, deep inside,

I am here, I am light,

Come to Me,

You’ll be free.

I am Jesus

…

Work all day, sometimes nights,

Work is tough, at home we fight.

Plagued by bills, how can we pay,

Sometimes I want to run away.

…

A wife and kids, they need to be fed,

Would they do better with me dead.

I can’t hardly cope with the pressure today,

There must be something, there must be a way.

…

Little child, deep inside,

I am here, I am light,

Come to Me,

You’ll be free.

I am Jesus.

…

Home all day, kids to tend,

House to clean, clothes to mend.

Screaming and fussing, night and day,

I want out, but there’s no way.

…

Husband’s late, if he comes home at all.

Drinking and fighting, never does call.

Don’t want today, don’t want tomorrow,

There must be some way to end this sorrow.

…

Little child, deep inside,

I am here, I am light,

Come to Me,

You’ll be free.

I am Jesus.

…

When it all seems to hard,

When there seems no way out,

When it all seems so hopeless,

Lives of anger and doubt.

…

There’s one who can help you,

He’s faithful and strong.

He’s waiting to greet you,

Whatever your wrongs.

…

He is Jesus.

Written 3/17/95

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

RUNNING AWAY

27 Oct

“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6

I have been most blessed. God has given me three wonderful boys to love, encourage, and enjoy. Each of them has a strong call of God upon their lives, all in different capacities. We call each one by the name God has placed upon our heart – Pastor Jon, Deacon Eli and Chaplain Paul. In the body of Christ, all positions are of equal importance (1 Cor 12:12), this we have shown them so that neither feels of less importance than the other.

Having children called to the ministry is a tremendous challenge. The challenge isn’t in Bible study or scripture memorization, they strive to meet those desires themselves. The challenge is in recognizing the Spiritual Warfare and the schemes of the enemy that tempt them away from the call God has upon them.

Although there are many stories of miracles and answered prayer for each of them, our greatest challenge has been with our oldest son. He is currently a teenager (written in 2000), raised most of his life in Christian education, but placed into the public school system during the 8th grade, when the Christian school he had been attending closed. Placed in an environment he had never been subjected to, the enemy tempted and attacked, stole and taunted. However difficult these trials were, they couldn’t compare to the luring and wooing that called his name.

With peer pressure and Satan’s enticing whispers, he was drawn into a life we never expected. Although the rejection of family values was difficult for us, it was the running away that tormented our family. Where was he? Was he eating? Did he have a safe place to sleep? Who is he with? Why has he left us? Doesn’t he love us anymore?

Doesn’t he love us anymore? Rejection by your own child. Harsh words and accusations fly about. Why didn’t we see this coming? Only prayer brings us peace, difficult travailing prayer. I can’t begin to explain the depth of emotions a parent goes through in circumstances such as these. Love, hope, anger, hopelessness. Faith, doubt, pain, faith. Sorrow, prayer, memories, trust.

As I prayed one night, I asked God if He could understand the special relationship that grows as you hold that baby, child, young man in your arms and protect him from every possible danger that could come against him – God showed me Jesus, sent to earth to be born in a lowly manger, vulnerable to man, protected by the angels; the same angels that he has sent to watch over my son. I asked God if He could ever understand the pain and the rejection of a child not wanting to be near you, after you’ve been his best friend for most of his life – God showed me Jesus, standing before the crowd, as they chose Barabas to live and Jesus to die. I asked God if He knew what it felt like to sit in your child’s room, empty, hollow, except for the memories that line the walls and shelves – God showed me Golgatha, and Jesus’ lifeless body on the cross. I asked God if He could understand the pain of searching every street, every car, looking closely at every child the same age and build, in hopes of seeing your child, even at a distance – God showed me the people at the cross, dividing Jesus’ clothes, cutting into His lifeless body with a spear, laughing at all He was, void of any righteousness or desire of God. I asked God if He knew what it was like, waiting for the phone to ring or the front door to open, just to hear your child’s voice calling again, waiting , praying – God opened my ears to hear Jesus’ last cry, “Why hast thou forsaken me?”

Yes, He knows. He gave His son willingly, to walk in places of evil that all may be saved, even my son. He gave His son to bring hope, life and peace, knowing the pain and agony His son had to feel before it could be done. He watched as everything His son did was rejected and scorned, even as He lay lifeless. Yes, He knows.

Then God reminded me of the many times I have turned from Him. How many times have I turned my back on the family He has placed me in? How many times have I rejected the values and desires He has placed inside me? How many times have I spoken harsh and hurting words to Him, as I ran away to a world of selfish pleasure? How many times have I simply chosen to be somewhere else instead of in the sweet relationship with my Father? How many times have I put other things, people, places before Him? How many others have done the same?

Forgive us Lord, with your unlimited mercy, for all the times we fell to temptation and disappointed You. Forgive me, Lord, for thinking that You could never understand the pain of a Mother. Remind me that you are in control of all things. Help me to trust You and run back to You all of my days.

 

—

Written 7-14-2000

—

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

ISOLATION

20 Oct

He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. Psalm 91:15

—

I have fallen back into myself,

It’s so comfortable there.

—

I see the child

Looking for shelter, reaching out to me,

By my solitude – so precious –

Keeps me from reaching back.

—

I see the man

Drinking away his pain.

“No, no, no.” I shout,

But from my safe place no one can hear,

They continue toward death.

—

I see the woman

At the point of desperation

Mouths to feed, bills to pay, all alone.

I start to reach out

But in my isolation she can’t see I care.

—

The pain of others so overwhelms me

That I crawl farther out of sight

To my safe place with Jesus.

—

Yet in my safe place there’s a stirring

Scriptures echo in my mind

The rumbling of the Spirit bursts through bone and sinew!

—

“Is this what I’ve called you to?” Cries God.

Hesitantly I look into the eyes of my Father,

He’s not angry, only hurt.

—

The tenderness in His eyes draws me.

I reach for His outstretched hand,

And step back out of myself.

—

In my mouth He’s placed the words that I must take,

To the Child, To the Woman, To the Man.

—

The words that will turn their pain to Hope,

Their death to Life.

—

The Words – The Gift – of my Father.

 

—

Written 2/5/2003

—

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

WHAT DO YOU SEE

15 Oct

For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. Psalm 139:13 KJV

 

Lord,

     In the drifting tides of time – you knew me.

     You were preparing a way – for such a time as this.

     What do you see in this tarnished,

               broken vessel.

     Why did you give so very,

               very much for me.

     What do you see, Lord?

     What do you see?

.

My Child,

     I see the saints – generations passed –

               paving a way for you.

     I see your family – speaking God’s Word –

               protecting your days.

     I see a child growing – strong in me –

               strong In love – strong in compassion.

     I see a vessel of clay – not broken, but repaired.

     I see a tender heart – humbled by a life of trials –

               fought and conquered – through me.

.

And I see tarnished, broken vessels –

     waiting for you –

     to breathe hope and life –

     into them.

.

I see you, Child – going forth –

     to be my hands, my words –

     repairing those tarnished broken vessels.

.

Just as another came to you –

    the night you first called –

               My Name.

.
Written 10/20/1994

.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

In His Love

14 Sep

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions–it is by grace you have been saved. Ephesians 2:4-5 (NIV)

My birth father was a very “unkind” person. Children weren’t to be seen or heard. The least infraction or word spoken out of order resulted in a backhand to the face and a tumble across the floor. It was just the way thing were in my home in the 50’s.

A memory came back to me of an event that impacted my life in a difficult way. I was 8 at the time, my brother was 6, and my sister was close to 3. My sister had been given a medium size baby doll. One day my dad decided to rip the head off of that doll and turn it inside out. To a child a doll can be very real and I remember the horror I felt when he ripped the head off, and the intensified feeling when he turned it inside out; the eyes bulging out and showing the hair stitched to the scalp.

He found great pleasure in the fact that it frightened my brother and me. He put the head on a stick, thrusting it at us, and screaming something as we ran around the outside of the house, trying to get away. He found where we were hiding and repeated his thrusting, time after time after time. My brother and I screaming with fear. When he grew tired of chasing us he mounted the head on the fence post of our front yard gate. We were too afraid to go past the head to go through the front door and into the house. It remained there for weeks. I never wanted a doll after that. I could not get the pictures of that event out of my mind.

It took a long time for me to completely believe in and trust God. I didn’t find relationship with Jesus until I was 38 years old, and I didn’t completely believe that the promises of God were for someone like me – a nobody – a loser – an unwanted person.

I struggled with who I was and how an almighty God could love me when I never had felt the love of an adult. How could I believe the words in the New Testament when I had never had a practical application to compare it to.

I continued to battle with myself about God and who I was until the night I received the Baptism of the Holy Ghost. I had prayed at the altar every Sunday night for almost 2 years for the Baptism. The long period of prayer seemed to mock my low self-esteem. One day a woman gave her testimony in service. She said that she had tried and tried to receive the Baptism without success, and kept repeating that she wasn’t worthy enough to receive the Baptism. Then she heard the voice of God tell her that no one is worthy to receive it; it’s a free gift from the love of God. When she heard those words she relaxed, praised, and received. The next week I received the Baptism and with it came warmth and peace and an incredible feeling of being wholly loved by someone that would never let me go.

When a person steps out of abusive relationships they find it so difficult to trust God. They want so strongly to believe in His promises, yet they are terrified that once again they will be betrayed. It takes special people to help them step past that fear and understand the love and peace found in God.

Lord, help me to be a catalyst to the wounded, to help them to believe in who You are. Help me to help them believe in pure love, pure faith and in themselves – the person You see, and not the reflection of the past they see in the mirror. Let me be your hands and feet to the world. Let me be Your testimony.

 

Written  5/11/12

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

CRIMSON BLOOD

8 Sep

Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.       Hebrews 13:20-21

 

So curious a creature are we,

 ingenious in the ways of war,

 yet perplexed by wounds,

 ever so greater,

 than any weapon,

 could ever conceive.



Wounds so deep,

 into the hearts,

 of our smallest children,

 that no medicine made,

 today or tomorrow,

 could ever lift the pain,

 piercing through.



Fatal wounds inflicted,

 by those they love most,

 in acts of anger,

 in acts of arrogance,

 in tearing away,

 from the gift they call love.



When the hope dies,

 along with worthiness,

 the wounded child,

 remains small,

 though the body may grow,

 to adulthood,

 to accountability.



Where, then, do they turn,

 when they scream out for love,

 from a deadened heart,

 pushed so deeply,

 into a box,

 of protective devices,

 flushed by deadening tasks?



Who, then, can see,

 into the callused eyes,

 shielding the soul,

 from any possibility,

 of additional wounds.



Only the Son of Light,

 can burn so bright,

 as to see into the depths,

 of a lightless life.



Only the Son of Life,

 can loosen the sword,

 of tainted love,

 and killing words,

 to free the fatal wound,

 in the deadened heart,

 of a little child,

 now the shape of a man.



It is only the Son,

 who called us from birth,

 set angels at our side,

 and prayed with our prayers,

 until the day,

 we were ready to heal.



It is only the Son,

 who’s dark crimson blood,

 entered into the wound,

 lubricating the weapon,

 only He could remove,

 cauterizing the opened cavity,

 filling it with the endless gift,

 of God’s perfect love.

 

 

Written 11-15-1998

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

TAKE MY HAND

27 Dec

 Reaching Hand

“Thou leddest thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.” 

Psalm 77:20

 —-

Take my hand, Lord,

                                                         and guide me through this weary time.

—-

Gently lift and gently lead,

            my eyes are tired,

           the path is dim.

—-

Take my hand, Lord,

                               a grasp of friendship,

                    a grasp of love,

—-

Father to child,

                     child to father,

            trusting,

           secure,

           warm.

—-

Take my hand, Lord,

                                   that I might be healed,

                          and capable soon,

                         to reach my hand,

                     back to another.

—-

Tags: , , , , , , ,

← Older Entries