Seashells

Upon the shores, of endless ocean we
Find remnants, of those carried by
It’s longing tides across
Vasts of endless blue

And these ones, once living,
Now empty are
Monuments, to the One
Who created them

Not to that, which once lived in them
Not to the one who inhabited that shell, that by the seas waves now
Is removed from its casing and
Left without a home

These tiny shells, of those removed are
Monuments to, Creator who
Made them beautiful
That now that they, are rid of self they

Can reflect, all the better the
Beauty of, the Creator God and
Not fear, for glorifying flesh who once
Dwelled within its casing

For that shell, has been broken
It has been tossed about and
Carried by the Sea, and now remains
As testament, to the beauty of

Eternal God in Heaven Who
Made it, so beautiful
And even rid it, of itself
That it may better, reflect Him

The One who tames the waves and
Formed the oceans vast, in all their depths and
Each and every creature within
And gave them a purpose

Like those shells, upon the beach who
Though empty, now declare a
Peculiar glory, of the God
Who rid them, of themselves and

Freed them from fleshy impulses
And temptation, to glory self
That they now, may declare to passer-byers of
The mercy, and Love of this God

Who saw them, in their states of self and
Freed them, to be His
Made them, to be His own
To glorify, His name alone

Those shells on beach do sing
In simplicity, of brokenness and
Silent humility
They declare, with angels song

The glory, and the beauty of
This everlasting God
Who holds the seas, and tames them too
And even knows, each star by name

And looks at these shells the same,
The tiny, forgotten ones
Not forgotten, by the Maker
But broken, now whole by

His hand, and beauty to
Declare, His glory on the shores of earth
To those, just passing by
That they might see Him,

Through these vessels, rid of themselves
That they might know Him,
Who loves these little ones
These tiny vessels of His glory that

All the earth, may come to know
Him, who is most worthy and
Him who is most High
And glorify Him, the reigning King

Who is so good, and merciful
Even to the smallest ones
Broken, and rid of themselves
Now whole in His strength, and too

Now testaments, of His glory
Who sing, of His great Name
Simply, by being His
There, on earth’s shore

They praise Him forevermore
May we learn to do as they
For His glory, for His fame
May we allow ourselves be rid

Of ourselves, to better declare
His goodness, and His mercy to
Those, just passing by
On the shores, of eternity

That they may be with Him forevermore
In that Ocean of His grace
In those depths of His character,
In the waves of His justice

To be His, forevermore
Simply surrendered, as those shells
Rolled upon the waves
Simply His, and His alone

May we praise His name forevermore

Untitled

When words fall short to utter
Truths, of praise to God in Heaven
Sing but one name, speak with one voice
The name, above all names

The name of Jesus Christ

When world around falls apart
And nothing still remains unshaken
Sing, to heart and soul, to mind and body that
Name, too beautiful, to comprehend

That name of Jesus Christ

When pains, so deep
Rend tears in heart, beyond repair
And words fall short to utter grief
Speak, and sing that name, that perfect name

Of the Savior Jesus Christ

For He, in Himself, is enough to cover us
He is enough, to heal our broken hearts, and too
Utter that which we cannot, and create in us
A heart of praise and adoration, not possible without Him

To make our brokenness, into beauty
To turn our mourning, into joy
To take our sins, our failures, our shame
And make us new beneath His holy blood

For He, is enough
He is sufficient to cover us, to carry us
He is enough to keep us His
Enough to see us home to Him

Not by our merit, or our own worth, but by
His own strength and power and
By His great, unending mercy
By His love, and grace are we

Free to be His own!

So praise that name, above all names
Glorify, that God in Heaven who
Came and gave, Himself for us
Who is, more than enough

All we could ever hope for,
More than we could ever dream
Endless, and boundless as the sea
Whose greatness goes beyond the skies

Praise Him, and call upon that name
That name, above all names
The name, of the only Begotten Son
Of our Healer, our Savior, our Redeemer, our King

The name of Jesus Christ alone
Praise Him forevermore
For He is enough
Cling to that name alone!

Jesus, Jesus
Father we look to You.
You are our only One
The only One we could ever need

Jesus, Jesus
Oh how we need You
How we need You again
For You are our only One, our only Hope

Jesus, we need You again!
Speak to us again we pray
We have no good, apart from You
Jesus, fill us with Your love

Oh how we need You again!
Only You are faithful and
Only You are good
Jesus, we look to You

How we need You again!

Beauty in the Pain

In painful labor, filled with agony
Mingled with joy, as soul is brought fourth
Into world for first time
There is, both pain and beauty as

Life is welcomed in

As promise born, millennia before
Comes to fruition in the cries
Of small, baby boy
The Messiah come to earth to save

To bring to life those dead

And too, years on
As promised in Scriptures written
Long before He walked the earth, that baby now a man
Suffers and bleeds, in pain and torment

Bringing life to the world

As He bleeds upon the ground
Beaten, bruised, and shattered there by men
In all the pain and torment, in the agony and gruesome scene
Still, there is beauty as

Savior bears the weight of sin

There on the tree, as He hangs
Suffocating from the weight
Of own body and of sin
He dies, the earth shakes

And death is defeated

For that man, once infant born
To virgin in a stable
Was no ordinary man, no ordinary person sentenced
To die by crucifixion

He was not just a prophet
Nor was He one of many
He was, as He said He was
The very Son of God

Come to bring life to the earth
In infant’s cries, and final shout
As veil rent in two
All the earth was paid for

Every soul redeemed by that Man, the perfect One
Who died in our stead
That every man, who calls on Him
And acknowledges His sacrifice

Could be, brought into Life
Out of sin, into Him
Made whole and perfect by His blood
By His tender mercies

For such is He, our God who came to save
And makes beauty in the pain

Who am I?

Who am I?
I do not know
As you ask from painted billboards and
Scream to me from cardboard signs

Who am I?
Am I enough?
You make me question as I wonder aimlessly through aisles stocked
With things to make me better and

More worthy of something I will never have
Nor ever wish to have and yet
I find myself pursuing, in days spent toiling
To be like you, you who tell me that

I am not enough

Yet as I wander through halls of
Self and reflection I
Am greeted by, you once more
An enemy, I’ve called friend

For more years than I could count

For I look at you, and believe your lies
I believe what you say about me
And I am, comfortable
Damaged in your arms that make me feel

Insecure about all of me and
Make me hate myself, and who I am
Because I am not you
I am not what you had wanted

For your lofty expectations are
Placed inside my head
By I, who take your lies demanding perfection and
Try to soar with them as wings

But instead of soar, I fall to earth
Heavy under weight I was never meant to carry
Yet you, bid me to, that I might be
Bound forever in your shackles and

Blind to all your evil

That I might, forget who I am
Who I am really called to be
By One who is holier, and really, has no comparison to you
That I may be seperated from Him

Cut off for all eternity

Then your work, will be complete
You I once called friend
For every lie, every word
Every falsity under guise of truth was spoken to

Drag me down to hell, away from Him
From Him who alone is true

So away from me!
You worker of lies!
I will believe your spittings no longer!
I choose to trust in Him

Who alone made me, as He intended and
Who calls me to be, so much more
Than you ever feared and
Than I ever dreamed

For what I am, is not mine
All I am is His
He has called me, as His own
So I can rest in confidence

Knowing that, He is good
And faithful for all time
Forever true, always merciful
Him who made me as I am

And I, I now know who I am
I. AM. HIS.

And that is enough for me.

For You have called me as Your own
A thing I will never truly understand
Yet Your great mercy is, enough for me
So I will praise You, forevermore

You who have called me Your own
I will trust in You
For You have made me, pure and spotless
Cleansed by Your blood

And so, the only thing
The only title, the only approval I
Will ever wish to seek
Is Yours, that I may please You

That I may be Yours, and Yours alone
A thing, You have already done by Your great mercy
By Your own spotless Son
So I will rest, and know that I

Am Yours, and Yours alone
And that is enough for me.

Letting Go

In the middle of a crazy day
Surrounded by the world and
Encompassed by wild thoughts
Begging me to fall

I find myself listening to
A peculiar, melody
A song of hope, a song of praise
To get me through the day

I stop and listen for a moment
Intrigued by the beauty of
Such simple worlds, and simple music that
Hearkens me to stop and listen

To cease believing the lies around me

For in this song, there sings a hope
A voice, familiar yet too often
Forgotten in the chaos
A Voice, of love and of mercy

That tells me I am enough
I am enough in Him!

That all I am, though very little
In His hands, is more than enough, for He has made me beautiful,
And He has loved me so
And given me, so much

I am eternally grateful!

So it is in these times of desperation
In these hours of chaos and of lies
I choose to remember, yes, I choose to believe

Not the lies, or the voices all around me
Or that of my own mind

But I choose, instead to believe
Only one report

I will hear, only One
Only that Voice of Hope
Only the God of truth
For He is good, and He can be trusted

So I will believe, I will trust
I will hope in Him, and believe, no other
I will believe no lie
But I will trust, in Him alone

In Him who is the God of truth
No matter what may come!

For He is good, and He is trustworthy
And He is true, in all He does
Perfect, not lacking
And He does all things well

So I will trust, yes, I will believe
Him, this God,
Who crafted stars, and galaxies
And knows them all by name

As much as He knows me, in all my faults
As much as He knows my heart
And He made me, as He made them
To show His glory on the earth

To shine, and be His alone
To have fellowship with Him
This God who is so good,
This God who knows me best

I choose to trust in Him
I choose to believe His word
And I will hear, I will believe
No other voice

My God I give myself to You
I let go and place my life, my soul
My body into
Your loving hands oh God

My God, here I am
I am Yours and Yours alone
All I am is Yours, use me as
You see fit

For I choose, yes, today, I declare
I will believe no other
I will trust no other
Only You, only You

My God I give myself to You!