Rock My World!

Half an hour ago as I sat here in front of my computer, I suddenly felt some pretty intense shaking. The truth was undeniable - we were having yet another earthquake! The last shake-up we had was March 16. Today, the Lord saw fit to give us another Easter Surprise - a 6.9 earthquake rolling in from Mexicali and Baja California, felt throughout SoCal! The quake set high-rise buildings in both San Diego and LA rocking from side to side. Fortunately, there have been no damage or power outages reported due to the earthquake, and we have yet to hear of any damage or injuries. According to Fox News 11, the only minor delays the quake has caused so far are a couple of stalled elevators. The earthquake lasted 45 seconds and was felt as far away as Phoenix, Arizona and Las Vegas, Nevada! Praise the Lord for His faithfulness and protection!

Elusive Dreams

I remember those days

The ones when you were mine

The nights we were sure

We would stop time

When we had faith and believed

Anything could be achieved

We knew we loved deeply

But the road caved steeply

And when we came to again

We watched for the next bend

And we were happy forever

Because nothing else was better

In our own parallel universe

Yet we inherited the curse

The brood of lust and lies

Consuming everything with their eyes

Killed us, slowly eating away

At every true love we wanted to stay

And we broke promises, dashed our dreams

Upon decievingly gentle flowing streams

But together we pressed on

Assured that we weren't wrong

If only we had known

The Hurt we'd feel

Would soon be shown

Where did we go?

It came on so fast

But we stumbled so quickly

Hitting the all-time low

How did we become

So entirely undone

I remember those days

The ones when you were mine

The nights we were sure

We would stop time

What happened to faith?

Why did we give up the race?

Tonight we're singing out loud

Darling, we were so wrong

To trust anyone but our God.

A Blast From The Past

So today, I was looking through some memories from long ago. Papers I wrote years back, and drawings and sketches and silly little "perfect husband" lists I made, all saved in a single crowded filing box. One such poem I wrote years back I am fondly, if somewhat embarrassingly, posting here.
I wrote this one when I was twelve years old. 6 years ago. So much has changed since then.

The Morning Prayer

Dear Jesus,

Thank-you for keeping me safely through the night,

So I could once again see the lovely morning's light.

Please forgive me for the tears I caused you yesterday,

Help me to draw closer in my walk with You each day.

Let me have you for my light,

As I walk through the darkness of the night.

Give me the strength to obey, come what may.

Help me to honor you in all I do and say,

And to witness for you each and every day.

In Your name I pray,

Amen.

Beauty Lies Within the Sinner

The following lyrics are the words to the song "Imperfection" by Skillet.

But they go far deeper than mere words.

They are a truth - one that so many hurting, broken and lonely people need to hear every day.

The people that need to be told or reminded of this truth are people that you encounter every day - they may be your friends, your family, your neighbors. Fellow Christians in need of encouragement and love.

You can make a great difference in their life today by speaking this simple truth to them.

Let's discover what truth is told behind the words in "Imperfection".

You're worth so much

It'll never be enough

To see what you have to give

Here, the speaker begins by stating the inexplicable worth of their friend, and the inevitable blindness their friend has to what a significant impact he makes in the world. I know many of us find it hard to fully explain just how vaulable our friends are. Friends who are amazing and awesome in every way possible cannot even begin to comprehend their importance to us and to others, let alone to Christ.

How beautiful you are

Yet seem so far from everything

You're wanting to be

You're wanting to be

The speaker voices the truth about his friend's own self-image. Here, the speaker is in awe at how lovely and radiant and precious their friend is, and yet with disbelief acknowledges the fact that their friend simply cannot see her beauty with her own eyes - she has done so many wrongs, and she doesn't feel like she'll ever be good enough for anyone.

Tears falling down again

Tears falling down

Sadness every one of us are all too familiar with...

You fall to your knees

You beg, you plead

Can I be somebody else

For all the times I hate myself?

Your failures devour your heart

His friend is beating herself over the head. How many times have each of us experienced these same feelings of guilt, of hurt, of pain, of frustration with our own lives? We often wish we could go back and relive the past to reverse the mistakes we have made. We curse ourselves and our stupididty. We live in constant fear of turning into something worse than we have been because of our own previous and present faults.

In every hour, you're drowning

In your imperfection

She's living in the irreversible past full of sins she's committed, for she can't forgive herself for what she's done and wipe the slate clean. She's struggling to find meaning in her "pitiful muck of a life" she's created for herself. With every moment, she longs for freedom from these chains...if only she knew how to get it, for it's obvious she cannot achieve it herself....and yet, perhaps if she just keeps trying, she'll find another way to live in liberty from bondage.

You mean so much

That heaven would touch

The face of humankind for you

Here, the speaker shares with their friend how incredible the Amazing Grace of God is. To imagine, that The Lord of all the earth would allow His Son to come to earth for HER. Christ Jesus Himself knew of her sin and yet He still bore all her sin upon His own body, and He bled and died a horrific death to redeem her! He was the Atonement for her wrongdoings, and as a result, He is her Salvation. He is her True Love, for greater Love has no man than this: That He lay down His life for His friends. Jesus considers her His friend! His love is deeper than the deepest ocean, and it endures forever. For out of love did He give this ultimate gift for His people. HER. She was worth His every pain, His dying breath to Him. That's how much He loves her. So He does with every one of us.

How special you are

Revel in your day

You're fearfully and wonderfully made

You're wonderfully made

The speaker further explains to his friend how great her worth is. GOD really loved her. To sacrifice His all, His Child, for HER. And that Child in turn suffering a torturous death for her of His own free will. Now THAT'S LOVE. He also made her in His own image. Now that's special. To be made in God's image. Fearfully and wonderfully made. To be loved just as she is.

Tears falling down again

Come let the healing begin

Only ONE can rescue her from this mess. It is He who loves her like none else can or ever will. The Redeemer. He who died out of His love for her. She must accept His gift and His promise of unceasing faithfulness. She has to allow Him to break her chains, for He holds the key.

You fall to your knees

You beg, you plead

Can I be somebody else

For all the times I hate myself?

Your failures devour your heart

In every hour, you're drowning

In your imperfection

Echoes her every haunting fear...

You're worth so much

So easily crushed

She is so special, but she falls wearily under her burden. She is disillusioned with life. She bends under the pressure. Feels like the weight of the world...will it ever go away?

Wanna be like everyone else

No one escapes

Every breath we take

Dealing with our own skeletons, skeletons

She wants to fit in with the crowd. To be poured out of a mold. Perhaps then, she will finally be satisfied with life. But she's unaware of the truth; the truth being that everyone struggles with the same sort of failures and past mistakes. We all try to rid ourselves of them, in vain. When we do not succeed of doing so ourselves, we must find ourselves in the all-powerful hope of Christ to erase them, and heal us.

You fall to your knees

You beg, you plead

Can I be somebody else

For all the times I hate myself?

Your failures devour your heart

In every hour, you're drowning

In your imperfection

The ghosts are ever present...

Won't you believe, yeah

Won't you believe, yeah

All the things I see in you

He implores her to open up her eyes and look at her own beauty. She is so precious to him, and precious in the eyes of God.

You're not the only one

You're not the only one

Drowning in imperfection

She's not alone. We all do the same at one time or another, so lost in our endless mistakes. So many others are hurting and helpless, but despite their struggles, they cannot gain their liberation from sin on their own. They, like she, must surrender their chains to Jesus, who is able to set the captives free from slavery to sin. She has a choice to make. To attempt her own escape from the Nightmare, or to breathe and live anew.

Jesus spoke. He said, "Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

She did.

I did.

The question is, will you?

Will you surrender it all?

Breathe and live anew.

Never Be The Same

I wrote this poem for a someone very dear to me. She is my best friend, my sister, and my gushing buddy. She is...beautiful.

I remember when I looked her in the eyes
It was the very first time
And I couldn't pull myself away
She was a beautiful angel
She was a bundle of laughter
Safely brought into the world
She became calm and smiled
Grasped my thumb with her whole hand
And in that moment I knew
My heart was forever hers
Her innocence was so pure
And I rejoiced, I was glad
I danced in the song of my God
And praised His name
His Joy was mine
Forever

Oh
Just look at her
Look at her now
She is alive
Oh just think of her
Think of all she can be
She's going to be
Someone's happiness
The reason why
They love God
She'll make a difference
Somehow in some way
And the world will never be the same

I still think back to last December
The night when she first met my eyes
I hadn't felt so speechless in awhile
She was a beautiful angel
She was a radiant beam of light
Reflecting His amazing love
She laughed with me and smiled
Clasped her warm hand in mine
And in that moment I knew
My heart was forever hers
Our friendship would endure
And I raised my voice, I was glad
I danced in the song of my Redeemer
And praised His name
His Joy was mine
Forever

Oh
Just look at her
Look at her now
She is alive
Oh just think of her
Think of all she is to me
She's going to be
Someone's happiness
The reason why
They're in love with God
She makes a difference
In lives around her every day
And my world will never be the same

I recall the heartbreak I first knew
When I heard the tearful cries
Of a mother so hopeless and afraid
She said she was selfish and unkind
She determined to give her gift up
Before the term "baby" could change her mind
I held that woman and gazed into her face
Pleaded and begged her to retreat
From this deed she could never erase
She asked me what love really meant
And in that moment I knew
God's promise was forever hers
Precious child was safe and secure
It was her choice, and she was glad
She danced in the song of her Savior
His Joy was hers
Forever

She said
Oh
Just look at her
Look at her now
She is alive
Oh just think of
of what she means to me
She's going to be
Someone's happiness
The reason why
They're in love with God
She made all the difference
In my own life today
And the world will never be the same

Oh
Just look at her
Look at her now
She is alive

Chosen

It's time
It's time to break
From this pattern
I've been stuck in
It's way past due
To wait another day
I've grown so
Accostomed to this place
I seem to be frozen
My mind assumed
All my world was broken
My soul cried silently
Calling out for closure
Couldn't bear to break free
From the life I'd chosen
Now I know truth
And I am alive
Feeling my oxygen
From the inside
I can breathe
Chains are gone
Now I am free
Looking at you
It's hard to believe
You are the one
I've been waiting for
Searching for me all along
He shut what I wanted
And made you the open door
I reach out
Can it be that it is you
Will you care or say
You can live without
It's time
It's time to stand in faith
I dissolve my fear
Let Him guide our way
Somehow we both know
We'll have True Love someday.

The Prize Of Great Price: "A Woman's Question" by Lena Lathrop

This poem is a favorite of mine, and is featured in Joshua Harris' bestselling book I Kissed Dating Goodbye. It serves as a special reminder to keep one's standards high. Though its wording may be old-fashioned, the message is timeless, as it applies to all of us today.

A Woman's Question

Do you know you have asked for the costliest thing

Ever made by the hand above?

A woman's heart, and a woman's life--

And a woman's wonderful love.



Do you know you have asked for this priceless thing

As a child might ask for a toy?

Demanding what others have died to win

With the reckless dash of a boy.



You have written my lesson of duty out,

Manlike, you have questioned me.

Now stand at the bars of my woman's soul

Until I shall question thee.



You require your mutton shall always be hot,

Your socks and your shirt be whole;

I require your heart be as true as God's stars

And as pure as His heaven your soul.



You require a cook for your mutton and beef,

I require a far greater thing;

A seamstress you're wanting for socks and shirts---

I look for a man and a king.



A king for the beautiful realm called Home,

And a man that his Maker, God,

Shall look upon as he did on the first

And say: "It is very good."



I am fair and young, but the rose may fade

From this soft young cheek one day;

Will you love me then, 'mid the falling leaves

As you did 'mong the blossoms of May?



Is your heart an ocean so strong and true,

I may launch my all on its tide?

A loving woman finds heaven or hell

On the day she is made a bride.



I require all things that are grand and true,

All things that a man should be;

If you give this all, I would stake my life

To be all you demand of me.



If you cannot be this, a laundress and cook

You can hire and little to pay;

But a woman's heart and a woman's life

Are not to be won that way.