Month: October 2010

veiled

you start down the path confident
confident that you know
that up Is up
and down is down

little do you know
little do i know
all that seems real is not
and all that is real is veiled

take a peek, I dare you
take a peek, behind the veil
let your eyes adjust
let your mind adjust
let it all in to your heart

disoriented
wrecked
your confidence, shot, dead and dying
your knowledge, rags, trashed and worthless

up but not as you knew it
down but not as you knew it
life but not as you knew it

what lies beyond the veil?
see for yourself
He’s there, He’s waiting

Jesus
King of an eternal kingdom
that will not be veiled forever

blue

blue, the color God chose
for the vast ocean
and for the never ending sky

blue, the color God chose
for little eyes
that melt my heart

may they always be pure
may they always reflect His light
and may they always gaze upon His beauty

they will remind you little one
that from birth God marked you
marked you as precious in His sight

lifecycle

allow it in
allow it to stay
let it bury itself deep
a seed gets planted

the seed grows
the young plant grows
it buds and flowers
soon the fruit will appear

the fruit appears
as thoughts
as words
as actions

the thoughts
the words
the actions
are all consumed

inside
deep inside
the juicy fruit
lies seeds

allow them in
allow them to stay
let them bury themselves deep
that’s the way seeds get planted

True Masculinity

From Albert Molher’s awesome blog on true masculinity:

Our fathers and grandfathers did not put on overalls to play dress up. They were headed for work. Faludi is profoundly right when she writes that “their sense of their own manhood flowed out of their utility in a society, not the other way around.”

A true masculinity is grounded in a man’s determination to fulfill his manhood in being a good husband, father, citizen, worker, leader, and friend — one who makes a difference, fulfills a role for others, and devotes his life to these tasks. Most of our fathers went to work early and toiled all day because they knew it was their duty to put bread on the table, a roof over our heads, and a future in front of us. They made their way to ball games and school events dead tired, went home and took care of things, and then got up and did it all over again the next day.

Today’s men are likely to be more nurturing, but they are also statistically less faithful. They may be changing more diapers, but they are also more likely to change spouses. Men must be encouraged and expected to be both faithful fathers and faithful husbands. Otherwise, any society is in big trouble.

How to Guide Your Team Through Conflict

This is a great post from Donald Miller’s blog on how to guide your team through conflict.

Here are some keys for a team to survive conflict:

1. Invite God into the conflict. Structured, daily prayer will give people a sense of hope. Bring God into the conflict and trust that He is there with you

2. Commit to having patience. It’s going to get tough, and nobody is going to get what they want out of the situation, so settle in and have some patience.

3. Have compassion. Some people register pain more than others, but resentment is an open door for the conflict to win. Don’t resent somebody else’s pain, even if you suspect they are playing the victim. Give them what they need for much longer than you might need it yourself.

4. Take some time to grieve. If there’s conflict, it’s likely because somebody, or something (a vision or a desire) has died. Moving on to quickly is not helpful. Give yourself a great deal of time to grieve what has been lost. Giving yourself permission to grieve will stop the voices of condemnation for feeling so weak. Weakness after a loss is part of the healing process, and so it should be associated with strength.

5. Serve one another. If it helps, go to a calendar and find a date a month or even a year out. Commit to serving everybody in need until that date. Of course we should always be servants, but pointing to a date on the calendar breaks up a tough commitment into an actionable step, and will stop you from trying to overly control the situation, a mistake a lot of people make when times get hard.

6. Listen. Listen to everybody involved. Make a list of names if you have to, and make appointments with everybody experiencing the conflict, and simply listen to how they are feeling. Try to formulate their thoughts and repeat it back to them so they know you understand. Share your own feelings with them. Much of the pain involved in a tragedy is the feeling of being alone and not having people in your life that understand. Listening will help people not feel so alone.

7. When the grieving is done, map out a vision and process to rebuild what was lost.Give yourself permission to slowly move forward.

8. When the time is right, write down all God has developed within you because the conflict took place. You’ll be amazed at His ability to redeem a tragedy and make something beautiful grow as a monument to the beautiful thing that was lost.

mourning

i know this feeling
i’ve been here before
the heart is quiet, the mind is racing
the soul trudges on hurt and broken

i know the feeling
i’ve mourned before
trying to understand loss
trying to understand hope

what is death but the loss of relationship
a bond broken, a love lost
the mighty heart laid low
by something it doesn’t understand

the search for peace begins anew
the rocky path leads to an all familiar place
a hill, a cross, an empty grave
reminders of our source of hope

wounded, beaten, bloody
wounded he healed us
wounded we share our healing
restored, renewed, we rejoice

Why daughters need daddies

I love this.

From Why A Daughter Needs A Dad: 100 Reasons by Gregory E. Lang

1. to show her that true love is unconditional
2. to teach her that her value as a person is more than the way she looks
3. to teach her that family is more important than work
4. to show her that a man can be trustworthy
5. to be the safe spot she can always turn to
6. to teach her that a man’s strength is not the force of his hands or his voice, but the kindness of his heart
7. to be the standard against which she will judge all men
8. to help her take risks that will build her confidence
9. to hold her when she cries
10. to teach her she is important by stopping what he is doing to watch her

via Resurgence

the river flows

just beyond what you can see
just beyond what you can imagine
flows a river

in a world thats near
in a world thats here
flows a river

in the place of His birth
in the place of my birth
flows a river

heart to heart
spirit to spirit
flows a river

in joy
in peace
flows the river

in wisdom
in splendor
flows the river

in love
in mercy
flows the river

in blessing
in honor
flows the river

the river flows from the Father
the river flows to the Son
in this way we are one

feasts

two tables are set
two feasts are prepared
both beckon, calling me by name
before me is a feast of blessings
and a feast of lies

–

the feast of lies
is pleasing to the eye
all my favorite foods are set before me
each plate a comfort food from my past
each one the best the world has to offer

what catches my eye is the company
lust, she welcomes me with a glass of wine
self pity is playing my favorite tune
knowledge crowns me with her jewels
their attention is intoxicating

the meal starts with crunchy self reliance
and quickly moves into sweet flattery
washed down with pride and gratification
the second course is a succulent fillet of fear
covered in creamy sauce full of doubt
dessert is the sweetest confusion around

more, i need more
the food, the wine, has not satisfied
but instead intensified my hunger, my thirst
how, why, no time for questions
more, i need more

desire, after desire
need, after need
the feast of lies promises to satisfy
with pleasure, after pleasure
with attention and praise
but the itch is never quite scratched
i’m always wanting more

it’s days, months, years, a lifetime
before i notice
that the music has stopped
the crowd has left
i try to leave, i want to leave
but
the emptiness within has chained me to the chair
the hunger so strong now
more, i need more…

–

the feast of blessings
is simple
the body
the blood

hope draws me in
faith pulls up a chair
simple wooden chair, simple wooden table
love serves me

the first bite is like a rush
i learn the meaning of love and sacrifice
the second is more than i can take
things that never should have been forgiven, are

the first sip opens my eyes
and glory is seen
the second opens my heart
and life is experienced

fullness
i cry out
he answers
fullness of him

the body
now my body
i see, through his eyes
i hear, through his ears

life
abundant life
eternal life
full life

the table is cleared
together we leave
to join our king
at the feasts of all feasts

–

the price of admittance is the same
for both lies and blessings
each at a cost I can hardly fathom
life, life consumed

all life needs to eat
but we have a choice
a choice of the kind of food we will fill our lives with
between the temporary
and the eternal
between the lie
and the truth