Living Hope

How great the chasm that lay between us
How high the mountain I could not climb
In desperation, I turned to heaven
And I spoke Your name into the night

Then through the darkness
Your loving kindness
Tore through the shadows of my soul
The work is finished, the end is written
Jesus Christ, my living hope

Who could imagine so great a mercy
What heart could fathom such boundless grace
The God of ages stepped down from glory
To wear my sin and bear my shame

The cross has spoken, I am forgiven
The King of kings calls me His own
Beautiful Savior, I'm Yours forever
Jesus Christ, my living hope

Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free
Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me
You have broken every chain
There's salvation in Your Name
Jesus Christ, my living hope

Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free
Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me
You have broken every chain
There's salvation in Your Name
Jesus Christ, my living hope

Then came the morning that sealed the promise
Your buried body began to breathe
Out of the silence, the roaring lion
Declared the grave has no claim on me

Then came the morning that sealed the promise
Your buried body began to breathe
Out of the silence, the roaring lion
Declared the grave has no claim on me
Jesus, Yours is the victory
Yours is the victory Jesus

Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free
Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me
You have broken every chain
There's salvation in Your Name
Jesus Christ, my living hope

Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free
Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me
You have broken every chain
There's salvation in Your Name
Jesus Christ, my living hope
Jesus Christ, my living hope
Jesus Christ, You're my living hope
Jesus my living hope
You're my living hope

A Preacher who Teaches

It can be awkward starting out... but that doesn't mean it's not worth listening to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=196JeTpeba4

I Am Thankful

I am thankful that though my understandings of life come and go,
There is Someone who always understands everything.

This past year I lost the relationship with my best friend,

My First BFF who was always in the back of my mind.

I should have connected more with her.

I know she is hurting and I know she is lashing out.

I know I didn't give her all she needed -

But I gave her all I knew how.

I am thankful we are at least social media friends.

I fought for that and that seems to be how she wants it.

This past year I found out that my former mentor

Was and is not who he said he was. 

The façade he carried is that of a psychopath;

There are really no words to adequately describe

Both the positive impact he made on me,

And the betrayal of those trusted times.

I am still not truly done processing it.

I am just thankful that he is not, and never has been, my whole life. 

This past year I went back to church,

As someone engaged for the first time in ten years.

I find it interesting that God brought me back to church

The decade anniversary of when I left the church. 

Sunday mornings did not last; I have not found anything there worth it. 

But I do find value in the people I have met and are getting to know.

I am thankful for those people. 

It has given me hope in the church for the first time in years.

What A New Year

Some people are excited,
Some people are full of dread. 

I can appreciate a new beginning,

No matter what's going on in the world.

There's fireworks in my neighborhood tonight - 

We all made it through this past year.

What a Christmas

The routine of stockings, break, big gifts, then Christmas meal stayed the same,

With breakfast being the day after, though this year it was a brunch.

Lots of presents - a record for my mom (over 30).

We didn't really count and the number isn't the point. 

There are two big gift givers in the family, 

And it is wonderful to be able to both give and receive the love language of gifts.

My sister is pregnant, which adds more excitement! 

My brother-in-law still doesn't get me but oh well.

I'm excited to be a biological aunt.

I don't yet know how this will change things.

It's nice to have a day that's relatively the same every year,

As everything around us changes. 

Swept Away - Only One Way God Speaks

I never had anything happen so fast
Took one look and I shattered like glass
I guess I let it show 'cause your smile told me you knew
That you're everything I ever wanted at once

There's no holding this heart when it knows what it wants
And I never wanted anything more than to know you

I was swept away
No one in the world but you and I
Gotta find a way
To make you feel the way that I do
I was swept away
Without a warning
Like night when the morning begins the day
I was swept away

And so it begins
This journey of love
The summer wind carries us to places all our own

The words of a look
The language of touch
The way that you want me means so much
And I never wanted anything more
Than to love you

I am swept away
No one in the world but you and I
Gotta find a way
To make you feel the way that I do
I am swept away
Without a warning
Like night when the morning begins the day
I was swept away

Away, seeing my tomorrow's in your eyes
I was swept away

Ooh, I hope I wake up soon
Ooh, I'm a victim of that crazy moon

The very first time you said my name
I knew it would never sound the same
Something about me has changed forever

Can't you see I am swept away?
No one in the world but you and I
Gotta find a way
To make you feel the way that I do
I am swept away
Without a warning
Like night when the morning begins the day
I was swept away (swept away)

Away, seeing my tomorrow's in your eyes
Gotta find a way
To make you feel the way that I do
I was swept away (swept away)
Without a warning
Like night when the morning begins the day
I was swept away

Dreaming of you
Swept away

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: John Bettis / Christopher C. Cross / Stephen Hartley Dorff

Swept Away lyrics © Universal Music - Mgb Songs, Warner-tamerlane Publishing Corp., John Bettis Music

God is More

God is more than just a song,

God is more than words in the Bible.

God is in action, and I wait for this Presence.

God is more than any person can perceive. 

God is more than all survivor stories.

God is more than politics.

God is more than division. 

God is more than people can conceive.

God is the One who holds all power. 

God is Creator of creativity.

God is the One who loves every person. 

God is the only way to Life.