The Song Amazing

Consider your needs of the past
When somebody helped but you never asked
Now think of the joy you received
When you reached out to someone else in need

(Pre-Chorus)
Cause some days we laugh
Some days we cry
Some days we hold it deep inside
Though each day is a gift from on high

(Chorus)
But what I find
Amazing
The love we give the love we gain
Amazing
There's so much more that's in Jesus name

Sometimes it's hard to see
That it's more blessed to give than receive
Learning from different mistakes
Learning to give instead of just take
But when we all start to blend
We'll be like colors surrounding the sun as it sets

(Repeat Pre-Chorus)

(Chorus)

(Pre-Chorus)

(Chorus)
Amazing
Sometimes it's hard to see
That it's more blessed to give than receive
Consider your needs of the past
When somebody helped but you never asked

He Swept Her Off Her Feet

He swept her off her feet, 
The ex of The One Who Should Know Me Better,

The new BF of The One Who Knows Me Less.

(She is still the One Who Knows Me Better too.)

Everything is different than a month ago,

Everything is accelerated. 

They are moving across country in a couple months - 

After only a little over a month of official dating.

They are definitely in the honeymoon stage - 

And I can't dismiss the bliss they feel!

I'm concerned about the things repeated

That happened a year or so ago with another.

The things I did when he was with

The One Who Should Know Me Better,

May I not do now, no matter how I feel,

Because I do truly want the best for both of them.

What do I do now?

I let her go.

God accepts no idols.

And He knows who they are even before we do.

The Letter

My child, I pray you'll listen to
A thing I must confess
You've been a treasure buried deep
Within my busyness
You were not born into this world
To live an orphan's life
And by God's grace
I long to make it right

Your life's a living letter
That's a sacred certainty
A poem of perfect praise
That's what I hope you will be
It's all you were and all you are
And all you'll ever be
Your life's a letter
Written there by me

Day by day I write across
The pages of your life
Some sentences of kindness
And some paragraph of light
May they be words of love
And words of hope
Not words of dark despair
For on your soul the world
Will read them there

Your life's a living letter
That's a sacred certainty
A poem of perfect praise
That's what I hope you will be
It's all you were and all you are
And all you'll ever be
Your life's a letter
Written there by me

Your life's a letter
Written there by me

It's Sad All Around Part II

When friendships change,
When friendships end,
It's sad all around.

For years the One Who Should Know Me Better

Considered The One Who Knows Me Better 

Her very best friend.

She even told me about it in earnest this year.

So many times -  at soccer games, in random conversations - 

Now I see it as insecurity.

Her aunt mentioned it enough that maybe she saw it coming - 

Or at least suspected something awry.

I saw it coming.

But no one could stop it.

Now they are not friends.

And I want to remain friends with them both.

There are at least three sides to every story.

Both perspectives (or more) 

And the unbiased truth.

Only The One Who Sees Everything

Truly knows all that has happened. 

And now there's nothing else I can say.

Rain Down On Me

Showers of sadness flood my soul

In the dryness of my pain
I watch for the rainbow
When my heart turns gray
As I long for yesterday
I know that I need you
In the time that I stray
So I'll follow like night after day

I need you to rain down on me please pour down your light
For this is my life-line
I need you to rain down on me
The weather is fine when you rain on me
The weather is fine when you rain on me

The power of gladness takes control
When it's streaming from Your face
You vanish my sorrow
You wash it away
Like the sunlight in the rain
I know that I need You
In the time that I stray
So I'll follow like night after day

I need you to rain down on me please pour down your light
For this is my life-line
I need you to rain down on me
The weather is fine when you rain on me
The weather is fine when you rain on me

Holy water falls as I lift my eyes
From my own fate
Then heaven flows straight through my
heart as it carries your embrace

I need you to rain down on me please pour down your light
For this is my life-line
I need you to rain down on me
The weather is fine when you rain on me
The weather is fine when you rain on me

The weather is fine when you rain on me

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Michelle L. Tumes / Tony Miracle

Rain Down on Me lyrics © Capitol Christian Music Group, Capitol CMG Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group

I Understood What She Said

When I was in high school in my Junior year,
I visited a church where a specific teenager gave her testimony.

It was a Sunday evening and I went with a girl named Ruthie,

Who was a year older than me; I don't remember why she invited me.

I wish I knew the (then) girl's name, but she had long, layered dark hair and I think blue eyes.

I remember this girl had gone through addiction, though she was still in high school - 

If I remember correctly, it was both drug and alcohol addition - 

And I remember how though she regretted it, she said she wouldn't change it for the world.

At the time, I immediately connected with what she said.

It was paradoxical at best, and contradictory to most,

And I couldn't adequately explain it to my mother, 

Who looked at me like she didn't understand.

I wish I remembered her name - but she was correct.

You don't have to wish what happened to yourself to have happened,

But you can still be thankful to where it led. 

For her it led to the podium that night, speaking about how God had redeemed her.

He Lost His Chance

I went to my parents' church today, 
For the first time since December 2019.

I was excited, and actually liked this pastor.

(And I don't like many pastors.)

My sister and brother-in-law are in town,

And one of my mom's friends came

Who brought her eleven-year-old granddaughter

And a friend of hers.

It started out alright,

Remembering those lost,

But then it took a weird turn.

And - which I did not expect from him - it turned political.

The topic was murder,

And he spent the second half of the time

Talking against abortion. 

He even brought in a political activist.

The basic message was, 

"If you have an abortion, you are a murderer."

He gave no evidence, no proof,

Nor adequately addressed any other sides of the issue.

My mother's friend took the two tweens and walked out of the service.

Afterwards, my mom even said that if she had known the topic,

She would not have invited her this Sunday,

Which, to me, says something about a church.

He lost her. He lost his chance to show Christ to her.

After the service, my brother-in-law - 

Who is much more conservative than I am - 

Said there were multiple lines crossed,

And discussed them on the way home.

He cited several straw man arguments,

And what this kind of teaching can lead to - 

Such as insurrections for a certain political party.

He laid out things in ways most people cannot. 

They do not live here, but they were still turned off.

They go to church every Sunday, and 

In many ways are fairly conservative.

Yet my sister even commented how he missed the mark.

He left out medical issues, any exceptions.

He contained a religious rhetoric,

And did not explore the complete picture.

He only reached those who completely agree with him.

He lost them. He lost the chance to invigorate them.

I had promised God I would go - 

And He released me from going.

I probably should have listened,

But I would have heard anyways.

In some ways, it was better that I was there. 

To see, hear, and experience it first hand,

And not just get second hand information that made me mad.

This is a very passionate subject for me.

I almost walked out, but I did not drive myself.

And I wanted to finish - even if by sheer will. 

At the end I stood there with a hand on my hip, 

Shaking my head with how out of touch these people are.

He lost me. 

My brother - the real smartest person I will ever know - 

Heard all of this first from our conservative brother-in-law,

And then in conjunction with our sister, 

Before he ever got to anything I thought.

He lost his chance of ever getting him to grace his presence at that church.

Our father is conflicted,

And though our mother is not so much,

Her friend is turned off,

And both were not expecting what happened.

So what happened?

That I really do not know but am sorely disappointed.