Free

You mended my broken heart,
When it was torn apart.
Because of the work You’ve done in me,
From my bondages I’m now free.

Layer by layer You peel them away,
You show them to me and You say
“My child it’s time to face this one,
The healing process has begun.”

You refine me so tenderly,
From the inside You’re changing me
Free of bitterness, money and it’s chains.
The hold of unforgiveness and the pain

Every obedient step I take in the light,
Matures and blesses me with new insight
Day by day, hour by hour
I see the release of Your power.

These blessings from You that I receive
I put on the altar as a seed

Growing Pains

Growing pains
they are so hard,
But such a necessary part
of life

In one year
Seems ten I’ve grown
I sometimes feel
so all alone
in strife.

But in my loneliest
times
Is when I always
find
The face of Christ

The arms of Jesus
reach for me
Everyday, but I best see
in darkness

Broken

You bind up broken hearts,
Well mine is broken apart
In my mind, I do believe,
Yet I can’t seem to receive.

Receive and walk next to You
Involve You in all I say and do,
I’m isolated and so alone,
My life is empty as is my home

Beauty for Ashes

God will give us beauty for ashes, joy for mourning and praise for
heaviness.

My job as a Housing Inspector II gives me many hours in my car. In
fact, most of my day is spent driving from inspection to inspection
in my district. This gives me lots of time for prayer, worship and
listening to teaching tapes, which I do over and over and over!

Today, I was out in my car driving around, listening to my favorite
Christian Contemporary radio station; K-LOVE and I heard a song that
I haven’t heard for a long time, “Beauty for Ashes” by Crystal
Lewis. I love this song, and I love the Bible verses that inspired
it.

The following is from Isaiah 61:
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed
Me to preach good tidings to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the
brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the openings
of the prison to those who are bound. To proclaim the acceptable
year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort
all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them
beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise
for the spirit of heaviness. That they may be called trees of
righteousness, the planting of the Lord that He may be glorified.
(Vs. 1-3)

And they shall rebuild the old ruins, they shall raise up the former
desolations, and they shall repair the ruined cities, the
desolations of many generations… (Vs. 4)

Instead of your shame you shall have double honor, and instead of
confusion they shall rejoice in their portion, therefore in their
land they shall possess double; everlasting joy shall be theirs.
(Vs. 7)

These promises are so rich to me. God WILL rebuild all of the ruins
in our lives, He WILL give us double honor instead of our former
shame, everlasting joy WILL be ours. He WILL give us beauty for
ashes, joy for mourning and praise instead of heaviness. We WILL be
solid righteous people that He may be glorified! This is so
inspiring to me!

I started thinking about these promises and realized that in order
for us to fully experience the joy, praise, honor, and beauty; we
need to give to the Lord our shame, ashes, mourning and heaviness.
We cannot experience all that the Lord has for us and still carry
around with us all of our junk! We need to give it up, make it
ashes, and die to it! We need to take it all and lay it down at the
foot of the cross, and LEAVE IT there. Give it to Jesus, that’s the
reason that He died–for all that stuff, for our shame, our
heaviness, our mourning, all of it!

Here is a poem that the Holy Spirit inspired in me to write. It
speaks of some things that I needed to make into ashes and give to
Jesus. I pray that you be blessed by it.

BEAUTY FOR ASHES

Have you ever felt you’re crossed off someone’s list?
Just tossed aside – never to be missed.
And you thought you were so close,
A relationship that was unlike most.

One day you see them at a restaurant,
With old friends and what you really want,
Is to be accepted by them again,
And return to being a close friend.

The cold reality of it all sets in,
You realize it’s just somewhere you’ve been.
They’re moving forward – not looking back,
You’re part of the past, that’s a fact.

You shared your life, you feel betrayed,
You pray that feeling will somehow fade.
You turn to God; you want to know,
How to forgive and let this go.

You fear having close friends again,
You don’t want to let new one’s in.
The friends you have are precious and few,
You know (pray–hope) that they are really true.

Giving God our ashes brings beauty in return,
It’s a Kingdom principle we must learn.
Only when we lay our ashes down,
Does God provide beauty all around.

Created by Design

Many years before I was born,
Jesus knew my shape and form.
With His loving ways, so divine,
He created me by design.

A beautiful, wonderful, piece of art,
Holding a special place in His heart.
Everything that God creates,
Is perfect, He makes no mistakes.

I am a masterpiece, still underway,
God will complete His work in me one day.
Until then, I need to be patient and kind,
Loving the imperfections of mine.

Goodbye to Friends

Over four years ago, I was such a mess,
I thought I couldn’t be anything less.
The bottom is where I seemed to be,
That’s where I was when you met me.

You let me in, you showed me grace,
I learned my life was not a waste.
You taught me to boldly approach God’s throne,
And give Christ inside of me a home.

Since then, I’ve never been the same
I learned my life was not in vain.
Where I am weak, He is strong,
I follow Him, I can’t go wrong.

You openly listened, you were always there,
Anytime I needed friends to share
My joys, confusion or turmoil,
You were friends that were always loyal.

Now it’s time to say goodbye
It’s hard for me, but I will try
To express in words how I feel for you,
Friends like you are ever true.

God has put a call on your heart,
Your answer has meant a new start.
I love you and I send you my prayer,
That God will keep you in His care.

Birthday Blessing

As you’re sitting there in your cell,
You could think it’s your private hell,
Looking at the window, seeing only bars,
Or look at the same window and see the stars.

Now, it’s your birthday, and they’re tough enough,
Without having to deal with all of this stuff.
I know God is working in your soul,
To heal and make you spiritually whole.

Tenderly and gently allow Him to touch you,
Let His love and powerful Spirit come pouring through,
To saturate your being to the core,
As you honor and worship the Lord.

For your birthday, this blessing I pray,
On Jesus’ lap, you spend your day.
Knowing you are His precious child,
And his love for you, makes Him smile.

In this love, let yourself rest,
In you, Jesus always sees the best.
Your sins are forgiven and forgotten
His mercy and grace cannot be bought en

Rejoice! You’re a new person in Christ,
This transformation lasts for life,
The ways of old are in the past,
Your new ways are what’s gonna last.

Friends

I used to think my friends were true,
But that was before I met you.
Friends were people with whom I could play,
Friends mean more to me today.

When I found Christ, I found friends that are real,
With them, my heart I can reveal.
We can share laughter as well as tears,
This kind of friendship will last for years

This is what I had been searching for,
All that time, when I wanted more.
I’ve been blessed with friends I love,
That share with me, the love from above.