Strangers

Strangers 

You ask me who I am
Some days I'm not sure myself
I can tell you who I want to be
but then act like someone else
They say don't talk to strangers
but that's just who I see
what if the stranger in question
is me?

I'm looking at a stranger
across from me in that glass
there's just so many questions
I'd like for him to ask
but every pending question
is like an arrow to the heart
asking why so great a chasm
between the call and where you are

There's lines where there wasn't
and on the whole there's more grey
time it seems, hasn't gone unpaid
and it's clear what was it's wage
the image in the mirror
may have it's comments to make
and while its image says what I look like
it lies about who I am

truth is you're looking at a stranger
an alien and traveller
a citizen away from home
an ambassador from a foreign place
bearing the image of my king
and the message of his grace

so when you see him live and present in the flesh

I don't want you to be looking at a stranger
a companion you never really knew
a figure out of focus, kept just out of view
when the sun fades into sunset
and we stare long into the night
amongst every joy and failure 
I want to see you by my side.

Mixed Emotions

 Mixed Emotions

I suppose goodbyes shouldn’t always have to be sad

So I’m not sure why it always seems go down like that

Emotions are wrecked on this side of heaven they say

But sometimes a sunset is just a door to the sunrise on a new day

Yet there always things you’d rather not leave behind

When we’ve said all the words we can say

When parting is the last graceful step left in the way

When you’ve prayed all the prayers you can pray

Sometimes there’s nothing left but goodbye 

Not sure what we would have done different here, was this how we expected things to go?

The waves of opportunity come rolling in

And mixed emotions get shaken up the in undertow

But there so many sights out there to see, 

Climbing the next mountain may demand coming down from the one you’re on.  

When the parties are over and the last piece of confetti has hit the floor

When the keys are surrendered and you’ve locked all the doors

When your fond memories are securely set into place

And it’s time to get this thing under way

Sometimes there’s nothing left but goodbye

Someday on an outbound trip, 

we’ll leave this whole thing behind, 

And the angels will sing from their place in the sky, 

the things we did in the past

Will be tested with fire 

to see if they last

Friend when I catch your eye

Perhaps then it wont be just for goodbye

 

Miles out of Eden

 Miles out of Eden

Male voice (Adam):

I’m supposed to feel wiser, 

instead I sense deep loss, 

I think wouldn’t have eaten 

had I considered the cost.  

That serpent was crafty, 

and the fruit looked so good

Man, it’s all crystal clear now how much I misunderstood 

Looking over my shoulder at that sword of flame

Its clear that I can no longer stay

I can’t believe that I hurt you this way

I’m miles out of Eden

and headed the wrong way

There’s no rest for the trouble

I’ve found today.  the higher the mountain, 

the greater the fall

It’s a miracle you still love me at all

Female voice (Eve):

It all seemed so innocent, at least at first

In just one blink of an eye reality set in

The uneasy distance of hiding hurt 

But the taste of rebellion is worse

Now here we are on the wrong side looking in

What a mistake this has been

From the cool of the garden garden into this desert heat.  And yet even in exile we know for our lord this isn’t defeat. 

We’re miles out of Eden 

And headed away

From all that we knew in the cool of the shade

But he’s made us a promise

So we know one day

The serpent who tricked us will

Be made to pay

After thousands of years and millions of miles

We’re still miles from Eden and 

headed due south

Yeah, we don’t have much trouble 

Finding our way down.

Gotta see a man who has the keys

that can let us back in

Even as the words of our savior sit recorded in red

On that leather bound manual next to the bed

The pages cast light on the savior within

The one who’s crushed that crafty serpent’s head

It’s the faith to let him lead you and take you by the hand

Miles again down the narrow path,

Where the gates of Eden are open again.

So little to offer

 So Little to Offer

How do I speak of things I cannot know

How do I tell you about the one who holds

The mountains

And keeps them in place.

How do I speak about the one who makes you whole

How do I tell you how well you’re known 

by one who holds you, 

in his unending grace.

Yeah, sometimes I can’t find the words 

To express what I’ve felt and heard,

from my loving father

In the arms of his embrace

How I long to see his face

How can I tell you that he gave his life,

How he bled and died to save some guy

Who had nothing, Nothing to offer

No gift to bring, just rags up on that alter,

Oh It’s not enough.  It’s just not enough…

Yeah, sometimes I can’t find the words 

Or even express what I’ve felt and heard,

from my loving father

In the arms of his embrace

How I long to see his face

And even if the rocks cry out - if the stones would scream 

And the boulders shout, it wouldn’t match his glory.  

Couldn’t begin to tell this story.

grace and truth, peace and love

Belong to our great God above who knows 

I’ve got so little to offer. So little to offer

So little to offer, For a blood price I couldn’t pay

So little to offer, only rags into a king 

So little to offer, meager gifts upon the alter

So little to offer, just the blessings from our father

Oh How can I speak of the things I know,

How can I be the one to tell you so

You don’t need a fancy colored coat, no

He’s the one that makes it enough

You can’t run from his love.

He’s enough.  No doubt He’s enough.

I Just Need You

 I Just Need You

I may never be on some grand stage

And I may never draw a crowd to see

What I have to say

But I don’t need them to hear,

I just need you.

I need you to hear these words

Coming off my heart

When I feel the world is broken

And coming all apart

I need you to hold my hand

And carry me when I lack the strength

To stand on my own

I just need you.

I may never have the voice folks want to hear

And I may never find a place where

These songs are more than just my own

Even if nobody hears the tune,  if it never reaches

A single ear, 

I just need you…

I need you to remind me of your plan

That there’s more here, and it’s good,

And it’s okay when I don’t understand

I need you to nudge me inside

When I can’t see to get out

Of my own way

I just need you.

Not everyone is famous - not every song will be a star

Even if I never find my voice

even if this is just  here for a small heart to heart

Help us see who you are

I just need you…

Potatoes

Potatoes
Reportedly Idaho’s best friend.  
Not at home with fruit but not quite a veggie 

a cornucopia of interpretations when you say

Potatoes…well what do you mean?   There’s couch ones and sacked ones, toys that bear their lumpy face - are they all just the same?

Don’t bite into plastic when you count them that way.  

Oh and isn’t that just like you and me,

aliens and strangers in a world that will never be home 

Ambassadors of light that shines 

on a face not our own

Trying hard not to confuse you

with this dirty skin…these distractions 

of how I’ve lived and where I’ve been.  

Mistaken for Jesus, wouldn’t be a bad place to be - if only you can get past the raw potato in me.  

Potatoes

Unassuming lumps of starch in the dirt 

Seems It takes some digging to discover their worth

But potatoes, what a treasure if you put in the work

Pressed and sliced, fried, and baked all the way through, Mashed and cooked and put in a stew

Under the knife and the heat they’re refined

Once they’ve gone through that fire

They shine….

Oh isn’t it just like you - to take something dirty and make it brand new.  isn’t it just like you to wash away the grime to find the value hidden within.  What a thing for you to see under the skin

 taking the beaten and broken and building in life

using the pressure to set the course right

A masterful creation, wouldn’t be a bad place to be, when you started with just the raw potato in me.  

Life lessons from potatoes?

Could seem half baked at a glance 

But sometimes even stones speak if given a chance.