“One of the marvelous things about community is that it enables us to welcome and help people in a way we couldn’t as individuals. When we pool our strength and share the work and responsibility, we can welcome many people, even those in deep distress, and perhaps help them find self-confidence and inner healing.”

Jean Varnier

My doubts surround me today,
They make my will weak,
Caution holds me back,
When bold faith is my calling.

When I doubt most,
I despair of hope,
God have mercy on me,
See my heart’s desire,
Heal my cautious spirit.

When fear clutches my heart,
Tomorrow looms with terror,
I curl up wanting to die,
Disappointments are everywhere,
Overwhelmed by disloyalty,
I feel like giving up.

This morning I cry out to God,
I will find him in all I do,
God listens to my broken prayers,
My illogical words and groans,
The tears that I shed each night,
Everything is being set right,
Opposition lives with its own shame,
I am heard by God,
My fears transformed by courage.

At the end of my day,
My troubles overwhelmed me,
I couldn’t think straight,
Everything felt like too much,
Even the smallest detail,
Felt like the final straw.

I want to know renewal tonight,
As I consider my broken heart,
I choose you Lord to protect,
When I can’t sleep,
When trust is the hardest task,
My enemies seem to succeed,
While I struggle with each day.

I will seek to trust you God,
You gave me new life,
My search is not for more blessing,
It is to know you deeply,
Surrounded by your peace,
Seeking to discover rest myself,
I pray for this tonight,
As I put my trust in you.

The burden of always saying yes,
Led to a daily list of failures,
That mounted up in accusations,
Each day an unscalable mountain,
Yes, was turned to death words,
That led to condemnation,
Of the impossibility of seeking to please.

I discover by going where I need to be,
But, learning to take the time to slow,
To hear what is lost in the wind,
Slowing to feel on my neck,
The sweet breath of God’s whisper,
That holy call to stay and be true,
To learn to wait before I do.

My first word today is to say, “No”,
To a thousand different questions,
That seek to bring complexity,
To what is the simple choice,
Of first saying yes to God.

I desire a heart that belongs to God,
Hearing his words of daily appreciation,
His desires becoming my calling,
Our words combining to declare love’s triumph,
No room to harbour selfish inclinations,
Love is a single minded pursuit,
Of seeking the beauty that lies within.

A divided life is a disheartening lie,
That never pays its full due,
Its cost mounts with false promise,
Of a dividend that is never paid,
The false hope quickly fades to nothing,
Along with the the liar’s words,
Leading my dear enemy to his own destruction.

Word traps abound every day,
They seek to find a way to destroy,
Questions seeking to create doubt,
Becoming my dear enemy’s deepest regret,
As I hear God’s loving truth,
Expressed in the great reversal,
Where justice is fully understood by all,
My life lived in Grace’s abundance,
Life now lived as a daily adventure,
Intolerant of Lie’s deceits.

I sleep well each night,
Waking to expectation,
Knowing my plans belong to God,
Starting with creation’s imagination,
Continuing through each human life,
Gifted to our world’s loving desire,
To seek what can be given,
To the one to whom we all belong.

Each creative act I perform,
Was given by creation’s loving impulse,
I know that work is created from love,
From which each step forward is born,
Love is what sheds light on understanding,
The gift given of human thought,
That searches out our deepest desires,
To transform my uncertainty,

The Gift of Work

My day begins celebrating God’s gifts,
He loves the way that I was formed,
I hear his daily nod of approval,
When my plans begin with prayer,
Listening to his desires,
Work becomes my daily offering,
Of creation’s gift of creativity.

Shared with my creator’s image,
Is the gift of my daily effort,
Creator’s gifts discovering human heart,
Transforming routine drudgery,
To daily moments of pleasure,
That seek the best of life’s fullness,
My craft found in my Creator,
As together we share each day.

My life began with God celebrating,
Here is another child of mine,
The day I turned my face to his,
And, said, “I can’t do this by myself”,
Knowing my plans didn’t work,
Darkness gave way to light,
My soul’s transformation began.

I’ve seen the nothing path,
That collects everything on the way,
Building up their piles of manure,
Thinking they have created a treasure,
Forgetting that it soon returns,
To where it began.

My God pours out love day after day,
He never stops looking to show it,
He searches for the broken hearted child,
Those who have felt life’s blows,
Beaten mercilessly by the pursuit of more,
Those who have missed out,
Because of the ravenous greed of self,
Those who cannot see a way forward,
Blinded by the liar’s orchestrated darkness,
God’s love brings freedom,
From the weight of the loveless liar,
Despair turns to celebration,
An awesome shout of hope,
Erupts from God’s heart,
Bringing new life to today.

God’s abundant love flows into my life,
There is no end to His possibility,
His favour has no favourites,
My failures can belong to him,
And, I can seek out his plans,
Crafted for my life alone.

I love to think about these things,
My days are full of praise,
There is more and more to know,
About the ways God loves his children,
I am the least of all people,
Yet, I live like a king,
Given a life of abundance,
In which my deepest desires are filled.

One word from me,
The briefest prayer,
Is all it takes,
To galvanise heaven’s armies,
To come to my help.

I live as a much loved child,
Indulged by Truth,
No longer troubled by hate’s lies,
They do not belong to God’s child,
I hear the lies but am protected by God,
My mouth voicing only God’s words,
Encouraging others to join the chorus,
That shouts out his eternal praise anthem.

God prepares me for each day’s troubles,
When my dear enemy hounded me each day,
The smell of blood in his nostrils,
I turned to God and sought safety,
My deepest failure became my sword,
Safety was found in my brokeness,
The battle tide turned as God showed up.

I witnessed God’s awesome power,
I found new strength to see me through,
My dear enemy shaking his puny fist,
Angry words making his wisdom foolishness,
Tripping up on his own confused lying,
It all became perfectly clear to me,
My voice found the right words again,
So that truth could be heard,
The darkness quickly giving way to light.

Now each day brings new promises,
There is no limit to God’s abundance,
I will seek him with all my heart,
And, enjoy the life that comes from God,
This is the truth that I have found,
The lies have no power at all,
Disarmed completely by love,
Peace is found in God’s rest.

Mercy is my heart’s cry today,
This morning your gift is its sweet words,
I allow only these words to fill me,
My dear enemy spews constant hate,
His cold eyes that have dark souls,
Drawing me into their emptiness,
Wanting to see me cling to false hope,
I feel the pain of disappointment,
The desert of loneliness,
When what was important,
Was too easily discarded for a trinket.

I have searched with God for answers,
I turned my face to his,
Looking into his loving eyes,
Discovering more and more of his love,
Life is lived in an oasis of calm,
Trusting God for my daily needs,
My path protected by his strong hand,
Nothing can change my choices now,
His will is etched in my memory,
Reminding me of what comes first.

My dear enemy’s words are drying up,
His accusations easily cast aside,
They belong to him,
Even though he wants me to quiver,
Fear is not my first response,
Soon he will know the great silence,
When God’s voice will ring in his ears,
His words will be his retribution,
God’s will is setting all things right.

I remain a humble listening ear,
Trusting in God’s words to me,
With me in each step forward,
Surrounded by unfailing love.

My life was completely torn open,
Every part of my shame shared with the world,
All of my failures written on my forehead,
Every word I spoke echoed my mistakes,
No part hidden from God.

I sought to hide myself from God,
Thinking I could cover up my failures,
Stupidity replaced common sense,
As I sought to rely on my own salvation,
But God knows me inside out,
From the moment I drew breath he was there,
No part of me goes unloved,
My failures, my shame, my mistakes,
Even my greatest stupidity,
Every part is known and then loved.

God confidence means that I will not cower,
The attacks against me born from hatred of God,
Their time is up and I am speaking out now,
My focus on God’s love sorts the lies very easily,
They stand out like a gaping wound,
That cannot be hidden from sight.

Today I begin with an open heart,
Broken open with no unseen parts,
Tested by Love’s’ piercing eyes,
Seeking out anything not begun by love,
Even my deepest thoughts,
Will be examined by Love,
Love will lead me to my daily choices,
The light to Eternity’s gifts.

When I was inundated with angry words,
My God was with me,
Even though I gave up on myself,
He saw new possibilities,
Transformation was on his mind,
Born from despair, destruction and betrayal.

Doubt was completely dispelled,
About who won this fight,
My broken heart a witness to eternity’s love,
That sought out my every weakness,
Nothing was hidden from His gaze,
My deepest humiliation transformed by hope.

My life is completed by thankfulness,
Eternity’s faithfulness in my deepest darkness,
Demonstrating who is in charge,
Love creates the great reversal,
Of the winner in the world’s clamour for more,
No one will escape love’s call,
Reaching out and restoring the broken,
The world a witness to love’s final truth.

Home is that place where I fully belong,
Where all my uncertainty is safe,
Eternity is one more heartbeat away,
Each beat brings me closer to home,
Born from Eternity’s love,
This short life a warning of what awaits.

Reality means knowing love’s anger,
Truth leaves no room for excuses,
Our hearts are torn open before God,
Broken hearted we face our loving judge,
Attached to nothing except Eternity’s breath,
Each breath formed from love’s words.

Compassion is a certain knowing,
That belongs to those who have found home,
No more ceaseless wondering,
Looking for temporary trinkets,
Trust is discovered in God’s call to courage,
Life faced with honest connecting,
Calling his love my own.

This morning I am called to belong,
To love’s eternal gaze,
Seeking out my face,
I feel his soft eyes searching me out,
Finding me yearning for his loving look,
My voice longs to speak of being found,
Speaking Eternity’s words given to me.

Enough is enough,
I will no longer cower,
Scared of lies and malicious intent,
My loyalty repaid with contempt,
This is not the life that God has for me.

I am ready God,
To walk with my head high,
To face hatred and stare it down,
I have heard my dear enemy’s voice,
Let the destructive hate words,
Eloquently put together but bathed in malice
Spoken with their foul smelling voice,
Be collected and be discarded with their faeces,

My enemy spends too much time in destruction,
I choose to seek honesty,
Honesty is about God’s truth,
Spoken as a love song,
My enemy is confounded,
Because my heart continues to sing
Praise that reaches my Source,
Sung with the breath of Eternity.

I tasted the promised life,
Making my home there,
Wanting to be noticed by my friends,
Thinking that this was God’s plan,
I forgot my God,
His reminder was quick and effective,
He broke down my self constructed walls,
A divine breath took it all,
Not even the foundations remained.

Now I am prosperous again,
I don’t want to forget why,
To get everything I needed to give it all away,
Riches begin to abound,
Fresh hope courses through my veins,
I delight in every gift,
My God gives to me,
Daily reminders of his faithfulness.

I thought that I was strong.
I thought that God would bless my activity,
I was wrong,
I thought I was a failure,
I thought there was nothing certain,
I was wrong.

God gathered my failures,
and told me that each one was a lie,
God took my strengths,
and turned my energy to him,
Now each day is a delight,
It opens with new opportunities,
To be in your will,
And to enjoy God’s company.

I laid awake counting my failures,
The accusations surrounded me completely,
Hurled at me each day,
The list seemed endless.

I was drowning,
Sucked down by despair,
Going under for the third time,
I thought that this was the end.

Then I heard a different voice,
One that spoke loving words,
Sometimes the words were soft,
But, my God kept speaking to me,
He was my life raft,
Guiding me to wisdom,
Failure no more – Safety is found.