© 10-1-04 John Stevens 3/4
When God called      me one dark day.
In my despair,           He did say.
Come unto me,         Oh weary one
Take the hand,          Of my Dear Son.
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When God calls,       I have a choice.
To turn my back,      To hear His voice.
When God calls,       To touch my heart.
The door is wide,     For a brand new start.
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When­ God calls,       my name today
With some dear soul, that I might pray.
To be the one,      to play the part.
Of Jesus love,     To touch their heart.
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When­ God calls,      may I hear clear
The call to be,     to someone near.
The only Jesus,         they may see.
When God calls,       let it be me.
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—chorus­ 1 ---------
When God called my name, To set me free.
When He gently said,   Come unto me.
When God reached down,   And took my hand. (I took His hand)
The Cross became clear,   On His promise I stand.

—Last verse ------------------------------------------------
He calls my name    I clearly hear.           
Calling  me home    To be so near.           
I hear His voice    Say gentle to me            
The door’s open wide  Come home to me.  
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When God calls me home   Some glorious day.
When He says well done   My faithful one.
When God calls me home   When my race is run.
I want to see Jesus
I will see my Jesus
I’m home with Jesus
  God’s only Son.
-  - - - - - - - - - - - - -
When God calls. Will you answer the call?

(And Reasons Why I Have It Pretty Good)*


2. Starving people in Africa who have nothing that even resembles a stable govermnent to keep them safe and fed and alive. 

3. Couples going through divorce or recovering from divorce, and their poor children. =\

4. Drug addicts living on the streets without a family or a hope. 

5. Women and children caught up in human trafficking and slavery who have no one to save them. 

6. Would-be-mothers who cannot have children. This is heartbreaking for many women. 

7. Children abused by their own parents who then have to go through foster care and withstand the constant reminder that they do not have parents that love and care for them. 

8. People who have no hope and who believe a bottle of pills is the only way to take away their pain. Life is never a curse, and it is not one's responsibility to take when it becomes unbearable. 

9. Fathers who can't find a job in our economy and who feel like a failure because they can't support their family's needs. 

10. People who sit in a church and believe they are being good enough to go to heaven, when they've never heard the true gospel spoken to them before. 




1. And most importantly...the great number of individuals who have not heard and those who have rejected the Good News of Jesus Christ. It's nothing that I have done that makes me any different than them, but only the grace of God that I took hold of. I won't stand by while my fellow man lives on less than I do every day. I am blessed with food, a better government than many in this world, and parents who love each other and the Lord. I have a life of hope that sustains me better than drugs, a life worth living, and the financial support that only God could supply. And I have a church that preaches the gospel each Sunday and reminds me of how much I need Him. 

Lord, never let me forget Your many blessings. Self-pity, worry, and depression keep me from my true potential as Your daughter and servant. Show me how to share my blessings with others, so that I can spread Your Word to everyone I meet.
Amen.

new breath
awakening from death

new life
embracing the now

Let go*
And taste the freedom of knowing
You don't have to *control it all
The hardest thing
Is to **let go.

I have been kind, and received kindness.
I have been cared for, and taught to care for others.
I have been given, and understand the feeling of want.
I now give to others, for them to understand the feeling of need
I have been loved, and never capable to hate.
I have been Blessed, and capable to share love.
I have been wise, and gifted others with my wisdom.
I have been a joker, and brought frowns to smiles.
I have been a sinner, and now forgiven.
I have been forgiving others who have sinned against me.
I have been praying for all to become.
I have been thankful for all who has prayed for me to be "COMPLETE"....

Because I'm scared, and, I guess
I have a lot of shame
And fear of shame
Which is sometimes worse
Because the only thing you can do about it
Is somehow stop being afraid
And how in the world do you stop being afraid?
Especially of something like shame
Shame is a fear
A fear of rejection
A fear of making mistakes
A fear of your true, self-centered soul being bared to mankind
You're afraid to be opened wide
Before the audience
All who watch you
You believe that if they ever saw the person you are on the inside
When you're alone
At your worst
When you're a failure at best
And outcaste at worst
Because they would!
They would scorn your soul!
No! No! Nothing but perfection can stand here!
You are horrible and we cannot tolerate anything but crystal
Pure and undefiled
Never messing up
Never admitting defeat
That's what you fear
You're afraid that they would denounce you
But you can't see
Well, why should you
That you are not alone
This masquerade invited everyone
And sadly, everyone came
There's truth waiting in the shadows
If you know to call its name
Wait for the calling!
Where we all rip off our masks
Proud as we are human
Prone to make mistakes.
You have to let go of fearing
That you won't measure up
'Cause hey, join the club, we've got t-shirts
That say, “Cover me with His love”.
Shame is your slavemaster, you know it
You are bound by its fear and its hate
So break your bonds of imperfection
Live your life before it is too late.

THOUGHTS
Leave me alone,
I'm sick of your venom
You seek to steal, ****, destroy
Why haven't you killed me yet?

WALLS
Be silent, don't speak
I know the words you'd have
Never let me listen to your spite
You would have me tremble at your threat

DARKNESS
You took ahold of me
And you were far too strong
I am stepping out of fear tonight
I haven't since you and I first met.

MEMORY
Stop reminding me
Of the things I had forgotten
I know I was such a bad person
But to change, I really need to forget!

PAIN
Stop pulling me
You're stifling my voice
If you only would loosen your grip
You would see that I am just dead set.

SHAME
You take hold of me!
You drag me where I go!
You control my actions, my words
I am slave to you, drowned in sick debt

EYES
You see the world
Creating my habitat
You connect visions and secrets
But then, you lie just as often as me.

DREAMS
You captivate me
Taking me somewhere else
I believe your twisted reality, then
My world awakens, I—disoriented—flee.

LOGIC
Oh, you bound me
Locked me within your walls
I fear there is no escape from here
But I was always a slave to conformity.

TRUTH
Come on, shine!
Blind their eyes, even mine!
Glow and rip the bonds from me
I am searching, seeking, just set me free.

SKY
Open...move the clouds
Give me that heavenly chorus
Look for me in the city on the hill
I'll be the one with no more suffering.

Spectacular is not me
And I may not be “just brilliant”
But in the end, what matters
Is His grace is sufficient.

"In the beginning was the Word..."

The voice of the Creator
awakened the universe into being,
a Word spoken out of nothing that
echoes in eternity.

A sound that collapses time and place
and brings forth the Word to echo
infinitely through all the ages.

The Word chose to dwell among us
in the form of a vulnerable human being,
who was flesh and blood like me.

You and I share the imago dei, and
like the Word made flesh can yearn
for unity with the Creator.

The Word echoes in our flesh,
and reverberates through our hearts.

We encounter the Word knocking at our door,
when we welcome the stranger.  

May the sound of love echo through my soul into yours.
May these words speak life into mine and to yours till
the sound vibrates into a we.  

No longer separate and alone, but home.

The weight was too much:
I despaired until I saw
I was meant to fail.
For when I try carrying,
I cannot lift as You can.