What does it take to truly receive
To feel in your soul what you say you believe
To open yourself to a love so pure
To the power of true love's cure
You say: "Take this, all of you, and eat"
Enter in this house Lord, make me complete
I can be so full of myself sometime
Lord, take hold of this heart of mine
In order to give, I have to receive
I find and peace and my fears are relieved
To receive I have to be vulnerable, exposed
I have to be open wide rather than closed
Open to hurt and scars and pain
But, by your grace, my faith remains
Help me follow you and do your will
Help me receive love so I can give love
Help me know love so I can show love
Help me die for love so I can live love
Help me live in a way that pleases you
To live the Gospel of life and truth
Help me, Lord, to be humble and broken
To be receptive to love so softly spoken
By your grace Lord, I would ask you to allow
Your humble servant here and now
To be an instrument for love and in word
A channel of peace for all that have heard
Take Lord and Receive
All that is within me
Use it all as you see fit
Take it all, the smallest bit
All I ask is your love and grace
A chance to glimpse your face
I need nothing, no other stuff
Only this and it will be enough

Today I have found a new reality
A truth that shatters the common fallacy
It lies hidden just below the surface
It gives my life new meaning and purpose
There is a God: he's alive and moving
The mystery of life itself is proving
He is risen alleluia, and he is lifted high
Let the trumpets blare as his glories fill the sky
I am free to dance and free to sing
Praise and honor to the God and King
I am a new creation; I'll never be the same
For you called me and gave me a new name
I cannot live now the way I once did
But I'll keep the joy and wonder of a kid
I have a spirit of courage both gentle and bold
This Gospel of Life is ever new never old
It can't be sold, it can't be bought
A promise honored that wasn't forgot
It is the very word of God coming alive
It is to live this new reality that I will strive

I'm coming home to a place that I once knew
I'm coming back to something that was true
I stopped running away when I got so tired
I turned around: it was all that love required
You were waiting for me with arms wide open
You paid it no heed how I had been broken
I never knew you could love me just as I am
I never realized how much I was like a lamb
I never thought you ever really cared
I never felt you near when I was scared
I ran away and slammed the door
I shut you out and wanted nothing more
I felt abandoned, betrayed, cold and alone
But the last thing I wanted was to come back home
You still want me: the world's biggest fool
You picked me, a tiny fish in a great big pool
You chose me from the very beginning
You look at me and can't stop grinning
I find myself standing at a crossroads
Left or right follow where the wind blows
Looking down dusty road and faded track
One step, two step: I'm on my way back
I'm headed back home again this day
How will it be and what will the people say
Lord, what I need is a brand-new start
For family is home and home is in the heart

Among you, let there be no division
Be of one heart and be of one mind
Seek peace; let love guide your decision
Be strong and firm, but do not be unkind
For we are His children, one and all
There is no slave or free, no color of skin
No better or worse, none are free from sin
Created in God's great expression of love
Come to the river, be washed in the flood
Of healing and peace. Go, be reconciled
Come back to the state of truth and grace
Let your eyes be opened to see God's face
God is greater than the sum of our difference
In Him is found our freedom and deliverance
God smiles when we work together
With people of good will
To create a positive culture
Our prayers and praises will fill
The heavens and earth, the sky and sea
Set the prisoner and the captive free
You are the way maker you are my sustainer
You are my provider in you I am redeemed
You are more than all I have ever dreamed
You are my anchor when the storms rage
You are the author of my every page
There is love enough in God's great heart
There is room enough for all to have a part
Help us grow in love and understanding
And always: keep us in the shelter of your wing

Amen

I am empty bless and break me
Take me where I am needed most
You fulfill me and you will be
Holy Father, Son and Holy Ghost
You poured your life out over me
I pour myself out at your feet
Fling the doors now open wide
Let the light of love inside
Open the windows in this place
Fill the air with truth and grace
As the spirit feely dances
Know the joy of second chances
Feel the movement all around
Shoes are off on Holy Ground
I am empty my soul is open
And the word of God is spoken
Fill me a spirit of beautiful ardor
And courage if I die a martyr
I am burning for you, I am yearning
I am pining for your peaceful presence
Come, Lord, and fill me with your essence
I give it all to use me as you see fit
Let nothing be wasted, not even a little bit
Spirit, you found me. Now surround me
Help me follow wherever you go
The wind that blows eternal
Free as clouds and rivers flow
I am empty now no longer
And my life is now complete
For the Lord that lives within me
Conquered death: he can't be beat

Oh Lord my God! Thank you for this day, thank you for all your blessings and graces that are new for me each and every morning! Help me find peace and rest of mind, body and spirit. Refresh my dry and weary soul. You are my stronghold and my refuge, my strength and blessed assurance during hard times. Enfold me in your arms of love. Bless my family and friends Lord. Be my center. Be the center. Send your Holy Spirit to descend and rest within me. Move me and work in and through me for your greater glory. Let me be your hands and feet reaching out into the world. Never let me go Lord and in your mercy, help me always know you are near especially when I cannot see or feel your presence in my life. Help me to empty myself so that you can come and fill me. May I be less so that you can be more. I ask you to give me what I need today: to give me this daily bread of patience, peace, love, forgiveness, healing. You know my needs Lord: I trust that you will provide. I know you hear my prayers. Thank you, Lord, and always may your will be done. May your will be done in me. Amen.

Abba, bless me, so in all that I do
In all things, I may give glory to you
Grant, I pray, the peace and the grace
Content to be still and gaze at your face
I love to sit by your side and listen to your voice
But so often I'm restless: distracted by noise
Rushing around in perpetual motion
When I need to be in perpetual devotion
God be my joy, come and be my light
Come to my aid; rescue me in my plight
By rising to life, the flesh, you glorified
In the shadow of your cross I will hide
In death, you overcame both sin and grave
Your love for me was strong enough to save
Be my one love, my God, my King, my Prince of Peace
Satisfy this holy hunger and ever increase
You take us back even when, your love, we spurn
You come running out to meet us on our return
You are my inheritance and my worth Oh Lord
You reconcile us to yourself with one accord

Sometimes we need a place to be alone with God
When you feel walked over like a sad piece of sod
We need to find a secret place, the soul's retreat
Where the love between heaven and earth shall meet
I can disappear inside the shadow of his wings
And know the peace that true closeness brings
I can fly away and leave this world and its cares behind
It is in these times that the Lord will gently remind
Us He is our strength and our strong tower
And in his radiant glory, the darkness will cower
I will wash in the stream of eternal life
By grace, I will be made like new
I will bask in healing warmth of the light
Of love that can only come from You
I will join the angels in their unending son
And dance with every ounce of my being
I will sit at your feet the whole day long
I can scarce take in the splendor I'm seeing
I will spend an hour in your presence
But a second is an hour, an hour is a day
My soul finds a pure profound pleasance
And, once again, I know that I will be okay

Sometimes we are walking down the road
Chatting and discussing the news of late
Minding ourselves when we meet a fellow
Who is traveling in the same direction
Clearly a visitor, he's so awfully out of date
But we walk and talk and bring Him up to speed
He talks to us in words both sacred and profane
Words that harken to our spirits' unity
And speak to our hearts individually
Our hearts burn deep within us
Like an age old song or ancient melody
Something foreign, but pleasantly familiar
What it is, I can't quite recall
Finally, we arrive at our destination
The sun is low and the day is growing old
Our companion makes to keep travelling
"Where are you going? It's late.
Please stay and join us at table".
During the meal He takes the bread
Blesses it and says a prayer
Our eyes are opened, but He isn't there
"That man had to have been our Jesus!
As He spoke, were not our hearts burning?
And when He sat at table, were not our souls yearning?
We clung to His words like dying men
And the awakening when He said Amen!"
But we had been blind to his presence before us
He was there while we were thinking "poor us"
Looking right at Him, still we could not see
Our friend who died upon the hill of Calvary
Open the eyes of our hearts and may we be of one accord
To recognize that, on the road, we were walking with the Lord

When the church all says amen
And when the people pray, then
The Lord God, from heaven, will hear
He will bring comfort and dry every tear
Our hearts and our lands begin to heal
And we shall see God's face revealed
When we stand with our brothers and sisters in faith
Together, we can make this a better, happier place
We cannot be timid; we can't afford to stay silent
While wars rage on and life becomes more violent
All it takes for evil to win is for good not to take action
How about we deprive Satan of that satisfaction
Values are shifting and new opinions are learned
Tradition being tossed out, old truths are being spurned
No more do we have the blind leading the blind
When we act as one body, one spirit, on mind
With one voice we will proudly profess
The faith that we believe; the faith that we confess
Prayer and action, faith and works, putting love into practice
Speaking out in the desert like John the Baptist
The world may call us things like Jesus Freak
We may as well be speaking in Greek
So, maybe they won't listen to what we have to say
But they watch our actions and the message we convey
Call upon the Lord, and glory in your suffering
For, in Him, our hope eternally springs
Lord, bring the church through this cleansing fire
That we, your bride, would fulfill your heart's desire
Deliver us Oh Lord, from the pride by which we fall
Deliver us Oh Lord, when we are up against the wall
Deliver us Oh Lord, from the sin with which we shackle
Our feet and hands. Our obstacles, Lord, help us tackle
Free us so we may dance with you in sweet surrender
Open our eyes to see through the disguise of the wily pretender
Let the light of your love shine in our lives
For, not all is lost while love and hope alone survives