What is Christmas?

I Celebrate the Day ~Relient K

~What is Christmas?~

The Word that comes down to penetrate hearts. 

The Word that became flesh for you and for me. 

To be more than a man.  

To be more than God.

The creator that became both. 

For you. 

For us. 

The creator, the word, our Savior, the child born. 

Why would someone be born to die? 

Is it not because they love us? 

Why would the creator become fully man? 

Is it not because we are his children?

There is hope on the inside. 

There is hope when you turn your eyes to the true outside. 

The heavenly hosts celebrate when we believe. 

When hope is strong and the fear of God purifies all of you and me. 

Sanctified and filled. 

Sanctified and set apart. 

Sanctified to be closer to the fear of our Savior. 

Sanctification as a gift to save us from our sins. 

We do this in preparation for the day when death is washed away. 

When every tear is dried up. 

When pain is taken away. 

We do this for the Alpha and the Omega.  

For His true water that always quenches thirst.

For Christmas is more than the presents. 

It is more than the tree. 

Christmas is a promise from God. 

It is a time to celebrate the true gift that He gave us, when He was born to die for you and for me.

When He was born to bring life to those who were wishing to flee.  

Never Give Up

"Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail."

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Never Give Up

The world is not on your side.
It wants you to fail.  

The world is against you.
It wants you to fall.  

This place throws rocks at you when you try and do what you were meant to do.
You can be beaten and scarred.
The ship that never makes it to shore.
The plane the doesn't find land. 

Downtrodden and beaten down.
Unable to sleep.
Unable to have a descent meal.
Broken,  hurt,  and seeing visions of wood and blood. 

The next section is one of a man who is down.
A man who is trying not to give up.
One who is searching for it.
For what? For truth. 

Where are you God when nothing is going right?
Where are you when the fire licks up.
When the earth splits open and swallows me.
And I fall not seeing where the bottom is.  

God what happens when I point a gun at your head?
What happens when I turn it on myself?
When nothing seems to be going right,
And the world looks sweeter than you? 

You tell me that you love me.
And that love is sufficient. 
I wonder what would happen if I truly let you in?
If I listened and responded instead of hearing and ignoring?

I have this to tell you sir...
Never give up.
Fight for God
Fight for your right to choose love instead of hate. 

The world will not win when this life ends. 

Pain makes you stronger.
The hurt is used to strengthen the resolve of Love.
Suffering is what it takes to fight and to win. 

Never give up on life. 

Endure and create your character.
When you are at the end of your rope,
Get your eyes off of this world and put your eyes on God. 

For this world is doing you no favors. 

Never give up.
Hope can come from the pain.
Hope is what comes from suffering, and that pain brings love as you endure and reap what is sown.

 

Never give up. 

Let Love win.
Never give up.
Fight for your right to never back down. 

Ocean of Mirrors (Poem From High School)

Ocean of Mirrors

Forming waves on the shorelines as my dreams drift away. 

Makeing mistakes and throwing them in. 

No one at the beach but me for I see past the glass, I see past my own image...

and the ocean of mirrors reflect every part of me. 

The ocean of mirrors make you see your true self. 

Oh, that ocean of mirrors what do you see, what do you see?

A burnt down town of false believers. 

A burnt down society running from it all. 

A burnt down community losing their souls. They saw what they didn’t want...

and the ocean of mirrors reflect every part of me. 

The ocean of mirrors make you see your true self. 

Oh, that ocean of mirrors what do you see, what do you see?

Lighthouse rays shooting down reflections past the surface of mirrors. 

Seeing what’s below. 

Looking inside is what counts believe me or not, believe or not. 

Ships are not sailing they’re scared of what they will find. 

Shattering glass of the mirrors make it possible, but I’ll always remember...

the ocean of mirrors that reflected every part of me. 

The ocean of mirrors that made you see your true self. 

Oh, that ocean of mirrors what did you see, what did you see?

I Fell in Love and All I Got Was a T-shirt (Poem From High School)

I Fell in Love and All I Got Was a T-shirt

Soaring in the air, my thoughts keep going to the one I fell in love with. 

Flying in the plane going away from the town where we met outside a school, realizing who I was. Brought together by a friendship that should’ve lasted a lifetime, but I didn’t mean to fall in love. 

Now I leave with only a T-shirt, a broken heart, a broken down feeling of love.

Moving away from the love of my friends to another town I know nothing of. 

I’m going to dance all the pain away never looking back to the one I fell in love with. 

Brought together by a friendship that should’ve lasted a lifetime, but I didn’t mean to fall in love. 

Now I leave with only a T-shirt, a broken heart, a broken down feeling of love.

Do I love her, do I love her, or can I move onto the town I’m going to? 

Do I love her, do I love her, or can I move onto the town I’m going to?

Brought together by a friendship that should’ve lasted a lifetime, but I didn’t mean to fall in love. Now I leave with only a T-shirt, a broken heart, a broken down feeling of love.

I’m going away now never looking back to the love that should’ve never happened.

I think maybe I will see her one more time.

The Music of the Stars (Poem From High School)

The Music of the Stars

I hear it every day and I analyze and listen to the sound. 

It floods my ears and I get lost in the moment, like comfort hugs on a rainy day.

To mirror an image in your mind after a sound of joyous feeling. 

I am watching the scars of emptiness wash away as I listen to the music of the stars.

Tearing to pieces and making it better for my heart. 

Holding the wreckage and casting away bad words.

The thinking of others and long awaited dreams are no one else's. 

But my own words are my passion as I listen to the music of the stars.

Notes and bars are all sung in one accord, of letting things be better today and letting out cries that I know. 

And you’re hoping to sing, but your heart is not into it.

Your mind is to numb to let go. 

If you let me I'll show my heart to yours as I sing you the music you the stars.

Lifting Spirit (Poem From High School)

Lifting Spirit

Let’s look past our differences on the gates of imperfection. 

Let’s hold hands to face what may come next. 

Forever light will shine, a glimmer and a shine through strong eyes. 

Seeing is not believing, but faith will bring us through.

Into hard times, 

And into good we all face. 

With my love failing sometimes. 

But I’ll be crawling back in due time.

Sometimes I’m looking for a back door to escape the pressures of this world. 

I should know by now that your unfailing love will see me through. 

Open mouth but no sound is coming. 

Show me your power and authority.

No time can tell the coming of our Lord. 

So I’ll wait.

You’re looking down on me seeing me make my mistakes. 

You’re looking down on me seeing me do your will. 

I’m standing then falling to my knees as I cry out and say I love 

As I lift up my hands to worship. 

Now thanks and take, God thanks and takes me.

I love you, God I love you.

Forest of Green (Poem From High School)

Forest of Green

In a forest of green the only color standing out, dominating each part. 

No blue, no red, green is all you see. 

Forward-moving makes it seem you only need you.

Know though green is not all. 

Look for the colors of beauty in things.

Don’t dull out your life for false inhibitions. 

Don’t dull your life for every wonderful looking someone. 

In a forest of green your eyes are closed, your eyes can’t open. 

Nothing is right. 

Nothing will ever be the way you want it to be.

During these times believe in more than the green of wealth. 

Let loose your soul to see many colors this world has to offer. 

In a forest of green your eyes will bleed out for comfort, 

But none will come.

You’re lying on the ground with a lie at hand waiting to explode.

Out of proportion it will stretch seeming like nothing. 

But being everything in a forest of green, what will unfold? 

Diving deep in a sea of that color.

Death comes in all your lies you told. 

You’ll die alone in an aftermath you could change your eyelids soon enough.

In a forest of green there is still a chance to see more colors. 

The creatures can be gold or white. Embrace the colors of your life. 

Why don’t you embrace the colors of you life?

Is it Safer to do Nothing at All?

"What if my dreams do not happen? Would I just change what I've told my friends? I don't want to know who I would be, when I wake from a dreamer's dream."                                                                                        ~Twenty-One Pilots

~Is it Safer to do Nothing at All?~

Dreams are meant to be broken and reborn again. 

To be slept on and woken up into.

A gauge of how much you mean to yourself.

An undeniable drive to see what you are are striving for.

For dreams are made by what you want.

The desires of a heart beyond my own.

I choose my fate every time I wake.

I cry out and wonder where is the direction I seek.

Sometimes Love has us wait.

We must be patient and realize it is not in our time.

We may choose fate, but time does not let us choose a side.

It carries on until the game is done. 

What happens if I do not reach what I am reaching for?

Does that mean that my dream was not true?

Is this the death of a dream?

Is it time for it to become new?

Dreams are meant to be broken and reborn again. 

To be made out of sand.

Once the heat rises and the mix is in place,

The sand turns to glass and we hope it does not shatter in our face.

Is it safer to do nothing at all?

Is it safer to just sit in my room?

When this world wants to fall down.

That is when I think I should get up and move.

Sometimes Love has us wait.

Sometimes Love says to run.

Run towards what was placed inside our heart.

And even if we fail we need to get up and run again.

For in everything we learn.

We learn when we fail and when we succeed.

As long as we try and learn how to bleed.

For dreams are meant to be broken and reborn again.

Why is Good Forgotten?

~Why is Good Forgotten?~

This journey is not for the faint of heart.

These moments take precedent over the rest.
I have been given these moments to make things better.

One step to the right as my body goes left.

I am entrusted to give back and not just take.
To go out and understand that the world does not want to accept me.

To be a servant,

And give, give, give.

Do I distrust my distrust?

Am I profound for the sake of me?

Or do I proliferate my gifts for others?

Do I go and bring change, joy, and hope for the joyless, and hopeless?

Salt that lacks taste.

Seeds that get planted next to rocks.

Houses sinking in the sand.

Failing because you do not try.

I have work to do.

I have more to do in this life.

To serve and give to the poor.

And to know I was chosen to cultivate the trees to grow fruit.

Is it easy?

Will I love myself instead of others?

Is it easy?

No, opposing forces will make you want to serve self instead of giving back.

Good is not striven for anymore.

Pleasure is the new religion.

Power, greed, sex, and money are the gods of our world.

Lovers of self, lovers of the gray.

I would rather see it black and white.

To know where you stand.

Not to muddle or blur lines.

I would rather sacrifice than let it be easy and lose my soul.

Serving is not natural.

It is a choice.

Every day going out and giving back.

Instead of praising God then spitting in people's faces.

Is this the world you wish to live in,

A place of pride;

A places of greed;

A place where being blind to the truth leads to slaughter?

This journey is not for the faint of heart.

But I would not have it any other way.

Helping those in need.

Understanding what it truly means to be alive.

A Teenage Vantage

"The speaker in this door is blown out, so nothing sounds right. Taking my time, taking this drive, waving this town goodbye."
                                 ~Dashboard Confessional

~A Teenage Vantage~

A teenage vantage on a Midwest night.
Being older than those times, yet feeling obliged.
When your years have passed, and a crush has entered your mind.
Maturity can be gained, but crushes stay the same.

I wake up and realize I had a dream that is lingering.
It is a dream where I thought of her name.
I breathe in to start my day
And reflect on what will happen if I stay.

Hoping and praying for a chance meeting.
The dream infecting every thought I am thinking.
As I drive and sing songs that remind me of our first introduction.
And I smile at the thought of this memory past.

The only problem I have come to find,
Is a problem that is not life or death.
A problem that goes back to teenage angst.
A problem brought on by taste.

Why do I fall for country music girls?

A teenage vantage downtown in winter months.
Being older than those times, yet wanting more.
When years have gone by and the day stands still.
Hoping and praying for a chance meeting.

When the heart sings to close.
The mind wondering, what if?
Building the friend and wishing to keep it.
Even if a relationship fails to fit.

The only problem I have come to find,
Is a problem that is petty and serious.
A problem that goes beyond old teenage angst.
A problem that presses forward to my particular tastes.

Why do I always fall for country music girls?
Why is it the twang that catches their ears?
Why do I fall for girls that sing the songs that I loathe?
Why do I fall for country music girls?

A teenage vantage,
And a teenage point of view.
Narrow and closed in.
Yet, I still wonder why...

Why I fall for country music girls.
Why do I fall at the most inopportune times?

Is it Okay to be This Small?

~Is it Okay to be This Small?~

I am a blip in the existence of the universe.

I am small even on Earth.

Yet, you love me.

Yet, you listen.

I lay on my back and look at the stars.

I see the beauty and majesty.

A galaxy that could be out to get me.

A galaxy filled with people I love.

Don't forget Love will find you.

It seeks you out and asks to be let in.

It comes to you even in this world so big.

Even in our mistakes and demons.

The cosmos spinning and dancing.

The dance of the heavens.

Spinning around and around.

Like a woman dancing on her wedding day.

I sow and wear the fig leaves to hide from Love.

I run to be lost even when I want to be found.

In this universe so large.

In this heart I wish I could save.

Love died to be alive again.

To save what I can't save.

In this town where I am so small.

In my room where I feel smaller.

When you love somebody let them know.

When you depart for a long trip don't hesitate to call.

You may be miles away, but we can be connected by love.

Believing that this universe is smaller than we think. 

If I feel small, why do I look at the stars?

If the universe is so large, why do I search for it?

Because my faith is more than this world.

My faith is in Love that saved me. 

I am a blip in the existence of the universe.

I am small even on Earth.

Yet, you listen.

Yet, you love me.

The Comfort of Anxiety

 "Nothing in the affairs of men is worthy of great anxiety."

                                                                         ~ Plato

~ The Comfort of Anxiety ~

If I saw the maker face to face what would I ask?
Would I fall at His feet?
What desire or need would I ask on bent knee?
Would I ask anything at all? 

On my back I carry many things.
I carry the insecurities that I call strength.
I carry my doubt.
I carry my mind and my heart as they battle for top billing on my back. 

If I saw the maker what would I be willing to give to Him?
What confession would I give Him to help lighten the load?
Would I give Him anything?
For if I gave Him something would I miss it? 

Would I miss the comfort of my anxiety?
Would I cry over my depression?
Are my wounds friends that I wear proudly?
Am I a blind man begging to see.  

I have denied more than three times.
It was at least four or five.
I have inflicted more lashes on your back than forty.
I have put you to death despite of grace.  

I have crucified you more times than I can count. 
So if I was before you what would I do?
I hope that I would thank you.
I hope that I would let you take the bags I have placed on my back. 

What if I saw the maker face to face?
What if I was actually courageous?
What if I was not afraid to see?
Would I let you take the fear right out of me?

Sing

"Sing with your head up, with your eyes closed. Not because you love the song because you love to sing."                                                                                                           ~Copeland

~Sing~

Nighttime escapades down at the local bar. 

Every night the same story the same tune.

Singing for all the wrong reasons.

Because she doesn't know what she should be singing for.

Desires to run free from the pain.

Desires to be truly known by another.

Tears that fall once she arrives home.

For her home is not her home and her song is not her song.

A man leaves a trisk in the night of hotel lives.

Every night the same story the same tune

Looking for happiness instead of joy.

Because he doesn't know that joy is what he is looking for. 

Desires to be free.

Desires to understand the plea.

Tears fall once he arrives home.

For his home is not his home and his song is not his song.

Two legs to stand on.

One mouth and one tongue to speak.

One heart and mind to reason and lie.

Two ears to place the world where you think it should be.

Desires to run free from pain.

Desires to be free.

Tears that fall once you are alone.

Because you don't know where your strength can come from.

Hitting the floor and looking for a way out.

The hurt that fakes its own death.

Trying to persuade you into deeper darker things.

When all you truly need to do is sing.

Looking for a song to replace the hurt.

Looking for a voice to use when downtrodden is your heart.

Taking a step forward and not taking one back.

This world is not fair so sing a song back.

Silent Men

"I found a love in me I always knew that existed. It just needed to be set free." 

                                                                                          ~Relient K

~Silent Men~

Silent men coming into view.
Clasping to breath to hear.
Clenching fists and closing eyes.
Anger deployed towards those who may or may not deserve it.

 

Crushing blows and bloodied fists.
Scorn laden on your face.
Condemning yourself for your actions.
Beautiful agony on display. 

Planned suffering.
Planned ordinance.
Trusting in blood.
Trusting in the sorrow for sorrow. 

Cuts on your fists.
Blood from another.
Walking back to where you were.
Men besting themselves and others.

 

Basins laid out for the washing of hands.
Water poured out to clean dusty feet.
Mistaken thoughts and words during a journey being made worse.
Are you allowed to start fresh? 

Silent men coming into view. 
And they wish to start brand new.
Guilty yet forgiven. 
Cuts and bruises are nothing compared to blood and wine.

With the old of new coming back to save and wash away. 

The World's gods Before Me

Almost every time we tell a lie it is fear based.
                                     ~Jeremy Rapp

~The World's gods Before Me~

Who among us deserves life everlasting?

How many of us do enough good to become a sinless answer?

Can we be perfect, so that out lives can mean something?

Who among us deserves to be forgiven?

I deserve to be blind for three days.

I deserve to be blinded for longer.

I deserve to be crucified once.

I deserve to be crucified twice.

Who among us has the answers?

How many men have come up with a sinful answer?

Can we enter into the gates with someone else?

Who among us deserves gold and a helping hand?

I deserve to be shipwrecked.

I deserve to drown in the fears of men.

I deserve to go hungry.

I deserve for God to not get me through. 

The Maker puts us into situations that are hard.

The Master puts us into places that are unclean.

He has us destroy the semblance of a comfort zone.

Before we go out into our days.

Is it not amazing He speaks to is at all?

Is it not incredible that He guides us?

He puts into these situations yet He stays near.

I don't even deserve that.

There is a way for me to enter into the gate.

And it is not living in the middle gray.

It is to cast aside all of my firsts.

And replace it with God first.

  

Do I take the gifts given to me and use them for Love?

Or do I take them and spit in the face of the one who blessed me?

Do I put anything above the Maker?

Or do I rely on Love more than anything else?

Who among us deserves eternal life?

Well no one really. 

Who among us deserves to be forgiven?

Not a single man or woman.

But you know what?

Faith in our creator can give us eternity.

Listening to the call will forgive us.

His grace is enough to set his people free. 

I don't deserve anything.

I don't deserve to be living. 

But I have breath because I believe.

And I will continue to live if I can cast aside this world's gods for the one who made me.