Lament

Oh for the women and girls
At work in the streets,
Not there by choice,
But in need of money.
Be aware of them;
How can we help?
How do we show them
The way to a better life?
Can we help them
Before it is too late?

Why to Church?

Why do you go to church?
Are you there
Because of the love
Of Jesus for all,
Or are you there
Just because
You want to show off?

Promises

Promises
Of peace;
Promises
Of love;
Promises
Of a good life
For all.
When, oh when
Will all
The promises
Come true?

Questions

What are we doing to make sure this world will be here for future generations?
Are we trying to keep the world we know alive and growing?
Do we remember that God created, then put us in charge?
Do we realize that God is still creating?
Can we find a way to undo the damage that already has been done?
Are we up to that challenge?

Celebrate

Come and see,

Come and know,

God is here,

Among us.

Celebrate now,

For our God

Dwells always

With us all

And loves us all.

Praisesong

With what name
Shall I call Him?
Elohim or Adonai -
Neither says enough
Neither is full enough.
What is the word
For best Beloved,
For lover of my soul?
How shall I pronounce
The words that mean
Parent and Saviour?
No words are there
That are strong enough
That have enough meaning,
For Lord of all is He
And also
Lord of my life.

Walk on Water

I can walk
Upon the water,
But only as long
As I keep my eyes
Upon you.
But fears arise
And I look around
At the storm
That is blowing.
Then I sink,
Because I fear
Too much
And forget
To trust you,
My Lord.
So help me now
And hold me up
With your strong hand
And walk with me
Always.

Think

If you think
That God
Is far away,
Look around,
For He may be
Right beside you.

A Prayer

Loving God, there are some areas that are receiving too much rain.  And the rain is coming with big storms and tornadoes.  Can these folks have some relief, please.  I ask for no more rain for long enough for the floods to go away, then some gentle rains, enough to keep plants growing.  And if there are some places needing rain, send some rain to those areas, gentle rains so their plants will grow.  Because if the plants can grow, we can live, too.  Please help us all to figure out what is wrong that causes the storms and droughts and show us all how to fix those problems.  AMEN

God Is

God Is on my right
And on my left;
God is before me
And is behind.
God's love always
Surrounds me,
Comforts
And upholds.
God is always there
Whether I want
Him or not.

Masks

You tear away, dear God,
All of our masks
That we so carefully
Put on.
We try to hide
Who we really are
But you, dear God,
Can see beneath
The masks
To who we really are.

Who cares?

I am drowning in fear,
Is there anyone who cares?
I am oppressed and beaten down,
Is there anyone there?
It is dark and I cannot see
To find the way to go,
Where is there anyone
Who cares?

Yet stop and look,
For Christ is there, waiting,
His hands outstretched in love
Wanting to show us
That He cares.

Oppressed

I am oppressed,
Why has this happened?
I have been beaten,
Why am I treated so?
I cannot live where I want,
Where is justice?
People look to kill me
What have I done to deserve this?
I look to you, oh God,
For help in all my troubles,
Where have you gone?

Are We

I was oppressed;
You did nothing.
I was beaten;
You turned your back.

Are we caring for those who are treated badly?   Do we
try to help them or do we turn our backs because they
are too different from us?  Can we claim to be Christian
if we do not accept all others as children of God?

Enough

Enough,
Never enough.
Always happiness
Is beyond our reach
Because there is
Always more to have.

But God is near
Ready to help us
To turn around
And to find
Our happiness
In helping others
And sharing
What we have.

Questions

How do we deal with our fears?
Do we let our fears control us?
Do we let God lead us in spite of our fears?
Is God in our lives?
Can we work beyond our fears?
Can we find love in all people and live
together in love in spite of our fears?
Can we really catch hold of God's vision
for the whole world?

Peace

Peace,
Will there ever
Be any peace?
When, oh God,
Will all your children
Learn to live together
And treat each other
As brothers and sisters?
Will we ever, dear God,
Learn how to live
Together in love?
Help us
And show us all
The right path,
The path that you
Would have us all
Walk upon.

Storms and tornadoes,
Forest fires and earthquakes,
What have we done wrong
That all this is happening?

Cliffs falling down,
Sinkholes in our streets,
Is the earth rebelling
Against our use of it all?

Mudslides destroying,
Volcanoes erupting,
What have we done
To cause all this?

God Puts

God put rainbows
Into our lives,
Look around you
And you will see
Rainbows.

God puts peace
into our lives.
Stop and feel
And you will know
Peace.

God puts love
Into our lives.
Go forth, knowing
That ever and always
You are loved.

Rainbows Around

Rainbows
Are all around us.
Just stop and let
The light of God
Shine through you.

Rainbows,
Let them glow
That all the world
Might know always
Of God's love for them.

Rainbows

Rainbows are ours
To have and hold.
But if we hold
Too tightly,
They will disintegrate.

Take the rainbow
That you will find near
And pass it on
To all people
That you will find.

Look

Photo by Betty Q Smith

Looking down too much,
Finding lost money
But not seeing
Anything else.

Look up now,
Look around
And see the beauty
All around you.

Look up and see,
Look and find the rainbow,
The promise there
Of God's love for all.

Find the Rainbow

Photo by Betty Q Smith

Don't look down
Around your feet
For the money
That you can hold.
Instead look up
To find the rainbow,
For the gold
At the end
Of the rainbow
Is the love of God
For all people.

Questions

In our need, do we hear God's command?
Do we give thanks for all healing?
Or do we give thanks when it is convenient?
Do we give ALL our needs to God?


Are we open to all people?
Are we open to God's leading?
Can the church change the way it is going?
Do we pray for all people?
Do we really care about other people?
Are we willing to learn how to pray?

Nature

Nature sings
For pure joy
In being;
Where have we
Lost that joy?
And how can
We get it back again?

Drinking the joy,

Feasting on God’s love

For even me!

Wherever I turn,

He is there,

Loving me

Every day.

What more

Can I do

But to love Him?
For He is everything

To me

And His love

Strengthens

And upholds me.

Drinking the joy,

Feasting on God’s love

For all people,

Letting the world know

Of God’s love for them.

Drinking in the Joy

Sitting with the family

That God has given me

Knowing that He is here,

Loving me.

Drinking in the joy

That is there,

Because God

Is in the midst.

Drinking in the joy,

Enjoying God’s presence,

Then spreading the joy

To all around

That all may know

That God dwells

Among us

And loves us all.

Dwell Close to God?

Dwelling closer to God, how does one do that? How does a person get closer to the Divine, to pure love? What path does one follow? Follow the path given to you and learn to trust that God will always there nearby to lead you and to always love you. However, unless you listen carefully for the voice of God, the path that is yours alone can be hard to find. We have to learn to hear with the inner ears, the ears of the soul. And then, day by day, we will be lead to dwell closer to God. The possibility is there for all people.

Creation

How wondrous

Is your world, oh God!

You have created

So much beauty

In all that

Surrounds us

And your hands

Created.

And you are

Still creating!

Questions

Are we open to all people?
Are we open to God's leading?
Can the church change the way it's going?
Do we pray for all people?
Do we really care about other people?
Are we willing to learn how to pray?

Do we Help?

I was oppressed;
And you did nothing.
I was beaten;
You turned your back.

Are we caring for those who are treated badly?  Do we try to help them or do we turn our backs because they are too different from us?  Can we truly claim to be Christian if we do not accept all others as beloved children of God?

Living Water

Come and drink
Of the Living Water
That shall never run dry.
Then shall you never thirst,
For the Living Water
Will quench the thirst
Of all the people
That drink there.

Not Better

No, I am not better,
Just different.
I have a different
Route than you;
But we both
Are created
By the same God.

Human

I am human,

Yet other people

Turn against me

And try to hurt me.

I am human,

And alive,

Yet people hate me

And try to kill me.

I am human,

And only different

On the outside,

For I am black.

I am human,

But I am different

On the inside,

For I am gay.

I am human,

And I am different

From other people,

I am asexual.

A Prayer

Loving God,
Come to us now
And teach us
How to love
As you love us.
Help us
To love ourselves
And to pass that love
To all your people
Throughout the world.
Show us now,
In the midst
Of tragedy and despair
What love really is.

God Is

God is here,
God is everywhere,
God is on the move.
We cannot pin God down!


God will always do the unexpected; are we ready for that?
Are we ready to find that God loves those who we don't want to love?

Jesus is talking
To each one of us;
What is He saying?
What are we to do?
Where are we being led?
Only listen within
And the answer
Will be there.

Prayer for Peace

Oh dear God, can we ever learn to live together in peace and
harmony? How long will we make of our differences reasons to
fight each other?  And can we ever learn to live on this earth
in harmony with all that lives here?  There are too many wars
here, what can we do to stop our going to war?  Help us now,
and show us a better way to live so that our children will
inherit a vital, alive and growing world. AMEN

Praise

Praise God!

Dance and sing,

Be joyful!

Go among

All the people

And help them

Find the joy

From being with God!

Prayer 3

Oh God, immerse me so much in your love that there is no one
who I can hate or think can be outside of your love.  Fill me
so full of your love that no matter who the others are or what
they believe, I will remember that your love is theirs, also,
even when they disagree with me.  Help me to love others, for
it is so much easier to love family and friends than to love
others who are so much different.AMEN

Prayer 2

Dear God, I'm sorry, but I'm not doing as well as I should. I
find that there are still some people who I would like to
hate, or at least think that you do not love them. These people
think too differently than I do, and I cannot handle that.
Remind me again that those who are different in any way are
still your children, created by you. Help me always to remember
that your love cannot be restricted to just some people, but
is inclusive of all. Stay always near me, and help me to learn
your love. AMEN

Prayer 1

Loving God, thank you for reminding me every day that you do
love me.  But you also remind me that you love all other people,
too.  You have told me that it does not matter what people
look like, who they are or what they believe.  You told me
that you still claim them as your children, and you love all
of them.  You have said again and again that there is no one
who is outside of your love.  Please keep reminding me until
it is so much a part of me that there is no one who I can hate,
for I do not want to ever do anything that is outside of what
you want. AMEN

God is

God is near,
Why should we fear?
God is talking,
When shall we hear?
God is helping,
Will we accept help?
God is loving,
Will we reach out for love?

All of God's children
Together praising in song
And letting
The whole world know
That we belong to God
And we are loved!

What have we done to our world that brings so many big storms?  Have we taken too much and upset the balance?  Is there a way to fix the problem?  How do we go about taking care of this world we were given?  How do we persuade other people that care is needed?

Wondering:

Why do we attack the innocent?
Why do we let the darkness into our lives?
Why such rage, what causes it?
This can be such an insane world, can we ever get rid of the insanity and learn to really care for all our neighbors near and far?
Will we ever learn to treat those who are different from us with gentleness and respect?(and as human)
We are all human first, will we ever learn that?

God's Children

photo by Betty Q Smith

All of God's children
Together praising in song
And letting
The whole world know
That we belong to God
And we are loved!

Come Home

Come home,
God loves you
As you are.
You don't have
To run away,
For God wants you
To come,
Come home.

People

These are my people,
God has put me here
Among them
To nurture and protect
As best I can.

These are God's children
And I am a part of them;
How do I show them
That God's love
Is theirs to have, too?

A Dream

Ah - that my dream
Could come true -
That the people
That I have adopted
As my own people
Should be accepted
As human
By all others.

Fathers

Loving God, for all the Fathers out there, give them a heart for loving their children, a soul for showing the children how to live, and gentleness for helping when the children fall down.  Help all who act as or are Fathers to know how to guide the children they have been given.

Gifts

What gifts have I?
How do I best serve
You, my God?
What can I do
To help your people?
And how do I show
Your love
For all people?

Hope

Photo by Betty Q Smith

Hope for the dawn,
For the day's starting.
Hope for the living
And the healing that comes.
Hope for the coming
Of the God
Who loves all.

Photo by Betty Q Smith

This is the good news,
God loves us all
As we are right now.
And that love
Is always ours,
No matter
What we do
Or where we go.
There is nothing or no one
That can change
This fact:
God loves all!

We cannot earn God's love.  That love is always there for us, even before we even ask.  This is God's grace - that love is ours, even before we know it is ours to have.

Photo of China by Betty Q Smith

Love all people,
Make no differences
Between them.
For our God
Loves all the same
And sees none
That are better
Than any other.

Don't just say that you are a Christian - live it!  Live the life that God would have you live.  Live in love, for love is the key to it all.  If you give love to others, it will come back to you.

Give love way,
Do not
Hold it tight,
For only
If it is given away
Can it come back
To you.

To do God's will:
Are we really doing God's will or our own?

Stop and think about it, and pray about it that our actions will be guided by God, not ourselves.

Can we live
As Jesus lived?
Can we live
In the freedom
That God gave
To us all?
Or will we once again
Turn around
To all those things
That enslave
Us all?

Why do we always need somebody to put down?  What is it in the human spirit that rejects those who are different?


The family of God,
Brothers and sisters
Together,
Together in peace
And love.
And all our differences
Mean nothing
At all.

Love

Love:
Such a simple word,
Yet so hard, at times,
To say.
So fraught
With dangers
And misunderstandings.
Yet it is so important
To life,
For life is meaningless
Without love.

I am me,
God created me
As I am, now.
I am meant to be
As I am
Right now!

Pride

Pride,
Pride in being
Who God
Made me to be.
No one else
In this world
Is like me.
And no one
Has a right
To tel me
To be other
Than what I am.

Loving God, remind us again just how much you love each one of us.  We tend to turn away and forget when the rest of the people in this world tell us that you can't love us because of who we are.  Forgive us for listening to those other voices and remind us again that you call each of us by name and tell us all that we are Beloved.

A Prayer

Dear God, so much fighting and shooting in this world!  We just can't seem to get along with each other.  It seems that the least little difference in body or thinking is cause for fighting.  What can we do to change this?  Is there some way we all can be taught the ways of your love?  Come to us now and show us your way.  Show us all how to really love the way you do.  AMEN      

Free

Free to be
Who I am
No one
To tell me
That I must be
Either this or that.
Free to be
Myself.

Empowered

Empowered to be,

Empowered to do,

Empowered

To proclaim

God’s word

To the world

And to bring

People

To Christ.