But I am afraid, I am as social as a hermit

  I want to sing and play on stage

  But am always glued to my book page

  Extroverted, introverted

  It changes from moment to moment

  Too often feels like some sort an of opponent

  There are times I feel free

  Times I feel constricted

  And though there is peace in my soul

  In my mind, everything is conflicted

  Consider It All Joy

  By Erin Hylands

  Consider it a joy–

  A joy.

  All things a joy–

  All trials;

  All tribulations;

  But how?

  And whither?

  And why?

  Am I fine?

  Am I fine?

  What is fine?

  How can I

  Consider it all joy

  When it seems as though

  My joy is lacking?

  It is a joy that only

  Christ can understand

  Only Christ can give

  And only through Him

  Can I receive it.

  So I consider it all joy

  Because of Him alone,

  The creator of my joy.

  Courage.

  By Autumn Acosta

  Let me see your courage.

  Let me see you laugh in the face of darkness

  Let me hear you singing over the rain

  Let me feel the strength in your weakness

  Let me see you love despite the pain

  Let me see your courage.

  Let me see you fight when all odds are against you

  Let me touch your hand, calloused from working hard

  Let me watch as you stand up for the truth

  Let me see the light as it shines through your scars

  Let me see your courage.

  Let me see you showing others that they’re not alone

  Let me look at you daring to climb mountains and slippery slopes

  Let me know that you know that you’re known

  Let me see you clinging stubbornly to hope

  Let me see your courage.

  Darkness Is In Vain

  By Leighton Opperman

  At night I sit in the moon’s glow,

  I like to watch it wax and wane,

  The stars twinkle a last goodbye.

  I fight against the pain.

  I violently swipe my tears.

  I wish that my hurt would refrain

  from dropping me into Dark and shadows

  Into the night and chilled, cold rain.

  I cannot stand this solitude,

  I squelch my grief with such disdain,

  You always haunt my memories,

  My dreams a never ending chain.

  I cannot break against the heartache–

  I know your love will remain,

  Your word in me echoes,

  The darkness tries me, all in vain.

  Dearest Friend

  By Jaela Deming

  Dearest friend of mine,

  Though times may be tough,

  Although life may beat you down,

  Though the future is uncertain,

  One thing you can know.

  Dearest friend of mine,

  Always remember this thing,

  You’re more loved than you know,

  More precious than you realize,

  And more treasured than you think.

  Dearest friend of mine,

  The Devil wants your soul

  To make you slave to darkness,

  Christ died to give you freedom,

  But you must accept His gift.

  Dearest friend of mine,

  Will you submit to Satan,

  Or will you choose life

  As a fellow heir to God’s kingdom?

  You must choose for yourself.

  Dearest friend of mine,

  I know this is a hard topic,

  And I ache at the very thought

  Of damaging our relationship,

  But I must speak truth – in love.

  Dearest friend of mine,

  Do not let shame define you.

  Do not allow loss to shape you.

  Do not let fear control you.

  Do not allow Satan to rule you.

  Dearest friend of mine,

  May you find the peace you need.

  May God bless and keep you.

  May you feel His unconditional love.

  My prayers are with you.

  Death Defeated

  By Jaela Deming

  Even now O Lord,

  I will trust You.

  As fear grips many

  And Death roars,

  His grim victory cry

  Over many lives ended.

  But Death can’t win,

  Because I was bought

  With the precious blood

  Of the perfect sacrifice,

  The Lamb of God.

  Christ has defeated Death.

  While Death will still,

  Take hold of this,

  Earthly shell of mine:

  He has no eternal

  Claim on the soul

  Of this Blood Bought

  Daughter of the King–

  Only JESUS does!

  Despair the Messengers

  By Skylar Rivers

  He just wanted silence, not this verbal violence,

  This blasphemy, this hypocrisy,

  This battle cry with no explanation why.

  A call, a shout, no reason to doubt,

  That warriors united shall remain beknighted.

  A messenger, a league of them,

  Come running back, all tired,

  They came back.

  “More messengers,” they plea,

  “That’s all this world will need.”

  So the town followed suit.

  A commonfolk, the wisest sage,

  Knows more than that, that battles wage,

  That men will fall, that wounds won’t heal,

  The messengers will know nothing but fear,

  As they run back to share the tragedies.

  He stays in town, and watches, soul down,

  As foolish men leave the town to burn.

  Dross

  By Leighton Opperman

  “Hope is just dross that demands to be purged,

  From tarnished to dripping gold.

  It’ll hurt you, a mighty dirge,

  Burning away grief, fear, and nightmares of old.”

  And yet it is a beautiful thing

  Don’t listen to what the world tells you, hope will ring

  My blood screams, “Vengeance is mine,”

  But even in pain, I know the truth

  That for all of time

  Vengeance isn’t mine,

  It belongs to the Fire that burns within me

  To make me whole.

  Oh, my soul, look and see

  With hope, my broken, burned heart is full.

  Must I measure my worth in gold,

  Or can I weigh it in hope?

  Eclipsed

  By Autumn Acosta

  I light my candle to show the way

  But why can’t I see its glow?

  I wonder if out went the flame

  So I bring my finger to the wick so I can know

  The warmth of the fire’s certainly there

  But strangely, something isn’t right

  Why is my sight so thus impaired

  That this candle seems to give no light?

  Confused I decide to carry on

  Stumbling my way forward

  I wait for clarity to come with the dawn

  But I trip and find myself in the dirt

  Is this road some kind of curse?

  I try to keep making my way

  But the situation’s getting worse

  Anger mixes with dismay

  My frustration then turns

  To the lit wax in my hand

  How on earth can it burn

  But not light the way? I can’t comprehend

  Then I feel a warmth upon all my skin

  And my eyes are opened wide

  As realization suddenly sinks in

  Frantically, I look around in surprise

  I see the other light, shining brighter than the sun

  How on earth did I not notice it before?

  Fully engulfing everything and everyone

  Now that I see it, I can never it ignore

  It makes sense now why my candlelight was never seen

  Looking back my way’s made crystal clear

  All the lights are eclipsed by this much greater thing

  And I understand that it’s always been here, drawing me near

  Falling

  By Anna Kailin Fletcher

  I felt that I was falling

  Into the dark unknown.

  I heard His heart calling,

  Calling to my own.

  But His voice I did not want,

  His call I did not heed.

  I did not want Him in the front–

  I thought that I could lead.

  But He chose not to leave me

  Although my head was strong.

  He would not let me be,

  And showed me I was wrong.

  So now I live for Him,

  For He’s the LORD of Light.

  My vision’s ever dim,

  But He is ever bright.

  Flame

  By Margaret Pierce

  This light in me is blinding

  And I love to let it burn

  Fill the world up with its truth

  Let all hearts to Jesus turn

  Yet I live to please myself—

  Love to live like I am mine

  My darkness clouds this beauty

  I forget to let it shine

  Jesus, now I pray that You

  Would cleanse my selfish soul

  ‘Til I’m nothing but Your light

  That makes the broken whole.

  Friendship

  By Autumn Grace

  When we were young and free,

  We built a kind of ship

  And called it Oversea.

  We chopped the wood and hauled the logs

  And took them to the sea.

  We raised the pennant, flung the flag

  And set to sea, just her and me.

  The skies were clear, the waves were glass,

  The course: the shores of Truly Free.

  We sailed that ship and lived our lives–

  We thought it was a treasury.

  The skies grew dark, the waves were large–

  I grew scared, and she deserted me.

  I lost that ship and lost myself,

  While all alone she left me.

  I found our port and swam on in,

  Away from evil seas.

  Now I know I need another ship,

  Another ‘her and me.’

  To cross the waves and reach

  The Land of Truly Free.

  No one has ever crossed those waves alone,

  Nor singly crossed the sea.

  It wasn’t possible to go alone

  Across that dreadful sea

  But as I stood and thought of ships,

  It occurred to me

  That I was scared to reach that land,

  The Land of Truly Free.

  But then I thought it through once more

  And something occurred to me.

  That there was Another

  Who’d help me reach the Land of Truly Free.

  Heartsong

  By Ava Hope

  My heart oft’ sings a song

  Saltwater coated my lashes

  Ran down my face

  Til’ joy came dancing along

  My soul oft’ tells a story

  I was chained to the floor

  Mangled in darkness

  Til’ I was freed in glory

  My mind oft’ pens a poem

  I bled a river of blood

  From the canyon etched in my chest

  Til’ I discovered my home

  Now silent I cannot be

  The barrier has burst

  The shackles were cut from my tongue

  I will sing the song You have placed in me

  Heavenly Maze

  By Jaela Deming

  A starry evening begins to appear…

  Stars emerge to sparkle in the sky

  Twinkling merrily above so high.

  A crescent moon shining bright

  Radiates a soft, luminescent light.

  Restless animals cross the sidewalk path

  Yawning as they savor a moonlight bath.

  Each night out my window I gaze,

  Viewing such a heavenly maze.

  Enjoying God’s beautiful creation,

  Now reminding me of my salvation

  In the blood of Jesus spilled for me

  Nobility laid down, a servant to be.

  God’s grace bought for a price.

  History

  By Hazel Honegger

  We are old and we are tired,

  Tired and worn through.

  We drag our feet on the path,

  The way of history.

  The way of ritual,

  The way of tradition,

  With peaks of discovery,

  And dips of depression.

  Through war and peace,

  And pride and shame,

  Through joy and fear,

  The road’s the same.

  Onward, onward,

  Never-ending,

  Leading, leading,

  Hard and bending,

  Leading where?

  No one can say.

  We say it is a better place:

  We hope it is a better place,

  But the road is as old as we,

  And we have not got there yet.

  Maybe the young can tell you.

  We are young and we are strong,

  Strong and glorious,

  We lift our heads and fight:

  We forge our destiny.

  We left ritual,

  We left tradition,

  We flattened discovery,

  And filled in depression.

  No war, no peace,

  No pride, no shame,

  No joy, no fear,

  Our freedom’s name.

  Do not ask us where we came from,

  Do not ask us where we’re going,

  Do not ask us what we want,

  For we see all, and we want nothing.

  We left the path, and we go nowhere.

  We walk in circles,

  Endless circles,

  But they’re our circles.

  There is a path,

  Another path,

  A second path,

  An older path.

  I saw an old man walking it:

  He said that he was walking it,

  Living on this second path

  Even while his feet were on the first.

  I saw a lady walking it:

  She said that she was walking it,

  Living on this second path

  Even while she stood among the young.

  This path is strange,

  The old are skeptical.

  They say, “We cannot see this second path,

  It is invisible.

  Yet speak to those who walk it,

  And they will say,

  The path they tread,

  Is clearer than our own.

  But is sight not everything?”

  The young laugh and say,

  “This second path is folly and is old,

  Yet they say they are wisdom and are young.

  Both young and old has not been seen,

  Ridiculous, impossible, absurd.

  Is sight not everything?”

  There is a spot upon the old one’s road,

  That has been touched by Something,

  And all the zeal of the young,

  Yearns for Something,

  But they reject it,

  For they reject all things.

  The old are right,

  The young are right,

  And both are wrong.

  For this second path was born and has always been,

  Has died and will never end,

  Time is too small for it.

  The Conclusion of the Matter:

  History repeats itself. Many are caught up in the constant pursuit of something better, a new technology, a new philosophy, a new way of life. Traditions die to traditions in this never-ending race. Many others reject this road, saying there is nothing worthy of pursuit. They say there is no greater meaning, that there is nothing new under the sun. In this they would be right, for even their proud words have been said before. And yet, the life, death, and resurrection of a single man, Jesus Christ, has managed to change the fate of the entire world. It is perhaps ironic that the only truly new thing is the oldest thing of all. And yet the very essence of this incomprehensible thing shows how the traditional old and rebellious young are one and the same in the ways that count, they both walk by their own strength. In their ignorance they are blind to the very thing in which they have hoped. History still repeats itself, but the difference now is that there is a choice, a second path, to be walked in a strength not our own. Jesus Christ has truly changed the course of destiny. Those who walk the second path find that for them the footfalls of history have been forever redirected heavenward.

  Hold On Tight

  By Autumn Acosta

  Hold on tight, this is your story

  This pain, this fight, is growing you to glory

  I am the wind, and I am the light

  I am the star leading you through this night

  So hold on tight

 

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