Everpresent God,
We wait for you to show yourself;
To lift the cloak of sin and death that weighs heavy on our backs
And hangs a veil of pain and doubt upon our hearts.

All-knowing God,
Reach into our days and mark a clear path for our weary feet to follow.
Apply a healing salve of hope to our brokenness,
And supply us with wisdom and courage to continue on.

O Holy God,
Allow us a sheltered glimpse of your greatness and beauty,
That we may fall face down in awe and wonder;
And then to always, with reverent fear, live our lives in the shadow of the majesty of your worth.

All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them. -Galileo Galilei

Be not silent, O God of my praise! For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me, speaking against me with lying tongues. They encircle me with words of hate, and attack me without cause. In return for my love they accuse me, but i give myself to prayer. So they reward me evil for good, and hatred for my love.

But you, O God my Lord, deal on my behalf for your name's sake: because your steadfast love is good, deliver me! For i am poor and needy, and my heart is stricken within me. I am gone like a shadow at evening; i am shaken off like a locust. My knees are weak through fasting; my body has become gaunt with no fat. I am an object of scorn to my accusers: when they see me, they wag their heads.

HELP ME, O LORD MY GOD! SAVE ME ACCORDING TO YOUR STEADFAST LOVE! Let them know that this is your hand; you, O LORD, have done it! Let them curse, but you will bless! They arise and are put to shame, but your servant will be glad! May my accusers be clothed with dishonor, may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a cloak! With my mouth I will give great thanks to the LORD; I will praise him in the midst of the throng. For he stands at the right hand of the needy, to save him from those who condemn his soul to death.

Psalm 109

Psalm 103:8-12

The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

HOPEFAST 2008

a faint glimmer of hope burns brightly in my chest
despite the voices yelling profanities, insults,
willing for it to die.

but i will NOT have it.

i will tend to you my little spark,
and love you and nourish you
until the flame itself devours me
and i am made of nothing else.