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Panic (Attack) at the Disco!
It’s peak hour traffic In a tunnel In sweltering heat AC is broken And the tunnel is constricting Merging into less and less lanes Something’s gotta give Too many cars Not enough road… Is how I feel sometimes. My heart, mind, and soul Racing but constricting And something is gonna give. Why does thinking feel…
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Everything Limps
I walk with a limp. I speak with a limp. I think with a limp. I pray with a limp. Nothing is now as it was created to be. Everything limps. Even the most awe-inspiring facets of creation groan. Their beauty stunted with a stutter, a fracture, a chip. We’ve grown so accustomed to the…
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My Crocs Weren’t Made for This
10 years ago I started drifting from the Right side of politics towards the Left. It started with caring for the homeless. Compassion was my gateway drug of choice. Followed by a chaser of Empathy and the second half of The Great Commandment. Man, what a rush! About 4 years ago I really started going…
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Under the Cream
I asked you how you were doing And you gave me the cream “Life’s good” “Family’s good” “Can’t complain” But 90% of life Is under the cream It didn’t take long About one pint in length Before we got past that And looked at how you Were really going Hurt, loss, doubt Not the first…
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“Man Up”
Men are… lazy toxic selfish egotistical the problem. Our world is sure of one thing when it comes to men: we aren’t good enough. We are wrong. Or at least, not right enough. What should we be doing? The opposite of what we are. Men are losing identity. (Value was lost long ago) “Why can’t…
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Victory Over Tears
Fumbling for static feelings Searching for true words I want to feel loss But there’s too much to do I’m losing you Gripping tighter Doesn’t slow down the loss I want to be still But there’s too much to do Just pause for a minute Can everything stop?! Stop leaving Stop fading Let me linger…
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Brisky
Years to farm, hours to consume Barbecue char in half-baked oak Smoke and honey Vanilla and money Infiltrated through the gates of my fortified wall(et) I pay for time to hurry up My 34 years pays a premium for your 12 I am not patient, thankfully you are Get it right, sir Get it right,…
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The Bridge (Between Life and Death)
What if between Life and Death lay a bridge? A causeway of consciousness… I imagine it to be short – slightly less than a body length, so that your head may be on one side but your feet on the other. Such a bridge would be the result of the kindness of life’s Engineer. It…
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The Bottom
I think we hit the bottom tonight. Because on the ocean floor there is No light And I couldn’t find any light Tonight Like a many-tonned wreck Descending weightless We came to rest gently On the cold, silent sand There Just sit Just stare Just pray The bottom is exposed This is who I am…
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There Are Hecklers In My Church!
Almost every week the main thing I have to do is sit down and write a 3-4000 word sermon on a particular topic or passage from the Bible. A sermon is a weird genre of writing, because at some point that writing will be presented orally in an auditorium, rather than read in a book…
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Transparenting
What are you watching? “Nothing…” What are you laughing at? “Nothing…” What are you crying about? “Nothing…” What are you talking about? “Dw…” …said the parent to the child. Private fun. Private fights. Private faith. The doors and walls don’t conceal as much as you think, but sitting in full view doesn’t make you present.…
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State of the Heart
The hardened heart is condensed with confidence petrified with pride alloyed with arrogance fortified with self-fulfilment Its edges are sharp to the words of criticism Its centre is porous to the rounds of applause Some voices are let through the gate only to line the inner walls with reinforcement Broken are the doors of a…
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Scene Behind the Sun
The sun shines its piercing beauty Into retinas not able to appreciate it (but that doesn’t stop me from trying) But I’m realising The sun is most beautiful Not when my eyes squint to perceive it But when my back turns to embrace it And my eyes turn to see the way it paints The…
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What to do with my enemies…
I’ve spent some time in the early parts of the year reading the first handful of psalms, and I’ve struggled with some parts. The writer, David, writes about his enemies a lot. I have hospitality staff who don’t smile when they drop off my flat white and banana bread, but David had legit enemies! People…
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Discon Tent
It’s time we acknowledge something: camping is pretty arrogant. Imagine, if you will, explaining the concept of camping to someone who lived in genuine poverty. “Yeah so what we do is we buy a bunch of stuff and we go out and live for a few days as if we were poor.” “Nah, we’re not…
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Keep Me Wild
Houses are cool. But sometimes too cool. The roof protects me from the rain, but stops me from seeing the stars. The fireplace warms the house, but stops my clothes from smelling like smoke. The TV keeps me entertained, whilst I ignore the wild. The phone keeps me connected to the world whilst distracted from…
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Compline for Kids
God grant us a quiet night and a perfect end. Amen. What is something you might need to say ‘sorry’ to God for today? *pause for response* Jesus, thank you that you came to love and forgive sinners like us, thank you that you are praying for us right now while you sit next to…
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Conveniently Conservative
I have a natural political bend to the right. I have traditionally voted conservatively, and my personal morals, values, and ethics have somewhat generally aligned with those of the conservative parties. I have traditionally agreed that a conservative approach to change is good, particularly when undoing or altering that change in the future is arduous,…
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Between Two Thieves
Have we demonised the liberal left and lost our heart for justice? Have we demonised the conservative right and lost our conscience? Have we demonised our catholic faith and lost the unity of the Spirit? Have we demonised stylistic evolution in church services and ignored the adaptivity of the Spirit? Have we demonised egalitarians that…
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Ugly Love
The cross of death was the tree of life. The crown of thorns was the crown of victory. The mocking vinegar was pre-drinks for the wedding banquet. The darkness over the land was the brightest moment in human history. The pooled blood beneath the cross washes us clean from our iniquity. By his wounds we…