God Loves You for Who You Are

John 10:4 - "When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice." 

Ephesians 4:1-6 - I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit–just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call–one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 

Dear God, I want to thank You for when Ginny had me read You Are Special by Max Lucado. Although at the time I did not see it, this event ties into the message presented in today's devotional passage. You love me for who I am, not for what I do. In the silences, many voices try to fight to control my mind. I am to fight to discern Your voice from that of others. When Mikki and Mark kept trying to force me to change into something I am not, it really hurt and made me question who I am. Am I supposed to change because someone else demands it in order to fit their idea of perfect or am I to change because You want it and have brought me into the change? In today's passage You said we are to be humble and gentle and patient and bear with one another in love. Did Tom do that? No. When the moment required it, he failed to do that. I am saddened by what he did. I am still hopeful that You will allow restoration or reconciliation. And I am trusting that You will when the time is right. Why? Because Tom, like Ginny, did see the real me. And like Ginny, he did accept it. He just gave in to negative peer pressure. But I also know now that Ginny was right. She was tired of fighting the others to get them to see where they were hurting me more than helping me. And I was tired of her having to fight that fight for me. She has her own daughter she will have to fight for because of their own journey with special needs. I pray Ginny and I will be able to reunite sometime because if we ever do, I will have to say a huge thank you to her for teaching me that You really do love me for me just the way I am. Thank You God for perfect love! In Jesus' Name, Amen!

Stop the Judging

Proverbs 3:11-12 - My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline or be weary of his re proof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.

Isaiah 61:10 - I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

Luke 6:37-38 - "Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you."

Dear God, sinner saved by grace. That is all I need to see myself as. A sinner saved by grace. Sure, I have autism and sure, I get frustrated when I do not live up to others' unrealistic expectations of me, but I am a sinner saved by grace and only need to be concerned with what You think of me. Mikki and Mark tried to change me to what and who they thought I should be. Tom tried to force change when the one who really needed to change was him. He was less forceful though. Ginny was the only person other than my mom that accepted me for me. But even they are not as important as You. Your opinion of me is that I am Your child, and that Your Son paid my ransom so I can be free to be me, who. You created me to be. Anyone who sees me differently needs to look at their own reflection. Stop judging myself. That is a little harder, but so true. Do I look like someone else? Do I act or talk like them? No? Does it matter? Not really. You did not create us all to be exactly alike. The spectrum of Your creation is as beautiful and mysterious as the spectrum of autism. Thank You for the beauty of differences. In Jesus' Name, Amen!

I've Got Plans for You

I Kings 8:22-24 - Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven, and said, "O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart, who have kept with your servant David my father what you declared to him. You spoke with your mouth, and with your hand have fulfilled it this day."

I Kings 8:23 (NLT) - O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you in all of heaven above or on the earth below. You keep your covenant and show unfailing love to all who walk before you in wholehearted devotion.

Galatians 5:22-23 - But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Dear God, You are telling me today that it is okay to be different and that it doesn't matter what other people think. That You sometimes plan for me to stand out from the crowd. I know thos to be true, but apparently this is where that church went wrong. Ginny learned who You designed me to be and encouraged me to find my way in life, YOUR way for me. But she was heartbroken because of how Mikki and Mark treated me. Mikki tried to change me. Not just behaviors or quirks that she didn't like, but who YOU created me to be. And Mark decided to prohibit me from being able to be involved as a member when he realied that I could NOT be changed because I was following the path YOU created for my life. Shame on them. And the thing is Tom refused to understand things until I left to allow time for me to explore things. But now, God, let's explore the fruit of the Spirit again here. Because the other thing I read today is that sometimes You call me to do something that I will not feel ready for but that Your power will make me good enough and brave enough to do. First, let me apply them to Tom and what he did when the conflict arose and he lied and destroyed the friendship instead of seeking reconciliation as You say we are to always do. Did he show love? No. Did he show joy? No. Peace? No. Patience? No. Kindness? No. Goodness? No. Faithfulness? No. Gentleness? No. Self-control? No. Did I? I tried, but even I may have slipped and failed. But because You do call me to more, I will be the one that takes the initiative to reach out to Tom and personally offer him another chance to come into reconciliation. And I will do it as person to person. If, and only if, we can work things out between the two of us, then, and only then, will I reconsider reconciling with his church. But, I will have to be honest. Based on all of my lessons this year, that church may just have to be history. It is too corrupted. It refuses to embrace special needs even though that comprises the majority of the work that Jesus did on earth. And maybe it is not even the whole of it or the whole of its leadership, but the ones who are corrupt and refuse are the ones who are the most vocal there somehow. And that is wrong for them. Corruption occurs when they stifle honest voices. Corruption occurs when the truth is brought to light and they do everything they can to snuff it out. Corruption occurs when a pastor is given TOO MUCH POWER. And sadly, I was NOT the ONLY one who has been hurt by that church because of that corruption. I have met others who crashed and burned because of them, more specifically, because of the pastor there. Oh, God, examine that church and that pastor. And examine my heart as well as I begin to take the first steps toward reconciliation with Tom. Open his heart to the process. And should he desire a third party, open the door for his wife or a mutual friend to participate in the process. Safe territory being his home. Neutral territory being any place that is not the church. God, one last request, now that the AC has been fixed, please do not let me get sick and please keep those without air conditioning cool. It is going to be a HOT one this week in the Deep South! Thank You, God, for the lessons You are teaching me every day. Keep my heart open to them, no matter how hard they might be at times. In Jesus' Name, Amen!

Take Up Your Shield

Ephesians 6:10-20 - Finally, be strong in The Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in ipening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

Ephesians 6:16 - In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

James 4:7-8 - Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Revelation 12:10-12 - And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But owe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!"

Dear God, Based on what I am reading today about what Satan's arrows of lies are, I am saddened to realize that some of those lies that I had to endure hearing actually came from the very people who were assigned to work with me at Tom's church. And that I did tell him about the injuries that were inflicted upon me as a result of them and yet he did nothing but try to accuse me of misunderstanding them. But Ginny, who I miss greatly, saw through them and saw the hurt and heard the pain and even felt it and she was moved with compassion for me. She tried to turn things around. Mikki's words still hurt me today as do Mark's, and I will never be able to truly recover from them, especially not after what Tom did and the way he did it. God, move through my heart today as I start the process of the letter to be mailed. And move in Tom's heart as well. Mikki and Mark both used the diagnosis of the autism against me. They belittled me and they used it as an excuse to exclude me, when what they should have done is used the knowledge of it to find out more about why I am the way I am and how they could more effectually minister to and with me and include me. "You can't do this activity because you have autism and to might happen and this and that and this and that." Baloney sandwiches. I have autism and I CAN do everything that my peers can do except that I might need a little bit of help along the way and some mentoring and I might need an escape and a safe room to go to when I do need it. I have autism and I CAN do it. I may need to go through therapy to desensitize me. I may even need to use a device to help me communicate better. I may need to run letters and e-mails and other things I need to say through some people who can serve as filters before I can say them, but I CAN. I can do choir because I love music and music gives me a voice. I can do puppetry because puppetry gives me a voice without putting me in the spotlight. I can play music because, again, it gives me a tool for communicating. I can write because writing is my voice. I can paint now because I am less afraid of the texture, and it gives me a way to show the world how I see it. I think in pictures. Right now, we are concerned because the hearing aids I need will cost a lot of money, but I need them so I can hear the world again. My exhaustion is literally from having to work TOO hard at what I need to do in order to do what I need to do. My body and my brain can no longer handle things. It comes to being able to work efficiently, not harder. I have autism and I CAN. That care team, particularly Mark and Mikki! should have worked toward the I can rather than the I can't. They should have strived for inclusion rather than exclusion. "Whatsoever you do to the least of these, you do to Me." (Matthew 25:31-46) "For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. ... On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together." (I Corinthians 12:12-31) A church that does not act as a body may not be a church at all. And on the case of Tom's church, I can see where it forgot that it is a body and that all people who come through it and become a part of it are equal and deserve to be treated equally. If one member messes up and gets to go through the Matthew 18 process toward reconciliation, then every member should have that same opportunity. But I never got that and when Tom screwed up, I was not given that chance, but rather they violated their own document that they kept insisting I sign before they would even consider making the corrections that are needed before I could sign it. But the thing is, if no other person has to sign something before they can attend church there in terms of that same kind of document they drew up that outright excludes me from everything that the church hinges on, then why should I have to? Because what that document would do, if signed, is give them permission to abuse me. As it is, they took the lack of a signature and abused me anyway. They destroyed things with Tom after he had reassured me that we could remain friends after I severed membership. And even though Tom had the responsibility of acting in accordance with Matthew 18 with regard to our conflict, he did not. He was irresponsible and he crushed my spirit. And now I am being called to more and being stretched by being called and pulled to write a letter that may or may not even get read to extend grace to Tom and give him a chance to make things right with him and me or at least talk with me and give me the closure I still need. As to his church, maybe I won't bother because they are not a church. They are a disorganized group of bullies who abuse people who have autism and other special needs. Their leaders are arrogant and corrupt. I wonder if they are republican? Lack compassion for the least of these? Check. Say one thing but do another? Check. Biblically bankrupt? Check. Yep. Sounds republican. Not to offend, but there is just too much I now have to ask myself in all of this as the distance and the time have led to a lot of things including the capacity to think for myself and reason things through. Can I extend grace to Tom as an individual and his wife and invite them into a conversation that if nothing else will give me much needed closure? Yes. Can I extend grace to his church and invite them into conversation for the same reason? Yes. Will there be enough grace to give them another chance even if they did meet with me and amend things and present a new document? I don't know. Because they don't deserve it. Will there be enough grace should we say, okay, it will not work out with me, but what can be done for the future consultation? Yes. If Jesus spent the greatest part of the three years of ministry that are recorded on the Bible ministering to people like me the most, then churches need to model that. The greatest number of people who are unchurched in America are those who are challenged and blessed by special needs family members. And 90 percent of special needs families are unchurched. That is a lot. So, back to Satan's lies. Tom believed lies and it got to him. I believed lies and it got to me. God, equip me so I can hear Your truth and not the lies. Thank Hou. In Jesus' Name, Amen!

A New You

Matthew 28:5-7 - But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you."

II Corinthians 5:17 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Dear God, I know You are working to create a new life in me, but even still, I will always have the autism. That cannot be changed. I will always have struggles and challenges with it. I can only learn so much in a clinical setting though. I have to be allowed to be involved in activities that I would encounter on a regular basis in order to put what I learn about in a clinical setting or a class to the test. But it is hard to do that when the first thing a church does after learning about the autism is immediately jump to excluding me from participation rather than letting me be with others where I can practice what I learn. And that is Oak Mountain did. I was very involved with all kinds of things until that conflict with Bob. I tried to keep things internal and find someone within the church who would know the process for conflict resolution, but then he punished me for doing so. So I had to go externally. With Tom, I tried to use the things I had been taught, but then he refused and he exacerbated things, and then when he acknowledged that what the church did was wrong he did nothing about it and made things even worse until he basically destroyed my spirit and shattered my heart. He unnecessarily hurt me. In some ways, I do believe that he intentionally did things to create conflict with me because he wanted the old "drama" that he uses to describe the meltdowns I have as a result if the autism and the sensory overloads. In other ways, I want to believe the best about him though and believe that he truly did not mean to or want to hurt me, but if that was the case then he had no justification to severe the friendship on Facebook either, he could have kept that intact per EVERY promise he ever made to me and the compromise he agreed to with me in the last words he ever said to me. But because he didn't do that, because he didn't uphold that, because by that point he had been caught in lies, I had no choice to but to file a complaint about him. God, the problem isn't that I will always have the autism no matter how much You are working in me. The problem is that Oak Mountain seems to want to exterminate the autism completely as though the autism were a sin. They want to change me as a person and change my inborn personality that You gave me and make me into something I am not. And because they cannot change what You designed, they want to exclude me. They said it was for my protection, but what they fail to recognize is that by excluding me from those activities that I was involved with, it led to more questions being asked by more people. And if I were to be honest which I am supposed to be, then it would mean that I would have to tell a lot more people about the abuse and the bullying that Mark and Mikki and Bob and Gordon did and even Ken and now Tom. Oh God, please give the presbytery the wisdom to know how best to handle the complaint. And please lead them in putting together the committee that will meet with everyone to see what kind of resolution can occur, if any, or what steps can or need to be taken next. And please soften the heart of Tom to go through conflict resolution and soften the hearts of the leadership at Oak Mountain before they damage another person who has autism or any other kind of special needs, whether it is a child, a teenager, an adult, or the entire family of the individual. In Jesus' Name, Amen!

 

Easter Song by Keith Green (YouTube)

Hear the bells ringing, they're singing

That we can be born again

Hear the bells ringing, they're singing

Christ is risen from the dead

The bagel up on the tombstone

Said, He has risen, just as He said

Quickly now, go tell His disciples

That Jesus Christ is no longer dead

Joy to the world

He has risen, Hallelujah

He's risen, Hallelujah 

He's risen, Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Hear the bells ringing, they're singing

That you can be healed right now

Hear the bells ringing, they're singing

Christ, He will reveal it now

The angels, they all surround us

And they are ministering Jesus' power

Quickly now, reach out and receive it

For this could be your glorious hour

Joy to this world

He has risen, Hallelujah 

He's risen, Hallelujah 

He's risen, Hallelujah Hallelujah 

The angel up on the tombstone

Said, He has risen, just as He said

Quickly now, go tell His disciples

That Jesus Christ is no longer dead

Joy to the world

He has risen, Hallelujah

He's risen, Hallelujah

He's risen, Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Still and Quiet

Isaiah 30:15 - For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, "In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength."

Zechariah 2:13 - Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord, for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.

Zechariah 2:13 - Be still before the Lord.

II Corinthians 12:9 - But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Dear God, Being still and quiet is hard! Especially when your body is full of energy that wants to get out of you. The harder you try to stifle the energy, the more it wants to just be released. God, I have a worry to release if I am to be still and quiet. You see, there is a matter of the word that Tom used in his letter for my disability court - the same letter that also acknowledges in a sense that he knew that what they were doing was wrong. He used the word "mainstream." The thing is, they did not try to mainstream me after the diagnosis came back. They EXCLUDED me without giving me a chance to try. I love the video I found the other day about in which it indicated that the little girl with autism had learned a lot from being around her neurotypical peers. It reiterated that since we autistics learn best when we are actually with our neurotypical peers, then why would anyone exclude or segregate us? Good point! Especially if it's a church! Shame on any church that dares segregate someone just because the person has a disability! That is not what Jesus would want. That person is just as gifted in his or her own way, just as able to serve God in his or her own way, just as able to worship God in his or her own way, and just as able to be a part of any other activity that anyone else is involved with (although maybe sometimes with assistance in each area)! Woe to the church that dares exclude a single person just because the person has autism and challenges the authority that he or she recognizes is doing something that is blatantly wrong! It is not the person with the autism that is the problem. It is the authority that did the wrong that is the problem. In this case, it is Bob that was the problem. It is Mark that was the problem. It is Ken that was the problem. It is Gordon that was the problem. It is Tom that became the problem because he knew that there were things wrong with the document and that if they would correct it then I would sign it, yet he failed. Tom knew that what the leadership was doing was wrong and that all he needed to do was talk with me and we could have easily resolved things, but he didn't do anything to stop the wrong and then he refused to talk with me or attempt to resolve anything. Then he broke every promise and his compromise which was the last thing he and I agreed to, the last words he spoke to me. He had no justification for it either because I had diligently kept my end of it until after he broke it anyway. I got punished for having one meltdown that he exacerbated! I got punished for having autism. I got punished for the way You created me, God. And You got punished for making me. God, You got punished by them. I saw them put Jesus back on the cross and spit in His face, mocking Him and His words, Your words. Your words that say that if they truly felt I was wrong then they should have engaged in proper and biblical church discipline with me, and had they done so then there could be redemption and rejoicing in it, Your words that say that we are all part of the body and all needed, Your words that say that we are to seek peace and restoration with one another which I have tried but they have refused, Your words that say that as a result of his actions, Tom is not evidencing the marks of a true Christian, not qualified to be a pastor of any kind anywhere anymore, and Your words that would describe Oak Mountain as a church that You would spit back out because it has mistreated someone who is considered to be one of the least of these which would cause them to be sorted out into the goats. Many people seem to think that those passages only apply to individuals, but God, it applies equally to churches as well. Churches are people. And yes, it even applies to government. Though I am not a biblical scholar, far from it, I read of all the government systems that You demanded and commanded to help take care of the least of these. Governments have always made sure their entire kingdoms or countries have had enough food to eat, water to drink, and other basic needs, including healthcare. Because essentially the government consists of people. People who are supposed to take care of each other. Our government has been corrupted by a bad group of wealthy people claiming to be followers of Christ but all the while trying to take away resources to make sure people in need have food and affordable healthcare and resources when they are disabled or retired or veterans. They have become greedy and have shifted to taking care of more people in powerful positions and forgotten the needs of the people and have shifted funds around so that people in need have next tot nothing while people who are not in need get more and more money. And the people get more and more money but do not turn around and use it for what they are supposed to use it on, but only pad their pockets more. Then those same greedy people go back and ask for more money which gets taken away from the people in need again. The people in need are getting beaten up and kicked down in the name of Christ and personal responsibility. Then the people not making the decisions paint this ugly picture of a welfare queen who owns expensive things using tax dollars and buys cigarettes on an EBT card (those cards have many programs on them, they are to cut down on fraud). They don't stop to think that perhaps the picture they paint is not the case MOST of the time. They call everyone on assistance or receiving checks from the government lazy. Government benefits go to many people: veterans who served our country for those people to feel so entitled to judge people receiving checks - the ungrateful jerks right, disabled people who cannot work or can no longer work and not all of the disabilities are visible, the senior citizens who have retired because of old age, the single moms or dads who have lost their husbands or wives to war, the young married couples who have children but only one can work because they cannot afford daycare because one of the kids has special needs that before the ACA was not able to be insured but now can but many of the therapies needed are still not covered by the insurance either because it is not FDA approved and certified or because they consider it investigational or because lawmakers haven't been very inclusive about having those services covered, the mom or dad who escaped an abusive situation or got abandoned and left alone with children. REAL people with REAL problems. How does a person on SNAP have a car? Because either it is used, they had it before needing SNAP, or it doesn't belong to them and they borrowed it from someone. How does a person on SNAP have a cell phone or an iPhone? Because iPhones are not expensive if you get a two year agreement plan, because it was a gift, because it was part of a family plan and family package, because it was purchased during the holiday sales. How does a person on SNAP have Internet? They go to the library or a friend's house with internet or they had it before they ended up needing SNAP. Anymore you need internet to apply for jobs. Since when is the person who is asking these judgmental questions so entitled anyway? People on SNAP are buying steak and lobster! Really? Not unless they get it from the dollar store or have coupons. Most people on SNAP get less than $200 a month. Unless they do serious couponing to make those dollars stretch throughout the whole month, most of them are not buying steak and lobster. And even if they are buying steak and lobster, what business is it of anyone else's what they are eating? What makes that person who is judging so entitled to judge? The sense of entitlement isn't coming from the people on the assistance programs. Chances are many of those people hit rock bottom, asked a church to help, got some help and then got referred to other agencies, peeled away their pride to go to the other agencies, and then got the help they needed when they most needed it. Or the person went to a church for help and got turned away. The only people I see who have entitlement issues are the ones sitting there judging and pointing fingers at the ones who have assistance right now. Many if them are sitting on the internet hours a day mocking and pointing their fingers telling the ones on social programs to get off their lazy butts and get a job. They don't think before they write those hateful and judgmental comments. Many of them claim to be Christians too, then they judge the Christians like me who change political affiliation out of shame and embarrassment that You, God, are being mocked and people are being bullied and abused in Your name. Humanity. What ever happened to it God? Compassion for our fellow humans. Respect for our fellow humans. No, President Obama is not Muslim and even if he was, what does it matter when You, God, ultimately appointed him to be the president? And no, he isn't perfect, no man is. And no, he is not the antichrist. Many presidents have been labelled as such. God, I am glad You listen to what I have to say. I am glad that You care about what I have to say and about what I think. Now it is time for me to take care of some chores then get still and quiet while I finish a book so that I can later be still and quiet absorbed in Your words. In Jesus' Name, Amen!

Speak Life by TobyMac (YouTube)

Some days, life feels perfect

Other days it just ain't workin'

The good, the bad, the right, the wrong

And everything in between

Yo it's crazy, amazing

We can turn a heart through the words we say

Mountains crumble with every syllable

Hope can live or die

So speak life, speak life

To the deadest darkest night

Speak life, speak life

When the sun won't shine and you don"to know why

Look into the eyes of the brokenhearted

Watch them come alive as soon as you speak hope

You speak love, you speak...

You speak life (oh oh oh oh oh oh) You speak life (oh oh oh oh oh oh)

Some days the tongue gets twisted

Other days my thoughts just fall apart

I do, I don't, I will, I won't

It's like I'm drowning in the deep

Well it's crazy to imagine

Words from our lips as the arms of compassion

Mountains crumble with every syllable 

Hope can live or die

So speak life, speak life

To the deadest darkest night

Speak life, speak life

When the sun won't shine and you don't know why

Look into the eyes of the brokenhearted

Watch them come alive as soon as you speak hope

You speak love, you speak...

You speak life (oh oh oh oh oh oh) You speak life (oh oh oh oh oh oh)

Lift your head a little higher

Spread the love like fire

Hope will fall like rain

When you speak life with the words you say

Raise your thoughts a little higher

Use your words to inspire

Joy will fall like rain

When you speak life with the things you say

Lift your head a little higher

Spread the love like fire

Hope will fall like rain

When you speak life with the words you say

So speak life, speak life

To the deadest darkest night

Speak life, speak life

When the sun won't shine and you don't know why

Look into the eyes of the brokenhearted

Watch them come alive as soon as you speak hope

You speak love, you speak...

You speak life (oh oh oh oh oh oh) You speak life (oh oh oh oh oh oh)

You speak life (oh oh oh oh oh oh) You speak life (oh oh oh oh oh oh)

Some days life feels perfect

Be Still and Know by Rebecca St. James (YouTube)

Alone in the valley

I cried for You to fill me with

Your peace

So when the lightning strikes

Thunder rolls around me

Still I live in peace

You ask that I...

Be still and know 

You are God

Be still and know

You are God

You are God...

When the fires rage

When the storm surrounds me

Still I live in peace

Though the mountains fall

Crash into the ocean 

Still I live in peace

You ask that I...

Be still and know

You are God

Be still and know

You are God

You ask that I...

Be still and know

You are God

Be still and know 

You are God

You are God...

Lead me through the valley

Lead me by the streams

Restore me and draw me to You God

To You I lift my soul

To You who makes me whole

Gently You hold me close to You

Oooh...close to You...ooohh...

Be still and know

You are God

Be still and know

You are God

Be still and know 

You are God

Be still and know

You are God

Be still and know

You are God

Be still and know

You are God

You are God...

You're near me

You love me

You hold me

You reach me

You still me

You move me

You draw me to You God

You're near me

You love me

You hold me

You reach me

You still me

You move me

You draw me to You God

You are God...

You are God...

(You are God...

You are God...)

You still me, You draw me to You

(You are God...

You are God...)

When the fires rages, still I live in peace

You are God...