June 21: Before I Go, Let Me Tell You Something

When the trumpet sounds
I'm going home
When the trumpet sounds
I'm going home
When the trumpet sounds
I'm going home
Going home to be with the Lord

I'm going to throw off
All those chains
I'm going to throw off
All those chains
I'm going to throw off
All those chains
That keep me tied down to this world

If the trump don't sound
I know where I'm gonna go
If the trump don't sound
I know where I'm gonna go
If the trump don't sound
I know where I'm gonna go
Gonna go to the Lord at the end of the road

Before I go
Let me tell you something
Before I go
Let me tell you something
Before I go
Let me tell you something
About the man who is my King

Let me tell you
Of the wondrous things he has done
Let me tell you
Of the wondrous things he has done
Let me tell you
Of the wondrous things he has done
And how he came to rescue you and me

Gonna sing hallelujah
To the King
Gonna sing hallelujah
To the King
Gonna sing hallelujah
To the King
For his love covers over all sins


There are allot of songs that I could write, and even poems and stories, scripts etc. Only one thing matters. That is the story of redemption that is for all. The repetitive nature of blues/gospel/spiritual, hammer homes the importance of what the singer is singing. So here I try to hammer the important home.

June 20: The Land of Tests and Money

Vocabulary
For you and me
As we are
Part of a system
That says
We care

That care
Is placed somewhere
In standardized tests
After all
If you don't compare
Or match up
In the worlds
Education fair
Then you
Fail

Meanwhile...

In a building
In a hut
The only competition
Is against that
Which is defeating
A chance
To live

Back over here...

Fight
And Climb
Get out of the way
Here's a resumé
I got the goods
Is there anything I could
Do

You learn
What you learn
For the service
Of the dollar
Which makes
Our wheels turn

We may be favored
But we are not
Saviors


For some reason when I hear statistics that compare one country with another in educational matters I feel frustrated. Maybe it is the manner of spin or our need to be competing, but education is not a game. Though recent trends are pointing towards a future where the only way that education will be effective will be through models of video games and other sorts of competitive forms. Then there is the question why? Why our educational model and for what purpose do we learn?

I think back to an episode of the now gone show NOW. In one episode young children were shown traveling through the jungles of Bangladesh to learn on boats that had been set up since the ocean and the wetlands are taking over the land of the country. Young children learning so that they may one day be able to help their families and country. I then witness the attitude of children the same age and older within this country, where the value of education bows in worship to the dollar bill. All modes, and classes are pursued for the sake of academic record to maybe get an extra buck so that a transcript will look good and maybe the college of our dreams will drop a small morsel of a scholarship.

We've got the best in educational setting but there's a sacrifice that comes with that. Some don't even realize what they've lost.

June 19: The Party

Get into your ride
And take to the highway
There's a party coming
Down from the sky

If you don't have a drum
You still got your hands
As we sing a glorious song
All sorrows will be gone

In the morning
When this world is over
Were gonna praise
The Holy one

Every moment
And every chance
Sound the trumpet
Get up and dance

There's a song for answers
There's a song because we win
There's a song of salvation
To our great and glorious king

There's a song for eternity
There's a song for all you've made
There 's joy forever
Because of the one who saves

In the morning
When this world is over
Were gonna praise
The Holy one

Every moment
And every chance
Sound the trumpet
Get up and dance

We'll dance
Because we know
That the crimson
Is now white as snow
And those hills
So hard to climb
Are made level
For all time

In the morning
When this world is over
Were gonna praise
The Holy one

Every moment
And every chance
Sound the trumpet
Get up and dance

June 18: Old Brother Cain

Two people, so different
But so much alike
Together for a moment
But wedged by a spike

If you look at me that way
There'll be hell to pay
Fingers clenching tightly
What, do you want to fight me?

When the fruit wasn't good enough
You're offering came up short
Jealousy, rage and pride
Because mans favorite sport
Now from one
To times everyone
The lines are drawn in the sand
As long as the entitled stand
The moment to fancy a fight
Over that which is thought as right
Has been a mark of history's darkest night
And so for a moment
A reflection of pain
From our old brother Cain


A thought crossed my mind on what would happen if someone threatened me harm. My initial reaction was threaten then if need be fight. Why is that the first thing that crosses my mind?

In a way the actions of Cain in the garden of Eden reflect the condition of our hearts when it comes to violence. Cain did kill his brother but before that he was selfish. Selfish, because when his offering was denied and his brother accepted; jealousy, pride and anger led him to a path of destruction. One that I know I am very capable of.

June 17: One Foot On Land, The Other In The Sea

I've got a thousand excuses
That keep me from moving
Fear like cement blocks on my feet
And pessimism from losing

Carefully selecting each word
So as not to offend
How words like salvation and righteousness
Became wrong, must have been from some men

But it's not just them
It's also me
One finger out
And three for me to see
When I build a wall
But play the worlds game
I fail to know love
And am just the same
As everyone

What's it going to take
To drive out that fear
I may have got the knowledge
But that doesn't make anything clear

For every step forward
There's a desire to look back
If I try to run from it all
There's still so much I lack

But it's not just them
It's also me
One finger out
And three for me to see
When I build a wall
But play the worlds game
I fail to know love
And am just the same
As everyone

For freedom
You came
To set us free
Seal upon our hearts
The promises that'll make us be
Like a light for all the world to see

One day I'll stand
Before the seat
Of the one so great
The only words to speak
Will be Holy

Building a wall may isolate us from the outside world but that doesn't mean the world isn't in us. There's nothing we can do to set ourselves free.

June 16: Blue Notebook

It doesn't feel like that long ago
When time was spent writing
Words that captured emotions
From one with so much inside

Every artist and every song
Touching upon multiplying aspects
Connecting every turn and twist of youth
Into a force unrelenting

Those songs ring out
Like a bell signaling war
The toll of those times may never tell
The excitement behind creating


There is a blue spiral notebook (the same one that I am using to write down this months posts) that has some of my original "punk" songs that I wrote from over 10 years ago. Though those songs may sound silly or inane now, they are still a reflection of someone that I was. Those songs matter, even if you wouldn't find performing them anytime soon.

June 15: Whatever it Takes

My mouth lacks the words to say
When heart brake and sorrow
Carry so much weight

Before a syllable reaches my tongue
The mind tries to comprehend
What else more there is to come

The ache
Of the heart
Is where the change
Can start

To find a cause worthy
For your honor and glory
Remind me of what's at stake
If a mile in pains shoes
Bring me closer to you
Then let that be what it takes

One day the war will end
But these wounds carry stories
That even now are hard to comprehend

Pressing on is easy
When you hide from the battle
That's not how we should be

Cause the ache
Of the heart
Is where the change
Can start

To find a cause worthy
For your honor and glory
Remind me of what's at stake
If a mile in pains shoes
Bring me closer to you
Then let that be what it takes

Oh whatever it takes Lord
To be closer to you
Do whatever it takes
So I can know you

The ache of the heart
Is where the change can start