God, you are my God, and I will ever praise you!

You are my refuge, my rock, my hiding place when I need one from the world. You restore my soul with encouragement, and I am helped.

You are my strength, when I have none. Empty, I come to you, and you fill me anew.

When I am tempted, I call out to you, and you deliver me. You strengthen me by your Holy Spirit, and I have power to endure, to not be moved from your will for me. You encourage me to keep my eyes focused only upon you. You are my Deliverer, for you are the lifter of my head.

You comfort me; you soothe my soul. You are my joy, for the joy of the Lord is my strength.

You are the Constant One, the one who never changes. You promised in your word, you would never leave me or forsake me. You stick to me closer than a brother. You are FOR me, not against me. You never condemn me or reject me, for you love me, and I am become whole, complete. You love me with a tender, everlasting love. I whisper in reply, "I love you, too, Jesus."

You cause me to climb higher, to look up instead of sitting in my blues; you fill me with purpose and peace, that I cannot explain in human terms. Joy runs over and spills out of my heart.

I am never alone, for you are always with me. How could I be lonely? for you are always with me. My heart skips a beat because I know you are near, and I am helped.

I lift my hands to you, my God. I thank you for keeping me on the path you set out for me. I thank you for your peace, my helmet of salvation, my sword of the spirit. I praise you that you gird me with righteousness and strength, my shoes of peace. Your angels shield me, so that I may live and keep on serving you. You teach my hands to war, and my mouth to confess my victory, for in You, I am more than a conqueror. Without you, I am weak, trampled into the dust. You are the lifter of my head.

You give me the neck of the enemy of my soul, for you have proclaimed that I am the head, not the tail. Halleluia! I can do all things THROUGH Christ, who strengthens me. You sing victory songs over me, and I am helped.

You cause me to stand and not be moved. My heart is full of thanks, because you cause me to succeed, to persist, when I call out to you. I put my trust in you, for you never forget me, your child. You never let me down, you are trustworthy, and worthy of my praise. You pull me up, out of the dust, and set my feet upon a rock, the Rock, Jesus.

You supply all of my needs. God, you are my God, and I will ever praise you!

Depression, I'm Leaving You!

Today, I am going to lighten up,
throw the drapes open wide at the windows,
allow the light to dissolve the gloom in the room.
Darkness has suffocated
the rooms of my heart long enough.
And, when I audition
a trembling smile in the mirror,
I'll ignore the sweat bees of guilt
that circle and sting me into submission -
then I'll do it again for practice.
I'm awake now -
unnecessary guilt is the Great Betrayer,
not the other way around.
Today, I will trust the Joy.

Forget the obligation to grief
with it's sackcloth and ashes,
push back the heavy coat of somber
in that closet of sad,
remove the grey garments,
and kick them to the curb.
I'm taking my yellow shirt
out of mothballs,
trashing that bottle
of Bitter-Pill-to-be-Swallowed,
that one-a-day I ingested
so voluntarily in former days.

I want to gather dandelions
rather than roses,
to bury my face
in those soft ruffled heads.
I want the warmth
from those tiny suns
to be my fuel.
I am weary of thorns,
of regret pricking my heart
and making it hemorrhage
the sweet things of life.
I want to eat
a dripping ice cream cone
for breakfast, to let
that sweet goodness
get on my hands, to get on me.
I want to eat dessert first.
I want Duty to stand in the corner.

Depression, I'm leaving you!
I'm picking myself up
and dusting myself off.
I'm acting as if
I'm carefree,
until I believe it,
in this yellow shirt
I'm wearing,
as I set out -
to save my own life.

Winter Poem

Winter Poem

It's winter in Nebraska

and the gentle breezes blow

seventy miles an hour

at thirty-five below.

Oh, how I love Nebraska

when the snow's up to your butt

you take a breath of winter

and your nose gets frozen shut.

Yes, the weather here is wonderful

so I guess I'll hang around

I could never leave Nebraska

Cuz I'm frozen to the ground!

Author unknown. Happy Winter!

A Thousand Slivers of Glass

Yesterday's crust of snow
crunched under my boots
after the 2 am call yanked
me from my warm bed.
I picked my way slowly
through the sidewalk ice jams,
while my mind raced on ahead.
I groaned blizzards of the
only foxhole prayer that
my numb lips could form,
Dear God! Blue baby. Oh God!
The few blocks seemed so far,
but not far enough
to avoid standing on the street curb,
watching the ambulance pull away.

I couldn't help it,
my eyes were automatically
pulled up into a desperate search
for a sign in that night sky
that looked like blue velvet
studded with diamonds.
And then, I saw
a holy trinity of stars
swipe a luminous arc
in an indigo sky, and the
cloud-veil parted slightly,
long enough to glimpse
celestial fireworks - blinking
quasars and flashing nebulae
to light your way as you
skipped gleefully over
The-Cow-Jumps-Over-The-Moon
and ricocheted past Twinkle Little Star;
you mocked gravity
with your angel escort;
and without looking back,
you quietly departed.

One question pulsated
in my mind. How can you
live when your heart is shattered
into a thousand slivers of glass?
And in the reverberating silence,
a hideous knowing took shape:
I'm in exile here,
earthbound,
shivering,
and jealous of God.