courting or dating? this conversation is always an interesting one. one of the first times i heard both sides 'defended' was at a church youth service as a teenager. my dad was the speaker who had a panel of people of different ages answering questions posed by the crowd. perhaps surprisingly (considering the topic and stereotypical stance of teenage daughter vs father), i sided...

with guilt i live closed in with shame i feel exposed with love i can succeed with beauty, find a rose with fear i lose myself with light i lift from lows with choice i’m given freedom with flight i join the crows with friendship there is sharing with joy there is laughing with pain there is learning with truth there is growing with voice there is giving with sight...

our world is broken i mean, ripped apart and fallen in a sad and twisted way in a hurt others cause i’ve been hurt,  fall down, hit the dirt,  break down, hit the first  thing that cracks me,  irks me, disturbs me our world is dark the light doesn’t penetrate it could, i mean, it does it should and will because the Light is greater still  then...

this song came to mind today when i was reflecting on God's love for me as the Beloved. today, i am looking at the passage in Luke 8:43-48. the story here is about a woman who has looked for healing everywhere and believes Jesus has the power to heal her. she believes so much that, in a crowded place, she reaches out to touch him and is healed. (note: by Jewish law she ceremonially...