Into this mind a thought
entered, exciting but dangerous.
It spoke of new ideas
Of new paths and new hopes.

The mind was scared and fear
overwhelmed reason and it forgot.
Hidden in secret biding its time, soon
It was nothing more than a memory

Distant at first, it grew, in silence
It found its strength, in darkness
It prevailed not tainted.

Once more it returned, bravely
It spoke, all who could hear listened.
It spoke of new ideas
Of new paths and new hopes.

It spoke a picture of beauty,
Of grace and unconditional love.
Of heaven touching earth
And of perfect joy.

Oh to see the mountains,
to climb upon their backs,
To scramble in the foothills
and discover their secret tracks.

The grandeur that my heart does seek
To survey the world from the lofty peaks.

Away from me you cityscape
built by mighty hands,
Not your comforts or cathedrals
in my pleasant lands.
Bid me farewell

I whisper this to you alone,
You’re my love and I have shown
You all the secrets of my heart,
All things the world wish me part.

I found glory for all to see,
It is joy that wells up inside of me,
He bids me come and drink my fill,
To approach him boldly and be still.

So do not listen to the lies,
Hear the voice that clearly cries,
Come with me and don’t be shy,
Shed your fears, embrace the sky.

Soar above the drifting clouds,
On the wind that blinds the proud,
Be brave and don’t look down,
Forever forward into the great unknown.

What would you do to save the one you love
How far would you go to keep them safe
Would you give it all, go beyond faith
Would you drown to keep them above

Would you endure until all hope is lost
Stand beside them and never budge
Take their place in front of a judge
And in love stay silent, face betrayal,
even to death on a cross?

A lullaby sung softly over the crying child,
Held tightly within the embrace of the loving father.
Tears flowing down reddened checks so mild.

“Hush my child and let it go,
Do not grasp onto the sorrow.
Hush my sweet and let it rest,
The deeds are done no more to confess.
Be still dear one and hold it not,
The night is cold be shall be forgot.
Be still my child and let it be,
Tomorrow is new the sun told me.”
Eyes are closing, tired heads laid to sleep,
Troubled faces succumbed to peace.
Father smiles, bends down to kiss his keep.

Before the night, before the day,
Before the world and creation lay,
Before the heavens and the earth,
Before the light had been birthed.
Before it all stood the King.

Above the sky’s, above the clouds,
Above the stars and all that shrouds,
Above the fears and the woes,
Above all evil, above all foes.
Above it all stands the King.

After the storm, after the sun,
After all war and battles are done,
After the rise, after the fall,
After man, his descendants and all.
After it all will stand the King.

I lie awake and wonder,
About places I have yet to be,
And on and on I ponder,
About places I shall never see.

Further than the rising sun,
Deeper than the deepest sea,
Wider than any savannah runs,
Taller than the tallest tree.

Snow shimmers and gleam,
Waters froth and churn so free,
Clouds scatter broken by beams,
Grass gently swaying, and me.

It is only after death does life truly start.
The place where the end is just the beginning.
Search long and wide, deep and far.
Go further to seek the places lost in time.
Yet they’ll remain just that.

Forever, Always.

And the only place left to look is the deathbed.
But can you get there any sooner?
The answer, no, wait to be where you belong.
It is there you will find me.
My true self without the shackles that bind.
Without the fears, the worries, the pain.
I live forever in the shadow of my King.

And there I sit, staring out of my window
out into a world of pain & lose that I do no understand.
Yesterday a baby died, & a mother cried.

And there I sit, staring out of my window
out into a world of pain & suffering I have not felt.
Today a brother will die, & a sister will cry.

And there I sit, staring out of my window
out into a world of pain & disaster I hope to miss.
Tomorrow a father will fall,
a son will crumble,
& a brother will not wake.
A man will die
& no tears will be shed
no, non at all.

Even if you loved me, I cannot come home
For it is too late now, I’ve already gone.
Please forgive me that I left
But I know it was for the best.

“Now don’t go crying”, is what I tell myself,
“And for broken heart? Drink to good health”.

I have run from the thunder, fled from the rain;
These foes they follow, to haunt me again.
Don’t think I’m lying to make myself stronger
There tears are real, hidden in laughter.

I want to tell the world about my secret superhero,
the one who saved my day
made the bad things go away

I want to tell the world about my secret superhero,
the one who brings a smile to my face
loved me when I deserved no grace

I want to tell the world about my secret superhero,
the one who knew me like no other
knew my flaws yet held me tighter

I want to tell the world about my secret superhero,
but I’m afraid I’ll lose what I’ve got
afraid my hand will slip,
my heart grow heavy,
& tears will drop.

Autumn sun, Winter rain,
Spring wind, and Summer again.
Seasons come and seasons fall,
Seasons change for us all.

Man was made to work and praise,
Man did sin and One man did save.
Before the world He was there,
Knowing endless joy but harbouring despair.

For He knew that man with lustful heart,
Would turn their backs and hence depart.
So He set in motion a plan to free,
His beloved creation from their own misdeeds.

So thanks to Him who gave His life,
Our debt is paid and we’re free from strife.
Time continues ever on,
But we shall not fear,
our hope is in a victory already won.

What makes a man?
At what point does the boy lose that something
& put on the new garment of manhood?
Can a boy learn to be a man by his own devices?
Or does he need a guide to show him the path?
& if so we must look to our Father in Heaven.

What is it that separates the two?
Like water & air there is a fine line between them.
Can a boy stand up to the test of life?
When all around him his life is crashing & burning
is it a boy, or a man that can stand up?
A man that knows when it is time to retreat.

But life is not all full of misery.
There are things to do, sights to behold,
treasures to find, secrets to keep.
Is it in boyhood a man gains his adventurous heart?
Each man is different, & yet is some way alike.
All fighting a battle to survive is this world.

A boy cannot always be boy, or should not.
It is a sad sight to see a boy in a mans body.
There you see the truth of a society slowly
falling down at the wayside.
We need men, real men to boldly stand up
for what is right, good & just.
& guide the boys down the path to manhood
& robe them in the mantle of love, bravery,
compassion, strength, kindness, humbleness,
joy, leadership, and love.

The joys of poetry rhyming,
Lie quite simply in the timing,
From syllables that form the line,
And haphazard beats there to shine,

To constructing sentences in orders different,
To help the poor poet make the rhymes consistent,

There is so much more to be said,
On these words written to be read,
But simply put there comes a time,
For poems to end, still with rhyme.

God, so much do I need Your grace,
That shines so brightly from Jesus’ face.

I beg for mercy, most undeserved,
& find it there, Blood brought, here on Earth.

You sent Your Son to die for me,
A sinner; hopeless case or what I thought would be.

Through Your Holy Spirit my inner workings are changing,
All because of You, & Your sacrifice given & willing.

To do the Father’s will so my debt could be paid,
& clothes of Righteousness before me laid.

By Your power & for Your glory I put them on,
Forever shining, praising God’s only begotten Son.

Bad rhyming poetry, you may think is simple
Writing line after line that has no coupling
But, be warned of you will of the human mind
To seek patterns in verses of which are not there
Very good it is at finding hidden meanings
That even smart poets thought where non-existent
Even now in this very poem you’re reading
Each line matches in the number of syllables
So there you go, in poetry with bad rhyming
Hidden timings can stare at you there in full view
Please remember not the mistakes that have been made
Enjoy the bad rhyming poetry written here

My God saves

Quickly I come to ruin when left to my own devices
Quickly I lose my way when walking by myself
Slowly I turn around when I realise my mistakes
Slowly I decide to try another way
Always You are there longing to catch my stumbling feet
Always You accept my back with out spread arms
Never will You forsake me when I’ve turned my back
Never will You leave me in my place of self destruction

My God saves

Sore feet cry for upliftance
Heavy legs call for a seat
Buckling knees squeak for peace
Aching backs plead for alighted burdens
Hungry stomachs bellow for a morsel
Weary lungs pant for ease
Tired hearts drum for a break
Sleepy eyes yawn for a rest

And behold! A light in the distance
A beckoning voice. A friendly face
The bed is made, fresh towels are ready
The table set & sweet discourse is poured out.
How much a blessing for the travelling soul
Is a hot drink upon the stove?
How wonderful is a welcoming home
To those long on the road?

Oh morning Sun where are you I ask
This night is so cold & I have but one task
For you to drive away the chill from the air
To reclaim your place & frighten all who dare
Challenge your right to stand high & strong
To warm the Earth & for this a song
Shall be sung about your great victory
For all, large & small, shall certainly see
Your glory revealed & feel your warmth so divine
So please come quickly & give life to these toes of mine!

Oh to understand the mind of God.
Or simply fathom one facet of His glorious creation.
The immense diversity of plant life:
The different colours, shades and tones,
The different sizes, shapes and unknowns.

Oh to understand our surrounding beauty.
Or simply fathom why flowers are so resplendent.
The reasons behind how they capture our gaze:
The different fragrances, scents and smells,
The different reactions when brought to our nose.

Oh to understand all of these things.
Or simply fathom which heart strings they pull.
The astonishing fact that there are so many:
The different times they open and close,
The different ways they make themselves known.

Love is a strange beast,
It swings from branch to branch.
It clambers over this and that,
And accepts us as we are.

Love is a wondrous thing,
It is deeper than the sea.
It keeps the secrets we impart,
And listens carefully.

So what can I say about the prospect of travel?
What can be said about the thought of leaving?

I am torn;

On one hand there is hope of adventure that lies ahead,
the freedom it gives and the thrill of the unknown.

On the other there is the pain of saying goodbye,
and the slight fear that plans may go awry.

But,
I know that you would go if it were right for you to do so.
I know you will be there waiting when I return.
I know, with a little bit of faith, that everything will be fine.
And
I know sometimes things not going to plan make
the best adventures.

What is love? Or at least what is it to love?
How do you know you are in love?
Or simply just lusting after someone?
Can you ever be sure of your feelings?
Or the feelings of the one you love?

God is love but love is not God; love is a gift.

At some point you need to take a leap of faith;
Praying that you land on something solid.
Why spend your life worrying about uncertainties
When you could spend it loving and being loved.
Truly what greater gift is there than love? There is none.

Just because I see a tree and climb
does not mean I care what goes through your mind

Standing on top of a wall I just scaled
I’m not wondering whether you saw me prevail

Or maybe you think it is to show I am better
but this from the truth could not be further

I would jump a flight of stairs because they were there
not because you might just stop and stare

It does not bother me if you see me do these things
I do them for the joy, not the glory they may bring

This is love nailed to a tree,
A broken heart for my inequity.
For in His love, nailed to a tree,
His broken heart for the sake of me.
For He is love, nailed to a tree,
A broken heart, death all to set me free.

Lying in bed unable to get sleep, the sweet release.
Every little light grows brighter as my eyes grow heavier.
The once almost silent night shouts at me from the dark.
Thoughts running wild, set loose in my semi-conscience state.

My pillow is no longer the cool lubricant for sleep.
Its overly warm state plaguing my over active mind.
I open my eyes in a moment of weakness.
My room is awash with lights.
Forcing my tired body I battle the sources of the fake day.

Finding myself at my sink I pour a cool glass of water.
Chilled air creeps over my body as I collapse back into bed.
I rest my head and my eyelids draw together.
Finally the stillness I have searched for has come.

No matter how bad you feel,
No matter how ugly you think you are,
No matter how broken you seem,
No matter how afraid you become,

No matter how tough the day
No matter how long the night
No matter how lonely it seems,
No matter how tiring just living is,

No matter how long it takes,
No matter how painful it is,
No matter how many times you cry,
No matter how, when or why,

You are perfect and you are beautiful in God’s eyes,
He has fixed you once for all, and will take away all your fears.

He loves you and cherishes you and will NEVER forsake you!
He is your fortress and your strong tower,
He is an ever present help in times of need.

When all else seems to fail and waves come crashing down,
His Word stands forever and you can stand in the shelter of His wing.

Wait for the LORD;
Be strong and take heart
And wait for the LORD.

In my confusion I sit
Perplexed by the difficulty of a single question,
Like a wall my head keeps hitting
Trapped, longing to be free from these
hypothetical chains
My soul screams out in want
Wishing my indecision would pass
I call out to God
for He can end my suffering.

Deep inside, these feelings we hide
The ones we crave, we must obey

Long ago, in the valley below
The crevasse inside, the hole we don’t show

The bitter feelings, they come about
With our drinks, we spit them out

Civilised we say, is the western man
Running around, no shame, no frown

We fire our guns, kill them every one
These enemies have no place to run

This better we think we are
Is not reflected in our soul

Dream of freedom, no locks or shackles
The land is ours, or do battle

We say many things that we don’t do
Would you stand up for right?

Through our eyes, into our soul
We look for something, to fill this hole

We look for fun, we look for rest
We look for life, until our death

We leave this earth, our bodily home
We wait in silence, before the throne

To bed! I say, or at least said, for it is a drowsy morning now.
A beam of pure light mounts an attack on my once dark fortress.
Yet my, artificial, alarm clock tells me that I should, in fact, still be asleep!

So why am I awake at this hour?
For what reason has my nightly hibernation been disturbed?

It is then I hear it, Nature’s symphony, the alarm clock built into life.
Right now, in my semi-conscience state, cacophony is a better word.
Bombarded with this siege of sound my only counter is this: to roll over.

And roll over is exactly what I do,
And it must have worked for I’m being disturbed once again!

This time the blame is on the, artificial, cacophony that is my alarm clock.
Repetitive, irritation, rousing and damn right annoying, its hum reverberates.
Oh Nature, where did your sweet symphony go?

Back to the big oak, my old climbing frame
Now it is my shelter from the driving rain

I think back to the days that have gone
A close distant sound of a guitarist’s song

It has shrunk these past few years
I look out at the rain in hope it clears

A drop of water lands on my face
I wipe it off and prepare to embrace

I pause for a moment, and look back at the tree
Was this a dream, or a memory?

Stuck behind a glass wall I see you,
Once we were so close it almost seemed we could touch.

And yet before I could truly hold you we were torn apart.

I yearn to break this barrier,
to smash it and run to you but I cannot.

For it is you, you have put up your defences, pushing me away.

Protection is what you will it to be,
though whether for you or I, I do not know.

I scream, scream at the top of my voice,
but nothing gets through,
or did it ever really pass through my lips.

And so the glass now frosting over, I back away.

Only a part of you can I see.

Then I hear your voice, this vision melts,
this cataract of my mind dissolves,
and I can see the beauty of your eyes,
I can smell your sweet scent.

And all my worries disappear for I know the truth.

The old log fire crackles and pops.
Its red embers glowing light up your face.
A strumming guitar, plays softly and yet loudly.
Lulling those who hear it to join its melody.
Long ago the sun did set, leaving only a memory of its beauty.
Stars have come out to play and the ashes dance around the moon.

The air is still and the sand grows slowly cold as we huddle closer.
Warming ourselves by the once large flames.
Even though the music has stopped sweet laughter fills the quiet.
Long is the night yet the dawn will still come too quickly.
Delicate smiles are all that pass our lips now.
Yet they speak more than a thousand words.

Down on the gleaming sandy beach on a lazy summers day.
The waves lapping the shore, washing in and creeping back out.
White surf highlight the breaking waves as gulls bob up and down.
Long grass peeks out of the steep dunes giving shelter from the cool breeze.
The big sun beating down warming the sand, taking the chill from the air.
Sea gulls in the air call out as if it were an opera in the sky.
Fluffy clouds, small and large, break up the light blue horizon.
And there I lie, wrapped up in the beauty, sleeping on this lazy summers day.

The shimmering sun, strong & bright
Her eyes glisten and sparkle in the morning light
A smile breaks across a tired face
She holds on tight to his warm embrace

The rising sun turning night into day
With long shadows of sunrise guiding the way
Still in each others arms, completely transfixed
Their souls collide, deep side they coalesce

Holy God my heart cries out for You,
I seek You and You find me;
My soul yearns for You and You completely satisfy me!

I look to Your dawn and see Your Glory and Power in the rising sun;
I look to Your noon and You refresh my soul in Your shade;
I look to Your dusk and the warmth of Your embrace lifts me up;
All day long I see You and You call me home.

Rejoice! All my being sings for my sins are forgiven.
In all You do Your goodness shines through.
Your Love is complete; it is all I need.
The troubles of this life may mount up but You are my firm foundation.
You watch over me and keep me safe in the shelter of Your wings.

Holy God all I need is You!
You are all I desire and I am humbled in Your presence.

I call on Your name and You answer,
I knock on the door and You open it,
I shout for my salvation and You come from the hills to save me.
My God, all I need is You!
Holy God, awesome are You!

In my bed, my sleeping hour
I lie awake with no desire.

Curtains lighten with the rising sun
My alarm goes off, an annoying hum.

I crunch my eyes shut as shut can be
But I am awake for all to see.

Slowly, slowly my eyes creep open
I hit my alarm, the noise is broken.

I lie there again, asleep I say.

When the weight of the world is pressing down on my shoulders
and I think there is no way out I turn to my Redeemer,
my Saviour, and my King.

He is there in my times of trouble, my darkest hour He guides
my hand and draws me closer to Him.

How I long to live in His kingdom for I know that this world will pass away
and only Him, and those in Him, shall remain.

Praise and glory to God on High, to the slain Lamb and the Mighty Lion of Judah.

Lord God, hold me close this day and every day; for the flowers fall
and the grass withers but the Word of the LORD stands forever!

To live is Christ but to die is gain!

Lord let this be the song of my life, may You be the reason I live,
the reason I breathe, the reason I be.

God of wonder, God of love,
You light my way every day
LORD of hope, LORD of grace,
It’s Your hand that reaches down
for me
Prince of peace, Prince of salvation,
My joy is in You, always
King of power, King of kings,
Humbly I come before You and You
dress me in righteousness I do not
deserve

O Father, how awesome it is to
know Your love
In times of hardship You deliver
me to pastures new
LORD, You lift me up from darkest
night to Your glorious day
Even when things seem at their worst
You bring me peace

Forever I will give You my praise
Forever I will bring my worship to Your feet
All the world holds dear,
I count as loss
Were the whole Realm of Nature mine
that were an offering
far too small
Forever worship will fall at Your feet
Forever Your praise will be sung

GOD of creation,
all I see is the work of Your hands
LORD of my life,
all I am I give to You
Prince of humility,
how can it be that Your death brought me life
King of all,
always Your praise will be sung
Forever You reign!

Amen!

I’ve had two wins yet no victory; it eludes me like Moby’s whale, looming over everything I do.

Strange how such an obvious and simple prize seems to disguise itself in different things, or so it appears.

I chase and I cannot catch,
I search and I cannot find,
I know and I cannot get an answer.

This world I inhabit bids me welcome but shows me no hospitality.

Where do I turn to? Where can I find solace, a place to rest? Where do I find my salvation?

I turn to the hills, for that is where my help comes. My help comes from the Lord, he will not let your foot slip; He who watches over me will not slumber.

I find my peace in a new place, a new kingdom and yet a kingdom that has always been; it is only new to me but eternal in nature.

This kingdom bids me welcome and the Ruler gives me white robes and welcomes me home. My hope is found in the one I call Abba, Father.

Here I have all that I need, and all that I want is fulfilled in the one I call Saviour.

I ask and I receive,
I search and I find,
I knock and the door is opened for me.

My soul finds peace, rest and solace in this kingdom; in the place it belongs.

I walk to school, my headphones on
A cool fresh breeze and a shining sun

I get to the gate, I look over my shoulder
There she is! I almost fall over

I keep on walking, towards my class
Afraid to look again, in case someone laughs

I throw down my bag, but miss my table
I sit down and try to make it look un-accidental

Then she walks in, I try not to stare
Her perfect brown eyes, her perfect brown hair

My name is called, my voice goes squeaky
Everyone laughs, but she laughs sweetly

I sigh and look down, at the table and ground
Is today different? The answer is no, it starts with a frown

A starry sky, a cloudless night
Every constellation is in clear sight.
Out of the city, the busy and bustle
In the countryside I hear a rustle.
An owl toots, a mouse squeaks
I look at my friends, but they are asleep.
My eyes grow heavy as the fire dies
Ash rises up toward the broad skies.
A pleasant night drawing to an end
Close to perfection? I cannot pretend.

Explore all
Live the life
That is given
Come awake from time
Old are we
Out like the young
An angel’s hand
Gives us easy days

Life is around
Each one of us
Don’t let it die
For we are the offspring of love
Don’t hide your feelings
They’re not yours to hide

Follow your dreams
Don’t let them fade
Life is special
Don’t waste it
Following unwanted things
Life is hard

True love is hard to find
In a world so bitter
And filled with hate
Their desires are not true
To the life that was given

To them in a world of love
In which God
Has put us to serve Him
In any way possible

Treasure the love you are given
Cherish it
And give double back
For love should be given Not taken

Those people
With no love
Are filled with hate
And greed
In such a fragile body
Don’t harm it

Friends are like angels
Who help us fly when our
Wings have forgotten
How to fly
Love those
Who love you
And those who don’t
As this world is filled
With unsaved souls

What makes a man, is it the power in his hands, is it his quest for glory?
Give it all you’ve got, to fight to the top, so we can know your story.
What makes a man, is it the woman in his arms, or his struggle for survival?
Reach for the gold, find your strong hold, so you can beat your rival.
What makes a man, is it the strength in his mind, to overcome his weakness?
To keep running the race, hide the pain in his face, to show your greatness.
What makes a man, is it the life in his soul, burning strong and fiery?
Or is it the way, he fights everyday, pushing for the victory.

Always a friend and nothing more
You never coming knocking on my door
Always near but never close
That’s where I’ll stay, a good friend to most
Outside the circle looking in on the rest
Wish I could be more than a hidden guest
I wait for a chance to say “hello”
Am I just a part of some puppet show?
Standing there, you just look through
You walking right by, what can I do?
Never knowing how to impress
Is that what I want? Or do I obsess?

Awoken one morning to misty ground
January’s month has come around

The frost on the grass a beautiful sight
I look at Nature’s ceiling, it’s pure white

Beams of light break through the cloud
Shimmers and sparkles on the ground

A song from a bird, a laugh from a drake
A shout for breakfast, I’m running late.

Found this whilst browsing the Worship Central website.
It looks like Tim Hughes is currently recording a new album due for release later in the year and in this short video he lets us in on some of his (and Martin Smith’s) thought & creative processes.

Be sure to check out the iPad appearance at 4:13! Go iPad synths!

It’s a roll of 35mm film with little people cut out (with scissors as my housemate couldn’t find her craft knife). It was then wound round a clothes drying rack with a black hoodie underneath, and a spotlight shone on it. Maybe seems like quite a bit of effort for the result but it worked anyway!

The idea was to get across the theme of films, people and community without just having an obvious boring photo of people watching a film together.
It was a few weeks ago that I did it and I’m ashamed to say I’ve only just hoovered up all the little bits of film from the floor…

Lyrics:
Find rest o my soul x 2
He alone is my rock and salvation x 2

He alone is my fortress, and I shall never be shaken

Lead me to the rock that is higher than I
My soul has found its refuge
A strong tower,
For when my heart is overwhelmed,
Lead me to the rock, lead me to the rock

My soul finds rest in you alone,
The source of my salvation
He is my fortress I shall never be shaken,
Through the calm and through the storm.

Lyrics:

Boldly we come, to the One
who sits enthroned over all
Taking our sin,
You welcome us in,
Your grace covers all

We love you, king of wonders
We praise you, hear it rising

All of creation sings your praise,
All of the heavens shout your name,
A heavenly cry, resounding on high
Our God reigns!
Great is your love and faithfulness
We join and sing, what a Wonderful king,
Awesome, and true, what freedom in you!
Our God reigns!

We join with heaven’s song
Crying worthy is the lamb
Who died and came to save,
Jesus, who reigns over all, who reigns over all

I really love this so I thought I’d share it with you lot!

However, it goes to show that even the most experienced worship leader still makes mistakes. 
Be encouraged, (if but in a strange way!).

I am constantly challenged that the gift of the Holy Spirit doesn’t bring anarchy but submission and obedience to God.

We sang this song on the Saturday evening of LOVE:NATIONS 2010 and are likely to sing it a little over this Spiritual Gifts series.  Viv and i worked on a recording of ‘Your Spirit’ a few weeks ago - we hope you like it.

I’m leaving Leeds tomorrow, so was supposed to pack this afternoon. However, could not be bothered, so I wrote a song instead. It’s ruddy rough, and I have a cold, so apologies for sniffling, tea sipping, chair creaking etc. Here are the lyrics:

Sitting there in the back of the bus with your
Head in your hands
I’ll join you in the aftermath of my
Strangest of plans

One good thing that we did was leave Kai in Three
Legs and The Vine
We’ll stay here ‘til we reach Whinmoor at the
End of the line

One day, we’ll get a better life
One day, we’ll get a better life

Really wanted to punch John when he wiped
The blood off his smile
Doesn’t matter, he’ll get his reward when we’re on
Jeremy Kyle

One day, we’ll get a better life
One day, we’ll get a better life
One day, we’ll get a better life
One day, we’ll get a better

Life for you and me, the children will agree
They’ll thank us when we’re older
Has someone got a light? It’s freezin’ out tonight
And we’re older

One day, we’ll get a better life
One day, we’ll get a better life
(Repeat until insane)

Mazel tov!

Darling

id love to hear all you comments,

Song I wrote recently, apologies for the less than expert recording equipment (my phone…) and guitar playing.

Was just reflecting on the way God gives us strength and basically everything we need. Pretty cool I think.

Any feedback gratefully received!

Words pretty much directly nabbed from Isaiah 40:

Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Lord He is the everlasting God!

Even youths grow tired and weary,
And young men, they stumble and fall.
But those who hope in the Lord,
He will renew their strength, renew their strength.

So we’re gonna soar on wings like eagles
We’re gonna run and not grow weary
We’re gonna soar on wings like eagles,
We’re gonna walk and not be, not be faint.

Just love painting nature, and doing poor imitations of the work by the greatest of all artists

Around this time I started thinking about nature, and how creation reflects aspects of the character of its creator. I like trees, and how they provide protection and shelter, they can be a symbol of age and something that remains for hundreds of years.

It is a congregational “surrender” song - of which there aren’t many. 
I write my songs on the keys, but this song is meant to be guitar led.  Hence, Jon Darby kindly recorded a rough demo of it for me just before he moved down to London.  Here it is…

Another one of these.  (I had trouble thinking of an instrument that these guys could actually play!)

Just being silly.

Introducing Paula Nice on flute and Emily Hawksley on backing vocals - thanks so much guys!

Very funny and so true!

And another!

I shot this a few weeks ago as a teaser for an event in Belfast about how the church can transform culture, cities and nations.

The concept of the film is making something new out of something that already exists.

It’s a ‘one shot’ that actually lasted just under an hour in real time, condensed to about 100 seconds in final screen time. 

The soundtrack is by Ben Mcavoy who did a great job of interpreting the brief.

Technical assistance (Math boffins) came in the form of Matt Jones and Giles Smith. 

Many thanks to Kamal who unknowingly became the main protagonist!

Look out for the appearance of a rogue power adapter that lets you know it was a ‘set up’ all along.

I’d love your opinions, critique, correction and prayer

Built in ‘67, the pool was 1 inch too short to be of Olympic standard, and thus, never held any meaningful competitions.  It fell into disrepair in 07, eventually being demolished in ‘09… The rest, as they say, is a poem…   Hope you enjoy it M

we all have a purpose

a direction, a calling

but you never found yours

perhaps one day you will

you appeared, clean, new,

born unto a city

with promise to fulfill

perhaps one day you will

although you were used, talked to

you were never invited to the parties

“I can change, i can do it” you thought,

perhaps one day you will

Your foundations, laden with sadness

Bore the weight of your mistakes

Your frustration, your angst, fit to burst

Perhaps one day you will

You were made for glory

To bring joy, attainment, victory

You didn’t do that here

Perhaps one day you will

As we shake your remains from our soles

And remember to forget you

I hope you find peace at last

Perhaps one day you will

i just wrote a reflection on the song but deleted it... I guess the lyrics speak for themselves

Lyrics:

You’re worth
So much to me
But I can’t buy your love
It’s free

You’re purer
Than mountain streams
So I will drink you in
And be cleaned

Jesus Lord
Your mercy flows
And overflows
To me
I will love you
I won’t be quiet
For in you I am so free

The same blood that sanctifies
Is the same blood that justifies

This is a song my old youth leader Ali Marshall back at my old church HTB wrote. I played a teeny tiny part in the song’s journey and Ali asked me to sing it when we recorded it. I hope it blesses you somehow.

tx

Open my eyes to you, fire me up
Open my eyes to you
Open my eyes, open my life,
Fire me up, open my eyes to you

Cos I need you more,
Than anything else,
more than anything else,
more than anything

Hope of the nations, you are the king of all
You are the rock, I need you more, more, more, more
You are the Father who welcomes the prodigal
You are my all I need you more, more, more, more

Open my soul to you, fire me up
Open my soul to you, cos I need you more
Open my soul, open my whole life

Fire me up, open my soul to you
More than anything else
More than anything, I need you more

I need you more

This video, ‘Music From A Bonsai’, is the work of a sound designer and composer called Diego Stocco. It does exactly what it says on the tin, but it’s probably not a tin you expected to come across.

For more about the creative process for this piece, go here, and to see more of Diego’s work, go here.

And another one of these.

Another Proverbs image.

With the help of another friend and more help from good old midi drums it turned out like this. I’m only just starting to learn how to write half decent lyrics so if you like the track feel free to email me and i’ll send you the track to write some to. 
I realise this is a pretty backwards way of working but i just wanna hear this track with some vocals to it.  Sweet! Cheers.  James
Written by: Jon Brombley, Luke Vidamour & James Le Tissier
Recorded by: Ben Wilson & James Le Tissier

For most of my life, I have wanted to be Marvin Gaye. But when I come to write songs, it dawns on me that my belief system and my lack of sexual prowess might hold me back. So this is a sexy song about not having sex.

I’ve been meaning to add some songs for a while now and hopefully this is a good start!  I wrote this song a little time ago but have been fine tuning it as you do. 

It is amazing what God has done for us.  We are forever indebted to him as he places us in heavenly places and pours out his grace on us.  I wanted to express some of that and this song was born out of Ephesians 2 (v 10 onwards).  Let me know what you think.

Lyrics are:

Lord, by your grace I stand
‘cause you reached down
and rescued me

I’m now here by Jesus Christ
In Heavenly places
You’ve seated me

Lord, you are so good to me
Lord, you are so good to me

It’s by your grace
your workmanship I stand
crafted by your hand
and brought near by your blood

by your grace
not through what I’ve done
but kindness through your son
I’m saved and I cry out

It’s by your grace
just by your grace

You made me alive in Christ
When I was dead
In all my sin

Now you have become my peace
I stand amazed
at all you’ve done

Lord, you are so good to me
Lord, you are so good to me

It’s by your grace
your workmanship I stand
crafted by your hand
and brought near by your blood

by your grace
not through what I’ve done
but kindness through your son
I’m saved and I cry out

I wrote this song a long time ago after a difficult time.  It was a case of God showing me what I needed to lay down but he did that by showing me how big He was and how small I was - ever had that? I always keep coming back to it though no matter how much I learn…

I surrender
I surrender
I humbly bow down to you
Give up my life to you

I Surrender
I Surrender
I humbly bow down to you
Lift up my hands to you

I Surrender
I Surrender
I lay it all down for you
Give up my life to you
And Surrender

You have opened my eyes
Lord of the universe
Maker of everything

You have made me realise
The Fountain of truth, you are
The Wisest of all, you are

And I bow down to you
I bow down to you…

Someone suggested that I try illustrating the book of Proverbs, so I did.

I’ve been back home this week and had quite a bit of free time and this song formed while I was meditating on Psalm 139 and messing around on my brothers beautiful new piano…

Cheeky Vid, Great song. In fact I’d say a definite power tune!

Image is from his site…
http://www.thejohnmark.com/

He’s also got an album coming out soon, which should be good.

I found out the night before I wrote this I didn’t have a week and a bit to write a song and record it, I had a few days. As I was sat up I remember praying about what to write and this came to mind. It was all knocked together very quickly but with the thanks to a few people from church it came together.

This song is called By Your Grace, let me know your thoughts

My name is Alex Morgan I’m at the Newfrontiers church in Bristol

I feel compelled to do an unabridged Graphic novel of the Bible, i have decided to start in the book of judges as it stories lend themselves well to comic style action.

The qualities of my project are thus…

aimed at adults, young adults and teens aged 15+
-very historically accurate
-not shying away from the more unsavoury events and issues
-representing the true ethnicity (i.e. no white Jesus)

Below I have posted the first completed page. I plan to add additional pages as i go, so everyone can comment and give critique.

As this is the first page I will also annotate the work so you can see how the sort of things involved with the project.

Panel 1 = Manoah milks a goat, because i wanted to show and everyday work activity and based on later verses about sacrificing a goat and Samson’s gift of a goat to his new bride I concluded they must have at least a couple of goat- the breed is Cretan wild, thought to be the type in the middle east at that time, it as a nanny goat so ‘relatively’ small horns. 

The bowl the goat is eating from and the jug he’s using for the milk are a shape consistent with the archeologically record of the period.

Manoah is dressed on a robe, typical of the period, as depicted in Egyptian reliefs of battle of Kadesh for the Hapiru (Hebrew) people. He and his wife have blue accessories, as each if the clans of Israel have a colour (and gem stone) that is linked to them- for tribe on Dan the colour is blue

Each clan also has an icon that represents them (i.e. the ‘lion’ of Judah) Dan’s icon is a Snake- thus Manoah has a gold snake bracelet. In my graphic novel I plan to run certain themes throughout the book. One is the appearance of the characters, I decided to make all men and woman in each clan to look like their patriarch, (Judah, Rueben, gad etc.) in this case, Danites (in my comic) have tall slim faces, tend towards baldness and the men have a small thin goatee beards.

The trees in the background of all these images are the type of trees that grow in Zorah today (so I guess they were there then too.)

Zorah is Hebrew for Hornet so I have a little hornet flying by as well as one might assume that if the place is called Hornets as there are Hornets in the area. The type of hornet is an oriental
hornet, with yellow stripe tail and dark orangey body

Panel 2 = Manoah’s wife possessing the same long thin face, wearing blue, and carrying a basket of ripe figs. Figs are harvested in Israel in the month of September, I am basing the events in September as the baby prophesied is Samson, Samson mean Sun, or Sunny. So a possibility that he was born in the Summer (maybe June) 9 months earlier is September - obviously this is all conjecture but the is no information to the contrary.

The little goat is there for fun, and also to foreshadow the kid scarified later in this chapter (a goat less than 1 yr old due to Levitical law)

Panel 3 = The Angel of the Lord is depicted as a human in a robe, his face is concealed, the depiction is a match for the image of the messenger/ Jesus in Rev 1 (white hair, gold sash…) , ascribing this appearance as a Christophony but in a slightly subtle way. The appearance is ‘mundane’ as Manoah doesn’t even realise the angel of the Lord is not a man. When he is transfigured at the end of the verse we will see his divine nature.

Speech is green in a green bubble as the green/teal colour represents things that are of the Spirit or in spirit form, for example in the Balaam’s donkey tail the angel who is invisible would be drawn in green/teal and slightly see through, but when the angel appears to Balaam it would be in full colour with black lines.

The woman drops the fruit is shock.

Panel 4 = The angel hovers up in a sort of manifested power, the wind blows, and the background world bends around him as his presence sort of warps reality (causing her to say later he was awesome, but not define why) Again he speaks in green.

The perspective has the angel pointing at the ‘camera’ this is intended to bring a more immediate action but also subconsciously put ‘you’ (the reader) in the place of the woman being prophesied over.

The narration leads us to a new scene

Panel 5 = The woman exclaims to Manoah what happened, as the text does not flow very well in English I split it into a string of small statement, to give the impression she’s in shock just blurting out exclamations. He looks confused and surprised possibly a little annoyed,.

He is decanting the milk inside, he is illuminated by an oil burning lantern (unseen) hence the orange light

Their home is depicted as a Bedouin tent for several reasons; the text refers to this area as the Camp of Dan. Also, in archaeology, bible sceptic state that there was no settlement of Israel in Canaan at this time as very little archaeological evidence can be found (i.e. buildings) but obviously as they were mostly tent dwellers of course there is no record.

Panel 6 = The ‘camera’ zooms in to get a more personal feel, The woman speaks intimately to Manoah, she tells him the prophesy, and he wells up with emotion and has a look of amazed astonishment.

Panel 7 = Manoah falls to his knees and prays, tears streaming (tears or happiness, relief, hope etc) his wife equally moved, cuddles into him and supports him as he prays. His prayer is a request so I’ve depicted him sort of pleading to God.

In the background you can see an urn and jug which is again linked archeologically to this period.

At the food of the panel i conclude the scene with the statement ‘God heard Manoah’. This is actually the start of the following verse but i use it to bookend this scene, and lead in the next scene which happens another day.

So, any pride that I may have about being some kind of cool, late 20’s (yes I know I look so young) something are well out of the window.

Claire and the kids have been over in france with the Mother in law for the last week so I thought I’d record this little track that I seem to sing variations of at some point every Saturday with the kids!

I spend a lot of time making these characters and may think of a constructive use for them at some point.  Most of them are modelled in Wings and imported into Poser 6 to be rigged (i.e. to have a skeleton added so they can move).

I hate rigging, it is the most fiddly part of the process of creating characters, and you may notice that most of my characters don’t adopt very complicated postures.

Most elements modelled in Wings 3d, image created and rendered in Poser.

As you can see, I mostly use my God-given talents to produce terrible visual gags.  The computer and spam were made by a very talented lady called TrekkieGrrrl (http://trekkiegrrrl.dk/).

Wrote this one in 2008 and is title track of the album.

Lyrics tell the story.

It was recorded in a tiny studio down on the South coast at the start of that year and we enjoyed recording it so much we recorded another more mellow version with strings. It attempts to portray our standing as the created - in view of our almighty Creator.

Not 100% sure how this network works but it looks like something I would love to be involved with. I thought I would start to post some of my past exhibit work.

One of the canvas’s in the image below started as a promotional beer mat idea for a student outreach mission but quickly became one of the main pieces for my end of year design show two years ago. My final year project was an attempt to illustrate the book of revelations in an contemporary style. This piece also went up in Euston underground station funded by revelation church in north london with an art exhibition organisation called art-below.

The best identity i’ve seen for a newfrontiers conference - thank you weareboxhead. quality free coffee outside - much appreciated. Psalm 24:1 and Revelation 21:5. Keynote from David Stroud - God’s salvation plan is to redeem the cosmos - everything. He made it all, it all belongs to him - art, culture, krispy kremes, music, film, politics, beauty et al. The gospel and the arts - key point from David Sorley: Tracy Enim’s Tent envoked compassion and holy spirit brokeness in David - the Christian aesthetic. Enim’s work is a well excecuted portrayal of her story. The Jesus response (which He has allowed us to be co-workers in) is too redeem and make new. Lives, culture and history changed. i want to be part of this. lots, lots more in there. Matt Hosier thoughts on common grace were also encouraging.

Damion Miller heads up worship at the Kings Arms (Bedford, UK) and has written many songs that are used congregationally.  This song is wonderful.  make sure you listen all the way to the end.

ISAIAH 53 v 5

“He was pierced for our transgressions,

He was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him,

and by His wounds we are healed.”

And thanks to Emily Hawksley who helped me with the chord structure in the verses. Nice one sis!

No explicit Christian content. Although influenced by observing breakdown in a Christian marriage.

Hence: “remember us complete” and “teach us how to love”

Written in first year, Recorded in final year, Remastered last year.

Then it hit me and I started feeling a bit emotional that even before I knew zip about God, he knew me so well, and how he died for me before I was even ‘a twinkle’ in anyone’s eye. I was a twinkle in God’s eye. And that makes me want to know him even more!

Lyrics:
I was known to you
In the secret place
In my mother’s womb
I was held in your gaze

To know you is to love you

Faithful and Strong
Loving and True
Jesus my goal is to know you

Faithful and Strong
Loving and True
Jesus my heart is to know you God

Is to know you God

I was held by you
On the day of pain
When you hung on the cross
There you bore all my shame

To know you is to Love you

(chorus)

Hallelujah, Thankyou Jesus

Can a nation be changed?