How can I tell you?

                        How can I tell you?

When I can't think of the words

How I long to tell you

But my words just blow away

I can't think of the words

But I think I will

How will I tell you?

When words come only in dreams

I wish I could tell you

But my dreams fade and vanish

I can't think of the words

But I know I will

How shall I tell you?

When my words cannot be spoken

I need to tell you

But in speaking I say nothing

I will think of the words

But how do I say them

How can I tell you?

When dreams no longer come easy

How I want to tell you

But I cannot speak dreams

I have found the words

But to speak them is hard

How will I tell you?

When my words do come

I will speak only once

But once will be enough

I say my thought

And this my speech

To you I reveal and speak my mind

One word affirms all I feel

This word you know as I know

This word is Love

What is This?

                         What is this?

Observing without seeing, feeling without touch

It can never happen you say

Yet it can and does

Taste without flavor, smell without fragrance

It is simple too

Hearing without listening

It is in the mind.

What is this?

Seeing without sight, hurt without pain

It can never happen you say

Yet it can and does

Talk without speaking, breath without breathing

It is simple too

Noise without sound

It is in the mind.

What is this?

Love without loving, hate without hatred

It has never happened you say

Yet it has and does

Sane without sanity, mad without madness

It is simple too

Happiness without joy

It is in the mind.

What is this?

Life without living, beginning without birth

It has never happened you say

It can and does

Day without light, night without darkness

It is simple too

Death without dying

It is in the mind.

What is this?

To walk without stepping, fo fall without landing

It will never happen you say

Yet it will and does

Strength without power, flying without wings

It is simple too

Running without motion

It is in the mind.

What is this?

Sleeping without sleep, weakness without vulnerability

It has never happened you say

Yet it has and does

Thoughts without thinking, strain without effort

It is simple too

Haste without speed

It is in the mind.

                        It is a dream

An action of the mind

A game of the unconscious

                         Dreams.............dreaming.

IF I LISTEN QUIETLY (The final Cut)

If I listen quietly,

If I listen carefully.

I can hear God laughing.

   If you listen quietly,

   If you listen carefully.

   You might hear God crying.

He has much to laugh at,

So many to laugh with,

and so much to laugh about.

   He has much to cry at,

   So many to cry with,

   and so much to cry about.

I can hear God’s laugh.

In the noise of a thunderstorm,

as the earth drinks in the rain.

   You can feel God weep.

   In the water falling,

   as a killing fire is put out.

I can hear God giggle.

As the birds greet the morning.

On wing or at rest.

   You can feel God sob.

   As the last of a species

   Succumbs to the poisons in the air.

I hear God snicker.

At the antics of children,

Squealing with the joys of life.

   You can feel God groan.

   When the children of strife,

   Can only know relief through death

I can hear God’s chuckle.

In the waters of a stream,

And rolling onto shore

   You can feel God mourn.

   Over the contaminated waters

   That can kill any that partake.

I can hear God’s laughter.

When a new mother

First meets her child.

   You can feel Gods lament.

   When a new child

   Will never know a mothers love

I can hear God’s snort.

When the new father

Is handed his first born.

   You can hear God roar.

   When a father chooses

   To abandon the lives of his children.

I can hear God chortle.

As two people discover

Their love for each other.

   You can hear God wail.

   As two strangers meet

   And instantly try to harm each other.

I can hear God’s glee.

At the dreams of the young,

as they fly through the night.

   You can moan with God.

   At the nightmares of the young,

   reliving the horrors they’ve been through.

I can hear God smile.

In the smile of those I love,

and those that love me.

   You can hear God sniffle.

   As he watches people,

   torment their loved ones around them.

If you listen carefully.

If you listen quietly.

You can hear God laughing.

When you laugh at yourself.

   If I listen carefully.

   If I listen quietly.

   I can hear God cry

   When I cry over my world and my life.

If we listen carefully.

If we listen quietly.

We might hear God laughing and crying.

Because He knows us for what we really are,

   His children.

IF I LISTEN QUIETLY (version 1)

                                                                  If I listen quietly,

If I listen carefully.

I can hear God laughing.

He has much to laugh at,

So many to laugh with,

and so much to laugh about.

I can hear God’s laugh.

In the noise of a thunderstorm,

as the earth drinks in the rain.

I can hear God giggle.

As the birds greet the morning,

on wing or at rest.

I hear God snicker.

At the antics of children,

squealing with the joys of life.

I can hear God’s chuckle.

In the waters of a stream,

and rolling onto shore

I can hear God’s laughter.

When a new mother

first meets her child.

I can hear God’s snort.

When the new father

is handed his first born.

I can hear God chortle.

As two people discover

their love for each other.

I can hear God’s glee.

At the dreams of the young

as they fly through the night.

I can hear God smile.

In the smile of those I love

and those that love me.

If you listen carefully,

If you listen quietly,

you can hear God laughing.

When you laugh at yourself.

CHERIE

 CHERIE

Lightness of being

Effervescence of sound

Music in laughter

Brightness of eye

Lightness of touch

Thought in depth

Sweetness of voice

River and Wood

     From the throne of God flows the river. It flows down from the heavens onto and into the earth. While it's flowing it reaches out to people wherever they are, and nourishes them no matter what they are doing. It nourishes that which is in all of them, a tiny seed or a spark of something so small that some don't even know that it exists within them. But no matter how small, it is being fed within this person. He or she may not know in the beginning that it even exists within, but God is constantly feeding it all that it needs, God is making it grow. Whatever is needed is given. Whatever is asked is answered. And it grows. This is the Holy Spirit, which everyone of us has within us in the beginning.

     However it's continued growth is dependent on whether we will allow it to, on whether we will allow the River to soak into us. This is something that we must do if we are to survive as something of God. Not only is the seed within us growing, we too are growing as a seed. Being fed, being nurtured, growing up as it were.

     We will grow in the Lord and become strong, we will mature in the Lord because of what He is doing, because of what He is feeding us, and what we are taking in. As we grow and mature we can put down roots into the earth that the river flows over, we can become anchored in the Word and we can grow tall and strong. We will come to be a stabilizing influence to everything and everyone near us. We will become that force that can hold the land together no matter what is happening. We can be the shade to comfort those that need it. Protection and shelter for others that come near our influence. We have the potential of becoming like that stately old tree that everyone looks at, admires, and protects when the need arises. We become what God has wanted us to be from the very beginning. We become what God has ordained for us before we even existed.

     Now in our maturity we will also begin to shed tiny bits of ourselves into the world around us. Let's say that these tiny bits of us are our seeds, not necessarily our actual physical children, they could be our spiritual children as well. These are our seeds and they are spread into the world by means that are not always under our control. All we can do is watch as they are spread beyond our influence.

     By there very nature there is something of us in them, our tiny seed, our tiny spark. Now on their own, these new tiny seeds or sparks will now be opened to receive what they will from the River and what happens then will be up to them. They have moved away, they are becoming or have become what you were in the very beginning. That small tiny seed. And with what you have put into them they too can begin a new life cycle wherever they may end up. The potential is there for such a cycle to repeat itself indefinitely, becoming infinite in its growth. First becoming a small copse of trees, and then a woods, and from there a forest, and then maybe a great forest. A forest big enough and strong enough to cover the entire surface of the earth. A covering of growth of all sizes, in all stages, bringing unbelievable strength and stability to this earth.