My "Love You"

My "Love You"

Adam Bogle

2011 TRP Music Inc. 

(All Rights Reserved)

A thousand miles keep me at bay
Miles made of hectic days
Thinking of you is all I do
And all you're going through

You feel like you've lost your home
but please dont feel alone
Listen for my "Love You"

A thousand screaming voices
Calling out your name
A thousand streaming choices
Some things never change

Your strength is gone away
but please know I'm here to stay
Listen for my "Love You"

Others take all you will give
Drain your life - no chance to live
Let my song be your source
Let my words set your course

Look beyond the despair
Reach beyond the unfair
Feel the home that's just inside
And the strength that never dies
And there listen for my...

..."Love You"

I Rest in You

I Rest In You

Eyes open in a blackened room

The night still in it's adolescence

Mind racing to the day's events

Times past and the coming present

Then the thoughts cease moving

My mind frozen in place

By the image of it's choosing

The image of your face

The clanging auditory assault

Begins it's attack on serenity's shores

Then cacophony falls silent to the faint symphony

Of the sound of your life's breathing

The cold air has carries no scent

Olfactory nodes left reaching

Then, just a hint - the faint taste of your scent

Leaves me longing for your teaching

The portrait of your face returns my gaze

Dark eyes whispering my name

Inviting Delighting Inciting Igniting

And suddenly this is not a game

Eyes closed in a blackened room

The dawn's light will be here soon

Sleep escapes me once again

But I have my Rest in You

Oh yes I am...

Move along, I gotta get to church...

"Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector." ~Luke 18.10
" The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." ~Gal. 5.14

Let's take a trip.

Don't worry, it won't take very long to arrive at our destination as it's only across town.  On second thought - maybe it's actually a universe away from where you live...

  The insolent clanging of the wind-up alarm clock in the darkened room stirs all 3 figures lying on the mattress placed in the middle of the floor.  Tonya, a single mother of 2 small children, struggles to get up without waking either one of the angels still breathing heavily on either side of her.  5.30 comes early after working a double shift at her first job down at the bar yesterday, but Saturday night is their busiest night and as such brings the biggest tips.  
  But today is Sunday! Tonya knows that once she finishes up her shift at her 2nd job at the local buffet at around 4 this afternoon, she'll get to spend the evening with her two babies and that makes it a bit easier to haul her stiff joints into the bathroom to wash up and get ready for work. 
  10 minutes later, she rouses the little ones and brings them each a small bowl of dry cereal and a glass of water (no electricity means no milk - but they don't complain - they are glad to get breakfast today).
Once they've eaten, Tonya gathers them up and goes downstairs to the sitters apt. to drop them off for the day.  After 10 minutes of knocking with no response, she's at a loss. She can't miss work, they'll be on the street if she's late with the rent again.  Looks like they'll be joining her at work again today, they know to be quiet and except for Sophia's cough they usually are.
  The morning is fairly slow, not much in the way of tips - but at least she can tend to the children from time to time and the other waitresses see that they get a cookie here and some juice there.  The boss says this is the last time they can come to work with her - it's nothing personal he says, but the owner has been showing up lately and he can't risk it.
  Finally lunch time and the weekly church crowd! Now maybe she can make some decent money...
The workload doubles, then triples as both the number of customers and their demands grow exponentially.  She's going as hard as she can, but it's never fast enough to suit the "suits".  It's "this tea's not sweet enough" and "we've been waiting for 10 minutes" and "honey, we need some more bread". They laugh, eat, fuss at the kids for getting food on their new church clothes, make a mess...

....and leave a dollar.

Table after table, hour after hour - they come and go.
Same story.
No one bothers to ask her if she's ok.
No one even thinks she may need something or someone to listen for a few minutes.


After all, they've got to get back to church tonight.


Dramatic? yes.  Poorly written? yes.  Far-fetched? not in the least.

I'm not casting judgement, God knows I can be self-centered, not seeing the needs of the less-fortunate - but that's no excuse to continue for me or anyone else. 


"From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." ~Luke 12.48

Time to open our eyes and see the hurt.

Enough already...

Any so-called material thing that you want is merely a symbol: you want it not for itself, but because it will content your spirit for the moment. --Mark Twain

What good does it do for people to win the whole world yet lose their lives? ~Mark 8.36

 
 Recently, one of my co-workers told me of trading his paid off truck in on one that he was going to be making 6 years worth of payments on.  I noticed two things: 

1. I wasn't jealous (really)
2. I felt sorry for him


Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate new cars as much as the next guy and would love to have something with nicer than what I have sometimes - but it's a lot easier to deal with when I ask myself this question: "Once the "new" has worn off, will I still be paying for this?"

Greed.


I've been a slave to it in the past. The excitement of feeding the demon with new "stuff" - things that I could brag about and show off to all my "friends" (who were never as taken with my recent acquisition or me as I thought they should be).  


Stuff, Toys, Things, Stuff...


Never enough.  Never as thrilling as the purchase itself or the hours spent online researching - justifying myself as a "smart shopper".  Never satisfied, always convincing myself that there's always room for more...


I'm sure my pontification about all my toys wore some to the bone - but they never uttered it.  

It's nice to grow up a bit and find contentment in my family and things that cant be seen yet are as tangible as a brick wall - peace, love and a decent night's rest.

I'm thankful for what I have and am becoming thankful for the blessing of not having most of what I used to think I wanted.

Time to be FREE.

My Name is Life

My Name is Life

Adam Bogle

2011 TRP Music, Inc. (All Rights Reserved)

V1

Does the tree in an empty forest

Fall to the ground silently?

Are the tears you cry 

And the pain inside

Not really there cause no one sees?

VII

Can the emptiness be filled with something

When there's nothing else in sight?

Will there ever be a new day dawning

When all you ever live is night?

CI

There's got to be

Just reach for me

My name is Life

VIII

Is there an ending to the story

When you cant even read the words?

Is there a song you could be singing 

When the music can't be heard?

VIV

Is there a way across the tracks

Behind this never-ending train?

Or the promise of a rainbow

When all it ever does is rain?

CII

Oh yes it's true

I reach for you 

My name is Life

B

My name is Light 

When there's darkness all around you

My name is Peace

When all you're living is a war

My name is Strength 

When the road is long and you can't go on...

...And when all your living is done 

My name is Life

"Spoiled Rotten" or "Too Good To Be True"

 "Even though you're evil, you know how to give good gifts to your children. So how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him?" ~Matt 7.11 GWT

I just picked Westyn up from school - he's in the 7th grade.  This is something that I try to do every chance I get, which is not very often.  One thing I noticed while I watched the middle-schoolers getting into their parent's cars was the common look of disdain at having to interact with them.  The body-language which said, "you're lucky I don't dis-own you as my mom/dad."  Typical adolescent behavior I suppose -  but I can't help but wonder, is it bred or learned?  When Westyn got into the car with the same attitude, I had to ask myself: "are we (parents) to blame?"

Nothing bothers me more than to think my kids are going without something they need.  The idea of them going to bed hungry is banned from my options for bed-time as Traci can attest.  They've milked it more than once just to stay up a few minutes longer than usual.  I work lots of hours to see that their needs are met and that most of what they want is only a "badgering Dad" away. 

Who could blame them for learning how to manipulate the old man into getting what they surely must deserve? Sheesh, I must be an easy mark....

Wait, hold on a minute.  

Now that I think about it, how many of us behave the same way toward God most of the time?  We short-change Him in time and ability and He keeps loving and providing for us without reservation. 

Only difference?

He's Not At Fault.

I'm thinking maybe it's time we got out of middle-school.

It's time to grow up.

Thank you God for Loving Us, I know I dont deserve it...