A place

I'm looking for a place to call . . . home

I don't know how to get there

I don't know the turns

Or do I?

The way to get there 

Is not shown on a map

It can't be plotted 

By a gps

No, the way 

Is defined by a relationship

A relationship

With the God Man

He'll give me the turns

Step by step, mile by mile

That's the only way

To get home . . . through Him

I'm looking for a place to call . . . home

And Jesus is the way

Sheep

I hear that sheep

Are not very smart

They do things like walk off cliffs

But one thing about sheep

They listen to the shepherd's voice

They know it, they respond to it

Have I listened today

To the shepherd's voice

Or am I listening to other voices

Voices that promise power and prestige

Voices that promise status

Voices that use others

Voices that value possessions and popularity

Hearken my heart

To the shepherd's voice

Once again

For the shepherd speaks

If only I will listen

The voice

So many voices in the world

Each telling me something different

How can I hear your voice

How can I tune in to the one voice

I will quiet myself

Open your book

And listen

As I do, the other voices fade

And your still, small voice

Clearly speaks grace and truth

Word

Your word endures forever

What does that mean for my life

It means you are not silent

Across the vast expanse of the universe

From the dark recesses of infinity

You speak

I am not left to wonder

Who you are and what you are like

I am not left to wonder 

What you command

Or how you 

Designed life

I have your word

I can hide it in my heart

I can talk about it on the 

Highways and byways of life

I delight in it

Making it my highest joy 

You have made us

People of the word

You have made us literate

Given us the gift of language

The gift of the word

To make us human

With your word

You spoke light 

Into the dark chaos

With your word

You spoke from the cross

It is finished

Blessed be your word

That never changes

Your word that

Guides, directs, challenges, and corrects

Your word that gives life

Your word that endures forever

Devotion

Am I devoted to you

Like you're devoted to me

Do I think about you

Night and day

Do I speak to you

And share my deepest pain

Do I share my joys and celebrations

Do I listen to your heart

Do I delight in your law

Are you the first One I think of

When I awake

And the last One I think of

Before I fall asleep

Do you define my life

And who I'm called to be

And when I take my 

Last breath on earth

Will I commend my spirit into your hands

Am I devoted to you

Like you're devoted to me

Burn

"Were not our hearts burning within us

When he opened the Scriptures to us?"

Lord I confess that I cannot make

Someone's heart burn

While I preach

But you can!

I have seen your Holy Spirit 

Work wonders 

Even with 20 minutes of humble preaching

Even in me!

So, burn Holy Spirit!

Burn through all the cynicism and pride

That tries to prevent 

Our transformation

Burn high even through the 

Humble stumbling 

Of this, your servant 

Baseball

I love falling asleep

To a baseball game on TV 

There's something profoundly comforting

About baseball

Its order, its geometry, its statistics

There's no in between in baseball

You're either safe or you're out

It's a ball or a strike

It's fair or it's foul

You're at bat or in the field

It's always 90 feet to first base

Of course what makes it 

Beautiful

Is the endless variety

How close to second

Does the shortstop play for 

This batter

Does the third baseman hug the line

Or give the line for this pitch

How far a lead will that runner take

This time

Where does the catcher 

Set up to sell this pitch

To a stingy umpire

But all this beauty couldn't exist

Without 

Order

I hunger for this kind of order

Symmetry, absolutes, boundaries

Between the beautiful and the chaotic

I love falling asleep

To a baseball game on TV