There's a place in the darkness that I used to cling to
It presses harsh hope against time
In the absence of martyrs there's a presence of thieves
Who only want to rob you blind
They steal away any sense of peace
Though I'm a king I'm a king on my knees
And I know they are wrong when they say I am strong
As the darkness covers me

So turn on the light and reveal all the glory
I am not afraid
To bare all my weakness knowing in meekness
I have a kingdom to gain
Where there is peace and love in the light, in the light
Oh I am not afraid
To let Your light shine bright in my life, in my life

There are ghosts from my past who've owned more of my soul
Than I thought I had given away
They linger in closets and under my bed
And in pictures less proudly displayed
A great fool in my life I have been
Have squandered till pallid and thin
Hung my head in shame and refused to take blame
For the darkness I know I've let win

Can you hear me?

Well I've never been much for the baring of soul
In the presence of any man
I'd rather keep to myself all safe and secure
In the arms of a sinner I am
Could it be that my worth should depend
By the crimson stained grace on a hand
And like a lamp on a hill Lord I pray in Your will
To reveal all of You that I can

-Jennifer Knapp

Show Me The Father

"The mystery of God is not what is going to be... it is now. It is highly probable that we are hurting Him by what we ask. "Lord, show us the Father." His response immediately comes back to us... CAN'T YOU SEE HIM? HE IS ALWAYS RIGHT HERE. Realize that God is here now. We wait for God to exhibit Himself to his children, but He only exhibits Himself through his children. Realize that the Lord is here now. "
-Oswald Chambers

"The one who has seen me has seen the Father." -Jesus

"In the poor we meet Jesus in his most distressing disguises." -Mother Teresa

"God has created us to love and be loved, and this is the beginning of prayer- to know that he loves me, and to know that I have been created for greater things."
-Mother Teresa

Keep Necro from performing "White Slavery" in Worchester

Rapper Necro is performing the song "Human Trafficking King is White Slavery II" - which blatantly glorifies sex trafficking - at the Palladium in Worcester, MA on May 21-22. Donna Huges set up a petition asking the Palladium to prohibit Necro from performing this song. Please sign it!

A few lines from the song are included in the petition- you can find the full song lyrics online but I wouldn't suggest reading them. They're extremely graphic and I found them very disturbing. Necro claims that the song's purpose is to raise awareness about human trafficking, but instead I think he glorifies it. He released the song as part of a video titled "Sexy Sluts: Been There, Done That".

I feel like that says it all.

art students run on dunkin

My crazy professor brought us donuts yesterday, with the condition that we paint them first and eat them later. As he sat in front on one girl's canvas and examined her painting, he announced, "I love the tympanic quality of this one! And I love my words today! Who would have thought that I would come out with something like "tympanic"?

you have to see this

Check out these paintings.

Onn has lived the story. Now she is putting it into paintings that come out of her experience and imagination. We just discovered her gift late last year, and now she is creating amazing work. We have sent a few paintings to the U.S. for sale to benefit Onn and to begin to fund an art center at The Well in Thailand. Take a look at Onn's page and let The Well know if you are interested.

grace and peace, among other things

I can't put them in order yet, but here are some notes from my pastor Bryan's words on Sunday. They are what I have been thinking all week.

-Colossians 1. All of Paul and Peter's letters in the New Testament begin with grace and peace.

-Paul changes the standard greeting in the Roman empire from one forms of the word "grace" to another. It means acceptance and favor. Be filled with joy and peace, no strings attached. It is saying that someone desires the best for you: whole life goodness. Both of these words carry depth and weight.

-How do we remember to give grace and peace to people instead of just focusing on our own agendas?

-When Paul writes about peace, he doesn't just mean happiness, but the deep sense of Hebrew shalom- peace in the world and rightness in all things.

-Genesis is the story of God's mercy- they all deserved death, but God chose mercy.

-Ezekiel 34:25-31 says, "I will make a covenant of peace with them and rid the land of wild beasts so that they may live in the desert and sleep in the forests in safety. I will bless them and the places surrounding my hill. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing. The trees of the field will yield their fruit and the ground will yield its crops; the people will be secure in their land. They will know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hands of those who enslaved them. They will no longer be plundered by the nations, nor will wild animals devour them. They will live in safety, and no one will make them afraid. I will provide for them a land renowned for its crops, and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land or bear the scorn of the nations. Then they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Lord. You my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are people, and I am your God, declares the Sovereign Lord."

-In order for peace and justice to exist, we have to put an end to destructive ways of being and self-seeking actions.

-The peace that Paul writes about is present now.

-He writes about peace, favor, security, and wholeness from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

-What if our first thought every day was grace and peace?

-"There is now no condemnation in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8). This is both for us and for others.

-"It is by God's grace that we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17).

-Paul's entire meaning in life was to draw attention to and live in God's grace.

-Think of the everyday gifts of God's grace to us.

-What would it look like to be so rooted in grace and peace that you could forgive even the people who have broken your heart?

-May we be prepared to be broken bread and poured out wine by speaking grace and peace to others, even to our enemies.