another year

another year

I could taste winter in the air tonight
it settled in like dew in the evening
filling the air
with a crispness you could taste
It was a reminder of another year gone by
one by one

it’s been a dry year
a thin year
as the rings of life accumulate
I ponder
what this year will bring

how will I grow
how far will I reach
will I go deeper
will I go higher

each leaf carries a marker of its existence
each a fingerprint of life
as it falls it leaves my mark on this world

room for growth

within each of us
there lies room for growth
room to fill voids
left vacant by events
by loss
by an emptiness

longing to be filled
to be made complete

we try and hide our weaknesses
protecting ourselves from attacks
from vulnerability

what we often don’t realize
is that we are hiding ourselves
from finding the piece that fills the hole
from finding the peace that fills the whole

Worship

Why do we worship?

I think that in most churches there has been some "discussion" over what worship is meant to be. After one of these so called discussions recently I began thinking that the problem was not in our worship as we had spent hours talking over. I think that the problem more readily lies in the worshipper rather than the worship. In our consumer culture we have become absorbed in the meeting of our own needs that we have become to the desire of God in worship. He calls us to come whole heartedly not just when we like a song. Though I recently attended a concert and noticed something that I really hadn't noticed before. It was a concert of a couple of bands from a different age and time but I still enjoyed many of there songs. I especially enjoyed the songs that I was very familiar with. It was fun to sing those songs to the top of my lungs and off-key and not really care. This brought me back to the worship "discussion" and I realized not for the first time but in a more tangible way that a similar things takes place in worship we are more engage by songs that we are familiar with. Unfortunately we often stop there and don't allow ourselves to be touched or taught new songs. I often wonder why we are so closed minded to new opportunities.