BE A FATHER

Snippet

If a country is to be corruption free and become a nation of beautiful minds, I strongly feel there are three key societal members who can make a difference. They are the father, the mother and the teacher.  Abdul Kalam 

Scripture

The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him. 

Proverbs 23:24 NIV

Song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIz8xCa80dM

Zion I & The Grouch - Be A Father To Your Child Lyrics

BE A FATHER, BE A FATHER, BE A FATHER TO YOUR CHILD

BE A FATHER, BE A FATHER, BE A FATHER TO YOUR CHILD

(ZUMBI)

IT ONLY TOOK YOU

3 MINUTES TO MAKE

THE BABY-

IT WAS ALL ABOUT YOU-

MUST BE CRAZY-

FORGETTING WHILE YOU

HITTING IT’S A SACRED ACT

AT LEAST HAVE THE DECENCY

TO KEEP IT SHRINK-WRAPPED-

A SLAP TO THE EGO

THIS ONE’S FOR THEM

MANY MEN CAN’T COMPREHEND

THE EXTENT-

OF RESPONSIBILITY-

YOU TOO CONTENT

IT’S A JOB BEING DADDY

THIS IS NO PRETEND-

HOW YOU HALF ON A BABY

BUT NOWHERE ROUND?

ON THE OTHER SIDE OF TOWN

SAD HEART OF A CLOWN-

YOU AIN’T GOTTA BE WITH HER

COMMIT TO YOUR CHILD THOUGH

ON MINES SPEND TIME

HELP THE MIND GROW

THAT’S THE NATURAL-

STATE OF BEING

IT’S A PROCESS

CYCLICALLY WE REPEATING-

I KNOW YOU NEEDED THIS

ENCOURAGEMENT BRUH-

REALIZE YOUR SIGNIFIGANCE

THE BABY NEEDS LOVE!

(CHORUS)

BE A FATHER, BE A FATHER, BE A FATHER TO YOUR CHILD

BE A FATHER, BE A FATHER, BE A FATHER TO YOUR CHILD

(GROUCH)

BE A FATHER IF NOT, WHY BOTHER?

DON'T LET DOWN YOUR SONS, RAISE YOUR DAUGHTERS

YOU DON'T WANNA HAVE TO REGRET IT LATER

AND THINK ABOUT THE YEARS YOU MISSED

BEING AFRAID TO JUST FACE THE GREATEST GIFT YOU EVER GAVE

OR EVER GIVEN YOU CAUSE YOU WASN'T THAT BRAVE

TO GROW INTO THE MAN YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BECOME

AND SHOW UP FOR YOUR FAM, DAMN THAT'S DUMB

SO MANY PROBLEMS, SO MANY EXCUSES

NONE GOOD ENOUGH TO NEGLECT THE YOUTH

LET'S GET THE JOB DONE OR COME UP FRUITLESS

IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO CORRECT IT DUDE

A CHILD BRINGS JOY AND LOVE INTO YOUR LIFE

AND IF YOUR READY TO RECEIVE THAT YOU JUST MIGHT

RUNNIN' FROM THE MOTHER CAUSE OF PRESSURE AIN'T THE ANSWER

TO THE ISSUE OF YOU DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT'S RIGHT

(CHORUS)

BE A FATHER, BE A FATHER, BE A FATHER TO YOUR CHILD

BE A FATHER, BE A FATHER, BE A FATHER TO YOUR CHILD

(GROUCH)

THE BETTER THAT WE KNOW OUR CHILDREN

I SAID, THE MORE LOVE THERE IS, IT KEEPS ON BUILDING'

I TRUST IN FAMILY THAT'S REAL WEALTH

WHILE OTHERS KEEP SEARCHING TRYING' TO FEEL SELF

AND WHEN I LOOK AT MY SEED GROW, I FEEL IT DEEP THOUGH

WHEN RIO HUGS HER DADDY, THERE'S NONE EQUAL

I'LL BE THERE, BEYOND MONEY

GIVEN ALL I GOT IN ME TO RAISE GOOD PEOPLE

Sentence Prayer

Father, thank you that you invite us to call you our Father. Thank you that you have demonstrated over and over again that your heart is for the fatherless and for the broken. Thank you that you have graciously given my own children an amazing earthly father. Please help more men to be the fathers their children deserve. Would you place a burning ember in the hearts of men who are strong, stable fathers to become involved as mentors and role models for young boys who have never known a father’s influence? And would you give each single mom a plentiful daily supply of “oil for her lamp” so that the flame of love and care for her children will never go out? God, you love us more passionately and completely than any earthly parent ever could. May I honor you, my Father, with everything I am. Yes, and amen.

(http://zep317.blogspot.com/2007/03/lenten-journey-day-26-prayer-for.html)

Drive

Snippet

Drive wide open until you see God, then brake – unknown

Scripture

Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain started falling and Ahab rode off to Jezreel. 46 The power of the Lord came on Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel. 1 Kings 18:45,46 NIV

Song

"Drive (For Daddy Gene)"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQe3DKDQRRs

It was painted red the stripe was white

It was 18 feet from the bow to stern light

Secondhand from a dealer in Atlanta

I rode up with daddy when he went there to get her

We put on a shine, put on a motor

Built out of love, and made for the water

Ran her for years, til' the transom got rotten

A piece of my childhood will never be forgoten

It was just an old plywood boat

With a 75 Johnson with electric choke

A young boy two hands on the wheel

I can't replace the way it made me feel

And I would turn her sharp

And I would make it whine

He'd say, "You can't beat the way a old wood boat rides"

Just a little lake cross the Alabama line

But I was king of the ocean

When Daddy let me drive

Just an old half ton short bed ford

My Uncle bought new in 64

Daddy got it right cause the engine was smoking

A couple of burnt valves and he had it going

He'd let me drive her when we haul off a load

Down a dirt strip where we'd dump trash off of Thigpen Road

I'd sit up in the seat and stretch my feet out to the pedels

Smiling like a hero who just received his medal

It was just an old hand me down ford

With 3 speed on the column and a dent in the door

A young boy two hands on the wheel

I can't replace the way it made me feel and

I would press that clutch

And I would keep it right

He would say a little slower son

Your doing just fine

Just a dirt road with trash on each side

But I was Mario Andretti

When Daddy let me drive

I'm grown up now

3 daughters of my own

I let them drive my old jeep

Across the pasture at our home

Maybe one day they'll reach back in their file

And pull out that old memory

And think of me and smile

And say

It was just an old worn out jeep

Rusty old floor boards

Hot on my feet

A young girl two hands on the wheel

I can't replace the way it made me feel

And he'd say

Turn it left, and steer it right

Straighten up girl now, you're doing just fine

Just a little valley by the river where we'd ride

But I was high on a mountain

When Daddy let me drive

Daddy let me drive

Oh he let me drive

It's just an old plywood boat

With a 75 johnson

And electric choke

Sentence Prayer

Praise to the God who needs no speed, because

You are everywhere at once.

Thank you for giving us the need for speed

Create a greater fear or reverence for your ways

So we learn to also brake.  Amen

Black Forest Fires

Snippet

A spark neglected makes a mighty fire. Robert Herrick

http://www.krdo.com/news/wildfires

Scripture

Now this is what the Lord says.

    He created you, people of Jacob;

    he formed you, people of Israel.

He says, “Don’t be afraid, because I have saved you.

    I have called you by name, and you are mine.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.

    When you cross rivers, you will not drown.

When you walk through fire, you will not be burned,

    nor will the flames hurt you.

This is because I, the Lord, am your God,

    the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

I gave Egypt to pay for you,

    and I gave Cush and Seba to make you mine. Isaiah 43:1-3

Song

Love is a burning thing

And it makes a fiery ring

Bound by wild desire

I fell into a ring of fire

I fell into a burning ring of fire

I went down, down, down

And the flames went higher

And it burns, burns, burns

The ring of fire, the ring of fire

I fell into a burning ring of fire

I went down, down, down

And the flames went higher

And it burns, burns, burns

The ring of fire, the ring of fire

The taste of love is sweet

When hearts like ours meet

I fell for you like a child

Oh, but the fire went wild

I fell into a burning ring of fire

I went down, down, down

And the flames went higher

And it burns, burns, burns

The ring of fire, the ring of fire

I fell into a burning ring of fire

I went down, down, down

And the flames went higher

And it burns, burns, burns

The ring of fire, the ring of fire

And it burns, burns, burns

The ring of fire, the ring of fire

The ring of fire

Sentence Prayer

Father;

We praise you for being the Almighty.

The one who gives and takes away.

Let use praise you no matter what life bring our way.

Keep the first res ponders safe.

Help us to depend on you.

Decrease the winds and bring rains

To put out the fires.

Thanks for your protection.

Amen!

GHOSTS

Snippet

If you cannot bear with your imperfect brother, take it for certain that you are very imperfect yourself... [and] being so imperfect we ought not to condemn. Remember also that if we are not patient and forbearing there is clear proof that we are more imperfect than we thought we were. Those who grow in grace grow in forbearance. He is but a mere babe in grace who is evermore saying, “I cannot put up with such conduct from my brother.”  C.H. Spurgeon The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, volume 16, sermon number 941, “The tender pity of the Lord.”

Scripture

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.  Matthew 7:1-5

Song

Ghosts we used to know Mumford and Sons

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6-EUSvJchI

You saw my pain, washed out in the rain

Broken glass, saw the blood run from my veins

But you saw no fault no cracks in my heart

And you knelt beside my hope torn apart

But the ghosts that we knew will flicker from view

And we'll live a long life

So give me hope in the darkness that I will see the light

Cause oh they gave me such a fright

But I will hold as long as you like

Just promise me we'll be alright

So lead me back

Turn south from that place

And close my eyes to my recent disgrace

Cause you know my call

And we'll share my all

And our children come, they will hear me roar

So give me hope in the darkness that I will see the light

Cause oh they gave me such a fright

But I will hold as long as you like

Just promise me that we'll be alright

But hold me still bury my heart on the coast

And hold me still bury my heart next to yours

So give me hope in the darkness that I will see the light

Cause oh they gave me such a fright

And I will hold on with all of my might

Just promise me that we'll be alright

But the ghosts that we knew will flicker from view

And we'll live a long life

Sentence Prayer

Father, Holy and perfect have mercy on one who is unholy and imperfect.

Christ, have mercy on all of us, sinners in need of a savior.

Holy Spirit, give me a glimmer of the dawn in my darkness

As I hold up a mirror to my own sin, my I forgive others

As Christ has forgiven me.

Amen

LIFE

Snippet

When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive -

 to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love. Marcus Aurelius

Scripture

So Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the door for the sheep. 8 All the people who came before me were thieves and robbers. The sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door, and the person who enters through me will be saved and will be able to come in and go out and find pasture. 10 A thief comes to steal and kill and destroy, but I came to give life—life in all its fullness.  John 10:7-10 NCV

Song

"Fully Alive (Acoustic)" By Flyleaf

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7w9K-R6e9s

Telling Layla's story spoken

'Bout how all her bones are broken

Hammers fall on all the pieces

Two months in the cover creases

Fully alive

More than most

Ready to smile and love life

Fully alive and she knows

How to believe in futures

All my complaints shrink to nothing

I'm ashamed of all my somethings

She's glad for one day of comfort

Only because she has suffered

Fully alive

More than most

Ready to smile and love life

Fully alive and she knows

How to believe in futures

Here she stands today

In her brilliant shining way

Stronger than her pain

In her brilliant shining way

Fully alive

More than most

Ready to smile and love life

Fully alive and she knows

How to believe in futures

Fully alive

More than most

Ready to smile and love life

Fully alive and she knows

How to believe in Jesus

Sentence Prayer

Almighty God; 

Generous to all, giver of life to the worthy and unworthy

Sending rain and sun to the just and unjust

There is no shadow or turning with Thee

This one Day may I chase dust particles, eat ice cream

And simply enjoy the gift of life!  Amen!

SANCTITY OF LIFE!

Snippet

Abortion is too clean a name for it Peter Goldsmith said, his words moved slowly over each word as if they pained him.  I think it’s infanticide, pure and simple.  I am sorry to say so, to be so inflexible, set whatever it is I am being.  Stephen King the Stand 

Scripture

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. Genesis 1:27 KJV

Song

Julian Lennon Everything Changes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NilQBZVI9Y

Tired of this world, all the good that we do

Never seems to get through, it's a shame

We've pleaded for change but the wars carry on

Whether you're weak or strong, don't you know?

I can change, you can change

Everything wrong with our lives

We can change all of our lives

Everything changes everyday

We've got to find a better way

And on our hearts we've got to pray

For something better than today, everything changes

Tired of the lies, all the people in pain

We all suffer the same without love

We can't carry on with the hunger, disease

And the threat of you dropping the bomb

I can change, you can change

Everything wrong with our lives

We can change all of our lives

Everything changes everyday

We've got to find a better way

And on our hearts we've got to pray

For something better than today

Everything learned from history, can't you see?

Life is meant to be you and me

Watching the sun go down

Turning your life around

Everything changes everyday

We've got to find a better way

And on our hearts we've got to pray

For something better than today

Everything changes

Everything changes

Sentence Prayer

Father God, thank You for life. What a word, LIFE.  Thank You for the gift of eternal life through Christ Jesus. Though this life will pass away, we find comfort in everlasting life with You. Life without end. Endless time to know You, love You and be loved by You.  Thank You.

Lord, I pause today to pray for all the churches that will be remembering life this Sunday in honor of Sanctity of Human Life. Bless their messages. Use them to speak with tenderness and love. Remind them of the fact that there are hurting women sitting among them. Women who were once like me, ashamed from a “choice.” Please Lord, set Your women free. Heal and redeem them and use them to spread the good news of Jesus Christ.

I pray for a wake up call for all those who perform abortions. Let them see what they are really doing. Soften their hearts. Change their stance. . .

I pray for LIFE–all stages of life. Life in the womb, to birth and babyhood, the toddler years, elementary age, tween years, adolescence, young adulthood, middle age, the golden years, and those in hospice. Thank You for life no matter where we find ourselves. You are the giver of life. You give and take away. We praise You for all of life no matter what.

My heart is heavy for those who suffer in silence today and this weekend. Somehow, some way, reach out and tenderly touch those wounded places of their heart. Show them they don’t have to pay the price for the rest of their lives. They can walk in dignity once and for all.

In Jesus name, Amen

http://www.teawithtiffany.com/prayer-sanctity-human-life/

THE LAND

Snippet

Teach us to walk the soft earth as relatives.

To all that live sweeten our hearts and fill

us with light.  Give us the strength to understand

And eyes to see.  Help us for without you

We are nothing.  Hetchetu Aloh! So it is forever!  

Black Elk  When the Tree Flowered 

By John G Niehardt

Scripture

O sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord, all the earth.

Sing unto the Lord, bless his name; shew forth his salvation from day to day.

Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people.

 For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared 

above all gods. Psalms 96:1-4 KJV

Everclear "This Land Is Your Land"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=4Zx5uC3-L-U

"This Land Is Your Land"

[Chorus:]

This land is your land, this land is my land

From California, to the New York Island

From the redwood forest, to the gulf stream waters

This land was made for you and me

As I was walking a ribbon of highway

I saw above me an endless skyway

I saw below me a golden valley

This land was made for you and me

[Chorus]

I've roamed and rambled and I've followed my footsteps

To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts

And all around me a voice was sounding

This land was made for you and me

[Chorus]

The sun comes shining as I was strolling

The wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling

The fog was lifting a voice come chanting

This land was made for you and me

[Chorus]

As I was walkin' - I saw a sign there

And that sign said - no tress passin'

But on the other side .... it didn't say nothin!

Now that side was made for you and me!

[Chorus]

In the squares of the city - In the shadow of the steeple

Near the relief office - I see my people

And some are grumblin' and some are wonderin'

If this land's still made for you and me.

[Chorus 2x]

Sentence Prayer

Creator and Savior, we have:

exploited earth for our selfish ends

turned our backs on the cycles of life

and forgotten we are your stewards.

Now soils become barren

Air and water become unclean

Species disappear,

and humans are diminished.

In penitence we come to you.

Silence

God, have mercy

Christ, have mercy

God, have mercy.

(http://www.aidanandhilda.org.uk/public_html/downloads/resource_worship_samples.pdf)