Doubt

As light casts out shadows, doubts cast out fears
For the vast unknown lurks within the dark
Seeking uncertainty, feeding off tears.
It lurks within every corner of our hearts
Finding refuge in discouragement, hiding with fright
It prowls to find that one little hole
The place he can pounce; ready to fight.
Sinking in your heart, seeping in your soul.
When your heart starts to break, doubt finds its way in
Grinning and sneering with intentions to kill
It spreads and spreads towards every ounce of your skin
Until your heart once empty, He now fills.
Your darkest hour will come, but know there's still light
Strike doubt 'til the death--time to get up and fight.

Two Paths to Choose

What should I do?
Which path should I choose?
Which way should I go?
How would I know?

What should I do?
Which path should I choose?
Which one is right?
Do I stand up and fight?

What should I do?
Which path should I choose?
If I go the wrong way,
Do I continue and stay?

What should I do?
Which path should I choose?
These two paths diverge
But do they both swerve?

What should I do?
Which path should I choose?
What choice do I make?
What are the stakes?

I close my eyes
As I heave a great sigh
Before me these two paths lie,
For I'm stuck at the split
Which one is my fit?
I just keep asking myself "Oh, dear God why?"

For darkness lies between
And I can't see the scene
But where these two paths split,
I just need one light
So I can finish this plight
And continue God's lasting wish.

But no light will come
Unless from the sun
And it seems to be very cold
For darkness on this path
Seems like it will last
Just as it was foretold

So I close my eyes
And heave a great sigh
And choose a path to pursue
Not knowing if it's right
It's time to fight
This is the path I must choose.

The Empty Hole

A child tells his mother,
"Mommy I'm hurting on my tooth!
I'm not sure what's wrong with it,
but I think it might be loose!"

So the mother tells her child,
"It's quite alright dear.
You just have a loose tooth,
you have nothing to fear."

But the child was scared,
and didn't know what to say.
It was the first time in his life
he'd ever felt this way.

But it was more than just his tooth,
he looked up to her and said,
"Mommy what will happen,
if this feeling has no end?"

So she starred at him and said,
with a smile upon her face
"In life there are troubles
that will always come our way.

But the secret" she explained
"is not to turn away,
life is quite like this,
it's hard to explain."

Sooner or later
the child's tooth finally fell out,
where he then went to discover
the empty hole in his mouth.

He said, "Mommy I know what you meant,
what you said to me before.
'Cause my tooth is now gone
by my mouth is still sore.

Just like my tooth
in life there is lots of pain,
and it hurts and hurts
until it finally goes away.

But when the pain leaves you
it's not completely missing,"
He stuck his tongue in the hole
and slowly started lisping.

"See when the pain is gone
it leaves this big ole space,
And when there's nothing there
it feels like it's a waste.

But now I'm a big kid,
And a new tooth is gonna grow,
This is still painful,
but pretty soon it'll show.

The pain will be gone,
The hole will be full,
And in the end I'll know
how it felt to be pulled...

Once by your pain
And then by your joy
Cause the pain can only come
when I become a big boy!

So life is about holes
When your tooth falls out
But it has to do that
to make room in your mouth.

Because new teeth will come
And when they finally do,
They need room to fill
and you'll feel brand new!

The tooth can't fall
Without pain coming first
So life without goodness
has to have the worst.

Life is a mouth,
And the pain is my tooth
There will be times it's fine
and times where it's loose.

But when the hole is filled
And a new tooth in it's place
The pain is forgotten
along with the empty space.

So for good things to come,
There needs to be bad,
Because just like being happy
we have to be sad."

The mother was shocked,
And didn't know how
Her child understood all of this
simply from his mouth.

For life is like a tooth
And pain is like a hole
Before the joy of a new tooth,
you must experience being sore.

Heavenly Stars

For the stars in the heavens twinkle above
As the Earth looks up in a wondrous sigh.
Birds nor planes may never reach its love
Or shimmering light that brightens the sky.
Yet the brightness burns with fervent fire
As creatures below come out to pray
Their heart releases its deepest desire
For the twinkling lights to show them the way.
Though the stars themselves are not a proper guide
But for the lone traveler seeking his end,
The stars up above make the Earth find
A powerful being only heavenly sent.
So I look to the stars shining brightly so high
Knowing God is behind them up in the sky.

My Best Friend

I recently went on a retreat and gave a talk titled "Who Am I?" My friend, my best friend wrote me a poem inspired by my talk, and by everything I've been going through recently in my life.

My friend is not a writer, nor finds inspiration to write. Yet, this poem that she wrote me is beautiful. It may be beautiful because she wrote it, it may be beautiful because it came from the heart, and it may be beautiful because this is how she sees me through her eyes--nevertheless, in my eyes, it's a beautiful piece of art.

Who Am I?

My Best Friend

My Sister

My Twin

One of he strongest girls I know.

The most driven.

Beautiful. Inside and out.

Full of Care. Courage, and Poise.

She forgets how amazing she is.

I want to remind her.

My Rock.

My Support.

My Best Friend.

Unable to let people down.

No matter what she thinks.

She is not defined by what she is.

But, by who she is.

Back to Jerusalem

"A close friend is better than a distant brother."

My life seems to revolve around this wise saying, and although it may or may not be true, it certainly is something to reflect on.

My friends, my best friends, are closer to me than most of my family. In a sense, they are my family. And it is now, when I always seem to Return to Jerusalem, that I am reminded of this.

By the way, read the Road to Emmaus: Luke 24:13-35. The journey may just change your life.

That No-No Food in the Office

Is there proper office etiquette saying that there are just certain foods that you don't eat in your cubicle? If there isn't, there definitely needs to be.

Indian food, with curry, should be on that list. Enough said.

Come on people, use your nose to determine common courtesy. No one cares what you eat unless it affects everyone's sense of smell. Then, everyone cares.

So do the polite thing, eat out of the office if your choice involves smelling like a hot camel.

A Good Friend

I must admit--I love having conversations with total and complete strangers. I don't know what it is, but there is great pleasure in confiding and have serious conversations with someone you may never see ever again. It's refreshing, insightful, and sometimes, more helpful than real conversations with people you know.

I'm going to re-tell an interesting conversation a good friend of mine had with a complete and total stranger that gave much insight into the word "a good friend."

This stranger was a man filled with wisdom and old age, a man who had gained and lost many friends over the years. He told her that a good friend is one that stays with you, because if they aren't there until the end, then they were never a good friend to begin with. He went on to saying that therefore, only good friends are true friends, and the rest are just acquaintances. If you can't feel comfortable saying anything to a good friend, then they're not a real friend, they are simply an acquaintance.

He explained that good friends are what make life worth living. And these people, the one that make an impression on your life, and a footprint on your heart, are the only friends worth having.

These wise words are truly insightful, beautifully said, and worth remembering.

So here's to good friends...may yours be the best you could ever ask for.

Bathroom Manners

Now I'm no expert on etiquette, but I wouldn't say I'm ignorant to it either. There are manners and social standards that society has placed upon us concerning our public behavior, and I would say that most of the time we follow them because, well, we should. Well ladies and gentlemen, do I have a story for you....

Since when is it okay to talk on your cell phone in the bathroom in a public restroom, while you are USING the bathroom? I'm sorry, but this is just wrong.

I don't care how important that phone call is, it can wait the five minutes it takes you to enter the bathroom, do your "business," wash your hands, and then leave. There is no absolute reason that you should have to be sitting on the toilet with a cell phone in your hand in a public restroom, hearing flushing in the background, and having a full on conversation.

The only reason, and trust me the only reason I even brought this up was because I had the unfortunate opportunity to witness this happening at work today. A woman walked into the bathroom on the phone, went in the stall on the phone, continued to talk when other people were flushing the toilet, came out of the stall on the phone, washed her hands, and left....still on the phone!

The funniest part of it was that when she walked out of the stall, she gave me a look saying "Excuse me, I'm having a private conversation." Well lady, next time you're having a private conversation, you may not want to be in a place where people are doing their "private business."

And how about the only thing I kept thinking was that there was some poor sucker on the other line that had to listen to all of that....