Lyrical Riffs

We build our barricades, Sometimes we have to, Life throws its missiles at us and our defences go up. Mishap… misadventure… mistreatment… These things come our way, and we have …

I may go to church and attend lots of meetings. I may write and share a few lines like these, I may scribble all the right phrases, And say the …

What is praying? Kneeling down, hands together eyes closed? Lifting our hands and faces to heaven? Sitting quietly, saying nothing? Sensing the presence of God in the face of another? …

May we hold on to love and loyalty, Tuck them safely into our being. May we hunt for wisdom, chase it down the years, Not setting our own ideas as …

(Inspired by a post on Facebook) If you take a jar of water and add a little earth, you’ll find mud accumulates, and that just makes hard work. The mud will cloud …

I’m a living parable. You’re a living parable. A many-layered tale that others constantly read. Friends, strangers, passers-by, work colleagues, shop assistants, family, we may not realise it, we may …

This Some days it’s a breeze, And everything make sense, Sometimes it’s like walking into the wind. Some days everything clicks, Like a well-oiled machine, Sometimes it’s like trying to …

Now… stands and listens, slows up, tunes in. Restless… wanders, paces, pauses, twists, flinches then paces some more. Hurry… can’t stand still for a second. Present… sees what is going …

The cracks are not of our choosing. We long for them to disappear. We would choose strength and perfection. And if we did, the light would be held perfectly, Framed …

Sometimes it seems as if There is so much space between us, Acres of uneven ground to cover, No one’s reason or fault particularly, Just contrasts of place, life, purpose, …

How long had he known? How long had he carried the promise? Did he sense it years before Mary was even born? Did he have days when he questioned it? …

And a little child shall lead them… A little child born in the night, A little child without wealth and privilege, A little child birthed in straw and danger, A …

I will stand with you, Though it may not be the popular choice, I will stand with you, Though others may not understand, I will stand with you, To offer …

I believe in smiling, I believe it’s a good thing, A day-changing thing. I believe we can change the world One smile at a time, But like most things I …

I climb one mountain, Convinced that I’ve made it to the top, Only to discover there is another peak up ahead, Another climb, another challenge. And so we climb on, …

The revolution goes on, led by subtle rebels, And faithful, courageous, ordinary radicals, In the smiles and the serving and the showing of love, In the grind and the grit, …

Before everything else, As we face a new day with all it holds, And we’re tempted to rely on our own resources, Help us to put our trust in you. …

Life walks the streets, encompassing all: The faces full of joy, the minds full of questions, The frustrated souls, and the hearts about to break. And in his wake, justice …

Easy to think that God is only about The bright and beautiful, happy and glorious, Forgetting that Jesus was a man of sorrows Acquainted with grief and trouble. A dusty …

We live through many times and seasons, Sometimes in a single day. Times when it’s good to speak up and Times to appreciate the silence. Times to cry out, and …

There are days when the world seems Too hard, too lost, too painful, The hills higher than they were before, The valleys darker and the roads longer. The giants loom …

Not easy to appreciate the small things The way that you do, In a world where the frenetic scramble for Success, popularity, accolades, and awards, Is not only applauded but …

We believe in God the father, maker of heaven and earth, With all our doubts and misgivings and meandering, We believe in Jesus Christ his only son, our Lord, Daily …

At times the road doesn’t seem to rise to meet us, It’s as if life buckles and slips from our grasp, The doors keep closing and the way is unclear, …

I wonder how much we have in common with Jesus? We were born, as wide-eyed wonders, We cried, we cooed and giggled, We were fed and we filled our nappies, …

Wonderful counsellor, Everlasting father, Prince of peace. The pulse of life, our true north, The ground of our being, Source of hope and direction, Humility, pride, strength and service, One …

We all get frightened, All get bolshy, all get frustrated, We all lose patience and find it again. We all have our loves and hates, All have our longings and …

This footprint, this turf, this moment, This carpet, this concrete, this rocky path, This holy ground. This church, this stadium, this field, This shop, this cinema, this school, This holy …

I really love the way you’re rooted in reality, Well acquainted with sweat and spit and stress, Acquainted with fears and grief and frustration. A human being, moved into our …

And so this festive season falls once more, The Autumn hues melting into hopeful wonder, Perhaps snow will twinkle like so many diamonds, Sprinkled liberally across the winter ground. Carols …

The myrrh rolls down the ages, as does the frankincense and gold, Three gifts now etched in history, in songs and stories told. Strange gifts for a baby, not a …

In the house, on the street, In the places where we meet, In the bath, or on the loo, When we’re making the stew. When we’re huffing and puffing And …

That person on the street, That stranger on the seat, That quiet old man, That woman with a plan, That cleaner, that assistant, That person in a hurry, Those faces …

The glimpses of full life, The offerings of love and help, The moments of peace and calm, The now and the not-yet. The reminders of a better way, The signs …

Don’t want to be told who I am, By the flash and the pressure, Of the advertising scam. Don’t want to be told what I need, By deceptive messages fuelling …

Thank you Lord that you choose us, No reservation, no love held back, Thank you Lord that you choose us, Not because we are perfect, But because you are gracious …

For all the precious lives given, For all the lives laid down, For those who served And continue to serve. For the courage and the quiet strength, For so many …

With each new dawn and with the fading of the day, We choose to think on the gift of a moment of goodness. Though we are often worn down by …

Why are we so down, why do we think God has forgotten us? ‘God is not on my case,’ we might say, ‘His focus is elsewhere.’ Have we forgotten so …

Let there be light, Good light, strong light, warm light, So that those walking in darkness May see the way to go. The light shines in the gloom, And though …

The nights close in, as the veil of autumn falls, With tumbling daylight hours, and its golden leafy sprawls, Lights twinkle from the skies, and through partly curtained windows, As …

Perfect love can drive it out, a love beyond our own, The fear that can grip us on a daily basis, Fear of the past, the future, the present, Of …

‘Now one day,’ the prophet says, Perhaps standing in the town square as they speak, ‘The earth will be filled with the awareness Of the glory of God, as the …

Bones are popular this time of year, bones and cobwebs and darkness, ghosts and grim apparitions in white sheets, and masks fixed in a permanent scream. So it is, that …

Peace on earth, and goodwill to all, The longings rise up, the questions, the call. Peace on earth, promised long ago, When the tiniest child arrived here below. Peace on …

Running on empty, running on full, Your grace is the fuel that helps face it all. Running on empty, lost for words, Struggling to achieve, to be seen or heard. …