Benediction 3

Stand up, oh Church, shake off your fears,
Continue on the pilgrim's course,
Renounce all earthly comforts,
Which moth and rust destroy,
And girded with the Holy Spirit and the gospel-armor on,
March through the gates outside the camp,
Where our great Captain-Savior's gone.

With the cross of Christ lifted over us,
May we journey in its light,
For the crown awaits the conquest,
Lead us on Oh God of might!

Benediction from Sunday, June 13

She knows now...

Do you remember that guileless girl with the wide eyes
23 and restless for something new

the city was a planet of possibilities
unpredictable and refreshing in so many ways
a welcomed change

she didn’t know then
that the island would devour her and woo her
break her heart
and tether it on a short leash

she didn’t know

Now she sits on her hand-me-down Ikea sofa
In her loft apartment overlooking the filthy, humid street
thinking about June,

And how two and a half months remain

Go slowly, June
Her bucket list is too long
And September looms and lures

Benediction 2

As the children of God
Let the love of Christ constrain us
To love not secretly, but bravely
To be content with little, that we may give much
To be put to doing and to suffering
To be exalted, or brought low
To freely and heartily yield all things
All for the pleasure and glory of King Jesus.

Benediction from Sunday, June 6