Evil intentions surrounded me,
Delighting in creating havoc,
Lies abounding,
But soon my dear enemy,
Will pay hate’s price,
Its true cost will be tallied,
Then paid in full,
My dear enemy will be bankrupted.

A deeply wounded, broken spirit,
Only receives compassion from God,
God’s love protects the broken,
But as the lies abound,
His anger for the poor spirit rises,
He will tally the lies and hate.

Anger wielded by love is truly frightening,
To the lover of lies,
There is no escape from love’s justice,
Contempt confronted by loving anger,
Will quickly melt in its white heat.

From my brokenness I know God’s anger,
But its protection is always welcome,
When I am called to face my dear enemy,
I walk in the strength of my God’s love,
My dear enemy has no chance of victory,
Disarmed by hope, lost to love,
My enemy’s defeat is clear to everyone.

My hater surrounded me with a barrage of words,
Day after day he sharpened his tongue,
Ready to unleash the next onslaught,
When I was down they kept coming,
He took delight in my pain,
Playing with me and looking to inflict more damage.

In the midst of this attack,
I let God’s light shine on my life,
He gave me relief from my hater,
My heart was an open book,
God took a good hard look at me,
Then said, “I love you”.

The hater’s violence,
His word vomit,
The arrogance,
His contempt,
The crushing lies,
Will be confronted by God, head on,
He will be humbled,
God’s protection of his children,
Will stop the hate in its tracks,
Hate is no match for Eternity’s love,
The hater will eat his own vomit,
While I am served a banquet by God.

My Version

I spent too long in the shadows,
Searching my heart for truth,
Seeking to discover the secret to life,
It was a restless life,
A slippery path with no directions,
Guided by lies I sought to believe were truth.

My thoughts were constantly about my failures,
Sleepless night after sleepless night,
Always believing the worst about myself,
Making me think that God had given up on me.

But slowly I have come to realise,
That God is always with me,
He is faithful to his loving promise,
His desire to love me never wavers.

The shadows are still there,
The voice of darkness seeking to scream failure!
God’s light keeps the shadows at bay,
His Voice constantly whispering love words,
Day and night, waking and sleeping,
My dreams are about hope,
My thoughts are about his love for me,
I am living the promised life,
“Rest” is a beautiful place to live.

My Version

My heart longs to return home,
I spent too long wandering aimlessly,
Searching for the answers to my questions,
My heart’s deepest yearnings,
Needing to find rest.

I found the answer,
It was there within me,
When I centred on God,
I learned where rest is,
Aimless wandering wearied my soul,
A God filled life brought discovery,
Each day becoming alive with opportunity.

I love being together at home,
Sharing with my family our love,
Comfortable with each other’s unique ways,
Rest, peace, love, bring true riches,
Aimless wandering turned to fresh purpose,
I bask daily in the sweetness of success.

My Version 

Constant put downs left a decimated life,
They chipped at my soul,
Till everything was taken,
Only a small core remained,
I thought that everything was destroyed,
But, I found the part that they could not touch,
Sheltered from the blows,
By my God who loves me.

I found at my centre a loving heart,
Embracing my most inner parts,
Breathing for me when I was too scared,
Touching me when I felt like a failure,
You did not forget me,
All the time protecting who I am.

Failure is turned to success,
Laughter is given fresh voice,
Mercy takes me to hope,
I see it all now,
Gifts from my Lord,
That are mine for eternity.

My Version

I love to think about God’s goodness to me,
All day every day he is shouting his love,
My heart hears his daily declaration,
Of the words of a proud father,
I know that I am loved.

Today I heard it in the sunrise,
I saw it in the gift of laughter,
Shared meals with lots of talk,
Listening to the sounds of love.

This is the life that has been given to me,
My God created me to enjoy it all,
My thoughts are full of the all that I have,
Understanding every day is an abundance
Each day is stretched by possibility.

My Version

In my ignorance,
I surrounded myself with bitter people,
They pretended to be caring,
But, the token gestures,
Quickly turned to selfishness,
Their love was skin deep,
Promises made were too quickly broken.

Bitterness sucked me into its well,
It was black and clammy,
Seeking to help itself by dripping off me,
When I was completely entwined,
Frantic, seeking to find the way out,
A Voice spoke to me,
He made his way clear to me,
Compassion not bitterness,
Peace not hate,
These come from life’s breath,
His Voice rescued me,
Daily I celebrate my rescue.

My Version

My day begins and ends with praise,
I am blessed when I consider my good fortune,
Eternity had made his home in my body,
Creation’s source reaches into my heart,
Truth illumines my life,
Opening my soul’s eyes to love unleashed,
From a heart big enough to miss no one.

My Version

I love the sound of community,
Moments of intimacy shared,
Makes my heart sing,
Laughter born from understanding,
Creating the music of eternity,
Praise that expresses joy together,
In the midst is the Voice, smiling,
Laughter’s source wishing well,
On all who hear his call to joy.

My Version

Contempt will receive its own reward,
It draws from a spring of deep pride,
That spews out hate words,
Words that have murderous intent,
They only care for their own life,
With no thought of their destructive ways.
Every day is the opportunity,
For contempt to find new ways to wreak havoc,
The hater’s smile spreads,
When hurt is created,
Each wound inflicted adds to hate’s pleasure.

The hater’s world is surrounded by fear,
Lashing out to bring down others,
ThIs is all they know,
They build a false sense of security,
Luring others into believing lies.

I succumbed to contempt,
I made the hater happy for a long time,
But, then I made the choice,
To listen to God.
My weak spirit – was broken,
God blocked the hater’s words,
The contempt didn’t stop.,
God just allowed me to hear his voice,
He gathered up my broken heart,
And, today I walk with him,
We talk daily about life and hope and love,
Now this is what I talk about myself,
To anyone who cares to listen.

My version 

Why do my haters wish ill on me?
They stay awake at night thinking the worst about me,
I sleep like a baby,
Knowing that God is with me,
All the things that were used to condemn,
Are coming back to stare my dear enemy in the face,
His destructive plotting,
Will be his own ruin.

God has been with me for a long time,
My hater’s words,
Don’t worry me anymore,
Because I know God will come through,
He never has let me down,
Even when the hate words inundated me,
And, I forgot how powerful God is,
God is still my deliverer.

Shame will be defeated by loyalty,
When God reaches out to me,
I will hold my head high,
Vindicated by God’s word to me,
I choose the trusting loving words,
Of a trusting, loving, powerful, faithful God,
Not the word vomit of an unfaithful enemy,
The choice should be obvious,
Please help me to always remember,
The difference between the smell of vomit,
And, the smell of hope.

Words are important,
Words used in a song of praise,
Is the language of Eternity,
Praise, Praise, Praise.
Never ceasing,
Begins in my life now.

My Version

My starting point each day is God,
It begins with goodness,
I can’t wait to wake up and begin my praise,
Thoughts that centre on God,
Make me feel warm inside,
My stomach stops churning,
I am totally secure,
God’s love in certain.

God breathed life into my body,
Then I sought to destroy myself,
But, God was my faithful companion,
I will never forget the day,
When I gave up, the end had come,
God turned up,
Breathing new life into my worn out soul,
Loyal, and trustworthy,
I daily seek to echo his Voice.

My Version

Why did I stop listening to my God?
Foolishly I fell in love with my own voice,
I believed my own lies,
They quickly piled up till my life crumbled,
Then I became overwhelmed with my faults,
My dear God, thank you for bringing reality.

By myself I could never make it,
Even my desire for truth is flawed,
Confusion is the best word,
To describe the self determined world.

Today Lord my heart turns to you,
Please forgive me,
Give me a fresh spirit,
One that can move forward,
From the wreckage of my mistakes.

Today Lord, I feel your breath of laughter,
Sadnesses piled up are blown away,
My impoverished spirit is restored with hope,
I love the sound of God’s laughter,
Banishing all my past errors,
Sadnesses becoming places of joy,
God transforming my life by forgiving me.

Complete honesty is God’s refuge,
I have found rest with him,
Praise is the only response,
That is enough to let people know,
My God saved my crumbled life.

My Version

My world is awash with pain,
Every day I see more things to fear,
A relentless coming and going of disappointments,
Life lived with sadness as its shadow,
These shadows can stretch over the day,
Threatening to block out all light.

A life lived in the shadows,
Overcome by fear,
Is not what God planned,
No, he desires us to discover,
Happiness with each new day,
Light that keeps the shadows in check,
Sadness that opens into joy.

Humility is God’s home for his children,
I need to learn to live with him,
When peace comes to me,
Life’s shadows become welcome shade,
Not an interminable disheartening,

I loved my homecoming,
Choosing God first is finding rest,
I set down my self defences,
Opened my life with no pretence,
I found fresh hope,
Everything in its right place.

My Version

I tried to do it all myself,
Wanting to be my own saviour,
God needed to be brutal,
Because, I was headstrong,
I thought my way was the best way,
I only wanted to hear my voice.

God sometimes needs to push hard,
To get me to listen,
I can be pig headed,
Unwilling to sit in his classroom
He had to push me down in my seat,
And, still I wasn’t a good student.

My classmates said I was dumb,
They pointed out my errors,
They looked for ways to show me,
Just how stupid I was,
They tried to make each day,
A lesson about my stupidity.

God my teacher was at the front,
Showing me how to love,
But, I listened to my classmates more,
Bullied into despair,
I thought that I was unworthy,
The daily message of stupid,
Etched into my heart.

The lessons I needed to learn,
God’s voice slowly brought to light,
Hear his lesson about love,
Trust that he will deliver,
See the heart of love,
Know that the he will transform,
Words of hate and mistrust,
Into joyous shouts of praise.

My Version

Work for work’s sake is futile activity,
Slavery to an endless list of tasks,
Only to achieve a bigger paycheck is futile,
They are illusions of success,
Rest is important too,
It teaches us that God provides.

Blessings come through the gift of children,
Celebrate their unique qualities,
Take time to be pleased with them,
When my enemy lashes me ,
With his endless put downs,
My children are a true testimony,
Of a life well lived.

My Version

I tasted the promised life,
Making my home there,
Wanting to be noticed by my friends,
Thinking that this was God’s plan,
I forgot my God,
His reminder was quick and effective,
He broke down my self constructed walls,
A divine breath took it all,
Not even the foundations remained.

Now I am prosperous again,
I don’t want to forget why,
To get everything I needed to give it all away,
Riches begin to abound,
Fresh hope courses through my veins,
I delight in every gift,
My God gives to me,
Daily reminders of his faithfulness.

My Version of Psalm 125

I thought that I was strong.
I thought that God would bless my activity,
I was wrong,
I thought I was a failure,
I thought there was nothing certain,
I was wrong.

God gathered my failures,
and told me that each one was a lie,
God took my strengths,
and turned my energy to him,
Now each day is a delight,
It opens with new opportunities,
To be in your will,
And to enjoy God’s company.

My Version

I laid awake counting my failures,
The accusations surrounded me completely,
Hurled at me each day,
The list seemed endless.

I was drowning,
Sucked down by despair,
Going under for the third time,
I thought that this was the end.

Then I heard a different voice,
One that spoke loving words,
Sometimes the words were soft,
But, my God kept speaking to me,
He was my life raft,
Guiding me to wisdom,
Failure no more – Safety is found.

My Version – For when I am anxious and cannot go on. 

My daily search for God’s voice,
tells me that God cares for me,
He overlooks my mistakes,
When I was lost in a downward spiral,
Free falling into an abyss of fear,
My pitiful cries were heard,
When lying on my stomach every morning,
My face buried into the floor,
Sobbing because of my fear of the day,
God reached out and lifted my head,
He looked into my eyes with love,
He spoke to me – he heard me.

Those who threw their bitterness at me,
They will hear God’s voice too,
Bitter words will quickly fade,
They have no place in eternity.

Hope returns even when fear still speaks,
Fear seeks to drown out hope,
Truth corrects deceit,
Bringing back possibility,
God searches for truth and befriends it,
My heart finds an ally,
Who is always on my side,
My broken heart restored.