The Lies of Our Leaders

While The Almighty's words may be infallible, human words have never been;
The scriptures are the retelling of stories spoken to friends.
Each one of us, when repeating our personal stories,
Focuses on the parts that bring our beliefs most glory.
We must look for common messages in all words we consider holy;
What makes them seem to reach a place that is not simply worldly?

There seems to be a common thread of honoring all creation,
Instead of building boundaries that separate the nations.
There also seems a common thread of responsibility
Of caring for the needs of those given less than me.
The ten commandments are the basis for communities to get along,
So that less sacred energy is consumed in righting personal wrongs.

Our passions don't necessarily have to lead to prejudices;
This is something that, I believe, true holiness addresses.
If we are strong in disciplining our own behaviors,
We will not look for any humans to be our earthly saviors.
We will look to each other for ways that are eternally right,
Not letting the greed of our officials lead us to act in fright.

Instead of paraphrasing what others have already written,
Why aren't we hearing how, by right living, each other is smitten?
There has been so much sacred written by people with a purpose,
It is for each others' sacred voices that our communities thirst.
But needing to have someone dictate The Spirit's voice to us
Seems to have long caused suffering and is humanity's greatest curse.

This is where I fear that much in organized religion
Is actually leading away from the attainment of a heaven.
We allow our religious leaders to pretend that only they hear
The voice that is whispered into each listener's ear.
We must be alert to hear the voice, and to teach our children
That we are each chosen to have a part in leading our nations.

The Soul and the State

What will it cost for each of us to sell our souls?
What are our priorities when we set our relationship goals?
Do we want to be the ruling class, no matter the moral cost,
Or do we want to attempt to reclaim the paradise humanity lost?
The old rules of fear that permeated patriarchal rule
Have been shown to be the province of jealous frightened fools.

We now know that thinking and informed decision making
Is within the province of each whole human's undertaking,
Except perhaps for those who have been mentally handicapped;
For those we still have boundaries that hypocrisy has collapsed.
We have begun to pretend that our Creative Energy
Shows distinct preferences for the groups of you and me.

I believe that each of us chooses a group with which to travel;
The denial of this has caused our society to unravel.
Nobody should not be forced by any ruler or by any nation
To support that which they believe works against the balance of creation.
The United States of America claims separation of church and state,
But until we stop attempting to force to Judeo-Christianity, we wait.

Chiding Our Children

A child feels bad when parents aren't glad,
But so often they don't know how to correct it.
Angy and fearful looks and scary books
Only take away their power to use their wits.
A sense of honesty, humility, and humor
Are the very best things I've found
For keeping relationships with our
Children and others on solid ground.
My children were told I'm not perfect,
And that I don't know many things,
That I want them to learn from every
Situation that their lives bring.
I gave them encouragement and affection
I confess I also gave them
Fearful, angry, and harsh correction.
The best gift I think I gave my progeny
Was the frequently voiced confession
And my no-excuse, sincerest apologies.

Watching and Waiting

My friend who writes a blog about her spiritual journey wrote today about how all the great spiritual leaders had a long period of waiting and listening before they began their public ministries. Christian women have waited for two thousand years, and now it may be time for them to begin their public ministries.

Woman have consistently been handed the children for purposes of nurture, but we were deemed too weak minded to teach the older males. It is time that men listen to the voices and hearts of their women and honor them as leaders instead of walking away when women speak. How else can they know what messages are being handed down to their offspring?

Where traditional men seem to want to force change on their own time lines, traditional women are taught to wait. We accept that change is a gradual process, and that forced pledges of allegiance don't build team spirit. It is careful teaching by bonding and by example that bears the fruits of The Spirit.

A great gift that motherhood has given me is the ability to watch and wait, being ever vigilant for "teaching moments" and learning moments. I never cease to be amazed at how competent my children are as parents. The lessons learned while watching them certainly would have come in handy when I was in their shoes.

Hearing Holiness

How foolish we are in believing that only those who attend church are spoken to by The Spirit. Every time a voice whispers to us that we are to help someone, even at great cost to ourselves, that is the voice of The Spirit of Holiness that endows our animal natures with the fullness of our humanity. Nobody else can hear the exact same message that is being whispered into my ear.

It is helpful to keep our minds open to correction, as was Abraham. What if he had closed his ears to the correction that he was not to offer blood sacrifice to his god by killing his son, but was to offer his own live flesh and blood and that of his son in service to his god? We may never have moved on to understanding that it is our lives that we must offer, not merely the deaths of someone or something special to us.

Often I get to quaking and shaking when I feel that I'm being sent on a mission for which I don't feel prepared. It's like the old hymn, "Every time I feel The Spirit moving in me, I'm afraid." Somehow, when what I hear is right, I'm given strength and knowledge that I had no idea I possessed. Other times, when I'm gearing up for action, something or someone will put roadblocks in my way, or lift the burden off my shoulders.

This happened when a dear friend was diagnosed with cancer. Her children, whom I had always felt were part mine, and I had little contact as they became adults. Several months before my friends surgery, her older daughter began a correspondence with me that reminded us how much we meant to each other.

My friend, who was quite convinced she would not survive, was in total peace with her impending death. She asked me to be available after her surgery so that her family could continue their busy lives uninterrupted. I was more than happy to agree. Her children then began to turn to me for adult information regarding their mother's condition. I remained open to their Spirits which were leading them to support each other, their steadfast father, and their mother's Spirit. I, against their parents wishes, encouraged them to do what their Spirits told them to do.

It was so beautiful seeing them all together, all at peace with the parts they were playing in dealing with their precious mother's impending death, even though it left me feeling very lonesome because I was not in the inner circle once they came together. I now realize that I was sent into the situation to broker their trust in their whispered voices of The Spirit. Some are meant to serve, not by action, but by listening. I may never be considered a Christian or a hero, but I like to believe I can be a good sister and friend.

Wonder as Worship

When I was a little girl I thought that rain was God crying
But the world is full of those who spend their lives, children's visions, denying.
I also thought the rays of evening light filtering through the clouds
Came off of God's fingers to touch each man, woman, and child.
This, too, was ridiculed as not in keeping with the Bible,
So I learned to keep to myself the visions with which my mind was full.

I am now sixty years old and my mind has fairly exploded
From trying to hide the visions with which my mind is loaded.
The mother of a friend of mine who starved herself to death
Had a favorite song that, I thought, her faith expressed.
She was told by the church people that her visions didn't fit in,
And that to question the authorities was a grievous sin.

What is left to those who want to shout out what they see:
The holiness in every person, animal, plant, you, and me?
Are we to take our visions and talents and take to our beds
Because the rejection of "those who know" is that which we dread?
Will we ever be allowed to sing out our child's faith praises
Without condemnation by those we are told are religion's sages?

Scapegoating and Salvation

As a child I was taught to avoid occasions of sin;
Anyone with different beliefs should not be let in.
I knew there were hypocrites who espoused beliefs
That they didn't practice; my distrust increased.
But the great WASP male powers that then ruled our world
Put not a whit of value on the questions of a girl.

Scapegoating is as old as the story of Adam and Eve;
It is easier to be angry than it is for us to grieve.
There are many things in life we don't understand;
This seems to be the biggest frustration of humans.
We'd rather destroy everything than to continue
Accepting things, about which, there's nothing we can do.

And then, there are those among us who feel very human
Because they won't eat animals, be they fish or ham.
Many of these same people have no problem refusing to see
The Jews, Muslims, Blacks and the poor closely resemble we.
I feel like an outsider because I can't come to terms
With the hatred that I see, in our nation, still burns.

I see people who treat their family's dogs and their cats
With more respect than they exhibit in human chats.
How we define humanity is still very important;
If I don't agree with you, doesn't mean you're hell bent.
If there's not enough space in heaven for all creation,
What is the point in all of our godly adoration?

We must be willing to respect each other's space;
Finding the path to salvation shouldn't be a race.
It seems to me that a Supreme Being wouldn't continue to create
Millennia of people who, to The Divine, can't relate.
I believe that we each are offered a suitable path;
That path, pursued with faith, won't incur The Almighty's wrath.

I also think that, in the final analysis of life,
Our salvation is in how we handle our and others' strife.
Those who think that they can hoard and leave others to suffer,
May be surprised to find they have only created a buffer
From the eventual balancing of all Creation's resources;
None of us are stronger than The Almighty Nature's Forces.

I was so proud when a black president was elected
I thought our nation, had prejudices, finally rejected.
All genders, races, creeds would have intelligent discourse;
This turned out to be such naivete, of course.
I pray every day for us to finally see that people,
No matter their color or gender, will one day, be seen as equal.

Willing Women

I think I may be a Jewish woman
Covered thinly by Gentile skin.
Those matriarchs of the Old Testament
Knew how to handle the strongest men.

There were women who led battles,
And women who used their feminine ways
To keep their people on the right path
To being eternally saved.

I'm tired of wimpy women
Whose husbands bully their young;
They hold their children hostage
To stay on society's higher rung.

A woman who uses her power for good,
I think is a pure delight;
To protect vulnerable people,
She's always willing to fight.

But there are so many women
Who have given away their power
Preferring to stand behind
The security or pleasure of the hour.

Religion is meant to tame humans
And temper our animal natures.
Those who back down to bullies
Will always live in their fears.

Serenity and The Spirit

My girlfriend who lived next to me when she and I were birthing our babies blogged today about the fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. I have another gal pal that I've known even longer than that. She lived next to me from the time I was six until I was married at age eighteen. She and her furry, four-legged "babies" came to spend the night so that we could take the babies on their first-ever romp on the beach.

Between our two homes their were a total of twelve children, four boys and eight girls. She and my deceased little sister were inseparable, and thought nothing of challenging even the most monstrous of the men in our lives. This friend took over the running of her mother's household when her mother took to her bed, which was most of every day.

To say that this friend was a scrapper in our youth would be a gross understatement. We both came from very abusive "Christian" households where forgiveness wasn't even possible without serious punitive penance being first served. The only way she knew to solve a problem was to come out swinging; it was either that or take to her own bed. This simply wasn't her nature, and somebody had to keep things going at her house. Needless to say, this friend developed some sharp edges. I contend that these situations mess up the sibling dynamic because the in-charge sibling isn't seen as an equal to the other children.

My sister was this friend's sister. In a sense I too was a sister to her, but she saw me as her older sister since I was a year and a half older than she was. Being an older sibling in our homes meant that I was no fun and not to be trusted not to snitch. Little did my siblings know that I'd rather have my tongue cut out than to report them to the monsters. I finally had to stop watching what they were doing in their rage against the hypocrisy of our "faith."

Now this friend is the picture of peace and tranquility. She has taken on the care of her parents in their last years and seems to fairly float through her daily life. Never did I think she could become so serene. Even with the misuse of religion in our homes, she somehow soaked up the knowledge of needing to connect to a Holy Spirit inside herself and her parents.

She has tried finding it in church, but continued to feel hypocrisy coming from that community. She's now a devotee of yoga, where she has obviously connected to The Spirit as is seen in the fruits that she now displays: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. How beatifically beautiful she has become!

Competition and Religion

Is was important that Jesus be a modern man,
Part of the lineage of Abraham's clan,
So we'd understand that the world he was sent to create
Was the kingdom of The Eternal Estate.

We were taught that Abraham arose from the dead,
But death, we humans continued to dread,
And so we were given, once again,
A person to embody The Eternal plan.

He didn't embrace death, but was willing to give
His life and death to teach us how to live.
Do we accept that Jesus' Jewish ancestors who came before
Are still needlessly knocking on salvation's door?

Or, are we to realize that we are all sisters and brothers
Even if we were born to different fathers and mothers?
I hope it is the latter; it seems our only hope for peace,
Our only hope that religious competition will cease.

Swearing on the Sacred

I believe we have a power stronger than our courts
To which people of loving communities could resort.
Or are we happy with the way our world is currently turning?
Instead of talking to each other, we keep our anger burning.
Our courts are a sad joke when people swear on a book
That our society, long ago perverted, and many forsook.

We swear oaths to a force in which many don't believe,
Can we continue to pretend that we're not all being deceived?
If a person loves a spouse, a child, or even a pet,
An oath sworn on their heads may be a safer bet.
Oaths sworn on anything in which we don't passionately believe
Are simply an easy way to, true believers, deceive.

This turns mother against father and father against mother;
The deceits repeat themselves in our sisters and brothers.
What is so difficult about admitting to those we love that we erred?
Is judgment by our community that of which we're scared?
If we confess to each other in the company of only those who love,
Don't we think we'd get some help from The Power up above?

Hermeneutics of Holiness

Our ancestors had it right when they knew that we knew not god's face or name.
It was like the blind men seeing the elephant; no two parts appear the same.
The language of holiness is self-disciplined love; can we, on this, all agree?
Can we come to see god in each other, and from fighting about god's face be free?
I don't fault those who are excited when they feel that they finally see,
But this may not be the same face of god that is presented to me.
Languages are fluid; they evolve over many miles and many ages,
And compassionate, responsible action may not fill many pages.
But this sharing is the only language that is eternal and universal,
And it should be the only faith language in which our souls become full.

Will Pentecost Bring Peace?

Is it Utopian thinking that leads us to pray that God's will be done on "earth as it is in heaven?" To my knowledge, the Utopian experiments excluded women and our children in decision making. Women who have born and reared children have had to learn to wait and wonder, the gift of gestation. The traditional male wants to force society to mold into their visions during their own reign on earth. Both attempt to keep the power to pass down to their own progeny, at the exclusion of justice and harmony. I believe that the Light of the Holy Spirit is the gift of this spiritual era, and that we must look for this common thread in all creation.

For my parents, Utopia didn't include their nine children; only through going to their individual mountains of quiet worship could they hear the word of their God. My father even wrote a children's story in which God was always being "bothered" by the little noisy angels in heaven. How can it be that there is no sacred scripture that includes the spiritual awaking of being held in a loving husband's arms or the feeling of complete peace watching a loving parent soothe a fussy baby?

I feel fortunate that I was exposed so deeply and for so long to the pre-Vatican II Roman Catholic religion, which I believe was a truly Judeo-Christian religion. As an adult, I feel equally fortunate to have been intimately exposed to Jewish faith-in-action, Protestant faith-in-action, Pentecostal faith-in-action, and a bit of Muslim faith-in-action. I have also seen a Holiness in the lives of many who profess no faith other than a belief in the potential of humans to be something more that our animal selves.

There are many interpretations of what we consider sacred scripture. My belief is that we must look for the eternal truths in the writings (scriptures) over all time. I believe that the Light of Divinity that some call God, some I AM, radiates in all creation until it turns against or attempts to control this Light. This Light is what I believe is The Holy Spirit, sometimes called the soul. This Holy Spirit must be nurtured to continue living and growing in us. We look to others who, likewise, follow and nurture this Spirit in themselves and in others.

The Pentecostal movement has opened new doors to receiving and honoring the gifts of this Spirit. I know that many find this connection to the Spirit through Christianity; others find it through other sacred paths. I simply don't believe that all who are born to other paths are unable to nurture and share this Holy Spirit. I have had many alternative openings to this Spirit through people on other faith paths and journeys. This dialog is an attempt to increase my understanding of the Eternal Spirit of Goodness and Light in all of creation, not to discount any particular path.

God as The Great Life Force

It greatly diminishes for me the importance of Jesus' walk on earth if I believe that he was a god while here. I believe that he was a man, imbued through his family lineage with an extraordinary Spirit of Holiness. His good, observant Jewish family had been groomed for centuries to bring him up well and allow him to do what he was sent to do. To believe that he was a god on earth gives me every reason to despair that I can ever follow his example.

It's easy for us to make excuses for why we can't follow the Judeo-Christian path that was built on many principles of self discipline and responsibility for all creation incorporated in the great religions preceding the these. We're not gods; we're only humans, we say. We seem to be forgetting that the great religions all see humans as made with a spark of divinity. Some perhaps have a larger spark than others, but I believe we can grow this spark in ourselves and from one generation to the next.

I believe that we are all part of the Universal Energy Source that many call God, and that we all have the opportunity to reenter that Energy of the Universe upon our deaths. This would mean to me that, we too, have the opportunity to become more fully parts of what we call God, Allah, Jehovah, Yahweh, and many other names, all meaning The Great Life Force in creation.

I believe that we are all meant to continue being part of the perfect balance in life, but that in our fear, greed, and jealousy, we turn toward the negative. We can choose to help restore balance, and our mission in life is to, at the very least, leave behind a neutral energy, rather than negative energy for which the universe continues to pay.

Where we err is in believing that inflicting pain and punishment is discipline; that we have the power to bring wrath upon others for their transgressions, calling this discipline. Punishment leads to fear and destruction of The Spirit. A disciple follows a teacher, and the best teachers lead by their own examples. Self-discipline and teaching by example leads to permanent lessons learned by whole tribes, for all ages.

Separation of Church and State?

We wonder why their is a backlash against the name of god
When hypocritical leaders use it as a cattle prod.
Self-discipline is common in all major religions
This is what builds character in ourselves, our daughters, and sons.
We pursue the false promises of happiness from our founding fathers
Who recognized no inalienable rights in their slaves or their own daughters.
If the religions were true to their espoused beliefs they'd hold them accountable,
But power, not justice, is our country's and many religions' practiced rule.

Judges perform the marriages and priests perform domestic partnership rites;
Isn't this contradictory to the rules for which our ancestors put up bloody fights?
How did we fool ourselves into believing we had separation of church and state?
This is an ideal that we in the United States still await.
Why do we call marriage that which is a business partnership?
The blessing of one's community is what makes a marriage stick.
Would it be so terrible to have civil union contracts before
A couple seeking a marriage walks through their place of worship's door?

The people making our laws exempt themselves from their own rules;
Swearing on a Bible that few have read makes, of our courts, fools.
We have always been a melting pot, challenging diversity,
By expecting those who enter our country to work toward prosperity.
We continue to encourage by injustice, the lack of family responsibility,
Earning wages that require a second job, keeps poor families parent-free.
Instead of seeking justice in education and incomes,
We continue to allow the abuse of those on society's lowest rungs.

We listen to people with pretty smiles and smooth lies to tell
Instead of looking at how their lives follow what the prophets foretell.
Every great religion is corrupted by the nation
Exempting their most powerful from teamwork with all creation.
How people conduct their personal and business lives is a measure for sure
Of what values they represent deep down in their cores.
We should hold them more accountable for their wrong actions
Than we hold accountable our country's least privileged factions.

But our preachers stand next to our leaders and beam their approval,
When the actions of so many of them should bring about their removal.
We shouldn't have to ask what religion a person belongs to
By looking at their lives we can ascertain their truths.
Instead of spending the time we pay them for on the campaign trails
They should be seriously studying and enacting laws that help justice to prevail.
I'd like to see our leaders of churches and states deferring to the higher power
That lives in each of our souls, not to our personal gods of the hour.

We have government funds given to church programs and administered by the same;
It simply creates a climate where charity is a power game.
Our churches are exempt from our laws to further their own plans,
Which feeds the greed of those who continue to underpay our fellow humans.
We should all be equally accountable for our own actions and mistakes;
Simple monetary penalties for the rich and powerful gives them an unjust break.
The system that we still live under is a dynasty of priests and potentates;
If we don't allow equal power to all our people, our country will cease to be great.

Family Affairs

I am privileged to know several "Mr. Moms"
These are men and fathers who make house a home.
Many are embarrassed to admit their positions,
As if this is not a manly mission.
I've had several husbands much calmer than I,
But we couldn't give role reversal a try,
Because we had been taught that women weren't to be
Trusted to, in the workforce, be free.

The mothers often convinced themselves
To buy all toys and adventures others would sell.
Stay-home men might allow children to run
All day in their pajamas, having unsupervised fun.
Many lost the ability to constructively imagine;
We don't want, this reality, to fathom.
Have our families become better off,
Or are we now paying a terrible cost?

We must stop hiding the truths from each other;
We can't afford to trust children only with mothers.
I have great hope that we won't slide back,
As long as we're truthful about the impact
Of deciding what chores have to be done
And assigning each to the appropriate one,
Not based on gender, but on ability.
Only then will our society, truly be free.

This new way takes much sacrifice,
But the alternative had too high a price.
Children now have no roots at home;
Both parents are, to the workplace, gone.
Do we need the luxuries that this affords,
The lessons in piano, two skateboards?
Or do we need block parents and neighborhood games?
This should not bring either parent shame.

Our blocks should agree on a code of conduct,
Not allowing the children to run amuck.
It could all be like Daddy or Mommy Day Camp,
But the rules of our behavior need to be revamped.
While on duty, the patrol parents must insure
Fairness, responsibility, and safety are secure.
These are times when we must not be hesitating
To create a world in which "G" is our child's world rating.

The adult programs must be turned off;
Children's minds are pliably soft.
They soak up like sponges that which enters,
And these images become their centers.
It is not fair to, as children, burden them
With problems that vex grown women and men.
Until we are willing to be accountable adults
The destruction of our families remains our faults.

We now have classes for every parental chore;
Anger management should receive the highest score.
No longer should we teach that might makes right;
We should behave by the rules in each others sight.
What's done in secret rarely, for long, stays far
Off the scope of children innocent radar.
We destroy their minds and their confidence
When we dishonor their minds' evidence.

All the parents who teach our children wrong,
Or expose them to the bullying throngs,
We as a society must learn to shun;
Let them live like the animals they've become.
We should not let the wealthy pay their way out;
This is not what shunning is all about.
It is a turning away of those who, our children, hurt.
Let them learn, their disciplined selves, to assert.

Recycling Relatives

I just can't hide it anymore;
The inside me keeps popping out.
But there are so few who want to know
What we're really all about.

I have spent my life changing myself
To please my current community,
Accepting all suggestions for
How to be a better me.

My grandmothers and mother
All said I was too wild.
A sister accused me of attempting
To steal her husband and child.

When my mother told me my troubles
Were caused by my past sins
It was very difficult for me
To continue to let her in.

Another sister told me
That I was no more fun,
When a depression layed me low,
And I didn't know where to run.

My husband was also depressed
But he didn't even know it.
Men are, after all,
Taught never to show it.

My nephew who asked for our help
In making peace with his brother
Has sent accusations that I've wronged him
To my sisters and my brothers.

A brother whose wife I love has said
He never wants to talk to me again,
And now I seem to have forever
Lost his wife as a dear friend.

My sister who was like my baby
Has finally spoken her truth to me;
She said that I've been stupid
In helping others for free.

I simply had to come home to
Where I have deeply loving friends,
Who don't care if I don't change,
Or if, into their family lives, I blend.

Where is the recycle center for
All the baggage from our pasts,
The people we collected
Before they woke us up, at last?

Words as Weapons

I seem to struggle so mightily
To be the best that I can be,
With those who bring out the old me.
I can no longer feel free.

It's not that I don't still love them
I wish this was something they could see.
But when they taunt or laugh at my disgraces,
I have a tendency to get in their faces.

It's simply that I am scared
Of how easily I slide back,
And instead of being compassionate,
I am so tempted to attack.

These words of mine can be like swords,
Cutting deeper than any knife.
I have to guard them carefully,
Or through hearts and souls they slice.

The Holy Spirit used to take my tongue,
As I often repeated my prayer,
For the Holy Spirit to take my tongue,
And soften the words that I share.

This door's spring seems forever sprung.
I know that in situations with much passion,
I often find myself  and my words behaving
In a most uncharitable fashion.

I really don't like this departure
From the new person I'd become.
Instead of attracting people,
Away from me they run.

I then spend so much time and energy
In guilt and in making amends
That my desire to make things better
Becomes a burden to my friends.

Why?

Why is it some people only change
When you hit them in the wallet
And others, when they are accused,
Continue to soul search and fret?

Why is it that some only learn
To obey the laws of life
When they are put in prison
To experience that strife?

Why do we make excuses for
The most privileged and wealthy,
Those who have the education
In how to be most stealthy?

Why do we continue
To sell our immortal souls
To those whose only god
Is the pursuit of more gold?

Nobody likes a loser,
But it is plain to me,
It's time to take the planks
Off our eyes, so we can clearly see.

Resisting Continued Corruption

I'm happy for others for whom God is differently manifest;
Even if we never agree on whose manifestation is best.
Throughout the existence of humankind, we have been aware
That there's something much greater than each of us out there.
The Spirit that infuses humanity with the power to become their best,
Many have tried to define, and many have failed the test
Of being available to all creation, in all the universe
We have spent millenia, calling many philosophies cursed.

The Spirit of Light and Love, and being the best that one can
Is the mark of the special gift of The Spirit in humans.
Some find their best selves in lives of contemplation,
Some in rocking the cradles of those who will lead our nations.
Some need a spouse and partner to become who they were meant to be;
Some find that they are their best when they're completely free.
One thing I do know, we won't find The Spirit in the dissension
That seems to infuse conversation in which God is mentioned.

We won't find The Spirit through drugs and alcohol
Nor through sex with those who are in its thrall.
We must step out of our fears, joined hand-in-hand,
To resist continued corruption of our place in Creation's plan.
We must say no to those who seek to combine church and state
And understand it is our following them that makes leaders great.
We must stop being lulled by their mantras and rituals
That keep our minds and our souls, with their power, full.

We must write our own stories, sing our own songs,
Pointing out repentance and forgiveness rights wrongs.
It is not anarchy or sin to refuse to be enslaved
By those who have lived lives that are depraved.
Christianity was perverted by Constantine
To assure his position as emperor, an earthly king.
It is time to reclaim a pure path to peace
That humbles the mighty and uplifts the least.