Simple and Plain

My battery is running on dead…

With ten thousand thoughts jumbled in my head

Lord, I need You to make things simple and plain

Before this crazy world drives me insane

I’m constantly wondering what should I do

Forgetting the outcome is left up to you

I need my thoughts to stay plain and simple

Remembering my body is your Holy temple

Down in the valley or drowning at sea

You’ll always be my King of Glory

Wherever I am that’s where You reign

Your peace and love is mine to gain...

Resting in a pasture of green

Increasing my faith in the things unseen

Into my soul Your presence does seep

Where that plain and simple runs very deep

No more jumbled thoughts swirling in my brain

You’ve already made it simple and plain

When you’re in His Holy temple

It’s more than plain and simple

This is the place for me to come clean

Allowing the Holy Spirit to paint a different scene

On the canvas of my heart

He gave me a brand-new start

The power of His presence is so strong and so glorious

You feel your life is full and victorious

He leaves His seal of radiance shining on your face

Showing you have been in a Holy Place

The Third Verse

  I learned a little something about our history

And the poem written by Francis Scott Key

In a battle that was intensely heated

He was overjoyed that the British were defeated

He penned “land of the free, home of the brave”

Feeling elated when he saw the flag making a gallant wave 

The third verse relishing that they couldn’t save 

The flight of the slave from the sorrow of the grave

What was the reason behind the third verse written by Francis Scott Key

That shaped our lives and tarnished our history

Into our past I thought I would delve

And found a hidden reason behind the War of 1812

Maritime slave Impressment from the British made the U.S. very skittish

Land of the free and home of the brave wanted to keep the black man his forever slave

With reserve and false nobility the British sought to set the U.S. slave free

Without jeopardizing what they had in the West Indies

When he looked out and saw the British defeat

He wrote the third verse making his jubilant feelings complete

Plantations and slavery would continue to define southern life

Confining the black man in bondage and strife

Justice written back then didn’t include us

Now we look at the flag and raise a gallant fuss

Demanding the freedom they wouldn’t give

So life for us would be worthy to live

Hatred and outrage can rise pretty quick

We see this with Nike and Colin Kaepernick

It’s sad when a race is looked at with disdain

Because their ancestors didn’t stay bound in a chain

While the Star-Spangled Banner is sung, and the flag still waves 

What does it mean for the descendants of the slaves

Some don’t want us to speak out it will make things worst

We ask—what can they glean from Francis Scott Key’s third verse

Learning our history can make a weak man bitter and hard

We must remember our deliverance lies in the wisdom and knowledge of God

When others make life unbearable to live our real Master and Savior taught us to forgive

In Him we find our peace in hopes our struggle will someday cease

Confusing Divisions

In recent events I catch myself reliving the confused mind of a child…

Rehashing memories I haven’t had in quite long while

I saw the division but didn’t understand why
The things we couldn’t do could make a grown man cry

Be careful how when and where you walk down the street
In the building and on the bus take the back seat

To quench your thirst be careful where you drink
To clean your hands don’t use the wrong sink

When there’s an ache in your back and your feet are sore
You can visit the doctor but go in the back door

That ol’ Jim Crow could deliver quite a blow
Causing more pain than some will ever know

So many more divisions left to be told
Like getting your food from a little square hole

These divisions were confusing in the mind of a child
They were far from humble meek and mild

How could these divisions equal justice for all
When they stripped a man of his pride and were designed to make him crawl

They got upset when a player took a knee
Didn’t try to understand his somber reality

From blind ignorance they will never see
These confusing divisions were not how God intended things to be

Don’t get us wrong in our quest to be heard
Symbolic gestures are sometimes stronger than words

It's not that we disrespect our country and the flag
We just don’t want to treated like a dirty old rag

Stop the brutality the divisions and the strife
So we can work together for a divine peaceful life

"Together we stand-divided we fall"
How can we make this a nation where there’s really justice for all...

Stop the brutality the divisions and the strife

So we can live together in a divine peaceful life

This is why God made His pick
When He chose the courage of Colin Kaepernick

...and he's not alone

(Photo courtesy of The Washington Post)