Transformation.

Transformation.

(Written for the theme of Kidderminster Arts Festival 2015)

We ache for change, beyond our norm - an inner yearning to transform.

I think within us all we have the power of transformation
A seed of hope, a dreamlike thread
A wealth of information

A hidden spark, a breath of something

bigger than we feel

A goal, an aim, a longing

A passion and a zeal

to grow, become much larger, far bigger than we seem

to somehow reach beyond ourselves and grasp our wildest dreams

A knowledge that we're meant for more, a soul that wants to fly

We thirst for metamorphosis, becoming butterflies
We long to throw off our disguise, emerge from dark cocoon
To dance to different melodies, compose our unique tune

Lets lift our heads, be all we can, be utterly renewed
we have the power within ourselves to be all that we choose
Let creativity be found, come dance through life today
A few will laugh and jeer but we'll heed not what they say
There's power in transformation lets start a revolution
Don't think that it's beyond you, dig deep for your solution.
We're not held captive, free to morph
Empowered to redesign
Our lives, our words, our essence
Our plans to redefine

Oh transformation, I embrace

your challenge, be my saving grace.

Karen Holmes
August 5^th 2015.

Hey you - it's God......

Where do you think you will find me?
Why are you searching in vain?
I'm walking so closely beside you
Yet you miss me each time - it's a shame
For you're looking so hard in the places
You think the Almighty resides
As if I would dwell in some long ago words
Or in vast cathedrals I'd hide.

I've been calling your name in the silence
I've been holding your hand in the dark
I've been guarding your heart through the shouting
I am that glimmer, that spark
That subtly you are aware of
Yet cannot find words to describe
I have been here every moment
I've never moved from your side

I'm not hiding but rather I'm waving a flag
To get your attention, to welcome you back
I'm painting the flowers to capture your eye
I'm lighting the stars as you stroll idly by
I'm sending the raindrops to help you awaken
The sunshine to thrill you with the steps I have taken
To capture your heart and to make you aware
That I want to be found by you, I truly care.

Karen Holmes
August 2nd 2015

The Rock of My Salvation

Psalm 61:2 "From the ends of the earth I call to you.  I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I"

The world offers many attractions
Bright lights suggest fortune and fame
Eat, drink and be merry, just live for today
Life's just one incredible game.

The world offers many solutions
But it's promises fail, they are lies
All it's answers will lead to confusion,
disappointment and pain in disguise.

I'm looking for something much better Lord
Something stronger, more lasting, more true
The treasures the world has to offer
Are nothing compared to you.

I need someone bigger than me Lord
For I am so weak and so small
When I try in my own strength to get through the day
I find I can't do much at all.

I falter and struggle, don't know who to trust
My treasure is tarnished, my plans turn to dust
And this world deceives me so much that I cry
"Lead me to the rock that is higher than I"

Oh God will you be a strong tower for me
When fears crowd in and the path I can't see
My soul can find hope and rest in you alone
By you I am loved, by you I am known.

Lead me to the rock that is higher than I
And let me be safe in your care
When all of life's treasures are faded away
I know that you'll always be there.

The world offers many attractions
But let me keep my eyes fixed on thee
my refuge, my rock, my salvation
Lord be a strong fortress for me.

1990 (ish!)

Little Old Me

Written after reading this "You are not what you think you are, you are what He says you are"

I'm created for your purpose
But I feel so unprepared
I step outside my comfort zone
And suddenly, I'm scared.

You really should know better, God
I'm not the one you need
There's loads of other Christians
Oh - use someone else, I plead.

Somebody more outspoken
Someone who has more nerve
Find me a quiet corner
And gladly there I'll serve.

It was all very well when you called me
I was feeling brave and strong
But now I'm beginning to doubt Lord
Perhaps I heard you wrong.

Perhaps it's all a big mistake
You meant to use somebody else
Somebody clever and learned
Or someone with better health

Oh Lord I'm clutching at straws now
And any excuse will do
I'm created for your purpose
But how can I serve you?

I'm just me, Lord, Just little old me
And I wish you'd understand
You need someone greater than me
For this task which you have planned.

Ask anyone - they'll tell you
You've made a most foolish choice.
Yet still in the back of my mind
I hear your patient voice..........

"Yes I am your creator,
There's nothing I don't know
I planned each detail of your life
the ways that you would go

When you look into a mirror
You see the outer shell
But I can see the inner you
The one I know so well

And you have no idea
of the things that I have planned
If you let me lead you forward
If you take hold of my hand

You are pointing out your weaknesses
but in them, I am strong
so step outside your comfort zone
and let me prove you wrong"

Karen Holmes
14th September 2005.

An Empty Cross

Oh how their hopes must have fallen
Trampled underfoot in the dust
Waiting for something to stop the process
For surely something must.

They'd believed in him – been so certain
That he was God's son as he claimed

Yet here he was, sentenced to death
Hideously tortured and shamed

How their hearts despaired, now leaden

Empty of life, somehow betrayed

Seeing how deeply even he agonised

As in the garden in darkness he'd prayed.

And God – dare we say we comprehend
That desperate loss of hope

That extinguished flame, that darkness
that fear that we'll never cope

As we rend our clothes – our souls lay bare
Wounded, tormented, questioning, lost
We cry out for a resurrection
An Easter morn, an empty cross

Oh God, in our afflictions come,

Bring us new life in greater measure

new strength to rise again and live

through sorrow somehow find our treasure

For Lord, you know the reasons why
we beseech you for your grace

From the ashes bring redemption
Send your healing to this place

Victory for those first disciples

Hope reignited, Light restored,

Victory ours through our redeemer
Risen, glorious, sovereign Lord.

Karen Holmes
2/4/2015

The Love I've known

Laughter, smiles and fun filled moments
Cream filled cakes and ice cream cones
Fairground rides and icy pavements
These are the gifts of love I've known

Snowball fights and fits of giggles
Broken down trains and late nights home
Borrowed clothes and pink carnations
These are the gifts of love I've known.

Roaring fires and long, lost stories
Friends that mean I'm not alone
Photographs and loving hugs
These are the gifts of love I've known

Bright balloons, long, loving letters
Silly conversations on the phone
A hand that reaches out to mine
These are the gifts of love I've known.

Simple things life's daily happenings
Wonderful memories all my own
Daily I offer prayers of thanks
For the gifts of love which I have known.

Karen Holmes.

2009

Mouse Moral

A mouse in the cupboard had died
His family probably cried
But Karen and Paul
Had no clue at all
So it lay there, unnoticed, inside.

We've lived here 6 years and yet still
We had no idea he was ill
No doctor was called
His plight was ignored
And so the poor mouse wrote his will.

And nothing was even suspected
For years he remained undetected
In thick dust and hair
His body lay there
The cupboard not often inspected!

The moral of this tale is clear
Do your housework at least once a year
Behind that cupboard door
could be bodies galore
But the dead cannot talk, do not fear.

Karen Holmes 22nd June 2008

It should be pointed out that it was in the airing cupboard that the skeleton of a mouse was discovered, not in a food cupboard!!!