Desert Wind

Desert Wind
by: R.A. Slater
08-15-09

Standing in the midst of this vast desert
I swallow my fear and loneliness
Reminding myself all the reasons
Why there is nothing to fear
And that I am never truly alone

The howling desert wind is mocking
Trying to distract me
Telling me the many reasons to fear
And asking me where this God is
That I am never alone

In truth, I have wondered this myself
He who walked so close
Now seems so far and distant
I have looked for Him and called His name
But all I hear are echoes

I draw my cloak around me
Not knowing if it is a cloak of light or despair
Regardless it keeps the scouring sand
Away from me and protects all that is delicate
All that is precious

Or is it?
Is it as precious as I think?
Or has this wind been sent by God
To scour away the very things
That hinder His answer?

I will never know
Unless I let down my defenses
And let the wind batter me
Let the sand scour me
And strip it all away

It could work that way
Or it could be
That the wind is lying to me
As it mocks and jabs
Every chance it gets

So I will continue to wait
And to wander in the direction He set
Until I find an answer
To draw deeper in my cloak
Or shed it and let the scouring begin

It is a thing of faith
A leap to take, either way
I could be wrong, I could be right
But I know that He is still faithful
And can make even my mistakes into something beautiful

For my mistakes, fumbling, and sins
Are not the end of me
Nor are they beyond something He can handle
In fact, they do not surprise Him
And were planned for long ago

And taken care of before I was born
No matter how hard the enemy tries
He can not take that Cross away
Nor the blood that covers me
And makes me whole

So I trudge on
Trusting in Him I cannot see
Believing He is still there
Hoping He is still with me
Carrying me

All I Have Left

written 08-09-0, 2AM

All I Have Left
by: R.A. Slater

There it is once again
That popular song on the radio
Urging me to give it all
To quit living as one going through the motions
Instead to live with zeal and passion
So I don't end up asking
"What if" for the rest of my life

I long to ask the singer
What do you do when you gave it all
And there's nothing left to give?
I poured it all out
Gave until it hurt
My heart, my soul, my talents
But I was stupid and let men get in the way
Let them steal and belittle
All that I had to give to God

And now all I have left to give
Is this nothingness I feel
Which is far better than the pain
That plagued me night and day
All I have left to give
Is this emptiness within
Hoping that He can turn it
Into something beautiful
Like a flower blooming in the desert
For only He can take nothing
And turn it into something




The song I'm referring to is "Motions" by Matthew West.

Idle Worship

This one comes from April 2004.


Idle Worship
By: R.A. Slater

Sing me a song
And I’ll go along
.....As into the throne room we go

But don’t ask me to help
I’ll be sure to yelp
.....And proclaim that it’s just not fair

I won’t go into the river
For all the world’s silver
.....If the water is too hot

All the finest gold
Won’t help if the river’s cold
.....I prefer it to be lukewarm

Won’t you give me a break?
For I’ve had such a hard week
.....And I think it’s time to eat

I’m much too tired
To feel on fire
.....Let me go home and take my nap

It is no wonder why
Things in life go awry
.....And God remains silent

We have no time
But think it’s no crime
.....Until He has no time for us

We have such passion and zeal
For something unreal
.....While the Lord is ignored

If we worshipped our Lord
As we do our idols
.....How He would draw near!

A Holy Spirit Stirring

This is a Christmas poem I wrote for our church's Christmas program...outside of that setting I'm not sure if it's a good poem, but I'm posting it anyways because that's what I do! Date would be December 2004.

A Holy Spirit Stirring
By: R.A. Slater

Twas the night before Christmas
And all through the church
First Baptist and others
There was a great stirring going on.

The church had grown weary
And was setting in to take a long winters nap
She’d taken off her robe and made up the bed
And as she slid out of her slippers…there arose such a clatter!

The noise shook the church way down deep
For it had the sound of a mighty rushing wind
Surely, surely, it could not be HE
Thought the church as she put her slippers back on.

But before she could take a step
There He stood before her!
The Holy Ghost of God, arrayed in splendor
His countenance lighting the entire chamber.

She could scarce take it in!
He had come like He’d promised!
In His arms He bore many gifts,
And strangely enough…was that a squirrel on His shoulder?!

The gift exchange was quiet and somber at first.
She offered up shame, and He covered it with righteousness.
She laid down offenses and He filled her with forgiveness.
She showed Him brokenness, and He knit her broken bones back together again.

Bitterness was laid down, along with anger and hate
In their place, the Holy Ghost gave peace, patience and love
He caught each one of her tears in a bottle.
Sin after sin was laid down, and each one He covered with the Blood of Christ.

As she laid down her sorrow,
Curiosity got the better of this dear lady.
In her seriousness before Him she asked,
“What is the deal with the squirrel?”

The Holy Ghost laughed, such a pleasant sound
He held out His hand to where the squirrel ran down to stand
“His name is Mirth,” the Holy replied,
“He’s symbolic you know…for the name Mirth is just another name for joy!”

In all seriousness, my friends
It does not take great discernment
To look around this church
And see the hand of God at work

Friendships mended
Broken hearts becoming whole
Bodies being healed
His glory becoming manifest

Even when the hour is late
And we have grown weary
We can rest assured that we serve a great God
Who neither slumbers nor sleeps

If we could but tarry for a little while longer
Press on a little bit farther
What glories we will see
As the Holy Ghost pours Himself out

What glories will we see?
Rather, whose glory will we see?
Why the very glory of God
The only glory worth seeing.

This Vision I see

I think this was written sometime in 2004 or 5...the email was dated Feb 2005, but for some reason I think it was written in 2004.


This Vision I See
By: R.A. Slater

What is this that I see?
A vision of Glory come down,
As angels dance all around.
A feat that cannot be pulled of by Man
Can only happen if they stand back to watch the hand of God.
Our cry for revival has rung true,
The church and our nation will become
A royal priesthood ministering to God,
And a nation that serves the Most High.
Revival fire is falling and spreads like wild fire
As people tell of this great God that they serve.
The saints are singing with one voice
As young and old come to know Jesus.
The church rises up from the ashes of desecration
To dance in the presence and glory of God
And is clothed in white garments of holiness.
And the times is now, for the day has arrived –
The thundering is no longer so far in the distance
And the clouds hang overhead instead of sitting on the horizon
The day of Habitation of the Most High God – has begun.

The River

This one comes from March 2005

The River:
by R.A. Slater

there is a River
flowing with living water
enough to quench the thirst
of you and me
****
so jump on in
saturate
marinate
don't be late
****
revel in His joy
dance in His midst
delight in His presence
and drink deep

Perchance to Dream

Hmm, this one comes from Feb. 2006

Perchance to Dream
By: R.A. Slater

Sleep tight, you say to me
As we bid farewell
And go our separate ways

Ah, to sleep…
The only reason to sleep
Is perchance to dream

To dream of your touch…
Gentle as it explores
Passionate as it discovers my secret places of pleasure

To dream of your warm embrace…
As though embraced by fire itself
Held by a power greater than gravity

To dream of your passionate kiss…
As one kiss turns into many
And I return your passion with my own

The Sun Still Shines

This one is from Feb 2004

The Sun Still Shines
By: R.A. Slater

The sun is always shining
Whether on mountain or valley
Even when the mountain blocks the light
When the sky is dark with black clouds
From the storms that come our way
Even when night is fallen
And the heavens are clothed with stars and moon
The sun is still shining just over the horizon
The thing is to keep on moving soaking in what light you can
To plod towards that far horizon
Through woods of peril and storms of strife
During days of weariness and sorrow
With hope ever burning
Sometimes bright, sometimes dim
But always warming the chill in your heart and bones
For though the wind may howl
And the wilderness raise a dreadful clamor
Above it all you can hear Him whisper,
“Press on, my child…I am still with you.”
And though nothing on the outside changes
Hope takes root and turns to expectant faith
That whether on mountain or valley
Through clouds and dark
The Son still shines
And you know that He is still with you.

One Woman Alone

I was going through some old emails and found this jewel written back in November 2005.


One Woman Alone
By: R.A. Slater

One woman alone
……abandoned……
She stands against the cold
……forgotten……
Braving the wind and the rain
……beaten……
With no one left to hear her
……forsaken……
Whether she lives or dies
……ignored……
No one hears the whispers shouted into the wind
……helpless……

Alone she lies
……rejected……
Beaten, bruised, bleeding
……misused……
Words cut as knives
……misunderstood……
Twisted around and around
……confused……
Till she no longer knows who said what
……wondering……
Or why it matters
……weary……

Alone she drowns
……help me……
Beneath the weight of her sorrow
……can anyone hear me?……
Mocked and ridiculed because of it
……why Lord?……
Tears run down her face as they scold
……Jesus, I’m suffocating……
She surrenders and gives up
……I can’t take it anymore……
As she is at last told that her pain is imagined and unreal
……it hurts Jesus……

One Man alone
……Gethsemane……
Arms wide open
……Nails……
Blood flowing freely
……covering, healing……
Broken heart, tears falling
……love……
Nail scarred hands holding her close
……His heartbeat……
A whispered promise that echoes
……I AM with you, always……

Alone she kneels
……lonely……
In the presence of the only One left
……comfort……
And pours out her heart
……relief……
Lays down her sins
……repentant……
Gives her grievances over to Him
……forgiveness……
Starts over anew
……mercy……

One woman alone
……not alone……
She stands fortified by God’s grace
……forgiven……
Shored up by His strength
……joy……
Armed with the Truth
……His Word……
To face another day
……new mercies……
Not alone

Surprise

Surprise
By: R.A. Slater

Years of fruitless searching
Had brought me nothing but disappointment
When despair was my best companion
Unfulfilled dreams haunted my waking
And even the hint of hope was dashed
Broken and shattered into pieces
Each shard cutting to the deepest
Until my heart at last gave out
And I laid down, ready to die
Caught in a web of loneliness
Thinking, believing, knowing
I would never find you
You caught me by surprise
And you found me
Your arms held me with fiery passion
Tempered by patient gentleness
Made me believe again
That happiness could be found
With a piece of heaven on this earth
And a piece of the Father's heart
Hidden inside a man
Revealed for me to see
Much to my surprise
And delight
That echoes in two hearts