One Heart Under Many Skies

Today the sky is dressed in light,

With colors dancing through the night.

Fireworks bloom and rivers shine,

Yet greater sparks are yours and mine.

From Texas roads to distant shores,

Through open hearts and study doors,

We've gathered from so many lands,

Connected by unseen hands.

Some speak English, some speak Hebrew,

Some speak Russian, old or new,

Yet when our hearts begin to meet,

A common song becomes complete.

We laugh, we stumble, rise again,

Supported by the strength of friends.

Through every state, both dark and bright,

We help each other seek the Light.

So on this Fourth of July we say,

May love and connection lead the way.

May every ten grow strong and true,

And may the force between us renew.

No firework burns as long or bright

As hearts united in one light.

To all my brothers and sisters dear,

Happy Fourth of July this year.

May our connection grow each day,

And guide us on the common way.

One heart, one prayer, one shared desire,

Together we rise ever higher.

THE ROPE ACROSS THE FIELD

I entered the field at morning light,

Certain the path was clear and bright.

The sun was warm, the air was still,

And confidence walked beside my will.

But fields are strange and fields are wide,

And soon the beasts came from inside.

Doubt began to stalk the ground,

While fear and anger gathered round.

The feelings changed from hour to hour,

Like shifting wind and passing showers.

One moment strong, the next unsure,

One moment rich, the next quite poor.

I searched for peace, I searched for rest,

But found the work was in the test.

For good states come and bad states go,

Like rivers that forever flow.

Then I remembered what was done

Before the darkness had begun.

A covenant written heart to heart,

A promise made before the start.

When sight grows dim and strength is small,

The rope remains through it all.

Tied to the friends, tied to the way,

Tied to the purpose of the day.

The field grows wild, the weeds grow high,

The beasts still roar, the crows still cry.

Yet something stronger holds me still,

A bond beyond my changing will.

The ten remembers when I forget.

The friends remind me not to quit.

And when the dust hides all I see,

Their strength preserves the path for me.

So let the field reveal its face,

Its every beast, its every place.

For I have learned what makes me whole:

Not fleeing from the field—

But holding to the rope.

THE WILD FIELD

I walked into the field this morning,

Thought I'd find a rose or two.

Instead I found ten angry donkeys,

And one of them looked just like me.

A fox was selling shortcuts,

A crow was shouting, "You have arrived!"

A snake said, "Skip the morning meeting,"

And somehow that sounded wise.

The weeds were taller than my faith,

The mud was deeper than my prayer.

Every step I tried to take

Found another hole waiting there.

Then pride rode by on a shiny horse,

Wearing a crown ten feet high.

He said, "You don't need the friends today."

Five minutes later he was gone.

Doubt was hiding in the bushes,

Fear was sleeping in the shade.

Jealousy was counting everyone else's blessings,

While I was counting my mistakes.

By noon I wanted to quit the field.

By supper I wanted to burn it down.

By evening I finally remembered—

The Owner was walking around.

Then suddenly it all made sense.

The beasts were never there to stay.

Each one came to show a weakness

That needed work that day.

So now when wolves start howling

And wild thoughts begin to run,

I tip my hat and say, "Good morning,

Looks like today's work has begun."

The field is rough.

The field is wild.

The field can make a grown man cry.

But every thorn,

And every beast,

Is one more reason to aim on high.

And when the day is finally over,

And all my plans have come undone,

I laugh and tell the friends,

"Well boys...

The field won again."

Then we pray,

Get up,

And start tomorrow's work.

The Joy in the Lesson

 

I came to the lesson hungry and worn,

Carrying burdens since the morning was born.

Then a few simple words touched deep in my chest,

And suddenly my heart would not let me rest.

The friends sat together, each seeking the same,

Not honor, not knowledge, not fortune or fame.

Just one tiny opening, one crack in the wall,

To hear the Creator's voice quietly call.

I asked, "Is it wrong that I love this so much?

The warmth of the lesson, the friends and their touch?"

The answer came softly, "The joy is not wrong—

Just learn where it leads and help others along."

For sometimes the lesson feels empty and dry,

The words lose their flavor, the spirit won't fly.

Then lift up a prayer and honestly say,

"Creator, why hide all the sweetness today?"

And if one friend sits there with no joy to find,

Then all of us carry his burden in mind.

For no one walks lonely, no soul stands apart,

We pray for his light with one unified heart.

The lesson brings one kind of pleasure and grace,

Dissemination another—a different embrace.

One fills up the vessel, one pours it abroad,

Both leading a person a little closer to God.

So drink from the lesson like bread at a meal,

Let every good moment become something real.

Then carry that joy to the friends on the way,

And watch how it grows with each passing day.

https://suno.com/song/fd453c6e-1fa3-4c48-89bf-1e3e9adb6e11

The Donkey I Thought I Saw

I looked at a friend one morning,

And a donkey was all I could see.

His stubborn ways,

His rough edges,

Everything that bothered me.

I carried those thoughts through the day,

Like stones inside a sack.

Each step grew heavier,

Each prayer grew weaker,

And the light would not come back.

Then a whisper rose within me:

"Why are you counting flaws?

Did you come to judge My children,

Or to draw yourself toward the Cause?"

So I looked again at the friend.

This time I searched for his aim.

Past all the noise,

Past all the habits,

And found a spark of flame.

I saw him fighting for connection.

I saw him rise after every fall.

I saw his heart reaching upward,

Though I had never seen it at all.

Then something changed between us.

The distance began to depart.

The faults that seemed so massive

Could no longer fill my heart.

For the Creator hides in the connection,

Not in what separates me and you.

And when I prayed for my friend to find Him,

I found that He was there too.

Now when I see a friend's donkey,

I leave it standing by the road.

And look instead toward his yearning,

Toward the place where he carries the load.

For greatness builds the vessel.

Deficiency tears it apart.

And the Creator is revealed

Where friends make room in the heart.

The Heart Pleads

The heart aches, the body shakes

Foreign thoughts fill my head

The air is hot, blowing a lot

Trying to hear what the Creator said

The heart pleads, dropping to my knees

As the ego won't let me rest

The eyes strain, thoughts constrained

As I reach for my vest

I step outside beneath the sky

Searching where the answers hide

The world keeps moving all around

While storms are raging deep inside

Every road I've walked before

Leads me to the very same place

A man can't win this fight alone

Without a higher strength and grace

Chorus

When my heart can no longer stand

And my feet sink deep in the sand

I whisper softly through the night

"Creator, help me hold the Light"

When the will to receive takes control

And darkness settles on my soul

I raise my eyes and do my part

As You rebuild my shattered heart

The wind still blows, the desert knows

How many tears have touched the ground

Yet every fall becomes a call

Where hidden mercy can be found

So I'll keep walking, keep on knocking

Though the road is rough and long

For every prayer born from despair

Returns one day as strength and song.

The Creator Gathered Us Again

We lifted a prayer without a sound,

For friends whose faces were not around.

Not asking for comfort, not asking for gain,

Only that our hearts be joined again.

Days passed quietly, one by one,

Never knowing what the Creator had done.

Yet deep within His hidden plan,

He guided each step of every man.

Then suddenly joy filled the room,

Replacing distance, removing gloom.

Jean returned with an open heart,

And Oscar came to take his part.

No one can measure the gift we received,

Or the prayer that the Creator conceived.

For what seemed lost was never gone,

It simply waited to be drawn.

Now the ten feels warmer, stronger, whole,

As gratitude rises from every soul.

Not for numbers, not for pride,

But for the love the Creator placed inside.

So today our hearts together sing,

To the One who arranges everything.

With thanks beyond what words can say,

For gathering His friends this day.

The vessel grows, the bond runs deep,

Through every promise we strive to keep.

And with grateful hearts we clearly see,

The friends returned through His mercy.

https://suno.com/s/cOw655ZUdQI8L9qC