It was a year of changing

It was a year of changing
With many a time a place and person too
Twas quite a time for chasing
And dreaming too

To see the world as wild and free
And open to what You were a bringing me
All the while a singing
And hoping

Adventure at every corner
A testing of faith
Of following
And finding

A year of wondering
When and where
Praying and saying
Why

And now a season of waiting
And waiting for what
Will have to wait and see

Your will
A working
A changing
In Me

Yet still
It's work
A painful thing
A precious thing
Tis sure

Of trusting
Your way
O'er mine

Divine it is
And yet
Hard

To rest
In this hope
Knowing
You hold the rope

What shall a day
A week, a month, a year
Bring

You alone
Can only
Know

Yet still
I remain
In quiet
Expectation

Hoping
And praying
It will bring me
Nearer to You

-Joshua Lee Foist

Of Absence and Minded

Of absence and minded
I oft have been
Lost in a series
Of thoughts
That torrent
Within

And how become
This game of words
These silent thrills
Of longing and belonging
A facade chasing after
Its own god

Yet in all the shroud
Of clouded dreams
And reality
Hope remained

You remain
Forever unchanged
By the muck of this

The silence awakes
In me a feeling of awe
And wonder

Wonder of what lies beyond
To know that this desire
Will one day
Be fulfilled
Fully

In you
No one else
Will ever do

From beginning to end
You fashioned and formed it
To be very good

And as it should
For nothing made by you
Would dare to be any less
Nor could it

Yet I a mere man
Oft lost in my own self
Remiss of this
Paradise lost

At what cost
To be found again
The plan and purpose
Still more than
Ere imagined

You have made a way
So whether in this life
Or not to be found

Your presence enough
Your life to fill
All the wake
Of time and space

You are there
In the pain
And doubt

Into it you bring
Peace that surpasses
Understanding

A love withstanding
All things
Twas this
That brought
Hope

To a soul
Slipping into
The void of time
Wondering if ever
To return

And beyond
The absence of
Mind and madness
You have filled this wound
With your heart

And so make
A brand new start
For this thy glorious art
Redemption's work
In me

-Joshua Lee Foist

Draw me near to the place

Draw me near to the place
Where once I knew
Your love so true

Bring me out
Of the coma
My mind

Can oft escape
I am yours
Bring me back

For in you
Nothing
I lack

I was made
In your image
Perfect

Yet still I
Get lost
In the lie

Never enough
Never satisfied
Never

Truth tells
A different
Story

I am enough
Made of
The greatest stuff

Formed in
Your hand
And perfectly planned

So with your power
And will restore
My heart

To the place of you
Where I can taste
And see

That you
Are good
My first love

My every thought
Is in your hand
Not a thing

Outside
Your will
May depart

For I am
Apart
Of

Your
Glorious
Work of art

-Joshua Lee Foist

When was it last

When was it last

That I gazed upon 

Your loveliness

For all my wandering 

Heart pondering

Still you wait

Patiently you wait

For me to lose myself

And find you

For I all the while

Without a clue 

Am lost in this

Remiss in the hours

Of which I have missed

Longing ever for belonging

Yet with you

There is nothing

For me to do

Thy will before

My waking breath

Was life beyond death

A joy unquenched

By the drought 

Of life's disappointments

For here the roots go deep

In the soil of thy saving grace

To drink deep of thee

Tis no great gift than you

Oh to wade within

Thy quiet waters

To rest in thy gentle embrace

For all life's troubles 

Are but bubbles

Waiting to burst 

Upon the break

Of this wonder

When all awakes

To this life anew

Thy strife is lost

In joy becoming

The great waltz

Of mere existence 

Breaks its form

To fashion free

Upon thy glorious symphony

And loud and wondrous be

Thy bridal ceremony 

For at last

Hath come home

To thy King

And won his hand

For all eternity 

The Lord of all creation

Is mine as I am His

-Joshua Lee Foist

The Sunlit Skies Rise

The sunlit skies rise

On Australian seas

As ere the light

Doth beckon

The morn to break

Though still the tide

Of nodded eyelids wake

The sleep in dreams

That they forsake

For come the day

Here undisturbed 

Twill not be doddled 

By the twilight talk

For soon to dock

Down under way

And landed craft

Wheel at Sydney bay

Till perchance another day

When winds would whisk

The island breeze away

To farther shores

Where four scores 

A week to stay 

And then return

At Sydney bay

-Joshua Lee Foist

As I Call to You

As I call to you

Upon the morn of day

What can express

This gracious gift

Of life and breath

And deliverance

From death 

Though I am oft

In contempt

And discontent

My will is not

Thy will I ought

To do

Though I have not

The means to see

Nor ears to hear

For fear grips me

Peace come dwell

As promised in prayer

And thanks for this

And all tis bliss

Thy bounty beyond 

Imagining give me

The desire and will

You require

Before I retire

For all my days 

This one thing I ask

That I may praise

With fullness of heart

And grace and forgiveness 

Be part in me

So may thy kingdom work

And all within around

Be done

And humble I 

To testify what grace

And goodness

You have brought

Tis not of my own

Doing

But sure and only

Of my God and King

Oh Ruler of everything

-Joshua Lee Foist

In This Hour I Wait

In this hour I wait
And my mind stands fixed
In debate

You patiently wait
Steadfast and true
You are

And once more surrender
You cause me to remember
Your grace and mercy

Tis all I ever need
In the trial I feed
On thy joy inexpressible

My hope remains
For though my desires
Wane

Yet still I endure
The momentary pain
You remain

Persecution increase
Your joy your peace
Undending

So fill me
Renew me
Conform me

To walk in the way of truth
Thy words my guide
In thee will I abide

So ere the storms that come
So sweetly sleep
Within the bowels below 

For thy peace
Hath calmed the storm
And called me out

Upon the water
To walk in faith
With thee

-Joshua Lee Foist