Mike Young

Blogging is hard.

That’s not true.

Blogging regularly is hard.  I’m sorry for my sporadic postings and long silences.  I have been super busy the past few months with finals and holidays and ministry, but I thought I should update you all on a few things about what the Lord is doing with me and my poetry lately.

1.  I got a legit URL! Tell all your friends to go to MikeYoungPoetry.com.  Way easier than that old URL, right?  Right.  You probably didn’t even know what it was….

2.  THANKS FOR BUYING MY CDS!!!  I can’t say this enough!  I’m so blessed that I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to write and share these poems, but even more blessed that people like you are willing to financially support me in this!  I’m absolutely overwhelmed by your kindness and generosity! If you want to order a copy or “Messenger”, it’s right here, and I’ll ship it right to your door.

3.  The video of “You Are Beautiful” on YouTube has gotten OVER !*<))) VIEWS!!!!  I’m so excited about this that I tried to capitalize the numbers.  That’s OVER 18,000 VIEWS!!!!!!  I’ve been so blessed and encouraged by the response to this video.  Thank you for sharing it the way that you have! If you haven’t seen it or want to share it some more it’s right here.

4. The GodTV video of “You Are Beautiful” is now live online and has been broadcasting about 4 times a day for the past few weeks to millions of homes all over the world!  If you haven’t seen that, check it out here.

5.  This is the big one… I’M GOING TO CANADA!!!!!  Through the YouTube video and some divinely ordained connections, I will be flying to Edmonton at the end of this month to do some poems with about 11,000 people at Break Forth Canada 2012!  I’m very excited to be partnering with this ministry and serving alongside teachers and worship leaders who have impacted my own walk with Jesus so much such as Erwin McManus, Josh and Sean McDowell, Third Day, Jars of Clay, and so many more!  This is a huge opportunity, and I’m still having to remind myself that this is not a dream, but the firm reality of God’s goodness and kindness in my life.  If you want more information about this conference, check it out right here.  If any of you are from the area or attending the conference, I’d love to hear from you and personally thank you for your support and encouragement!

Once again thank you.  I can’t say it enough, because the only proper response to the grace God has shown me in my life and in my poetry is gratitude.  I’ve got another cd in the works and I’m very excited to tell you more about that soon!

I recently had the overwhelming privilege of attending Bethel School of Worship in Redding, California.  Even more, I had the honor of doing one of my poems for the majority of the students and staff.  This is the edited and updated version that I did at BSW.

You are beautiful
No matter what they say
Words can’t bring you down

But they can.
And they have.

See I’m a little too short
To shoot a ball from half court
And I look a little too different to ever believe it when you call me
BEAUTIFUL
And I wish I was a little bit taller,
Maybe wish I were a baller,
But if there’s one thing I definitely wish I was,
I wish I was
BEAUTIFUL

My shoulders are lop sided
I got acne on my skin
And I hardly ever win
Unless of course it’s chess
But even then I’m not the best
I’ve got hair and zits on my chest
I’m a dude, but it looks like I’ve got breasts
I’m not blind buddy,
So don’t even tell me that I’m
BEAUTIFUL

See we got these things in our rooms called a mirror,
It was designed so you could see you clearer
But the father of lies plays tricks with your eyes
Whispering in your ear all about how you’re
Too big
Too small
Too short
Too tall
How your legs are too long
And your arms aren’t too strong
Your hips go too wide
And you got too much fat on the side
All just to lie to you
Trying to get you to think that you’re not
BEAUTIFUL

And if you think you are,
He thinks that’s fine
Just as long as he can tell you that that’s pride
So whatever light you hold inside
He’ll do everything he can to put it out
By making you think it’s earning you hell for you to even think that maybe you could be
BEAUTIFUL

You are beautiful,
No matter what they say
Words can’t bring you down

But they do.
Because as soon as he gets you to agree,
He gets you to believe that you’ll never be free
So the only way out is to sit and starve yourself and pout
And let the tears pour out
Or even h-h-hurl your stomach into the toilet
And you look in the mirror and ask,
Now do I look,
BEAUTIFUL?

Or you walk in wanting to be the life of the party
So you drop a couple shots
Pick up a forty,
A little while later you start feeling pretty sporty
But the room starts to wobble
And you can’t walk so you hobble
And everybody snickers at what a fool you are
And you raise your red solo cup to the sky and ask
Now do I act
BEAUTIFUL

Boy, I know that all you ever wanted to do was be a man
And lately you’ve been asking if you’re worthy
And the devil doesn’t want you to know how powerful you are so he lies and tells you’ll never have anything worthwhile
So you start clicking and scrolling
Then you’re eyes start rolling
And the moment after he’s convinced you to sell your soul to a computer screen
The devil hits you with his shame game and tells you you’re disgusting
You’ll never be worthy of anything
BEAUTIFUL

Little girl, I know you always wanted to be a princess
And all you thought you needed was a prince to call you precious
So you think you have to dress so everything can be seen
Gotta let the boys look at you like they look at a dirty magazine
Let them get a little further than you want to go
And when they get bored and drop you, you still want to know
Do you love me now
Do you think I’m
BEAUTIFUL?

Does anybody think I’m
BEAUTIFUL?

I do.
I do proclaims the voice that spoke the skies
And He says let me dry your eyes
I have heard your cries,
I only wish you had heard mine.
Galaxies and shooting stars
I set spinning so you would know the beating of my heart
I painted rainbows and roses so that you would know that you are a work of art.
I gave you strong winds and rushing rivers,
So would know you are my strong Sons of Thunder
I gave you the sunrise and moonlight
To let you know how precious you are in My sight.
I sent my Son to live and die and rise for you
So that you would know
I love you
And I think you are
BEAUTIFUL

You see, when I spoke your name,
I had glory on my lips,
So from the center of your soul to your fingertips
Every inch of you is laced with glory
Made to show meMade so the world would know me
So let me break off the chains of this false humility
Contrary to certain popular believes,
Saying that you’re nothing does not honor me.
So baby it’s time to stop running from this reality,
That you look just like your Daddy,
Baby you’re heavenly.
Baby you’re wonderfully
Fearfully
Beautifully made
In the image and likeness of beauty and light
Of grace and might
Of wisdom and creativity that made stars bright
Put sunrises at the end of the night
And made the entire universe spin just right.
Humility isn’t thinking less of you,
It’s thinking of you less.
So know that you’re blessed
And know that you can rest in my arms
Knowing who and whose you are.
You are my masterpiece,
My baby.
And baby, I’m proud of the fact that I made you.
And I’ve never made anything quite so
BEAUTIFUL.

He sings “You are beautiful,
Because of what I say
Don’t let words ever bring you down”

His Son’s scars was the call
And this is His children’s response
With hands in the air
With voices together that drown out the enemies lies

I am
BEAUTIFUL
I am
BEAUTIFUL
I am
Royalty,
Heir of the King
No longer striving or starving
My life’s not a hard thing, anymore.

I am
BEAUTIFUL
I am
BEAUTIFUL
I am
Washed in the blood of the lamb
Washed away the soot and sin so you and I can
Clearly see that

I am
BEAUTIFUL
I am
BEAUTIFUL
I am
A new creation
A new sensation
I am a floodgate of heaven,
Made to reveal heart of God to the heart of Man
Showing brothers and sisters what they are so they can
Join in our war cry shouting

I am
BEAUTIFUL
I am
BEAUTIFUL
I am
Yours, Lord.

I’ve got a full stomach, but an empty heart
And that empty heart makes it seem like every part of me
Is just as empty
So I’m sure it doesn’t matter if I’m hungry, well fed or dead,
I’m still walking like a zombie with a heart like a vault made of lead

I’ve got my almost empty wallet in my almost empty pocket,
But even when I’ve got it all it doesn’t make me feel any better.
I’ve always got enough to eat
But it doesn’t make the edges of this empty space in me meet
Ask me what’s in my wallet and I’ll tell you,
it sure isn’t my joy.

When I was a young man, I was told to learn the law,
But every letter I saw
Twisted itself to spell out all the things I’d done wrong
I’m used to lying cheating and stealing
Mostly chasing after a feeling
Because all my life I’ve been looking for a way to feel alive.

So the word reveals the sin on my palms
I try to hang out in Psalms
But now that I know that I’m guilty
Even sweet songs and poems just remind me there’s a price on my head.
Feeling like everyone, especially God, wants me dead.
So I rub my hands raw
Trying to get the guilt off
But I know the only way to get rid of my sin
Is to scrub until I’m completely gone.

So I look to the heavens and scream
God if this is true
My only options to cope are to not believe in you
Or take the death I deserve
And I do,
But that’s something you already knew.
You gave a double edged sword
And it depends on who’s holding it, God or the twisted prince of this world
Whether it’s the knife used to stab you in the back
Or the scalpel that cuts away dead flesh to bring life

Religion sets the holy standard, but gives you no way to reach it
Gives the blueprints for the good life, but nothing with which to build it,
Religion commands you to be righteous
Be holy
Be joyful
Be strong
But then starves you of light
Binds your hands behind your back
Tells you to live!
And then leaves you to die,

But You don’t.

See, I was born outside of Your house in winter,
Raised in sin, with no right to enter in.
I didn’t choose to be an orphan, but that was my lot,
Didn’t want to be Your stranger, but that’s what I got.
It’s in my blood,
Rebellion, coursing through my veins,
And I knew all about the pains of battle,
Because I was my own worst enemy.
If ever I tripped, I never had to look to see who set the snare,
I knew it was me.
Or should I say, that was the old me.

I was doubled over in defeat,
Just like the every other time before,
And you came to me and said I didn’t have to fight to survive
anymore,
I looked up, but then around,
Scared to death that I’d be found
Caught off guard,
Knowing that myself was never to far,
And I’d hate for you to see my shame.
But then again, that’s why you came.

I told You You were crazy,
You told me that you made me
In Your image,
I told You You were wrong,
You told me that all along,
You always had a plan for me,
And on and on
We wrestled til the morning,
Until it dawned on me
That you were only ever trying to embrace me,
Trying to change me,
Trying to save me
From myself.
And you said pick up your sword,
And study war no more.
And you showed me Your scars
And they spelled out receipts
For victory and peace,
And I reached for my wallet, but you stopped me and said,
There’s no fee.
This one’s on me.
You bring light in my darkness
You bring joy through life’s hardness
You bring strength in my weakness
You saw me in my depravity
And you came to me
Came to save me
And make me worthy
Made a way for me to be what I was made to be
Be where I was made to be
I am Yours
I am made to be with You
And You came through
In a way that all the religion and laws never do
When you tell me to live
And I need food and drink,
You’re the one who came to give it to me
You are bread,
You are wine,
I will eat
I will drink
I am yours
And you are mine
I will live
For You are life
You are life

And His name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor.
He came so that we might not be led astray or
Held captive by sin,
But that we might be welcoming in to God’s glorious plan.
We’re no longer slaves, the way we had been
But now friends, co workers,
And by his counsel, we even cry out Abba Father!
We rely on Christ and no other
Proclaiming to the world that
His name shall be called

Prince of Peace
He came with a sword to take away yours,
The one that we chose when man first fell short,
Of Glory,
But Christ was chosen for restoring,
Man to his Maker
Came to build a church and make her,
Holy and lovely as she was meant to be.
Sin raged in our flesh but Now we’re set free,
Invited into this great peace
And all because His name shall be called

Mighty God.
And it’d be mighty odd,
To ask of a sovereign God
What have you done?
In whom and by whom all battles are won,
There is none higher than this mighty God
With a mighty staff and a mighty rod to protect his flock,
The one force that nothing but nothing can stop,
All of creation bends to His will
And His name shall be called

Everlasting Father.
When the earth starts to crumble and the nations rage,
He will not be changed like a man’s face with age,
As He was before time was born.
He shall be when there is no more.
He is as he was and will be forever
And his name shall be called

Jesus
The Christ
Jesus
The price
For our redemption,
The gateway to heaven
The lamb that was slain,
Was dead and buried for three days, but then rose again,
And ascended into heaven where He sits at the right hand
Of God.
And He reigns, over all creation,
And one day
Every tongue and nation
Will proclaim His glory,
He is our victory,
He is the song the sing
He is the banner we swing

And His name shall be Sovereign Lord
Adonai
Yahweh
Hashem
Son of the most High
Elohim
El Oham
El Shaddai
El Elyon
Jehovah
Jirah
Raffa
El Roi
Shalom
Son of Man
King of Jews
Lion
Lamb
I AM THAT I AM

And His name shall be Holy and hidden
But revealed to his children
Not taken in vain,
The lamb who was slain,
And as long as there are voices to raise
His name will be the only one worthy of Praise
And when voices fail and songs cease
Still through all creation will ring.
And if we chose to be silent
The rocks would sing.
And in heaven forever more
Angels will cry out, day and night,
And holy, holy, holy,
His name shall be called.

Written and performed for The Vine’s 2010 Christmas Eve Services.
www.connecttothevine.org