Spiritual Journeys Today

Bead by Bead

There’s a bead on this string for God, big and white
There’s a bead on this string for me
It’s red, my favorite color
Triangular to remind me of all my worries
The next bead is strangely colored and shaped
To show where my priorities are out of place
God, please listen, to my prayer sincere
Walk beside me, calm my fears

Bead by bead by bead I pray
To remind me every day
Who I am and whose I am
Living, part of God’s great plan
As I travel, when I grieve
Remind me of all that I believe
Hold me, God, as only you can
Safe and blessed, in the palm of your hand

The next three beads upon my string
Remind me God made everything
The sky, the land, the waters wide
All places, you’ve been by my side
Three more beads for those I love
Treasured beads remind me of
Each person special, each Your child
Each one blessed by your broad smile

Bead by bead by bead I pray
To remind me every day
Who I am and whose I am
Living, part of God’s great plan
As I travel, when I grieve
Remind me of all that I believe
Hold me, God, as only you can
Safe and blessed, in the palm of your hand

Three more beads, red ones all
Broken places, people, calls
To pray for problems, pray for hope, and
To pray for ways that we can cope
With all the hells we see each day
For all the hate, for all the ways
We hurt each other, heart and soul
Help us to help you make us whole

Bead by bead by bead I pray
To remind me every day
Who I am and whose I am
Living, part of God’s great plan
As I travel, when I grieve
Remind me of all that I believe
Hold me, God, as only you can
Safe and blessed, in the palm of your hand

The final bead, a deep, deep blue
The final step to build, renew
Our lonely marble here in space
Our planet, home of the human race
The world you’ve asked us to perfect
All lives with whom you ask us to connect
Our world, our planet, our space, our home
Each day, each place where our feet roam

Bead by bead by bead I pray
To remind me every day
Who I am and whose I am
Living, part of God’s great plan
As I travel, when I grieve
Remind me of all that I believe
Hold me, God, as only you can
Safe and blessed, in the palm of your hand

Copyright July 27, 2025. John Lage, Jr. All rights reserved.

My spiritual director, Ken Bauman, taught a class on the many types of prayer that have been used through the ages. The prayer beads I created that day prompted me to write this song. I carry them with me most of the time. They remind me of all the things mentioned here as well as my wonderful close relationship with Ken. Thanks, Ken, for all the ways you have blessed my life through these many years.

May you feel and recognize God moving in your life each and every day, especially in the form of beloved friends!
John

Lamentation 2026

Who’d have ever believed they’d be traitors
To the land of the red, white and blue
White sons of the greatest generation
They had us, they raised us, and now they’ve betrayed us
All the while watching FOX news

Racists and xenophobes
With their pointed hats, and old white robes
Camouflaged in their best clothes
As they head to church
Ev’ry Sunday morning

Heads buried in their Bibles
But they’re worshipping their rifles
Separating people just by race
Hating ‘Others’, craving space
For more of their own

Chanting Make America Great Again
Breaking all our laws, betraying friends
Heads in the sand as freedom ends
How can we ever stop them?
Can our country ever mend?

Use your voices, raise your signs
Resist the evil, now’s the time
To stand up for each one of God’s kin
We’re mostly immigrants, just like them
Strangers in this land we stole
Not so very long ago

Fascists are coming for us all
We must stand up, we mustn’t fall
For their filthy propaganda acts
We got to take our country back
We’ve got to stop racist attacks
And hatred, fear and murder on our streets

Get on your knees and start to pray
That we all find a better way
To be the face of God each day
To ev’ry one throughout our land
To do our part for the fam’ly of man
The way that God had always planned

Not how we’re doing it in 2026, here in the USA
We have got to make our country better, find God’s humane way
Rememb’ring ALL of us are God’s children, even when we stray
God, hear our prayers and guide us, Lord, right here, right now, today!

Copyright 2/7/2026 John Lage, Jr. All rights reserved.

A bedtime lamentation on a night when my fears and hopefully righteous despair and anger found expression. May the words of my pen and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our Redeemer. I had been debating whether or not to ever publish this piece as the message could and likely will, cause hurt for some. After a prayerful discussion with Pastor Jenny Cannon, I have decided that, as with all my writings, it came from a place I share with God. A place where words I didn’t know were in me, come rushing out in a torrent, a rapid flood of thoughts and ideas, of words and of wonder.
Thanks, Jenny!

As Your Hands

As I review, all the people who have been
An influence and shaped what I believe
I start to realize how many You have sent
To help me grow up spiritually
My mom and dad, people who have always lived
Their lives each day to match what they believe
They put their trust in You and tithed inherently
They demonstrated living faith for me

As Your hands, they’ve molded me
As Your eyes, they’ve let me see
As Your guides, they’ve led me through
Those times when I, could not see You
As Your heart and soul and wisdom
They’ve made me understand
That without Your love, I’ll never be much more than just a man
With the knowledge of You that they have provided
I am a new being in You, free and excited
Spirit Lord

Preachers, teachers, friends, I’ve learned so much from them
About Your Word, the stories of your love
The things I now believe, changed much from way back when
Now I know you live, within, not above
My Christian mentors, who spend their precious time
In fellowship, share what they know of You
Living examples of, the way I want to be
Living, loving, serving, Lord praising You

As Your hands, they’ve molded me
As Your eyes, they’ve let me see
As Your guides, they’ve led me through
Those times when I, could not see You
As Your heart and soul and wisdom
They’ve made me understand
That without Your love, I’ll never be much more than just a man
With the knowledge of You that they have provided
I am a new being in You, free and excited
Spirit Lord

As Your hands, they’ve molded me
As Your eyes, they’ve let me see
As Your guides, they’ve led me through
Those times when I, could not see You
As Your heart and soul and wisdom
They’ve made me understand
That without Your love, I’ll never be much more than justa man
With the knowledge of You that they have provided
I am a new being in You, free and excited
Spirit Lord

Copyright December 2, 2011, February 12,2026 John Lage, Jr. All rights reserved.

This song came to me this morning as I was thinking about meeting a friend
of mine, Lynn, for coffee later today. I hadn’t seen him in quite a while
and he called a few days ago to let me know he’d had an article published
in a local magazine. Lynn’s wife, Carla passed away in 2010, leaving a
gaping hole in his life. Carla loved Christmas and I knew the holiday
would likely be tough for him again this year. He wanted to meet for
coffee and he is one of my Christian friends who has been an inspiration
to me, so I said yes eagerly. I hadn’t read the article yet but I started
to think about those people who have been there for me over and over
again, taking time out of their busy lives, in spite of their own
problems, hurts and pain. God took over and in a little over an hour,
this is the result. I read the article twice on the way to work this
morning and cried both times. Awesome article, Lynn and thanks for the
inspiration yet again.

May you feel and recognize God moving in your life, today and forever.

Truth Is

I told so many lies
Back when alcohol ruled my whole life
These days I realize
The booze couldn’t ever set my heart free
Of the pain, the hurt I tried to hide
That tore me up so deep inside
Now I look each person in the eye
Truth is, the truth is so important to me

I lost so many friends
Relationships I’ll never mend
My heart aches once again
As I look back on life, I clearly see
I can’t change the wrongs I did back then
The memories I wish would end
The things I’d change but never can
Truth is, the truth just might be the death of me

God chased me endlessly
Through valleys dark, God hounded me
God called my name repeatedly
I ignored, denied, rejected ev’ry call
I cried, I sobbed, I rent my clothes
The drinking death, I’d picked, I’d chose
I was almost there, life’s end was so close
And then I stopped

God was there
Right by my side
I took God’s hand
Life turned around
Truth is, the truth is God’s love and grace saved me

I live and love today
God’s love and grace, they guide my way
From God’s love, I’ll never stray
As I go through my life, it’s clear to me
I will love God and I will obey
I will treat my neighbors the way
I’d want them to treat me each day
Truth is, God’s truth is the heart and soul of me

Truth is, God’s truth is so important to me!

Copyright February 7, 2026 John Lage, Jr. All rights reserved.

I woke up this morning thinking about truth and lies. A couple of weeks ago, I made a decision not to attend some training concerning the political caucuses here in Minnesota despite being extremely interested and invested in the results of the coming mid-term elections, given the evil of Trump’s Republican administration. My reasons for not attending the training and the caucuses were based on the fact that I needed to sign a statement upon entering the caucus, that I consider myself to be a member of the democratic party. The problem is…I’m not a member of the Democratic party, or any political party. I remain a proud independent voter, doing my best to vote for the person that I feel could best serve the public in any given role. I have voted for third party candidates, even in presidential elections. My path through life has been difficult due to choices I made. Alcohol abuse played a major role in my lifestyle for more than a dozen years. When I finally got past those troubled days, during which I lied to everyone around me, pretty much constantly, I made a vow to myself that I would do my best not to lie anymore. Hence the dilemma around stating that I considered myself a member of the Democratic party and the reason I woke up this morning thinking about truth and lies. This song is a result of those thoughts.

May you feel and recognize God’s hand moving in your life, today and always!

John

Show Up

Show up, show up
As God’s face, just show up
Show up here, show up there
All the time, everywhere
Show up, show up
As God’s love, just show up

The powers of evil have shown up
Here in the land of the free
They’re kidnapping all kinds of people
They’re wearing masks, their faces we can’t see
Children of God
Yet thugs here on earth
I’d pray for them, God
But for words I must search

Due to:
My anger, my hate
My despair and my pain
I cry for relief
But my words seem in vain

Show up, show up
As God’s face, just show up
Show up here, show up there
All the time, everywhere
Show up, show up
As God’s love, just show up

People seeking power over others is
A sad and sick story of hatred and fear
But the cries of the voices for justice,
Is something these criminals can’t seem to hear
They maim and they kill, people’s hearts and their souls
Unencumbered by empathy, if truth be told
The racism shown t’ward folks brown and black
Is out of control, we need to step back
And become God’s face
Ev’rywhere, ev’ry place
Now, today

Show up, show up
As God’s face, just show up
Show up here, show up there
All the time, everywhere
Show up, show up
As God’s love, just show up

Demonstrate loud
Demonstrate proud
Demonstrate now
Demonstrate as a crowd
Show the world what God’s face looks like
Show the world what God’s love looks like

Show up, show up
As God’s face, just show up
Show up here, show up there
All the time, everywhere
Show up, show up
As God’s love, just show up

SHOW UP!

Copyright January 18, February2, 2026 John Lage, Jr. All rights reserved.

As shown below, this song was started in the margins of a church bulletin, filling the margins surrounding the graphic being used for the current sermon series. I mostly write songs using electronic methods these days, but I had left my phone at home that morning. If you look closely, you’ll notice some word changes. I believe that by being witnesses to the evil being perpetuated by the Trump administration towards immigrants, in particular. We can turn the tide towards the justice and equality that every person deserves. Let’s get back to the Biblical basics and “Love God with all our hearts, and love our neighbors as ourselves” so…show up as God’s face and God’s love!

Voices

I’m hearing voices
They’re frightened, they’re scared
I look around
There’s nobody there
Some are loud, some are hushed
Most are filled with despair
People are hiding, they’re staying at home
Though things seem much worse when you’re there all alone

The voices keep coming, though I never dream
I started to wonder just what it might mean
I thought and I thought, and I prayed just a bit
For guidance, for wisdom, to make sense of this
The meaning seems clear now, as clear as a bell
The voices are people who aren’t doing well
They’re poor and they’re hungry, they’re cold and alone
They’re looking to find a true place of their own

These past few months, they’ve started to ponder
If America’s path is starting to wander
Away from its place as the land of the free
Have evil and hate spread, sea to shining sea?
Is this who we are, who we’ve become?
Half of us say so, half of us want none
None of the hatred, none of the attacks
None of the worry ‘bout who’s got our backs
None of the gunshots, none of the death
None of the anger, none of the rest
Of the ugly, disgusting vitriolic words
That recently all of us have frequently heard

We must make our way back to faith, love, empathy
Towards each single person in God’s family
For those of you who are a bit slow
That’s every person, just so you know
There are no exceptions, there are no exclusions
Take it from me, it’s my humble conclusion

That everyone is a child of God
It only makes sense, it’s really not odd
Everyone! All! The entirety
Of each person who’s lived, throughout eternity!

I’m hearing voices, so many hurting voices…

Copyright February 1, 2026. John Lage, Jr. All rights reserved.

This morning, Ralph Schornack’s moving piano prelude started the flood that became the words above. His music was awesome. The service can be viewed at Sunday, February 1, 2026 Joint 10 AM Service at CUMC if you’d like to hear Ralph’s prelude or the entire service. I’m likely going to watch it myself as my attention was focused on writing this song.

Listen to my
🔉🔉Recording🔉🔉 of this. (Currently a poetry reading)

Embrace!

Embrace your gifts, all God’s given you
Embrace your friends, each one tried and true
Embrace the past, your joys and your mistakes
Embrace the future, and the choices you’ll make

Your gifts are the blessings God gives
Each person’s gifts vary quite a bit
Your gifts, a heavenly treasure
In which you’ll find much pleasure
Use your gifts, do God work, each and ev’ry day
Or the you that you are, just might go away

Your friends, the people that you love
Tell them you care, they’re your cherished ones
Spend time with your friends, in excess
Through them, each day has been blessed
Thank God, for all your friends, each and ev’ry day
Or the you that you are, just might go away

Your past is ev’rything you’ve done
Each shameful act, each glorious one
Each road or path down which you’ve turned
Each promise kept or bridge you burned
Remember where you’ve been, each and ev’ry day
Or the you that you are, just might go away

Your future’s looking very bright
The best days you’ll have if all goes right
Take a class, help a neighbor out
Read books, learn skills, make new vows
Try to improve yourself, each and ev’ry day
And the you that you are, surely’s gonna change

For the better
Greater than ever
God will embrace you
Fully embrace you
As one of God’s kin
Just as you’ve always been

Embrace the gifts, all God’s given you
Embrace your friends, each one tried and true
Embrace the past, your joys and your mistakes
Embrace the future, and the choices you’ll make

For the better
Greater than ever
God will embrace you
Fully embrace you
As one of God’s kin
Just as you’ve always been

One day you’ll look God, right in the face
And learn all the wonders of God’s full embrace

Copyright 1/31/2026 & 2/1/2026 John Lage, Jr. All rights reserved.

Last Friday, I was having a long coffee session with my close friend, Patrick Davitt. I stopped him mid-sentence after he used the word “Embrace”. I told him that the word had potential as the start of a song. Today, I woke up at 3:30 to go to the bathroom and sure enough the song started coming to me. As I was writing this back story near 5:00 AM, the iPad I was using gave me a low battery warning – 5%. I said to myself, I can finish this before that. I was wrong. It died. No problem, I had autosave on. It didn’t save anything. So this is try two. I probably only remembered 25 percent of what I was so satisfied with in the first draft. I’m happy with this take but the first one was better. The flood of words that hits me when I’m writing is great, but it comes so fast that what I put on paper doesn’t seem to imprint deeply on my mind. Thanks, Patrick, for the great idea! Well, it’s now Sunday, just after midnight. Version three is above with a flurry of improvements, still not the original but greatly improved IMHO. Lessons learned – save often, edit and review, appreciate all God gives you. I’ve included v2 below. Feel free to let me know if you think the changes made it better. Much to my chagrin, v1 seems gone forever.

Embrace – v2
Embrace the gifts that God’s given you
Embrace your friends, each one tried and true
Embrace the past, your joys and your mistakes
Embrace the future, and the choices you will make

Your gifts are the blessings God gives
Each person’s are very different
Our gifts a heavenly treasure
In which we should find pleasure
If you don’t use your gifts, each and ev’ry day
The you that you are, just might go away

Your friends are the people you love
Tell them you care, each and ev’ry one
Spend time with your friends, in excess
Then find, your life has been blessed
Be thankful for your friends, each and ev’ry day
Or the you that you are, just might go away

Your past is ev’rything you’ve done
Each shameful act, each vic-tory won
Each road or path down which you’ve turned
Each promise kept or bridge you burned
Remember all your past each and ev’ry day
Or the you that you are, just might go away

Your future is surely as bright
As each of the days you’ve ever lived
Take a class, help a neighbor now
Read a book, learn a skill, fulfill a vow
Try to improve yourself each and ev’ry day
And the you that you are, you surely will change

For the better
Greater than ever

Embrace the gifts that God’s given you
Embrace your friends, each one tried and true
Embrace the past, your joys and your mistakes
Embrace the future, and the choices you will make

For the better
Greater than ever

Stand Up For Your Rights, Minnesota!

Stand up for your rights, Minnesota!
We need to tell ICE just where they can go
We don’t want them here, never did
We must be free, we must be rid
Of the evil of the Trump administration
And return to the foundation
Of our once proud nation

Free to worship,
Free to live safely
Free to believe,
Free to speak bravely
Welcoming one, welcoming all
All who are answering, freedom’s sweet call
Land of the brave, home of the free
God lead us forward, to our lost liberty

ICE is obnoxious
They’re ruthless, they’re rude
ICE is the Gestapo
For the cruel orange-haired dude
Given full immunity for all that they’ll do
They kill and they kidnap, they terrorize too
Inside our courthouses, right on our streets
They make a mock’ry of our laws, how can we
Throw them out, send them packing
Make sure they don’t come back again

Stand up for your rights, Minnesota!
We need to tell Trump just where he can go
We don’t want him here, never did
We must be free, we must be rid
Of the evil work of his administration
And return to the foundation
Of our once proud nation

Free to worship,
Free to live safely
Free to believe,
Free to speak bravely
Welcoming one, welcoming all
All who are answering, freedom’s sweet call
Land of the brave, home of the free
God lead us forward, to our lost liberty

Immigrants are truly our friends
Stand up right now and defend
Their rights, their lives, their fam’lies, their dreams
Their futures, their everything, so it now seems
They’ve worked hard here at jobs that we just won’t do
They’re honest, trustworthy, they’re like me and like you
They send money back home, to take care of their own
If you stop, look, and listen, I’m sure you’ll conclude that we owe them
We surely owe them, much better than we’re giving them now

Stand up for your rights, Minnesota!
We need to tell immigrants they’re welcome here
We sure want them here, always did
Their culture, their wives and their kids
With true affection and great admiration
We will improve the broken foundation
Of our once proud nation.

Free to worship,
Free to live safely
Free to believe,
Free to speak bravely
Welcoming one, welcoming all
All who are answering, freedom’s sweet call
Land of the brave, home of the free
God lead us forward, to our lost liberty

Stand up for your rights, Minnesota!
Right now!

The video below is the recording of my first performance of one of my newer songs. It is also the first piece for which I wrote the piano accompaniment. The next words you will read are the ones that I used to introduce that song on All Saints Sunday, November 5,2023.

The song that I’m about to I sing was written in memory of my friend and Brother in Christ, Stu Eickelberg. It was written a couple of weeks after he passed away. I believe God gave me the words and music as message of hope and assurance. I pray that comes through clearly. As I was creating the sheet music, I was struck by the fact that while Stu was the inspiration, the song also needed to be dedicated to that large group of people who have contributed to my spiritual growth and development. I see many of you here today. I want to thank all of you.
Stu, I love you and I miss you!

One Day I’ll Join You There

There’s a hole in my life,
Now that you’re gone
God called you away
From this life, you moved on
You’ve gone to a place,
We will all join you there
Together, we’ll live
Blessed in God’s loving care,

What’s heaven like
Ain’t nobody knows
But I truly believe
It’s where ev’ryone goes
I don’t know God’s great plan
How, what, when, why or where?
I know God’s love ensures
One day I’ll join you there

There is joy in my heart
Though you’re not here with me
For you always will live
In my memory
The love that we shared
My brother, my friend
Seeking God together
Will live on, without end

I can still see your face
I can still hear your voice
I will ever remember
Our shared fears, hopes and joys

There are tears in my eyes
And pain in my soul
One day I’ll join you there
And again, we’ll be whole
For now, I must stay
Right here, where we first met
With you still on my mind
Cause I’ll never forget

What’s heaven like
Ain’t nobody knows
But I truly believe
It’s where ev’ryone goes
I don’t know God’s great plan
How, what, when, why or where?
I know God’s love ensures
One day I’ll join you there

God’s love is my promise,
One day I’ll join you there

In memory of Stu Eickelberg
October 11, 1943 – April 28, 2023

Dedicated to all those who have helped shape my life, especially Jan.
Copyright May 11, 2023 John Lage, Jr All rights reserved.

The chorus to this song is a paraphrase of Isaiah 41:10. The Upper Room Devotional for January 27, 2012 brought it to my attention and the song came to be about in about half an hour or so.

‘Do Not Fear’

Do not fear, for I am with you
Don’t be dismayed, I am your God
I have strengthened you and helped you
Down every path that you have trod
I uphold you with my righteousness
You can depend on me
I love you, I created you
My love and grace will be with you throughout eternity

When the storms of life are threatening
I wish you’d turn to me
When your day is going wrong
I wish you’d call
I’m just a prayer away
It doesn’t matter what you say
Confide in me and I will make you strong

Do not fear, for I am with you
Don’t be dismayed, I am your God
I have strengthened you and helped you
Down every path that you have trod
I uphold you with my righteousness
You can depend on me
I love you, I created you
My love and grace will be with you throughout eternity

When the load you bear, overwhelms you
I’ll lift your heart and soul
When your plans all fall apart
I’ll make you whole
A whispered prayer will do
I’ll comfort, heal and stand by you
I will show you that I live in your heart

Do not fear, for I am with you
Don’t be dismayed, I am your God
I have strengthened you and helped you
Down every path that you have trod
I uphold you with my righteousness
You can depend on me
I love you, I created you
My love and grace will be with you throughout eternity

When you lose control, go off the path
My hand will take the reins
When the hurt is just too much
I’ll share your pain
Remember to ask me
If you do, I know that you will be
Changed by the spirit you’ll feel in my touch

Do not fear, for I am with you
Don’t be dismayed, I am your God
I have strengthened you and helped you
Down every path that you have trod
I uphold you with my righteousness
You can depend on me
I love you, I created you
My love and grace will be with you throughout eternity

Copyright February 10, 2012 John Lage, Jr. All rights reserved.