amariah...

The thinking beind the name...

Wondering where the name comes from?

It's Hebrew. It means "God has said"

I'm a Christian, and what God has said means a lot to me - in fact, it means everything to me. When you find something this good you dont let it go.

The Bible's jam-packed full of loads of stuff God has said. Check it out at

http://www.thebible.com/

This site is a collection of some stuff I have written that I thought I may as well put online since it wasn't benefitting anyone sitting on my computer. They are in order of when they were written, with the most recent directly below this post, and the oldest at the bottom.

UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED EVERYTHING ON THIS SITE HAS BEEN WRITTEN BY ME AND IS COPYRIGHTED TO ME!

You can post comments on the stuff I have written by clicking on the link below which says the number of comments for that piece...look forward to hearing from you!

God bless

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POEM: 'School Rules'

This is just something I wrote for a bit of fun after I read something about them banning praying in American schools...

There once was a boy named Ted McDool
In the middle of his lunch-break at school.

Faced with the hassle and stress of the day
He bowed his head and began to pray.

In quietly whispered words of love
He shared his thoughts with the Maker above.

His teacher cast a disapproving glare
But Ted was oblivious to her haughty stare.

So she bustled over in an indignant rush
And told young Ted he’d have to hush!

“It’s not allowed in this school my dear,
To pray so other kids might hear.

Their parents would give us a lot of grief
If we somehow managed to change their beliefs!

We’ve got to be politically correct,
So it’s important that these rules are kept.”

“I’m sorry, Miss, I wasn’t aware!”
Said Ted, with a somewhat bemused air.
…“but I really must finish my prayer.”

The teacher looked him up and down
And stated coldly, with an angry frown,

“As I explained, it’s simply not allowed
To pray, as you were doing, out loud.”

Ted smiled as he had an idea.
“But what if they don’t understand what they hear?”

“Well I suppose we could find no objection to that,
But you you’ve learned no other languages – I know for a fact.”

With that she began to straighten her bun,
Feeling satisfied that victory was won.

But quietly and calmly the boy pointed out
That knowledge was not what this was about.

And after pausing briefly to fill his lungs,
He promptly continued his praying – in tongues!


The moral of this story is:

There’s a reason God gives you spiritual gifts!

Tangled in darkness

You ever felt like this? Like you're stuck out in the darkness. Helpless. You are caught, as if in a web. The darkness clutches at you like a thousand evil hands clasping. Tendrils, catching, holding. You feel alone, afraid, helpless. A long way off, you can just make out a light in the darkness. You struggle desperately, trying to escape, trying to find the way to the light. But at the same time you are afraid of the light as well – just as you are afraid of the darkness. You are afraid of what it might reveal. What might you look like, exposed in that light, when you have hidden for so long in this darkness? But yet still, you are drawn to it. The darkness is rotten. It makes you sick. You don’t want to perish here and become just another to add to the stench. Desperation sets in. More determinedly now, you fight your way towards the light. But as you do so, more appear. Some seem to shine even brighter than the first. Perhaps you turn aside? Perhaps you head towards one of the other, seemingly brighter lights? But as you draw near you discover you have been fooled. This “light” is even more rotten than the darkness. Confusion. Disgusted and disillusioned, you back away. Panic rises up in your heart. You have been fooled. Will not every light turn out to be nothing more than a dream, a hoax? Confusion. For a long time you sit alone in the darkness. At least you know the darkness. One by one, the lights around you wither and die. You become bitter as you learn that every one was a trick. A mere shadow of what you had dreamed of, longed for, set your hope upon. But wait. Not every one after all. There is still one light that shines. And slowly you realise that this was the first light. Throughout everything that has happened, this light has stayed constant. Never coming, never going, never going brighter, never dimmer. This is the first light, the last light – the only light. Oh if only you knew the way!

I can show you the way. I can show you the way because I know this light and I promise that this one will not disappoint you. I know this light because I am already there. I can show you the way.

Think BIG!

Don’t let your prayers be limited
By human comprehension
‘With God all things are possible’
He’s in his own dimension.

It’s easy when you’re praying
To think ‘that cannot be done’,
But for those of us who love the Lord,
The battle’s already won!

So never be afraid to pray
For things that can't be done
The more impossible it is
The more God finds it fun!

The God of miracles takes pleasure
In doing the unlikely,
In much the same way he enjoys
Exalting the unsightly.

Moving mountains, creating planets,
Turning cities into dust –
For God that is as easy as
Making sure you catch your bus.

He’s brought numerous people back to life.
He created the world in a week!
So come to him now, dare to think big,
But remember you’ve got to be meek!

A prayer

Lately, Lord, I've realised
That I've been running empty.
I've thought too highly of myself;
Been paralysed by plenty.

This selfish, egocentric life
Is not what you require of me.
It’s only when I lose myself
That I can be completely free.

Broken, I turn back to you
And beg you to forgive me Lord.
But I know your grace has given me
The gift I never could afford.

So once again I come to you,
I lay my life before thee.
No more barriers anymore.
I surrender myself completely.

My life is fully in your hands.
I’ll go where you would send me.
I do not have to understand,
‘cause I know you’d never hurt me.

A better life calls out to me,
I long for it with all my heart.
Surrender is the key, I know,
But give me the strength to play my part.

Lord give me wisdom, give me faith,
And a passion for your name.
So deeply you have loved us all.
Teach me, Lord, to do the same.

Oh Holy Spirit come to me.
Fill me with your flame.
I will be afraid no more
For there’s authority in Jesus’ name.

Your beauty overwhelms me Lord,
Your power, yet your tranquillity.
You're higher than the highest star;
You're larger than infinity.

I long so dearly for that place
Where I’ll look upon your holy face.
Until that day I’ll wait and pray
And do my best to live your way.

Worship Talk

This is pretty much what I said when I gave a talk on worshipping with out lives at a service taken by my youth group (Pulse) at church. The bible verse is one that I just thought really applied to the service as a whole.


“Not to us, O LORD, not to us
but to your name be the glory,
because of your love and faithfulness.”
Psalm 115:1


Ok, I'm going to talk about a kind of worship that you might not normally think of. Different people have different ideas when they think of worship, but most generally agree that it is something particular that you do from time to time. But what I want to tell you is, that worship isn’t just something that happens once a week at church or whatever. Worship is not a part of your life – it is your life – it’s a lifestyle. In his book, ‘The Purpose Driven Life’ Rick Warren said “anything that brings pleasure to God is an act of worship.”

So what’s that then? What can you do to bring pleasure to God? Well one thing that pleases God is when you follow his guidelines and live the way he told you to. So you worship when you give to someone who needs it even when that means you have to go without your favourite chocolate bar; when you work hard at school even if that means you get labelled a swot; when you refuse to lie even when that makes things uncomfortable for you; when you don’t get drunk, even though you really want to and everyone else around you is. Every time you make the decision – consciously or unconsciously – to obey God rather than do what’s easy – that is worship. That is what makes God smile. And that is what will mark you out from everyone else who is not a Christian.

The truth is, everything you do in your daily life can become an act of worship if you want it to – you’ve just got to have the right attitude. Washing the dishes can be worshipping. Doing your homework can be worshipping. Taking the dog for a walk can be worshipping. All those boring tasks that you do throughout your day – and also the fun stuff as well – all that can be turned into an act of worship when you do it for the praise, glory, and pleasure of God. The bible says: “so whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

You’ve simply got to do every task as if you were doing it for Jesus. Another quote from the bible: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” If you do that you will begin to see things in an entirely new light.

Sometimes you can do something practical to help people…for example at the moment, pulse are preparing to do a sponsored fast to raise money for children orphaned by AIDS. As a group we also sponsor a child in Ethiopia.

You have to remember though, that you don’t necessarily have to do anything special to please God. Sometimes you simply have to be you. God made you and he made you with special skills and abilities that he wants you to use. So to worship God with your life you need to live a full life – you need to give everything your all and always try to do your very best – that means working hard at school and at work, but it also means the other areas of your life – whether that be a sport, music, drama – whatever you spend your time doing. When you use your skills and abilities, that pleases God – he wouldn’t have given you them if he didn’t want you to use them!

A funny though occurred to me when I read a book about this sort of thing – it said that God enjoys watching every detail of your life…and I kinda thought…nah…surely not every detail?! I mean…its not exactly riveting stuff sometimes…but then I remembered the day when I brought my first ever pet gerbil home. I just sat for hours watching it – everything it did fascinated me and made me smile – even though it was just going about its normal gerbil activities. In the same way God loves watching you just simply being you.

So basically… be real, be yourself, be the best that you can be – and whatever you do, do it for God. Then worship shouldn’t be just something that happens on a Sunday – it should begin to leak out into the rest of the week!

Random thing I wrote...

When the skies are grey and hope seems lost in the dark mists of this world. When sunshine is but a distant memory. Winter takes control, gripping your heart like a cloak of ice. The trees lose their leaves and all around you seems to droop with self pity and despair. When all around is faded and worn and you feel like you have nothing left to give. Then He is there. One light that shines though all other lights have long since gone out. …A quiet whisper in your ear “do not be afraid.” His peace fills you like the warmth of a hot bath on a snowy day. His love overtakes you and fills you with a joy that man cannot explain. And out in the darkness, you begin to glow again. Your hope returns, for you are not alone. You have felt His touch. In His love he has wrapped himself around you – your warm comforter in this cold, dark night. You know you are safe. And by that hope and by His Spirit your warm glow becomes a dazzling light – shining out with radiance and joy for all to see, so that others in the darkness may also be given hope. They are drawn to you by the light that shines from your face. For you have the one ray of hope that penetrates the blackness. The only hope. Never hide it.

SONG: I Give It All To You Lord

“…One night I was lying in bed trying to pray to the Lord. But however hard I focused my mind, whenever I began to pray, something would pop into my head that I really needed to do or remember the next day. The list of ‘urgent tasks’ seemed endless, and I soon got frustrated by the constant interruptions. Then I remembered something I had read earlier that week: ‘surrender all your cares to God and He will carry the burden for you.’ I had no idea how one should go about surrendering something to God, but I could certainly try. In my mind, I stopped trying to remember all these things for tomorrow, but instead, I lifted them up to God, trusting Him to remember them for me. I could not believe the difference it made – before, I had felt frantic and stressed – weighed down by the pressures and cares of my overfull life – but now I felt completely calm and peaceful, and I was at last able to pray without interruption. Overwhelmed and inspired I turned on the light and wrote this song for God…”


I Give It All to You, Lord

Got all these worries in my heart, Lord –
So many problems that I can’t let go.
Six million things I should be doing each day, God
And there’s so much that I’m supposed to know.

And as I pray they all come crowding in on me.
I realise I’ve had enough.
To sort out each of these things on my own Lord -
Well that is just too tough!

Chorus:
So all my worries, all my cares,
I lift them all to You, Lord.
All my anxiety and fear,
I surrender it to You, Lord.
All my problems, everything
I know I should remember,
I give it all to You, Lord
I give it all to You, Lord.

And as I lie in silent prayer a weight is lifted from me.
The burden that I had to bear no longer shall disturb me.
Why didn’t I do this earlier?! The peace in my heart astounds me!
The worries and thoughts that had kept me from prayer are a distant memory!

Repeat Chorus

We’re God Squadders, Bible Bashers, Church Goers and more
We’re Jesus Freaks, Religious Geeks – they give us names galore!
But however you may label me I couldn’t give a sod!
I know the real name for me: I’m a child of God!

Repeat Chorus

POEM: Nothing's Different But Everything's Changed

You hear of all these stories about miraculous conversions:
People who used to kill and steal; crippled with perversion.
Then suddenly in a flash of light a life that once was hopeless
Becomes completely overnight a model Christian witness!

Now when you read these tales it’s all too easy to decide
That you don’t need a new beginning – you lead a happy, successful life.
But if you don’t know Jesus, although you may think you’re winning,
All the happiness you’ve ever had is only the beginning!

Before I was a Christian I too led a contented life.
There was no rebellion, no loneliness, depression, hate or strife.
I got involved with loads of stuff; I was doing well at school
And as far as I knew, in my life, everything was cool!

Nowadays, I’m still me: busy life, school as before.
At a glance I may seem the same, but I’m different in my core.
Since I became a Christian my life has not been rearranged
But there’s a new light within me. Nothing’s different but everything’s changed!

There was no one day that I can say I gave my life to Jesus –
No sudden alteration when I realised He loves us.
For me it was a gradual thing that happened over years
So I’ve got no moving story of a day of prayer and tears.

But just because for some of us, the story’s not so exciting
Doesn’t make it any less important – this faith of which I’m writing.
For everyone who comes to Christ – no matter how it came about –
Should be a massive celebration - another thing to praise God about!

For my part, though, this Jesus guy whom I've only recently found
Has quickly become the one focus that I base my life around.
All my plans and aspirations for His shall be exchanged
‘Cause He’s the one I trust now. Nothing’s different - but everything’s changed.

Confirmation Speech

This is the speech i gave at my church when i was confirmed...


"I think there is possibly quite a lot of people here today who aren’t Christians, who don’t really understand what we see in Christianity or why we bother. So I thought I’d try and describe to you what I do see in it – explain what exactly I’m doing here…
…A few weeks ago someone told me a story about what will happen in the end. They said:

You’ll stand there in front of God and He’ll look at you’re life and say,
“You’ve done some bad stuff. There’s no way you’re coming into heaven.” But then Jesus steps in front of you.
“No, Father, You’re looking at me. I am in this person and they are in me.” …And all of a sudden you’re perfect!

You can just imagine the terror of being stood in front of the Almighty God – the one who knows every wrong thing you’ve ever done. You suddenly realise just how astronomically bad you actually were. At the time you may not have thought you were a particularly bad person - at least - compared to those around you. But stood there, all alone, in front of the Creator of the universe, the God who is so completely perfect that it’s near incomprehensible, you’re gonna feel so small and helpless.

And just at that moment – just when the full realisation of your complete hopelessness hits you, Jesus steps out from the sidelines and stands in front of you, taking your place.
“No, Father. You’re looking at me.” He stands between you and the Awesome God. He speaks for you. You don’t have to attempt to justify yourself. You just have to watch as He saves your life. He has done - and will do - all that is necessary. He died so that you could live. You have hope.

Can you imagine how you would feel at that moment - the amount of relief, of gratitude, of love that you would feel towards Jesus? You can’t even begin to imagine. Especially for me, who gets nervous about just talking in front of my own church, to have the promise of someone to speak for me, to have a promise that however terrifying an experience it may be, I can be confident that Jesus has done everything necessary to get me into heaven…it just blows my mind!

So that’s what I see in Christianity. That’s why I’m willing to change my life to fit what God wants me to do. It’s my last chance. It’s my only hope. And it’s the greatest gift anyone has ever given me.

God is hugely powerful. He’s not someone you can afford to leave out of the equation. He exists and He can prove it. Countless answered prayers are a testimony to that!

But it’s not just about the future - it’s about the here and now as well. I can tell you from personal experience, if you live your life in the light of God’s love, it will be all the richer for it."

POEM: Sunrise on the Mountains

I wrote this poem after a summer holiday to Switzerland...it was so beautiful there...I felt so alive...so this poem is just about my experiences of the mountains. If you haven't been there, you're missing out. Go now. Don't wait. God has made some incredible places for you to enjoy and this is one you shouldn't miss!


High above the world I lie
Nestled in the brightness.
Peaceful as the starry sky,
Beautiful in likeness.

Pouring down from high above
Come golden rays of softened light:
Mirroring the sky above
In the flower-studded heights.

The air blows fresh upon my face:
Clear as crystal water falling.
Moving now at lessened pace
But bringing still anew the morning.

A stream flows past me somewhere near.
A merry babbling voice it sounds.
A refreshing noise it is to hear
As it winds its way over gentle ground.

A merry voice upon the air:
A thousand little bells.
Clanging from where there's cattle grazing
Upon the lush green fells.

All around the colours shine:
A carpet of vibrant flowers;
Below a lake of turquoise blue;
Above, the crimson mountain towers.

The sight will waken tired eyes.
New life is in the air.
Such joy you feel with each sunrise
When the breeze blows through your hair.

The more time that I spend here
The more beautiful it seems:
A heaven for the senses;
A setting made of dreams.

POEM: Hope

Life can be hard and not always fun
But as night brings dark, morning brings sun.
After every night there comes a new day
With fresh opportunities heading your way.

So when you're in shadow and you feel really down,
Take heart and smile 'cause there's no need to frown.
Whatever is wrong will pass in good time
And you'll come out the shadow into the sunshine.

So when you look forward on the break of the day
Remember this advice that I sent you're way:
Don't look to your past when you couldn't cope -
Look forward to your future; there's always Hope.