One Thousand Words - Stories On The Way

Matthew Clark
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Singer / Songwriter / Storyteller

  1. 09/13/2023

    A Tale of Two Trees: Jonathan Koefoed, "Moonlight in the Desert: Singing the Sojourner's Song"

    A Tale of Two Trees - Jonathan Koefoed “Moonlight in the Desert: Singing the Sojourner’s Song” by Matthew Clark | One Thousand Words https://www.matthewclark.net/mcwordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/OTW_S5-E17-Koefoed-Essay.mp3 Jonathan Koefoed is Associate Professor of History and Director of the Honors Program at Belhaven University, where he teaches courses in American history and the history of thought. He is particularly interested in the dynamic relationship between ideas, their historical context, and the way that any historical idea or author can illuminate the ubiquitous human quest for a good life. His previous intellectual journey involved postdoctoral work at the University of Texas at Austin, a PhD in History from Boston University, an MA in Historical Theology from Saint Louis University, and a BA in Philosophy and History from Arizona State University. His scholarly research focuses on transatlantic intellectual history, particularly the romantic movement and its influence on US thought and culture. His articles have appeared in Symbiosis: A Journal of Anglo-American Literary Relations and Religions, and his reviews have appeared in such journals as the Journal of Transatlantic Studies and American Nineteenth Century History. By The Rivers of Babylon by Matthew Clark   The endless voices whisper, all our hopes are only dreams No Deliverer is coming, that we are blind in our belief  but in the land where we all sojourn, with its beauty and its ash I will sing still for the Kingdom and a King who’s coming back    CHORUS by the rivers of Babylon  we will sing a gospel song in a foreign land   While the nations all are raging, hear the Lord in heaven laugh  we will stand upon his promise, the ways of men will never last,  and like a seed is to a tree, in the twinkling of an eye  we will see the heavens open, we will meet him in the sky   CHORUS   BRIDGE there will be no word for lonely In the Kingdom Jesus brings Every fear shall be forgotten  and all will be made clean   all the merciful will know him  The pure will touch his face See the children bear his banner  and the slandered share his name   Soon the river of our exile  Will become a holy spring  While the bent tree with its bitter fruit  It will never grow again    Now, the face that showed us kindness  Met our thirst by Jacob’s well  He will clothe us in his garments  He will marry us himself ©2023 Matthew Clark, Path in the Pines Music (ASCAP) The post S5:E17 – A Tale of Two Trees: Jonathan Koefoed, “Moonlight in the Desert: Singing the Sojourner’s Song” appeared first on Matthew Clark.

    20 min

  2. 09/06/2023

    A Tale of Two Trees: Susan Cowger, "Time Between the Times"

    A Tale of Two Trees - Susan Cowger, "Time Between the Times" by Matthew Clark | One Thousand Words https://www.matthewclark.net/mcwordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/OTW_S5-E16-Cowger-Essay.mp3 Susan Cowger is the author of a poetry collection, Slender Warble (Wipf & Stock/Cascade, 2020), and a chapbook, Scarab Hiding (Finishing Line Press, year 2006). Founder and editor emeritus of Rock & Sling, her most recent publications include Ekphrastic Review, Windhover, Perspectives, Crux, McGuffin, Presence, and In A Strange Land: Introducing Ten Kingdom Poets (2019). She earned her MFA in Creative Writing from Eastern Washington University and her BA in Art with teaching credentials from Montana State University. Married to Dana for forty-seven years, she has four children and twenty-two grandchildren. (I know, she finds this rather shocking too.) Contact her on Facebook and at susancowger.com. In the Waters by Matthew Clark   I was scared for my life  Saw the ship was capsizing  And the Lord lay asleep while the storm raged  I was losing my mind  All the darkness was blinding  Till the Lord with a word stilled the chaos  In the waters, in the waters    I’ve seen life go so wrong  Seen the best sink in sadness  Till the dark seemed their only companion But I’ve seen Jesus come save Walking out upon the waves  With his feet planted firm in the madness   In the waters, in the waters    Interlude    And some days nothing makes sense   Lord, the still place is spinning  And the center can’t hold for much longer  So won’t you bring us your song  As the howling grows stronger    Your voice is an anchor, Your voice is an anchor, Your voice is an anchor to me In the waters, in the waters    BRIDGE I can hear it, I can hear it, I can hear it coming through    Through the storm, through the darkness (I can hear it coming through) In the places I was sure your love had left me  Every night I was sleepless  But the beauty of the moonlight was you singing  When the flames tore the house down There were friends who became my home and family  So I know you will not fail  That your love, my God, endures forever    ©2023 Matthew Clark, Path in the Pines Music (ASCAP) The post S5:E16 – A Tale of Two Trees: Susan Cowger, “Time Between the Times” appeared first on Matthew Clark.

    15 min

  3. 08/31/2023

    A Tale of Two Trees: Anita K. Palmer, "Mercy in the Wind"

    A Tale of Two Trees: Anita K. Palmer, "Mercy in the Wind" by Matthew Clark | One Thousand Words https://www.matthewclark.net/mcwordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/OTW_S5-E15-Palmer-Essay.mp3 Anita K. Palmer has always turned to pen and paper to figure out what she thinks, feels, and believes. That propensity launched a career when she fell into editing a Christian publication, which—unrelated to her hiring—soon went to magazine heaven. The experience failed to squelch an appetite for editorial work that included thirteen years in daily newspapers and five as a university media relations officer. For two decades she has worked with publishers and individuals on upward of 125 nonfiction books, and has written more web content, blog posts, newsletters and marketing materials than she cares to count. Born and reared in Southern California, she now lives in Colorado. She is blessed with many dear friends and one kind and brilliant adult son. Take to the Fields  by Matthew Clark   I saw a man with a bleeding heart  A bleeding heart  Ragged as the wind, eager to begin  Oh, his eyes they were clear as gold  Searching out the crags   Tender, strong and sad  Gave up all he had, left his home behind him  Gone a-seeking    CHORUS If you got eyes to see Come keep watch with me  If you got ears to hear  I pray you know  The Lord is near   I saw a house full of shepherds in repose  Moths ate off their clothes  All naked emperors, wrapped in soothing words  But you skinned your knees when you slid to break my fall  I howled up at the moon  When the salt got in the wound, the fire licked my tomb  And fire rolled like water there to cleanse me    So take to the fields, oh take to the roads  Wonder at the thorns that bite into the rose  Cut down to the bones Take your pail and gather where you can  The field is ripe with grain, and scattered sheep like sand  Too little callous on my hands, there is mercy on the wind  If you can hear it  ©2023 Matthew Clark, Path in the Pines Music (ASCAP) The post S5:E15 – A Tale of Two Trees: Anita K. Palmer, “Mercy in the Wind” appeared first on Matthew Clark.

    18 min

  4. 08/28/2023

    A Tale of Two Trees: Amber Salladin, "Singing the Feast of the New Creation"

    Amber Salladin, "Singing the Feast of the New Creation" by Matthew Clark | One Thousand Words https://www.matthewclark.net/mcwordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/OTW_S5-E14-Salladin-Essay.mp3 Amber Salladin is a conductor, pianist, worship leader, singer, organist, and educator based in Manhattan, New York. Amber has worked in churches and for professional choruses in Vancouver, Canada, and London, UK. She is the Music Director at Emmanuel Anglican Church, Arts and Ministry Director for the C. S. Lewis Foundation, Music Teacher at Geneva School of Manhattan, conductor of the Academy for Teachers Chorus, Online Leader for United Adoration, and Principal Pianist and Board Member of the New York Session Symphony. She lives in Manhattan with her husband, Jim and their two boys Caleb (boy soprano) and Peter (future electric guitarist). The Word Became Flesh by Matthew Clark Driving up to Memphis  A bitter winter night it was  When my engine froze to death  And I called you from the roadside    You left your bed and drove the miles to find me The frozen street turned into home with family   CHORUS The Word, the word, the word … became flesh    I sat down at your table  And the plate you set before me  In your small apartment kitchen  Was a simple meal you made    But the bread we broke flung wide the palace doors  And I tasted of the goodness of the Lord   BRIDGE What you’ve got to give is what he gave to you  Like a still small voice, it may not seem like it’s enough  But you can let the song ring out in a wilderness of doubt Ever since the word became flesh     God he opened up his mouth  The sun rose bright as a golden ring  When he knelt to say ‘I love you’  A bride awoke to sing     Don’t think your voice too poor to join the song  The smallest touch moves symphonies along ©2023 Matthew Clark, Path in the Pines Music (ASCAP) The post S5:E14 – A Tale of Two Trees: Amber Salladin, “Singing the Feast of the New Creation” appeared first on Matthew Clark.

    14 min

  5. 08/21/2023

    A Tale of Two Trees: Lancia E. Smith, "Reaching for the Unseen"

    A Tale of Two Trees: Lancia Smith, "Reaching for the Unseen" by Matthew Clark | One Thousand Words https://www.matthewclark.net/mcwordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/OTW_S5-E13-Lancia-Smith.mp3 Lancia E. Smith is an author, photographer, teacher, and business owner. She’s the Founder and Executive Director of Cultivating Magazine and its discipleship and creative team, The Cultivating Project. She has served in executive management, church leadership, school boards, and art and faith organizations for over thirty years. A recovering addict herself with more than forty years of sobriety, Lancia has done extensive support counseling. Her defining life focus is discipleship, expressed through mentoring, nurturing, and teaching. Lancia and her husband Peter make their home in the Black Forest of Colorado Springs.  Let your roots go deep Sit with me and talk awhile, Here while there’s a quiet hour  We’ll whisper with these witnesses, These steady stars  Who shine out in the universe, Marking out this path of ours  That only faith has eyes to see, That ends in joy   CHORUS  Oh, let your roots grow deep Is the word of truth you heard beginning to grow faint?  Let your roots grow deep, Let your roots grow deep  Don’t give up the fight just yet, Fix your eyes on Christ and  Let your roots grow deep, Let your roots grow deep     Drink deep from the Holy Fount, Whom angels praise and heaven crowns He washes weary pilgrim feet with Riversong  And even though this riverbed does not bear a river yet  These trees that grow know underground, Deep waters wait    CHORUS    The Kingdom that we see ahead, t he joy of our inheritance  Is built upon a Cornerstone the world rejects So, if today you hear his voice, Still and small amidst the noise  Don’t miss the call to fall into, His open arms   BRIDGE  Oh, let your roots go deep ©2023 Matthew Clark, Path in the Pines Music (ASCAP) The post S5:E13 – A Tale of Two Trees: Lancia E. Smith, “Reaching for the Unseen” appeared first on Matthew Clark.

    18 min

  6. 08/11/2023

    A Tale of Two Trees: John Barnts, "Downside Up"

    A Tale of Two Trees: John Barnts, "Downside Up" by Matthew Clark | One Thousand Words https://www.matthewclark.net/mcwordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/OTW_S5-E12-Barntss-Essay.mp3 John Barnts wishes he could spend all his time reading, writing, and talking about interesting things. Unfortunately, books cost money, and words are hard to sell, so he spends most of his time playing piano for schools and churches, and working as a case manager in a local Drug Court program in Madison, Mississippi. John and his family moved to Mississippi in 2011 to attend seminary, which led to five glorious years of teaching the Bible at the college level. Before Mississippi, he spent twelve years at a private K-12 in Los Angeles as a music teacher and administrator. He is currently working on a non-fiction book project, teaches a couple of home Bible studies, and makes short theological videos with his son on YouTube called Barnts in the Belfry.     Follow You Down by Matthew Clark Whoever would lose their life  They will save it    CHORUS  I wanna be in your story, Jesus I wanna follow you down, down, down   Whoever would save their life  They will lose it    BRIDGE Your love is teaching me a new story  ©2023 Matthew Clark, Path in the Pines Music (ASCAP) The post S5:E12 – A Tale of Two Trees: John Barnts, “Downside Up” appeared first on Matthew Clark.

    15 min

  7. 07/25/2023

    A Tale of Two Trees: Jason Smith, "The Power and the Pit"

    A Tale of Two Trees: Jason Smith, "The Pit and the Power" by Matthew Clark | One Thousand Words https://www.matthewclark.net/mcwordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/OTW_S5-E11-Jason-Smiths-essay.mp3 Jason Smith serves on the board of An Unexpected Journal, as a strategist for the C. S. Lewis Foundation, and as the senior editor for acquisitions and development at Wootton Major Publishing. In his spare time, he works a day job as a marketing director for a medical device engineering firm, where he writes about fun things like FDA regulations and embedded cybersecurity. As J. Aleksandr Wootton, he is the pseudonymous author of the much-loved young adult fantasy series Fayborn and reviews every book he reads at www.goodreads.com/mrwootton. When I Cried Out (Psalm 40) by Matthew Clark   When I cried out from the pit that I had dug His song burst past the dead end grave Isaiah’s burning ember came and kissed me on the mouth And I knew there was still music to be made   CHORUS After all that I’ve seen, I cannot seal my lips Even when my heart fails within me,  For the Lord did not hide, no, he listened in his mercy And his song of lovingkindness still persists  Though I do not understand it, I am standing on this    All my troubles when they swelled into a crowd  The shame of failures too many to count  Then I whispered through the tangle, and you looked me in the eyes I found quiet that sang louder than those lies    CHORUS BRIDGE I thought I had to climb that holy hill to twist your arm  But when you bent to wash my feet,  I knew that I’d been wrong    CHORUS  © 2023 Matthew Clark, Path in the Pines Music (ASCAP) The post S5:E11 – A Tale of Two Trees: Jason Smith, “The Power and the Pit” appeared first on Matthew Clark.

    17 min

  8. 07/20/2023

    A Tale of Two Trees: Steven Elmore, "Sustained by Joy"

    A Tale of Two Trees: Steven Elmore, "Sustained by Joy" by Matthew Clark | One Thousand Words https://www.matthewclark.net/mcwordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/OTW_S5-E10-SElmores-essay.mp3 Steven Elmore is the President of the C.S. Lewis Foundation. He has over 20 years of experience working at nonprofit organizations and educational institutions, including serving as a community college adjunct professor (English composition), software instructor (basic to advanced MS Office), GED instructor (science, history), test preparation tutor, and in a wide range of office management and administration roles. His specific skill sets include event management, teaching/training, team leadership, program management, writing, communications strategy, strategic planning, and computer technology. He is also a writer for Cultivating Magazine.   Like A Lamb by Matthew Clark Fear and pride are just two sides, friend  Of Caesar’s tarnished penny  Quietness and rest belong to God  But who hasn’t studied warfare  On the battlefield of life here  Perfecting self-defense just to survive?    You know how good it feels, love  To scratch the itch of anger  But complaining only chains us up inside Feels like safety and power  In a world so full of danger  It feels like danger to be grateful, small, and quiet    CHORUS But Oh, I see the Mighty Word of God Go silent to the slaughter like a Lamb Oh, I hear the voices of the crowd  Grow louder as the buried kernel’s roots descend     Cause the roots beneath the surface  Search and listen for a music  That is and was and will be evermore  Like an acorn to an oak tree  Who would ever think it could be  That those little lambs might ever rule the world    But the meek will spread their branches  Above the clamour of the nations  The sons of God will rest beneath their shade  And the politics of power   That seemed so strong until that hour  Will fall into the traps their power laid     CHORUS    BRIDGE Nobody’s free from hardship  And the briers in the garden  Can push their way so deeply down inside  Till what started out so tender  Is choked out by the winter  And gentleness don’t have a chance to flower    But don’t let your love grow cold, dear  or buy the lies they’ve sold here  For the fools of God will fiddle on the roof  All their lives they were the punchline  Now their laughing faces outshine  Every image Caesar thought would get him through  ©2023 Matthew Clark, Path in the Pines Music (ASCAP) The post S5:E10 – A Tale of Two Trees: Steven Elmore, “Sustained by Joy” appeared first on Matthew Clark.

    17 min
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