tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39852462477829795332011-12-07T00:22:16.604-08:00Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.comBlogger1511100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-1288768518656378082011-12-07T00:17:00.001-08:002011-12-07T00:20:37.380-08:00

Part 1: Grabs the Heel In the morning when I rise and raise my head off the rock, I’ll remember that Jacob I am, and though my grandpa visited with the Son of God in his tent I saw 100,000 angels walking the ladder until the sun rose wide over the land. And for all the messes I’ve made, with my brother’s clothes slipped over my head, maybe there is more than evil on this earth. Maybe the

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-2772626378615867172011-11-07T12:07:00.001-08:002011-11-07T12:07:41.945-08:00

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-16072578248606159132011-11-07T12:05:00.000-08:002011-11-07T12:18:15.920-08:00

I wrote this in October of 09. I read a good book called "American Gods". It was kind of about all about the different idols that we worship in America.  When we put stand these idols and Jesus side by side it's amazing how pathetic all our idols really are.

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I used to play trumpet for many years but I wasn't dedicated to it.  At a band concert at Northwestern College in Iowa my senior year (05), I was regretting my like of passion for the trumpet and also feeling convicted for my lack of passion for God.  These lyrics came to me while grazing through the Bible in the pew bench I was sitting in during the concert.

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Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-16724178698068245312011-11-07T11:57:00.000-08:002011-11-07T12:18:39.701-08:00

This was a song written in the fall of 04. I was in my dorm room and read about the stringed lyre. My imagination led me to compare satan to the ten string lyre (liar) and about how satan has lied to me so much and I've believed it. This was written to protest satan and his evil.

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-55109026068161950742011-11-07T11:55:00.000-08:002011-11-07T12:18:51.304-08:00

I wrote this in the fall of 2007 after reading John Foxes book of Martyrs, I wrote a few songs about some of the martyrs to remember them. I am so intrigued by these people's desire to cling to Jesus even to the point of death. It is awesome. John Browne was the first one I wrote about.

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This was written as a song in the spring of 07. I was really feeling connected to Elijah and some of his struggles and the music and lyrics came out as a way to express those thoughts.

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-76319363937924748302011-11-07T11:53:00.000-08:002011-11-07T12:19:14.821-08:00

I wrote this in the fall of 09. This is about my longing to shine for Christ. I know that this shining comes at a price. The world doesn't want us to shine and persecutions will come. Being a Christian is the tough road. But I want that. So far whatever shines in me for Christ is actually the Spirit working. Jesus gets all the glory. May he increase while I decrease.

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-4640240457398712722011-11-07T11:50:00.000-08:002011-11-07T12:19:24.720-08:00

This song escalates into a climatic pounding of full chords and a dissonant run of arpeggios to express the frustration this song was written in. It was written in early 08 during the winter. It's a little melodramatic as I have no desire to literally give up and die, however, it does try to express the voice of all around the world who have seen pain beyond pain, who are suffering

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This song was written over a long period of time.  I used to sit in the Hartley United Methodist Church in Iowa during 08 and 09 and write some of the lyrics each Sunday.  I find myself to be compulsive and yet I don't want all the stuff, compulsions, and thrills to rule my life.  I want to be able to say to Jesus that I love Him more than anything else around me.

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-53369369464469042042011-11-07T11:43:00.000-08:002011-11-07T12:19:45.635-08:00

I wrote this song in 2011.  I wanted to write a little heavier song from Jesus' perspective of us.  He's offering us a way to live which brings new life, joy in the face of suffering, and a mighty purpose; and yet all we do is squander it like the prodigal son.  I imagine Jesus sometimes watching us and saying, "why would you choose the things you do when you could have what I'm offering?"

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-52008140125939667882011-11-07T11:40:00.000-08:002011-11-07T12:19:51.748-08:00

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-78824548625466022072011-11-07T11:39:00.001-08:002011-11-07T11:39:21.245-08:00

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-72478397858227955992011-11-07T11:36:00.000-08:002011-11-07T12:20:08.805-08:00

This was written as a song in the summer of 04 in Mongolia. I was living in a house by myself and had a fire going and saw the most amazing sunset ever. Haven't seen another one like it. I got caught up in worship and the excitement of what my life would be like after that summer and about how God was changing me and going to use me for his Kingdom purposes!

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I wrote this song in 2011.  I began preaching once a month in Mescalero, NM and was doing a sermon about God's great deeds and wonders.  I wrote the song to play during our church worship time after the sermon. 

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-2384626879259423422011-11-07T11:33:00.000-08:002011-11-07T12:20:56.101-08:00

This was written as a song in the summer of 06 when my wife and I lived in Mescalero, NM- shortly before we moved back to Iowa.  My wife took a picture of three middle school aged Mescalero Apache girls we knew. They were walking in White Sands National Park with us and were all standing in a lake of shallow water. The reflection at sunset made it look like they were walking on the water

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-19737616815359672122011-11-07T11:27:00.001-08:002011-11-07T12:21:06.639-08:00

After the earthquake in Haiti in 2010, a newspaper wrote about a women running down a Jacmel, Haiti street.   She was screaming, "God we know you're the strongest, we know you can kills us, you don't have to show us."  That quote, along with the old hymn "By the Babylonian River" speak about suffering and our relationship to God through suffering.  I combined the two and put it into a song

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-60396995829332178082011-03-22T17:45:00.000-07:002011-03-22T17:50:33.606-07:00

After the latest soda I bought,I knew its addictive qualities would compel me to buy another.I wondered deep in thoughtthat soda and fast foodand this whole artificial countrywill fall like glass balls,smashing to the floor.We want more.I want nothing morethan a flood to wash me clean.I want the breaking of everything glass.You see fast food,I see sludgy lava.I see nuclear waste in barrels. I

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-40162455865608016792011-03-18T20:32:00.000-07:002011-03-18T20:35:43.445-07:00

I, Paul, do solemnly swear,to lose my mindamid shipwrecks and snakebites.I will speak truth in the face of riots,and through letters, refuse to stay quiet.I will escape in baskets and stay in prison.I will bite my lip when they whip my weathered skin.Above all; when the world is desperately waiting in the Colosseum to stay alive,I will die.And trust me, I will be a tidal wave of life.I will lunge

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-83236805384410185392011-03-18T20:29:00.001-07:002011-03-18T20:32:35.216-07:00

It is better to see the man's face with eyes on 6 wings,than to see the lion man and the way he moves with wheels.But both hide the slaughtered lamb upon the molting throne,who makes comfort unknown,and brazen men in horror grown.For love is greater than knowledge or strength,and mercy unearned is more painful than death,wilder than fire;which is why your eyes must focus on the cast crownsof the

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-21437400336637199972011-03-18T20:27:00.001-07:002011-03-18T20:29:12.019-07:00

Don't ask me about my beastly strength.My muscles in their violence sing.They tell me I have ungodly anger,but I swear the Spirit gives me rage.For vengeance I'll go to any Godly lengthto make Palestinian raid warnings ring.In my hand the asses jawbone purrs,as thousands die upon this holy stage.

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-28682352054083796832011-03-18T20:23:00.000-07:002011-03-18T20:27:08.702-07:00

Our sister came and told us of your raping bed,we wept as our sister was taken long before she wed.Oh neighbor; 12 brothers wailing is pagan;for a sister who can't get her blood back again.We will lie and tell you to circumcise your ruddy skin,and come upon you like a tsunami as you recover.All this, despite the disapproval of our father.We will leave your town marred,like a plundered virgin.

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-50438638920226650972010-01-07T02:47:00.000-08:002010-01-07T09:49:02.120-08:00

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-57920851150105244542010-01-07T01:21:00.000-08:002010-01-07T09:48:47.694-08:00

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-58696644184955090452010-01-07T01:18:00.000-08:002010-01-07T02:46:45.422-08:00

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-86446207551437714322009-12-06T12:34:00.000-08:002009-12-06T12:38:43.984-08:00

though addictions seem just around the cornerlike so many misused holidays,and spiritual poverty waxes now in my heart;though debt weaves its panic subtly through my brain,complimenting the rising cost of living;though I know not where to go or what I am to do,and the maniacal threat of natural disaster remains;yet in praise I will rise up in the Lord,I will joyfully follow Jesus to the cross.The

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Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-75195970449890279262009-12-05T19:43:00.000-08:002009-12-05T20:11:05.976-08:00

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-54359835621131360832009-12-05T18:34:00.000-08:002009-12-05T19:10:59.171-08:00

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Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-41989003304721244792009-11-03T14:35:00.000-08:002009-11-03T20:57:30.640-08:00

These American gods. This distracted god of television and channel changing.I have not seen this god carve wood with its handsor cast out a demon with a simple command.My Jesus breathes heavier and cries out raw and broken.The god of sports is an empty thrill lost in broken seasonsand wasted wins of empty beer bottles.These American gods;fake Rolex and plastic jewelry.But my Jesus is on the

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-77924253472268040322009-11-03T14:32:00.000-08:002009-11-03T21:01:02.328-08:00

For the first time in a long time I have the moon directly in my windshield,my star of David placed brightly before me.Can someone tell me how much the wise men left behindwhen they wondered far from home?The wise man in me is tempted to keep driving,to speed right past the turn for my home.How far west can you get under the pretext of chasing the moonbefore you lose everything?Chasing the moon

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-38233427530294438542009-11-03T14:30:00.000-08:002009-11-03T21:03:08.429-08:00

There is an American dream to be had.A bittersweet dream of the adventurous escapade called bottoming out.It’s the antidream.The antithesis of all this money making and distraction.Let it be said that Jesus is still looking for disciples,that God still is the one calling out,and faith is believing that there are some who say“here I am send me.”Here I am send me deep into my bottoming out American

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-70953871827293558882009-11-03T14:26:00.002-08:002009-11-03T21:03:48.559-08:00

There is fire in the hillsbut it is my heart that is burning.See how the smoke riseswhile a red sun pours its bloodover the entire hillside.No one told me we could miss locationsmore than people.Consider the bleating of many sheepand pull your blanket that lies to close to the fire.All these lives we have lived,all these lives that have hurried on their way.I am looking for camels in the valley.I

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They will tell you that love packed up years ago and left town.They speak to you with sweet whispers that you are not worthy. They chant in the night that you must earn your way to the pearly gates.They will tell you how empty this all isand that the point is self.You will be tempted then to walk out in self pity,because the self and what surrounds it will not be good enough.Ever.They will tell

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Two summers ago I saw little birds chasing larger hawks time and again.I saw this happen so muchthat it began to take on meaning.The mystical fluttering of wings.I have never tried to count stars,but the birds I have seen.They tell me that the little bird was me resisting satan as he crashed in on my world.I decided that I needed to chase away my sin,keep fighting,Rising in the morning, and going

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-13651712250573068742009-11-03T14:21:00.000-08:002009-11-03T21:08:09.224-08:00

The devil speaks in alibisthe devil lies;a straight faced church participant with terrible ice eyes.The devil tries;ties loose ends,ties noose knots,starts fashion trends.The devil, this loose lipped chello,all this jewelry looks so beautiful.Look harder and see a limping plastic flamingo,a banner proclaiming that we are godsOf disease and blood;rat droppings in the food storage.The devil comes

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Let children play with gadgets.Let adults realize what they lost and remember when they had it.But I will become luminescent.Let this endeavor occupy all of my lifebecause there were ten stations before the crossthrough which Jesus stumbled, agonized, and slowly walked.Then he spent nine hours paying sins deathly cost.It was twelve hours straight that Jacob wrestled with God.Sweat fell into the

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-70779230149578293642009-11-03T14:14:00.000-08:002009-11-03T21:09:56.691-08:00

“for me, there is no time” –Annie DillardWould your worldview changeif you learned that some of the greatscould hardly sleep?Would rarely eat?Take Ritalin to calm your mindTake Tylenol PM to sleep at night.What do you take to set your heart on fire?When your neighbors lights are on at 3:00amyou are justified to gossip.When someone is too passionate,when they play music to loudplease be inclined

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-60486739979954758862009-11-03T13:50:00.000-08:002009-11-03T21:11:40.472-08:00

There are men who havefound hope in the flickering of flameon one lowly candle stick.What more could be said of hope?It is possible there can be rest for our weary souls?As all of humanity stumbles alongand the endless cycle of war and regretweaves its way into the heart politic,and we aptly call it progress.Yet there is this vision of a quiet dark roomwith one candle light burning.I have been

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-5872164182569565522009-11-03T13:49:00.000-08:002009-11-03T21:11:59.823-08:00

Choose this day whom you will gracebecause the unnatural act of grace isSmiling and beckoning.For it is by grace we are saved.It is by grace we learn to see God in all things.(Written at some point in 09)

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-52543597044632161242009-11-03T13:48:00.000-08:002009-11-03T21:19:14.003-08:00

I’ve been drunk for three full daysbut it’s better this way.I’d rather not know why I have a black eye.I’d rather not face the consequences of all my alcoholic hate.I don’t want to remember the emptiness.This bottle.This black cigarette.Smelling this nauseous scent of death.We built this whole world with no need for God.This crushing emptiness.Let it burn for all I care.I’m so lonely, but I’ll

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-32296316110426403632009-11-03T13:46:00.001-08:002009-11-03T21:13:45.477-08:00

I have seen one thousand days of peace,an eternity of love rushing downward from the heavens.Let it reach us on earth in haste!Let ivy overtake the cities,let music be played on every street corner,the sweet pull of bow on string will melt every heart.I have seen the great construction of the kingdom here;men carrying crosses everywhere.Ask not what Jesus can dobut how you can fall on your face

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It takes so much energyto tear the documents of my citizenship apart.It takes so much timefor my lifestyle to match the burning within my heart.May my light be big enough for a God who sees raging soul fires;much like a satellite image of nightshows all the brilliant lights on earth. (I wrote this in the summer of 09 thinking about how I long to be more abandoned to Christ. I feel so worldly

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It is night once again.Too many rumbling definitions without single words to explain them.The mind is lined thick with distress,but it may be so simple underneath.We all made it through the headphones ringing,the glass slipping from the hand,we are all waiting;some for a storm to blow in,others for a storm to blow over.There is a storm brewing in all of our hearts.From when and where shall peace

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Lewis C. Grimes and the face of Jesus all around us,Jesus is all around us,Angels, we are surely unaware.Oh my God, if only somehow we could see all these angels,these thousand brilliant lights,this silence which speaks of tremendous love.(A year and a half ago I took in a homeless man who was wondering outside of Orange City, IA in the winter at night. We went to breakfast the next morning in

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Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-54345268000618592462009-08-18T11:38:00.000-07:002009-08-18T11:55:47.211-07:00

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-81617277057515327292009-08-18T10:56:00.000-07:002009-08-18T11:19:52.816-07:00

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-75507320923928117422009-03-15T23:14:00.000-07:002009-03-16T01:00:29.918-07:00

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-5742702857765088102008-12-06T17:31:00.000-08:002008-12-06T17:52:17.163-08:00

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-33018790405002250642008-12-06T17:02:00.000-08:002008-12-06T17:31:23.703-08:00

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-49564815561284061882008-11-28T22:32:00.000-08:002008-11-28T23:07:10.853-08:00

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-9769297907677439092008-11-28T22:12:00.000-08:002008-11-28T22:31:38.317-08:00

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-34000612249643290652008-11-28T21:58:00.000-08:002008-11-28T22:12:23.156-08:00

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-63341992989305812422008-11-28T21:47:00.000-08:002008-11-28T21:56:20.479-08:00

(I wrote this during my senior year of college (05). It partially is about my father who has really helped form who I am today. The two locations are places where I have spent talking to him. 'Act 16' refers to a time in my life when I was really falling apart and life since that time. Some of it is about the future and my call to follow Christ. The rest of it is a blast of hope, love, and faith

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-1822971322284442332008-11-28T21:33:00.000-08:002008-11-28T21:41:44.073-08:00

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-66344248620656390712008-11-28T21:08:00.001-08:002008-11-28T21:20:01.760-08:00

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-305638165592813172008-11-28T21:03:00.000-08:002008-11-28T21:07:49.668-08:00

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-89514418845500474772008-11-28T20:57:00.000-08:002008-11-28T21:03:03.325-08:00

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-20525577843998586772008-11-28T20:50:00.000-08:002008-11-28T20:56:30.936-08:00

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-54620744383346813812008-10-14T23:38:00.000-07:002009-11-03T21:16:53.307-08:00

If it's icy and the fog has closed in-climb it.If there's a seemingly insurmountable path,steep and unstable-take it. Take it before the dawn arrives,float in the darknessbetween stars and city lights.The mirage is your comfortable home.The illusion is your television.Climb.Drive all night to climb,take it one step at a time,thirty steps, rest, and keep going.The stations of your climb pass

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-88761829970786763292008-10-14T23:30:00.000-07:002009-11-03T21:17:53.036-08:00

The center of the world is two feet from my face.That's where it's been for eight years.I have secrets but they aren't easily taped.I have confession but there are no new waysto share the words I speak.If only there was sackcloth to tear,if only I had strength to tear out my hair.Look for me mourning by the city gates,or finally sitting silent on the beach.The cresting wave is building,I've been

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-21988952706406006482008-10-14T23:17:00.000-07:002008-10-15T02:13:19.001-07:00

For months I sawlittle birds chasing large birds away.Swooping across fields,dashing from tall trees,it was the little birds who were ferocious in their nips and chirps.The large birds were flying in defensive patternsdropping flares,just trying to get away.God is speaking: have you learned His language yet?More:For years I've seena little flame chase a room of darkness away.My sins casts dark

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-24520786481755647592008-10-14T23:01:00.000-07:002008-10-15T02:14:51.096-07:00

Slowly the train rolls into the station,and though much of my life I have been impatient,surely it is not so now.An Italian crowd is on the city streetswith household tools beating guns and bulletsinto butter knives and keys.The wealthy are pouring money into beggars cups,lifting the beggars onto thrones typically reserved for Italian royalty.Young children are sitting with the elderly,youth are

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-51805753036005238742008-10-14T22:52:00.001-07:002008-10-15T02:16:14.191-07:00

Christ in paradise left his throne to die.One would assume however,that heaven had a wonderful view.The slaughtered lamb left the swiss ski resort for the ghetto,the Austrian art museum for the slum,the Italian village on the Mediterranean seafor the city garbage dump.And while the title of God's songives the aura of royalty,Jesus left the affluence for the trashy side of town.Neon sex signs and

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-47124531929809705792008-10-14T22:45:00.000-07:002008-10-14T22:50:35.455-07:00

Everyone who falls on that stone willbe broken to pieceswill be broken to pieceswill be broken....When nothing appeals to meexcept bottoming out,in a rush of cuts and bruises.What would it take for meto raise my heel and catch myself,or fall headlong in the agonized flailing of limbs and muscles?We are sick,sicker than we've ever been.I know we needthe puncture of a syringe through our skin,and

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-70535120854462229052008-10-14T22:40:00.000-07:002008-10-15T02:17:46.933-07:00

Jesus of two towns and much more,Jesus of dead congregations and denominations.Do you shake your head in wonder as we run around and around,nailing the coffin,knawing the rawhide,and finding the exact shoesize?This gray consumption,a whooping cough of exhaust.Never a dull moment so they say,or a dull blade never sharpened.A block of frozen winter,the rich man and the beggar,as if silence were

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-4042121104342907442008-10-14T22:34:00.000-07:002009-11-03T13:04:07.784-08:00

If it's still fall,if we've even thought about this season at all,could you pardon our regretand raise the leaves to color yet?Or is it too late?Is it too late?Has winter descended upon us all?When the leaves flyand regret falls upon us,a cold cup of coffee or a chemical headachebecomes normal,and each day is spent looking for tomorrow.So wrapped up in this earthwe have given up the choice to be

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-15902171828485739392008-10-14T22:21:00.000-07:002008-10-14T22:30:01.586-07:00

Christians of the world unite to build cathedrals!Build in the city centers,the tallest examples of Christ,or build on the highest point above town,the center of focus for any visitor.Build cathedrals of love,cathedrals of grace for the sinner,towers of forgivness, altars of redemption,choirs of sacrifical love,crypts of fasting and prayer,of wild concern for the oppressed. No magnificent

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-77652716743980005042008-10-14T22:13:00.000-07:002009-11-03T13:08:36.289-08:00

Jesus loves the homosexuals,all the liberals of the world,porn stars and alcoholics, addicts and the homeless,the young mother getting an abortion is precious in his sight,Jesus loves the sinners of the world.one more time!Jesus loves the hateful protestors of the gay pride parade,all the extremist right wingers of the world,corrupt politicians and televangelists, the wealthy and the raciststhe

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-76143361813323570752008-10-14T22:06:00.000-07:002008-10-14T22:11:51.746-07:00

It is only the bumbling idiot who is master of the spoken word,the intellectual fool who grasps the depth of literature.Behold I give a new yoke to you my children;sit long in silence,for the joy of examining your eccentric thoughts,for the pure bliss of silencing your screaming heart.Peace is so violently close!Contentment is literally a page or a whisper away.Only a fool would preach that rest

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-6758658476481742032008-10-14T21:55:00.000-07:002008-10-14T22:06:12.880-07:00

Catching the sun in my kitchencatching a flame in my house,What a way to burn all I used to knowstraight into the ground.Capturing the kingdom witha committee, or a conference, the idea that we never quite understoodthat the building was on fire, until that glorious day wepick up these traveling kings,when we stop to hand out food to royalty.Catching the sun in my kitchen,God sits here whose face

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-24599892128599297992008-06-03T13:48:00.000-07:002008-06-03T14:01:35.709-07:00

Under three things the earth trembles,and four it cannot bear up;bodies falling from the 88th floor, landing like cherry bombs,burning bodies moaning and twisting,swelled baby's bodies too weak to brush away flies,pregnant bodies raped and cut open.There are those who pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God,there are those loud voices resounding,there is the altar speaking.Three

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-46143265500409861112008-04-30T12:16:00.000-07:002008-04-30T12:24:44.038-07:00

I heard the word 'revolution' whispered tonight,the rising of the spoken word,the beginning of an understanding mind.I'm starting to think that I can do this,that the Holy wildness will come bursting into sight,I'm starting to think I feel your Spiritlifting my distracted mind from the muck and the mire....Wish me sorrow my Godthat when the grace comes I'll just give up and die,Compelled by your

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-92000055522208301662008-04-13T13:09:00.000-07:002008-04-13T13:16:31.746-07:00

A voice says cry out,Let voices cry aloud,Let the redeemed of the Lord SAY SO!Beyond the wind, air vents, and the vacuum, I am not hearing a word.If only these words were light or water to greet us every morning,If only the church was more than a feeling of mourning,I know, I know, heart of flesh to replace a heart of stoneA new spirit swing low, take me higher, take me away, resonate in my

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-14841301931493002302008-02-21T11:54:00.000-08:002008-02-21T11:57:08.994-08:00

John Browne 1553I know the spirit set you freeJohn Browne husband and fatherI heard you were locked in the stocks at AshfordThe night before they tied you to the stakeI heard how they burned your feet to the boneThe hot coals, the time in prison aloneJohn Browne 1553I know the spirit set you freeI know John, how they burned your feet to the boneThe hot coals, the time in prison aloneto make you

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-21817084926240665522008-02-15T11:33:00.000-08:002008-02-15T11:41:11.736-08:00

Elijah searches for the Lordmuch like I,I know,just the wind should tell me he's here,I lay down by the broom tree to die.It's the Lord who wakes me up you see,with simple words 'get up and eat',otherwise,they'll hunt me down and take my life.The Lord speaksand says to me,'get up and eat'this food will help you fight the desert heat,to journey 40 days and 40 nights.The Lord speaks and questions

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-65877682133220947252008-02-15T11:24:00.000-08:002009-11-03T21:47:07.201-08:00

Oh girls, walk on the water,if the rules of your homes would fall away.Oh girls, you are the Father's daughters on the water,black silhouettes teach us what it means to leave.On the water,on the water,they were walking on the water,teaching us what it means to leave.....This year reflects all the sadness that's in me.Is there beauty that you see?Buried somewhere in between.The water reflects

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-33304309526857308432008-02-15T11:18:00.001-08:002009-11-03T21:47:34.839-08:00

Leave me blue in my cold winter season,wrapped in a blank surprise,lit by a lonely light stopping the waterfrom freezing over.Melt the distances between my friends lately.Love me true in today's hint of a warmer season.Fly- for it is so joyful through and through.If the brighter the sun, the darker the shadow;and I will look in Your eyes and call You love.Believe my youth, waiting for a better

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-67539329759259912522008-02-15T11:14:00.000-08:002008-02-15T11:17:21.801-08:00

a warm hand slides along the sanded benchthat so meticulously sits in the watchful sun.They say that four or five yearsare all we know of forgiveness,and the name of appletrees on a sunny dayis left unoticed,as are most basil and herbs planted in the shade.And what remains?That all thoughts are the same of those in love,thinking mostly like the rich bloodrushing quickly through our veins.(This

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-6237363482474665882008-02-15T11:08:00.000-08:002009-11-03T21:48:02.410-08:00

I never knew Ira Shanti,but if the four dead bodies in this yearmake the distance seem so clear,then I can make out the tiny pines two ridges away.If I can walk out our only doorand ask what I'm leaving for,the sunset will make the evening so dear.The voice coming over the speakermakes the stronger become weakerwhen you ask why we're fighting at a funeral.The same voice says "he has cried",and "

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-27327419718369732022008-02-15T11:05:00.000-08:002008-02-15T11:08:01.797-08:00

living in Mescalerowhere the world solemnly waitsto be let in that door of joy;and we cry blues unto You.(This was written perhaps sometime in 06 in New Mexico. Living on the reservation was an entirely different lifestyle than in Iowa. It felt that the devil was working strongly and that the burden of evil had a much more aggressive front than in other places.)

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-49537607556809786902008-02-15T11:00:00.000-08:002008-02-17T13:25:03.801-08:00

This is the air I breathe,these are the slow sorrows that I bleed,and I am desperate for You.This is my daily bread,this is the charity I've bled,and I am lost without You.The deep joy a child brings,jumping on a trampoline,Your daily word, spoken to me.A van full of children's laughter;this great act of worship, the spoken chapter,Your holy presence living in me. (this was written on a Sunday in

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-48568924048033934742008-02-12T12:19:00.000-08:002009-11-03T21:49:06.790-08:00

When Jesus rides home with me,when Jesus rides home with me on the dark rainy nights,I understand how to die.Let your heart not be troubled,Let your heart be replaced.(On a few frustrated nights in late 07, I felt Jesus with me as I drove just telling me to 'trust', 'be at peace', 'be still', and 'rest in Him'.)

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-86822463224859211812008-02-12T12:16:00.000-08:002009-11-03T21:49:53.060-08:00

Where have all the Jeremiahs gone?Breathing God, crying God,a worship magazine to give praisejust the slightest nod.A church to pay respects,a business of betting against the odds.Where have all the wild Isaiahs gone?I miss the part where we lose our lives,pull over on the gravel,don’t fit in a sanctuary,are looking for better praise,priorities to Jesus,with the gusto to talk about that

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-86478739604360309802008-02-12T12:10:00.000-08:002008-02-12T12:27:11.722-08:00

I run in the paths of your commandsfor you have set my heart free,this mantra would I repeatin the 60 seconds of each minutein the 60 minutes of each hour,until I truly begin again.This compromised lifelooking up with new eyes,as a prisoner suddenly freed,finding purpose in a lawwhich I had previously rejected.To soar on eagles wingsas all freedom seems to begin,with such exclamatory swoops and

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-16477089570072653012008-02-12T12:08:00.000-08:002008-02-12T13:26:28.645-08:00

It’s the way you make the roadexplode in a thousand wingsand rise up into the evening.It’s the way you tail the falling starwith a little pop and whizjust like a firework in the night sky,Reside in my heart and mindso on a good dayI’ll drive home and praise youin such a way, I take credit for nothing,and see strong momentsas you bursting through me.Complete your resurrected heartand consume your

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-87386467912004667122008-02-12T12:05:00.000-08:002009-11-03T21:50:23.583-08:00

This body, this busy bodyseems to never stop and rest,in the name of events and programsthe countless tapping of wasted telegrams.A girl in a white room screaminginto soundproof panels,an old man speaking ofthe weight of terrible regret.The body of Christworking efficientlyto get so much donethat has nothing to dowith your kingdom.It would be so simpleto heal a paper cut,or open a lampshadethat

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-78530633458427556352008-02-12T12:04:00.000-08:002008-02-12T13:27:25.301-08:00

How shall we sing the Lord’s songin a strange and bitter land,or would defeat fall upon us,and the stifled retreat of a lonely band?Oh Lord almightypull water from the well,and rain downa renewed understandingfrom the gates of heaven;and we will believethat the Lord will dothat which is at thefurthest of our imaginations.Only the beginning swellof a God who will work wonders,mighty wonders,and

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-89425529145591541072008-02-12T12:02:00.000-08:002008-02-12T13:27:54.791-08:00

Why would we have itthat we must save these places in our heartsand retain some of the dark,as if all the world will collapsewhen we truly learn to abandon.Lord teach us to become lessin order to be great,resorting to do anythingyou would ask,resolved to face the annoyance,the painful, the awkward,the conflict, and death.Jesus would I dare tobe late for you?Would I dare to stay at home,letting

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-955553982747738902008-02-12T12:00:00.000-08:002009-11-03T21:50:45.767-08:00

tears and perfume,wept and pouredbefore a grieving Lord,from a woman who knewdeep in her heart whereshe had gone so wrong.Even in a glorious sunset,or the rising beauty of dawn,we know what we doin our dark hearts.We know what we refuseto let go,but it must be so!Oh to find you at your table,and collapse in so much sorrow,lavishing love upon you with tearsand the gentle wiping of hair,pouring

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-79522711174298546002008-02-12T11:58:00.000-08:002008-02-12T12:34:32.861-08:00

But wisdom is provedright by all her children,not the bright angels,or the demons trustingthorn into your side.If all her childrenare wise enough towait for the fresh scrapingsto fall from the table,if we are ableto crawl to their place on the floor,wise enough tolearn to eat from Jesusover any earthly king,or materialistic thing:table scraps we deserve,for we all had the nerveto dare a mutiny,

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-87162535311845842302008-02-12T11:57:00.000-08:002009-11-03T21:51:09.354-08:00

In a circle they sat,I could have wept,in the brushstroke of an afterthought.Jesus, the name rises off my lips,to put me to the test,the fulfilled cadence,and leading tone in one,Jesus, I’m coming undone,working against regress,after all I’ve been shown.Lord, my mouth is hectic,and my thoughts a live wire,but to youth tonight,perhaps I’ve shown themthe truth in desire.(to youth)If I cry will you

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-47931563644662454742008-02-12T11:55:00.000-08:002009-11-03T21:51:32.555-08:00

Lord Lord I cry,I must stop failing you,building me up in earthly things,ceramics, wax, and wood.Melt my heart,so in tune with you,that our chord will just ring.Let me be an angel of love,let me rise towardyou in complete desire,and melt because of my love for youcan simply not be contained.Praising you with theburning flame rising off my wings;and if I screamit is not pain,it is a scream of

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985246247782979533.post-52345930825982504992008-02-12T11:53:00.000-08:002008-02-12T12:38:27.082-08:00

When you began to teach,when you pulled the heavens down ,all earth would resound,and its ripples open widethe hearts of many willing men,yet in the temple where you beganit was the explosion that shook the crowd.Jesus who stands and takes the book,reading prophecy from scripturethat points toward the heavenly visionof future salvation,and you end with a pause,and look up with a glimmer in your

Ben Landegenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09015011852713129343noreply@blogger.com0