From this fanfare of joy

rising from the rich o'er the poor

the strong o'er the weak

will come a roar of praise

the underlings alone can mouth

a day of renewing acclamations

of huggings and embrace

when the down'll be up

and the high-flung thrown into doubts

wond'ring "How could this be

when all my labors were for You

although they suffered for love of You

when all my claims were for staking You

for giving You reign o'er the terrorists of earth

o'er the realm of the Fiend;

How could this be?"

Ah, praise there'll be

that heav'n will ne'er tire to hear

cause all the rich and the strong

the grand upon the earth

will be drawn into the arms

of the victims of their might

of their pains to rid the land

of the dregs of Adam's sin

The Sin will have been them

brought through the Gate

by the forgiveness of the pained

and the love of the Lamb

*Thoughts of Gregory Wolfe:

-When we are too tender about something we can easily become too violent in seeking to defend or preserve it.

-The essence of Kinkade's sentimentality is the packaging of nostalgia.  It's an oxymoronic idea, but it has become a major part of our cultural life, as Florence King has noted: "True nostalgia is an ephemeral composition of disjointed memories...but American-style nostalgia is about as ephemeral as copyrighted deja vu."

-The majority of his expressions of faith are fairly conventional, solidly within the evangelical mold, but his theological defense of the world depicted in his paintings is that "I like to portray a world without the Fall."

-...Christ's message was not to pretend the world isn't fallen but to take up our crosses and follow him through suffering and sacrifice.  To create a body of work illustrating a world without the Fall is, for a Christian, to render Christ superfluous.

-...Jesus took every opportunity he could to counter sentimentality.

*NIGHTMARES

                                                                                      Dedicated to those curious

I pour my heart in2 this oem

and look 4 the meaning of Life

the rich and powerful always prevail

and the less fortunate strive through strife

MISTAKES R MADE 2 be 4given

we R 2 young 2 stress and suffer

The path of purity and positivity

has always ridden rougher

Your insatiable desire 2 find perfection

Has made your faults magnify

curiosity can take Blame

For the evil that makes u cry

It isn't a good feeling when u disobey your heart

The nightmares haunt your Soul and your nerves R

ripped apart

-Tupac Shakur