A psalm of Tracey... (yes I probably borrowed a lot of lines from David too)

undertake for me, o Lord
for i am weary and worn
i am lost in a cloud, my heart in a deep mist
fear grips my spirit and confusion lays siege to my steps

i cry out, o Lord to thee
to the one who breathed life into my body
thou, o God, hast been my shelter from the storm
my cave of refuge from the raging winds

what have i but thee?
thou hast raised me up from the valley
thou hast exalted me to thy high places
wouldst thou now bring me low?

i yearn after thy designs
my soul thirsteth after knowledge of thee

i confess to thee, o Maker of my heart
in pride have i sought after treasure
after gifts i thought thou wouldst withhold
i trusted thee not, erring in mine ways
confiding in the strength of myself
i made fear my stronghold
and was myself a deceived stronghold of thine Enemy

awake my heart from this slumber, o Lord
renew the fire in my spirit
the unquenchable fire which shall not go out
desolate me, o Lord
unclench my fists from these idols of my own making

my Enemy pursues me ceaselessly
day and night he hounds me
my ears are weary from his accusation
my feet sore from his pursuit
his words are like arrows of fire
stinging arrows in my flesh

hide me in thy love, o Lord
restore me in thy great bosom

i will turn and face my Enemy
within thy strength i shall turn against him
i shall resist him and he shall flee before me
strengthen my hand, o God
brace my heart against fear and foe
encourage my spirit against the whispers which assault me

how i love thy presence, o Lord
show me thy face that i might see thy glory
bathe me in thy light
let me long for no other but thee

thou art a great and terrible lover, o Lord my God
thou hast seduced me with thy tenderness
even with thy lovingkindness has thou drawn me
in thunder dost thou dwellest
with a fiercesome thou goest out
the whole earth trembles at thy name

yet thou layest a hand on my head
and quietest me with thy touch like a child
ah, how like a child have i been
oft have i turned from thee in rebellion
seeking after lovers less wild than thee

thy mercies fail not, o Lord
ever hast thou called me out anew
i praise thee, o Lord, God of the ages
for thou hast not permitted me
to be swallowed up by the hosts
neither hast thou punished me for mine iniquities

thou hast rescued me from my pursuers
and awoken me from my sleep
like a father hast thou chastened me
to mold my heart with thine hand

deliver me from my own hand, o God
for my desire is to desire thee
pluck from my heart the longings not of thee
and plant there the flower of thy love

for thou hast loved me before time
before thou formed the oceans or the stars
thou called me by name
by the name known only to thee

only thou knowest my future
and who but thee knowest the depths of my heart?
thou set my desires in my being
long before thou set the earth in orbit

when the heavens have passed away
and man is dust before thee
thou shalt remain and i with thee
even now thou beckonest to me

i praise thee for thou art good
never hast thou forsaken me
or wilt thou ever release me from thy care
though i shrinkest before thee
thou shalt not lost hold of me
though i deny thee to thy face
still wilt thou remember my name

jealous art thou, o Lord
jealous of my affections unto thee
for no other shalt have thy place
who on earth could compare to thee?

gracious are thy ways, of God
more gracious than my heart canst conceive
though i run from thee
thou leavest me not
though my heart forgettest thee
thou wilt preserve me always

what have i to fear when i am with thee?
and under thy banner what harm could befall me?
thou savest me from that which seeks to undo me
and thou sustaineth me in my very great need

an oasis in the wilderness thou art to me
thou leadest me into the wilderness
that thy waters might nourish me
that i might refresh myself in thee

let me not forsake thee, o my God!
uphold me in thy power and might

i shall cling to my God, the Lord who keepth me in his love
i shall hold fast and not be moved
for he hast blessed me beyond measure
never shall his praise depart from my lips
nor his word depart from my heart
for thou, o Lord, art good

i will trust in thy faithfulness forever
and in thy shadow shall i find my peace

Ruth 1:16, 17 

"Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me."

"Don't force me to leave you; don't make me go home. Where you go, I go; and where you live, I'll live. Your people are my people, your God is my god; where you die, I'll die, and that's where I'll be buried, so help me GOD-not even death itself is going to come between us!" (Message)

Song of Songs 2:8, 9

"Behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.
My beloved is like a roe or a young hart."

Habakkuk 3:19

"The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will set me upon mine high places."

Psalm 30:4, 5

"Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.
For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning"

1 John 4:18

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear."

Zephaniah 3:17

"The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest thee in his love, he will joy over thee with singing."

"The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing." (NIV)

Song of Songs 4:7

"Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee"

Genesis 46:3, 4

"And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation: I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again."

Isaiah 54:11

"O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires."

Jeremiah 18:6

"Cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand."

John 10:27

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me."

Psalm 70:5

"But I am poor and needy: make haste unto me, O God: thou art my help and my deliverer; O LORD, make no tarrying."

Psalm 40:1-3

"I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD."

Exodus 6:1

"Now shalt thou see what I will do."

Isaiah 54:4

"Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more."

Psalm 73:24-26

"Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever."

Numbers 23:19

"God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?"

Psalm 23

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Psalm 91:4-7

"He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee."

2 Samuel 22:33-37

"God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect. He maketh my feet like hinds' feet: and setteth me upon my high places. He teacheth my hands to war; so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms. Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy gentleness hath made me great. Thou hast enlarged my steps under me; so that my feet did not slip"

John 13:7

"Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter."

Isaiah 30:21

"And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, 'This is the way, walk ye in it', when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left."

Isaiah 6:5-7

"Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged."

Revelation 3:10-12

"Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth. I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name."

Psalm 84:11

"For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly."

Jeremiah 31:3

"The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying:
'I have loved you with an everlasting love;
I have drawn you with loving-kindness.'" (NIV)

Jeremiah 33:3

"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." (NIV)

Job 13:15

"Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him."

Okay finally an update.... sorry Kat I know I promised one last week....

"Having noticed her heart, God anoints a girl named Tracey to engage the Enemy in the name and strength of Christ. But she does not fight alone. God provide covenant allies in the form of mythic friends to help her withstand attack. She led into the wilderness where she is broken and learns to worship defiantly and give grace lavishly."

This the truth of the story of my life (and the story of all our lives if we choose to accept it) It is not a small story as my life often seems to be, nor is it an uncertain or shakey kind of destiny as I often feel it to be. It is.... dare I say it...mythic. And let's not forget, mythic doesn't mean not true. It means something so true at is heart that the factual value of it is irrelevant. And with that, I want to look at the mythic truth of some stories that are close to my heart.

What is true?

Aladdin is true... Two people both long (as we all do) to be intimately known. One knows in his heart that he is greater than the small life of thievery and street living he has been consigned to, but struggles against the ever-present accusation that he will never be more than a worthless street rat. He knows this to be untrue and yet has no way of defending himself or proving that the Arrows that consistently assail his heart are wrong. Our other character is loved and exalted and seemingly has all that the first does not, but the wounds of her heart come from the knowledge that she is praised for what she is, not who she is. She feels like a prize to be fought over rather than a woman to be loved. Each envies the other and believes if they had what the other had, then they could live from their heart. From each other they learn how to live from their true identities. He is called out to a greater destiny than even the one he imagined for himself and discovers his worth comes not from who people think he is but from who he was created to be, and that to gain approval by denying his identity means losing himself and all he aspires to. She learns to trust the heart of another, and that to be loved for all that she is she must first become vulnerable and be seen for all that she is. She finds that isolating herself and trying to solve her problems in her own streangth and wisdom only brings pain for herself and those around her. Together they combat the lies of the Evil one to restore the kingdom to its former glory and to free its inhabitants from imprisonment and return them to their true selves

The Lion King is true....In a glorious kingdom a wise and gracious King reigns. He has a child and gives this child freedom and rule over all that he has, with one exception: you must not go where the light does not touch. But the child is led into temptation by the Enemy, who is jealous of all the King has and all He has given to this child. In the dark place the child almost meets his end but is interceded for in the nick of time by the King. But now things have been set into motion that cannot be undone. The Enemy lays a trap to destroy both the child and the King and take the kingdom by storm for himself. But the love of the Father is great and he lays down his own life to save his child, who escapes into the wilderness with the intimidation and accusation of the Enemy ringing in his ears and the guilt for all his disobedience has cause weighing heavy him. Though he finds friendship and succor, he grows to adulthood with the Arrows that say he is unworthy, bad, and the cause of pain embedded deep in his heart. He lives denying his true place and his throne and ignoring the haunting feeling that he was made for more than this. When his past comes back to him and he is called out to take up his true destiny he flees from it, fearing himself and the evil he believes he causes wherever he goes. Only the spirit of his Father and the wisdom and encouragement from allies and mentors can heal his heart. At last he embraces his true identity  and returns to fight the Enemy off and ransom his people from slavery. In becoming like his Father he gains the power and authority to defeat the whispers and lies and set the captives free as he himself was freed. He gives grace to his opponent though it is spurned and defeats the Enemy and sets the kingdom in order again.

Shrek is true... Our main character has cut himself off from the world because his identity has been assailed by Arrows saying his worth comes from what he looks like not who he is. He falls into living from the identity that has been bestowed on him by others and vows never to let himself be known or to let another near him, for no one could possible see through the outer appearance to what he truly has to offer, and after a long time he has forgotten who he truly was originally and now lives the the role in which he has been cast. Our other character is isolated and longs for love but harbours a terrible secret that eats away at her vision of herself. She believes to be loved truly she must be outwardly beautiful and that the right person will free her from the curse that leaves Arrows of insecurity and fear in her heart. The Enemy aspires to use her to take a kingdom that he doesn't rightfully rule, caring nothing for her heart and only for her beauty. His intermediary is our first character who in spending days with the princess discovers he loves her heart and that she can love him for his. With the aid of a mythic friend who speaks truth even when he does not want to hear it, our hero begins to transform internally to the kind of person the world has always said he could never be. But fear and insecurity get the best of our lovers and they both shelter their hearts from each other at the wrong moment. The princess makes an agreement with the Enemy to be his bride so she will always be beautiful and our hero sinks back in the role he has always been given, more bitter than ever for he has shown his heart truly and (so he thinks) had it rejected. Luckily, his mythic friend loves him to much to leave him imprisioned and calls him out to a greater role. The hero finally embraces his heart identity and pursues the princess. In the end she is unmasked before all and has to accept all of herself and accept his love for her as she is, and her love for him as he is (even though on the surface he is everything she was trying to get away from in herself). Acceptin him is accepting her own identity. The Enemy is defeated and the lovers are freed from the roles that have been projected on them to live the life of love and truth they were always meant to.

Okay that's all for now... more mythic movie reviews to follow shortly.