Finishing the Job

The simple satisfaction of

The job that’s been well done;

The quiet little moment when

You finish what’s begun;

The point at which you realize

That you just saw it through

And finished even that small task

That you needed to do.

For sometimes small tasks simply done

Set patterns into place

That we can use when times get tough

To run the bigger race.

Acts 20:24

²⁴ However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.

Psalm 92: 4

You ring my fears with simple joys,

You soothe my worried mind;

My days are blessed with all the grace

That I might hope to find.

The troubles of my daily life

Still nip close at my heel,

But through you I can find more peace

Than I’d expect to feel.

The weight of pain and life’s deep loss

Are not foreign to me,

But I can still find joy to sing

Within my misery.

So, ringed within your loving grace,

Though my fears are not coy,

I’ll savor life too rich for tears

And I will sing with joy.

Psalm 92:4
For you make me glad by your deeds, LORD; I sing for joy at what your hands have done.

Every Day Miracles

Petals that drop like silent tears

Upon the ruffled leaves,

The wind that stirs the silver chime

To dance beneath the eaves,

The sun that sparkles in the foam

That crests the laughing waves,

The grass that blows in summer winds

Around forgotten graves,

The fears we hold for those we love,

The prayers raised in their names,

The laughter of the cricket’s song

As they play evening games,

The egg new hatched, the unspun web,

The moisture in dry air,

The hopes we hide within our hearts

That we don’t dare to share.

All the secret little moments

That only God can see;

The miracles of every day

That pass so quietly.

Singing Songs Of Praise

I’m rejoicing in the morning

Dancing in the light

I’m raising up my voice to God

Basking in his might

I’m rejoicing in the morning

Praying in the light

I’m raising up my voice to God

Bowing to his might

I’m rejoicing in the morning

Singing in the light

I’m raising up my voice to God

Thankful for his might

I’m rejoicing in the morning

Growing in His light

I’m raising up my voice to God

Living by his might

Job 14:1-2

We seek to be a reflection

Of all that you were then.

You lived the model we should live

When you walked among men.

But we most often fail to show

The mercy we are shown

And our reflection is less clear

Than that grace we have known.

We are truly more like shadows

Than a reflected light

And though, in form, we’re much like you

We never quite shine bright.

But with that failing understood

There’s one thing that’s still true

Even as a mere silhouette

I’m glad I shadow you

Job 14: 1-2

 1 “Mortals, born of woman, are of few days and full of trouble.
2 They spring up like flowers and wither away; like fleeting shadows, they do not endure.

Psalm 42:8

The way was hard, the path so long;

I couldn’t turn away;

Yet you were walking by my side

Through all the grueling day.

I faced what came, I took the blows,

But when fear turned my way,

You simply wrapped me closer still

And held my fears at bay.

For there is no pain in this life

That you cannot allay

And there’s no debt or worry

That you cannot defray.

When all the world abandons me

It’s you who’ll always stay;

So I will lift my praise to you,

Then bow my head and pray.

Psalm 42: 8

 8 By day the LORD directs his love,
   at night his song is with me—
   a prayer to the God of my life.

Facing Down the Wind

As the coming storm approached me

I bowed before the wind

And, bending nearly to the ground,

I prayed that it would end.

Then as I wept I heard your voice

Whispering in my ear,

“You are in the palm of my hand

There’s nothing you need fear.”

And then the storm closed in again

I rose and faced the wind,

For I’m beloved by God on high;

My fear’s all that will end!

Psalm 112:7
They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the LORD.

Job 4: 5-6

I know you formed the countless stars

And set them in their flight,

But I am facing too much, Lord.

Why must I fight this fight?

I know the sun warms the cold sea

Because you tell it too,

But why must I face this hard thing

You’re asking me to do?

My God, I know your loving plan

Directs the skies and sea,

But right now I am so afraid

Of what is facing me.

Oh Lord, who formed the burning stars

And shaped the fruitful land,

Please call my name that I may know

You hold me in your hand.

Job 4: 5-6

5 But now trouble comes to you, and you are discouraged;
   it strikes you, and you are dismayed.
6 Should not your piety be your confidence
   and your blameless ways your hope?

Simple Needs

Flourishing among the brambles,

Cheerful among the weeds;

Simple hearts of fragile color

Born from simple seeds.

Yet they bloom with joy and laughter

Among the thorny reeds,

For they’ve learned what we can’t fathom-

The joy of simple needs.

Psalm 19:7
The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.

Jeremiah 29:11

I’ve often wonder as the day

Is passing into night

If I will ever find my way,

Or ever get life right.

I always seem to get tripped up,

To pick the losing fight;

I seem to get lost in the grays

Between the dark and light.

But when the sunrise brushes earth

With its first, breathless light

I am reminded that my hopes

Are founded in his might,

That he has plans to prosper me,

And fill me with delight.

So I hold to that promised dawn

Within the darkest night.

Jeremiah 29:11

11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Mark 4: 39-41

The little boat slipped through the bay

The wind filling its sail;

Tacking against the fearful winds,

Facing down the gale.

Its rudder, bucking in the waves,

Requires a steady hand

Or it may founder in the sea

Before it reaches land.

The wind picks up, the waves grow steep,

The shore drops out of sight.

The little boat could well get lost

In the approaching night.

And yet the little boat sails on,

As cheery as you please,

For he that holds the rudder true

Is he who calmed the seas.

Mark 4: 39-41

39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

Remembering to Play

We face the world so soberly,

So many tasks to do,

And each one urgently requires

To be attended to.

With all the burdens that we bear

 Upon our backs each day

It’s hard to find the time we need

To just relax or play;

To dally by a quiet shore

Or read a favored tome;

To run amok in blooming fields

Or just sleep in at home.

The Lord has called us to his work

And to take time to pray,

But he’s also given us the

Capacity to play.

So do the chores that you must do

And spend your time in thanks,

But take some time to splash and play

Along the water’s banks!

Psalm 27:3

When the world is fraught with danger,

With snares and thorns laid all around,

I will not fear, though death is looming,

For I know I am safe and sound.

Lord, you secure me through all threats

Til I can stand on safer ground.

Psalm 27:3
Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident.

The Hard Way

The way is long, the grade is steep,

Broken and overgrown.

I try and try to reach the top,

But I can’t; not alone.

The way is difficult to scale,

I long to turn away

As it seems many have before.

They didn’t come this way

For it has clearly not been tread

By any foot in years

And trying to climb that way now

Will bring me pain and tears.

And yet that is the path I seek

The way I choose to go

For that’s the path you chose to walk

Because you loved me so.

So I will follow where you’ve walked

Whatever the travail,

For that is what you’ve asked of me

And with you I’ll prevail.

The Sun and The Rain

You’re like the sun in winter time

Where mist hides all you do,

But still the world warms with your heat

Though clouds obscure our view.

The sun’s light bounces off the moon

To light the darkest night,

As we reflect your blessings back

To make a sad world bright.

It’s true; you’re often hard to see,

And yet you’re always there,

For even as the rain drives down

It sparkles in the air.

And we are like that pouring rain,

We fall upon dry land,

But like the sun you warm the earth

Til we rise to your hand.

Romans 8: 24-25

Sometimes I feel lost in the night,

The darkness crowding near.

I listen for another voice

With no sound there to hear.

There is no light in that dark world,                                 

Just endless night and fear

And I would weep in weariness

If I had but a tear.

Yet even in this total void

I know that you are here.

I hold in faith the promise of

Your never ending grace;

I know someday you’ll light the dark

And I will see your face.

Romans 8: 24- 25

24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

My Obscured Vision

For a second I saw clearly

The things I need to do,

I thought I truly understood

What I’m to do for you.

And then it all became obscured,

I couldn’t see my way;

I thought that I was doing right

But things went all astray.

The picture I had seen so clear

Was lost beneath a haze

And I was back, confused and lost,

In my usual daze.

I thought I understood the plan,

And then the whole plan changed.

I had my steps laid out just so

And now they’re rearranged.

I like the little glimpses that

You show me when you can

And someday maybe I will see

The whole entire plan.

But until that day happens, Lord,

I’ll work with what I know

And recognize that you have plans

That time alone will show.

Sometimes We See The Love We Need To See

I was so sad, I felt so drained,

And nothing I could do

Could make me feel any better,

So I turned my thoughts to you.

I prayed for strength to carry me,

Your love to see me through

And for my eyes to see the grace

That my heart knows is true.

And as I turned the shower off

And wiped my weepy eyes,

I swept the hair from off the drain

And there, to my surprise,

Was just a simple little thing

That made me realize

You’d heard me and you’d sent to me

A heart I’d recognize.

The Silence of this Night

The silence of the night greets me,

All noise fled with the sun,

And I am resting in its peace,

The vexing day is done.

Tomorrow it will start again,

The fast, chaotic run,

But, for right now, the moon’s my guest

And this night’s just begun.

A Loving Heart

What happens to a loving heart

With no one left to hold;

Will loneliness leave it barren

Bitter, lost and cold?

Can it learn how to love again

Before it grows so old

That it no longer feels the warmth

Another heart might hold?

By The Way, Thank You!

In the hurry and the scurry

Of my eventful day

I didn’t take the time I need

To really stop and pray,

Even though you got me up

To watch dawn light the bay,

And so right now, my Lord, I’d like

To take the time to say

Thank you for watching over me

As I sped through this day.