Like Footprints In The Sand

 

They danced with joy upon the beach.
Their footprints marked the sand
Where each step fell as they moved through
Along the windy strand.
 
The joyous dance lingered a while
Imprinted where they passed,
But, no matter how great their joy,
That remembrance won’t last.
 
For time will pass, the waves will roll
And wash the shoreline clean.
Then it will be as if that joy
Was never felt or seen.
 
So is it with the life of man,
A breath and then it’s gone,
Until even the memory
Has faded and moved on.
 
Yet, by His grace we are not lost
To time and winds and tides,
For He has called us His children,
And that blessing abides.
 
All our days may be nothing more
Than footprints in the sand,
But our souls will not wash away.
We’re safe within His hand.
 
Psalm 144:3-4
O Lord, what is man that you regard him, or the son of man that you think of him?
Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.

Being Anxious

 

You saw that I was troubled with
A burden on my heart,
So focused on it that I missed
What You tried to impart.
 
You sent Your message through a friend,
A voice You knew I’d hear,
To remind me to focus on
The Lord who holds me dear.
 
There are more things that need my time
Than that which I can’t change.
I need to do what I can do,
The rest, You will arrange.
 
I need to cease being anxious,
A mark of weak belief,
And hold instead to Your guidance.
In You there is relief.
 
I’m sorry that I got lost in
My pride and my dismay,
When neither one is greater than
The Lord, the one true way.
 
Luke 12:25-26
And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest?

A Soul In Need

I stand before You, once again,
My soul, feeling adrift.
Though I know You are by my side,
It’s as if there’s a rift.
 
I struggled with my day today.
Knowing I often fail
At being who I’m meant to be,
I stressed to no avail.
 
I offered grace and spoke kindly
To those along the way,
But I felt wave on wave roll in
Of worry and dismay.
 
I lifted up Your name in praise,
Gathered to worship You,
And then I went about my day
While grief filled waves swept through.
 
I need to sit with You a while,
We both know that I do.
A weary body heals with rest,
A soul needs time with You.
 
Jeremiah 31:25
For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.

Family Ain't Easy

The simple fact is family
Will never be easy.
We stand so close for all our lives
That we often can't see
The thorns we hide from most strangers
We share with family.

We've known each other for so long
We often do not hear
The painful words and thoughts we share
With those we hold most dear.

We see the faults that we watched grow
In those who shared our life,
While somehow failing to notice
The thorns of our own strife.

Each blossom in the flower bed
Has beauty, that is real.
Yet, standing so close brings in view
The thorns they each conceal,
And those closest, most deeply cut,
Bear scars they'll always feel.

We can't neglect to forgive those
Who grew up by our side.
For we can't trim another's thorns
By using our own pride.

Those thorny blossoms shared the life
In which you learned to bloom,
And if their thorns prick now and then,
Just give them extra room.

For family is always hard, 
But they're right by your side
Through all the storms and droughts that come,
With hearts and arms stretched wide.
It might be time to love the blooms
And let the thorns abide.

Hoses 2:1
"Say of your brothers, ‘My people,’ and of your sisters, ‘My loved one.

Old Songs Of Praise

Oh Lord, my heart sings out to You,
Though I’m a bit off key,
The songs of praise fill up my days
And that’s alright with me.
 
I may not have a brand new song
To lift up with each dawn,
But those old hymns of joyful praise
Help me to carry on.
 
I thank You, Lord, that I can sing,
Though most say I should not,
All of the old songs I still love,
Though many have forgot.
 
Psalm 92:1
It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High

In Your Strength, Not Mine

This life keeps coming at me fast,
Sometimes I can’t keep pace.
Yet, I know I stand in Your strength,
And endure through Your grace
 
I do not fear what lies ahead,
For I have lived my past
And learned, thereby, however great,
The hard times will not last
 
Though I once thought I stood alone,
With no one to hear me,
I’ve never cried out for Your help
And not heard You clearly.
 
I will no longer fear today
What tomorrow may hold,
Because I know that You hold me.
Knowing that, I am bold!
 
Ephesians 3:16
that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being 

Blessings and Hard Times

 

Blessings and hard times, they go hand in hand,
But both are a part of life.
You can’t treasure blessings in your heart
Without some struggle and strife.
 
Lift up your hearts and rejoice always.
Though things seem rocky today,
Those blessings of joy and happiness
Are before you every day.
 
2 Corinthians 1:5
For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.

Restoring My soul

 

I find my peace within Your grace.
A stillness in my soul
That calms the tempest of my thoughts
And makes the broken whole.
 
Within Your silence I can find
The answers that I seek
To all the questions of my heart
That my tongue cannot speak.
 
I lay my worries at Your feet
And Your word comforts me.
There is no burden on my heart
That Your peace can’t lift free.  
 
You are my shepherd, I’m Your lamb,
I rest in Your stillness.
It is in You that I find peace,
Your name I praise and bless.
 
Psalm 23:1-3
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.

He Always Sees Me

 

I thought that I was overlooked,
Too small and plain to see,
But You have proven I was wrong
For You’ve clearly seen me.
 
In my frustration, You gave ease,
You calmed my frenzied state.
In worry and anxiety,
You gave me peace in spate.
 
Oh, Lord, You see me every day.
Despite my doubts and fear,
Your Word, Your love, Your endless grace,
They’re always ever near.
 
The world might never see me, Lord,
I get lost in plain sight,
But I am always in Your view.
And that truth’s my delight!
 
Psalm 35:27
Let those who delight in my righteousness shout for joy and be glad and say evermore, “Great is the Lord, who delights in the welfare of his servant!”

Work Diligently For Him

 

Work diligently in all things,
Rejoice in all you do.
For when you work for others here
You’re working for Him, too.
 
As you move through this world below
Reflect His Word to all.
When you let His love live in you,
The lost may hear His call.
 
You may not know when what you live
Has touched another’s heart,
But you can trust that He’ll complete
Any blessing you start.
 
Work for the Lord in all you do,
Praising Him every day.
Let your labor help mark the path
For those seeking His way.
 
Colossians 3:23-24
Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.