Psalm 104: 1-4

Glory shone upon the mountain,

Rising at your command.

Robed in light, the morning trembles,

Gilding the sleeping land.

My heart is swift to rise to you,

A hawk above the strand,

Winging cross the brightening sky

To rest upon your hand.

Psalm 104

 ¹ Praise the LORD, O my soul.
       O LORD my God, you are very great;
       you are clothed with splendor and majesty.

 ² He wraps himself in light as with a garment;
       he stretches out the heavens like a tent

 ³ and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters.
       He makes the clouds his chariot
       and rides on the wings of the wind.

 ⁴ He makes winds his messengers,
       flames of fire his servants.

Psalm 147: 4

I sit beneath the endless stars
And count the ones that fall.
(I count just those that cross my gaze;
I cannot see them all.)
I try to name the ones I know,
But that list is so small.
Some of their names I never knew
And some I can’t recall;
Yet here I sit for half the night
With heart and mind in thrall.

You set their number in the sky,
You call them each by name,
You lit the fire that burns within
Each distant, dancing flame.
And though, to me, they all appear
As if they look the same
You gave each one a different voice
Your glory to proclaim!
Psalms 147: 4

He determines the number of the stars
and calls them each by name.

Seeing Your Reflection Even in Those Who Frustrate Me

Make me an instrument of good,

Not a note of discord.

Anger is easier to stir,

But it won’t serve my Lord.

Let me reflect that which is good

Not that which causes pain;

If I see you in everyone

I won’t offer disdain.

Let me try to lift people up

And not to put them down;

Deny the wrath they seek to goad

And claim your perfect crown.

For you forgive so much in me,

You’ve healed my broken soul.

So let me seek to do the same

And make that each day’s goal!

Psalm 6: 3, 4 & 6

How much more can I take, Oh Lord,

How much more can I bear

How much pain can the world bring down

I’m verging on despair

By day I smile and show the world

A calm and certain face

By night I weep alone in bed

Praying for signs of Grace

I know your hand is on my arm

I know you’re by my side

I know you hold me while I weep,

Counting the tears I’ve cried

But, Lord, I’m scared. I’m really scared.

I don’t know where to turn

Each bridge I try to get across

Begins to twist and burn

I’m trapped in worry and in fear

I need to hear your voice

Oh Lord, please show me what to do

Please help direct my choice.

For though I'm lost, I’ll carry on,

I lean upon your might.

I'll find my way through life's travails

By following your light.

Psalm 6: 3,4 & 6
My soul is in anguish.
   How long, O LORD, how long?
Turn, O LORD, and deliver me;
  save me because of your unfailing love.
I am worn out from groaning;
  all night long I flood my bed with weeping
  and drench my couch with tears.

Ezekiel 16:14

At the edge of winter

A single rose still blooms,

Over all her sisters

Impending darkness looms.

Yet her fragile blossom

Blushes like it was spring

And her simple beauty

Will, ceaseless pleasure bring.

Winter’s pall may linger

Through months of dreary rain,

But, in my heart’s garden,

She’ll blossom once again.

Ezekiel 16: 14
And your fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty, because the splendor I had given you made your beauty perfect, declares the Sovereign LORD.

The Rhythm of Winter

It’s cold in my heart and cold in my world

And time appears frozen in rain.

The sun hasn’t shone for a decade or two

And it may never shine again

Rain drums on the roof and taps on the panes,

While the wind chime chatters and whirls

The inlet is frosted with white caped waves

The wind kicks it up in swift swirls

Winter is here and the dark days have come

Its time to just go back to bed

Sleep for a week or for maybe a month,

The covers up over my head

The rain starts to croon a favorite tune

A tune I’ve known many a year

The wind chime will join the melody soon

The harmony ringing out clear

The cold in my heart will begin to thaw

The music will draw out a smile

Laughter will smooth over every flaw

And I’ll hum along for a while

So let the rain dance, let the wild wind blow

Let long winter days settle in

Some things I can’t change, but one thing I know

The winter’s outside, not within!!

Psalm 46:1-3, 10

 

Although the mountains shake in fear
And fall into the sea,
I will be still and know, My Lord,
That You watch over me.

Although the seas may crush the land
And render it to dust,
I will be still and know, My Lord,
You’ll justify my trust.

Though all the stars fall from the sky
And darkness rules the land,
I will be still and know, My lord
You hold me in Your hand.

Though ruin hovers o’er my world
And life's fraught with despair,
I will be still and know, My Lord,
That you will always care.

You are my refuge and my strength,
In troubles, You are there,
I will be still, My Lord, and know
You hear my every prayer.

Psalm 46:1-3, 10
1 God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
10 "Be still, and know that I am God;

Psalm 119: 147

I rose while stars still sparked the sky

With fire that won’t ignite

And there, beneath the ice white, moon

I railed against the night.

I called to you to lift me up.

To aid me in my plight,

And with the dawn I felt your hand,

I saw your burning light

Set fire to all the fears I held;

I knew I’d be alright!

Psalm 119:147
I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in your word

Blind Faith

“How can you decide on blind faith”,

I asked my ailing friend.

“So many choices to be made,

Who knows how it will end!

Blind faith just can’t be all you use

To get back on the mend!”

“Faith is not blind”, she said to me,

“It sees things so clearly;

The geese that follow summer south,

The blossom and the bee,

The setting sun, like searing flame,

Snagged in a winter tree.”

“It sees the song lost in the heart

That forgot how to sing,

It sees the trees lost in the snow

And sees the coming spring

It sees the sunrise through the mist

And wild ducks on the wing.”

“Faith is not blind, it cannot be.

It sees beyond the fear

It sees the peace that follows pain

It sees the swift wiped tear

It sees the laughter and the grief

It sees them true and clear.”

“Faith is not blind, for it can see

The things beyond my sight

It will guide me in my choice

And I will be alright,”

And then she smiled a peaceful smile,

One void of angst and fright.

That’s when I started to believe

My friend could clearly see

The truths of life and living well

That had eluded me.

Now when I pray I always make

Glasses of Faith my plea.

Matthew 17: 20

He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

Seeking the Path

Lord, let me hear with better ears

And listen when you speak

Lord, let me praise you everyday

Not just one day each week

Lord, let me offer loving hands

To those whose need is great

And let my arms encircle those

Who fear impending fate

Lord, let me build a better home

For those within my care

And let me lift, for those in pain,

A loving, healing prayer

Oh Lord, please help me walk your path

And help along the way

All those who share the path with me

And those life led astray

Lord, lift this broken, sin scarred soul

And wash me in your grace

That someday, when my walk is through,

I too may see your face.  

2 Timothy 2:24

Oh Lord, give me a servant’s heart,

The one I have’s too small;

And half the time the cranky thing,

It just won’t serve at all!

It suffers from self-righteousness

And fails to follow through;

Oh Lord, give me a servant’s heart

The one I have won’t do.

I think if you could change it out

For a new Servant’s Heart,

I’d have a stronger will to serve

And better fill my part.

But failing that please take this heart,

That troubles my life so,

And lay a loving hand on it

So maybe it will grow!

2 Timothy 2:24
And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.

A Ship in the Harbor

Peace moves across the water

In tiny, still ripples;

The mist drops away in the rising sun.

For one perfect moment

The silence is a prayer

For still waters,

For soft winds,

For a safe harbor before the darkness returns

And then the day begins

The World I Leave In My Wake

Watching the world I leave in my wake
Pondering what it all meant
Knowing I cannot pass there again
Believing it time well spent

Watching the world I leave in my wake
Watching it all hurry by
Moments of joy and moments of love
Times when I sat down to cry

Watching the world I leave in my wake
A wake that rolls on and on
And yet my reflection lingers still
Long after the wake is gone

Watching the world I leave in my wake
I ask something in your name
Make the world I leave in my wake
Better than before I came

The Little Miracles

It’s all the little miracles

That bring me such delight,

Like dew bejeweled gossamer

That sparkles in dawn’s light,

Winter ducks whose wingtips brush

The small waves in their flight,

The laughing stars that dance the skies

Throughout a summer night,

And knowing that you hold each one;

So tender in your might.

 

1 Corinthians 13: 12

Will I ever learn to see
The good you see in me?
Will I ever learn to be
The me that I should be?
Will I someday live the truth
With which you set me free?




1Corinthians 13: 12
Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

Matthew 10: 29-31

Oh lord your eye is on us all

Through troubles and travails

The sparrow and the falling star

You catch us when we fail

And lift us in your loving arms

Your precious grace prevails

So let us lift our heads in faith

When worry tears our soul

For you are ever on the watch

And your love makes us whole

Matthew: 10: 29-31
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

The Good I've Left Undone

The place of praise was draped in green

The shade of the season,

And I had come to worship there

Aimless, without reason.

I sought the light within the nave

Too long I’d walked the shade

But I had brought the dark with me

Along the path I’d made.

A restless soul, a weary heart,

A faith that often fails,

Were all the offerings I brought

Along the shrouded trails.

But as I stood there in my pain

I saw the dancing light

In traceless lines of gossamer

That glistened, quick and bright

And snagged on each quicksilver strand

There hung a single thought,

“These are the prayers I’ve left unsaid,

The good I left unwrought”

They sparkle there within the light

These things I’ve left undone,

I understand how bright they shine

When they’re touched by the Son

And how much better things could be

If I’d just got them done.

I cannot take them back again,                                                 

Those chances have slipped by,

But there will be more times to come

And those I won’t deny.

John 14: 6

The darkness rests across the land

The dawn seems far away

The moon is lost in endless clouds

That hold all light at bay

Yet even in the darkest night

I kneel in peace and pray

For His love shelters me from fear

And His word lights my way

John 14: 6
 ⁶Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life.

Living Life on A Wing and A Prayer

Living Life on a wing and a prayer
Facing it knowing He’s always there
Just walking on faith, holding to grace
And denying the pull of despair

I Am Beloved

You laid your hand upon the skies,

From night you formed each star;

You ordered them and know their names.

And I’m more loved, by far.

You laid your hand upon the skies

And colored dawn with light;

You painted it in splendid shades.

I bring you more delight

You laid your hand upon the skies

Where sparrows blithely sing.

Your eye’s on them, but I’m the one

Who sets your joy a’wing

Then let the stars dance through the night,

The dawn burst vibrantly.

And let the sparrows fill the sky;

You sent your Son for me!

 Psalm 8

¹ O LORD, our Lord,
       how majestic is your name in all the earth!
       You have set your glory above the heavens.

 ² From the lips of children and infants

       you have ordained praise because of your enemies,
       to silence the foe and the avenger.

 ³ When I consider your heavens,
       the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars,
       which you have set in place,

 ⁴ what is man that you are mindful of him,
       the son of man that you care for him?

 ⁵ You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings

       and crowned him with glory and honor.

 ⁶ You made him ruler over the works of your hands;
       you put everything under his feet:

 ⁷ all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field,

 ⁸ the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
       all that swim the paths of the seas.

 ⁹ O LORD, our Lord,
       how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Crying Out in the Dark

Fire and ice tear at my brain

My heart is cold with fear

I’m falling into dark despair

Oh Father, are you near

The cold of fierce, impending doom

Can freeze thought into fright

I have no hope of breaking free

Oh Father, where’s your light

The searing heat of loss and grief

That fills my mind with flame

Is burning hollows in my heart

Oh Father, hear your name

I call out in my suffering

Punished by my false will

Oh Father, are you listening

For I am broken still

And when, at last, no tear remains

And all the fires have died

Oh Father, will you love what’s left

Will you care that I cried

Oh Child, I feel your deepest fears

I count each tear you’ve cried

And each prayer prayed has touched my heart

Yes, even those denied,

For though you cannot see me through

Your sorrow and your pride

I have never left you, My Child

I’m always at your side

Psalm 130: 1-7
¹ Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD;

 ² O Lord, hear my voice.
       Let your ears be attentive
       to my cry for mercy.

 ³ If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins,
       O Lord, who could stand?

 ⁴ But with you there is forgiveness;
       therefore you are feared.

 ⁵ I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
       and in his word I put my hope.

 ⁶ My soul waits for the Lord
       more than watchmen wait for the morning,
       more than watchmen wait for the morning.

 ⁷ O Israel, put your hope in the LORD,
       for with the LORD is unfailing love
       and with him is full redemption.

Walking Through the Rain

The rain spills on the autumn beds;

The leaves reach up to greet

The little drops that heaven spills

To wash the garden’s feet

The cadences of restless rain

Disturb the quiet beds

The tattered petals droop and fall

From battered blossom’s heads

And still the rain, continuing,

Splashes the mud to mire

The garden droops beneath the blows

Of rain that will not tire

But as the blooms lay down their heads

Torn, broken in their plight,

They know the rains will someday cease,

The sun shine warm and bright,

And all the raindrops heaven spilt

Will sparkle in the light.