The Day the Rains Ceased

For, lo, the sun broke through the clouds

And all the air was bright;

The promise of forgiveness filled

Their damp, beleaguered sight.

They watched the clouds, wrung dry of rain,

Dissolving in mid flight

And praised the lord, not for rain’s cease,

But for the growing light.

Genesis 8:

2 Now the springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens had been closed, and the rain had stopped falling from the sky.

You Love Me More

Silently I count the stars

That fill the nighttime sky;

Each of them you know by name,

You laid the path they fly,

You guide them in their travels,

You hear them when they cry.

Yet for all that devotion

You lived so I won’t die.

Psalm 8:3-4

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 mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?

Blessings in the Light

Resting in that single moment,

Before the day can start,

I longed to find a way to ease

The aching in my heart.

I know within the dawning light

There is no place for tears.

But here, before light fills the skies,

I hear the whispered fears

Of all the dreams that won’t be born,

Of those that I let die.

I felt the cold night sparking on

The teardrops in my eye.

But then I saw the rising sun,

Gold streaking the new day,

Reflected on the sea of tears

That joy would burn away.

For, though I’ve lost so much I’d planned,

I’ve gained more than I’d dreamed

And my life is much brighter than

My darkest fears had seemed.

Galatians 6: 7-9

It’s really not that strange to learn

That we reap what we sow;

If we plants seeds of joy today

We won’t see anger grow.

If hope is what we choose to leave

Within each garden row,

Then we will find that there’s no place

Left for despair to grow.

When truth is spread throughout each bed,

Then falsehoods dare not show,

For they will be plucked out like weeds,

As we reap what we sow.

The seeds of love spread quickest through

Each garden bed and row,

And when they’re fertilized with faith,

The sweetest blossoms grow.

So choose your harvest carefully

And nurture what you sow,

For you will, most assuredly,

See that which you sow grow.

Galatians 6: 7-9

7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

2 Corinthians 3:17

I am bound by obligations

To this life that I live

And yet those chains can't keep from me

The freedom that you give.

Thus, I do not feel bound to earth,

Though I may never fly,

For I am much beloved by him

Who formed the clear blue sky.

My soul rises on faith to soar,

Your love beneath my wing;

My heart is buoyed by such joy

I lift my voice and sing!

2 Corinthians 3:17
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

Matthew 9:29

What are the origins of faith,

Where does knowing begin?

What restores it to full strength

When it has worn too thin?

Is our faith a reflection of

The blessings that we know

Or is it through our faith that we

See all our blessings grow?

Do we find faith in times of strife,

In worry and distress,

Or does faith come when we reflect

Outside of life’s duress?

Is faith born in the moment when

We reach out for God’s hand

Or does it leap within our hearts

When we first understand

That he placed blessings on our name

Before we came to birth

And it is by his love alone

That our faith knows its worth.

Matthew 9:29
Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to you”;

Thankful

Thankful for the bright sunrise

That cinnamoned the sky,

Thankful for the winter ducks

That drifted slowly by,

Thankful for the noise of love

That filled the quiet house,

Thankful that they went back home,

It’s quiet as a mouse.

Thankful for the precious friends

And all the joy they bring,

Thankful each day for your love

From which all grace must spring.

Deuteronomy 30:19

In all things praise the name of God,

Lift him up with your voice,

For it is by his perfect love

That you have the true choice

To rise beyond the cold of death

And live within his light

Or cower down beneath the heel

Of Satan’s blackest night.

Behold, the choice remains with us,

But each of us must choose,

To gather blessings eternal

Or those that we will lose.

Deuteronomy 30:19

This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live

Refined Like Silver

It was through sorrow that you gave

A greater strength to me.

It was through conflicts on the job

I gained integrity.

It was while they both fought for life

I grew a servant’s heart.

It was when I was left to fail

I learned I could restart.

It was when I had nothing left

That you taught me to ask.

It was when I was overwhelmed

I pushed on through the task.

It was when I felt most alone

I learned the truth of love.

It was when I hit bottom that

I, at last, looked above.

I have not grown through quiet times,

When sheltered from life’s pains,

But only in the crucible

Have I truly made gains.

For only in the cleansing fire

Can my flaws melt away

Until I am the perfection

You see in me each day.

Psalm 66: 10-12

10 For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver.
11 You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs.
12 You let people ride over our heads;  we went through fire and water,
   but you brought us to a place of abundance.

A Weather Change

The day began with bitter rain

Peeling down from the sky,

Tapping sharp at my window pane

And splashing In my eye.

But, as the morning skipped along,

The clouds went sailing by,

The sun shone warm and swept the rain

From my eye and the sky.

It took but kind words from a friend,

A stranger’s cheery nod,

To lift my heart from gloom to glee.

A weather change from God!

And Just For Fun......

Sometimes the puzzle’s just too hard,

The pieces won’t all go.

No matter how hard I might try

My ducks aren’t in a row.

I wave my arms and circle fast

With nothing much to show

Because, no matter how I rush,

My ducks aren’t in a row.

My sweat and tears just get me wet,

The garden still won’t grow.

 No matter how hard I might work

My ducks aren’t in a row.

And so I’m giving duck wrangling

A big, hearty heave ho,

For life is about so much more

Than ducks all in a row!

Worries and Peace

I spent the day in preparation

For the days ahead,

I scurried round like I was lost

And couldn’t find my head.

Then I came home to find my work

Still lay before me there.

I felt a tear start in my eye,

Then there were tears to spare.

I stepped away so none would see

The tears that touched my cheek

And there I saw, down on the beach,

The peace I went to seek.

He had no thought of why I wept,

Nor did he really care.

In fact, he never looked my way,

As if I wasn’t there.

He wasn’t really seeking food

As he strolled down the shore,

He just wanted to walk with you

In peace, and nothing more.

I left him shortly, as he strolled,

To turn back to my day,

But with me, when I went inside,

I took some peace away.

John 16:33
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Needless Worries and Leaves

My worries are like autumn leaves

Still clinging to the bough

If I would just leave them alone

Most go away, somehow.

For all the problems that I  fear

Are more than those I’ll know

And waiting for “that shoe to drop”

Just seems to make them grow.

The more I worry on a fear

That’s not a problem yet,

The more I twist myself in knots

With no real need to fret.

But when I leave them in your hand

Most simply go away

And I can better handle those

Real problems that do stay!

Jeremiah 17:8
They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

The Edge of the Light

The world was shrouded in darkness.

The wind cut through the night;

Howling like wolves, fast on my trail

And touching me with fright.

I shivered at the sound of it,

I hid within the dark.

I knew that even the new dawn

Would be cold, grim and stark.

And so it was, when dawn appeared,

The grey skies lowered grim

And I just knew the dark would last…

But then I thought of him.

He stood for me when I was lost

Within the darkest night.

He led me from that bitter place

Back to the edge of light.

2 Samuel 22:29
You, LORD, are my lamp; the LORD turns my darkness into light.

The Tears of a Friend

Within the teardrops of a friend

Lie more than simple fears,

There are those things that I can’t help,

Much like her flowing tears;

There’s the betrayal of those who

Should offer love not jeers,

Or the destruction of a trust

Dismantled through the years

By promises made without truth,

Those twisted, bitter lies.

And all of this spills from her heart

To pool within her eyes

I know you have her in your hand,

But she burns in my heart,

And while you see the end of pain

All I see is its start.

So please give her what I cannot,

For in you lies relief,

And I can hold her while she cries

But you must heal her grief.

Psalm 6:3-4

3 My soul is in deep anguish.  How long, LORD, how long?

4 Turn, LORD, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love.

So Much Work To Do

The sun has risen on the sea

So I must rise up, too,

For the day is under way

And I have work to do.

There are the wounded hearts to love

And weary hands to hold;

There are so many tears to dry

While comforting the old.

There are still children lost to love,

Who have not seen the light,

While others stand beside the path

Unmoving in their fright.

There are the angry, clenching fists

Against imagined slurs,

And those so lost they are at home

Where wrath and vengeance stirs.

There is so little time to do

All that needs to be done,

So I must rise and tend the work

Bequeathed me by The Son.

John 9:4-5

4 As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

Ecclesiastes 3:11

You touch the leaves in colors pure,

You brush the waves to foam.

You tint the corn with golden silk,

Bejewel the spider’s home.

You cast the stars across the sky

Beyond my mortal sight.

You set the sun and silent moon

In their enduring flight.

How can I fathom your true form

When all reflect your face?

How can I truly understand

The fullness of your grace?

How can I know that I am yours

Beyond this life I know

When I can barely see farther

Than each step as I go?

With all the majesty and grace

That fills my earthly view

I cannot harbor any doubts

Of how much I love you,

But when I see the vast expanse

Of all eternity

I am humbled by the thought

Of how much you love me.

Ecclesiastes 3:11

11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

The Leap of Faith

One man’s blustery dismal day

Is another’s excuse to play;

While I shiver before the wind

They rejoice as their full sail’s bend.

Are they braver than I can be,

To ride the winds and stormy sea,

Or is the fault that lies in me

Something that’s easier to see?

It seems to me the choice is one,

Not just to do or leave undone,

But instead, do we hide from harm

Or dance within the windy storm?

Son Breaks

When life seems to be closing in,

Then I do what it takes

To seek in you that which I call

My personal sun breaks.

Although the dark is looming close,

My whole world rocks and shakes,

You are the core of light within

My personal sun breaks.

You always shine when I am week

From all of life’s heartbreaks

You shine right through the darkest clouds

My personal Son Breaks.

The Mighty Warrior Who Saves You

With all the good and bad out there,

The blessings and the strife,

Why is it that I find more good

In my day to day life?

Why do I wake to quiet dawns

From nights filled with no fear?

Is it because both you and they

Are standing ever near?

I know you keep watch over us,

Guarding us with your might,

But they have taken up the task,

When push comes to a fight,

Of being sheepdogs to your flock;

To keep the wolves at bay.

They stay on watch, but when death looms

They step into the fray.

Defend them as they stand for us,

And hold them when they fall,

For they rose up to meet the foe

In answer to our call.

Zephaniah 3:17

17 The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.

Burning Through the Mist

Within the misty morning’s dawn

The silence touched my heart.

I had so much that I should do,

But I just couldn’t start.

 For through the mist that cloaked the world

The sun began to glow;

Its light, reflecting off the bay,

Slowly began to grow.

Then, as I watched the darkness fade,

A thought occurred to me

Your love’s the sun that clears the mist;

And I’m the brightening sea.

The Healing Heart

It was just a passing moment,

A photo from a friend,

But it touched something in my heart

That I needed to mend.

A precious memory I’d lost,

Of strength that I once knew,

And it reminded me that love

Will always see me through.

For, while it passes from my hand,

It lives within my heart

And though we’re sundered in this life

We’re never far apart

When something simple as a bloom

Can bring you back to me;

And just the kindness of a friend

Can light your memory.

photo courtesy of my friend, Marie Barth