The Broken Bough

The barren branch, the broken bough,

Is all that’s left behind.

The shattered husk of what once was;

A broken, hollow rind.

So much of life still blooms and grows

With darkness at its heart.

While life is strong in root and limb,

The darkness gets its start.

If we’re to leave a legacy

Beyond the broken bough,

We need to root our lives in more

Than just the here and now.

Only when rooted in his word,

Can our limbs reach the sky

And from strong roots will rise new shoots

When our time passes by.

Psalm 126:5

With every bitter tear I weep

I feel you comfort me.

And though the tears well in my eyes

Til I can barely see,

I hold your promise in my heart

That, though my tears may fall,

You’ll turn my sorrow into joy

With which you’ll fill them all.

Psalm 126:5
Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy.

Psalm 19:13

When my fragile patience wavers,

When my strained temper frays,

When my frustrations bubble up

When my devotion strays

Please keep one hand on my shoulder

The other cross my lips

That I might serve you faithfully

Avoiding sinful slips.

Psalm 19:13
Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression.

Isaiah 51:6

I woke up with a joyful heart

To greet the dawning day,

Though all the clouds were streaked with tears,

The skies were thick and gray,

For, though the world was sad and grim,

My spirit would not quail.

You are the source of my delight

And you will never fail.

Isaiah 51:6
Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies. But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail.

Quiet Enough to Hear

When life becomes overwhelming

I settle in your peace.

I seek the place where whirlwinds stop,

Where chaos finds surcease.

There, where silence washes the shore

With simple, golden light,

Stillness ripples through quiet waves

Just off the edge of night

And I can hear you speak to me

Where mind and heart are still.

That’s why I go to meet you there,

That’s why I always will.

Psalm 107:29
He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed.

1 Chronicles 16:9

I praise the lord with all my heart,

I sing to him every day.

He lifts me from my world of sin

And washes all those sins away.

He heals me when my pain is great

And turns me from the broken road.

His arms enfold me when I fall;

He carries me, easing my load.

Rejoicing in his creation,

He leads us in his perfect ways.

I will follow where he leads me,

Singing to him my joyful praise.

Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.

Job 33:4

I woke this morning wrapped in fear,

The world weighed down on me.

My heart was cold as winter ice,

The future bleak to see.

But then you breathed across the land,

The ice began to thaw.

For life is in your healing breath,

Your spirit carries awe.

And I will rise up from the cold,

Your breath will melt my fear.

Although I’m cloaked in icy dread,

Your loving warmth is near.

Job 33:4
The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

Psalm 104:16

I long to be that silent tree

That stands down by the bay.

I long to feel the growing joy

Of my branches a sway.

I wish that I too grew in peace,

My roots deep in a soil

That proved to be more fertile than

This life of grief and toil.

The tree that grows upon the shore

Where water springs so sweet

Will grow and spread at root and crown,

Drawing strength from rich peat.

I too can be that soaring tree

By drinking from your word

And rising up above the pain

Where your voice can be heard.

Psalm 104:16
The trees of the LORD are well watered, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.

My Lack of Wisdom

I struggled with my praise tonight,

With no thought where to start.

I flipped through endless photographs,

But nothing touched my heart.

So I then opened up your word

And found this simple phrase

That helped me understand how I

Should start writing my praise.

I sorely need your wisdom, Lord,

To help me through each day.

You guide me to the path I seek

And watch me on the way.

You lift me when I fail and fall

And listen when I pray.

But, most of all, I’m wiser when

I heed the things you say.

James 1:5

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

Psalm 37:7

There is that place, beyond the storm,

Where calm remembers me,

The place where a still, silent mist

Entwines a winter tree,

Where all the frothing waves have hushed

Upon the heaving sea

And pastures draped in winter’s white

Dream of harvests to be.

There in that place of perfect calm,

Beyond the frenzied squall,

Is where I know, if I am still,

I’ll hear you when you call.

So when the tempests rise again

To batter roof and wall

I will not fret, for I have learned

That peace follows it all.

Psalm 37:7
Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.

Twists and Turns

Sometimes it’s hard to find the light,

Though I know that it’s there.

Sometimes the world can twist me up,

But I will not despair.

For I know I will find my way

Through all the twists and turns

And one day I will stand with you

Where your light always burns.

Isaiah 55:10

You wrap the seeds in winter snow,

That melts in warming spring,

To nourish them so they can grow,

In turn, new life to bring.

You order life from birth to death

And bring it to rebirth,

You watch over each passing breath

And nurture sea and earth.

You cast the stars across the night

And cause the sun to rise

Washing the world in morning light

To color the dawn skies.

And all of this you do for me

Because you love me so.

I wanted you to know I see.

I love you, too, you know.

Isaiah 55:10
As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

Isaiah 62:3

It’s such a simple little thing,

A bough of evergreen.

Yet, when it’s crowned in crystal ice

A new dimension’s seen.

The purest nature of the tree

Is magnified in snow

And sparkles in its icy crown,

Reflecting heaven’s glow.

Thus, as his children, we face storms

Til we too reflect him.

We learn to sparkle in his hand,

His royal diadem.

Isaiah 62:3
You will be a crown of splendor in the LORD’s hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

Psalm 34:18

However strong I seem to be,

My heart’s not made of stone.

Sometimes it’s harder than you think

To face life all alone.

There are those days when I’m so cold

And bowed beneath my load,

All I can see ahead of me

Is an unending road.

I turn my heart and hand to serve.

I love those on my path.

The dearest return love for love,

But many offer wrath.

Yet, when the sorrow smothers me,

I know that you are near,

And, when my broken heart cries out,

You whisper in my ear.

Psalm 34:18
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Family

They’re my family, one and all,

By choice, and some by blood,

For they have always stayed with me

Through rain and snow and flood.

They hold me up and see me through

With unquestioning love.

I have no doubt that they were sent,

A gift from God above.

We laugh, we cry, we spread our wings

And we all flock together,

Because you made us family,

We birds of a feather.

Joshua 1:9

The storms have not abated, Lord,

They howl around me still,

But I can feel a changing tone,

An easing of the chill.

I don’t know why the storms arise,

The winds that fiercely blow.

I can’t explain why I’m thus plagued.

Perhaps I’ll never know.

But I have seen that they will pass,

Their fearsome winds will cease.

If I can hold to your promise

In faith. I’ll find new peace.

So I shall rise and face the storms

That life throws out at me,

For, though they tear me in their wrath,

You’re walking close to me.

Joshua 1:9

⁹ Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Lost in the Storm

I fear the storm is closing in.

I thought I was prepared,

But I am feeling overwhelmed,

Inundated and scared.

Why did the torrent start to rise,

When did the winds increase?

Why am I being buried here

And when will it all cease?

I’m terrified that I’ll be lost

Within the swirling snow,

And, though I think I know the way,

I don’t think I can go.

I know I have to ride it out

I know the storm will ease,

I know that you are always near,

But, can you hold me please?

Job 38:29-30

29 From whose womb comes the ice?
   Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens
30 when the waters become hard as stone,
   when the surface of the deep is frozen?

Matthew 8:21-22

All my anguish swept in on me,

Curled in a ball, I cried.

I wept my pillow out to sea

Upon the salty tide.

All of the things that I’d done wrong,

All those vile things I’d said,

Formed a chorus of raw disdain

That got stuck in my head.

And as I numbered all my flaws

I cowered in my bed,

For, if I rose and saw my face,

I knew that I’d despise

All of the ugliness that looked

Back through my mirrored eyes.

I thought that all of that was dead,

But yet, there it still lay,

Moldering like a long dead corpse,

And getting in my way.

For I could only stare, appalled,

At my rot on display.

And then the words came to my mind,

Spoken in Galilee,

Leave the dead to bury the dead,

Rise up and follow me.

And, as those words began to form

A whisper in my head,

I saw the sun burn through the night.

I rose up from my bed

And turned away from my dead past

To follow you instead.

Matthew 8:21-22

 ²¹ Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

 ²² But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

Reconciled

I was so far from your command

I couldn’t hear your voice

And I was backing further off

With every losing choice.

But you still loved me faithfully

And we were reconciled,

Not by my words or by my deeds,

For both were fierce and wild,

But by your blood and by your love

Was I restored to life

And lifted from the world I knew,

A world of fear and strife.

Now, through your love we’re reconciled,

And I’ve a brand new start.

I’ll keep reconciliation

Alive within my heart.

2 Corinthians 5:19-20

18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

When I Can't Find the Words

Sometimes I simply cannot find

The perfect word or phrase,

Or even pin down properly

What I most want to praise.

Most often I must to turn to you

And let you be my voice,

For my words won’t reflect your plan

If you don’t guide my choice.

Today is just one of those days,

I don’t know where to start

To paraphrase the gratitude

That I feel in my heart.

So I will offer to my friends

That perfect little gift

With which you started out my day,

To give their hearts a lift.

Thank you for the beauty and the glory with which you mark my world.

1 Peter 4:11If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Time's Passage

The weeks slip by so quickly now,

Though each day seems to drag.

The minutes tick with hesitance

And seconds halt and lag.

The ebb and flow of daily life

Seems to stall out for me.

Then I notice a week is past,

Swift and silently.

What have I to show for my days,

However swift they fly?

Why do I waste the minutes when

I feel them dragging by?

I count the years before me and

I watch the past years mount,

And all that I can do it pray

That I’ve made each one count.

For each one is a gift to me

And I must make them shine,

For, swift or slow, they mark the life

That I must claim as mine.

Romans 13:11-12
¹¹ And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. ¹² The night is nearly over; the day is almost here.