The Winter Garden

The gate of a winter garden

Guards secrets hushed and still.

Flowers, washed in the winter rains,

Can't bloom, but soon they will.

Thus are our lives in times of grief,

Washed by the tears we weep.

The joy that lies dormant inside,

With his love, wakes from sleep.

Psalm 84: 1-4

My Home is in my Father’s heart,

I live there with great joy.

I dance within his vestibule

And songs of praise employ.

I dwell in bliss beneath his roof,

His rooms are filled with light

And I rejoice when he is near,

For he is my delight.

Abundant life belongs to those

Within his dwelling place

And praises flow from all who live

Sheltered beneath his grace.

Though I live in a broken world

My home is in the Lord

And I will live within his house

Where my soul is restored.

Psalm 84: 1-4

 ¹ How lovely is your dwelling place,
   LORD Almighty!
² My soul yearns, even faints,
   for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and my flesh cry out
   for the living God.
³ Even the sparrow has found a home,
   and the swallow a nest for herself,
   where she may have her young—
a place near your altar,
   LORD Almighty, my King and my God.
⁴ Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
   they are ever praising you.

The Prayer of a Simple Heart

Oh Lord, I am a simple heart,

Small, insignificant.

Yet still you hear me when I pray.

This prayer, I ask you grant:

Please watch over the lost ones, Lord,

Who turn away from you;

Help them find their way back home

With truth, their lives imbue.

Lift the ailing and the weak

Protect those trapped in hell,

Whether it’s of their own design

Or Satan’s heartless spell.

Watch over those who guard the rest,

Keep safe the ones who serve.

Please bring them safely home again,

Bless them as they deserve.

And keep an eye on this great land,

Born of the laws you gave.

Let not her leaders fail the land

They’re sworn to serve and save.

Lord, last of all please hold the young

Who cannot hold their own;

And, too, embrace the elderly

Whose strength is long out grown.

Oh Lord, I know you hear my words,

I know that you are there,

And I thank you for listening

To one small voice in prayer.

Matthew 6:26

You give us, Lord, the things we need

To feed a weary soul.

When we feel life tear into us

You fill the gaping whole.

For you know who and what we need

To make our lives complete

And you provide abundantly

The things life can’t deplete.

So when I long for something more,

Remind me of the truth

That you know best the things I need

And your birds are my proof.

 Matthew 6:26
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

In Times of Need, Friends

When times get tough we call on friends;

Our true friends will be there.

They lend a hand when we’re in need

And see us through despair.

When it seems like our life’s adrift

And all our efforts fail,

It’s friends who help us trim the lines

So God can fill our sail.

Psalm 9:10

Even when the world is lost

In mist that shrouds the sun,

I will trust in you, my Lord,

I will not shirk or run.

When troubles twine around me,

I’ll rise and seek your face.

Win or lose, I trust in you

And in your loving grace.

Whatever comes, let me live

With my eyes turned to you;

Even in the deepest mist

Your love will guide me through.

Psalm 9:10
Those who know your name trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.

Be Strong and Courageous

Some people live upon the shore,

Dancing beyond each wave.

While others head out to the deep,

Seemingly so brave.

And each of them feels safest when

They do what they know best,

But when life turns them faced about

They quail at the new test.

Though, I am somewhere in between

Stay safe and boldly go,

I find I’m often frightened by

The things that I don’t know.

But, whether I am off to sea

Or safe upon the shore,

I know that you will stay with me

And I will fear no more.

For, though the waves may seem more fierce

Than I have known before,

I’m safest when I’m by your side

At sea or on the shore.

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.”

Psalm 36: 7

The wind is rough, it’s in my face

And I can hardly stand.

I reach for you and you are there,

But you don’t take my hand.

Instead you let the rising winds

Whip me until they bring

Us close enough that you can keep

Me tucked beneath your wing.

Psalm 36

7 How priceless is your unfailing love, O God!
   People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.

Perfect Love

I often quake at all I’ve done

And fear the wrath I’ll meet;

I cannot fathom how I’ll feel

When I stand at your feet.

And then I think about the grace

That caused you to forgive

A people formed of perfect love

Who sully what you give.

And still you place us far above

All that your hand has made,

For it was not for heaven’s host

The covenant was made.

And so I will not fear my fate,

For you’ve absolved my blame,

But please forgive me if I still

Stand humbled in my shame.

1 John 4:18

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”

Quiet Moments

All the quiet little moments

That never leave a trace;

Not a single extra wrinkle

Or scar upon your face;

Never a ruffled feather or

A hair out of its place.

Those quiet times, that mean so much,

Get lost in life’s wild pace.

In fact, all that they leave behind

Is His reflected grace.

The Sun Breaks in Life

This day was drearier than most,

The darkness seemed so strong,

But each time that the sky grew bleak

A sun break came along.

Thus was it with my attitude;

When woe grew hard to bear,

You sent someone to light my day,

Someone you knew would care.

They were the bright spot in my sky

That burned the clouds away,

And so I thank you for the friends

You sent to light my way.

A Feast for the Heart

They are the feast you’ve sent my heart,

The friends who bring a smile.

They cheer a grey and gloomy day

And all my cares beguile.

They fill an empty heart with joy

That feeds a weary soul.

A feast born of a joyful love

Can make the broken whole.

And I will relish every bite

Of that feast you provide

For their friendship will stay with me;

Their laughter will abide.

Proverbs 15:15
All the days of the oppressed are wretched, but the cheerful heart has a continual feast.

A Prayer for More Patience

Oh Lord, I pray for more patience,

For I am not a saint,

I find myself, in frustration,

Acting with scant restraint.

I raise my voice when not heeded,

And I can hear the burr

That says I’m losing patience

And might just fuss at her.

But she can’t help it, she is lost,

Her thoughts cannot connect,

And I need to be more patient,

Offering her respect.

For she loved me so patiently

When I was young and wild,

So Lord, please give me more patience

For she is now the child.

2 Corinthians 5:1

Because my home is in the Lord

I will not fear the rain.

I can lie down within the storm

For calm will come again.

I can be still within the winds

For I’ll survive the pain.

Because my home is in the Lord,

Though I may feel the strain,

I will not fear what I may lose

For my home will remain.

2 Corinthians 5:1

¹ For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.

When Things go Wrong

There are those days when everything

That can go wrong just does;

It doesn’t help to think “what if”

Or long for what once was.

Sometimes we just have to take life

And try to see it through.

Those little things that will go wrong

Don’t dictate what we do,

Unless we take them as a curse

To cast us glumly down.

Instead, just shake them off and laugh!

That helps more than a frown.

Whatever life may drop into

Your unsuspecting lap,

Don’t let it change your attitude.

Don’t fall into that trap!!

Job 8:20-22

20 “Surely God does not reject one who is blameless
   or strengthen the hands of evildoers.
21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughter
   and your lips with shouts of joy.
22 Your enemies will be clothed in shame,
   and the tents of the wicked will be no more.”

Finding Color in a Gray Day

All through the gray and chilly day

Bright colors caught my eye,

I saw the brilliant summer blooms

The busy bee passed by,

Although the clouds came bounding in,

I saw a clear blue sky,

And when the rains were pouring down

My world was bright and dry.

I like to think that it’s because

I make “cheerful” an art,

But truth to tell it’s because you

Were with me from the start.

You cleared the path before my feet,

Bade all troubles depart.

You brightened up this dreary day

By coloring my heart.

Aggravation

When I am aggravated by

What life demands of me

I try to take a second look

At things I didn’t see,

Like how you healed the sick and lame

Or calmed the stormy sea.

How you took my form for a while

So you could set me free,

And, worried that my sinful ways

Would sunder you and me,

You bore the weight of all my sins

And died upon a tree.

So when I let aggravation

Get the best of me

I close my eyes and think of you

And drop down on my knee

To thank you that you didn’t stay
Aggravated with me.

John 3:16

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

The Weeds of Bitterness

The weeds were twisted round my heart

So tight I couldn’t feel.

I saw the morning, felt its light,

But doubted it was real.

I stumbled on the rocky road,

The path was choked with weeds

That burst upon the slightest touch

To scatter bitter seeds

Of sorrow and of deep despair.

I knew that I was lost,

For not a flicker of sunlight,

The path before me, crossed.

But then I heard you call my name

And hope answered my needs

For you were there, waiting for me,

The light beyond the weeds.

I tried to step beyond the weeds,

To reach your golden light,

But all the weeds kept pulling me;

I was too weak to fight.

I called to you, with all my heart,

I gave up all my sin,

The anger and the bitterness,

The weeds that held me in.

And there before me broke a path

That would lead straight and true

And suddenly I understood

What I’d needed to do.

It wasn’t that the weeds held me,

Kept me from passing through,

It was me clinging to those weeds

That held me back from you.

Matthew 13:38
The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one,

The Easter People

We are the Easter people, Lord,

We are not born of the cross.

We live in the resurrection

Not in the sorrow and loss.

Yes, we are the Easter people,

Born of redemption not sins.

Death punctuates not our ending,

But marks where true life begins.

Since we are the Easter people,

Though the cross darkens our way,

We will step out of its shadow

Into the light of your day.

We are the Easter people, Lord,

We no longer fear death’s face.

We live in the resurrection,

In Easter’s redeeming grace.

The Sorrow of a Friend

I wept to see the morning mist

And when the day was through.

But all my tears fell unremarked,

For I was without you.

You were right here for all those years,

Now suddenly you’re gone.

God called your name, you turned to him

And I must carry on.

The rain and mist fill up my heart

And wash a dreary sky.

I’m grateful that you were my heart,

I weep at this good-bye.

Oh Lord, please guard my precious heart,

As he rests in your care,

And I will weep within the mist

Until I join him there.

Psalm 31:9
Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and body with grief.

Matthew 22:21

I’m often told to fall in line,

But that’s real hard to do

When falling into line means I

Can’t be in line with you.

The laws of man can do much good

And good men follow through,

But that won’t mitigate the fact

That I belong to you.

So let the whole world fall in line,

It’s hard for me to do,

Especially when it conflicts

With what I owe to you.

Matthew 22:21
“... Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

Seeking the Lord

I seek you, Lord, with all my heart,

Though sometimes I don’t see

That you are in the everyday

And not some mystery.

I tend to look toward the sky

Or out across the sea,

When all I need to do is turn

To find you next to me.

You are the grass that blows in spring,

The chick, fresh from its shell.

You are the bough of evergreen,

The salty ocean’s smell.

You are the tear in a friend’s eye,

 The tiny baby’s smile.

I tried to find you, far and wide;

You were here all the while.

Oh Lord, please know I seek you still,

I love to see your face,

And I am comforted to find

I see you every place.

1 Chronicles 16:10
Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.