Through Grace Alone

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is not by my hand alone

That anything gets done,
Nor is it through my special strength
That any battle’s won.
 
No song that I may choose to sing
Comes from my heart alone,
And nothing springs forth from the earth
That isn’t, by Grace, sown.
 
For it is only through His Grace
That blossoms robe the earth,
And it is through His Grace alone
Our words and deeds find worth.
 
Thus it’s not through our words and deeds
That we may see God’s face,
But only through His sacrifice.
And that’s a gift of Grace.
 
Romans 11:6
And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.

Grow Around the Scars

Don’t let the pain you face today
Steal your bright tomorrows.
Rise up and grow around the pain,
For time will ease your sorrows.
Although the pain may leave a scar,
That scar’s a badge of pride.
It means that, when the worst came on,
You didn’t run and hide.
So let those scars remind you of
The lessons life can bring;
Then grow around the fading scar,
Lift up your arms and sing!

Daniel 4:22

Your Majesty, you are that tree! You have become great and strong; your greatness has grown until it reaches the sky, and your dominion extends to distant parts of the earth.

Family

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are very few joys in life

As delightful to me
As spending time with those I love,
My friends and family.
 
We stick together in tough times
And laugh when times are good.
When I am with my family,
Things happen as they should.
 
So thank you for the greatest gift
That I have ever known
A gift that, over time, with love,
Has only grown and grown.

You Lifted Me From Sin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You lifted me from sin and fear,

To keep me safe with you,
And living by the words you spoke
Is the least I can do.
For I would have drowned in my sin,
If you’d not set me free.
So I now lift you up in praise,
And do so joyfully!

Luke 19:10
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

A Tiny Voice

Though mine is just a tiny voice

Whose song is barely heard,
Still I will lift that tiny voice
Rejoicing in your word.

You are the song, so filled with joy,

That I can’t help but sing,
And with my song I'll spread your joy
To every living thing.

Thank you For So Many Things

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for the abundance, Lord,

That you daily provide,
And thank you for the loving arms
That you hold open wide.
 
Thank you for always giving me
A safe place I can hide
When life becomes so filled with stress
That just will not subside.
 
But, most of all, I thank you, Lord,
For staying by my side
And holding me within your hand
Through everything I’ve tried.

Little Blessings

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m thankful for the little things

That happen everyday;
The blessings you tuck here and there
To help me on my way.
 
Within the jumble of my day,
I don’t always take note
Of all those precious little gifts
And the love they connote.
 
They are not necessarily
Moments of great import,
In fact, most often they are of
The small, but precious sort.
 
The smile I got when I came home,
The friend who shared a hug,
The sun that broke through stormy skies,
The loved ones safe and snug.
 
They may not seem like blessings to
Most people that I meet,
But they are precious gifts to me,
The kind that make life sweet.

Choose Life

We have before us every day

Choices that we must make;
What we will give most value to
Or which path we will take;
Do we seek good in every day
Or focus on the grim;
Will we let others run our race
Or set the pace for them?

Choose well, because each choice you make
Will follow you for years,
And you will bear each consequence
With happiness or tears.
I will not purposefully choose
To walk the paths of strife,
But I will leap with joyous heart
And make the choice of life!

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.

Gold Within My Heart

I may not have the sweetest smile,
I’m not a pretty face,
But I have got a golden heart
For it is filled with grace

My heart is flawed, a broken thing,
That life has torn apart,
But since the Lord touched it with love
There’s gold within my heart

Psalm 8: 4-6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How great the mighty works of God,

The mountain and the star,
Yet, they see not His loving face,
As perfect as they are.
 
But man was born within His Grace
And calls God by his name,
For God breathed life in us from love
And asks of us the same.
 
So let the moon look down on man
And mountains rise above;
Though they are mighty in their way
God gives to man His Love.
 
Psalm 8: 4-6
What is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet:

In All I Do

When life seems roughest, let me be

A calm spot in the stormy sea.
When fear grows darker than the night,
Let me provide a steady light.
Let me lend strength to those too weak
And courage to the fearful meek.
For those with many tears to cry,
Let my joy help to dry each eye.
All those unable to fight back,
Let me defend them from attack.
For those who have no hopes to raise,
Let my faith offer songs of praise.
To those who have not truly heard,
Let my voice carry them Your Word.
Let me live life in such a way
That none can doubt to whom I pray.
In other words, in all I do,
Please help me, Lord, be more like You!

Against the Wind

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With all that happens in the world,

The tears that never end,

Sometimes it feels that, though I try,

I fly against the wind,

I know that I don’t fly alone,

You guard me to the end,

But I forget that when I’m caught

Flying against the wind.

 

You’ve shown me how to ride the storm

Each broken wing you mend,

Yet still I fear to rise and soar

Flying against the wind.

In patience, please show me once more,

So I may comprehend,

That I can rise above the world

And soar upon the wind.

 

You Are My Light

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love to warm my weary heart

In your renewing light,
And when I feel it on my face
My heart leaps up in flight.
 
So hold me now within your light,
For I’m weighted in fear,
But my heart will soar once again
Because I know you’re near.

Waiting With a View

I feel as if my world has shrunk
Down to a narrow view
And I am trapped within its web,
With no hope of rescue.
 
I know that what You’ve asked of me,
Is important to do,
But sometimes I really do miss
An “outside my world” view.
 
Yet, when I’m feeling most alone,
I catch a glimpse or two
Of all the world that waits for me
If I will wait on You!
 
Psalm 27:14
Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

Enough To Share

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m thankful for the daily gifts

That remind me You’re there,
And I pray that each day finds me
Similarly aware
That, even when I’m scraping by,
With not much left to spare,
You’ve always given me enough
That I have some to share.
 
Philippians 2: 3-4
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

Photo a blessing from HRF

From the Ends of the Earth

When I was feeling overwhelmed

You lifted me up high
And held me in your loving hand
Between fear and the sky.
From there I could see all my pain,
The fears that I must face,
Become as small as drops of rain
Before you mighty grace.
 
So I have dried all of my tears,
I stand firm on your word
For when I called to you, My Lord,
You loved me and you heard.
 
Psalm 61:2
2 From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

Simple Gratitude

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My world is quite a simple place

There’s no glamor or glitz,
But I’m the kind of person that
Simplicity befits.
 
I have a sky with simple clouds
And just a plain old sun,
Yet those simple celestials
Still seem to get it done.
 
I have a simple garden here,
With simple little blooms,
And yet the simple scent of them
Fills up my simple rooms.
 
I eat my simple little meals
Within my simple home
And I’m content to simply live
Right here and never roam.  

I know that life offers so much

To other folk than me,
But I am richly blessed with my
Perfect simplicity.

Dancing on a Bleak Path

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When the road is easy to walk

I walk it with great joy,
But when the way is difficult
That joy can be so coy.
 
You did not lay an easy path
Beneath your own son’s feet,
So I should not anticipate
A path that is too sweet.
 
And yet my path, though sometimes dark,
Is not filled with His pain,
So why should I look on it now
And grumble or complain?
 
Let me recall when things seem bleak,
The path is there for me,
And let me dance along that path
Though it’s too dark to see.

2 Samuel 6: 14

Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might,

Choose Which You Will Count

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The rain formed sparkling little tears

As it fell from the skies,
Reflecting back the many woes
Forming in my own eyes.
 
This day was not an easy one,
But it was not all bad;
For every moment filled with pain
Two more had made me glad.
 
And as I watched the endless rain
A thought entered my head,
I can either count my tears or
My blessings instead.

Be The Light

There comes a moment in each storm
When sunlight pushes through
And all the world, which once was grim,
Is sparkling for you.
 
Within the orbit of your life
Is someone lost in fear,
But you can be their sparkling light
And fill their day with cheer.
 
So don’t get lost within the rain
That spills along the way;
Become the sunshine someone needs
To brighten up their day.

2 Corinthians 13:11

Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.

Let the Light Shine in Your Heart

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She held on through the pouring rains,

Knowing they must depart.
She prayed the tempest would relent,
As winds tore her apart.
She never let her spirits droop,
Believing from the start
That, when the storm finally broke,
Allowing clouds to part,
The sunlight that would dry her tears
Would shine first in her heart.

Look Up and Wonder

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I look up at the soaring clouds,

The sun that warms the sky,
And still I cannot understand
Why you would choose to die.
 
When we make choices that are wrong
They only hurt this world,
But you were not harmed by such deeds,
Up there where clouds lie furled.
 
So why step down to walk with man
Where pain and fear are rife,
Where every wrong choice that was made
Combined to take your life?
 
Why give yourself, in pain and blood,
To right each willful wrong,
When you could have stayed safe from harm
In heaven all along?

 

How could you so love broken men

That you would sacrifice
The one thing most of us would not
To offset earthly vice?
 
And yet you did that very thing,
That I might see your face
So now, I lift my face to you
And wonder at such Grace.

 

Job 35:5-6

Look up at the heavens and see; gaze at the clouds so high above you.
If you sin, how does that affect him? If your sins are many, what does that do to him?

Bright Joy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In all the drab and drizzling world,

Where sorrows ebb and flow,
You saw that I was fading fast
With no where I could go.
 
So you sent me a gift of light,
A splash of spring’s sweet hope;
Colors that glow with living joy,
Teaching my heart to cope!
 
Psalm 86:4
Bring joy to your servant, Lord, for I put my trust in you.

John 8:29

 

I walk in stillness by the sea

Alone, beside eternity,
It’s at such times that, gratefully,
I find you walking next to me.
Try as I might, I’ll never be
The perfect child you want to see
And still I find, comfortingly,
That you are walking next to me.

John 8:29

The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.

The Lord's Plan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I’m worried for tomorrow

And I don’t know where I will be,
Or when life moves way too quickly
For me comprehend or see,
I no longer let it shake me,
I don’t hide or try to flee,
For the Lord has a plan in place
And a place in His plan for me!
 
So I rise up through the tempest,
Because I know my soul is free;
Rising far above my worry,
As high as faith can carry me.
Seeking Him, I know I’ll find Him,
Waiting for me expectantly,
For the Lord has a plan in place
And a place in His plan for me!

Psalm 40:5

Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare.

Fighting Old Battles Again

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I wrestled with my fears last night,

Where I’d go, what I’d do.
I thought I had that fight well won;
I’d given it to you.
 
And yet, as I lay in my bed,
Within the grasp of night,
Those fears came flooding back again.
Once more I had to fight.
 
I grasped each fear hard by the throat
And bade each one be still.
For I may never have a plan,
But my God always will.
 
I will face what might come next
When that time is at hand,
But right now I have work to do;
Obeying God’s command.
 
And, when the time comes to move on,
I’ll have a place, I know.
For God will lay the path for me
And show me where to go.
 
I cast each fear behind me to
The dark from whence it came,
Then wrapped myself in peace and joy
I’d claimed in Jesus’ name.
 
2 Corinthians 4:7
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.