My Perpetual Disgrace

Lord, I am tangled up within

The chaos that I’ve made.
I know that I would not be here
If I had never strayed.
And, looking back, I clearly see
The point where I got lost,
But it’s too late to change things now,
That line can’t be uncrossed.
 
You must be tired, Lord, by now
Of making my wrongs right,
Each time You get one straightened out
Another comes to light.
Yet still You hear me when I cry,
Answering tears with grace,
And, once again, come to my aid,
Redeeming my disgrace.
 
Psalm 33:18
But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love

Moving Slow

My brain’s moving slowly tonight,

I don’t think I’ll get far,
But that might just be alright, Lord,
With things the way they are…
 
I’m just a little grumpy now,
I had an awkward day.
In fact, I’m almost to the point
I want to slink away
 
And hide myself inside my shell
Where no one can find me.
Yet I have too much still to do
For that to ever be.
 
So help me find my better self,
The one who’s not so bleak.
For no one else should put up with
These grumpy words I speak.

Wait Expectantly

I lifted my prayer up at dawn,

At the start of the day,
Knowing that You will listen, Lord,
If I make time to pray.
 
And I will take the time today
To stop and listen, too.
For, as I want You to hear me,
I want, Lord, to hear You.
 
So I will pray in confidence
That You will speak to me.
I’ll listen, in the quiet dawn,
And wait, expectantly.
 
Psalm 5:3
In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.

I'm Being Pursued

My worries seem to follow me,

Though I try to let go,
As if they know something’s amiss
That I do not yet know.
 
I feel them breathing down my neck,
I cannot quite break free.
They’re always right there whispering
Their dire thoughts to me.
 
I try to give them up to You,
But then I call them back.
By then they’ve always multiplied
And are on the attack.
 
So once again, Lord, here I am,
With worries on my tail
And little doubt that, at this rate,
They’re likely to prevail.
 
So if You’ll take them back once more
This time I’ll let them stay.
I’ll hold on to Your promises
And cast my qualms away.
 
1 Peter 5:7
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Blossoms of Joy

The joy builds up through winter’s sleep

Until it bursts in spring
To fill the world with brand new life
That only joy can bring.
 
And all that joy’s hard to resist
As I pass by each day.
So thank you, Lord, for brightening
What was a dreary day!
 
Acts 2:28
You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.

Fresh New Starts

The inlet, shrouded in a mist,

Was silent before dawn.
The morning, not fully awake,
Began to stir and yawn.
 
The birds were rustling in the nest,
Their dreams still touched by night.
While the fox, gazing from its den,
Hoped for a glimpse of light.
 
The day was still a hope unborn,
A promise unfulfilled.
The worries that roamed in the night
Had not yet quite been stilled.

But dawn was just a breath away,

Born upon angel’s wings,
To bless all of the fresh new starts
That every morning brings.
 
Job 38:7
while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?

Wings Unfurled

I come when I hear You call, Lord,

Rising swiftly to You,
Whatever task You have for me
That task, in faith, I’ll do.
But hearing You, sometimes, is hard,
Through the noise of this world.
So please help me to hear You, Lord,
And I’ll come, wings unfurled.
 
Psalm 32:8 
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.

Rebirth

The frozen days of wintertime

Are gone now from the air
And with them they have taken back
The sense of cold despair.
 
But those days will return again,
No life is without pain.
Yet even that pain reminds us
We’ll be reborn again.
 
Although we face desolate days,
By His rebirth we know
We’ll wither until the day comes
We’re reborn, then we’ll grow.
 
So blossom while the air is warm
And savor the sweet days,
But don’t forget, when pain sweeps in,
To still rejoice and praise.
 
2 Corinthians 4:16-17 
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

Disrupted Plans

He laid the stones that make the path

Two dozen years ago.
And he could not have guessed back then
How fast the blooms would grow.
They spread beyond the tidy beds,
Each neatly planted row,
Until they’d broken up his path
Where they weren’t meant to go.
 
Sometimes we lay our plans too well,
With everything just so,
But we forget to account for
The things we cannot know,
Like what God has planned for our life,
What tomorrow may show.
We lay our path and then stray blooms
Slip in, to spread and grow.
 
2 Corinthians 1:17
Was I fickle when I intended to do this? Or do I make my plans in a worldly manner so that in the same breath I say both “Yes, yes” and “No, no”?

In The Dawn

Breathlessly, in the growing dawn,

I wait to hear from You.
I turn my face toward the light
As sunlight glances through.
                   
I’ve found, for me, it’s in the line
Between the dark and dawn,
When all the world’s holding its breath,
And all night’s fears are gone
 
That I can sit in reverent peace
And, sometimes, hear Your voice.
Thus I can face what comes each day,
For I have made this choice-
Before I step forth in the day,
I take time to rejoice.
 
Matthew 4:16
the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.”

My Foundation

My foundation is on the rock

That rises above all.
It lifts me up above the storms
That break against its wall.
 
Sometimes I think I’ve got the strength
To climb up on my own.
Right up until I slip and fall,
Broken upon hard stone.
 
Each time it lifts me up again
Above the storms, unfurled,
To shelter me until I’m strong
Enough to face the world.

Psalm 61:2

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.

His Glory

Hosanna, Oh Lord, Hosanna!

I praise Your Holy name.
Your smallest thought easily puts
All earth’s glory to shame.
 
I praise You with a grateful heart,
Through all that this life brings,
Your glory is the source of light
From which all my hope springs
 
Psalm 72:19
Praise be to his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and Amen.

The Light

I did not understand, at first,

How great a love could be,
Although I’m an eager student
Of ancient history.
 
But when I studied the grim world
Into which He was born
And came to understand the means
By which His flesh was torn,
 
I gained a clearer insight to
The love He bears for me,
A love so great that He endured
What didn’t have to be.
 
I still don’t fully comprehend
A love that strong and bright,
But, through the darkness of my sin,
I now can sense The Light.
 
1 John 4:7-8
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

By Design

New hope whispers on every bough

As spring begins anew
The promise of returning life
Once more comes bursting through.
 
Is spring’s renewal by design
Intended to remind
The wayward earth of Christ’s rebirth,
The death He left behind?

Valentines

I have no words of praise tonight

That can encompass love
More aptly than this photograph
Of two, now called above.
 
They loved each other all their lives.
Even after his death
She still remembered she loved him
Until her dying breath.
 
We cannot all speak of such love,
For it is truly rare,
But I watched them live it each day
With tenderness and care.
 
If that’s the bar that has been set,
Then it has been set high.
And I might not live up to it,
But I will surely try.
 
1 Corinthians 13:7
Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Lessons and Scars

Take my advice, learn well from me,

Don’t walk the path I’ve trod,
Believing that you got this far
Without the help of God.
 
Each time I feel it’s by my works
That I have come this far,
I find my ego takes a hit
And failure leaves a scar.
 
I’ve learned to put my plans in place
And done all I could do,
But only after I have asked
The Lord to see me through.
 
Psalm 20:4-5
May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.
May we shout for joy over your victory and lift up our banners in the name of our God.

Through the Storm

With every storm that passes through

I find myself grateful anew
That, regardless how the storm blew,
I came through holding on to You!
 
Psalm 55:8
I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm.”

Grief and Good-byes

Sadness settles in me tonight.

Another friend is gone,
And though I know that he’s at peace
Those left, must carry on.
 
A tear wells up, then a few more.
It seems I’m prone to cry
Each time I have another friend
That I must bid good-bye.
 
Oh Lord, I know that he’s with you,
That each life has to end.
And yet, tonight, I cannot help
But grieve for my lost friend.

Castaway

I found myself cast upon rock,

Washed there by the deluge.
And, though I thought that all was lost,
I found, instead, refuge.
 
There are those times in every life
When we pause to take stock,
And that was what I faced when I
Was cast upon the rock.
 
With all the storms that harried me
It seemed to no avail
That I should try to carry on
In the face of that gale.
 
But with my feet upon the rock,
Its shelter at my back,
I found the place that I could stand
And withstand each attack.
 
So I will build my fortress here,
Where God’s my shield and lock,
And bless the grace that raised the storm
That cast me on The Rock.
 
Psalm 18:2
The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Not By Works

How mighty are we, in our eyes,

And yet how small, in fact.
We list our talents with a pride
That can’t remain intact.
 
For pride does not salvation bring.
That’s born only in grace,
And faith is all that leads us to
Redemption from disgrace.
 
However mighty you may feel
There’s nothing you can do
To bring the grace of forgiveness
His life, and death, brought you.
 
Ephesians 2:8-9
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

Through the Debris

They smile above last year’s debris,

Growing through the decay.
Determined to face life with joy,
Despite what’s in their way.
 
I sometimes forget that I, too,
Need to face life that way,
And not get bogged down in debris
That clutters every day.
 
Oh Lord, give me the faith I need
To rise up and display
The same simple joy in my life
That I saw bloom today.
 
Luke 12:27
“Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.

My Focus

I’m trying not to look back, Lord,

On all that I’ve done wrong.
I’m keeping my focus where it
Should have been all along.
 
I know that I’ve learned from mistakes
That I made in the past,
But I need to look forward to
The future that will last.
 
For we all walk where our gaze leads.
This much I fully know,
It’s critical to focus on
Where we intend to go.
 
So help me keep my eyes on You,
Where my gaze ought to be,
And not upon sins of the past
From which You’ve set me free.

Watch Over Me

I needed You again today

And, of course, You were there.
I called upon You in my need
Because I know You care.
 
It is as if You linger near,
Keeping an eye on me.
But I am grateful that’s the way
That Your love seems to be.
 
In fact, it does my old heart good
Too turn and find You there.
So please keep watching over me,
Oh Lord, I need Your care.

Live Alive!!

Oh, live not merely to survive,

But live so well that you will thrive!
It’s not enough to work and strive,
We were each made to live alive!
 
However small, you are alive,
So push yourself, yes, always strive
To live rejoicing, learn to thrive,
Live life fully, don’t just survive!

The Witness

It rises on time every night

To travel cross the sky,
And when the sun brings forth the dawn
It lingers still near by.
 
Thus, faithfully it witnesses
The passing of the years.
How short the lives it monitors,
Each fraught with joy and tears.
 
And yet it watches patiently,
Just as the Lord designed,
A world that knows it only as
A moon that’s cold and blind.
 
Psalm 89:37
it will be established forever like the moon, the faithful witness in the sky.

Dance in the Night

There’s light even in darkest night,

So don’t tremble with fear.
Rise up and dance with joyful heart,
Knowing that God is near.
 
The darkness seems to hold our fears,
We tremble in the night,
But night time means dawn’s on its way,
So let your heart be light.
 
Psalm 91:4-5 
He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day,

In The Mist

The mist was thick across the bay,

The sunlight dimmed to grey,
Yet still he carried on in flight
With faith he’d find the way.
 
I need to learn to face this life
With that much faith each day.
Then I will not allow the mists
To slow me on my way.

Love the Lord

I love You, Lord, with all my heart,

I’ll praise you with delight
For You have turned my thorns to blooms,
My darkness into light.
 
I love You, Lord, with heart and soul,
You’re my strength when I’m weak.
And I will praise You, Lord, until
I can no longer speak.
 
I love You, Lord, I always will.
For You gave life to me,
And I will not stop loving You
Through all eternity.
 
Deuteronomy 6:5  
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.