Rise and Shine

I may look like all of the rest

Who stand here by my side.
In fact, you’ll see faces like mine
Scattered both far and wide.
 
There’s nothing to make me stand out,
No features rare or fine,
But I am wonderfully made!
So I will RISE and SHINE!
 
Psalm 139:14
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Rough Seas

Today may have been a bit rough,

But Your grace saw me through
And though I may look worse for wear
I’m so grateful to You.
You held me up when seas got rough,
And turned me to the shores.
I cannot doubt the loving grace
That rescues and restores.

For the Little Ones I Love

Don’t let them stray far from the path,

Lord, keep them on the way;
And, if You don’t mind, make their trail
Straight and smooth, I pray.
 
I know that there must be some dips
And hills along their road,
But let them be the little kind.
Oh, and a lighter load.
 
I want to shelter them, oh Lord,
From all that could bring harm,
Though I know that they’re safest when
Snuggled in Your arm.
 
I know their path will be their own
And You have them in hand,
But I still love them oh so much.
I know You understand.
 
Psalm 143:10
Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.

Homesick

I drove down through the flats today,

The salt spray filled the air,
I felt homesickness touch my heart.
It seemed to linger there.
 
I lived so long, down by the sea,
That it still draws me back.
Though I am happy where I am
With nothing to call lack,
 
I still miss the murmuring waves
Whispering to the shore,
The seagulls calling out for food,
Always seeking for more,
 
The morning sun, the summer moon
Reflecting in the bay
And sailboats dancing in the breeze,
Sails belling underway.
 
I live inland now and I find
There’s such great beauty there,
But some days I just need to go
Where I can smell salt air.

Dandelions

I hear folk say their lives are hard,

Too hard to face some days.
They say they have no cause to smile,
Much less to lift a praise.
 
They say it’s easier for me,
“I have no woes to bear”,
They seem to think, because I smile,
I live without a care.
 
But I am like those yellow blooms
That spring up every place,
Though they took root within the rocks,
They show a cheery face.  
 
They struggle in the barren soil,
The dry and rocky land,
Yet still their joyful, yellow blooms
Are ever near at hand.
 
So I say find a way to smile
At times when you’d have cried.
I’m more inclined to sympathy
If I know that you’ve tried.

Watching for Answers

We lift our prayers and then keep watch

To see if You heard us.
As if they could not possibly
Be handled without fuss.
 
Sometimes we look for our answers,
But God answers His way,
And yet it’s still an answer to
The prayers we knelt to pray.
 
Yet other times the answer comes
As clear as summer’s sun
And we receive God’s answer back
Before our praying’s done.
 
Today was such a day for me,
A quickly answered prayer
Reminds me there’s no need to watch,
For God is always there.

Great Distances

The world seems larger every day,

The distances so great.
When it’s still early where I live,
Elsewhere it’s very late.
 
I could not walk across my state,
Much less across this land.
The thought of circling the globe…
That I can’t understand.
 
It would take months of days and nights
To walk here to there,
And I’m not certain, once arrived,
That I’d strength to spare.
 
Yet, for the distances that earth,
And can boldly boast and claim,
God is no farther than a prayer
To those who call His name.

Sowing Seeds

The seeds that we plant here today

Will become our tomorrow
So be careful, be sure you plant
More happiness than sorrow.
 
Don’t plant the seeds of bitterness
Or grow the fruit of doubt,
For those are just the sort of things
It’s best to live without.
 
But plant instead the seeds of joy,
Faith and abundant life,
Then reap a harvest evermore
In which God’s love is rife.
 
John 4:36
Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together.

In The Way

There’s always something in the way,

Some little snag or snare.
It’s not enough to dissuade me,
Just slow my getting there.
 
Sometimes I let it frustrate me,
I even lose my cool.
But all that does is make it worse,
And I feel like a fool.
 
I need to get perspective back,
Shrug those small things away.
There’s far too much that matters more
To let them cause dismay.
 
Lord, help me see small things as small,
And focus on my goal.
That way I’ll get there happier
In heart and mind and soul.
 
Hebrews 12:1-2 
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Slim Pickings

My pickings seem meager to me,

But when I think of those
Who live without hope every day,
Without clean food or clothes,
I recognize my cup is full,
That I am blessed indeed.
I lift a grateful praise to You,
You meet my every need.
 
So I don’t ask for more for me
I ask it for the weak,
I ask it for the hungry poor,
The lost afraid to seek,
And for those trapped within nightmares
Though they are wide awake.
Oh Lord, please fill their empty cups,
I ask You for their sake.       
 
Psalm 23: 5-6
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.