drifting down on angels’ wings
Or petals dropping soundlessly
from a lovely full-blown rose,
So God comes closest to us
when our souls are in repose …
So let us plan with prayerful
care to always allocate
A certain portion of each day
to be still and meditate …
For when everything is quiet
and we’re lost in meditation,
Our souls are then preparing
for a deeper dedication
That will make it wholly
possible to quietly endure
The violent world around us,
for in God we are secure.
WİDEN MY VİSİON
God, open my eyes so I may see
And feel Your presence close to me.
Give me strength for my stumbling feet
As I battle the crowd on life’s busy street,
And widen the vision of my unseeing eyes
So in passing faces I’ll recognize
Not just a stranger, unloved and unknown,
But a friend with a heart that is much like my own.
Give me perception to make me aware
That scattered profusely on life’s thoroughfare
Are the best gifts of God that we daily pass by
As we look at the world with an unseeing eye.
A SURE WAY TO A HAPPY DAY
Happiness is something we create in our minds,
It’s not something you search for and so seldom find.
It’s just waking up and beginning the day
By counting our blessings and kneeling to pray.
It’s giving up thoughts that breed discontent
And accepting what comes as a gift heaven-sent.
It’s giving up wishing for things we have not
And making the best of whatever we’ve got.
It’s knowing that life is determined for us
And pursuing our tasks without fret, fume, or fuss …
For it’s by completing what God gives us to do
That we find real contentment and happiness, too.
THANK YOU, GOD, FOR EVERYTHİNG
Thank You, God, for everything—
the big things and the small—
For every good gift comes from
God, the Giver of them all,
And all too often we accept
without any thanks or praise
The gifts God sends as blessings
each day in many ways.
And so at this time we offer up a prayer
To thank You, God, for giving
us a lot more than our share.
First, thank You for the little
things that often come our way—
The things we take for granted
and don’t mention when we pray—
The unexpected courtesy,
the thoughtful, kindly deed,
A hand reached out to help us
in the time of sudden need.
Oh make us more aware,
dear God, of little daily graces
That come to us with sweet surprise
from never-dreamed-of places.
Then thank You for the miracles
we are much too blind to see,
And give us new awareness of
our many gifts from Thee.
And help us to remember that
the key to life and living
Is to make each prayer a prayer of thanks
and each day a day of thanksgiving.
IT’S A WONDERFUL WORLD
In spite of the fact we complain and lament
And view this old world with much discontent,
Deploring conditions and grumbling because
There’s so much injustice and so many flaws,
It’s a wonderful world, and it’s people like you
Who make it that way by the things that they do.
For a warm, ready smile or a kind, thoughtful deed
Or a hand outstretched in an hour of need
Can change our whole outlook and make the world bright
Where a minute before just nothing seemed right.
It’s a wonderful world and it always will be
If we keep our eyes open and focused to see
The wonderful things man is capable of
When he opens his heart to God and His love.
HE LOVES YOU!
It’s amazing and incredible,
but it’s as true as it can be—
God loves and understands us all,
and that means you and me.
His grace is all-sufficient for
For the lonely and the timid,
for the brash and for the bold.
His love knows no exceptions,
so never feel excluded,
No matter who or what you are,
your name has been included …
And no matter what your past has
been, trust God to understand,
And no matter what your problem is,
just place it in His hand …
For in all our unloveliness this
great God loves us still—
He loved us since the world began,
and what’s more, He always will!
GOOD MORNİNG, GOD
You are ushering in another day,
untouched and freshly new,
So here I am to ask You, God,
if You’ll renew me, too …
Forgive the many errors
that I made yesterday
And let me try again, dear God,
to walk closer in Thy way …
But, Father, I am well aware
I can’t make it on my own,
So take my hand and hold it
tight for I can’t walk alone.
LOOK ON THE SUNNY SİDE
There are always two sides—the good and the bad,
The dark and the light, the sad and the glad …
But in looking back over the good and the bad,
We’re aware of the number of good things we’ve had,
And in counting our blessings,
we find when we’re through
We’ve no reason at all to complain or be blue …
So thank God for the good things
He has already done,
And be grateful to Him for the battles you’ve won,
And know that the same God who helped you before
Is ready and willing to help you once more,
Then with faith in your heart,
reach out for God’s hand
And accept what He sends,
though you can’t understand …
For our Father in heaven always knows what is best,
And if you trust His wisdom,
your life will be blessed …
For always remember that whatever betide you,
You are never alone, for God is beside you.
COUNT YOUR GAİNS, NOT YOUR LOSSES
As we travel down life’s busy road
Complaining of our heavy load,
We often think God’s been unfair
And gave us much more than our share
Of daily little irritations
And disappointing tribulations.
We’re discontented with our lot
And all the bad breaks that we got.
We count our losses not our gain,
And remember only tears and pain.
The good things we forget completely,
When God looked down and blessed us sweetly.
Our troubles fill our every thought,
We dwell upon the goals we sought,
And wrapped up in our own despair,
We have no time to see or share
Another’s load that far outweighs
Our little problems and dismays …
And so we walk with heads h
eld low,
And little do we guess or know
That someone near us on life’s street
Is burdened deeply with defeat,
And if we’d but forget our care
And stop in sympathy to share
The burden that our brother carried,
Our minds and hearts would be less harried
And we would feel our load was small—
In fact, we carried no load at all.
FATHERS ARE WONDERFUL PEOPLE
Fathers are wonderful people
too little understood,
And we do not sing their praises
as often as we should …
For, somehow, Father seems to
be the man who pays the bills,
While Mother binds up little
hurts and nurses all our ills …
And Father struggles daily
to live up to “his image”
As protector and provider
and “hero of the scrimmage” …
And perhaps that is the reason
we sometimes get the notion
That fathers are not subject
to the thing we call emotion,
But if you look inside Dad’s heart,
where no one else can see,
You’ll find he’s sentimental
and as “soft” as he can be …
But he’s so busy every day
in the grueling race of life,
He leaves the sentimental stuff
to his partner and his wife …
But fathers are just wonderful
in a million different ways,
And they merit loving compliments
and accolades of praise,
For the only reason Dad aspires
to fortune and success
Is to make the family proud of him
and to bring them happiness …
And like our heavenly Father,
he’s a guardian and a guide
Someone that we can count on
to be always on our side.
DAİLY PRAYERS DİSSOLVE YOUR CARES
I meet God in the morning and
go with Him through the day,
Then in the stillness of the night
before sleep comes I pray
That God will just take over all
the problems I couldn’t solve,
And in the peacefulness of
sleep my cares will all dissolve.
So when I open up my
eyes to greet another day,
I’ll find myself renewed in strength
and there will open up a way
To meet what seemed impossible
for me to solve alone,
And once again I’ll be assured
I am never on my own.
For if we try to stand alone we
are weak and we will fall,
For God is always greatest when
we’re helpless, lost, and small,
And no day is unmeetable if
on rising our first thought
Is to thank God for the blessings
that His loving care has brought …
For there can be no failures,
or hopeless unsaved sinners
If we enlist the help of God
who makes all losers winners …
So meet Him in the morning and
go with Him through the day
And thank Him for His guidance
each evening when you pray,
And if you follow faithfully
this daily way to pray
You will never in your lifetime
face another “hopeless day.”
MY GARDEN OF PRAYER
My garden beautifies my yard and
adds fragrance to the air,
But it is also my cathedral and
my quiet place of prayer.
So little do we realize that
the glory and the power
Of Him who made the universe
lies hidden in a flower!
THANK GOD FOR LİTTLE THİNGS
Thank You, God, for little things
that often come our way—
The things we take for granted
but don’t mention when we pray—
The unexpected courtesy,
the thoughtful, kindly deed—
A hand reached out to help us
in the time of sudden need—
Oh make us more aware,
dear God, of little daily graces
That come to us with “sweet surprise”
from never-dreamed-of places.
BRİGHTEN THE CORNER WHERE YOU ARE
We cannot all be famous or
be listed in “Who’s Who,”
But every person, great or small,
has important work to do …
For seldom do we realize the
importance of small deeds
Or to what degree of greatness
unnoticed kindness leads …
For it’s not the big celebrity in
a world of fame and praise,
But it’s doing unpretentiously
in undistinguished ways
The work that God assigned to us,
unimportant as it seems,
That makes our task outstanding
and brings reality to dreams …
So do not sit and idly wish for
wider, new dimensions
Where you can put in practice
your many good intentions,
But at the spot God placed you,
begin at once to do
Little things to brighten up the
lives surrounding you …
For if everybody brightened up the
spot on which they’re standing
By being more considerate and a
little less demanding,
This dark old world would very
soon eclipse the evening star
If everybody brightened up the
corner where they are.
IT TAKES THE BİTTER AND THE SWEET
TO MAKE A LİFE FULL AND COMPLETE
Life is a mixture of sunshine and rain,
Laughter and teardrops, pleasure and pain—
Low tides and high tides, mountains and plains,
Triumphs, defeats, and losses and gains—
But always in all ways God’s guiding and leading
And He alone knows the things we’re most needing—
And when He sends sorrow or some dreaded affliction
Be assured that it comes with God’s kind benediction—
And if we accept it as a gift of His love,
We’ll be showered with blessings from our Father above.
HOW GREAT THE YİELD FROM A FERTİLE FİELD
The farmer plows through the fields of green,
And the blade of the plow is sharp and keen,
But the seed must be sown to bring forth grain,
For nothing is born without suffering and pain,
And God never plows in the soul of man
Without intention and purpose and plan …
So whenever you feel the plow’s sharp blade
Let not your heart be sorely afraid,
For like the farmer, God chooses a field
From which He expects an excellent yield …
So rejoice though your heart be broken in two—
God seeks to bring forth a rich harvest in you.
THE HOUSE OF PRAYER
Just close your eyes and open your heart
And feel your cares and worries depart.
Just yield yourself to the Father above
And let Him hold you secure in His love …
For life on earth grows more involved
With endless problems that can’t be solved,
But God only asks us to do our best,
Then He will take over and finish the rest …
So when you are tired, discouraged,
and blue,
There’s always one door that is opened to you
And that is the door to the house of prayer,
And you’ll find God waiting to meet you there …
And the house of prayer is no farther away
Than the quiet spot where you kneel and pray.
For the heart is a temple when God is there
As we place ourselves in His loving care …
And He hears every prayer and answers each one
When we pray in His name, “Thy will be done.”
And the burdens that seemed too heavy to bear
Are lifted away on the wings of prayer.
GREAT FAİTH THAT SMİLES IS BORN OF GREAT TRİALS
It’s easy to say “In God we trust”
when life is radiant and fair,
But the test of faith is only found
when there are burdens to bear …
For our claim to faith in the
sunshine is really no faith at all,
For when roads are smooth and days
are bright our need for God is so small …
And no one discovers the fullness
or the greatness of God’s love
Unless they have walked in the darkness
with only a light from above …
For the faith to endure whatever
comes is born of sorrow and trials
And strengthened only by discipline
and nurtured by self-denials …
So be not disheartened by troubles,
for trials are the building blocks
On which to erect a fortress of faith,
secure on God’s ageless rocks.
ANYWHERE IS A PLACE OF PRAYER IF GOD IS THERE
I have prayed on my knees in the morning,
I have prayed as I walked along,
I have prayed in the silence and darkness,
and I’ve prayed to the tune of a song.
I have prayed in the midst of a triumph,
and I’ve prayed when I suffered defeat,
I have prayed on the sands of the seashore
where the waves of the ocean beat.
I have prayed in a velvet, hushed forest
where the quietness calmed my fears,