I have prayed through suffering and heartache
when my eyes were blinded with tears.
I have prayed in churches and chapels,
cathedrals and synagogues, too,
But often I had the feeling that my
prayers were not getting through …
And I realized then that our Father
is not really concerned when we pray
Or impressed by our manner of worship
or the eloquent words that we say.
He is only concerned with our feelings,
and He looks deep into our hearts
And hears the cry of our souls’ deep
need that no words could ever impart …
So it isn’t the prayer that’s expressive
or offered in some special spot,
That’s the sincere plea of a sinner,
and God can tell whether or not
We honestly seek His forgiveness
and earnestly mean what we say,
And then and then only God answers
the prayers that we fervently pray.
WHEN TROUBLES ASSAİL YOU, GOD WİLL NOT FAİL YOU
When life seems empty and there’s no place to go,
When you heart is troubled and your spirits are low,
When friends seem few and nobody cares,
There is always God to hear your prayers …
And whatever you’re facing will seem much less
When you go to God and confide and confess,
For the burden that seems too heavy to bear
God lifts away on the wings of prayer …
And seen through God’s eyes earthly troubles diminish
And we’re given new strength to face and to finish
Life’s daily tasks as they come along
If we pray for strength to keep us strong …
So go to our Father when troubles assail you,
For His grace is sufficient and He’ll never fail you.
HELP YOURSELF TO HAPPİNESS
Everybody, everywhere seeks happiness, it’s true,
But finding it and keeping it seem difficult to do,
Difficult because we think that happiness is found
Only in the places where wealth and fame abound—
And so we go on searching in “palaces of pleasure”
Seeking recognition and monetary treasure,
Unaware that happiness is just a “state of mind”
Within the reach of everyone who
takes time to be kind—
For in making others happy we will be happy, too,
For the happiness you give away returns
to “shine on you.”
GİVE LAVİSHLY!
LİVE ABUNDANTLY!
The more you give, the more you get
The more you laugh, the less you fret.
The more you do unselfishly,
The more you live abundantly
The more of everything you share,
The more you’ll always have to spare.
The more you love, the more you’ll find
That life is good and friends are kind,
For only what we give away
Enriches us from day to day.
THE GOLDEN CHAİN OF FRİENDSHİP
Friendship is a golden chain,
the links are friends so dear,
And like a rare and precious jewel,
it’s treasured more each year.
It’s clasped together firmly with
a love that’s deep and true,
And it’s rich with happy memories
and fond recollections, too.
For friendship is a priceless gift
that can’t be bought or sold,
And to have an understanding friend
is worth far more than gold …
And the golden chain of friendship
is a strong and blessed tie
Binding kindred hearts together
as the years go passing by.
TODAY’S JOY WAS BORN OF YESTERDAY’S SORROW
Who said the darkness of the
night would never turn to day?
Who said the winter’s bleakness
would never pass away?
Who said the fog would never
lift and let the sunshine through?
Who said the skies, now overcast,
would nevermore be blue?
Why should we ever entertain these
thoughts so dark and grim
And let the brightness of our minds
grow cynical and dim
When we know beyond all questioning
that winter turns to spring
And on the notes of sorrow
new songs are made to sing?
For no one sheds a teardrop
or suffers loss in vain,
For God is always there to turn
our losses into gain …
And every burden borne today
and every present sorrow
Are but God’s happy harbingers
of a joyous, bright tomorrow.
THY WİLL BE DONE
God did not promise sun without rain,
Light without darkness or joy without pain.
He only promised strength for the day
When the darkness comes and we lose our way …
For only through sorrow do we grow more aware
That God is our refuge in times of despair,
For when we are happy and life’s bright and fair,
We often forget to kneel down in prayer …
But God seems much closer and needed much more
When trouble and sorrow stand outside our door,
For then we seek shelter in His wondrous love,
And we ask him to send us help from above …
And that is the reason we know it is true
That bright, shining hours and dark, sad ones, too,
Are part of the plan God made for each one,
And all we can pray is “Thy will be done.”
And know that you are never alone
For God is your Father and you’re one of His own.
BE OF GOOD CHEER; THERE’S NOTHİNG TO FEAR
Cheerful thoughts like sunbeams
lighten up the darkest fears,
For when the heart is happy
there’s just no time for tears,
And when the face is smiling
it’s impossible to frown,
And when you are high-spirited
you cannot feel low-down …
For the nature of our attitudes
toward circumstantial things
Determines our acceptance of
the problems that life brings,
And since fear and dread and
worry cannot help in any way,
It’s much healthier and happier
to be cheerful every day …
And if you’ll only try it,
you will find, without a doubt,
A cheerful attitude’s something
no one should be without,
For when the heart is cheerful,
it cannot be filled with fear,
And without fear, the way ahead
seems more distinct and clear,
And we realize there’s nothing
that we must face alone,
For our heavenly Father loves us,
and our problems are His own.
A THANKFUL HEART
Take nothing for granted, for whenever you do,
The joy of enjoying is lessened for you.
For we rob our own lives much more than we know
When we fail to respond or in any way show
Our thanks for the blessings that daily are ours—
The warmth of the sun, the fragrance of flowers,
The beauty of twilight, the freshness of dawn,
The coolness of dew on a green velvet lawn,
The kind little deeds so thoughtf
ully done,
The favors of friends and the love that someone
Unselfishly gives us in a myriad of ways,
Expecting no payment and no words of praise.
Oh, great is our loss when we no longer find
A thankful response to things of this kind.
For the joy of enjoying and the fullness of living
Are found in the heart that is filled with thanksgiving.
YOU HELPED US BEFORE, GOD, HELP US AGAİN
O God, our help in ages past,
our hope in years to be,
Look down upon this present and
see our need of Thee …
For in this age of unrest,
with danger all around,
We need Thy hand to lead
us to a higher, safer ground.
We need Thy help and counsel
to make us more aware
That our safety and security
lie solely in Thy care,
And so we pray this Christmas
to feel Thy presence near
And for Thy all-wise guidance
throughout the coming year.
First, give us understanding,
enough to make us kind,
So we may judge all people with
our hearts and not our minds.
Then give us strength and
courage to be honorable and true,
And place our trust implicitly
in unseen things and You …
And help us when we falter
and renew our faith each day
And forgive our human errors
and hear us when we pray,
And keep us gently humble
in the greatness of Thy love
So someday we are fit to dwell
with Thee in peace above.
TROUBLE IS A STEPPİNG-STONE TO GROWTH
Trouble is something no one can escape—
Everyone has it in some form or shape.
Some people hide it way down deep inside,
Some people bear it with gallant-like pride.
Some people worry and complain of their lot,
Some people covet what they haven’t got
While others rebel and become bitter and old
With hopes that are dead and hearts that are cold …
But the wise man accepts whatever God sends,
Willing to yield like a storm-tossed tree bends,
Knowing that God never made a mistake,
So whatever He sends they are willing to take …
For trouble is part and parcel of life,
And no man can grow without struggle or strife,
And the steep hills ahead and the high mountain peaks
Afford man at last the peace that he seeks …
So blessed are the people who learn to accept
The trouble men try to escape and reject,
For in accordance we’re given great grace
And courage and faith and strength to face
The daily troubles that come to us all,
So we may learn to stand straight and tall …
For the grandeur of life is born of defeat,
For in overcoming we make life complete.
THE MYSTERY OF PRAYER
Beyond that which words can
interpret or theology explain,
The soul feels a shower of refreshment
that falls like the gentle rain
On hearts that are parched with problems
and are searching to find the way
To somehow attract God’s attention
through well-chosen words as they pray,
Not knowing that God in His wisdom
can sense all man’s worry and woe,
For there is nothing man can conceal
that God does not already know …
So kneel in prayer in His presence
and you’ll find no need to speak,
For softly in quiet communion,
God grants you the peace that you seek.
AFTER THE WİNTER …
GOD SENDS THE SPRİNG
Springtime is a season of hope and joy and cheer—
There’s beauty all around us to
see and touch and hear …
So no matter how downhearted
and discouraged we may be,
New hope is born when we
behold leaves budding on a tree
For this is just God saying,
“Lift up your eyes to Me,
And the bleakness of your spirit,
like the budding springtime tree,
Will lose its wintry darkness
and your heavy heart will sing.”
For God never sends the winter
without the joy of spring.
THİS TOO WİLL PASS AWAY
If I can endure for this minute
whatever is happening to me
No matter how heavy my heart is or
how dark the moment might be—
If I can remain calm and quiet with
all my world crashing about me,
Secure in the knowledge God loves me
when everyone else seems to doubt me—
If I can but keep on believing what
I know in my heart to be true,
That darkness will fade with the morning
and that this will pass away, too—
Then nothing in life can defeat me,
for as long as this knowledge remains,
I can suffer whatever is happening,
for I know God will break all the chains
That are binding me tight in the darkness
and trying to fill me with fear …
and I know that my morning is near.
EVERYONE NEEDS SOMEONE
People need people and friends need friends,
And we all need love for a full life depends
Not on vast riches or great acclaim,
Not on success or on worldly fame,
But just in knowing that someone cares
And holds us close in their thoughts and prayers—
For only the knowledge that we’re understood
Makes everyday living feel wonderfully good,
And we rob ourselves of life’s greatest need
When we lock up our hearts and fail to heed
The outstretched hand reaching to find
A kindred spirit whose heart and mind
Are lonely and longing to somehow share
Our joys and sorrows and to make us aware
That life’s completeness and richness depends
On the things we share with our loved ones and friends.
WE CAN’T, BUT GOD CAN
Why things happen as they do
we do not always know,
And we cannot always fathom
why our spirits sink so low.
We flounder in our dark distress,
we are wavering and unstable,
But when we’re most inadequate,
the Lord God’s always able—
For though we are incapable,
God’s powerful and great,
And there’s no darkness of the
mind God cannot penetrate …
And all that is required of us
whenever things go wrong
Is to trust in God implicitly with
a faith that’s deep and strong …
And while He may not instantly
unravel all the strands
Of the tangled thoughts that trouble us,
He completely understands—
And in His time, if we have faith,
He will gradually restore
The brightness to our spirits that
we’ve been longing for …
So remember there’s no cloud too
dark for God’s light to penetrate
If we keep on believing and
have faith enoug
h to wait.
YESTERDAY, TODAY, AND TOMORROW
Yesterday’s dead, tomorrow’s unborn,
So there’s nothing to fear and nothing to mourn,
For all that is past and all that has been
Can never return to be lived once again …
And what lies ahead or the things that will be
Are still in God’s hands, so it is not up to me
To live in the future that is God’s great unknown,
For the past and the present God claims for His own …
So all I need do is to live for today
And trust God to show me the truth and the way,
For it’s only the memory of things that have been
And expecting tomorrow to bring trouble again
That fills my today, which God wants to bless,
With uncertain fears and borrowed distress …
For all I need live for is this one little minute,
For life’s here and now and eternity’s in it.
THE HEAVENS DECLARE THE GLORY OF GOD
You ask me how I know it’s
true that there is a living God.
A God who rules the universe—
the sky, the sea, the sod—
A God who holds all creatures
in the hollow of His hand,
A God who put infinity in
one tiny grain of sand,
A God who made the seasons—winter,
summer, fall, and spring—
And put His flawless rhythm
into each created thing,
A God who hangs the sun out
slowly with the break of day
And gently takes the stars
in and puts the night away,
A God whose mighty handiwork
defies the skill of man,
For no architect can alter
God’s perfect master plan.
What better answers are there
to prove His holy being
Than the wonders all around us
that are ours just for the seeing.
THE WAY TO GOD
If my days were untroubled and my heart always light,