It takes a ring and vows that say
This is our happy wedding day …
But wedding vows are sanctified
And loving hearts are unified
When standing with the bride and groom,
Unseen by others in the room,
The spirit of the Lord is there
To bless this happy bridal pair …
For God is love, and married life
Is richer for both man and wife
When God becomes a partner, too,
In everything they plan and do …
And every home is specially blessed
When God is made a daily guest …
For married folks who pray together
Are happy folks who stay together,
For when God’s love becomes a part
Of body, mind, and soul and heart,
Their love becomes a wondrous blending
That’s both eternal and unending–
And God looks down and says, “Well done,”
For now you two are truly one.
THE WORLD WOULD
BE A NİCER PLACE İF WE
TRAVELED AT A SLOWER PACE
Amid stresses and strain, much too many to mention,
And pressure-packed days filled
with turmoil and tension,
We seldom have time to be friendly or kind,
For we’re harassed and hurried and always behind …
And while we’ve more gadgets and buttons to press
Making leisure time greater and laboring less
And our standards of living they claim have improved
And repressed inhibitions have been freed and removed,
It seems all this progress and growth are for naught,
For daily we see a world more distraught …
So what does it matter if man reaches his goal
And gains the whole world but loses his soul?
For what have we won if in gaining this end
We’ve been much too busy to be kind to a friend?
And what is there left to make the heart sing
When life is a cold and mechanical thing?
And are we but puppets of controlled automation
Instead of joint heirs to God’s gift of creation?
SLOWİNG DOWN
My days are so crowded and my hours so few
And I can no longer work fast like I used to do.
But I know I must learn to be satisfied,
That God has not completely denied
The joy of working—at a much slower pace—
For as long as He gives me a little place
To work with Him in His vineyard of love,
Just to know that He’s helping me from above
Gives me strength to meet each day
As I travel along life’s changing way.
DİSCOURAGEMENT AND DREAMS
So many things in the line of duty
Drain us of effort and leave us no beauty,
And the dust of the soul grows thick and unswept,
The spirit is drenched in tears unwept.
But just as we fall beside the road,
Discouraged with life and bowed down with our load,
We lift our eyes, and what seemed a dead end
Is the street of dreams where we meet a friend.
MY GOD IS NO STRANGER
God is no stranger in a faraway place
He’s as close as the wind that blows ‘cross my face.
It’s true I can’t see the wind as it blows,
But I feel it around me and my heart surely knows
That God’s mighty hand can be felt everywhere,
For there’s nothing on earth that is not in God’s care.
The sky and the stars, the waves and the sea,
The dew on the grass, the leaves on a tree
Are constant reminders of God and His nearness
Proclaiming His presence with crystal-like clearness.
So how could I think God was far, far away
When I feel Him beside me every hour of the day?
And I’ve plenty of reasons to know God’s my friend,
And this is one friendship that time cannot end.
THE AUTUMN OF LİFE
What a wonderful time is life’s autumn,
when the leaves of the trees are all gold,
When God fills each day as He sends
it with memories, priceless and old.
What a treasure-house filled with rare jewels
are the blessings of year upon year,
When life has been lived as you’ve lived it
in a home where God’s presence is near …
May the deep meaning surrounding this day,
like the paintbrush of God up above,
Touch your life with wonderful blessings,
and fill your heart brimful with His love.
CONCLUSİON
And now that you’ve come to the end of this book,
Pause and reflect and take a swift backward look
And you’ll find that to follow God’s
commandment each day
Is not only the righteous and straight, narrow way
But a joyous experience, for there’s many a thrill
In going God’s way and in doing His will …
For in traveling God’s way you are never alone,
For all of your problems God takes as His own,
And always He’s ready to counsel and guide you,
And in sadness or gladness He’s always beside you …
And to live for God’s glory and to walk in His truth
Brings peace to the angel and joy to the youth,
And at the end of life’s journey,
there’s His promised reward
Of life everlasting in the house of the Lord.
America’s beloved inspirational poet laureate, Helen Steiner Rice, has encouraged millions of people through her beautiful and uplifting verse. Born in Lorain, Ohio, in 1900, Helen was the daughter of a railroad man and an accomplished seamstress and began writing poetry at a young age.
In 1918, Helen began working for a public utilities company and eventually became one of the first female advertising managers and public speakers in the country.
In January 1929, she married a wealthy banker named Franklin Rice, who later sank into depression during the Great Depression and eventually committed suicide. Helen later said that her suffering made her sensitive to the pain of others. Her sadness helped her to write some of her most uplifting verses.
Her work for a Cincinnati, Ohio, greeting card company eventually led to her nationwide popularity as a poet when her Christmas card poem “The Priceless Gift of Christmas” was first read on The Lawrence Welk Show. Soon Helen had produced several books of her poetry that were a source of inspiration to millions of readers.
POEM INDEX
After the Winter … God Sends the Spring 75
Anywhere Is a Place of Prayer If God Is There 56
Autumn of Life, The 154
Baby 131
Be Glad 112
Be of Good Cheer; There’s Nothing to Fear 66
Blessings in Disguise Are Difficult to Recognize 140
Brighten the Corner Where You Are 48
Conclusion 155
Count Your Gains, Not Your Losses 40
Daily Prayers Dissolve Your Cares 44
Deep in My Heart 101
Discouragement and Dreams 151
Do Not Be Anxious 109
End of the Road Is but a Bend in the Road, The 90
Enfolded in His Love 16
Everyone Needs Someone 78
Faith Is a Candle 137
Fathers Are Wonderf
ul People 42
Favorite Recipe, A 14
Finding Faith in a Flower 25
Flowers Leave Their Fragrance on the Hand That Bestows Them 27
Friends Are Life’s Gift of Love 102
Gift of Lasting Love, The 136
Give Lavishly! Live Abundantly! 60
God Is Never beyond Our Reach 96
God Knows Best 92
God’s Hand Is Always There 108
Golden Chain of Friendship, The 61
Good Morning, God 37
Great Faith That Smiles Is Born of Great Trials 54
Heartstrings 89
Heart Throbs for the Man I Married 123
He Asks So Little and Gives So Much 21
Heavens Declare the Glory of God, The 84
He Loves You! 36
Help Yourself to Happiness 59
House of Prayer, The 52
How Great the Yield from a Fertile Field 51
I Am the Light of the World 137
Ideals Are Like Stars 120
If You Meet God in the Morning, He’ll Go with You through the Day 20
In Hours of Discouragement God Is Our Encouragement 98
It’s a Wonderful World 34
It’s So Nice to Have a Dad around the House 132
It Takes a Mother 118
It Takes the Bitter and the Sweet to Make a Life Full and Complete 50
Let Go and Let God! 26
Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled 88
Life’s Fairest Flower 104
Look on the Sunny Side 38
Love One Another as I Have Loved You 106
Magic of Love, The 9
Make Your Day Bright by Thinking Right and Your Life Will Be Blessed if You Look for the Best 12
Miracle of Marriage, The 144
Motherhood 127
Mother Is a Word Called Love 128
Mothers Are Special People 138
Mother’s Love, A 143
My Garden of Prayer 46
My God Is No Stranger 152
Mystery of Prayer, The 74
Never Borrow Sorrow from Tomorrow 17
On Life’s Busy Thoroughfares We Meet with Angels Unawares 139
On the Wings of Prayer 115
Peace of Meditation, The 28
Power of Love, The 22
Prayer for the Bride, A 142
Prayer for the Bride and Groom, A 117
Slowing Down 150
So Many Reasons to Love the Lord 114
Somebody Cares 24
Sure Way to a Happy Day, A 31
Sweetheart 135
Thankful Heart, A 68
Thank God for Little Things 47
Thank You, God, for Everything 32
There’s Sunshine in a Smile 16
Things to Be Thankful For 15
This Too Will Pass Away 76
Thy Will Be Done 64
Today’s Joy Was Born of Yesterday’s Sorrow 62
To My Husband 122
Trouble Is a Stepping-Stone to Growth 72
Trust God 103
Warm Our Hearts with Thy Love 10
Way to God, The 86
We Can’t, but God Can 80
Wedding Day 116
What Is a Baby? 130
What Is Marriage? 119
What More Can You Ask? 18
When Trouble Comes and Things Go Wrong 94
When Troubles Assail You, God Will Not Fail You 58
When Two People Marry 124
Where Can We Find Him? 134
Widen My Vision 30
Wings of Love 100
With Faith in Each Other—and Faith in the Lord 126
With God as Your Partner 146
World Would Be a Nicer Place if We Traveled at a Slower Pace, The 148
Worry No More—God Knows the Score 110
Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow 82
You Helped Us Before, God, Help Us Again 70