Sunday, November 30, 2014

More


More than the baby
Laid in the manger,
He grew up
And we cannot
Keep Him there

More than the teacher
Or the healer
Of the sick,
He moved on
And we cannot
Find Him there.

More than anything
We can think of;
Lord and Savior
Of the world,
Loving all people,
Look and find Him
Everywhere.


Prepare the Way


Prepare the way,
Let God’s love
Be known.

Prepare the way.
Proclaim to the world
That God is here, now.

Prepare the way,
Let all people know

About God’s love.

Saturday, November 29, 2014

Set Free


Set free
From bondage
And oppression.
Set free
To be
What we should be.
Set free
To be loved,
To be God's.

Share

photo by:  Arthur Clark 

Share love,
Give love away,
For only then
Can it come back
To you.

Share love,
Be there
And accept
Each person
As they are.

Share love,
Give love also
To those
Who refuse
To accept it.

Share love,
And let all  know
Thar God
Loves
All people.

Friday, November 28, 2014

Faith


To know and understand
Who God is,
And to accept
That love
That is ours  to have.

To know and understand
Christ's love
And to know
That it is
There for us all.

To know and accept
That all people
Are God's,
And always and ever
Are loved.

Guilty


I am guilty, Lord,
For I have sinned
If only in the little things.
I have told
A small lie.
I have kept someone
Away from you.
I have turned someone
Away from you.
I have turned along
A path that was not mine.
I have forgotten that love
Is there for all people.
Ah, forgive me Lord,
For all the little things
Done wrong.


Thursday, November 27, 2014

Ready?


Are we ready?
Have we prepared
Our lives
For Jesus' coming?
Do we know
What love
Really is?

Prepare


Prepare the way,
Make straight
The highway,
For the Lord comes
Into our lives
To help us
Find peace and love.

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Expecting


Expecting a Saviour
To come and save us
From all our problems.
But will that Saviour
Be exactly
What we expect?

Love All

photo by:  Betty Q Smith

Love all people;
Make no differences
Between them.
For our God
Loves them all the same
And sees none
That are better
Than any other.

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

A Reaction to Events

Photo by:  unknown Ranger in Alaska

And I cry salty tears
Because of all
The violence and oppression
That I see on this world.
Why can't we all
Learn to live side by side
In peace and harmony?
Why do we have
To kill our youngsters?
What is there in us
That makes violence
Against those who are
Different from us possible?
Why do we always
Seem to need to react
In violence??

Hey God:


Hey God, I am here, and I want to talk to you.  I don't mind being
here in this life, and most of the time, I don't mind being who I am.
But dear God, I am so oppressed!  Why did you make me to be so
different from everybody else?  Differences are just not accepted
here.  Once people know that a person is different, they turn away or
make it hard for that different one to live.  Some have even been
beaten or killed!  Why God?  Why can't people accept me as I am?  Why must they continually be trying to change me?  Why did you make me as I am?

A Prayer


Dear God, I read about what has happened in Ferguson, MO.  Please bring peace to that city, and help those who are doing these things realize that violence is never an answer.  But also help the African-American community find a way to peacefully get a good resolution to the killing of that young man.  I may not know what is like to be black, but I can be disturbed by the shooting of the young man.  Help all those involved find peace, please.AMEN

Monday, November 24, 2014

My God Sings Me a Love Song


Guest poet:  Jerry Browning

As I wander through the mists of early morning
My mind can see the distant hazen hills.
My heart reaches out to catch the dawning
And I see the wildwood flowers and daffodils.
Then the sweet breeze brings to me the strains of a melody
As my God sings to me a love song.

All the stirring words seem to set my heart in motion
As they echo through the valleys far and near.
And the song can lift me like a magic potion;
It’s so hard to feel alone when you’re up here.
Through the meadowlands it calls as the evening starts to fall
When my God sings me a love song.

I can soar above the mountains in the springtime
I can sail the ocean’s mighty swell
I can wander in and out of dreams and sweet rhymes;
And escape from my own prisons where I dwell
I can reach the highest star and yet not have gone too far
When my God sings me a love song.

Then I lie awake and listen to the night birds
Wondering why I haven’t heard it for a while
Wondering if some time or place we’d be together
Or could it be the love song’s out of style.
Then the sweet breeze brings to me that familiar melody
As my God sings me a love song.


The Outcast

photo by:  Betty Q Smith

I am the outcast,
But Jesus calls me
And holds out
His hand to me.

I am an outcast,
Yet Jesus loves me
Just as I am
Right at this moment.

I am no longer outcast,
For I have found
That I am always
A child of God.

Influence?


Under the influence
Of what?
Things of the world
Or of heaven?
Will we have
Abundant life
Or the material things
That make our our lives?
What do we
Let influence
Our lives?

Sunday, November 23, 2014

The Key

photo by:  Arthur Clark 

Hope


Hope For love.
Hope,
For tomorrow.
Hope,
For God's love
To come to me.
Hope,
For the world
To become one
In God.

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Remember


Remember -
Remember love
Remember justice
Remember to care
For those around.
Remember -
That God
May remember you.

God Loves Me


God loves me!
Shout it out aloud:
God loves me!
And I do not
Have to do a thing
To gain that love,
For God loves me
As I am
Right now!

Friday, November 21, 2014

I am Me


I am me,
Unique
In all the world.
There is no one else
Quite like me,
For no one else
Quite has
My combination
Of experiences
And genetics.
So here I am
See me,
And accept me
As the special person
That I am.

Wonder


The wonder of me,
How much
There is within,
Unknown,
Unplumbed depths
And heights.
And only God
Knows
The whole of it.
And in love
God is always there
To help me
Find my way
Through the wonder
And mystery of me.

Thursday, November 20, 2014

God Loves Me


God loves me!
Me!  A wanderer
Who never quite
Settles down.
I do so many
Wrong things
And turn away
So many times
And Yet
This glorious idea:
God loves ME!!

Love is...


Love is the key,
Love is the foundation
Of it all.
On God's love
For all people
Is our faith based.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Good News


Good news!!
We are not all alike!
We can learn from each other!
We are created by God and in His image!
God loves us in our differences!

And Love


And love
Is ours.
There is no doubt,
No wondering
About it.
God's love
Is ours
To have and hold
Unconditionally.

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Don't Ignore


Don't ignore me,
I am here
And I am human
Just like you!

Don't ignore me,
I am alive
And I have needs
Just like you!

Don't pretend
That I do not exist
Or that God
Did not make me.

Don't ignore me,
Just love me
As I am
This day.

Do Not


Do not turn away,
See me.
Do not walk away,
Feed me.
Do not ignore me,
Clothe me,
For I am also
God's child.

Monday, November 17, 2014

Lonely


If you feel lonely,
And you think
That no one is there,
Turn around and look,
For God is there,
Waiting for you,
Arms outstretched
In love.

Bridge


Let us build a bridge
Between each other.
Build a bridge of love
And let all others in;
That they may
Come to the love
Of God.


Sunday, November 16, 2014

Touch Me


Touch me,
Hug me,
For I am alive
And I need
Your touch,
Your hug
To affirm
My life,
That I am loveable.

Watch


Watch it -
For God
Has broken loose
And is out
Among the people!

Saturday, November 15, 2014

Why


Why
Can't people
Get along
With each other?
Why
Do we fuss
And fight
And let
Our brothers and sisters
Starve to death?

Celebrate!


Celebrate in joy
With singing,
For God
Has done
A new thing
And overcome death
With life eternal.

Friday, November 14, 2014

Wanderer


I was a wanderer,
Lost and alone
Upon the face
Of the earth.
No hand to hold,
No friendly face
To be with me.
And then He came
Holding out His hands
Offering to guide me
If only I will let Him.

Now I am
A wanderer still;
But no longer alone,
For now
God walks with me.

The Cry


The cry for help
Sounds from the streets,
But no one
Hears it.
The people walk by
And do not see
The poor and lame.

Where, oh Lord,
Are you?
Where is your justice?
And where - mercy?
Come to us, Lord,
And help us.

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Surprise!


Surprise!
God is here,
Working among us.

Surprise!
God is doing
The unexpected.

Surprise!
God is loving
Each one of us.

Hungry


Hungry,
For food.
Hungry
For companionship.
Hungry
For love.
Hungry
For God.

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

I am


I am hungry,
Feed me.
I am naked, clothe me
I am homeless,
House me.
I am unloved,
Care about me.
I am God's child,
Help me
To a better life.

Love Is

photo by Arthur Clark

Love is God,
Hate is us.
God does not hate
Any person,
But loves all.
We are the ones
That hate
And make enemies
Of anyone
Who is different.

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

In Love


In love,
We share.
In love,
We come
Together.
In God's love
We live
Together,
And search
For peace
And love.


Welcome


Welcome!
Welcome to the table
Of love.
Come
And feast here
And know
Of God's love
For you.

Monday, November 10, 2014

Feae


Fear of differences,
Fear of those
Who are not
Like me.
When
Can we all
Learn
To get past
This fear?

The Table


photo by:  Betty Q Smith

Set up a table
And load it
With food and drink.
Then turn,
Hold out your hands,
And invite
ALL the world
To sit with us
And there eat
And drink
Together.

Sunday, November 9, 2014

Dreams come True?


Ah - that dreams
Could come true,
And the whole world
Could live
In peace.
Love would flow
The world o'er
And all people
Would have
Food and shelter
In plenty.
Then shall no one
Be afraid,
But all shall know
God's peace.

People Knocking At the Door:


And when will the churches hear their voices and let them in?



Make all people
Welcome,
And do no turn
Anyone away.
For all people
Are God's children
And we dare not
Make any differences
Between people.

Saturday, November 8, 2014

Knocking



I hear a knocking
At the door;
Who is there?
Do I want to answer
And go where
I am led?
Will I listen
To the voice
That speaks to me,
And do the job
That is to be done?
There is a knocking
At the door,
Will I open wide
And let Jesus in?


Celebration


The cup filled with wine,
The loaf of bread beside,
A celebration
Of the life given
By God.

The hand held out in love,
The help given cheerfully
In celebration
Of the love given all
By God.

The care taken for others
That all may hear the word
And celebrate
God’s gift of life and love.


Friday, November 7, 2014

My Guide


I was alone
With no one to guide me.
At first I thought
That I needed not
Any guide at all;
But soon my loneliness
Became a burden
Till I could not bear it.
In desperation
I searched the world o’er
Looking for one
Who would be my guide,
But I found not a one
Till I looked beside me.


Masks


You tear away, dear Lord,
All our masks
That we like
To hide behind.
You tear away masks
Of lies and sham,
And pretense;
And show us
What we really are
And we cannot bear
The sight.
So we turn away
To hide again
And kill all those
Who would try
To show us
Who we really are.


Thursday, November 6, 2014

Rooted?


Am I truly
Rooted in Christ?
Do I gain all
My strength
From Him?
And in my life
Do I show
God’s love

For all?

Celebration


The cup filled with wine,
The loaf of bread beside,
A celebration
Of the life given
By God.

The hand held out in love,
The help given cheerfully
In celebration
Of the love given all
By God.

The care taken for others
That all may hear the word
And celebrate
God’s gift of life and love.


Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Who Cares?


Who cares
About the poor;
Who cares
About the hurt
And pain
That they feel?
Is there anyone
Anywhere
Who cares?