Blog Archives

COUNTING MOONBEAMS

8/23/2021

COUNTING MOONBEAMS

   Back in July, it was another one of those really
hot nights. With the temperature soaring above
100 degrees in the daytime, and not much cooler
in night time. I was laying in bed trying to go to
go to sleep, with little success. I even tried counting...
moonbeams, putting them in a jar and taking them
home with me. Didn't help. So, I just laid there and
after awhile, these thoughts ran through my head...

                                     If it can wait, let it
Pursue the Holy moment
Keep your lamps lit

   (First published on August 18.2013)

Zzzzz!

8/23/2021

   Zzzzz!

There's an old Chinese proverb that goes...

"Think of your own sins the first part
part of the night while you are awake,
and of the sins of others the second
part of the night while you are asleep."

Concerning our own sins, we would advise
handing them over quickly and quietly to
our Heavenly Father who loves us, and
to his Son who shed his blood to redeem
   us from our sins, that we might sleep with
  a guilt-free conscience.

And as for the sins of others...Well...
There's this fellow in our church who...
Zzzzz!

A NEW DAY 656

8/23/2021

   A NEW DAY 656

The late Woodbridge N. Ferris, former Governor
and U.S. Senator from Michigan was also the
  founder and President of a state college.

    In one of his many addresses to the student body,
  he gave them the following encouragement...

"Every once in a while in your life there comes a time
  when you should pull yourself together, take a new look
  at yourself and make a fresh start, because you may have
  more on the ball than you think you have."

That's a great idea. A great motivating though.

This is the day of new beginnings, for you and
  for me.
Let us begin anew. Renewed and ready to go.
Ready to meet the challenges of this great new day
which the Lord hath given us.

(First published on August 12, 1979, with revisions
made on August 23, 2021)

HELP US MAKE OUR DAY GO THROUGH 520

8/11/2021

HELP US MAKE OUR DAY GO THROUGH

    "An open hand, an easy shoe
and a hope to make the day go through"
                                          --Author Unknown

When dark perils thick surround us
                                          At the dawning of the day
                                          Give us words to greatly cheer us
                                          As our trust in thee holds sway
                                          Turn our gray, gray skies to blue
                                          Help us make our day go through

Give us Lord, thy calm assurance
                                          Lead us gently by thy hand
                                          Quit us with thy spirit's armour
                                          Let his promptings be our command
                                          When risks are high and friends are few
                                          Help us make our day go through

Let thy hand, O Lord, be open
                                          Give our foot an easy shoe
                                          Give us hope that produces courage
                                          To do the things we ought to do
Wake us to thy loving kindness
And help us make our day go through

(Written on August 31, 1978)

TO BE POLISHED 536

8/11/2021

TO BE POLISHED 536

An unknown writer has written...
"A gem cannot be polished without friction
nor a man perfected without trials."
We seem to be living in a age of friction
caused by scrapping and buffeting.

With so many rough, jagged edges
sticking out, our polishing process is
often a teeth gritting experience.
We get tired of rubbing up against the grinding
wheel, but we suspect the buffeting shall continue
so long as we refuse to shine as we should.

Polishing pains like growing pains remain
with us most of our days.
Alas, perfection does not come easily.
                               (First published on October 8, 1978,
with revisions on August 11, 2021)

FRIENDS 502

8/11/2021

FRIENDS 502

"Strangers," wrote Roberta Lieberman,
"are friends you have yet to meet."

  The more strangers we meet and become
more acquainted with, the more we realize
                               how small our world really is, and just how
much commonality exists amongst us all.

We recently had some strangers and
their four children for a couple of days
in our home.

  Our present company was a good example
of this. In getting to know the wife of this
family, we learned that she had the same
university that we had and that she had
written her master's thesis on Robert Frost.

We enjoyed meeting and greeting other
members of God's family. They arrived as
strangers, but left as friends.

(First published on July 20,1978)

TIME, GOING, GOING... a

8/9/2021

    TIME, GOING, GOING...

One of our favorite pieces of poetry
comes from an inscription on the door
of a grandfather's clock in Chester Cathedral:

"When, as a child, I laughed and wept
Time crept
As a youth, I dreamed and talked
Time walked
Later, as I grew,
Time flew
Soon I shall find, while traveling on
Time gone
Will Christ have saved my soul by then
Amen
Now then, what shall we do
with the time remaining

SOMETHING FINE AND GLORIOUS

8/6/2021

SOMETHING FINE AND GLORIOUS

"It is good that a man should both hope and quietly
wait for the Salvation of the Lord." (Lamentations 3:26)

Usually, we are not early risers. We enjoy staying
up late at night, then sleeping late as possible in the
morning,

But today, we rose early (for us) and went into our
study and started to write. And we looked out our window
at the silent sleeping dawn awakening ever so gently and quietly
over the dew drenched lawn and leaves, and contentedly breathed
in the glory of the silence and the stillness of those morning
moments and became aware that in the quiet and in the beauty
of that time, we were not alone,

There is something to be said...for silence. Something
indeed. Something fine...and glorious.

IN THE RUNNING

8/6/2021

   IN THE RUNNING

In 1964, seventy-two year-old
                                                       William Willis ventured on a raft-
                                                       drifting journey from Peru to Australia,
                                                       covering 10,000 miles in 204 days.

                                                       Commented Mr. Willis, "I wanted to
                                                       show that a man past sixty-five is still
                                                       in the running if he wants to be."

                                                       Yes, Mr. Willis, every man and woman
                                                       is in the running for as long as they
                                                       choose to stay in the race.
                                                       And, of course, the race is not always
                                                       to the swift, but, to those...

                                                       who persist and persevere
                                                       who get their second wind
                                                     who continue to grow and go
onward and upward.

                                                       Age has little to do with staying
                                                       in the running.

                                                       Desire and will power...those are
                                                       the keys.

(First published on August 25, 2012)

SUMMER OF '79

8/1/2021

SUMMER OF '79

It simply doth amaze us
The way the days fly by
How spring turns into summer
With hardly a whimper or a sigh

In simplicity and in quietness
The days so gently glide
As temperatures grow warmer
And daylight lengthens out its stride

Ah, the days aren't getting shorter
'Though the calendar tells us so
As we leave our youth behind us
Our times of refinement grow

In the summer of our lives, O Lord
Let our praises to thee flow
Let us enjoy our time together
While the days keep moving slow

(First published on June 21, 1979.
Revisions made on August 1, 2021)