Christ has no hands but our hands to do His work today
He has no feet but our feet to lead men in the way
He has no tongue but our tongue to tell men how He died
He has no help but our help to bring them to His side.
We are the only Bible the careless world will read,
We are the sinner’s gospel; we are the scoffer’s creed;
We are the Lord’s last message, given in word and deed;
What if the type is crooked? What if the print is blurred?
What if our hands are busy with other work than His?
What if our feet are walking where sin’s allurement is?
What if our tongue is speaking of things His lips would spurn?
How can we hope to help Him or welcome His return?
~Annie Johnston Flint
We feel so sad when those we love
Are touched by death’s dard hand,
But it would ease our sorrow
If we could but understand
That death is just a gateway
That all men must pass through
And on the other side of death,
In a world that’s bright and new,
Or loved ones wait to welcome us
To that land free from all tears
Where joy becomes eternal
And Time is not counted by years.
~Helen Steiner Rice
In memory of John Liutkus (June 20, 1959 – February 18, 2018)
Oh all the money that e’er I spent
I spent it in good company
And all the harm that e’er I’ve done
Alas, it was to none but me
And all I’ve done for want of wit
To memory now I can’t recall
So fill to me the parting glass
Good night and joy be with you all
Oh all the comrades that e’er I’ve had
Are sorry for my going away
And all the sweethearts that e’er I’ve had
Would wish me one more day to stay
But since it falls unto my lot
That I should rise and you should not
I’ll gently rise and I’ll softly call
Good night and joy be with you all
~The Waylin’ Jenneys
In Memory of Constance E. Hansen
(March 21, 1967 – April 24, 2017)
We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.
Why should the world be over-wise,
In counting all our tears and sighs?
Nay, let them only see us, while
We wear the mask.
We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries
To thee from tortured souls arise.
We sing, but oh the clay is vile
Beneath our feet, and long the mile;
But let the world dream otherwise,
We wear the mask!
~Paul Laurence Dunbar
Write it on your heart
that every day is the best day in the year.
He is rich who owns the day,
and no one owns the day
who allows it to be invaded with fret and anxiety.
Finish every day and be done with it.
You have done what you could.
Some blunders and absurdities, no doubt, crept in.
Forget them as soon as you can, tomorrow is a new day;
begin it well and serenely,
with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense.
This new day is too dear, with its hopes and invitations,
to waste a moment on the yesterdays…
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
There is no need to worry about yesterday;
God has forgiven us for yesterday.
There is no need to worry about tomorrow;
God does not guarantee us an earthly tomorrow.
God only gives us today!
There is no need to worry about today;
For today, God gave us Christ.
~Robert Samson
Oh, to catch the winds of flight, and soar where eagles go,
To leave the woes of troubled souls, behind me far below,
I’d listen to the song of doves, and sail in endless flight,
Then chase the sun through cloudy paths, and play with stars at night.
The boundless heavens for my home, the breeze to lift me high,
To rise my mortal bonds and never truly die.
Knowing I had found the way, to trails where angels trod,
And when my wings could fly no more, I’d take the hand of God.
~C. David Hay
In memory of Conrad Gosheff
(September 8, 1933 to April 12, 2013)
Through the wind and rain
Through fire and lava
The Lord will never leave you.
Through earthquakes and floods
Through changing sea levels and burning ash
The Lord will never leave you.
If you love Him, He will bless you
and He will give you many things.
Who can stop the Lord?
Who can chase a cheetah across the plains of Africa?
The Lord, He can.
Who can stand on Mount Everest?
Who can face a rhinoceros?
The Lord.
The Lord can give you sheep and goats and
cows and ducks and chickens and dogs and cats.
The Lord can give you anything He wants to.
Who can stop the Lord?
Who can face an elephant?
Who is brave enough to face a lion?
The Lord.
Who’s as fast as a horse?
Who can catch a blue whale?
Who is brave enough to face a giant squid?
The Lord.
Just as Jesus died on the cross,
so the Lord has done so.
The Lord will never leave His people.
The Bible is His word.
The Lord is a good leader.
The Lord who loves you.
And He will not forsake His people.
The end.
This is a prayer from a seven year old boy named William Fariss living in West Africa. He had just watched his home burn to the ground and his mother overheard him praying. The original story can be found on a blog of the Pioneer Bible Translators. This was also reprinted in the book called “Fearless” by Max Lucado.
Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.
~Frank Outlaw
“I’ll lend you for a little while a child of mine” he said.
“For you to love while she’s alive and mourn when she is dead.”
“It may be six or seven years or twenty two or three, but will you ’til I call on her take care of her for me?”
“She’ll bring her charms to gladden you and if her stay is brief, you’ll
have her lovely memory as solace for your grief.”
“I can’t promise she will stay, as all from earth return, but there are
lessons taught down there I want this child to learn.”
“I’ve looked the wide world over and in my search for teachers true,
and from the throng that crowd life’s lanes, I have chosen you.”
“Now will you give her all the love – not think the labor vain, nor hate me when I come to call and take her back again?”
“I fancied that I heard them say, Dear Lord they will be done, for all
the joy this child shall bring, the risk of grief we’ll run.”
“We’ll shower her with tenderness and love her while we may, and for the happiness we have known, now in our hearts she’ll stay.”
~Author Unknown