Speak Gently

Speak gently; it is better far
To rule by love than fear;
Speak gently; let no harsh word mar
The good we may do here.

Speak gently to the aged one.
Grieve not the careworn heart;
Whose sands of life are nearly run,
Let such in peace depart.

Speak gently, kindly to the poor,
Let no harsh tone be heard;
They have enough they must endure,
Without an unkind word.

Speak gently; 'tis a little thing
Dropped in the heart's deep well;
The good, the joy that it may bring,
Eternity shall tell.

~ G.W. Langford

No Regrets

Isn't it good at the end of the day

To look up to God and be able to say

"Dear Lord, I helped someone today."

But isn't it sad if instead you must say

"Dear Lord, I hurt someone today.

I drove the nails a little bit deeper

And forgot that I am my brother's keeper."

Isn't it better when the day is done

To know that you have injured no one.

From the time of your waking,

Til you lie down to sleep,

Remember the promises that we should keep,

To love one another as He loves us too,

And you'll never regret any good that you do.

~ Barbara Zepp

Life's Mirror

There are loyal hearts, there are spirits brave,

There are souls that are pure and true'

Then give to the world the best you have,

And the best will come back to you.

Give love, and love to your life will flow,

A strength in your utmost need;

Have faith, and a score of hearts will show

Their faith in your word and deed.

Give truth, and your gift will be paid in kind,

And honor will honor meet,

And a smile that is sweet will surely find

A smile that is just as sweet.

Give sorrow and pity to those who mourn;

You will gather in flowers again

The scattered seeds of your thought outborne,

Though the sowing seemed but vain.

For life is the mirror of king and slave -

'Tis just what we are and do;

Then give to the world the best you have,

And the best will come back to you.

~ Madeline Bridges

(Mary Ainge De Vere)

Let Me Be A Giver

God, let me be a giver, and not one

Who only takes and takes unceasingly;

God, let me give, so that not just my own,

But others' lives as well, may richer be.

Let me give out whatever I may hold

Of what material things life may be heaping,

Let me give raiment, shelter, food, or gold

If these are, through Thy bounty, in my keeping.

But greater than such fleeting treasures, may

I give my faith and hope and cheerfulness,

Belief and dreams and joy and laughter gay

Some lonely soul to bless.

~ Mary Carolyn Davies

A Morning Prayer

Let me today do something that will take

A little sadness form the world's vast store,

And may I be so favored as to make

Of joy's too scanty sum a little more.

Let me not hurt, by any selfish deed

Or thoughtless word, the heart of foe or friend,

Nor would I pass unseeing worthy need,

Or sin by silence when I should defend.

However meager by my wordly wealth,

Let me give something that shall aid my kind -

A word of courage, or a thought of health

Dropped as I pass for troubled hearts to find.

Let me tonight look back across the span

Twixt dawn and dark, and to my conscience say -

Because of some good act to beast or man -

"The world is better that I lived today."

~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox

A Prayer For Strength

Lord, help me live my life for thee;
 To think of other's instead of me,
And help me give my very best
Without regard to need for rest,
Until I've run the race you've set
And every righteous goal is met.
Then will I pause to give thee praise
For all the grace that blessed my days.
Then lovingly, will I lay down
A life of work with the a crown,
Unworthy token though it may be
To you who gave so much for me.

 

~ Glenda Fulton Davis

Now Is The Time!

 

 I may not pass this way again,
Lord, let me stop awhile
To help some stranger on the way
And make somebody smile!

I may not pass this way again,
Lord, let me find the poor
And give them food and show them love
And lead them to Thy door!

I may not pass this way again,
Lord, let me love and give
And do according to Thy will
While on this earth I live!

 ~ Marion Schoeberlein

Before It Is Too Late



 

If you have a tender message,
Or a loving word to say,
Do not wait till you forget it,
But whisper it today;

The tender word unspoken,
The letter never sent,
The long forgotten messages,
The wealth of love unspent ---

For these some hearts are breaking,
For those some loved ones wait;
So show them that you care for them
Before it is too late.



~ Frank Herbert Sweet

Extra Prayer

  

When the world falls down around you

And a prayer will see you through,
Say an extra prayer for someone
Who may need it more than you.

For who knows what hearts are breaking
In the silence of the night?
Just that extra prayer you whisper
May help someone see the light!

Every time you help a stranger
With an extra prayer --- or two ---
You are building secret blessings
That will all come back to you!
 

~ Nick Kenny

Let Me Give

 

I do not know how long I'll live
But while I live, Lord, let me give
Some comfort to someone in need
By smile or nod --- kind word or deed
And let me do what e'er I can
To ease things for my fellow man.
I want naught but to do my part
To "lift" a tired or weary heart,
To change folks frowns to smiles again ---
Then I will not have lived in vain
And I'll not care how long I'll live
If I can give --- and give --- and give.

~ Joe Hoviss

Others

 

Lord help me live from day to day
In such a self-forgetful way,
That even when I kneel to pray,
My prayer shall be for --- others.

 

Help me in all the work I do,
To ever be sincere and true,
And know that all I do for you
Must needs be done for --- others.

 

And when my work on earth is done,
And my new work in Heaven’s begun,
May I forget the crown I’ve won,
While thinking still of --- others.

 

~ Charles D. Meigs

The Joy Of Unselfish Giving

 

Time is not measured by the years that you live

But by the deeds that you do and the joy that you give--

And each day as it comes brings a chance to each one

To love to the fullest, leaving nothing undone

That would brighten the life or lighten the load

Of some weary traveler lost on Life's Road ---

So what does it matter how long we may live

If as long as we live we unselfishly give.

 

~ Helen Steiner Rice 

Speak Lovingly

 

Speak lovingly and kindly,
While here on earth we stay;
Our life is but a shadow
That soon will glide away.

One little word of kindness
On some poor heart may fall,
Like beams from yonder golden sun
That brightly shines for all.
Speak lovingly and kindly;
O let the task be ours
To scatter by the wayside ---
Not thorns, but smiling flowers.

Though crowned with peace and plenty
Our happy homes may be,
Remember those around us
Less favored far than we.

Speak lovingly and kindly;
For He our Lord, we know,
To us will show the kindness
That we to others show.

~ Fanny Crosby 

To Make This Life Worthwhile

 

May every soul that touches mine ---

Be it the slightest contact ---

Get there from some good;
Some little grace; one kindly thought;
One aspiration yet unfelt;
One bit of courage
For the darkening sky;
One gleam of faith
To brave the thickening ills of life;
One glimpse of brighter skies

Beyond the gathering mists ---
To make this life worthwhile...

~ George Eliot

Caring

 

Those

who bring

sunshine

to the lives

of others

cannot keep it

from

themselves.

 

~ Sir James Barrie