Autograph

 

God wrote His autograph

Upon the sky last night

In the stars I never saw

A signature so bright!

 

With the dawn again

For watchers to behold ---

He wrote His name in sunlight ---

An autograph of gold!

 

~ Marion Schoeberlein

Rest Thou My Mind

 

Rest Thou my mind in Thee, Dear Lord;
Give to me sweet repose;
Take weary flesh and troubled mind,
In peace, my eyelids close.

I've labored in Thy fields today,
the harvest fields to reap,
And now in quiet evening's hour,
Give to Thy servant sleep.

I rest in Thee, complete, secure,
For in my soul is peace,
For Thou didst wash me clean today,
and gave my soul release.

Dear God, I thank Thee here alone,
As on my bed I pray,
That Thou didst walk beside me,
throughout the heat of day.

And now, I rest in Thee alone,
Nor darkest night would fear,
For in the closing of my eyes,
I know that Thou art near.

~ Charles G. Ramsey

The Loving Thing

 

The child in me that often wished

to wipe His brow and help Him up

each time He fell,

now knows that wish is granted us

each time we do for any man

the loving thing.

 

~ Edward A. Gloeggler

Thankfuness

 

My God, I thank Thee who hast made
        The earth so bright;
So full of splendour and of joy,
        Beauty and light;
So many glorious things are here,
        Noble and right!

I thank Thee, too, that Thou hast made
        Joy to abound;
So many gentle thoughts and deeds
        Circling us round,
That in the darkest spot of Earth
        Some love is found.

I thank Thee more that all our joy
        Is touched with pain;
That shadows fall on brightest hours;
        That thorns remain;
So that earth's bliss may be our guide,
        And not our chain.

I thank Thee, Lord, that Thou hast kept
        The best in store;
We have enough, yet not too much
        To long for more;
A yearning for a deeper peace,
        Not known before.

I thank Thee, Lord, that here our souls,
        Though amply blest,
Can never find, although they seek,
        A perfect rest, ---
Nor ever shall, until they lean
        On Jesus' breast!

~ Adelaide Anne Procter

Teach Us, Lord

 

Teach us, Lord, to serve thee as thou deservest:

to give and not to count the cost;

to fight and not to heed the wounds;

to toil and not to seek for rest;

to labor and not to ask for any reward

save that of knowing that we do thy will.

 

~ St. Ignatius of Loyola

Lead Thou The Way

 

Each time I speak let what I say
Be of Thy Word,
That those who listen shall be blessed
For having heard.

Of what I do let every move
Be first a prayer,
That in my touch of other hearts
I shall not err.

And when I walk my feet shall take
Thy Chosen Way,
That those who hold my hand shall not
Be led astray!

 

~ Esther Nilsson

The Artist

 

I love to watch

God paint the dawn

In scarlet flush and gold;

 

I love to watch

Him touch the sky

In colors bright and bold.

 

I love to watch

God paint the dusk

In purple-shadowed gray.

 

Then leave His name

upon it all ---

Artist of  night and day!

 

~ Marion Schoeberlein

Prayer For A Day's Walk

 

God let me find the lonely ones
Among the throng today
And let me say the word to take
The loneliness away:
So many walk with aching hearts
Along the old highway.

 

So many walk with breaking hearts,
And no one understands;
They find the roadway rough and steep
Across the barren lands;
God help me lighten weary eyes
And strengthen nerveless hands.

 

God help me brighten dreary eyes,
And let my own grief be
A sure reminder of the grief
Of those who walk with me.
When words fail --- hands fail --- let me go
In silent sympathy.

 

~ Grace N. Crowell

Loneliness

 

Loneliness may visit,

but it never can possess,

a heart where God's love lingers

and where his spirit rests.

 

~ Dianne W. Brown

The Dreaded Task

 

I found the task

that I had dreaded so
Was not so difficult

when once begun;
It was the dread itself

that was the foe,
And dread once conquered

means a victory won.

 

~ Margaret E. Bruner

The Hardest Thing

 

The hardest thing on the road of life
Is not the length of the way,
For some it's long,
For some it's short,
The shadows at close of day.

The hardest thing and the saddest thing
That weighs upon the breast,
That brings despair,
That brings deep care,
To the one that seeks for rest,

Ah yes, dear friend, the hardest thing
Is lonesomeness we feel:
The suffering soul,
The long lost goal,
For the friends that weren't so real.

But the hardest and the saddest thing,
The lonesomeness of soul,
Is somehow gone,
Is fled from one
Who maketh Christ his goal.

He's gone before on the lonesome road;
He knows each curve and snare,
He is the way,
Eternal day;
He seeks to lead you there.

Believe in Him, reach out in faith;
Trust in His loving care.
The Christ Who died,
The Christ Who lives,
He seeks to lead you there.

~ Charles G. Ramsey

Be True

Thou must be true thyself,
If thou the truth wouldst teach;
Thy soul must overflow, if thou
Another's soul wouldst reach!
It needs the overflow of heart
To give the lips full speech.

Think truly, and thy thoughts
Shall the world's famine feed;
Speak truly, and each word of thine
Shall be a fruitful seed;
Live truly, and thy life shall be
A great and noble creed.

~ Horatius Bonar

Steadfast Heart

I've dreamed many dreams

than never came true

I've seen them vanished at dawn,
Thank God,
To make me want to dream on,

I've prayed many prayers
when no answer came,
Though I waited patient and long,
But answers have come
to enough of my prayers
To make me keep praying on.

I've trusted many a friend that filed,
And left me to weep alone,
But I've found enough
of my friends true blue,
To make me keep trusting on.

I've sown many seed
that fell by the way
For the birds to feed upon,
But I've held enough golden sheaves
in my hands
To make me keep sowing on.

I've drained the cup
of disappointment and pain
And gone may ways without song,
But I've sipped enough nectar
from the roses of life
To make me want to live on.

 ~ Hazel Cassens

The Meaning

 

I will not doubt

Though there be questions in the heart;

Though eyes be damp with tears

that course from streams within,

I will not doubt.

 

There is a certain strength

that grace has given in my need,

and hope lends inward voice

to make my spirit strong...

 

I still can sing; for more and more

Christ holds the mourning heart ---

There is the clasp of comfort

that no human will can take in hand,

For, in the depths of ache

the soul has mind to understand.

 

~ Roxie Lusk Smith

This Day

 

God forgive my angered voice

My wail when things go wrong,

For forgetting I am --- Oh so weak

And only Thou art strong.

 

God forgive my restless heart

That so often strays from home,

And help me in Thee to find

A place to call my own.

 

God forgive my faltering steps

Amid hardships, pain and care,

Let me remember the heavy cross

That You were glad to bear.

 

God forgive my hurried steps

In life's preparatory way,

And cause me, God, to often stop

and help someone each day.

 

~ Charlotte L. Darwin