Poetry Saturday—Can’t Say Me

Perfect PrayerYou cannot pray the Lord’s prayer, and even once say “I.”
You cannot pray the Lord’s prayer, and even once say “my.”
Nor can you pray the Lord’s prayer and not pray for another.
For to ask for “our” daily bread, you include your sister and brother!
All God’s children are included in each and every plea.
From the beginning to the end of it, it does not once say “me.” —Charles Royden

Try Reverse Thinking

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Today was the absolute worst day ever
And don’t try to convince me that
There’s something good in every day
Because, when you take a closer look,
This world is a pretty evil place.
Even if
Some goodness does shine through once in a while
Satisfaction and happiness don’t last.
And it’s not true that
It’s all in the mind and heart
Because
True happiness can be obtained
Only if one’s surroundings are good
It’s not true that good exists
I’m sure you can agree that
The reality
Creates
My attitude
It’s all beyond my control
And you’ll never in a million years hear me say that
Today was a good day
(now read from the bottom to the top)

Psychologists call it metacognition when we think about what we’re thinking about. The Bible calls it capturing every thought (2 Corinthians 10:5).

Sometimes it takes reversing our thinking.

The devil has a singular agenda: He wants to steal joy from your life, he wants to kill any hope you have for the future, and he wants your end to be utter destruction.

Jesus has a singular agenda for you too: I have come that you might have abundant life.

Try reversing your thinking. Try thinking about your thinking a different way.

The devil says, “Life has no purpose.” God says, “I created you on purpose.”

The devil says, “You’re nothing special.” God says, “You’re one-of-a-kind.”

The devil says, “God remembers you blew it.” God says, “I’ve forgotten everything I’ve forgiven.”

The devil says, “This life is all there is.” God says, “You can’t even imagine what’s coming next!”

The devil says, “You’ll never find true love.” God says, “I love you so much that I died for you.”

Reverse your thinking to listen to what God says. Then you will be able to reverse today was the absolute worst day ever to today was a good day!

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Poetry Saturday—Lost Day

Poetry Saturday—The Rock

T.S. EliotThe endless cycle of idea and action,
Endless invention, endless experiment,
Brings knowledge of motion, but not of stillness;
Knowledge of speech, but not of silence;
Knowledge of words, and ignorance of the Word.
All our knowledge brings us nearer to our ignorance,
All our ignorance brings us nearer to death,
But nearness to death no nearer to God.
Where is the Life we have lost in living?
Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?
The cycles of Heaven in twenty centuries
Bring us farther from God and nearer to the Dust. —T.S. Eliot

Poetry Saturday—Mission

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

If you are dreaming of a future goal,
   When, crowned with glory, men shall own your power,
Be careful that you let no struggling soul
   Go by unaided in the present hour.
If you are moved to pity for the earth,
   And long to aid it, do not look so high,
You pass some poor, dumb creature faint with thirst—
   All life is equal in the Eternal Eye.
If you would help to make the wrong things right,
   Begin at home: there lies a lifetime’s toil.
Weed your own garden fair for all men’s sight,
   Before you plan to till another’s soil.
God chooses His own leaders in the world,
   And from the rest He asks but willing hands.
As mighty mountains into place are hurled,
   While patient tides may only shape the sands. —Ella Wheeler Wilcox, Mission

Poetry Saturday—The Oyster

Pearl oysterThere once was an oyster, whose story I’ll tell,
Who found that some sand had gotten into his shell.
It was only a grain, but it gave him great pain,
For oysters have feelings, although they are plain.
Now, did he berate the harsh workings of fate
That had brought him to such a deplorable state?
“No,” he said to himself, “since I cannot remove it,
I’ll lie in my shell and think how to improve it.”
They years rolled around, as the years always do,
And he came to his ultimate destiny… stew.
Now the small grain of sand that had bothered him so
Was a beautiful pearl all richly aglow.
This tale has a moral, for isn’t it grand,
What an oyster can do with a morsel of sand?
Think… what could we do, if we’d only begin
With some of the things that get under our skin. —Anonymous (I heard this poem as a part of a brilliant message on dealing with life’s irritations)

Poetry Saturday—Don’t Hurry, Don’t Worry

Charles DeemsThe world is wide
In time and tide,
And God is guide,
   Then—do not hurry.
That man is blest
Who does his best
And leaves the rest,
   Then—do not worry. Charles F. Deems, Epigram

Poetry Saturday—Beloved

Charles WesleyNot from his head was woman took,
As made her husband to o’erlook;
Not from his feet, as one designed
The footstool of the stronger kind;
But fashioned for himself a bride;
An equal, taken from his side.

Her place intended to maintain,
The mate and glory of the man;
To rest, as still beneath his arm
Protected by her lord from harm—
And never from his heart removed,
As only less than God beloved. ―Charles Wesley

Poetry Saturday—Love Unspeakable

FullSizeRender 6 (1)I faced a future all unknown,
No opening could I see,
I heard without the night wind moan.
The days were dark to me―
I cannot face it all alone
Oh be Thou near to me!
He has, He will, He worketh still,
In ways most wonderful.
He drew me from the miry clay,
He filled my cup quite full.
And while my heart can speak I’ll tell
His love unspeakable. ―John Oxenham

Poetry Saturday—The Privileges Of The Living

Isaac WattsAwake, my zeal, awake, my love,
To serve my Savior here below,
In works which perfect saints above
And holy angels cannot do.

Awake my charity, to feed
The hungry soul, and clothe the poor:
In heaven are found no sons of need,
There all these duties are no more.

Subdue thy passions, O my soul!
Maintain the fight, thy work pursue,
Daily thy rising sins control,
And be thy victories ever new.

The land of triumph lies on high,
There are no foes t’ encounter there:
Lord, I would conquer till I die,
And finish all the glorious war.

Let every flying hour confess
I gave Thy gospel fresh renown;
And when my life and labor cease,
May I possess the promis’d crown. —Isaac Watts