Christmas Poetry

Christ came to earth, one blessed
Holy night, to offer
Redemption to a world, so lost in His sight
Immanuel is His name, our
Savior He chose to be.
Three gifts were brought to Him, by the
Magi, for the One who would be
Atonement for sins – offering
Salvation to you and me.

The Christmas Gift

I wrote this originally in my personal journal (don’t you feel like a special friend, now?) as a Valentines poem. But I have been wanting to share it with you.  I changed a few words so it pertains to Christmas…hope you like it…let me know.

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 The Christmas Gift

Lord, I have forgotten Your ways

I haven’t read Your Word in too many days

I have missed the mark time and time again

Who am I to say that You are my friend?

 

But, Lord, in Your grace I want to grow

And I’ll need Your help, this I know.

To find my way back to Your Throne

This is a journey I can’t make alone.

 

Lord, I have called upon You only when in trouble

Perhaps that is why lately, all I do is stumble.

I’ve cursed and I’ve cried, I’ve felt I could die

But, Lord, You never left. You were always at my side.

 

You’ve never forsaken me, you’ve always been there

In the morning, at night, and when I say the occasional prayer.

You’re there when I sleep and there when I cry

You’re there when I slip, though I sometimes wonder why.

 

I wonder how a Lord so sovereign and good

Can still love a sinner like me – I’m not so sure I could.

But You do Lord, and I’m blessed

For of every gift in life, Jesus is the best.

 

So, Lord, this Christmas Day, I want to tell You

That whatever it takes, that’s what I’ll do

I’‘ll do what’s needed to get back that fire.

Lord, I just ask You to teach me to desire

 

The things that are good, righteous, and just

And to never lose faith in Your love, but to trust.

To trust in Your provision, Your love, and Your promise

For You o Lord, cannot be dishonest.

 

Lord, You have my heart from now until forever

I will love You Lord, and not lose faith, no never.

So, Lord, be with me as on this new journey I start

And Lord, please accept this Christmas gift – my heart.

Love letters

Imagine this scenario:

You pick up your mail, like usual. As you sift through the endless amount of bills, credit card offers, sales flyers and more junk mail, you see a long white envelope with an actual stamp on it. You pull it from the stack and realize it is a letter from a dear friend you haven’t heard from in years! You pull into the driveway and read the letter before you even put the car in park!

Or, how about this one:

Ladies, you’re being courted (or dating as is said now, though the two are not interchangeable), and your betrothed presents you with a handwritten letter. The letter tells you about the way his life was before you met. It tells you about how great of a love he has for you and talks of future plans and dreams. And deep within, in the middle of the letter, is a wonderful surprise – a marriage proposal. This is definitely a letter you will read again just before you walk down the aisle. In short, it is a letter you will read over and over again, breathing in each and every word as if your very life depended on it.

Try this one:

You receive a poetic love letter from your spouse. The letter is very long, and handwritten, with all types of prose. It begins with the story of your lives together. It tells of the good times, and the bad. There are pages that talk of nothing but hardship, and other pages that are full of blessed memories. There are poems and beautiful language. You read this letter everyday, especially since your spouse is now deceased. You treasure every single word, and you can almost say the entire thing by heart. It is, by far, your most valued possession.

Now, imagine this one:

Imagine getting any of those letters, and only taking it out once a week to read one or two sentences. Imagine only reading the parts that are happy, and not ever bothering with the parts that are hard to understand.

Instead of reading it all, you pick out little bits of information here and there, but you miss the big picture since you never read the whole thing. But, after all, you don’t have time to sit and read the whole thing. Dishes must be washed, laundry folded, errands run, and emails to check. So you miss out on the wonderful words and sweet poetry your friend or loved one put together, specifically for you.

Are you wondering where I’m going with this? It’s been said that the Bible is God’s love letter to us. And it struck me tonight that if it is indeed a love letter – or a letter at all – we have ignored it unopened on the desk corner for far too long. Unlike the long-lost friend’s letter, or the letter from our beloved husband or wife, we open it and read only a verse or two once a week. And we wonder in the meantime why there are days when we just don’t understand what’s going on. There are days when nothing makes sense, and when we ask God to explain it, we wonder why He doesn’t speak to us.

The truth is, He does speak to us still, and has given us something that the early church would have gladly died for – a book that contains His words and thoughts. We have in our hands something of such great value that people die for it everyday. And we leave ours all too often on a shelf or coffee table to gather dust.

Why don’t we give our Bible the same attention and care we give those love letters? After reading those love letters, we can quote so much of it word-for-word, and yet we have a hard time remembering much more than a few scriptures, and then may only know the jist of it. Knowing its address (the book: chapter and verse) is another thing.

So my challenge is this: treat your Bible and the word of God as 1000 times more important than any other love letter you could ever receive. Read it every single day. Read it all the way through (not all at once, of course!) – and then do it again. Carry it with you when you travel. When you feel worried, scared, happy, sad, or blessed, read it. Memorize it – hide its words in your heart.

Do that, and its guaranteed, when the hard times come, you’ll have a direct line to God – His written word. And you’ll have a much easier time of knowing how to handle everything that comes your way.

Spend time in His word today – and be blessed.

Another bit of poetry…

I thought I would go ahead and share this one also….I wrote this after my beloved father-in-law passed away suddenly in October of 2006.  I placed this poem, along with a photo of John, Sr., on a large ceramic tile and gave one to his wife, and my husband’s two siblings.  This poem still makes me a little teary-eyed when I read it….he was a wonderful person.

Johnny Mac

We don’t know why you were taken so early from our gaze.

We only know we’ll see you again at the end of our own days.

In the meantime though, we’ll hold on tight

To all the memories that time can’t erase from our minds.

So many people loved you so very much,

It’s hard to find someone whose life you didn’t touch.

You were always the first person we would call

When our cars or trucks needed an overhaul!

But while we worked, we would always talk

Of childhood and gardens, and walking the walk.

When anyone met you, they could plainly see

That you were exactly the person you claimed to be.

Never a fake, never a fraud,

What was seen by all was not a facade.

From four-wheelers to dirt bikes, to wrenches and corn,

An unfamiliar hat, you never have worn.

The happiest times we can remember,

Seem to be found with your grandkids in December.

No, Christmas won’t be the same without you here,

It’ll have something missing each and every year.

Your laughter and smile are the things we will miss

And at the coming holidays I’m sure we’ll reminisce.

Maybe about the time you got a Chia head for a gift,

Or all the times you picked up your children’s hearts to give them a lift.

It seemed that in every situation, you knew just what to do,

And at night in our prayers, we thank God for you

God promises that in Heaven no sorrows will remain,

And He promises that very soon He will come again.

So, with that promise we can be sure,

That even though we love you, Jesus loves you even more.

 

The Greatest Gift

I thought I would share this with you tonight….its not my best work, and I wrote it REALLY quickly last year for my daughter to read at our church Christmas program.  Here it is:

The Greatest Gift

The tree is all aglow

Here in Texas, there is no snow.

It’s Christmastime!

Shopping time!

Time for waiting in really long lines!

In search of a gift for a friend,

mom or dad.

We want something to give

that will make them happy, not sad.

The big day comes and

the gifts are all opened….

Did everyone get just what they were hopin’?

But wait, there is one gift left.

A gift for you and for me

This gift can’t be found

under any Christmas tree.

It’s the Savior child

Born so meek and mild

He’s come to bring Joy,

This sweet and precious little boy

He’s wrapped up tight

In His mother’s arms tonight

So make sure that on your

Christmas wish list

You have written

The Greatest Gift!