Grace
God’s
New covenant
Written on hearts
Christ’s blood frees us
Love

Truth
Jesus
Teach us
Honesty and boldness
Trusting your faithful answers
Prayer

Salvation
Hearing
His call
Running to Jesus
Casting away sin’s burdens
Forgiveness

God’s
New covenant
Written on hearts
Christ’s blood frees us
Love

Jesus
Teach us
Honesty and boldness
Trusting your faithful answers
Prayer

Hearing
His call
Running to Jesus
Casting away sin’s burdens
Forgiveness


Driving fast down time’s hectic road
Passing new sign’s life-changing mode
Hey busy people, “What’s your rush?”
Best to paint life with brand new brush
Slow self down, before passing by
More to life than hello and bye
Coffee’s better with second cup
Take time to really size life up
Spend precious moments, call your friend
Each minute pays big dividends
Look around, lend others your hand
Playing music on life’s bandstand
Time spent with young children at play
Ageless, feeling younger each day
Neighborhood walk with man’s best friend
Rounding out life’s perfect weekend
Share love with your special someone
Lighting rainbows with rising sun
Cruisin’ along life’s peaceful street
No rush now, enjoying each treat

From Psalm 118:26: “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord.”

Rejoice with this new day
God sharing precious love
Blessed Word guides our way
Behold gifts from above
Extend love to others
Family and friends shine
Each sister and brother
Feeling God’s love, divine
Christ sheds blood, out of love
Building faith’s cornerstone
Treasured, caring, proud of
Never feeling alone
Remembering God’s saints
Memories still alive
Cherished thoughts now repaint
Holding tight each archive
Lord is God, brings His light
Giving thanks for His grace
Blessed angels take flight
Precious love shall embrace

From Psalm 118:1: “O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever!”
Morning breakfast time
Pancakes searching for sweetness—
Think maple syrup

Ordering three eggs
Scrambled or over easy?
Make it an omelet

Bacon, sausage, ham
Can’t decide, let’s go for it—
Eating the whole hog

From Psalm 100:4-5: “Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the Lord is good; His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations.”

Master of creation’s universe
Father’s love, boundless and enduring
Defying mankind’s understanding
Endless waterfall, reassuring
God’s lasting presence covers this earth
Filled with unending mercy and care
Sharing His love, bringing us gladness
Hearing concerns, answering prayers
Our world rotates between night and day
Yet, God never ceases His labors
Cherishing us, sheep in His pasture
Caring and loving us—as neighbors
God’s eternal and lasting love flows
Filling every second with love
His steadfast love shall always prevail
Sharing His love from heaven above

From the words of Christian writer, Corrie ten Boom: “There is no pit so deep that God’s love is not deeper still.”
From Psalm 88:1-2: “O Lord, God of my salvation, when, at night, I cry out in your presence, let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my cry.”

Cold stillness greets early morning air
Dressed in armor’s extra warm layers
Pre-dawn speaks with inviting brightness
Heavenly Father answers prayers
Heart’s emptiness filled with sorrow’s grief
Walking life’s open road with brisk pace
Precious moments with Father’s goodness
He stands ready at this time and place
Frigid frost slaps rosy cheeks and nose
Step after step, life moving along
Chill penetrates through extra clothing
Heart needs comfort, love from Heaven’s song
Absent clouds replaced with brightest sun
God’s advent warms both body and soul
Speaking with loving mercy and grace
Father softens pain from rocky shoal
Walk’s intensity traded for peace
Warmness and hope, alive and feeding
Life’s burdens lightened with God’s blessings
Sharing much more, His presence leading

From Psalm 25:16-17: “Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. Relieve the troubles of my heart, and bring me out of my distress.”
Allow
God’s Wisdom
To speak aloud
Permeate souls and minds
Truth

Courage
Young David
Clinging to God
Lasting perseverance over his
Trials

Witness
Christ’s body
Wounds and scars
Transformed by our Risen
Savior

This series of poems (written in the German-inspired style of Elfchen or Elevenie) shares a total of eleven words in each poem, with a sequence by line of one, two, three, four, and one words.
From John 12:44-46: “Then Jesus cried aloud: ‘Whoever believes in me believes not in me but in Him who sent me. And whoever sees me sees Him who sent me. I have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness.'”

Across this world’s vastness
There’s nothing more precious
Than our God-given life
Primed to breath by His grace
Every precious day
Praise God for its richness
Honor life’s simple ways
Praying with thankful hearts
Just as God molds this earth
Spirit works tirelessly
Shaping and stretching lives
Blessing each precious breath
God’s precious hands guiding
Framing, leading, teaching
Crafting lives, filled with love
Accept His blessed gift
Charged with following God
Life’s precious, rocky path
Falling with stumbling steps
But, Father picks us up
Savoring each day’s breath
There’s nothing more precious
Honoring Lord of all
Straight to life’s final end

From Psalm 23:5-6: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.”
Following prayer and reading my Bible, my thoughts went into writing this special poem. Indeed, there is nothing more precious than life. On March 17, 2021, my stepfather, Ed, went to the Lord. The love he shared with my mother (his loving Martha) was boundless, and I was blessed to share my Christian faith with him. The unconditional love given by my mother to her blessed Ed will be a lasting gift because it has been witnessed by so many others.

Around life’s corner
Failure’s waiting train
Our very fiber
Split open with pain
Chasing newest dreams
Success sometimes waits
Failure comes knocking
What will be life’s fate?
Unavoidable
Failure hitting hard
Inevitable
Drawing life’s harsh card
Fear of failure breathes
Spreading, holds us back
Life fogging over
Success now off track
Vulnerable vibes
Feeling passed over
Alone in darkness
Where’s life’s sweet clover?
Lessons from failure
Past trials teach us
Embrace them and learn
Ride fortitude’s bus
With renewed purpose
Learn while improving
Plus motivation
Success now moving

From the words of American writer, Meg Dowell: “Failure will teach you to be vulnerable. Failure will show you what it means to chase a dream. More importantly, your past failures will change the way you value your successes.”
Warmer days ahead
Tree buds filling with new life—
Spring waiting on deck

Frigid soil warms up
Transformation taking place—
First green shoots of spring

Crafting welcome signs
Daffodils make announcement—
Spring now official
