The true meaning of life is to plant trees under whose shade you do not expect to sit.
From Romans 8:24-25: “For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope, for who hopes for what one already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”
Nelson Henderson (1865-1943) was a Canadian-born, second-generation farmer.
From Mark 5:27-29: “She had heard about Jesus and came up behind Him in the crowd and touched His cloak, for she said, ‘If I but touch His cloak, I will be made well.’ Immediately her flow of blood stopped, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.”
Father’s righteousness
Immortal mercy’s voice
Molding man in His image
Praising heavens, let all rejoice
Savior’s healing breath
Joy fills morning’s new light
Turning darkness upside down
Nourishing with grace, always right
Spirit’s eagerness
Generous with His love
Inspiring faithful actions
Living bread shares truth from above
Messiah restores
Faith accepts lasting peace
Sharing His divine goodness
Living water shall never cease
Father’s blessed plan
Gospel sharing Good News
Witnessing Son’s promised choice
Meeting Calvary, hope renews
From Psalm 30:11-12: “You have turned my mourning into dancing; You have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, so that my soul may praise You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.
From 1 Timothy 6:6-8: “Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it, but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these.”
Waking to another day
Spurning Father’s safety rope
This world demands perfection
Without Heaven’s faithful hope
Feeling pressure with each step
Witnessing ungodliness
Imperfect world falling apart
Father’s hope in godliness
Slowing down journey’s high speed
Pausing to count each blessing
Hope pursues His righteousness
Father’s truth now addressing
Discovering contentment
Filling hope with timely grace
Senseless desires abandoned
Father’s peace comes to embrace
Cherishing Oneness in hope
Sending trusted Light to bear
Forgiveness from divine Rock
Father’s Son shall truly care
From 1 Timothy 6:13-14: “ In the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in His testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep the commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
There is always hope when people are forced to listen to both sides.
Both teachers and learners go to sleep at their posts as soon as there is no enemy in the field.
John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) was an English philosopher, civil servant, and political economist. He was a member of the British Parliament from 1865-1868.
From Psalm 92:12-15: “The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God. In old age they still produce fruit; they are always green and full of sap, showing that the Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.”
Our Father, our Creator
Sowing faithful seeds of grace
Bearing Spirit’s endless fruit
Upon every earthly place
Father’s love thaws frozen heart
Enriching trust with each gift
Bringing hope into darkness
Faith’s ship no longer adrift
Father’s divine plan transforms
Sending His Son in harm’s way
Knowing glory to be praised
Calvary’s cross won’t delay
Father’s peace walks with Jesus
Reconciling wayward hearts
Proclaiming new creation
Freshness of faith, grace restarts
Father’s breath shall never rest
Stirring color without gray
Planting righteousness from light
Salvation rises this day
From 2 Corinthians 5:14-15: “For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And He died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves but for the One who for their sake died and was raised.”
Hope
Never forsaken
Revealed at Calvary
Flesh nailed to cross
Love
Love
None greater
Messiah conquering death
Saving each of us
Jesus
Jesus
Faith’s builder
Risen Savior experienced
Emmaus Road’s transforming light
Redemption
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 Lamentations 3:55-56: “I called on Your name, O Lord, from the depths of the pit; You heard my plea, ‘Do not close Your ear to my cry for help, but give me relief!'”
Facing distant horizon
Lingering darkness ahead
Knowing Jesus always hears
Providing His daily bread
Thirsting for living water
Drawing drink from Jacob’s well
Knowing Jesus always hears
Giving thanks, gratefulness swells
Waiting follows each sunset
Rising sunrise, full of hope
Knowing Jesus always hears
Scaling Zion’s mighty slope
Kneeling at Calvary’s cross
Praying for redemption’s seed
Knowing Jesus always hears
Harvesting from tender reed
Seeking His mercy’s comfort
Looking to heavens above
Knowing Jesus always hears
Responding with steadfast love
From Lamentations 3:22-23: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”
From Psalm 1:5-6: “Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous, for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.”
Time forever witnessed
Gathered in God’s hands
Blessing with His patience
Every minute planned
Given choice of two ways
Passed on wicked’s advice
Choosing God’s righteous path
Grace pays entry’s price
Faith guiding each next step
Called by God to pause
Waiting for His command
Timeless counsel draws
Spirit, water, and blood
Filled with purity
Believing in God’s Son
Hope’s security
Deeply-rooted faith sown
Watered with God’s love
Overcoming darkness
Harvest’s light above
From 1 John 5:6-8: “This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with the water only but with the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one that testifies, for the Spirit is the truth. There are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood, and these three agree.”
From Hebrews 10:22: “Let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”
Faith filled with confidence
Sanctuary’s door opens wide
Backed by shed blood of Christ
Flesh given at cross, where He died
Faith’s lasting commitment
Inner resources standing firm
Backed by trust found in Christ
Great High Priest shall always affirm
Faith witnesses Good News
Sufficient to pass any test
Backed by grace, sent from Christ
Holy Spirit shall never rest
Faith’s hunger filled with hope
Unwavering assurance holds
Backed by love, shared through Christ
Mercy guides heart to Heaven’s fold
Faith walks with endurance
Always forward to God’s reward
Backed by witness of Christ
Redemption brings one more onboard
From Hebrews 10:35-36: “Do not, therefore, abandon that boldness of yours; it brings a great reward. For you need endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what was promised.”
Gray, overcast skies
Precious rain descends
Morning’s gentle spirit
Welcome back dear friend
Time’s hands standing still
Serenity shares
Fine mist of heaven’s grace
View from kitchen chair
Songbirds’ harmony
Nearby thicket sings
Always perfect pitch
Soft feather’s bowstring
Everlasting gift
Calm shower transcends
Sweetness cascading down
Thank you dearest friend
Grateful for this day
Filled with freshest hope
Morning calls, “Come again”
Now, down periscope
Big Sky Buckeye 