If I Was a . . .

This poem is inspired by a song which has been sung by many artists.  Bobby Darin and later Johnny Cash and June Carter recorded their versions of “If I Were a Carpenter.”   The song was written by Tim Hardin, and other artists have recorded and performed the song as well.  Here is Bobby Darin’s version:  “If I Were a Carpenter.”

woman writing on dry erase board

Photo by Christina Morillo on Pexels.com

If I was a teacher

Bringing energy, passion, and patience

Transforming all into knowledge seekers

 

If I was a firefighter

Serving with unselfish duty and pride

Protecting all, making worries lighter

 

If I was an architect

Designing buildings for many uses

Looking ahead to challenging projects

 

If I was a farmer

Rising at dawn, working until sundown

Bringing a nation food, as God’s armor

 

If I was a nurse

Sharing with patient, compassionate care

Filling lives with hope, never for the worse

 

If I was a writer

Crafting words into stories and much more

Witnessing through eyes, open and brighter

 

If I was a musician

Creating good vibes through words and music

Bringing pleasure across generations

 

If I was a preacher

Instilling God’s Word with a church’s flock

Encouraged to be one of God’s teachers

 

If I was a soldier

Preserving peace and freedom in the world

Band of brothers, stand shoulder to shoulder

 

If I was a young tyke

Looking up to these inspiring adults

Growing up, each day feeling more alike

photo of toddler running on grass

Photo by Wendy Wei on Pexels.com

Destined for Triumph

This poem is a sister poem which has been written as a follow-up to a previous poem “Destined for Nowhere.”  If you haven’t read this poem yet, you may want to read it before viewing this poem.

From Isaiah 9:6:  “For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon His shoulders; and He is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

asphalt dark dawn endless

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Standing in the middle of “Nowhere”

Why should we even bother to care?

 

God answers, showing His Holy plan

Coming to earth, as the Son of Man

 

Bringing hope to a broken, darkened world

God’s love brings light, forever unfurled

 

Angels praise this Holy promise, yet to come

Christ promises life, no longer feeling numb

 

There is a new King in town, follow Him

His will defeats the Enemy, and our sin

 

Dust yourself off, bending a knee, and pray

God, the Father, loves us with plenty to say

 

From a cruel Cross, Jesus sheds blood for all

Forgiving our eternity of debts, is His call

 

Our Almighty Creator delivers His commands

Now come to taste His love, forever it stands

 

Christ offers the only path to Salvation

Remold our lives, flooded with stagnation

 

Believe Jesus, accept the Christ, follow Him

Step forward, forever freed from our sins

 

Through the Messiah, comes a risen taste

Destined for triumph, no longer disgraced

photo of a pathway in a forest

Photo by Artem Saranin on Pexels.com

Catherine Marshall Quote

 

light sun cloud japan

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Of course you’ll encounter trouble.  But behold a God of power who can take any evil and turn it into a door of hope.

From Colossians 1:26-27:  “The mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to His saints.  To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

Seeking His Guidance

auto automobile automotive car

Photo by Mike on Pexels.com

From Psalm 37:23-24:  “Our steps are made firm by the Lord, when He delights in our way; though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong, for the Lord holds us by the hand.”

God wants us to succeed today

Asking for our patience and trust

Allowing faith to rebuild hope

Studying from His Word, we must

 

Always trusting in our Father

Bringing us guidance and His love

Achieving good through His name

Touching hearts, His joy sings above

 

We are never forsaken, never

Leading, God offers direction

Finding the means, moving forward

Meeting trials with reflection

 

The wicked gather all around

Following the Enemy’s lies

Causing God to judge their follies

Coming Judgment Day will apprise

 

Our Savior’s coming, all waiting

Receiving God’s Grace, what a gift

The Lord standing with the righteous

Accepting His plan, lives not adrift

 

We may still misstep and stumble

Preventing us from falling down

Reaching out, God’s hand guiding us

Fleeing, the thirsty Enemy frowns

 

Through His Word, the Father blesses

Giving generously, all with love

Choosing Jesus, Salvation comes

Seeking God’s guidance, from above

From the words of Dutch priest, writer, and theologian Henri Nouwen:  “A spiritual discipline is necessary in order to move slowly from an absurd to an obedient life, from a life filled with noisy worries to a life in which there is some free inner space where we can listen to our God and follow His guidance.”

man s hand in shallow focus and grayscale photography

Photo by lalesh aldarwish on Pexels.com

Lonely Road

From 2 Corinthians 3:18:  “And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.”

landscape photography of withered tree

Photo by Simon Matzinger on Pexels.com

Sometimes life resembles a lonely road

Walking endless miles, filling with shame

Surrounded by darkness, bearing life’s load

Feeling mixed up, never into the game

 

God’s Word and Spirit bring transformation

Empty, spiritual desert . . . leaving now

Bringing dramatic change, new foundation

An oasis of faith becomes a vow

 

Discovering new hope, suffering ends

God’s light shines ahead of our faithful steps

Stumbling and failing, no longer contend

God’s Glory reigns supreme, without missteps

 

Old ways transforming to a better life

Exchanging total control with our Lord

God’s Grace gives, without cutting like a knife

His everlasting love, brings rich accord

 

God’s army of angels, walking ahead

Lonely road left . . . following Christ instead

willow tree angel figurine

Photo by Darrell Fraser on Pexels.com

Redeeming Hope

red lighted candle

Photo by icon0.com on Pexels.com

From 2 Peter 3:8-10, 13:  “But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day.  The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.  But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done will be disclosed.  But, in accordance with His promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home.”

Bringing hope to Abraham to witness and see

Blessings arrive from His Holy Father above

Abraham’s hopes soaking up spirit, only for thee

“So numerous shall your descendants be” with love

 

Rejoicing in hope, while persevering in prayer

Marks of a true Christian, travel through hope

Being patient with suffering, God does care

Allowing His Word to appear on our radar scope

 

Christ’s Resurrection delivers hope, so rich

Without hope, all feeling shamed and pitied

Setting our hope on Christ, forever a cinch

Living for Christ’s Glory, every town and city

 

All called to Christ, as the early Christians were

Teaching from the Apostles, encouraging our faith

We are all gathered by Christ, this is for sure

Inheriting a glorious-filled hope, step up to taste

 

Remaining forever steadfast in faith and love

Hope travels by way of Jesus Christ’s Salvation

Accepting Jesus as Savior, He reigns from above

The hope of His glory, will be our eternal station

 

With unwavering hope, encourage one another

Delivering a Resurrection, a living hope awaits

God is pure, Christ is pure—like none other

Hoping in Christ; enriching, enduring faith

 

Hope and joy will witness Christ’s coming

A cunning Satan cannot block the way

Waiting with hope, the angels drumming

Christ’s final promise will come some day

art cathedral christ christian

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Shattered Hopes

From Romans 10:12-13:  “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call Him.  For, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.'”

pexels-photo-830912-e1571931038185.jpeg

Photo by Andrea P. Coan on Pexels.com

Sitting here on a quiet, morning dawn

Drinking coffee, warming a drowsy mind

Passing the time with memories, all wrong

Looking for warmhearted hopes, none to find

 

Wishing countless troubles would go away

Thinking another day will bring some hope

Realizing now, my dreams are crushed today

Watching out the window, through hopeless scope

 

Opening a Bible, found by God’s Grace

Inviting me in, His Word reaches out

Sensing a way to change life’s dismal pace

Offering a new path, without a doubt

 

Witnessing Christ Jesus on a cruel Cross

Accepting my Savior, no longer lost

 

clouds during golden hour

Photo by Sindre Strøm on Pexels.com

Expressions of Hope

background black branches clouds

Photo by icon0.com on Pexels.com

Expressions of hope are written throughout the Old Testament.  At times, the people of Israel lost hope, but God always found ways to restore their trust and hope to believe in Him.  

From Psalm 65:5:  “By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance, O God of our salvation; you are the hope of all the ends of the earth and the farthest seas.

Broken faith with God

Flicker of hope remains

Have hope, seek God

Hopeful in His deeds

 

Place our Living God

Above all other gods

 

Light turns into darkness

Hiding in the shadows

Yet, God remains close

Hope grows once again

 

Living tree of hope

Will live into eternity

New buds always sprout

Strength from the Father

 

There is always hope

Even in darkest times

 

Life’s trials uproot hope

Adversaries line up against

God hears our cries

Intervenes when hope’s weak

 

Ancestors of Jacob witness

Their hope in God

The God of Jacob

Always God of Hope

 

God keeps His decrees

Believe, look to God

 

God remains always faithful

Our Lord reigns forever

For God’s righteous believers

Hope ends in gladness

 

Way of the Lord

Offers refuge with wisdom

Follow God with hope

Always in our hearts

 

Tree of Life endures

Ready to sustain us

 

Hope shows the light

Steady on life’s course

When spirit is dried

Hope quenches our thirst

 

God opens hope’s door

Inviting us to enter

 

 

Charles Swindoll Quote

adult aged baby care

Photo by icon0.com on Pexels.com

Hope is a wonderful gift from God, a source of strength and courage in the face of life’s harshest trails.

From Psalm 73:25:  “Whom have I in heaven but You?  And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than You.”