America The Beautiful
Invitation
To Weep Together
Born Again!
Fruit Farmer
Deep Water Sailor
Showers of Blessing
Prayer Power

America The Beautiful
O beautiful for spacious skies, For amber waves of grain, For purple mountain majesties Above the fruited plain! America! America! God shed His grace on thee And crown they good with brotherhood From sea to shining sea! O beautiful for Pilgrim feet, Whose stern, impassioned stress A throoughfare for freedom beat Across the wilderness! America! America! God mend thine every flaw, Confirm thy soul in self-control, Thy liberty in law! Continued next column =>		O beautiful for heroes proved In liberating strife, Who more than self their country loved, And mercy more than life! America! America! May God thy gold refine Till all success be nobleness And every gain divine! O beautiful for patriot dream That sees beyond the years Thine alabaster cities gleam Undimmed by human tears! America! America! God shed His grace on thee And crown they good with brotherhood From sea to shining sea! by Katarine Lee Bates

Invitation
Lord Christ, beneath Thy starry dome We light this flickering lamp of home, And where bewildering shadows throng Uplift our prayer at evensong. Dost Thou, with heaven in Thy ken Still seek a dwelling place with men, Wandering the world in ceaseless quest? O Man of Nazareth, be our guest! Next column ==>		Lord Christ, the bird his nest has found, The fox is sheltered in his ground, But dost Thou still this dark earth tread And have no place to lay Thy head? Shepherd of mortals, here behold A little flock, a wayside fold That wait Thy presence to be blest -- O Man of Nazareth, be our guest! "Hymn for a Household" by Daniel Henderson
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, And he with Me. Words of Lord Jesus, Rev 3.20 (ref: Mt 8.19-20)

To Weep Together

As through the land at eve we went, And pluck'd the ripen'd ears, We fell out, my wife and I, O we fell out I know not why, And kiss'd again with tears. And blessings on the falling out That all the more endears, When we fall out with those we love, And kiss again with tears! For when we came where lies the child We lost in other years, There above the little grave, O there above the little grave, We kiss'd again with tears. From "The Princess" by Alfred Lord Tennyson

Born Again!
'Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer Thought it scarcely worth his while To waste much time on the old violin, But held it up with a smile. "What am I bidden, good folks," he cried, "Who will start bidding for me? A dollar, a dollar" -- then, "Two!" Only two? Two dollars, and who'll make it three?" "Three dollars once; three dollars twice; Going for three --" But no! From the room, far back, a gray-haired man Came forward and picked up the bow. Then, wiping the dust from the old violin, And tightening the loose strings, He played a melody pure and sweet As sweet as a caroling angel sings. The music ceased, and the auctioneer, With a voice that was quiet and low, Said "What am I bidden for the old violin?" And he held it up with the bow. Continued next column ==>		"A thousand dollars, and who'll make it two? Two thousand! And who'll make it three? Three thousand once; three thousand twice; And going, and gone!" said he. The people cheered, but some of them cried, "We do not quite understand What changed its worth?" Swift came the reply: "The touch of the master's hand." And many a man with life out of tune, And battered and scattered with sin, Is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd, Much like an old violin. A "mess of pottage," a glass of wine; A game -- and he travels on. He's "going" once, and "going" twice, He's "going" and almost "gone." But the Master comes, and the foolish crowd Never can quite understand The worth of a soul, and the change that's wrought By the touch of the Master's hand. "The Touch of the Master's Hand" by Myra Brooks Welch
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away; Behold! All things have become new. 2 Cor 5.17

Fruit Farmer
I bless Thee, Lord, because I grow Among the trees, which in a row To Thee both fruit and order grow. What open force, or hidden charm Can blast my fruit, or bring me harm, While the inclosure is Thine arm? When Thou dost greater judgments spare, And with Thy knife but prune and pare, Even fruitful trees more fruitful are. Such sharpness shows the sweetest Friend, Such cuttings rather heal than rend, And such beginnings reach their end. "Paradise" by George Herbert		(Jesus said...) I am the true vine. My Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, While every branch that does bear fruit He prunes So that it will be even more fruitful. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Excerpts from John 15.1-4 And the fruit of the Spirit is Love... Joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, Faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. Gal 5.22-23

Deep Water Sailor
Roll on, thou deep and dark blue ocean -- roll! Ten thousand fleets sweep over thee in vain; Man marks the earth with ruin -- his control Stops with the shore -- upon the watery plain The wrecks are all thy deed, nor doth remain A shadow of man's ravage, save his own, When, for a moment like a drop of rain, He sinks into thy depths with bubbling groan, Without a grave, unknell'd, uncoffin'd, and unknown.		And I have loved thee, Ocean! and my joy Of youthful sports was on thy breast to be Borne, like thy bubbles, onward; from a boy I wanton'd with thy breakers -- they to me Were a delight; and if the freshening sea Made them a terror -- 'twas a pleasing fear, For I was as it were a child of thee, And trusted to thy billows far and near, And laid my hand upon thy mane -- as I do here. From "Childe Harold" by Lord Byron
Those who go down to the sea in ships, Who do business on great waters, They see the works of the LORD, And His wonders in the deep. For He commands and raises the stormy wind, Which lifts up the waves of the sea. They mount up to the heavens, They go down again to the depths.		Their soul melts because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, And are at their wits' end. Then they cry out to the LORD in their trouble, And He brings them out of their distresses. He calms the storm, so that its waves are still. Then they are glad because they are quiet; So He guides them to their desired haven. Psalm 107.23-30

Showers of Blessing

God did not leave Himself without witness, In that He gave us rain from heaven, And fruitful seasons, To fill our hearts with food and gladness. Acts 14.17

Oh! she is good, the little rain! and well she knows our need Who cometh in the time of spring to aid the sun-drawn seed; She wanders with a friendly wind through silent nights unseen, The furrows feel her happy tears, and lo! the land is green. Last night cloud-shadows gloomed the path that winds to my abode, And the torches of the river-boats like angry meteors glowed. Today fresh colors break the soil, and butterflies take wing Down broidered lawns all bright with pearls, in the garden of the King. "The Little Rain" by Tu Fu, translated from Chinese by L. Cranmer-Byng

Prayer Power
Lord, what a change within us one short hour Spent in Thy presence will prevail to make! What heavy burdens from our bosoms take, What parched grounds refresh as with a shower! We kneel, and all around us seems to lower. We rise, and ALL -- the distant and the near -- Stands forth in sunny outline brave and clear. We kneel, how weak! We rise, how full of power! Why, therefore, should we do ourselves this wrong, Or others, that we are not always strong? Why are we ever overborne with care? Why should we ever weak or heartless be, Anxious or troubled, when with us is prayer? For JOY and STRENGTH and COURAGE are with Thee! "In Thy Presence" by Archbishop Trench		Be anxious for NOTHING! In everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, Let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, Will guard your hearts & minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4.6-7

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