Fill Your Heart

Fill your heart with kind words 

Not hurtful words .

Fill your heart with compassion 

For others not selfishness .

Have patience not anger 

In your heart .

Fill your heart with gratitude 

Not with sadness .

Fill your heart with hope 

And not pessimism .

Always trust God 

And do not worry .

Fill your heart with simplicity 

Not complaints .

Fill your heart with prayer .

Fill your heart with joy 

Not bitterness .

Fill your heart with silence 

So you can hear 

And learn the words of the Lord .

                                I Love You All

                                By Brock

Wrestling

At one time or another ,

All believers have felt as if 

They have been wrestling with God .

The task may not be particularly stressful .

I have felt as if I were in a push and pull

With God at times .

At times I feel like I am losing a battle to prove myself .

All the while I try to be content that my task is to trust the Lord .

After an encounter with God ,

I am not the same person as before .

I have learned that when I am faithful ,

My wrestling is not in vain .

In whatever I struggle with today ,

I can fine courage .

I believe that staying with what seems 

Like a fight may result in a blessing .

Because God is at work .

I believe through my suffering 

I can learn perseverance and wisdom .

                                         I Love You All

                                         By Brock

Why Worry

Jesus knows the ill effect of worry .

It will consume our thoughts ,  steals our productivity

And negatively affect our heart 

But most importantly 

It reduces ability to trust God .

Jesus continues telling us to seek 

First God's kingdom by turning to God for help .

While planning for tomorrow 

Is time well spent ,

Worrying about the future is just wasted time .

On a bad day ,you may take a yoyo by yourself 

And throw it up and down but at the end 

Just give the yoyo to God 

And He will take it up for you .

We may not know what the future holds ,

But we can trust the One who holds our hands 

And walk with us through the every day valley .

                                                      I Love You All

                                                      By Brian

A Wake Up Call

The most important things in life 

Do not come to us immediately ,

We need time to open our hearts 

To the gifts of love . hope and faith 

Son that they may slowly but surely 

Lead us to a new way of living .

Remember , with teaching by example 

Praying , healing , encouraging and loving .

We should not lose heart .

When we experience a wake up call from God ,

It is a call that most often will come through people 

Who love us and who see in us 

What we can not see in ourselves .

                                I Love You All

                                By Brock

No More Trash

If broken pieces of glass

Can be transformed into prized treasures ,

God can do even more for any of us 

Who feel broken , lost or crushed in spirit .

No matter how broken we might be ,

God sees the good in each of us .

When we are willing ,

God can soften sharp edges 

And sand away our flaws 

So that we become works of art ,

Shining forth the beauty 

God created in us .

If a discarded piece of trash 

From the sea can be transformed 

Into something of value ,

Think how much more value 

God places on rescuing 

Each of God's children .

                       I Love You All

                       By Brock

Oh To Imitate And To Learn

From the youngest of years ,

We imitate our siblings ,

Our sports and movie heroes 

And our parents .

We imitate them because we desire 

To be like them .

These people all have some negative characteristics ,

But we can learn from those as well as I have .

What we imitate is the examples we have before us .

This is how we learn and grow in Christ as well .

We imitate and learn 

And then at some point we become the example .

                                                        I Love You All

                                                        By Brock

Grandma And Me

When I was young ,

I was always at grandma's .

I always had her full attention .

She was always busy cooking , canning ,

Washing , ironing gardening and sewing .

She had cookies for treats 

And teach me how to play cards her way !

She would sing her song to me 

To put me to sleep for my nap when I was a baby .

She would be shelling peas 

Or some mending .

Grandma always found time 

Without fail to listen to me .

I can see her big hands now 

Smiling and coming to me .

When ever I was having some problems 

She would listen to me 

And pray for me 

When she had her rosary in her hand .

She always said take one day at a time .

I helped her the best I could .

I helped her with her dog and cat 

And her pheasants .

Remember , there is always hope 

On the wings of a pheasant feather !!!

                                         I Love You All

                                         By (Brinnie )

                                               Brock

I Will Always

A child said I do not love you any more grandpa .

He was angrily folding his arms

And boy did he glare at me 

After I scolded him for something .
I said oh but I still love you 

And I always will Smiley .

He was still mad and turned 

And walked away

But within seconds he was back

With a big smile ,

Saying that he was sorry .

I will always love him .

He may go astray at times ,

But I will always pray 

For our children 

And never let them out of our hearts 

We will never stop loving them .

Remember , God loves us all 

More than we can imagine .

                          I Love You All

                          By Brock

Loving Arms

Have you ever crossed arms

palace them on your chest ,

Hands on your shoulders to shelter

Your heart ?

You will feel close to Jesus 

In a moment of calmness .

This self hug moment plus 

A prayer is a close embrace with God .

Remember , God's love is far superior 

To your fear and pain .

Remember , holding God's love 

In your heart 

Can bring peace to you today .

                             I Love You All

                             By Brock

Currency

We are encouraged to pay

With thanksgiving .

It is what is accomplished

In our prayers that we 

Want to pay attention to today .

Yes , I do keep my rosary 

In my pocket .

Prayer is not a currency 

We put into a heavenly 

Vending machine to get what we

Want out of God .

No our prayers are to be

Requests to God 

For the salvation of all

And for the knowledge

Of truth to be know .

Remember , our prayers 

Are not the currency that pays for us .

The payment is made by the precious 

Blood of Christ .

He prays with us and for us .

As we pray we also give thanks 

Especially this day 

For even the president 

Who has led our nation 

And that our Lord would maintain us 

With a peaceful and quiet life 

Godly and dignified in every way .

                                 I Love You All

                                 By Brock

Peace

It can be difficult to be at peace 

Even when you can not sleep .

Often when we think of peace ,

We picture being along and at ease ,

Like in a quiet serene place .

Perhaps you think of a peaceful time fishing 

And away from everything .

We often turn to isolation for our peacefulness .

But the peace that Jesus brings 

Is not in isolation ,

No the peace He brings is in joining 

Us head on .

Jesus brings peace by joining

Us in the flesh ,

Jesus brings a peace that we 

May know in the midst 

Of war , tragedy , conflict and sickness .

Jesus does not call us to isolation 

But to be joined with Him 

And the communion of saints .

                           I Love You All

                           By Brock

He Is With Us

No matter where we go ,

Whether close to home 

Or far away ,

As we follow Jesus 

Into the unknown 

We can cling to His promise 

That He will always 

Be with us .

Even when we experience 

The loneliness of feelings .

As we reach out in prayer to Jesus ,

We can receive comfort knowing 

He is always with us .

                                  I Love You All

                                  By Brock

The Sign

I can not drive in the dark no more

As I was driving one night a while back

I saw a sign on the corner 

At the intersection 

It said , Jesus is the way to heaven .

Where are you going?

Do you think such sign is effective ?

You know my immediate reaction 

Was no it is not effective ,

But over time , I realized that it was asking 

The wrong question .

I could hear my Spirit asking me ,

When was the last time you shared your faith ?

I think the final direction for me is just get up and Go !

Instead of criticizing someone else's efforts ,

I should be focused on making efforts on my own .

I believe , each of us is called to share love 

Our faith in many unique ways .

Regardless of our ways ,

Jesus is more than capable of turning 

Our efforts into glorious results .

I trust that Christ's power is at work 

In the activities in all of us .

I think the right question 

Should be focused on action 

And the results are all up to God .

All we have to be is willing .

                               I Love You All

                               By Brock

Hope Hope

It is not our action that gives us life .

It is the love of the father .

He sets all things before us 

And gives us life .

To choose life is to live the Lord 

Our God and keeps His commandments .

Oh to reject His word ,

To go against what He provides 

Is to take hold of death and evil .

Each day , the Lord sets before us 

His Word of life .

Each day , He brings us ton repentance 

To turn from death and evil ,

And eternal hope .

He gives us the strength 

To serve Him and others .

                            I Love You All

                            By Brock

God Carries Us

I would be dishonest if I told you 

I enjoyed affliction , discomfort ,

Brokenness , physical pain 

Or emotional heartache .

I have weathered several 

Of these seasons 

And I can tell you 

That at the time I found 

None of it to be enjoyable .

But it is endurable .

They say pain is unavoidable  ,

Suffering is optional 

So what is the difference ?

I believe that suffering is different 

Because it involves resistance 

To pain and attachments to outcomes .

In times of affliction ,

We can resist or we can accept and allow .

Without allowing abusive 

Situation to continue of course .

When we cooperate with God 

And commit to learning 

Every possible lesson 

That pain can teach us ,

We are forever changed ,

Looking back on the experience ,

We marvel at how far God has carried us 

And at everything we gain

In our perceived loss

God refines us in the fire 

So let Him .

                    I Love You All

                    By Brock

My Grandma

I find I often lack perseverance 

And patience in my faith ,

But I am inspired by the example 

Of my grandma .

She was not broken by the disappointments 

Of her world .

She kept her faith strong .

She had her expectations 

And did not let her love for God cool .

With her unwavering hope 

She waited for God's time .

She persevered in waiting for God 

Because she loved God .

She may have been let down by some people ,

God never let her down .

My grandma remained resolute .

I try to teach my child 

And my grand child the virtue 

Of perseverance .

I pray that I may be an example 

For the next generation 

So they can learn what it means 

To wait for the coming 

Of the Christ quietly

And with the fullness of joy .

                       I Love You All

                       By Brock

A Daily Review

I am appalled at how easily somethings 

Like impatience and judgmental 

Can become more than on exceptional occurrence .

If behaviors like this are not watched and kept in check ,

They quickly become a daily pattern .

That is why I value the Ignition of Consciousness . 

This spiritual practice encourages 

A prayerful review of one's day ,

Taking time to reflect on how aware 

Or unaware I have been on God's presence

And how I have responded .

This simple , valuable reflection 

Helps to keep behaviors like Solomon's 

From taking over .

                                         I Love You All

                                         By Brock

I Am Here

As my grandson and I watched the sunset .

The grandson sat and watched the sun disappear 

And I moved my chair 

Behind him in silence ,

As the red glow of the South Dakota sun disappeared .

As it became dark my grandson could not see me ,

He called out for grandpa out of fear .

I said I am here Smiley .

He said , I thought you left me ?

I said , I would never leave you Big Guy 

This story reminds me 

How often in life we end up in the darkness ,

Thinking we are alone and feeling afraid .

When we call out for God's help ,

It is comforting to know that God will always reply ,

I am right here ,

I will never leave you .

                                                          I Love You All

                                                          By Brock

Understanding

When our life is in shambles 

And the rivers seem dry ,

We want to know what we have done 

To deserve such a condition .

Others may want to comfort us 

But do not understand 

What is happening .

Remember , welcome their attempts 

At comforting .

Try to empathize with others .

But know that others 

May not have all the answers of why .

They may not understand .

We will persevere with faith 

That the Lord will teach us 

And show us His grace 

Through it all .

He along understands all things 

And He along is our comfort in distress .

May we in comforting others ,

Lead them to the understanding 

Of God's comfort in Christ .

                                      I Love You All

                                      By Brock

Hi Smiley

You know God's love and kindness 

Will shine upon us .

Like the sun that rises in the sky .

May you experience the love of Christ ,

Though it is to great to understand fully .

Remember , what no eyes has seen ,

Nor ears heard ,

Nor the heart of many can imagine ,

What God has prepared for those

Who love Him .

Let no one ever come to you without 

Leaving you better and happier .

Be the living expression of God's kindness ,

Put kindness in your face ,

Put kindness in your eyes ,

Put kindness in your smile ,

Put kindness in your greeting .

Hi Smiley !

                             I Love You All

                             By Brock

In God's Presence

At my age today I made a decision

To have a closer relationship with God ,

I have spent more time reading 

The Bible every day .

As I keep doing this 

My desire to follow and obey 

God does intensifies .

I had never known before 

The true changes in my life .

I have tasted the sweetness 

It brings .

I have everything to gain 

By spending time with God .

                        I  Love You All

                        By Brock

Mom

I will never forget the times

And love that you gave .

I will remember who was there ,

Not for what you gave me like toys 

Or an outfit for I did forget those things 

But I will never forget the time 

And love you spent on and with me .

You said we never out grow time or love .

I will never forget that mommy .

I miss you dearly .

You are always in my heart .

When I lost you ,

I lost a part of myself .

I still talk to you today .

I still want you to be proud of me .

Your love was unconditionally .

You told me to run my own race 

and to take 1 day at a time 

And to run with love and to rescue 

Someone in need when ever you can

And peace will follow .

She said pray more and worry less 

And a mom's love is real and forever 

And never forget it is always better to give 

Than to receive 

And always speak the truth my child .

To my mom in heaven

Thank you for praying for me always 

And thank you for always loving me 

And helping me .

                                      I Love You All

                                      By Brock

The Pain

When pain and suffering envelop us ,

That is all we can see .

We fail to see our own reaction 

And anything else .

The suffering overcomes all aspects 

Of our daily life ,

You may lash out then turn your complaints 

Toward God .

You will ask questions of God .

God does welcome such questions .

We should not hesitate to come to Him .

You should come to God with faith and humility .

Remember , the Lord cares for us 

And even takes on our flesh 

To endure our suffering .

Sometimes we fail to consider the Lord's role 

In our creation for we all are different 

And we forget He is always watching over us .

He has made much over us .

He does not ever come to attack us in our weakness 

But to restore us and to relieve us from all our suffering .

                                                              I Love You All

                                                              By Brock

To Care

I have been full of fear .

I have had a storm around me .

I am feeling battered and disregarded .

I felt like losing hope 

That Jesus could not handle my circumstances .

The storm did not disturb Jesus .

Jesus did call the storm into a calm submission .

This old storm compelled me 

To confront Jesus with my doubts .

I know the storms I have do not rattle Him .

While I am afraid and swamped ,

He is always calm and invited me into his care .

He calls me to take courage in knowing 

That everything is submitted to Him 

At his command .

                                          I Love You All

                                          By Brock

The Neighbors

While family relationships are truly important 

And can be a source of great support 

And a true friend is vital especially when disaster strikes .

Relatives might care deeply for their family members 

And desire to be of help in such circumstances .

But if they are far away 

There is little they can do in the moments

When calamity strikes .

Neighbors however because they are close by 

Are likely to know of the need quickly 

And can assist more ready .

                                        I Love You All

                                        By Brock

Dad's Love

One of my earliest memories 

Is standing beside dad as he sang 

In church .

He would point to the words 

Which gave me confidence to sing with him .

Dad could not read music !

Because of those memories 

Music and singing have been important 

Comforters and companions to me .

Whether singing outside in the snow 1 day 

Or singing with my grandson .

Singing is a way to connect to the Creator's 

Amazing gift of life and to express 

My thanks and devotion for God's faithful love .

I miss my dad's love today .

I will talk to him as I push the snow away .

                                                      I Love You All

                                                      By Brock

A Child

A child will not remember

What you spent on them 

Or what toy you got them 

Or the fancy outfit you got them .

A child will remember the time

And the love you spent with them

And what you call them , like Smiley !

A child needs food to eat .

A child always needs love .

A child needs freedom 

To learn and to grow .

A child needs to know 

They are not alone .

Always let the child 

Come to God .

                I Love You All

                By Brock

A lot Of Angels

I have met many angels .

I did not see any wings .

Some are strangers for a while .

Some are friends I met along the way 

Who came to comfort and console me 

In my trouble times 

And when I hurt to much  to pray .

I felt blessed by their warming smiles .

When my faith is tested ,

With no true place to go ,

I know God will send me my guarding angle 

To lift me when I am so low .

There are angels who come to dry my tears .

Many prayers are answered daily 

For I have met so many angels .

                                         I Love You All

                                          By Brock

The Lord will protect me

Be Silent

And keep me safe from all danger .

I come to the Lord to rest .

I just feel bone weary this morning .

I want the Lord to take charge of my life .

I know He has a pattern for good for me .

I will get through today 

One step one moment at a time .

I know not to give up .

I want to be in the Lord's presence .

I should fear not and stand firm 

And see the salvation of the Lord 

And He will work for me today .

All I need to be is silent .

When I weep when I try to sleep ,

I know I have the Lord's love 

And protection .

I know the Lord 

Will throw His arms open

And run to me and pick me up 

And welcome me home .

With my tears all I need to do is be silent .

                                               I Love You All

                                               By Brock

A Legacy

I am fortunate that over a century ago ,

My family was trusting in the Lord 

Whom I worship and trust today .

I have a legacy of faith ,

An inheritance of belief 

Carried down through generations .

As I resonate now more than ever ,

As a parent , a grandparent or a friend ,

We all have the opportunity to influence 

The generations that follows .

We need to tell the next generation 

The praiseworthy , the deeds of the Lord ,

His power and the wonders He has done .

                                          I Love You All

                                          By Brock

His Words

 

This is the time of year

Political talks or debate never ever ends .

Sometimes the intense emotions 

And judgement that characterize 

These conversations or debates 

Led me to wonder if people 

Are looking for a competent government  leader 

Or something more profound in a spiritually barren time ?

Remember , today in being confronted with human suffering ,

Our call is not to look for another to fix everything .

Our true call is to leave our comfort zone  ,

Find the needy , embrace them as our sisters and brothers 

And meet their needs .

No matter who wins or loses these earthly battles ,

Nothing is stopping us 

From being His light into that gloom .

Always remember , even when times are difficult 

We need to keep from turning against God 

And may we continue to hold fast to His Word .

                                              I Love You All

                                              By Brock

Does It Matter

We are to live in a way

That glorifies God .

Ultimately , what we do 

Day by day is not as important 

As how we do it  .

We are to do the work 

With compassion , kindness ,

Gentleness and patience .

We are to be forgiving 

And above all to love .

We are to do it all 

In the name of the Lord Jesus .

Our work is not to be separated 

From Christ like living .

Do not forget 

What we do matters ,

But also how we do it ,

Why and who we do it for 

Matters more .

Each day we can choose

To work in a stressed out way 

Or in a way that honors God 

And seek out the true meaning 

As Jesus adds to our work 

When we pursue the latter ,

We will find satisfaction I believe .

                               I Love You All

                               By Brock

My Resting Place

When I am in my solitary and resting place .

I can pray openly before God .

I prepare myself for the day 

Through prayer and cry 

If I need to .

After praying to God 

I gain new strength , peace 

In my heart and mind 

That I can not get from anywhere else .

Not only is my spirit recharged ,

But my passion for living 

And walking with God is resurrected .

Joy fills my heart and mind 

Despite any obstacles ahead of me .

                                   I Love You All 

                                   By Brock

Take Care Of Me

I believe God will bless me 

With everything I need .

I believe and need to believe 

I will always have more than enough .

I need to keep asking and praying 

For what I need .

God , You care for the land and water .

You let me go fishing and let me dream .

I believe God will take care of me 

Every day and night of my life .

                                        I Love You All

                                        By Brock

What Do I See

When the tree I look at seems dead ,

I am able to see the sky 

From my kitchen window .

I now enjoy the many colors of the sky 

The white clouds and the bright blue 

By day and the stars and moon by night .

During my quiet time with God ,

I have a view of the heavens 

That fills my heart with Joy .

However , at times the Nordic sky 

Is low and gray ,

Making it difficult to see 

The sun and the night stars .

Like in our spiritual lives 

Our mistakes and difficulties 

Can sometimes distracted us 

From fellowship with God ,

Even though God's mercy never changes .

Remember this rather than focus 

On what distracts us ,

We can decide to focus 

On our relationship with God  .

                             I Love You All

                             By Brock

God Is On Time

God is always working for me .

I will praise God no matter 

What I am going through .

I may not understand why

Or where this is going ,

Or where this is headed .

I know God loves me ,

Hears and answers my cry 

And restore me to live with hope .

At my age now I take time 

To run and to just get away

Or sit outside to reflect on all the good 

In my life 

And I look for God's blessings 

Even in the darkness .

                                        I Love You All

                                        By Brock

Each Day

Praying continually might seem pretty daunting .

But then how often do we check our watches 

Or our phones ?

What if we instead let that urge be a prompt 

To talk to God .

More important , what if we learned to exchange 

A need to always be in the know 

For continual prayerful rest in God's presence ?

Through relying on Christ's Spirit ,

We can learn to give our heavenly Father 

Our continual full attention ,

As we make our way through each day .

Remember , we do have a God 

Who sits idly by and watches .

No our God comes and takes 

Part and has been through out our lives

Son pray .

                                          I Love You All

                                          By Brock

Mom And Dad

They always said it is OK

To laugh on the outside

And cry on the inside 

When you are down .

Always take one day at a time .

God hears your prayer even when

You can not find the words .

I have a feeling of sadness 

The feeling of wanting

My mom and dad .

Wanting a mom and dad

has no age limit ,

No time limit 

And no distance limit .

Remember , if you have 

Your parents today ,

Remember as children 

We are sometimes 

So busy growing up

We often forget 

Our parents are also

Getting older

So if nothing else

Pray for them 

And talk to them .

Today and always .

                          I Love You All

                          By Brock

Jesus' Love

Does our love refuse to reduce?

Does our love transcend fairness ?

Does our love reuse to reduce 

Individuals to the wrongs 

They have done ?

Is our love expansive enough 

To include even those 

Who have injured 

Or betrayed us ?

This is the kind of love 

Jesus taught and lived .

May we pray to love 

Just as Jesus loves .

Love the one you love bigger .

                             I Love You All

                             By Brock

Warning Light

Sometimes God gives us warning lights  .

They can come in the form of comments 

From a friend or a conversation 

With a stranger or something we hear on the radio 

Or read in a book or see  on TV .

It is good to know that God is with us and guides us 

And if we heed God's signs 

God will lead us on the right path .

Yes , whether or not the path makes sense 

You should follow God .

                                           I Love You All

                                           By Brock

God Box

A friend made me a box  

Of beautiful cherry wood 

With a brass plate on top 

It said God Box .

A note inside instructing 

Me to put all my worries 

And cares in God Box 

And leave them there

Just for God .

                   I Love You All

                   By Brock