I Am Content

I am thankful for the lovely world I live in .

The lake and the rivers and the out doors ,

I go out to photograph the wild life 

Like the pheasants , the bald eagles 

And the white tail deer .

One morning , I struggled with envy of others 

Who have traveled to exotic places 

That I have not been to .

I decided to spend extra time reading 

My Bible 

Because I knew God would encourage me 

To be content with my corner of the world .

I brushed aside my craving 

For places I have not seen 

And I opened the world 

Of God instead .

                                 I Love You All 

                                 By Brock

                                 keep smiling 

                                  you Smileys

The Holy Spirit

It is time to hold my hand .

Holy Spirit pour your power

And strength on me 

So that I may accomplish more 

Than I can ask or imagine .

Holy Spirit help me to grow 

In knowledge of God's love ,

Protecting and plans as I pray .

                                I Love You All

                                By Brock 

                                keep smiling

                                you Smileys 

No Hollow Promise

God gives us more than what we want .

God gives us what we need .

God equips us for personal challenges 

Like loneliness , sadness , pain 

And for challenges we face 

As we share Christ's love with the world ,

Advocate for justice 

And serve people in need .

Whether life's journey finds us 

At the empty tomb ,

Or back to work , fishing or hunting ,

God's promised Holy Spirit 

To go with us every day .

                                  I Love You All

                                  By Brock

                                  keep smiling 

                                  all you Smileys

                                  but remember 

                                  what this day 

                                  is all about

Fear

Sometimes I feel paralyzed 

And completely helpless .

As the darkness of my bedroom 

Closed in on me ,

A panic may rise in my chest .

All to often the fear seems 

To rule my life .

The questions about my future ,

My financial situation , 

My rocky relationship 

With my significant others  ,

The list of things never end .

I know as I lay on my back 

And stare at the ceiling ,

I will pray because I know

My God is with me .

                         I Love You All

                         By Brock

                         keep smiling

                         all Smileys

How Often

How often do we take the time

To acknowledge and encourage others ?

When someone suffers ,

We all suffer and when any one is honored 

We rejoice together .

When a member of our Christian family 

Are hurting in some way ,

We can support and encourage one another ,

Renewing our strength for the task 

God has assigned us .

When we care for and value one another ,

It is cause for rejoicing .

                                      I Love You All

                                      By Brock

                                      keep Smiling

                                      you Smileys

He Does Not Leave Us

Jesus does not leave us along 

In our fear or ever abandon us 

In our doubt and sadness .

When we face challenges 

Or hopelessness ,

Jesus brings comfort .

He would say Peace 

Be with you .

In seasons of uncertainly 

In our lives ,

These words can reassure us 

And renew our confidence 

And our faith .

He is always with us .

                       I Love You All

                       By Brock 

                       keep smiling 

                       Smiley

Our Presence

God still seeks our presence 

In the hustle and bustle 

Of each busy day .

We need to find a place 

To sit quietly in God's presence .

In those precious moments 

Of solitude may we discover 

The intimacy beyond words ,

For when we draw near to God ,

God will draw near you and me .

                             I Love You All

                             By Brock

                             Smiley

                              keep smiling

This Memorial Day

This Memorial Day is different .

I have memories of all my 

Family and friends who have died 

Who shepherd me to who I am today .

I go to work with a mask and gloves on

And I can not hug anyone and I am hurting .

I know what Jesus was talking about when he said ,

Blessed are those who mourn ,

For they will be comforted .

I cry and even scream in pain 

Of all that I have lost .

The cry and scream was not for why ,

But just that it hurts so bad today .

                                      I Love You All

                                      By Brock

                                      keep smiling 

                                      Smiley

Always Ready

Pheasants do not willingly 

Pose so I can take a shot 

Or even a photo shot of them ,

I have to be prepared 

To have my camera and gun 

With me with me and wait for my chance .

I still may not be successful 

In getting a good shot !

I believe the opportunities 

Will continue to come .

If I do not leave the camera 

And my gun in the basement ,

I would not regret the shots 

That could have been .

I do not always know 

When a chance to witness 

To the hope I have in Christ 

Will come .

Oh to be open to the urging 

Of the Holy Spirit and willing 

To share my story 

With my family and friends .

                             I Love You All

                             By Brock

                             keep smiling 

                             all you Smileys

                             until I see you again

To Trust

Trust in the Lord 

With all your heart ,

And do not rely 

On your own insight .

This is not a command 

To be mindless 

But an invitation to rest 

Your mind .

God has also given us 

A body that needs 

Rest and refreshment .

Jesus offers a quiet place 

To rest and pray 

And be in God's presence .

We are free to do the same 

This weekend .

                         I Love You All

                         By Brock

                         keep smiling

                         all you Smileys

God's House

We all hold dear the place 

Where God's people gather .

Our bodies are temples 

Of the Holy Spirit .

God is delighted to inhabit 

The 4 walls inside which 

Water is poured ,

Words are spoken ,

Bread and wind are served 

And music and colors reflect 

The order and beauty of God's presence 

From here we are sent out to carry 

Christ's love to all people .

                                      I Love You All

                                      By Brock

                                      keep smiling

                                      you Smileys

Oh Smiley

Little Smiley never give up 

On hope or your dreams .

We all have bad days 

But we also have happy days .

So keep smiling .

Smiley pray and never give up .

Take one day at a time .

Remember there is always 

Someone worse than you .

So go take a shower 

And thank God you are a life .

So smile and your heart 

Will open with joy .

                         I Love You All

                         By Brock

                         Keep Smiling

                         All you Smileys

My Mom and Dads Home

Our family had an open arms 

And open home always .

Everyone was welcomed in our home .

We grew up as a community of love .

Our parents taught us to love each other ,

Care for each other , protect each other .

In our home there was always 

A special kind of sensitivity .

When I was in high school 

And after home football games 

Mom would let all our friends play

Cards or games late into the night .

We could drink pop but no beer no 3-2

But maybe some time mom would have some cookies 

And there no fights 

Just fun and laughter that is hard to believe these days ,

                                                                   I Love You All

                                                                   By Brock

                                                                   keep smiling 

                                                                   all you Smileys

                                                                   oh those memories

Oh Rejoice

Let your unfailing love surround us ,

Lord for our hope is in you alone .

You are our refuge and our shield .

We starve for hope 

We have put our hope in your world .

You are our only hope for being saved ,

Lord , we do all your commands .

We all know there is not one blade of grass ,

There is no color in this world 

That is not intended to make us all rejoice .

                                              I Love You All

                                              By Brock

                                              Keep smiling

                                              all you Smileys

He Hears Us

God is everything and even all ears .

God is all ears and promises to hear 

Our prayers .

We can never pray to much .

Our needs for God is infinite .

The more we pray 

The more we recognize 

How God inclines 

God's ear to us and rescues 

Us over and over again .

                              I Love You All

                              By Brock

                              keep smiling

                              Smiley

                              and keep praying

Mom

My mom always reassured me 

That she would always prepare

A meal and a bed for me .

Her love for me can be a reminder 

Of the loving sacrifice 

Jesus made for all of us .

I know Jesus has a room prepared 

For me 

And I know that my mom 

Is there waiting for me .

As Mother;s Day comes this year 

I will worship the Lord 

And remember my mother

And her great love for me .

                       I Love You All

                       By Brock

                       on this Mother's Day

                       and every day

                       keep smiling 

                       all you smileys

To Be Chosen

Oh to be chosen or not 

We can be discouraged .

Even when others find us 

Unsuitable our mothers never do .

We have been chosen to be 

Members of God's family .

What a privilege for our mother's love .

Remember , we have been chosen 

To say , God who calls us 

Out of darkness into God's light .

When we feel insignificant and unwanted 

We have our mothers .

We are God's ambassadors ,

Proclaiming the message 

Of reconciliation to the world .

Thanks to God and our mothers always .

                                         I Love You All

                                         By Brock

                                         to all you Smileys

                                         Smile

                                         tomorrow

                                      

To Wait

I have had to wait for God 

To heal my child .

Some days my faith has been strong 

And I have felt fired up .

On others , I have let fear creep in 

And cause me to doubt and worry 

And then have slipped into deep sorrow 

I continued with this cycle of highs and lows 

Until I found the strength with patience 

And some joyful long suffering .

Patience is being able to accept 

Or I would say tolerate delay 

Without getting upset or angry

It can also mean cheerful

Or hopeful endurance .

We all need to wait some days !

                                   I Love You All

                                   By Brock

                                   keep smiling

                                   Smiley

I Am In The Branches

As I talked to a friend 

About my roller coaster of emotions

After a stress filled week ,

My friend listened 

Then he said look out the window 

At the big tree , lush leaves and branches 

Swaying in the wind .

He said the trunk was not moving in the wind .

We are like the trunk .

When life is blowing at us from every direction ,

Of course our emotions will go up and down 

All around .

Sometimes we live a,

s if we only have branches .

He helped me find my own trunk .

That way , even when life is pulling from all sides ,

You will not be living in your branches .

You will still be secure and stable .

Thank you old friend .

                                  I Love You All

                                  By Brock

                                  Smiley       

                                  keep smiling

Search For God

Our search for God can be much

Like my quest for the queen bee .

We all long to see God ,

But because God is invisible 

We do get discouraged .

Yes if we take time to look ,

We do see signs of God's presence 

Around us .

I have not seen my queen bee .

I have not seen God face to face 

But I have seen God's handiwork ,

So I know God is near .

My loved ones just look 

What you see near you today .

                             I Love You All

                             By Brock

                             Oh call your mom

                              Smiley on Mother's Day

                              I know those moms in heaven

                              are smiling 

The Limits

It is tough not to be trapped 

By the limits of time ,

Understanding , knowledge 

And experience .

Each of us are shaped 

By our context , by what 

We learned and have gone through .

I marvel at all the ways 

That life shapes our character ,

Making out minds 

And behaviors what there are .

It is no wonder that we 

Are all do different .

                               I Love You All

                               By Brock

The Journey

When the journey is to much for us  ,

We might need to just rest 

And enjoy a healthy and satisfying meal .

When we are exhausted and hungry ,

We can easily succumb to disappointment 

Or fear .

Remember ,when God meets our physical needs 

Through His resources ,

As much as possible in this fallen world ,

We can take the next step in serving Him 

What a hopeful journey we are on .

                                                     I Love You All

                                                     By Brock 

                                                     keep smiling 

                                                     Smiley

With God's Love

With God's love I can buy

Extra food at the food store 

And make extra portions 

Of dinner to give to people in need 

Like my mom always did .

I could carry bottles of water 

And put it in my car

To hand out to people I meet .

I can stop and talk with people 

And share time with them .

While driving , I can be courteous 

To other drivers .

When I am waiting in line ,

I can allow someone 

Who looks rushed and harried 

To go ahead of me .

Through these small things 

I can share God's love 

And my heart with joy .

                                 I Love You All

                                 By Brock

                                 keep  smiling

                                 all you Smileys 

                                 maybe give blood

                                 when you can

The Good old Days

It was such a beautiful world back then 

When I could look at the sunshine 

And I thought we would be together forever 

There was no heartbroken days .

The screen door was always open at grandma's 

And I could maybe see a spotted towhee

Birdy standing on the grass in her back yard feeling 

Ready to fly freely into the big blue sky 

Or stay home on a early summer morning 

And watch Captain Kangaroo on TV .

Oh I remember the captain or anyone 

who was on TV or on main street 

or across the street 

Could not laugh with their arms folded 

Like they do on TV today .

Oh the good old days .

                                 I Love You All

                                 By Brock

                                 Keep Smiling 

                                 Smiley !!!

Life Is Full

Sometimes I need to get away 

From everything and spend some time 

Just sitting on a rock fishing .

I need to withdraw to my special rock

To also clear my mind 

And calm my spirit from the stresses of life .

I need my solitude to .

I truly do need once a year 

A regular withdraw from everyone

And everything to be with Jesus 

And maybe get a fish or 2

Who never knew where they were going .

                                           I Love You All

                                           By Brock

                                           keep smiling 

                                           Smiley

God's Word

The word of the Lord endures forever .

God's word lasts through thick and thin .

Unlike some grass and needy plants 

God's word is steadfast in and of itself .

Its survival is not dependent on you and me .

It thrives despite our negligence 

And our misuse of it .

It will not wither or fade 

It will endure with us and for us ,

Through the thick and thin 

Of our lives and our world .

                           I Love You All

                           By Brock

                           Keep smiling 

                          all you Smileys !

To Be Different

Have you ever felt different 

When someone looks at you ?

A foreigner may feel isolated 

And not belonging .

It is an identity 

That you do not have 

The luxury to escape .

When you are or feel like

A refugee ,

You are often seen 

As only a refugee .

Not as an individual 

With hopes and dreams 

And skills .

Not as someone to welcome 

Without fear .

Not as a neighbor or a friend 

Not as one who is heard and seen 

As a child of God .

Remember , when you feel different 

And you do not feel like you fit in ,

You are a child of God 

And you are loved .

                              I Love You All

                              By Brock

                              keep smiling

                             all you Smileys 

                             you may get 

                             something on May first !!!!!