Never Too Late

No Matter what sins 

We may have committed ,

Whether we are coming 

To Christ for the first time 

Or returning to God .

We do not have to be afraid 

That our sins are too great 

Instead we can reach out 

To our father and remember 

That God forgives and welcomes 

Us with open arms .

                             I Love You All

                             By Brock

                             Smiley

Speak

Speak and your servant is listening .

It is the servant who hears ,

May we also choose 

To listen to and obey 

What God has revealed 

In the Scriptures .

Let us submit our lives to Him 

And take the posture 

Of humble servants and listen .

                          I Love You All      

                          By Brock

                          Smiley

Unexpected Lesson

When someone is in the hospital 

And I ask them what they 

Would want me to pray for

I was surprised when they said simply ,

Whatever is God's will 

And purpose for me brings me here ,

Pray that it He fulfilled .

In her request to me ,

She put God's will first 

What A Lady .

                    I Love You All

                    By Brock

                    Smiley 

The Crisis

In the middle of the night 

After a crisis or two in my life 

I tossed and turned for an hour 

Trying to get to sleep .

Finally I got out of bed .

I intended to read 

From the Bible .

My old book marker said ,

Lord how many are my foes ?

How many will rise up against me ?

As I read that I turned to God 

And again I called out to the Lord 

For I trust God to help me .

From the Lord comes deliverance alone ,

And God can rescue me 

No matter what my crisis 

God is faithful and will be present 

And with me .

                                 I Love You All

                                 By Brock

                                 Smiley

Our Reward

We have the privilege of taking 

Time to ponder God .

His character and the provision 

To learn about and grow closer to Him .
God longs to instruct us ,

and to open our hearts to who He is .

When we search for Him ,

He rewards us with greater wonder

At who He is and the enjoyment 

Of His Presence .        

                               I Love You All

                               By Brock

                               Smiley

5 K

When I run  my 5K these days .

While the grueling physical toll

Is evident in my body ,

And the mental and emotional strain

And exhaustion I am wondering 

If I can continue .

But still this challenge is not insurmountable ,

Because when I run I can pray , sweat and cry 

And only God and I will understand why ,

Because through any challenge life brings ,

Purpose , diligence and the willingness 

To place ourselves in the hands of God 

For God will help me to finish the race 

Set before me .

                                       I Love You All

                                       By Brock

                                       Smiley

Lipizzaners

Sometimes I wish I could be 

Like the Lipizzaners elegant 

And applauded for accomplishments .

But maybe God wants me to humbly 

Pull a carriage serving others 

Without reward or recognition .

I am grateful for the ordinary people 

Serving God in quite ways .

They may gain little attention ,

But they receive great honor 

In God's eyes .

                          I Love You All

                          By Brock

                          Smiley

A Bleak Spot

Sometimes in bleak places ,

God sends a sunflower 

An encouraging word 

Or a note from a friend 

A comforting verse 

Or a Bible passage 

A beautiful sunrise 

That helps us to move forward 

With a lighter step ,

With hope .

Even as we await the day 

We experience God's deliverance 

Out of our difficulty ,

May we join in proclaiming ,

You are great and do great deeds ,

I believe and trust you today .

                          I Love You All

                          By Brock

                          Smiley

The Pain

Oh the pain was excruciating .

What can I do 

Then suddenly I realized

That I was not listening to the Lord .

I switched to reading 

A Bible verse or two 

That talks about healing 

And start to pray .

At this point I could feel the pain 

And it was excruciating 

When I finished praying ,

All the pain was gone .

Yes , when I face my difficult situations ,

Worry and fear quickly grip me ,

But with peace and comfort 

Prayer and faith and my trust

And believe in God ,

I will make it today 

                          I Love You All

                          By Brock

                          Smiley 

Can Not Sleep

Once again I can not sleep .

Unresolved  fear and anxiety 

Became magnified by the dark quiet .

Praying only made me focus 

On my troubles ever more 

And I even question if God really cares .

I snuggled under the covers ,

Shut my eyes and began 

Remembering the good things 

That had happened that day .

As I counted them ,

The bright spots added up 

Like an email , a phone call ,

A friend having a good day .

Peace slowly re[laced fear .

Still a wake I listed things 

I had accomplished that today ,

No matter how trivial ,

Like doing dishes , cloths , 

Bringing in the mail .

Contentment replaced restlessness .

Finally I read comforting Bible 

Passages and prayers .

By the end of this process 

I was falling asleep , secure again 

That God really does care 

And is working in my life .

                                 I Love You All

                                 By Brock

                                 Smiley

Work With God

God welcomes us to team up 

To serve with Him and others 

In various ways .

God reminds us that all work 

Has God given value .

Acknowledging the privilege 

Of working with others 

While serving Him .

Remember , we should encourage 

Each of us to build each other up 

As He transforms us in love Always .

                                I Love You All

                                By Brock

                                Smiley

Feeling The Heat

Perhaps you feel like you are in a refiner's fire

Like feeling the heat of setbacks , illness 

Or other challenges .

But hardship is often the process 

By which God purifies the gold of our faith .

In our pain we might beg God to quickly 

End the process ,

But he knows what is best for us ,

Even when life hurts .

Keep connected to the Sevior ,

Seeking His comfort and peace .

                               I Love You All

                               By Brock     

                               Smiley  

Frustrated

We are often disappointed 

Or frustrated with things

Do not go according 

To our plans ,

But I have learned in these times 

To trust that God will use them for good .

And without fail , each detour 

Has drawn me closer to God 

And often helped me grow 

In mind and spirit .

Thankfully every change in direction 

Comes with an unchanging God 

Who guides us through it .

                                   I Love You All

                                   By Brock

                                   Smiley

A Warm Invitation

Jesus reminds us of the importance 

Of warm invitations .

Jesus said , come to me 

All you who are weary 

And burdened and I will give you rest .

A joyous welcome a waits 

Whoever comes , to Jesus .

Why hesitate ?

Jesus loves all people to the utmost 

And longs for us to enter 

Into a life transforming relationship 

With him .

                                     I Love You All

                                     By Brock

                                     Smiley

Power And Glory

 

We can see God's power and glory 

In the universe through creation .

God's wisdom is unfathomable 

And God does great things

Beyond our understanding .

We need to always continue 

To trust God despite our hardships .

Remember , God restores you and blesses you ,

As God wants to restore and bless all of us .

                                                     I Love You All

                                                     By Brock
                                                     Smiley 

Christ's Representatives

God ask us to be Christ's representatives 

To those around us .
When others are angry , defensive or hurting ,

We are called to respond as God does to us 

With compassion , love and peace .

Through our prayers and Christ like responses ,

God's transforming love and heal 

The hearts of those around us 

And bring peace to all of us .

                                    I Love You All

                                    By Brock

                                    Smiley

A Duet

My life in Jesus is much more like a duet 

Than a solo performance .

Sometime I through I forgot 

That He is right next to me .

It is only by His power and guidance 

That I can play , coach or work at all  .

I try to do all the right things on my own ,

But this usually ends up seeming fake and hollow .

I try to handle problems with my limited ability ,

But the result is often discord with others .

Jesus' presence makes all the difference 

When I rely on Jesus to help me 

I Love You All

By Brock

Smiley !!!!!!!

Turn To Him

Do you know how vulnerable we are .

We all go through many storms .

We need to seek and bring 

Courage and hope to God's suffering people .

When we turn to God in the face 

Of any kind of storm ,

We can find our faith deepened 

And realize we are not alone .

God is our refuge and strength .

His ever present helps in all our trouble .

He is the one who causes fear to dissipate 

And gives us courage to forge ahead 

Through every adversity that we may face .

                                          I Love You All

                                          By Brock

                                          Smiley

In The Bubble

We can feel at times that we 

Are in a bubble ,

uncertain that we have what it takes

To complete in or finish the race of life .

When we are feeling that way ,

It is important to remember that in Jesus 

We are never in a bubble .

As children of God , our place in His kingdom 

Is secure .

Our confidence flows from Him 

Who chose Jesus to be the cornerstone 

On which our lives are built ,

And He chose us to be living stones 

Filled with the Spirit of God ,

Capable of being the people 

God created us tp be .

                         I Love You All

                         By Brock

                         Smiley

My Experiences

My experiences illustrates what God's

Spirit does for the believer in me in Jesus .

He frees me from fear by revealing 

How profoundly loved I feel .

It confirms that I am a child of God 

No matter my age today.

With all the benefits 

That this status brings .

As a result I can see 

Myself more correctly 

By having my thinking 

and believing renewed 

Even at my age today 

And knowing Jesus 

Is always with me .

                           I Love You All

                           By Brock

                           Smiley

Small Children

One thing that is almost universally 

True about small children is their relationship 

With their parents ,

But they do not worry about dependency 

And they do not analyze

Whether their parents are capable of caring 

For them .

They are happily and free of suspicion .

They are pure in heart in their relationship 

With their folks .

We are pure in heart when we  are happily dependent 

And from suspicion in our relationship with God .

Because  we trust Him 

In this pureness of heart .

We are free to enjoy God and being blessed .

                                              I Love You All

                                              By Brock

                                              Smiley

There Is Good News

God does offer each of us a clean start .

He goes far deeper than merely 

Deleting our mistakes or bad behavior 

God provides redemption ,

A deep healing that transformers us 

And makes us new .

Remember , God reaches out to us all 

With lavish mercy .

He sweeps away offenses like a cloud ,

Like the morning mist .

He gathers all our shame

And failures and wash them away 

With sweeping grace .

                                  I Love You All

                                  By Brock

                                  Smiley

Sunday

Sunday , the Sabbath is the day 

God gave us to step back .

It is the time to look at

The past week 

And acknowledge how we 

Have insisted on our own way 

In the game of life .

We receive spiritual food and drink 

To strengthen us for the upcoming week 

Most important we should fix our eyes 

Firmly on Jesus 

Who knows best to endure in the eyes 

Of adversity .

                                       I Love You All

                                       By Brock

                                       Smiley

Merciful God

I praise you for your compassion 

And mercy on me .

Thank You for having forgiven me completely .

Thank You for the splendor of Your creation ,

Pointing me to your glory 

And reviving my hope in You .

I praise You for your unending 

Faithfulness to me .

Forgive me and help me to reflect 

Your love to someone today .

Help me embrace my need for You 

Today that You might draw me 

Closer like a child to your heart .

Help me to show everyone 

The love that You have given me .

Thank You for all I have .

Help me to trust more .

Help me to see how the trials 

Of my life 

Bring out the gold in me 

Oh merciful God .

                         I Love You All

                         Brock

                         Smiley

Pray For Others

I do not mind at all to pray for others .

I am able to grow spiritually and offer 

God's love to others as I pray for the person 

Requesting prayer like a prayer chain .

When I pray for someone ,

It feels like I am lifting 

The person up through God's word 

And God's promise .

At my age I am still learning 

How to pray more affectively 

In my daily quiet time and space .

Yes I pray .

Lord help me to remember 

That I need to pray along 
But with all your saints in heaven 

And on earth 

And then I leave it all in the hands of God .

                                            I Love You All

                                            By Brock

                                            Smiley

To Give Wisdom

To the person who pleases Him ,

God gives wisdom .

The Lord's teaching last forever ,

And He gives wisdom to ordinary people .

God gives wisdom to the wise 

And knowledge to the discerning ones .

Never turn your back on wisdom 

For He will protect you .

Love Him and he will guard you .

Remember , you do  delight in truth 

In the inward being 

And you teach me wisdom 

In the secret heart .

                          I Love You All

                          By Brock

                          Smiley

God's Kingdom

 

As a believer of Christ ,

We are royalty .

God gave us the right 

To become a child 

Of God through we may 

Not be in the spotlight ,

We are all children of the King .

God considers each of us important 

Enough to represent him here on earth 

And to one day rein with Him .

We may not wear an earthly crown ,

But we still have a part to play

In God's kingdom .

                            I Love You All

                            By Brock

                            Smiley 

Help Me

Jesus make my faith firm 

So that I can become a peace maker 

Like You .

Jesus teach me to be child like 

And to trust in God my Father .

Lord Jesus help me to take up my cross 

And follow after you today 

With a heart full of love .

Help me to cast aside all gloominess 

And find joy in your presence .

Help me to keep a tight rein on my tongue .

Oh God come to my assistance .

Oh Lord make haste to help me .

You are my rescuer , help ,

Oh Lord do not delay .

                          I Love You All      

                          By Brock

                          Smiley

I Want More

I want to hear Jesus' voice  ,

See him face to face 

After seeing the love of others 

Who call themselves Christains 

And hearing the voice of the Savior 

Through scripture ,

Yes I am a believer .

In this age ,

We walk by faith 

Without physical proof .

Yet I do have the promise 

That if we will seek ,

We will find and someday ,

Some glorious day 

We will all see Jesus Christ 

Face to face .

                       I Love You All

                       By Brock

                       Smiley

A Mission Statement

Oh to write your own obituary 

While you are still able to do so .

If you think ahead of time 

About what you want said about you 

At the end of your life ,

You will be motivated to live up to those 

Words you have written .

You would know that the best words 

For you have to live up to 

And to always  love others always .

                                   I Love You All

                                   By Brock

                                   Smiley

Today's World

In today's world we may feel devastated 

Because we can not find peace .

Right now it seems that some people 

Do not want peace 

And as a result peace feels impossible 

To achieve .

The stress of a coronavirus 

And a constant war and conflict 

With people in our own USA

Makes me tired and discouraged .

I see some people fighting for selfish interests ,

Some for what they believe in

And some against ideas they oppose .

Sometimes we need to fight for good trouble .

                                                 I Love You All

                                                 By Brock

                                                 Smiley

His Protection

The Lord is protection to all

Who trust Him .

He is almighty God .

With incompatible power 

Over any danger ,

He promises to deliver , answer 

And rescue us .

He is our shelter ,

Refuge and fortress .

We shell rest in His shadow ,

Confident in his protection ,

Secure in knowing that nothing 

Can separate us from God's love .

                                  I Love You All

                                  By Brock

                                  Smiley

The Runner

Running requires discipling 

My physical life .

I strengthen my spiritual life 

Through the disciplines 

Of Bible study ,

Meditation , prayer and fasting .

As I run it is time to pray 

And helps me to stay focused 

As I come near to God and Jesus 

Coming close to God and Jesus 

Requires directing my heart to them 

Not with a prescribed list of activities 

To earn them their favor

But rather an out pouring of desires

To spend time with them .

I know God  and Jesus are always 

With me .

                                I Love You All

                                By Brock

                                Smiley

What I Need

I know that God leads us 

To do somethings .

I do not always understand .

God will provide us the means 

To do it .

Now whenever I start to get frustrated

When life unfolds in a way 

I do not expect ,

I think God will work within 

My circumstances to bring about good .

                                       I Love You All

                                       By Brock

                                       Smiley