Saturday, December 31, 2011

Growth

I stood the children, straight and tall,
By last year’s marks upon the wall.
Another year! How soon they go,
And see how fast the children grow!

And then I thought of how God’s Word
Says, “Grow in grace, and in the Lord.”
And as I knelt with God alone
He asked me gently, “Have you grown?

Can you look back and understand
How sun and rain came form My hand?
The trials which My love decreed,
Did they not prove Me real indeed?

Or would you change a single hour
And miss the knowledge of My power?
Do I seem nearer when you pray
Than just a year ago today?

And does your zeal for lost men die,
Or greater grow, as years go by?”
What deep and searching questions these!
They kept me long upon my knees;

Before His gaze my soul must own
How very little it had grown.
Dear Lord, this year may all men see
That I grow daily more like Thee.

By Barbara C. Ryberg

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Ye Are Not Your Own

“Know ye not that. . .ye are not your own?” I Cor. 6:19

The first thing God does with us is to get us based on rugged Reality until we do not care what becomes of us individually as long as He gets His way for the purpose of His Redemption. Why shouldn’t we go through heartbreaks? Through those doorways God is opening up ways of fellowship with His Son. Most of us fall and collapse at the first grip of pain; we sit down on the threshold of God’s purpose and die away of self-pity, and all so called Christian sympathy will aid us to our death bed. But God will not. He comes with the grip of the pierced hand of His Son, and says - “Enter into the fellowship with Me; arise and shine.” If through a broken heart God can bring His purposes to pass in the world, then thank Him for breaking your heart.

My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers

Monday, December 19, 2011

The Thousandth Man

One man in a thousand, Solomon says,
Will stick more close than a brother.
And it’s worth while seeking him half your days
If you find him before the other.
Nine hundred and ninety-nine depend
On what the world sees in you,
But the Thousandth man will stand your friend
With the whole round world agin you.

‘Tis neither promise nor prayer nor show
Will settle the finding for ‘ee.
Nine hundred and ninety-nine of ‘em go
By your looks, or your acts, or your glory,
But if he finds you and you find him,
The rest of the world don’t matter;
For the Thousandth Man will sink or swim
With you in any water.

You can use his purse with no more talk
Than he uses yours for his spending,
And laugh and meet in your daily walk
As though there had been no lendings.
Nine hundred and ninety-nine of ‘em call
For silver and gold in their dealings;
But the Thousandth Man he’s worth ‘em all,
Because you can show him your feelings.

His wrong’s your wrong, and his right’s your right,
In season or out of season.
Stand up and back it in all men’s sight --
With that for your only reason!
Nine hundred and ninety-nine can’t bide
The shame or mocking or laughter,
But the Thousandth Man will stand by your side
To the gallows-foot---and after!

by Rudyard Kipling

Friday, December 16, 2011

Envy or pity?

If every man's internal care
Were written on his brow,
How many would our pity share
Who raise our envy now?

~Peitro Metastasio

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Woodburned sea themed spoons

Someone recently requested me to burn some sea themed spoons as well as a bike. I can burn a variety of different kinds of designs on spoons for $3 each. Some of my other wood burned spoons can be seen here and here.



Wednesday, December 7, 2011

BORROWED THOUGHTS

Trust him little who doth raise
To one height both great and small,
And sets the sacred crown of praise,
Smiling, on the head of all.

Trust him less who looks around
To censure all with scornful eyes,
And in everything has found
Something that he dare despise.

But for one who stands apart,
Stirred by nought that can befall,
With a cold indifferent heart,--
Trust him least and last of all.

- Adelaide Anne Procter

Saturday, December 3, 2011

If you can

If you can start the day without caffeine,
If you can get going without pep pills,

If you can resist complaining and
boring people with your troubles,

If you can eat the same food
everyday and be grateful for it,

If you can understand when your loved ones
are too busy to give you any time,

If you can overlook it when something goes wrong
through no fault of yours and those you love take it out on you,

If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,
If you can ignore a friend’s limited education and never correct him,

If you can resist treating a rich friend better than a poor one,
If you can face the world without lies and deceit,

If you can conquer tension without medical help,
If you can relax without liquor and sleep without the aid of drugs,

Then you are almost as good as your dog.

- Author Unknown