Searching


We search and we search our life away
Ever and ever seeking to find.
We scan the sky, we climb the mountain of clay
Trying to justify life to our mind.

We reach, we touch, and then we lose hold,
It is this, and that, and then is gone.
We are young in the search, and then are old.
Too great this place we search upon.

But search we must for we are here.
The God who put us here must know.
He surely has left some secrets near,
Pointing out the way we should go.



Above


That is all we can ever do,
keep reaching above,
Keep reaching out unto,
Keep reaching out in love.

But let us never fall below,
Nor reach down too far,
For nothing good down does grow,
But ever upward does aspire.

Looking downward darkness we find,
Above beams the sunshine,
Downward only dims the mind.
Above everything is fine.

If we would reach with our hand,
Let us reach up high,
Let us look above the land,
And look up into the sky.

Above there lies our only hope,
Beneath lies despair,
Let us not below grope,
But reach into the air.

Up above there lies the answer
To all we ever need,
So above let us refer,
A reaching high indeed.



War


Peace gained and not soon lost
After war has been
Can in some way pay the cost,
But cannot bring back the men.

Oh that men of power and state
Could see the evil in war well,
And looking in the eye of fate,
Could see war as it is, a Hell!

Oh that the faces of those that have died
Might appear within their sight!
Could they hear how the dying cried,
And still send men to fight?

Is conscience so far gone
From men who high office hold,
That they let war go on?
Is not this insanity old?

To satisfy a mad man's whim
A million men might cease to live,
And all this because of him.
What repentance could he give?

But war corrupts not one but all,
They all shout like foolish sheep
For this most cursed evil they call,
And then they cry and weep.

What folly sets aflame
Within men this love of war?
Why do they play this deadly game?
Why do they dabble in this ghastly fire?



Salvation


Lift up your eyes and believe,
And you may your salvation receive.
All your old sins are cast into the sea,
and there forever to be.

Come and serve Jesus then,
and depart from your sin.
Jesus came to seek and to save.
Upon the cross He redemption gave.

If you repent with your whole heart,
He will forgiveness impart.
All that He asks of you
Is to repent and be true.

He will not turn you away,
Neither in the night nor the day.
Come to Him in your sorrow,
Have no fear of tomorrow.

He will His comfort give.
You may within His love live.
Think not His Compassion gone,
For it shall forever live on.

Everlasting mercy He does own.
His blood for your sins shall atone.
He casts away no one.
He withholds mercy from none.



The Natural World


I never can lose my awe at the unparallelled beauty of the natural world that is unspoiled by people. Each season has its glory. Wind and rain I number among my trusted friends. My mind is calmer near trees, flowers, the grass, and the soil. My nerves relax listening to the aria of the birds and the whispering leaves.

I am richly blessed, for I still see images in clouds. The richness of the world lies in our perception. Some days it is good just to be. Beneath all the froth and sputtering there dwells the quiet. We come and look again at those things that are natural and grow out of the earth, and somehow our mind is eased.



An Aura


There is an aura which emits from a person. In our mind we have a vague picture, and a vague feeling about a person quite apart from any physical distinctions which make up that person. If we like them the thought is pleasant as we bring them to mind, and the picture of them is bright and sometimes colorful, while the feeling about them is warm and happy.

Those people who are difficult to like form dark and tumultuous pictures in our mind, while our feelings about them are cold, and it is painful to think of them. In our recollections of people we remember the little things. Forgotten are most of what they said, though we might remember the way they tilted their head. We might remember the manner in which they smiled, or how they squinted their eyes when they went to speak. Possibly we recall how they laughed, or how they held their hands.

Somehow the words get lost, though at the time they might have seemed important. Afterwards, years afterward, all we remember is their smile, and whether they seemed to like us or not. We remember whether they seemed happy or sad. We remember them as a whole, and not from any one day, happening, or feature, but as one complete, unchanging memory.



The Forest Denizens


The woods are not lonely as one might suppose, but has many inhabitants who live and die there. I step into the forest and at first I see very few creatures, but I wait awhile and soon they begin to reveal themselves. I see a rabbit tiptoe down the path on cotton soled feet, and then a squirrel scampers down the trunk of a tree making a scraping sound on the bark as he comes.

Then all of a sudden a chipmonk shuffles through the leaves only a few feet away, and that very instant I spot a hawk circling above the treetops creeing at the top of his lungs. Then a quail with her little chicks comes darting by hiding in the leaves. My need for companionship is gratified by those gentle folk who quietly eye me, but go on about their business. In their way they seem to say that they trust me.







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