Thursday, May 03, 2007
Shepherd My Heart
Shepherd my heart, O Lord this day,
In love's green fields where I might lay
By the still waters of your watchful care.
Shepherd my heart, O Lord - the way
I must go is a valley so gray -
Let the staff of your care be my comfort.
Shepherd my heart, O Lord, I pray,
And when darkness gathers at the end of my day,
May I dwell in your house forever.
Amen
Susan E. Stone, 2007
In love's green fields where I might lay
By the still waters of your watchful care.
Shepherd my heart, O Lord - the way
I must go is a valley so gray -
Let the staff of your care be my comfort.
Shepherd my heart, O Lord, I pray,
And when darkness gathers at the end of my day,
May I dwell in your house forever.
Amen
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Good Shepherd, Need for God
Thursday, August 10, 2006
The Lord of Abundance
Our Lord is the Lord of abundance.
The harvest is plentiful, you see,
like golden heads of ripened wheat
waving as if in a plea,
lives hungry for that which will bring them
the answers to set their hearts free.
Our Lord is the Lord of abundance,
with harvest ready to be brought in,
like fruit hanging heavy on tree boughs,
lives touched with the darkness of sin,
needing only for workers to reach them,
Carrying His love to lead them in.
Our Lord is the Lord of abundant
compassion for you and me,
harried and troubled and weary
being tossed on an angry sea,
He calls for his workers to answer
as He beckons, "Come follow me."
Our Lord is the Lord of abundance.
He beckons us out to the field
To answer the need of the lost ones
He longs to protect and to shield,
The shepherd who gathers the lost sheep,
Our lives are the rod that He wields.
Our Lord is the Lord of Abundance,
Let us give Him our hearts and our hands
and He will direct the harvest
as His love, ever eager, commands.
Filled with His love, He sends us to gather
In joy, may we be tools in His hands.
Susan E. Stone, 2006
The harvest is plentiful, you see,
like golden heads of ripened wheat
waving as if in a plea,
lives hungry for that which will bring them
the answers to set their hearts free.
Our Lord is the Lord of abundance,
with harvest ready to be brought in,
like fruit hanging heavy on tree boughs,
lives touched with the darkness of sin,
needing only for workers to reach them,
Carrying His love to lead them in.
Our Lord is the Lord of abundant
compassion for you and me,
harried and troubled and weary
being tossed on an angry sea,
He calls for his workers to answer
as He beckons, "Come follow me."
Our Lord is the Lord of abundance.
He beckons us out to the field
To answer the need of the lost ones
He longs to protect and to shield,
The shepherd who gathers the lost sheep,
Our lives are the rod that He wields.
Our Lord is the Lord of Abundance,
Let us give Him our hearts and our hands
and He will direct the harvest
as His love, ever eager, commands.
Filled with His love, He sends us to gather
In joy, may we be tools in His hands.
Susan E. Stone, 2006
Labels: Good Shepherd, Jesus' Love
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Streams of Living Water
It comes flowing like a stream of living water, clear and bright,
from Your loving hand into my heart,
there,to quench my burning thirst,
a gift unearned but cherished,
Your peace, O Lord.
Peace - that foretaste of heaven,
that touch of the Spirit that can only come from you.
Peace, as special as the touch of mother and child,
peace, like the beauty of a summer's day beneath an indescribably blue sky,
peace, knowing that the God sized hole within my spirit is filled perfectly by your presence.
Amazing, this peace, for even as the world goes mad around me,
and evil is called good, and good is named bad,
I do not panic about what tomorrow brings,
Because You give the me the refuge I need at the foot of your cross,
a home built on the solid rock of Your call, Your touch, Your love,
And even when the darkness comes, and I can see no other way, you are my light.
Once You led me to look deep into the darkness from which no man returns,
and even there, I found You waiting, wrapping Your loving arms around me,
and when I did not know if I would awake, I rested easy in your hands
as my body shivered on that line between life and death.
No fear, for even there, I was covered by the shelter of Your wings.
It is hard to explain how You lead me to these still waters,
even when I feel attacked with doubt and worries and wonders and pain,
But there You are, Lord and Friend,
And in Your peace, may I rest forever.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2006
from Your loving hand into my heart,
there,to quench my burning thirst,
a gift unearned but cherished,
Your peace, O Lord.
Peace - that foretaste of heaven,
that touch of the Spirit that can only come from you.
Peace, as special as the touch of mother and child,
peace, like the beauty of a summer's day beneath an indescribably blue sky,
peace, knowing that the God sized hole within my spirit is filled perfectly by your presence.
Amazing, this peace, for even as the world goes mad around me,
and evil is called good, and good is named bad,
I do not panic about what tomorrow brings,
Because You give the me the refuge I need at the foot of your cross,
a home built on the solid rock of Your call, Your touch, Your love,
And even when the darkness comes, and I can see no other way, you are my light.
Once You led me to look deep into the darkness from which no man returns,
and even there, I found You waiting, wrapping Your loving arms around me,
and when I did not know if I would awake, I rested easy in your hands
as my body shivered on that line between life and death.
No fear, for even there, I was covered by the shelter of Your wings.
It is hard to explain how You lead me to these still waters,
even when I feel attacked with doubt and worries and wonders and pain,
But there You are, Lord and Friend,
And in Your peace, may I rest forever.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2006
Labels: Good Shepherd, Jesus' Love, Peace of God
Saturday, December 03, 2005
The Shepherd
At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Matthew 9: 36
O Lord,
you who know how much we need a shepherd,
who know how we stumble in the wilderness
without your guiding hand,
Be thou my shepherd.
In your care, under your peace,
only there are my needs truly met,
my deepest wants answered
in the pastures that your loving care provides,
through the waters of life that flow from your heart
to quench my aching soul,
restored by your loving touch.
On your paths of righteousness, O Lord,
is there hope, and salvation,
sure footing lit by you who are the Light,
even when the darkness closes in,
and death and its sorrow of parting,
pain and grief surround me,
your cross, the bright beacon that leads us onward,
the staff that proves our Shepherd's love,
is there to remind us
how you love, and how you care,
and how we need not fear,
for you hold us in the palm of your hands.
Surely, in your ways I will find mercy, and hope, and peace and joy,
Bid me dwell in your house,
O Shepherd of my heart,
O Lord of my life,
This day, and always,
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2005
O Lord,
you who know how much we need a shepherd,
who know how we stumble in the wilderness
without your guiding hand,
Be thou my shepherd.
In your care, under your peace,
only there are my needs truly met,
my deepest wants answered
in the pastures that your loving care provides,
through the waters of life that flow from your heart
to quench my aching soul,
restored by your loving touch.
On your paths of righteousness, O Lord,
is there hope, and salvation,
sure footing lit by you who are the Light,
even when the darkness closes in,
and death and its sorrow of parting,
pain and grief surround me,
your cross, the bright beacon that leads us onward,
the staff that proves our Shepherd's love,
is there to remind us
how you love, and how you care,
and how we need not fear,
for you hold us in the palm of your hands.
Surely, in your ways I will find mercy, and hope, and peace and joy,
Bid me dwell in your house,
O Shepherd of my heart,
O Lord of my life,
This day, and always,
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2005
Labels: Good Shepherd, Need for God, scripture
