Sunday, July 12, 2009

peace...

Fill Thou My Life


Words: Horatius Bonar
Music: Gesangbuch der Herzogl

Fill Thou my life, O Lord my God,
In every part with praise,
That my whole being may proclaim
Thy being and Thy ways.
Not for the lip of praise alone,
Nor e’en the praising heart
I ask, but for a life made up
Of praise in every part!

Praise in the common words I speak,
Life’s common looks and tones,
In fellowship in hearth and board
With my belovèd ones;
Not in the temple crowd alone
Where holy voices chime,
But in the silent paths of earth,
The quiet rooms of time.

Fill every part of me with praise;
Let all my being speak
Of Thee and of Thy love, O Lord,
Poor though I be, and weak.
So shalt Thou, Lord, from me, e’en me,
Receive the glory due;
And so shall I begin on earth
The song forever new.

So shall each fear, each fret, each care
Be turned into a song,
And every winding of the way
The echo shall prolong;
So shall no part of day or night
From sacredness be free;
But all my life, in every step
Be fellowship with Thee.


Peace is more than a lofty ideal. It is a practical principle that, with conscious effort, can become a normal part of our lives as we deal with matters both large and small.

"Peace Within"

Joseph B. Wirthlin, Ensign, May 1991, 36–38


"Fear not to do good, my sons, for whatsoever ye sow, that shall ye also reap; therefore, if ye sow good ye shall also reap good for your reward.

"Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail.

"Behold, I do not condemn you; go your ways and sin no more; perform with soberness the work which I have commanded you.

"Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.

"Behold the wounds which pierced my side, and also the prints of the nails in my hands and feet; be faithful, keep my commandments, and ye shall inherit the kingdom of heaven"

 (D&C 6:33–37).

Sunday, July 5, 2009

the dark and the light, light will prevail


When you have come to the edge
Of all light that you know
And are about to drop off into the darkness
Of the unknown,
 Faith is knowing
One of two things will happen:
There will be something solid to stand on or
You will be taught to fly

Patrick Overton

God didn't promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, sun without rain, but He did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way.

~unknown source


For light I go directly to the Source of light, not to any of the reflections.

 Peace Pilgrim 


   And that I am the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world;


   In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
  And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.



Be Still My Soul

Be still, my soul: The Lord is on thy side;
With patience bear thy cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In ev'ry change he faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: Thy best, thy heav'nly Friend
Thru thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: Thy God doth undertake
To guide the future as he has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: The waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while he dwelt below.

 Be still, my soul: The hour is hast'ning on
When we shall be forever with the Lord,
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: When change and tears are past,
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

Text: Katharina von Schlegel, b. 1697;
trans. by Jane Borthwick, 1813-1897


  That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.



Though our trials be many,
 our Father and Savior are there for us.
Leading us to the best we can be.
And so....
our life is like an onion. 
Our first eighteen years we build up the layers,
thick to conceal where we started from,
then we spend the rest of our lives peeling away what has grown over,
or hid in the dark,
exposing the heart of our true selves,
revealing our selves to light
and what is real.
Though it  may be painful at times,
it is worth it
to be as authentic as we truly are,
see ourselves in our innocence
and where we originated from.
We came from a seed,
a seed of light
the Light of Christ that is in each one of us.
And as each trial comes our way,
our light is burnished brighter
as we come to our 
Father again and again,
in silent 
prayer.
And then you know, 
He lives.
He lives for you and for me.
He loves you.
And wants you to live
in His light.