All Good Gifts

Father, all good gifts come from thee,
Creator of all that is beautiful to see.
Lover of my soul, the one I adore
The true God all earth will bow before.

I am a sinner unworthy to see your face.
I thank you for your mercy, grace
and willingness to send your Son to earth
So I could die to sin and have a second birth.

Because of you I have been made new.
I can count on your Word that is true.
What a blessing to commune in prayer,
All my joys and sorrows with you I share.

You Are

A Songbird that brings sweet
Melody into my wistful heart
The savory spice which adds
Zest to my lonely days

The exquisite flowers on a hillside
That bring beauty and delight
Living and cooling water
A tonic to revive and refresh

The master teacher of knowledge
And I, the adoring student at your feet
Light that illuminates my night
Guiding me through raging storms.

A king adorned in purple robe
And I'm your beloved servant
The strong citadel that protects
Me from all dark and evil forces

My loving Savior, your scarlet blood
Flowing from your brow and side
Sweet nectar of forgiveness that
Brings abundant joy to my soul.

Victorious Hope

Everyone has a need for hope,
a way to cope,
overcome strife
within their life.

Hope shines like a candle at night,
sharing its light,
shedding despair,
showing God's care.

Jesus brought us hope through God's plan,
redeeming man,
freeing from sin,
vict'ry to win.

Saving You, Saving Me

Precious LORD, amazing grace you send,
as my soul you defend.
Wondrous love that doesn't end.
Oh my Savior and my friend!

Loving Saviour who died for me,
paid my debt on Calvary,
cleansed my soul and set me free.
Now I come on bended knee.

God, your only Son you gave
wanting us, from sin to save.
Raising Him from the grave.
Daily now, your Word I crave!

Chorus:

Loving you, Loving me
He died for us on Calvary.
Saving you, Saving me
By His blood we are set free.

Superman Rescues the Baby Pumpkin

Nebraska's weather was beautiful on Halloween day,
cool and crisp, but pleasant. All the children dreamed about
the large amount of delicious candy they would receive.

Adults bought lots of candy and decorated so neighborhood
children would have fun. The adults didn't mind having a
little candy leftover to munch on.

Superman was excited about Halloween. He enjoyed flying
around and seeing all the children walking around from door
to door getting treats. He also wanted to make sure all the
children were safe.

What a huge responsibility! He was watching one baby
pumpkin very carefully. This baby had a difficult time when
he was born.

Baby Garrison was dressed as a pumpkin. He was sleeping
soundly in his stroller. Someone had pushed him around and
left him close to a hill. All of a sudden his stroller was bumped
into by one of the children trick or treating. It started rolling
down a hill. Garrison's Mom started screaming. She and his
Daddy started running down the hill trying to stop the runaway
stroller. Other friends started helping in the chase to save
baby Garrison.

It was a long hill and the stroller picked up speed. It was then
that Superman or Supperman, as he was sometimes called, saw
the danger.

Immediately he turned and flew in the direction of the runaway
stroller. With the speed of light he was there to stop the
stroller. He picked up Baby Garrison, who was actually laughing
and enjoying his ride down the hill. He was too little to know the
danger he was in.

Garrison's grateful parents thanked and thanked Superman for
saving Garrison, the baby pumpkin.

Superman didn't want a fuss made about it. He was just glad to
help. Seeing Garrison safe was all the reward he needed.

He flew off so he could continue his mission to watch over the
children so they would all have a Happy Halloween.

Amazing, Simply Amazing

Fall colors bold and bright
Beauty of a starry, starry night
A formation of geese in flight
Gazing from a mountain's height.
Oh, what an amazing sight!
Warmth from the sun's light.
All remind me of His power and might.
God, “You are my soul's delight!”

The Child in Me

I felt like a child at play,

running to the mailbox today.

Leaves danced merrily down the street

some swirling around my feet.
The wind teased as it blew my hair.
What joy to be without a care!
My friends and I laughed with glee
the leaves, the wind and me.

Compromise - Good or Bad

Compromise. It can be good. We all need to remember that someone
else needs their turn sometimes. Fred's wonderful at saying: "Where
do you want to go eat or what movie do you want to rent?" I need to
remember to be thoughtful and take turns doing what he likes.

But what about compromising your beliefs. I see too much of that.
We say "everybody's doing such and such now". Nothing's wrong with
it. Did God's standards for us change or are we trying to change it to
fit our own wants? We certainly don't want to stand out from the crowd,
do we?

Sorry if I seem to be preaching. I'm actually reminding myself that I
need to be holier, hold myself to a higher standard. I'm thankful for
Christian friends who live a great example and encourage me to live for
Christ. We go together to the prison on Tuesday nights and share our
lives. None of us are perfect, but we try to encourage one another to live
above the world's standards.

If you're living a Christian life, can anyone see a difference? Would they know
you're a Christian by how you talk, the movies you see, the places you go?

There's always someone watching us. Teachers have lots of children who
watch them daily. They have a big responsibility to model the right way to
act to those students. What about you? Who's watching you?

I've got three beautiful grandchildren. Children need lots of encouragement
nowadays to know how to not get caught up in worldly activities. How to
live in the world, without looking like the world.

Wow. I've got lots to do, lots of praying, lots of reading God's Word. I've got
to be a godly wife, mother, grandmother, and friend. Too many souls look at
me. What kind of example am I? What kind of example are you? Think
about it.

Blessings I Delight In

I love my grandchildren. It's wonderful to be loved by children.
It touched my heart when Esther reached her hands out to me and
when Fischer said, "I've been missing you". Baby Garrison is so sweet
and precious.

I enjoy seeing their first smiles and how they are growing and
learning how to do new things.

What a joy to hold them and rock them. I think it's a reminder
of when my own babies were small and I could hold them.

I hope my own children know how much I still delight in watching
their progress in life. I share their joy in their graduations, weddings,
moving into their own homes, and having their own children.

It thrills me to see my sons with their own children and to see how
much they love them and want to be good daddies.

I'm glad that Libby shares about her joys of wanting to be a teacher.
She's grown so confident in her ability to speak. She's had lots of
accomplishments, attended conferences and presented papers.

What a blessing to be told that Franklin is doing a great job as a
youth minister. I'm proud of John and his accomplishments at his
job and his promotion that he received a while back.

It's a great joy to see Franklin's talents to write, John's talent of
playing the guitar, and Libby's talent of speaking and teaching.

I also take great delight in my daughters-in-love: Tracy and
Emily. I prayed for many years for christian wives for my sons
and God answered my prayers. It is a joy to see them taking care
of my sons and their children. I love seeing how they decorate
their homes.

I have many blessings. I just want to make sure my children
know how special they are. Love ya, Mom

Am I Following You?

God, am I following you

or doing what I want to do?

Do I pray to do your will each day

or am I living life my own way?

God, am I following you

and to your word being true?

Am I letting you change my heart

so from you I'll never depart?

Following you is what I want to do.

My life is changing. I'm brand new.

I can't be part of the crowd anymore,

Above the world I must soar.

Following you may involve a cost,

but I know my soul won't be lost.

Friends may forsake me and flee,

but you'll always be with me.

You gave me the gift of your only Son

so the victory over sin has been won.

With your help I'll conquer the unknown

and lay my life before your holy throne.

Life is like a Game

I've been thinking of the movie "Facing the Giants".
The man, a high school football coach,
had not had a winning season in 7 years. He was
discouraged. When he came home, his car died in
the driveway.

He sat down at the table and started to eat. It was
a sandwich. His wife said the stove doesn't work.
Not only that, the drier wasn't working either. As
he sat there, he put his hands through his hair and
said and I'm going bald.

Do you ever feel like that? Everything is going wrong.
It could be compared to a game of football. You get
tackled a lot before you reach the goal line. You
sometimes think you're not going to be able to get back
into the game.

Other times you feel like you have been penalized. The
flag's been thrown down. Go back 10 yards. You wonder
what you've done that you're having all these problems.

Then there are those wonderful days when you reach the
goal line and feel like everyone in the stands are cheering
for you.

Precious Gems

Precious gems so rare,

There's naught to compare.

Why did you choose upon me to shine

Your friendship so fine?

Your cheerleading style

Saw me through many a trial.

You led me to a higher plane

And helped me sing a lovely refrain.

Even a language barrier

Couldn't keep us from being together.

To another country we'd flown.

You made me part of your home.

You were like a gentle breeze,

Even getting down on your knees

Making pleas for me to the Father above

Showing me your loyalty and love.

Friends, old and new

How could I do without you?

You're love is a refreshing stream.

Our friendship, I highly esteem.

Copyright April 2007

Written by J.K. Wood

Neglecting my Blog

I've been having so much fun on Fanstory creating stories about Fischer and Two Bear. Then there's Esther Sue, Tessa Turtle and Pete, the guard dog and their adventures. What will they be doing next? It's such fun to work on these stories for my grandchildren. Next Fischer is going to be pretending to be a pirate and then one of the doodle boppers. I have a cute picture of Esther looking up heavenward. There may be a story of Esther praying.

It seems that some of my poems about God have been the best received. So, I hope to write
more. Fanstory is a great place to share stories about God and people read them and review them. Some even seem encouraged. There are some doubters, but they at least read and maybe
reflect some.

So, if you don't notice any poems or stories here, I'll be on Fanstory.

Have you ever Been Passionate about Something?

I have become passionate about writing. Maybe because it gives me a
voice and I never felt like I had one before. It's good to have some way
to express myself.

There's an online writing group that of which I have become addicted.
It's called fanstory. It's so exciting for me. I have gotten to review a
lot of poems and some short stories. It's exciting because I can
encourage others about their writing.

One reason I am so excited is that there are a lot of poems about
God. A lot of the authors are sharing their faith by their poems. I'm
so excited to review those poems and get to know the authors. They
are becoming like friends.

Of course, I know that God should be what I am most passionate about.
That's why I think about the Psalm and song of thirsting for God like
in a dry land where there is no water. So this is what I need to pray for,
passion for God. I hope you are becoming passionate about Him.

This is a Poem About

This is a poem about a family.
This is a poem about traveling on a bumpy potholed road.
This is a poem about eating nsema and chicken and visiting.
This is a poem about hospitality.
This is a poem about friendship.
This is a poem about love.
This is a poem about the Sianjinas.

This is a poem about a teacher.
This is a poem about attending chapel.
This is a poem about a little girl searching for the teacher
in chapel.
This is a poem about Rayton and Libby.

This is a poem about a student.
This is a poem about a soccer player.
This is a poem about a friend with a dream.
This is a poem about the student, friend, soccer player,
who left Zambia and went to the States.
This is a poem about my Zambian son.
This is a poem about Bornwell.

This is a poem about a wedding.
This is a poem about customs.
This is a poem about laughter and
this is a poem about the friend who
got married.
This is a poem about Justin.

This is a poem about pillow fights.
This is a poem about baking cake for a friend.
This is a poem about a storyteller.
This is a poem about Ray.

This is a poem about the Sianjinas.

Marvelous Day

I had a marvelous day today. You might ask, what did you do
that was so marvelous. I had a day at home alone. It was so
exciting. I cleaned sinks, mopped floors, cleaned toilets, and
washed laundry. I even had time to watch one of my all-time
favorite movies (again) Facing the Giants. I also talked to my
mother, my mother-in-law and my son, Franklin, on the phone.

Even though I worked around the house I also had time just to
be alone and relax. If I don't have days to just relax and be
alone I really get stressed out.

I'm going to be teaching at the prison in about 3 weeks so I
worked on my lesson.

I think God knew I needed one of these stay at home and relax
kind of days. So thank you Father. You always provide what I
need.

Friends-Thank God for Them

Think back to the friends who have made a difference in your life.
If you're like me there are plenty, but one such friend is Carol.

Carol really worked at pulling me out of my shell, making me do
things that were out of my comfort zone. She encouraged me to
be a cub scout den leader. I still can't believe that I did that.
Of course, I also had another friend, Margaret, who helped me
with the boys or I'm sure I'd never been able to do it.

Fred and I were also in the brothers' keeper group with Carol
and her husband, Bob. Carol asked me to call people in the group
each month and invite them to the meeting. This was also
something difficult for me. It was like pulling teeth. I am not a
phone person and still have to rehearse what I say when I call
someone to ask a question.

Friends, like Carol and Margaret, have made a great difference
in my life. They helped me grow. They encouraged and inspired
me to try new things. They believed in me. Have you ever had
friends like that or have you ever been a friend like that? I'd
like your comments.

Let's all try to be the kind of friends we really need to be. Friends
who make a difference; who inspire, encourage, and want the
very best for our friends. Friends - BE ONE!

Spiritual Blahs

Do you ever feel like you are spinning your wheels spiritually?
Not going forward in your faith or growing. Do you feel like
your prayers are just bouncing off the ceiling?

I guess it's like the winter season. You can see no growth.
Everything looks dead, but there's hope because it really isn't.
The green grass will come out, the trees bud and bring forth
leaves, and the flowers will once more come forth in an array
of colors.

I know God is listening and waiting for just the right moment
to answer my prayers. Everything has to be just right. I
have been studying Joseph and think about all those years it
took before his dreams came true. All the suffering and how
God was shaping him.

I look around at others who are suffering and feel my trials
are so insignificant up to theirs. God has a plan for each
one of us and a time for it to be fulfilled.

So, dear one, there is hope. Keep believing, keep praying
and be assured God loves you and is working mightily in
your behalf.

Fears about Job Search

Has anyone else experience fear related to trying to find a job?
I remember when Fred and I returned from Africa and I hadn't
worked outside our home in 17 years. All the job listings made
the jobs sound like something I couldn't possibly do.

I hadn't answered a phone in the 5 years we had lived in Africa.
We didn't have a phone. Secretarial work had changed so much
because there were computers.

So if you haven't worked for awhile like a stay at home Mom or
if you've had the same job for quite some time it's a frightening
experience looking for a job. Can anyone relate? If so, please
comment.

Wash the Gray Away or Where's My Miss Clairol When I Need It!

There are certain disadvantages of being short on cash. I had begun
to enjoy an occasional trip to the beauty salon to get my hair cut and
that's no longer possible. Also, my hair has to go back to its original
color, drab gray and brown. My hair looks like it has been powdered
next to my scalp.

I guess this is the end of a beautiful friendship with Miss Clairol or
Revlon or whatever color I could find.

I just had another birthday so I guess I will just have to look my age!