A Focused Love
February 13, 2015
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Each day brings trouble
Tragedy is around us
Suffering overwhelms us
Where can we find peace
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My soul languishes
Fear and anxiety rule
Where can I find rest
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I stand amazed when love comes
Light springs up in the darkness
Hope born in desperation
Our God hears our cry
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Looking back I see
When I trusted God He came
Lifted the burden
Opened my eyes to see love
My greatest work is “Believe”
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I’ll hope against hope
I’ve been given a reason
I’ll focus and understand
God became a man
Human in every way
He chose to suffer the pain
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A personal gift
An intimate love given
Each person is known
Beloved, seen, heard and treasured
This is the heart of God known
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Death cannot destroy
Joy sits above circumstance
The presence of love
In the life of everyone
Can be seen by looking back
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Open our eyes, Lord
To see things that matter
Let gentleness rule
The way that we treat ourselves
And the way we treat others
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Your unfailing love
Was demonstrated so well
In the life of your Son
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No matter what the trouble I may face each day, I get to choose who sits at the center of my soul. With all the noise of the human tragedy around me my heart is drawn to one voice. It is the voice of love I will focus on today. That love is bigger than my circumstance. It is bigger than death. That love is worth dying for. That love will enhance every person I meet today. This love guarantees permanent, constant and continual growth. It is testable! I could be right! These reflections come out of meditating on the Psalms. All the best!
He Counts Your Tears
January 26, 2015
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When I am afraid
I will trust in you, O God
It’s your words I trust
How can mortal man hurt me
In God I trust; I will not fear
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Record my lament
You keep record of my tears
You even count them
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You always get the blame God
For the suffering and the pain
It is man’s abuse of man
Where are you, “O man?”
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In God I will trust
He’s the one with compassion
I see the heart of man hurt
Abuse and deceive
Give God the blame for lying
And not look in the mirror
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You have delivered my soul
Met me in desperation
Given your presence of love
In stillness I find
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I know the story
How God’s love became a man
He offered “abundant life”
I was skeptical
I looked closely at the man
A man of sorrows and grief
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He met the lonely
The broken and abandoned
Was gentle and kind
Gave hope to the hopeless ones
I know I was one of them
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I wept when I saw
The way he lived and he died
His personal touch
Reaches the most broken ones
He counts each person “Beloved”
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I once was desperate. Now I meet with desperate people. I’m desperate again. This time I bring hope to desperate people. Every human being is precious and needs to know they count. I discovered a God who not only counts the tears but sees the person and is pursuing each one. They don’t need my answers but need someone who is present listening and giving what I can. Can God really be that close? Psalms 26, 56, 86, 116 and 146 opened a window to an awareness of someone who is there with love and understanding.
Anguish Healed
January 25, 2015
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Overwhelmed with anguish
The pain and loss is so great
Does anyone understand
The devastation
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No friends to comfort
Loses of my dear love ones
Where is God who cares
Why is this happening now
Can anyone answer me
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The cry in the human soul
There are no easy answers
God promises to confide
In those who fear Him
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I cannot fathom
A God who lets this happen
Suffering and grief
What is it I am missing
Do I really want to know
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Truth hurts and it heals
The tragedy in my soul
Comes down to two things
I must face the truth about me
I must face the truth about God
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“Fear” does not mean “Be afraid”
It means I must face greatness
Of the love of God revealed
To my shattered soul
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The consequences
Of the choices I have made
I am destitute
The poverty in my soul
Is hidden from all to see
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The confusion inside me
With the unanswered questions
Were cleared up when I focused
On the love of God
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He promised to never leave
To meet me in my anguish
To forgive me of my wrongs
To renew and restore
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I will trust in Him
Gives victory over death
Carries my burdens
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Insight only comes
After one chooses to trust
The Giver of life
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May you be blessed by the Lord
Maker of heaven and earth
One who understands your need
Gave all to forgive
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These reflections will be enhanced by reading Psalm 25, 55, 85, 115 and 145. Sarah Young, an amazing therapist and teacher, offers insight to the anguished soul in her book “Jesus Calling.”
Today I will choose …
December 6, 2011
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He arrived first at the tomb
But he would not go inside
I wonder why this is so
Fear paralyzes
Simon Peter went inside
No body was to be found
The linen cloth lay folded
That covered his face
Faith welled up inside
When John saw the body gone
Before this none understood
Why he must be raised
They left and went to their homes
The son rose in a new day
Many stood stunned and sobbing
Kneeling at the tomb entrance
Two angels appeared to her
Sitting where He laid
“Why were you weeping”
“They have taken my Lord away”
“I cannot find him”
Jesus then stood before her
She did not recognize him
Do I see Jesus
Standing beside me today
Please open my eyes
Mary dearly loved Jesus
Jesus heard her tears of grief
Jesus asked her this question
“Tell me why you are weeping
Who is it you are looking for?”
She could not see him
Thinking he was the gardener
She asked, “Where have you laid him?”
I will go and retrieve him
Jesus said, “Mary”
When he spoke her name
She turned and cried, “Rabboni”
The word means teacher
“Mary, you cannot hold me
I must rise above the world
To be near to my Father
My God’s your Father”
Go tell this to my brothers
Mary Magdalene obeyed him
And went directly to them
“I have seen the Lord”
Have you seen the Lord
Pray for faith to remember
If Jesus appeared to them
He’ll appear to you
Yes, He’ll come and dwell in you
Christ lives in those who believe
Today I will choose
Accept the truth of his love
Act by faith in Him
All of the fear will leave you
When you place your trust in Him
It is important to know
That Presence based on feelings
Is what robbed Mary that day
From seeing Jesus
Jesus is risen
He loves you and hears your cry
Listen and believe
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© Terry S. Smith
December 4, 2011
These reflections were written after meditating on John 20.
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Renew and Restore
September 24, 2010
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Finding a clear path
To do what is right and just
Is the path I want
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Get understanding
Make it your priority
Otherwise you’ll find yourself
Living in darkness
Not knowing which way to go
Filled with fear and judgment
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Guard your mouth and tongue
You’ll avoid calamity
Be clear on what you focus
A secret to know
Whatever that focus is
Will only grow much larger *
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Give thought to your ways
Your feelings can deceive you
Fear will rob your life
Bitterness is a cancer
That will spread through your body
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Seek wisdom and clear insight
When desperate, come to God
One who loves without limit
Has power to rescue
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Insight never comes
Before you choose who you’ll trust
You must use your mind
Decide who is trustworthy
Then have the courage to act
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Anxiety kills
Is blinding and harmful
A doorway to death
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“Do not be afraid”
Three hundred and sixty-five times
Spoken by your God
This is a voice of promise
That renews and restores life
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© Terry S. Smith
September 21, 2010
Meditations written after reading Proverbs 21; John 15; Colossians 3. (* Inspired from the quote: “Whatever you focus upon, increases.” Andy Andrews The Noticer p.13.)
Light
December 17, 2009
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Christmas season brings the lights
Lighting it up with hope, joy
Looking to give and receive
The Light of the world
Light within is the answer
Many walk in dark places
Confused and afraid of the night
Because they can’t see
There is a presence
Given to all who believe
A love without end
Where can I find peace?
The most important question
Asked when I was young
Wisdom is what I needed
Insight to find a new way
A longing for what is true
A way to find peace
© Terry S. Smith
December 16, 2008
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give up control
November 10, 2009
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Courage is what I seek
To act in a timely way
I will face my fears today
I rise and confront
The living lies that rob me
Of the great joy of living
My beliefs are hidden deep
That arise when I am stressed
They will steal my peace of mind
If I let them rule
I will learn to play
To laugh and sing a new song
And give up control
The most difficult process
Hidden in the human heart
To see myself as I am
Takes courage and love
© Terry S. Smith
written November 10, 2009
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Begin being still
July 28, 2009
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Good conversation
Is what I look for each day
Begin being still
This helps me become aware
Of a larger loving voice
I’ve discovered that my eyes
Are the windows to my heart
My mind will give direction
In the “morning watch”
Temptations will come
To take advantage of me
So I’ll guard my eyes
I’ll choose the focus
Many voices are calling
Anxiety knocks
Fear of the future
And the many ways harm comes
Can rob me of the now
“As iron sharpens iron”
We each sharpen the other
Let us consider
And look for the perspective
That is the reality
Where are you focusing now?
written July 27, 2009
see Proverbs 27:17, Proverbs 27:20
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path of hope
July 3, 2009
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I see pain and rejection
I see fear and loneliness
Is there anyone hearing
These were my thoughts
I couldn’t trust the “many”
The voices who claim to know
The answers to my trouble
I began to search
Believing I could find out
Which direction I could take
To keep from repeating
What was given me
I decided honesty
With myself and those with me
Is the only way to find
A path I could trust
There’s something about
Just making a decision
Not to repeat history
This decision worked
Set me on a path of hope
Believing that I could think
It makes life interesting
When you find the fire in you
That is larger than your pain
Looking for what is real
written June 15, 2008
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the reality of death
June 18, 2009
Death sits as my enemy
It’s a constant reminder
Of my own powerlessness
When it comes I weep
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It is sudden and swift
It is like a tornado
We don’t like to think about
The reality
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I know that death is coming
With my head but not my heart
Somehow I think I will escape
Where do I get that
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I decided to face it
To turn and look death straight on
I’ll not live my life in fear
And miss the great joy
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Two kinds of death that I see
Physical and spiritual
What blinds people from seeing
Are internal lies
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Those lies must be confronted
And only you can do it
Be sure you get all the facts
You’re responsible
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Who is it that speaks to death
That’s what I wanted to know
I sought an authentic voice
Not religious talk
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We all have been hurt
I have tasted the injustice
Relationship betrayal
I grew up in it
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I decided I would stop
The cycle of death given me
The one my parents lived in
The questions began
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Each person has a story
That deserves full attention
Everyone needs to be heard
That’s what I believe
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Real conversation
Is what I need from someone
Who will listen and respond
And consider well
Understanding my story
And me understanding theirs
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written June 17, 2009
after a week with several deaths
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Your Story Matters 