by Barbara Boedicker

How close I think I am to God,

Yet, how far away I stand.

I walk alone on this journey I trod

When I should walk with Jesus, hand in hand.

 

I need Him close to hold me tight

So I do not trip and fall.

For the battles I must face and fight,

I need His strength, His wisdom, His all.

 

It is not enough to take His gift

Then ignore Him day by day.

He has given all, to close the rift.

And by our side, He will ever stay.

 

God is not the uncaring stranger

We make Him out to be.

Without Him we would walk in danger

That we cannot even see.

 

Stop! God waits for your attention,

He has given you so much.

Tell Him that you love Him,

And that you’re thankful for His touch.

 

Take time to talk to Him each day.

Praise Him for who He is – what He has done.

Ask Him to guide you all the way,

Traveling home, where the Light comes from His Son.

by Barbara Boedicker

Quietly, gently God speaks to me

With words that only I hear,

“Forever with you I will always be,

There is nothing you have to fear.”

 

“Trust me, trust me with all you have,

Trust me with all you can be.

I will always be your comfort and salve,

I will open your eyes, your future to see.”

 

Quietly, gently it comes to me,

The whisper of Gods’s love.

As His Spirit draws close to set me free

My soul soars to the heavens above.

by Barbara Boedicker

Souls are touched from our devotion

As the Word of God, by our lives is spoken.

We hold out God’s love, shining from within,

Searching for a welcoming heart to take it in.

 

We are partners with God, as we work boldly,

Reaching for the grasp of drowning souls.

God’s children, tossed fiercely by a world of sin,

Not knowing death waits on the path they are in.

 

We can help change a world, make it better

If we don’t give up, and if we work together.

God will use us to shape a future that’ coming,

Using those he has claimed, generations will be summoned.

 

Our hearts fill with joy, our eyes fill with tears

For every lost soul claimed from their fears.

But the family of God is not complete yet,

Our work is not finished until the date He has set.

by Barbara Boedicker

Look to the Lord,

To the Living Word.

The scripture, adored,

Brings life assured.

 

Shine forth His light

In a needy world,

With your heart contrite,

His will is unfurled.

Don’t delay on His call,

Just listen and obey.

Don’t stumble or fall,

You are needed today.

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(Ephesians 5:8) …but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.

by Barbara Boedicker

Draw me closer to you Lord,

Gently guide me towards heaven’s shore.

Come to me, much adored,

Come into my heart, into my core.

 

Your love is stronger than my sins,

And it will never, ever end;

Not even as my eternity begins,

When my life completely mends.

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(Romans 9:16) It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.

by Barbara Boedicker

Look beyond your temptations, and all of your lust;

Look towards God, and in Him put all of your trust.

He will keep you, and lead you, and restore your soul;

He will never give up on you, but He will make you whole.

 

Put nothing before Him, make Him first in your life;

Walk with Him through your battles, and all of your strife.

Look beyond your trials, your fears, and your weakness;

He is waiting to help you, reach out to Him, in meekness.

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(Philippians 1:6) He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.

Families are like trees with their changing fall leaves,

Each individual more beautiful because of its difference,

Each tree more beautiful because of each tree’s uniqueness,

Each family, each tree joining with others to make a spectacular forest of fall display.

At summers end the leaf slowly releases it’s hold letting go.

Drifting gently it dances it’s own dance on the tides of crisp breezes.

Some settle close around the tall tree, blanketing the ground with jewels of color and warmth.

Some scatter carried far or not so far away as they join with others on the wind and where they lay.

Families are like the winter snowflakes, no two just alike.

Each glitters and glistens it’s own rainbow sparkle to the world.

Together, a sea of white covers the land with quiet beauty,

Giving rest, peace, and comfort, and restoring strength through it’s season of slumber.

As frost turns to snow with ice storms and blizzards , dark days and cold nights,

Crackling fires of family love shed warmth, rekindling the bright flickering flames of firelight.

Snowballs and snowmen, igloos and forts, snow angels created

With triumph and joy on the bright winter’s morn – love celebrated.

by Barbara Boedicker

How do you sharpen a sword but by friction?

Our souls are honed by the burdens we’re given.

How do you shape metal but through the fire?

Grief, tears, and troubles mold our tomorrow.

 

This body has a beginning and it has an end,

But our soul is everlasting, forever to stand.

Will it stand strong and secure in God’s holy love?

Or bend in the darkness, not living in light from above?

 

Jesus alone is our road to salvation.

He leads us to God, and he relieves our trepidation.

He secures our future in heaven above,

And he lightens our loads, or carries us in love.

 

So when tears overflow, and fill up your heart,

Let Jesus reach down with his love, a renewal to start.

He will refresh your body, and strengthen your soul.

He will dry your tears as together you stroll.

 

Tomorrow will bring you a brand new day,

Yes, filled with some treas, but close, Jesus will stay.

Tomorrow will bring joy to you as well,

Look closely at his blessings, his love they will tell.

 

Just look around you, what do you see?

God’s love surrounds you, that is the key.

Don’t let your burdens cause you to fall down,

But focus on Jesus, He will keep you sound.

 

One day your soul will step from this weak body,

You will enter Forever, and receive a new body.

For now, there are jobs here that need to be done

Before he releases you, your eternity begun.

 

Hold on to Jesus, he will see you through,

He knows your burdens, and he will keep you true.

Your pain can’t compare to your joy in our Jesus,

Hold on to that thought, hold on to your Lord Jesus.

by Barbara Boedicker

Draw me closer to you Lord,

Gently guide me towards heaven’s shore.

Come to me, much adored.

In my heart, my soul, my core.

Your love is stronger than my sins,

It will never, ever end.

As my eternity begins,

You will my soul completely mend.

Revelation 5:13 (NIV84)

“Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: ‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!’” (Revelation 5:13)

by Barbara Boedicker

God looked at His creation and was satisfied with it.

So on the seventh day, He decided He would quit.

Laughing and talking in the bright sunlight, God walked with Adam and Eve,

Until one day they chose to disobey, and ate from the wisdom tree.

When God returned to that beautiful garden they were afraid to meet Him there!

Instead, they tried to hide from Him because they knew they were bare.

They knew that they were not just naked, but naked to the soul!

They realized God knew everything, and feared the price of sin’s damaging toll.

God asked them why they had disobeyed, but they only made excuses.

 

He was disappointed and dismayed, and in great sadness set about making truces.

He could have used a barrel.  He could have used a leaf.

He could have used some angel feathers, or even old elephant teeth!

He could have braided wild flowers, He could have woven vines.

He could have draped them in seaweed trousers, but clothed them in animal hides.

 

God killed an animal for Adam and Eve, a sacrifice of blood for their sin.

He draped the covering over them, and gave them a way back to Him.

Why do we question God?  Why do we think we know?

Why do we leap into the driver’s seat, and without direction off we go?

Why do our children question us?  Why challenge authority at all?

Why don’t we like to obey the rules?  Instead, rebel and then, we too fall.

God knew before the world began that man would take the fall.

Yet He gave us the choice in freedom, and waits upon our call.

The first sacrifice awaited the day, pointing towards payment for our sin.

The sacrifice of God’s beloved Son, is what save us now, and even saved them then.

 

He could have used some hay or straw, He could have used a fern.

He could have used some cotton balls, but what would they have learned?

He could have used to coconut shells, He could have used some moss.

He could have used some Canterbury bells, but it wouldn’t have paid the cost.

 

God always gives the very best, He holds nothing good for us back.

He chose a covering of sacrifice, and blesses us with nothing less than that.

The choice is up to us to make, will we accept His perfect gift?

His plan of forgiveness waits for us, but we must reach out to settle the rift.

So why do we question God so often?  Why do we think we know best?

Why don’t we like to obey the rules?  Why not just love God and in His love rest?

Where is the trust in our mighty God?  Where is our abundant faith?

We aren’t any different than Adam and Eve, Why are we such a stubborn race?

Someday we’ll step out of this earthly cloak.  Someday we’ll be freed from all sin.

Someday we’ll enter eternity’s home, and finally a new life will begin.

 

He could have used gold metals.  He could have used a snakeskin.

He could have used some rose petals, but it wouldn’t have covered man’s sin.

He could have made silk dresses.  He could have used some burrs.

He could have woven long grasses, but instead He clothed them in furs.