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Matthew 14:27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.

Jesus, Our Lord, sent the multitudes away,
Then went up into the mountain to pray.

Into the midst of the sea, his disciples were sent forth in a ship,
The winds came with their strength, and the waves began to whip.

In that moment, fear embraced the troubled crew,
As what they believed was a spirit appeared in their view.

Suddenly, a caring voice rose above the power of the storm and its fear.
It was Jesus, wishing His disciples to “be of good cheer.”

In that moment, Peter called out to Him who walked upon the sea,
And Jesus bid him to come out onto the water to thee.

Peter stepped out onto the water, and began to tread it with his feet,
His faith focused on the Lord, was what was required for them to meet.

However, the wind had not ceased to be a challenging foe,
It sent a chilling fear to Peter with a boisterous blow.

That was all it took. Peter cried out, “Save me” as the water tried to pull him under.
Jesus stretched out His hand and rescued him from his doubtful blunder.

After the rescue, Jesus questioned Peter’s lack of faith, and doubt.
For this is not what trusting in the Lord is about.

Together they rejoined their friends in the ship.
Then the wind bowed its strength and ceased its testing whip.

The men gathered in agreement, such as an approving nod.
As they worshiped the Truth, knowing they were in the presence of the Son of God.

___

As I wrote this one of the things that really stood out to me was that it was actually Peter’s idea. He was even successful until he allowed the voice of the creation to distract him over the call of his Creator. Even still, Jesus was with him. Peter doubted, but it wasn’t a total failure. He at least tried stepping out in the faith, even into a storm, and it was by no means the end of Peter. The Lord simply picked him up so he could try again, and that he did.

Peter 14:28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.

There is a bear in my chair,
Please someone tell me how he got there.

He looks mean and has sharp claws on both feet,
I am afraid to approach him to take back my seat.

His fur is brown and that is no smile on his face,
And as I hear his growl, my heart continues to race.

That is not the worst of it all,
Even when sitting he is ever so tall.

Doesn’t he know that he makes me shiver with fear?
Hasn’t his mom told him that it is not nice to scare?

Just as I was about to run away,
A loud voice sounded asking me to stay.

I thought for a moment about what I should do,
Then suddenly the bear asked me for some food.

Oh no, was this the end of the line?
Was he wanting me to come close so he could dine?

I am just a kid, not a meal or a snack!
Come on bear, you need to cut me some slack!

This is it, I must run far away.
So long bear, and have a nice day!

Just as I was about to run out the door,
The large bear started to walk across the floor.

What happened next was a very big surprise,
A stream of tears came flowing from his eyes.

He had not eaten for days and was looking for some bread,
Neither had he slept and needed a place to rest his head.

I realized I was wrong about the thoughts in my mind,
The bear needed help and it was my duty to be kind.

I made the bear some toast covered in strawberry jelly,
Then he poured a pot of honey down his mouth and into his belly.

I took him to my room and he jumped into my bed,
He slept until morning, and then again he was ready to be fed.

After breakfast he went back to his new favorite chair,
He lifted me on to his lap and together we sat there.

I realized something about that big old scary bear,
He just needed a friend, and it was God who sent him here.

There was a lesson in this that I will never forget,
Always be kind to strangers, even a bear who needs a place to sit.

Hebrews 13:2 Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

It was getting late and in her comfy bed our friend Suzy lay,
She snuggled up with her covers and began to pray.

For Christmas, she had a single request to our God above,
She wanted to share the meaning of Christmas love.

As quickly as her prayer ended, Suzy closed her eyes,
But what happened next was a most unexpected surprise.

Hark, a gleaming angel appeared at the foot of her small bed,
As a brilliant light shined, young Suzy lifted her head.

The angel spoke with a gentle but firm voice,
Assuring Suzy that her prayer request was an excellent choice.

The angel exclaimed that a grumpy ghost would soon appear,
But the Holy Ghost of God will be with you and there is nothing to fear.

As quickly as the angel had appeared, it disappeared into the night,
Yet inside her, Suzy’s heart experienced a Special Glowing Light.

Suddenly with a shrill and a shriek a grumpy ghost did appear,
As it approached Suzy, she could feel a staleness in the air.

The ghost wasted no time in speaking its mind,
Snarling at Suzy, hoping weakness it would find.

The ghost challenged Suzy about the true meaning of Christmas,
Drawing closer and closer so she would become restless.

The ghost was about to be met with its own Christmas surprise,
As the Light in Suzy’s heart began to arise.

Quickly a question came forth from the terror, “Dear girl, will you skip Christmas if I give you a toy?
Suzy replied, “It will only remind me of the gifts three wise men laid before a Special Baby Boy.”

“Silly girl, will it make you happy to open gifts placed beneath an artificial tree?”
Suzy responded, “It will only remind me of the gift the Baby Boy gave me when He died on a tree at Calvary.”

Yes, young girl, but you are on the naughty list and don’t even deserve clothes.”
Suzy simply replied, “It’s all about grace because after He died, that Baby Boy arose.”

The ghost realized that by little Suzy it had been beat.
It wanted to leave quickly so it wouldn’t have to wallow in its defeat.

A new child it would find and press with its horrid and grumpy cruelness,
Desperately wanting to ruin some young child’s Christmas.

What happened next shocked Suzy as much as it did the ghastly ghoul,
She leaped out of her soft bed and spoke more brilliantly than a polished jewel.

“Dear ghost, before you leave I’m going to help you have a Merry Christmas.”
“You can try to scare every children in the world, but why not enjoy the holiday with us?”

The ghost stopped and a true sadness did appear on its face,
Somewhere in time the ghost had forgotten its place.

“Dear ghost, you don’t have to terrorize us any longer…
“Sing and dance with us and your heart will grow stronger.”

After that, Suzy received a Christmas gift bigger than she could have ever dreamt.
Our ghastly intruder smiled as he wept.

He realized that in all things we get to make our own choice,
So why not join Suzy on Christmas and rejoice?

The next day the two celebrated Christmas together and shared a ghost story,
But this one was extra special, because it was about the Holy Ghost and His glory.

So Suzy got the gift she had prayed for, and our new ghost friend did too.
What is it you want for Christmas, and is it something that will bring out the best in you?

I will never be an astronaut who travels into space,
But if I had a rocket ship, I would go to a special place.

I would fly to the moon as fast as I could go,
I would land on its surface, but then I would take it slow.

I would want to know the moon intimately in my heart,
Step-by-step, I would explore each part.

But I realize that I don’t have to be an astronaut to go to the moon,
I can simply close my eyes, and I will be there soon.

I will dream about it’s beautiful face,
And even during my sleep, my heart will race.

But dreams are meant to be larger than belief,
They are gifts from above that cannot be stolen by the craftiest thief.

They are mine to behold in all their amazing glory,
They are my life, composed by sleep into a beautiful story.

So in this dream, I shall take a palette of colors and a brush,
Slowly I will paint the moon without any rush.

I will show the moon something it has never known,
I will paint it beautiful colors of every tone.

I will give it trees and a crystal blue stream,
I can do what I want, because it is my dream.

I will paint flowers and plants of every kind,
If the moon can think, my art will blow its mind.

But as I ponder what I desire,
In me is rising a different fire.

I don’t need to paint the moon today,
Because it is already beautiful in its own special way.

If I painted it with purple and bright pink,
The way I know the moon inside of me would sink.

The colors of the moon aren’t about a certain hue,
It’s about the color that it puts inside you.

The moon will always be special to me,
The way it sits there in space makes me feel free.

I want to look at it during the pitch black night,
To me, this is pure delight.

So I must pinch myself so that I will wake,
Because if I continue to paint the moon, it will seem fake.

I shall wake up and walk out on to the deck,
I will lift my eyes at the sky and enjoy that beautiful speck.

It belongs to me until it fades into the morning light,
But we will meet once again tomorrow night.

You are mine always, and I am forever yours,
I will enjoy you as I take walks along the sandy shores.

I will forever hold you close to me,
And every night your beauty I shall see.

Thank you moon for being you,
And forever and always I will be true.

For those who have read a poem or two with their precious time,
They may think of poetry as something that is read with a rhyme.

But today I am here to tell you that poetry is something more than you might believe,
In truth we are all poets, when through life’s various feelings and emotions we conceive.

Poetry is a walk along a sunset beach with someone you love,
It is holding them tight and staring at the night sky above.

Poetry is that special day at the pet store,
And getting a new puppy, then with him walking out the door.

It is that day when you meet a good friend for coffee at a cafe,
And before you know it, you have shared your life till the end of the day.

It is getting lost in the woods and having to roam,
Then suddenly finding a bright path that leads you home.

Sometimes poetry is complete chaos that makes your heart beat fast,
Or going to an amusement park and having a blast.

Sometimes it’s even going to a scary movie that makes you shiver
and shake,
Or spending a day in a fishing boat on a beautiful lake.

You see, poetry is in everyone on the face of the earth,
It is with us even before the time of our birth.

Just ask any mother who has carried a child in her womb,
That baby is poetry while early on in her mind thoughts of it loom.

But there is one thing that poetry is not,
When we refuse to experience life and out of it love we blot.

This is true because poetry must be felt,
And without life’s poetry, our senses would melt.

So whether you write poetry with a pen or your heart,
Just remember that you have always been a poet from the start.

You were designed for experience and joy,
Don’t ever let anyone try to take it with an evil ploy.

Live each day with purpose, hope, and zest,
And live poetry in your dreams at night when you rest.

As I close, I have one last thing to say,
And I hope you will take it in without delay.

Always have faith, hope, and love,
And in you poetry will always shine brighter than the stars above.

You are someone special each and every moment of everyday,
You are a poet, and nobody can ever take that away.

The tide rose as I slowly walked along the beach,
The waves crashed, but to me they could not reach.

I slowly walked along the coast,
And thought to myself about the things that mattered most.

You see, I realized something that very day,
And to all who would read, it has given me something to say.

Just as the powerful waves were quickly broken and forced back into the ocean,
Life also works in such a complex, yet sometimes simple motion.

Many things must happen for the waves to rise so tall,
The moon is so far away, but its forces lift the waters so high until they fall.

But such are our lives as well,
We continually grow until beneath the ground we dwell,

However, just as the waves gradually rise,
The same is true about our lives.

The truth is that a wave does not care that in the end it will crash along the shore,
It moves forward in its glory, rushing forward till it is broken and exists no more.

And this day I realized that I should live my life the same way,
Growing and allowing myself to rise each day.

Sure one day I will cease to exist,
But I refuse to be forgotten in the mist.

I will push myself until my very last breath of air,
And live each day without any fear.

I will take each day as a gift of grace,
And attempt to make the world around me a better place.

So to life, I understand that sometimes you may bring a hurricane,
But even when you do your worst, I will walk through the pain.

I am not afraid to cry,
To believe I should would be a lie.

I will accept the things I cannot control,
And let my life continue to roll.

And when I have reached the end of my path,
My body may be still, but my soul will continue to laugh.

You see, when a wave crashes it is not really dead,
But back into the ocean it is fed.

It lives on forever and a day,
The same is true even when in the ground we lay.

Because when we have lived, conquered, and given our love,
We live on in the hearts of others above.

So as they go about their daily walk through the storm,
Part of me walks with them and exists within their form.

I have conquered fear,
The storm has been defeated, and forever in the heavens I will cheer.

There was a man named Noah who found grace in the eyes of the Lord,
He was called up to build a massive ship, so God’s chosen could gather aboard.

It was to be built due to the corruption of man,
Despite their failings, God had a perfect plan!

Noah was commanded to make the Ark out of gopher wood,
Three-hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high it stood.

Three levels, with a door on the side,
And a window to someday look out for land that is dry.

The ark was loaded with male and female of each unclean animal kind,
And if it was clean, there were seven that would not be left behind.

As the time of a great rain drew near,
The Lord gave Noah a warning that he had seven days left to prepare.

Noah was six-hundred years old on that day it began to pour,
His wife, sons Shem, Ham, Japheth, and their wives joined him instead of watching from the shore!

It stormed so hard that even the mountains were buried,
But our Lord protected those that the Ark had carried!

For one-hundred and fifty days the crew did sail,
But God remembered them, and sent a wind, and over the waters it did prevail.

The waters were calmed, and the Ark came to a rest,
At Mount Ararat the massive boat and it’s crew were able to nest.

Now it was time to send out some birds to search,
A raven and dove were sent out to look for a place to perch.

The raven went to and fro, as it searched from the sky.
The dove however, returned after finding nowhere to land that was dry.

Seven days later, Noah once again sent out the dove,
But this time, it was carrying an olive leaf as it approached from above!

Seven day later, he sent out the dove once more,
This time it did not return, so it was safe to assume it had found shore.

Soon after, God spoke to Noah, letting him know it was time to leave the Ark,
Noah’s family, and the creatures aboard, would have a new journey in which they would embark.

Noah ended this long journey with a sweet offering to the Lord,
And God promised never to curse the world again for its discord.

God blessed Noah, along with his sons, and told them to be fruitful and multiply,
Then sealed His covenant to man with a beautiful rainbow in the sky.

Genesis 9:13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.

I wake up each morning with a stretch and a yawn,
Each day is an adventure, from daybreak to dawn.

Sometimes I’m with people, or even with my furry pals,
But always in the presence of the God, whose love never fails.

Often people wonder how Someone can be there that they can’t
see,
But His reflection exists each moment upon you and me.

He is the Creator of every rock that you see,
And Father of the smallest seed to the tallest tree.

Our Loving God may seem invisible to some,
To me, to believe such a thing would make me feel numb.

I know there are moments that we have all felt alone,
Maybe it’s because we have chosen to put His omnipresence in a zone.

He is with us 365 days a year, 7days a week, and 24 hours a day,
And get this, He can even hear us before and after we pray.

Now don’t get me wrong, it’s not always easy to put our finger on His presence,
We must use our faith as a looking glass to experience His luminescence.

We must believe He is there and willing to hold us tight,
Even in those moments when we feel we are about to lose the fight.

God was with Daniel in the lions’ den.
God was with Joseph in prison, after he refused to sin.

God was with Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego in the fiery
blaze.
God was with Noah as he was mocked by the people for many days.

God was even with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden where they fell,
When they unexpectedly unlocked a pathway to death and hell.

In that moment, He promised His Son who would undo the blame,
And upon Himself, would take our shame.

You see, we are never forgotten, alone, or even able to escape and hide,
Just ask Jonah who was swallowed by a great fish and taken for a ride.

He is there always and forever with a loving presence greater than time and space,
All you have to do is reach out and experience His eternal embrace.

Matt 28:19-20 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

To Amram and Jochebed there was born a godly child,
A prophet, a son, and upon him God certainly smiled.

Moses was his name and he would become the most humble man,
For God instilled this in him as part of His perfect plan.

One day Pharaoh became angry and demanded the Hebrew sons be thrown into the river,
But wait, our Lord would use this as part of His plan to deliver.

Jochebed could only hide her precious child for awhile,
She placed him in a basket and sent him down the Nile.

Pharaoh’s daughter found the babe at the river bank,
When baby Moses wept, her heart sank.

She called upon her maid to help, and they raised Moses without shame,
A judge and a prince of Egypt our young friend became.

Moses spied an Egyptian hurting one of his Hebrew brothers,
He killed the offender, and hid his body in the sand from the others.

To the land of Midian did our fearful prince flee,
There he married Zipporah when she filled his heart with glee.

One day to Mount Horeb he took his father-in-law Jethro’s flock,
What he saw next would give him a shock.

Out of a burning bush did the angel of the Lord appear,
God made His instructions to Moses very clear.

He was to go back to Egypt and free the children of God,
To Moses a sign was given, when a living serpent became of his rod.

Moses was reunited with his brother Aaron who would help be his voice,
You see, Moses couldn’t speak well and God did not give Aaron a choice.

On to Egypt did the two brothers go,
They made their request, but Pharaoh said, “NO!”

Oh how did Pharaoh make a great blunder,
God reached out His hand against Egypt with great wonder.

For ten plagues against the Egyptians would unfold,
Let’s learn them in order in which they are told.

Water into blood was the first plague the Egyptians would have to bear,
Then masses of frogs came because Pharaoh would still not hear.

Next. the land was infested with lice, and later swarms of flies,
Pharaoh made promises to let the people go, but they were only lies.

The next two plagues to come were the dead livestock and boils,
Still the people were not freed from Pharaoh’s coils.

Then came the plague of hail and fire,
This did not change Pharaoh’s evil desire.

Locusts came and swarmed the land,
Pharaoh continued to lie and did not fear God’s hand.

The ninth plague was darkness over Egypt, which made Pharaoh’s anger burn,
He bid dear Moses to take the Hebrew people and never to return.

This again was a lie that Pharaoh told,
So would come the final plague that would be the most bold.

The plague of the firstborn would our Lord bring,
Oh how on the land of Egypt this deadly plague would sting.

The Hebrews were protected through the blood of the lamb over their door,
A symbol of Jesus Christ, for this was His war.

At midnight God smote the firstborn, including Pharaoh’s son,
The Egyptian ruler was broken and declared the Lord’s battle won.

The child of Israel were finally set free,
Then Pharaoh’s heart hardened and he chased them to the Red Sea.

God instructed Moses to stretch out his hand and the waters parted,
The Hebrews passed through, but Pharaoh refused to be outsmarted.

Into the sea did the Egyptian army rush with all their might,
God tore off their chariot wheels and quickly ended the fight.

For the second time Moses stretched out his hand over the sea,
The waters drowned the Egyptians giving them no chance to flee.

The women danced over the battle that was won.
Great glory was given to God the Son.

Fun Facts:

The name Moses means “to draw out”, which is exactly what we see Moses doing throughout his life (Exo 2:10).

Moses was the most meek and humble natural man to walk the face of the earth during his lifetime, which is likely one of the reasons God chose him (Num 12:3).

Early this morning I opened my eyes,
Walked outside to behold the beautiful skies.

The sun had risen and the world around me began to shine,
This day a gift, both yours and mine.

It is up to each one of us to choose how it will unfold,
Some may relax, but others may be more bold.

Whatever we choose, keep this in mind,
Whatever we seek, is what we will find.

Consider it a new opportunity to light a path for others,
Giving our absolute best to our sisters and brothers.

Just as the sun has risen to brighten our day,
We have the opportunity to shine like a beautiful ray.

The world is filled with darkness and gloom,
But from the tiniest spark, a wildfire can bloom.

We can be like a smoldering flicker of light,
Encouraging others and offering them sight.

Together we can glisten, even into the night,
While bringing in others to join in our delight.

Darkness has its purpose, just as all things do,
But it is better when it exists outside of you.

We are called by God to be a light in this world,
Glistening at others, with our hope and positivity being hurled.

A chance to radiantly brighten what the enemy was trying to hide,
And reminding those struggling, that they have someone by their side.

Just remember that our light comes from above,
We are lamps to others, emitting His love.

So let’s illuminate a path through this magnificent day,
And together lift up each other in how we live and pray.

Matt 5:14-16 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.