Inspiring verses: Page 1

lmbookshop.com

Books for the mind, body and spirit

“Over the years, when faced with the adversatives and fears of life, I have

found the following quotes, poems, sayings and verse to be of great comfort.

I truly hope you also will find them uplifting.”

Inspiring verses: page 2

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with my Lord. Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life. For each scene I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand, one belonging to me and one to my Lord.

When the last scene of my life shot before me I looked back at the footprints in the sand but saw only one set of footprints and realized that they were during the lowest and saddest times of my life. That always bothered me so I questioned the Lord about my dilemma.

"Lord, You told me that when I decided to follow You, You would walk and talk with me all the way but I'm aware that during the most troublesome times of my life there was only one set of footprints. I just don't understand why, when I need You most, You would leave me."

The Lord then whispered, "My precious child, I love you and will never leave you. During your trials and testing's, when you saw only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."

Mary Stevenson

“Come to the edge,” he said.
They said, “We are afraid.”
“Come to the edge,” he said,
They came,
He pushed them…and they flew.

Guillaume Apollinair

Even though the day be laden, my path dreary and my strength small, a song keeps singing in my heart, for I know that I am Thine, I am part of thee, Thou art kin to me, and all my times are in Thy hand.

Alistair MacLean

What the caterpillar calls ‘the end of life,’
the butterfly calls ‘the beginning’

Everything will be OK in the end;

if it’s not OK, it’s not the end.

Anon

I had the blues because I had no shoes
until upon the street,
I met a man who had no feet.

An ancient Persian saying

Nobody trips over mountains. It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble. Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find you have crossed the mountain.

Anon

When I do my best

then everything that happens

is for the best

Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity

Happiness is like a butterfly, the more you chase it the more it eludes you, but if you turn your attention to other things you will find it will come and sit softly upon your shoulder.

Thoreue

Anon

God will never give you a burden that you can't handle.

So whenever you find yourself in a mess which seems impossible to resolve, take it as a compliment because

God knows you can do it

Anon

God asked..."Who will go for me? Who will extend my reach? Who, when few listen, will speak in my name? Who, when few bid welcome, will find his shelter in me? And who, when few dare follow, will walk the road I show?"

"I will," cried a small voice, "I will go for you."
Suddenly lightning flashed across the sky, thunder clashed, rolled and roared, the wind howled and screamed and the earth itself trembled. All held their breath.
God, looking and recognising the soul, smiled and said, "I know you will; you are strength and courage, you are from me, and of you I am well pleased. But this is not your time, this time belongs to another; it belongs to one who stands before me now but looks away. So I ask again, “Who will go for me?" Then, looking at me He asked, "Will you?"

Anon

What we are is Gods gift to us.

What we become is our gift to God.

The human heart can go the lengths of God.
Dark and cold we may be, but this is no winter now.
The frozen misery of centuries begins to crack, break, move.
The thunder is the thunder of the flows, the thaw,
the flood, the upstart spring.
Thank God our time is now,
when wrong comes up to meet us everywhere;
never to leave us,
Till we take the longest stride of soul man ever took.
Affairs are now soul size.
The enterprise is exploration into God.
Where are you making for?
It takes so many thousands of years to wake
but will you wake; for pity’s sake?

The castle towered above them and before them were the sands, with rocks and little pools of saltwater, and seaweed and the smell of the sea and long miles of bluish-green waves breaking for ever and ever on the beach.And oh, the cry of the seagulls! Have you heard it? Can you remember?

C.S. Lewis

Peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work, it means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.

Anon

Christopher Fry

A man was caught in a flood. Moments later, two men in a dingy came by to rescue him but the man waved them away shouting, “No, the Lord will save me!”
One hour later, three men in a boat came offering rescue but again the man insisted, “No, the Lord will save me!”
Later still a helicopter flew overhead with the two aircrew offering help yet still the man demanded, “No, the Lord will save me!”
Sadly the man drowned and when standing at the gates of heaven he pleadingly
asked St. Peter, “Why didn’t the Lord save me?”
St. Peter then replied, “For crying out loud, He sent you seven men, a dingy, a boat and a helicopter. What more do you want?”

Anon

When you walk to the edge of all the light you have and take that first step into the darkness of the unknown, you must believe that one of two things will happen; there will be solid ground for you to stand upon or you will be taught how to fly

Dr Patrick Overton

"What kind of person can best endure suffering?

He doesn't exist.

For I could handle your problems easily.

You could handle mine with a yawn.

But it didn't happen that way.

I got the ones I couldn't handle: so did you."

From Psalm 44 (adapted)

If I may hold Thy hand in the darkness, it is enough

Alistair MacLean

Your children are not your children;

they are the sons and daughters of Life longing for itself.
They come through you but are not from you;
just as they are with you they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your dreams;
for they have their own dreams.
You may house their bodies but not their souls;
for their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow.
You may strive to be like them
but seek not to make them like you;
for life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children,
the living arrows, are sent forth.
The Archer (God) sees the mark upon the path of the infinite and,
with love, trusts that His arrow may go swift and far.
Let the bows bending in the Archer's hand bring gladness;
for even as He (God) loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves the bow that is stable.

Henry Viscardi (adapted)

Find you

I asked God for strength, that I might achieve;

but was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey.

I asked for health, that I might do great things;

but was given infirmity, that I might do Gods things.

I asked for riches, that I might be happy;

but was given poverty, that I might be wise.

I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life;

but was given life, that I might enjoy all things.

I am, amongst all men, most richly blessed.

I really hope you enjoyed reading this selection of poems and verse, there are more on the next page

Back to the top

Great good is often born of one small act of kindness

Tonight, as on other nights, I am walking alone through the valley of fear. I pray, oh God, that You will hear me, for You alone know what is in my heart. Please lift me out of this valley of despair and set my soul free.

Anon

The steel of a healer is smelted in the fires of hell

Anon

'The Prophet' by Kahlil Gibran (adapted)