The graphics for this page come from a greeting card by Brush Dance from Sausalito, CA. I thank them for the usage and highly recommend their products. (315) 331-9030. The artist is Renee Locks.

The Lord's Psalm

Our Lord, God Almighty

and Father which art in heaven

We know that Thou are holy

and hallowed be Thy name.

It is our desire to be with Thee

and for Thy kingdom to come quickly

Our only desire is to worship Thee

and that Thy will be done.

Touch our hearts and bring harmony

in earth as it is in heaven

In the name of Your Son Jesus

give us this day our daily bread.

Our sins are constantly before us

so ask You to forgive us our debts

Even as we respond to others

as we for give our debtors.

So Lord, our faith rests in Thee

to lead us not into temptation

To fill us with Thy Spirit

and to deliver us from evil.

 

Lord of all, we bring our praise

for Thine is the kingdom

And we acknowledge your sovereignty

and power and glory forever.

Amen

Collegedale, Tennessee
August 31, 1985

---

A Prayer of Thanksgiving

Our Father, and Eternal God in Heaven

Our Creator, and giver of all life

We bring before You our gifts

in recognition of Your sovereignty

We have brought that which would purchase bread

to acknowledge that it is You who sustains life

We have brought that which gives us security

to symbolize our acceptance of the life of Jesus

We have brought that which would clothe us

to recognize You as the source of all we possess

Please accept these small tokens of our love

and have dominion in our lives

For we bring these gifts in the name of Jesus

Your exalted son and our elder brother

Amen

Dedicated to Cherilyn and David Smith
Collegedale Seventh-day Adventist Church
March 1, 1986

---

Psalm of Thanksgiving

Oh God, who is from everlasting;

whose days have neither beginning nor end.

How marvelous are your ways;

how mysterious and simple your methods.

I felt battered and abused,

my name was dragged through the courtyard.

My bitterness deepened and spread like cancer,

it bubbled forth, yea, like a geyser.

In my anguish I heard a voice,

one tender and filled with compassion.

I cried out my plight,

and expressed the secrets of my heart.

On that very day you answered,

I faced my anger in the vineyard.

Oh Lord, Thou knowest me like a twin;

my secret needs I cannot conceal.

That which seemed impossible yesterday,

became but a fading memory today.

That which rent and tore me asunder,

has stitched and healed.

That which dragged my soul,

has become a soothing balm.

Oh Lord, Father, Son and Spirit,

hot intimate are your attentions.

Oh God, majesty of the universe,

how marvelous are your ways.

Dedicated to Adeny Schmidt
November 12, 1993
Riverside, California

---

A Psalm of Science

Oh, Lord God, Creator of the universe

be praise and honor forever

The works of Thy hand are before me

reminding of man's feeble efforts

The computer has given the ability to calculate

but it does not help one meditate

The telescope probes the edges of the universe

but it has not revealed Thy face

The microscope explores an invisible world

but does not reveal man's soul

 

Oh, Lord God be praised forever.

The mightiest instruments have extended sight

but added nothing to man's wisdom

For in extending one aspect of knowing

others have been allowed to atrophy

Man has become efficient in transmitting

but remains feeble in receiving

So in Thy hills I come to meet Thee

to refresh my spirit and listen

Praise be to Thee, Oh my God

my strength and my redeemer

Dedication: Mary Elam
September 12, 1986
Gatlinburg, Tennessee

From John V. Taylor, The Go-Between God quoted in In His Image, Paul Brand and Philip Yancey

---

A Prayer

Our Father who art in heaven

Wonderful Counselor, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace

Worthy of honor, awe and praise

our Creator, Sustainer, and Savior;

 

Hear oh Lord, our Prayers

and renew a right spirit within us;

 

Forgive us wherein we have been

arrogant, self-centered, and self-righteous

insensitive to the needs of others

for acting on our own and not depending on Thee

Forgive us

for being harsh, judgmental, and unforgiving

for not feeding the hungry and giving drink to the thirsty,

inviting in strangers, clothing the needy,

and visiting the sick and enprisioned

for not sharing the light of the world to those in our midst

 

Yet, even in our unworthiness,

Jesus, has taught us to come boldly before You;

 

We are thankful

for the life you have given each of us

for supplying our daily needs for food, clothing and shelter

for the forgiveness of our sins

Thankful

for Your mercy and understanding of our human condition

for companionship, fellowship, and families

for salvation so freely offered

 

We await the words of him,

You have ordained to address us this hour

Grant him clarity of thought, and crispness of expression

Unplug our ears to hear, granting us understanding

Send your Spirit to infiltrate* our souls

satisfying our individual needs;

 

These things I pray for myself

and on behalf of this congregation

As I have been trained from a child

in the Name of Jesus.

La Sierra University Church
August 17, 1996
*My friends chided me about this word, perhaps I should have used permeate. Was this a Freudian slip, or insight?

---

Garden Meeting

A flash of light caught my eye,

a ruby iridescence drew me.

Oh so suddenly you appeared,

unexpectedly there you were.

Your presence heralded spring,

the dawning of a new era.

Oh how petite you are,

so much compact life.

Flower after flower you examine,

extracting the secrets of each.

Daily I yearn to see you,

and watch your charming ways.

You draw near and examine me,

seeing through me, I'm sure.

You study me intently,

but what do you learn?

Back to your nest you return,

back to your private world.

Oft, I'd reach out and touch you,

to draw you near to me.

But in different worlds we live,

only this secret garden we share.

So I must be ever satisfied,

refreshed by your fleeting sight.

What daily brings you back again?

what attraction lures you?

Could it be that you too are drawn?

that you too yearn for closeness?

What thoughts does your graceful head contain?

what secrets could you reveal?

Alas, the citrine sun has gone,

the season of change has come.

Your nestling has grown big,

he's larger than you by far.

What will the autumn bring?

where in winter, will you go?

 

The emerald shades that clothe you,

the ebon accents of your crown,

are in memory growing dim,

fading, fading with the sun.

Will I but a minuscule memory be,

of a moment in the garden shared?

You are gone with the flowers,

and the garden wears a wintry coat.

Alas, we couldn't span the chasm,

and bridge the void between.

Ah, but the memory does remain,

thoughts of what might have been!

 

Yet, in that twilight memory,

of those moments spent together,

A warm reflection has remained,

a sense of the mystery we've exchanged,

I, a better man have become,

a richer, deeper life I've lived.

---

Bioprayer

Oh God Almighty, high above all creation

Our Creator, Sustainer and Salvation

How wonderfully You've sculpted our frames

How intricately You've assembled our organs

designed glands, routed nerves and started systems

Weaving each into the tapestry of life

Humbly we bow and acknowledge Thee

As we accept our daily bread from Your hand.

Our thoughts return to our Eden home

And recall the origin of human life

Of bodies created for walking, skipping and running

For sketching, singing and dancing

We reflect on ingestion, respiration and metabolism

Thoughts of lipids, carbohydrates, proteins

Of enzymes, hormones and essential fatty acids

Of degradation, catabolism and biosynthesis.

 

But the gift of life is more than body and breath

More than being born, maturing and dying

You've infused each of us with a need for others

For community, female and male, child and adult

You've incorporated a need to create and procreate

A need for family, colleagues, and friends

Specially bless those gathered 'round this table

Who will share these earthly bounties.

 

Yet, life extends beyond our social domain

To a life that's created within our brains

The ability to dream, plan and analyze

To imagine, perceive and transcend

These nutrients we are about to consume

Create neurons and neuro-transmitters

Available for complex thoughts and perspectives -

An intellectual life beyond our being.

 

Still, life is more than body, community and mind

You've created within us an ache for Thee

A nagging questioning- a quiet restlessness

Drawing us to perceive Your hand at work

An attraction to salvation freely offered

A yearning for a better today and a life beyond

A spiritual window often dim and sometimes opaque

Gives glimpses of Your love and action.

 

As we accept from Thy hand our daily bread

Humbly we bow before Thee

How wonderfully You've sculpted our frames

How intricately You've assembled our organs

Oh God Almighty, high above all creation

Creator, Sustainer and Salvation

Bless this our daily bread, we pray

and sanctify our lives thus fed

 

amen.

---

Tao

A promise solemly given

is soon broken

The fruit matures

and rots on the ground

Riverside, CA
October, 1997

---

Tao-II

A spider weaves a web

the caterpillar a cocoon

One, to annihilate

the other, to metamorphose

Riverside, CA
November, 1997

---

Sabbath Psalm

O Lord, what a blessed Sabbath

a day of beauty and rest

Today I strolled with You in a garden

A Japanese garden on a hill.

 

 

I feel a gentle breeze eddying about me

Your Spirit caressing my cheek

I hear Your gentle voice in the waterfall

the babbling brook echoes Your words

A shimmering maple delights my eyes

a red maple reminds me of Your gift

A gentle lady retrieves a piece of refuse

and I too improve another site

The Koi are swimming gracefully

reminding me of your perseverance

Quietness, gentleness, and peace are here

"be still, and know that I am Your God."

 

Certainly You have been with me here today

strolling together in this sanctuary

O Lord, what a blessed Sabbath

a day of reflection and rest.

Portland, OR
July 21, 2001

---

L'Chaim

 

Lord, I have known you from birth

conceived to grow daily in your grace,

I sing praises to your name

from dawn I offer my devotion,

You are lover, creator and mother

and the wind of my soul,

 

All day I speak of your love

reinterpreting your gifts to me,

 

 

 

Shout, daughter of the Most High

and tell my grandchildren,

 

 

For you are spirit and life

mother of a new generation,

 

 

 

For, lo, I have been struck dumb

my breath is no longer in me,

 

 

My son attends me day and night

he gives me my salvation,

now, he carries the torch

he will light the world,

I hear your voice in the evening

I sense you're call me home,

 

 

See the sparkle in my eye

and know I'm eagerly coming,

 

 

I hear the angels singing now

Hallelujah, alleluia, amen.

Dedicated to my family
and those who suffer from pulmonary fibrosis

Riverside, California
June 23, 2001