Hold high the Torch !

Hold High The Torch !

You did not light its glow –
,Twas given you by other hands you know .
‘Tis yours to keep it burning bright !
Yours to pass on when you no more need light:
For there are other feet that we must guide
And other forms go marching by our side :
Their eyes are watching every smile and tear .
And efforts which we think are not worthwhile
Are sometimes just the very help they need ,
Action to which their souls would give most heed :
So that in turn they’ll it hold it high
And say :”I watched someone else carry it this way .”
I think it started down its pathway bright
The day the Maker said , Let there be light .”
“Ye are the light of the world –
Go Shine For Me

Jan Bagwell

A Prayer

A Prayer

Let me work each day ;
And if the darkened hours of despair overcome me
May I not forget the strength that comforted me
In the desolation of other times .
May I still remember the bright hours that you found me ,
And I promised my God to have courage
Amid the tempests of the changing years .
Spare me from bitterness .
And from the sharp passions of unguarded moments .
May I not forget that poverty and riches are of the same spirit .
Though the world know me not ,
May my thoughts and actions be such
as shall keep me friendly with myself .
Lift my eyes from the earth ,
Forbid that I should judge others ,
Lest I condemn myself .
Let me not follow the clamor of the world ,
But walk calmly in my path .
Give me a few friends who will love me for what I am ;
And keep ever burning before my vagrant steps
The kindly light of hope .
And though age and infirmity overtake me ,
And I come not within sight of the castle of my dreams ,
Teach me still to be thankful for life ,and for time’s olden memories that are good and sweet ;
And may the evening’s twilight find me gentle still
Jan Bagwell

The Glory of God in Creation

The Glory of God in Creation

Thou art , the life and light
Of all this wondrous world we see ;
Its glow by day , its smile by night ,
Are but reflections caught from Thee .
Where’er we turn , Thy glories shine ,
And all things fair and bright are Thine

When day , with farewell beam, delays
Among the opening clouds of even ,
And we can almost think we gaze
Through golden vistas into heaven –
Those hues that make the sun’s decline
So soft , so radiant ,Lord ! are Thine .

When night , with wings of starry gloom ,
O’vershadows all the earth and skies ,
Like some dark , beauteous bird ,whose plume
Is sparkling with unnumber’d eyes –
That sacred gloom , those fires divine ,
So grand , so countless , Lord! are Thine .

When youthful Spring around us breathes ,
Thy Spirit warms her fragrant sigh ;
And every flower the Summer wreathes
Is born beneath Thy kindling eye :
Where’er we turn , Thy glories shine ,
And all things fair and bright are Thine!
Jan Bagwell

There is man on the cross

There is man on the cross

Whenever there is silence around me
By day or by night –
I am startled by a cry .
It came down from the cross –
The first time I heard it .
I went out and searched –
And found a man in the throes of crucifixion ,
And I said ,”I will take you down ,”
And I tired to take the nails out of his feet .
But he said , “Let them be
For I cannot be taken down
Until every man , every woman , and every child
Come together to take me down .”
And I said ,”But I cannot hear you cry .
What can I do ?”
And he said , “Go about the world –
Tell everyone that you meet –
There is a man on the cross .”
Jan Bagwell

Love’s strength

Measure thy life by loss instead of gain ,
Not by the wine drunk , but the wine pored forth ;
For love’s strength standeth in love’s sacifice ,
And who so suffers most hath most to give .
For labor , the common lot of man ,
Is part of the kind Creator’s plain ;
And he is a king whose brow is wet
With the pearl-gemmed crown of honest sweat .
Some glorious day , this understood ,
All toilers will be a brotherhood ,
With brain or hand the purpose is one ,
And the Master-workman , God’s own Son .
Jan Bagwell

Life's Mirror

Life’s Mirror

There are loyal hearts , there are spirits brave .
There are souls that are pure and true;
Then give to the world the best you have .

Give love ,and love to your life will flow ,
And strength in your inmost needs ;
Have faith in your work and deeds .

Give truth , and your gifts will be paid in kind .
And song a song will meet ;
And the smile that is just as sweet .

Give pity and sorrow to those who mourn ;
You will gather in flowers again
The scattered seeds from your thought out- borne
Though the sowing seemed in vain .

Far life is mirror of king and slave ,
Tis just what we are and do;
Then give to the world the best you have
And the best will come back to you
Jan Bagwell

Things I wish To Remenber

Things I Wish To Remenber

That it pays to forget those things that are behind .
That what I would do for Christ must needs be done for others.
That a good name is rather to be chosen than riches.
That the greatest thing in all the world is love .
That the way to find happiness is forget self .
That there is no happiness in things .
That a word once spoken can never be recalled .
That no suffering is too great if it contributes to the building and nurture of Christian character .
That to correct one fault in myself is greater than to correct ten in my neighbor .
That yesterday is gone forever ; tomorrow may never come ; today , only is mine .
That time is too precious to be used other than for God’s glory .
Jan Bagwell