AN ODE

The spacious firmament on high ,

With all the blue ethereal sky ,

And spangled heavens ,a shining frame ,

Their great Original proclaim .

The unwearied sun from day to day

Does his Creator’s power display ,

And publishes to every land

The work of an almighty Hand .

Soon as the evening shades prevail ,

The moon takes up the wondrous tale ,

And nightly ,to the listening earth ,

Repeats the story of her birth ;

Whilst all the stars that round her burn,

And all the planets in their turn ,

Confirm the tidings as they roll ,

And spread the truth from pole to pole

What though in solemn silence all

Move round the dark terrestrial ball ?

What though nor real voice nor sound

Amid their radiant orbs be found ?

In reason’s ear they all rejoice ,

And utter forth a glorious voice ,

For ever singing as they shine ,

“The Hand that made us is divine ! ”

Dark Shadows Fall in the Lives of us All :

Dark Shadows Fall in the Lives of us All :

Sickness and sorrow

come to us all ,

But through it we grow

and learn to stand tall ,

Far trouble is part and parcel of life

and  no man can grow

without struggle and strife ,

And the more we endure

with patience and grace

 The stronger we grow

and the more we can face ,

And the more we can face ,

the greater our love ,

And with love in our hearts

we are more conscious of

The pain and the sorrow

in lives everywhere ,

So it is through trouble

that we learn how to share .

Jan Bagwell

THE SEEKERS

One asked a sign from God ;and day by day

The sun arose in pearl ,in scarlet set ,

Each night the stars appeared in bright array ,

Each morn the thirsting grass with dew was wet .

The corn failed not its harvest ,nor the vine .

And yet he saw no sign .

One longed to hear a prophet ;and he strayed

Through crowded streets ,and by the open sea .

He saw men send their ships for distant trade ,

And build for generations yet to be .

He saw the farmer sow his acres wide ,

But went unsatisfied .

One prayed a sight of heaven ;and erewhile

He saw a workman at his noontime rest .

He saw one dare for honor ,and the smile

Of one who held a babe upon her breast;

At dusk two lovers walking hand in hand ;

But did not understand .

Jan Bagwell

Courage To Live :

Courage o Live :

To those who have tried and seemingly have failed ,

Reach out ,dear Lord , and comfort them today ;

For those whose hope has dimmed ,whose faith has paled,

Lift up some lighted heavenly torch , I pray .

They are so frightened ,Lord ;reach out a hand .

They are so hurt and helpless ; be their friend .

Baffled and blind ,they do not understand –

They think this dark and tangled road the end .

Oh ,touch to flame their hope that has burned low ,

And strike with fire faith,s ashes that are dead .

Let them walk proudly once again ,and go

Seeking the sure and steadfast light ahead .

Help them to move among their fellow men

With courage to live ,courage to try again .

Jan Bagwell

Because I’m Human

Because I’m Human
Because I am not perfect ,
My best intentions seen 
To sometimes miss fillment ,
Like the texture of a dream ,
And I wage a daily battle ,
That I very often lose ,
Between the things that matter,
And the ones I seen to choose .

Because I am no angel ,
I am easy to mislead ,
In spite of what I know is right ,
I’m swayed by pride and greed .
Sometimes I think I love the world
Too much to want to leave ,
Though Eternity awaits me ,
And all that I believe ,

My free will is a problem ,
How easy it would be ,
If God made the decisions ,
And took the job from me
But in this there is no merit ,
I am very well aware ,
So I have to work for Heaven ,
Every moment I am here.

And just because I’m human ,
It might take a little long ,
To be come what I was meant to be ,
Since I’m really not that strong .
So I’ll just keep on a trying ,
and I’ll live from day to day ,
For my spirit is immortal ,
…Though my body’s made of clay ,
Jan Bagwell
Jan Bagwell

     Seek Ye the Kingdom of God

Life is a mixture of sunshine and rain ,

Good things and bad things , pleasure and pain.

We can’t have all sunshine , but it’s certainly true

There is never a cloud the sun doesn’t shine through .

So always remember that whatever betide you

The power of God is always beside you

And if friends disappoint you and plans go astray

And nothing works out in just the right way .

And you feel you have failed in achieving your goal ,

And that life wrongly placed you in an unfitting role ,

Take heart and stand tall and think who you are,

For God is your Father and no one can bar

Or keep you from reaching your desired success ,

Or withhold the joy that is yours to possess ,

For with God on your side it matters not who

Is working to keep life’s good things from you ,

For you need nothing more than God’s guidance and love

To insure you the things that you’re most worthy of .

So trust in His wisdom and follow His ways ,

And be not concerned with the world’s empty praise,

But seek first His kingdom and you will possess

The world’s greatest riches which is true happiness .

Jan Bagwell

God Bless !!

Thanks to each and every one ,  who has played a part by sharing

And caring  .And thus preparing joy  for another’s  heart .

    God is Seeking for Men

God is seeking for men in this world’s last hour ,

For men who can love-and anointed with power

Will stand in the gap ,and make up the hedge

That many in darkness of sin may be led

To Christ the Redeemer who only  can save

From the power of evil , despair and the grave  .

God is seeking for men who can sorrow and feel

For the souls He created , whom no one can heal :

The poor , broken bodies , the sin-darkened souls

With  none to deliver and none to make whole ;

The dear little children who cry in the night ,

Who long for a Saviour to bring the Light .

God called for a weapon to punish the lands

To put to the sword the work of His hands ,

And bring revelation on sin through His Word ,

That the nations far off may yet know the Lord .

But though they were punished by war’s cruel hate .

So soon they forgot their most terrible fate .

And every man wanders his own selfish way

Enjoying his pleasure and failing to pray

For the power of the Spirit that makes feeble man

An instrument , mighty to save , in the land .

O , where are the mighty , the holy and just ,

To whom God can proffer such high , noble trust ?

Where , O where are the few to stand in the hedge

To fill up the gap by a resolute pledge ,

To carry the message of power to the weak ,

The hungry ,the sick  ,the forlorn and the meek ?

My brother , my sister , won’t you be the one

To tell the glad tiding of God’s only Son ?

Think not of tomorrow and what you may lose –

A throne and a crown is for those who will choose

To follow the Lamb anywhere He  may go :

Rescuing souls out of darkness and woe ;

Leading the lost in God’s infinite plan –

Won’t you tell Him today ,”Lord , I’ll be that man.”

Jan Bagwell

God Bless