Apron Strings

When I was young,
I often clung,
to many little things.
I'd reach up high,
again retie,
my mama's apron strings.

I sometimes did,
what mom forbid,
although she'd make it clear.
Thoughts still linger.
I remember,
through each fleeting year.

Acquainted still,
her stories thrill,
with many left untold.
I can't go back,
though mem-ries track,
to years I'd rather hold.

I'm lost in thought,
it can't be caught,
despite my futile search -
mama singing,
mama bringing,
this small boy to church.

Though I was touched,
and changed so much,
through Christ, the perfect One -
I cannot stay,
time slips away,
from all that she had done.

I try to grasp,
and hands I clasp,
around those many things -
but mem-ry strands,
slip through my hands -
just like those apron strings.

Emotions show.
There's moistness in my eyes.
I can't withhold,
though I am old,
my oft guilt-ridden cries.

Though sometimes sad,
I'm always glad,
whenever I think of -
my mama's cares,
my mama's prayers,
and her most precious love.

Jan Bagwell

God Bless!

Dear Mother

I'm writing you to tell you that I love you
Something I hardly ever do.
I never tell you enough how much I love you
and it's something I must do.
I need to let you know mother how much
You really mean to me so I'm telling you now
you mean the world to me.
I need to thank you for all you do for me.
Your unconditional love toward me means a
lot to me.
You've never turned your back
on me and I know it's something you'll
never do.
Anytime I need someone to talk to
You're always there to help me through
And anytime I need a favor you always seem
To be there, too.
There's nothing in this
world that I could do to pay you back for
all you do.
When God gave me to you,
That's the best thing he could ever do,
So this poem is dedicated to you
Because I
don't know how else to say Thank You.

Jan Bagwell

God Bless !

A Mother's Love

A Mother's Love

There are times when only a mother's love
Can understand our tears,
Can soothe our disappoints
And calm all of our fears. There are times when only a mother's love
Can share the joy we feel
When something we've dreamed about
Quite suddenly is real.
There are times when only a mother's faith
Can help us on life's way
And inspire in us the confidence
We need from day to day.
For a mother's heart and a mother's faith
And a mother's steadfast love
Were fashioned by the angels
And sent from God above.
Jan Bagwell
God Bless !
I am so blessed to still have my Mother she is 95 years old 

With Mother on Her Knees, the Devil Flees

Some demons were meeting to decide Marvin's fate.
"We have to act now; we cannot wait.
Young Marvin has sinned many times before.
We need to entice him to sin even more."

"If we keep him over on Satan's side,
Straight into Hell his soul will ride.
Yes, for Satan we can win his soul.
You know that's every demon's goal."

One demon screamed out in the meeting,
"I think we're about to take a beating!
I'm hearing something that we all hate,
So I think our meeting is a little late."

"I see Marvin's mother down on her knees,
Crying to God with desperate pleas.
She's praying, 'Please save my son tonight!
Don't let him get into a fatal fight.'"

  Marvin met up with Roger to go to a bar,
But they went to a different place by far.
"Marvin , my uncle from up north came down.
He's preaching a revival meeting in town."

"I promised my dad that I would go.
We can go to the bar later, though."
"Okay, Roger, I'll go to church with you.
We can hang out when church is through."

That night the Holy Spirit spoke to Marvin.
"You're going to Hell if you die in your sin."
  Marvin walked the aisle during altar call,
And upon his knees then Marvin did fall.

  Marvin asked Jesus to save his sinful soul
And yielded his life to God's control.
His mother's prayers were answered then,
And the demons lost and did not win.

Is there even one demon that dares
To try to defeat a mother's prayers?
When a Godly mother kneels down to pray,
The Devil just flees and goes away.
Jan Bagwell

God Bless 

This is a real life Story, Marvin and Bill Chavis , were two brothers I grew up with. {they lived two street over from me] . Bill and I were close friends. Their Mother was a Saintly woman . Every time she thought we were headed in the wrong direction , she would hold her right hand up to God and say " In name Jesus ,Devil , you won't have my children" ! { I wasn't even any relation to them . but I knew when that hand when up , we were not going any where . I came back to Easley , about 30 years later .God lead me back to same family , she was alone now . We sat and  talked about old times . She told me that day , she pray for years to see Jesus and she believed she had , and to see her family saved . { also told me she so proud that I was saved ] I said goodbye and went home , She died that night in her sleep .I was a pallbearer her at funeral. This Lady name was Mrs. Harmon Chavis ,Kathrine Street , Easley ,S.C. 

I was blessed that God put this lady in my life .Father God may we all have a Mrs. Chavis in our life .

The Law of Sowing and Reaping

There is a law we all should heed
As we live each day on this earth.
You will find it mighty indeed
But please understand it first.

It is a law that is universal,
Immense in its application.
You can be blessed by its daily rehearsal
Or doomed by its sure rotation.

The facts of this law you've already met;
It's the source of both joy and weeping.
What you sow is what you will get,
It's the Law of Sowing and Reaping.

In what circumstances will this law work?
It applies in all that you do.
Unkind words and deeds you shirk
Will surely come back to you

You will reap if you sow,
A fact that stands without doubt.
The nature of the seed that is sown
Is reproduced in the sprout.

You will reap what you sow.
Think clearly about that fact.

If heartache and sorrow you would forgo,
Be careful of how you act.

If love and respect is what you desire,
Then that is what you give out.
Choose to encourage and inspire
In whatever you speak about.

Whatever you sow, you will get more.
In addition, then multiplication.
Blessings or curses are in store
Unhindered by limitation.

We shall reap if we do not lose heart
So keep on doing what's right.
Pursue what is good and do your part
Keeping this law in sight.

Jan Bagwell

God Bless !

"Poems for the common man" 

I feel compelled to write my rhymes.
But I have longed, so many times,
For just a touch of eloquence,
Instead of my incompetence
At being able to express
Majestic thoughts with great finesse.
Though maybe not the way I plan,
My poems are for the Common Man,
With phrases such as "saved by grace,"
And seeing Jesus "face to face."
Just simple words to touch a life,
And help to heal heart-rending strife.

I'm sure the critics will agree
That no great poet I'll ever be.
Yet still I'll write about my Lord,
And seek His blessing as reward.
For I could have no greater gain
Than knowing I have eased some pain,
Or helped someone who's gone astray,
To come to Christ, the only way.
And so words flow-each one a prayer
That God might somehow use, somewhere,
To do His will, and fill a need.
Ah, that would bring me joy indeed! 

Flowers

Flowers preach to us if we will hear:--
The rose saith in the dewy morn,
I am most fair;
Yet all my loveliness is born
Upon a thorn.
The poppy saith amid the corn:
Let but my scarlet head appear
And I am held in scorn;
Yet juice of subtle virtue lies
Within my cup of curious dyes.
The lilies say: Behold how we
Preach without words of purity.
The violets whisper from the shade
Which their own leaves have made:
Men scent our fragrance on the air,
Yet take no heed
Of humble lessons we would read.

But not alone the fairest flowers:
The merest grass
Along the roadside where we pass,
Lichen and moss and sturdy weed,
Tell of His love who sends the dew,
The rain and sunshine too,
To nourish one small seed.

Jan Bagwell

God Bless !

 

Focus

Don't focus on the outcome,
focus on the process.

 

Change a life, give a friend a Bible

I Will Be Looking For You

I Will Be Looking For You

I'll be Looking for You
When the trumpet shall sound
and I rise from the ground...
as the Heavens depart like a scroll;
When I sail through the air
I'll remember this prayer;
For I'm praying today for your soul.

I'll be looking for you
when life's journey is through
and all burdens have vanished away.
Now, I'm asking the Lord
and my whole heart is poured
in this prayer I am praying today.

Will you meet me someday
in that Home far away...
with no heartache nor sorrow to bear?
In those Mansions Sublime...
May yours be next to mine.
If we never meet here...meet me there.

Jan Bagwell

God Bless !

If we only had eyes to see and ears to hear and wits to understand, we would know that the Kingdom of God in the sense of holiness, goodness, beauty is as close as breathing and is crying out to born both within ourselves and within the world; we would know that the Kingdom of God is what we all of us hunger for above all other things even when we don’t know its name or realize that it’s what we’re starving to death for. The Kingdom of God is where our best dreams come from and our truest prayers. We glimpse it at those moments when we find ourselves being better than we are and wiser than we know. We catch sight of it when at some moment of crisis a strength seems to come to us that is greater than our own strength. The Kingdom of God is where we belong. It is home, and whether we realize it or not, I think we are all of us homesick for it.”