Congratulations Graduates...Believe in the Promise

Believe in the Promise

Little girl growing up all alone,
I want you to know you are not alone
It doesn't matter where you are.
From anywhere in the universe,
You can see the stars.
Your destiny is not determined by race
Or the beauty of your face.
It is not determined by station or place.
Your dreams can never be erased.
Little boy,
What God has for you can never be destroyed.
It's hard not to be discouraged by what you see,
But hold onto your dignity.
It doesn't matter what others think.
You may feel like you're going to sink,
But as long as you believe in yourself,
You will always have something left.
In spite of your mistakes,
Know you have what it takes.
God can fix what is broken in two.
Keep believing in you.
Believe, believe,
Believe, believe,
That God will lift you up high;
Give you wings to fly
Beyond the highest stars.
He will always be right where you are.
Believe that he can remove your doubts and fears,
Dry every falling tear,
He will be your guide,
Always be by your side.
Don't be discouraged.
He will give you courage
To endure.
Your future is secure.
Stand in the knowledge
That he will see you through college.
Don't worry about tuition.
He has promised to bring
all your dreams into fruition.
His everlasting favor and grace
Is not confined by  place.
You have got to know
It will follow you where ever you go.
This is his promise to you.
Believe, believe,
Believe, believe,
And it is yours to receive.
What is yours by his design and plan
Cannot be taken by any man.
What God places in your hands
No one can take.
He makes no mistakes.
Believe, believe,
Believe, believe
He will do what he said he would do
He will always keep his promise to you.

copyright Patricia Newman-Harris
from book, Living the Dream

In honor of Poetry Month..Poem from my book Matters of the Heart

You Wrote a Song for Me

You told me our love would never grow old
It would be our own little pot of gold.
You said if I would always put you first,
You would quench my every thirst
You said you would be the only one
Who could ignite my eternal flame
Just by speaking your name.
Ours was a song of love we designed
Written in perfect time.
Like a musician's special touch on a guitar he loves so much,
Our love was a tender
song of  sweet surrender.
You told me we could do anything,
Conquer anything,
Sail through any kind of weather,
Together.
The words you spoke were only lines well-rehearsed,
Random verse,
Vain recitations from the top of your mind;
Having no rhythm or rhyme,
Hallow words spoken from lying lips,
That I once passionately kissed.
You wrote a song of love just for me,
But someone else learned the melody.

From Matters of the Heart
published by  Create Space, 2010

He Did it All for Me on Calvary

Jesus Did it All on Calvary

  

He came unto his own, but they knew him not.
Tho, miracle after miracle he performed
He was rebuked and scorned

No one knows the hurt.

No one knows the pain
that comes from being rejected
again and again.
They would not believe.
Such love they could not conceive.
His ways were higher,
His understanding greater.
Though the intent of man’s heart, he could see,
He chose not to forsake his destiny.
He carried the burden of the world to save the lost
He paid the cost
On Calvary's cross
Oh what cost he paid
That we might be saved.
He didn't have to let it be
He chose to die for you and me
No one could ever love us more
No one could ever love us more
He came unto his own, but they knew him not.
Tho, miracle after miracle he performed
He was rebuked and scorned
No one knows the hurt.
No one knows the pain
That comes from being rejected again and again.
Though the intent of man’s heart, he could foresee,
He chose not to forsake his destiny.
He carried the burden of the world to save the lost
He paid the cost
On Calvary
He died for you and for me
No one could love us more.
Surely, no one could love us more.

Copyright 2003 by P. Newman-Harris

Poetry Month Easter Poem--Time Stood Still on Calvary's Hill-It Had to Be

Time stood still

On Calvary’s hill

The Angels had tears in their eyes

The day he was crucified.

To see the one they loved so

Beaten from head to toe

It was hard to watch him endure

What he had to endure

But they knew it had to be.

If we were to live eternally,

It had to be

In that final hour,

He could have cried why me?

Father, why me?

He could have begged for mercy

But he knew it had to be

No one else would have paid such a price

He became a living sacrifice
He laid down his life

For you and me

He knew it had to be

He suffered and died

Was unjustly crucified.

Time stood still

On Calvary’s hill

Oh that he didn’t have to suffer

That he didn’t have to die

He could have asked why,

But he knew it had to be.

It had to be

If we were to live eternally

It had to be.

Would that you would see

Just how much he cared.

He willing placed himself there

On the cross

To save a world that was lost.

No one else would have given their life.

No one else would have paid such a price

But he loved us so much

He died for us

He knew it had to be.

In order for us to have life,

And have it more abundantly,

He knew it had to be

It had to be

It had to be.
He knew he had to die
So, he never asked why
He willingly gave his life
For us he made the sacrifice
Time stood still
On Calvary's Hill

copyright P. Newman-Harris

Spread Your Wings and Fly

Spread Your Wings and Fly

Years may bring tears

And unmatched  fears,

But to every season

There is a rhyme or reason

Every mountain holds a different view,

Another facet of you.

In every valley of pain,

There is opportunity for gain.

Life is a tapestry

Woven intricately.

We can’t change our history,

But we can redefine what is to be.

From the hardships we endure,

We can create a purposeful future.

But in order to walk into today,

We have to throw the past away.

With a newness of mind,

Peace will be ours to find.

We can begin again.

There is always a second wind.

God has given us the key to something more.

Just open the door

And walk into the future.

The past is as fragile as glass.

It can make us or break us in two.

It all depends on what we do.

It is time to forget.

Forget the regrets,

The heartaches,

The mistakes

For there to be a renewing of mind,

They must be left behind.

Those doubts that have kept you 

From being free,

Cast them into the sea.

There is no need to fear.

Victory is near.

Beautiful butterfly,

Wipe the tears from your eyes.

Lift your head to the skies.

You don’t have to cry.

Spread your wings and fly

My child, spread your wings and fly!

Copyright Patricia Newman-Harris

Celebration of National Poetry Month

Inspirational Poem by one of my favorite poets:

Still I Rise
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

Dr. Maya Angelou

elebrate...National Poetry Month

The Lamb

BY WILLIAM BLAKE

Little Lamb who made thee 

         Dost thou know who made thee 

Gave thee life & bid thee feed. 

By the stream & o'er the mead;

Gave thee clothing of delight,

Softest clothing wooly bright;

Gave thee such a tender voice,

Making all the vales rejoice! 

         Little Lamb who made thee 

         Dost thou know who made thee 

         Little Lamb I'll tell thee,

         Little Lamb I'll tell thee!

He is called by thy name,

For he calls himself a Lamb: 

He is meek & he is mild, 

He became a little child: 

I a child & thou a lamb, 

We are called by his name.

         Little Lamb God bless thee. 

         Little Lamb God bless thee.

For a list of websites to reference to share the celebration of National Poetry Month in the classroom.

see:  http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/calendar-activities/april-national-poetry-month-20478.html