In the Spirit of Christmas-Great Is His Name

Jesus:  The Greatest Gift of Christmas

To those who remember why Christmas is special to us
Before we buy gifts and make a holiday fuss
We celebrate our Savior's birth
Because we know why he came to earth
We sing, we sing
Hallelujah, to Christ the King
Oh come let us adore him
Oh come let us adore him
We bow before his feet with gifts of praise and adoration
For glorious and divine is his creation
In all the earth
Oh come let us adore him
Oh come let us adore him
For great is his name in all the earth.
Oh come let us adore him at his birth.

Copyright P. Newman-Harris

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, behold,
There came wise men from the east.  Saying,
Where is he that is born the King of Jews?
For seeing the light of his star shining in the east, they desired to worship him.
And lo, the star which they saw in the east, went before them till
It came and stood over where the young child was.
When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy
For there in a manger lay the sweet little Jesus boy.

Reference:  Matthew 2

Great is his name in all the earth

Great is his name in all the earth

Oh come let us exalt our Savior at his birth

For great is his name in all the earth

As the spirit of joy fills the air

Let every heart prepare

To share.

Share the good news of our Savior’s birth

He came to bring peace on earth

Tell the story

Tell of his glory

Tell of how a bright star

Shining in the heavens afar

Led 3 wise men away

To search for the manger where he lay

Holy, holy, holy,

Holy is he.

All heaven and earth did sing.

For in the manger wrapped in swaddling was a king

Tell the story

Tell of his glory

Let joy bells ring, let every heart sing

For unto us was born a Savior and King

He who brought peace and hope for tomorrows to come

Let us exalt this holy one.

Let all heaven and earth sing

Sing of our holy king

Sing holy, holy, holy,

Holy is he.

Let high praises ring

He is Jesus, Our Lord Immanuel¸ our Savior and King

Oh come let us exalt him at his birth

For great is his name in all the earth

Great is his name in all the earth

Great is his name in all the earth!

Wishing You Many Blessings This Holiday Season

This is the season to be thankful for our blessings.  Remember, there but for the grace of God go we.  It is something I have to keep reminding myself of.  As the song Thank You Lord says, "It could have been me outdoors with no food and no clothes."



Bag Lady

Bag lady,

Bag lady,

Every day as I drive by

You always catch my eye

The load you carry is too heavy for you alone

You’re only skin and bones

Yet, there you are walking the street

With worn out shoes on your feet

I have seen you brave the cold and the scorching heat,

But you never seem to concede to defeat

I have seen the angry rain

Plummet your small frame

I have seen the wind send you in an aimless twirl

As if it’s you against the world

Bag lady,

Bag lady,

I know you are tired of struggling on your own.

How much longer will you be able to hold on?

I ponder your history.

Do you have family?

What is your name?

Who is the blame

For you being where you are?

How did you end up having no home and no car?

Do you only own the clothes you wear

And the bags you push around everywhere?

You peak my curiosity

I can’t help but admire your tenacity

And your capacity

To keep holding on

When everything is gone

Bag lady,

Bag lady,

I worry for your safety

Out on the streets

And wonder

Whether or not you have enough food to eat.

I pray.

I pray

Because even if you won’t concede to defeat

It’s got to be hard waging a battle against the streets.

I know there will come a day when I’ll look for you

And you’ll be gone,

The load you carry is too heavy for you alone

One day soon things will unravel,

And that will be the end of your travels.

You will be replaced

By another homeless face

That will catch my eye

As I drive by

Leaving me to ponder

And wonder

Once again,

Until another story comes to an end.

Poem, Bag Lady taken from Matters of the Heart
By Patricia Newman-Harris copyright 2010

Tis the Season of Thanksgiving

Once a year, we pause to reflect on our many blessings.  For some, life is a daily struggle to survive.  If we begin to count our blessings, naming them one by one,  we will find we have so much to be thankful for.  Happy Thanksgiving.

  

If I never get a chance to say thank you one more time,

I want the last thank you to be mine.

For the little things that seem insignificant to some

Lord, I thank you for every one

I have so much to be thankful for

There are so many good things yet in store.

I don’t want to take anything for granted

So, I thank you for every blessing you have granted.

I want to be among the few

Who returned to say thank you.

Before the day is done

I’m going to count my blessings one by one

I am going to give you all the praise you are due.

Lord, I just want to say thank you

In the midst of the heartache and the tears,

There were so many wonderful years.

You never left me alone and lonely

You never turned your back on me.

You were always there.

You heard my every prayer.

Without you in my life, it would not have been this way

That is why I want to say

Thank you for every day

And for every blessing that came my way

There is nothing anyone can say or do

To keep me from thanking you.

I’m going to count my blessings one by one

Giving thanks for every one

In case I never see this day end.

I want to begin

By saying thank you for everything you have done.

I just want to be among the few

Who returned to say thank you.

If I never get a chance to say thank you one more time,

I want the last thank you to be mine

Copyright P. Newman-Harris

Veteran's Day Tribute & Prayer

Today we honor those who paid willingly paid the price and
made the ultimate sacrifice so that we could leave in peace.
May we, as survivors and benefactors of their sacrifice,  honor them
by doing our part to make the dream of peace one day become reality.

Lord, every day I pray
Bless the soldiers far away.
Bless the young man who left his first love behind
Give him peace of mind
Bless the Father who left his family alone.
Keep them safe while he is gone
Lord, bless each and every one.
Let them know we appreciate all they have done.
Walk with those who have no one
I pray for each and every one.
Be their Father and their Mother
With you as their guide, they don't need another.
Keep them close to your heart I pray
Be with them every step of the way.
God, bless the young man who is barely twenty-two.
Let him know he can make it through.
Ease his fears
Dry his falling tears.
Lord bless the soldiers while they are away.
When their spirits are low, let them feel your touch.
Let them know we love them so much.
Then, Lord we pray that the fighting will soon cease
And that there will be an outpouring of peace
Open the door to each and every heart
So that the healing will start
Lord we commit our soldiers to your care
This is our prayer
Lord, bless the soldiers while they are away.
Be with them each and every day.

The Miracle of You

Father, thank you for the miracle of you,

For showing us what love can do.

Every time I see a Mother giving birth

I’m reminded of the miracle of your birth

What a gift that God did give

When he sent his only son that we might live!

When I think of the miracles you performed,

How you transformed

Water into wine,

And gave sight to the blind.

Every time I read about the ten thousand you fed

With two fish and five loaves of bread,

I cannot deny the awesomeness of you.

There is nothing you can’t do.

That any man could stand in your presence

And deny your existence

Is evidence to me

That blinded eyes cannot see your power and your majesty.

It hurts to think of what we put you through

When the ultimate display of love came through you.

So, Father I thank you for allowing us to feel your touch,

For loving us so much

But most of all for showing us what love can do.

Thank you for the miracle of you.

copyright  P.Newman-Harris

Today I Read a Story

Today I read a story.
It brought tears to my eyes.

Some may ask why, but how can I not cry

When people are led to the slaughter;

When someone’s mother, father, son, or daughter

Dies without reason?                           

When death becomes more than a season,

And there is no just cause,

I feel I have to do more than pause

It is hard to understand the human mind.

I’ve lived through so much hatred in my lifetime.

I wonder, will we ever see Martin’s dream come to pass?

If we could but find that path,

To being free at last.

If no more lives were lost

If there were no more Halocausts,

Or Ruwandas to cloud our history.

If we didn’t feel the need for designated places

Or division among the races

Oh what a day it would be.

Oh what a day it.

Oh what a day it would be

For you and me.

If we could tear down the walls that keep us apart

If we could open our hearts,

And allow universal peace,

The wars would soon cease.

Will we ever reach the mountain top?

Will the hatred ever stop?

Will we ever learn to think on a higher plane?

Will we ever realize that we are all the same?

Will we ever know what it means
To live Martin’s dream?

When will we tire of the death and destruction created

By the spread of prejudice and hate?

Will people like Immaculee ever be able to say,
This is the day that the stone of hate was rolled away?

Today I read a story that brought tears to my eyes.

Some may ask why, but how can I not cry?

How can I not ask the question why

When innocent people die?

copyright by P. Newman-Harris

You can read the story about Immaculee Ilibagiza in her book, "Left to Tell"

Today

Today corruption is confused with justice

Right is mistaken for wrong

And every fiber of morality seems to be gone

There is no respect for human life,

People will take your life without thinking twice

Everyone wants a solution

For moral pollution

But no one wants to take responsibility

For our lack of morality

What used to matter doesn't matter any more

Everyone wants an easy score

Let the stones fall where they may

All we can do is pray

There is no other way

We can make it through the day

Family is no longer our priority

Children are running wild and free.

We are warring for oil

And killing the innocent to divide the spoils.

In foreign nations,

Disease is running rapid amid violence and mass annihilation.

Devastation and deterioration 

Rule without moderation.

It's sometimes hard to understand

The heart of man

Politicians in America don't seem to care

About the nation's welfare.

Republicans and Democrats

Are in full scale attack.

Blame for every mistake is being placed on the Presidents back

Simply because he's black.

They are trying to revoke

The right to vote

On the down low

While saying it ain't so.

They'd rather see the nation burn

Than see a black President serve another term

Today corruption is confused with justice

Right is mistaken for wrong

And every fiber of morality seems to be gone

Let the stones fall where they may

All we can do is pray

There is no other way

We can make it through the day.

copyright P. Newman-Harris