Everday is a Day of Thanksgiving ---It's a Brand New Day!

It's a brand new day
No matter what comes my way.
I'm going to praise him anyway.
Cause it's a brand new day
It's a brand new day.
I'm going to lift my voice and sing
I'm going to let my praises ring,
Cause I'm still here.
I'm still here
To celebrate.
Lift my hands and celebrate.
Cause it's a brand new day.

I'm alive.
Thank God I'm alive.
He didn't have to open my eyes.
He didn't have to let me rise
Gonna praise my way through
Before the day is through,
I'm going to count my blessings one by one.
No matter what comes my way
I'm going to praise him anyway.
Gonna lift my voice and sing.
Gonna let my praises ring.
Cause it's a brand new day.
It's a brand new day.
Someday I may not rise.
I may not open my eyes
But until that day comes,
I'm going to begin each one
Giving thanks
Cause I'm alive
Thank God I'm alive.
It's a brand new day.

Thank God for a brand new day.

Copyright Patricia Newman-Harris 2014

I Just Want to Say Thank You

Lord, too many times I come to you

Crying, Lord, what can you do?

Day after day I make requests 

Forgetting how you have blessed me thus far.

And how faithful you are.

I have so much to be thankful for

But I never stop asking for more.

This Thanksgiving, I have no requests or petitions

Just a humble rendition

My praise to impart

With all the reverence in my heart

I just want to kneel in that secret place

And seek your face

I want to give you the praise and honor that you’re due.

Lord, I just want to say thank you.

Thank you for all the days you've allowed me to see

It didn't have to be

Thank you for the hand of mercy

That has kept me safe

Thank you for the awesome grace

That has brought me to this day,

And gives me the strength to face each new day

I don’t want to sit on your mercy seat

I just want to kneel at your feet

With a praise that is fresh and new

Lord, I just want to say thank you.

I don’t want to ask for more.

I have so much to be thankful for.

Today, I have no requests or petitions

Just a humble rendition

Of praise to impart

The reverence in my heart

Lord I want to give all praise to you,

I just want to say, thank you.

Copyright 2011 P. Newman-Harris

Giving thanks

Things to be thankful for

As a nation, we are blessed to have freedom of choice.
Let us be thankful for the blessing of freedom,
and remember those who continue to live in oppression.

In Foreign Lands

Lord, I’m praying for the coming of day

In foreign lands far away.

People are dying every day.

Gone, like ashes scattered in the wind

Never to be seen again

To us, they are people without face or name,

But they are people just the same.

Each one a part of the human race,

Regardless of the color of the face.

Help us to open our bowels of mercy.

Enable us to see

What we have not allowed ourselves to see.

Children alone

Without family or home

Never having an opportunity

To be a child, young and free

Loved ones gone without a trace

Babies left to carry on in their place

For them the surrounding darkness overshadows the light

They have no reason to believe there is hope in sight

May we be their beacon of hope on a darkened horizon,

A rising sun where there was never one

Father, remove the pain of disgrace

From a disease with no regard for person or place

May we no longer pretend that we do not see

People living in agony

May we be there to relieve their fears and dry their tears.

Help them to see past the trying years.

Erase their sorrows,

And bring a rainbow of hope for tomorrow

Help us to be a willing hand to hold

In a world that is hard and cold.

All they need is a chance

To invite life to dance

Without our help their lives will end

Let us be their opportunity to begin

Lord, I’m praying for the coming of day

In foreign lands far away

Young and old are dying everyday

Though they be people without face or name

They are people just the same

Each one a part of the human race

Regardless of the color of the face.

copyright 2010, Matters of the Heart, Patricia Newman-Harris

Veteran's Day Prayer

Today we honor those who willingly paid the price and
made the ultimate sacrifice so that we could live 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.

Until we learn to live as one, we will continue to bury our young.
No matter where we are from, we all have the same needs.  We all feel
the pain of loss when someone we love dies.  We must come to realize
that it is a needless burden to bear.  When we think of the wasted years, the suffering,
the pain, the tears, the lives lost in the name of peace, we will realize that war has come
at a great cost.

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 soliders to your care
This is our prayer
Lord, bless the soldiers while they are away.
Be with them each and every day.

Korie's Birthday...

      

This poem is written by my niece Korie

Korie:

In honor of your birthday I am featuring you as Visiting Poet..

Wishing you many more beautiful birthdays and God's manifold blessings on your life
and your gifts.

Video of Korie dancing

The Dance In Me

When I dance I know it is only God

            And Me,

Because when I dance my spirit

            Feels free.

When I dance I will not hold

Anything back!

I surely will not let any one’s opinion

Throw me off track.

I dance because of all that He has

            Brought me through.

It is not because I don’t have

            Anything else to do.

I will move and jump to show

All that is within.

My actions will speak

Louder than my words.

And you know that I am

            Dancing for Him.

I am grateful to prove what I will

            Do for the Lord

He has been knocking and

            Knocking

And I have found a way

            To open my door.

I am glad

You are listening

Because now

 I have a chance

To tell you so you are not confused.

This is a PRAISE dance!

Copyrright By Korie Elise Smith

Scriptural Inspiration

Exodus 15:1-2

The Lord is my strength, my song and

My salvation.

He is my God and I will praise

            Him

He is my father’s

God. 

I will exalt

            Him.

Who's Going to Save Me?

When I look at children growing up today, I wonder what questions must be going through their minds?  How do they feel watching our country sweat the small stuff while things fall down around our ears?  This is what inspired this poem.

Mama Won’t You Tell Me

©2011 by P. Newman-Harris

Mama won’t you tell me

How can I make it through the day?

How can I have fun

How can I play

When little children are being blown away?

In a world that is morally sick

How do I not end up a statistic?

How do I stay encouraged when I’m expected to fail?

How can I stay out of jail?

How can I learn to be a man

When there is no one there to take my hand

And no one to understand?

They tell me to stand on my own two feet,

But how can I stay clean living on a crime infested street?

I don’t know how long I can stay on the right path.

I don’t know how much longer I’m going to last.

What do I do when there are no jobs and no way

To make a decent pay?

You may think I’m too young to know,

But Mama I want to know

How can I be all I can be

When the decks are stacked against me?

I appreciate your sacrifices.

I really want to make something of my life

But how do I keep trying

When inside I’m dying

A little every day?

How can I make my fears go away?

How can I plan for tomorrow

When I don’t’ know if I’ll make it through the day?

Mama won’t you tell me

Who is going to save me?

Dream Trilogy (You Can Live Your Dreams, Believe, You Can Fly)

The Dream Trilogy consists of three poems I wrote combined (see titles above)

     

Little boy someone else’s failures don’t have to belong to you

Little girl you can make your dreams come true

I know at times life makes you want to scream

But don’t give up on your dreams

It’s not true what they say

Things don’t have to turn out the same way

So your Mother got pregnant at 16

You don’t have to repeat that scene

You can do whatever you want to do

It’s all up to you

Little boy growing up in the hood

You don’t have to grow up angry and misunderstood

I know your Daddy spent most of his years in jail,

But that doesn’t mean you have to fail

The same thing doesn’t have to happen to you.

You can see your dreams through

Don’t let people mess with you head

There may be rough times ahead,

But don’t give in to anger and remorse

You can make it if you stay the course

People will tell you that you can’t make your dreams come true

Don’t let anyone stop you

People will try to make you feel like you have no worth

Remember, they did not put you here on this earth

Nor can they formulate your life’s plan

Your future is in God’s hands

If your friends want to hold you back

Start walking and don’t look back

You can have a future that is bright

But you have to be willing to make the sacrifice

Little girl failure is not a fact

You don’t have to end up making a living on your back

Little boy you don’t have to waste your life selling crack

You don’t have to end up like that

Just set you mind on the good

You can survive the hood

Someone else’s failures don’t have to belong to you

You can live your dreams

You can make them all come true

If you never stop believing in you

No matter what you see,

Believe that the impossible can be.

Come what may believe,

And the unimaginable will be yours to receive.

When you allow God to lead and direct your path,

Your dreams will someday come to pass.

Faith is the substance of things hoped for,

And the key to miracles yet in store.

It is that unreachable dream.

It is the evidence of things unseen.

No matter what you see,

Believe the impossible can be.

You can make it through the rain,

You can navigate the vast terrain.

You can move that mountain,

You can conquer that unconquerable sin.

If you trust God,

You can do anything against all odds.

Stand on his word.

Believe your prayers have been heard.

If against hope you still believe,

The unthinkable will be yours to receive.

Your dreams can come true

It’s all up to you

Your faith will enable you to prevail

You will not fail

Your every dream can be a reality

When you believe that the impossible can be

You can fly

You can fly

As far as the sky is wide

You can fly

When you try

He will be the wind beneath your wings

Through him you can do all things

You have everything you need inside

Decide

Your dreams can come true

It’s all up to you

You can fly

You can fly

If you try,
You can fly

As far as the sky is wide

You can fly

copyright, 2014, Living the Dream, a collection of poetry