wishboats on the water, candles shining on the sea –  into the darkness of the night, they float so silently.

wishboats on the water, candles glowing on a lake – into a future yet to be, our dearest dreams they take.

made of tree bark and forest things, by clumsy, childish hands – they carry the wishes of each young heart, to unknown, distant lands.

stars above are shining, like the tiny lights below – reflections on the glassy water, as we watch our wish boats go.

young girls’ voices sing sweetly, into a night so stilled – as our wishboats on the water sail silent, carrying wishes unfulfilled.

so we send them out into the world, hoping they remain afloat – they set the summer night aglow, with light from every boat.

our wishes lighting up the world in one small blaze of glory – each boat carries secret dreams, each one tells a story.

wishboats on the water, into the world we watched them go – wishboats on the water, where they landed we can’t know.

sincerely,      Grace Day

 

 

three little girls, with ringlets in their hair – three little girls, their laughter is so fair.

three little girls, how happily they play!  three little girls, on such a sunny day.

three little girls, white blankets on the grass –  dolls are in their arms, oh how the time has passed!

three little girls, building cloud castles in the sky – and castles in the sandbox, oh how the time goes by,  for

three little girls, playing without a care – three little girls, with ringlets in their hair.

“But Jesus called the children to Him and said, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.  I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’ ”  (Luke 18:16-17)

sincerely,      Grace Day

God is the master artist, His canvas is the sky – His brush strokes are the wind drifts, His colors never dry.

for they are ever changing, from dawn till setting sun – each moment’s perfect beauty, He captures every one.

God paints the rosy sky at dawn and fluffy clouds at noon – that lengthen into pastel pink, to welcome in the moon.

He paints the fiery sunsets of purple clouds etched in gold, the splendor of God’s skyscapes, no earthly canvas holds.

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.”  (Psalm 19:1)

sincerely,       Grace Day

 

 

there is a lake at sunrise, too lovely to behold;  mist rising from the water, each moment etched in gold.

I love this lake at sunrise, I can see her still;  pink clouds over sand dunes, a cottage on a hill.

blueberries grow behind the house, sea shells lie on the sand;  wind whips the water into waves, oh how I loved this land!

a blue heron lives in our bayou, I can still hear her cry;  wild geese swim among the reeds, or glide across the sky.

the north bayou harbors no houses, just birch trees tall and white; against the blue of lake and sky they stand, a most breathtaking sight.

there is a lake at sunset, when wind and waves do cease; then my lake lies down till she’s smooth as glass, and all is perfect peace.

next stars appear, as if summoned by the loon’s calling;  so many twinkling lights I watch, upon the water’s surface falling.

dock lights dot the shoreline, where the water laps the sand;  all is quiet on the lake – oh how I love this land!

“And God said, ‘Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.’  And it was so.  God called the dry ground “land” and the gathered waters He called “seas.”  And God saw that it was good.”  (Genesis 1:9-10)

sincerely,      Grace Day

if you had only known that joy was almost here,  would you have so untimely shut your eyes and stilled your heart?

if you had but believed happiness would again be yours – would not you have clung to life, endured its’ pain, if only for the promise of relief from constant sorrow?

is sadness such bad company, that you would rather nothing know at all; than know the loss of what was dear?

and fill that space, now empty, with courage and with hope that joy will for a season fill that space, till sorrow comes to take its’ place –

we must endure by faith alone, till joy returns to bear us home –

as our reward for walking with sorrow unafraid.

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”  (2 Corinthians 4:17-18)

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”  (Psalm 34:18)

sincerely,       Grace Day

rest now, precious soul – who never knew the toil of earth.  rest now, in peaceful slumber – for your labor ceased with birth.

rest now, precious soul – whose countenance is so fair.  or play then, little one, with winged angels upon the golden stair.

rest easy, precious soul – for no pain pierces where you dwell.  grief, sickness, sorrow, are not for you; but woes for mortal tongues alone to tell.

you won’t even miss our earthly joys – which we mere mortals think so fine.  why you would wonder to hear us weep, for your joys are by far sublime.

so rest now, precious little soul – in His home of peace and love; while I attend to earthly heartaches, until I rest with you above.

“My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place.  When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.”  (Psalm 139:15-16)

sincerely,      Grace Day

today I need to watch wild geese fly, to feel the wind and see the sky –

today I need to chat with flowers, to roam the fields for endless hours.

today I need to feel the rain, to watch the grass turn green again-

I need to hear the robin’s song, inside these four walls I don’t belong.

For I shall miss the clouds go by, I will not see the dew to dry-

leaving the world so fresh and new, as dawn withdraws her rosy hue.

And if it rain, or if it snow; inside these four walls  how shall I know?

only know my heart is there, with the wild geese in the air.

 

Yes, today I would watch seagulls fly with ease above the shore, and revel in each hour’s joys,  I could not ask for more.

I need to walk a lonely path, dry leaves beneath my feet-

to feel the fragrance autumn brings, would make my day complete.

today I need to feel the wind against my burning cheek, to feel warm sunlight on my back, which brings the peace I seek.

today I wish I watched the rain, or watched the flowers growing; or saw the sun shining on the forests of fall, setting autumn’s colors glowing.

yes, today I need to talk with trees, to learn their secrets on the breeze –

see the sunset’s pastel hue, and firefly’s lights when day is through.

though in these walls I spend the hours, please know my heart is with the flowers-

like them I bloom on a sunny day, but inside these four walls I shall fade away.

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.  Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.  There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.  Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”  (Psalm 19:1-4)

sincerely,             Grace Day

 

 

 

 

tell me what color eternity is, and that is what color I’ll wear –  dressed in the garments of hope and of joy, to wish you much happiness there.

tell me what color eternity is, for someday I’m going there too.  perhaps it is white or is green or is blue, and soon I shall spend it with you.

Tell me what color eternity is, that I may come dressed for my Lord, clothed in His righteousness alone, washed by the blood He poured

upon the world to buy our souls, to redeem us for His own; that at our dawn of eternity, we each shall have a home.

tell me what color eternity is, and we will sing gladly for you.  dressed in the colors of peace and of light, each wearing eternity’s hue.

Yes, tell me what color eternity is and that is what color I’ll wear.  tell me about the joy overflowing, that through suffering I may prepare.

And so I will dress in eternity’s hues, each day till I see you again; for they will remind me of what is to come, when we will eternity spend.

“For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.  After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.  And so we will be with the Lord forever.”  (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)

sincerely,      Grace Day

 

I couldn’t believe my ears – as a frequent Target shopper, I had grown used to the melodic chimes that thanked me for my purchase and for using my card, each and every time.  After my post, “your noise police at work”, I felt confident that this change from buzzer to chime was a positive one and was here to stay.  Other stores had even followed suite shortly after, switching from abrasive buzzers to more melodic tones at their checkout counters.  So you can imagine my complete shock when a buzzer unexpectedly demanded that I remove my credit card immediately from the machine at the Target checkout.

I was totally unprepared!  I had come to enjoy the beautiful tones of the chime that would thank me for my purchase while at the same time reminding me that I had not yet taken my card back, but, not to worry, there was still plenty of time and opportunity for me to do so.  It was a kinder, gentler time that Target ushered in for its’ customers with the arrival of the chime to bid us each farewell and come again soon.  The departure of the buzzer had been widely heralded (meaning I noticed, did anyone else?) as a gesture of goodwill to customers sensitive to the alarming, demanding sound of the buzzer, which essentially screamed to the customer, ‘why are you still here?  you are holding up the line! get your card and get out!’

So you can see why I am both surprised and confused as to why the buzzer is back?  Was too much goodwill generated?  Were the checkout lines slowed down because customers weren’t as quick to grab their cards and go but rather lingered to enjoy just one more chime before going on their way?  It is a mystery to me – I much preferred the chime.  Am I alone in this preference?  This will remain an unsolved mystery for now.  Perhaps faster moving lines trump sweeter sounding checkout noises?  Maybe the noise police are no longer on the job to protect us from the stress caused by loud, repetitive, abrasive sounds assaulting us periodically throughout our day?

Doesn’t Target want to eliminate any possible stressors for its’ shoppers?  Checkout is the final phase of the shopping experience – Target should want to send us off with a kind, melodic ‘come again’ rather than an insistent ‘get on out of here, now!’   Take heed – Target!   the noise police may yet return!

“Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.”  (Psalm 98:4)

“Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.”  (Proverbs 16:24)

sincerely,       Grace Day

seen a meadow of mustard?  a field full of faith, mustard seeds waiting on the wind to send them out into a world filled with mountains that must be moved –

have you seen that meadow of mustard standing, shimmering, shining in the sunlight like Rapunzel’s hair or Rumpelstiltskin’s straw spun to gold, with the majesty of the kings of old, the mystery of their tales untold, Solomon’s temple was never so bold as the splendor of the mustard meadow which I see before my eyes unfold – more beauty than one heart can hold – this mustard meadow filled with gold

” . . . See how the lilies of the field grow.  They do not labor or spin.  Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.”  (Matthew 6:28-29)

” . . . I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move.  Nothing will be impossible for you.”  (Matthew 17:20)

sincerely,      Grace Day