Category Archives: Praise

Let Us Thrive in ‘25

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A brand-new year, a hopeful start,
Let’s embrace it with a joyful heart.
Leave behind the weight of doubt and fear,
For brighter days are drawing near.

With a positive mind and spirits high,
We’ll spread our wings and touch the sky.
Each challenge we face, a chance to grow,
Through trials, our strength will always show.

Let gratitude guide each step we take,
And kindness bloom in the choices we make.
Together we rise, as dreams come alive,
Hand in hand, let us thrive in ’25.

For every sunrise brings a chance anew,
To build, to create, to follow through.
With courage and love as our steadfast guide,
There’s no mountain too steep, no ocean too wide.

So onward we march, with hearts so true,
In ‘25, there’s nothing we can’t do.
Let’s lift each other, and together we’ll strive,
To make this the year we truly thrive!

Created by
MarkWaldrop

A Better Place

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Former President Jimmy Carter teaches Sunday School class at Maranatha Baptist Church in his hometown Sunday, Aug. 23, 2015, in Plains, Ga. The 90-year-old Carter gave one lesson to about 300 people filling the small Baptist church that he and his wife, Rosalynn, attend. It was Carter’s first lesson since detailing the intravenous drug doses and radiation treatment planned to treat melanoma found in his brain after surgery to remove a tumor from his liver. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Jimmy Carter said with humble grace,
“I tried to make this world a better place.”
With quiet strength, he carved his way,
Through storms of night to brighter days.

A man of peace with steady hand,
He shown goodwill across the land.
From humble Plains to the world stage,
He wrote his name on history’s page.

He taught us kindness, the power of care,
To see each soul as someone rare.
He built with hammers, brick, and heart,
Giving lives and dreams a brand-new start.

A steward of justice, a friend of the earth,
He showed us all what life is worth.
Through decades long, his light has shown,
In every heart his seeds are sown.

Jimmy Carter, with faith as guide,
Brought hope where hopelessness would reside.
He tried, he said, and oh, indeed,
He met the world’s unyielding need.

So now we say, with love embraced,
You made this world a better place.
A legacy vast, a life well-spent,
Your name is carved in firmament.

Created by
MarkWaldrop

My New Year’s Resolution

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My New Year’s Resolution

To live for the moment, to cherish the now,
To savor each heartbeat, to make this my vow.
The past is a story, its chapters complete,
Its lessons are learned, its echoes retreat.

The future looms vast, with worries untold,
A tapestry woven in threads of pure gold.
But why should I fret for a time yet to be,
When the present is waiting, as boundless as sea?

I’ll laugh with the sunrise, I’ll dance in the rain,
Find joy in the simple, find peace in the plain.
For life is a gift, too fleeting to waste,
Each moment a treasure, too precious to haste.

So here’s my resolve, as the old year departs,
To live for the moment—with all of my heart.

Created by
MarkWaldrop

New Year Dawns

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In battles fierce with vices, take your stand,
A warrior within, against the shadows grand.
Let peace with neighbors be your constant song,
Harmony that echoes, enduring and strong.

As the new year dawns, a chance to renew,
A better version of yourself, tried and true.
Forge ahead with wisdom, leave the past behind,
A journey of growth, in every step you find.

January 1, 2024
Mark waldrop

Created from a quote from Benjamin Franklin, in his December, 1755 edition of Poor Richard's Almanac.

Joy and Sorrow

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In the glow of the twinkling holiday light,
There are hearts cloaked in shadow, longing for night.
For the laughter once shared, the love once near,
Now echoes in memories, cherished yet clear.

Some face the first of the holidays alone,
With aching hearts for the love that has flown.
Others, the last, with each moment they hold,
Precious as diamonds, more valuable than gold.

So as you revel in the season’s cheer,
Pause for the silent, the grieving, the near.
For joy’s bright mantle may not always show
The weight of the burdens others may know.

Be kind in your words, be tender, be true,
Give a smile, lend a hand, share what’s good in you.
For a small spark of love, a moment of grace,
Can light up the darkest, most sorrowful place.

This season of giving is more than a time,
It’s a chance to heal wounds, to soothe and to climb.
Together, through joy, through sorrow, we’ll find,
The strength in compassion—the heart of mankind.

Created by
MarkWaldrop

Holiday Leftovers

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After the feast, the table’s clear,
Yet leftovers linger, bringing cheer.
I thought I’d never eat again,
But hunger returned, as it always does then.

The turkey, the pie, the cranberry spread,
Flavors dance anew, though the meal’s long fled.
Somehow, they seem to taste better this time,
As if patience has seasoned them, oh so sublime.

Imagination turns scraps into treasure,
A casserole here, a soup beyond measure.
Thank You, Lord, for abundance and grace,
For meals reborn, no morsel a waste.

So here’s to leftovers, a second delight,
A testament to blessings, day and night.

Created by
MarkWaldrop

The Man and the Birds

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 The Man and the Birds 
        (Inspired by Paul Harvey)

A kind and gentle man was he,
Full of love and honesty.
But the mystery of Christ’s descent,
To him, seemed strange and poorly spent.

“The incarnation makes no sense,”
He said, with logic as defense.
God becoming man to save,
Felt like a tale the faithful gave.

On Christmas Eve, his family went,
To church, in worship reverent.
He stayed behind with hearth aglow,
Unmoved by truths he didn’t know.

But then a sound, a frantic thud,
Shook his peace and stirred his blood.
At the window, again it came,
A muffled beat, a desperate aim.

He ventured out into the cold,
And there, a scene began to unfold.
A flock of birds, lost in the storm,
Shivered, seeking shelter warm.

His heart, so tender, swelled with care,
To save the birds from bitter air.
The barn! A haven, safe and dry,
He opened the door, the light held high.

But fear had gripped the fragile flock,
His human presence felt a shock.
He scattered crumbs, he waved them near,
But still, they fled in helpless fear.

“If only I could be like them,”
He thought, beneath the moon’s dim hem.
“To speak their tongue, to share their way,
And guide them to the light of day.”

Then from the distance, church bells rang,
A holy song the heavens sang.
And in that moment, truth took hold,
A story ancient, yet retold.

God became man, He stooped so low,
To guide the lost through blinding snow.
The man, now kneeling, bowed his head,
The bells’ sweet song, his spirit fed.

For now he saw what once was dim,
Why Christ had come to dwell with him.
Like the man and the frightened birds,
God showed His love through deeds, not words.

So on that night, beneath the star,
The man found God was never far.
And in his heart, a fire burned bright,
A newfound faith, a guiding light.

Created by
MarkWaldrop

Memory Believes Before Knowing Remembers

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Memory believes what the heart holds true,
A flicker of light in the morning dew.
It whispers of moments we cannot retrieve,
The fragments of time that we choose to believe.

Before knowing remembers, the soul still feels,
The brush of the past, the wounds it heals.
A scent, a sound, or a fleeting glance,
Can summon a world in a wordless dance.

The touch of a hand, the echo of laughter,
The shadows of dreams we endlessly chase after.
For memory sees what eyes cannot find,
A portrait of love in the halls of the mind.

So let memory believe and knowing delay,
For in its embrace, the past will stay.
A bridge to the moments that slip through our fingers,
Where the heart remembers and the soul still lingers.

Created by
MarkWaldrop 

Memory believes before knowing remembers.                                                                 William Faulkner

Proclaiming Christs Birth

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The Holy Spirit begins to move,
A gentle wind, a sacred groove.
Through hearts united, pure and true,
God’s love blooms in me and you.

We are His hands, His feet, His light,
Guided by faith through day and night.
A mission given, a sacred mirth,
To share the news of Jesus’ birth.

The world may waver, hearts may stray,
Yet love prevails, it lights the way.
So here we stand, in joy and worth,
Proclaiming Christ, our Savior’s birth.

Created by
MarkWaldrop

The Brightest Days

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The brightest days often follow the night,
When shadows retreat at the dawn’s first light.
Life is a puzzle, a game we play,
With trials that shape us along the way.

The path grows steep, the burdens immense,
Tests arrive, breaking our confidence.
But just as the darkness seems too much to bear,
A breakthrough whispers, “You’re almost there.”

Each challenge faced is a door to ascend,
A chance to grow, a means to transcend.
The trials refine us, like fire to gold,
Pushing us forward, brave and bold.

The game of life, with levels and foes,
Teaches us wisdom as each chapter flows.
Victories come, and the sun shines bright,
Until the next test emerges from night.

But take heart, for this is the way we grow,
Each cycle of struggle teaches us to know
That the darkest moments prepare the soul,
To reach higher levels, to become whole.

So hold on tightly, though the storm may rage,
You’re turning the chapter, you’re turning the page.
For after the night, the dawn will break through,
The brightest days are waiting for you.

Created by
MarkWaldrop

Psa 30:5  For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.