Christmas Poem: The Grace of God Shines Tonight

Last year on Christmas Eve.

The Grace of God Shines Tonight

The grace of God shines tonight,

Brightening the evening sky.

A new star with endless light,

Were the babe doth lie.

If you listen you might hear

The baby faintly cry.

Love replaces doubt and fear

With His gentle sigh.

Dearest Savior of my soul,

I feel Thy love.

I feel full

Of joy and peace

That only cease

When I leave Thy grace,

And face a darkened sky.

Yet even then,

I feel Thy love.

I feel Thee beckoning me home.

The son that’s lost his way,

I can only say,

“I love you.”

“I need Thee more than I can understand.”

You take my hand.

You take me home.

In every fiber of every bone,

I feel Thy love.

I feel Thy grace,

And just in case I feel alone,

You give the greatest ever known:

Thy Spirit.

I feel it on this holy night…

…I feel Thy love.

                         Jack Shirley

Merry Christmas!

A simple thought foe Christmas I had on Christmas Eve this year...

Remember

Midst the giving and gifts,

The bustle of December,

One word comes to mind:

Simply—Remember.

Remember your youth,

So happy and free,

When each Christmas morning

Set under the tree

Were candy and presents

That lit up the eye

And made you believe

That reindeer could fly.

Remember your blessings

While you unwrap

The gifts that little ones

Place on your lap,

And give them a hug,

As they smile with glee,

For Christmas is more

Than what’s under the tree

Remember your God,

As you sit in your chair

The kids fast asleep

Without worry or care,

For His gifts that give

These moments their light

And make Christmas Eve

A magical night.

Remember the Child,

So tender and poor,

Who lay in a manger

With dirt for a floor;

Who lived his life,

Each moment, each day,

So that we might live

Together someday.

For in Him we live;

By Him we stand,

And each gift we get

Comes from His hand.

In the moments we cherish,

Throughout each December,

Let us joy in His love

And humbly remember.

                     Jack Shirley

Each Woman

A simple thought on dating. 

Each Woman

Each woman has her own way;

Her own way of laughing, smiling, and loving.

Each is beautiful in her own way:

Some for their purity and grace,

Some for their understanding,

Some for kindness,

Some for devotion.

Each I love for her own way.

None is greater than the least.

With my eye to judge,

Selection is a game of timing and luck

Not of set criteria:

Some wrote list of what is better than the rest.

A woman can’t be loved through such a lens,

Cause each woman has her own way.

                               Jack Shirley

Aliona

Moved by a chance passing on the steps of Capital Normal University in Mid-September... 

Aliona

It was a bright, blue September day

And I passing on my way

Heard her voice and saw her smile,

From crowded steps of polished tile,

Almost lost, all but gone,

In the sea of thought I drift upon,

I returned to the day

Awakened by her friendly way.

In her warm and gentle smile

My thoughts have since dwelt a while,

For in a moment she was gone

And I was left to drift along. 

                       Jack Shirley