Down. Over all, a losing word.
Who wants to be feeling *down?
To be considered down and out,
Brings pity, we're assured.

We can't be caught by our downfall,
Or have things go downhill.
We can't let people get us down,
Or otherwise feel small.

Up is what it's all about!
Up is the winning word!
I'm moving up! I'm upward bound!
Is what we want to shout.

But Jesus came, from Heaven, down,
To earth, to humanness.
He had no home, He had no wealth,
He wore a thorny crown.

He taught downward mobility,
He gave up everything.
He showed us all that moving up,
Starts with humility.

I saw God’s handiwork today,
Along a forest path.
His voice was singing in the wind;
Each birdsong was His laugh.

Below my feet were fallen leaves
With colors bright and strong.
No leaf escaped without His touch;
His mark was on each one.

My life is oft like fallen leaves,
Sometimes I’m trodden on;
But unlike leaves that drop and die,
I’ll live on through His Son.

Four-leaf clover, rabbit’s foot, horseshoe from the barn,
Wishbone, even black-eyed peas, all these have luck’s good charm.

Good Luck! We shout to those we know, entrenched in tests of skill.
Good Luck! We hope for those whose hearts are set to climb the hill.

Cross your fingers, close your eyes, make a wish and blow;
Don’t wait too long, wish on a star, good luck is there you know.

Don’t walk under a ladder – No! And don’t step on a crack!
Bad luck is there, be mindful or you’ll break your mother’s back.

Ten long years of luck undone in broken mirror shards;
Your future told of good or bad in talismans and cards.

Luck ‘O the Irish, Leprechauns, and all such magic things;
We’re told of wondrous luck and wealth all these to us will bring.

I wonder if ‘tis luck at all or choices made at will?
Is luck the thing that guides my feet to riches or to nil?

Do I not choose which path to take, decide what’s right or wrong?
Those choices made, good and the bad, to me must all belong.

Not luck, I think, our future rules, but One who bids us well.
In Him we find the choices that will keep us out of Hell.

If suffering comes, tis not bad luck, instead -- a chance to grow!
To understand that He, not luck, is Sovereign of this show.

No lucky charm can truly bless or guide our steps for good;
The look, the sound, the feel of luck deceives us like a hood.

He gives us skill and aptitude to make our own lives bright;
We’ll trust in His design for us and look to Him for sight.

Our future’s too important to trust in lucky charms;
Eternity’s a choice we make, in that we’ll find no harm.

So let’s expect the best from Him, we know He wants to give;
Though life is hard, we need no luck, for in His truth we live.

Life isn’t fair, or so they say,
and I suppose it’s true.
After all, I don’t know why
I can’t be built like you.

This isn’t how it’s supposed to be;
my plans have gone awry.
I signed up for the life you have,
while mine just makes me sigh.

You are so together, girl,
how do you do it all?
You always stay on top of things;
you make me feel so small.

You seem to have a plan in mind,
and things fall into place.
My plans keep slipping out the door,
and slamming in my face.

I’ve tried to copy what you do,
but it’s to no avail.
Success for you, but not for me,
it seems I’m doomed to fail.

These, the thoughts that plagued my mind
and worried at my soul.
Until one day I understood
the folly of my goal.

I am not you! Ah—there’s a thought!
And neither are you me!
My gifts aren’t yours and yours aren’t mine—
at last I think I see!

You look like you and that’s okay;
I’m me in my own way.
I’m made to be just who I am,
with my own words to say.

It’s God who made us who we are,
and He who leads our paths.
He knows just where our feet should fall
and if we need decaf!

He didn’t send us here
to lead a happy life.
He didn’t say, “Be just like her
and you’ll be free from strife.”

We’re all quite different
as our lives have surely testified.
And all He asks is that our living
shows Him glorified.

Spontaneity, in family one, the little one exudes
Her brother, kindness reigns in him, you will not find him rude
And in between, their sister, with her sensitivity
O’er all, a loving group they are, this little family.

Family two brings determination, in a package oh, so small
Preceded by devotion, in a brother growing tall
The tallest one, shows honesty, in him there is no doubt
The last of this group, not the least, her smile comes bubbling out.

In family three, a smallish one, she shows such bravery
While older sister, stands *****, steadfastness we can see
The curious one, her questions fly, she just can’t get enough
And last of all, the funny one, and in most sports he’s tough.

This group is not a tranquil bunch, they often raise the roof
Indeed, my patience sometimes dims, my grey hair is the proof.

I walked today where Jesus walked*, echoes in my mind
A song from childhood rings new truth with each new step I find.
Worn as they are from centuries of pilgrims passing through
The stones are firm reminders that my life has been made new.

You walked this land, you taught of love, and yet you had to die
I bow in awe of what you’ve done, and cannot help but cry.
For those unworthy, just like me, you offered up your life
You willingly gave all you were, to put an end to strife.

And yet, so many still don’t see, they don’t accept your gift
They seek to find another bridge to cross this mighty rift.
They won’t believe you are the way, and see your life as love
A love beyond that of this world, sent down from God above.

A Promised Land, where your own blood was shed for all mankind
Is still a land of war and strive, a land where evil blinds.
So many bound in hatred’s grasp and crushed by earthly pain
While what you sought to show us is that death is but our gain

I hear the songs of Christmas almost everywhere I go;
I see the shoppers rushing as their baskets overflow.
I watch the children wishing as they pass each toy in turn;
And parents frown in worry thinking, “Not on what I earn.”

There’s a Santa Claus in every store and snowmen on each shelf;
There’s reindeer to be bought and sold and a movie titled “Elf.”
Buy this candle! Buy this bell! Buy this can of “snow!”
Need some holly? Need some ribbon? Need some mistletoe?

Nativities have just become a part of all the hype;
Does anyone believe a baby really came that night?
So many songs about Him sung by those who don’t believe;
The gift that matters, many have neglected to receive.

The Reason for the Season is not just a catchy phrase;
The baby born on Christmas is The One Who Shapes Our Days.
Sweet child He was, but even more, He came to give us life;
His love is not a gift that fades--it takes away our strife.

Don’t leave Him in the manger as your Christmas fades away;
Remember that He died for you another fateful day.
Accept the gift He came to give and take the cross He bore;
Receive new life--become the child He wants to come back for.

I walked along the ocean’s edge,
Left footprints in the sand;
Climbed the rocks above the waves,
And there I saw God’s hand.

Relentless waves upon the shore,
My footprints washed away.
So like His love that crashes in
Each time I kneel and pray.

His waves of love encompass me,
And steal my very breath.
My sins, like footprints, washed away –
No sign of them is left.

There seems no way to fathom
What His love has done for me;
Except perhaps to catch a glimpse
In fathoms of the sea.