Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Bringing In the New Year

After a wonderful prayer meeting at church tonight, my family came home, popped a pot of popcorn, and played a rousing game of Settlers of Catan! We figured we'd be awake until midnight with all the firecrackers resounding around us, so we might as well have a good time while we're at it! :-)

I'm heading off to bed now to read awhile before the big SHI-BANG that is soon to go off. First though, I stopped by my computer to check email and found the following poem from a friend. It struck a chord within me, so I thought I'd pass it on!

Standing at the portal of the opening year,
Words of comfort meet us, hushing every fear,
Spoken through the silence by our Savior's voice,
Tender, strong and faithful, making us rejoice:

"I, the Lord, am with thee; be thou not afraid!
I will help and strengthen; be thou not dismayed!
Yea, I will uphold thee with My own right hand;
Thou art called and chosen in My sight to stand.

"For the year before us, O what rich supplies!
For the poor and needy living streams shall rise;
For the sad and sinful shall His grace abound;
For the faint and feeble perfect strength be found.

He will never fail us, He will not forsake;
His eternal covenant He will never break.
Resting on His promise, what have we to fear?
God is all sufficient for the coming year.

Onward, then, and fear not, children of the day;
For His Word shall never, never pass away.

-Hymn lyrics by Francis Ridley Havergal

May God's face shine upon you all in the coming new year!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING POEM!!
Hope 2009 is full of peace, love, good health, and joy!
Blessings,
The Whitt family

robert said...

The "poem" you've passed on is actually a hymn, written by English poetess Frances Ridley Havergal. She wrote another on the same theme that we also sing, "Another Year Is Dawning."

If you enjoy learning about our hymns and their authors, I invite you to check out my daily blog on the subject, Wordwise Hymns. (And "Happy New Year" in advance!)