Poets & Saints

Scripture  

Matthew 2:12 (NRSVUE)  

And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod,  

they left for their own country  

by another road.

Refrain  

I walk by the light I have been given.

Quote / Poem  

Teresa of Ávila  

“Let nothing disturb you,  

Let nothing frighten you,  

All things are passing away:  

God never changes.  

Patience obtains all things.  

Whoever has God lacks nothing;  

God alone...

Scripture  

Psalm 139:1–5 (NRSVUE, abridged)  

O Lord, you have searched me and known me.  

You know when I sit down and when I rise up;  

you discern my thoughts from far away.  

You search out my path and my lying down,  

and are acquainted with all my ways.  

Even before a word is on my tongue,  

O Lord, you know it completely.

Refrain  

I am seen and known by God.

Quote / Poem  

Scripture  

Luke 24:30–31 (NRSVUE, abridged)  

When he was at the table with them,  

he took bread, blessed and broke it,  

and gave it to them.  

Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him…  

and he vanished from their sight.

Refrain  

My eyes are opening.

Quote / Poem  

Emily Dickinson  

“The Soul should always stand ajar,  

That if the Heaven inquire,  

He will not be obliged to wait,  

Or shy of trou...

Scripture  

Exodus 3:1–6 (NRSVUE)  

Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian;  

he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.  

There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush;  

he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed.  

Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight,  

and see why the bush is not burned up.”  

When the Lord saw that...

Scripture  

Isaiah 60:1–2 (NRSVUE)  

Arise, shine; for your light has come,  

and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.  

For darkness shall cover the earth,  

and thick darkness the peoples;  

but the Lord will arise upon you,  

and his glory will appear over you.

Refrain  

God’s light meets me where I am.

Quote / Poem  

Charles Wesley

“Christ, whose glory fills the skies,  

Christ, the true, the only Light, ...

Scripture  

Micah 6:8 (NRSVUE)  

He has told you, O mortal, what is good;  

and what does the Lord require of you  

but to do justice, and to love kindness,  

and to walk humbly with your God?

Refrain  

What I offer is enough.

Quote / Poem  

Dorothy Day

“We cannot love God  

unless we love each other,  

and to love we must know each other.  

We know Him in the breaking of bre...

Scripture  

Lamentations 3:22–23 (NRSVUE)  

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,  

his mercies never come to an end;  

they are new every morning;  

great is your faithfulness.

Refrain  

I begin again in grace.

Quote / Poem  

Henri Nouwen, from *The Return of the Prodigal Son*  

“Returning is not a one-time event.  

It is a long and painful process.  

It is the continuous choice  

to trust that there will be a homecoming...

Scripture  

Proverbs 16:9 (NRSVUE)  

The human mind plans the way,  

but the Lord directs the steps.

Refrain  

I set my heart toward love.

Quote / Poem  

Howard Thurman 

“Don’t ask what the world needs.  

Ask what makes you come alive,  

and go do it.  

Because what the world needs  

is people who have come alive.”

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Scripture  

Psalm 46:10 (NRSVUE)  

“Be still, and know that I am God!  

I am exalted among the nations,  

I am exalted in the earth.”

Refrain  

This moment is where God meets me.

Quote / Poem  

Brother Lawrence

“We can do little things for God;  

I turn the cake that is frying on the pan  

for love of Him,  

and that done,  

if there is nothing else t...

Scripture  

Isaiah 43:18–19 (NRSVUE)  

Do not remember the former things,  

or consider the things of old.  

I am about to do a new thing;  

now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?  

I will make a way in the wilderness  

and rivers in the desert.

Refrain  

I release what no longer gives life.

Quote / Poem  

Thomas Merton

“To let go does not mean to get rid of.  

To let go means to...

Scripture  

Colossians 1:27 (NRSVUE)  

Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Refrain  

Christ lives in me.

Quote / Poem  

Richard Rohr  

“The Christ Mystery  

is not something to admire from a distance.  

It is something to participate in.  

God has chosen to dwell  

not merely among us,  

but within us—  

so that divine love  

might continue to take flesh  

in the world.”

Scripture  

Matthew 1:23 (NRSVUE)  

“Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,  

and they shall name him Emmanuel,”  

which means, “God is with us.”

Refrain  

God is with us.

Quote / Poem  

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, from *God Is in the Manger*  

“God is not ashamed of the lowliness of human beings.  

God marches right in.  

God chooses people as his instruments  

and performs wonders where one would least expect them.  ...

Scripture  

Luke 2:6–7  

While they were there, the time came for Mary to deliver her child. 

And she gave birth to her firstborn son 

and wrapped him in bands of cloth and laid him in a manger,

because there was no place in the guest room.

Refrain  

God is found in the ordinary.

Quote / Poem  

Madeleine L’Engle, from Walking on Water

“There is nothing so secular

that it cannot...

Scripture  

John 1:14 (NRSVUE)  

And the Word became flesh and lived among us,  

and we have seen his glory,  

the glory as of a father’s only son,  

full of grace and truth.

Refrain  

God is closer than I imagined.

Quote / Poem  

Meister Eckhart  

“God is nearer to me than I am to myself.  

My being depends on God’s nearness  

and God’s presence within me.  

God does not come and go.  <...

Scripture  

Luke 1:38 (NRSVUE)  

Then Mary said,  

“Here am I, the servant of the Lord;  

let it be with me according to your word.”  

Then the angel departed from her.

Refrain  

I make room for God.

Quote / Poem  

Jan Richardson  

“This is a season  

for making room—  

for letting the heart  

be opened  

not by force  

but by consent.  

The Holy does not arrive  

with de...

Scripture  

Deuteronomy 33:27 (NRSVUE)  

The eternal God is your dwelling place,  

and underneath are the everlasting arms.

Refrain  

I am held in God.

Quote / Poem  

Julian of Norwich  

“For I saw no wrath in God,  

only mercy.  

And I saw that we are all held,  

and shall be held,  

in love—  

and this holding never fails.”

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Scripture  

1 John 4:16 (NRSVUE)  

So we have known and believe the love that God has for us.  

God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God,  

and God abides in them.

Refrain  

God’s love moves through me.

Quote / Poem  

Howard Thurman  

“When love is present,  

it does not force its way.  

It creates space.  

It releases fear,  

loosens the grip of control,  

and invites life to unf...

Scripture  

Philippians 2:3 (NRSVUE)  

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit,  

but in humility regard others as better than yourselves.

Refrain  

I am free to be small and loved.

Quote / Poem  

Meister Eckhart  

“The more completely you are able  

to empty yourself,  

the more room God has to act within you.  

True humility is not weakness.  

It is the spaciousness  

that allows divine love to move freely.”

Scripture  

Habakkuk 2:3 (NRSVUE)  

For there is still a vision for the appointed time;  

it speaks of the end and does not lie.  

If it seems to tarry, wait for it;  

it will surely come, it will not delay.

Refrain  

I trust the slow work of God.

Quote / Poem  

Parker J. Palmer, from *Let Your Life Speak*  

“Before you tell your life what you intend to do with it,  

listen for what it intends...

Scripture  

John 15:4 (NRSVUE)  

Abide in me as I abide in you.  

Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself  

unless it abides in the vine,  

neither can you unless you abide in me.

Refrain  

I choose to abide in love.

Quote / Poem  

Evelyn Underhill  

“The spiritual life is not a career of effort  

but a condition of being.  

It is not attained by strain  

but by consent.  

...

Scripture  

Romans 15:13 (NRSVUE)  

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing,  

so that you may abound in hope  

by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Refrain  

Hope rises within me by the Spirit of God.

Quote / Poem  

John O’Donohue  

“Hope is not a prediction of the future.  

It is a companion for the present.  

It whispers that meaning is still unfolding,  

that grace is still mo...

Scripture  

Psalm 103:8 (NRSVUE)  

The Lord is merciful and gracious,  

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

Refrain  

God’s love is patient with my becoming.

Quote / Poem  

Julian of Norwich  

“God is never surprised by our weakness,  

never offended by our slowness.  

For He sees us not merely as we are,  

but as we are becoming—  

and He loves us  

with a patient love  

that cannot be hurried or...

Scripture  

Psalm 34:17 (NRSVUE)  

When the righteous cry for help,  

the Lord hears  

and rescues them from all their troubles.

Refrain  

God hears me in every breath.

Quote / Poem  

Teresa of Ávila  

“Prayer is not thinking much,  

but loving much.  

It is the quiet turning of the heart  

toward the One  

who has been listening  

since before you learned to speak.”

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Scripture  

Psalm 16:5 (NRSVUE)  

The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;  

you hold my lot.

Refrain  

In God, this moment is enough.

Quote / Poem  

Richard Rohr  

“We do not find God  

in the future we are anxiously building,  

but in the present we are constantly overlooking.  

Grace is not what we earn or achieve—  

it is what is already given,  

what is quietly present,  

w...

Scripture  

Psalm 143:10 (NRSVUE)  

Teach me the way I should go,  

for to you I lift up my soul.

Refrain  

God leads me even when the path is unclear.

Quote / Poem  

Macrina Wiederkehr  

“Guide me, O God of the journey,  

for in the mystery that lies ahead  

I cannot travel by sight.  

But if You walk with me,  

uncertainty becomes a holy place—  

a doorway  

where trust is born.”  Duration: 00:05:06

Scripture  

Revelation 21:5 (NRSVUE)  

And the one who was seated on the throne said,  

“See, I am making all things new.”

Refrain  

God is making all things new—including me.

Quote / Poem  

Thomas Merton  

“There is in all visible things  

a hidden wholeness—  

a divine seed  

waiting for the moment  

it will break open in glory.  

Nothing is lost in God’s renewal.  

Everything,  

Scripture  

Genesis 28:16 (NRSVUE)  

Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said,  

“Surely the Lord is in this place—  

and I did not know it!”

Refrain  

God is here, in this very moment.

Quote / Poem  

David Whyte  

“Alertness is the hidden discipline of familiarity.  

To walk the world awake  

is to see the miracle  

in what we have come to call ordinary.  

The sacred is not elsewhere—  ...

Scripture  

John 17:21 (NRSVUE)  

“…that they may all be one.  

As you, Father, are in me and I am in you,  

may they also be in us…”

Refrain  

I am invited into union with God.

Quote / Poem  

Meister Eckhart  

“God is always at home.  

It is we who have gone out for a walk.  

Yet the soul that returns to itself  

returns to God,  

for the ground of the soul  

and t...

Scripture  

Romans 8:16 (NRSVUE)  

It is that very Spirit  

bearing witness with our spirit  

that we are children of God.

Refrain  

The Spirit speaks within me.

Quote / Poem  

St. Symeon the New Theologian  

“God is not far away.  

The fire of the Spirit  

shines within your heart,  

warming, illuminating,  

revealing who you truly are.  

Look within,  

and you will find the One  

wh...

Scripture  

Acts 17:28 (NRSVUE)  

For “In him we live and move and have our being,”  

as even some of your own poets have said,  

“For we too are his offspring.”

Refrain  

God is in all things, and all things are in God.

Quote / Poem  

Teilhard de Chardin  

“By virtue of creation,  

not one of us is ever far from God.  

The divine presence  

is at the heart of matter  

and at the cent...

Scripture  

Genesis 12:2 (NRSVUE)  

I will make of you a great nation,  

and I will bless you, and make your name great,  

so that you will be a blessing.

Refrain  

The blessing I receive becomes the blessing I give.

Quote / Poem  

John O’Donohue  

“May the gifts you have been given  

find their way into the world.  

May your life be a channel of grace,  

a quiet river of blessing  

that...

Scripture  

Isaiah 41:10 (NRSVUE)  

Do not fear, for I am with you;  

do not be afraid, for I am your God.  

I will strengthen you, I will help you;  

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Refrain  

God holds me when I cannot hold myself.

Quote / Poem  

Frederick Buechner  

“Faith is not a clenched fist  

but an open hand.  

It is not holding on for dear life  

but letti...

Scripture  

Psalm 32:10 (NRSVUE)  

Many are the torments of the wicked,  

but steadfast love surrounds  

those who trust in the Lord.

Refrain  

I am surrounded by mercy.

Quote / Poem  

Julian of Norwich  

“God is nearer to us than our own soul,  

for we are endlessly held  

in His vast and tender mercy.  

And though we fall,  

His arms surround us still—  

not to punish,  

but to lift,  

to h...

Scripture  

Jeremiah 17:7–8 (NRSVUE)  

Blessed are those who trust in the Lord,  

whose trust is the Lord.  

They shall be like a tree planted by water,  

sending out its roots by the stream.  

It shall not fear when heat comes,  

and its leaves shall stay green;  

in the year of drought it is not anxious,  

and it does not cease to bear fruit.

Refrain  

God strengthens me where no one sees.

Quote / Poe...

Duration: 00:05:06

Scripture  

Psalm 119:105 (NRSVUE)  

Your word is a lamp to my feet  

and a light to my path.

Refrain  

God guides me one step at a time.

Quote / Poem  

Eugene Peterson  

“God’s direction is not a spotlight  

that floods the horizon with certainty.  

It is a lamp—  

small enough to carry,  

bright enough for the step in front of you.  

Faith grows not by seeing everything,  

but by t...

Scripture  

Psalm 51:10 (NRSVUE)  

Create in me a clean heart, O God,  

and put a new and right spirit within me.

Refrain  

God renews me from the inside out.

Quote / Poem  

Howard Thurman  

“There is in every person  

a quiet center,  

a place of renewal  

where God whispers life again.  

Return to that center often—  

for it is from the depths  

that true transformation rises.”

...

Scripture  

Isaiah 43:1 (NRSVUE)  

But now thus says the Lord…  

“I have called you by name,  

you are mine.”

Refrain  

I am the one God loves.

Quote / Poem  

Brennan Manning  

“Define yourself radically  

as one beloved by God.  

This is the true self  

every other voice tries to silence.  

Your identity is not rooted  

in what you achieve,  

but in the One  

who calls you beloved—  

...

Scripture  

1 Corinthians 6:19 (NRSVUE)  

Do you not know that your body is a temple  

of the Holy Spirit within you,  

which you have from God…?

Refrain  

God dwells in this body.

Quote / Poem  

Hildegard of Bingen  

“Your body is a sacred vessel,  

alive with the breath of God.  

Do not despise the earth you are made of—  

for it is here  

that the Holy One chooses to dwell.  

The soul i...

Scripture  

Psalm 27:8 (NRSVUE)  

You have said, “Seek my face.”  

My heart says to you,  

“Your face, Lord, do I seek.”

Refrain  

My desire draws me toward God.

Quote / Poem  

John of the Cross  

“In the desire of the heart  

God is already present.  

For longing is the humble doorway  

through which Love enters—  

not to take us away from ourselves,  

but to lead us deeper within  

to where Go...

Scripture  

1 Kings 19:12 (NRSVUE)  

…and after the earthquake a fire,  

but the Lord was not in the fire;  

and after the fire  

a sound of sheer silence.

Refrain  

God meets me in the quiet.

Quote / Poem  

Kathleen Norris  

“Silence is not the absence of God—  

it is the presence of God unforced.  

It is here we learn to listen,  

to shed our illusions,  

to discover the One  

who h...

Scripture  

2 Corinthians 4:6 (NRSVUE)  

For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”  

who has shone in our hearts  

to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God  

in the face of Jesus Christ.

Refrain  

Love shines through everything.

Quote / Poem  

Julian of Norwich  

“The love of God creates in us  

such a oneness  

that when it is truly seen,  

no created thing can separ...

Scripture  

1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NRSVUE)  

Give thanks in all circumstances,  

for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Refrain  

Gratitude opens my heart to God.

Quote / Poem  

Mary Oliver  

“It is a serious thing  

just to be alive  

on this fresh morning  

in this broken world.  

I give thanks for the mystery of it—  

for the grass underfoot,  

for the air moving through my lungs,  <...

Scripture  

Colossians 1:17 (NRSVUE)  

He himself is before all things,  

and in him all things hold together.

Refrain  

All things are held together in Christ.

Quote / Poem  

Teilhard de Chardin  

“By virtue of creation,  

and still more of the Incarnation,  

nothing here below is profane for those who know how to see.  

The divine spark is everywhere,  

hidden in matter as fire is hidden in stone.  

To live is to set that f...

Scripture  

Matthew 5:9 (NRSVUE)  

Blessed are the peacemakers,  

for they will be called children of God.

Refrain  

I carry peace wherever I go.

Quote / Poem  

John Lewis  

“Peace is not simply the absence of war or tension—  

it is the presence of justice,  

the manifestation of compassion,  

the active pursuit of reconciliation.  

True peace does not come by standing still—  

it comes when love steps forward.”

Hosted on Ac...

Scripture  

John 1:4–5 (NRSVUE)  

In him was life,  

and the life was the light of all people.  

The light shines in the darkness,  

and the darkness did not overcome it.

Refrain  

The light within me is the life of God.

Quote / Poem  

Rabindranath Tagore  

“The same stream of life that runs through my veins night and day  

runs through the world and dances in rhythmic measures.  

It is the same life that shoot...

Scripture:

Ephesians 5:8-9 (NRSVUE) — “For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light; for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true.”

Refrain:

I turn toward the light and walk in grace.

Quote:

Wendell Berry: “It may be that when we no longer know what to do we have come to our real work, and that when we no longer know which way to go we have come to our real journey...

Scripture:

Luke 22:42 (NRSVUE) — “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done.”

Refrain:

I surrender into love.

Quote:

Thomas Merton: “My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. But I know that if...

Scripture:

Isaiah 30:15 (NRSVUE) — “For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.”

Refrain: In stillness, I remember who I am.

Quote:

Thomas Keating: “Silence is God’s first language; everything else is a poor translation. In the silence of the heart, God speaks more than words—She is not limited to sound. Be still and let Him be God in you.”

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Scripture:

Matthew 11:28 (NRSVUE) — “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”

Refrain:

I release what no longer brings life.

Quote:

Rainer Maria Rilke: “I am circling around God, around the ancient tower, and I have been circling for thousands of years, and I still don’t know if I am a falcon, or a storm, or a great song. All that matters is that I keep circling, that I keep releasing what keeps me from flight.”

Hoste...

Scripture:

Lamentations 3:22-23 (NRSVUE) — The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Refrain:

Grace meets me in the new beginning.

Quote:

Jan Richardson

“Still, this blessing comes— a quiet breath, a gentle nudge, a hand placed lightly at the small of your back as you move toward what is waiting for you. This blessing is not a map. It is not a cure. But it is a beginning, and it say...

Scripture  

2 Corinthians 3:18 (NRSVUE)  

And all of us, with unveiled faces,  

seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror,  

are being transformed into the same image  

from one degree of glory to another;  

for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.

Refrain  

I become what I behold in love.

Quote / Poem  

St. Clare of Assisi  

“Gaze upon Christ.  

Romans 12:5 (NRSVUE)  

So we, who are many, are one body in Christ,  

and individually we are members one of another.

Refrain  

I was made to belong.

Quote / Poem  

Jean Vanier  

“Community is a place of belonging,  

a place of vulnerability and trust,  

a place where each person’s gift  

can be revealed and shared.  

It is not a dreamland—  

but a school of love.  

To...

Scripture  

John 20:27 (NRSVUE)  

Then he said to Thomas,  

“Put your finger here and see my hands.  

Reach out your hand and put it in my side.  

Do not doubt but believe.”

Refrain  

Even in my wounds, I am becoming whole.

Quote / Poem  

Wendell Berry  

“Even in the dark,  

the hand may be held,  

the wound may be tended.  

To walk wounded  

is not...

Scripture  

Matthew 11:29 (NRSVUE)  

Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me,  

for I am gentle and humble in heart,  

and you will find rest for your souls.

Refrain  

I open my heart to gentleness.

Quote / Poem  

Macrina Wiederkehr  

“I will believe the truth about myself  

no matter how beautiful it is.  

I will believe that gentleness is not a luxury—  

it...

Scripture  

Colossians 3:3 (NRSVUE)  

For you have died,  

and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Refrain  

I am held in the mystery of who I truly am.

Quote / Poem  

Henri Nouwen  

“Spiritual identity means we are not what we do,  

not what we have,  

not what others say about us.  

We are the beloved daughters and sons of God.  

That is the voice we n...

Scripture  

Micah 6:8 (NRSVUE)  

He has told you, O mortal, what is good;  

and what does the Lord require of you  

but to do justice, and to love kindness,  

and to walk humbly with your God?

Refrain  

God leads me in simplicity and peace.

Quote / Poem  

Simone Weil  

“Simplicity is the sign of the divine.  

It is not the absence of depth,  

but the presence of cl...

Scripture  

Psalm 42:1 (NRSVUE)  

As a deer longs for flowing streams,  

so my soul longs for you, O God.

Refrain  

My longing is a prayer.

Quote / Poem  

Kahlil Gibran  

“It is the desire in your heart that is your guide.  

And though you may not always find what you seek,  

your longing will lead you.  

Trust the ache within—  

it is the echo of God  

call...

Scripture  

Matthew 6:11 (NRSVUE)  

Give us this day our daily bread.

Refrain  

In bread and breath, God is near.

Quote / Poem  

Barbara Brown Taylor  

“The practice of wearing skin,  

of touching and tasting and smelling your way toward the Holy—  

this is the invitation.  

Earth is so thick with divine possibility  

that it is a wonder we can walk anywhere  

without cracking our shins on altars.” Duration: 00:05:06

Scripture  

Zechariah 4:10 (NLT)  

Do not despise these small beginnings,  

for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin...

Refrain  

God is in the small and the slow.

Quote / Poem  

Mary Oliver  

“Instructions for living a life:  

Pay attention.  

Be astonished.  

Tell about it.  

To see a world in a blade of grass,  

a grace note in the call of a bird—  

this is...

Scripture  

Exodus 3:5 (NRSVUE)  

Then he said,  

“Come no closer!  

Remove the sandals from your feet,  

for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”

Refrain  

This moment is holy ground.

Quote / Poem  

Brother Lawrence  

“We should establish ourselves in a sense of God’s presence  

by continually conversing with Him.  

It is not necessary to have great things to do.  

I turn the littl...

Scripture  

Philippians 4:11 (NRSVUE)  

Not that I am referring to being in need,  

for I have learned to be content  

with whatever I have.

Refrain  

This moment is enough. God is enough.

Quote / Poem  

Mary Oliver  

“I don’t want to end up simply having visited this world.  

I want to walk slowly through the fields,  

feeling the ground under my feet,  

listening to the small v...

Scripture  

John 13:34 (NRSVUE)  

I give you a new commandment,  

that you love one another.  

Just as I have loved you,  

you also should love one another.

Refrain  

Love is the path. Love is the way.

Quote / Poem  

St. Teresa of Avila  

“The important thing is not to think much,  

but to love much;  

and so do that which best stirs you to love.  

Love...

Scripture  

Psalm 139:7–10 (NRSVUE)  

Where can I go from your spirit?  

Or where can I flee from your presence?  

If I ascend to heaven, you are there;  

if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.  

If I take the wings of the morning  

and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,  

even there your hand shall lead me,  

and your right hand shall hold me fast.

Refrain  

God is closer than my next...

Scripture  

2 Corinthians 3:16 (NRSVUE)  

But when one turns to the Lord,  

the veil is removed.

Refrain  

Let me see with the eyes of my soul.

Quote / Poem  

Madeleine L’Engle  

“Faith is for that which lies on the other side of reason.  

Faith is what makes life bearable,  

with all its tragedies and ambiguities  

and sudden, startling joys.  

There is always more to see.  

We...

Scripture  

Proverbs 3:5 (NRSVUE)  

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,  

and do not rely on your own insight.

Refrain  

I lean not on what I see, but who You are.

Quote / Poem  

Thomas R. Kelly  

“Faith is not a speculation,  

but a venture.  

It is not an inference from the facts around us,  

but a grasping of the facts beyond...

Scripture  

Galatians 5:1 (NRSVUE)  

For freedom Christ has set us free.  

Stand firm, therefore,  

and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

Refrain  

I am free to live in love.

Quote / Poem  

John O’Donohue  

“May you awaken to the mystery of being here  

and enter the quiet immensity of your own presence.  

May you experience each day  

as a sacred gift  <...

Scripture  

Romans 2:4 (NRSVUE)  

Do you not realize that God’s kindness  

is meant to lead you to repentance?

Refrain  

I turn, and Love meets me there.

Quote / Poem  

James Finley  

“Repentance is the interior posture  

of one who is willing to be undone by love—  

to surrender all that is not yet free  

into the mercy of God.  

It is the grace  

...

Scripture  

Philippians 1:6 (NIV)  

Being confident of this,  

that he who began a good work in you  

will carry it on to completion  

until the day of Christ Jesus.

Refrain  

Grace meets me in the middle.

Quote / Poem  

Rabindranath Tagore  

“If you cry because the sun has gone out of your life,  

your tears will prevent you from seeing the stars.  

Let the unfinished be the...

Scripture  

Psalm 46:5 (NRSVUE)  

God is in the midst of the city;  

it shall not be moved;  

God will help it when the morning dawns.

Refrain  

Even now, the center holds.

Quote / Poem  

Thomas Merton  

“There is in all visible things  

an invisible fecundity,  

a dimmed light,  

a hidden wholeness.  

This mysterious unity and integrity  

is wisdom, the mother of...

Scripture  

Joel 2:13 (NRSVUE)  

Return to the Lord, your God,  

for he is gracious and merciful,  

slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love,  

and relents from punishing.

Refrain  

I am always welcome in Love.

Quote / Poem  

Henri Nouwen  

“The return to the Father is ultimately the challenge  

to let God be God,  

to trust in his love unconditionally,  

Scripture  

Hebrews 13:8 (NRSVUE)  

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Refrain  

I am rooted in what cannot be shaken.

Quote

Julian of Norwich  

“God is the still point at the center.  

He holds us fast in His love  

and will never let us go.  

The soul may be tossed by winds of change,  

but she is not lost—  

for beneath her feet is the ground of God.”...

Scripture  

2 Corinthians 4:16 (NRSVUE)  

So we do not lose heart.  

Even though our outer nature is wasting away,  

our inner nature is being renewed day by day.

Refrain  

God gives me strength for today.

Quote 

Howard Thurman  

“There is in every person something that waits and listens  

for the sound of the genuine in herself.  

It is the only true guide you will ever have.  

And if you cannot h...

Scripture  

Psalm 13:1 (NRSVUE)  

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?  

How long will you hide your face from me?

Refrain  

In silence, I lean closer.

Quote  

Mother Teresa  

“We need to find God, and He cannot be found in noise and restlessness.  

God is the friend of silence.  

See how nature—trees, flowers, grass—grows in silence.  

See the stars, the moon and the sun,  

how they move in silence… ...

Scripture  

Mark 4:27 (NRSVUE)  

Night and day, while the farmer sleeps and rises,  

the seed sprouts and grows—he does not know how.

Refrain  

Even now, God is growing something in me.

Quote

Rainer Maria Rilke  

“Everything is gestation and then bringing forth.  

To let each impression and each seed of a feeling  

come to completion entirely in itself,  

in the dark,  

in the unsayable...

Scripture  

Isaiah 30:18 (NRSVUE)  

Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you;  

therefore he will rise up to show mercy to you.  

For the Lord is a God of justice;  

blessed are all those who wait for him.

Refrain  

God is not in a hurry. And He is not far.

Quote  

Henri Nouwen  

“Patience is not waiting passively until something happens.  

Patience asks us to live the moment to the fulles...

Scripture  

Psalm 27:4 (NRSVUE)  

One thing I asked of the Lord,  

that will I seek after:  

to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,  

to behold the beauty of the Lord,  

and to inquire in his temple.

Refrain  

Beauty is how God speaks to my soul.

Quote

St. John of the Cross  

“I did not know the source of the stream  

tha...

Scripture  

Acts 17:28 (NRSVUE)  

For “In him we live and move and have our being”;  

as even some of your own poets have said,  

“For we too are his offspring.”

Refrain  

God is here. Everywhere. Always.

Quote

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin  

“There is nothing profane  

for those who have learned to see.  

The presence of God  

is not more in the sanctuary  

than it is in the city street...

Scripture  

Luke 24:32 (NRSVUE)  

They said to each other,  

“Were not our hearts burning within us  

while he was talking to us on the road,  

while he was opening the scriptures to us?”

Refrain  

My heart burns with divine presence.

Quote

Frederick Buechner  

“Pay attention to the things that bring a tear to your eye  

or a lump in your throat.  

They are signs that the holy is drawing...

Scripture  

Psalm 8:3–4 (NIV)  

When I consider your heavens,  

the work of your fingers,  

the moon and the stars,  

which you have set in place,  

what is mankind that you are mindful of them,  

human beings that you care for them?

Refrain  

Let wonder wake me to God.

Quote

Abraham Joshua Heschel  

“Our goal should be to live life in radical amazement...  

to get up in the morning...

Scripture  

Ephesians 1:18 (NRSVUE)  

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened,  

so that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you,  

what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints.

Refrain  

God, open the eyes of my heart.

Quote

St. Augustine  

“Late have I loved you, Beauty so old and so new,  

late have I loved you!  

And see, you...

Scripture  

Luke 22:42 (NRSVUE)  

“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me;  

yet, not my will but yours be done.”

Refrain  

I let go, and God holds what I release.

Quote

Kahlil Gibran, from *The Prophet*  

“You would know the secret of death.  

But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?

For life and death are one,  

even as the river and the sea are one...

Scripture  

Isaiah 26:3 (NRSVUE)  

You keep in perfect peace  

those whose minds are stayed on you,  

because they trust in you.

Refrain  

My soul is held in stillness.

Quote

Rabindranath Tagore  

“The storm whispers,  

but the heart must listen for the stillness.  

Peace does not come when the world grows quiet.  

It comes when the soul grows deep.

Do not chase peace.  

Dig for it.  

Find it be...

Scripture  

Psalm 23:1 (NIV)  

The Lord is my shepherd,  

I lack nothing.

Refrain  

In God, I have enough.

Quote

Dallas Willard  

“The Lord is my Shepherd  

is a sentiment that has become so familiar  

we often miss the audacity of it.  

To say, 'I shall not want,'  

is to live as if everything I need  

will be provided  

when I need it—  

not in anxiety,  

bu...

Scripture  

Matthew 11:28 (NRSVUE)  

“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens,  

and I will give you rest.”

Refrain  

Rest is a sacred act of trust.

Quote  

Wayne Muller  

“In the relentless busyness of modern life,  

we have lost the rhythm between work and rest.  

All life requires a rhythm of rest.  

There is rhythm in our waking and sleeping,  

there is rhythm in the way day follows ni...

Scripture  

John 20:21 (NRSVUE)  

Jesus said to them again,  

“Peace be with you.  

As the Father has sent me,  

so I send you.”

Refrain  

I am sent in love to love.

Quote 

Teresa of Avila  

“Christ has no body now but yours.  

No hands, no feet on earth but yours.  

Yours are the eyes with which he looks  

compassion on this world.  

Yours are the feet with which he walks...

Scripture  

Jude 1:1 (NRSVUE)  

To those who are called,  

who are beloved in God the Father  

and kept safe for Jesus Christ.

Refrain  

I am kept by Love that does not let go.

Quote

Julian of Norwich  

“God did not say, ‘You will not be troubled.’  

He did not say, ‘You will not be tempted, you will not be distressed.’  

But He said, ‘You will not be overcome.’

All shall be well,  

and...

Scripture  

Luke 16:10 (NRSVUE)  

Whoever is faithful in a very little  

is faithful also in much;  

and whoever is dishonest in a very little  

is dishonest also in much.

Refrain  

In small things, I stay faithful.

Quote

Wendell Berry, from *Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front*  

“Every day do something  

that won’t compute.  

Love the Lord.  

Love the world.  

Work for nothing.  

Plant sequoias.  

Sa...

Scripture  

Matthew 6:22 (NRSVUE)  

The eye is the lamp of the body.  

So, if your eye is healthy,  

your whole body will be full of light.

Refrain  

In simplicity, I find God again.

Quote  

Thomas R. Kelly  

“Life is meant to be lived from a Center,  

a divine Center.  

Each of us can live such a life of amazing power and peace,  

of integration and confidence and simplicity.

We need not get f...

Scripture  

Galatians 5:25 (NIV)  

Since we live by the Spirit,  

let us keep in step with the Spirit.

Refrain  

I move in rhythm with the Spirit.

Quote

Howard Thurman  

“There is something in every one of you  

that waits and listens for the sound of the genuine in yourself.  

It is the only true guide you will ever have.  

And if you cannot hear it,  

you will spend your days on the end...

Scripture  

Micah 6:8 (NRSVUE)  

He has told you, O mortal, what is good,  

and what does the Lord require of you  

but to do justice, and to love kindness,  

and to walk humbly with your God?

Refrain  

One step at a time, I walk with God.

Quote  

Eugene Peterson  

“There is a great market for religious experience in our world;  

there is little enthusiasm for the patient acquisition of virtue,  

little inclinatio...

Scripture  

Job 11:7 (NRSVUE)  

Can you fathom the mysteries of God?  

Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?

Refrain  

I am held by the mystery, not separate from it.

Quote  

Thomas Merton  

“My Lord God,  

I have no idea where I am going.  

I do not see the road ahead of me.  

I cannot know for certain where it will end.  

But I believe that the desire to please you  

does in fa...

Scripture  

John 14:23 (NRSVUE)  

Jesus answered him,  

“Those who love me will keep my word,  

and my Father will love them,  

and we will come to them  

and make our home with them.”

Refrain  

I belong to God, and God belongs with me.

Quote

Jean Vanier  

“To be lonely is to feel unwanted and unloved,  

and when one is lonely,  

the heart cries out,  

‘Where do I belong?’  

Go...

Scripture  

Isaiah 43:1 (NRSVUE)  

But now thus says the Lord,  

he who created you, O Jacob,  

he who formed you, O Israel:  

Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;  

I have called you by name, you are mine.

Refrain  

I am known, I am named, I am loved.

Poem  

Henri Nouwen  

“Long before any human being saw us,  

we are seen by God’s loving eyes.  

Long before anyone heard...

Scripture  

Genesis 28:16 (NIV)  

When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought,  

“Surely the Lord is in this place,  

and I was not aware of it.”

Refrain  

God is here in the ordinary.

Poem  

Mary Oliver, from "Making the House Ready for the Lord"  

“Dear Lord, I have swept and I have washed  

but still nothing is as shining as it should be  

for you.  

Nevertheless,  

I am here,  

and I am...

Scripture  

1 Corinthians 13:12 (NRSVUE)  

For now we see in a mirror, dimly,  

but then we will see face to face.  

Now I know only in part;  

then I will know fully,  

even as I have been fully known.

Refrain  

I am safe even when I do not understand.

Quote

From The Cloud of Unknowing

“God may be loved,  

but not thought.  

He may be grasped  

through love,  

Scripture  

Romans 5:3–5 (NIV)  

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings,  

because we know that suffering produces perseverance;  

perseverance, character;  

and character, hope.  

And hope does not put us to shame,  

because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts  

through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

Refrain  

Hope is rising in me again.

Quote 

Oscar Romero  

“We accomplish in our lifetime only a fractio...

Scripture  

2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV)  

But he said to me,  

“My grace is sufficient for you,  

for my power is made perfect in weakness.”  

Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses,  

so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Refrain  

God meets me in my weakness.

Quote 

Brené Brown  

“Vulnerability is not winning or losing.  

It’s having the courage to show up  

when you can’t control the out...

Scripture  

Mark 2:3–5 (NIV)  

Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man,  

carried by four of them.  

Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd,  

they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it  

and then lowered the mat the man was lying on.  

When Jesus saw their faith,  

he said to the paralyzed man,  

“Son, your sins are forgiven.”

Refrain  

I am healed by love that carries me.

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Scripture  

Romans 12:1 (NRSVUE)  

I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters,  

by the mercies of God,  

to present your bodies as a living sacrifice,  

holy and acceptable to God,  

which is your spiritual worship.

Refrain  

My body is held in the love of God.

Quote

Cole Arthur Riley, from This Here Flesh  

“Before I knew words for God,  

I knew what it was to feel safe in someone’s arms.  

That was...

Scripture  

Ecclesiastes 3:1,3 (NRSVUE)  

For everything there is a season,  

and a time for every matter under heaven:  

…a time to heal,  

a time to break down,  

and a time to build up.

Refrain  

I trust God in the in-between.

Quote  

Pádraig Ó Tuama, from In the Shelter  

“Sometimes healing  

does not look like sunlight breaking through.  

Sometimes it looks like sitting in the dark,  

learning to breathe again,  

not...