Poets & Saints

Scripture   Habakkuk 3:17–18 (NRSVUE)    Though the fig tree does not blossom   and no fruit is on the vines;   though the produce of the olive fails   and the fields yield no food;   though the flock is cut off from the fold   and there is no herd in the stalls,   yet I will rejoice in the Lord;   I will exu...

Scripture   Ecclesiastes 4:9–10 (NIV)    Two are better than one,   because they have a good return for their labor:   If either of them falls down,   one can help the other up.   But pity anyone who falls   and has no one to help them up. Refrain   God moves through the people beside me. Quote Henri Nouwen  &nbsp...

Scripture   Mark 4:27 (NIV)    Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up,   the seed sprouts and grows,   though he does not know how. Refrain   Grace is at work, even when I can’t see it. Quote / Poem   Rainer Maria Rilke , from *Letters to a Young Poet*   “Everything is gestation and then bringing forth.   To let e...

Scripture   Matthew 16:25 (NRSVUE)    For those who want to save their life will lose it,   and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. Refrain   In surrender, I find rest. Quote Michael A. Singer , from *The Untethered Soul*   “Surrender is the highest form of control.   It is the choice to stop fighting with life  ...

Scripture   Lamentations 3:22–23 (NIV)    Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,   for his compassions never fail.   They are new every morning;   great is your faithfulness. Refrain   Your mercy meets me here. Quote Julian of Norwich    “Often I wondered why, by the great foreseeing wisdom of God,   the...

Scripture   Zechariah 14:20 (NIV)    On that day,   “HOLY TO THE LORD”   will be inscribed on the bells of the horses,   and the cooking pots in the Lord’s house   will be like the sacred bowls   in front of the altar. Refrain   Nothing is too ordinary for wonder. Quote Annie Dillard , from Teaching a Stone to Talk &nb...

Scripture   Colossians 2:9 (NLT)    For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. Refrain   God is not far from flesh. Quote Richard Rohr , from *The Universal Christ*   “When God chose to reveal Himself,   He did it through a human body.   If we’re to understand the nature of God,   we must begin with this: ...

Scripture   John 1:5 (CSB)    That light shines in the darkness,   and yet the darkness did not overcome it. Refrain   Your light finds me, even here. Quote Barbara Brown Taylor , from *Learning to Walk in the Dark*   “Even when light fades and darkness falls—   as it does every single day,   in every single life—   Go...

Scripture   Romans 8:23 (ESV)    And not only the creation,   but we ourselves,   who have the firstfruits of the Spirit,   groan inwardly as we wait eagerly   for adoption as sons,   the redemption of our bodies. Refrain   Even my longing is a form of prayer. Quote  St. John of the Cross    “In the dark...

Scripture   Genesis 2:7 (NRSVUE)    Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground,   and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life,   and the man became a living being. Refrain   The breath in me is holy. Quote  Hildegard von Bingen    “Holy Spirit,   making life alive,   moving in all things, ...

Scripture   Jeremiah 17:7–8 (NIV)    But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,   whose confidence is in him.   They will be like a tree planted by the water   that sends out its roots by the stream.   It does not fear when heat comes;   its leaves are always green.   It has no worries in a year of drought &nb...

Scripture   Luke 17:21 (ESV)    “…the kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed,   nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’   for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” Refrain   This moment is a meeting place. Poem   Thich Nhat Hanh    “Drink your tea slowly and reverently,   as...

Scripture   Ecclesiastes 11:5 (NLT)    Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind   or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb,   so you cannot understand the activity of God,   who does all things. Refrain   I am held by the One I cannot explain. Poem   Rainer Maria Rilke , from Letters to a Young Poet&n...

Scripture   Deuteronomy 4:9 (NIV)    Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely   so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen   or let them fade from your heart as long as you live.   Teach them to your children and to their children after them. Refrain   I remember what You’ve done, so I trust what You’ll do. Quote / Poem...

Scripture   Psalm 23:2–3 (CSB)    He lets me lie down in green pastures;   He leads me beside quiet waters.   He renews my life;   He leads me along the right paths   for His name’s sake. Refrain   Lead me to the stillness that restores. Poem   Christian Wiman , from My Bright Abyss “Silence is not absence.  ...

Scripture   Philippians 4:6–7 (NLT)    Don’t worry about anything;   instead, pray about everything.   Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.   Then you will experience God’s peace,   which exceeds anything we can understand.   His peace will guard your hearts and minds   as you live in Christ Jesus...

Scripture   Ezekiel 36:26 (NIV)    I will give you a new heart   and put a new spirit in you;   I will remove from you your heart of stone   and give you a heart of flesh. Refrain   Soften my heart until it beats again. Poem   Mary Oliver , from Lead    “There is a heaven we enter   through institutional grac...

Scripture   John 16:13 (NIV)    But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes,   he will guide you into all the truth.   He will not speak on his own;   he will speak only what he hears,   and he will tell you what is yet to come. Refrain   I listen for the voice that leads with love. Quote Kahlil Gibran , from The Prophet “You talk w...

Scripture   1 Corinthians 6:19–20 (The Message)    Didn’t you realize that your body is a sacred place,   the place of the Holy Spirit?   Don’t you see that you can’t live however you please,   squandering what God paid such a high price for?   The physical part of you is not some piece of property   belonging to the spiritual p...

Scripture   Ephesians 1:18 (NRSV)    …so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened,   you may know what is the hope to which he has called you,   what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints,   and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe. Refrain   Open my eyes to what is already holy. Po...

Scripture   Exodus 3:2–4 (NRSV)    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 he h...

Scripture   Isaiah 61:3 (NRSV)    ...to provide for those who mourn in Zion—   to give them a garland instead of ashes,   the oil of gladness instead of mourning,   the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.   They will be called oaks of righteousness,   the planting of the Lord, to display his glory. Refrain   Gr...

Scripture   Lamentations 3:25–26 (NRSV)    The Lord is good to those who wait for him,   to the soul that seeks him.   It is good that one should wait quietly   for the salvation of the Lord. Refrain   I will wait with hope through the night. Poem   John O’Donohue , from To Bless the Space Between Us “This is the time to be slow...

Scripture   Psalm 5:1–3 (NRSV)    Give ear to my words, O Lord;   give heed to my sighing.   Listen to the sound of my cry,   my King and my God,   for to you I pray.   O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice;   in the morning I plead my case to you, and watch. Refrain   God hears what I cannot say. Poem&nbs...

Scripture   Romans 8:38–39 (NRSV)    For I am convinced that neither death, nor life,   nor angels, nor rulers,   nor things present, nor things to come,   nor powers, nor height, nor depth,   nor anything else in all creation,   will be able to separate us from the love of God   in Christ Jesus our Lord. Refrain ...