When I was young I looked ahead
and wondered what might be,
Dreaming of all the future held,
what would become of me.

But as the years passed one by one
my dreams fell by the way,
so busy living life, I found
I had to store my dreams away.

I’m older now, much older,
some even call me old,
I no longer dream big dreams
my story has been mostly told.

I find these days when I look back,
consider what has been,
those dreams I held so long ago,
I have no need or use for them.

Life’s joys and tears, and some regrets
not much of how I dreamed, and yet –
somehow its all been good,
I would hardly change a thing.

“Reflections” Sandra Bivens Smith . Copyright ©️ 2023

Your word O Lord lifts my spirit and brings gladness to my heart. You alone give power and strength to Your children.

My heart breaks for those with vain lives; those who work and strive to be fulfilled, but come up empty. They search the world for treasure only to find disappointment. They want more, more, more – but settle for less. If they only would realize that they can never know true joy because they have rejected Your love.

They live their lives in pain and sorrow, worry and doubts because they refuse to believe and surrender to the One who can give them strength. They deny the One who can give them power over evil, victory over their failures, hope where all hope has been lost. Holy Spirit, stir their hearts and fill them with the hope of our Savior.

Awesome God, strong and powerful God, The One True God, blessed be Your name forever. Amen

“Songs in the Morning” Sandra Bivens Smith. Copyright ©️ 2023

Lord, how awesome are Your works, how majestic is Your name, how great is Your power.

Sovereign God, Creator God, all powerful God, who am I that You should consider me? You put Your Spirit in me, You put Your love upon me, You called me Your daughter.

You suffered to take away my pain. You bore my sin to make me righteous. You died to give me life. You did all this for no other reason than it was Your desire to do so. Surely it was not for any worthiness found in me, I am not worthy. My worth comes only by Your grace and mercy and love.

To You I offer up praise, my Savior, my Redeemer, my Lord.

“Songs in the Morning” Sandra Bivens Smith. Copyright ©️ 2023

My God, my Savior, My Lord. Let Your mighty voice be heard throughout all Your creation. Call out to Your people the message of hope.

Why is the voice of the enemy heard above Yours? Why are his whispered lies more appealing to the ears of man? Why does it rise above the voice of Truth?

Lord, You have all authority, when will You silence Satan and his lies? When will You make Your power known?

Yes! Your day is coming soon! Your mighty voice will ring out! Your people will rejoice with shouts and song of praise!

Hear the cry of Your people, “Come quickly Lord Jesus”.

“Songs in the Morning” Sandra Bivens Smith. Copyright ©️ 2023

Our good Father. You get justice for Your children.

Help me to remember that vengeance belongs to You, that for the injustice committed, You will repay.

Help me Lord to put my trust in You. Keep me mindful that sinful man’s justice can never be “fair”but Your justice, founded on Your righteousness, is perfect.

Remind me that all things were settled at the foot of the cross. The enemy’s fate has been pronounced. Help us to wait in confident expectation for that day when final judgment will be exacted upon Your enemies, Your justice will prevail, and all will be set right.

Help me to wait on You Lord.

“Songs in the Morning” Sandra Bivens Smith. Copyright ©️ 2023.

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise:
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above;
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love.

Here I raise mine Ebenezer;
Hither by Thy help I’m come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home:
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wand’ring from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood.

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee:
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, Lord, take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

Robinson was born in a small market town near Norwich in southeast England in 1735. He was born the same year that the great evangelist George Whitefield was converted in his college rooms at Oxford, and while a local revival was stirring Jonathan Edwards’s parish in New England and spreading up and down the Connecticut River Valley. But it would be another seventeen years before Robinson would hear Whitefield preach and be himself drawn into the orbit of the revival movement.

THE CENTER OF SPIRIT GRAVITY

Death is a result of sin. There was no sin in Jesus. Death had no power over him. For a great love-purpose he yielded to it. Then, when the great errand was done, he yielded to the natural upward gravity of his sinless life, and rose up, up through the rock of the tomb, up into life, a new life, a new sort of life. So it will be with us when he comes back.

From “The Bent Knee Time” devotional by Samuel D. Gordon

Lord, what a great privilege it is to come into Your presence.

Jesus, You are my strength, You bear me up when my arms are weak. You are the God of my salvation who has delivered me from the penalty of my sin, the curse of death, the depths of hell.

You are my Rock O Lord and on You I stand safe and sure. You are my fortress, no harm can come against me to destroy me.

Jesus, You are my life, my hope, my future.

You are my God.

“Songs in the Morning “ Sandra Bivens Smith. Copyright ©️ 2023

Lord of All, restore the strength of Your people, just as You have done from time everlasting.

Send Your rain in abundance upon my spirit, drench my heart. Let Your word rise up in me to revive me with gladness. My heart today is languishing, revive me O Lord and return to me the joy of my salvation.

Put Your song of praise in my heart that I might worship You worthily. Cleanse me Lord of all unrighteousness, make me holy before You.

It is only by Your mercy and Your grace, only by Your great and beautiful Name, that I am made worthy to seek Your face.

Let me rest in Your presence O Lord.

“Songs in the Morning” Sandra Bivens Smith. Copyright ©️ 2023.

Lord of all creation,our eternal hope.

What wonder it is to me that You chose me from eternity past to set Your love upon me, to give me an eternal hope and future. Out of Your great love You led me from the prison of sin into a land of beauty; out of darkness into light.

I was wandering aimlessly in a desert wasteland and You brought me into a land of milk and honey. You created in me a fountain of Living Water, streams that will never run dry.

Praises to You Jesus for Your great and awesome work in my life. It was a life deserving death but You transformed it into life everlasting.

You O Lord alone are worthy!

“Songs in the Morning”. Sandra Bivens Smith”. Copyright ©️ 2023