PEACE

Written 12/2006


PEACE
GOD’S PLAN
FOR ALL MEN
BORN OF A VIRGIN
THE ONLY WAY TO HEAVEN
COMING TO ALL THAT HOLIEST NIGHT
CRUCIFIED AND THENROSE AGAIN
REDEMPTION FOR OUR SINS
SALVATION FOR ALL
GOD’S GRACE
PEACE

Out of My Mind

Lord, I want to be out of my mind
I want to be crazy for You
I want to be sold out to Jesus
All my life thru


I want to be called a fanatic
I want to live a strange life
I want others to want to have
What I have inside


For if only one person
Who sees me each day
Should ask what I have and
Could I show them the way


The way to true peace
To grace from above
To joy and contentment
To living in love


For to be called a fanatic
To be said to be odd
Would make it all worth it
Cause I am crazy for God


Melissa Stokes
October 2, 2007

This poem is dedicated to Dr Tom Kinchen as his sermon inspired it!!

In Appreciation of the Pastor

He marries, He buries
He’s always on call
Summer & Winter
Springtime & Fall

His wife should be pleasant
His kids well-behaved
His own cheering section
For the souls he will save

They live life on parade
As in a fishbowl
Their clothes neatly pressed
Though their shoes have worn soles

If this is how you feel
Then you mind needs to change
You need to go to your pastor
Here’s what you should say

We understand that you are
Only one man
And that you have a family
Sometimes you have plans

We don’t always show it
We don’t tell it enough, too
But we’re glad you’re our Pastor
We appreciate you.

Melissa Stokes
October 2006

I Can Give Thanks

When the storms of life press in on me

And the path ahead seems bleak

When I think I have lost my way

My strength is gone and I am weak

I can look back to that day long ago

A day filled with sadness and hate

When my Jesus was killed and rose again for me

And with joy I then can give thanks.

When I look at those around this world

And see the millions of people in need

I realized just how blessed I am

And all that God does for me

So the next time my friend

You feel you just can't go on

That you can't make it another mile

Remember to stop and your blessings count

And you too can give thanks to God.

Melissa Stokes November 2005

Jesus Wept, Jesus Weeps

(Melissa Stokes, 6/27/04)


While praying in the garden

That dark and lonely night

Jesus called upon His Father

As He wept for you and I


He asked about the Father's will

If the cup could pass from Him.

But the course was set, the path was laid

He must die for our sins


So many years have come and gone

Since He conquered death and the grave

Yet as he observes the way things have become

Jesus weeps for America today.


We must pray that our nation

Will turn back to the light

Where God is God, truth is truth

And wrong is never right


America, when will we see

The need to honor God as before

Come back to Christ, accept His grace

So Jesus will weep no more

Hymn of Worship

Written May 21, 2006

W ~ worthy of all honor and praise

O ~ our anthem of love we raise

R ~ reverently on bended knee

S ~ seeking time alone with Thee

H ~ humbly only You we serve

I ~ in action, deed, thought and word

P ~ praise God in Heaven above and Jesus
Christ, your only Son.

How a Father Becomes a Dad

Written: June 12, 2005
Fathers, you would be the best Dad
If you follow this simple plan
Model your life after the Father of all
Become known as a godly man
Acknowledge the authority of God
Placing Him as the head of your home
He’ll help the other things fall into place
And your worries will all be gone
Take your family to church each week
Twice on Sunday and Wednesday nights
Teaching your children to serve the Lord
So He will be their guide
Honor the vows you made the day
Their mother became your wife
This will show your sons what kind of man to be
When they find their bride.
Envelope your children in your arms
Showering them daily with love
This will help them to understand the verse in John
That simple starts “For God so loved…”
Reflect upon the happy times
Forgetting all the bad
And one day with pride he’ll say
He wasn’t just a father - -
He was my Dad!

God Sent You

I had prayed so many times
Hoped it would come true
That I would find my one true love
The darling God sent you

He had a time and place in mind
A plan to carry thru
He knew exactly what I'd need
Because then He sent me you

I don't know all the many ways
One journey together will go
I only know as we travel along
God's will for us He'll show

So as we stand at this place
And pledge to love and say I do
There's no greater joy today
Thank God for sendin you!

mbs 1-18-09

Crucify

The crowd has gathered
The tension hangs in the air
They’ve come for one reason
The decision to be made is there

Two lives hang in the balance
The men as different as can be
The one a man who is angry and guilty
The other claims He is a King

At once the decision is called for
Murmurings turn into angry cries
Free Barabas - release his chains
It’s Jesus we want to die

Off in the shadows
A figure stands by
With a self-righteous cackle
“I’ve won” Satan cries

If Satan could only know
What would soon come to be
That no grave on earth
Could keep hold of this King

He wouldn’t be celebrating
Or claiming his crown
For Jesus will live again
Trumpets triumphantly sound.

Come!

Come the shepherds say to all
As they hurry down the street.
Come with us to Bethlehem
A newborn King to meet.

Open up your ears and heart
And listen to their story
About the angels who sang to us
Giving God the glory.

Make your way to Bethlehem
Thru Galilee and continuing up Calvary’s hill
Although the soldiers crucified the Lord
His power they could not kill.

Everyone of us can come
To see Him as we are
He will come to live with us
If we let Him in our hearts.

Come with us this Christmas day
And visit the stable in Bethlehem
Let’s bow down before the Lord
Ever in service to Him.

Melissa Stokes 12/11/2005

Lady In Waiting

All of God's creation on earth and sky and sea
Are marvelously made and most wonderful indeed
But there is one creation that stands out for all to see
She's the lady of God - a lady who is in waiting
She goes about her day
With a kind and gentle spirit
Her hands and mind are never idle
She's about God's work minute by minute
You can find her aptly described
In God's most Holy Book
For Proverbs chapter 31
We find what she should do
The lady is above all things
A daughter of the King
The day she joined the Bride of Christ
Is when she became a lady in waiting
Waiting for her Prince Of Peace
To come and take her away
To live with Him in Heaven
For that eternal day.

The Dimming of Two Stars

In the twinkling of an eye
Their life as they knew it had changed
Even though their life would go on
Nothing would ever be the same

Two bright and shining stars will not
Shine on this earth anymore
Those bright, shining stars now sparkle
As they enter thru Heaven's door

We will never know what they would have become
Had they lived another day
Yet also know if they were spared
Many heartaches and pain

Parents count your blessings
As you kiss your child good-night
Never let them go without knowing
The love you have for them inside

For we never know when we leave our home
If we'll make it back safe and sound
We only know if we trust in God
Only in Him is safety found

If their parents had only known
It would be their very last day
What would they have done differently
What would they have had to say

In the twinkling of an eye
When your life is thru
I pray the words you all may hear are
Welcome Home Child, I've been waiting for you

Dedicated to the memory of the Burbank children killed on I-4 near Polk City, FL Saturday August 5, 2006

Never Alone

Although I may be the only person in a room
I am never alone
While I sit in the silence with noone to talk to
I am never alone
What to some may seem to be a time of lonliness and boredom
To me is a time of reflection and prayer
What to some is an unending deafening silence
To me is unending adoration and praise
For you see when all my earthly friends walk out
God and his angels walk in
And when the noise of this world has been silence
It's God's still small voice I hear
It's in these times with noone around
I lift my heart and voice in song
Praise you Father for your gift of Jesus
For with Him I am never alone.

July 23, 2006

A Beginning Thru An Ending

Thru tear stained eyes they watch
As their precious loved on slips away
From life upon this sinful earth
To the blessed land of eternal day
It's hard for them to let go
Of this one they hold so dear
Although they know she's better off
They selfishly want them here
To humans death seems final
An ending not happy but sad
But this is only partially true
It depends upon the lifestyle you've had
If you've rejected the Son of God
And lived your life to please only self
You will live for all eternity
And ending that leads to Hell
But if you've accepted God's precious gift
Your heart can joyfully sing
For when you breathe your final breath
It's not the end - life for you is just beginning

June 4, 2006

Mother by Choice

There is a group in our churches
Who are overlooked each year
But they are still just as needed
As the mothers we hold dear

This group of women vary
In their age appearance and size
But they are seen as loved
When viewed thru a child's eyes

Perhaps they are a woman
Unable to bear a child to term
Or a single woman who
For a husband and children yearns

Although these women haven't
Been given children from above
They've become surrogate moms for your kids
Out of abundant love

Thru Sunday School and VBS
Children's choir and the nursery rocking chair
They mother the church's children
With the utmost love and care

VBS - Our Very Best Service

It's not just for kids
This VBS thing
For no matter your age
Joy it will bring

Our Very Best Service
To Jesus our King
Is commanded of us
In Galations 5:13

You may say you're too old
For Vacation Bible School
But age is not a factor
When God gives you the tools

Now is the time
To kneel down and pray
Lord, what part in our VBS
Would You have me to play?

For it's not just the fun and games
Or the little songs we sing
VBS is the Very Best Service
To our God we can bring

The Touch

Sometimes you can barely feel it
The touch from Heaven above
A stirring down deep inside you
A loving, gentle nudge

Other times you can't escape it
It's upon you both day and night
The hand of reproof upon your shoulder
Guiding from wrong towards right

This touch of God upon your life
Is a marvelous wonderful thing
It's there upon all God's children
Discipline, love and comfort to bring

It guides you to salvation
Gives comfort when you are sad
And the love you feel from this touch
Is the greatest you'll ever have

Can you feel His touch this day
Is His hand touching you
Accept His gift of salvation
Try and see all He will do

Carry Her Light

On December long ago
Was born an ordinary girl
Noone would've guessed this tiny child
Would one day change the world

As she grew she was known
By the pranks and tricks she played
But one day a change came forth
When her heart to Jesus she gave

The Lord placed upon her heart
A drawing need to go
To Tengchow, China as a missionary
His love for them to show

She gave all she had to those there
She gave her very life
What more perfect example of God's love
In a human could we ever find

Today we honor the memory
of Charlotte "Lottie" Diggs Moon
With a yearly offering to fund
What our foreign missionaries do

Lottie Moon lit her candle in
China all those years ago
Will you give this Christmas to light yours
Send your candle to go

Carry her light and her message of
God, His Son & His Love
Until the day when face to face
We'll meet Lottie in Heaven above

When I Saw You

I saw you as you went about your day
As you complete dall your many tasks
I saw you as you went to and fro
But did you see me I wanted to ask

I saw you as you took a stroll
Thru a garden of flowers kissed by dew
I marveled as I watched your face
That none of them were as beautiful as you

I watched you as you took some time
To talk to a little child
The gentle way you treated them
Made my heart with love to swell

I watched you as you sat alone
And watched the evening sky
So boldly painted by the seetting sun
Your face shone in its fading light

I watched you as I hung alone
Upon a wooden cross
I looked out thru the ages of time
Making sure your sould would not be lost

I watch you now from my Heavenly home
And wait by my Father's side
For the day when I shall hear Him say
My Son, go get your bride

I'll watch for you that glorious day
As I claim you as my Bride
I'll bring you back to the kingdom of God
And forever you'll be mine

A Job Well Done

A JOB WELL DONE
Written in honor of Jenny Helms upon her retirement from ButterKrust Bakery 1-7-07

The notice has been given
The office sorted through
The years of service are over
There’s nothing left here to do

A cross roads has been reached
The way to go been chosen
A new journey to embark upon
A new life to be living

For years you’ve been known to many
By the job title that you’ve bore
Now you’ll be know to them
As friend and nothing more

May God guide you on this journey
May you always look to Him
Until the day He says to you“
Well done my child, welcome in!”

As you embark upon this journey
Know we’ll all miss working with you
Also know we wish you the best
In all you choose to do.