FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Am I running from my fears today or facing them?
Have I prayed for my friends today or just thought of them?
Have I loved today only to get back something from the person I have showed love to?
Have you dealt with unsettled things of your past or do you steadily run from them?
Who have you thought about the most today? Have you prayed for them?
Who annoys you the most? Have you shown the love of Christ to them today?
From this day forward, if none of the desires or wants of your heart were ever fulfilled, would you still be satisfied in Christ?
Are you living to be served, or living to serve others?

CLOSED BOOK OF APPLICATION

CLOSED BOOK OF APPLICATION

Tyararr J. Jones

The knowledge that we learn, the wisdom that we gain,

What do we do with it through our journey and our strain?

Do we heap it up in barns and leave it there to mold,

Do we unleash its power and and press on so bold?

Most people don't really care how much you ultimatley know,

But how much you really care and are willing to show.

Open the wells of your mind and heart and the talents you have been given,

May you use them for His Glory and in this life you are living.

Help me O God to apply what I know and reproduce what is true in me,

Live my life in a way that shows truly I am complete in Thee.

GREAT EXPECTATIONS

GREAT EXPECTATIONS

By: Tyararr J. Jones

`From last breath to life in his presence I will stand,

Feeling the comfort of His love and the scars in His hands.

O what a moment when Jesus I see,

The purpose of my life, the lamb of Calvary.

I long for the eternal fellowship of my Savior and Friend,

The guide of my journey, the reward at the end.

My hope and expectation firmly planted in the promises of God's Word,

I hold them close to my heart as a soldier his sword.

From today to setting sun, for Heaven my soul longs,

It is my heart's passion and the theme of my song.

I press forward with joy in expectation of that day,

When before Jesus I will bow and at His feet my crowns lay.

FINALLY BRETHREN

FINALLY BRETHREN

By: Tyararr J. Jones

What have we done my brothers and sisters of the King,

Focusing so much on the outward appearance of things.

We ponder so much on the simple, petty things of life,

Stirring up ignornace and filling our churches with strife.

Our churches have focused more on fellowship instead of focusing on the lost,

Spiritual goals have been blurred, have we really forgotten the cost?

What will it take for us to truly see,

The lives passing by, unsure of their place in eternity?

We must press on with diligence even if we suffer loss,

Keeping our eye on the prize and our trust in the Cross.

Though at times we may grow weary and the burden hard to bear,

Remember those to whom the gospel we must share.

FROM NOW TILL THEN

FROM NOW TILL THEN

By: Tyararr J. Jones

This constant stirring from beyond the eyes of my soul,

Hears the beckoning from powers of which I cannot control.

Hidden in the shadows of what appears as temporal treasures,

Reveals itself in rumblings of unexpected pleasures.

Clouds of today unveil the simple focus of aspiration,

Driven by inner ponderings of eternal commitment and inspiration.

Take not heart in what is loss in temporal experience of life,

In the end it joins the garbage endured on this journey of uncertainties and strife.

Press on with today and linger not on what is tomorrow,

It shall bring with it faces of joy, hope, and sorrow.

The matter at hand is not how much you have gained or lost,

But the motive in which you did it for God at all cost.

BECAUSE OF YOU

BECAUSE OF YOU

By: Tyararr J. Jones

Because of you ... My smile is refreshed when I think of you.

Because of you ... My heart leaves a special spot for you and you alone.

Because of you ... You are an imprinted memory of love, beauty, and delight.

Because of you ... You are a treasure, though distant, very close at heart.

Because of you ... The canvas of my heart has forever been stained with your fingerprints of beauty.

Because of you ... My day does not end without the very thought of you.

Because of you ... I have loved a princess.

Because of you ... I whisper your name on silent lips.

Because of you ... I am no longer the man that I was.

Because of you ... I savour your friendship and fellowship like the refreshment of a cool breeze on a hot summer day.

Because of you ... I am a man found wanting.

Because of you ... My heart is forever refreshed by the very thought of you.

IF IT WERE TODAY...

THIS LAST BREATH

I TAKE

By: Tyararr J. Jones

From the grasp of the present, I slowly fade between the here and now to yesterday's shadows.

I drift away with no regrets but expectations beyond my comprehension.

That which I owned; I frantically give with no remorse.

That which I have experienced, I remember with emotions of diversity.

Release me, O death, to the life which awaits me beyond the borders of this realm.

You cannot hold me, for I am a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven.

I welcome your presence for I long to rid myself of this inner battle that beckons me daily.

I pant not for my last breath in this temporal vessel I dwell.

It is refreshing to find myself at the end of this journey.

Hunger for what is and what is to come is quenched by the fulfillment of standing in the presence of my God and King.

This last breath I take is not focused on what I leave behind, but on what lies ahead.

Do not grieve, but rejoice in this celebration on a new step in my journey.

We shall again meet where joy is savoured on every tongue and heartache is foreign.

Press on with joyful contemplation of what is to come.

This last breath I take is ......

MISS YOU

MISS YOU

By: Tyararr J. Jones

Like the rainbow after the rain, a refreshing breeze on a summer evening; You are a pleasant thought of inspiration.

Your smile, your expressions, both reflections of beauty that have left me changed.

Sweet memories of refreshment on this journey that at times is wearisome and long; I miss the sound of your voice and the message of your life's song.

Daily you are upon my heart and mind, a pleasant reflection through the daily grind.

I wonder why at times the savour of your fellowship is so missed upon my heart and lingers deep within my soul.

The time spent with you was a quiet melody of contentment splashed across a canvas of an open heart.

My thoughts of you are as vivid as if you were standing in front of me.

May the memories of yesterday not become loss shadows of sadness, but teardrops of joy upon .......

INDEPENDANCE DAY!!!- July 4th

SHADOWS OF TODAY'S

FREEDOMS

By: Tyararr J. Jones

We stand today in the shadows of yesterday's heroes and today's present guardians. We are the benefactors of freedoms paid for by the sacrifice of unamed and known protectors of this country. What we experience each day as a way of life, comes as the expense of courage, commitment, sacrifice, loyalty, love, respect, bereavement, hope, expectations, and honor. These are a few of the attributes of the men and women that face the enemy daily that seeks to sour our taste of daily freedom. May they not become the short thoughts of our reflections; but the present utterances of our prayers. They are not strangers, but the representatives and defenders of the truths and principles at the foundation of our forefather's purpose for this nation. Beware of becoming a glutton to the feast of freedoms we partake of daily. Abstain from the ignorance that all is well in this country in which we dwell. do not be controlled by fear; but trust in the God in which our motto reads: "IN GOD WE TRUST". We focus so much on our own selfish rights that we forget that they are actually privileges at the expense of the lives of others. Are you a criticizer or a conscientious citizen? Are you a supporter or a selfish sympathizer of your own wants? Are you loyal to this blessed country or loyal to the almighty dollar?

Dear citizens, take heart in the freedoms that have been sacrificially bestowed upon this country. The shadows of those who have died and those who presently defend us; shade us with courage, determination, freedom, a way of life, hope, protection, and an expectation of the future. How do you honor them? How shall we honor them? In the midst of our diversity, may we stand united as one nation under God. May this not become a faded phrase of a pledge, but the fundamental truth by which we live our lives. We have fallen prey as a people to our wants that we have forgotten our greatest need.

What is our greatest need as a nation? Our greatest need is to not only acknowledge God in time of loss or major catastrophe; but to turn to God each day of our temporal lives. What happened to the biblical principles in which this country was founded? What has happened to the God in which we as a nation are to trust? We have pushed God out of our way of life and made him a shadow to that which we experience daily.

As we pause to reflect on our freedoms and independence, may we realize that our future is not our own. May we realize that all that we have experienced and will experience is temporal. The freedoms we enjoy are temporal. Our way of life here in America is temporal. Today, may we as a people turn back to God with a submissive heart. Today, mae we focus on God our Creator and true Giver of the freedoms and way of life we enjoy today.