Helen Steiner Rice: A Collection of Hope

by Helen Steiner Rice

Overview

A collection of hope. . . especially for you.

The poetry of Helen Steiner Rice is truly worth reflecting upon. Wrapped in profound truth and beauty, her verses convey an uplifting testimony that speaks to the essence of God’s promises in a simple, down-to-earth manner. You'll find your spirit lifted and your heart drawn to the heavenly Father as you read this faith-filled volume of poems—A Collection of Hope.

 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781607427643
Publisher:	Barbour Publishing, Incorporated
Publication date:	02/01/2012
Series:	Value Books
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	160
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Born in 1900 in Ohio, Helen Steiner Rice has been called the “poet laureate of inspirational verse.” She worked as a greeting card editor before she began writing poems and returned to her Lord in 1981.

Read an Excerpt

A Collection of Hope

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By Helen Steiner Rice

Barbour Publishing, Inc.

Copyright © 2012 The Helen Steiner Rice Foundation
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-61626-676-9

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CHAPTER 1

Peaceful Reflections

* * *

After Each Storm of Life, There's a Rainbow Hope

* * *

The rainbow is God's promise
of hope for you and me,
And though the clouds hang
heavy and the sun we cannot see,
We know above the dark
clouds that fill the stormy sky,
Hope's rainbow will come shining through
when the clouds have drifted by.


A Beautiful Beginning for Peace on Earth

* * *

Let us all remember when
our faith is running low,
Christ is more than just a figure
wrapped in an ethereal glow ...
For He came and dwelled among
us and He knows our every need,
And He loves and understands
us and forgives each sinful deed.
He was crucified and buried
and rose again in glory,
And His promise of salvation
makes the wondrous Christmas story
An abiding reassurance that
the little Christ child's birth
Was the beautiful beginning of
God's plan for peace on earth.


No Favor Do I Seek Today

* * *

I come not to ask, to plead, or implore—
I just come to tell You how much I adore You.
For to kneel in Your presence makes me feel blessed,
For I know that You know all my needs best,
And it fills me with joy just to linger with you,
As my soul You replenish and my heart You renew.
For prayer is much more than just asking for things—
It's the peace and contentment that quietness brings.
So thank You again for Your mercy and love
And for making me heir to Your kingdom above.


It's a Wonderful World

* * *

In spite of the fact we complain and lament
And view this old world with much discontent,
Deploring conditions and grumbling because
There's so much injustice and so many flaws,
It's a wonderful world and it always will be
If we keep our eyes open and focused to see
The wonderful things we are capable of
When we open our hearts to God and His love.


The Happiness You Already Have

* * *

Memories are treasures that
time cannot destroy,
They are the happy pathway
to yesterday's bright joy.


The Peace of Meditation

* * *

So we may know God better
and feel His quiet power,
Let us daily keep in silence a meditation hour.
For to understand God's greatness
and to use His gifts each day,
The soul must learn to meet
Him in a meditative way.
For nature's great forces
are found in quiet things
Like softly falling snowflakes
drifting down on angels' wings
So let us plan with prayerful
care to always allocate
A certain portion of each day
to be still and meditate.
For when everything is quiet
and we're lost in meditation,
Our souls are then preparing
for a deeper dedication
That will make it wholly
possible to quietly endure
The violent world around us,
for in God we are secure.


Life

* * *

A little laughter, a little song,
A little teardrop
When things go wrong,
A little calm
And a little strife
A little loving
And that is life.


What More Can You Ask?

* * *

God's love endures forever—
what a wonderful thing to know
When the tides of life run against you
and your spirit is downcast and low.
God's kindness is ever around you
always ready to freely impart
Strength to your faltering spirit,
cheer to your lonely heart.
God's presence is ever beside you,
as near as the reach of your hand.
You have but to tell Him your troubles—
there is nothing He won't understand ...
And knowing God's love is unfailing,
and His mercy unending and great,
You have but to trust in His promise,
"God comes not too soon or too late."
So wait with a heart that is patient
for the goodness of God to prevail,
For never do prayers go unanswered,
and His mercy and love never fail.


Peace Begins in the Home and the Heart

* * *

Peace is not something you fight
for with bombs and missiles that kill.
Peace is attained in the silence that
comes when the heart stands still.
For hearts that are restless and
warlike with longings that never cease
Can never contribute ideas that
bring the world nearer to peace.
For as dew never falls on a morning
that follows a dark, stormy night,
The peace and grace of our Father
fall not on a soul in flight.
So if we seek peace for all people,
there is but one place to begin,
And the armament race will not win it,
for the fortress of peace is within.


The Masterpiece

* * *

Framed by the vast, unlimited sky,
Bordered by mighty waters,
Sheltered by beautiful woodland groves,
Scented with flowers that bloom and die,
Protected by giant mountain peaks—
The land of the great unknown—
Snowcapped and towering, a nameless place
That beckons man on as the gold he seeks,
Bubbling with life and earthly joys,
Reeking with pain and mortal strife,
Dotted with wealth and material gains,
Built on ideals of girls and boys,
Streaked with toil, opportunity's banner unfurled
Stands out the masterpiece of art
Painted by the one great God,
A picture of the world.


Learn to Rest

* * *

We all need short vacations
in life's fast and maddening race
An interlude of quietness from
the constant jet-age pace,
So when your day is pressure-packed
and your hours are all too few,
Just close your eyes and meditate
and let God talk to you.
For when we keep on pushing,
we're not following in God's way
We are foolish, selfish robots
mechanized to fill each day
With unimportant trivia that
makes life more complex
And gives us greater problems to irritate and vex.
So when your nervous network
becomes a tangled mess,
Just close your eyes in silent prayer
and ask the Lord to bless
Each thought that you are thinking,
each decision you must make,
As well as every word you speak
and every step you take
For only by the grace of God
can you gain self-control,
And only meditative thoughts
can restore your peace and soul.


The Comfort and Sweetness of Peace

* * *

After the clouds, the sunshine,
After the winter, the spring,
After the shower, the rainbow—
For life is a changeable thing.
After the night, the morning,
Bidding all darkness cease,
After life's cares and sorrows,
The comfort and sweetness of peace.


A Word of Understanding

* * *

May peace and understanding
Give you strength and courage, too,
And may the hours and days ahead
Hold a new hope for you;
For the sorrow that is yours today
Will pass away; and then
You'll find the sun of happiness
Will shine for you again.

CHAPTER 2

The Comfort of Friends

* * *

Discouragement and Dreams

* * *

So many things in the line of duty
Drain us of effort and leave us no beauty,
And the dust of the soul grows thick and unswept,
The spirit is drenched in tears unwept.
But just as we fall beside the road,
Discouraged with life and
bowed down with our load,
We lift our eyes, and what seemed a dead end
Is the street of dreams where we meet a friend.


Friends Are Life's Gift of Love

* * *

If people like me didn't know people like you,
Life would lose its meaning and its richness, too.
For the friends that we make are life's gift of love,
And I think friends are sent right from heaven above.
And thinking of you somehow makes me feel
That God is love and He's very real.


The Golden Chain of Friendship

* * *

Friendship is a golden chain,
the links are friends so dear,
And like a rare and precious jewel,
it's treasured more each year.
It's clasped together firmly
with a love that's deep and true,
And it's rich with happy memories
and fond recollections, too.
Time can't destroy its beauty,
for as long as memory lives,
Years can't erase the pleasure
that the joy of friendship gives.
For friendship is a priceless gift
that can't be bought or sold,
And to have an understanding friend
is worth far more than gold.
And the golden chain of friendship
is a strong and blessed tie
Binding kindred hearts together
as the years go passing by.


The Gift of Friendship

* * *

Friendship is a priceless gift
that cannot be bought or sold,
But its value is far greater than
a mountain made of gold—
For gold is cold and lifeless,
it can neither see nor hear,
And in the time of trouble it
is powerless to cheer.
It has no ears to listen,
no heart to understand,
It cannot bring you comfort or
reach out a helping hand—
So when you ask God for a gift
be thankful if He sends
Not diamonds, pearls, or riches,
but the love of real true friends.


The Joy of Unselfish Giving

* * *

Time is not measured by the years that you live
But by the deeds that you do and
the joy that you give.
And from birthday to birthday,
the good Lord above
Bestows on His children the gift of His love,
Asking us only to share it with others
By treating all people not as strangers
but brothers.
And each day as it comes brings
a chance to each one
To live to the fullest, leaving nothing undone
That would brighten the life or lighten the load
Of some weary traveler lost on life's road.
So it doesn't matter how long we may live
If as long as we live we unselfishly give.


A Friend Is a Gift from God

* * *

Among the great and glorious
gifts our heavenly Father sends
Is the gift of understanding
that we find in loving friends.
For in this world of trouble
that is filled with anxious care,
Everybody needs a friend in
whom they're free to share
The little secret heartaches
that lay heavy on the mind—
Not just a mere acquaintance
but someone who's just our kind.
For somehow in the generous
heart of loving, faithful friends,
The good God, in His charity
and wisdom, always sends
A sense of understanding
and the power of perception
And mixes these fine qualities
with kindness and affection.
And often just without a word
there seems to be a union
Of thoughts and kindred feelings,
for God gives true friends communion.


Life Is a Garden

* * *

Life is a garden; good friends are the flowers,
And times spent together life's happiest hours.
And friendship, like flowers, blooms ever more fair
When carefully tended by dear friends who care.
And life's lovely garden would be sweeter by far
If all who passed through it were as nice as you are.


Strangers Are Friends We Haven't Met Yet

* * *

God knows no strangers, He loves us all,
The poor, the rich, the great, the small.
He is a friend who is always there
To share our troubles and lessen our care.
For no one is a stranger in God's sight,
For God is love, and in His light
May we, too, try in our small way
To make new friends from day to day.
So pass no stranger with an unseeing eye,
For God may be sending a new friend by.


Unexpected Angels

* * *

The unexpected kindness
from an unexpected place,
A hand outstretched in friendship,
a smile on someone's face,
A word of understanding
spoken in a time of trial
Are unexpected miracles that
make life more worthwhile.
We know not how it happened
that in an hour of need
Somebody out of nowhere
proved to be a friend indeed ...
For God has many messengers
we fail to recognize,
But He sends them when we need them,
and His ways are wondrous and wise ...
So keep looking for an angel and
keep listening to hear,
For on life's busy, crowded streets,
you will find God's presence near.


The Garden of Friendship

* * *

There is no garden
So complete
But roses could make
The place more sweet.
There is no life
So rich and rare
But one more friend
Could enter there.
Like roses in a garden
Kindness fills the air
With a certain bit of sweetness
As it touches everywhere.


My God Is No Stranger

* * *

God is no stranger in a faraway place
He's as close as the wind that blows 'cross my face.
It's true I can't see the wind as it blows,
But I feel it around me and my heart surely knows
That God's mighty hand can be felt everywhere,
For there's nothing on earth that is not in God's care.
The sky and the stars, the waves and the sea,
The dew on the grass, the leaves on a tree
Are constant reminders of God and His nearness
Proclaiming His presence with crystal-like clearness.
So how could I think God was far, far away
When I feel Him beside me every hour of the day?
And I've plenty of reasons to know God's my friend,
And this is one friendship that time cannot end.

CHAPTER 3

Joy in All Circumstances

* * *

How Great the Yield from a Fertile Field

* * *

The farmer plows through the fields of green,
And the blade of the plow is sharp and keen,
But the seed must be sown to bring forth grain,
For nothing is born without suffering and pain,
And God never plows in the soul of man
Without intention and purpose and plan ...
So whenever you feel the plow's sharp blade
Let not your heart be sorely afraid,
For like the farmer, God chooses a field
From which He expects an excellent yield ...
So rejoice though your heart be broken in two—
God seeks to bring forth a rich harvest in you.


Meet Life's Trials with Smiles

* * *

There are times when life overwhelms
us and our trials seem too many to bear,
It is then we should stop to remember
God is standing by ready to share
The uncertain hours that confront
us and fill us with fear and despair,
For God in His goodness has promised
that the cross that He gives us to wear
Will never exceed our endurance or
be more than our strength can bear ...
And secure in that blessed assurance,
we can smile as we face tomorrow,
For God holds the key to the future,
and no sorrow or care we need borrow.


Make Your Day Bright by Thinking Right

* * *

Don't start your day by supposin'
that trouble is just ahead,
It's better to stop supposin' and
start with a prayer instead ...
And make it a prayer of thanksgiving
for the wonderful things God has wrought,
Like the beautiful sunrise and sunset,
God's gifts that are free and not bought ...
For what is the use of supposin' that
dire things could happen to you,
Worrying about some misfortune that
seldom if ever comes true ...
But instead of just idle supposin',
step forward to meet each new day
Secure in the knowledge God's near you
to lead you each step of the way ...
For supposin' the worst things will happen
only helps to make them come true,
And you darken the bright, happy moments
that the dear Lord has given to you ...
So if you desire to be happy and get
rid of the misery of dread,
Just give up supposin' the worst things
and look for the best things instead.


Expectation! Anticipation! Realization!

* * *

God gives us a power we so seldom employ,
For we're so unaware it is filled with such joy.
The gift that God gives us is anticipation,
Which we can fulfill with sincere expectation,
For there's power in belief when
we think we will find
Joy for the heart and peace for the mind,
And believing the day will bring a surprise
Is not only pleasant but surprisingly wise.
For we open the door to let joy walk through
When we learn to expect the best,
and the most, too,
And believing we'll find a happy surprise
Makes reality out of a fancied surmise.


After the Winter God Sends the Spring

* * *

Springtime is a season of
hope and joy and cheer—
There's beauty all around us to
see and touch and hear.
So no matter how downhearted
and discouraged we may be,
New hope is born when we behold
leaves budding on a tree
Or when we see a timid flower
push through the frozen sod
And open wide in glad surprise
its petaled eyes to God.
For this is just God saying,
"Lift up your eyes to Me,
And the bleakness of your spirit,
like the budding springtime tree,
Will lose its wintry darkness and
your heavy heart will sing."
For God never sends the winter
without the joy of spring.


Adversity Can Bless Us

* * *

The way we use adversity is
strictly our own choice,
For in God's hands, adversity
can make the heart rejoice.
For everything God sends to us,
no matter in what form,
Is sent with plan and purpose;
for by the fierceness of a storm,
The atmosphere is changed and cleared,
and the earth is washed and clean,
And the high winds of adversity
can make restless souls serene.
And while it's very difficult
for mankind to understand
God's intentions and His purpose
and the workings of His hand,
If we observe the miracles that happen every day,
We cannot help but be convinced
that in His wondrous way
God makes what seemed unbearable
and painful and distressing
Easily acceptable when we view it as a blessing.


Giving Is the Key to Living

* * *

Every day is a reason for giving
And giving is the key to living.
So let us give ourselves away,
Not just today but every day,
And remember, a kind and thoughtful deed
Or a hand outstretched in a time of need
Is the rarest of gifts, for it is a part,
Not of the purse but a loving heart.
And he who gives of himself will find
True joy of heart and peace of mind.


Look on the Sunny Side

* * *

There are always two sides, the good and the bad,
The dark and the light, the sad and the glad.
But in looking back over the good and the bad,
We're aware of the number of
good things we've had,
And in counting our blessings,
we find when we're through
We've no reason at all to complain or be blue.
So thank God for the good things
He has already done,
And be grateful to Him for the battles you've won
And know that the same God
who helped you before
Is ready and willing to help you once more.
Then with faith in your heart,
reach out for God's hand
And accept what He sends,
though you can't understand.
For our Father in heaven always
knows what is best,
And if you trust His wisdom,
your life will be blessed.
For always remember that whatever betide you,
You are never alone, for God is beside you.


Lives Distressed Cannot Be Blessed

* * *

Refuse to be discouraged, refuse to be distressed,
For when we are despondent,
our lives cannot be blessed,
For doubt and fear and worry close
the door to faith and prayer,
And there's no room for blessings
when we're lost in deep despair.
So remember when you're troubled
with uncertainty and doubt,
It is best to tell our Father what
our fear is all about,
For unless we seek His guidance
when troubled times arise,
We are bound to make decisions
that are twisted and unwise,
But when we view our problems
through the eyes of God above,
Misfortunes turn to blessings and
hatred turns to love.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from A Collection of Hope by Helen Steiner Rice. Copyright © 2012 The Helen Steiner Rice Foundation. Excerpted by permission of Barbour Publishing, Inc..
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Contents

Peaceful Reflections,
The Comfort of Friends,
Joy in All Circumstances,
Abundant Thanksgiving,
Unfailing Love,
Seasons of Hope,
The Power of Prayer,
Abiding Faith,
Eternal Blessings,
Triumph over Trials,