Free Love Gifts by Helen Steiner Rice Page A

is unselfish, understanding, and kind,
    For it sees with its heart and not with its mind.
    Love gives and forgives; there is nothing too much
    For love to heal with its magic touch.
    Love is the language that every heart speaks,
    For love is the one thing that every heart seeks …
    And where there is love God, too, will abide
    And bless the family residing inside.

W ARM O UR H EARTS WİTH T HY L OVE

    Oh, God, who made the summer
    and warmed the earth with beauty,
    Warm our hearts with gratitude
    and devotion to our duty …
    For in this age of violence,
    rebellion and defiance,
    We’ve forgotten the true meaning
    of dependable reliance.
    We have lost our sense of duty
    and our sense of values, too,
    And what was once unsanctioned
    no longer is taboo.
    Our standards have been lowered,
    and we resist all discipline,
    And our vision has been narrowed
    and blinded to all sin.
    Oh, put the summer brightness
    in our closed, unseeing eyes
    So in the careworn faces
    that we pass we’ll recognize
    The heartbreak and the loneliness
    the trouble and despair
    That a word of understanding
    would make easier to bear.
    Oh God, look down on our cold hearts
    and warm them with Your love,
    And grant us Your forgiveness
    which we’re so unworthy of.

M AKE Y OUR D AY B RİGHT BY T HİNKİNG R İGHT AND Y OUR L İFE W İLL B E B LESSED İF Y OU L OOK FOR THE B EST

    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.

A F AVORİTE R ECİPE

    Take a cup of kindness,
    mix it well with love,
    Add a lot of patience
    and faith in God above,
    Sprinkle very generously
    with joy and thanks and cheer—
    And you’ll have lots of “angel food”
    to feast on all the year.

T HİNGS TO B E T HANKFUL F OR

    The good, green earth beneath our feet,
    The air we breathe, the food we eat,
    Some work to do, a goal to win,
    A hidden longing deep within
    That spurs us on to bigger things
    And helps us meet what each day brings—
    All these things and many more
    Are things we should be thankful for…
    And most of all, our thankful prayers
    Should rise to God because He cares.

T HERE’S S UNSHİNE İN A S MİLE

    Life is a mixture of sunshine and rain,
    Good things and bad things,
    pleasure and pain.
    We can’t have all sunshine,
    but it’s certainly true
    That there’s never a cloud
    the sun doesn’t shine through …
    So always remember, whatever betide you,
    The power of God is always beside you …
    And you’ll find when you smile
    your day will be brighter
    And all of your burdens
    will seem so much lighter—
    For each time you smile you will find it is true
    Somebody, somewhere will smile back at you,
    And nothing on earth
    can make life more worthwhile
    Than the sunshine and warmth
    of a beautiful smile.

N EVER B ORROW S ORROW FROM T OMORROW

    Deal only with the present—
    never step into tomorrow,
    For God asks us just to trust Him
    and to never borrow sorrow,
    For the future is not ours to know,
    and it may never be,
    So let us live and give our best
    and give it lavishly …
    For to meet tomorrow’s troubles
    before they are even ours
    Is to anticipate the Savior
    and to doubt His