Author: Dahana Baxter

I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep,…
Tho’ this life make me laugh or weep,
Or evil doers mutt’r and peep;
All safe within my Master’s keep,
I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep….

I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep,…
In mountain peak or stormy deep;
Or bruiséd reed or weary sheep,
All safe in the Good Shepherd’s keep,
I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep….

I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep,…
Though tearful griefs upon me heap;
By morn’ my heart with joy shall leap,
For his Word e’er my Saviour’ll keep:
In faith, I’ll both lay down in peace, and sleep….

I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep,…
God’s grace o’er sin-sick soul doth sweep,
The promise of his pow’r I reap;
My soul in my Redeemer’s keep,
I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep….

I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep,…
For he who’s crossed, ‘fore me, life’s steep
Hath pow’r to free me from death’s grip –
‘Til Advent-hour my soul doth keep!
I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep….

Penned: December 25, 2015 at 12:21 A.M.
Scriptural allusion – Psalm 4:8; Ecclesiastes 5:12.
Copyright (C) 2018 Dahana Baxter. All rights reserved.

Christ’s handmaid… she, a private soul,
Would show to all God’s love,
‘Though battered by this wicked worl’
She’d grown so fearful of.

And yet, this private soul desires
To share, with humankind,
Some spark that could ignite the fires
Of Christ’s love in some mind.

This love she proffers everyone
Is oft’ quite misconstrued;
Folk feel she must want favours done
For deeds so “kind” and “good”.

They just can’t fathom why or how
Someone should ‘just’ be nice,
So, question every kindness: “Now,
I wonder…what’s the price!”

She bonds with folk, yet unaware
Of treachery, con, or spite;
Then sees, through pain, the mask they wear –
When they don’t treat her right,

So broken-hearted!… All her life,
Hurt,… used,… abused,… a ‘bother’;…
Quite petrified to be a wife,…
Yet yearns to be a mother.

Still, through it all, by grace divine,
Life’s trials she must endure:
Each hour, her all to Christ resign,
Sustained by His mind’s power.

Christ’s handmaid,… wiser now, has learn’d,
To trust no one but God
Whose own Son’s perfect love was spurn’d
As He traversed earth’s sod.

Penned: March 24, 1997. Revised: December 14, 2015.
Scriptural allusion – 2 Corinthians 12:9; 1 Peter 4:12; Psalm 56:4, 11; Isaiah 53:3-5.
Copyright (C) 2018 Dahana Baxter. All rights reserved.

Scourges of wars, Rumours of wars;
Earthquakes rumbling,
Kingdoms crumbling,
Tornadoes twisting towns into twizzlers….

Genocidal vanquishing!
Disposessed wanderingj…
Ruthless plundering!
Indigent langushing…
(Afflictions reign over inordinate suffering….)

Life spins faster, faster, faster:
Educating, re-locating;
Sick neglected, poor rejected –
All in quest of the disappearing dollar….

Oppulence inconvenienced by
Assisting the needy;
Sand-ropes of promises
From the arrogant and greedy ….

Torturous tragedies;
Crises,…calamities;…
Fire! Fire!! Flood and blood!
Loveless hearts infest the whole wide world….

Moral degradation,…
Psychic desensitization;…
Relativity rules (a.k.a.: lawlessness/licentiousness),…
Pandemic psychological pestilences….

All pre-natal pangs
Heralding the birth of
Revival’s Reformation and
Christ’s return to earth.

Penned: May 18,1999, September 23,2003.
Scriptural allusion – Matthew 24:6-8, 33; 2 Timothy 3:1-5, 13; Isaiah 8:19; 1 Thessalonians 5:3.
Copyright (C) 2018 Dahana Baxter. All rights reserved.

I see you in your net of safety –
Yet, a web that has you trapped
Within its tentacles of fear.

A web well-spun from yarns of gaping miles
Tethered by actions unresigned;
Glist’ning with dewdrops of crystalised tears;
Misted by feignéd ignorance;

Its derrick? Silence… frigid and brusque,
And vigilant moats of defensiveness;
This mass-manufacturer of pain….

This web – your emotional safety-net –
The castle-like embattlement of the heart,
Ensnares the Unsuspecting,… Gullible,… Naïve,…
Like an octopus of lust’s ocean-bed….

This web you think to be your safety-net
Is but the nest of the subtle sin-weaving
Spider called ‘self’;

Being subtle,
Spinning self…
Instead of a shuttle
Spinning silk….

Your futile struggles to free yourself
From the sticky meshwork of sin,
Are no match for the subtle spider living within….

Kill that spider, then!
He is no match for Christ’s shuttle of Truth
Which alone can erase spider webs,
And replace with the silk of His grace.

How to do it?
Just to Christ your will submit!

Penned: 1996 – November 5, 2003. Revised: November 13, 2015.
Scriptural allusion – Job 8:13-14; Isaiah 59:1-8; Luke 9:23; 1 Corinthians 15:31; 1 John 4:4; 2 Corinthians 10:3-6; Matthew 11:29.
Copyright (C) 2018 Dahana Baxter. All rights reserved.

Life has its many twists and turns:
Times of tension, stress, concerns;
Moral battles, doubt, and fear;
Pain, disease, heartache, and care.

Life rolls out surprises, too,
That can make us glad or blue:
Illness; unexpected friends;
Times of glee; or sure offense.

Life’s a blend of flavoured treats:
Spicy, bland, bitters and sweets;
Sometimes, salt might overpow’r;
Sometimes, it’s all sweet-and-sour!

Life is filled with ups and downs:
Love and hatred make their rounds.
When life throws us for a curve,
Help comes from the God we serve.

Life brings challenges, for sure,
That will test us to the core;
But through Christ each vict’ry’s won –
He’ll make each His champion!

Life gives opportunity
For each human being to be
To each fellowman, a friend –
Helping broken lives to mend.

Life presents us with the choice
(Men and women, girls and boys):
To do what is wrong or right;
To be sad or scale joy’s height

Yes, life’s all this – and then some –
Served abroad, or right at home.
Based upon your point of view –
What’s there on today’s menu?

P. S.
No meal’s complete without dessert!
This earthly life is frought with hurt;
But Christ is coming by and by
To rescue us eternally!
 

Penned: May, 1999.
Scriptural allusion: 1 Peter 4:12-19; Philippians 4:13; Hebrews 12:2; 1 Corinthians 15:57; 1 Samuel 17:51; Galatians 6:10; Proverbs 18:24; Joshua 24:15; John 15:11; Isa 25:8-9.

Copyright (C) 2018 Dahana Baxter. All rights reserved.

From undxpected walks of life
There blossom kindly deed and word
With fragrance of Christ’s love, that give
Us cause anew to praise our LORD.

And none need any knowledve have
Of visits, funds, attire or food
Shared in quiet as God leads, save
Those who helped and understood.

For Christ-like deeds in private done
As sure shall bless as though they be
Great public feats: but shall have won
God’s sure reward – and openly.

Or tiniest act or simplest thought
To every soul that we dispense,
Cbrist will assess – without a doubt –
As incense sweet or great offence.

So all the quiet kindnesses
That rightly represent our God,
They lift a soul in sore distress….
Small miracles that leave us awed!…

This verse awards sincere “Thank-you”
For every ‘unexpected friend’.
Keep faithful! Soon, we’ll share the view
Of heav’n where friendships never end.

Penned: March 23, 1999.
Dedicated to Norma, West Palm Beach, Florida, USA.
Scriptural allusion: Matthew 6:3-4.
Copyright (C) 2018 Dahana Baxter. All rights reerved.

Trickle,
Trickle, drip;
Sniffle.
Pitter-patter, pitter-patter;…
Like drops of rain
On a window-pane,
They cleanse the air….
So falls each God-appointed tear,
From a new hole burrowed by pain
Released in drops of salty rain
Washing the windows of the soul.

Penned: December 12, 1998.
Scriptural allusion: Hebrews 5:7-8; Psalm 147:3.
Copyright (C) 2018 Dahana Baxter. All rights reserved.

You say that life is full of fun
Because you take
Things in their own stride;
That you never worry
About tomorrow, or
Things you can’t do now;
But do you enjoy life,
Or only just a life-style?
Do you have God’s peace?
Or is it a don’t-care
Attitude?
Tell me this:
Do you really live?…
Or, do you just exist?

Penned: July 27, 1985.
Scriptural allusion: Ecclesiastes 9:7-11; John 14:27; John 10:10.
Copyright (C) 2018 Dahana Baxter. All rights reserved.

The beauty of a human touch lies in its tenderness,
And none can bar the Source of love that prompted it.
From deep within the soul of man comes love that God’s planted,
And stirs response within the heart that’s touched by it.

We touch because we care.
We care because of love.
And when, by faith,
We comprehend God’s love for us –
How much He cares,
We can’t help but love others,…
And show His love by caring.

Expressions of love differ from one person to the next,
And one might say, “I care”, in many different ways.
But love’s pow’r cuts through boundaries of status, race, or creed,
Cancels all doubt and fear and hurt – forgives and says:

“You are a part of me for we have one common Father;
You are a child of God who offers you His love!
He has given me so much that I can’t help but pass it on;
Now, let me share with you. Here, take my helping hand!”

“I share because I care, I care because of love.
And when, by faith I comprehend God’s love for me –
How much He cares,
I can’t help but love you, too,…
And show my love by caring.”

Penned: July 27,1985.
Scriptural allusion: Romans 5:5; James 2:15-16.
Copyright (C) 2018 Dahana Baxter. All rights reserved.

The earth –
Wooed and wed by wintry words,
Impregnated
Sometime in Spring,
Bearing the blast of Summer’s heat while
Picnicking through painful pangs,
Has given birth to
Autumn –
God’s glorious art gallery.

Penned: May 6, 1999.
Scriptural allusion: Psalm 19:1.
Copyright (C) 2018 Dahana Baxter. All rights reserved.