January 2013 – christianpoetrypublishing

The Unfinished Picture

The unfinished picture
Hangs framed on the wall,
Of the grade school,
Right down the hall.

The children see it daily,
Passing to and from class,
Though it stands against
What the teachers all ask.

To finish your work,
Is a “golden rule”,
Which the teachers always say,
A rule of the school.

Only partly done,
Not to be hypercritical,
But up there, not finished
Is pretty hypocritical.

“The Athenaeum Portrait” incomplete
by painter Gilbert Stuart is no mystery.
The principal merely undertook
To inform children about history.

The depiction of the school’s namesake,
The Father of Our Country,
George Washington
Is who it is, you see.

Kids love President Washington,
Who did so much,
To help begin our country,
In God he did trust.

But how can this portrait
Be in the hall?
Concluded –
It wasn’t all.

To not finish
Is a poor sample.
To not finish
Is not a good example.

[This poem not completed
because deadline to publish
before Presidents’ Day.]

— Charles B. Mayes

Washington did trust in God and is a good example for each of us. The painter made
money from copying the painting, but never finished the original.

Thank you so much for following this blog. I appreciate your interest. If you are stopping by for the first time or again – welcome and thank you also.

If you would like to use this poem on your website; in your newsletter; bulletin; speech; sermon; class; etc., you must indicate on the communication that the author is “Charles B. Mayes” and it is “Used by Permission”. If it is used on a website, please add our website address, or link to http://www.ChristianPoetryPublishing.com which can be connected to from outside this site.

Other poems are available in a chapbook titled, A New Year Resolution and Other Poems (including The Missionaries) by Charles B. Mayes. It contains 22 poems. The foreword is written by Dr. P.T. Mammen, Senior Pastor of International Christian Center San Jose and San Bruno International Christian Center.

If you would like to purchase a copy of the above book, please fill out the form below and I will get back to you with the description, price, payment, and mailing arrangements.

I would love to do Poetry Reading for your group in the San Jose, California area. If you are interested, please fill out the form below.

If you receive these poems by email, to use my form to answer me, just forget the form on the email and go to the bottom left and click on farsails which will take you to my blog. Then choose this poem and you can use the form with the poem.

Thank you!

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My Praying Chair

It doesn’t look so nice,
Setting over there,
All lumpy and threadbare –
I just call it my Praying Chair.

Some pray other positions,
But I sit in that seat,
A very usual place,
For the Lord and me to meet.

If I wake up in the night
From my bed to stay,
I rise and go there,
To simply, quietly pray.

I praise the Lord,
For Who He is.
And then I thank Him,
For all He gives.

This for shelter, food,
Clothing, and water, too.
For the morning soon breaking,
For life—for me, for you.

Next, about a burden,
Binding a dear one,
Whom I’d thought about,
After the day was done.

Perhaps for healing . . .
Coming to the Lord . . .
Getting closer to Jesus . . .
Or for finances—to afford.

In my chair,
I talk to the One,
My Friend—my Comfort
Through His dear Son.

Later, I fall,
Into a sleep so sweet,
Until the night,
Is past complete.

You may wonder,
All lumpy and threadbare,
Why I keep it –
I just call it my Praying Chair.

— Charles B. Mayes

Illustrations/graphics supplied by GospelGifs.com are copyrighted and used with permission.

Maybe there’s a special place where you like to pray. In college we had a Prayer Room. The most important thing is to pray. Talk to God as if He were your best friend because He is.

If you are visiting this blog for the first time or are returning – welcome and thank you for stopping by. I also really appreciate the followers who receive these poems in their email inbox, and my Linkedin friends.

The above poem was recently published in a periodical. Other poems are available in a chapbook titled, A New Year Resolution and Other Poems (including The Missionaries) by Charles B. Mayes. It contains 22 poems. The foreword is written by Dr. P.T. Mammen, Senior Pastor of International Christian Center San Jose and San Bruno International Christian Center.

If you would like to purchase a copy of the above book, please fill out the form below and I will get back to you with the description, price, payment, and mailing arrangements.

I was glad to present a poem at an area church Sunday. I would love to do Poetry Reading for your group in the San Jose, California area. If you are interested, please fill out the form below.

Thank you!

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Month: January 2013

The Unfinished Picture

My Praying Chair