I Think I Heard a Rooster Crow

Copyright © 2011 Delores Chapman Danley

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ISBN: 978-1-4497-1711-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-1712-4 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-1710-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011928956

Printed in the United States of America

WestBow Press rev. date: 6/15/2011

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

TIME WITH GOD

THE NAILS

I THINK I HEARD A ROOSTER CROW

I’M STILL HERE

MY EXCUSES and GOD’S PROMISES

I SEE GOD

THERE ARE NO WORDS

WHEN GOD IS SILENT

The Still Small Voice

HIS PRESENCE

CHRIST HAD TIME

I FELT YOU THERE

LISTEN

THANKS

ALONE WITH GOD

NO MORE ME

Please Let Me Stay With You

Relationship

FAITH

SO THAT YOU MAY KNOW

MY FIRST LOVE

Down Through the Roof

MY RED SEA

WALKING ON WATER

FAITH IN THE FURNACE

A BLESSING IN DISGUISE

TEARS ON THE TABLE

SISTERS IN CHRIST

PRAY WITHOUT CEASING

CRY TO THE ROCK

Sunlight and Shadows

The Hem of His Garment

ASSURANCE

EAGLE’S WINGS

FIRE AND FLOOD

POWER FROM ABOVE

AM I NOT STILL GOD?

CONSISTENCY

FEAR NOT

SECURITY

OUR REFUGE

MY HERO

CONFUSION

He Just Keeps On Loving Us

The Apple of His Eye

NOT TODAY

MOUNTAINS AND CLOUDS

GOD IS LOVE

ABOUT MYSELF

IF I HAD KNOWN

Look Up

I WANT TO BE REACHING

GOD INSIDE

LIFE’S ROAD

HELP ME CLEAR THE PATH

Melancholy Mood

A FRIEND IN NEED

OUR WEAKEST PLACES

MY SON

OUR CHILDREN

GOD’S HANDS

THE CLEANSING

A NEW HEART

MY BURDEN

GOD’S TROPHY ROOM

Something I Learned From Mama

CHANGES

The P Word

The C Word

JEREMIAH 29:11

PLANS

JUDGE NOT

I’d Like To Believe

THE CRUCIFIXION

JOHN 3:16

HOW COULD YOU PLANT THAT SEED?

Out Into the Night

THE JUDAS KISS

THE NINTH HOUR

Who Will Roll the Stone Away?

What Happened to His Cross?

I WANT TO SEE HIS HANDS

IF I WERE THE ONLY ONE

In My Opinion

WHILE THE CHURCH IS SLEEPING

Why Were There Three Crosses?

NATURE

CREATION

SEASONS

THE LEAVES

THE FOG

THE SUN AND THE SON

MARCH

THE HARVEST

THIS IS THE DAY

Flowers in the Weeds

FOR ALL OF GOD’S CHILDREN

JONAH

2 Chronicles 7:14

CHRISTMAS

MARY’S BOY

MY FRIEND

There Is No Room

JUST SOME THOUGHTS

Thoughts from the Laundromat

FOUR A.M.

Reflections from the Laundromat

Trailer Trash?

GRAFFITI

Treasure In The Trunk

Broken In The Garden

Helpless to Help

JUST A STUMP

NO SHOES

A Tragic Afternoon

Old Bibles

A Few Sour Notes

Right or Left

SATAN

SATAN WENT FISHING

SATAN’S LIES

Sneak Attack

Shake the Dust of Regrets

PRAYING FOR SATAN

OTHERS

THE NURSING HOME

BUT FOR THE GRACE OF GOD

A Beggar on the Street

THE PRISONER

OUR SOLDIERS

GOD’S CHURCH

REMEMBERING

SONGS OF PRAISE

WHEN THE WORLD SEES ME

HE TOOK IT PERSONALLY

ANGELS UNAWARE

SOMEWHERE IN TIME

I WILL TAKE MY STAND

FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES

From the Cradle to the Cross

THE END

FOR CELESTE

THE AUCTION

THE DAY IS NEAR

THE EPITAPH

OUR HEART’S DOOR

OUR CHOICES

ALONG THE WAY

STONES WILL CRY OUT

HUMAN ERRORS

INTRODUCTION

For some reason, since my teenage years (very long ago), I have found it easier to express my most intimate feelings in the form of rhymes rather than in prose. About eight years ago, the Lord started sending me words and rhymes with a different kind of message, and I felt that He wanted me to write them down to share with others. It has been a task that has revealed His immense love for me and has comforted me through some of the most trying times of my life. It is amazing how He sends just the words we need to hear at just the right time! This endeavor has also sent me on a more intense journey through His Word, the Bible. He has shown me new meanings to familiar verses. He has also disclosed new meanings to verses that I had read before but had somehow missed what He was trying to tell me through them. Unless otherwise indicated, the scripture verses recorded in this book were taken from the New International Version of our Lord’s Word.

Some of the poems are light and intended to bring a smile to the reader’s face. Others contain serious messages that might cause the reader to pause and reflect on some areas of life. Many of the poems brought tears to my eyes as the Lord revealed weak points in my character that needed serious attention.

If any one poem helps any one person make it through a difficult day, then my labor of love will not have been in vain. I pray that His will be done with this project. May we all try to live our lives so that we will not have to hear that rooster crow!

Psalm 19:14

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

TIME WITH GOD

Mark 6:46

After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.

THE NAILS

Ray Boltz wrote a beautiful song entitled Feel the Nails. Every time I hear it sung, the lyrics make me cry because they remind me of all the times I let Jesus down by my actions and my words–especially by my words. In the book of James we are told that no man can tame the tongue. James 3:6 warns us that The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

One morning as I was thinking about the words of that song, I asked God just how I hurt him by the way I act and speak. Almost immediately He began answering that question to my heart as fast as I could write the words on paper. By the time I finally stopped writing, I was beginning to wish I had not asked; but from that experience I obtained what has turned out to be one of my favorite poems that the Lord has sent me. It has touched many people when I have shared it in various settings and has made them stop and take inventory of their words and actions.

I have often identified myself with Peter on the occasion when he denied his Lord and Savior not once, not twice, but three times in a few brief hours. Just a short time earlier he had vowed that he would defend Christ even to the point of death. From the loftiest height of loyalty to the deepest depths of deception Peter fell. In Luke 22:60-62 we learn that "Peter replied, ‘Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!’ Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: ‘Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.’ And he went outside and wept bitterly."

That word "then" is very significant in that passage of Scripture. It is so often after the fact that we remember and weep bitter tears. How many times do we fall from the highest mountain to the lowest valley in a matter of hours? We can hurt Christ not just by the words we speak but also by the words we don’t speak, as God pointed out to me in the words of the following poem. Whether it is sin of commission or sin of omission, it hurts our Lord deeply. As the words of the song Feel the Nails point out, Am I causing Him pain? Then I know I’ve got to change. I just can’t stand the thought of hurting Him.

I THINK I HEARD A ROOSTER CROW

When I said that hurtful word

And repeated gossip I had heard

Stating facts I did not know,

Lord, I think I heard a rooster crow.

When I passed someone in need,

But I had no time for one good deed

And no kindness did I show,

Lord, I think I heard a rooster crow.

When I felt that jealous twinge,

Or the flames of greed made my heart singe,

Floods of doubt pulled me below.

Lord, I think I heard a rooster crow.

When I refused to forgive

Though you said I must if I shall live,

But someone had hurt me so,

Lord, I think I heard a rooster crow.

When I blamed and criticized

And I thought my faults were all disguised,

I was in pride’s undertow.

Lord, I think I heard a rooster crow.

When I had that evil thought

And in old Satan’s trap I got caught,

This world would not let me go.

Lord, I think I heard a rooster crow.

When I took no time to pray

As I hurried to begin my day,

Life just tossed me to and fro.

Lord, I think I heard a rooster crow.

When I missed a chance to share

My testimony and how you care,

Thus that seed I did not sow,

Lord, I think I heard a rooster crow.

Help me, Lord, to do your will.

Keep me aware of how others feel;

From my heart let your love flow.

I don’t want to hear that rooster crow.

Luke 22:59-62

About an hour later another asserted, Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean. Peter replied, Man I don’t know what you’re talking about! Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times. And he went outside and wept bitterly.

I’M STILL HERE

When I feel sad and don’t know why

And from my heart there comes a sigh

And sorrow seems it’s here to stay

Though there’s no cause to feel this way

When I should sing but words won’t come

And my whole being just feels numb

When I must force my eyes to see

The wonders that He’s made for me

When my soul longs for joy and peace

But doubts and fears just will not cease

I plead, Oh, Savior, please come near!

I hear Him whisper, I’m still here.

Hebrews 13:5-6

Be content with what you have, because God has said, Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What