To the Lady Charmer

Somehow, guys always wish they were (or imagine themselves to be) the ladies' man. Well, considering the fact that women fall easily for them, such ambitions might be understandable. Yet if comes the day such a man asks for a woman's love by pledging his own, I wonder how she could respond.

You met me one day and called me so fair.
I had but to say, and you would be there.
You helped me with smiles and perfect delight,
And each leisured while, we’d talk into night.
I’m touched and I’m moved and I’m glad to be me.
Yet if I am loved, then howcome I see
Young ladies abound wherever you be,
Receiving in round all you’d given me?
How then can I be assured of your heart
If repeatedly, I’d see since the start,
Young ladies like me, receiving like me,
Wherever you be?

I Sit Beneath the Willow Tree

Yes, yes, I'm taking advantage of February to post all my better works upon the theme of hearts and romance. When else could I post them, right?

There is a dream within the heart of every young girl of waiting for her prince. I wrote this almost four years ago, but the dream persists for me today. I often wonder if I've met him already, or not yet. I sometimes wonder if he exists at all. Yet, "still I'll wait so faithfully, beneath the willow bower."

I sit beneath the willow tree,
There waiting for my lover;
With heart and soul and all of me
Quite bursting in the cover.

I cannot wait until the time
When he should come to shower
My tingling ears with loving rhymes
Beneath the willow bower.

I long to have his tender eyes
Meet mine with love enamored,
And soon dismiss as petty lies
The world—so bright and glamoured.

I yearn for times when he would clasp
My hands in fervent passion,
With all our lives within our grasp
In heartfelt dedication.

I look towards the time when he
Will hold me near heart’s beating,
That I might close my eyes to see
Our dreams in one mind meeting.

I sit beneath the willow tree
There waiting for my lover;
I do not know, by chance, if he
Is just a dreamy rover
Who’ll rampart in my fantasy
Until my life is over;
But still I’ll wait so faithfully
Beneath the willlow bower.

The Heart I Kept for You

I spend a lot of time praying and urging young ladies to guard their hearts and keep it pure for God, and for their respective future husbands, if God so wills. Yet what would they get in return for keeping their hearts undefiled? This poem is a challenge to the men. Even as the girls ought to save their hearts, the men ought to earn them. May each guy prove himself worthy of the heart of the girl God prepared for him, cherish that heart, and guard his own for it.

Will you value me for keeping pure
The heart that I had saved for you,
Or would ridicule and tease allure
You from what I had kept so true?
Will you guard your heart against the rest
Who battle for your feelings now
That you might preserve for me the best
As I have saved my best for you?

Years have gone, I understand that you
Could not have gone through them unscathed,
Yet if given chance to prove as true
Your heart which you before me laid,
Would you pass the test of time which you
Had challenged me to keep for you?
So when I present a heart so true,
Would you deserve it as it’s made?

I don’t ask for riches or for wealth,
Appearances or gentle smiles,
I can bear through illness or through health,
And I can go the extra miles;
All I ask of you is this: that you
Would treasure what I kept for you,
Take sincerely what I fought for you
Today, before, and all this while.

Husband Checklist: Questions to Be Answered

It’s the month of love, a good time to post this entry. This is a list of important questions I’ve gathered over many years. Since so many people ask me to answer the question "What do you look for in a guy?" I realize I might as well ask them to read here. Besides, these questions are for every Christian girl, not just me.

I’ve also decided to publish it for two reasons: Firstly, that my female readers might be reminded to seek the qualities that really “matter at fifty” and secondly, that the guys might be reminded once more to prepare for husbandhood in God’s definition. Be thankful you have a lady friend’s perspective to help you out, hehe…Advanced Happy Valentines’ Day to all.

1. Do I trust his judgment enough to submit to him?
2. Will he be a good father?
3. Can I help him at what he does?
4. Does he exhibit self-discipline?
5. Is his heart undivided and true?
6. Is he a good leader? With humility & vision?
7. Does he respect women physically, verbally, & otherwise?
8. Will he be a protector & provider?
9. Am I willing to find my identity with him?
10. Does he face problems with calmness & wisdom?
11. Is he attracted by beauty or by character?
12. Will he guide me to grow in Christ?
13. Does he love my family?
14. Does he love God more than he loves me?

Family

Although these reflections came from my own pen, they are responsible for having cheered, encouraged, or slightly rebuked me at the times I felt frustration with the people in my life. No family is perfect, yet God made each one. Then surely, it's all for sharpening His children to greater glory.

Family...
Are the people who don’t notice your bad hair day,
because they’ve seen it too many times...
Are the people who can be oblivious to a new outfit,
or forget the one you had for 7 years...

Are the people who can snap at you for no reason at all...
Or shower you with gifts for equally no reason...

Family...
Are the people who know
what you’re going to say before you say it...
Are the people who waste your time by
saying what you knew they were going to say in the first place...

Are the people who would never wonder,
“What if he meant this?”...
Are the people with whom you don’t have to worry
“What if it sounded like that?”...

Are the people who might not always sympathize...
but always care...
Are the people who can always complain about you...
but still be proud of you...

Family...
Are the people who don’t ask if you’re okay...
because they know it when you really aren't...

Are the people who force you to give up comfort…
Are the people who give up their comfort for you…

Are the people whom you forgive again and again...
And who forgive you more times than that...

Family...
Are the most imperfect people you’ll ever know...
And the people who love you most in spite of your imperfections...

Family...
Are people who come in all shapes and sizes...
Are people who come as parents, siblings, friends, relatives...
Are people who come into your life seemingly out of nowhere...

Family...
Are the people God tailor-made and sent to you...
To make you all that you are...for Him…

All Done for You

It's another new year, and I can hardly keep up with everything I want to do in every area. I admit the tendency to pursue only what I want to do, instead of what I should. Yet all our pleasures on this earth are temporal, and I can only pray for God to help me keep an eternal perspective, no matter what sacrifice it requires.

My heart is beating, beating, Lord,
Each moment of each day;
The time is fleeting, fleeting, Lord,
As hours refuse to stay.
O may Your voice repeating, Lord,
Remind my heart today
That when in heaven meeting, Lord,
In Your eternal day,
All done for me proves fleeting, Lord,
All done for You will stay.

Mary's Lullaby

It is Christmas Eve, a time for remembering the birth of Christ. I wonder how Mary felt when she held her first child in her arms and sang Him to sleep under the stars. He was her child, yet He was not hers. He was in her care...yet He Himself would come to save the souls of millions, including hers. But upon that first Christmas, He must have been a small, sweet baby in her bosom, resting in His mother's temporary embrace.

Lullaby, lullaby, my baby Boy,
Rest in my bosom today.
Lullaby, lullaby, my baby Boy,
Tenderly sleep while You may.

Lullaby, lullaby, my baby Boy,
Soon You’ll bring mankind to light.
Lullaby, lullaby, my baby Boy,
Stay with Your mother tonight.

I know that one day You’ll grow tall and fine,
I know that You never truly were mine,
Yet while the angels watch over today,
Rest in my bosom, I pray.

Lullaby, lullaby, my baby Boy,
Born to be Savior of all,
Thank You for lullabies, sweetness, and joy,
Mine in this Bethlehem stall.