I asked God for Strength that I may achieve,
I was made weak, that I may learn humbly to obey,
I asked for Health that I might do greater things,
I was given infirmities that I might do better things,
I asked for Riches that I may be happy,
I was given poverty that I might be wise,
I asked for Power that I may have the praise of man,
I was given weakness that I may feel the need of God,
I asked for all things that I may enjoy life,
I was given life, that I might enjoy all things,
I got nothing I asked for, but everything I hoped for,
My unspoken prayers were answered,
I am among all men , most richly blessed.

That's all folks for today,
Frank hopes all his blog friends are feeling happy and gay,
Hope also that they have taken time out to play,
Today,
For that's the best way,
To pass part of the time each day,
When the sun shines they can make hay,
And have a hay day,
They must also find the time to pray,
This is also important,
That's all Frank wishes to say today,
Goodnight once again and sweet dreams,
The moon is out and one can see moonbeams.

May He from whom all blessings flow,
Who bids all suffering cease,
With tenderness and care bestow,
His gifts of rest and peace,
And may His healing hand above,
Remove all grief and pain,
And in the sunshine of His love,
Your health return again.

This morn Frank got up quite early,
He had to be out in the hurly burly,
He's been on his toes,
Frank does not have any woes,
Or for that matter any foes,
He is hale and hearty,
Is always ready to party,
Frank has had a good start to his day,
He found a little time to play,
He is happy and gay,
For the present this is all he wishes to say,Goodday.

I cannot thank thee as I would,
For all you've done for me,
I cannot find the words I should,
To tell you fittingly,
Your kindness has meant so much,
That only one I know,
Can e'er repay a service such,
As this one here below,
Therfore to Him I delegate,
What I cannot express,
May God repay you-- early late,
For all your kindness.

Frank has come to the end of another day,
Today he has had something to say,
He has also taken time out to pray,
Frank's day is done,
He's had plenty of fun,
In the morning he went for a run,
Now the time has come to bid goodnight to all his blog friends,
They come in different hues and blends,
A few of them find time to chat with uncle Frank,
They know he never plays a prank,
He has some rank,
As well as a little money in the bank,
Frank wishes one and all sweet dreams,
His wife is busy with brushes and creams.

If gloom persists do something to make someone else happy and your happiness will return.
The meaning of life is interest in others and cooperation.
Give a smile as well as a word to those people you contact and give two words where you have only given one.
Be sensitive to the Child in others, talk to that Child...protect that Child and appreciate its need for being creative.
Before we can bring happiness to others we must first be happy ourselves; nor will happiness abide with us unless we confer it on others.

A man is as great as the dreams he dreams,
As great as the love he bears,
As great as the values he redeems,
And the happiness he shares,
A man is a great as the thoughts he thinks,
As the worth he has attained,
As the fountains at which his spirit drinks,
And the insight he has gained,
A man is as great as the truth he speaks,
As great as the help he gives,
As great as the destiny he seeks,
As great as the life he lives.

Visitors come and go,
Frank is off to the rodeo,
This is the best place to go,
Its a great show,
Would you like to come with me,
You will be filled with glee,
You'll be set free.

Every sect has a faith,
a direction to which they turn,
I have turned my face towards the crooked cap.
The whole world worships something or the other,
Some look for God in Mecca,
While some go to Kashi(Banaras),
So why can't i,
Oh wise people,
fall at my beloved's feet?

Selctions from the poetry of Amir Khushrau

The heat is truly on.
Human kind persists,
It cannot resist,
With thoughtless and extravagant consumption of natural resouces,
We are going against Nature's forces.
Earth is hurtling toqards an unprecedented resource crunch,
If we go on like this soon we won't have much to munch.
The Earth's climate has entered a state unparalled in recent prehistory
We have to check untrammeled consumption without remedial measures.
We are consuming one third more resources than the world can afford to lose.
Soon we'll find ourselves foot loose.
Our eco footprint is equal to the land and marine area needed to regenerate the resources used.
The more resources we use, the bigger the footprint,
Soon we will not have enough space on which to sprint.
45000 square miles of forest are being lost each year,
60% of world's major rivers have been damaged,
Fresh fish populations are down by 50% in the last 20 years,
To alleviate the situation we have to reduce, reuse and recycle our resources.

Each morn as the sun in splendour rises,
Flowers bloom, birds sing, while we wait for a new dawn,
We ponder not what is in store for us,
For God in His infinite wisdom reveals not his plan for us,
Immersed though we are in daily chores,
We can gladden many a heart and not even out the scores,
A generous heart is all it may take,
To wipe a tear and dull the ache,
For our time on earth is measured,
Not only in years but in deeds we have treasured,
And when we are called to eternal rest,
We can be sure that He will give us the best.

Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow.

Swedish Proverb

I wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phones?
What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?
What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?
What if we flipped through it several times a day?
What if we used it to receive messages?
What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?
What if we gave it to our children as gifts?
What if we used it as we travelled?
What if we used in case of an emegency?
Oh, one more thing.
Unlike our cell phones, we don't ever have to worry about our Bible being disconnected because Jesus has already paid the bill!

We think our happiness is complete,
When we wander in treasure ways,
As a girl and boy so much in love,
In the sunny youthful days.
We think our happiness is complete,
And quite full enough for life,
As we venture forth in our new world,
Together as man and wife.
We think our happiness is complete,
And it did seem even so,
But we do not know much more joy,
When to Heaven bound we'd go.
There'll be a day we'll understand,
And know that all the while,
Our happiness was not complete,
Till we saw Jesus smile.

Frank is down with the flu,
And he does not know what to do,
Can any of his blog friends give him some advice,
They can charge any price,
Can he have or should he skip his daily plate of curry and rice,
Which is full of spice,
What should he take by way of medication,
Frank is now on vacation,
Can he indulge in some recreation,
All the same he is full of elation,
And is ready to lay down his life for the nation.

Visitors come and go,
Just to see the rodeo,
They have no place to go,
And like to attend this show,
They don't stop by to say hello,
But Frank's hands are steady on the plow,
He treats all alike both high and low,
Once he caught a swallow,
Like a bull it started to below,
After a while it became mellow,
Frank considers himself a lucky fellow,
His head rests soundly on the pillow,
Frank's skin is rather sallow,
The land he's ploughing is rather fallow.

The day has come to an end,
And this is Frank's only post for the day,
He does not have much to say,
But he wishes to raise a toast,
To the fire fighters of Southern California,
Who are still battling the blazing infernos,
They are doing a heroic job,
Saving homes from being consumed by the fire,
Each one of them is consumed by a burning desire,
To do the best they can,
Down to the last man,
President Bush is on his way there,
He has promised Federal resources for those afflicted,
The fires have evicted,
Many from their homes,
They are like gnomes,
Having taken shelter in a stadium,
The'll remain there till the fires are put out,
Many will as a result will be down and out.

Frank has come to the end of another day,
Today,
He has posted a piece in verse,
That's the only way he can converse,
Its about the wild fires raging in California,
Which is causing among one and all a lot of hysteria,
The fires are leaving a trail of havoc and destruction,
Its more like an insurrection,
Despite the efforts of over 7000 fire fighters,
Who are doing their best to extinguish the flames,
Mother nature is to take the blame,
The fires are reported to have been caused by lightening strikes,
And not supposedly by wanton riders on motor bikes,
Over a 1000 homes and 100 businesses have been destroyed,
There's not much that can be done to keep the spirits buoyed,
Over half a million folks have been evacuated to make shift camps,
Tonight they will have to manage with gas lamps,
Governor Arnold Swarzneggor is keeping an eye on things,
Tomorrow President Bush will hop over on air wings,
He is expected to bring good tidings of Federal aid,
But not of any air raid,
It is hoped the valiant firemen will do their best,
This will be good for all the rest.

Wild fires are raging in Southern California,
Spreading everywhere like diptheria or pneumonia,
In San Diego County to be more precise,
The folks living there have been taken by surprise,
More than 167 thousand hectares of forest have been wiped out,
Over 5 lakh people have become evacuees,
They are running faraway from the trees,
There have been shifted to make shift camps,
For some days the'll have to manage with gas lamps,
Frank feels sorry for their plight,
They have no place on which to alight,
Over a thousand have lost their homes,
Now they are houseless like gnomes,
Some 7000 firefighters are trying to quell the over a dozen wild fires,
Home and businesses have been turned into lighted pyres,
Which have been caused largely by lightening strikes,
A few may have been started by wanton riders on motor bikes,
Governor Swarzneggor is keeping track of the progress made,
Tomorrow President Bush will arrive to provide Federal Aid,
We hope the fires are put out soon,
For now the smoke and flames have blanked out the moon.

Frank's day is done,
He has just returned from a run,
Or rather a jog,
Frank goes whole hog,
He knows even how to leap-frog,
For company he takes Fritz his dog,
Now both will take some rest before dinner,
Frank is a winner,
He can also spin the ball,
As he is fairly tall,
He has nothing more to say,
Its time for him to take off to his bay(bed),
Tomorrow is another day,
He hopes to make hay.

Strolling through my garden before the sun was high,
I thought I saw a diamond,its dazzle caught my eye,
In the untamed jungle behind the tidy beds,
Somewhere in the tangle of docks and thistle-heads.
A flashing fiery pinpoint of iridescent light,
Picked out by the sunshine in colours clear and bright.
A rainbow-tinted jewel that sparkled gloriously.
Was it real, I wondered, a priceless find for me?
And so I went to seek it down where wild weeds grew,
Only to discover it was a drop of dew.
From the worldly standpoint I found a worthless thing,
But it was far more lovely than the diamond in my ring.

PATIENCE STRONG

Frank's Page today has had many hits,
He is having quite a fit,
He has done his bit,
Now all he has to do is sit,
Quite still,
Near the till,
And have a spill,
Till he is quite full,
Like a bull,
He is only trying to fool,
One and all,
Frank is having a ball,
He is on call,
And ready to take a fall,
He is standing tall,
And is prancing around the hall.

God hath not promised,
Skies always blue,
Flower strewn pathways,
All our lives through.
God hath not promised,
Sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow,
Peace without pain.

But God hath promised,
Strength for the day,
Rest for the labourer,
Light for the way,
Grace for the trials,
Help from above,
Unfailing sympathy,
Undying love.

There's a new post on Frank's Page,
It is the rage,
Daily he posts something on his Page,
He's a bit of a sage,
From a different age,
Frank has come of age,
All the same he needs his Page,
He likes to write,
Like a sprite,
He never gets into a fight,
And always gets things right.

Frank likes to fly a kite,
And always has a small bite,
He writes like a sprite,
Never gets into a fight,
Has never suffered any serious blight,
He always gets things right,
He never gets tight,
He fights for his right,
He's not worried about his plight,
He studies by lamplight,
He can reach any height,
While in church he contibutes his mite,
He does all things with all his might,
He has no problem with his eye sight,
He is always up and about be it day or night,
He is an able knight.
Frank knows a bit about bits and byte.

While you live and work in tinsel town,
Don't behave like a clown,
And jump up and down,
For many may frown,
You may lose your dressing gown,
And be forced to run out of town.

Always be kind,
Take time to unwind,
It unfetters the mind,
Don't get into a bind,
What is lost try to find,
Help the blind,
Never lag behind,
Learn how to wind,
Life is not an unending grind.