Hymns

A Step of Faith

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos

A college graduate’s aspiration;
High School Graduation (Revisited)

A Step of Faith
A college graduate’s aspiration 

A step a faith into an unknown future
I now must take with prayer that God will lead.
My yesterdays morph into new tomorrows
where open doors invite me to succeed.
By stepping out I know I’ll make a difference
within a world of endless hurt and need.

A step of faith seems scary and uncertain.
It’s hard to trust in what I cannot see.
But all the same I long for things I’ve dreamed of…
a world at peace the way that it should be.
By stepping out with confidence and courage
dreams can come true if I will just believe.

A step of faith requires risk and reason
to take a chance that’s based on what I know.
What I have learned is prologue to my future.
Past opportunities have helped me grow.
By stepping out I’ll dance with countless choices
aware of God from whom all blessings flow.

* the above lyrics can be sung to the tune FINLANDIA

High School Graduation (Revisited)
Poetic reflections on a timeless rite-of-passage
 
In June of 1970
I clasped that parchment. Wow!
The world back then was so unlike
the way it is right now.
 
And yet some things seem locked in time
just as they were back then.
Take graduations from twelfth grade…
It’s like it’s always been.
 
The names are read while graduates
arrayed in gown and cap
parade across a high school stage
while parents cheer and clap.
 
With cameras focused on their child
each mom and dad express
a sigh of joy and some relief.
Their kid has claimed success.
 
Not much has changed in 40 years.
Commencements are the same.
There’s Pomp and Circumstance and then
how speakers place the blame
 
on world events like oil spills,
or inner-city crime,
political shenanigans,
how unemployment climbs.
 
They rail against the way life is
encouraging the grads
to challenge what the culture boasts
like fleeting trends and fads.
 
But how much of what speakers say
is heard by those in gowns?
My hunch is most of what is said
resembles senseless sounds.
 
And yet I’m not all that perturbed.
These seniors soon will see
just what it takes to change the world.
That’s how it worked for me.
 
A year or two away from home
at college or a job
will find these grads in “learning mode”
and calling out on God.

* In June 1970 I graduated from Wenatchee High School in North Central Washington State. I look forward to attending my 40th class reunion this summer.

A Fatherless Fathers’ Day

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos

Facing my first holiday without my dad;
Abba Father, We Adore You

A Fatherless Fathers’ Day
Facing my first holiday without my dad
 
My dad is gone and there’s a hole
within my heart and in my soul.
A hole that no one else can fill
though countless memories try.
 
And though my dad has passed away,
I’ll try to celebrate a day
that by its name assumes you have
a father in your life.
 
I’ll stop to visit at his grave,
sift through old birthday gifts I gave,
flip pages in an old scrapbook
with photos of us two.
 
I’ll pen a poem ‘bout this man
who told me “Don’t give up. You can
accomplish anything you want
if you will just believe.” 
Then after supper guests will boast
about their dads, but I will toast
the man who won’t be here this year
to grace us with his smile.
 
I’ll thank the Lord for giving me
a dad who passed on faith to me
And as I see his empty chair,
my heart will fill with joy.

* My dad died on November 4, 2008 after a fourteen-year battle with cancer. My latest book “Sunday Rhymes and Reasons” is dedicated to him.

Abba Father, We Adore You
In celebration of our ultimate Father’s day

Abba Father, we adore You.
We Your children sing Your praise.
You are worthy to be trusted,
merciful in all Your ways.
Lifting us when we have stumbled,
holding us when we are weak,
whispering how much You love us
when our shame won’t let us speak.

Abba Father, we are grateful
for the gift of Christ Your Son
in Whose death and resurrection
life eternal was begun.
You adopted us as family,
deemed us worthy of Your love
and You promised to provide us
with the joys we’ve long dreamed of.

Abba Father, we acknowledge
how much we depend on You
when blind-sided by misfortune,
when we don’t know what to do.
Your perspective bids us focus
on faith’s outcomes we can’t see.
And Your unrelenting comfort
calms our raw anxieties.

tune: Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee

A Table Grace for Tax Day

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos

Singing for our supper

This day in April our favorite Uncle
taxes our patience and our reserves.
But when we itemize all our blessings,
we can’t deny him what he deserves.

With all our cousins throughout the country,
we pass our Uncle’s star-spangled hat.
This is an offering funding our freedom
envied in Cuba and in Iraq.

So on this Tax Day, we sing his praises
thanking our Father for Uncle Sam.
Even in lean times, we are most wealthy.
Nieces and nephews… A-mer-icans.

tune: Morning Has Broken

Late is My Gratefulness

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos

New words to a familiar Thanksgiving hymn tune;
A Thankless Thanksgiving in the White House

Late Is My Gratefulness
New words to a familiar Thanksgiving hymn tune

Late is my gratefulness, O God my Father.
I’m tardy thanking You for what You’ve done.
Daily You’ve given me countless reminders
of Your great faithfulness, Most Faithful One.

Refrain:
Late is my gratefulness. Late is my gratefulness.
Forgive my tardiness honoring You.
I’ve been remiss in recalling Your goodness.
Your steadfast mercies, Lord, are ever new.

Late is my gratefulness, O God my Father.
I have been careless extolling Your care.
Daytime or nightime, Your grace like a blanket
covers me gently. Your love’s everywhere. (Refrain)

Late is my gratefulness, O God my Father.
I’ve no excuse for my ingratitude.
I beg forgiveness for failing to praise You.
Great is Your faithfulness in all You do. (Refrain)

*The above lyrics can be sung to the tune for “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.”


A Thankless Thanksgiving in the White House
A less-than-memorable holiday for the First Family

No turkey in the White House.
George dined on lame duck fare.
He had no choice. His goose was cooked
by critics everywhere.

But lame duck can be tasty
if basted in Old Crow.
A bourbon brine can cover up
what goes down oh so slow.

And while my wife baked pumpkin torte
(I cannot tell a lie),
the White House chef served thankless George
a slice of humble pie.

With Gratitude for Mother-like Love

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos

A hymn for Mother’s Day;
Baby Talk

With Gratitude for Mother-like Love
A hymn for Mothers’ Day

Our Father God, we thank You for our mothers
who cradled us when we were small and weak.
Then as we grew, they clothed us with compassion.
They coaxed first steps and coached us how to speak.
Protecting us from “monsters in our closets,”
they sang us lullabies to help us sleep.

Our Father God, we thank You for our mothers
who cooked our meals and baked our birthday cakes.
Who read us stories, helped us with our homework,
becoming nurses when our bodies ached.
They put our wants before the things they needed,
consoling us when lovesick hearts would break.

Our Father God, You are just like a mother.
With caring arms you slake our thirst for love.
You pick us up when failures leave us fallen.
You hold us close when bullies push and shove.
You wipe away the tears that stain our faces.
You are the perfect parent we dream of.

Our Father God, there is no other mother
who can compare with all the love You give.
Your mother’s heart envelopes us as children.
Your grace and mercy give us strength to live.
With tenderness, You welcome our confession
and give assurance that You do forgive.

Baby Talk
Candid questions for a newborn.

Do you know the world you’ve entered
is a planet scarred by war?
Do you have the slightest notion
how much blood’s been spilled before?
 
Precious one, would it surprise you
if I told you what’s ahead
will be difficult and lonely,
marked by pain until your dead?
 
Nonetheless my little child,
will you trust me when I say
that it’s worth the grief you’ll suffer
to embrace what comes your way?
 
Will you comprehend your trials
only come to make you strong?
Will you seek to do the right thing
but then learn from times you’re wrong?
 
As you sleep upon my shoulder
what sweet dreams now fill your mind?
Are you dreaming of the fun we’ll
have when you are eight or nine?
 
Can you picture playing baseball,
soccer games or ballet tights?
In your dreams are you just average
or (unlike me) very bright?
 
What’s the path you’ll one day journey?
To which jobs will you be drawn?
As you think about tomorrow,
what life goals will turn you on?
 
Can you feel me stroke your fingers
and plant kisses on your cheek?
Do you hear the Father’s whispers
in the gentle words I speak?
 
Will I live to see your children?
Will you love me when I’m old.
Could it be there’ll come a day when
you and I will reverse roles?
 
Who’s to say my precious bundle?
Who can tell what years will bring?
But for now my little darling
will you listen as I sing?
 
“My child you’re cherished. Relax in my arms.
I pledge to protect you from danger and harm.
I’m awed by the wonder of your tiny frame
and wowed by the privilege to give you my name.”

(The last four lines of this poem can be sung as a lullaby
to the tune of “Away in a Manger”)