Translate
Learn to Smile
The good Lord understood us when He taught us how to smile;
He knew we couldn’t stand it to be solemn all the while;
He knew He’d have to shape us so that when our hearts were gay,
We could let our neighbors know it in a quick and easy way.
So He touched the lips of Adam and He touched the lips of Eve,
And He said: “Let these be solemn when your sorrows make you grieve,
But when all is well in Eden and your life seems worth the while,
Let your faces wear the glory and the sunshine of a smile.
“Teach the symbol to your children, pass it down through all the years.
Though they know their share of sadness and shall weep their share of
tears,
Through the ages men and women shall prove their faith in Me
By the smile upon their faces when their hearts are trouble-free.”
The good Lord understood us when He sent us down to earth,
He knew our need for laughter and for happy signs of mirth;
He knew we couldn’t stand it to be solemn all the while,
But must share our joy with others–so He taught us how to smile.
Life’s Single Standard
There are a thousand ways to cheat and a thousand ways to sin;
There are ways uncounted to lose the game, but there’s only one way to win;
And whether you live by the sweat of your brow or in luxury’s garb you’re
dressed,
You shall stand at last, when your race is run, to be judged by the single
test.
Some men lie by the things they make; some lie in the deeds they do;
And some play false for a woman’s love, and some for a cheer or two;
Some rise to fame by the force of skill, grow great by the might of power,
Then wreck the temple they toiled to build, in a single, shameful hour.
The follies outnumber the virtues good; sin lures in a thousand ways;
But slow is the growth of man’s character and patience must mark his days;
For only those victories shall count, when the work of life is done,
Which bear the stamp of an honest man, and by courage and faith were won.
There are a thousand ways to fail, but only one way to win!
Sham cannot cover the wrong you do nor wash out a single sin,
And never shall victory come to you, whatever of skill you do,
Save you’ve done your best in the work of life and unto your best were
true.
“Carry On”
They spoke it bravely, grimly, in their darkest hours of doubt;
They spoke it when their hope was low and when their strength gave out;
We heard it from the dying in those troubled days now gone,
And they breathed it as their slogan for the living: “Carry on!”
Now the days of strife are over, and the skies are fair again,
But those two brave words of courage on our lips should still remain;
In the trials which beset us and the cares we look upon,
To our dead we should be faithful–we have still to “carry on!”
“Carry on!” through storm and danger, “carry on” through dark despair,
“Carry on” through hurt and failure, “carry on” through grief and care;
‘Twas the slogan they bequeathed us as they fell beside the way,
And for them and for our children, let us “carry on!” to-day.