Is anyone listening
Does anyone care
Unanswered questions
Unanswered prayers
A voice utters sound
Quiet allows one to hear
Absorb the spoken word
All shall be made clear
Is anyone listening
The cross is hard to bear
Answers for questions
Answers for prayers
Not in sounds of voices
Within drops of tears
Within quit of the heart
Within patient endurance
Within peace one hears
Is anyone listening
Yes, love is listening
So calm all your fears

Most loving Jesus, light of the world; have mercy on us gracious God
Our troubled, sinful world has lost its way; closing our eyes to the truth
Refusing the many gifts of grace that the Father has bestowed upon us
Seeking only to indulge in all of the many empty promises of this age
Our focus has become blurred; the world has become a stumbling block
Our treasure is now in worldly things and no longer in the things of God
Replacing the reward we once sought after; everlasting treasure in heaven
Blinded by falsehood, untruth, and earthly desire; the world is our satisfier
Most caring Jesus, light of the world; remove the veil of darkness from us
Fill our empty hearts with lasting joy; shed a new light upon the earth
A new springtime shall appear and our blurred vision shall become clear
Being renewed in faith we shall extend your light to those in darkness
Love, peace and joy shall once again become the Light of the World, Amen.

On February 4, 2008 at 6:30 am EST my dear friend Maryanne went home to the Lord. Maryanne was one of those people who when you were in her presence you felt a little heaven on earth. She battled with cancer for over four years, yesterday the Lord ended her pain and took her home. She leaves behind her husband, son, daughter, mother,many family members and friends like me who over the years have come to know and love her. She told one day when I was visiting her in the hospital that when she awoke the day before entering the hospital that she had the feeling in her heart that she had one foot in Heaven's Door. I wrote this in her honor. "We love you Maryanne"

Waiting at Heaven’s Door

One day, I will journey, from my precious gift of life
A time to change my role, as a mother and a wife
Family and friends, who mean everything to me,
Inside their loving hearts, I will be a memory

Thank you my sweet Jesus, their joy and their love
Are irreplaceable to me, my treasure from above
Within my loving heart, these eternal words I'll pray
When at last you call me home, and I journey on my way

With just one foot in Heaven's door
With these words I want to say
To each one of you that I so adore
In your hearts I'll always stay

With just one foot in Heaven's door
Before my journey here is through
To each one of you that I so adore
My joy in life is complete because of you

To my beloved Jesus, one day I shall ascend
To stand the test of time is one message left to send
Thank you my sweet Jesus, for the love inside of you
Only with your love, will I be able pass through

With both my feet in Heaven's door
Your loving hearts will comfort me
With both my feet in Heaven's door
My eternal soul will be set free

Your love will dwell inside of me, for all eternity
There, too play the role that I was created for
Waiting for all of you, At Heaven's Door!

Bread alone shall not satisfy our hunger
Only for a time shall water quench the thirst
The design of the body is to hunger
The desire of our being is to thirst
Forever shall we need to be nourished
Longing resides in our human nature
For the body and for the soul as well
Hunger and thirst are passions of the soul
Not as the body in the physical sense
Only the spiritual realm satisfies the soul
The bread of life uplifts a wary soul
So too the cup of eternal salvation
Satisfying all who partake of this meal
Also what is heard in the living Word
Wisdom and knowledge guide the heart
Of the many eternal graces they impart
Bread and water alone shall never sanctify
Only the word made flesh, The Lord Most High.

I was inspired to write this poem after hearing my brother, James, and his wife, Rachael were seeking adoption from China. Infinite wisdom sometimes sets people on paths they may not have taken. In my heart, I believe special people are chosen by God to love a special child somewhere; adoption is the means to bring this love to fruition. This poem is dedicated to James, Rachael, and everyone else who adopts children; extending a lifetime of love to beautiful children all over the world.
Peace & Love, Anthony

The Miracle of Adoption

From somewhere across the sea
I wait for you to come to me
Although we have never met
Our destinies have forever been set
For into your loving arms I was born to be
From the beginning of time; for all of eternity
Infinite wisdom has chosen two
For me to spend my life with you
To love me as no other on earth
Is the reason I was given birth
For you belong to me as I belonged to you
All that matters is we are now one
Whether I am a daughter or a son
Love is all that matters to me
Love is all that matters to you
I am a child across the sea
Waiting for you to come to me
To take me to our home at last
We will leave the pain of the past
I am your child across the sea
Waiting for mommy and daddy
A miracle child filled with love
Given to you from heaven above