Sample Poems and Readings (can be read by officiant or friends/family)
God bless all that I love;
All those that love me;
All those that love those that I love;
And all those that love those that love me.
From an embroidered sampler in the 16th or 17th century
God Let
_________ Walk With You
Although
her/his steps are small
Stay beside
him/her, hold his/her hand
And never let
him/her fall.
Amen.
Babies are
Angels that fly to the earth,
their wings
disappear at the time of their birth
one look in
their eyes and we're never the same
They're part of
us now and that part has a name
That part is
your heart and a bond that won't sever
our Babies are
Angels, we love them forever. ~Unknown~
Precious
one,
So
small,
So
sweet
Dancing
in
on angel
feet
Straight from
Heaven's
brightest
star
What a
miracle
you
are!
~Unknown~
This little
tiny baby
Was sent from
God above
To fill your
hearts with happiness
And touch your
lives with love
He must have
known
You'd give your
all
And always do
your best
To give your
precious baby love
And be grateful
and so blessed
~Unknown~
Loving God, thank you for the gift of life and for bringing [insert new baby's name] safely into this world. May You bless him/her and keep him/her, helping him/her to grow loving, strong, and healthy in Your love, now and always. Amen.
A Parent’s
Prayer by Rabbi Rami M Shapiro
We call unto
the Source of Life
In thanksgiving
for the wonder of the gift of life,
We are humbled
by the blessing and responsibility of parenthood
And our
participation in the miracle of creation.
May we learn to
love without smothering
May we learn to
house without imprisoning,
May we learn to
give without imposing,
May we learn to
live today,
That yesterday
and tomorrows
Might find
their way into the world,
We give thanks
for the gifts of life,
And stand in
wonder
Before the
awesome task of parenting that lies before us,
Blessed is the
Way of Life
That makes
parents rejoice with child.
Parent's'
Prayer at the Birth of a Child
We are humbled
by the awesome power of this moment.
From our lives
we have brought forth life.
Through our
love we have fashioned a child of love.
May our child
be a blessing to all he meets.
And may he
count us among his blessings as well.
Rabbi Rami M.
Shapiro
Mother's
Prayer
Teach me to
walk slowly
with my children, Lord,
To talk quietly
and with
assurance.
Let me give
them hope not fear.
Help me to
listen to their
voices, Lord,
So I may know
when the sound
is
idle chatter,
And when it is
the cry
of
a lonely heart.
Teach me to
share my joys
and restrain my disappointments.
Precious Lord,
light my way,
let me be a good example
Of a loving
spirit.
By Marilyn
Giese
My Son
(can easily also be used for a girl)
Barbara Shooltz
Kendzierski.
You did not
come to me as the moon, reflective
Of me, or to
orbit my life but as a star, radiant
With light and
warmth and path of your own,
I will always
try to remember.
I want to
neither hold you captive of my dreams
Nor to pressure
you to color between the lines I have drawn,
I hope to never
distort your questions
To fit my
answers: but sometimes
I will
forget,
May the limits
I set serve you
Like the
scaffolds serves the skyscraper in its ascent,
Then
falls away when the time comes to let go,
May my words
teach you to listen
And my
listening teach you to speak
So in quiet it
is your own voice you find,
May I be a
mirror so you can see yourself clearly
As child of a
loving God who delights in your being,
The Greatest
Gift by Mozelle Schouten Leblanc, (1895-1951)
If the Father
in Heaven should say unto me,
"I
will grant thee one wish, Mozelle.
So thou hadst
best think deeply and long
So
thou wilt wish wisely and well."
I'd not ask the
Lord for a wonderful voice
Or
for great fame untold.
I'd not ask for
a beautiful face
Or
for the glitter of gold.
I'd ask for
something far greater than these,
The greatest gift from above.
Just a wee
thing I could call all my own,
A
dear little baby to love.
A dear little
hand clasped tight in my own
A
dear mouth made for me to kiss.
Of all the
great things that the Lord could bestow
What gift could be greater than this.
Baby
(Helen Steiner
Rice)
A wee bit of
heaven
drifted down
from above -
A handful of
happiness,
a heartful of
love.
The mystery of
life,
so sacred and
sweet -
The giver of
joy
so deep and
complete.
Precious and
priceless,
so lovable, too
-
The world's
sweetest miracle,
baby, is
you.
All You
Are
(by Michael
Card - based on a poem by George MacDonald)
Where did you
get those eyes so blue?
They're from
the sky that you passed through.
Where did you
get that little tear?
Did you find
that it was waiting for you here?
And what about
your little nose?
He knew you'd
need it for the rose.
And as for your
soft curly ear,
He knew there
would be songs for you to hear.
How can it be
that you are you?
He thought you
up and so you grew.
Because you're
mine, it must be true
That He was
also thinking of me too.
For all you
are, and all you'll be,
For everything
you mean to me,
Though I don't
understand,
I know you're
from the Father's hand
god's love - paul mastromarino
I am always
with you,
even when you
are not able to feel me in your heart.
I love you
always,
I surround you
with my protecting love,
even when you
occasionally forget me.
I listen to
your problems,
if you are
sincere and receptive, I give you solutions.
I hear your
prayers and answer those which are in the best
interest
of everyone in
your life including, but not limited to, you.
I am the light
and the thoughts in your mind,
I am the sight
in your eyes,
I am the life
in your body,
I am the
feelings you feel in your heart.
I am always at
work in your life for your greater good,
although you
may not always believe this;
hopefully, your
faith in me will grow constant.
you must
realize:
"my will is
whatever is happening in the present moment".
within this
moment you must think and act
with integrity,
humility and courage,
you must trust
in me,
and surrender
your will to mine through acceptance.
if you continue
to demonstrate acceptance,
integrity,
humility, courage and trust,
you will
discover the secret of opening your heart to my love.
the greater
your faith in me
the more I am
able fill your heart with my love.
it is I, who
grants you the serenity to accept
the things you
cannot change,
the courage to
change the things you can
and the wisdom
to know the difference.
eventually you
will realize the samplings of love
I bestow on you
through others
are
purposefully designed to draw you closer to me.
it is only I,
who loves you unconditionally,
I am an
ever-flowing fountain of love, peace and joy,
I will never
disappoint you; I will always be with you.
I mete out to
you the exact amount of pain you cause others,
because I want
you to be compassionate.
I want you to
be able to give love and equally as important,
I want you to
be able to receive love.
how else will
you learn to love me?
how will you
learn to accept my love?
the moment you
realize the error of your ways,
the moment you
sincerely regret the pain you cause others,
I forgive you;
I nourish you with my tender mercies.
remember, I
never stop loving you for you are my precious child.
On Children
by Kahlil Gibran
Your children
are not your children.
They are the
sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come
through you but not from you,
And though they
are with you yet they belong not to you.
You may give
them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have
their own thoughts.
You may house
their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls
dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you
cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive
to be like them,
but seek not to
make them like you.
For life goes
not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the
bows from which your children
as living
arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees
the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends
you with His might
that His arrows
may go swift and far.
Let your
bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He
loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves
also the bow that is stable.
If one feels
the need of something grand, something infinite, something that
makes one feel aware of God, one need not go far to find it. I
think that I see something deeper, more infinite, more eternal than
the ocean in the expression of the eyes of a little baby when it
wakes in the morning and coos or laughs because it sees the sun
shining on its cradle.
Vincent van
Gogh
Take a
sprinkling of fairy dust,
An angel’s
single feather,
Also a dash of
love and care,
Then mix them
both together.
Add a sentiment
or two,
A thoughtful
wish or line,
A touch of
stardust, a sunshine ray…
It’s a recipe,
for a Baby Girl truly fine.
Author
Unknown
God Sent You
the Best He Had....
God sent you
the best He had --
The blessings
of baby hands
And ten small
toes that come in rows
Imported from
Angel lands!
God blessed the
little darling
And to earth
sent us this joy;
Who has won our
hearts already, Your Blessed Baby.
I send you the
best I have --
A wish that is
big and true;
That God will
bless with tenderness
His dear little
Gift and you!!!!
Children Learn
What They Live
By Dorothy Law
Nolte, Ph.D.
If children
live with criticism, they learn to condemn.
If children
live with hostility, they learn to fight.
If children
live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive.
If children
live with pity, they learn to feel sorry for
themselves.
If children
live with ridicule, they learn to feel shy.
If children
live with jealousy, they learn to feel envy.
If children
live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.
If children
live with encouragement, they learn confidence.
If children
live with tolerance, they learn patience.
If children
live with praise, they learn appreciation.
If children
live with acceptance, they learn to love.
If children
live with approval, they learn to like themselves.
If children
live with recognition, they learn it is good to have a
goal.
If children
live with sharing, they learn generosity.
If children
live with honesty, they learn truthfulness.
If children
live with fairness, they learn justice.
If children
live with kindness and consideration, they learn
respect.
If children
live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves and in
those about them.
If children
live with friendliness, they learn the world is a nice place in
which to live.