Inspired by lyrics to “Do What I Can Do” by Sue Riley, Richard Mekdeci, and Gary Lynn Floyd:
“Look around, what do I see? Good or bad, it’s up to me. My world reflects what I believe.
Here’s what I believe. I know there’s good in everyone. I know the best is yet to come.
Look out world, ‘cause I’m not done, I’ve only just begun . . . . I’ll choose compassion over fear, release my love into the atmosphere. Like a single wave in an endless sea, any change begins with me.
And, when I feel I’m all alone, I’ll remember, one drop of water smooths a stone. Gonna, love like crazy, shine like gold, be courageous, break the mold. Can’t do it all, but this much is true. I can do what I can do.”
Responsive Reading for August 1
“So the LORD said to Cain, ‘If you act rightly, you will be accepted; but if not, [error] lies in wait at the door . . . yet you can rule over it’” (Genesis 4:6).
”Look around, what do I see? Good or bad, it’s up to me.
My world reflects what I believe, here’s what I believe.”
“Then the word of the LORD came to [Abraham] . . . . He took him outside and said: Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can. Just so, he added, will your descendants [creative ideas]” (Gen. 15:4).
“I know there’s good in everyone. I know the best is yet to come.
Look out world, ‘cause I’m not done, I’ve only just begun.
I’ll choose compassion over fear, release my love into the atmosphere.
Like a single wave in an endless sea, any change begins with me.”
“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:12-13, New International Version).
“And, when I feel I’m all alone, I’ll remember, one drop of water smooths a stone.”
“ You would call, and I would answer you . . . . Mountains fall and crumble, rocks move from their place, and water wears away stone …. Then the Almighty himself shall be your gold and your sparkling silver. For then you shall delight in the Almighty, you shall lift up your face toward God . . . . He will hear you, and your vows you shall fulfill. What you decide shall succeed for you, and upon your ways light shall shine” (Job: 14:15-18; 22:26-8).
“To, love like crazy, shine like gold,
be courageous, break the mold.
Can’t do it all, but this much is true:
I can do what I can do.”