They Say Some Clouds Are Silver Lined

By John Francis Wallace III

There is a secret place
Where only I can go.

It is a quiet place
Far from life’s ebb and flow.

It is a place of kindness,
Of faith and hope and love.
John Francis Wallace III loves God. Yet although many believers talk about how much they love the Lord, John has discovered that the more time he spends with God, the more he realizes that God loves him more than he loves Him. One way that God has shown his great love for John is through his journey into poetry.
In a collection of inspirational poems inspired by John’s experiences and relationships firmly rooted in the teachings of the Bible, he reflects on sorrows and joys of everyday circumstances while reminding others that God dearly loves each of us, no matter our faults or sins. Within poems shared in three parts, John offers his favorite verse that explores faith, prayer, and hope in a multitude of ways, reveals a candid glimpse into his struggles to understand all the challenges that God has placed in his path, and the good fight he continues as he pursues his divine purpose to inspire other believers.
They Say Some Clouds Are Silver Lined is a volume of inspirational poems rooted in biblical truths that honor God and provide hope that He will always love us more than we love Him.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Aug 23, 2022
• ISBN: 9781664274754

John Francis Wallace III

John Francis Wallace III is a writer, speaker, poet, ordained minister, and IT consultant who holds a BS in ministerial sciences. He is the father of two adult daughters, Renee and Rachel, and lives in San Antonio, Texas, with his wife, Paula. They Say Some Clouds Are Silver Lined is his first collection of poems.

Book preview

Contents

Preface

Part 1: Favorites

My Dwelling Place

The Masterpiece

My Warrior King

My Heart Afire

The Warrior’s Daily Covenant

Part 2: Struggles

A Prayer for the Weary

Weight upon My Soul

A Prayer in Las Vegas

Anxious Soul

A Prayer of Confession

My Companions, Grief and Sadness

I Will Wait Patiently for the Lord

Dry Wells

Part 3: The Good Fight

A Battle of Praise

The Joy That Is to Come

The Place of Sacrifice

The Well Seems Dry

Today’s Warfare

A Quick Prayer

Part 4: Our Hearts Sing

The Whippoorwill of Eternity

Glorious Lord of Heaven

He Is Risen

A Song of Freedom

Water, Wine, and Joy

My Father’s Song

Part 5: It All Belongs to You

It All Belongs to You

The Tapestry of God

This Is Your Community

The Kingdom of Heaven

Grant Us Faith, Hope, and Love

Part 6: I Belong to You

Our Thoughts

With You I’ll Stay

Part 7: What Jesus Did

The Passion of Jesus

Fifteen Facts about Jesus

You Came to Us

My Father’s Love

The New Man, Jesus Christ

The One

Eternal Life

Part 8: My Calling

To Go Where Jesus Goes

Revival

Bought with a Price

My Source, My Strength

The First of a Thousand Sacrifices

My Calling

My Hope for This Day

A Word into Chaos

The Lie-Swatter

Daring to Love

Just for You, Jesus

The All-Things of Life

Part 9: No One Like Him

Your Presence

My Lord and My God

Your Name from A to Z

There Is No One Like You

Glory

Hope Like a Dope

Jesus Is My Friend

The Living Word

My Redeemer’s Grace

Part 10: Women of Faith

Twenty Years of Beauty

For Paula on Valentine’s Day

The Gift I Did Not See, The

Words I Did Not Hear

The Mother of My Girls

Teenagers

Renee

Rachel

The Woman at the Well

Part 11: The Word

The Word

The Word of Life

My Only Son

Part 12: Faith

Where Is Faith?

Faith and Reason

My Life Is in Your Hands

In Your Good Hands

The Windtalkers

We Dare to Believe

Part 13: His Creation

Your Creation

Understanding

The Acorn

The Ocean Waves

A Morning Sky

A Million Billion Stars

Part 14: Thank You

Thank You for Sleep

Thank You for the Surprises and More

Thank You for This Gift

Acknowledgements

Preface

My experience with God is that He loves me. To me, a commandment greater than the Ten Commandments is to Love the Lord your God with all your heart (Matthew 22:37), and many people talk about how much they love God. However, the sense I have as I spend time with God is that He loves me much more than I love Him. One of the ways in which God has shown his great love for me is through a journey into poetry.

This journey started when I was sixteen years old. I enrolled in a high school creative writing course, and among other things our teacher showed us various types of poetry, meter, and rhyme. Then, she did something that terrified me. She told us our homework assignment was to write a poem in iambic pentameter. I began to pray—literally. I was convinced that I was not a poet, much less able to write a poem in iambic pentameter!

The day before the assignment was due, I said, God, please help me, because I don’t know how to do this! That morning, as I looked out my bedroom window and watched the sun rise, I noticed that the clouds appeared to be lined with gold. Suddenly, a poem began to form in my mind. I got a piece of paper and began to write. This is what came out:

They say some clouds are silver lined,

But often I think not.

I do not think they’re silver lined,

But with fine gold they’re wrought!

For look! Behold! The eastern sky,

As the morning sun doth rise.

It seems as though, with the brightness so,

They’re cast in golden dies!

I was astonished as the words poured onto the page. When I was finished, I realized that not only had I used iambic pentameter, but, to me, the poem seemed pretty good. Still, I thought that because I took some metrical liberties with the iambic pentameter, I might not receive a very good grade. When the teacher returned the assignment, I was amazed to see that she had given me an A+. Then she asked if she could share it with others. I could hardly believe my ears!

My parents, however, did not encourage me. To them, poetry was something nice but not worthy of much time and attention. So I hid away my talent, convinced that this poem was just an answered prayer for a single assignment. It was not until many years later, when I had become an adult, that I realized I continued to write poetry in bits and pieces. I just filed them away, not showing anyone, unaware of the talent God had given me.

Then in the late 1990s something amazing happened. At the time, I was going through therapy, and I discovered a theme running through my life: freedom. One morning I awoke with the following poem running through my mind.

Freedom

Freedom is frightening,

Freedom is true,

For freedom depends not on me or