Monday, July 7, 2025

Hope, What a Precious Word

Without hope all we need is lost! with hope (in God) all we need is found!


Why art thou cast down, O my soul?
and why art thou disquieted in me?
hope thou in God:
for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance. 
Ps.42:5


Today's poem is inspired in part by the above verse, 
and in part by our message yesterday morning from Ps.23
as God ministered to His flock through the preaching of His Word.
As we hope in Him our good Shepherd restores our souls! 

  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for...Heb.11:1

Romans 8:24-25
For in this hope we were saved; but hope that is seen is no hope at all.
 Who hopes for what he can already see? 
 But if we hope for what we do not yet see, we wait for it patiently.

2 Corinthians 5:7
For we walk by faith, not by sight.

Hope-what a precious word; 'hope thou in God' Amen
With strength and joy restored, hope in God sings and sings

A Shepherd to the soul; when cares and sorrows press
Where wayward paths increase and fattened feelings taunt
Hope eclipses desire with peace and cries 'I shall not want'

A Comforter and Friend; unyielding, in the fray
Hope arms and anchors; does not bend to 'did God really say?
But with glad confidence beneath His rod reproved/behooved

A Rock that does not shift through howling gales of change
Hope anchors us, lest we should drift and let sight, faith estrange
As God tests wish and whim with patience-honing ways
Take up hope's cross and follow Him with persevering praise

Effort and rest, in sync; seeking God's kingdom first
As the deer pants for brooks to drink, Hope in God slakes faith's thirst
And never disappoints; His gift of grace enough

© Janet Martin

Eph.2:4-5
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ
 (by grace you have been saved),...


Saturday, July 5, 2025

Sweet, Sweet July Song (or Summer)


I began this poem on the last day of June
each stanza beginning with 'Sweet Summer'
but, the door closed on June before
I had a chance to completely corral verve into verse
so, instead there was born a sweet July song
with some June-strains woven through it...
a sit-back-and-savour summer-weekend siesta
kind of song!

Happy First Weekend of July 2025!

Sweet July/summer sweeps through living’s rooms
In whispers of wisteria plumes...


In bright bursts of myriad blooms
So lovely to behold...


She tap-dances in drops of rain...


And splashes puddles on the lane...


And waves a wand through fields of grain
Transforming green...


... to gold


Sweet July sighs in grassy bars...


And spills to window-sills in jars
Filled with pleasure unfurled...


She glories in sun-beaming kiss
Grins in lip-smacking berry-bliss...




Sweet July, sets cerulean skies
Above a glimpse of Paradise...


From arbours red with rose...


Sweet July spills a patchwork quilt
Across landscapes,


Sweet July sings in welkin brooks
She steals the dreamer's picture books
Contentment feasts on glorious nooks
Of Glad Reality 
Like cornfields flushed with robust stalks 


Like the delight of twilight walks
With carefree company ...



Sweet July sweeps through living’s rooms
In whispers of wisteria plumes
In bright bursts of myriad blooms
So lovely to behold
She tap-dances in drops of rain
And splashes shadows on the lane
And waves a wand through fields of grain
Transforming green to gold

Sweet July sighs in grassy bars
She dazzles pastures with dew-stars
And spills to window-sills in jars
Filled with pleasure unfurled
She glories in sun-beaming kiss
Grins in lip-smacking berry-bliss
Whilst comforting what is amiss
In this broken-down world

Sweet July smiles to you and me
From isles where wells of ink flow free
With one-of-a-kind poetry
Only God can compose
From wisp ‘o willow serenade
From cool, beckoning pools of shade
From hues prominently displayed
From arbours red with rose

Sweet July sways in leafy limbs
And plays a plethora of hymns
For July is a fount that brims
With perfect, purest praise
From oriole, song-sparrow, lark
 From fireflies, dazzling the dark
From children laughing at the park
Happy for summer days

Sweet July, sets cerulean skies
Above a glimpse of Paradise
She spreads picnics for butterflies
And busy/buzzy honey-bees
She strews ballrooms where bare feet dash
Through childhood's fleeting spark and splash
While we, with echo's dust and ash
Forge precious memories  

Sweet July sings in welkin brooks
She steals the dreamer's picture books
Contentment feasts on glorious nooks
Of Glad Reality 
Like the friendship of hollyhocks
Like cornfields flushed with robust stalks 
 Like the delight of twilight walks
With carefree company 
 
Sweet July spills a patchwork quilt
Across landscapes, wildflower-gilt
Wonder erects a temple, built
For worship's awed esteem 
The seed begins to burst with fruit
Thrilling the gardener with loot;
Onions, peas, carrots and beet-root
Heaven-on-earth cuisine

Sweet July slips through afternoons
An invisible minstrel, she croons
Ageless, page-less green ballad-tunes
Strummed on ten-thousand  strings
She overflows the heart with joys
And meadow-pond with laughing boys
The Belle of Summertime deploys
Happiness fit for kings  

Sweet July bids us walk by sight
And taste her fare of pure delight
And satisfy Want’s appetite
With slow and steamy hours
Where no one can afford to make
Less than the most of give and take
Where every day is like a cake
Decorated with flowers

...and dusk is like a getaway
From Duty's Musts of middle-day
Where gardens are a place to pray
And thank-God for July
For fields where farmers reap its hold
For Masterpieces, manifold 
As His handiwork is extolled 
From land and sea and sky

Janet Martin

The seed begins to burst with fruit



Thrilling the gardener with loot;



Onions, peas, carrots and beet-root...


Heaven-on-earth cuisine...



...and dusk is like a getaway
From Duty's Musts of middle-day




Where gardens are a place to pray
And thank-God for July...





Thursday, July 3, 2025

Altar Call or (Of Living, Sacrificed)

Because the dust we stir is far more than a splash of echo-ash...
as we dash through numbered days



Rom.12:1
Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, 
by the mercies of God, to present your bodies 
as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, 
which is your spiritual service of worship.

Rev.14:7
He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory,
 because the hour of his judgment has come. 
Worship him who made the heavens, 
the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

Rom.2:6-8
 6God “will repay each one according to his deeds.”a
 7To those who by perseverance in doing good
 seek glory, honor, and immortality, He will give eternal life.
 8But for those who are self-seeking 
and who reject the truth and follow wickedness,
 there will be wrath and anger.

The altar upon which we lay love’s living sacrifice
Blushes with hush of breaking day...





The altar upon which we lay love’s living sacrifice
Blushes with hush of breaking day and love’s impending price
Where it is easy to ignore its uncommanding pose
As we burst through dawn’s gaping door, laden with joys and woes

The altar upon which Choice proves who and what we love most
Because God loves us, pray, behooves us to examine boast
Where dust we stir with hopes and dreams and duty’s beck and call
Is far more than a sweep that gleams with season’s rise and fall

The altar upon which we place the living proof of love
Is gifted to us by God’s grace who fits us with enough
To worship Him, with heart and soul (where once this world enticed)
He helps us bear the sacred toll of living, sacrificed

The altar upon which we live is heaped with word and deed
Therefore, we always ought to give its off’ring earnest heed
In light of God’s sacrifice laid upon a cross, and then
To bow before the Lord who made Heaven and earth. Amen

© Janet Martin








Tuesday, July 1, 2025

Speechless Solace...


How thankful I am to know God hears love's prayer-tears...
for my family, for my church-family and for my country!


Love's concern for family, friends and actually, universal fellowman is beyond comprehension 
because, as the great Scottish Poet Robbie/Rabbie Burns' father would caution him
 'we are headed, not to the grave but through the grave'...
and his mother, poor in worldly wealth all her life, was deeply concerned 
that Robbie would not become money-rich through his gift of poetry 
lest he falls into the snare of putting his trust in money rather than God!' 
(from the book The Wind That Shakes The Barley)

It is Canada Day but this morning my prayer cannot find words
 to adequately express thoughts and longings for this gorgeous plot of geography 
called Canada; a beautiful country founded in Christian faith 
and rich with Christian heritage. 
A country full of beautiful people called Canadians!
I'm thankful, God hears love's cries of the heart for a country 
whose foundation is crumbling because the Cornerstone is rejected!

***
Today's poem is inspired in part by part of my devotion this morning
from the paragraphs below by one of my all-time favourite authors; 
James Russel Miller
as well as from meditating on Sunday morning's message 
from the passage of Scripture from from Eph. 1;1-14





Not through the fluency of words most eloquently wrought
God hears our hearts; His own heart stirred by unutt'rable thought
As He reciprocates; not with audible answers heard
But through unfailing promises found in His faithful Word

He hears our prayers; the tears that rend the fabric of our souls 
The groan of earnest sentiment that heaves and aches and rolls
As we cry out for God to bless all who hunger and thirst
For the Strait Path of Righteousness through this old world, sin-cursed  

Where we are pressed on every side by idle apathy
Where accolades for greed and pride disdain humility
Where, until/unless we lean on God's knee and every groan outpour
We drift like a ship, lost at sea without hope of a shore

God lays His ear close to our tears; He hears each wordless plea 
He comforts us; and gently cheers us with His company 
Then, faith's Spiritual Treasure, is a blessing beyond ken
Poured out by God's good pleasure through His perfect will. Amen 

Janet Martin

How utterly incomparable is the place at God's feet, 
as we pour out to Him our heart-hunger and soul-yearnings,
 then comforted by the thought that
 'He is able to do exceedingly, abundantly
 above all that we ask or think'!
 Eph.3:20




 

Friday, June 27, 2025

For Whatever Today Holds (our whole life through)


John 21:1-14

1Later, by the Sea of Tiberias,a Jesus again revealed Himself to the disciples.
 He made Himself known in this way: 2Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus,b 
Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, 
and two other disciples were together.
  3Simon Peter told them, “I am going fishing.”
“We will go with you,” they said. 
So they went out and got into the boat, 
but caught nothing that night.
4Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore,
 but the disciples did not recognize that it was Jesus.
  5So He called out to them, “Children, do you have any fish?
“No,” they answered.
6He told them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” 
So they cast it there, and they were unable to haul it in 
because of the great number of fish.
7Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” 
As soon as Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment
 (for he had removed it) and jumped into the sea.
  8The other disciples came ashore in the boat. 
They dragged in the net full of fish, for they were not far from land, 
only about a hundred yards.c
9When they landed, they saw a charcoal fire there with fish on it, and some bread.
10Jesus told them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” 
11So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net ashore. 
It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many, the net was not torn.
12Come, have breakfast,” Jesus said to them. 
None of the disciples dared to ask Him, “Who are You?” 
They knew it was the Lord.
  13Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, 
and He did the same with the fish.
14This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples
 after He was raised from the dead.
***
Don't you love this story?! 
Recently a few of my devotions have pointed to the richness of its details!
How dreary the disciple's return to hum-drum life must have seemed,
 in light of the past three years spent with Jesus! 
How discouraged they must have been after a night of  'fruitless/fishless' net-casting!
but Jesus cared about them in their common tasks, calling from the shore!
(Calling them 'children like a tender-loving Daddy/Abba-Father)
 Not only did He meet them there but had gone ahead of them to prepare a fire,
 knowing there would be fish! 
They didn't recognize Him right away
but oh, the joy when they did!
What a beautiful picture for present-day
disciples and fishermen to cherish and draw encouragement from!  

I captured the delight of this fisherman on the weekend!


This joyful moment followed the frustration of the loss of a lure
after his line snagged and broke,
and he needed to mend it and cast again!

Wherever we are,
whatever today holds, 
let us not lose heart
for the One who overcame the world is with us!

John 16:33
“I have told you these things, 
so that in me you may have peace.
 In this world you will have trouble. 
But take heart! I have overcome the world.”


He cares for us; and does not leave us to fend on our own
God never sends us out to ‘fish’ or fight faith’s fights alone
But takes a tender int’rest in our labours here on earth
For no task is too commonplace when filled with love’s great worth

He comes to us; no matter where the call of duty lies
He does not leave us comfortless to feast on futile sighs
But cheers us onward, for His grace will always be enough
To bear us up beneath love’s charge with hope and joy and love

He comforts us; into grief’s valley streams of mercy pour
When we are heavy-laden, look He beckons from the shore
To 'come'; no matter who we are He loves us all the same
His Spirit ministers to all who call upon His name

And lifts us to His bosom when we are too weak to walk
His love will never fail, each morning His mercy is new
To fit us for whatever today holds, our whole life through

© Janet Martin


This song kept going through my mind on the weekend as
I marveled at the way trees grow out of rocks!!









Thursday, June 26, 2025

Marriage, Oh Holy Union...

Yesterday we attended my nephew's wedding!
A beautiful and precious time to reflect on our own
rather 'weathered' marriages compared to the new bride and groom
and also of a Great Marriage yet to come!




Marriage, oh, holy union unlike any other bond
When God takes two and makes them one; a Mystery beyond
The straining comprehension of the likes of you and I
Yet granting glimpses of a wedding banquet by and by

Marriage, oh, holy, holy promise until death doth part
A covenant written, not on parchment but on God's heart
Thus, what He joins together cannot on earth be 'undone'
For man cannot annul what God has turned from two to one

Marriage, oh, holy picture of love's union yet to be
Of a marriage that will not end for all eternity
When sounds of many waters and mighty thunder proclaim
'Praise God, all ye that fear Him and have believed in His Name'

Marriage, oh holy binding of one woman and one man
The beauty of love beaming with the pleasure of God's plan
As He awaits the hour when prophecy will subside
As Jesus comes to gather in his arms the Church, His bride

© Janet Martin

Rev.19:6-9

And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude,
 as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying,
 “Alleluia! For the[a] Lord God Omnipotent reigns!
 7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, 
for the marriage of the Lamb has come, 
and His wife has made herself ready.”
 8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, 
for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

9 Then he said to me, “Write:
 ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” 
And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.”


Monday, June 23, 2025

In the Light of Letting Go...

Ps.145:10-14

The Lord is good to all;
he has compassion on all he has made.
10 All your works praise you, Lord;
your faithful people extol you.
11 They tell of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might,
12 so that all people may know of your mighty acts
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises
and faithful in all he does.[c]
14 The Lord upholds all who fall
and lifts up all who are bowed down...

(Read the whole glorious chapter HERE)

The road to life's highlights runs
rife with anticipation


The road from;
with fond memories



We spent a special weekend with some old and some new friends;
a weekend eagerly anticipated for some weeks then BLINK! and it's over!
Whether its outings, or a simple meal or seasons, 
as gifts of earthly pleasure slip through our bearing
as we touch, taste and treasure, while ever growing older 
we learn to expect and even cherish
the bittersweet pangs of letting go
that are bound to follow the embrace!
These bittersweet pangs hide in beaming pink peony-pom-poms,


...soon felled


in growing children and grandchildren
and in every fond fellowship/relationship God grants 
with people or nature!
Love imparts in profound measure, both pleasure and pain!

...like the pleasure of anticipating ice-cream
to celebrate the first day of summer
before the pain of disappointment.
Sorry guys!
The ice-cream shop is closed!

(we were informed of the closure ahead of this photo but
had to make sure) 😅


to respect privacy I won't share the kind of photos from the weekend
 most people most enjoy...of people!
but here are a few other pleasure-treasures.

Blue-heron dusk primping-routine


Canada geese on a leisurely paddle...


Sunset 

'ride' on The Big Chute (photo is the the boat ahead of us)


The chute is lowered into the water till boat/boats are properly boarded



then the chute via cables lifts the boats over the highway 
and lowers them into the water on the other side!




Summer's fresco


White Falls...



...and a poem-memento to remember to treasure what we hold
all the more because of the letting go! 

Love imparts in profound measure, portions of pleasure and pain  
As hearts overflow with treasure only farewells can sustain
Nothing in life lasts forever; tears and laughter ebb and flow
  As we learn to love with fervor, 
in the light of letting go

 Brave the fleeting bliss of flowers in spite of the kiss that waits
 Like a seal on Bygone's Bowers brimming with Delight's licked plates 
Let the music of love's moments rush the soul with holy 'ooh'    
For Love spills a sweeter cadence 
in the light of letting go

Love imparts with raw precision climaxes of joy and grief 
Suturing heartache's incision, bud by bud and leaf by leaf 
Meanwhile drawing ever nearer Heaven's reassuring glow 
While love's holding grows much dearer 
in the light of letting go  

© Janet Martin

I went in search of an oldie hymn (Lyrics below)
 this morning as I pondered the weekend and shed some tears
and prayed some prayers esp. for my brother-in-law and also friends 
who have bid (some very unexpected) farewells to their spouses in the past year,
and are suffering love's ultimate earthly letting go, 
no longer able share both love's profound pleasure or pain!!

Parting Hand
Author Anonymous

1 My dearest friends, in bonds of love,
Our hearts in sweetest union prove;
Your friendship's like a drawing band,
Yet we must take the parting hand.
Your presence sweet, your union dear,
Your words delightful to my ear;
And when I see that we must part,
You draw like cords around my heart.

2 How sweet the hours have passed away,
When we have met to sing and pray;
How loath I've been to leave the place
Where Jesus shows His smiling face.
Oh, could I stay with friends so kind,
How would it cheer my struggling mind!
But duty makes me understand
That we must take the parting hand.

3 And since it is God's holy will,
We must be parted for awhile,
In sweet submission all in one,
We'll say, "Our Father's will be done."
Dear fellow youth in Christian ties,
Who seek for mansions in the skies,
Fight on, you'll win the happy shore,
Where parting hands are known no more.

4 How oft I've seen the flowing tears,
And heard you tell your hopes and fears;
Your hearts with love have seemed to flame,
Which makes me hope we'll meet again.
Ye mourning souls, in sad surprise,
Jesus remembers all your cries;
Oh, taste His grace, in all that land
We'll no more take the parting hand.