Thursday, December 31, 2015

Drink Up!


Wishing you, wherever in the world
you are,
A Blessed New Year. 

Love, 
Janet

Done With Guesses




Inspired by this post

Caught in between the old and new
…the done and what remains to do
Here, on Time’s forward avenue
Each one of us exists
Not by some feckless ordinance
Nor by mere hapless circumstance
But by the grace of second chance
That God with dawn untwists

The laws of night to day unfold
In dark to light, in gray and gold
And soon we learn what we were told
Was, is and will be so
That Time is but a tiny poof
Rushing through living’s little proof
It melts like frost upon a roof
A mystic ebb and flow

For in its onward, forward rush
With every bravo, tug and push
Its ilk recedes; the solemn hush
Of ‘Time Enough’ impends
And while its grin and sorrow drains
Into tomorrow’s sun and rains
It ebbs toward what Death unchains
Where nothing ever ends

Within the grave none can compete
Nor rival where all mortals meet
Time’s deadline; victory and defeat
Not that of flesh and blood
But of the soul; oh, who can tell
The joy of heav’n, horror of hell
We stand where grace still tolls time’s bell
And our forefathers stood

…caught in between the old and new
Where we have much we ought to do
Before we bid this Now adieu
Exchanging breath-by-breath
 And step-by-step and wake and sleep
And this which nobody can keep
For that which opens up the deep
Unveiled at last, in death

© Janet Martin

In the book Emily's Quest her beloved teacher/friend, Mr. Carpenter dies.
"Just, think, Emily, in a few minutes I will be wiser than anyone living," He says on his deathbed, "always wanted to know- to know.
 Done with guesses.



Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Since Cares of Living First Began...





Since cares of living first began
God has ordained a way for man
To still commune with Him

A rod and staff to comfort us
A sacred altar where
Nothing need ever hinder us
Our heart and soul to bare

The fellowship of God to men
Is still as sure today
As in those ancient days back when
Prophets bowed down to pray

A Shoulder in the storms of life
A beacon in the dark
And in the rise and fall of strife
An infallible ark

Before we rise, before we sleep
Before we break our bread
Pray to the One who broke five loaves
Then five-thousand were fed

Oh, pray we do not forget He
Who is our strength and stay
But that with glad humility
We don’t forget to pray

© Janet Martin


I Prayed a Prayer For You Today






I prayed a prayer for you today
I did not ask for sun-kissed slope
Or answers for the why of gray
But that the Lord would be your hope

I prayed a prayer for you, my friend
I did not plead for morrow’s length
But only for your need Today
I prayed the Lord would be your strength

I prayed a prayer for you Today
To One whose mercies never cease
I prayed that in each come-what-may
The Lord would be your perfect peace

© Janet Martin

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
Isa. 26:3 

Would you join me in praying for Marina H. and Diane M. (and their families) as they struggle/suffer with concerns and cares that come with cancer...

'often all we can do is pray' remarked a friend on Facebook.
Amen and hallelujah!

Near the New Year...



I’d like to think I learned a thing
Or two when this year soundless falls
Into the urn of no return
I’d like to think its battered walls
Were not scribbled and scarred for naught
I’d like to think anew old thoughts
That one year prior I begot
Where now the heart and head recalls
The pitfalls and pinnacles oh,
That shaped this cape that draped the air
With mystery, 
now history
I’d like to breathe 
a little prayer
Of holy, 
humble gratitude
For mercy’s gift; 
a year renewed
Upon the shore of yore subdued
...I’d like to touch this moment where
We pause upon the brink of what?
We cannot know, but simply trust
The love of God that thus far brought
Us here remains faithful and just
As step by step and day by day
We live-laugh-love-work-hope and pray
Knowing that in each come-what-may
The God of old abides with us

© Janet Martin

A Song-of-Seasons Quilt










And that’s the way life is
A song-of-seasons quilt
Each swatch a patch stitched into place
With scenes that living spilt

The new year to the old
Is seamlessly adhered
The blunder with fresh wonder cast
To triumphs we revered

No rhyme or reason hints
What colors will appear
Or which will dominate the tints
That deftly binds a year

My, how time’s fingers fly
As tear and laughter threads
Are woven into symmetry
Charcoal, bronze, blues with reds

A colorful collage
Of gray to green to gold
The flower-garden dipped in frost
Bashful shades blend with bold

...as heart-string intersect
A tangled testament
For we know none can resurrect
One moment that is spent

Yes, that’s the way life is
From looms of grace-lace spilt
Time takes its This-and-That and makes
A song-of-seasons quilt

© Janet Martin



My sincere apologies to all but just for fun I 'stitched' the twelve squares together...
What a flashback! What a flash!
What a day yesterday was!