Showing posts with label School of life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label School of life. Show all posts

Monday, August 7, 2023

Because All Is Not As It Appears

 


Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths,
 but only what is helpful for building up the one in need 
and bringing grace to those who listen.

Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, 
and things wherewith one may edify another.

But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day;
 lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

Sometimes when we get an 'inside story' on a situation
we are reminded, nothing is ever completely as it appears.
Hopefully then, we strive to be kinder because who knows
what hidden cross our fellow-pilgrim is bearing!


This song from my younger days still makes me laugh😂
because most of us at some point can relate to at least one of
the frustrations he highlights😅




Be gracious, because everything is not as it appears
We all carry a hidden world beneath mortal veneers
And often what we might surmise by the posture of sheaves
Is but a glimpse of much more than the naked eye perceives

The aches and breaks of love and life are not splayed in bold font
For all to see the bare bones of necessity and want
Of tug of wars we weather as heart-tethers strain and groan
Of prayers poured out in secret tears, witnessed by God alone

Surely the common ground of stumbles and mistakes and such
Should sweeten words and soften hearts and gentle thought and touch
And make us far more patient with each other than we are
Where low blows from life’s hard knocks leaves many a hidden scar

Love’s lessons-in-the-learning do not spill for all to see
Therefore, we should defend each other with kind empathy/ sympathy
Rather than hurling insults, or quick judgment’s sharpened spears
We should be gracious, because all is not as it appears

© Janet Martin

Monday, February 27, 2023

School/Leap of Faith- A Sonnet


As we were leaving on Sat. for our annual weekend in TO I realized
the pink eye I was trying to ignore was suddenly getting much worse.
We stopped to pick up a prescription because all the over-the-counter meds were sold out!
(bit of a pink eye epidemic on in our area)
To top it off, a mild sore throat escalated into wild discomfort.
By Sat. night the long anticipated dinner, (and remainder of the weekend)
was more endured than enjoyed!
While I know this is small on the grand scale of troubles
it was/is still super disappointing!
But on we go...
with so much still to be thankful for!

1 Thess.5:18
give thanks in all circumstances;
 for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.


I didn't get any photos this weekend except a few at 
Krispy Kreme donuts on the way home...


There's a good parable in watching the process of a donut being made.
A glob of sticky dough, mixed, pressed and fried before the
final, delectable sweet-treat finish!
So, speaking in donut terms, sometimes
 when we're in the gob-of-sticky-dough stage
 or the pressing and frying stage
it might be easy to forget
 there's a 'sweet-treat' finish!


To roam among grave stones of seasons spent
Is but to squander what soon wastes away
To wander in deserts of discontent
Is but to miss the treasure of Today

To mourn for what we cannot change is vain
Distracting us from present precious sands
To dread the unknown is a futile pain
Better to pray and leave it in God’s hands

His grace, always sufficient for life’s lot
His mercy new each morning, praise His name
His love transcends the scope of mortal thought
His promises are free for all to claim

His goodness greater than affliction’s lathe 
His peace, perfected in each leap of faith

© Janet Martin

Jim needed to leave for work when we got home!
I snuggled on the couch and listened to an extremely uplifting message 
from David Jeremiah about faith.
I couldn't find the exact one on YouTube, 
but below is a link to another gem of a message filled with invaluable reminders.
It starts in with this...
"One of the sobering thoughts about the Christian life is the truth that God is far more interested in who we become and what we are than in what we do. He cares a whole lot more about how we live than about what we accomplish. His purpose is to build Christians, not cathedrals. His focus is on people, not programs, and for this reason, when God is working in the life of a person, he often allows unexplainable events to prepare and perfect those that he is getting ready to serve him in a much bigger way in the kingdom. The New Testament says this: "Whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives". Often when difficult things happen in our lives, it's not the evidence of something that is wrong, but proof that something is right."

***

Life aka, 
The School of faith
is filled with highs and lows,
 joys and woes,
 in all shapes and sizes
thorns and rose-
coloured surprises
Everything comes, 
then it goes.
What yet waits
Only God knows...
But,
Whether we are enjoying the flower
or being pricked by its stem
God is faithful.
Forever
Amen 

Donuts remind me of a song from days gone by when
our children were little...




Wednesday, May 18, 2022

Of Wizened Ways...and Innocence

 

"I love it!' squealed the Little One
as she delighted in our weedy, flowery lawn...


...where, pray we never get too 'wise'
To see the world through little eyes
Or ever get too old to reach
For lessons only children teach...



We rise and take our place once more
Where morning breaks and seasons pour
The ink of poetry and such
Before our eyes, beneath our touch

…to steal our breath and test faith’s ‘yes’
Of heartache riddled happiness
Where 'nothing new under the sun'
Vexes a new generation

…and stuns us with the wizened way
Of whispers weaving yesterday
Of cares and prayers oft intertwined
Of ultimatums, God-designed

…where, by the granting of His grace
In the crook of mercy’s embrace
We take our place to do our bit
To honor the Giver of it

…where morning breaks through darksome bars
And rends night’s noose dazzled with stars
The heavens like a bud that spills
A garden above fields and hills

…where innocence and Wizened Way
Compose a baffling interplay
Where roles of teacher-student switch
Until we don’t know which is which

...where, pray we never get too 'wise/wizened'
To see the world through little eyes
Or ever get too old to reach
For lessons only children teach  


© Janet Martin

a little like a bud that spills...



a garden above fields and hills...



Psalm 100:2-5

Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his[a];
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.




Monday, April 18, 2022

We, The Up and Comers (to the Sunset Years)


Heb.2:1
Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard,
lest at any time we should let them slip...

This poem is written from a middle of middle age vantage point...


Gorgeous sunset the other evening but no freedom to wax poetic just then...

We tend to feel a bit like trees
Weathered and buffeted and tossed...




We tend to find as time goes by
And insolence of youth relents/repents
That the voice of choice will reply
Without a doubt, with consequence

We tend to learn as years accrue
Beneath the sparkle of the splash
The vault of ‘What I Thought I Knew’
Is quite depleted of its stash

We tend to feel a bit like trees
Weathered and buffeted and tossed
By winds of wild epiphanies
And olden ways to progress lost 

Then we tend to muzzle bold boasts
Attuned to time’s fading applause
We tend to raise much meeker toasts
To wisdom’s blunder-riddled cause

We tend to taste its grain of salt
In stumble-humbled middle-age
With empathy, rather than fault
Those struggling on a hard-knock page

Beneath the tutelage of Time
We tend to learn as we advance
There is so much more to life’s climb
Than can be appraised at a glance

…and how too oft we disregard
The common ground beneath our feet
How everyone’s ‘uphill’ is hard
And love lives, not on Easy Street

We of a more middle-age class
Chastened and jarred by season-swirls
Sense a Baton we soon must pass
To up and coming boys and girls

Beneath the sovereignty of clocks
We tend to be startled to find
How swift the classroom door unlocks
To students, never far behind

Thus, we should attend above all
What we tend often to forget
The aftermath of the footfall
Weaves someone’s path not travelled yet

© Janet Martin




Wednesday, December 1, 2021

A Little Ditty on Life's Itty Bitty


The cake was the least of the feast on Friday night
as we fellowshipped and fostered deeper friendships.




I almost said 'no, thank-you' when asked to host
some ladies from church that I didn't know very well.
I thought I didn't really have time to prepare properly
(plus a whole plethora of unfounded fears)
but I said 'yes' and I'm so glad I did!
 We had such a sweet, fabulous evening
it made me wonder what loss of joy and blessing
I have amassed by doubting God's sufficient grace 
then replying 'no' to opportunity!
But the main concern in our yeses and no's...
(because sometimes 'no' is okay)
...is, Who we are doing What for

Therefore, whether you eat or drink, 
or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Colossians 3:17
And whatever you do, in word or deed, 
do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, 
giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

1 Peter 4:11
If anyone speaks, he should speak as one conveying the words of God. 
If anyone serves, he should serve with the strength God provides, 
so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, 
to whom be the glory and the power forever and ever.

Touchdown on time’s tabard
Life’s glance on its dirt
Flies like a spark, upward
Hope clinging to hurt
Like snowflakes to lashes
Life’s flicker of fuss
Fosters dust and ashes
And soul’s exodus
Where Who we did What for
Whether great or small
Will prove with pure fervor
Who we loved most of all

© Janet Martin

 

Wednesday, October 6, 2021

Of Lessons Yet To Learn



Between the covers of Dawn-to-dusk,
are pages filled with lessons to learn
and whether the Teacher seems kind or brusque
it's up to us what marks we earn...

***

Dawn draws the gauze of Today's front-cover back 
as today's lessons, yet veiled
 are lowered from love's Hand that knows no lack
and never, ever fails

***

From belfry towers old as time
A golden gong begins to chime...





Beneath our feet and overhead
As night with morning light is wed
A fresh sheaf of work-sheets is spread
To teach and test and hone
Where sometimes it seems all we earn
Midst ups and downs and twist and turn
Are brand new lessons left to learn
Heave-ho, grunt, grin and groan

From belfry towers old as time
A golden gong begins to chime
And ushers in new hills to climb
Of dismay laced with awe
Where study books are full of care
And hope, a hunger full of prayer
Where wonder keeps us from despair
With moments of aha

From dusty tomes of yesteryears
To very present fights and fears
‘Neath tutelage of smiles and tears
In classrooms far and wide
We tackle Today’s no-return
Of lessons yet to live-and-learn
Where by God’s grace we humbly earn
High marks for having tried

© Janet Martin

Psalm 90:12
Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Psalm 119:12
Blessed are You, O LORD; teach me Your statutes.

Psalm 119:26
I recounted my ways, and You answered me; teach me Your statutes.

Psalm 119:33
Teach me, O LORD, the way of Your statutes, and I will keep them to the end.

Psalm 119:64
The earth is filled with Your loving devotion, O LORD; teach me Your statutes.

Psalm 119:68
You are good, and You do what is good; teach me Your statutes.

Psalm 119:108
Accept the freewill offerings of my mouth, O LORD, and teach me Your judgments.

Psalm 119:124
Deal with Your servant according to Your loving devotion, and teach me Your statutes.

Psalm 119:135
Make Your face shine upon Your servant, and teach me Your statutes.






Thursday, September 16, 2021

Of Un-Self-Discovery or Joy-Quest #1


Self-discovery can be a brutal awakening!
The journey of learning to truly love, 
a lifelong undertaking...
unlike the delight of a child on a swing💖
Instant and pure!


Little children, because they live in the moment
are unaware of what a gift it is to truly taste pure joy!
(the aim of the swing-game is to tickle the leaves with toes 
(she did it and her smile is one of pure joy!!)

Little children also soon start to show 
the self-centered nature of humans.
But because innocence has not yet
fallen prey to ulterior motive/selfish ambition
they are quick to love and be loved,
and move on to the next moment!


Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.
 Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.

Self when absorbed with self is blind
No heritage for humankind
When Self is spent, is left behind
For future benefit
Soul’s carriage, formed of skin and bone
When intent on itself alone
Worships idols of wood and stone
Atonement’s deficit

Self-joy relies on circumstance
The short-lived pleasure of the dance
Is a most pitiful romance
Devoid of love or skill
The drive to thrive in vain excess
Indulging self with yes, yes, yes
Will never lead to happiness
Self cannot self fulfill

How wanting are the riches of
The one who never learns to love
Where enough is never enough
To quench desire’s thirst
But, disillusioned bitterness
Will crown the summit of success
Epitome of emptiness
The life of self put first

For joy is not a purchased thing
No dancing puppet on a string
It is found in truly loving
God first, then fellowman
Then pray, this little life of mine
Will be a light to shine, shine, shine
As Self, engrafted to The Vine
Fulfills the Master's Plan


© Janet Martin

By ourselves we will always fall short of the mark
but by the grace of God and for His glory
given in his name is enough!
Hallelujah!
 

Friday, December 11, 2020

Test-Run


This test-run offers no 'test-run'!
We are all first-timers to each day
and its come-what-may.
Let's be kind.

The success of life's tests
depend greatly on the attitude/gratitude
 of the 'Student'.



How often life's greatest tests are wrapped in
the common cloth of day-to-day!

Pray, on our Pilgrim-progress, we press with reverence 
'toward the mark for the prize of the high calling 
of God in Christ Jesus.'
Phil.3:14

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. 
But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; 
rather, serve one another humbly in love.
Gal.5:13

Everything is a test 
Weighed on a scale of love 
The way we treat our fellowman 
Is the law that will prove 
By how we spend our time 
The heart of you and I 
With what we have and what we do 
And who we serve and why 

Everything is a test
Our onus of reply
That may seem small is always hinged
To more than meets the eye
And presents everyone
With a subtle exam
Where often the way we respond
Reveals the hidden man
 
Everything is a test 
This moment-marathon
Runs rife with 'second-miles' where life
And time wait for no one
Thus, it is up to us
To choose right here, right now
Who we will serve and worship with
Today's momentous How
 
Everything is God’s grace 
All that we have is lent 
And in case we forget our place 
We all are called and sent 
Not to earn Heaven’s pass 
But humbly do our best 
To honour He who grants each day 
Where everything is a test 

© Janet Martin

Monday, August 10, 2020

We All Start Off So Young (in the School of Life)





We all start off so young to learn what time will teach
Youth’s years are like sun-sparkles flung to waves that wash the beach
The crucial length of it is like a balance beam
To test and hone the strength and grit of they who dare to dream

Folly goes hand in hand with those who do not heed
The wiser words of ones who stand upon the fallen seed
 They've seen how swift the sprout becomes a full grown tree
How dangerous shadows of doubt without counsel can be

Time is Teacher to all no matter what our age
Eons of seasoned rise and fall hinge to unblemished page
The One who supplies Need does not leave us alone
But grants the courage to proceed into the Great Unknown

Where we all start off young but soon begin to lose
The innocence of childish tongue as time fulfills its dues
And greenness starts to earn through blunder and faux pas
Gold wisdom so painful to learn but worth its humble awe

Ah, fear would be a noose without faith to defend
Nobody can remain footloose and fancy-free, my friend
Only a fool is crass and tries to dodge Love’s rod
Where we are all part of a class that will answer to God

Then, though lessons are long and arduous to learn
It is the fight that makes us strong and authors good return
Therefore, do not despair; the School-Master is kind
Remember, we all started where we left our youth behind


© Janet Martin

 See then that you walk [a]circumspectly, not as fools but as wise,
  16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Eph.5:15-16


 

Saturday, July 11, 2020

Always Someone...


 ...always someone small who steals the breath of someone tall(-ish)😉



Always someone following somebody in the lead
Always someone harvesting the fruit of fallen seed
Always someone learning what somebody else learned too
Always someone earning what becomes appointed due

Always someone loving while another someone hates
Always someone hurting while another celebrates
Always someone working while a freeloader sits back
Always someone doing more to make up for the slack

Always someone dying and somebody being born
Always some who witness dusk while others greet the morn
Always some who make the best of what seems like the worst
Always someone second because someone else is first

Always someone needing what another has much of
Always someone seeing with opposing points of love
Always someone seeking what another one has found
Always everybody treading Mercy’s holy ground

© Janet Martin

Monday, July 6, 2020

Inexorable Entitlements...






The bitter and the sweet compete; oh, why must it be so
To hold is to suffer love’s precious pangs of letting go
Today is always placed over echoes and weathered treads
And joy is always interlaced with sorrow’s tender threads

To recognize and prize the highs we must undergo lows
And brace ourselves, where fond goodbyes follow happy hellos
The good against the ill is always finely juxtaposed
And oft night’s soft silences spill with what day’s noise composed 

The flower is the preface to shower of petals felled
The present is always the place where past and future meld
The flight to getting older soldered to laughter and tears
Regret's gut-wrenching gutters and triumph's capstone of cheers

The loveliness and ugliness of bare matters of fact
Kindles heartache and happiness; both never left intact
Where the longer we live the less it seems we truly know
And all we keep is what we give; oh, why must it be so

© Janet Martin