Showing posts with label accountability. Show all posts
Showing posts with label accountability. Show all posts

Monday, March 18, 2024

A Love Beyond Compare

One of my Sunday School students presented this artwork to me yesterday;
a picture she drew (with permission😇) while listening to the lesson!
I love my class of smart, beautiful, eager, full-of-potential school-girls!
Thank-you K.S.


My earnest prayer for all our Sunday School students,
is that the Holy Spirit would begin to waken and nurture,
as we gather weekly, (and as weeks turn into years,)
not just a belief in God but a love for God.
That they would get more than an education in Bible stories and facts,
but that the plan and gift of salvation would begin to unfold
a lifelong awe, reverence and wonder for God's love and grace!
Will you join me in praying too?!
They are little for such a very little time!
I also pray that we, their teachers, parents and grandparents 
live pure and humble testimonies
of genuine love for the Saviour of our souls
and the Lord of our lives!

***
Matthew 5:16 - Let your light so shine before men,
that they may see your good works, 
and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

***
Let's live love over and above
What Duty delegates
Let's love God, wonderfully awed
By His goodness and grace

Let's live aware of eyes that care-
fully watch every move 
Where actions shout and leave no doubt
About who we most love

Let's live a life of joy, not strife
Let's pay most earnest heed
To what we sow, because we know
Soon fruit follows the seed 

Soon innocence will climb time's fence
And leave childhood behind
Let's live love over and above
With every child in mind 

Before the heart grows hard, let's start
To plant, with tender care
Awareness of God's wondrous love:
A love beyond compare 

Janet~


Ephesians 5:1-2
 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 
 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us,
 a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Through the Means of Today


"That our sanctification did not depend upon changing
our works, but, in doing that for God's sake which we commonly do for our own.
That it was lamentable to see how many people mistook the means for the end,
addicting themselves to certain works which they performed
very imperfectly, by reason of their human or selfish regards...."

by Brother Lawrence



We ought to pay close heed
To dawn’s gift on display
Because of where its moments lead
Through the means of Today...



Some folk I have outlived
And some will outlive me
Through the means of Today, a gift
God grants mortality

The tally of the sum
Of Today-shadows cast
Are like flickers that will become
My life, when life is passed

The breath that holds the soul
At bay, someday will cease
The means of getting to the goal
Will expire its lease

We ought to pay close heed
To dawn’s gift on display
Because of where its moments lead
Through the means of Today

The means is not the end
The ‘seen’ will soon be through
Let’s live as if Today could rend
The veil between the two

…where there is no release
To what none can outlive;
The end begins what cannot cease
And God alone can give

Oh, pray we bear in mind
Far more than dust of clay
In grave-strewn worlds soon left behind
Through the means of Today

© Janet Martin

Ps.107:8-9
Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
 For He satisfies the longing soul,
And fills the hungry soul with goodness.

Sharing some morning robin and finch cheeriness!
(in between traffic noise!)







Saturday, March 2, 2024

Perfect Satisfaction (because we all seek to be satisfied)


Every life is a testament, not only
of how much God loves us,
but of how much we love Him!

Photo:  Yesterday's Bake-Apple Crumble Tarts and Scottish Coconut and Jam Tarts
Today's bake (plan): Butter tarts!


I am currently working at a 'tart buffet' as part of a meal
next Wednesday evening 
for all our youth, junior youth and kid's zone ministry leaders at church; approx. 50!
Isn't it a wonderful blessing to be able to serve those who serve others
with a delicious 'encouragement/appreciation' meal once a month?!

BTW!! this was not my initial reaction of 'love'! (insert blush)
My first thought, I am ashamed to say was 'why? all this work/fuss etc.
 when they could all grab a bite before their meeting?!!
It would be SO much easier...
There are so many things faulty with the above attitude😓
hence, the need for confession.
Then to top it off,  I was thoroughly convicted by a conversation from/with
 an ancient Brother Lawrence from the 1600's!


I ordered this little book to tag on a few dollars 
so I would qualify for free shipping!
I am only on the second conversation and have been utterly
encouraged and convicted/corrected in my often carnal tendencies...




We all seek to be satisfied
The world, a big buffet
Of tempting fruit cajoling pride
With ‘did God really say?’

So much to see and touch and taste
What vast fields Choice deploys
Soon yielding either worth or waste
In Want’s pursuit of joys

What fickle ventures we afford
What futile wish and whim
We chase, until we love the Lord
And yield our hearts/lives to Him

Then, come what may, bitter or sweet
When love for God prevails
We find a life of joy complete
Because love never fails

We all seek to be satisfied
God’s grace, a grand buffet
Of hope the world cannot provide
Or ever take away

The more we love the Lord, the less
We want of lesser things
As we embrace/enjoy the happiness
Only loving God brings

© Janet Martin

1 Thessalonians 3:12
And may the Lord cause you to increase and overflow
 with love for one another and for everyone else, 
just as our love for you overflows,

Philippians 1:9
And this is my prayer: 
that your love may abound more and more
 in knowledge and depth of insight,


Last night as our youngest daughter's little
'blue bug' puttered away I prayed a special blessing on her and all the
fellow-workers who serve/minister to our precious youth!

We are obligated to thank God for you all the time,
 brothers, as is fitting, because your faith is growing more and more, 
and your love for one another is increasing.


1 Thessalonians 4:1
Finally, brothers, we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus 
to live in a way that is pleasing to God,
 just as you have received from us. 
This is how you already live, 
so you should do so all the more.

Saturday, February 24, 2024

For Today's Roses (still taking shape)


Some days life is a lovely maze of roses and butterflies.
And some days are more like thorn pricks and bee stings.
No matter what kind of day we are having,
only we are responsible for how we reply...

(Yes! This sunny stretch is turning my thoughts gardenward😀💖)

Wishing you a rose-giddy weekend!



Dawn unfolds like a butterfly alighting on earth’s supine pose
Once more courage and faith ally, to try the bud that holds the rose
Where, dust of trust pulses with dreams and wholesome opportunity
Where, though circumstance sets the scene, reply is up to you and me

Where we are always young enough to do the good we ought, to pray
To take and make the most of love before life’s flower falls away
And speak the kind and gentle word and live to give rather than get
And keep our focus undeterred, on Due Season not rendered yet

Then, not grow weary in the good we ought to do, ere reaping starts
And, when love is misunderstood, to answer with forgiving hearts
Then we will never lack for joy, but always find fresh ways to gape
At buds beginning to deploy today’s roses still taking shape

© Janet Martin

Gal.6:9
And let us not grow weary while doing good,
 for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.


Yesterday was pleasant on the southside deck...


Today temps have plummeted to more seasonal settings


Friday, February 16, 2024

In All That We Achieve...

 Inspired, in part by a paragraph from this book previously mentioned here



In all that we achieve today, however common its demand
If we approach its come-what-may, with willing heart and open hand
And humble consciousness of holy ground beneath each step we take
Aware of how footfalls compound to leave a pathway in its wake

Then we will not forget to ask, ‘Dear God to purify each quest’
And we will find within each task an impetus to do our best
And face each challenge that we meet with more than self- int’rest in mind
Because, a world of little feet, are following not far behind

Where it is up to us to show, without a shadow of a doubt
Through ups and downs of yes-and-no, Who, what we do is all about
So pray, in all that we achieve, as aftermath of pathways wend
In sacred steppingstones we leave/weave, they lead to Heaven in the end

© Janet Martin

Ps.119:105
Your word is a lamp to my feet 
And a light to my path.

Today's part-inspiration!

below continued from above...

I love how the paragraph below is a metaphor for life!





 


Tuesday, January 30, 2024

Of Payoffs In Waiting (or Something About a Gaping Grave)


Yesterday my dad's oldest brother (and Wayne's father) was laid to rest.
He is an uncle fondly remembered by his nieces and nephews
 for his good-natured, uncomplaining and optimistic outlook
 though his life had many hardships!
We cousins are in a stage where funerals have become our meeting place
and with these gatherings comes the solemn reminder
our childhood playmates are not children anymore,
all of us under the influence of Time's unflinching touch 
and we are reminded of this truth;
that death can come to the young
but it will come to the old
and the realization is dawning that our generation
 is on the heels of the one we are, 
one by one, laying to rest!
A ripe old age turns to mist
 in death's twinkling of an eye!
So then, as we turn again 
to shoulder our yokes of scarred delight
pray we do not lose sight 
of the only payoff that counts
when, for all 'momentary mountains/afflictions, 
the eternal payoff is unveiled!

Therefore we do not lose heart.
 Though our outer self is wasting away, 
yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.
 17For our light and momentary affliction is producing 
for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.
 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. 
For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Just beyond what we can see ...

(No matter how bitter/sweet)
lies Payoff's Eternity...

Below, a bit of 'sweet'.
This dog can be sassy and silly one minute
and sound asleep at my feet the next!!😂




Though the payoff of push and shove
Through ups and downs of life and love
May appear, to the sphere of sight
Like a showcase of scarred delight
While grappling with the yoke of truth
By fresh parades of fading youth

And though the payoff may seem small
For prayers that rise and tears that fall
Where today holds no guarantees
That Circumstance will aim to please
The Hierarchy of Hope and Dream
We nurture with fondest esteem

…and though the payoff drags its feet
Where hold and letting go compete
Something about a gaping grave
When mourners meet, its scene to brave
Reminds us with sobriety
Of a payoff we cannot see

The payoff for man’s hope and hurt
Is not a fresh-turned mound of dirt
Is not a final farewell tear
Is not the boon of now and here
Oh no! Death is the turn of key
Where push and shove/life and love’s payoff will be

So then, before it is too late
Pray we would reevaluate
The quests and payments we applaud
And rest our confidence in God
Who will, for all eternity
Unveil what the payoff will be

© Janet Martin

We sang two of my favourite hymns yesterday









Monday, January 22, 2024

What/Who We Need Most...(To Get From Here to There)




A stunning sunrise to kick off a new week to...who knows what?!!



For football fans, the countdown to who will make it to the 2024 super bowl is on!

Golfers have been delighting fans with some history-making highlights!

Did you happen to see any of winner, Steve Alkers amazing shots this past Friday and Saturday

Last week the winner of the Sony open was Grayson Murray!



He has been open about the demons he battles in his personal life, 
which affected and impeded his game! 
When asked what the difference is in his life now, he answered immediately that
his fiancée, but above that, Jesus Christ has made the difference!

For, no matter how sweet the kick, the toss, the shot, the triumph
it will never be enough to satisfy our need. Thrills soon fade...

1 John 2:15-16
Do not love the world or anything in the world.
 If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 
16For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, 
the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—
is not from the Father but from the world. 
17The world is passing away, along with its desires; 
but whoever does the will of God remains forever.

Matthew 16:26
What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? 
Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
***

We need more than this world’s finesse, to get from here to There
We need more than man’s promises, on which to cast our care
Where, though we need each other to cheer us along the way
To help us as we weather ups and downs from day to day
Our kindest word or dearest deed are inept on their own
To satisfy the need this world cannot fill or atone

We need Jesus, nobody else can save us from our sins
Or help us into heaven when eternity begins
Or hear our prayers or see into our heart of hearts to know
The truth without excuse, idols He longs to overthrow
The spirit, oh, so willing, and the flesh, weak as can be
Without His Spirit instilling, ‘not I, but Christ in me

We need more than this world can boast of season-severed strings
No matter what success we toast, these are all fleeting things
The love of family and friends, as precious as they are
Will never be enough to rend and fling Heav’n’s gates ajar
We need Jesus; His Name is Wonderful, Mighty to save
He fits us for the flight that thunders through the lifeless grave

When all is said and done; the gap that gaped twixt here and There
Dissolved; when we have run the final lap of worldly care
We need more than this world can give; the whole world not enough
To take the place of ‘Look and live’; God’s gift of grace and love
Is Jesus; we all need Him; Savior, Shepherd, Father, Friend
For this world’s greatest favor is but vapor in the end

© Janet Martin






Monday, January 8, 2024

Living Life To The Full or What a Way To Live!!


No matter how successfully
We gain grandiose boast
If we fail on the scale of love
We fail what matters most

Nothing can take the place of it
No matter who/where we are
In every goal that we pursue
Love sets the highest bar

***

If we ask ourselves if we are loving people I am sure we all
would like to think we would say Yes! Of Course I am loving...
1 Cor.13 puts our quick replies to the test, doesn't it?!!


1 Cor.13:3-5
If I give all I possess to the poor 
and exult in the surrender of my body,a
 but have not love, I gain nothing...

Love is patient, 
love is kind. 
It does not envy, 
it does not boast, 
it is not proud. 
It is not rude, 
it is not self-seeking, 
it is not easily angered, 
it keeps no account of wrongs...


Every day is a test...a love-test, isn't it?!!
It's not hard to love the people and things 
nearest and dearest to our hearts💝💖💕

Hockey-lovin' brothers...






...but what about the vast rest of it?!!
This is my personal challenge today,
 and only for today
because what's the use of straining toward yesterday, 
or tomorrow?!
Life always happens, to all of us
Today!

No matter who or where we are
How fast or slow we climb
To all alike, life sets love's bar
At ‘one day at a time’

No matter how we fret and fuss
Or trust in God, or balk
He doles life’s toll to each of us
In measures of tick-tock

No matter what, we cannot haste
Or slow the steadfast surge
That runs us through with touch and taste
Where past and future merge

Whether the gale is soft or gruff
Whether we push or pull
God fills each day with quite enough
To live love to the full

So, no matter what Today's spree
May scatter in its wake
It will be worth it all if we
Make love its highest stake 

© Janet Martin

'What's that word?' asked Granddaughter.
'What does it mean?' after I told her the word.
It means 'to treasure' I told her, like right now,
 I cherish time with you💖


Cherish the easy loves, for sure, but don't ignore the rest!
Maybe a resolution to refresh at this New Year??

sharing this cherished moment from yesterday...

I baked these rolls; 30 min. Dinner Rolls in the afternoon for
sloppy joes for supper.
While prepping supper my oldest grandson 
was SO hungry so I buttered 1/2 a roll for him
and off he hasted downstairs to where his siblings were playing
smacking his lips 😂💖
no surprise, his sister appeared and I gave her the same and off she went1
Chuckling, I grabbed my camera and waited...not very long!


...around the corner came youngest tot, not for a moment
 questioning whether he would get one too




Friday, January 5, 2024

Today Twofer ...Cradle of Eternity and Today's Most Estimable Gift

Yesterday we celebrated the child that turned Jim and I into grandparents!

Happy 7th Birthday, Grandson!


Simply being there may look like nothing much
(dear weary, young mother/parent),
 but, is in essence, everything!

Oh, the efforts that may seem to count for nothing here
 but may count for everything There!🙏🙏🙏
By God's grace, keep on.

Above, we simply see a birthday cake!!
 not the baking of it by Very Sleep-deprived mom 
after children are tucked into bed,
We don't see the many, messy, mundane, oops, 
I mean SACRED interruptions/frustrations
 to bring it to fulfillment!😅💓




Technology/screen-time has many negatives in the development of children BUT
this is one of the best positives; being able to laugh and chat with cousins 
over 2000 kilometers away!!




“Children are not a distraction from more important work.
 They are the most important work.”
– Dr. John Trainer
(according to this site, the above quote is misattributed to C.S. Lewis)

Children are by far the most important work!
because...

Beneath the wide, missing-toothed grin
That six and seven year old sports
Beneath Innocent Countenance 
That Time's Insistence soon aborts
 Beneath the sweet Cocoon of Youth
Trembles an Immutable Flame
As irrefutable as Truth
Unthwarted by denial's claim

This truth kindles a deeper look
At faces that we love so dear
At babies nestled in arm's crook
At hugs, as we draw loved ones near
Because, beneath the part we see
Exists the Thing That Never Dies
The Cradle of Eternity
Has missing teeth and eager eyes 

...a-sparkle with dream-giddy stars
Where footsteps that dash wild and free
Are bearing a most sacred charge
The Cradle of Eternity
Because, the part that melts the heart
With the velocity/Curiosity of Youth 
Cradles the soul, that precious Part
That looks to us to teach/tell the Truth 

© Janet Martin

Eccles.12:1
Remember your Creator in the days of your youth,
 before the days of trouble come 
and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them"—


I began the poem below yesterday...
Inspired in part by this passage
 (which also helped inspire the above poem) 

For He established a testimony in Jacob,
And appointed a law in Israel,
Which He commanded our fathers,
That they should make them known to their children;
 That the generation to come might know them,
The children who would be born,
That they may arise and declare them to their children,
That they may set their hope in God,
And not forget the works of God,
But keep His commandments;...

from this devotion...

from this book...


Before the poem was completed Eagerness arrived to steal the show with sweetness!

when Little Brother noticed Big Sister about to be the 'star',
he, ever-so-full-of -'innocent'-mischief did his thing😂😂😇

Can't you just about hear his very enthusiastic 'CHE-E-E-ESE!!'💖😅

We still managed one without his shenanigans 
(that keep everyone laughing and pulling their hair out!😂😅)


After they left, Gramma needed a nap before
heading out to above birthday celebration!


Today's most estimable part is valuable to know
Though its most vital works of art may never steal the show
It ought to stoke a lion’s roar in hearts of you and me
Because today swings wide the Door of Opportunity

Where what we do with what we have holds more than first appears
The impact of Now’s aftermath fills more than yesteryears
As repercussion of reply unravels in its wake
A footpath forged by you and I, for future feet to take

Today’s most estimable part is sacred to the touch
Though, at first glance its works of art may not appear as much
Beneath the part we see the root establishes the tree
That will, for good or ill, bear fruit for all eternity

Sometimes eternity can feel far off, and quite unreal
Sometimes Impulse can spar and scoff at God’s/time’s/love’s patient appeal
Sometimes, today’s most estimable gift, we hardly see
As God fills up the cup we lift with Opportunity

© Janet Martin

Let's not lose heart by dwelling on
 opportunities lost or missed
but seize the part we build upon;
Now
goodness-glossed and mercy-kissed