Saturday, March 15, 2025

Because The Heart Is Prone To Fear...




The heart is prone to fear
The eye to what it sees
Without God’s Word to commandeer
How gullible are these

The ear is how we hear
With voice we speak and sing
Without God’s Word to enrich cheer
How hollow noises ring

From minds, thought is unfurled
The hand follows, with deed
Without God’s Word, to gain the world
Still cannot sustain need

Bodies are born to die
Dust-to-dust, the Soul’s gown
Without God’s Word, hope is a lie
And knowledge but a clown

The Soul, God-breathed, endures
Beyond mortality
Faith in God and His word secures
Its holy destiny/victory

Headlines spew hateful wrath
And forecasts, dark and grim
God’s Word is a Light to our path
No woe/foe its glow can dim

Better to trust the Lord
In all we do not know
Because the power of His Word
No force can overthrow

The heart is prone to fear
Fear blinds us to the hills
With peace His Word instills

The heart is quick to yield
To fear and dread and doubt
God's Word is both a sword and shield
None can survive without

© Janet Martin

Eph.6:13-17 BSB
13Therefore take up the full armor of God,
 so that when the day of evil comes, 
you will be able to stand your ground, 
and having done everything, to stand.
  14Stand firm then, 
with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, 
with the breastplate of righteousness arrayed, 
15and with your feet fitted 
with the readiness of the gospel of peace.
  16In addition to all this, 
take up the shield of faith, 
with which you can extinguish all
 the flaming arrows of the evil one. 
17And take the helmet of salvation 
and the sword of the Spirit, 
which is the word of God.










Friday, March 14, 2025

To Think, Dear Day...

Today, the canvas of each and every lifetime!

Matt.6:34
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, 
for tomorrow will worry about itself. 
Each day has enough trouble of its own.

A stampede of Duty-dues assaulted my waking senses
threatening to thwart awareness to the whisper of mercy-renewed
and thus, reply of gratitude...

Yesterday I was visited by two little girls...

(dolls and outfits including shoes, handmade by local Talent)


oops, I mean four!! 😂
My granddaughter and my sister Lucy's granddaughter...
(where a few times I replied to the bittersweet title of Gram, um, Janet)









They giggled when I told them they made my dream come true...
a little home by the mountains and a lake!



Day...such a little word for all it unfurls
of troubles and triumphs and giggle of girls...


To think, I sometimes suppose you as common at first glance
Where opportunity is new, preceding consequence
Where the dictation of demands can consume praises owed
For it is not by human hands your favour is bestowed

To think I sometimes dare to state your mist as mine, somehow
And I am apt to underrate your mien of Here-and-Now
Where you are always caught between what was and waits to be
A sacred stage set with each scene that begets history

To think, sometimes the part I/eyes see can blind my finite gaze;
On the brink of eternity, the trail you blaze conveys
A fleeting caravan of fellowman from Here to Where
You yield your dust of Season-span to He who put it there

To think sometimes I rise without a rush of gratitude
For what none can surmise because of God’s mercy renewed
Where beauty you unfold is but a little foretaste of
The end of you, when we behold the Mystery of love

To think, I sometimes miss the wonder of your holy ground
Because the thunder of what is unfurls its sight and sound
To think, dear day, sometimes I suppose you as Duty’s toll
Rather than the highway hosting the carriage of the soul

© Janet Martin

a sacred stage set with each scene that begets history...


Roly-polies...leftover pie-pastry tradition! 


And today's devotion!






Thursday, March 13, 2025

To Live a Hymn


Yesterday I attended the funeral
of my friend's father-in-law.
He was 65.

Then, I attended a visitation for another friend's son-in-law.
He was 34.

There my friend told me how my sister Lucy's picture hangs near her sewing machine
so she remembers to pray for me and Lucy's family.
(for irregular visitors here; my sister lost her life suddenly 
when she was hit while riding her bicycle last Sept.) 
Lucy was 55. 

When someone we love passes away it brings an end to
conversations, activities, dreams and plans once fondly shared.
But it flings wide the renewed invitation to dredge the deeps of
what truly matters, above all!


And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; 
but the greatest of these is love.
 1 Cor.13:13

Faith in the finished work of the cross!
Hope through Jesus' resurrection!
so we may know God's love
that surpasses knowledge!

1 Cor.15:16-19
16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 
17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 
18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 
19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, 
we are of all people most to be pitied.

John 11:25-26
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.
 The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 
26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. 
Do you believe this?”

Do the above verses not ignite or rekindle a desire
to live the reflection of belief/faith?!
to live a hymn of hope?!
to live the light of love?!!



To live a hymn of love for Thee
O Lord, let this our motive be
To yield Want’s will to Thy command
To trust the leading of Thy Hand
And not with human wisdom try
Reason’s demand to satisfy
But without fail, to find enough
Where these abide;
 Faith, hope and love

To live a hymn to worship Thee
No matter what the cost may be
To know, no matter what our lot
Tis cradled in Divine Forethought
Where, once for all, Thy sacrifice
Suffered and covered pardon’s price
So, we would always find enough
Where these abide;
 Faith, hope and love

To live a hymn of humble awe
O Lord, to delight in Thy law
And then to fill Time's bar of days
With open-handed, thankful praise
Rather than loot of fleeting pelf
That cannot appease gods of Self
Lord, overflow hearts with enough
Where these abide;
Faith, hope and love 

To live a hymn of joy in Thee
With faith and hope's expectancy
Without a dearer purpose than
To love you first, then fellowman
To lay before Thy throne of grace
Each tear that treads the soul or face
Each prayer learning to find enough
Where You provide
 Faith, hope and love

© Janet Martin

Eph.3:14-21
14 For this reason I kneel before the Father,
 15 from whom every family[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name.
 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you
 with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 
17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. 
And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 
18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people,
 to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 
19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—
that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,
 according to his power that is at work within us, 
21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, 
for ever and ever! 
Amen.


Read the full glorious chapter of 1 Cor.15 HERE

1 Cor.15:50-58
50 I declare to you, brothers and sisters, 
that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God,
 nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 
51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 
52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. 
For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, 
and we will be changed. 
53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, 
and the mortal with immortality.
 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, 
and the mortal with immortality,
 then the saying that is written will come true: 
“Death has been swallowed up in victory.”[h]

55 “Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”[i]

56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 
57 But thanks be to God! 
He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. 
Let nothing move you.
 Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord,
 because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Below, the last paragraphs of yesterday's and today's devotions from
Streams in the Desert Vol.2


...and last but not least, my most listened to song of 2024...





Monday, March 10, 2025

Take a (Humbler) Moment...


Yesterday we celebrated our sweet Victoria's 24th Birthday
Every celebration (esp. since Sept. 17) is raw with humbler awareness 
of life's uncertainty/vulnerability...
My sister Lucy's husband and daughter were a special part
of the celebration; unspoken sorrow tuning our laughter
with kinder joy...

It is with unspeakable tenderness that we treasure the halo of faces
around a dinner table! 

 
(I'm not sure why the beginning and end of 
the song is cut off) oh, well...

***

Ah, take a moment, drink it in; the clime of Time is hasting
Its dawn-to-dusk designed to win the present we are tasting
Where nothing stays the same for long; each season, farewell-smitten
While deathless lyrics to Our Song of Life are being written

Sometimes, while in the bloom of love eyes close, never to waken
The loom that weaves The Mortal Glove, by God given and taken
Then, take a moment more to treasure the halo of faces
Around the table; prize love’s pleasure nothing else replaces

Behold the bud of virgin morn, like a flower unfolding
Where soon the bloom of it is borne to Bygone’s holy holding
Each bud a little like a door that God opens and closes
So, take a humbler moment more to thank Him for life’s roses

For no one knows the day nor hour He will bend without pardon
To pluck another precious flow’r from this world’s wanting garden
Then, drink with mindful regard from a fount filled by life’s Giver
With Ink of Moments that become Our Song of Life forever

Janet Martin

Jesus replied, “It is not for you to know times or seasons
that the Father has fixed by His own authority

( our community is in deep mourning once again;
last week a young husband and father of five,
lost his life in a tragic accident).


Behold the bud of virgin morn, like a flower unfolding
Where soon the bloom of it is borne to Bygone’s holy holding
Each bud a little like a door that God opens and closes
So, take a humbler moment more to thank Him for life’s roses...




Thursday, March 6, 2025

Content to be Content

Last night, due to fog etc. the older half of our small group
was unable to be present and I was the only oldie,
(because the host home was two minutes from my home...)
I listened to young parents as they shared delights and challenges of
babies and tots.
Sometimes, youth in its 'youthful loveliness' can make more weathered relics
 hanker for days, long spent and much forgotten,
until my 'leveler head' prevails 😅

Sometimes I hunger deeply for life before the loss of loved ones
 altered it eternally.
Sometimes that longing serves as a wake-up call to 
redeem my time wisely rather than in foolish, futile lament. 💔

This was the Lord’s doing;
It is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day the Lord has made.
We will rejoice and be glad in it
Ps.118:23-24



Don't wait until tomorrow to smell today's roses...



Sometimes, in foolish moments I hanker for days gone by
Where common scenes have softened until only love remains
Where lessons I once rued while youth unfurled its butterfly
Have settled like gold-dust in the wake of love's growing pains
And then I am content; futile, longing's lament because
Want wishes for a star-glossed world that never really was

Sometimes, in foolish  moments I am tempted to appeal
To once upon gone-good-old-days for laughter's freer vim
Until I turn to gaze at faces, kissable and real
Warm with the precious company of darling Her and Him
And then I am content with blessings too profuse to tell
Sensing a sacred cadence tuning hello with farewell

Sometimes in foolish moments I am blinded by a view
Surreal and sentimental, gleaming in yesterday's sun
Where time's redeeming brush has smoothed what once was troubled too
Where, rather than battlefields, a masterpiece has begun
And then I am content to relinquish Want's wanderlust
God keeps the Part that matters; all else is but dust to dust 

Sometimes, in wiser moments I am able to discern
The hues between the views that else would gleam in flawless poise 
I feel the faded sting of lessons we must live to learn
And even if I could I would not resurrect spent joys 
Content to be content though grief seasons the heart with scars
It grounds and guards love's feet from wand'ring lost, among the stars 

 © Janet Martin

I found this poem-gem in a book
I picked up the other day from our local thrift/treasure store  


Tuesday, March 4, 2025

In This World We Will Have Trouble...

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.”


The reality of Trump's tariffs fill us with dark foreboding 
as we ponder the repercussions this will have on our (Canada's) economy.

Tariffs. A word that has seized our attention and kindled an outcry 
far greater than words like sin, pride, greed, etc. 

We never welcome trouble and testing
 that crashes into comfort zones and tumbles self-secure 'palaces/solaces'. 
 This generation has been spared the kind of suffering
 our forefathers, founders and builders of this nation endured, 
but we were never given a guarantee that we would always be spared.  

Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.

Thus says the Lord: “What wrong did your fathers find in me that they went far from me,
 and went after worthlessness, and became worthless?

And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it,
and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice,
then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. 
I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” 
For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.
 He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge;
 his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. 
You will not fear the tariff terror of the night, 
nor the arrow that flies by day, 

Ps.32:11 (read the whole glorious Psalm HERE)
Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous;
    sing, all you who are upright in heart!

A beautiful reminder of God's unfailing Presence and power
in today's devotion from Streams in the Desert Vol.2 


Dear Lord, Your Word is eternal
What You promise, You will do
In this world we will have trouble
Blessed are all who trust in You

Dear Lord, there is no one greater
Than You, who can thwart Your hand
For You are mankind's Creator
None exempt from Your command

Help us be anxious for nothing
Thank-you Lord, Your Word imparts
Peace that passes understanding
To guard our minds and hearts

This world groans with circumstances
Generations rise and fall
Breath by breath each soul advances
Toward You, Lord, God of all

Then, with earnest expectation
As Your mighty Name we laud
Fill us with fervent elation
For you Lord, are the true God

Dear Lord, Your Word is eternal
No one can its power claim
In this world we will have trouble
A world that You overcame

Dear Lord, Your Word is eternal
Fill faith with fresh zeal again
In this world we will have trouble
But You are Sov'reign. Amen 

© Janet Martin
 
Jer.10:6-7
 (read the whole awesome chapter HERE)

There is none like You, O LORD.
You are great, and Your name is mighty in power.
7Who would not fear You, O King of nations?
This is Your due.
For among all the wise men of the nations,
and in all their kingdoms,
there is none like You...



Lyrics
Songwriters: Michael Farren / Rich Thompson / Dustin Smith / Jonny Robinson
Who else commands all the hosts of heaven?
Who else could make every king bow down?
Who else can whisper and darkness trembles?
Only a Holy God
What other beauty demands such praises?
What other splendor outshines the sun?
What other majesty rules with justice?
Only a Holy God
Come and behold Him
The One and the Only
Cry out, sing holy
Forever a Holy God
Come and worship the Holy God
What other glory consumes like fire?
What other power can raise the dead?
What other name remains undefeated?
Only a Holy God
Come and behold Him
The One and the Only
Cry out, sing holy
Forever a Holy God
Come and worship the Holy God
Come and behold Him
The One and the Only
Cry out, sing holy
Forever a Holy God
Come and worship the Holy God
Who else could rescue me from my failing?
Who else would offer His only Son?
Who else invites me to call Him Father?
Only a Holy God
Only my Holy God
Come and behold Him
The One and the Only
Cry out, sing holy
Forever a Holy God
Come and worship the Holy God
Come and behold Him
The One and the Only
Cry out, sing holy
Forever a Holy God
Come and worship the Holy God
Come and worship the Holy God

Monday, March 3, 2025

In The Light of Salvation

What a weekend of events I was blessed to be part of, 
in roles both of serving and being served through/with our church family!
I am so thankful for fellow-believers who lovingly understand and forgive 
my imperfections and love me because of the love of Christ!
Hallelujah🙏

On Saturday I was part of a team that served food to men 
who gathered for encouragement and instruction, 
as they strive to be spiritual leaders and servants of God
 in their homes, church, community, etc. 






yummy fresh fruit, bundt and coffee cake buffet for the morning refreshments,
...and then I TOTALLY forgot to take pictures of lunch!

***

Fellow-believers are our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Just as in any family, we don't all see eye to eye in everything
but as we cherish and marvel at the grace of God,
through His gift of salvation, He helps us to forgive
and love one another!


We cannot love as we ought, while clinging to grudges,
and hope, while doing so, to reap the benefits/blessings of God's grace.
After professing to receive the gift of saving grace, the redemption
 that pardons the penalty of sin, through the precious blood of Christ,
pray we do not we refuse grace/forgiveness to our fellowman.
Grace to our fellowman is not approving of, or excusing brokenness, sin, etc.
but it is a willingness, in light of God's mercy and faithfulness
to love one another and to trust Him to work in each of our lives 
as we humbly pray for and encourage each other. 

How much we miss firstly, of joy of  the Lord
 and then also of loving each other,
 if we allow bitterness to bind our wounds,
rather than forgiveness! 


Matt.18:21
21 Then Peter came to Him and said,
 “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, 
and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”

22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, 
but up to seventy times seven.
 23 Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king 
who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.
 24 And when he had begun to settle accounts, 
one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 
25 But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, 
with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. 
26 The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, 
‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ 
27 Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, 
released him, and forgave him the debt.

28 “But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants 
who owed him a hundred denarii; 
and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying,
 ‘Pay me what you owe!’ 
29 So his fellow servant fell down [a]at his feet and begged him, saying,
 ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you [b]all.’ 
30 And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt.
 31 So when his fellow servants saw what had been done,
 they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done.
 32 Then his master, after he had called him, said to him,
 ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 
33 Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, 
just as I had pity on you?’ 
34 And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers 
until he should pay all that was due to him.

35 “So My heavenly Father also will do to you 
if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother [c]his trespasses.

***
I/We cannot cling to grudges against those who wrong me/us, yet
Assume the One who judges will forgive me/us, and forget
Each bitter accusation, as God pardons you and me
In the light of salvation loses its validity 

I/we cannot harbour grievances that foster futile strife
Yet claim the gift of righteousness and everlasting life 
Redemption's transformation triumphs where mortal might fails 
In the light of salvation love petitions and prevails 

I/we cannot guard an idol of reasons to sustain spite
Yet boast faith's rich reward with all who have fought The Good Fight 
The God of all creation provides hope in Christ alone
In the light of salvation none are fit to cast a stone  

© Janet Martin



What a foretaste of glory yesterday, as voices united to sing this hymn of worship...



Friday, February 28, 2025

A Give-Me Benediction

 And just like that February is over!!!


Don't you love the sound of a kettle whistling
the prelude to a cup-sized vacay?!!







Give me a kettle that whistles the lyrics
Preceding a cup-sized vacay
Give me a nook with a book and a window
To nurture a noon-getaway
Give me a morning, gold-polished with sunshine
And gladness for mercy renewed
Give me enough lack to keep me from nursing
A heart of ingratitude
Give me a child, innocent and eager,
Brimming with curiosity
Give me an ear that is always half-hearing
Snatches of untamed poetry
Give me the eye of Beholden Beholder
Where earth and sky glory abounds
Give me a cup, though its handle is broken
That joy over joy still confounds
Give me a will, not my own but contented
No matter what today brings
To trust the Giver whose Hand has oft mended
And tuned my oft off-key harp/heart-strings
Give me the goodness of grief-tutored chatter
Rich with mutual sympathy
Pleasureful cadence of voices and laughter
To frame in fond memory…
Give me love’s splendid delight, fierce yet tender
As season-tides rise and fall
Remind me when love cheers the charge of the duty
No task is too common or small
Give me the beauty of daylight departing
In backdrops of deep indigo
Give me a soul not afraid of the smarting
Waiting beyond every hello
Give me the kind of trust that kindles courage
Come whatsoever yet may
Give me a kettle that whistles the welcome
To a cup-sized holiday

© Janet Martin

Give me the eye of Beholden Beholder
Where earth and sky glory abounds...





Give me a nook with a book and a window...