Without a Sound, Yet Thundering

On Tuesday morning we were treated to a spectacular Production of

The Heavens Declare the Glory of God

Pink wonder thunders without sound

We gaze from plots of holy ground

Beholding the heavens afire

With praise from an infinite choir

Leaving the small spectator awed

Beneath shouts of glory to God

Without a sound, yet thundering

Through mortal's finite wondering

As the heavens declare the birth

Of a new day to all the earth 

Janet Martin

Ps.19:1-4

The heavens declare the glory of God;

And the firmament[a] shows [b]His handiwork.

 Day unto day utters speech,

And night unto night reveals knowledge.

 There is no speech nor language

Where their voice is not heard.

 Their [c]line has gone out through all the earth,

And their words to the end of the world.

Holy, Holy, Holy

Dear Flowers, This Brevity Is Not Goodbye

The bittersweet season for gardeners approaches once again,

when flower-wicks are snuffed and the work of

pulling, shearing and tucking begins...

Dear Flowers

This brevity is not goodbye though each year we must part

Yet, when we do I find your beauty woven through my heart

You turn me strangely sorrowful and bittersweetly glad

For fond frames filled with friendship's flower-hours that we had

...and, though I rue the loss of you when Jack Frost steals the show

I know beyond our brief adieu waits a world of hello

To keep hope humbly thankful, though farewells tug at heart strings

Love and joy always make worthwhile the sorrows Farewell brings

...and we are never far apart; the brevity between

The season of farewell and hello brims with blooms unseen

In gardens waiting beneath what seems bereft of all life

Where farewell forges paths that lead to flowers/hellos running rife  

So, though it seems that we must part; but only for a rest

The brevity between is petal-strewn and dream-caressed 

The plot that slumbers beneath blankets while winter's gale blows

Will soon waken from farewells to a world wild with hellos 

Janet Martin

My little 'helpers' from next door...

dashed about, 'saving' flowers!

Ps.103:15-18

As for man, his days are like grass;

As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.

16 For the wind passes over it, and it is [b]gone,

And its place remembers it no more.

17 But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting

On those who fear Him,

And His righteousness to children’s children,

18 To such as keep His covenant,

And to those who remember His commandments to do them.

Spoiled For Choice

Psalm 100:3

Know that the LORD is God.

 It is He who made us,

 and we are His; we are His people,

 and the sheep of His pasture.

Isaiah 64:8

But now, O LORD, You are our Father; 

we are the clay, and You are the potter;

 we are all the work of Your hand.

Ephesians 2:10

For we are His workmanship, 

created in Christ Jesus for good works,

which God prepared beforehand

 that we should walk in them.

Once more a smorgasbord of choice is set before our hungry eyes

Our bellies roar and soon give voice to more than we may first surmise...

Two wedding showers this weekend to celebrate our daughter's marriage

allowed us to be spoiled for choice of yummy refreshment...

and allowed our daughter to be showered with gifts/aka love!

On any given day we are spoiled for choice as we gaze at Mercy's Feast!

Once more life’s workaday resumes its give and take of smiles and tears

Day breaks across a splay of tombs left in the wake of Yesteryears

What was is gone; what waits to be, veiled by breath-sheer breadth of What Is,

The gaping yon of history shaped by Now-and-here’s That and This

Once more we meet God-granted morn and touch feet to tarmacs of grace

The heart, oft sweetly-softly torn twixt shiny, new and fond embrace

But no one can afford to waste Gift of Today in vain lament

While untried hordes of touch-and-taste soon slip away to Season spent

Once more a smorgasbord of choice is set before our hungry eyes

Our bellies roar and soon give voice to more than we may first surmise

Each soul approaches Mercy’s feast, with gratitude or thoughtless greed

For Want exposes man or beast in replies strewed, oft without heed

Once more we face what waits to be where He who grants life never fails

He sustains grace; His Constancy not by wild chance where love prevails

No matter what today may bring, fear not what lurks 'neath its façade

For we are not fortune’s play-thing; we are the workmanship of God

Once more we hold in hands and heart, Time's gift we too oft barely scan

Holy the gold, moments impart; holy the woo of God to man

Once more, Lord, we are spoiled for choice as at Mercy's buffet we gaze

Then thankfully lift our voice in melodies of humble/heartfelt praise  

Janet Martin

Spending time with extended family on both sides reminded me again

what a beautiful thing family is, and how dearly I love them all!

A glimpse of how God loves us infinitely more than we can

possibly imagine and showers us with gifts!

Sisters...💕💖💗

Welcome, October Masterpiece

Happy October!

Welcome, crimson canopies...

Don't you agree with Anne of Green Gables who said

“I am so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”

This welcome 'hymn' to October, begun yesterday morning,

gathered momentum as the day unfolded...

Landscape draped with scarves of mist... 

Welcome, red and golden world

Autumnal vistas unfurled...

Welcome, October tableau

Slopes and sweeps and deeps aglow...

Splash of carmine, tangerine

On backdrop of balsam green...

Welcome apple-cinnamon

Oven warm cookie or bun...

Welcome, red and golden world

Autumnal vistas unfurled

Hue on hue, leaf by leaf lease

Uncurbed, uncurled Masterpiece

Welcome, wonder-kindled heart

Awed by nature's works of art

Tuning, as the soul is stirred

Worship hymns without a word 

Welcome, crimson canopies

Ruffled by a brusquer/brisker breeze

 Drawing us from duty's call

To bask in Beauty of Fall

Welcome, pumpkin-lantern's gleam

Gardens bereft of the dream 

Orchards bent with fruited boughs

Corn fields gleaned and rent with plows

Welcome, amber ambience 

Auburn and purple fringed fence

Splash of carmine, tangerine

On backdrop of balsam green

Welcome woodland, candlelit

Offering a hushed respite

Midst a flurry of farewells

Tolling in trees and bloom-bells

Welcome apple-cinnamon

Oven warm cookie or bun

Rosy nose and cheeks, frost-kissed

Landscape draped with scarves of mist 

Welcome winding lane and street

Decked with rustles 'neath our feet 

Blazing, in its dappled path

Slumber's umber aftermath

Welcome, October tableau

Slopes and sweeps and deeps aglow

Overhead honking geese fly

God and man meet, eye to eye  

Welcome, twinkle-lights and tea

Cozy book-nook luxury

Snuggly shawls and fleecy shrugs

Happiness of knitted hugs

Welcome, rhapsodic reprieves

In a world of falling leaves

Welcome, bittersweet release

Of  October's Masterpiece 

...where heaven and earth resounds

With beauty that hath no bounds

Frame on frame Awe's ah-h-s increase

For October's Masterpiece 

Janet Martin

Welcome, twinkle-lights and tea

Cozy book-nook luxury...

Welcome, pumpkin-lantern's gleam

Gardens bereft of the dream 

If you would enjoy visiting this stand, it sits on the east-side hilltop

of the village where we live on the west-side-hill!

Orchards bent with fruited boughs...

Corn fields gleaned and rent with plows...

Like a Child...

Ps.46:1

God is our refuge and strength, 

an ever-present help in trouble.

Psalm 54:4

Surely God is my helper; 

the Lord is the sustainer of my soul.

Psalm 121:2

My help comes from the LORD, 

the Maker of heaven and earth.

Psalm 9:9-10

The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed,

 a stronghold in times of trouble.

Those who know Your name trust in You, 

for You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.

Nahum 1:7

The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of distress;

He cares for those who trust in Him.

Isaiah 41:10

Do not fear, for I am with you; 

do not be afraid, for I am your God.

 I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; 

I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.

How often, like a child we may rest our head

 on our Heavenly Father's shoulder or knee!

How often, like a child we plead for his help

 because 'we don't know how to do it' alone!

How often, like a child He gathers us into His arms

And carries us close to His heart!

O God, Our Help in Ages Past

How often, like a child we pour our need to He

Who knows what trouble tries our trust and how hard it can be

How often like a child, with face all wet with tears

We cry to God, who helps us through the valley of our fears

Our Heavenly Father cares; goodness and mercy's Fount

Attends to our poured out prayers with blessing beyond count

How often, like a child, we fix on what we see 

Our Heavenly Father tries our faith to prove its verity 

He works for our good and we should not rebel

Like a Father, He loves each child beyond what words can tell

He beckons to a world of children 'come to Me'

Will we obey and trust His love or resist bitterly?

How often like a child, we do not understand

The purpose for the discipline from Loving Father's Hand

Our Father in Heaven, hear and help us today 

For, like a child we need a kind Father to show the way

Then, like a Father You tend to our helpless cry

You know exactly what we need and faithfully reply 

Janet Martin

Matt.6:9

After this manner therefore pray ye:

 Our Father which art in heaven, 

Hallowed be thy name... 

I Am a Child of God // Sounds Like Reign

When He Cometh // Sounds Like Reign

I am a Child of God / NO LONGER SLAVES (Bethel Music) - ELENYI

LYRICS I'm no longer a slave to fear I am a child of God I'm no longer a slave to fear I am a child of God I am a child of God, And he has sent me here, Has given me an earthly home With parents kind and dear. Lead me, guide me, walk beside me, Help me find the way. Teach me all that I must do To live with him someday. Ou reveye mwen Ak yon melodi Ou ban mwen yon chan damou Yon chan delivrans Devan emi’m yo Tout krent mwen ale Mennen m gide m mache akote’m Ede mwen jwenn wout la Anseye m tout sa mwen dwe fe Pou viv avek li yon jou I am surrounded by the arms of the Father We’re the sons and the daughters Let us sing our freedom I am a child of God, And so my needs are great; Help me to understand his words Before it grows too late. Lead me, guide me, walk beside me, Help me find the way. Teach me all that I must do To live with him someday. I’m no longer a slave to fear I am a child of God

Take Time to Taste a Poem, Dear

Happy Last Day of September!!

What is different about today's post??

No tomatoes!! 

As thankful as I am, I am SO ready to stop seeing red at every turn! 😍

Take time to taste a poem, love

And note the ink of ages spilled

On pages beneath and above

To leave the hearts of readers thrilled

Take time to discover and learn

The poetry where God abounds

In majesty at every turn

Of season, reason, sights and sounds

Take time to marvel at His pen

From whence a wealth of wonder pours

In lyrics of yes and amen

From heaven and earth's troubadours 

Before today's fleet Poems fade

Like flower-font, sunrise and set

Before its rose regale is frayed

And laid in frames we soon forget

Come! taste joy's jocund melody

Let's let paeans drip from our chins

In raw, unabashed ecstasy

As awe rekindles speechless grins

Take time to taste a poem, dear

And let the juice of it run wild

Before its ballads disappear

Into thin air like Yester's child 

Janet Martin

Psalm 149:1
Hallelujah! Sing to the LORD a new song—

His praise in the assembly of the godly.

Ephesians 5:19
Speak to one another with psalms, 

hymns, and spiritual songs. 

Sing and make music in your hearts to the Lord,

Colossians 3:16
Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you as you teach

 and admonish one another with all wisdom, 

and as you sing psalms, hymns, 

and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.