Holy Tug of War or Holy Harvest

Is there anything quite as thrilling as the sight of a good harvest?!!

Imagine if the harvest was ready and no one came to gather it 

but let it perish in the field!!

Yesterday,  we gathered to pay final respects to a dear aunt.

Don't you agree there is no place on earth as solemn as the graveyard

where we come face to face with the end of all (brevity of) life.

and surely are compelled to evaluate our own lives 

...and souls?!

Between each of us and God is a reconciliation that needs to happen

before our best lives can be lived;

Our lives surrendered to He who gave His life for us!

We are all given a free will!

What we do with that free will

determines the rest.

Yesterday's powerful devotion  re-challenged my own

(and how is it possible that being a living sacrifice

bears the best life of true joy and peace?!)

This is a very sacred between God-and-each-soul discovery!

It seems so very small; invisible to sight

But it can set an obstacle twixt me and God's delight

It masquerades as wise, but is foolish and vile

It rules a fickle roost with eyes and unrepentant guile

It lurks beneath the part that appears commonplace

The habiliment of the heart; scrubbed hands and polished face

It goes from here to there, clad in desire's veneer  

 It mimics the motions of prayer, but without ears to hear 

It strains toward a goad that pleaseth mortal plan 

It takes the 'reliable road' that 'seemeth right to man'

It forfeits faith for fear, and God for human skill 

It is the sad and sorry sphere of my unbroken will

Lord, because You forgive each sin that I confess

I do, once more renewed to live a life of faithfulness 

...because at Calvary You suffered pardon's price

Lord, with redeemed love help me be a living sacrifice 

And should some stubborn streak seek to resist Your Will

Lord, grant me ears to hear You speak, until my voice is still

Until my true delight is in Your perfect law

And what/Who I fought with all my might turns desire to awe 

Ah, holy tug-of-war, till body and soul yield

To He who alone fits us for the mission in His field

Janet Martin

 

Proverbs 21:2

All a man’s ways seem right to him,

but the LORD weighs the heart.

1 Peter 2:11

Beloved, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, 

to abstain from the desires of the flesh, 

which war against your soul.

Rescue the Perishing

I Love You, Canada

 

Happy Canada Day! 

(it's a little quieter here today compared to yesterday!)

Sweet times!

I love you, Canada, home of many an afternoon

'ere fresh-made echoes wafted, soft on twilight's tender hush/brush...

I love you Canada, with lakes azure, and wheat fields, gold

And sweeps of green till fields are curbed by shorelines, treed and skied

And summers with days long and bright, and winters, white and cold

And springs, welcomed with open arms and autumns, auburn-dyed

I love you Canada, of friendly folk and flowered streets

Nation of ‘True North, Strong and Free’ founded by Christian men

I love your roaming cattle herds, your birds, your front row seats

To watch nature unfurling poetry beneath God’s pen

I love your orchards, vineyards, gardens burgeoning with fruit

I love the plethora of calls you employ, shore to shore

From mines to oilfields to ranches and farms, to business suit

To ship and lumber yards, fisheries, and craftsmen galore

I love your plains and mountain peaks, your rolling countryside

Your roads, wild-flower fringed or carved like craters through the snow

I love your villages and towns and cities, nationwide

Your rivers tumbling seaward, through rock cuts where no feet go

I love the nook that I call home; where someday history

Amongst its records of milestones that never make the news

Somewhere, some census-cyber-tome, will name my family

Canadians, no matter which highways they chance to choose

I love you, Canada, the precious freedoms you defend

Oh pray, the Lord we stand on guard against disunity

And do all that we can our hateful habits to amend

No matter what differences of opinion might be

…because a country is more than political degrees

A country is its people; every shade-shape-size and age

A country is like a collection of communities

Made up of many means whereby we earn our working wage

I love you, Canada, country of home, sweet home to me

Country of countless reasons to live thankfully and awed

Country for which many gave all to keep it strong and free

So that the likes of you and me could freely worship God

I love you, Canada, home of many an afternoon

'ere fresh-made echoes wafted, soft on twilight's tender hush/brush

Where mothers call and bedtime still always come far too soon 

Where some things never change in spite of Change's constant push/rush 

I love you Canada, home where Maple Leaf banners blow

Home of beauty beyond the begging ballads of a pen

Home of the hopes and dreams of our precious children, oh

God, keep our land glorious and free, honouring Thee. Amen

Janet Martin

Revelation 4:11
“Worthy are You, our Lord and God, 

to receive glory and honor and power, 

for You created all things; 

by Your will they exist and were created.”

Jude 1:25
to the only God our Savior be glory,

 majesty, dominion, and authority 

through Jesus Christ our Lord 

before all time, and now, 

and for all eternity.

 Amen.

Forward and Up...or, Till Face-to-Face, Faith Sees!

John 8:36

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

A new week, a new day, not to travel backwards but forward and up...

by the grace of God!

Forward and up, Lord, help us look

Not back, disheartened by regret

When we faith’s fealty forsook

By foolish desire beset

When, disregarding Thy commands

To love Thee first, then fellowman

We sought the strength of our own hands

Rather than Thy purpose and plan

Forward and up, Lord, help us press

As we, Calvary’s quest recall

The purchase-price of forgiveness;

You gave Your life to ransom all

You give Your everlasting Word

To be an undefeated Light

In a world where logic is blurred

By sensuality and sight

Forward and up, Lord, help us face

Today, unhampered by regret

But humbled by Thy gift of grace

Salvation from sin’s binding debt

And truth no liar can annul

Where love and mercy intercede

Forgiveness, not in part, but full

‘Whom Thou sets free is free indeed’

Forward and up, Lord, help us look

With hope and joy unspeakable

Because at Calvary you took

Our place, and paid sin’s debt in full

This is no fickle faith we boast

No fleeting Prize we press toward

Or defend to the uttermost

Forward and up to Thee, oh Lord

Forward and up, without eyes glued

To that which has been done away 

Forward and up; mercy-renewed

Anoints each virgin break of day

Forward and up with awestruck praise  

For love beyond our wildest ken 

Forward and up, with steadfast gaze 

Till face-to-face faith sees! 

Amen. 

Janet Martin

Psalm 16:8

I have set the LORD always before me. 

Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Psalm 119:37

Turn my eyes away from worthless things;

 revive me with Your word.

2 Corinthians 4:18

So 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.

Matthew 6:22-23

The eye is the lamp of the body.

 If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 

 But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. 

If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

Sweet Summer To-do List

The first few lines from June-chapter...

in this book...

kindled a sweet summer to-do-list...

(already in beautiful motion)

Sample strawberries (or blueberries) and cherries and peas...

Sit in a sauna of sunshine and breeze...

Sample strawberries (or blueberries) and cherries and peas

Sit in a sauna of sunshine and breeze

Wade through cool shade to find the perfect nook

Steep in sweet solace of leaf-song and book

Gather fresh goodness from garden-buffets

Fill bowls and pitchers with flower-bouquets

Find reasons to celebrate simple joys

Rain on the roses, school-free girls and boys

Early sunrises and ling'ring sunsets

Crackling campfires with spark-pirouettes 

Mischievous puppies, and the thrumming beat

Of hummingbird's hover and dashing bare feet

Listen to song-sparrow lyrics, be awed

By timeless beauty of sky, sea and sod

Marvel at treasure tipped from mercy's jars

How counting blessings is like counting stars

Slow down and savour summer's wonder-lust  

Inhale dusk's elixir of dew and dust

Cherish the moments that sparkle and glim

Capture their essence in poem and hymn

Blue-misted skylines and daisy-fringed lanes 

Rooster reveilles and cicada refrains  

Foliage-draped arbour and and trellis-abloom 

With tapestries from a God-threaded loom

 

Stand nose to nose with rose and peony

Pause to be taught by ant and honey-bee     

Don't be embarrassed; have heart-to-heart talks

With zinnias, carrots, lavender, hollyhocks

Where toil midst spoil of seeds planted in spring

Humbles our stance amongst plants, flourishing 

Don't let the frenzy of haste steal the show

Where tides of Heaven-glimpses ebb and flow

Slow down enough to feel kindly content

Before the ballad of summer is spent 

Balance the beckoning of work and play

Drink from the fount God refills every day

With flower-bowers and cloud-dappled deeps 

With summer sighing where the willow weeps

While the child chatters for happiness' sake 

While echoes scatter in childhood's sweet wake 

While cups of gladness overflow with praise

While we thank God for glorious, summer days

My, but sweet summer's joy flows, free-for-all

My, but it kindles a fond/fine madrigal

Where what we do with Measure of Today

Melds into keepsakes to treasure for aye 

My then, how holy summer-moments spill

Lord,  help me slowly to savour each thrill 

Janet Martin

Faith's Battle Hymn

Whatever the struggle, fear, trouble, pain or loss

These sorrows pale in comparison to Calvary's cross

Whatever we suffer, oh pray, we see its worth unfurled;

A deeper dependence/reliance on God than this old, helpless world 

James 1:2-8

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 

3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces [a]patience. 

4 But let patience have its perfect work, 

that you may be [b]perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, 

who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, 

for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 

7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;

 8 he is a double-minded man,

 unstable in all his ways.

My faith looks up to Thee

Our tears are not in vain

The wordless prayers we groan

Are steppingstones of grief and pain

That lead us to Thy throne

Our valleys dark with dread

The ways we cannot see

Are avenues where faith is led

To wholly trust in Thee

The storm that tosses trees

The battles, fierce and long

The mountain we must climb; through these

The sufferer grows strong

Through these, by Thy kind love

We find, to faith’s surprise

The riches of a treasure trove

Thy grace alone supplies

Then, though faith cannot see

And though it never can

It rests its head upon Thy knee

And trusts Thy perfect/purposed plan

And as faith waits on Thee

It does not fret and pine

But suffers its Gethsemane

With ‘not my will but thine’

Sin sires this world’s woe

Greater Lord, is Thy might

Equipping faith to face its foe

With strength gained in the fight

Then, though we suffer long

Lord, save us by Thy grace

And for Thy glory keep faith strong

Till sight unveils Thy face

Let no shadow of doubt

Fall between faith and Sight

If fear sends demons, cast them out

And flood faith's path with Light 

Janet Martin

Whether in the precious prime of youth,

or aging,

or aged, 

or full of life,

or on our deathbed

only faith in the Giver of Life

can save us,

can strengthen us

 for this life's battles

and hurdles.

Only by faithful faith

are we fitted for Heaven! 

No Translation Required...

1 Thessalonians 3:12

And may the Lord cause you to increase and overflow 

with love for one another...

Learning to love as we should is a lifelong schooling;

Its lesson-book; Today.

Its student; Self 

Love's lesson book unfurls a fresh page!

Thank-you Lord!

From skylines flushed with mercy's proof God ushers in today

Rife with fresh opportunity to love and trust and pray...

Love’s speech is explained without words; no translation required

A universal dialect by voice of choice defined

It speaks in tongues of angels by mankind’s Creator sired

It is not greedy, selfish, rude, impatient or unkind

It seeks no podium of pride; does not envy or boast

Love thinks of God and others first; how hard true love would be

Without HE who IS love and loves us to the uttermost

And helps us overcome ourselves with HIS humility

With his shed blood we are redeemed; by His stripes we are healed

By his grace we are saved; not by any works we have done

Lest we forget who, on mankind’s condemned behalf appealed

And loved us so He gave Himself through the gift of His Son

He knew no sin but became sin to break sin’s curse for aye

To crush the head of he who desecrates all that is pure

And delights in siring doubt with ‘did God really say’

He hates the One who gave Himself love’s conquest to secure/procure

Love is its own translator; actions speak louder than words

The way we treat our fellowman reveals love’s evidence

The love of God, if we but ask, gloriously undergirds

Our love, fumbling at best, with His love’s beaming recompense

Janet Martin

Wonderful, Wonderful June

Ps.104:1&24 (read the whole glorious chapter HERE)

Bless the Lord, O my soul!

O Lord my God, You are very great:

You are clothed with honor and majesty,...

O Lord, how manifold are Your works!
In wisdom You have made them all.
The earth is full of Your possessions—

June makes us merry with strawberry mirth...

Today we begin the last week of June!!

A reminder to savour June's colour and fragrance-dense flavour-favour of moments...

Wisteria wands wave in pale purple plumes...

Peony pom-poms flaunt pink opulence

Spawning slow strolls through earth’s grand garden rooms...

June is a jubilant zephyr that sighs

In treetops lavished with leaf-violins...

June is a cherub with laughing blue eyes...

June is a bare foot belle; see how she grins

Clad in unspun threads of lupine and rose...

Honeysuckle-pendants...

 and white petal-snows...

June-beauty burgeons at every turn

Raindrops bejewel each bloom, blade and bell...

Nooks are embellished with ivy and fern...

Bridal veil trails on the ground; drapes the fence

Wisteria wands wave in pale purple plumes

Peony pom-poms flaunt pink opulence

Spawning slow strolls through earth’s grand garden rooms

Hummingbird darts like a bard torn between

Duty and beauty; prudence and June-green

June is a jubilant zephyr that sighs

In treetops lavished with leaf-violins

June is a cherub with laughing blue eyes

June is a bare foot belle; see how she grins

Clad in unspun threads of lupine and rose

Honeysuckle-pendants and white petal-snows 

Wild phlox meander through ditches and dell

June-beauty burgeons at every turn

Raindrops bejewel each bloom, blade and bell

Nooks are embellished with ivy and fern

Authoring worship from each awe-filled heart

Summer, sweet summer, how lovely thou art

June makes us merry with strawberry mirth

June is the flower-frilled crest of the year

June is a picture of Heaven on earth

June is a cup overflowing with cheer

And just as youth’s bloom is so swiftly spent

So too, soon June will fold up Her tent

So, pause for a moment and look around

Savor the flavor of early sunrise

Let summer’s advent delight and confound

Bursting with birdsong, and first butterflies

Treasure the pleasure of halcyon hues

Twilight prolonging apricot adieus

Wheat fields a-glimmer beneath breeze-baton

Shimmering silver, on the verge of gold

Garden-fresh salad-fare, second to none

Praise God from whom seed miracles unfold

Praise Him for summer’s flower-festooned boon

Praise Him for wonderful, wonderful June

Janet Martin

So, pause for a moment and look around

Savor the flavor of early sunrise...

Let summer’s advent delight and confound

Bursting with birdsong, and first butterflies...

(or moths!)

Three Cecropia moths have been delighting us!

Wheat fields a-glimmer beneath breeze-baton

Shimmering silver, on the verge of gold...

Garden-fresh salad-fare, second to none

Praise God from whom seed miracles unfold...

Praise Him for summer’s flower-festooned boon

Praise Him for wonderful, wonderful June