Drink Up!

Wishing you, wherever in the world

you are,

A Blessed New Year. 

Love, 
Janet

Done With Guesses

Inspired by this post

Caught in between the old and new

…the done and what remains to do

Here, on Time’s forward avenue

Each one of us exists

Not by some feckless ordinance

Nor by mere hapless circumstance

But by the grace of second chance

That God with dawn untwists

The laws of night to day unfold

In dark to light, in gray and gold

And soon we learn what we were told

Was, is and will be so

That Time is but a tiny poof

Rushing through living’s little proof

It melts like frost upon a roof

A mystic ebb and flow

For in its onward, forward rush

With every bravo, tug and push

Its ilk recedes; the solemn hush

Of ‘Time Enough’ impends

And while its grin and sorrow drains

Into tomorrow’s sun and rains

It ebbs toward what Death unchains

Where nothing ever ends

Within the grave none can compete

Nor rival where all mortals meet

Time’s deadline; victory and defeat

Not that of flesh and blood

But of the soul; oh, who can tell

The joy of heav’n, horror of hell

We stand where grace still tolls time’s bell

And our forefathers stood

…caught in between the old and new

Where we have much we ought to do

Before we bid this Now adieu

Exchanging breath-by-breath

 And step-by-step and wake and sleep

And this which nobody can keep

For that which opens up the deep

Unveiled at last, in death

© Janet Martin

In the book Emily's Quest her beloved teacher/friend, Mr. Carpenter dies.
"Just, think, Emily, in a few minutes I will be wiser than anyone living," He says on his deathbed, "always wanted to know- to know.
 Done with guesses.

Since Cares of Living First Began...

Since cares of living first began

After Adam’s first sin

God has ordained a way for man

To still commune with Him

A rod and staff to comfort us

A sacred altar where

Nothing need ever hinder us

Our heart and soul to bare

The fellowship of God to men

Is still as sure today

As in those ancient days back when

Prophets bowed down to pray

A Shoulder in the storms of life

A beacon in the dark

And in the rise and fall of strife

An infallible ark

Before we rise, before we sleep

Before we break our bread

Pray to the One who broke five loaves

Then five-thousand were fed

Oh, pray we do not forget He

Who is our strength and stay

But that with glad humility

We don’t forget to pray

© Janet Martin

I Prayed a Prayer For You Today

I prayed a prayer for you today

I did not ask for sun-kissed slope

Or answers for the why of gray

But that the Lord would be your hope

I prayed a prayer for you, my friend

I did not plead for morrow’s length

But only for your need Today

I prayed the Lord would be your strength

I prayed a prayer for you Today

To One whose mercies never cease

I prayed that in each come-what-may

The Lord would be your perfect peace

© Janet Martin

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

Isa. 26:3 

Would you join me in praying for Marina H. and Diane M. (and their families) as they struggle/suffer with concerns and cares that come with cancer...

'often all we can do is pray' remarked a friend on Facebook.

Amen and hallelujah!

Near the New Year...

I’d like to think I learned a thing

Or two when this year soundless falls

Into the urn of no return

I’d like to think its battered walls

Were not scribbled and scarred for naught

I’d like to think anew old thoughts

That one year prior I begot

Where now the heart and head recalls

The pitfalls and pinnacles oh,

That shaped this cape that draped the air

With mystery, 

now history

I’d like to breathe 

a little prayer

Of holy, 

humble gratitude

For mercy’s gift; 

a year renewed

Upon the shore of yore subdued

...I’d like to touch this moment where

We pause upon the brink of what?

We cannot know, but simply trust

The love of God that thus far brought

Us here remains faithful and just

As step by step and day by day

We live-laugh-love-work-hope and pray

Knowing that in each come-what-may

The God of old abides with us

© Janet Martin

A Song-of-Seasons Quilt

And that’s the way life is

A song-of-seasons quilt

Each swatch a patch stitched into place

With scenes that living spilt

The new year to the old

Is seamlessly adhered

The blunder with fresh wonder cast

To triumphs we revered

No rhyme or reason hints

What colors will appear

Or which will dominate the tints

That deftly binds a year

My, how time’s fingers fly

As tear and laughter threads

Are woven into symmetry

Charcoal, bronze, blues with reds

A colorful collage

Of gray to green to gold

The flower-garden dipped in frost

Bashful shades blend with bold

...as heart-string intersect

A tangled testament

For we know none can resurrect

One moment that is spent

Yes, that’s the way life is

From looms of grace-lace spilt

Time takes its This-and-That and makes

A song-of-seasons quilt

© Janet Martin

My sincere apologies to all but just for fun I 'stitched' the twelve squares together...

What a flashback! What a flash!

What a day yesterday was!