Ink-Smiths

 

Yesterday's chores included reorganizing and tidying book nooks!

Oh joy! Why?

I made room for more😅

The ink-memento below was forged from the poet's perspective

With ink they praise

With ink they weep

With ink they groan and grin

And purge with phrase

What cannot sleep

Beneath a shroud of skin

With ink they love

With ink they thrill

With ink they try and try

To snare glints of

An escadrille

That marches through a sigh

With ink they pray

And beg and brood

Where heartache’s millstones press

The gold and gray

Of gratitude

Into scarred happiness

With ink they cry

With ink they smile

While forging cons with prose

To pacify

And reconcile

The thorns beneath the rose

With ink they wield

Thoughts tools of trade

Where parchment anvils bear

 Whispers soft-steeled

Against the blade

That fells fields of thin air 

  

© Janet Martin

Morning Prayer

 

Jesus answered,

“I am the way and the truth and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 14:6

John 1:4

In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.

Oh, that the joy of the Lord would ever be

the 'background to our consciousness'!

The excerpt below from the book

The Gown of Glory by Agnes Sligh Turnbull

(I esp. love the prayers in this book)

This morning's prayer-poem started before I was out of bed,

as I prayed the third stanza,

(for how can I/we have a closer walk with Him

if there is an area of unrepentance still unaddressed?!)

I kept switching this from a personal I/me format

to a general us/we settling on the latter

because we are all in this faith-fight together

and it is the prayers of God's people that

keep His army strong!

Father of earth and Heav’n

We praise Thee for Thy grace

In this new day that Thou hast giv’n

Let nothing take Thy place

Be Thou our strength and stay

Over each thought preside

For thought shapes what we do and say

Then let Thy goodness guide

By the lamp of Thy Word

Convict the rebel-heart

Because without conviction, Lord

Repentance cannot start

Lord give us eyes to see

The fringes of Thy Hand

The thunder of Thy majesty

Ah, who can understand

But let it be enough

Whether in gain or loss

To know Thy everlasting love

Was proven on the cross

Help us fight the good fight

As warriors of peace

Fit us with Thy armor of Light

Where doom’s dark threats increase

Where pitfalls plague and test

Where enemies press hard

Lord, bid our souls to be at rest

Yet ever on Thy guard

Help us hunger and thirst

After Thy righteousness

Let truth keep us from being cursed

By vain covetousness

Father of earth and heav’n

Instill in us the joy

That at faith’s birthplace first was giv’n

And man cannot destroy

As we face the unknown

Let Thy Presence portray

One Hand beneath each stepping stone

And one to show the way

© Janet Martin

Take Thou My Hand, O Father

Ode to October Almost Over

 

From morning's frost-gilt, mist-kissed filigree

To dusk's brusque, rusk-crisp tableau in what feels like no time at all!

Summer’s sanguine sparkle slumbers beneath autumn’s umber lull

Earth is steeped in muted murmurs siphoned from October’s hull

Hearts are always gently humbled when the world is full of fall

As the height of bloom is tumbled from its garden-pedestal

Jack Frost tweaks cheeks, ears and noses sparking poem-wanderlust

Canvas of daybreak exposes vistas etched in diamond-dust

Where a carousel of hours twirls the morning round and round

Like a sky full of leaf-flowers, moments flutter to the ground

While Duty tries to amaze us by granting backdrops of fall

And beauty drives us half-crazy by the wonder of it all

Camera lens never quite captures the majestic magnitude

Or the aura that enraptures as autumn dusk is subdued

Where, framed by the fading tincture on a page of history

We try to preserve its picture to relive in poetry

© Janet Martin

Ode to A Sunny October Day

After Monday and Tuesday's tempestuous weather

Wednesday was a dream!

The sky is like a sapphire bowl

 Tipped way up, upside down

The maple, like a parasol

Or queen with golden crown

The zinnia, like a lucent brooch

On azure collar pinned

The afternoon, a gleaming coach

Drawn by a sassy wind

The shadows like a tattered quilt

As holes begin to show

Where overhead autumnal gilt

Drifts earthward like leaf-snow

Where just to be alive is like

A gift twilight soon steals

The hour like a shiny bike

About to lose its wheels

The orchard filled with trees picked bare

Like ghost-towns lost to time

Save for a ladder here and there

Left for dreamers to climb

© Janet Martin

(this photo not taken yesterday

hence the gray backdrop)

this morning looks like another gem in autumn's crown!

This is the day the Lord hath made. 

We will rejoice and be glad in it!

Psalm 118:24

You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace;

the mountains and hills will burst into song before you,

and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.

Isa.55:12

Agape With Joy (or Faith's Sojourn)

 

I thought this was going to be a roughly 3-stanza poem, maybe 4.

 But each stanza seemed to pour out another

until the Hallelujah climax! 🎵🙏

Nature keeps eyes agape with wonder!

God keeps faith agape with Truth!

And lest we forget, it is God in nature too!

John 1:3

Through him all things were made; 

without him nothing was made that has been made.

Agape with wonder, faith reveres

God’s dominion, scorned by a foe

Fraught with opinion’s pomp and show

Distorting the order of fears

That dash the piers where mercies flow

How false the gods of carnal man

Perched on a fickle pedestal

That death assuredly will fell

What then, without the cross to span

The gap between Heaven and hell

How can we hear if none will preach

The power of the Living Word

Able to train, correct and teach

To bridge the intangible breach

Between the sinner and his Lord

Wonder is but faith’s shadow cast

Beneath the Gates of Paradise

What waits when death opens our eyes

And today’s Day of grace is past

Man’s noblest thought can but surmise

Timeless, the duty God demands

Of we prone to be puffed with pride

The Bridegroom still charges His Bride

‘To fear God and keep His commands’

To test grand boasts with Self denied

Pray, we remember in our youth

The Creator, before we say

We find no pleasure in God’s Way

And disregard life-saving truth

As to sin’s death-traps we fall prey

Since Jesus walked upon this earth

Centuries rise and fall like waves

Across a world stubbled with graves

Yet held in Hope’s Womb of rebirth

Because the name of Jesus saves

Agape with wonder, we profess

God’s faithfulness, steadfast and true

As we cling to His promises

‘I will not leave you comfortless

For I will come to you’

This is the day the Lord has made

The praise of mortal to employ

The foundation that has been laid

Is Jesus Christ. the debt He paid

Leaves faith's sojourn agape with joy

© Janet Martin

Inspired in part by the poem below...

The Over-Heart

John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–1892)

“For of Him, and through Him

 and to Him are all things, 

to whom be glory forever.”

—PAUL.

ABOVE, below, in sky and sod,

In leaf and spar, in star and man,

Well might the wise Athenian scan

The geometric signs of God,

The measured order of His plan. 

And India’s mystics sang aright

Of the One Life pervading all,—

One Being’s tidal rise and fall

In soul and form, in sound and sight,—

Eternal outflow and recall. 

God is: and man in guilt and fear

The central fact of Nature owns;

Kneels, trembling, by his altar-stones,

And darkly dreams the ghastly smear

Of blood appeases and atones. 

Guilt shapes the Terror: deep within

The human heart the secret lies

Of all the hideous deities;

And, painted on a ground of sin,

The fabled gods of torment rise! 

And what is He? The ripe grain nods,

The sweet dews fall, the sweet flowers blow;

But darker signs His presence show:

The earthquake and the storm are God’s,

And good and evil interflow. 

O hearts of love! O souls that turn

Like sunflowers to the pure and best!

To you the truth is manifest:

For they the mind of Christ discern

Who lean like John upon His breast! 

In him of whom the sibyl told,

For whom the prophet’s harp was toned,

Whose need the sage and magian owned,

The loving heart of God behold,

The hope for which the ages groaned! 

Fade, pomp of dreadful imagery

Wherewith mankind have deified

Their hate, and selfishness, and pride!

Let the scared dreamer wake to see

The Christ of Nazareth at his side! 

What doth that holy Guide require?

No rite of pain, nor gift of blood,

But man a kindly brotherhood,

Looking, where duty is desire,

To Him, the beautiful and good. 

Gone be the faithlessness of fear,

And let the pitying heaven’s sweet rain

Wash out the altar’s bloody stain;

The law of Hatred disappear,

The law of Love alone remain. 

How fall the idols false and grim!

And lo! their hideous wreck above

The emblems of the Lamb and Dove!

Man turns from God, not God from him;

And guilt, in suffering, whispers Love! 

The world sits at the feet of Christ,

Unknowing, blind, and unconsoled;

It yet shall touch His garment’s fold,

And feel the heavenly Alchemist

Transform its very dust to gold. 

The theme befitting angel tongues

Beyond a mortal’s scope has grown.

O heart of mine! with reverence own

The fulness which to it belongs,

And trust the unknown for the known.

1859. 

Something More Precious than Time...

If You Believe

(playing a song from the era of many fond memories

of a friend's mother, who has passed on)

And praise God, she believed and taught her children to believe too!)

At today's visitation the phrase 'precious time'

stood out to me as they fondly recalled

the last days/year and a half with Mother

after they were initially told maybe three months...

Time/life is precious 

but to the believer there is something more precious than Time...

Precious in the sight of the LORD

 Is the death of His saints.

Psalm 116:15

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,”

and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,

you will be saved.

Rom.10:9

Oh, have you received the free gift?

Have you believed so you will not perish

with that final breath

but have everlasting life?

John 3:16

We don't need to find and provide the atonement offering!

God provided the Lamb...

For just as through the disobedience

of the one man (Adam) the many were made sinners,

so also through the obedience of the one man (Jesus)

the many will be made righteous.

Romans 5:19

What is our part?

To believe, receive and then,

'Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, 

in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice,

 holy and pleasing to God—

this is your true and proper worship.'

Romans 12:1

(this not to secure our salvation, 

but to say thank-you, thank-you, Jesus

with a life of worship!)

He did not leave it up to us sin’s penance to procure

But gave His only Son, Jesus, our pardon to insure

If we believe we will receive the Gift purchased by He

Who suffered for us to achieve redemption’s legacy

He suffered for us to achieve redemption’s legacy

The evil one tries to deceive us with uncertainty

But God is faithful; He supplied atonement’s sacrifice

Once and for all Perfection died to pay salvation’s price

Once and for all Perfection died to pay salvation’s price

He does not ask us to provide what could never suffice

But simply beckons us to trust His forgiveness by grace

If we confess our sins His justice will our guilt erase

If we confess our sins His justice will our guilt erase

Oh God forgive us if some lesser god should take Your place

You lead us, not into temptation, You are our Shield

You repeal condemnation as by Your stripes we are healed

You repeal condemnation as by Your stripes we are healed

Hope’s open invitation rolls across earth’s Harvest Field

While Death is like a reaper’s blade a-swinging to and fro

And joy is knowing Jesus paid the debt we should yet owe

© Janet Martin

One more fav hymn by George Jones

How Beautiful Heaven Must Be

Above The Call of Duty...

Today's visitation is the fourth one I am attending this month

some of the deceased young, some old.

...reminding us that we are all mortal

and Death is no respecter of age!

However, though Death is sometimes called The Grim Reaper

our prospects for eternity are not grim unless we have

rejected He who hung upon the tree to set us free

from the curse that damns the immortal soul...

The soul transcends dust and ash,

and whether we gaze at a body in a coffin

or a photo on a table the Immortal Soul

is the unthwartable, invisible imprint

of our Creator in us!

Our message this past Sunday

challenged all of us, if true believers 

to share the gospel, the Good News of Salvation,

our Living Hope, at every opportunity!

1 Pet.1:3

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! 

In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope

 through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing,

but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

1 Cor.1:18

Rescue The Perishing

 

It Was Finished upon That Cross- CityAlight

 

My Worth Is Not In What I Own

Above the call of duty that demands our diligence

Beneath the ever-ebbing surge of season’s recompense

No matter what exacts the task whereby toil takes its toll

Above the call of duty is the Call that saves the soul

Like flesh-and-blood-tsunamis generations rise and fall

God, who is man’s Creator knows the hearts of one and all

And loves us so He gave His Son to pay sin’s awful price

The Author of Salvation provided the sacrifice

…so that we need not perish; there is power in the blood

Where I AM’s flawless crucible poured out redemption’s flood

Where pray, the faith that makes us whole ignites the Living Word

So we proclaim the living hope of Jesus Christ our Lord

His righteousness within us is the power of the cross

For there is no one righteous without Him; all gain is loss

Where some still count as foolishness, the message we applaud

But to those who are being saved it is the pow’r of God

Above the call of occupation’s menial decree

Beneath the ever-waning gap before eternity

The faith that saves the soul and sets us free becomes the cord

That binds us to the urgent call of Jesus Christ, our Lord

© Janet Martin

Faithful Unto Death

Good deeds alone cannot inherit the Kingdom of Heaven

We are not saved by works lest anyone should boast;

Eph.2:8-10

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—

and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—

not by works, so that no one can boast.

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,

which God prepared in advance for us to do.

so,

James 2:17-

Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

Today's Daily Bread Devotion includes

one of the most riveting accounts of faith in the Bible

Abraham's faith confirmed

Our battles are not invisible to God,

nor is the altar of the heart.

He sees the full sacrifice

and whether it is love

1 Cor.13:3

And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor,

and though I give my body to be burned,

but have not love,

it profits me nothing.

So, as the altar of Today

unfolds 'neath hands and feet

oh, may love's offering we lay

rise in aromas sweet

More Love To Thee

Pray naught would be too dear

To sacrifice for Thee

Who gave, to save us from death’s fear

Thy Son on Calvary

No angel Hand to stay

The hand that drove the nails

Obedience did not cry ‘nay’

In suffering’s darkest vales

But, faithful unto death

Love did love’s calling brave

Beyond the realm of mortal breath

Sin’s ransom trounced the grave

Then bid, with awed regard

And love’s humility

Oh God, nothing would be too hard

To sacrifice for Thee

Pray faith supersedes sight

As Abraham of old

When tested to surrender’s height

Still, nothing would withhold

But, faithful unto death

Let love’s sweet fragrance rise

Until the knife of final breath

Rends what yet veils faith’s prize

© Janet Martin

Of Blue on Blue

One of the moms I do childcare for lost both her grandparents within two weeks. 

Her Grandma's funeral is today.

Lloyd and Shirley were married for 63 years 

and raised their large family in this community

They were well known and loved and will be missed by many!.

Death has a way of kindling the flame of awareness within us!

Awareness of the brevity of life even if lived to a ripe old age!

Awareness of the preciousness 

of what may appear commonplace

until it is no more!

So let's linger longer

... over supper,

on garden benches

lets dance in the rain,

delight in the sunrise,

...and such, 

Before what may seem commonplace

slips from our touch

Where yester-twilight’s countryside

Was veiled with deeper blue on blue

Soft pink, the ink of morning-tide

Seeps through the heavens far and wide

To melt the mantle twixt the view

And toll the bell of life-to-do

How faithfully new morning breaks

Through bars to hold the stars at bay

While we tend to soon-morrow’s wakes

Of toil and trust’s relentless stakes

While seasons subtly ebb away

The gap twixt grace and Judgement Day

A sense of something more endears

Us to the precious peal of grace

For with life’s gathered, dwindling years

That like a little mist appears

And soon no fingertip can trace

We cherish more, the commonplace

Of smiles to wear and help to lend

Of gratitude for mercies new

While moments fall and seasons wend

Their way from beginning to end

Where, who knows who will next pass through

The veil that deepens, blue on blue

Each day on earth, a gift of grace

Time like an easel, splashed with pleas

Lord, teach us to treasure each face

Of loved ones still in our embrace

Before A Final Brushstroke frees

A Masterpiece of memories

We tread the sacred breadth of Now

Absorbed by little life-to-do

As breath-by-breath winnows the bough

Of blooms we often miss somehow

Until Death lowers blue on blue

And draws another face from view

© Janet Martin

James 4:14-15

Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.

What is your life?

You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

Instead, you ought to say,

“If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”

For What His Grace Allots...(and update on my niece)

Life is beautiful (even in the broken)

Is it not the broken that enhances the beauty?!

(see end of post for update on my niece)

Life is not perfect.

Love is far from perfect

(though we have Jesus who demonstrated perfect love toward us)

we are broken people each in our own personal situations of

'try, try again' to make the best with what we have.

Life's road is full of ruts

It can be easy to get stuck in one without realizing it;

attitudes, habits, etc.

But with each morning comes God's mercies renewed

and fresh grace and opportunity to do the best with what we have.

Futile to look to the neighbors garden wishing for their lot/plot...

(the above is the part I wrote this morning 

before Duty took over and turned it into an evening post)

this little tot is simply peering through the fence to enjoy the view!

So I decided to join her and just enjoy it too💖

futile to peer over the fence to pine for greener lot/plot

and overlook due diligence wishing for what is not

nor is there any common sense on looking back too long

today becomes the recompense tomorrow hinges on

what does it profit you or I to wallow in dismay

what matters now is how we tie up loose ends of Today

before it is too late to make the most of what will be

The Past when twilight bars the gates where today used to be 

the same sun sets and rises on a world of fellowmen 

the whetting stone of life's surprises vexes our ken

where some will bless and some will curse and some will just stand by

for better or for worse each circumstance waits our reply 

sometimes a little stumble jolts us to reality

and helps to keep us humble in the opportunity

where, pray we honor Providence with what His grace allots

rather than peer over the fence and pine for greener plots

Janet Martin

1 Pet. 4:10-11

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, 

as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 

 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. 

If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides,

 so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. 

To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. 

Amen.

Update on my niece who suffered

multiple injuries in an accident almost 2 weeks ago...

The doctors are amazed at her progress!

Yesterday she was released from Sick Kids

and granted permission to go home for a few days 

before starting rehab next week!

She still tires very easily.

She turns 15 tomorrow!

We are so happy for her to be able to celebrate this

milestone at home with her family!

No visitors allowed (due to Covid-risks)

and prayers for continued healing appreciated! 

We are very thankful for the healing

God's grace has allotted so far!

October (and a foodie finish!)

 Blushing hydrangea where autumn frosts flirt...

Shiny red apple for dinner dessert...

Blushing hydrangea where autumn frosts flirt

Shiny red apple for dinner dessert

Sassy wind sashaying through grand ballrooms

Scattered with tatters from lofty-tree looms

Landscapes, rain-glossy run slightly awry

With watercolors unfurled from the sky

Summer’s orange embers twixt plowed furrows glow

Warming our spirits on hearths primed for snow

One day soft kitten-like purrs kiss our cheeks

The next day mittens where b-r-r-risker breeze tweaks

Bronze burnished ambience startled with white

Maple-tree halos soft-doffed overnight

Hunger is teased and appeased thoroughly

Fresh from the oven or garden or tree

Gathered with humble and thankful hurrah

For autumn’s opulent cornucopia

Cooks in a quandary of pure delight

At endless options for dinner tonight

Cattails like sentry in russet wool coats

Puddles like miniature lakes full of boats

Wishes like milkweed-silk bursting from seams

Flashes of silver on backdrop of dreams

South-facing backyards like sudden sun-spas

Woodlands like grandstands of fading applause

October blazes with glory of fall

Capturing gazes where vistas enthrall

Making hearts ever so happy and sad

World full of wonder driving poets mad

Reasoning ruffled by fading veneers

Leaf-song turned into a trickle of tears

October offers a bount’ous buffet

So much to sample from its ample tray

So much to savour with eyes-ears-nose-mouth

Flavors and colors, east, west, north and south

October shimmers and glimmers until

Each candle is snuffed on Autumn's windowsill

© Janet Martin

Cooks in a quandary of pure delight

At endless options for dinner tonight...

I love this kind of quandary!😊 

I was torn between homemade pizza to use some of the last

of fresh garden peppers, onions etc.

I am also craving cabbage rolls

and squash apple bake, but as I rooted through the fridge

to make sure there wasn't some forgotten vittles, sure enough,

I found some pulled pork which needed to be used

so I made a

Pulled Pork Calzone.

The dough was a wad I had frozen from a previous pizza dough batch 

so ended up being not quite as puffy as fresh dough would be.

Spread dough on baking stone or pan

Layer filling down the center;

pulled pork, chopped onion, peppers, parsley and shredded mozz. cheese.

bring ends together in the middle and pinch

then flip over so seam is on the bottom 

Score top if desired

Bake at 375 or 400 for approx. 30 min.

Let cool slightly and serve.

Perfect with a side of coleslaw!😋

This coleslaw consisted of chopped green cabbage, red onion,

chopped green peppers, toasted flax and sunflower seeds with soy dressing

Soy Dressing

shake soy sauce, your choice of vinegar, (white, apple-cider, balsamic etc.)

black pepper, desired amount of sweetness

in honey or white sugar, after well blended add oil. 

Shake, shake, shake, pour YUM!

all amounts eye-balled😐

Dessert if needed will be an apple!

no room right now😛

Enough

 

 "whatever you do, whether in word or deed, 

do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, 

giving thanks to God the Father through him." 

Colossians 3:17

I started this post at daybreak

(first four lines)

Tonight I tried to get the rusty gears in my head to turn

and pick it up where it left off...

wow! cr-e-e-a-k! 

Great outdoor day!

And wow-some skies all day long!

Under those great skies a lot of flower bulbs got dug,

but muddy hands most of the day so no pictures.

I did stop for a cup of black-currant and mint-leaf tea.

The currant bush had freshly budded leaves.

Those leaves make a fantastic tea when brewed.

Dawn breaks the bud to unveil pastel petals of a Bloom

Today spills from the impalpable shuttle of yon loom

In strands that run through hearts and hands with stark yet subtle ease

To strew behind the art that hangs in mist-kissed galleries

Seasons tumble through treetops while we watch, always spellbound

By nature’s show that never stops, on time’s merry-go-round

Beauty takes no vacation; winter, spring, summer and fall

Exalts without cessation, the Creator of it all

When twilight draws dusk’s curtain blush then blue then black as coal

When all we know for certain is that God is in control

It is enough. To bid us join with nature’s symphony

To exalt He who did and does so much for you and me

© Janet Martin

Autumn Awe-frames

 

autumn keeps swiveling our heads

and slowing our feet

and snuffing want-lists 'neath the tread

of beauty, bittersweet

autumn mellows landscapes and pleas

as woodland bows/boughs untwist

a color-burst of symphonies

that melt like morning mist

autumn is like a painter's gift

each tree a pedestal

showcasing works of art that drift

down petal by petal

autumn enhances ways we trod

with backdrops blue and gold

*where duty serves its honoured squad

with wonders to behold

autumn unravels foliage-fronds

and from its lisle weaves

with tatters from a loom of wands

a counterpane of leaves

© Janet Martin

* my brother and his wife must leave the joys of farming and home-making duties

to other hands as they spend all the time they can with their daughter who is hospitalized

after being injured in an accident last weekend.

She is progressing well but healing simply takes time/patience!

We are excited to see what this week brings in this journey.

but it makes we who are blessed to be able to perform our duties feel

like part of an honoured squad, does it not?!!

With a morning like this my head feels like its on a swivel,

photo-opps everywhere!