The Place Prepared (For We Who Believe)

 The Cleft of the Rock

Unto the Hills

Let not your heart be troubled

Through storms that toss life’s sea

My word is true; I have gone to

Prepare a place for thee

I am Thy tender Shepherd

And Lamb of Calvary

Do not despair; beyond life’s care

The place prepared for thee

Take up thy cross with courage

Though harsh the way may be

Each step, each tear, each prayer draws near

The place prepared for thee

Let not your heart be troubled

If ye believe in Me

Love will not fail; death will unveil

The place prepared for Thee

Then worship Me with gladness

This present misery

Is but the woo that draws thee to

Thy place prepared; with Me

© Janet Martin

John 14:1-6

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 

2In My Father’s house are many [a]mansions; 

if it were not so, [b]I would have told you. 

I go to prepare a place for you. 

3And if I go and prepare a place for you, 

I will come again and receive you to Myself; 

that where I am, there you may be also. 

4And where I go you know, and the way you know.”

5Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going,

 and how can we know the way?”

6Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. 

No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Foretaste...

 Hymn of Heaven- Phil Wickham

I was introduced to the above song last night.

While we long for Heaven we delight in its foretastes...

hymns like the one above or

such as the heavens declared the past two mornings!

Yesterday...

Daybreak kindles expectation

Draws ajar starred crepuscule

Floats above unbound creation

Flaming frays of gauze and tulle

God’s hand ruffles welkin tresses

Lowers a translucent scrim

To showcase His masterpieces

Earth and heavens exalt Him

Wonder exceeds explication

Praise and worship interlace

For the Author of creation

And the glory of His grace/face

Daybreak, like a boundless ocean

Rushes over eastward shores

Delight turns into devotion

Mercy has not barred its doors

Daybreak ushers in fresh favor

Faithful hands tip love’s pure grail

Bidding us once more to savor

Promises that will not fail

© Janet Martin

Today...just now

(after gorgeous Sailors/driver's-take-warning skies; freezing rain/sleet has started)

Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer,
And He who formed you from the womb:
“I am the Lord, who makes all things,
Who stretches out the heavens [c]all alone,
Who spreads abroad the earth by Myself;

Isa.44:24

This Is Not Role-play (prince and princess-training)

Grand-daughter (little princess) turns three today!

Her wish; a princess party! 

So on Sunday mommy, aunties and gramma enjoyed some princess role-play

(quite unlike the training of these little charges)

Let’s be gently kind and patient; let’s be diligent in prayer

For princes and princesses in training need our utmost care

Seems too soon the tender duel between right and wrong begins

Innocence is like a precious jewel; let’s guard it with angel-wings

This is not role-play; this higher calling than most calling is

Prince and princesses require constant correction and kiss

This is no small undertaking; title Mom and Dad imparts

This is Wisdom-in-the-making melting its way deep in hearts

Preconception under fire, fatigue-warped, sweet, would-be joy

Duty dominates desire, all for darling girl and boy

My, oh my, so much explaining; wisdom is a hard-earned crown

While Prince and Princess In Training strain at chains of featherdown

Let’s ask God to guide and bless us; lest we lay a stumbling block

Lest we trip prince and princesses at the mercy of the clock

Let’s love spills and stains and messes; what a gift each moment is

With prince and princesses in a sacred metamorphosis

© Janet Martin

Her sheer delight at her first glimpse of the eagerly anticipated birthday cake

made me wonder if perhaps this is how our faces

will look when at last princes and princesses in training will behold 

the eagerly-anticipated Day/King!👑

a few more fond-moments memories...

Prince/Brother, who received a random-patches 'quilt/comforter' for his birthday 

made by great-gramma (my mom)

 was just as excited as Princess when she received hers

 because they were hoping she would get one too!

Train up a child in the way he should go,
[a]And when he is old he will not depart from it.

Prov.22:6

Dusk Reflections

Due to crisp temperatures tonight's walk 

was brief and brisk! 

B-r-r-r-r!!

At dusk the day dons slippers

Soft and plush and pink

Shadows lean against the hill

Like quills poised for ink

The landscape is an easel

The skyline, a sill

Where stiff silhouettes are etched

Dark and stark and still

At dusk the quiet thickens

Until all we see

Are reflections in windows

Where day used to be

© Janet Martin

Because We Are His Loved Ones

 

As I pray for they who suffer great sorrow for the loss of loved ones, 

for those in war torn countries or

for those who suffer angst of concern for loved ones in war torn countries, 

for they who suffer the ravages of physical affliction, 

for they who must watch loved ones suffer

and oh, especially for they who have still not believed 

but reject the Saviour of the soul, 

( whose most beloved we are,)

for all who miss out on the joy this world cannot give

Again and again I cast my care on Him 

because He cares for you and me!

Sweet, sweet comfort in the midst of bitter grief!

We are not alone in our suffering...

'After we have suffered a while the God of all grace

who has called us unto His eternal glory

will perfect, strengthen, stablish and settle us!'

2 Pet. 1:10

Amen

Because He cares for me and you, whatever may befall

We need not fret; He’ll see us through our struggles, great and small

Because he bids us cast our every care before His throne

We need not worry for we never bear love’s cross alone

Because He is the Way, the Truth, the Life eternally

We need not join the fruitless strife of doubt’s futility

Because greater is He in us than he of worldly creed

We need not fear, but simply trust for He supplies our need

Because He honours those who honour Him, though scorner’s jeer

We need not let their insults dim the hope that we revere

Because He died so we may live, and bore our sin and shame

We need no purpose but to give all glory to His Name

Because God’s love runs deep and wider than thought’s farthest glim

All that we need He will provide as care is cast on Him

Because of faith’s established goal, though dark the strait between

Our need, the Saviour of the soul, will wholly intervene

Because our utter need is met in faith's redeeming hour

We need not fret; because the cross will never lose its power

© Janet Martin

1 Sam.2:30

But now the LORD says: ‘Far be it from Me; 

for those who honor Me I will honor, 

and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.

Far graver than the battle is an illusion of peace

Causing our souls to slumber while evil's armies applaud 

Far graver than war’s fearful horror's while death-tolls increase

Is walking, talking, laughing, living without fear of God

Far graver than faith's groaning as we stand on steadfast guard

Is the seductive courting of diversion's deadly dance

Far graver than the blood and tears that stain streets, sorrow-scarred

Are hands and feet, soft, smooth and lily white with ignorance 

Far graver than the suffering that rouses our pleas

For more than this world can bestow, is life without a care

For, graver than the crushing blow that brings us to our knees

Is living without ever bowing before God in prayer

© Janet Martin

In The Cross The Peterens

Above, Beyond and Over All

A lone dove coos...

In spite of, amidst, into life's lease of woes

To take the sting from the its biting blows

God's grace and glory and goodness flows...

Sometimes it would be easy to be overwhelmed by

the darkness of this world,

 the hate, the wars,

the grief this brings to loved ones,

 the spiteful critic's tongue,

the constant arguing, 

finger-pointing, fault-finding, failure

 (because we are human)

but for the glory of God's love 

that still spills in more ways

than hate could ever infringe upon!

Thus we are overcome with love and hope

 rather than hate or despair.

Hallelujah!

 And from its labyrinth of limbs, a hymn of happiness...

...this 'finch-hymn' filled the snowflake-filigree-ed March morning!

this poem was going to be a quick four-liner due to a long to-do list today,

then it became an eight-liner, then twelve, 

then I decided to just let go of Time's restraints 

and let the ink flow🙏💗😊 

Amidst the misery and mayhem of this troubled world

A snowflake falls, a lone dove coos, a sunrise is unfurled

The bloom undoes the casing of a bud, a bulb, a seed

And stuns us with the loveliness that God alone can breed

Into the brokenness that ended Eden’s paradise

A dewdrop gleams, a flower beams, a newborn baby cries

Winter yields to the woo of spring, the tree redons its tress

And from its labyrinth of limbs, a hymn of happiness

Among love’s thorns that prick and pierce with fierce and bitter sting

Kindness still smiles and walks a second mile; brooks laugh and sing

And where it sometimes seems the earth is a showcase of death

God proves His faithfulness with birth; wonder still steals our breath

In spite of sorrow’s agonizing, unrelenting ways

The wind still whispers in the willow; humble faith still prays

A child still melts the heart where Innocence its Hour wills

Mercy renews its vows and rends night’s veil; God’s glory spills

Above, beyond and over-all, where sinful boast runs bold

The divine faithfulness of God prevails ten-thousand-fold

In spite of mortal misery, God's love still never fails

The greatness of His majesty in victory prevails

Beyond the scope of what we see a better morning waits

Where hope will turn to jubilee beyond time's tear-stained gates

Thus now, though we are wearied by faith's foe, redemption flows

Still, still amidst the misery and mayhem blooms Love's Rose

 

© Janet Martin

1 Chron.29:11

Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, The power and the glory,

 The victory and the majesty; 

For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O LORD,

 And You are exalted as head over all.

Still, Still With Thee

Traitor's Kiss

Forbid that Sunday's worship service

is not simply something I 'do' before I can

'get on with the rest of my day/week'

Forbid that worship is but a once-a-week-ritual,

rather than a daily out-pouring of loving gratitude.

Hallelujah! what a Saviour!

When This Passing World Is Done (How Much I Owe)

Forbid it, Lord that my life is well-honed hypocrisy

That I betray Thee with a kiss where humble love should be

Pray, in the garden of my thought I do not raise a sword

Seduced by a more luring lot than ‘all for Thee, my Lord’

Forbid that I should fail to bear faith’s cross devotedly

And fall into the cunning snare that Satan set for me

That, though with words I honor Thee my heart is far adrift

Unmoved by scenes of Calvary and love’s redeeming gift

Forbid, that in life’s dreadful end judgement exposes it;

How I was never a true friend but just a hypocrite

Forbid, that I should never seek Thee Lord, with all my love

But with a traitor's kiss upon Thy cheek, my hatred prove

Forbid, that when it is too late to undo what is done

At last, I repent of my hate when hell its prey has won

Forbid, I slight the armour that equips, no substitute

And pray I may remember the tree is known by its fruit

© Janet Martin

Luke 6:43-45

“For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.

 44For every tree is known by its own fruit.

 For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush.

 45A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good;

 and an evil man out of the evil [i]treasure of his heart brings forth evil.

 For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

March Morning Mural

The deep blue dome of dark recedes

As worlds around us reappear...

Dawn makes landfall...

The pigeon-coloured wooden frill

That crowns yon hill primed for first greens...

The fence where finch and robin trill

High warbling scales beyond our means...

The puddles, like art strewn on lanes

Capturing glints of trees and sky

The decoupage of spent refrains

Snared where choirs of leaf-song lie...

The deep blue dome of dark recedes

As worlds around us reappear

Dawn makes landfall; unveils the reeds

Knee-deep in platinum veneer

The fence where finch and robin trill

High warbling scales beyond our means

The pigeon-coloured wooden frill

That crowns yon hill primed for first greens

The puddles, like art strewn on lanes

Capturing glints of trees and sky

The decoupage of spent refrains

Snared where choirs of leaf-song lie

Beneath the vigil of a breeze

The eulogies of poet’s pen

Cloud-coursers scudding welkin seas

As night becomes today again

…the deep blue dome of dark recedes

The transformation that it brings

Tunes us to the Mercy that heeds

Our needs; Fear frets, faith sings and sings

© Janet Martin

Neh.9:5

“Stand up and bless the Lord your God

Forever and ever!

“Blessed be Your glorious name,

Which is exalted above all blessing and praise!

Stand up and Bless the Lord

This Very Special Day

'I think I will have a muffin this morning', I said to Victoria 

as I put on another pot of coffee, 'since it is such a special day'.

Both of us had workdays cancelled because of school closures 

due to freezing rain this morning

This is a special day

The way the wind roars through

The ups and downs that crown

Life’s little lilt of

Me-and-you

How soft and swift the gift

Of Today is undone

By fingers, gossamer

And lowered masts on

Twilight’s galleon

Life’s leap from rocking cradle

To the still and silent grave

Does not leave us a hint

Of how much time 

Between we have

So, let’s not miss the melody

Of ‘us’, a ballad, sweet

And dance where paper ballrooms

Briefly pause

Beneath our feet

Time is a tender thief

Sometimes its wooing way

Could whisper us to sleep

Before we thank God for

This very special day

© Janet Martin

Impossibility's Absolute

We in North America still have the freedom to free access to God's Word.

May we NEVER take this richest blessing for granted!

Lest, by not knowing what we do not know

(found only in Holy Scriptures)

we lose our way and ultimately faith's inheritance!

Heb.11:6

But without faith it is impossible to please him:

 for he that cometh to God must believe that he is,

 and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Psalm 119:103
How sweet are Your words to my taste--

sweeter than honey in my mouth!

Psalm 119:127
Therefore I love Your commandments more than gold, 

even the purest gold.

Psalm 119:96-98

I have seen a limit to all perfection, but Your commandment is without limit.

 97Oh, how I love Your law! All day long it is my meditation. 

98Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies,

 for they are always with me.…

Hard to have God’s guidance if we do not know His Word

Hard to have faith’s confidence and courage undeterred

Hard to be obedient and have our conscience pricked

If we do not have his Word to urge, exhort, convict

Hard to do our best without The Best Counsel to train

Hard to have our hope fixed without God’s Word to sustain

Hard to keep in perfect peace the mind, without His pow’r

To calm fear within the storm and light life’s darkest hour

Hard to be as thankful as we ought to surely be

To He who broke death’s sentence with Truth that sets us free

Hard to be as holy, humble, kind, obedient

As we ought, without His Word to counter human bent

Hard to know the goodness and the mercy of our God

If at best we give Him but a cold, courteous nod

If at worst He does not cross the mind or heart at all

Hard to find a lifeline when death’s dire shadows fall

Hard to lay up treasure, not on earth, without His Word

To count more precious than pure gold, love never heard

Hard to find a faith-hold/foothold that will not falter or fail

Or a sure foundation against which naught can prevail

Hard to taste joy inexpressible in its delight

His Word, sweeter than honey, judgments altogether right

Hard to love God first and then our neighbor as our self

If His Word is but a Book on some forgotten shelf

© Janet Martin

The word 'hard' in this poem translates to 'impossible'

Proverbs 30:6
Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you and prove you a liar.

Revelation 22:18
I testify to everyone who hears the words of prophecy in this book:

 If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book.

Revelation 22:19
And if anyone takes away from the words of this book of prophecy,

 God will take away his share in the tree of life 

and the holy city, which are described in this book.

1 Pet.8:7-9

so that the proven character of your faith—more precious than gold, 

which perishes even though refined by fire—

may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 

8 Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; 

and though you do not see Him now, 

you believe in Him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 

9now that you are receiving the goal of your faith, 

the salvation of your souls.…