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Tuesday, May 31, 2022

Darling May, Farewell

In Ontario, May goes from bare...

...to burgeoning with bloom



from warm hats and coats ...


...to sundresses and splash-pads
(May 31)


...and last but not least
from no baby to
sweet, sweet baby boy
( 14 hours old)

(never mind the baby! 'what's that, mommy?!'
Concerned Big Brother wants to know😊💖)

Almost 3 weeks old


Farewell, (almost) most beloved month of all!!

To release you is akin to farewell’s final embrace
A sense of fallen blossom-stars wafting in outer space
This reluctant relinquishment of what no one can keep
Always makes me regret the fact that sometimes we must sleep

…while buds begin to bulge then burst because they cannot stay
The Miracle waiting to steal our baited breath away
While isle upon isle undergoes, with sunny zephyr-kiss
A steady and unprejudicial metamorphosis

To let you go is always bittersweet, my love, because
You never leave the world as stark and sullen as it was
Beneath your touch creation thrives, sparse shadow-filigree
Grows deep and dark…a picnic blanket tossed beneath each tree

Expectancy and wonder, like silence and thunder meld
The earth is like a canvas with no verdant hue withheld
Where we all become dancers in spirit if not footloose
In a ballroom refurbished with a fresh coat of chartreuse

Each furrow is replenished with seed-sized symbols of trust
While we are wildly torn between duty and wanderlust
Because something about the way you arrange green and blue
Makes us want to experience every angle of you

Forgive me if I linger with my arms around your scent
For my thought aches with echoes; mementos of love well-spent
And I could not bear to let go, darling May afternoon
But for the impending hello of darling, darling June

© Janet Martin




Flower-Fountain of Joy


Praise God from whom all flowers flow;
from whom all bloom-bells peal...









From woodland founts and garden-dirt gushes earth’s lushest green
The miracle of birth restores vistas where death had been
We who are captured by the woo where beauty’s fountain brims
Are overcome with joy renewed by age-old petal-hymns

A gala fit for kings and queens unfolds before our gaze
Inviting beggars to partake of lily-laden trays
We do. With hearts agape with praise for nature’s flower-fount
As joy marvels at masterpieces too profuse to count

Praise God from whom all flowers flow; from whom all bloom-bells peal
He threads bud-looms with periwinkle, rose, Solomon’s seal
The beauty of creation from unnumbered fountains spills
Joy bows in adoration to the One who clothes the hills

The tall grass sways and plays a shimmer-soft arpeggio
How long we waited for the lays of wispy ebb and flow
For curlicues of rainbow hues from umber vaults of sod
Joy knows no bounds but turns into exaltation to God


© Janet Martin

The tall grass sways and plays a shimmer-soft arpeggio...

Matt.6:27-34

And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit unto [a]the measure of his life?
28 And why are ye anxious concerning raiment?
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow;
they toil not, neither do they spin: 29 yet I say unto you,
that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 But if God doth so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is,
and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you,
O ye of little faith?
31 Be not therefore anxious, saying, What shall we eat?
or, What shall we drink?
or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 For after all these things do the Gentiles seek;
for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness;
and all these things shall be added unto you.
34 Be not therefore anxious for the morrow:
for the morrow will be anxious for itself.
Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.


Heaven-bent...

 





Not so enlightened, as to be
Careless with hope’s security
Not so engrossed in earthliness  
I do not prize faith's promises
Not so prosperous I forget
The hungry poor who have no bread
Not so successful as to slide
Into subtle pitfalls of pride
Not so consumed with avarice 
I snub salvation's purchase-price
Not so ingenious I ignore
The One who said ‘I am the Door’
Not so comfortable that I
Am loathe to bid this world good-bye
Not so intent on things below
I have no heaven-wealth to show
No living proof, by quiet deed
Of compassion for those in need
No legacy of self outpoured
As evidence of Christ as Lord
No desire to be poor enough
To treasure most His grace and love
And count all worldly gain as loss
To marvel daily at the cross
To keep in mind, earth's lease is lent
And live each moment, heaven-bent  

© Janet Martin

Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ, 
strive for the things above, 
where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
 2Set your minds on things above,
 not on earthly things. 

Col.3:1-2




Monday, May 30, 2022

Immaculate Impressions



Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, 
as though God were making an appeal through us; 
we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 
21 He made Him who knew no sin to be [j]sin in our behalf, 
so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

2 Cor.5:20-21




The Anchor of hope’s diligence nods and the heavens laugh
With mercy’s renewed evidence in daybreak’s autograph
We, as ambassadors for He, whose pardon reconciles
If clothed in Christ's humility, will recognize God’s smiles

Morning’s podium broods with beckoning to human race
Come, taste and see the goodness and compassion of His grace
We as ambassadors for He whose kindness perseveres
If tuned to Christ's tenacity, will recognize God’s tears

Trouble’s relentless ways and means resumes its Dreaded Must
Temptation’s primal hunger keens needles threaded with dust/trust
We, as ambassadors for He in whose Word we rejoice
If yielded to Christ's Sovereignty, will recognize God’s voice

The Giver of love’s grin and groan reignites heaven’s wick
Where stumbling block and stepping stone cuts courage to the quick
We, as ambassadors for He who is First in Command
If armed with Christ's security, will recognize God’s Hand

© Janet Martin




A good gardening day seems to be unfolding!
An opportunity to do the late-season planting.
Thank-you, Lord!







Saturday, May 28, 2022

Pondering Anew

While the bud bursts into blossom
In winter’s green aftermath...




After all the rain yesterday earth is a-glimmer with every shade of green imaginable!!


Praise To The Lord, The Almighty (A Cappella)



In spite of being hammered by last week's storm
David was still able to release this song this morning!
A beauty!
It reminded me once again  instead of
slipping into the trap of trying to bear my cares alone
I need to 'ponder anew what the Almighty can do!'
(lyrics to the hymn below)

Psalm 126:3
The LORD has done great things for us; 
We are joyful.

Pondering anew God’s glory
Creator of heav’n and earth
Author of love’s greatest story
Of redemption and rebirth

Pondering His mercy, awesome
Compassion withholds His wrath
While the bud bursts into blossom
In winter’s green aftermath

Pondering anew His kindness
Providing hope for the soul
Where sight alone leads to blindness
Where faith alone makes us whole

Pondering anew His goodness
Would that I would not forget
To trust Him and not the fruitless
-ness of worry and regret

Pondering anew His wonder
Beyond comprehension’s claim
Where the earth and heavens thunder
With the grandeur of his Name

Pondering anew His faithful
Promises that will not fail
Makes me, wholly, humbly grateful
For the blood that rent the veil

Pondering anew God’s power
Architect of galaxies
Garners glimpses in each flower
Of divine intricacies

Pondering anew, salvation
Wrought through Jesus, God’s own Son
Renews humble dedication 
For the race His grace has won 

Pondering anew, Redemption
And the horrors He endured
Draws my wander-prone attention
To the joy the cross secured

© Janet Martin


Joel 2:21
Do not be afraid, O land; rejoice and be glad, 
for the LORD has done great things.


Praise to the Lord! the Almighty, the King of creation!

1 Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise him, for he is your health and salvation!
Come, all who hear; now to his temple draw near,
join me in glad adoration.

2 Praise to the Lord, above all things so wondrously reigning;
sheltering you under his wings, and so gently sustaining!
Have you not seen all that is needful has been
sent by his gracious ordaining?

3 Praise to the Lord, who will prosper your work and defend you;
surely his goodness and mercy shall daily attend you.
Ponder anew what the Almighty can do,
if with his love he befriends you.

4 Praise to the Lord! O let all that is in me adore him!
All that has life and breath, come now with praises before him.
Let the Amen sound from his people again;
gladly forever adore him.








Friday, May 27, 2022

Poem of Comfort When We Mourn the Death of a Child



But Jesus said, 
Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me:
for of such is the kingdom of heaven.
Matt.19:14

Keith and Kristyn Getty

 


Safe from earth’s pain and grief
Safe from its fear and fraud
Safe from its snares of unbelief
Safe in the arms of God

Safe from man’s violence
Safe from horrors of war
Safe from corruption’s consequence
Safe, safe forevermore

Safe from hunger’s distress
Safe from time’s trouble-trove
Safe from hatred’s unhappiness
Safe in the arms of love

© Janet Martin

Sacred, Fleeting Season

Suddenly, as I worked on this post, I couldn't stop weeping
for all the precious children of the world!
(How often it is the innocent who suffer
where innocence untaught 
grows up not knowing 
what they know not)

How sacred is the virgin soil
Of childhood's innocence ...


It is no mere coincidence that a child loves to hear about Jesus!
Every child in my childcare has shown me unbridled delight as we pause
before lunch to thank God for our food with this little prayer

God is great, God is good
Let us thank Him for our food
By His hands we all are fed
Thank-you Lord, for daily bread
Amen

From wide-eyed curiosity of a one-year old to eventually joining in,
 their faces beam with pure joy from pure hearts
as we thank God!
(and oh, the glorious conversations this little prayer sparks💗🙏)

On the inside cover of  a vintage version of The Pilgrim's Progress


 is this certificate of acknowledgement to honor the recipient of the reward.


Imagine if we still handed out such noble literature in our public schools
 as rewards to students!

Today students in this system,  
as tender as 5 years old 
(if the teacher chooses to comply)
are taught/groomed to dispute the indisputable...
He created them male and female, 
and blessed them 
and called them Mankind 
in the day they were created. 
Gen.5:2

Jesus answered, "Have you not read that from the beginning 
the Creator 'made them male and female,'

However, from the beginning of creation,
 'God made them male and female.'

...and we wonder at the chaos and confusion of this age?!!
where by and large, the world has turned its back on God?!!
and ignores His everlasting Word?!!
Where defiled hearts defile innocence?!!

Evil as surely as good 
recognizes the sacred, fleeting season of childhood!

How sacred is the virgin soil
Of childhood's innocence  
How terribly accountable
Each one who tills and plants

Where evil as surely as Good
Recognizes this truth;
The fleeting season of childhood 
Soon sheds its tender youth

How then, we ought to sift the seeds 
That fall, so they will sprout 
A goodly crop, to choke the weeds
Of heresy and doubt 

Before planting time, brief and fair
Slips from the supple limb   
Remember the Creator, ere
They find no joy in Him

Janet Martin

"H-m-m! He's got one too!"
exclaimed Innocent Granddaughter at her observation
during little boy's diaper-change.
"Just like my baby brother!"

'Yes' I replied.
'that means he's a boy! 
If you 'got one' you're a boy!
If you don't, you are a girl!
God made it that simple and easy to figure out
and don't ever let anyone tell you any different!'

(Believe it or not, these unthinkable conversations are important today!!)

Eccles. 12 NASB
Remember God in Your Youth

12 Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, 
before the evil days come and the years approach 
when you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”
; 2 before the sun and the light,
 the moon and the stars are darkened, 
and clouds return after the rain; 
3 on the day that the watchmen of the house tremble, 
and strong men are bent over, 
the grinders stop working because they are few, 
and those who look through [a]windows grow [b]dim; 
4 and the doors on the street are shut 
as the sound of the grinding mill is low, 
and one will arise at the sound of the bird, 
and all the daughters of song will [c]sing softly. 
5 Furthermore, people are afraid of a high place 
and of terrors on the road; 
the almond tree blossoms, 
the grasshopper drags itself along, 
and the caper berry is ineffective. 
For man goes to his eternal home 
while the mourners move around in the street. 
6 Remember your Creator before the silver cord is [d]broken 
and the golden bowl is crushed, 
the pitcher by the spring is shattered 
and the wheel at the cistern is crushed; 
7 then the dust will return to the earth as it was, 
and the [e]spirit will return to God who gave it. 
8 “Futility of futilities,” says the Preacher, “all is futility!”

9 In addition to being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge;
 and he pondered, searched out, and arranged many proverbs.
 10 The Preacher sought to find delightful words and to write words of truth correctly.

11 The words of the wise are like [f]goads, 
and masters of these collections are like driven nails; 
they are given by one Shepherd. 
12 But beyond this, my son, be warned: 
the [g]writing of many books is endless, 
and excessive study is [h]wearying to the body.

13 The conclusion, when everything has been heard, is: 
fear God and keep His commandments, 
because this applies to every person. 
14 For God will bring every act to judgment, 
everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.





Faith's Perfect Plea


Psalm 38:21
LORD, do not forsake me;
do not be far from me, my God.

Psalm 94:22
But the LORD is my defence;
and my God is the rock of my refuge.







Do not forsake me, Lord
But be my fortress tall
Sin wields a decorated sword
And winks while victims fall

Do not forsake my prayer
Lest from the fold I stray
Lest, wise in mine own eyes I dare
To trust in mine own way

Help me hold dear love's laws
Lest I love’s proof discard
Lest presumption of grace should cause
Me to let down my guard

Do not forsake me, lest
I lose the faith to cope
Where cares besiege and vices test
The hardiness of hope

Do not forsake me in
Sorrow, lest I despair
Nor in my joy lest I should sin
And turn my heart elsewhere

…and I would dare to flee
The rock of my defense
Thy Wing whose feathers cover me
Where enemies commence

Do not forsake me, Lord
I need Thy constant voice
Lest I am lured from Thy True Word
By a buffet of choice

Do not forsake me then
Because the flesh is weak
And I am only strongest when
Your Spirit bids me 'seek'

The foe is wily, oh
I know that I would fall
Prey to pitfalls of pride-fear-woe 
Without You, Lord of all

How impuissant I
Left by myself would be 
Lord, bend thine ear to hear faith's cry
Oh, do not forsake me

Amen

© Janet Martin

Inspired in part by this:





Thursday, May 26, 2022

Like a Fresh-baked Loaf of Bread

 

I took the above video yesterday morning!
(I saw a flash of orange from the Baltimore Oriole-chorister)
He sang and sang and sang!!
It cheered my heart so, where tears could wash away all joy!
SO much sorrow in this sinful, broken world.
But, The Living Bread sustains when nothing else can...


(full chapter below)

Today begs to be tasted like a fresh-baked loaf of bread
Still warm from welkin ovens wafting somewhere overhead 
To savor wholesome/holy flavors of fresh favors, mercy-wrought
To break it gently, bite by bite, not scarfed down without thought 

To recognize with meek surprise, our place, then to give thanks
Where we, the subjects of God's grace ought never to pull ranks
But take and eat with humble recognition of Enough
And not to grumble at the greatest mission of all; love

The loaf that sits before us at daybreak soon disappears
The platter is so full of hands seizing laughter and tears
Where always without fail, morning's freshly-baked loaf becomes
An empty plate where pray, we stay to linger over crumbs

...oho, we rise each morning to Mercy's refurbished tray
Today begs to be tasted like a fresh-baked Bread-buffet...

Janet Martin

lingering over breakfast crumbs💓
 




Smile of satisfaction! 
(what a challenge for us older 'children' to respond like this!)

Full chapter Psalm 66


Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer
nor his mercy from me
Psalm 66:20

He hears our prayers!
What a wonder.








 

Wednesday, May 25, 2022

Sacred Summons To Today


It may look like simply swing pushing/riding
(and we are all so excited and delighted to have a new playset
after the old one blew away!)


Why did it blow away?!
Big storm and no anchors.
(that's a poem/parable for another post)😅

Swing pushing by Janet would simply be years and years, 
and thousands upon thousands
of fleeting swing-pushes but for one thing....



Prayer.
Prayer takes the mundane and makes it sacred!
Prayer reaches far beyond the present push!
Each and every child, as they are pushed are prayed for
as well as their parents!
I pray for strength, grace and wisdom
 in parenting and marriages
that they/we may be faithful through thick and thin
one day at a time, by God's grace!
(because marriage and parenting is love's
most beautiful Hard!)

The first tot in my childcare
is renting a house this summer and our son 
is living in it as well.
One young man (who has since moved to Nova Scotia) is getting married.
One is getting his G1 shortly...
...and all of them are growing up/grew up so fast!!

This is the day the Lord has made.
Let us rejoice and be glad in it!
Psalm 118:24


God bless and guide you in today's push and pull
whatever/wherever that may be...

The night’s dark veil is rent
And to the land and sea
Returns the sacred fundament
Of opportunity

Slumber grants its reward
Of ambition renewed
Come then and let us serve the Lord
With praise and gratitude

He loves us oh, so dear
And draws dawn’s door ajar
Where no one knows how far or near
To Seeing Him we are

Therefore, none can afford
To cast a careless eye
Where His kind mercy has restored
Dawn’s lantern to the sky

Before its colors fade
Before ‘has’ turns to ‘had’
Behold the day the Lord has made
To rejoice and be glad

In the vineyard of grace
How sweet is His employ
Because no matter what we face
The fruit of grace is joy

Then, though life’s thorns may prick
Where oft we weep and groan
The Hand that lights the morning wick
Cradles each stepping stone

…and fits us for the task
He tenders to today
Forbid that we neglect to ask
Him for help to obey

A sacred summons spills
Across the land and sea
Grace reverberates and refills
Day's opportunity 

© Janet Martin








Tuesday, May 24, 2022

A Rich Canvas (of God's Flawless Poetry)





Where Mercy's faithful essence renews more than barren limb
He cheers us with His presence as we place our trust in Him...


Green deepens, a rich canvas for nature’s calligraphy
The land is young; it dances with God’s flawless poetry
Where wonder, like an elixir reminds the careworn heart
To trust in the Creator of earth’s unparalleled art

This life, so full of care would be too hard to bear, but for
The Lord’s unrivaled majesty only proud fools ignore
Where Mercy's faithful essence renews more than barren limb
He cheers us with His presence as we place our trust in Him

Hunger and heartache’s Texas vexes worlds beneath our skin
The belly of the whale perplexes well-laid schemes of sin
Where all we have is lent; God gives and takes, for He is Lord
Where spring is like a bower bent with hope and grace restored

Vales deepen; a rich canvas for faith's meek and fervent plea
Though spirits groan, hope dances as God spills pure poetry
Where a whole world of wonder waits to tune faith's ears and eyes
To trust in He who tends the gates/straits that lead to paradise

© Janet Martin

Psalm 138
I will praise You with my whole heart;
Before the gods I will sing praises to You.
2 I will worship toward Your holy temple,
And praise Your name
For Your lovingkindness and Your truth;
For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.
3 In the day when I cried out, You answered me,
And made me bold with strength in my soul.

4 All the kings of the earth shall praise You, O Lord,
When they hear the words of Your mouth.
5 Yes, they shall sing of the ways of the Lord,
For great is the glory of the Lord.
6 Though the Lord is on high,
Yet He regards the lowly;
But the proud He knows from afar.

7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me;
You will stretch out Your hand
Against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will save me.
8 The Lord will [a]perfect that which concerns me;
Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever;
Do not forsake the works of Your hands.


 The Old Cross Road (click link to listen) 
James Rowe 1920

  1. There are many paths through this world of sin,
    But there’s only one I shall travel in;
    ’Tis the old Cross Road, or the way called “Straight”—
    There is just one way to the pearly gate.
    • Refrain:
      There is just one way to the pearly gate,
      To the crown of life and the friends who wait;
      ’Tis the old Cross Road, or the way called “Straight”—
      There is just one way to the pearly gate.
  2. There are some who sneer at the old Cross Road,
    At the pearly gate and the soul’s abode;
    Yet I mind them not, but, with happy song
    And assurance sweet, still I press along.
  3. Others risk their souls on some new-made way,
    Thinking they will come to the gate someday;
    Oh, may they find out, ere their lives are done,
    That the old Cross Road is the only one.