Saturday, July 22, 2023

Morning Wonder-storm

A bitty dawn-ditty before a little blogging summer-break.
See you, Lord willing, in AugustπŸ™πŸ’

Heb.13:5
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have,
because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”








Dawn’s countryside is steeped in mist-kissed hues
The Unknown cradled in a cup of gold
The pressing presence of impending dues
Glitters where dew bedazzled worlds unfold
The gleaming gong upon earth’s eastward edge
Is drawn by a hand that eye cannot see
By He who keeps His unwavering pledge
‘Wherever you go, dear, there I will be’

© Janet Martin





Praise God from Whom all bounty flows...




Friday, July 21, 2023

God's Changeless Promises

This photo is taken from a hill close to my brother and sister-in-law's place
about 10 min. from our house and though I see the view often it NEVER disappoints! 



Psalm 145:13
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, 
and your dominion endures through all generations. 
The LORD is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does.

When we are troubled what better, than to kneel at the cross.

Kneel at the Cross-Jim and Jesse

 


For all we wish we could return, beneath life’s testing rod
Tis in life’s challenges we learn the faithfulness of God
In the valley where gloom may try our joy to overthrow
His changeless promises reply, hope and peace to bestow

The beauty and goodness of God abounds, for aye. Amen
Each of His attributes confounds the best of mortal ken
Then, though we do not understand the reason of His thought
His changeless promises command our worship, do they not?

How often in my worry I forget to humbly trust
God is not in a hurry as He tames our willful dust
But plies, with love that will not fail, that which draws us to Him
His changeless promises prevail, beyond our wildest whim

How proud would be our prayer, but for the trial and the tear
But for the creature care that binds us to His listening ear
Then in each sorrow we confide, He whispers as we plead
My changeless promises abide, ah, what more do you need?’

© Janet Martin

Psalm 31:19
Oh, how great is Your goodness, 
Which You have laid up for those who fear You,
 Which You have prepared for those who trust in You 
In the presence of the sons of men!


Thursday, July 20, 2023

Darling Day (With Granddaughter) Memento


First thing this morning I had
a call from my daughter wondering
if I wanted the company of a grumpy little girl today,
and what would a grandma say to such a question but,
'of course! I would love that!'πŸ’“
Just like a change of scenery can work cheerful wonders in us oldies at times,
so too in a child. πŸ˜…πŸ’–

Whether discussing crispy-egg-deliciousness, 


or, rules to learn (about mushrooms)


Whether it is pausing besides a glorious sweep of gold wheat seas
To revel in sweet summer bliss,...






It might be choosing the right cup for outdoor tea party for two...


Or floating on a pretend lake to practice for Real-Lake-Come-True


It might be strolling very slowly down a holy garden path
While footfalls slip into the echoes that waft in its aftermath


It might be picking lavender...


 to add to our lemon tea...


Before we sit beneath the arbor while making a memory



Whether discussing crispy-egg-deliciousness, or rules to learn (about mushrooms)
Or how a robin knows exactly where to find a juicy worm
Whether it is pausing besides a glorious sweep of gold wheat seas
To revel in sweet summer bliss, oh, we are making memories

Whether we give it second thought, or not, life rolls through Time and Place
And it is up to us to make the most and best of moment-grace
Because the afternoon is soon a bubble bobbing on the breeze
Bearing away the Little Day where we were making memories

It might be choosing the right cup for outdoor tea party for two
Or floating on a pretend lake to practice for Real-Lake-Come-True
It might be strolling very slowly down a holy garden path
While footfalls slip into the echoes that waft in its aftermath

It might be picking lavender to add to our lemon tea
Before we sit beneath the arbor while making a memory
It might be disregarding chore-lists just to sing a silly song
For little girls and boys are never very little very long

Life is much more than duty's doleful left-foot-right to growing old
Ah look, within our very grasp is a nugget of moment-gold
Then, because we never know when our final fond farewell may be
Let’s try to spend it on a precious, Best-we-could-make memory

© Janet Martin

Serving up some 'thtrawberry-shortcake oil tea'πŸ˜‚
(after a five-star plastic lunch!!)





Awesome Dividend (of Kindness)


May our lives be rich with the gentle joy
of many a kindness both given and received!



It may not seem like much, all told;
The gentle word, the cheerful smile
The hug, the prayer, plan put on hold
To walk a secret second mile

The helping hand, the listening ear
The cup of tea shared with a friend
It may not seem like much, my dear
Yet, yields an Awesome Dividend 

For oh, we cannot know how far
Ripple effects of kindness flow
Therefore, no matter where we are
Let’s find some small kindness to show

Because big differences start
Not in the limelight of success
But in the love that lifts a heart
Through countless little kindnesses

It may not seem like much, all told;
But love is never commonplace
The small kind deed worth more than gold
As it puts a smile on God's face

© Janet Martin

Eph.4:32
And be ye kind one to another, 
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, 
even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

Wednesday, July 19, 2023

Perpetual Appeal

 A portion of some Psalm-reading...

from chapters 16-20...

and today's devotion from My Utmost for His Highest,

are part of what inspired today's prayer-poem,
because if I am honest and because God sees my heart
He knows my most earnest need...more love for Thee


With reverence and awe and praise
Honing humility
I have one plea, Lord, all my days
Increase my love for Thee

With wonder for Your love for me
Bid me heed Thy command
And keep my eyes fixed upon Thee
And joys at Thy right hand

Guard me from that which blinds desire
To pleasures evermore
The heat of love's refining fire
Oh, let me not abhor

Lord, let me unswervingly hold
To Thy judgments so true
For they are dearer than fine gold,
Sweeter than honey too

Open my eyes to see anew
That which should be most dear
And lest I have gods before You
Increase beholden fear

Lord, let the power of Thy word
Be all the strength I seek
And let the life Thy death incurred
Make every motive meek

Without complaint or dread, bid me
Take up my cross with praise
And a vision of Calvary
Always before my gaze

How great the loss, should I pursue
Anything else beside
And strive to fill my need for You
With selfishness and pride

Thus, as I think upon these things
Lord, hear my humble plea
In whatever this new day brings
Increase my love for Thee

Amen

© Janet Martin

So sharing this often-before-shared hymn seems fitting...



“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience” (James 1:2-3).

Tuesday, July 18, 2023

Life Is Poetry Waiting To Be Written or Eaten!!


The endless possibilities of garden-fresh fare
is pure culinary poetry!
So worth the toil 
when the soil is rich 
and the rain is plentiful
and the roots thrive!)
Makes the humble laborer
So glad to be alive!

Yesterday my neighbor dropped of a pint of raspberries
so I texted the clan and let them know 
there is a surprise dessert at Emily's house
for anyone wo can make it...
Cornstarch Pudding topped with raspberries and whipped cream

'or as the garden spills with fare and thrills the happy cook'



I had picked the currants just before leaving for the special Dessert evening so
this morning's question was,
What to do with a bowl full of black currants?





Beets are constantly being thinned...


(I used white onion instead of shallots)





Before the ink of one is dry another starts to brew
As surely as you catch my eye or as the sky is blue
Or as a bud bursts into bloom or a bird into song
Or morning into blush-brushed light and night into so-long

As surely as the cricket hails the middle of July
Or as a season scales the height of a year slipping by
Or as the colour of its cast crescendos ere it fades
Or as the valour of the past augments its promenades

As surely as love holds and must let go, ready or not
As surely as a sense of sorrow stirs a tender thought
Or as a breeze rolls through treetops like waves on lofty seas
Or as a pang of longing tugs at World of Memories

As surely as tomorrow is forever held at bay
Or as a surge of gratitude steals humbled breath away
Or as the flicker of a lily showcases the sun
Or as the shadow climbs the hill where one more day is done

...or as kerplop of a raindrop ignites a giddy dance
As dust devils are tamed and liquid diamonds lavish plants 
Or as a summer afternoon entangled in heartstrings
Wakens awareness to the whir of time's gossamer wings 

...or as the garden spills with fare and thrills the happy cook
Or as the tea is poured and feet pulled up, nose in a book
*Or as the gladness of a child hearkens to childhoods spent
Or as the ilk of life runs wild with laughter and lament 

As surely as the green of spring turns summer bronze and gold
Or as delight is overcome with wonders to behold
Or as the grace of God ignites a rush of poetry
Before the ink of one is dry, another starts to be

© Janet Martin

*It was so amusing to watch my grandchildren wild with excitement and curiosity
hovering at the 'Mystery Dessert (hiding in a big bowl with a lid)
while we waited till everyone was there to start.
...made me relive a little of my own long-lost childhood.
Oh, the excitement of out-of-the-blue guests and surprises. 
Esp. surprises you could eat!!

Wild with delight...

We could literally write a little book right now entitled
'If Big Brother Can Do It
So Can I!!'πŸ˜…πŸ˜‚πŸ’—



However Great or Small...

Before the Yet of dusk is met with setting of the sun...


John 6:28-29
Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

 
Before today's bitty ditty was done I had an invitation from Daughter to join them 
so we could do groceries together, then they stayed for lunch,
Grand-kiddos eager for more fresh-carrot crunch...
 so morning poem is now afternoon Poem!

Before this gifted day will wend its way to nevermore
Before it slips into the crypt with fellow days of yore
May what we do be kind and true, however great or small
A humble offering to bring before the Lord of all

Before it is too late to recreate its memory
Or recognize its fleeting prize of opportunity
May we commit to do our bit, however great or small
With willing heart embrace our part to praise the Lord of all

Before the Yet of dusk is met with setting of the sun
Before the Past secures the latest cast of moments spun
May we employ life’s tasks with joy, however great or small
Remembering its offering is to the Lord of all

© Janet Martin


Emily and I preferred a little more than toasted bagels and fresh-carrot-crunch for lunch...
A fresh from the garden mixed greens salad with thinly sliced white onion and beets, 
feta cheese and toasted sesame seeds.
 YUMMY!!



Monday, July 17, 2023

No Commonplace Charge (is parenting)

Baby is teething and objects loudly to being put down for long...
Mommy is so weary!πŸ™

...with these two to keep her on her toes (and knees) besides!

I am no longer parenting little children but
I am grand-parenting little children 
which makes the messages below very relevant to my season of life as well!

***

To leave children without principles is
not to make them free but it is to render them helpless





We have within our keeping a very precious charge
of innocence soon reaping the harvest of its guards
no commonplace appointing from God, is parenthood
a baby the anointing of wonder, pure and good 

we have within our caring, besides child's sweet delight
the onus of preparing the soul-dier for the fight
no commonplace employment is the call they bestow
far more than mere enjoyment of watching Soul-dier grow  

we have within our reaching (for such a little time)
wide flung windows of teaching far more than nursery rhyme 
no commonplace vocation to all whom God assigns
the careful cultivation of very tender vines

What a priceless investment; the training of a child
how soon the world's resistance tests with lures, lie-defiled
no commonplace endurance, a parent's prayers outpoured
For wisdom and assurance established in God's Word

we have within our asking a very present Aid
Who tenders with love's tasking, commands to be obeyed
For this is no small gracing, a child, innocence-wrought
But a Soul-dier soon facing life, armed with what was taught  

© Janet Martin
Link to all four messages in this series below




Hope's Happiness

Ps.144:15
Happy are the people who are in such a state;
Happy are the people whose God is the Lord!

Ps.146:5-6
Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help,
Whose hope is in the Lord his God,
6Who made heaven and earth,
The sea, and all that is in them;
Who keeps truth forever,...


Hope reminds us of a debt owed but God's provision paid
And goads us on to rejoice in this day that He has made
To be a glad bondservant for the Lord of earth and sky
Then, find a kind of happiness no words can quite descry


(from My Utmost For His Highest-Oswald Chambers)

Hope’s hailing happiness endures, though disappointment-vexed
Hope cheers us onward and secures the anchor of the Soul
Beyond the realm of seasons that roll one into the next
Hope draws us to the Reason for its undefeated goal
And hones a humble foothold in the promises of He
Who helps us where new day unfolds whatever waits to be

Hope’s holy happiness delights the heart that trusts in God
Its precious confidence invites, nay, excites us to be
A vessel in His hands; the hands that rule sky, sea and sod
A vessel heeding His commands with unfeigned fealty
To love Him with heart-soul-strength-mind, and neighbour as ourself
As, filled with his Spirit we find the riches of hope’s wealth

Hope’s humble happiness reminds us we have all we need
As tick by tock the clock unwinds tethers of dust-to-dust
As we embark once more upon missions of word and deed
Hope’s sacred summons spurs us on toward the One we trust
Rousing in us renewed distress for vessels still adrift
Unanchored in the happiness of Hope; salvation’s gift

© Janet Martin





Sunday, July 16, 2023

July-Content


This poem comes courtesy of a sudden thunder/rain-storm,
turning a Sunday night walk into a bolt,
pause,
puff-puff,
bolt,
walk-puff-puff
and dash like-the-older-age-dickens back home...

(of, course by the time this poem was finished the sun was shining once more)





No need to plead for what is not
Where flower-hours pour
Nor to scale heights of spent delights
To gaze to days of yore

No taunt to kindle Winsome Want
Where lily-lantern gleams
Nor to dredge deeps of Bygone’s sweeps
For unrewarded dreams

No hollow to wish-wallow in
Where winsome leaf-song sighs
And strums the soul with the cajole
Of high-noon lullabies

No good to yearn for the return
Of once-upon-a-clock
While arbors flaunt the floral font
Of rose and hollyhock

No ‘why’ to cast with wistful eye
While Time is July-crowned
Nor mourn to feel the westward keel
Of summer autumn-bound

For Here it is’ Sweet July bliss
In all its lovely forms
Wildflower flings, hummingbird wings
And sudden thunderstorms

© Janet Martin

I did not see kitty till I uploaded the photo to my computerπŸ˜‚πŸ’“