Of Divine Architecture

Trusting our faithful God is sometimes easier said than done, isn't it?!

Trusting Him in all our hard unknowns!

Yesterday my friend whose family is searching for a new home to move to 

as the deadline in their current rental approaches (Feb.), 

said this as they continuously entrust to God this desperate need;

'we know that something will work out, 

even if it isn't necessarily our dream.'

I have been pondering her words  'even if it isn't necessarily our dream.'

No one's dream includes the stress of home-seeking,

 sudden loss of a loved one,

or debilitating injuries or sickness of body or mind,

or broken marriages and friendships.

Trouble and tragedy are part of this sin-cursed world.

And how would we ever learn true and full surrender to

our all-sufficient Heavenly Father's love and grace

without sorrow and suffering;

Our Heavenly Father, who left His throne

knowing what lay before Him!

He was homeless, hated, rejected, spat upon, beaten,

misjudged, mistreated and crucified,

though he was guiltless of any sin!

He did not send a substitute to pardon humanity

but gave Himself to suffer redemption's brutal cost!

He alone brings true comfort and joy.

Through him alone sorrow and sickness are healed

whether on earth or in Heaven.

Ah, holy Christmas season as we

celebrate, marvel and meditate

on the glad tidings of great joy 

which was, will be and ever IS

to all people!

Luke 2:1-11

Then the angel said to them,

“Do not be afraid, for behold,

I bring you good tidings of great joy 

which will be to all people.

11For there is born to you this day in the city of David

a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

***

When our castle of dreams tumbles

God is there to catch the pieces

if we let Him and to help us forward

as we learn to humbly yield and trust

 the Divine Architect with what appears broken

***

Sorrow makes us so much more thankful for/aware of joy!

Today's joy included 

an early morning visit from my sister-in-law

who came bearing a beautiful poinsettia-gift 

...cookie-baking with my neighbours

because school buses were canceled,

Delighting in the snowy scenes through their windows

and mine...

There is no path to What Once Was of former 'days of glory'

Futile to rue the day because of a twist in life's/love's story

Where oft on tender plots of joy, grief's bitter battle wages

As death crumples, like crushed decoys, love's hope and dream-filled pages

Ah, who of us is wise enough to know God's kind intentions 

Or understand the blueprint of His love's Divine Dimensions  

The Builder and Maker of earth and Heaven, who can measure

Or know the height and depth and girth of Mercy's architecture 

It is not ours to mastermind the means of our Creator

Enough to know that He is kind, love's reckoning far greater

Than panoramic dust-to-dust's volatile stance of seasons

Enough to know that we can trust His all-wise perfect Reasons 

Janet Martin

How Else??

Christmas is far more than an excuse to decorate,

or buy gifts for loved ones

or (over) indulge in favourite foods and drinks...etc.

It is more than an arranging of religious figurines...

 Christmas, for Christians, is the celebration of Christ's first coming to the world!

And a celebration of anticipation of His second coming!

And hopefully, not simply a seasonal celebration

but a faithful continuation of the holy joyful expectation

of meeting Jesus

where, each time we open His Word, 

we do meet Him but not yet face to face!

Each time we open his Word

we meet Him there!

Have you met Jesus today?

Coming Soon-Redeemed Quartet

Recently I heard this caution;

If you do not read the Word of God

you will be deceived.

If we do not read the word of God we will err in our thinking...

Matt.22:29

Jesus replied, “You are in error because 

you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.

How often the word of God contradicts human logic...

To defend sin, no matter how hurt we are/were

or how much we love the sinner

is to defend disobedience and ungodliness!

....God is light and in Him is no darkness.

If we say we have fellowship with Him

and walk in darkness, we lie (1 John 1:5-6)

Oh, may we ask the Lord as we meet Him

in his Word ....

that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, 

may give you/us a spirit of wisdom and revelation 

in your/our knowledge of Him.

(18I) ask that the eyes of your/our heart(s) may be enlightened, 

so that you/we may know 

the hope of His calling, 

the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints,

19and the surpassing greatness of His power

 to us who believe.

Eph.1:17-19

How can we taste and see God's goodness without knowledge, first, of Him

How, in this world of sin and darkness, can we shine, without His Word

How, without putting on His armour can we face faith's foe, so grim 

For he masquerades as a charmer, smooth-talking till truth is blurred

 Mass ignorance and confusion applauds the blind leading the blind

After claiming Christ's absolution, God's love-light is shed abroad

In our hearts; As His Word reaches joint and marrow of darkened mind 

His Word alone begins to teach us how to live and love like God

How else can we claim to know Jesus, yet not/but to seek Him through His Word?  

No other scripture can release us from clutches of sinful choice 

How, without His Word to win us can faith persevere, undeterred

How, without His Word within us can we begin to hear His Voice?  

Janet Martin~

Ps.19:7-11

The Law of the LORD is perfect,

reviving the soul;

the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy,

making wise the simple.

8The precepts of the LORD are right,

bringing joy to the heart;

the commandments of the LORD are radiant,

giving light to the eyes.

9The fear of the LORD is pure,

enduring forever;

the judgments of the LORD are true,

being altogether righteous.

10They are more precious than gold,

than much pure gold;

they are sweeter than honey,

than honey from the comb.

11By them indeed Your servant is warned;

in keeping them is great reward...

Read the whole glorious chapter HERE

Barge of Today...

On Mercy's Ocean

 Barge of Today

sets sail...

***

Life/love is heavy!

Handle with prayer

***

James 1:3-4

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,

 3knowing that the testing of your faith produces [a]patience. 

4But let patience have its perfect work, 

that you may be [b]perfect and complete, 

lacking nothing. 

Luke 12:24-25

Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap,

they have no storehouse or barn;

yet God feeds them.

How much more valuable you are than the birds!

Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

Sometimes life sends challenges 

that seem bound and determined

to turn into worry!

But, praise God, he invites us to turn our worry into prayer!

1 Peter 5:7

Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

Above us night's dark awning thins and dissolves, star by star

A Warden in soft moccasins draws Today's door ajar

And beckons to the waking world to rise and shine, re-awed 

By Mercy's ocean re-unfurled fresh from the Hand of God    

Barge of Today is laden with unnumbered *hopes and pleas 

Each ordained voyage, maiden, east to west on welkin seas 

Where we, both passenger and crew, have much to do; ahoy

As the kind Captain steers us through uncharted grief and joy

He tries our faith with Circumstances we would never choose 

But also, by the grace He grants us, patience learns its dues 

A far more kind and humble poise in what we ask and seek

As we discover the scarred joys of 'blessed are the meek'

Above us night's dark awning thins; a fleet of souls once more  

Embarks; Barge of Today begins its crossing to dusk's shore  

Ah pray, come whatsoever may, love and faith will not fail

If perchance the Barge of Today should hoist its final sail 

© Janet Martin 

*A family I love very much has been searching since the summer, for a new home to rent,

after being notified that they need to be out of their current home

by Feb. 2025. The search has been super-discouraging and fruitless, so far!

 Can you join our prayers that God will help them find a house they can afford,

large enough for 2 adults and four children?! 

It is has turned into a testing of faith producing

a bumper-crop of prayers on their behalf!

Please join! 

 

On Finding Faith's Fortune

It's easy to 'be still' in the calm scenes of life

like soft snowfall at daybreak,

But all of life is not A Soft Snowfall

Today's poem is a prayer

because walking by faith never happens by accident. 

Today Lord, make my gladness whole, not with some outward sign

But, with your whispers, quench my soul, lest cursed, I thirst and pine

Help me be still and know that You are God; by faith, not sight

Open the eyes of my heart to Your wonder and delight

Remind me of Your kindness, whose full proof streams undeterred

Redeem me from my blindness to/through the riches of Your Word

Restore my soul to worship as I behold Calvary

Renew love's sacred courtship/rebuke each carnal courtship; create a clean heart in me

Though my spirit is willing, Lord, you know my flesh is weak

(Faith's fortune, though more thrilling than this world's, is hard to seek)

This world's allure is glamour-glossed but is death and hell's prey

My God, without counting the cost, help me choose You today

Lord, faith must all self-will resign; feeling and sight denied

Help me to make your promise mine; and thus, in peace reside

For you will keep in perfect peace the mind that trusts in You

All futile fear and worry cease as Your peace runs faith through

From Nazareth a Good Thing came; a child was born, Your Son

And Jesus is His holy name; Saviour for everyone

Lord, hope and joy need nothing more; surprise me once again

To find Faith's fortune, set/yet before, my chief delight. Amen

 © Janet Martin 

Ps.51:6-12

...Surely You desire truth in the inmost being;

You teach me wisdom in the inmost place.

7Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean;

wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

8Let me hear joy and gladness;

let the bones You have crushed rejoice.

9Hide Your face from my sins

and blot out all my iniquities.

10Create in me a clean heart, O God,

and renew a right spirit within me.

11Cast me not away from Your presence;

take not Your Holy Spirit from me.

12Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,

and sustain me with a willing spirit...

Read the whole glorious chapter  HERE

For Everyone Forevermore

For better-worse, for rich and poor, for ignorant and wise,

For loud and proud  and shy unsure; for every shape and size

For young and old and in between, no matter where or who

In wilderness or valley green, the Word of God is true

For everyone, forevermore The Lord's precepts abide

While centuries, like billows pour through morn to eventide 

For faith and hope's security, for souls in barks of dust

For both the friend and enemy, the Word of God is just

For robust-strong and sickly-frail, from greatest to the least

For both those who succeed and fail, His word is a like a feast

Come all and freely drink and eat; salvation's stream runs rife

For love accomplished death's defeat; the Word of God is life

Oh, taste and see that He is good; oh, pray for ears to hear 

Lift up your heads, accursed brood, redemption draweth near

Behold, the Saviour of the World, the Light no dark can dim

God's power and glory unfurled; The word of God is Him

 © Janet Martin

Isaiah 55:1
“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters;

 and you without money, come, buy, and eat!

 Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost!

John 4:14
But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. 

Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water

 springing up to eternal life.”

John 6:35
Jesus answered, “I am the bread of life. 

Whoever comes to Me will never hunger, 

and whoever believes in Me will never thirst.

Isaiah 12:3
With joy you will draw water from the springs of salvation,

John 1:1

In the beginning was the Word, 

and the Word was with God, 

and the Word was God.

When Love's Fresh Waves of Sorrow Roll...

As soon as I shift my gaze from the 'joy still set before', sorrow is too hard to bear.

As soon as I forget the Hope Christ came to earth to restore, Grief would drive me to despair

But as I think upon the goodness and mercy of One who suffered in all ways, as we

Sorrow, hope-stunned becomes the humble partaker of Love's Divine Sympathy 

Seems without trouble, sickness and sorrow

How often would haste the day

Filled with hopes and dreams of tomorrow

With never a thought to (truly, humbly) pray

The other day my friend who also owns this book

Every Moment Holy,  mentioned HERE

drew my attention to these pages...

(I could have highlighted every line!)

So many thoughtful friends send messages of sympathy and prayer,

stunning my broken heart with hope and joy

Thank-you to everyone who has helped introduce my heart

to fresh waves of inexpressible joy...

When love's fresh waves of sorrow roll

With renewed force, through heart and soul

When tug of warring thoughts compete

Between the bitter and the sweet

When worlds of retrospect replay

The words we wish we still could say

When 'missing you' becomes a prayer

Of tears that we can hardly bear

When anguish like a vortex, reels

Through rooms, one cannot see, but feels

When ragged longing dearly yearns

For that which death never returns

When we wonder what we can do

To reconcile love's 'missing you'

God, who is merciful and kind

Bids us to come to Him and find

His comfort for Want, sorrow-torn/worn

His promises bless those who mourn

When love's fresh waves of grief deploy

God's hope alone stuns grief with joy 

He ministers His perfect peace

As humble, fervent prayers increase

As sorrow's searing tempests toll

He counts the teardrops of the soul

And ushers into love's embrace

Hope's hallowed glimpses of His face

Heaven on earth is undeterred

And mountains moved through a kind word

And faith, frayed, wounded is made whole 

When love's fresh waves of sorrow roll 

  © Janet Martin

 

1 Pet.1:3-9 BSB

This first week of advent we meditate on hope...

Re-sharing a treasured passage of scripture

A Living Hope

3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

By His great mercy He has given us new birthb into a living hope

through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

4and into an inheritance that is imperishable,

undefiled, and unfading, reserved in heaven for you,

5who through faith are shielded by God’s power

for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

6In this you greatly rejoice,

though now for a little while you may

 have had to suffer grief in various trials

7so 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.

8Though 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.

The Piano Guys - The Sweetest Gift (ft. Craig Aven) (Official Video)

(for my dear, sweet sister Lucy)

'Cradle' Song

Happy December!

The first few lines of this poem were written yesterday morning...

The cradle of accomplishments still waiting to be won

Gleams like a golden ornament ignited by the sun...

...after Sunday's snowfall transformed earth to a winter wonderland! 

..before a friend (bearing flowers💖) came for tea,

...fennel, mint and marigold tea😋

After she left I decided to go out for an afternoon tromp through the snow

Then, this morning another bit was captured

as another new day beamed in unblemished glory...

before heading out

to an oil and tire change appointment (for the car😆)

The original rush of inspiration has rather subsided; 

hopefully the last two stanzas written this afternoon 

 befit morn, noon and night!

Now I'm off to tackling a few chores to add to

today's 'cradle of accomplishments'...

such as cubing butternut squash to roast for supper 

to serve with Shepherd's Pie!

The cradle of accomplishments still waiting to be won

Gleams like a golden ornament ignited by the sun

A shiny spangle dangling from Bygone's chain of events

Unblemished opportunity preceding consequence

Where what we do with what morn grants in retrospect becomes

A subtle step by step sketched testament of moment-sums

An unconscious acknowledgment for God's mercy renewed

A sacred breath-by-breath  extolment of love's gratitude

The prelude to tomorrow's Yet is cloaked in mystery

The testing plots of sorrow set in joy's epiphany

Then, pray the Lord, where dawn is bent with today's fresh pursuit

Its cradle of accomplishment will brim with finest fruit 

So much it seems we'll never know but oh, we know enough

God's vigil is sufficient grace and everlasting love

We know in every circumstance He is greater, then shout 

Hope is our deliverance from chains of dread and doubt   

Praise God from whom all blessings flow, He keeps His promises  

The reason for His yes or no is not for us to guess 

Then, though our prayers are but a groan and faith a mustard seed

His will, though it may vex our own is perfect for the need 

Janet Martin

Psalm 100:2
Serve the LORD with gladness; 

come into His presence with joyful songs.

November-Hushed

Garden-scapes are strangely quiet...

Sheared and shucked and tucked and tilled...

Hushed, the heaven-on-earth riot...

Of frames, fruit and flower-filled

Autumn's auburn awnings dwindled

Golden haloes dimmed and fell...

Autumn's auburn awnings dwindled

Golden haloes dimmed and fell

Earth, a hearth of embers kindled

With November-hushed farewell

Hushed, lush, lofty leaf-song rivers

Nature's funereal repose

Quickens sentimental shivers

From our heads down to our toes

Garden-scapes are strangely quiet

Sheared and shucked and tucked and tilled

Hushed, the heaven-on-earth riot

Of frames, fruit and flower-filled

Hushed, the carefree, barefoot banter

Of life-heady, laughing child

Heedless of Time's fixed decanter

Spilling where farewells run wild 

Like a heart learning love's lessons

Earth endures That Which Must Be

Time's cacophony of seasons

Age-old, still stuns you and me 

Where the bud bursting with treasure

Bears its bloom, withers and falls

Till the whole of nature's pleasure

Decks November's doleful/soulful halls

Hushed beneath a sheath of snowflakes

Hope and joy toll welkin bells

Comforting a world of heartaches

With November-hushed farewells   

  © Janet Martin

 

Hushed, the carefree, barefoot banter

Of life-heady, laughing child...