Thursday, June 20, 2024

Sacred Summons

I was going to write a first day of summer celebration poem
but instead today's (first) poem, turned into a sacred summons poem, 
After this morning's scripture reading. 1 Cor. 4.

1 Cor.4: 4-7
My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent.
 It is the Lord who judges me. 
 Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; 
wait until the Lord comes. 
He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness 
and will expose the motives of the heart.
 At that time each will receive their praise from God.
 Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself 
and Apollos for your benefit, 
so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying,
 “Do not go beyond what is written.” 
Then you will not be puffed up in being a follower 
of one of us over against the other. 
 For who makes you different from anyone else? 
What do you have that you did not receive? 
And if you did receive it, 
why do you boast as though you did not?

Sermon to Self (and others); 
Imagine
what a glimpse
 of heaven
earth would be
If  I, (we all) gave
all I, (we) could,
mindful always
 of He, The Giver
Who gave His Best/All
for you and me

John 3:16
For God so loved the world 
that He gave His only begotten Son, 
that whoever believes in Him 
should not perish but have everlasting life.

Last night these ominous clouds...





...turned into a much needed shower! 🙏




With what we have
With what we seek
With heart and soul and mind
May He who gave/gives
Make us more meek
More humble, faithful, kind

With what we know
And what we learn
With deeper gratitude
May goodness flow
With tender turn
From God's mercy renewed 

With how we live
And how we love
May worship's fountain brim
With praise we give
To God above
For all that comes from Him 

With all we have
With every breath
May we  proclaim the One
Who robbed the grave
Who conquered death
Through Jesus Christ, his Son

Worthy is He
Mighty to save
May hallelujahs brim
Eternally,
For all we have,
We have received from Him 

Holy, holy
Life's charge of grace
May we never forget
The love of He
Who took our place
To pay the sinner's debt

Forbid that we
Once wand'ring sheep
Ignore how we should live
Then, miserly
Connive to keep
What God gives us to give 

© Janet Martin

Jude 1:25
To the only wise God our Saviour, 
be glory and majesty, 
dominion and power, 
both now and ever. 
Amen.

The first shower was not enough
to justify 'excuses',
so soon my little neighbor 'helper' and I resumed
our egg hunt!
Potato bug egg hunt, that is 😠
(not quite as delightful as the Easter-kind 😂)


on that note, I'm off to the garden this morning, to resume the task!

4 comments:

  1. I'm loving all your storm photos - my goodness, the skies were glorious even if omimous! And I loved seeing that little one busy with potato bug egg hunting. Cute little outfit she has on. Appreciated the 'Sermon to Self" stanza: "Imagine what a glimpse of heaven earth would be...". A good reminder, Janet. Thank you.

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    1. Thank-you Brenda<3 We're in a very hot, humid spell so sudden storms pop up taking hearts and shutterbugs by storm too!! My cutie helper wears that outfit, sewn by her mother, to the barn to save her other clothes etc. p.s. I need to repeat Sermon to Self on a regular basis!

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  2. Janet such a lovely devotion and poem and photos. You capture the Goodness of God in your words as well as your pictures. Thank you for sharing your heart. Have a blessed day and happy hunting those potato bugs. The ones I look for is that mean ugly tomato worm. Sometimes I am out at dusk with a flashlight seeking them. :)! Hugs P.S. I bet your little sidekick is lots of help as well as fun.

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    1. Debbie, thank-you so much! Gardening is like a picture of a life, isn't it? If we don't pluck and root out the 'bugs and weeds' they have a way of taking over and spoiling the good fruit! and I agree, tomato worms are no treat either. My little sidekick, my neighbor farm tot 'helper', is a source of constant laughter and delight!!!

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I hope you enjoyed your pause on this porch and thank-you for your visit!