Of Love and Gratitude

These days gardener's and farmer's souls are a wellspring of gratitude to

the Divine Giver of every good and perfect gift! 

Every good and perfect gift is from above, 

coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, 

who does not change like shifting shadows.

James 1:17

Like comrades, love and gratitude walk humbly, hand in hand

And weave through heart and soul, joy and contentment’s side effect

For love and gratitude enrich the commonest demand

They open eyes to blessings we would otherwise neglect

Where ups and downs we weather would oft be misunderstood

Without the transformation wrought/salutations sought by love and gratitude

We, all in This together would be less inclined to fret

If love and gratitude would be the pleasure of each heart

Then we would be less anxious as we peer toward the Yet

Equipped with love and gratitude, to do our humble part

To make the most of moments; both the happy and the sad

To take this day the Lord has made; to rejoice and be glad

We, without love and gratitude become quite self-consumed

And pave the way to misery, through jealousy and greed

For without love and gratitude, every pursuit is doomed

Much always wanting more without care for our neighbour’s need

Then pray each day that God through His faithful mercy renewed

Would transform souls into wellsprings of love and gratitude

© Janet Martin

There is one spectacle grander than the sea, 

that is the sky;

there is one spectacle grander than the sky,

that is the interior of the soul.

― Victor Hugo in Les Misérables

Heaven's Foretaste

Psalm 145:3
Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised;

 His greatness is unsearchable.

Mercy is not getting what we deserve.

Grace is getting what we don't deserve

Ps.47:7-8

Sing praises to God, sing praises!

Sing praises to our King, sing praises!

7 For God is the King of all the earth;

Sing praises with understanding.

8 God reigns over the nations;

God sits on His holy throne.

Sing praises, for God reigns

With love in rich supply

When we withhold worship's refrains

Grace and mercy reply

Sing praises with souls awed

In every care unfurled

Greater is our glorious God

Than troubles of this world

Sing praises to the ONE

Who WAS, IS and Will BE

Whose unsearchable riches stun

Human philosophy

Sing praises to the Lord

In joy or sorrow’s lease

The wondrous riches of His word

Bestow gladness and peace

Clap your hands, shout for joy

Our King none can dethrone

Nor earthly enemy destroy

Salvation’s Cornerstone

Sing praise without reserve

For we have been blood-bought

Mercy restrains what we deserve

Grace grants what we do not

Let endless praises spill

To God, whose Sovereignty

And unsearchable riches will

Unfold eternity/eternally

Praise God with ransomed mirth

And humble gratitude 

Let Heaven's foretaste fill the earth

   With rapturous prelude 

© Janet Martin

Praise And Harmony "Behold Our God" 

To Keep On Keeping On...

In the spring Jim went peony-inhaling with me...

(insert soft breeze, sweet scents, pastel and vibrant hues and bird-song)

...so on Saturday I reciprocated and went fume-in/exhaling with him😂😅

Below a local young man's first pull!

I was going to record one of these...

 but the noise was so excruciatingly loud this is all I got...

(I dropped my camera 😅)

A tractor-pull exhibits each competitor in a brief

rush of noise, adrenaline and smoke

as they charge toward the finish line, 

in hopes of the farthest pull/the win

without breaking down!

Quite the polar opposite of faithfulness, isn't it;

of quietly keeping on till we cross an invisible Finish Line?!!

(if we break down, by the grace of God

we get back up and press on!)

2 Cor.4:7

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels,

that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.

To keep on keeping on in bands of faith and hope and love
Will not draw crowds to line the stands with thunderous applause
No trophy waits, or inscribed plaque, in recognition of
Fidelity. Nor stats to track the progress to The Cause
Until we cross the finish line where Time no more will be
When faith and hope their charge resign in love’s eternity

To keep on keeping on is not a luring enterprise
Appealing to bystanders, who have come to see a show
It lacks the rush of pleasure that instantly gratifies
Its distance none can measure to break records here below
No adrenaline rush to fuel bursts of lightning speed
But rather a steadfast pull-push while God supplies each need

To keep on keeping on is a most unembellished quest
It does not earn reason to boast, save in the grace of God
Knowing, in vessels earthen, we are given Heaven’s best
God’s power; nothing human can inspire sweeter laud
His promises beyond compare, faith, hope and love console
Us day by day and prayer by prayer while we press t'ward the goal

© Janet Martin

No Sweeter Answer

A few favourite verses from Ps.40! 

4-5 Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust, 

and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.

Many, O LORD, my God, are Thy wonderful works which Thou hast done,

and Thy thoughts which are to usward:

they cannot be reckoned up in order unto Thee;

if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.

9...Thou knowest, LORD

11 Withhold not Thou Thy tender mercies from me, O LORD;

let Thy loving kindness and Thy truth continually preserve me...

16 Let all those that seek Thee rejoice and be glad

let such as love thy salvation say continually

 'The Lord be magnified'. 

***

Some sorrows, such as the loss of a loved one, are easily visible.

Others 'only Thou knowest, LORD'

Below photos are from the previously mentioned book-

Making the Most of Life by J.R. Miller

Here a few excerpts from the chapter The Interpretation of Sorrow

Enough to know 'Thou knowest, Lord'

No sweeter answer transcends this;

Though oft love wields grief's rending sword

Still peace past understanding IS

Sorrow would seem a futile lot

No comfort could my heart afford

Without God's truth to cheer my thought

Enough to know, 'Thou knowest, Lord'

So many Lord, outside Thy fold

Unwilling to repent, believe

But prayer doth not slip through Thy hold

You comfort even while I grieve

The benediction of love's cross

Through faith's refining tears outpoured 

Ministers through the pain of loss 

 Joy's gain in this; 'Thou knowest, LORD'

Until the crown of life is won

Until Thou hast Thy last test tried

Help me reply 'Thy will be done'

And 'may the Lord be magnified'

Janet Martin

Lord Jesus, You Shall Be My Song

Weighing the Measure of Life

Discipline, not desire determines destiny.

~Dr. Charles Stanley~

I have a friend whose prayer requests often include

a request that God may help them establish healthy rhythms

in their marriage and family-life.

In pondering the phrase 'healthy rhythms' 

I have been scrutinizing my own rhythms;

how these rhythms impact and become my life!!

Rhythms shape and reveal where my deepest devotion/affections lie.

Rhythms prove...

What/who fuels my desires, my goals, my choices?

What arouses my deepest concerns; the temporal or the eternal?

Who do I turn to for counsel?

Who gets my first hour of the day?

Who directs my joy?

Who/who do I most admire?

Are my rhythms Christ centered?

Is He my first waking want, worship and wonder?

It takes dogged discipline to establish new rhythms,

and all the more so as we grow older and set in our ways! 

It's never too late to confess apathy to our loving Heavenly Father

And beseech Him to lead us in the path of His commandments and righteousness!

As we open his Word

He will open the eyes of our heart if we ask.

He will give us ears to hear Him!

1 Thess.5:24 

He who calls you (us) is faithful, who also will do it.

Jer.17:5-10

Thus says the Lord:

“Cursed is the man who trusts in man

And makes flesh his [b]strength,

Whose heart departs from the Lord.

6For he shall be like a shrub in the desert,

And shall not see when good comes,

But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness,

In a salt land which is not inhabited.

7“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,

And whose hope is the Lord.

8For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,

Which spreads out its roots by the river,

And will not [c]fear when heat comes;

But its leaf will be green,

And will not be anxious in the year of drought,

Nor will cease from yielding fruit.

9“The heart is deceitful above all things,

And [d]desperately wicked;

Who can know it?

10I, the Lord, search the heart,

I test the [e]mind,

Even to give every man according to his ways,

According to the fruit of his doings.

This poem can be one 3-stanza poem or 3 one-stanza poems 😊

The measure of a life is wrought

From word and deed; the fruit of thought

How swift the innocence of youth

Is shed and wed with timeless truth 

For no one is exempt from this;

'As a man thinketh, so he is'

***

The words of our mouth impart

The meditations of the heart

Then pray with all humility

'Lord, let these be pleasing to Thee'

So life will be a rhythm of

Unwavering faith, hope and love

***

Oh, may our steps be ordered by

The Lord on whom we can rely

May His law be Thought's chief delight

To guide and help us fight the fight

To the reward that will not fade

When the measure of life is weighed

Janet Martin

Praise And Harmony Singers "Savior Lead Me Lest I Stray"

Wondrous Worldwide Window

'Each day we find ourselves asking the Lord what he has for that day. 

How can we serve and love those God puts in our path today...

'excerpt from a letter from a family on a mission field 

quite literally on the other side of the world! 

and a question we hopefully pray each morning 

before we face our own mission field on this side of the world!

This past week my heart burst with bittersweet bliss

in the company of many kiddos...

esp. a visit from a few who used to be in my childcare!

I love all of the children who spent time in my childcare a little like my own,

and in a way they will always be 'my other children'

and sometimes I deeply mourn needing to scale back

my childcare hours, then remember

'to everything there is a season'!

And every new season and day is laden with fresh opportunity

to honour and cherish each God-granted moment!

Behold, from shore to shore

A prize for all to claim

A catalyst of unplumbed score

For young and old the same

It opens to the world

The moment we awake

Vistas of Potential unfurled

In every breath we take

It gleams upon yon slope

With heaven-kindled sheen

It redeems that which staggered hope

Where flagging zeal had been

...and recharges the part

That yester-cares wore thin

It overflows the thorn-pricked heart

With roses once again  

 

It glistens with God's love

And mercy's fealty 

Morn's wondrous worldwide window of

Fresh Opportunity

Fresh Opportunity

What better can we ask

It cheers us in what waits to be

And fits us for its task

© Janet Martin

Hear, oh LORD, and

have mercy upon me.

LORD, be Thou my helper

Ps.30:10

Endurance Test (or For Faith's Athletes and Soldiers)

Some people pick a 'word of the year' at the beginning of each year

to focus on and learn from throughout the year ahead...

I never have but it dawned on me recently that in the past year

I have pondered one word more than ever before. 

This word is 'endure'.

To endure is to remain faithful at all cost!

To endure we cannot quit!

just as it is impossible to endure without conscious effort

 a physical workout,  so too, the spiritual!

I am so thankful for a patient and forgiving Heavenly Father!

Ps.36:7-9

How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!
Therefore the children of men put their trust 

under the shadow of Your wings.
They are abundantly satisfied 

with the fullness of Your house,
And You give them drink 

from the river of Your pleasures.
For with You is the fountain of life;
In Your light we see light.

Matt.24. 12-13

And because lawlessness will abound, 

the love of many will grow cold.

 13But he who endures to the end shall be saved.

2 Tim.2:3

You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ

Hebrews 12:1-3
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,

 let us throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles,

 and let us run with endurance the race set out for us. 

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith,

 who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, 

scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 

 Consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners,

 so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

True believers are athletes and soldiers for Christ.

Each day tests faith's fitness and endurance!

Without the whole armour of God we will be unable to

withstand the enemy!

The gift of salvation is not a

kick-back-and-relax,

eat-drink-and-be-merry grace!!

It is warfare

It is a grueling race!

It is not for the faint of heart and soul.

It is impossible without God!

It demands time-out

with head bowed,

to 'be still and know that He is God!' Ps.46:10

It is He who 'restores our souls'! Ps.23

from His rivers of pleasure

and fountain of life! Ps.36:8-9

Want is a great enemy unless it is the

meek want to endure ruthless rivalry

as we 'trust in His holy name'  Ps.33:21

Lord, empower us daily with this declaration of old from Ps. 23

The Lord is my Shepherd;

I shall not want'

Summer's garden offers a smorgasbord of delights,

...but these pale in comparison to what Christ offers through his Word and Spirit.

Want wars with faith, with hope and love

It roars with 'never quite enough'

'Come unto Me' the Saviour pleads

My strength and rest supplies Thy needs

This world unfurls glitter and noise

It boasts a smorgasbord of joys

Each one a wind that passes by

Each one helpless to satisfy

Want tests the will of humankind

Who we love best, heart-soul-and-mind

It tries endurance without pause

Till we too cry, 'Lord, plead my cause' Ps.35

Thy Word, oh Lord, restores the saint

It giveth power to the faint Isa.40:29

It fixes eyes on faith's reward

Endurance waits upon the Lord

 Then casts off  sin's encum'bring snare

For these hinder the gates of  prayer

Where God rallies faith's troops again

To run with endurance. Amen

Do not lose heart; do not despair

But cast upon the LORD each care

Remember when rivals molest

This is but faith's endurance test

© Janet Martin 

Rivals come in all shapes and sizes...

Some bold and blaring;

some like sneaky little foxes!

Let's faithfully seek and trust God who cares for us! 

Let Us Run by Alex MacQueen (Sung by Christina Macmillan)

Oh!! and last but not least... Happy August!

Before The Winepress and Threshing Floor

Wheat harvest is in full swing! 

The 'winnowing fan' is separating the wheat from the chaff!

Many less visible 'harvests' are in full swing too!

John 15: 1-4 & 16

(read the whole beloved chapter HERE)

I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 

 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He [a]takes away; 

and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 

3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.

4 Abide in Me, and I in you. 

As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, 

neither can you, unless you abide in Me...

16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, 

and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, 

and that your fruit should remain: 

that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

James 2:17

So too, faith by itself, if it does not result in action, is dead.

Matthew 3:8
Produce fruit, then, in keeping with repentance...

As we study the ripple effects of carelessness, of sin/ disobedience to God,

its consequence is ghastly, rolling though generations with ease,

if left unchecked,

until the 'pit'-fall once disregarded by a few,

 is so crowded that the awareness of it ceases.

(why is it we are prone to lamenting sin's consequence, 

rather than the origin of the consequence- sin?!)

Wisdom always considers, beyond instant gratification, where the action or choice

if unchecked,  will lead and whether the fruit of it will ultimately,

draw us nearer to God or to the world...

is it a fruit of the Spirit or flesh?

If we have truly repented 

and if we truly love

our Saviour, then fruit in keeping with repentance

will/must be evident!! 

We live in a pleasure-driven age with exorbitant amounts of money

poured into the fleeting fruitlessness of many-a-joy toy...

Oh pray we never let the 'thorns/things' choke out the desire for God;

the Giver of every good and perfect gift!

We don't need to be wealthy to afford the gifts He promises to all

who hunger and thirst after righteousness.

'they shall be filled.' Matt.5:6,

while, the opposite is true when it comes to feeding carnal appetites;

the more we feast, the more we starve! 

If we are rooted in Good Soil we will grow and bear fruit...

Years ago one of the families I did childcare for, 

generously built/gifted me an arbour

and some grapevines, after I casually mentioned to them 

in a gardening conversation that someday I would LOVE to have a grape arbor.

What grand anticipation followed the planting of the vines!

but, nothing happened!!

For three years I watched as each spring a few valiant leaves appeared, 

assuring me there was still some life in the vine,

but it only ever survived each season, rather than thrived! 

Suddenly it dawned on me that perhaps the arbor is too close to

the black walnut trees bordering the neighbor's property!

Sure enough, only wild grapes are juglone tolerant!

In disappointment I dug them up and carelessly plopped them in a hole

in my 'miscellaneous' flowerbed assuming by the looks of them

that this time there was no life remaining...

I was wrong!

Finally the thing that hampered their growth was removed 

and they leaped from the earth like a visual hymn!

thankfully, wisteria is unbothered by juglone!

(walnut tree beauties in background)

the mouth may boast a myriad of profound piety

but fruit will always tell the truth of fig or thistle tree 

how careful then, we ought to heed, before the consequence

the seeds we strew, of righteousness or disobedience 

...because, no matter what we say, our actions do not lie

Who we live for is proven by the one we most deny;

the God of love or god of self; no one can serve two Lords/lords

And by the fruit the tree is known; not by the wind of words

    Producing fruit in keeping with repentance, none can do

apart from the True Vine; then call on Him; He helps us to

endure the painful pruning of the Vinedresser, before

the Grim Authentication of winepress and threshing-floor 

 

Janet Martin

Ps.33:18-22

Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,

On those who hope in His mercy,

19 To deliver their soul from death,

And to keep them alive in famine.

20 Our soul waits for the Lord;

He is our help and our shield.

21 For our heart shall rejoice in Him,

Because we have trusted in His holy name.

22 Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us,

Just as we hope in You.

Trying to Take It All In

On Saturday at my nephew's wedding he commented in his speech 

how he and his wife were 'trying to take it all in'- 

this beautiful beginning to 'till death doth part'! 

This statement echoed a sentiment I seek to live by, 

but never more so as in the past year!! 

Death, esp. sudden death, which my family, church family and local community 

have experienced like never before in my recollection,

 has re-impacted me with the awareness of the sacred brevity of it all 

and how nothing stays the same for every long,

and how, because none of us knows the number of our ordained days,

we should endeavor daily to take to heart the humble, holy, whole duty of man.

The 'whole duty of man' is also a 'till death doth part ' undertaking! 

Eccles.12:13

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:

 Fear God, and keep his commandments: 

for this is the whole duty of man.

After a week of vacation followed by Saturday's beautiful wedding 

I told my sister this morning that in today's poem

 'I'm trying to snare the bitter-sweetness of love

that always climaxes on days like Saturday',

 especially after a week of more-precious-than-ever family time.

One of vacation's highlights;  dock-breakfasts!

Beauty and brokenness sparkle and shatter

Rushing like waves across shorelines within

Trying The Conclusion of the Whole Matter

That Mortal shoulders beneath shrouds of skin

While we are trying to take it all in

College is not learning’s sole institution

Wisdom and knowledge are not the same thing

Wonder and sorrow, with clashing profusion

Author both worship and Want’s groan and grin

While we are trying to take it all in

Praise God whose thoughts and ways confound man’s reason

Praise God who grants all we hold and let go

Praise God who orchestrates time’s ordained seasons

Who is not mocked; we will reap what we sow

While bitter-sweetly Farewell braves Hello

...while we are weathering love’s grueling glories

Tasting the ink of its laughter and tears

Kicking its dust that soon settles in stories

Added to archives of fond yesteryears

While morning breaks that which soft disappears

Darling, the dew of dusk startles dream-dancers

Beauty and brokenness sparkle and spin

While some are armed with youth’s untested answers

Others renew seasoned vows to begin

To never stop trying to take it all in

© Janet Martin