Epiphany of the (Seeming) Commonplace

This passage in yesterday's devotion was the perfect gift 

for someone near and dear to me

facing a vale of shadows...

Isa.43:1-3

But now, this is what the Lord says—

he who created you, Jacob,

he who formed you, Israel:

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;

I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

 When you pass through the waters,

I will be with you;

and when you pass through the rivers,

they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire,

you will not be burned;

the flames will not set you ablaze.

 For I am the Lord your God,

the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;

All around us the seeming Commonplace 

spills from a fount of redeeming grace!

 A few glimpses of yesterday and today's un-commonplace

A new favourite tea thanks to a Christmas gift!

Sipping while enjoying another snow-capped morning...

The eyes that open to behold the break of day, blue-gray, blush-gold

Or the beloved presence of the people whom we dearly love

(off to school)

To be…to be stunned by the grace and beauty of The Commonplace

The task that moves the mobile hand, the feet that function when we stand

The eyes that open to behold the break of day, blue-gray, blush-gold

Or the beloved presence of the people whom we dearly love

To be, though ineffably flawed, a sacred masterpiece of God

Each breath, a shimmer spilling rife from He who fills the rill of life

And rushes mortality through with Immortal, none can undo

His goodness never wanes or fails no matter what vexes or ails

To let The Commonplace confound, stirred by a symphony of sound

The birds, the breeze, the merchant cry of toil until life’s rill runs dry

But until then to pay kind heed to instruments of word and deed

And with motherly love embrace the holy, seeming Commonplace

To be beholden to faith’s Charge to trust God with cares small and large

To don the warmly woven shrouds, to brave the bite of brumal clouds

Or to meet round a table where heads bow in sweet and humble prayer

As gladness overflows heart-banks as thought is overcome with thanks

As logic is utterly awed as we consider man and God

And how the beauty of the earth does not depend on human worth

(For how bereft beauty would be if it was up to you and me)

But Beauty smiles in every face that celebrates the Commonplace

The canvas of the heavens stretched from skyline-to-skyline, mauve-etched

The music of four season’s worth of wonder, melting want with mirth

The wealth of five senses designed to enrich the most mundane grind

Anoints the seeming Commonplace with the oil of gladness; God’s grace

…so when the Commonplace is tried with precious hopes and dreams denied

The Giver of the font and fray of unframed prints that fall away

Day after day, does not forget His promises, but cups each Yet

In hands, scarred with the price of grace that sanctifies The Commonplace

The sacred, solemn Commonplace, the seemingly meaningless chase

In the light of God’s beck and call is never Commonplace at all

Then mind the corner where you are for, we serve He who lights each star

He who grants each new day of grace is anything but Commonplace

Lord, forgive me, when faith is frail and yields to fear and doubt's travail 

Lord, let love’s pow'r be undeterred through the Truth of your changeless Word

Lord, let Thy perfect peace transform and take The Commonplace by storm

And let pure worship’s hymn resound; 'this place we stand is holy ground’

This joy, this grief , this day brand-new, this warm handshake and how-are-you

This hardship-ordered change of pace is anything but Commonplace

If we look past the part we see (the gasp before eternity) 

And recognize each grin and groan is a back-to-God steppingstone

Janet Martin 

The Ongoing Quandary of Poetry (to write or not to write)

 

Yesterday one of my lovely and thoughtful friends gifted me with a beautiful book

 of a poem-a-day for a year, written by a local man I know of, though do not know personally. 

In the first poem entitled To Write or Not to Write he tugged a tender chord in my own heart 

as he battled with the desire to be a good steward of a calling from the One who weaves us together

 in our mother’s womb, without appearing as if we think we have all the answers!

 ‘Yet not to write would build up tension’ he writes. 

Every writer/poet/lyricist knows that tension!!

So, we continue to seek courage and guidance from God 

and forgiveness and patience from fellowman in this labour of love called Poetry. 

Thank you, Elo Bowman, for having the courage to compile a book 

and encourage fellow poets and fellow-pioneers in/of an age called Today!

Thank-you Paula, for thinking of me when you saw this book!💝

Poetry is personal.

Poetry is pieces of a heart pressed to page

Poetry is prayer bared.

Poetry is pictures snared in script.

Poetry is a cup of tea, but not for all.

Poetry is a tangle of pain and pleasure;

A tango of trial and triumph

A lyric of love and longing

A hymn of heartache and hope;

A hope that somewhere someone was drawn a little closer

To the Giver of every good and perfect gift, 

and thus to Him...

To our One true, good and gracious God be the glory

for every groan grappled

and lilt lassoed,

forever and ever.

Amen!

If poetry was nothing more than fondness for tempo and rhyme

Methinks that ink could ill afford its very precious claim on Time

If by narcissistic grit alone we captured thoughts to press to page

How fickle then the font we hone, how futile the words we engage

Poetry is a warring tug, an ocean borne deep in the soul

The tenure of a tender hug that throbs where unpenned poems roll

The pleasure in Love’s laughing eyes as an elusive wink is snared

The sorrow of summer’s spent prize, life’s ups and downs suffered and shared

Poetry is a battle fought on fields only ink can estrange

A war-cry as want weeps for naught because of what it cannot change

A flicker fanned to sentiment as whispers brave the naked eye

As both critique and compliment are sparked where passion’s embers lie

Poetry is faith over fear; no sneer can quench quixotic sighs

The song and dance of smile and tear, reverberates in creature cries

And should confidantes be denied or should no fellow-friend be found

Poetry reaches far and wide to gather us on common ground

Darling, Twilight is closing in and morrow grants no guarantee

The tide that ebbs and flows within rushes like a vast poem-sea

A fearful and wonderful deep, to dredge once more if God so wills

And by the kindness of His keep to trust Him for the ink that spills

For poetry is a like a voice crying in word-world’s wilderness

And the poet must master choice with Awe’s conscientious finesse

Because poetry will outlive the hand that bares ballad to light

Therefore, it behooves us to give earnest heed to the lines we write

Janet Martin

James 1:17

Every good and perfect gift is from above,

 coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights,

 who does not change like shifting shadows.

Because of The Reason...

Happy New Year!

No matter what 2026 brings

God is faithful and He is good!

Forgetting the things which are behind...

I press onward...Phil. 3:13-14

The dinner is savored, 

the gifts have been given...

The treats have been tasted,

 the memories made...

( this was just before youngest grandson, imitating older brother

 twirled the ornament,  sent it sailing and it shattered 😅)

And gathered like earth-granted glimpses of Heaven

To treasure long after its elements fade...💖

The dinner is savored, the gifts have been given

The treats have been tasted, the memories made

And gathered like earth-granted glimpses of Heaven

To treasure long after its elements fade

The details long planned for and prepped have been scattered

To tinctures and textures in Bygone’s tableau

Sweet Laughter and Longing leave hearts gently shattered

Where all that we hold, we must learn to let go

Life’s commonplace duties restore happy order

We’ve washed up the dishes and swept up the crumbs

While grappling with time’s inevitable charter

From Anticipation to Aftermath’s sums

Till only the Reason for the season lingers

As tinsel and twinkle lights are packed away

How futile the ribbons we tug with our fingers

If Christmas is simply a festive holiday

The music of carols has faded like flowers

Where spent notes and petals comingle, adrift

But, praise God, the Reason for the season showers

Each hour with gladness because of His gift

His gift is a Beacon, an Anchor, a Solace

No matter what was, is, or waits yet to be

The Reason for the season that we call Christmas

Is more than an ornament hung on a tree

Is more than a present soon lost in life’s shuffle

As we shoulder creature cares, constant and real

Where hope, joy and peace are the heart's chocolate truffle

Because of the Reason no season can steal

Janet Martin

The Reason for the season that we call Christmas

Is more than an ornament hung on a tree...

Because Life is a Gift at Best

If only we all loved each other like

little girl besties...

...or as if tomorrow would be too late!

When somebody disappoints us

When a word or action stings

And spite’s bitter brunt anoints us

With retaliation’s flings

Lest perspective is mistaken

And reason misunderstood

Though our happiness is shaken

Let’s repay offense with good

Because love is kind and humble

And keeps no record of wrong

We all sometimes slip and stumble

As we learn to get along

So let’s forgive, without measure

No nursed grudges, unconfessed

Robbing us of holy treasure/pleasure

For life is a gift at best

When malicious retributions

Rush to settle some sad score

Let’s rekindle resolutions

To love one another more

Before the circle is broken

And earth claims its solemn due

Let’s not leave Heaven unspoken

As its Token runs us through

Today grants fresh invitations

To engage in charity  

Love is the healer of nations

Beginning with you and me

Thus we, all in this together

Ought to augment joy and peace

Gathered by time's tender tether

That is destined to release 

Janet Martin

1 Cor.13

If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels,

 but do not have love, 

I am only a resounding gong 

or a clanging cymbal.

 2 If I have the gift of prophecy

 and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge,

 and if I have a faith that can move mountains, 

but do not have love, 

I am nothing. 

3 If I give all I possess to the poor 

and give over my body to hardship

that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, 

I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. 

It does not envy, 

it does not boast, 

it is not proud. 

5 It does not dishonor others, 

it is not self-seeking, 

it is not easily angered, 

it keeps no record of wrongs. 

6 Love does not delight in evil 

but rejoices with the truth. 

7 It always protects, 

always trusts, 

always hopes, 

always perseveres.

8 Love never fails. 

But where there are prophecies, they will cease; 

where there are tongues, they will be stilled; 

where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 

9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 

10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 

11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, 

I thought like a child, 

I reasoned like a child. 

When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.

 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; 

then we shall see face to face. 

Now I know in part; 

then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13 And now these three remain: 

faith, hope and love. 

But the greatest of these is love.

Because God (Still) So Loves The World

Sometimes I am unsure/timid in how/what to share 

of sacred and  intimate glimpses of fellowship

 with my Saviour, yet, in the very same frame of timidity

is a joy so unspeakably precious and empowering because of Jesus,

it cannot be kept to myself;

 a joy that dispels would-be discouragement  

and compels me to love, forgive and trust

with renewed spirit, by the grace of God.

Sometimes our havoc-wreaked spirits can feel like a bit like the

earth appears, in or after a storm, and we need to spend extra time with 

He who is greater in us, than He who is in the world!

Yesterday morning I oohed and aahed 

while Jim watched the weather forecast 

and warned me this hoar frost is going to turn into horror-frost!

Yesterday afternoon my ooh's were a bit more subdued as the ice began to accumulate...

Last night the power went out and all we could do was listen to ominous cracks and crashes!

This morning our power is back on but a lot of harder-hit areas are still out!

I think this is the branch we heard breaking off...

A glimpse at what/Who sustains hope and joy no matter what...

For God so loved the world He did not spare the cruel cost;

But gave Himself;  Jesus, to come and seek and save the lost

Above all else His love pursues, pardons, persists, prevails

To all who call on Him in truth, His answer never fails

Though often we must wait on Him as faith is vexed and tried

For God who loves us so, detests all stumbling blocks of pride

And He knows what is best; beyond the pressing part we see

His perfect will anoints the test with blessed security/victory

Through promises that bind faith's wounds and cheer the heavy heart

He ushers peace into our souls while the world falls apart 

Because, through the knowledge of God, grace and peace multiply

 His divine power every righteous need will satisfy 

 

For God so loved the world, the Mystery of Three in One

Supplied atonement's sacrifice through Jesus Christ His Son

Once and for all, so everyone who repents and believes

Through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, eternal life receives

(because without shed blood there is no forgiveness for sin)

Thus, without faith in Jesus Christ where can true hope begin?

For without God who loves us with an everlasting love

No matter what we seek and find, it will not be enough

To satisfy heart, soul and mind, with perfect joy and peace

Made possible through He whose government will never cease

Therefore, no matter what dread prospect must yet be unfurled

Faith's treasure sweetly cheers  because God still so loves the world

Janet Martin

2 Cor.4:5-9

For we do not proclaim ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, 

and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.

 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”b 

made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light 

of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.c

Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show 

that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us. 

We are hard pressed on all sides, but not crushed;

 perplexed, but not in despair; 

persecuted, but not forsaken; 

struck down, but not destroyed.

1 John 2:2
He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins,

 and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

The Love of God - Mercy Me [With Lyrics]

A Song of Joy

Matt.1:23

“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, 

and they shall call His name Immanuel,” 

which is translated, “God with us.”

From our house to yours greetings and best wishes for  

a Blessed Christmas Day

as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, our Saviour

If God would not have loved this world enough to give His Son

Faith would be futile; the battle that crushed death's head not won

Without the birth of Jesus Christ who came to earth to save

Us from the curse of sin, how vain this sojourn to the grave

If there had been no Saviour born, fulfilling prophecy

If Mary had not trusted and said 'be it unto me'

In vain we all would plead for help and seek for hope to tell

If Jesus Christ had not been born to be 'Immanuel'

To bridge the gap with the long foretold shoot from Jesse's rod

For the impossible is not impossible with God

The Virgin Mary bore a Son, conceived in Mystery

The Babe of Bethlehem, to change the course of history

...for He, would rend the veil that hung twixt mortal and Divine

So all may enter in to break the bread and drink the wine

So all may know the Way, the Truth, the Life, so all may find

Glad tidings of great joy and peace from God to humankind 

This is the day the Lord has made to rejoice evermore

Jesus came to this world to settle and pardon sin's score

So all who repent and believe are freed from death and hell

Glory to God for Jesus Christ our LORD,  Immanuel 

Janet Martin

Rejoice!

Heb.11:1

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for,

the evidence of things not seen.

Away In A Manger

Good Christian Men, Rejoice

Chris Tomlin - O Come, O Come Emmanuel (Lyric Video)

Though sorrow still abounds, God gives us reason to rejoice

Though tragedy confounds and explanation has no voice

Rejoice! And let love’s gladness spill into a hymn of praise

Faith’s Author and perfecter will not fail us, all our days

Though darkened and hardened hearts grope and misled hordes pursue

Rejoice! for Jesus, mankind’s Hope is trustworthy and true

The love that drew salvation’s plan conquered death’s darkest hour

The Name that rescues souls of man will never lose its pow’r

Though death appears the victor of the spoils of life, rejoice!

The grave is not the picture that gives courage to faith’s voice

But the good tidings of great joy, of peace on earth, goodwill

Because Bethlehem’s Baby Boy is mankind’s Savior still

So then rejoice! And glorify the Name above all names

Jesus came to save you and I from death and hell’s dread claims

Come and kneel at the manger where the King of kings was laid

Rejoice! He is no stranger for by Him we all were made

Rejoice! This is no Season-song but wonder’s lifelong hymn

The Gift that keeps faith’s courage strong, the Light no night can dim

No circumstantial evidence can thwart the power of

Jesus, who seals the recompense of faith and hope and love

Janet Martin

O How I Love Jesus | Lydia Walker ft. Doug Ott 

Joy to the World John Berry

Christmas Contemplation/Adoration

Who wends from welkin wellsprings, hues that herald each daybreak?

(This morning is showcasing last night's pom-pom-sized snowflakes!)

Who draws dusk’s deep blue gauze across the earth when day is done?

(Last night my camera lens had trouble focusing on the fluffy frost-plums falling from the sky)

This morning I read this quote;

'Each one of us is an Innkeeper,

who decides if there is room for Jesus!'

Make Room by Casting Crowns featuring Matt Maher (Lyric Video) 

  

Heb.3:15

“Today, if you will hear His voice, 

Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

Each heart is a cradle.

Each heart is a throne

Each heart is a treasure

God yearns, for his own

2 Pet.3:9

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, 

as some understand slowness.

 Instead he is patient with you, 

not wanting anyone to perish, 

but everyone to come to repentance.

Who helps us love each other; both the spiteful and the kind?

Who gives us courage in the face of fear, and cheers the soul?

Who works for our good in ways that never cross the mind?

Who is our faithful Keeper when the storms of trouble roll?

Who fills each day with purpose, no matter how great or small

May seem the merit of the task as we fulfill life’s call?

Who wends from welkin wellsprings hues that herald each daybreak?

Who tends the pastures where flocks feed, and sends both rain and sun?

Who lends us every lease of life; each gifted breath we take?

Who draws dusk’s deep blue gauze across the earth when day is done?

Who calms the heart when we begin to vainly fret and fuss?

The Word, who became flesh and made His dwelling among us

JESUS, who became incarnate to be Atonement’s Lamb

Who manifests hope, joy and peace, and there is none besides

The God of our Salvation, the Immaculate I AM

The King of kings and Lord of lords, our utter need provides

Heaven and earth are His; both Infant’s wail and Lion’s roar

Jesus Christ, the Same yesterday, today and Evermore

He helps us love each other; both the spiteful and the kind

He gives us courage in the face of fear, and cheers the soul

He works for our good in ways that never cross the mind

He is our faithful Keeper when the storms of trouble roll

He fills each day with purpose, no matter how great or small

May seem the merit of the task as we fulfill life’s call

Janet Martin

Of Christmas, Rest and Wintertime (or, with Half-welcome Wonderment)

 Happy Winter Solstice!

...each window framing Christmas cards...

Across the land where summer set grandstands of leafy silhouette

And spread its table with the grace of chamomile and Queen Ann’s lace

Now, with half-welcome wonderment we wake to unflawed filament

Of dazzling stars and diamond shards; each window framing Christmas cards

Wakening hearts to joys forgot while days were dusty, long and hot

And tuning happiness with ways not lost to Bygone’s ‘good, old days’

The bluejay, still sassy and bold, home, still a haven from the cold

The kitchen, still like a warm hug where we fill dinner plate and mug

And remember fond days gone by that bring a teardrop to the eye

Where here and there an empty chair draws tender pictures on the air

Of those we miss with aching heart and then we kiss love’s works of art

And thank the Lord that He saw fit to bless us with love’s precious bit

Ere holding turned to letting go; and now we treasure each ‘hello’

With pleasure, not perceived before we grieved a Farewell-fettered door

And now we take a closer look at pictures in a phantom book

Capturing the tittle and jot that lays another year to naught

Shaping perspective with the ink of berry-blue and blossom-pink

Of dream-hued greens, of golds and reds, of fields tucked in like featherbeds

While learning how to marvel more as season’s skim time’s ballroom floor

Composing ballads, brushed with sage/age, that never bare lyric to page

But make us sweetly, humbly glad for each arpeggio/upsy-daisy we had

Where joy is purer in the wake of holy valleys of heartache

And winter with its surly bite unfurls its showcase of delight

As, with half-welcome wonderment, we smile though we are weather-bent

Embracing life’s unflinching law that unleashes a storm of awe

Soft-wafting flakes and stinging gales, feet blazing knee-deep frigid trails

To gain a pristine point of view where morning fills the old with new

And with half-welcome wonderment find we are growing snow-content

Contented not to understand the whys of winter’s wonderland

The ‘hows’ that howl and hurl the Must of life like swirls of snow and dust

Where love is always unprepared when it comes to sorrow’s soul bared

But faith and hope will always bare/bear the beauty of God’s faithful care

And as the inner child beholds the way that winter white enfolds

The earth beneath a wreath of rest, Longing laughs, feeling like a guest

In a world, though broken and scarred, touching a free-for-all Postcard

As half-welcome wonderment brims, dissolving in no-holds-barred hymns

All hail the pow’r of He who grants each season-gifted song and dance

Praise God for love’s blessings to cheer each up and down throughout year

Exalt the Name that saves us from the dread of cold, dark heathendom

Let winter glisten like a gem in earth’s/faith’s four-season diadem

The fire crackles in the hearth, the chicken cackles with egg-mirth

The oven hosts aromas wild with scents that wake our inner-child

To happiness we oft forget in summer’s leafy silhouette

Of slower pace/grace of frosty clime, of Christmas, rest and wintertime

Janet Martin