For What His Grace Allots...(and update on my niece)

Life is beautiful (even in the broken)

Is it not the broken that enhances the beauty?!

(see end of post for update on my niece)

Life is not perfect.

Love is far from perfect

(though we have Jesus who demonstrated perfect love toward us)

we are broken people each in our own personal situations of

'try, try again' to make the best with what we have.

Life's road is full of ruts

It can be easy to get stuck in one without realizing it;

attitudes, habits, etc.

But with each morning comes God's mercies renewed

and fresh grace and opportunity to do the best with what we have.

Futile to look to the neighbors garden wishing for their lot/plot...

(the above is the part I wrote this morning 

before Duty took over and turned it into an evening post)

this little tot is simply peering through the fence to enjoy the view!

So I decided to join her and just enjoy it too💖

futile to peer over the fence to pine for greener lot/plot

and overlook due diligence wishing for what is not

nor is there any common sense on looking back too long

today becomes the recompense tomorrow hinges on

what does it profit you or I to wallow in dismay

what matters now is how we tie up loose ends of Today

before it is too late to make the most of what will be

The Past when twilight bars the gates where today used to be 

the same sun sets and rises on a world of fellowmen 

the whetting stone of life's surprises vexes our ken

where some will bless and some will curse and some will just stand by

for better or for worse each circumstance waits our reply 

sometimes a little stumble jolts us to reality

and helps to keep us humble in the opportunity

where, pray we honor Providence with what His grace allots

rather than peer over the fence and pine for greener plots

Janet Martin

1 Pet. 4:10-11

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, 

as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 

 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. 

If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides,

 so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. 

To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. 

Amen.

Update on my niece who suffered

multiple injuries in an accident almost 2 weeks ago...

The doctors are amazed at her progress!

Yesterday she was released from Sick Kids

and granted permission to go home for a few days 

before starting rehab next week!

She still tires very easily.

She turns 15 tomorrow!

We are so happy for her to be able to celebrate this

milestone at home with her family!

No visitors allowed (due to Covid-risks)

and prayers for continued healing appreciated! 

We are very thankful for the healing

God's grace has allotted so far!

Transformation Process Blessing

Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Romans 12:2

'Although this transformation process is ongoing,

often has more stops and starts than a train ride,

the process helps us understand what God wants for our lives.'

Excerpt from today's Daily Bead Devotion; Joyful Learning

The above excerpt made me kinda laugh and cry inwardly, a bit

cause it sure is a jolting stop-and-go journey isn't it?!!

With lots of  ups-a-daisies after stumbles/falls

 to accomplish the transformation, but...

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering,

for He who promised is faithful.

Heb.10:23

So to/through the God who cracks the morning sun like a fresh egg...

..into a sky-wide frying pan,

to/through He who knows us inside and out,

and loves us all the more because of it

on we go...

Dear Lord,

With love learned patiently

With grace and gratitude

With kindness and humility

May our minds be renewed

With diligence and joy

With peace and faithfulness

With hope, for nothing can destroy

Your Truth and promises

Through You, Creator of

The heavens and the earth

Through you, who taught us how to love

And offers us rebirth

…as we are washed within

By the blood of Your Son

Then You, if we confess our sin

Forgives them, every one

Through You, faithful and just

With joyful gratitude

As You turn doubt and fear to trust

May our minds be renewed

Amen

© Janet Martin

Most of us bear

some sort of Unspoken Broken

but

"We can still rise in the face of hopelessness —

because we are still held in the arms of God."

From When You Want a Different Timeline&

The Story Is Hard

by Ann Voskamp

Crux of Compulsion...

 

Whether to the beat of a city street...

or beneath blue-eyed smile of a country mile

...something compels us to keep trying!

What compels us to keep trying

What propels us on and up

On front-lines of selfless dying

What refurbishes life’s cup

What makes sacred, duty’s mission

And its yoke of common task

What kindles renewed ambition

As morn pours from mercy’s flask

What brings purpose and devotion

To life’s daily grind and fuss

What adds music to the motion

Pray, is it Christ’s love in us?

He, who makes us new, while living

He who died then rose again

Does His love, kind and forgiving

Compel us to follow Him

© Janet Martin

For the love of Christ compels us…

2 Cor.5:14

Through highs and lows

God's grace bestows

all that we need,

My dear,

to succeed!

Whether to the beat

of a city street

or beneath blue-eyed smile

of a

 country mile

Whether street-light bright

or star-light dim

All walks of life 

eventually

lead to Him

Janet~

It Takes Time (to make a flower)

Yesterday's Daily Bread Devotion included this needful reminder;

Even though trusting Jesus as Savior makes us a new creation,

there’s still some ongoing work the Spirit needs to do.

And it takes time and work 

for Him to accomplish “true righteousness and holiness”

(Ephesians 4:24).

True righteousness and holiness=true beauty!

Do you ever weary of the work and waiting

for the needful hidden heart-art 

before the flower flourishes?

I needed to dust the dahlias.

Something is eating out the bud before it blooms!

The pest-control-pruning-process is vital 

to producing a healthy plume

(earwigs love a good dahlia-feast)

The tendrils of this flower vine needed constant intervention

until they learned to climb

Oh, it takes time to become who, in Christ, we ought to be

The road is riddled with potholes, to true humility

The stumble and the faceplant, though unpleasant helps God turn

A stubborn heart into submission; it takes time to learn

We cannot rush the Hand that wove us in our mother’s womb

Just as it takes time for a bud to break to bare its bloom

So too, it takes time to become the masterpiece of He

Who understands that we are dust and loves us patiently

It takes time to eradicate the nature of the beast

We tend to do the things we hate the most, rather than least

And were it not for God’s compassion for humanity

And His boundless redemption how desolate we would be

If our hope in Christ were for this life alone, alas

How pitiful and futile then would be man’s days like grass

But because Christ has risen from the dead, we too shall rise

Thus, we revere the time it takes to prepare for the Prize

…for it takes time to learn to love, to let Beauty unfold

To purify the motive of, and crucify the old

So when we feel discouraged by hope’s hurdles and mistakes

Remember, this is just the heart-art/heart-part before the bud breaks

© Janet Martin

Psalm 103:13-18

As a father pities his children,

So the Lord pities those who fear Him.

14For He [a]knows our frame;

He remembers that we are dust.

15As for man, his days are like grass;

As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.

16For the wind passes over it, and it is [b]gone,

And its place remembers it no more.

17But the mercy of the Lord

 is from everlasting to everlasting

On those who fear Him,

And His righteousness to children’s children,

18To such as keep His covenant,

And to those who remember His commandments to do them.

Exactly Where We Are

Heb.12:1-2

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,

 let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us,

 and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

  2looking unto Jesus, the [a]author and [b]finisher of our faith, 

who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, 

and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

I was convicted by the testimony from a suffering Christian in Afghanistan

who has committed to stay, even if granted the opportunity to leave,

 lest a soul could potentially be witnessed to

that might be lost eternally because they have not yet come to saving faith!

Oh, that we would all have such a commitment of faithfulness to our calling 

and such love for fellowman, exactly where we are!

Yet not I, but Christ in Me City Alight

Lord, be in us a Light so we may be a shining star

Help us be faithful in the fight exactly where we are

So many ways to spend our days and entertain a thought

Lord, keen in us conviction’s blaze to love the things we ought

…to be compassionate and kind; not bent on selfish quest

But ever keeping first in mind our mission and its test

We are all called to fight the fight until Death’s lowered bar

Then help us be a faithful Light exactly where we are

For we are encompassed by a great cloud of witnesses

Lord, help us throw off all that hinders and entangles us

Instill in us pure purpose as we seek to fix our eyes

On the joy set before us, ever pressing to its Prize

Time, like a spark that upward flies soon disappears from sight

Lord, help us be prudent and wise as we redeem its flight 

Then, fitted by Your Word let us not dread love's battle-scar

But help us to be faithful Lord, exactly where we are

© Janet Martin

If I Were An Onion...

2 Peter 1:8

For if you possess these qualities and continue to grow in them, 

they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive

 in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Pet.3:18

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

 To him be glory both now and forever! 

Amen.

Seeds that don't grow or bear fruit are good-for-nothing.

Which onion are we?

The onions I planted this year have not grown at all!

As I started pulling them in disappointed frustration

the thought struck me. 

Is this what God will pluck up when my life is over

or will I be a big, round Fruitful Onion?

(like the ones I purchased)

What a waste and pity

Seeds that never sprout

Always just a gritty-bitty

Shadow of a doubt

What a futile effort

After sun and rain

Not even a hint of fruit

Planted, but in vain

What a shameful outcome

Fruitless all the way

Still the same at harvest-time

As on planting day

© Janet Martin

John 15:2

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

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

 

What A Love!

 

Today, for some Christians, Lent begins.

This meditation is a reflection

to remind us we give

because
we have been given!

How does one select only one,

from a vast collection of amazing renditions of this song; 

Amazing Grace

Redemption, what a word 

Released from a debt we incurred 

Forgiveness signed by blood of He 

Who authored sky and sod and sea 

And died upon a cross for us 

Redeemed from sin by Him, Jesus 

Salvation, what a gift 

Divine atonement spans the rift 

That began when Adam and Eve 

Were ripe and ready to deceive 

When doubting God, they ate the fruit 

That He forbade, and sin took root 

Grace, mercy’s uttermost 

Saved, not by works lest any boast 

But for man’s universal Fall 

He sealed our pardon once for all 

And will our every sin forgive 

To all who repent, look, and live 

Hope, what a glorious goal

Awaits faith's death-victorious soul

No one can add or take away

What Christ accomplished on that day

When from death to life He arose

Triumphant over Eden's woes

Jehovah, what a God 

Demons tremble and saints applaud 

He who is coming back again 

But not even angels know when 

We will behold heavens ablaze 

With Son of Man, Ancient of Days 

© Janet Martin 

Someday, Forevermore or Bond of Freedom

(for we who share the bond of freedom in Christ)

For now we are apart but someday

worshippers will sing together forever and ever!

This first song is very fitting for the times we are in

(worth the while to read the translation)

Simon & Max Khorolskiy - Не грусти, не рыдай

FILL MY CUP, LORD | THE LIVING STONES QUARTET

 

Glorify Thy Name

 

1 Thess.4:16-18

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, 

with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, 

and the dead in Christ will rise first. 

After that, we who are still alive and are left 

will be caught up together with them 

in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. 

And so we will be with the Lord forever. 

Therefore encourage one another with these words.

From sea to sea and shore to shore we who believe are bound 

By a sweet and communal cord of common, holy ground 

The blood that washes sinners clean and sets the cursed soul free 

Is Mercy’s universal vein that binds God’s family 

Salvation, wrought through Jesus Christ is our saving faith 

His death, to pay the debtor’s price no offering could erase 

For blood of bulls and rams could not atone and justify 

Only a Perfect Lamb, the Son of God could satisfy 

And by His outpoured blood we are unified far and wide 

To be the family of God; His pure and spotless bride 

Not by our works (lest we would boast) but by the grace of He 

Who gave his uttermost upon the cross of Calvary 

From sea to sea and shore to shore, while onward ages roll 

A beautiful, mutual yoke binds soul to soul to soul 

Of we who are freed from death’s sting through He came to save 

Because He died and rose again, Christ has conquered the grave 

Jesus fulfilled salvation’s plan, His name above all names 

Has given to the soul of man, hope, without guilt’s past claims 

Redemption is the joy we share, His love the song we sing 

In universal praise and prayer to Jesus Christ our King 

© Janet Martin 

Universal Call/Cross

Wherever He Leads I'll Go

(can you whole-heartedly and honestly sing the hymn below without reserve?!)

Sometimes I feel like a hypocrite when I sing it.

I tend to get kinda stuck in My Ways😒

Taking up our cross and following...

Nothing speaks quite so powerfully as a person's choices.

When we watch someone lay all of their own personal desires

on the altar of daily sacrifice to wholly follow Him.

We have a young man with a young family who is about to start fulltime

service at our church after leaving a secure job to answer God's call.

Will you pray for him (Andreas) and his family in this leap  step of faith...

And while you do could you add another man (Gary) and his family to your prayers,

joining our church family in January.

The rebuilding at WBC, around the hole Ron left begins...

Matt. 16:24 

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, 

let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.

Luke 9:23

Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, 

let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.

There is a universal call to all who love God’s Son 

Though He has paid the debt for sin the cost has just begun 

For all who follow in His steps must be willing to die 

To the desires of the flesh and their own will deny 

There is a cross not made of wood that we are called to take 

To do the things disciples should for their dear Master’s sake 

Not to adhere to high decrees some prominence to prove 

But to follow where His call leads with no motive/credit but love 

There is a thorough reckoning that someday will come due 

Where reply to His beckoning is more than verbal spew 

Whether we are courageous or remain somewhat aloof 

Our answer spills in pages we fill up with Living Proof 

There is a universal call to repent and believe 

And oh, how very beautiful is Faith’s Gift we receive 

Where, though Redemption’s price is paid and salvation is free 

The cost is still cross-shaped as we respond to ‘follow Me’ 

© Janet Martin 

A Servant's Song/Prayer

NKJV

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, 

let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.

Matt.16:24

Watching the morning-mist evaporate before my eyes

was a vivid image of this verse

 What is your life? 

You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

James 4:14  

Makes us reevaluate our goals and motives,

doesn't it?!

Lord let my life, whatever be 

Lift up a hymn of praise to Thee 

And let my love, through deed and tongue 

Be poured out in a servant’s song 

Lord, let life’s labour be more sweet 

In worship poured through hands and feet 

Lord, let my soul-hunger be fed 

Through sustenance of Living Bread 

Lord, Thou the Potter, I, the clay 

Oh, let me not despise Thy way 

But in whatever doth betide 

Let Thy peace the storm override 

Dear Lord, this is my humble plea 

Let Your Divine Light flow through me 

Let Your love my flawed love refine 

To make my 'light-house' shine, shine, shine

© Janet Martin 

'Do you want to die and face the Lord 

Knowing you didn’t give Him your best?'

from this message below

The Second step: Growth-Dr. Charles Stanley

 

Blessing In Disguise

'Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. 

For the battle is not yours, but God's.

2 Chron.20:15

On Sunday at Ron's remembrance service

his daughter, powerfully and beautifully sang this song...

Yet Not I But Christ In Me

The battle is the blessing 

Not by trophy’s reward 

But by our hearts confessing 

All honour to the Lord 

How oft the battle pains us 

Yet it is not for naught 

For when life’s struggle drains us 

We find the strength we ought 

Not by our faulty merit 

Do we gain victory 

But by the Holy Spirit 

Christ works through you and me 

If we put on God’s armour 

Then we will be equipped 

To withstand Evil’s Charmer 

And wiles, 'luringly-dipped 

So do not fear the terror 

When foes of faith increase 

But rather fear the error 

If the battle should cease 

Dear Soldier, fight Faith’s rival 

For He who remains true 

The battle is the channel 

That Christ’s power flows through

  

© Janet Martin 

Phil Wickham-Battle Belongs

Quest-Mark

In God's Eyes- Willie Nelson

To fault another for our faults is but to prove where true fault lies

To tally secret sacrifices is to forfeit giving’s prize

To give up before we are finished is to fail; try, try again

For we are all still works in progress; no best effort wrought in vain

Life tests the best of good intent to weigh the measure of the man

That wrestles with deep woes and wants that vex the taunts of dream and plan

To fight against all odds takes more than we can muster on our own

Where lesser gods with winks and nods pretend one true God to dethrone

To turn the other cheek is not a response that comes naturally

The one and only way we may is through utter humility

To make the most of what we have is to focus on what remains

Till choice is tendered to the grave and soul will reap its endless gains

We cannot hold a grudge and yet somehow be all that we can be

Enough to let God be the judge; He knows more than the part we see

For he beholds the heart; then let love be our daily enterprise

Lest in the quest of doing good we miss the mark and true love dies

© Janet Martin

Romans 7:21-25

So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 

For in my inner being I delight in God’s law;  but I see another law at work in me,

waging war against the law of my mind 

and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.  

What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?  

Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!

All Part of the Pack That Yearns...for Happiness

 Inspired in part, by this: How To Show Up in Beirut as the Hands of Jesus

Need gapes at every turn; will we cast a blind eye
We, all part of the pack that yearns for love and food-supply
No one beneath, above; more deserving or less
Of that which bequeaths love; the common ground of happiness
The Golden Rule, my dear, thus everyone should heed
To feed the poor and dry the tear and minister to need

…need gapes at every turn; will we cast a blind eye
We, all part of the pack that yearns for love and food-supply…

© Janet Martin

 

 The Golden Rule; Matthew 7:12
So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them,

 On a personal note:

(I'm struggling to learn the new format of blogger's dashboard,
far more phone than desk-top computer friendly!!)
so if things come up a little wonky, 

apparently what shows on my screen is not always what shows on a phone screen!