Showing posts with label Ecclesiastes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ecclesiastes. Show all posts

Friday, May 27, 2022

Sacred, Fleeting Season

Suddenly, as I worked on this post, I couldn't stop weeping
for all the precious children of the world!
(How often it is the innocent who suffer
where innocence untaught 
grows up not knowing 
what they know not)

How sacred is the virgin soil
Of childhood's innocence ...


It is no mere coincidence that a child loves to hear about Jesus!
Every child in my childcare has shown me unbridled delight as we pause
before lunch to thank God for our food with this little prayer

God is great, God is good
Let us thank Him for our food
By His hands we all are fed
Thank-you Lord, for daily bread
Amen

From wide-eyed curiosity of a one-year old to eventually joining in,
 their faces beam with pure joy from pure hearts
as we thank God!
(and oh, the glorious conversations this little prayer sparks๐Ÿ’—๐Ÿ™)

On the inside cover of  a vintage version of The Pilgrim's Progress


 is this certificate of acknowledgement to honor the recipient of the reward.


Imagine if we still handed out such noble literature in our public schools
 as rewards to students!

Today students in this system,  
as tender as 5 years old 
(if the teacher chooses to comply)
are taught/groomed to dispute the indisputable...
He created them male and female, 
and blessed them 
and called them Mankind 
in the day they were created. 
Gen.5:2

Jesus answered, "Have you not read that from the beginning 
the Creator 'made them male and female,'

However, from the beginning of creation,
 'God made them male and female.'

...and we wonder at the chaos and confusion of this age?!!
where by and large, the world has turned its back on God?!!
and ignores His everlasting Word?!!
Where defiled hearts defile innocence?!!

Evil as surely as good 
recognizes the sacred, fleeting season of childhood!

How sacred is the virgin soil
Of childhood's innocence  
How terribly accountable
Each one who tills and plants

Where evil as surely as Good
Recognizes this truth;
The fleeting season of childhood 
Soon sheds its tender youth

How then, we ought to sift the seeds 
That fall, so they will sprout 
A goodly crop, to choke the weeds
Of heresy and doubt 

Before planting time, brief and fair
Slips from the supple limb   
Remember the Creator, ere
They find no joy in Him

Janet Martin

"H-m-m! He's got one too!"
exclaimed Innocent Granddaughter at her observation
during little boy's diaper-change.
"Just like my baby brother!"

'Yes' I replied.
'that means he's a boy! 
If you 'got one' you're a boy!
If you don't, you are a girl!
God made it that simple and easy to figure out
and don't ever let anyone tell you any different!'

(Believe it or not, these unthinkable conversations are important today!!)

Eccles. 12 NASB
Remember God in Your Youth

12 Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, 
before the evil days come and the years approach 
when you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”
; 2 before the sun and the light,
 the moon and the stars are darkened, 
and clouds return after the rain; 
3 on the day that the watchmen of the house tremble, 
and strong men are bent over, 
the grinders stop working because they are few, 
and those who look through [a]windows grow [b]dim; 
4 and the doors on the street are shut 
as the sound of the grinding mill is low, 
and one will arise at the sound of the bird, 
and all the daughters of song will [c]sing softly. 
5 Furthermore, people are afraid of a high place 
and of terrors on the road; 
the almond tree blossoms, 
the grasshopper drags itself along, 
and the caper berry is ineffective. 
For man goes to his eternal home 
while the mourners move around in the street. 
6 Remember your Creator before the silver cord is [d]broken 
and the golden bowl is crushed, 
the pitcher by the spring is shattered 
and the wheel at the cistern is crushed; 
7 then the dust will return to the earth as it was, 
and the [e]spirit will return to God who gave it. 
8 “Futility of futilities,” says the Preacher, “all is futility!”

9 In addition to being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge;
 and he pondered, searched out, and arranged many proverbs.
 10 The Preacher sought to find delightful words and to write words of truth correctly.

11 The words of the wise are like [f]goads, 
and masters of these collections are like driven nails; 
they are given by one Shepherd. 
12 But beyond this, my son, be warned: 
the [g]writing of many books is endless, 
and excessive study is [h]wearying to the body.

13 The conclusion, when everything has been heard, is: 
fear God and keep His commandments, 
because this applies to every person. 
14 For God will bring every act to judgment, 
everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.





Friday, January 14, 2022

Of Glint and Fray


It is impossible 
to return
to undo 
or redo
what we would do
differently 
if given the chance

All we can do
is the best 
we can do
with what we hold
today...


This๐Ÿ’–๐Ÿ’–๐Ÿ’– (do you remember those dream-sweet play-days?)๐Ÿ’˜




Lots of little flash-back moments as the tots of today
dust off the toys of yesterday
and fill them with starry-eyed pleasures once again,
as the little hands that used to play with them are now 
juggling the demands and responsibilities
of growing up

Timeless thrills...


The beginning...
I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; 
and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind.
Eccles.1:14

The conclusion...
Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter:
 Fear God and keep his commandments, 
for this is the duty of all mankind.
Eccles.12:13


Ah, life the way it used to be
Gleams like a summer, sun-kissed sea
Cupped in a sigh, a memory
A vault of yesterdays
Whilst look, the dark above us dims
Like brook-song, morning’s skyline brims
A canticle of hopes-whims-hymns
Shimmers on untouched trays

…with friendship waiting to be made
With Duty’s common promenade
With Poetry’s awed escapade
With high five and low blow
With mercy and sufficient grace
With smile upon a loved one’s face
With hand to hold and dream to chase
With wonderment and woe

…with turning older, tick by tock
Yet, learning not to watch the clock
But rather where and how we walk
While Time is on our side
To try to taste full flavors of
The subtle nuances of love
And to never get quite enough
Of moments not yet tried

While dust to dust and ash to ash
Waits to reduce its starry splash
And slow the feet that dance and dash
Through childhood’s greenest green
Until they too gaze at a sea
Cupped in a sigh, a memory
Of life the way it used to be
Before the years between

Ah, life the way it used to be
Is juxtaposed with you and me
And present opportunity
To tint the glint and fray
That tunes the tide that ebbs and flows
With echo-molded mementos
That wash in pictures we compose
With what we hold today 

© Janet Martin


Thursday, June 17, 2021

Aha, Aha, There Still Is Nothing New (Under the Sun)


Eccles.1:9
What has been will be again,
    what has been done will be done again;
    there is nothing new under the sun.


Where flowers, I think still must be the love language of God...




The wonder in the flaring of first light ere dusk enchants...



It’s nothing new, the scolding of a puppy, garden-wild...


The nurturing and shaping of the green vine of a child...




(So much to be thankful for/aka life, turned this poem into a two day 'adventure')

It’s nothing new, the scolding of a puppy, garden-wild
The nurturing and shaping of the green vine of a child
Still no amount of wishing can undo what has been done
Aha, aha, no, there is nothing new under the sun

Where faithful moms and dads are heroes seldom hailed or cheered
Where love’s lifetime commitment is oft not glory-veneered
Where patience is a virtue tested and retested, hon
Aha, aha, no there is nothing new under the sun

Deception’s fraud still masquerades as fruit to make us wise
God is not mocked; He keeps his promises, in spite of lies
We grow to be astonished at how swift time’s seasons run
Aha, aha, there is still nothing new under the sun

The words a poet snares to shape into new twists of rhyme
Are wheedled from the fathoms of a fount as old as time
As we seek to bring honour to Author of sky-sea-sod
Where flowers, I think still must be the love language of God

The noise and joys of little boys and girls chock-full of vim
Like June before the countenance of summer starts to dim
The way a day can fade before it has barely begun
Aha, aha, no, there is nothing new under the sun

The hunger in our bearing for something Time never grants
The wonder in the flaring of first light ere dusk enchants
The awe as nature's shuttle whirs and Beauty's best is spun 
Aha, aha, there is still nothing new under the sun

A time to plant, a time to reap, a time to live and die
A time to laugh, a time to weep as the Soul learns to fly
*Where time still crawls while watching clocks and waiting for someone
Aha, aha, no there is nothing new under the sun

The conclusion of life’s matter has not altered its plan
‘Fear God and keep His commandments, the whole duty of man’
For God will judge good deeds and bad of each and everyone
Aha, aha, there still is nothing new under the sun

© Janet Martin


Eccles.12:13-14
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: 
Fear God, and keep his commandments: 
for this is the whole duty of man.
 For God shall bring every work into judgment, 
with every secret thing, 
whether it be good, 
or whether it be evil.

*This poem was inspired by the second last line in the second last verse...
(don't ask me why the line landed there.
Sometimes poems have a mind of their own)

It started yesterday morning when Little Girl
who arrived at 6:15 was excited for it to be 9:45 
because she was going to swimming lessons with her cousin.
So, for the next 3.5 hrs. approximately every 5-10 minutes
she would ask 'is my best friend Ellie going to be here soon?'
So cute๐Ÿ’—๐Ÿ’—๐Ÿ’—
(I didn't always answer)๐Ÿ˜‚

"Is my best friend Ellie going to be here soon?"
I'm thinking Gymnastics after swimming lessons???



  

Saturday, December 5, 2020

Quite a Day-and-Night Indictment

Sometimes dawn is a gray slate,


..and sometimes a scroll of molten pink and gold!


...but always the same God bestows!

Darkness recedes as daylight seeps from deeps unscathed by eyes 
The seamless sweep of moments metes new day’s virginal prize 
Time’s treasure trove of push and shove and Love’s stumble-pocked chase 
Is overflowing with the glowing Evidence of grace 

The darksome lid of Said-and-Did lowered and sealed its cask 
Where what seems hidden is soon bidden to some fellow’s flask 
There is a spigot in the frigate filled with gated shores 
And from the drum of Said-and-done its gravid gumption pours 

This breath of life is like a knife where strife and hunger test 
Its death-doomed roar with birth once more in tours form east to west 
Where Hope, abreast dawn’s maiden quest that soon begets farewell 
Will help us cope while moments slope toward Heaven or hell 

This daily grace none can retrace, laced with most Sacred Fact 
Is like a barge laden with Charge, life-at-large keeps intact 
Darkness recedes while Someone heeds the needs none can outfox 
Soul, hidden in a skiff of rag-thin skin, sutured by clocks 

Tick-tock, tick-tock, stitching and unravelling synchronized 
The boon of morning, noon and night, a schooner, Mercy-prized 
Its journey to, nay, through the grave, may seem sustained on sod 
But it is quite a day-and-night-indicted trek to God 

© Janet Martin 

Sometimes I like to take rhyming challenges to the limits...
It isn't perfect, but was still a thrill to try.

 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

“Vanity[a] of vanities,” says the Preacher;
“Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.
What profit has a man from all his labor
In which he [b]toils under the sun?4 
One generation passes away, and another generation comes;
But the earth abides forever.5 
The sun also rises, and the sun goes down,
And [c]hastens to the place where it arose.6 
The wind goes toward the south,
And turns around to the north;
The wind whirls about continually,
And comes again on its circuit.7 
All the rivers run into the sea,
Yet the sea is not full;
To the place from which the rivers come,
There they return again.8 
All things are [d]full of labor;
Man cannot express it.
The eye is not satisfied with seeing,
Nor the ear filled with hearing
That which has been is what will be,
That which is done is what will be done,
And there is nothing new under the sun.


Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
Fear God and keep His commandments,
For this is man’s all.
14 
For God will bring every work into judgment,
Including every secret thing,
Whether good or evil.



Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Case You Wonder If You're The Only One...




PAD Challenge day 4: For today’s prompt, take the phrase “Case (blank);” replace the blank with a word or phrase; make the new phrase the title of your poem; and then, write your poem. Possible titles include: “Case of Water,” “Case in Point,” “Case Study,” and “Case of the Missing Person.”
I hope everyone has a case of easy poeming today!
 
 What has been will be again,
    what has been done will be done again;
    there is nothing new under the sun.
Eccles.1:9
 
 


…in case you wonder if you’re the only one?
There is nothing, nothing new under the sun
Everything new is but the jaded roar
Of everything said and done before

On time-tried ways to growing old
There is nothing new for us to behold
Still, aren’t you glad there will always be
The wonderful bliss of discovery?

Sometimes for a time, we feel quite set apart
As we weather the weather that weathers the heart
Then, when we wonder if this has been said, felt or done
Remember, there is nothing new under the sun

© Janet Martin


Thursday, April 24, 2014

Tell it to Yourself





PAD Challenge day 24: make your title; Tell it to(fill in the blank) then write your poem

…because the chariot of fire that sweeps the sky
Soon fades beneath vesper lullaby
With shadows sketched on the old stone wall
Where once a barn stood tall, but fall
And winter-spring-summer have taken their toll
Still, we tell ourselves we are not so old
And being mature is fine, like wine
And we tell ourselves that we don’t mind
The evidence of ‘wisdom’ where
Once raven tresses pleased our stare
Before the understanding of
Ecclesiastes bared its proof
And suddenly we realize
Truth is immutable; the lies
We told ourselves when we were young
Have borne their fruit; and we were wrong
Though Knowledge tricked us for awhile
Nothing has power to beguile
Time’s merry moments from its clocks
As years fall prey to soldered locks
Of air; though we rebel no one can fight
This swell of morning-noon-to-night
The Equalizer of a man
Comes once to all; a subtle hand
And then one day we say it, small
Our parents were right after all’

© Janet Martin


Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Vexation of Thought



 

To what end then will you come, little thought
Teasing the mind with breath-flickers of light
Are you but a chasing of wind-whispered naught
Vexing bridge-builders and dreamers alike?

Sometimes you come to me; beggar within
Stripping my being of its wearied moil
You press; mighty torrent beneath silent skin
Weighing the meaning of life’s little spoil

Pleasure and torment succinctly align
Where is the fount from which you abound?
Gentle, yet ruthless, in formless design
Affirming, condemning without merest sound

To what end then will you come, little thought?
Circle of wanting, of wonder and will
Wielding your power in unscripted jot
As hands and feet your bidding fulfill

Understanding increases your void
Wisdom vexes what cannot be grasped
As I consider your passion employed
Only to fall like dust fragments at last

Apart from the One who instills mankind’s soul
Apart from a Knowing that cannot be taught
I could not bear the mind of this fool
Or the ineptness of my little thought

© Janet Martin

I'm reading in Ecclesiastes right now. This verse sums it up; all of life's vanity and chasing of the wind... for without him, (God) who can eat or find enjoyment? Eccles. 2:25 If what we do is simply an extension of thought seeking to please self we will never be satisfied.






Tuesday, July 17, 2012

In Time We See




In time we see
The author of Ecclesiastes
Is right
There is nothing new under the sun
All is day
All is night
What man contrives with gifted breath
For his allotted hours
Is nothing more than life to death
Beneath temporal bowers
We would be wise to honor then
This sagacious advice
To remember the Creator when
Evil has not enticed
The heart from God to lusts of men
And foolish sacrifice
...someday
We will bow before God to explain
Our loves and lusts to Him
Repentance then will be in vain
As we recall what could have been
More important than this wise truth
To remember our Creator
In the days of our youth…

Janet Martin