Love, or the Lack Thereof...

Jesus, Strong and Kind

Clash of wills when expectations don’t see eye to eye

Word that kills, when untamed tongue wounds with spite’s quick reply

Cup that overflows with sorrow when love is not kind

When love does not ‘suffer long’, with Other first in mind

Hunger is a heart-shaped hollow; want unsatisfied

When we cannot seem to swallow self-important pride

When we find no creature comfort in love’s common test

…of so much to learn about love’s good, better and best

Gentle joy and sweet contentment are love’s fruits, my dear

When forgiveness, not resentment keeps the conscience clear

When the welfare of another sets thought’s tender tone

Aware we leave either stumbling block or stepping stone

To love as we ought to, is impossible to do

Without the example of Love’s Author, kind and true

He is slow to anger, rich in mercy, gracious, good

What a way to live; to love each other as we should

God, who gave the Best He had because He loves us so

Does not leave as helpless, hopeless; by His grace we go

As His love pours through us it transforms wrong attitude

Until all that remains is love's law of gratitude 

© Janet Martin

There Is One Gospel

Psalm 145:8-9

The LORD is gracious and compassionate,

slow to anger and abounding in loving devotion.

9The LORD is good to all;

His compassion rests on all He has made.

Love; The Journey

So much for love to hope for, pray for, and celebrate!

Love is not a feeling, 

but a fulltime labor of compassion, courage, correction and grace!

Love is ever learning and never lazy.

Love is God poured out, in/ through us!

His  loving grace is sufficient for the charge!

1 John 4:7-12

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, 

and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 

8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 

9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, 

that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 

10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us 

and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 

11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 

12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, 

God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

1 Cor.13:7-8

Love...bears all things, 

believes all things, 

hopes all things, 

endures all things.

Love never fails.

I believe in loving the journey 

but an apt twist to this quote would be

Love is the Journey

Love hurts with those who hurt

And laughs with those who laugh

Its noble motive seeks the worth

Of fellowman’s behalf

It hopes and prays and cares

And does not weigh the price

But with a heart of mercy bears

The yoke of sacrifice

Love does not seek its own

Agendas; love is kind

It sets a stable stepping stone

For those foll’wing behind

It heeds earnest rebuke

Love does not boast or lie

Unprejudiced, humble and true

Love measures thought’s reply

Love mourns with those who mourn

And sings with those who sing

Love shares the rose and bears the thorn

Without self-pitying

Love lights joy’s candlestick

Love never, never fails

When grief’s sickle cuts to the quick

God, who IS love prevails

Incarnate and Enough

The Vine sustains the branch

Apart from God, love is not love

But hell's hopeless romance

Love transcends circumstance

Mercy's unthwarted grail

Outpours, in constant sustenance

The love that cannot fail

So, Love the journey Here

With humble, holy laud

Because love is the journey, dear

Back to love's birthplace; 

God

© Janet Martin

John 15:5

“I am the vine; you are the branches. 

If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; 

apart from me you can do nothing.

1 Cor.13:13

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. 

But the greatest of these is love.

Sunrise Reveille For Soul-diers

Arise and shine. God’s love divine beams brighter than the sun

No feckless race is yours and mine that we are called to run

Through hope that maketh not ashamed, because the love of God

By His Holy Spirit acclaimed, in hearts is shed abroad

Do not despair. God’s tender care is faithful to the end

Nothing in this world can compare to Jesus as our Friend

He heals the broken-hearted and instills in us His worth

Faith's every step is guarded by the God of heav’n and earth

Behold the Lamb. The Great I AM who takes away our sins

His Word is not an errant sham; He IS where hope begins

He is the Way, the Truth, the Life; by His grace we are saved

Redemption’s cleansing stream runs rife where Calvary was braved

Trust in the Lord. Who can afford to forfeit deathless soul?

Or doubt the infallible Word undeterred by time’s toll

The Bread of Life none can destroy. The truth that sets us free

Is but the foretaste of the joy that fills eternity

Oh taste and see. This is no fleeting pleasure or delight

The goodness of God will appease heart and soul's appetite 

Hunger and thirst for righteousness rather than worldly laud

Then He who loved us first will bless us with the peace of God

 

© Janet Martin

Rom.5:1-5

Therefore being justified by faith, 

we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

 2By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand,

 and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

 3And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: 

knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 

4And patience, experience; and experience, hope:

 5And hope maketh not ashamed; 

because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts 

by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

 

Love Lyric

Looking forward to another wedding this week (my niece)!

Maybe that's what is drawing me to contemplate the

many-splendored thing;

Love

💝

From the bud of love’s increase

Emerges a glorious flower...

Love scatters the seeds that grow into flowers in the garden of life...

Warren Wiersbe — 'Truth without love is brutality, and love without truth is hypocrisy.'

1 John 4:7

Beloved, let us love one another, because love comes from God. 

Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

1 John 4:16

God is love; whoever abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

In most of the lines in this poem the word 'love' 

could be replaced with the word 'God'

💗🙏

Love rises to the occasion

Fits us for life’s best and worst

Love's resounding adoration

Honors He who loved us first

Love elicits awestruck wonder

Love compels us to proceed

No matter what we encounter

Love will supply our need

Love equips us for each hour

From the bud of love’s increase

Emerges a glorious flower

Faith and hope and joy and peace

Love defies mind's comprehension

Love is oft misunderstood

Because Divine Intervention

Is love working greater good

Love conquers hate’s bitter rancor

In the eye of conflict’s gale

Love is like a steadfast anchor

That will never shift nor fail

Love is gentle, kind and humble

Love is thankful, patient, true

Love does not covet or grumble

Love is God in me and you

Love is a foretaste of Heaven

True love is always enough

By Love's grace we are forgiven

Love is God and God is love

Lord, if all else fails, love never

Let this be faith's comfort sweet

Nothing in this world can sever

Us from love and joy complete

© Janet Martin

It is impossible to truly love

yet disregard God.

To live a loving life is to live an obedient life.

To live in obedience to His commands is true love.

Sometimes love is falsely accused of hate 

because it does not approve or praise 

the disregard to God's Commandments.

Jesus reminds us in the passage below how to love...

John 15:9-17

Love and Joy Perfected

 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. 

 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, 

just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, 

and that your joy may be full.  

This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 

 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. 

 You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. 

 No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing;

 but I have called you friends, 

for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.  

You did not choose Me, but I chose you 

and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, 

and that your fruit should remain, 

that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. 

 These things I command you, that you love one another.

Next door the big tent is coming down.

The Big Event (wedding) is over 

...and though there may be an emotional letdown

after so much excitement and planning 

Love transcends the temporary!

So joy abides because

Love bears all things, 

believes all things, 

hopes all things, 

endures all things.

Love never fails

1 Cor.13:7-8

The Wonder of Enough (or Monday Morning Mantra)

Love's mandates are timeless

As we cry out in our hearts 'what can we do?!'

as we lift up brokenness after brokenness to God in prayer

His reply is now as it was then;

Love one another...

John 15:12

“This is My commandment, that you love one another, 

just as I have loved you.

John 14:15

“If you love me, keep my commands.

Galatians 5:13

For you were called to freedom, brethren;

only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh,

but through love serve one another.

Magnificent, Marvelous, Matchless Love

 

His love poured through us is Enough

Enough to equip us 

for the fight

Enough to convict, forgive, 

to be kind, to be Light

Enough to fulfill

His will, so we pray 

For His love to instill

until we obey

...and love one another

the way we ought

and love one another

the Way He taught

How Deep The Father's Love For Us

Lord, help love be sincere

And help us take to heart

The wonder of Thy love so dear

While the world falls apart

Because it does not know

The Truth that sets us free

The joy that sets the heart aglow

Amidst calamity

Where grace in rich supply

True repentance redeems

Where, morn to morn, mercy’s reply

With renewed favor/fervor streams

Where hope does not bring shame

But anchors blood-bought souls

In the salvation through Thy name

While time’s progression rolls

Toward eternity

When Time will be no more

Where faith will taste the victory

That now we hunger for

When the glass of the law

Dissolves, when face to face

We gaze, with undistracted awe

On Thee, Author of grace

Unhindered then, by cares

When prayerful pleadings cease

When love its final burden bears

When all is life and peace

When grief its dagger drops

When swords to plowshares beat

When from valleys and mountaintops

Worship’s anthems repeat

When everlasting Day

Earth’s shackles will undo

When former things are passed away

And all will be made new

…until then, Lord, through Thee

Let our love be sincere

Help us, with unfeigned fealty

Thy precepts to revere

And take to humble heart

Thy steadfast truth and love

And let Thy promises impart

The wonder of Enough

© Janet Martin

Love's To-do list...

Romans 12:9-21 

9 Love must be sincere. 

Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 

10 Be devoted to one another in love. 

Honor one another above yourselves. 

11 Never be lacking in zeal, 

but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 

12 Be joyful in hope, 

patient in affliction, 

faithful in prayer. 

13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. 

Practice hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 

15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; 

mourn with those who mourn. 

16 Live in harmony with one another. 

Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.

[a] Do not be conceited.

17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil.

Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 

18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 

19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, 

but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: 

“It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”[b] says the Lord. 

20 On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;

if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.

In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”[c]

21 Do not be overcome by evil, 

but overcome evil with good.

Wonder-full Compulsion! Plus Butter Tart Recipe 😋

Sometimes the ho-hums of housework

would not feel like an honor to perform

until we look beyond it's façade 

to love,

and glimpse the face of God

For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus:

that if One died for all, then all died;

and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves,

but for Him who died for them and rose again.

2 Cor.5:14-15

Isn't the Love of Jesus Something Wonderful

Compelled by love for He who gave His all, oh let it be

Drawn with desire to put on dear Christ’s humility

For God so loved the world He gave His Son to pay sin’s debt

He rent the bondage of the grave, oh may we ne’er forget

Compelled by love, to honor He who to self-will did die

To offer ourselves to be love’s penitent reply

Where more than Call of Duty bids us bear life’s yoke and rod

With the unhidden beauty of a heart yielded to/exalting God

Compelled by love, first for our God and then for fellowman

Oh, blissful state as we applaud, through servanthood, His plan

Where love did not demand from us the recompense for sin

But rather gave his Son Jesus, His gift of grace to win

Compelled by love, ah, as we contemplate the sacrifice

What higher call could captivate or be worth greater price

Life’s meekest merit never fails; He who is Love supplies

His Spirit's strength as faith prevails and strains toward the Prize

© Janet Martin

Doesn't love's beauty always sweeten the duty?! Aren't you glad?

...some small  'sweetness-es'

sometimes come in the form of

Warm Butter Tart!

Oh!! I'm sorry. Would you like one too?

Here is the best recipe I know!

My mother's...

Let It Be...(an easier-said-than-done-outpouring)

This weekend Grandsonny and granddaughter

experienced the joy of lending a helping hand...

(work before play 😄)

and reaping some delightful rewards!

 

...the happiness of Maple-taffy-cone sweet thank-yous 

Where can you get a sweet thank-you treat too?!! Here!

Winding Road Maple Products

...the thrill of a ride in Grandpa's big truck

We are all children in a sense, earning a recompense of reward...

1 John 3:18

My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue,

 but in deed and in truth.

After a few recent devotions and yesterday's message

 I have once again been soundly challenged

 to weigh my love in the scales of His Word and choices I make

 to see if my love for God and fellowman is found wanting!

Lord, let it be Thy love for me that satisfies my want and need

Lord, let it be my love for Thee that shines Thy light in word and deed

Lord, let the witness of Thy love be more than Sunday morning rite

Lord, let the fruit of the tree prove Thy love to be my chief delight

Lord, let it be my faith in Thee (not what I see) that keeps me strong

And let my humble honor be to help a fellowman along

And let my joy forever spring from a Fount that cannot run dry

Thy love, Lord exceeds everything that my thought attempts to descry

Lord, let it be Thy love for me that crowns the motive of my will

And let the light of Thy love be like a city set on a hill

Lord, let goodness and mercy be a messenger in hands and feet

Thy love for me, my love for Thee to make life’s journey to Thee sweet

Lord, let it be my hope in Thee that reminds me how great thou art

Remind me of love’s sympathy that broke Thy body and Thy heart

Then, as I see Thy love for me let nothing hide Thy lovely face

The backdrop of a bloodstained tree, forbid, some lesser loves replace

Lord, though the storms of life increase, Lord bid the demons of dread flee

For thou wilt keep in perfect peace, the mind that is transfixed on Thee

And let it be Thy love for me that grants the courage to proceed

And let it be my love for Thee that helps a fellowman in need

© Janet Martin

No one can help everyone but we who are blessed to have

can all help someone who does not have!!

Behold, He Walks on Gold and Purple Seas...

Jer. 33:25 NLB

But this is what the LORD says:

I would no more reject my people

than I would change my laws

that govern night and day, earth and sky.

Gen.8:22

“As long as the earth endures,

seedtime and harvest,

cold and heat,

summer and winter,

day and night will never cease.”

Behold, He walks on gold and purple seas and bids the darkness dim...

Behold upon yon boundless deep dawn’s Author sweeps the stars away

The Architect of Ages keeps His ancient vow of Night and Day

To a world plagued with unbelief and disease of body and soul

His love still binds the wounds of grief and grants the faith that makes us whole

Behold, what manner of love the Father has given unto us

To be the sons and daughters of Who Is, Will Be and Always Was

Oh, Lord our God, how great Thou art for though you know us through and through

(For You behold the heart and see how wicked we are without You)

…You love us still and hoist the banner of Thy kind Mercy Renewed

As we behold the manner of Thy love, fill us with gratitude

Subdue the thought that does not trust but fixates on what it perceives

Create in us a clean heart and renew the spirit that believes

Behold, the old is new again; dawn brims with what has never been

Grace crowns Time with a diadem of hymns never yet heard or seen

The Architect of Ages keeps His ancient vow of night and day

No war that mortal wages will God’s faithful Hand of mercy sway

Let not our hearts be troubled (though this world with trouble’s curse abounds)

But let the Word that God imparts be that which succors and confounds

For He will keep in perfect peace the one whose mind is stayed on Him

Behold, He walks on gold and purple seas and bids the darkness dim

© Janet Martin

Behold What Manner of Man Is This?

Rejoice in the Lord always.

I will say it again: Rejoice! 

Let your gentleness be evident to all. 

The Lord is near.

 Do not be anxious about anything, 

but in every situation, 

by prayer and petition, 

with thanksgiving, 

present your requests to God. 

And the peace of God, 

which transcends all understanding, 

will guard your hearts and your minds

 in Christ Jesus.

Phil.4:4-7

Never, For One Wayward Wink...

A special treat for you and me today!

Sunrise photo with a different skyline!

Jim (truckdriver-husband) sent this photo

 from somewhere in the very chill hills of

very Northern Ontario

(no phone reception when I tried to call and find out where)

(update: Schreiber, Ont.)

'Surely the morning gold and pink

Is the hem of His gown'

 Because I have yet to walk the mile

of those who mourn the loss of a parent, sibling,

son, daughter, spouse, etc. I cannot pen

the places that those losses must lead Love through

and I do not pretend to know what they know

but I can imagine, 

and hurt

and pray

and weep with those who weep

and plead to God 

to

bless those who mourn (Matt.5:4)

💔

What comfort to know

that never for a single, wayward wink

does The Lord, our Shepherd 

shift His gaze from His beloved Sheep...

🙏

Between miles yet to live and love

And miles that we have trod

Pray, where we are we find enough

In the kind love of God

Through wildernesses of today

Of mortal want and woe

Our Sovereign God still leads the way

Love's manna falls like snow

Enough, always enough, to feed

The cries of you and I

Exactly when, how much we need

His mercy will supply

The Pillar of His Promises

Will never shift or fade

But leads in paths of righteousness

In this day He has made

Toward the Promised Land we face

And run life’s race with joy

And lean on Him and trust His grace

That nothing can destroy

For, never for one wayward wink

Does He forsake His own

Surely the morning gold and pink

Is the hem of His gown

Surely goodness and mercy shall

Follow us all our days

Until forever we will dwell

In the house of His praise

© Janet Martin

 Familiar and forever precious...

Psalm 23 KJV

 The Lord is my shepherd; 

I shall not want.

2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:

 he leadeth me beside the still waters.

3 He restoreth my soul:

 he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

 I will fear no evil: 

for thou art with me; 

thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:

 thou anointest my head with oil; 

my cup runneth over.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: 

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Take My Hand and Lead Me

Translation below...

Translation of lyrics...

So take my hands

So nimm denn meine Hände

and lead me

Und führe mich

Until my happy end

Bis an mein selig Ende

And forever.

Und ewiglich.

I don't like to go alone

Ich mag allein nicht gehen,

Not a step;

Nicht einen Schritt;

where you will go and stand

Wo du wirst gehn und stehen,

Then take me with you.

Da nimm mich mit.

wrapped in our mercy

In dein Erbarmen hülle

my weak heart

Mein schwaches Herz

And do it completely still

Und mach es gänzlich stille

In joy and pain;

In Freud und Schmerz;

Let rest at your feet

Laß ruhn zu deinen Füßen

your poor child;

Dein armes Kind;

It wants to close its eyes

Es will die Augen schließen

And believe blindly.

Und glauben blind.

Even if I don't feel anything

Wenn ich auch gleich nichts fühle

of your power

Von deiner Macht,

You lead me to my goal

Du führst mich doch zum Ziele,

Even through the night.

Auch durch die Nacht.

So take my hands

So nimm denn meine Hände

and lead me

Und führe mich

Until my happy end

Bis an mein selig Ende

And forever.

Und ewiglich.

Of Love's True Joy

Recovering from the bug I had last weekend has left this poet a bit beaten in mind and body

(thus a few fewer poems this week)

But not without much laughter and joy amidst love's/life's lows/ frustrations. 

Yesterday I enjoyed the company of two favorite tots. 

Here they are waiting with Auntie  for some lovin' from the oven...

a little later, when asked if it tastes yummy Grand-sonny replied rather mildly,

'um, it's okay. They're not crumbly and they are homemade'

Kids are so delightfully honest 😂

These two fill this grandma's heart with utter delight and also sometimes utter frustration. 

This morning I couldn't understand why the house was FRIGID. 

Turns out my two favorite tots turned the furnace off! 

My frustration comes from thinking they are old enough to know better! 

How often God must shake His head at us 'tots'

 who are also 'old enough to know better'

 but we are a trying lot to train. 

Love covers a multitude of sins! hallelujah!

1 Pet.4:8

Above all, love each other deeply, 

because love covers over a multitude of sins.

The heavens laugh, His autograph always a perfect work of art...

Though yearning-lorn and learning worn we rise and shine and press toward

The places where God’s graces flare in the face of love oft ignored

Kindled anew, the gold and blue of mercy’s dew anoints the hour

And overflows yon height that glows with outer fringes of His pow’r

Life’s bubble-burst is trouble-cursed; joy’s sorrow is as old as time

The grin and groan of skin and bone all part of love’s rhythm and rhyme

Its highs and lows comprise, compose the faith that grows into a seed

The goodness of God’s love enough to exceed the vortex of need

The rise and fall of beck and call would crown a hollow undertow

Where bitter-sweet litters a beat of holding on and letting go

Where ebb and flow of yes and no would fuel a futile employ

But for the One that wills the dawn and fills its fount with love’s true joy

We, weighed with care thus made for prayer are darlings of our Father’s heart

The heavens laugh, His autograph always a perfect work of art

Though scoffers scorn, He authors morn, soft, soft above sight’s fret and fuss

Fresh fathoms of goodness and love cascade from God to likes of us

© Janet Martin

Off we go on a morning full of new mercy!

Contemplating the Incomprehensible...Love of God

 

To love You enough, God, to forget about 'me'

May this my daily desire be.

Amen

My Savior's Love

The Love of God- Mercy Me

1 John 3:1

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, 

that we should be called children of [a]God! 

Therefore the world does not know [b]us,

 because it did not know Him.

The Same Love-Paul Baroche

The love of God,

Oh, cherished thought

Enough to satisfy

To turn our gaze

From lesser ways

That deceive and defy

Love without end

Oh, what a friend

Is more faithful than He

Who bids us come

And depart from

Profitless vanity

God, rich in love

Enough, enough

Ah, may our witness prove

The joy and peace

Of want’s release

Perfected though His love

How dear and sweet

Where fears compete

With faith’s meek confidence

To trust in He

Whose love sets free

An army of defense

The love of God

Oh, wondrous thought

While endless ages roll

Our melody

Of joy will be

The love that saved the soul

The love of God

Ah, thought cannot

Such vastness comprehend

The fullness of

The kind of love

That doth sinners befriend

That doth forgive

So we may live

Each day, devoutly awed

As we embrace

His gift of grace

The boundless love of God

Such love, proven

When through His Son 

Redemption crushed the foe

Enough, enough

This God of  love 

None but his loved ones know

The pleasure of

The lesser love

Of leisure's thirsting laud

Cannot console

Or fill the hole/whole

Shaped for the love of God  

© Janet Martin

Rom.8:38-39

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[k] 

neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 

 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, 

will be able to separate us from the love of God 

that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.