Unbridled Hallelujah

A hymn of praise to our awesome Creator and Saviour!

Isn't being marveled speechless the best?!!

(as I was yesterday at Ripley's Aquarium in Toronto, Ont. Canada)

Gen.1:20

And God said, 

Let the waters bring forth abundantly 

the moving creature that hath life...

Whether we are poring over His Wonder-full Word or

witnessing wonders of His Hand,

whether we are weeping for joy as we behold

in our mind's eye, the cross of Calvary

or whether we are wonder-struck,

 beholding glimpses of God's majesty in creation...

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;

And His greatness is [b]unsearchable.

 Ps.145:3

To the God of creation

Oh, may our honor be

More than mouthed adoration

But heart-humility

To the God of salvation

May our lives confess

With faithful exaltation

Redemption’s righteousness

To God, of earth and Heaven

May worship never cease

Through Him we are forgiven

Christ’s death, our death’s release

To God be all the glory

The beauty of His grace

Will reveal faith’s full story

When death unveils His face

For the God everlasting

Who will make all things known

Hears the cares/prayers we are casting

Before His glorious throne

God is hope's restoration

The Savior of the soul

The healer of all nations

The faith that makes us whole

The joy of the believer

Sin's pardon all may claim

The dread of the deceiver

Who trembles at His name 

To Alpha and Omega

The Beginning and End

Universal ecclesia's

Father and faithful Friend

May unbridled devotion

Compose love's fervent lay

Majestic as an ocean

That no shoreline can stay 

His goodness and His mercy

Without reserve, run rife

Absolute Supremacy

The Way, The Truth, The Life

Boundless heights and depths thunder

With evidence of He

Who eclipses awed wonder

Who will bend every knee

To God, love’s divine Author

May our devotion brim

All glory, praise and honour

Belongs only to Him

Mortal boast is folly

All we have, He gives

Through God, just and holy

Redeemed Sinner lives

© Janet Martin

Psalm 145:5

I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty,
And [d]on Your wondrous works.

(read whole glorious chapter here)

Reminded me of this song video

I Will Praise Him Still

Propriety of Poetry (Part 1)

At the dentist, while the screen overhead

broadcasted the latest distressing/sobering war updates

the friendly young assistant and I chatted

(while my freezing was setting in😅)

about how we re-appreciate the simplest of things

(yes! even visits to the dentist!)

in the light of everything going on right now

And on that note, the propriety of poetry!

(yes! Even in times like these)

When Job lamented of his troubles

 (with what seems like extremely just cause)

God replied with one of the most poetic powerful passages of scripture

opening Job's and our eyes to His mighty wisdom and providence. 

May the poetry published here always

mirror the majesty of Him

and stir the writer and reader to

dearer awareness and awe

of He by whose grace we go

Over and over children remind me to pause

And take delight in simple things

The photo below I entitle

Poetry of Scrambled Eggs

or

On the Hem of the Master's Robe

Matt.19:14 NIV

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, 

for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

Inside scoop to photo: I looked down to see three curious, upturned faces

wondering at the noise way up on the kitchen counter 

where I was using the egg-beater to scramble the eggs for lunch.

 "Well, said Cook a little dumb-struck at the hint of halos...

 "what's to stop me from bringing it down to your level so you can watch and learn?

 So she did. And yes, everyone who wanted a turn got one. 

(some with a little help of course)😄

Imagine if we turned blind eyes

To penmanship of earth and skies

And could not, from this beveled globe

Perceive the hemline of His Robe

…and did not pause to trace the part

That stills the tempests of the heart

Or with glad eagerness and vim

Of children, did not notice Him

…the Master/Maestro of all poetry

Imagine if we would not see

Beyond the showcase of the frame

To recognize the Author’s Name

…then miss the joy that sings and sings

With thankfulness that His Name brings

And thrill to taste the ink that drips

To earth from heaven’s fingertips

…to tremble like a silver gem

In Time’s momentous diadem

And emphasize the praiseworthy

Vestige of Divine Poetry

The lesser poets of this world

Gape at masterpieces unfurled

Where inkwells of sky, sea and sod

Swell with the magnitude of God

Imagine if we bowed to doubt

And instead, let the stones cry out

And missed the sweet humility

Of listening to God’s poetry

...with childlike wonder to delight

In poems only He can write

Then if a verse should start to brim

What honour then to honour Him

© Janet Martin

this poem had the impetus to run wild!

Thus the title includes (Part 1)

just in case there's more

Job 38:1-3

Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:

 “Who is this that obscures my plans

with words without knowledge?

 Brace yourself like a man;

I will question you,

and you shall answer me...

Awe's Oceanic Aftermath=Art aka Worship

 

Completely and perfectly awed 

By the grand handiwork of God 

Dusk draws our eyes westward until 

Day falls beneath earth’s windowsill 

Night snuffs its picture like a flame 

That disappears from whence it came 

Where we are left to contemplate 

The crumb-sum on time’s dinner plate 

Like moments turned to memories 

From joy’s startling complexities 

How holes and hues of happiness 

Transform our views of more and less 

How wealth is not in what we hold 

But in the worth of moment-gold 

And how we are too very small 

To cup the wonder of it all 

Completely and perfectly awed 

By the grand handiwork of God 

Awe’s oceans seem to rush the heart 

Insisting on becoming art 

And so, we sing, paint, pen and gaze

 Until oceans turn into praise

© Janet Martin 

Changeless Chancellor...

Dawn broke gray today,

rather than the spectacular radiance we raved over, morning

after morning,

after morning,

this week!

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

He does not change, like shadows shift

Who grants each good and perfect gift...

He does not change like shadows shift 

Who grants each good and perfect gift 

His grace sufficient day by day 

Whether windows frame gold or gray 

From founts that refine faith with test 

He counts us worthy of His best 

He does not change, while all else does 

HE IS, while This soon turns to Was 

Then pray that awe and love commence 

To adjure meek obedience 

Lest we confuse the order of 

Desire’s Want with Perfect Love 

He does not change; His Word transcends 

The leap of faith that time extends 

Where surely the Love we embrace 

Behooves recipients of grace 

To consider with reverence 

Our duty of obedience 

He does not change; where you and me 

Bear great response-ability 

As seasons pass and shadows shift 

But not the Giver of the gift 

Who charges mankind with the call 

To love Him, Lord God, most of all 

Forbid we settle for far less 

Citing reasons like ‘happiness’ 

Brushing off sin like flecks of dust 

Winking at God, worthy of trust 

Because He does not change or shift 

As love pours out gift upon gift 

© Janet Martin

For the obedient and faithful a great day is coming!

Today's Daily Bread Devotion Bible reading

Rev.19:1-9

After these things I [a]heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to [b]the Lord our God! 2 For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her.” 3 Again they said, “Alleluia! Her smoke rises up forever and ever!” 4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, “Amen! Alleluia!” 5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying, “Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both[c] small and great!”

6 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the[d] Lord God Omnipotent reigns! 7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” 8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

9 Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.”

Learning To Read God's Poetry

 Winter dusk warms the ink in frozen pens...

My dear, because we cannot live on poem-books alone 

We must learn how to siphon poetry from grin and groan 

And how to glean from fleeting hues of time’s momentous tide 

A ballad, born of blush and blues brushed on the countryside 

My dear, because the now to then of seasons slips and drips 

Like lyrics from a phantom pen or sighs from trembling lips 

We need to learn to recognize God’s lines of poetry 

They waft upon dusk-softened skies, they sail the snowy lea 

My dear, because, like love, life’s poetry oft masquerades 

In what seems very ordinary day-to-day parades 

We need to take a longer look at what ink-drops compose 

With gurgle of the brumal brook, winter’s skeletal rose 

My dear, because we cannot keep at bay the dying day 

Or other gently waning whispers tangled in the fray 

We need to learn to see more than time’s trouble and its bite 

And marvel at the poetry that only God can write 

© Janet Martin 

Taking/Making Time For God's Poetry

this time of year a sunny, country laundry day

that doesn't smell farm-fresh/ aka manure😊

is a treat to be enjoyed!

 some of this laundry is re-laundered from some days ago because

we didn't feel like smelling farm-fresh AFTER a shower😀

also, if ever there was a time

when cleaning seems less urgent

it's in these days of stay-home-social-distancing!

So, I really couldn't come up with a good reason not

to enjoy at leisure, the great outdoors for a while!
Pure delight!

(if I did dare to point out any flaws/flies in the pudding

they would would be white, fluffy and frosty

 creating the need for warm boots, mittens and parka...in MAY!

yes, it is a bit of a chilled thrill today...

Let’s bend unwritten rules

About workaday week

Time unravels a sky-high spool

 Even now, as we speak (or read)

The theater of earth

Is primed with em’rald bliss

Nature is a showcase of birth

To wonder-full to miss

Let’s change the way we are

Into a gentler poem

Let’s duck beneath Duty’s high-bar

And take the green way home

Let’s pause beside the brook

That chortles to the sea

And take a longer, ling’ring look

At God-breathed poetry

Let’s take at most, some tea (or coffee:)

And leave the clock behind

While studying the scenery

That authors peace of mind

What if, when looking back

To view Past’s soldered sums

We didn’t ever stop to snack

On Heaven’s cookie-crumbs

What if all that Thought sees

When mortal bark is shored

Is forfeited epiphanies

On wonder’s smorgasbord

Ah, who could bear to view

Such life-consuming loss

Because all we were faithful to

Was workload’s albatross

So before ties that bind

Us 'neath the sullen sod

Let’s purpose ev’ry day to find

The poetry of God

Let's keep wants simple, hon
And trust implicitly
He who knows it takes rain (or snow) and sun
For perfect poetry

© Janet Martin

Creation's Example

Tis the season when believers and atheists alike

 agree that creation/nature in autumn is a beautiful thing! 

Inspired in part by Autumn and Psalms 104

Praise the Lord, my soul.

Lord my God, you are very great;
    you are clothed with splendor and majesty.

Psalm 104:1

The world may try to ban His Name with bold and calloused ignorance

And they may plan with foolish fame to put their faith in luck and chance

And they may claim with shameless scorn that Holy God does not exist

While poised upon the brink of morn all grace and mist and mercy-kissed

...and all around creation spills God’s autograph in ridge and rills

And all around creation hails God’s artistry in woods and vales

And all around creation cries God’s name in sod and sea and skies

And all around creations rings with praise fit for the King of kings

The world may boast and raise a toast to lesser gods of rust and dust

And they may dare to scoff at prayer and make a mockery of trust

And they, of darkened understanding may think death is but a grave

Pitiful and uncomprehending of the love mighty to save

While all around creation shouts God’s majesty while the fool doubts

And all around creation heeds God’s providence in buds and seeds

And all around creation yields God’s goodness from orchards and fields

And all around creation brims with God’s Eden-anointed hymns

The world may try with every lie to prove the nothingness of God

The bird, the bee, the butterfly might get a scientific nod

And with great faith they embrace ‘likely theories’ grandly unfurled

Insistent that in the beginning God did not create the world

While all around creation beams God’s glory in fountains and streams

And all around creation plays God’s music in ten-thousand ways

And all around creation fills God’s framework with valleys and hills

And all around creation frees God’s wink in mountains, flowers, trees

The world may make a lot of noise while trying to disprove I AM

Pity the one made in His image who insists God is a sham

Pray they may find the Way the Truth the Life before it is too late

Before they plead for rocks and mountains to save them from Hades fate

© Janet Martin