To The Likes of Us

Each day is a little like a flower

that unfolds, blooms and fades, so fast!

A little like summer flowers, which

is why I am sharing another flower-garden meander today,

because this garden will not stay this way for long!

I like picturing God at daybreak,

with a watering can in his Hand

showering the earth with goodness and mercy!

Does that image fill you with

hope, joy and peace too?

Lowered to the likes of we

Through star-studded canopy

Rushing night’s dazzling veneer

Till its tea-lights disappear

God, so rich in mercy grants

A new day filled with fresh chance

To track records, vile and grim

As we disregarded Him

While we craved the fading fruits

Of this world’s grave-doomed pursuits

God so rich in love bestows

Daybreak, like a dew-kissed rose

Above our wayward bent

He unfolds a blush-gold tent

Grace affords to likes of we

Unmarred opportunity

Fills thoroughfares, still untrod

Lowered from the Hand of God

Thus, may the likes of us be

Thankful, with humility

Earth and sky thunders with Him

Where goodness and mercy brim

From God, patient, kind and true

To the likes of me and you

© Janet Martin

Isa.40:6-8

(read the whole glorious chapter HERE)

A voice says, “Cry out!”

And I asked, “What should I cry out?”

“All flesh is like grass,

and all its glory like the flowers of the field.

7The grass withers and the flowers fall

when the breath of the LORD blows on them;

indeed, the people are grass.

8The grass withers and the flowers fall,

but the word of our God stands forever.”e

The Good and Perfect 'Changeless'

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.

The cup that holds life’s sparkle of delight

Praise God, still spills to gladden taste and touch...

The innocence of tot, eager to learn

The priceless charge of we who teach and train...

(Helping gramma make *Lemon-raspberry-blueberry muffins)

Recipe at the bottom of this post

Grandson is learning,an egg beater is not as easy as gramma made it look 😊💖

Forever, licking the bowl is the best part of helping

well, almost!

The sweeping lyrics of soft summer rain...

(I hope the corn rows recover  from some 

VERY sweeping, not always soft, 

remnant of hurricane Beryl 'lyrics', yesterday!)

Mingled warble of songbirds, free of care...

The happy, smile-reward of ‘dishes done’

The unspeakable awe of lilies fair

And fine vesture of fields, wildflower-spun

The best things in life do not change, in spite

Of rise and fall of centuries and such

The cup that holds life’s sparkle of delight

Praise God, still spills to gladden taste and touch

The innocence of tot, eager to learn

The priceless charge of we who teach and train

God’s tutelage, that we could never earn

The sweeping lyrics of soft summer rain

Mingled warble of songbirds, free of care

The happy, smile-reward of ‘dishes done’

The unspeakable awe of lilies fair

And fine vesture of fields, wildflower-spun

Each new day, rife with opportunity

A little like an ephemeral raft

Where the pleasure of pleasant company

Grants echo-measure to treasure long aft

The value of kindness, however small

To cheer someone. The joy of home, sweet home

A haven in a world of beck and call

To which, eager and thankfully we come

Sound slumber’s elixir, coffee, hot, black

The grace whereby we weather the ways of

Today; something we can never have back

Then, make the precious best of live-to-love

Because the best things time cannot estrange

No shifting shadow, God, whose mercies brim

In steadfast faithfulness, through constant change

Still, every good, perfect gift comes from Him

The pure contentment of a thankful heart

The happiness of words like ‘us’ and ‘we’

Each season, showcasing majestic art

By the author of perfect poetry

The thrill of a good book, good food, good friend 

Good morning dear, wherever you may be

We have a God whose goodness knows no end

 Trustworthy throughout all eternity 

© Janet Martin

This is how the book George Muller of Bristol ends;

the changelessness of truth makes its treasured text timeless 

and here is the above mentioned recipe

Janet's Raspberry-Blueberry Lemon Muffins

(originally they were going to be only Raspberry-lemon.

 but while Gramma had her back turned

half of the raspberries mysteriously disappeared!) 😂😉

21/2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup white sugar (or less)

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 cup butter (or 3/4 cup butter and 2 tbsp. olive oil)

zest of one lemon

3/4 cup milk

squeeze in juice of 1/2 lemon

2 eggs

 1 tsp. vanilla 

1 cup each, frozen or fresh

raspberries and blueberries

slivered almond garnish, optional

Combine flour, sugar and baking powder in large bowl.

cut in butter peices till crumbly.

reserve 3/4 cup of crumbs for topping.

set aside.

Combine milk, eggs and vanilla

Add to dry ingredients, and lemon zest, 

and stir only till moistened.

gently fold in fruit.

Spoon into muffin cups.

Sprinkle with reserved crumbs (and slivered almonds)

Bake approx. 30 min. or till firm whe touched at 350 F

Yield: 12 large or 18 medium muffins

The Best That Boast Can Laud (begins and ends with God)

Happy...Friday?!! Already😅🙏💗

So many sweet photo-op skies this week...

Below, just a few!

Col.1:15-17

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

  16For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth,

visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities.

 All things were created through Him and for Him.

17He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

All beauty we behold is divinely founded!

without God's mercy and might to hold it in place

it would all fall!

Artists, since the beginning mimic His creation,

all inspiration of God-breathed origin!

My poetic endeavors have been challenged this week

it seems. It flew by in a blink of blessing!

Mon.-Food safety and management course, 

Tues.-grand-sonny visit, appointment, small group gettogether,

Wed. finishing food prep and delivery for event mentioned here 

Thursday-Help my mom with spring-cleaning (forgot camera!!)😭

...and just like that!!! It's Friday!

Today I am prepping food and house 

for our youngest daughter's birthday celebration

on the weekend!

A whole bunch of friends staying over while 

Jim and I stay out😅💝

I began this poem yesterday morning!

The first line fell from Heaven as I stood admiring the sky

while rubbing sleep from my eyes...

Time’s fountain brims with life; it peals from belfries gold and gray

Its showstoppers run rife; God never takes a holiday

The Hand that tunes the tide that ebbs and flows with season-sweeps

Regales the countryside with color, crowned with boundless deeps

The best that boast can laud as brush and pen rush awe’s grandstands

Begins and ends with God; each work of art drawn from His hands

He grants the breathless dance of worship’s unrehearsed requiem

And cheers hope’s countenance with refreshment where mercies stream

In wonders of creation, from the wellspring of his Word

Reasons for celebration overflow and undergird

To kindle exaltation that is incomparable

Salvation’s invitation still extends to one and all

God’s goodness never ceases to thrill the soul that believes

Unrivaled masterpieces humble all mankind achieves

Thus, the best boast can muster as we meditate on This

Are endeavors to trust Him more because of Who He IS

His faultless Influence imparts the best that boast can laud

All art we woo from hands and hearts begins and ends with God

© Janet Martin

Every artist who ever has dipped pen or brush

 into inkwells and paint palettes

draws from scenes cupped and cradled in God's Hands!

Thus every work of art ought to be signed-

By His grace

For His glory!

He Sees the Little Sparrows Fall

God's Changeless Promises

This photo is taken from a hill close to my brother and sister-in-law's place

about 10 min. from our house and though I see the view often it NEVER disappoints! 

Psalm 145:13

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, 

and your dominion endures through all generations. 

The LORD is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does.

When we are troubled what better, than to kneel at the cross.

Kneel at the Cross-Jim and Jesse

 

For all we wish we could return, beneath life’s testing rod

Tis in life’s challenges we learn the faithfulness of God

In the valley where gloom may try our joy to overthrow

His changeless promises reply, hope and peace to bestow

The beauty and goodness of God abounds, for aye. Amen

Each of His attributes confounds the best of mortal ken

Then, though we do not understand the reason of His thought

His changeless promises command our worship, do they not?

How often in my worry I forget to humbly trust

God is not in a hurry as He tames our willful dust

But plies, with love that will not fail, that which draws us to Him

His changeless promises prevail, beyond our wildest whim

How proud would be our prayer, but for the trial and the tear

But for the creature care that binds us to His listening ear

Then in each sorrow we confide, He whispers as we plead

‘My changeless promises abide, ah, what more do you need?’

© Janet Martin

Psalm 31:19

Oh, how great is Your goodness, 

Which You have laid up for those who fear You,

 Which You have prepared for those who trust in You 

In the presence of the sons of men!

Priceless Exceeding Abundance

So many needs weighed on my heart this morning as I thought of so many who are troubled,

so many suffering in war torn countries around the world, 

so many suffering close to home due to sickness, injuries in accidents 

and hardships due to broken relationships, hardships caused by inflation 

the fragility of the so-called freedom and peace in countries whose leaders

have turned away from God, and the list goes on...

But it is not a hopeless case. 

Quite the opposite. 

We pray to One who is able to do 

'exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, 

according to the power that works in us. 

Unto Him be glory in the church by Jesus throughout all ages, 

world without end, 

amen. 

Eph.3:20-21

Above All-Michael W. Smith

The Lord appoints our place

His love anoints our cares

And by the riches of His grace

God’s mercy hears our prayers

His measure of reply

Exceeds abundantly

The want and wish of you and I

On meek and bended knee

Though trial rends faith's glove

May faith, faith’s test transcend

Grounded and rooted in the love

Thought cannot comprehend

With lowliness of heart

(His Spirit’s dwelling place)

May we endeavor to impart

The riches of God’s grace

…so that we may be filled

With the fulness of He

Who helps us, through what He has willed

To proclaim His glory

© Janet Martin

“For Thine is the kingdom, 

and the power, 

and the glory,

forever. 

Amen” 

(KJV—Matt. 6:9-13)

Of Goodness and Mercy

 Surely Goodness, Surely Mercy -Shane and Shane

God’s Goodness: what delight this confidence bestows

His goodness does not shift like shadows through life’s highs and lows

But, steadfast and secure in spite of creature care

The full assurance of His goodness combats dark despair

Where we who trust in Him, and His goodness unfurled

Are part of His Goodness, to bring hope to a dying world

To cheer the suffering, to bear their burden too

To be a ready offering of His goodness run through

God’s mercy: what sweet joy and consolation bless

No foe or trouble can destroy mercy’s kind faithfulness

Sin’s pardon has been won. No other fete achieves

What mercy grants to everyone who repents and believes

Where we would deserve death and hell, grace sets us free

His mercy fills Final Breath’s knell with shouts of victory

For through death’s valley, He will walk with us, so near

To overthrow the enemy so that we need not fear

Goodness and mercy, oh, let endless praise begin

His goodness for our want and woe, His mercy for our sin

Wherever life may lead, whatever may befall

Goodness and mercy intercede to help us through it all

Where so unworthy we, heirs and joint heirs of Christ

Benefit from the agony that Jesus sacrificed

To draw all men to Him, the Perfect Prince of Peace

Where His goodness and mercy brim from founts that never cease

The glass through which we peer does not reveal the whole

A darkly, sorrow-scarred veneer enshrouds the deathless soul

Where what we see in part often vexes our gaze

Goodness and mercy’s works of art above our thoughts and ways

Because the cruciform of faith and hope and love

Must bear the testing storm its authenticity to prove

But, whatever betide, of grief and pain and strife

Goodness and mercy will preside all the days of our life

© Janet Martin

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd;

I shall not [a]want.

2 He makes me to lie down in [b]green pastures;

He leads me beside the [c]still waters.

3 He restores my soul;

He leads 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 You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

You anoint my head with oil;

My cup runs over.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

All the days of my life;

And I will [d]dwell in the house of the Lord

[e]Forever.

Once Upon Many a Wistful Morrow (have been here and gone)

Happy September!!!

And to Adam He said:

“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife

and have eaten from the tree

of which I commanded you not to eat,

cursed is the ground because of you;

through toil you will eat of it

all the days of your life.

18Both thorns and thistles it will yield for you,

and you will eat the plants of the field.

19By the sweat of your brow

you will eat your bread,

until you return to the ground—

because out of it were you taken.

For dust you are,

and to dust you shall return.”

Gen.3:17-19 (BSB)

We have toiled 'by the sweat of our brow', haven't we?!!

And Lord willing we are not done yet!

And we have eaten, haven't we?!

Thank-you, gracious Heavenly Father!

While not everything may have bloomed, obedient to expectation's hope, 

as we planted seeds, seedlings, and bulbs,

we are thankful for what often exceeds hope and expectation! 

From Fancy's Dream of a plethora of colorful dahlias....

to bushy reluctant bloomers 

that buried the planters until I moved them

From barren field with dust flying to a sweep of golden butterfly-like flutters...

From blank canvas....

...to our Creator's Masterpieces!!

A reflection and reply to this poem from May...

Once Upon a Wistful Morrow (demands full attention now)

Spring's Wistful Morrow-World, my dear, has now been nearly spent..

Its planted plot and furrow unfurled in fruit-testament

Hope, giddy with spring's fantasy of flowers, bears the yoke

Of disappointment and delight; for blooms are not bespoke

And so we choose to cherish what was granted, midst withheld

Before the present perishes as past and future meld

Where we, all struggling students 'neath the tutelage of God

Are learning patient prudence, for no hand can force a bud

Or undo, what in Eden, routed man's eternal rest

As Eve and Adam doubted and put God's Word to the test

Where the infested ground we till still yields to human race

The bread we eat, the flower frill, like emblems of God's grace

Where, though spring's Wistful Morrow may not unfold as we planned

We know both joy and sorrow's plume are cradled in God's Hand

© Janet Martin

And the sunrise was no slouch either!!!

The last pic in my spring post made me a bit teary...

These tots seem so much bigger already!