Prayer for the Real Deal

the song below is a great one to start a new week on!

I ask Lord, to be fitted for life and love’s tasks at hand

To keep motive committed to Mercy’s First in Command

To see the best in people, to be kind, not finding fault

To recognize how blessed we are and the Giver exalt

I ask that we remember we all carry hurts and hopes

That the conclusions we assume can concoct slippery slopes

That in our heart of hearts which you behold we humbly claim

The goodness of your grace, and then grant fellowman the same

I ask for strength; we are all care-carriers, so it seems

And we all need to learn to rearrange our plans and dreams

To reach rather than wait and see what falls into our laps

To lean upon the One who knows the Full of each ‘perhaps’

I ask for true compassion; so much so it changes goals

Because we realize the priceless-ness of living souls

How what we feel is often not the real deal, but the curve

Of love weighed in the balance as we choose whom we will serve

I ask that we do not despair though weighed with what life grants

Remind us You are everywhere, greater than circumstance

And that we make the most of what will never pass again

For thy kingdom, power and glory forever, Amen

© Janet Martin

Psalm 34:14
Turn from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.

This and That

Fire kindled in the grate

Is a lovely thing

But run wild it is like hate

Very damaging

Self-defense with word swift-flung

Oft feels justified

Better to bridle the tongue

Quick to protect pride

Though the foothold may seem sound

Where people applaud

Reasoning is shaky ground

When we sidestep God

Time enough is wearing thin

Sacred filigree

The slipcover of our skin

Veils eternity

Left-foot-right-foot odyssey

Stumble-fumble cursed

Winning is not always he/she

Who finishes first

Keep your focus on the plow

Not on furrowed wakes

All we ever have is Now

…what a life it makes

© Janet Martin

Psalm 37

Do not fret because of those who are evil
    or be envious of those who do wrong;
² for like the grass they will soon wither,
    like green plants they will soon die away.

³ Trust in the Lord and do good;
    dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
⁴ Take delight in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

⁵ Commit your way to the Lord;
    trust in him and he will do this:
⁶ He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
    your vindication like the noonday sun.

⁷ Be still before the Lord
    and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
    when they carry out their wicked schemes.

⁸ Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
    do not fret—it leads only to evil.
⁹ For those who are evil will be destroyed,
    but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.

¹⁰ A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
    though you look for them, they will not be found.
¹¹ But the meek will inherit the land
    and enjoy peace and prosperity.

¹² The wicked plot against the righteous
    and gnash their teeth at them;
¹³ but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
    for he knows their day is coming.

¹⁴ The wicked draw the sword
    and bend the bow
to bring down the poor and needy,
    to slay those whose ways are upright.
¹⁵ But their swords will pierce their own hearts,
    and their bows will be broken.

¹⁶ Better the little that the righteous have
    than the wealth of many wicked;
¹⁷ for the power of the wicked will be broken,
    but the Lord upholds the righteous.

¹⁸ The blameless spend their days under the Lord’s care,
    and their inheritance will endure forever.
¹⁹ In times of disaster they will not wither;
    in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.

²⁰ But the wicked will perish:
    Though the Lord’s enemies are like the flowers of the field,
    they will be consumed, they will go up in smoke.

²¹ The wicked borrow and do not repay,
    but the righteous give generously;
²² those the Lord blesses will inherit the land,
    but those he curses will be destroyed.

²³ The Lord makes firm the steps
    of the one who delights in him;
²⁴ though he may stumble, he will not fall,
    for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

²⁵ I was young and now I am old,
    yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
    or their children begging bread.
²⁶ They are always generous and lend freely;
    their children will be a blessing.^[b]

²⁷ Turn from evil and do good;
    then you will dwell in the land forever.
²⁸ For the Lord loves the just
    and will not forsake his faithful ones.

Wrongdoers will be completely destroyed^[c];
    the offspring of the wicked will perish.
²⁹ The righteous will inherit the land
    and dwell in it forever.

³⁰ The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom,
    and their tongues speak what is just.
³¹ The law of their God is in their hearts;
    their feet do not slip.

³² The wicked lie in wait for the righteous,
    intent on putting them to death;
³³ but the Lord will not leave them in the power of the wicked
    or let them be condemned when brought to trial.

³⁴ Hope in the Lord
    and keep his way.
He will exalt you to inherit the land;
    when the wicked are destroyed, you will see it.

³⁵ I have seen a wicked and ruthless man
    flourishing like a luxuriant native tree,
³⁶ but he soon passed away and was no more;
    though I looked for him, he could not be found.

³⁷ Consider the blameless, observe the upright;
    a future awaits those who seek peace.^[d]
38 But all sinners will be destroyed;
    there will be no future^[e] for the wicked.

³⁹ The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord;
    he is their stronghold in time of trouble.
⁴⁰ The Lord helps them and delivers them;
    he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
    because they take refuge in him.

Limbo-land

Oh, just to be stuck in  rush-hour traffic behind a school-bus!

 Oh, to be free of COVID-19!

Oh Lord, that we would not be too stubborn to learn to lean on You!

I've remarked a few times how I didn't realize till this lock-down how much of life is Plans...

often we forget to say if the Lord wills we will...

James 4:13-15

 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town 

and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—  

 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. 

What is your life? 

For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.  

 Instead you ought to say,

 “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”

Living in limbo these strange days it seems

Plan stands akimbo as we gaze at dreams

All we once witnessed without second thought

Sparkles with richness we nearly forgot

Stirring fond longing for mem’ry-made Things

Work-a-day love-song while tool-of-trade rings

Caught in the traffic behind a school bus

Turn up the music while we fret and fuss

To market, to market, without fearful word

To bicker and barter and shout to be heard

To mosey, enchanted, indulge in the bliss

That we took for granted…big hug, handshake, kiss

To wish to be jostled by crowds bargain-mad

To be pushed and scowled at won’t seem so bad

To chat (bumping carts) about everyday tasks

Not six feet apart behind mittens and masks

To ruffle the curls of baby girls, freckled chaps

And cuddle the world as they climb on our laps

To not furrow brows at the Sunday noon clock

While Preacher runs overtime rousing the flock
Or dock the poor server of nickel and dime
Because lunch took longer than it did last time

Not spiteful and quick to pinpoint people’s flaws

But gentled by sickness-induced worldwide pause

Beneath deathly pall of ‘ah, this too shall pass’

Urging the hours to fall through time’s glass

Till all this is over, then pray we will be

A sister and brother worldwide family

More giving, more thankful, more fully aware

Of living more mindful of love’s creature-care

More patient and humble, need each other more

Less reason to grumble than we had before

When all this is over and we realize

The gift of each other is life’s truest prize

© Janet Martin

May we be part of a worldwide choir, even now
Praising God for His daily mercies!
Some sweet day we will gather to sing in choirs

Momentous Hierarchy

 It's Monday just in case you are having trouble remembering! ugh!!

Night shattered in a myriad of masterpieces...

To stand tall we must bow

To run well we must kneel

What is past happens now

Interlaced silk and steel

Forge a momentous wheel

To live well we must die

To be strong we must break

To be rich we must try

To give more than we take

So much future at stake

To succeed is to fall

But to get right back up

Life’s bucking bronc is small

Compared to mercy’s cup

So heave-ho and hup-hup

To hold on we must reach

To let go we must trust

To learn, Someone must teach

(We never outgrow Must)

Till

Soul to God, dust to dust

© Janet Martin

Praying for true strength today...

 That is why, 

for Christ's sake, 

I delight 

in weaknesses,

 in insults, 

in hardships, 

in persecutions, 

in difficulties. 

For when I am weak,

 then I am strong.

2 Cor. 12:10

This song was my leaning post exactly half a year ago 

when we suddenly bid farewell to one of our beloved pastors

Ron Seabrooke

Author Annie Johnson Flint's Story here

who knew many 'greater burdens and added affliction'

Another hymn of hope for these dark days...