Epiphany of the (Seeming) Commonplace

This passage in yesterday's devotion was the perfect gift 

for someone near and dear to me

facing a vale of shadows...

Isa.43:1-3

But now, this is what the Lord says—

he who created you, Jacob,

he who formed you, Israel:

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;

I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

 When you pass through the waters,

I will be with you;

and when you pass through the rivers,

they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire,

you will not be burned;

the flames will not set you ablaze.

 For I am the Lord your God,

the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;

All around us the seeming Commonplace 

spills from a fount of redeeming grace!

 A few glimpses of yesterday and today's un-commonplace

A new favourite tea thanks to a Christmas gift!

Sipping while enjoying another snow-capped morning...

The eyes that open to behold the break of day, blue-gray, blush-gold

Or the beloved presence of the people whom we dearly love

(off to school)

To be…to be stunned by the grace and beauty of The Commonplace

The task that moves the mobile hand, the feet that function when we stand

The eyes that open to behold the break of day, blue-gray, blush-gold

Or the beloved presence of the people whom we dearly love

To be, though ineffably flawed, a sacred masterpiece of God

Each breath, a shimmer spilling rife from He who fills the rill of life

And rushes mortality through with Immortal, none can undo

His goodness never wanes or fails no matter what vexes or ails

To let The Commonplace confound, stirred by a symphony of sound

The birds, the breeze, the merchant cry of toil until life’s rill runs dry

But until then to pay kind heed to instruments of word and deed

And with motherly love embrace the holy, seeming Commonplace

To be beholden to faith’s Charge to trust God with cares small and large

To don the warmly woven shrouds, to brave the bite of brumal clouds

Or to meet round a table where heads bow in sweet and humble prayer

As gladness overflows heart-banks as thought is overcome with thanks

As logic is utterly awed as we consider man and God

And how the beauty of the earth does not depend on human worth

(For how bereft beauty would be if it was up to you and me)

But Beauty smiles in every face that celebrates the Commonplace

The canvas of the heavens stretched from skyline-to-skyline, mauve-etched

The music of four season’s worth of wonder, melting want with mirth

The wealth of five senses designed to enrich the most mundane grind

Anoints the seeming Commonplace with the oil of gladness; God’s grace

…so when the Commonplace is tried with precious hopes and dreams denied

The Giver of the font and fray of unframed prints that fall away

Day after day, does not forget His promises, but cups each Yet

In hands, scarred with the price of grace that sanctifies The Commonplace

The sacred, solemn Commonplace, the seemingly meaningless chase

In the light of God’s beck and call is never Commonplace at all

Then mind the corner where you are for, we serve He who lights each star

He who grants each new day of grace is anything but Commonplace

Lord, forgive me, when faith is frail and yields to fear and doubt's travail 

Lord, let love’s pow'r be undeterred through the Truth of your changeless Word

Lord, let Thy perfect peace transform and take The Commonplace by storm

And let pure worship’s hymn resound; 'this place we stand is holy ground’

This joy, this grief , this day brand-new, this warm handshake and how-are-you

This hardship-ordered change of pace is anything but Commonplace

If we look past the part we see (the gasp before eternity) 

And recognize each grin and groan is a back-to-God steppingstone

Janet Martin 

Bittersweet Ballad

Ps.19:14

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, 

be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.

Christmas season stirs reflection.

As I reflect on another year where sorrow and joy

 clashed, again and again, the word 'bittersweet'

seems to have taken a deeper, more sacred root in the soil

of hope, 

trust...

 and gratitude!

Before it is too late to say 

'I love you' by our words and deeds

Let's take a fresh look at today

And make the most of moment-seeds...

Moment-seeds may appear as commonplace

as shoveling snow

or loads of laundry,

but as we take a closer look at the

'who' and the 'why' of them

they steal our breath!!

With changes that each year unfolds

Where birth and death's charges compete

Love and longing's uncharted holds

Compose a ballad, bittersweet

Between a world of yesterdays

And morrows, life's moments untwist

In sunshine golds and storm cloud grays

Years melt away like morning mist

 

...while making us more humble stewards

Of  Today's gardens-vineyards-fields 

To gather love's grains, grapes and gourds

With gratitude for what soon yields

...to scenes of once-upon-today

The heart, a gallery that gleams

With buds that bloom and fall away

Like petal-fray on rushing streams

...pushed by relentless winds of change

Where hold and letting go compete

In tangos of embrace-estrange 

To time's bold ballad, bittersweet

Before it is too late to say 

'I love you' by our words and deeds

Let's take a fresh look at today

And make the most of moment-seeds 

...so when the bud unfolds to bloom

Upon the tomb of yesteryears

The bitter-sweetness of its plume

Will stir a hymn of smiles and tears 

Janet Martin 

Wonderful Merciful Savior- Selah 

Considering Gifts...

This is the time of year our thoughts start considering gift-giving;

the perfect Something for that precious someone...

 whilst wandering through isles laden with gifts, free for the 'taking'...

Considering that a week ago there was not a flake of snow to be seen

it does feel like winter literally arrived overnight!

(so, I am attempting to acclimate my delight to white-gilded glories/gifts)

Each day nature's buffet is laden with pleasures to share

Each season filled with reasons to run worship through with prayer

To He who grants fresh chances to awaken and rejoice

As He delights appetites for beauty through nature's voice

Each day a smorgasbord of the Lord's handiwork unfurls

Where Nature is a caterer with pocket full of pearls

And tables spread with green, gold, red and white; beneath, above

We witness He whose majesty earth offers glimpses of 

Each day fresh wonder thunders through the chambers of the heart

If we with slower pace embrace the study of God's art

And pause with awestruck posture, and holy humility

In the ache of a snowflake's astounding intricacy

Each day nature's showcase abounds with sounds and sights to thrill

And remind us because of love's kind Giver, to be still 

And trust the Teacher of the creature without skeptic doubt

To join the hymn that seraphim of earth and heavens shout

Janet Martin

O Worship the King

O worship the King all glorious above

Author: Robert Grant (1833)

Tune: LYONS

O worship the King all-glorious above,

O gratefully sing his power and his love:

our shield and defender, the Ancient of Days,

pavilioned in splendor and girded with praise.

2 O tell of his might and sing of his grace,

whose robe is the light, whose canopy space.

His chariots of wrath the deep thunderclouds form,

and dark is his path on the wings of the storm.

3 Your bountiful care, what tongue can recite?

It breathes in the air, it shines in the light;

it streams from the hills, it descends to the plain,

and sweetly distills in the dew and the rain.

4 Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail,

in you do we trust, nor find you to fail.

Your mercies, how tender, how firm to the end,

our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend!

5 O measureless Might, unchangeable Love,

whom angels delight to worship above!

Your ransomed creation, with glory ablaze,

in true adoration shall sing to your praise!

Psalm 8:3-6

3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,

The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,

4 What is man that You are mindful of him,

And the son of man that You visit[a] him?

5 For You have made him a little lower than [b]the angels,

And You have crowned him with glory and honor.

6 You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;

You have put all things under his feet,

Read full chapter

Of First Receiving ...

John 4:24

God is Spirit, and those who worship Him 

must worship in spirit and truth.”

If we were nothing more than what we could achieve

 by our own merit, we at best, would be pitiful.

Every opportunity we make the most of

 is possible only by abilities first God-granted.

The athlete, the artist, the architect,

the scholar, the teacher, the laborer, 

the business magnate, the journalist, the preacher etc.

pursues, performs, accomplishes and excels, 

only through the grace of first receiving

the gifts of health and strength, 

of intellect and perception, etc.

Because of these mercies/provisions/blessings we, 

not by our own merit but by the grace of God,

ought not hide in fear, but with constant courage 

each day ask God to make us a vessel He pours through.

 Then, whatever we get right is to His glory

and whatever we get wrong is to our refinement

as we keep learning, no matter who or how old we are.

so, no matter how great (like winning the World Series, 

(oops!! like trying to win the World Series)

 or small (like preserving pumpkins) 

we owe our best to He from whom we have first received  

So, no matter 

how great or small

The task at 

present seems

We owe our 

Very Best of All

To He who 

grants the means

To seize each 

opportunity

With noble 

intention

Because of who 

grants you and me

Ability. 

Amen

Janet Martin

Matt.6:9-13

In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.

 Your kingdom come.

Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

 Give us this day our daily bread.

 And forgive us our debts,

As we forgive our debtors.

 And do not lead us into temptation,

But deliver us from the evil one.

[a]For Yours is the kingdom

and the power 

and the glory forever. 

Amen.

Rock of Ages Cleft For Me

Like Fresh-baked Bread...

“When you reflect on your work,

give thanks that every breath you took,

all the intelligence you applied,

all the strength you exerted, 

was a gift of God,

so that your working becomes an occasion 

of happy, thankful worship as you think about it.”

—John Piper

1 Timothy 6:17

Instruct those who are rich in the present age

not to be conceited 

and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth,

but in God, 

who richly provides all things for us to enjoy.

Yesterday was Thanksgiving Bake Day!

Baking always brings me pleasure...

...and it's easy to worship when oil cruses 

and flour vessels are full! 

Would I be as willing in my worship if they were not?

A thought to challenge/purify my gratitude! 

This day is thine and mine to break

Like fresh-baked bread; to take and bless

To savour every crumb and flake

Like manna in the wilderness 

This is the day the Lord has made

He does not author thoughtlessly

Its lease; then do not be afraid

Because He cares for you and me

Today’s ephemeral empire

Of morn-noon-night slips through our touch

Futile to wallow in the mire

Of yesterday’s defeats and such

Better to taste our gift of days 

Like fresh-baked bread; simple and sweet

And with each morsel/mouthful offer praise

To He who gives to we who eat

Janet Martin

This Good Day -Fernando Ortega

Be Grateful Charlie Pride 

The Ongoing Interview

A year ago today/yesterday our truck was stolen 

out of our back yard during a family reunion

 ( the loss was just a truck and eventually it was recovered) but

I commented to some friends yesterday how it felt like that day began

a volley of staggering blows and losses,

a schooling in sorrow and the 

incomprehensible compassion of God poured through

people and His Word; evoking a keener awareness to a kind of

Interview, where God has always said

'Trust me' and delights in proving His faithfulness

if we are willing to obey and trust Him

A year ago today Lucy dropped by unannounced

with a bouquet of gladiolas, and much sympathy.

(and classic Lucy-greeting,

oh wow! Are you always dressed up like you're going for groceries,

even on a Monday afternoon of canning?!!) 😅💓

My, my I miss my spontaneous, speak-her-mind/heart sister💔😭

Because our truck was stolen (a friend reminded me much later) 

we, unknowingly had our last just-the-two-of-us, heart-to-heart afternoon together!

Before she left we hugged and said 'I love you'.

After the tragedy that ended her earthly life

Her husband chose Rom. 8:28 

And we know that in all things 

God works for the good of those who love him, 

who[a] have been called according to his purpose

as a grounding verse.

 Because of our stolen truck

God worked for good

Lucy's response to the nudge to come 

and give me a hug, amidst her busyness.

God gave me a memory to treasure forever...

(I can't begin to describe how the last year has

transformed joy/hope through incredible heartbreak!

My heart feels ripped, crushed and cradled!!)

The Interview between Father and Child,

to teach needful lessons is always painful, isn't it, daddies?

Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,

God hath shined.

Ps.50:2

We are God’s workmanship; thus, are part of an interview

With He who kindles every star, then dims them with the sun

Who, out of Zion pours perfection’s bespoke beauty through

A fathomless reflection of love’s work barely begun

While, 'gainst a universal scrim, His evidence of truth

Beckons us to remember Him in the days of our youth

The Interviewer of our days; the Kindler of each star

Delights to hear our heartful praise, while joy or sorrow roll

He tests and weighs worship’s reply; no matter who we are

He loves us; Lord of earth and sky and Saviour of the soul

He tries the highs of boast with blows; He refines gains with loss

To prove who we love most; with woes He points us to the cross

Each day runs rife with lows and highs; part of Love’s Interview

While life spills hellos and goodbyes, while we choose who to serve

In a world where anything goes (it seems), where liars woo/coo

Where change and Changeless juxtapose on Hope’s brief honing-curve

While breath by breath soft-dwindles what consumes Attention’s claim

While, like the stars He kindles, God knows each of us by name

...where while life lasts we are in an ongoing Interview

With He who shines through every star, and the sun cannot dim

Who gave His life doomed souls to save, who rose and overthrew

The deadly triumph of the grave, for all who trust in Him

Lord, tune our ears to hear, above the trials faith endures

The Interviewer’s perfect love, whose grace the soul secures

© Janet Martin

Take heart, all of us who are being 'interviewed/tested'...

James 1:2-8

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,

 3knowing that the testing of your faith produces [a]patience.

 4But let patience have its perfect work, 

that you may be [b]perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

 5If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, 

who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 

6But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, 

for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.

 7For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;

 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

1 Peter 5:9-10

Resist him, 

standing firm in your faith and in the knowledge 

that your brothers throughout the world 

are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. 

 And after you have suffered for a little while, 

the God of all grace, who has called you 

to His eternal glory in Christ, 

will Himself restore you, 

secure you, 

strengthen you, 

and establish you.

Weighing the Measure of Life

Discipline, not desire determines destiny.

~Dr. Charles Stanley~

I have a friend whose prayer requests often include

a request that God may help them establish healthy rhythms

in their marriage and family-life.

In pondering the phrase 'healthy rhythms' 

I have been scrutinizing my own rhythms;

how these rhythms impact and become my life!!

Rhythms shape and reveal where my deepest devotion/affections lie.

Rhythms prove...

What/who fuels my desires, my goals, my choices?

What arouses my deepest concerns; the temporal or the eternal?

Who do I turn to for counsel?

Who gets my first hour of the day?

Who directs my joy?

Who/who do I most admire?

Are my rhythms Christ centered?

Is He my first waking want, worship and wonder?

It takes dogged discipline to establish new rhythms,

and all the more so as we grow older and set in our ways! 

It's never too late to confess apathy to our loving Heavenly Father

And beseech Him to lead us in the path of His commandments and righteousness!

As we open his Word

He will open the eyes of our heart if we ask.

He will give us ears to hear Him!

1 Thess.5:24 

He who calls you (us) is faithful, who also will do it.

Jer.17:5-10

Thus says the Lord:

“Cursed is the man who trusts in man

And makes flesh his [b]strength,

Whose heart departs from the Lord.

6For he shall be like a shrub in the desert,

And shall not see when good comes,

But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness,

In a salt land which is not inhabited.

7“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,

And whose hope is the Lord.

8For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,

Which spreads out its roots by the river,

And will not [c]fear when heat comes;

But its leaf will be green,

And will not be anxious in the year of drought,

Nor will cease from yielding fruit.

9“The heart is deceitful above all things,

And [d]desperately wicked;

Who can know it?

10I, the Lord, search the heart,

I test the [e]mind,

Even to give every man according to his ways,

According to the fruit of his doings.

This poem can be one 3-stanza poem or 3 one-stanza poems 😊

The measure of a life is wrought

From word and deed; the fruit of thought

How swift the innocence of youth

Is shed and wed with timeless truth 

For no one is exempt from this;

'As a man thinketh, so he is'

***

The words of our mouth impart

The meditations of the heart

Then pray with all humility

'Lord, let these be pleasing to Thee'

So life will be a rhythm of

Unwavering faith, hope and love

***

Oh, may our steps be ordered by

The Lord on whom we can rely

May His law be Thought's chief delight

To guide and help us fight the fight

To the reward that will not fade

When the measure of life is weighed

Janet Martin

Praise And Harmony Singers "Savior Lead Me Lest I Stray"

Trying to Take It All In

On Saturday at my nephew's wedding he commented in his speech 

how he and his wife were 'trying to take it all in'- 

this beautiful beginning to 'till death doth part'! 

This statement echoed a sentiment I seek to live by, 

but never more so as in the past year!! 

Death, esp. sudden death, which my family, church family and local community 

have experienced like never before in my recollection,

 has re-impacted me with the awareness of the sacred brevity of it all 

and how nothing stays the same for every long,

and how, because none of us knows the number of our ordained days,

we should endeavor daily to take to heart the humble, holy, whole duty of man.

The 'whole duty of man' is also a 'till death doth part ' undertaking! 

Eccles.12:13

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:

 Fear God, and keep his commandments: 

for this is the whole duty of man.

After a week of vacation followed by Saturday's beautiful wedding 

I told my sister this morning that in today's poem

 'I'm trying to snare the bitter-sweetness of love

that always climaxes on days like Saturday',

 especially after a week of more-precious-than-ever family time.

One of vacation's highlights;  dock-breakfasts!

Beauty and brokenness sparkle and shatter

Rushing like waves across shorelines within

Trying The Conclusion of the Whole Matter

That Mortal shoulders beneath shrouds of skin

While we are trying to take it all in

College is not learning’s sole institution

Wisdom and knowledge are not the same thing

Wonder and sorrow, with clashing profusion

Author both worship and Want’s groan and grin

While we are trying to take it all in

Praise God whose thoughts and ways confound man’s reason

Praise God who grants all we hold and let go

Praise God who orchestrates time’s ordained seasons

Who is not mocked; we will reap what we sow

While bitter-sweetly Farewell braves Hello

...while we are weathering love’s grueling glories

Tasting the ink of its laughter and tears

Kicking its dust that soon settles in stories

Added to archives of fond yesteryears

While morning breaks that which soft disappears

Darling, the dew of dusk startles dream-dancers

Beauty and brokenness sparkle and spin

While some are armed with youth’s untested answers

Others renew seasoned vows to begin

To never stop trying to take it all in

© Janet Martin