Spiritual Reveille

Reveille: 1. : a signal to get up mornings.

 2. : a bugle call at about sunrise signaling the first military formation of the day.

Getting up every morning is not for the faint of heart, 

but being properly equipped is the key to success!

Luke 24:49

And behold, I am sending the promise of My Father upon you.

But remain in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

1 Corinthians 12:7

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit

is given for the common good.

Ephesians 6:10

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.

2 Timothy 1:7

For God has not given us a spirit of fear,

but of power, love, and self-control.

Without God's Spirit within,

without His word hidden in our hearts

so we do not sin against Him, (Ps.119:11)

how often we would fall prey to sight

rather than walking/living by faith.

How often we would make choices

based on logic deduced from a human standpoint

rather than simply *obeying God

and trusting Him for the consequences.

God gifts us with abilities to use for His purposes and glory!

May that be our whole-sole-soul goal today!

Wishing you a day filled with joy only His Spirit can instill,

as we trust He who is able in all circumstances!

Without His Spirit it is impossible for us to do well 

in life's greatest callings, 

such as training up a child in the way they should go...

Come, all who love and fear the Lord, with holy hunger pray

To be a suit of working clothes His Spirit wears today

To be a vessel filled with Light no circumstance can dim

To be, in humble human form a glorious glimpse of Him

Come, all who seek and trust the Lord, believing in his Word

Pour out your heart in earnest prayer for all who have not heard

Who do not comprehend the Light that shines into the dark

Who, like in days of Noah, scorn the safety of faith’s Ark

Come, all who follow and obey the Lord; do not despair

But be the hands and feet of He who keeps us in His care

Put on His suit of armour, like a soldier who prepares

To head into a battlefield suffused with deadly snares

Come, all who love and fear the Lord, with worship’s yielded awe

For purposes infallible; for timing without flaw

For His glory and by his grace, with holy hunger pray

Then be the suit of working clothes His Spirit wears today

© Janet Martin

2 Tim.2:3

You therefore must endure[a] hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

Galatians 3:3
Are you so foolish? After starting in the Spirit, 

are you now finishing in the flesh?

Ephesians 3:16

I ask that out of the riches of His glory He may strengthen you 

with power through His Spirit in your inner being,

Philippians 4:13

I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

Romans 8:9
You, however, are controlled not by the flesh, but by the Spirit,

 if the Spirit of God lives in you. 

And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, 

he does not belong to Christ.

You can't 'work out' disobediences to God.

It doesn't work!

-Charles Stanley from the message HERE 

Come, We That Love the Lord

To Life, So Rich With Lovely Things

There is an incalculable silver lining to sorrow!

It reawakens us to life's wealth of joys

overflowing from God's fount of blessing! 

Our personal 'wealth' may differ in the details

but the Hand that grants it is

The Same and Changeless!

Ps.65:8 

The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;

where morning dawns, where evening fades,

you call forth songs of joy.

A friendly book, a cup of tea...

The glory of heavens run wild...

The beauty of mother and child...

Each gear that turns the working world...

(are you ever blown away by how vital every single 'gear'

of the working world is?!!)

This life is rich with lovely things

The fount from which fresh morning rings...

This life is rich with lovely things

The fount from which fresh morning rings

As earth emerges, soft and still

To perch upon my window sill

A friendly book, a cup of tea

The precious gift of you-and-me

The humble happiness we feel

For handstitched quilt, or homecooked meal

The balmy breeze that melts the snow

The warm handshake to say ‘hello’

The smile across a crowded room

The bud instilled with perfect bloom

A front porch splashed with spring sunshine

A color-kindled laundry line

The glory of heavens run wild

The beauty of mother and child

The lamb that leaps in verdant mead 

That hand that doth the kindly deed

The laws of nature, undeterred  

The power of a gentle word  

Each fear in faith’s banner unfurled

Each gear that turns the working world

Each upsy-daisy where we fell

Each brook that tunes the sylvan dell

The green of youth, the sage of age

The thrill that fills the empty page

With lure of lyrics, wild and free

(The poet’s sweet insanity)

…for time and ink are not enough

Where the inventory of love

Pray, stirs a constant, conscious laud

For blessings from our gracious God

For unchartered, uncharted ‘new’

For common wealth of Task to Do

For much to touch and taste and learn

From Time's momentous no-return

Forbid, lest care our visage dims

We stumble on a vault that brims

With wonderment, God's goodness brings

To life, so rich with lovely things

© Janet Martin

Psalm 65

Praise awaits[b] you, our God, in Zion;

to you our vows will be fulfilled.

2 You who answer prayer,

to you all people will come.

3 When we were overwhelmed by sins,

you forgave[c] our transgressions.

4 Blessed are those you choose

and bring near to live in your courts!

We are filled with the good things of your house,

of your holy temple.

5 You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds,

God our Savior,

the hope of all the ends of the earth

and of the farthest seas,

6 who formed the mountains by your power,

having armed yourself with strength,

7 who stilled the roaring of the seas,

the roaring of their waves,

and the turmoil of the nations.

8 The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;

where morning dawns, where evening fades,

you call forth songs of joy.

9 You care for the land and water it;

you enrich it abundantly.

The streams of God are filled with water

to provide the people with grain,

for so you have ordained it.[d]

10 You drench its furrows and level its ridges;

you soften it with showers and bless its crops.

11 You crown the year with your bounty,

and your carts overflow with abundance.

12 The grasslands of the wilderness overflow;

the hills are clothed with gladness.

13 The meadows are covered with flocks

and the valleys are mantled with grain;

they shout for joy and sing.

Fernando Ortega-Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing with lyrics

God Gives; We Take...

Yesterday's hold-and-letting-go 'lament/minuet'

inspired today's give and take contemplation...

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.

Acts 17:28

For in him we live and move and have our being.

’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’

How often we are like this robin,

who took full advantage of a freshly-filled birdbath!

We soak and splash in the faithfully-replenished fountain of blessing.

Pray we thank the Giver for all we take! 

God gives; we take. All we receive precedes relinquishment

Each accomplishment we achieve the fruit of favours lent

Goodness and mercy’s wellspring spills; we drink, with gifted breath

Too oft mindless of He who fills the fount of life-to-death

God gives; we take. A treasure trove of generosity

Anoints our touch-and-taste with love’s accountability

Where all we have is what we take while He ordains the chance

And it is up to us to make the most of all He grants

God gives; we take; and if we suffer loss tis but the part

Of gain we often overlook until it breaks our heart

And bids us contemplate the sum of grace till we are awed

For all we have is given from the outstretched Hand of God

God gives today; we wake and take it, consciously or not

Ah pray, that what we make of it is the best we have got 

He gives; we take. Forbid we boast in anyone but He

Who loves us to the uttermost for all eternity 

© Janet Martin

John 19:10-11

So Pilate said to Him, “Do You refuse to speak to me?

Do You not know that I have authority to release You 

and authority to crucify You?”

11Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me

if it were not given to you from above.

Therefore the one who handed Me over to you is guilty of greater sin.”

Olives That Have Known No Pressure - Hymn 626

Olives that have known no pressure

No oil can bestow;

If the grapes escape the winepress,

Cheering wine can never flow;

Spikenard only through the crushing,

Fragrance can diffuse.

Shall I then, Lord, shrink from suff’ring

Which Thy love for me would choose?

Each blow I suffer

Is true gain to me.

In the place of what Thou takest

Thou dost give Thyself to me.

Do my heart-strings need Thy stretching,

Songs divine to prove?

Do I need for sweetest music

Cruel treatment of Thy love?

Lord, I fear no deprivation

If it draws to Thee;

I would yield in full surrender

All Thy heart of love to see.

I’m ashamed, my Lord, for seeking

Self to guard alway;

Though Thy love has done its stripping,

Yet I’ve been compelled this way.

Lord, according to Thy pleasure

Fully work on me;

Heeding not my human feelings,

Only do what pleases Thee.

If Thy mind and mine should differ,

Still pursue Thy way;

If Thy pleasure means my sorrow,

Still my heart shall answer, “Yea!”

’Tis my deep desire to please Thee,

Though I suffer loss;

E’en though Thy delight and glory

Mean that I endure the cross.

Oh, I’ll praise Thee, e’en if weeping

Mingle with my song.

Thine increasing sweetness calls forth

Grateful praises all day long.

Thou hast made Thyself more precious

Than all else to me:

Thou increase and I decrease, Lord—

This is now my only plea.

Awakening to 'Living the 'Dream'

Today's poem was inspired by my niece who, yesterday, wrote on her Facebook post...

(after recovering from another round of sickness in their household)

'Walking around our property tonight, I took a moment

and realized in all the busyness & stress of home ownership & motherhood,

this is everything I've dreamed for' 💗

Thank-you J, for the reminder to treasure the moment and find the joy in it

no matter how hectic the 'happiness' spills!

'The dream' isn't only the picture-perfect moments but all of it together;

the lows make us more thankful for the highs.

This is the day the Lord has made;

we will rejoice and be glad in it!

Ps.118:24

Family milestone celebrations

are one of the happiest blessings on earth...

The other evening we celebrated Granddaughter's 6th birthday,

Which means it was her turn to receive her mommy-box/gramma box

'mommy' is the Pennsylvania-Dutch word for gramma.

(a short 'e' sound at the end rather than long)

In a mommy box 'treasures' are buried in popcorn...

Gum-lover's delight below 😂

the inside of the box is lined with little poems, pictures and bible verses

(I forgot to take a photo of the inside)

Awakening to 'Living the Dream'

To recognize that sorrow is the price we pay for joy

Loss is the proof of having had; everything comes, to pass

And grief and love are life’s most tenderly entwined alloy

Moment’s momentous momentum, sand in life’s hourglass

To recognize that highs and lows comprise ‘living the dream’

Without the brutal ‘bitter’ we would not cherish the ‘sweet’

Or taste the lilt of laughter with more reverent esteem

After the tears we shed when life and death solemnly meet

To recognize the priceless prize disguised as here-and-now

Intangible and fleet, the font that fills history’s mold

And then, with fervent thankfulness to make a humble vow

To do our part to make its art a pleasure/treasure to behold

To, recognize today is all we have, no more or less

To ‘live the dream’ by faith, not fate; to be constantly awed

By He whose loving kindness is the key to happiness

To recognize, through lows and highs, the faithfulness of God

© Janet Martin

I have decided to center my posts after all.

It's hard to teach an 'old dog' new tricks, plus

I have discovered some 'centered' poetry volumes 

in my poem book collection.

See HERE for back story on this 😆

To Think, Dear Day...

Today, the canvas of each and every lifetime!

Matt.6:34

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, 

for tomorrow will worry about itself. 

Each day has enough trouble of its own.

A stampede of Duty-dues assaulted my waking senses

threatening to thwart awareness to the whisper of mercy-renewed

and thus, reply of gratitude...

Yesterday I was visited by two little girls...

(dolls and outfits including shoes, handmade by local Talent)

oops, I mean four!! 😂

My granddaughter and my sister Lucy's granddaughter...

(where a few times I replied to the bittersweet title of Gram, um, Janet)

They giggled when I told them they made my dream come true...

a little home by the mountains and a lake!

Day...such a little word for all it unfurls

of troubles and triumphs and giggle of girls...

To think, I sometimes suppose you as common at first glance

Where opportunity is new, preceding consequence

Where the dictation of demands can consume praises owed

For it is not by human hands your favour is bestowed

To think I sometimes dare to state your mist as mine, somehow

And I am apt to underrate your mien of Here-and-Now

Where you are always caught between what was and waits to be

A sacred stage set with each scene that begets history

To think, sometimes the part I/eyes see can blind my finite gaze;

On the brink of eternity, the trail you blaze conveys

A fleeting caravan of fellowman from Here to Where

You yield your dust of Season-span to He who put it there

To think sometimes I rise without a rush of gratitude

For what none can surmise because of God’s mercy renewed

Where beauty you unfold is but a little foretaste of

The end of you, when we behold the Mystery of love

To think, I sometimes miss the wonder of your holy ground

Because the thunder of what is unfurls its sight and sound

To think, dear day, sometimes I suppose you as Duty’s toll

Rather than the highway hosting the carriage of the soul

© Janet Martin

a sacred stage set with each scene that begets history...

Roly-polies...leftover pie-pastry tradition! 

And today's devotion!

To Live a Hymn

Yesterday I attended the funeral

of my friend's father-in-law.

He was 65.

Then, I attended a visitation for another friend's son-in-law.

He was 34.

There my friend told me how my sister Lucy's picture hangs near her sewing machine

so she remembers to pray for me and Lucy's family.

(for irregular visitors here; my sister lost her life suddenly 

when she was hit while riding her bicycle last Sept.) 

Lucy was 55. 

When someone we love passes away it brings an end to

conversations, activities, dreams and plans once fondly shared.

But it flings wide the renewed invitation to dredge the deeps of

what truly matters, above all!

And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; 

but the greatest of these is love.

 1 Cor.13:13

Faith in the finished work of the cross!

Hope through Jesus' resurrection!

so we may know God's love

that surpasses knowledge!

1 Cor.15:16-19

16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 

17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 

18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 

19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, 

we are of all people most to be pitied.

John 11:25-26

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.

 The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 

26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. 

Do you believe this?”

Do the above verses not ignite or rekindle a desire

to live the reflection of belief/faith?!

to live a hymn of hope?!

to live the light of love?!!

To live a hymn of love for Thee

O Lord, let this our motive be

To yield Want’s will to Thy command

To trust the leading of Thy Hand

And not with human wisdom try

Reason’s demand to satisfy

But without fail, to find enough

Where these abide;

 Faith, hope and love

To live a hymn to worship Thee

No matter what the cost may be

To know, no matter what our lot

Tis cradled in Divine Forethought

Where, once for all, Thy sacrifice

Suffered and covered pardon’s price

So, we would always find enough

Where these abide;

 Faith, hope and love

To live a hymn of humble awe

O Lord, to delight in Thy law

And then to fill Time's bar of days

With open-handed, thankful praise

Rather than loot of fleeting pelf

That cannot appease gods of Self

Lord, overflow hearts with enough

Where these abide;

Faith, hope and love 

To live a hymn of joy in Thee

With faith and hope's expectancy

Without a dearer purpose than

To love you first, then fellowman

To lay before Thy throne of grace

Each tear that treads the soul or face

Each prayer learning to find enough

Where You provide

 Faith, hope and love

© Janet Martin

Eph.3:14-21

14 For this reason I kneel before the Father,

 15 from whom every family[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name.

 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you

 with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 

17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. 

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 

18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people,

 to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 

19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—

that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,

 according to his power that is at work within us, 

21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, 

for ever and ever! 

Amen.

Read the full glorious chapter of 1 Cor.15 HERE

1 Cor.15:50-58

50 I declare to you, brothers and sisters, 

that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God,

 nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 

51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 

52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. 

For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, 

and we will be changed. 

53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, 

and the mortal with immortality.

 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, 

and the mortal with immortality,

 then the saying that is written will come true: 

“Death has been swallowed up in victory.”[h]

55 “Where, O death, is your victory?

Where, O death, is your sting?”[i]

56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 

57 But thanks be to God! 

He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. 

Let nothing move you.

 Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord,

 because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Below, the last paragraphs of yesterday's and today's devotions from

Streams in the Desert Vol.2

...and last but not least, my most listened to song of 2024...

I Set My Hope on Jesus

Take a (Humbler) Moment...

Yesterday we celebrated our sweet Victoria's 24th Birthday

Every celebration (esp. since Sept. 17) is raw with humbler awareness 

of life's uncertainty/vulnerability...

My sister Lucy's husband and daughter were a special part

of the celebration; unspoken sorrow tuning our laughter

with kinder joy...

It is with unspeakable tenderness that we treasure the halo of faces

around a dinner table! 

 

(I'm not sure why the beginning and end of 

the song is cut off) oh, well...

***

Ah, take a moment, drink it in; the clime of Time is hasting

Its dawn-to-dusk designed to win the present we are tasting

Where nothing stays the same for long; each season, farewell-smitten

While deathless lyrics to Our Song of Life are being written

Sometimes, while in the bloom of love eyes close, never to waken

The loom that weaves The Mortal Glove, by God given and taken

Then, take a moment more to treasure the halo of faces

Around the table; prize love’s pleasure nothing else replaces

Behold the bud of virgin morn, like a flower unfolding

Where soon the bloom of it is borne to Bygone’s holy holding

Each bud a little like a door that God opens and closes

So, take a humbler moment more to thank Him for life’s roses

For no one knows the day nor hour He will bend without pardon

To pluck another precious flow’r from this world’s wanting garden

Then, drink with mindful regard from a fount filled by life’s Giver

With Ink of Moments that become Our Song of Life forever

Janet Martin

Acts 1:7

Jesus replied, “It is not for you to know times or seasons

that the Father has fixed by His own authority

( our community is in deep mourning once again;

last week a young husband and father of five,

lost his life in a tragic accident).

Behold the bud of virgin morn, like a flower unfolding

Where soon the bloom of it is borne to Bygone’s holy holding

Each bud a little like a door that God opens and closes

So, take a humbler moment more to thank Him for life’s roses...

On Learning Love's Darling Price

Last week love's privileges and duties pressed to the forefront

 so much so that poetry needed to take a quiet break. 

Part of me softly mourned the loss of a sister who checked in most days 

to see what was happening on my 'porch' and on a week like last week,

 most surely she would send a text. something like 'is everything okay? missing your posts'. 

At church on Sunday morning a friend mentioned that it was a quiet week on my blog?? 

and I told her why and also how special her checking in was.💝🙏

 Later another friend also encouraged me, not to fret about writing,

 but to be content when time does not permit! 

It means a lot when someone cares about what is going on in our little worlds, doesn't it?!

 A reminder for me to look around to see who I could/should be checking in on.

Whatever our 'little worlds' hold, of good or ill,

true joy and peace begin with surrender to God 

who loved us so much He gave His only begotten Son, 

 that whosoever believes in Him

will not perish but have everlasting life.

 John 3:16

On Sat. night when I returned home

a loving friend had left a thoughtful gift at my door!

Thoughtfulness and kindness are gifts

money cannot buy, but sometimes

money purchases very touching and precious mementos

like this....

Here's to a new day of learning love's darling price...

True love is like a priceless gift we need to give to find

Love's Greatest Gift, God gave to save the souls of humankind

To give us an example we should learn/yearn to imitate

To teach us how we ought to love before it is too late

My sad record of failure would/should unfurl a ghastly noose  

But God, because He gave His Son, has cut death's lariat loose 

He gave His Word so we may know the truth that sets us free

To love Him first and then each other with humility   

Ah, pity all who look for love but cannot find its key

Who sift the dust of this world for love's immortality

Rather than reaching for the Gift only God can provide 

Then finding in love's giving love's longing is satisfied 

   

Ah, pray we endeavor to be at love's high beck and call

Because God, who so loves us gave Himself for one and all

To equip us with what/Who we need to learn love's darling price

How giving due glory to God yields living sacrifice

© Janet Martin 

John 13:34-35
A new commandment I give you: Love one another. 

As I have loved you, so you also must love one another. 

/ By this everyone will know that you are My disciples,

 if you love one another.”

1 John 4:7-11
Beloved, let us love one another, because love comes from God. 

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

/ Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

 / This is how God’s love was revealed among us: 

God sent His one and only Son into the world, 

so that we might live through Him. ...

Philippians 2:3-4
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride,

 but in humility consider others more important than yourselves. /

 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, 

but also to the interests of others.

The Love of God - Mercy Me [With Lyrics]