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

The Preciousness of Moment-gold

Life is busy...often it's easy to lament its haste and all we didn't do

in spite of all we did.

Each day deserves our careful consideration

in the weighing of moment gold

because of its eternal value! 

a peek into a small part of July's beautiful bustle

Life is not always 'a bowl of cherries' is it?!!

But oh the beauty of those 'bowls'!

Thank-you, God

our days are never long enough to do all that we want to do

when it comes to the ones we love, how swift the sands of time run through

the hourglass of touch and taste; its haste a subtle give and take

gathering all we once embraced into love's sentimental ache

the preciousness of moment-gold is a gift new moments estrange

as joy and grief slip through our hold they join a cast nothing can change

as choice by choice ( love's sacred charge) grants countless reasons to be kind

for we are always on the verge of the life we will leave behind

behold today, a gleaming gem granted to likes of you and I

a diamond for a diadem of dust to dust of days gone by

where days never seem long enough to do all that we want or should

before we meet the One whose love bestows all that is true and good

Janet Martin

on this note, I am off for an annual summer break.

See you soon , Lord willing

Colossians 3:23-24
Whatever you do, work at it with your whole being, 

as for the Lord and not for men, 

 because you know that you will receive an inheritance

 from the Lord as your reward. 

It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

1 Corinthians 10:31
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, 

do it all to the glory of God.

Making the Most of Life

Ps.5:11-12

Let all those that put their trust in Thee rejoice: 

let them ever shout for joy because Thou defendest them: 

Let them also that love Thy name be joyful in Thee.

For Thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous: 

with favour wilt thou compass Him as with a shield.

***

There are few things which make life as meaningless, as selfishness.

Small wonder then that the two greatest commandments

challenge and cheer every choice we make

every day.

***

Our gains and blessings are never given to pocket, but to share.

How prone human nature is to self-indulgence,

rather than recognizing where there is added blessing

there is added responsibility to bless and give...

***

When we are tempted to hide the 'talent' in the earth

whether of money or spiritual gifts

to protect it from failure and loss

let us pray to the Giver for help

to trust Him more.

***

When, with what we are given, we seek first the kingdom of God,

by honouring the Giver, then success is guaranteed,

far beyond what the naked eye can behold!

***

Recently I purchased a little book

(so I would qualify for free shipping from Amazon) 😀

It is a beautiful vault of godly wisdom and exhortation!

(and the above excerpts are just the first few paragraphs!!)

Our greatest understanding cannot comprehend God's ways

Lord, let it be enough for me to trust Thee all my days

How brief, accumulation's lease; the treasures we accrue

Where, how/how where, we concentrate life's wealth is up to me and you 

How holy is each breath we take; each choice we make, oh Lord

Help us to make the most of life by reck'ning the reward

~Janet Martin

Because Our Time on Earth is Brief...

Lest we 'fall into temptation and a trap because we want to be rich' 1 Tim.6:9

making it exceedingly difficult to

'love God first and our neighbour as ourselves, Luke 10:27

let us 'serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling'! Ps.2:11

Lest we label 'faithfulness in obedience' as legalistic

in an age of increasing nonchalance,

let us take heed, if we think we stand, lest we fall' 1 Cor.10:12

Lest we drown out God's voice with noise of worldly ploys,

oh Lord, remind us to be still and know that you are God. Ps.46:10

Let us delight in Your law and meditate on it day and night!

So we will be like a tree planted by rivers of water

bringing forth fruit in season,

and leaf that does not wither,

as whatever we do shall prosper. Ps.1:2-3

Our church family is invited to participate in reading through the Psalms during July and August!

Would you like to join us, and also be ministered to by these powerful chapters of Scripture?

Because our time on earth is brief

Not one single soul can afford

To live as if this world were chief

For soon we all will meet the Lord

The Lord is He who gives and takes

His breath instills each breath we draw

Then for Him and fellowman's sakes

Pray love to be our lifelong law

...because our time on earth is brief

Lord, make us more humble and kind

And help us live each day as if

Today we'll leave it all behind 

Janet 🙏💝

May Today Be...

And just like that it's Summer

Happy First Day of Summer!

May today be a hymn of praise

to He who grants all of our days!

Isa.61:10-11

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,
My soul shall be joyful in my God;
For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
He has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments,
And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
 For as the earth brings forth its bud,
As the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth,
So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise 

to spring forth before all the nations.

After yesterday's wind and rain the garden, adorned with nature's jewels,

 springs forth with vivid hymns of praise!

May today be, in Bygone's trove, 

above all else, a cherished thought

A gem in a collection of 

learning to love the way we ought

A token where devotion crowns

the tempo that unravels days

Composing from hope's ups and downs

a memento of grateful praise

May today be in reverie 

a masterpiece Past mediates

Into the kind of poetry 

ink never quite encapsulates

Arpeggios that waltz and brood, 

o'er vistas of echoes unbound

A breathless sense of having stood 

with shoes removed on holy ground

May today, as moments are spent, 

augment inestimable worth 

An intentional investment 

in treasures not beheld on earth 

As, grace upon grace grants no lack

Because God keeps his promises

May today be, when looking back

A frame filled with God's faithfulness 

Janet Martin

Breath By Breath...

Seeing all the flowers on Sunday at Whistling Gardens

(all photos on this post taken there)

refreshed the enthusiasm of working in my own gardens...

(until I cut through the internet cable with my edger!)

Happily the efficient repair crew has it up and running again!

 Sharing a few more peony photos from Sunday...

***

Each day holds starkly sudden transports

From Time into eternity, for… none knows who

Behooving us to consider things we often don’t!

Each breath, each hour, each step, each grace

Drawing us toward One Universal Certainty.

The other day I read this quote;

‘We often say life is short. Enjoy it!

It would be better to say,

‘Eternity is long. Prepare for it!’

Breath by breath we draw toward

The moment when we meet the Lord

Dear one, tell me, who can afford

To ignore what is certain

Hour by hour we bide our time

Until life’s clock is drained of chime

And death reveals the mystic clime

Veiled by breath’s wafting curtain

Step by step, soul carves its flight

To endless day or endless night

Where none returns from thence, to cite

Its horrors or its wonders

Grace by grace, we face today

Dear one, fall on your knees and pray

For, in each breath eulogies play

And eternity thunders

© Janet Martin

2 Peter 1:12-15
Therefore I will always remind you of these things, 

even though you know them and are established in the truth you now have. 

 I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of my body, 

 because I know that this tent will soon be laid aside, 

as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. ...

While My Body Grins and Groans (I want to take nothing for granted)

Recently I have heard more than one person say they don't want to take anything for granted!

I echo this sentiment in today's reflection of birthday celebration weekend.

Ps.90:12

So teach us to number our days, 

That we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Thank-you God, for

 Fridge-foragers...

Father and son discussions (on the merits of certain hockey players etc.) 😅

Impromptu Sat. afternoon surprise coffee break... thank-you Emily and fam!

(Missed a pic of the delicious raspberry lemon scones, still oven-warm!)

Precious birthday-celebration dinner-guests...

 (my parents)

and Victoria...

 Dear Husband, May I never take you for granted

(too often, sadly, I do!)

esp. your hat-tossing habits 😐😏 which haven't changed

 since mentioned HERE on last year's anniversary poem...

Special sister time...

even more special in a peony garden !

Whistling Gardens near Brantford, ON

(below, a few of fifty+ pics of peonies)

Sister smelling the 'roses' while her hubby

scouts out ice-cream shops on homeward route 😊😂💖

I want to take nothing for granted in life's little Learn and Teach

Where soon each gifted day is planted in a garden out of reach

I want to wonder at God's grandeur; be mesmerized by His grace,

To be fine-tuned to tender splendour till nothing seems common place

Collecting through life's gains and losses, a much gladder gratitude   

Braving love's charge of shouldered crosses by trusting Mercy Renewed 

Contented in the Steadfast Knowing, come what may God never fails

His love is constantly bestowing winds to test and steer faith's sails

I want to take nothing for granted, where blooms briefly beam and nod 

But to be more humbly enchanted by the handiwork of God 

He, who attends both joy and sorrow maintains nature's threaded loom 

I want to live today without tomorrow's borrowed dread and doom 

I want to manifest His Presence in the peace of Letting Go

Where true happiness is, in essence, this; trusting His yes and no

Confident that the One who began a good work will see it through  

The Author of salvation's plan is faithful, trustworthy and true 

I want to take nothing for granted in life's leap from Him to Him 

Soon morning's newborn ray is slanted westward; soon Today grows dim

While epitaphs that time composes sets gasps in permanent ink

Like a storm of thorns and roses scattered, blood-red and blush-pink 

As breath-by-breath's brimming succession spills life's sacred, fleeting Toll

Wreathed by dust-to-dust's grim profession of death's claim of all but Soul 

So, before my hulled husk is planted in a garden of grave-stones

I want to take nothing for granted while my body grins and groans 

I do not want to take for granted the sheer wonder of it all

Or become dumbly disenchanted just because the petals fall

Or love's smile-and-tear weathered tether snaps; the ties that bind undone

By the Hand that brought us together; nothing new under the sun

Rousing us, Self-heady-prone dreamers to face raw reality

Time's transient flash of  vapour/paper streamers unhinges eternity 

So, while life's precious plot is planted with memories that love makes 

I do not want to take for granted that which God both gives... and takes 

© Janet Martin

I do not want to take for granted the sheer wonder of it all

Or become dumbly disenchanted just because the petals fall...

Thank-you God, for another birthday...

Thank-you for sisters/family and friends

 who showered me with beautiful birthday wishes

and flowers...

I came home yesterday, a bit peony-high

to find a new variety of peony (Dark Eyes) a deep burgundy-red

 at my door, from my friend's garden!

thank-you Kim 💖

I was also sweetly blessed by a begonia-planter 

in memory of the begonias Lucy gave all of us sisters last year,

from my sister Marlene 💗💔

Some flowers in the hue of the flowers Lucy gave us sisters last year

(because the peachy-coloured begonias were sold out)

From my sister Carolyn...we 'watered' them with a few mingled, tender tears;

Love's universal language

I'll admit it was an extra-teary birthday.

I miss Lucy with profound tenderness in times like these

so I took out the book she gave me in place of a card last year...