Moment By Moment

This morning our hearts are full of thoughts and prayers

 for every student, parent/grandparent,

 teacher, bus driver etc...as a new school year begins!

(For me, long gone are the days

Which in the moment felt forever-ish)

when mother/me would frantically cry,

'Run!! The bus is coming!!'

First day of new school year always makes me a bit teary!

My grandchildren, moment by moment are 

growing up so fast!

Gr.4, Gr. 2. & JK

Photo Credit, their mom

And so,

Moment by pure, new, unflawed moment 

we begin again, wherever in life we are!!! 

In the momentum of moments God instills momentous grace

Every drop of life is virgin from a fount no hand can trace

Taste and see from welkin coffers, pure, unsullied pardons glance

As God, rich in mercy offers moment-by-moment fresh chance

We are not bound to our fumbles or stumbles left in the past

From unplumbed reservoirs tumbles unmarred Moment, mercy-cast

Breath-by-breath bestowed allotment runs from gracious God to man

Holy, holy, every moment that compiles a lifetime’s span

Praise God; beyond man’s intrusion brims a moment-meted spring

Never a lapse, or confusion where Time’s sacred sparkles wing

Through our often, thoughtless bearing, as we drink from Heaven’s cup

Never pausing in our raring quaff even once, to look up

God, forgive our sight-charged blindness; inhale, exhale, moment-grace

Lavished with your loving kindness; always new moments replace

The old, with unblemished measure, soon beneath Reply succumbed

Then Lord, tune us to Time’s treasure tumbling from fathoms unplumbed

Some day the relay of moments will leave nothing in its wake

Save Reply’s scattered mementos to God’s sacred give and take

Save the part, for aye unaltered, for which we will give account

For moments that never faltered from Goodness and Mercy’s Fount

Pray, while we still may we live a life of humble gratitude

And do not neglect to give God praise for grace, moment-renewed

Drop-by-drop draught of pure wonder, breath-by-breath beholden laud

For the holy, rolling thunder of moment-by-moment, God

Janet Martin

Ps.90:12

Teach us to number our days/moments,

that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

To Feel The Brunt of August's Kiss...

 How does one choose a few from a thousand frames filled with August fondness...

This sudden cloudy, cool spurt does something to the summer soul... 🍂🍂🍂

Besides August inspiration, today's poem is also a piece of my heart

as I watch our grandchildren, our neighbour's children,

 children that were once 'my childcare-children' etc....

 FLYING through sweet, fleet childhood!

Always a sense of letting go

Begins to tug, as August wanes

And pours a mellow, yellow glow

Through twilight’s leaf-and-petal-panes

While cricket-choirs serenade

The summer soul with stilted tune

And vistas gleam with earth’s aubade

Of misty morn, and hazy noon

…where wave on wave, we brave the slope

Held by the hands of August’s clock

That swirls hues in a kaleidoscope

Of zinnia, cosmos, hollyhock

Of larkspur, dahlia, hibiscus,

Of hills ablaze with goldenrod

While a strange sense of loss sweeps us

Though harvest heaps our hearts with laud

…as field and garden overflows

With Faith’s seed-rendered aftermath

And bare feet play arpeggios

Along the trampled garden-path

And heartstrings snag where beauty bares

Its soul but cannot drain its fount

And nothing in the world compares

With uncurbed blessings beyond count

…of menu-choices freshly-shucked

Or gathered in baskets and bowls

As day-by-day August is tucked

Beneath a blanket without holes

Thus, we cannot afford to waste

The essence of ‘remember when’

The timbre of have-and-hold’s haste

A cosmic crux/flux of Now to Then

Always a sense of ‘bittersweet’

Rushes the raw edge of delight

As earth and hints of Heaven meet

In touch and taste, sound, smell and sight

And script of ink, though it may fill

Fond phantom frames with picture-bliss

Cannot quite capture standing still

To feel the brunt of August’s kiss

To feel the brunt of August’s kiss

Is not for the faint of desire

The holy awareness of This

Can set the course of Yet on fire

With awe, where past and future meet

For one split-second, ere they part

 To Bygone's aeon, bittersweet

Like August's kiss etched in the heart

Benediction...

Dear Lord, make me kindly content

Where Augusts flicker as they fly

Through worlds of childhoods 

swiftly spent

To disappear 

in 

years 

gone by

And help me 

recognize anew

Momentous treasure running rife

In moment-measure pouring through

The hourglass of love and life  

Janet Martin

Happy 32nd Birthday, Melissa!

Dear Lord, make me kindly content

Where Augusts flicker as they fly...

Moment-Heirs

 

Thank you God, you give us each day, 

not dumped in one lump sum, but released in moments...

Moments, so that midst life's musts 

we can take a moment or three to pause...

to peer through petal-panes...

to sip a cuppa beauty-bliss

to 'book' a flight (and vacation vicariously)

Before it slips away; today

Leaving no telling trace behind

Of footprints in the hardened clay

Of scenes of yesterday, be kind 

How subtle is the sum/thrum of life

Borne on unbridled tides of air

Like coursing rivers, running rife

With ways to spend life’s moment-fare

How soft today's moments arrange

Memento-molds, invaluable

How swift morrow’s moments estrange

Us from moments, still malleable

…let’s pray, before it is too late

To reach for what none can erase

That God would help us sense the weight

Of moments as they fall in place

The scenes of yesterday are set

Its disbursement of moments through

Once more God grants today's fresh Yet

To heirs of moments, wet with dew

Janet Martin

Ps.103:15-17

As for man, his days are like grass;
As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
 For the wind passes over it, and it is [b]gone,
And its place remembers it no more.
 But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting
On those who fear Him,

Masterpiece of Memories

Time's moment-ous Tempo 

is composing a Masterpiece;

the piece we call Memories, 

The Piece returned to the Master when 

our gift called life is through.

This Piece is precious because

it is the part for which we give account!

Each day's  'Memories' are piece of a priceless Masterpiece...

This poem 'happened' in part as I stood on my tippy-toes the other night

to hug 'my little boys', from bygone days;

 the older brothers just turned 20 & 17!

And 'little' brother is graduating from Grade 8!! 

Time composes a kind of hymn

With moments, as they glance and glim

Like notes in an arpeggio

Of highest high and lowest low

And as life's lyrics lilt and weep

As season-measures soar and sweep 

They draw from intangible keys

A Masterpiece called Memories

Time gathers in its rushing streams

The ebb and flowing throb of dreams

Where hope's immortal blossom spars

With petal-snow and falling stars

To spark a sentimental show

Of holding close and letting go

A ballad of spent harmonies;

This Masterpiece of Memories

Behold the beauty of today

Hark! where nuances wait to play

Ah, feel the reel as rhythms roll 

From touch and taste to heart and soul

A holy toll that tunes a hymn

As laughter and tears glance and glim

As burden and blessing increase

Mortal's Memory-Masterpiece

Life is a gift; each melody

Part of a Greater Harmony

Of precision and dissonance

Of decision and recompense

Of petals settled where they fall

Of 'nothing new' Original

And ungraspable as a breeze

Life's Masterpiece of Memories

Before today melts in the breach

Of moments slipping beyond reach

Before its melodies are set

In Bygone's changeless pirouette 

Let's do our kind and humble part

To make Today a Work of Art

Before God wills Time's Tempo stilled

Of life's memories, Master-willed

Janet Martin

Ps.92:12

So teach us to number our days,
That we may gain a heart of wisdom.

A Birthday Poem for The More 'Seasoned' Stage of Surprises!

Happy 62nd Birthday, Jim 

God bless you, guide you and protect you 

as you roll and chug/plug down and up life's highway!

(literally and metaphorically)

 My dear, the years keep hasting by

Where once upon green youth

We thought we had a lot of time

To learn life's changeless truth

And once upon far younger Thought

We dared Time's sleight of hand

By thinking somehow it would not

Heed Father Time's command 

And in spite of what 'Old Folk' said

About how years unfold

With gathered speed, we tossed our heads

And winked, youth-and dream-bold 

But now, with much more 'seasoned' stance

And sass and strut subdued 

We take each new day that God grants

With humbler gratitude

...where, as spent sun-up and sun-down 

Weathers youth's girl or boy

Pray we find in time's wizened crown

Sweet surprises of joy

Trading the fast-fading façade

Of face and form, my dear

For truer, purer love/awe for God

With every passing year

Counting, not loss, but gain, dear friend

And blessings beyond score

So that we cannot find the end

Of things we're thankful for 

Love always, from your wife

Janet Martin 

A blast from the past!!

Time-Don Williams

Yesterday's Sunday morning message passage

is the perfect prayer for today and every day of the year!

Phil.1:9-11

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more

 in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best 

and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 

filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—

to the glory and praise of God.

Summary of Todays

Deut.31:18

And the LORD,

He is the One who goes before you.

He will be with you,

He will not leave you nor forsake you;

do not fear nor be dismayed.”

***

How could we bear life's constant care

Without faith's comfort true

Because God keeps His promises

And cares for me and you

***

Not in what lies Behind

or Before us,

but Between these two;

Today, always and only,

as long as we live!

***

Futile to weep at yester's grave

Or borrow morrow's strife

Today is always all we have

To make the most of life

Today?

Food prep... among others tasks!

(so I'm not food prepping when I could be gardening)

Today's temp; a brisk 7C, feels like 4!

Perfect cook and bake weather while sipping tea!

Today's brew a first for me; lovage tea!

As with all fresh herbs...consume regularly/happily

but not in CRAZY amounts! 

I enjoyed it with a bread stick and a piece of cheese for a five-star lunch!

Food prep comforteth my garden soul!

Gardeners are needing to be patient while spring

takes its time to warm up!

So, in the meantime we will warm up with

last year's garden-fare...

...spruced up with fresh chives, oregano and lovage! 

And, believe or not, I have gathered this year's first harvest; lovage!

(while its still tender and not yet quite as potent/bitter as more mature leaves)

Soon it will grow VERY tall, with whimsical yellow flowers!

I'm happy to share if you would like to sample some! 

Drop by!

All the best to whatever is filling your today!

Behind, the joys and griefs we've borne

Past's world to which none can return

A track-record of highs and lows

No prayer or rue can interpose

To resurrect the rose it lent

 Of laughter's bloom, of gloom's lament

Of growing older day by day

Learning to shoulder gold and gray

Where none is spared the sacred thrall

Where seeds of spring bear fruits of fall 

Before, the gaping, great Unknown

A void through which no dove has flown

To return with a sprig of green

To grant a glimpse of Worlds Unseen

No rooms reserved to guarantee

The tenure of our tenancy 

No docket to detail what waits

Where morning flings afar/ajar its gates

Yet hope is trustworthy and true; 

What God has promised He will do

Between what lies behind-before

Lifetimes unfold; as moments pour

Through steadfast mercies that bestow

The holy ground of Here and Now;

A joy and sorrow-sanctioned lease

Of health and sickness, war and peace

Of daily opportunity

To bow the head and bend the knee

To thank God who has promised to

Be with us in all we pass through

No matter what was or will be

Time and change will roll like a sea

That bears upon its ebb and flow

All that we hold but to let go

No matter what succumbs to change

God is forevermore, the Same

He holds the cup that pours the vim

That ushers all life back to Him

Where every Here and Now becomes

Life's collection of Today-sums

Janet Martin

Death is the destiny of everyone;

the living should take this to heart.

Ecclesiastes 7:2

Dessert anyone?

Strawberry-rhubarb Crisp

or Apple-Cranberry Crisp!

On Growing (our) 'Old'

Psalm 39:4-5

“Show me, O LORD, my end and the measure of my days. 

Let me know how fleeting my life is. 

You, indeed, have made my days as handbreadths, 

and my lifetime as nothing before You. 

Truly each man at his best exists as but a breath.

 Selah

I remember as a child, telling my mom I want to be a nice grandma, 

like my grandma, when I'm old and she told me

 that to be a nice old person begins, 

not when we're old, but when we're young!

So, however young or old we are, let's begin today 

to make tomorrow's older version of ourselves

 a bit more patient, humble, caring and kind.

Last night I visited my aunt (Naomi) in the hospital,

not because I'm so kindly faithful at visiting my aunts!!

 but because she happened to be in the room beside my sister-in-law's room.

I blinked and blinked as I gazed at my aunt, 

feeling like I was looking at the face of dear grandma from years ago!

My aunt is a beautiful 'old' person just like her mother/my grandma was 💝🙏

Whatever we are doing, who/wherever we are today

we are 'growing' who we will become when we are old-er!

Let's 'bloom' like a beautiful flower; like my mom's amaryllis! 

Who we turn into when we’re old begins when we are young

The golden years of childhood mold the makings of the man

Like learning the rules of respect, and how to hold the tongue

What habits we should not neglect and doing what we can

To make this world a kinder place with gentler word and deed

To treat one another with grace rather than spite and greed

To be who we imagine when/if we reach ripe eighty-three

Begins long, long before the benediction of fleet/sweet youth

Better to begin now to hone the way we hope to be

Before we look back and bemoan the telling toll of Truth

Tis no small thing to train a child to live/love the way they should

To tame tempers that else run wild, and never lead to good

To be a wise old woman-man is not by accident

We ought to prize, the best we can each opportunity

To mine for wisdom in life’s sacred lease of moments spent

Rather than wasting acres with wild-oat futility

Because Time seems to quicken haste with every passing year

Thus, no one can afford to waste the wealth of Now and Here

Who we want to be when we’re old begins anew, today

To treasure like nuggets of gold, life’s moments as they spill

From choices into consequence we cannot wish away

As they augment investments Time is eager to fulfill

Sooner than we suppose we feel and see and bear the truth

Of what once seemed strange and surreal, turned into living proof

This life is full of schemes, it seems, to teach us how to pray

 And give to God our hopes and dreams, while weathering the art

Of ever growing older with each precious, passing day

While turning wrinkles bolder, while nothing new tries the heart

While often we forget while we are busy being young

The things we do habitually, shape who we will become 

Janet Martin 

 

Balancing Life's Ledger

"The man who would truly know God must give time to Him."

- A.W. Tozer

Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass 

under trees on a summer's day,

listening to the murmur of the water,

or watching the clouds float across the sky,

is by no means a waste of time.”

― John Lubbock, The Use Of Life

Right now 'us daughters' are helping mom sort through Things,

as they prepare to downsize in the next year.

Recently mom showed me an old ledger 

where every dollar spent was recorded and accounted for.

I couldn't help but wonder what another Ledger looks like

that God will open and show me every moment spent,

recorded and accounted/accountable for!

Oh! God help me be mindful of

the gravity and goodness in the Gift of a new day!

Forgive my fumbles and failures and let 

your sufficient grace be my hope and delight,

(for) with you there is forgiveness, 

 so that we can, with reverence, serve you. Ps.130:4

Ps.51:10-12 KJV

Create in me a clean heart, O God; 

and renew a right spirit within me.

 Cast me not away from thy presence;

 and take not thy holy spirit from me.

 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; 

and uphold me with thy free spirit.

Lord, I don't want to emulate

The pace that seems to dominate

The human race with breathless chase

That falls prey to dusk's dust and dew

But still, while morn-to-evening tolls

I want to strive to lovely goals

And recognize the holy prize

That gleams where morning hails anew

I want to work with willing hands

Not shirking what duty demands

Yet not dictate so strict a gait

I cannot pause to stand and stare

Aware of Whose Evidence brims

In awesome, unparalleled hymns

In every hue-commanding view 

That every new season lays bare    

How sorry, never to afford

An hour to spend with You, Lord

In Your Good Book or by a brook

Or on a hill, where zephyrs loll 

Else, in my trek from dawn till dark

Prosperity misses its mark

As I pay heed, with frugal creed 

To the body, but not the soul 

I want to take stock of the clock

That gives and takes with tick by tock

Aware of He who holds Time's key

Before eternity; to ken

With open eyes and arms and heart

The beauty of each day's fresh start

To weigh, then choose, then kindly use

This gift the Lord has made. Amen

Janet Martin

Ps.118: 19-21, 24-29

Open to me the gates of righteousness;

I will go through them,

And I will praise the Lord.

 This is the gate of the Lord,

Through which the righteous shall enter.

 I will praise You,

For You have answered me,

And have become my salvation.

This is the day the Lord has made;

We will rejoice and be glad in it.

Save now, I pray, O Lord;

O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity.

 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

We have blessed you from the house of the Lord.

 God is the Lord,

And He has given us light;

Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.

 You are my God, and I will praise You;

You are my God, I will exalt You.

 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!

For His mercy endures forever.