Paramount Appraisal...

Phil.2:3-4

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride,

 but in humility consider others more important than yourselves. 

4Each of you should look not only to your own interests,

 but also to the interests of others...

'Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, 

do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.' 

Matt.7:12

Galatians 6:2
Carry one another’s burdens, 

and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Romans 12:10
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. 

Outdo yourselves in honoring one another.

A new day scales earth's eastward edge 

Worlds reappear to sight

As God maintains His ancient pledge 

Of seasons, day and night...

***

What are you up to today?

I am only doing childcare one day a week right now

and that day is Wednesdays

so I am enjoying the company of two

eager, affectionate and energetic little boys...

Ah, what we do with where we are and what we have, my dear

Is of far more Importance than at brief glance, may appear

Where train of thought (and sometimes not) turns into words and deeds

And what we say and do turns into potent, scattered seeds

Then, when the sum of it takes root and the shoot is full grown

We bear witness to steadfast truth, 'by fruit the tree is known’

Ah, what we do with here and now is how lifetimes accrue

No turning back, no leaping over present moment’s due

Where no one is forgotten, or of insignificance

No matter who or where we are, action bears consequence

So then, what matters most (because we all will give account)

Is what we do with what brims from time’s invisible fount

Ah, what we do with what may seem to deftly disappear

Is worth a second look because of what remains, my dear

From God’s goodness and mercy, morn’s fresh opportunity

And if we ask, He helps us who-wherever we may be

To do our best with what we have, not what we wish we had

This is the day the Lord has made to rejoice and be glad

…and recognize the value of a Prize we press toward

Where the fruit of the tree effects recompense of reward

For, what we do with what we have will verily become

Something we ought not to ignore; a lifetime’s sacred sum

Does this not stir humbler regard for what we have, before

Life's fruit is gathered into baskets of Forevermore….

© Janet Martin

Better-Awareness

Sometimes we misunderstand things because we don't wait for the finished picture!

It takes time for an Artist to complete His (or, as below, her) work

Better to be patient in waiting

Than impatient and settling for far less than God would grant...

After she completed the swing set I thought she was done,

and I praised her drawing but, after she studied it briefly she returned to it.

Something seemed wanting.

Then she added grass, sky, clouds and people!

A much prettier picture than I was ready to settle for 💝

Better to be reprimanded than to flourish in deceit

To obey is better than the pomp and show of sacrifice

Better to be bowed in bearing, washing fellow-traveler's feet

Than to be proud and uncaring; always counting giving's price

Better to be poor and gentle than world-wealthy and unkind

Better to be robbed and beaten, than to be the one that steals

Better to walk by faith daily, than coast through life, seeing-blind 

Better to be led through fire than to trust in how one feels 

Better to be mocked and hated than applauded for sin's fruit 

Better this, to suffer wrongly than to live without a care 

Better to be wild with hunger than succeed in greed's pursuit

Better, tossed by trouble's tempest than smooth sailing without prayer 

Better to be God's-grace strengthened than to never know its need

Better to grow wise in waiting, than a fool, soon gratified 

Better to trust in the Lord than lean on Logic's shaky reed/lead 

Better to be stumble-humbled than poised on tight-ropes of pride  

© Janet Martin

Proverbs 15:17

Better a dish of vegetables where there is love 

than a fattened ox with hatred.

Proverbs 17:1

Better a dry morsel in quietness 

than a house full of feasting with strife.

Ecclesiastes 4:6

Better one handful with tranquility 

than two handfuls with toil and pursuit of the wind.

Not every aftermath  is instantly visible

as outlined HERE 

but without a doubt,

we reap what we sow! 

Deut.10:12-21 BSB

And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you

but to fear the LORD your God

by walking in all His ways, to love Him,

to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,

13and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD

that I am giving you this day for your own good?

14Behold, to the LORD your God belong the heavens,

even the highest heavens,

and the earth and everything in it.

15Yet the LORD has set His affection on your fathers and loved them.

And He has chosen you, their descendants after them,

above all the peoples, even to this day.

16Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and stiffen your necks no more.

17For the LORD your God is God of gods

and Lord of lords,

the great, mighty, and awesome God,

showing no partiality and accepting no bribe.

18He executes justice for the fatherless and widow,

and He loves the foreigner, giving him food and clothing.

19So you also must love the foreigner,

since you yourselves were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

20You are to fear the LORD your God and serve Him.

Hold fast to Him and take your oaths in His name.

21He is your praise and He is your God,

who has done for you these great and awesome wonders

that your eyes have seen.

Run!

1 Cor.9:24

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, 

but one receives the prize? 

Run in such a way that you may obtain it.

Over and over, as we watch the athletes compete at the summer Olympics

we see it is not how they begin a race or competition but how they finish that counts!

So too it is with the most sacred and ultimate universal race,

but, should we not win, this is one heartbreaking loss

no one can afford, because there is no coming back

'next year'  or in four years to try again.

No, it is not how we burst out of the gates at the starting line 

but by the grace and fear of God, how we persevere

through the ups and downs of life, faithful to the end

the counts eternally!

For we have become partakers of Christ if we 

hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end 

Heb.3:14

...so that He may establish your hearts blameless 

in holiness before our God and Father

at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.

Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus 

that you should abound more and more,

 just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God;

  2for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus.

1 Thess.3:13. & 4:1

Let Us Run

Run! Fit for the calling, cutting worldly ties  

Training like an athlete fixed upon the prize

Run! with firm endurance, with no backward stares

Lest some former stumble distracts and despairs 

Run! lest in some moment, in the hardest part

We look back with longing of a wicked heart

Run! lest love of leisure, seeking to attract

Lures us from the treasure Heaven keeps intact

 

Run! with holy yearning, though no roars applaud

Trained to be discerning through the Word of God

Run! and feel the pleasure of the joy that waits

As the fervent faithful pass through Heaven's gates 

 © Janet Martin

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

Pondering the Possible,

Then we could be far more carefree, while we weather what we must...

It is holiday weekend in Ontario...for some...

non-farmers-wedding caterers/florists, gardeners, etc 😅

I'm about to finish some tasks I couldn't complete yesterday...

canning yellow bean salad and zucchini relish

( if you are in the neighborhood and would like either yellow beans or

zucchini, send me a message. they can be yours free for the picking)

What if we would have more gardens where we would linger to pray...

(rather than simply SWEAT and toil?! 

It was a sweltering garden week!!)

What if, in the face of insult we would be patient and kind

Giving grace, rather than revolt, when we are vengeance inclined

What if we would have more gardens where we would linger to pray

Before rushing hard and headlong into a new workaday

What if we would plant more flowers rather than sowing wild oats

Using youth to redeem hours wisely before harvest gloats  

What if we considered lilies and He who weaves their fine cloak

What if we would be more willing to believe the words He spoke?

(Then we could be far more carefree, while we weather what we must

Knowing Who is able 'ere we lower our yoke of dust)

What if we were far more giving than taking more than we should

What if our goal for living was another's greater good

What if life's most fruitful labor was unfeigned humility

Loving God first, then our neighbour; what a heaven, earth would be

© Janet Martin

A few excerpts from the profound part Sermon on the Mount

below, passages from Matt.6

Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them.

 If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets,

 as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. 

Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 

3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 

4 so that your giving may be in secret. 

Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you...

...“And why do you worry about clothes? 

See how the flowers of the field grow. 

They do not labor or spin. 

29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.

 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today

 and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 

31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ 

or ‘What shall we drink?’ 

or ‘What shall we wear?’ 

32 For the pagans run after all these things, 

and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 

33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, 

and all these things will be given to you as well. 

34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, 

for tomorrow will worry about itself.

 Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Before The Tree and the Fruit... (or, It May Seem Small in the Planting)

One choice may seem so small, for good or bad,

but small things amassed become something much bigger;

grains of sand make a shore,

drops of water an ocean,

moments, a lifetime.

Choice, repeated becomes a habit!

Our 'habits' become our lives...

Day by day,

verse by verse, 

chapter by chapter 

we read through the Bible

and are spoken to and taught by God, 

or not!

Prayer by prayer 

we learn to worship Him 

and trust Him a little more, 

or not...

What are we going to do Today, 

with our pocket full of moment-seeds

dropping from the Hand of goodness and mercy

to the soil of the soul?

(Where, even in reaping, we are planting!)

I'm about to head out to plant some marigold among the tomatoes,

in hopes of deterring tomato worms!

1 Cor. 1:4-9

I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God

 which was given to you by Christ Jesus, 

5 that you were enriched in everything by Him 

in all [a]utterance and all knowledge, 

6 even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed [b]in you, 

7 so that you come short in no gift, 

eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, 

8 who will also confirm you to the end, 

that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

9 God is faithful, by whom you were called 

into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Isn't verse 9 an awesome verse to begin a new week on?

To remind us to make the most of every opportunity?!

It may seem minute, the measure of a moment, thought or seed

But the value of life’s treasure is measured by word and deed

Where Choice bears a holy onus in each little ‘yes’ or ‘no’

Where no one can trick the promise that we will reap what we sow

It may seem inconsequential; as, partakers of God’s grace

We, oft thoughtlessly unthankful, give the Giver second place

Not with preconceived intention but, as bridles are cut loose

Without forceful intervention interfering with excuse

It may seem so small, where choices gape with opportunity

Be careful, for Reply voices far more than first glance may see

And no matter how we defend lack of honor with excuse

The fruit of seed cannot pretend; what we plant, seed will produce

It may seem so very common; left foot, right foot, slumber, wake

Sometimes we forget that Someone grants each gifted breath we take

Sometimes, then we are not prayerful, humble and obedient

Sometimes then, we are not careful with the seeds God’s goodness lent

It may not seem very dire, crucial or imperative

What or who attunes desire, what we choose to keep or give

Who we worship in the granting of love and longing’s pursuit

It may seem small in the planting, before the tree and the fruit

© Janet Martin

Day by Day

Of Payoffs In Waiting (or Something About a Gaping Grave)

Yesterday my dad's oldest brother (and Wayne's father) was laid to rest.

He is an uncle fondly remembered by his nieces and nephews

 for his good-natured, uncomplaining and optimistic outlook

 though his life had many hardships!

We cousins are in a stage where funerals have become our meeting place

and with these gatherings comes the solemn reminder

our childhood playmates are not children anymore,

all of us under the influence of Time's unflinching touch 

and we are reminded of this truth;

that death can come to the young

but it will come to the old

and the realization is dawning that our generation

 is on the heels of the one we are, 

one by one, laying to rest!

A ripe old age turns to mist

 in death's twinkling of an eye!

So then, as we turn again 

to shoulder our yokes of scarred delight

pray we do not lose sight 

of the only payoff that counts

when, for all 'momentary mountains/afflictions, 

the eternal payoff is unveiled!

2 Cor.4:16-18

Therefore we do not lose heart.

 Though our outer self is wasting away, 

yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.

 17For our light and momentary affliction is producing 

for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.

 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. 

For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Just beyond what we can see ...

(No matter how bitter/sweet)

lies Payoff's Eternity...

Below, a bit of 'sweet'.

This dog can be sassy and silly one minute

and sound asleep at my feet the next!!😂

Though the payoff of push and shove

Through ups and downs of life and love

May appear, to the sphere of sight

Like a showcase of scarred delight

While grappling with the yoke of truth

By fresh parades of fading youth

And though the payoff may seem small

For prayers that rise and tears that fall

Where today holds no guarantees

That Circumstance will aim to please

The Hierarchy of Hope and Dream

We nurture with fondest esteem

…and though the payoff drags its feet

Where hold and letting go compete

Something about a gaping grave

When mourners meet, its scene to brave

Reminds us with sobriety

Of a payoff we cannot see

The payoff for man’s hope and hurt

Is not a fresh-turned mound of dirt

Is not a final farewell tear

Is not the boon of now and here

Oh no! Death is the turn of key

Where push and shove/life and love’s payoff will be

So then, before it is too late

Pray we would reevaluate

The quests and payments we applaud

And rest our confidence in God

Who will, for all eternity

Unveil what the payoff will be

© Janet Martin

We sang two of my favourite hymns yesterday

What a Friend We Have in Jesus

and Abide With Me

Some 'Sure-ances/Assurances For Today

The Way, the Truth, and the Life

John 14:1-6

1“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.

2In My Father’s house are many [a]mansions; 

if it were not so, [b]I would have told you. 

I go to prepare a place for you. 

3And if I go and prepare a place for you,

 *I will come again and receive you to Myself; 

that where I am, there you may be also. 

4And where I go you know, and the way you know.”

5Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going,

 and how can we know the way?”

6Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. 

No one comes to the Father except through Me.

***

Surely as night turns to morning and as sunshine follows rain..

Quite the deluge pouring from nature's tap today!

So many a-magical rain-drop marvel on display!

Sure as effect follows action heedless of rank or stature

Sure as truth meets confrontation with unflinching caliber

Sure as deed is like seed planted, sure as pride precedes downfall

Sure as every day is granted with a divine beck and call

Sure as summer is enchanted by enticements, autumnal

Sure as moments mete fleet measure that no miser's vault contains 

Sure as we prove what we treasure by what Thought most entertains

Sure as season follows season, sure as present turns to past

Sure as wisdom refines reason, sure as stumbles humble fast 

Sure as hello's sweet reunions, sure as farewell culls its cast  

Sure as the face in the mirror starts to wear Time’s telling strife

Sure as each breath draws us nearer to the finish-line of life

Sure as despair is a canker causing the spirit to groan

Sure as we are prone to hanker after what is not our own

Sure as hope IS a sure anchor in Messiah’s Cornerstone

Surely God’s goodness and mercy graces all that dawns and dims

Surely His kind purpose frustrates futile chase of wishful whims

Surely as night turns to morning and as sunshine follows rain

Surely as He hears hate's scorning, He hears faith's prayer, not in vain

Surely He comforts with warning; surely, *I will come again

© Janet Martin

Psalm 23:6

Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,

 and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

At Life's Smorgasbord of Choices...

 

Life is not a big empty table like this one...

...before the guests arrived each with a freshly-baked delectable delight!

...turning the empty table into a smorgasbord of choices! 

Yesterday I was honored to host my mother's annual birthday tea.

All of her daughter's and daughter-in-laws are the annual guests;

this birthday tradition a long-standing, treasured highlight for all! 

Happy 81st birthday, dear Mother!

I am so thankful when weighing choices and responses/responsibilities

 that so many times without thinking I resort to 'what would mom do/say?'

And I know one of the answers was, is and will always be 'pray!' 

At life’s smorgasbord of choices

Desire is often tried

Where a host of friendly voices

Can make it hard to decide

Which to taste and which to turn from

Which to take and what to leave

For this is no feckless ho-hum

That our choices will achieve

…where each life is like a courtship

Between mortal and his/her Lord/lord

Exposing, through choice, true worship

Which in turn earns just reward

For, life’s smorgasbord of choices

When we listen, seems to be

Like a smorgasbord of voices

All shouting ‘pick me, pick me!’

Oho, there is no evasion

All are subject to reply

And we do; Delight’s elation

Is eager to satisfy

At life’s smorgasbord of choices

Replenished with each new day

Thus, because of all the voices

Wouldn’t it be wise to pray?

Pray for prudence and discretion

For hearts of humility

Where choice triggers a succession

Of choice-cruciality

Then, before we touch or savor

Today’s options, we should weigh

Their merit against God’s favor

And ask Him to lead the way

© Janet Martin

Phil.4:8

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, 

whatever is noble, 

whatever is right, 

whatever is pure, 

whatever is lovely, 

whatever is admirable—

if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—

think about such things.

Now! on a more mundane note I must choose between

doing up some apples to applesauce

or

apple pie-filling

or

Clean and bag more potatoes

or sort through those I have bagged

because they are very rot-prone this year

due to all the rain we had.

Better Reason

PAD Challenge day 6: For today’s prompt, take the phrase

"Better (blank)," replace the blank with a new word or phrase,

make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then, write your poem.

Better critique better, Reason's Sleek Begetter

So eager to charm and entice

Desire's effulgence with instant indulgence

Better to first ponder the price

And weigh velvet voices that prey on quick choices

And trick us to trade truth for lies

Better, first to measure the worth of the treasure

And cost of the pleasure we prize

Because oft desire can be a soft liar

If we heed no Higher Decree

Than gratification of infatuation's

Accommodating fantasy

Better to look better where seduction's fetter

Is not always easy to spot

Better to fight battles before Fool's Proof tattles

On Reason's Begetter of Thought

To weigh the approach of a 'promise'-drawn coach

Where knights in shining armor plead

To study the path and the long aftermath

(of) Where Yielding to Impulse may lead...

...better to pray before we leap

Into the fray of Whim

Better to ask the Lord to keep

Thought's pleasure stayed on Him 

© Janet Martin

Today's devotion...

...from this book!

Of Love's Impending Choices

After a stretch of rain last week

every farmer and gardener is paying close attention

to the condition of the soil with common quest;

"is it dry enough to till and plant?!"

And then we will not heedlessly toss seeds here and there

hoping for the best. 

Planting is done with careful heed,

the eye on its harvest!

Imagine if we kept our eyes on the soil of the soul

and planted with careful precision/decision

with our eyes on the harvest!

Across shorelines of morning mercy’s renewed breakers roll...

Across shorelines of morning mercy’s renewed breakers roll

Where wonderment and warning reanoint cause and effect

Of love’s impending choices soon strewn beneath high noon’s toll

Ere Dusk collects the voices that will waft in retrospect

This is no fickle bower that bends with dawn’s blushing ‘yet’

Today’s brief leaf and flower, metes far more than meets the eye

Where though time never lingers, its swift moment-presses set

What slips through lips and fingers into permanent reply

How sacred is the summons that draws us from slumber’s woo

Where this we share in common; we will reap the seeds we sow

This should give us good reason to pay close attention to

What follows planting season and what soon Harvest will show

Dusk holds far more than lullabies beneath its beckoning 

Morn metes far more than beaming skies beneath its gleaming burst

Where love's impending choices wait to author reckoning

Where soon the Harvest voices what was moment-sized at first

© Janet Martin

Gal.6:7

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; 

for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.

There is never an isolated action.

For better or worse

Action yields consequence

Some 'consequences are pure joy

such as...cake!

from this...

to this...

 to this...

to this!

...in almost no time at all!