Basking in the Beauty (of love's gift)

Worship's invitation-card Designer went all out this morning; Hope scrawled on golden parchment!
Stunning.

Bask in the beauty of love's gift

That fills the fading air

A token of redemption lifts

The veil that jailed our stare

Sight scales the sweeps of paling stars

Light stirs the countryside

As gold-gilt gateways swing ajar

No access is denied

But beckons to both most and least

To taste, from trays that brim

With trust-in-God’s replenished feast

The gift that comes from Him

© Janet Martin

The Perfect Gift

 The perfect Gift has been given!

Have you received it?

For God so love the world that He gave

His only begotten Son

That whosoever believes in Him

will not perish but have everlasting life

John 3:16

Fragility of circumstance

Can spark a darksome dread

Ability to trust God grants

His perfect peace instead

To cope with naught but what one sees

Can make us fall apart

To hope in God will set at ease

The struggle in the heart

The prize that keeps some mesmerized

Showcases vanity

The wise, through One for us chastised

Embrace humility

Who can afford the war of Want

A lonely way to live

Man is not Lord nor can he grant

What only God can give

He does not say that ease will pave
The way He did atone
Because of what Love gave, death's grave
Is but a steppingstone

Then praise the Giver of The Gift
Salvation's wondrous plan 
His grace delivers, spans the rift
That gaped twixt God and man

...and thus the joy angels first told
To shepherds filled with fright 
For us, as in those days of old
Is still the same True Light

© Janet Martin

Jeremiah 17:7
But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is Him.

More Than Word-Play

You can’t control the talents He gives you, no doubt about that. 

But you can control the effort you put forth with those talents.”

 - Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw

“I didn’t do anything to deserve this gift,” Kershaw recently told FCA Magazine.

 “God gave me an ability to throw a baseball. 

He chose me for a reason, and I want to honor Him with that. 

You can’t control the talents He gives you, no doubt about that. 

But you can control the effort you put forth with those talents.”

'hopefully', (I often remind myself)
'our 'say' is more than word-play!'

What are we doing with what God gave us?
A month ago at a family celebration for our parent's 55th wedding anniversay
my niece Keturah sang the above song in a beautiful, pure
God's gift-to-her voice!

 No matter what let's honor God with the gifts He gave us!
Let's not be strangled by the dangling noose of comparison!
There is only one you or me!
Let's be the best version we can be.

The crepuscule of onyx tulle pulls back its ether door

And rains across our gain and loss the albatross of More

As have-and-hold of gray and gold unfolds what none can see

The fabric of its live-laugh-love, glove of mortality

Time’s joy-and-sorrow, beg-and-borrow-morrow-turned-today

Entrusts to us the Must that teaches dust-to-dust to pray

Where full extent of man’s lament, hard bent with Mercy’s ‘nope’

Cannot out-blot, no matter what, the God of Living Hope

The knife of life carves from silk scarves of morn, rock-solid cast

No one can woo a re-do from the avenue of Past

Where streams of dreams and schemes that overflow thought’s slipp’ry banks

Are not worth much until touch yields its clutch to humble thanks

Today is more than word-play; ‘say’ is nothing without ‘do’

The shuttle of rebuttal does not cuddle/coddle me or you

The matrix of kicks, sticks and stones and pricks of thorn-nicked woes

Lest we forget, is ever yet, the stem that holds the rose

© Janet Martin

 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, 

do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, 

giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Col.3:17

Poetic Peregrination...

PAD Challenge day 25: For today’s prompt, pick an intriguing and/or seldom-used word, make it the title of your poem, and then, write your poem. 

Be Careful what you pray for. 

It might just lead you on a poetic peregrination
 

( Re-sharing to new readers what I shared almost four years ago on Nov. 12, 2014)

 ...in case you wonder  'does she suffer from a case of poetic insanity?!'

here is my permission slip😉

I really felt a need to know if writing poetry was Time well spent 

and was it really what God  wanted of me or simply something I chose.

On my knees I begged God to please, please

 somehow, reveal His will/blessing regarding this!

 (full story here)

After praying and deciding to wait to write again until I sensed His 'yes'

 I picked up a book on my night-table, purchased the week before at a Thrift Store;

a compilation of poetry and prose by many authors.

I flipped through wondering where to start so I chose The Preface (not something I normally did)

This was the first line I read; it felt like God stood in the room holding the book open to this page!!!

 Here is the full page...(click on image to enlarge)

 ...so then and there I vowed to be faithful to The Call for as long as He provides 'ink for the quill'

There are evenings when I am CERTAIN the well is parched

but then He flings out a fresh misty-marmalade morning full of 

...poetry waiting to be written! 

By the grace of God for His Glory, (some days better than others)

 hopefully we all go with this in mind...

...As good stewards of the manifold grace of God, each of you should use  

whatever gift he has received to serve one another. 

 If anyone speaks, he should speak as one conveying the words of God.

 If anyone serves, he should serve with the strength God supplies, 

so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, 

to whom be the glory and the power forever and ever. 

Amen.…

1 Pet.4:10-11 

Permission thus, to all of us

To give the Best We Can

Not to glorify Self

But to serve God

and fellowman

Permission to enjoy the view

Be it in sun or shade

One thing we have in common

is this day

The Lord has made

Each high and low of 'yes' and 'no'

in Erst-while's entourage

Is but the grace whereby

you-I 

commit to His 'Because'

The Giver of our live-laugh-love

In due season will ask

If, with the gifts He granted,

Were we

Faithful to the task?  

Janet Martin~

Part of a Work of Heart

We are all part of the 'music' of life...some instruments are played front and center,
others add the beautiful background music
(below, the window in the church that hosted The Scott Woods Band on Saturday night)

(Someone used their gift masterfully to create this window!)

It’s easy to get caught up in a ‘me’ mind-set and then

Forget that we are part of something bigger; fellowmen

A small piece in a picture that, if we all do our part

Will turn life’s mundane day-to-day into a work of art

The mind is like a powerhouse that parents schemes and dreams

And produces from its gamut what our heart esteems

Then what we thought was hid is not, for touch and taste reveals

The truth about the worlds we play on ivory-cast reels

Thought is the bud that unfolds deed; a weed or lovely bloom

It feeds on selfish greed or others’ needs; a shuttered room

That cannot, will not keep secret what fills its thoroughfare

For sooner or later action proves what was nurtured there

The more we think of others, oh, the less we dwell on ‘me’

We all are one among the masses of humanity

Fitted with expectation; not for self-important plan

But gifted with what God granted to bless our fellowman

It’s easy to get caught up in a ‘me’ mind-set and then

Forget that we are part of something bigger; fellowmen

A small piece in a picture that, if we all do our part

Will turn life’s common say-and-do into God's work of heart

© Janet Martin

On Saturday night we had the pleasure of being blessed by Scott Woods and band. Their gifts of music, tap-dancing and singing were appreciated by all, 

However,

Multiple-award winning Scott Woods and company do not perform simply for entertainment. 

The proceeds of his shows have raised over 2.5 million dollars to help fellowmen.

 Scott Woods travels world-wide. 

I am honored to have the poem In Search of Christmas Day as part of this year's Christmas-show.

Cd's can be purchased at  http://www.scottwoods.ca/

We were invited to take photos only and to please not record anything.Check out his website for 'toe-tapping-teasers'.

 below,... the end of a flip he did all-the-while fiddling

This guy can fiddle with a toilet plunger!

...or a clothing hanger and numerous other 'bows'

His mother (on the keyboard) still plays home-shows. 

She officially retired two years ago after more than fifty years with the band, started by her husband Merv. Scott's sister Kendra plays various instruments including accordion...

(below, Scott balanced on a barrel and rolled across the stage while playing) 

...on his back in the bridge position!

His youngest band members are talented musicians, singers and dancers...

Be sure to check out a show near you!