Dear Lucy, Then Heaven...

Dear Lucy, today marks nine months since

you were suddenly called Home...

May all of us who miss you so

honour your memory by loving well

those still within our reach!💓🙏

Lucy loved flowers...esp. peonies!

In her eulogy one of her children remembered her calling to them

to come and stuff their face in a peony 

'because you have not lived till you've stuffed your face in a peony!!'

So Lucy, this peony-season each face-stuffing is in tender memory of you...💝💔

 Won't you too, take time to stuff your face in a peony?!

and when you do, thank God for your loved ones, 

pray for those mourning the loss of a loved one

and consider, if God should call you as suddenly as He called Lucy

nine months ago, if you are prepared to meet Him

because you have received the gift of salvation 

when you believed in Him! 

This is one of the first verses our parents taught us to memorize

John 3:16

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, 

that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

***

When Death, the Scythe that ceases Time, gathers a loved one beyond reach

Then Heaven, once hope's distance clime becomes longing's uttermost roar

Where, though we stagger 'neath the weight of lessons love must ever teach

We turn our eyes toward a Gate that gleams far fairer than before

When Death delivers Farewell's rift and stuns the grasp of mortal ken

Then Heaven, once salvation's gift becomes sorrow's song, over-joyed

And though our tears may flow, we know God's keeps His promises. Amen

He cheers us with strains of 'hello' wafting across yon, gaping void

When Death reminds we who remain how small-swift-sacred is life's lease 

When earthly loss is Heaven's gain then Heaven suddenly draws near

Compelling us with humbler hearts to look upon the Prince of Peace

Until faith turned to sight imparts the face of God and loved ones dear 

When Death, the Scythe that ceases time fells dust-to-dust's brief vestibule 

Then Heaven, once hope's distant clime draws grief to gaze beyond the grave

On He who gathers back the soul, who made Heaven's hope/Home possible 

Conquering death and hell for all who call on Him, Mighty To Save 

~Janet Martin

The Sweet By and By

Fond Yonder-World of 'Soon'

Yesterday afternoon on our south-facing deck in a cozy crook of sunshine

 I wiggled my toes (and blew my nose, due to sudden head cold) 

profoundly taken by an immense Sense of Impending Soon!

Celestial rivers meandered overhead...

Perhaps, due in part because

it's been a less-than-normal snowy winter so far,

stoking thoughts with bucolic scenes of 'Soon'

In a fond, yonder-world of ‘Soon’

Unravels summer’s afternoon

Uncurls a river, silver-bent

Unfurls earth’s mirth of winter spent

Unwinds a lane, wildflower-fringed

Beyond a gaping gate unhinged

Leading through lilac hedge and tress

To front row seats to happiness

To loiter where daffodils sway

To climb the young, green hills of May

To leap like lambs, with joy because

The world rings/sings with Winter That Was

...where pockets jingle, full of June

In a fond, yonder-world of ‘soon’

Where brooks chuckle, content to glide

Without hype, through the countryside

To welcome we who once were wishin’

For yellow dusk, perfect for fishin’

For zephyr-soft caress to brush

Our pallid cheek with sun-kissed flush

And to be humbled by a prize

Of bursting buds beneath blue skies

And to be sweetly glad because

Twilight is later than it was

…where the fond, yonder-world of ‘Soon’

That cheered a dull, chill afternoon

Has rent the veil that held at bay

Laughter of barefoot child at play

And countless little pleasantries

Bidding us take an hour’s ease

To revel ‘neath the influence

Of bloom-imbibed exuberance

Enchanted by a brimming world

Of nature’s orchestras unfurled

In melodies and colours of

A Composer whose name is Love

…who stirs in us a yearning croon

For a fond, yonder-world of ‘Soon’

Where pastures green and waters still

Unmarred by grief and pain will spill

Where farewell’s tear will never dim

The eye, no solemn parting hymn

Will sever ties that briefly bound

Us to a time, four-season-crowned

With here and there a glimpse for we

Who dream of how Heaven will be

Then faith does not lose heart because

Soon this will be the world that was

© Janet Martin

With here and there a glimpse for we

Who dream of how Heaven will be...

Heaven-

Rev.21:4

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. 

There will be no more death 

or mourning 

or crying 

or pain,

 for the old order of things 

has passed away.”

Witness in the Making

The funeral service my husband and I attended today 

was closed with this sacred text from

the final words in the Holy Bible;

Rev.22:12-17&21

12 “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, 

and I will give to each person according to what they have done.

 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, 

the First and the Last, 

the Beginning and the End.

14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, 

that they may have the right to the tree of life 

and may go through the gates into the city. 

15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, 

the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters 

and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you[a] this testimony for the churches. 

I am the Root and the Offspring of David, 

and the bright Morning Star.”

17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” 

And let the one who hears say, “Come!” 

Let the one who is thirsty come; 

and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life...

21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. 

Amen.

What will be said of you and I when we are laid to rest

Oh, what will be the legacy that transcends mortal goals

After we cease the evidence of what we now love best

When the reward of Recompense its sacred summons tolls

What are we doing to prepare for what waits one and all

Nobody knows how near or far we are to earth’s farewell

Thus, this sojourn is no eat-drink-be-merry festival

It is the holy prelude to either Heaven or hell

Where what and who we love most consumes thought’s most earnest quest

As thought’s most earnest quest turns into choice and consequence

And writes what will fill memories as we are laid to rest

And only God can break the seal that reveals Recompense

What will be said of you and I when death collects its due

Depends on here and now and how we use life’s little lease

Oh, pray that what will be remembered most of me and you

Is our love for God portrayed in love, hope, joy and peace

When we face what we all will face but once forevermore

What will God say when you and I step from this transient shell

When we witness the evidence of what we most adored

Will the reward be Heaven's joy or agony of hell?

© Janet Martin

Between Here and Sunset

Where Multitudes Still Follow (and many turn away)

Matt.4:16-17&25

The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,

And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death

Light has dawned.”

   From that time Jesus began to preach and to say,

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven [c]is at hand.”

Great multitudes followed Him—

It's been a gloomy stretch of weather here...

The billows of snow from a little over week ago reduced

in short order to puddles!

We long for the great light of the sun after a long stretch of none,

yet, this but a mild comparison to the light of the world that has already come

and eternally pierced the darkness of sin and death!

Are you living in the joyful light/awareness of God's great love for you?

***

Multitudes followed Him where a Great Light had dawned

In the manger at Bethlehem, 

then Egypt and beyond

The One, prophets foretold of glory’s suffering

Had stepped to redemption’s threshold, 

the hope of man to bring

…calling all to ‘repent, for God’s kingdom is near’

Goodness and mercy’s covenant 

would pour in gory tear

Where faithful unto death the Lamb of God became

For the believer’s dying breath, 

life only death can claim

…and Jesus is the Name whereby mankind is saved

No minor prophet, He who came 

to conquer death’s dark grave

With a great light unfurled throughout eternity

Jesus, the Savior of the world 

can set death’s captive free

The light that cannot dim still gleams unto this day

Where multitudes still follow Him 

and many turn away

But those who trust behold what bold doubters ignore

Of signs that prophets long foretold 

when time will be no more

When the clouds will be seared, and every eye shall see

And look upon the One they pierced

 with their iniquity

And the whole world will wail at the sight of I AM

His power and glory unveiled 

as all ‘behold The Lamb’

But lo, all who repent and died to self are saved

Their names are written on the hands 

that Calvary engraved

But oh, all who refused 

love’s grace and truth to claim

Are released, by their choosing to 

Hellfire's unquenched flame 

© Janet Martin

I kept veering from the last line,

inadvertently trying to 'soften' it

but why?!!

life/death is a Heaven or hell matter!

there is no in between!

P.S. it feels fantastic to be upright without a spinning head after a day in bed with the flu.

My heart and prayers have been rekindled for those who spend day after day in bed!

My sister-in-law (Karen) is in the hospital since last Thursday 

suffering from a twisted bowel. Please join me in praying for her healing and

her and her family's encouragement!

My cousin who is an invalid due to MS, 

and his family appreciated your continued prayers as well!

He Will hold Me Fast

Until Then...

The last line in today’s Our Daily Bread devotion is this:

Until then, we live, work, pray, and wait in hope.”

The prettiest 'pretty'

the most marvelous 'marvel'

the most beautiful 'beauty',

or most delightful 'delight' 

...pales profoundly in comparison with what

awaits believers after this life...

***

For believers this world is the worst they will ever see.

For unbelievers this world is the best they will ever see

Source for quote unknown

***

Until we lay our bodies down, we live, love, work and pray

For divine words to teach us so we do not drift away

Until the crown of life is won, we humbly hope and plead

For God so rich in grace and mercy to supply our need

Until we join the chorus of love’s everlasting hymn

The joy still set before us will not let faith’s light grow dim

Until the ‘twinkling of an eye’ transforms our point of view

We yield the agony of ‘why’ to God, faithful and true

Until we witness face to face what Time was all about

Pray, we commit to run life’s race with endurance, not doubt

But until we are serious about knowing God's word

Our logic will be sensuous and fickle feeling-blurred

Until we repent and believe, hell waits in every breath

No gift of everlasting life to receive after death

Until we stand in awe beneath the cross of Calvary

And wonder at the One who died to set doomed sinners free  

Until His Lamp unto our feet and Light unto our path

Guides and directs, we are by nature still children of wrath

Until we ask, God will not give, or seek, we cannot find

Or knock, He will not open eyes to darkness of the mind

Until we confess our sin then by His counsel live

No earthly effort can begin what only God can give

But, when by His stripes we are healed and by grace we are saved

While what has not yet been revealed, on our hearts is engraved

...we have His Word; He will equip us to withstand the foe

His rod and staff will comfort us and never let us go

Until we will be like Him and see Him just as He is

We work, pray, wait in hope and lean upon His Promises

© Janet Martin

1 John 3:1-10 BSB

Behold what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God. 

And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. 

2Beloved, we are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. 

We know that when Christ appears, a we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is. 

3And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as Christ is pure.b

4Everyone who practices sin practices lawlessness as well. Indeed, sin is lawlessness.c

5But you know that Christ appeared to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin.

  6No one who remains in Him keeps on sinning.

 No one who continues to sin has seen Him or known Him.

7Little children,d let no one deceive you: 

The one who practices righteousness is righteous, 

just as Christ is righteous.e 

8The one who practices sin is of the devil,

 because the devil has been sinning from the very start. 

This is why the Son of God was revealed, to destroy the works of the devil.

9Anyone born of God refuses to practice sin, because God’s seed abides in him; 

he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.

  10By this the children of God are distinguished from the children of the devil: 

Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God,

nor is anyone who does not love his brother.

What a hymn this will be!

"We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty,

The One who is and who was [g]and who is to come,

Because You have taken Your great power and reigned.

18 The nations were angry, and Your [h]wrath has come,

And the time of the dead, that they should be judged,

And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints,

And those who fear Your name, small and great,

And should destroy those who destroy the earth.”

Rom.11:17-18

Living With An Almost-Heaven Viewpoint

 Beulah Land

Yesterday's post Sing a Song of Almost Heaven

turned my train of thought down a slightly different track today...

Living with an Almost Heaven Viewpoint shifts our point of view

Makes us more aware of caring about death’s approaching due

Keeps us keened to what is promised that will forever endure

Rather than the cross upon us or temptation’s dangling lure

Time is such a fleeting measure, just a vapor, my dear friend

The soul is the single treasure that will final breath transcend

No matter where feet may take us or what success we may boast

‘Almost Heaven’s viewpoint tunes us to The Thing that Matters Most

What a joy when we envision as we pay Devotion’s Price

Jesus standing where the mission of true love is sacrifice

Jesus smiling as we smile back while we give and give and give

Because Almost Heaven waits after this little life we live

© Janet Martin

Matt.25:40

And the King shall answer and say unto them, 

Verily I say unto you, 

Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, 

ye have done it unto me.

This Is Not Heaven Yet...

Thank-you God for Your love,

making possible our love,

for joy and beauty that makes earth bearable...

this video sings of hopes of spring...

even if the weather does not😅

Happy Middle-March!

I’d like to be light-hearted, not a worry in the world

But this is earth, not heaven; this is ‘walk by faith’ unfurled

These streets are paved but not with gold, save when the sun goes down

The autographs of love engraved on crosses, not a crown

I’d like to leave behind the kinds of things that break our hearts

But this is earth, not heaven; this is where mercy imparts

Sufficient grace for what we face; the Unknown like a veil

We cannot rend but must depend on He who will not fail

I’d like to be carefree without a shadow of a doubt

But this is earth, not Heaven; this is what Hope is about

While human nature wonders at the higher ways of He

Of Whom creation thunders with Manifest Clarity

I’d like if well-worn happiness was not so full of holes

But this is earth, not Heaven; this is the garment of souls

Where, not for very long we weather whatever we must

While moments thin the tether twixt God and man’s shroud of dust

I’d like to be light-hearted, not a worry or a care

Because no one is suffering life’s sorrows anywhere

But this is earth; faith’s birthplace where we groan, weep, trust and pray

This is not Heaven yet; where God will wipe all tears away

(Some say that Heaven waits for all; if so, Christ died in vain)

Some turn hard hearts toward God here, yet hope Heaven to gain

Oh, pray we seek and know the truth of salvation and grace

Where earth, not Heaven is man’s sacred preparation place

© Janet Martin

John 14:6

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life.

 No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 8:36
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Romans 5:1-4

Therefore, having been justified by faith, [a]we have peace 

with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 

2through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, 

and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 

3And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, 

knowing that tribulation produces [b]perseverance;

 4and perseverance, [c]character; 

and character, hope. 

5Now hope does not disappoint, 

because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts

 by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

As We Behold, Face to Face

 

For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face:

 now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

1 Cor.13:12

Face To Face

Now we see through faith’s glass darkly

But then, face to face, someday

When the murk of all things earthly

Is dissolved and washed away

Then there will be no more questions

As we, behold with rapt gaze

He who tested Best Intention

With Mercy’s mysterious ways

When this splash of dust is settled

And the ash of days wind-blown

We will no longer be nettled

By the whys of the unknown

Then there will be no more sorrow

As we behold, face to face

Without need to beg or borrow

He who saved us by His grace

He, by whom we are forgiven

Teaches us to trust His Word

While the way twixt earth and heaven

Is like a glass darkly blurred

But then, in death’s sacred barter

When we meet its awesome Yet

As we behold God, our Father

All our longings will be met

© Janet Martin

Someday The Silver Cord Will Break

(and I shall see Him face to face)

The Other Side of Why/Clouds

May has offered up a ceaseless cloud panorama

both in the sky and on the ground💔😢

Many sky-lovers gaze up at the underbelly of clouds and marvel

at their show, quite oblivious to the golden light dancing and dazzling

the other side of them.

 (from the ground we only ever see the dark side of clouds)

Clouds; we prefer them in the sky rather than

the metaphorical clouds of life which press and darken days.

But some day the other side will be revealed and the 'why'

of many a care and test will dissolve in the resplendence of 

the glory of the Lord.

As so magnificently described in yesterday's devotion from the book 

Storms in the Desert...

We cannot see the other side of clouds that hide the light

That dazzles vaults and valleys veiled from the limits of sight

Faith's Substance of things hoped for, Evidence of things not seen

May lead where waters seem not still, nor pastures soft and green 

We cannot understand the Higher Thought and Ways of He

Who orchestrates the pontoons that sail heavens boundless sea

Nor can we comprehend the fulness of the miracle

Till heaven flings ajar its gates and fades faith's tear-stained hull

The other side of trial's tears of suffering will be

Not thousand or a million years, but for eternity

So, thus we fight the sacred fight and pray faith will not fail 

Until God's Everlasting Light will rend time's transient veil

Janet Martin

1 Cor.13:12

For now we see through a glass, darkly; 

but then face to face: now I know in part; 

but then shall I know even as also I am known.

In Thee...

  In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust; 

let me never be ashamed: 

deliver me in thy righteousness.

Psalm 31:1 KJV

In Thee I put my trust

Though naysayers abound

And many confuse love and lust

And what is holy ground

In Thee hope is secure

Without, all else is vain

In thee faith’s foundation is sure

And death will be my gain

In Thee I fix my gaze

Beyond this broken world

The Fullness of love’s humble praise

Will ever be unfurled

© Janet Martin