Showing posts with label influence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label influence. Show all posts

Monday, March 7, 2022

The Heart of a Child


Yesterday I was so touched and astounded
by the eager astuteness of our Sunday School kids age Gr.1-3,
as they answered the questions they were challenged with!
God bless you, diligent moms and dads aware
of the sacred blip before the heart of a child
becomes the heart of a young man or woman!

Eccles.12:1
Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, 
Before the difficult days come, 
And the years draw near when you say,
 “I have no pleasure in them”:



The heart of a child is like a pure, precious plot of sod
Pray, there we start to plant the seeds of faith and love of God
For when the soil is tender seeds of goodness gently root
And even in the green of life begins to bear good fruit

The heart of a child is such sweet and sacred innocence
Pray, there with utmost care, we are aware of Influence
To guard its supple yard with caution’s kind integrity
And to remember seeds are strewn by what they hear and see

The heart of a child is not soft and tender very long
How swift the gift of childhood turns into yesterday’s song
Then pray, we nurture well the plot where seeds we scatter grow
For the heart of a child is the most sacred soil we sow

© Janet Martin

Monday, January 4, 2021

Sum of Influence

 

My mother gave all of her siblings and children a 'book' binder for Christmas;
a story she has been writing for over a decade that began
the day she was born and shared in her words some of her life
up until her marriage to my dad!
As I read it I marveled over and over what a lovely, wonderful mother we had
long before she was a mother!
(this, I am sure was not her reason for writing the book)
this is my observation as she shares some of the memories 
and lessons she documented over the years
and put in a book as a memento for future generations, to peek into the past
and help us appreciate the pieces of lives that have helped to shape our own!




My mom and dad were such faithful
(not perfect, but faithful) examples of faith
and the older we get the more we value the priceless gift
our childhoods were and the foundation they laid for our
own journeys of faith for this life. 

Life can evoke a sense of sacred threads placed into our hands
that only by God's grace and through His Word  
can we weave them into something of value
for future generations to cling to!

Our grandson turns four today!
The next generation is wasting no time in growing up too fast!
From this...



...to this in the twinkle of an eye

(and a few groans😉)
He is quite a character!!




How manifold the pieces of 
what makes our life and shapes our love 
How hidden are so many parts 
of other people’s hopes and hearts 
that ever-deftly intertwine 
the tendrils of the family vine 
to weave with circumstance and choice 
the mentor of tomorrow’s voice 
as influence unfolds its sum 
in generations yet to come 

© Janet Martin 



Wednesday, September 23, 2020

More Than Moments Can Estrange


Just as the constant surge of water shapes the shore
so our words and deeds shape so much more...



Two years ago we were enjoying the stunning scenery of Canada's east coast.
They are now bracing themselves for (or weathering) Hurricane Teddy
Praying for safety and warm, dry places for all to have shelter!


Like waves that wash across the shore 
The impact of exchange 
Twixt man-to-man is always more 
Than moments can estrange 

The tender or the angry glance 
The cruel word, or kind 
Leaves impressions called influence 
Upon the heart and mind 

This wave that rushes and retracts 
By virtue, will impart 
And influence what it impacts 
...the shoreline of the heart 

Therefore, we at the mercy of 
The touch of fellowman 
Should heal, not wound, not hate but love 
By every means we can 

© Janet Martin

Monday, September 23, 2019

We Are Who/What We Read...


 What/Who are you reading these days?
I was suddenly struck anew by how deeply we are influenced/affected by what we read!
 (or who we listen to, often reading/quoting what someone else wrote)

In Jesus' final prayer before He went to the cross He prayed,
 I have given them Your word and the world has hated them; 
for they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
I am not asking that You take them out of the world, 
but that You keep them from the evil one. 
 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
"Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth."
As You sent Me into the world, I have also sent them into the world.
For them I sanctify Myself, so that they too may be sanctified by the truth.
I am not asking on behalf of them alone,
but also on behalf of those who will believe in Me through their message,
that all of them may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I am in You. 
May they also be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. 

No matter how many books we collect and read...

 ...if we miss God's book we've missed it all!


They say so much; these teeny twists of ink turned into jot
They arrange on a barren page the images of thought
To touch the reader of the written word with much to tell
And just as ‘we are what we eat’ thus, what we read as well

The Moral Law of right and wrong instills a hounding need
To find, for sake of peace of mind, The Truth; and so we read
But all the greatest authors with The Latest Modern Whim
Can never change The First and Final Word written by Him

Debates of truth and reason fill many a musty tome
The living soul creates a Whole/hole, nay, mammoth astrodome
For Truth is Absolute; and till doubt’s dispute is destroyed
Nothing, no matter what we read or write will fill its void

Ah, wishful thinking seeks colleagues, when nursed to dogged thirst
God’s Truth is not a pillow concerned about comfort first
His Word is undeterred; though wheedling nature of mere men
Will try to barter with His truth through think-twists from a pen

…for the imagination is a wondrous, wily Force
It fosters the creation of many a fine discourse
And if we are not well-versed in the Truth, then, me oh my
We might exchange it for a well-dressed stranger’s valid lie

Hail, to the theologians and scholars; how much you read
The college of the mind is such a large classroom to feed
Yet fathoms of ‘sound knowledge’ cannot rearrange the Truth
And facts are stubborn subjects in spite of progressive youth

If we dismiss The One who holds the keys of death and hell
We miss it all; for God’s Word is a never-ending well
Where, after we believe, then Truth will affirm theory
For nothing else we read exceeds Supreme Author-ity

‘Without faith it is impossible to please Holy God’
Without His Word ignorance feasts on many a feckless fraud
But through His Word the evidence of things we cannot see
Nurtures man’s mustard seed-sized faith to a deep-rooted tree

They say so much; these teeny twists of ink turned into jot
They quicken, with written homage, the aptitude of thought
To fill the theater of Think, with much, so much to tell
And just as ‘we are what we eat’ thus, what we read as well

© Janet Martin

 Matthew 12:3 He answered, “Haven’t you read...?


Friday, March 23, 2018

More Than Merely Potatoes and Chili

Writing poetry has given me the smallest of glimpses 
into what a teacher or pastor must struggle with daily...
downsizing large topics into bite-size pieces!

Speaking of bite-size pieces...
 (I got this potato-recipe from a friend so decided to try it for supper; Wash, dry, cut potato in half. Place cut side up on baking sheet. Brush with olive oil, season with salt pepper and your favorite seasonings. I used garlic powder, dill and paprika. Bake at 400 til tender then top with cheese and veggies. I used only cheese to keep it kid-friendly but green onion and peppers would be delicious!)

 A reader asked me yesterday if I live in England, because of words I used in this poem 
'March Mosaic' .words like thatch, heath, cottage
( I told her I'm pure Canadian 
but believe I was influenced by English authors I am reading and by the settings of the stories)
It got me to contemplating how subtle and powerful Influence is!
Often we are not even aware of how deeply it affects us.

I love cooking for my Thursday night boys! 
But its good to be reminded, I am feeding them far more than chili and potatoes!
... as the old proverb states; Much more is caught than taught(or fed;)!
...and they're always 'digesting' far more than dinner!
(Grandson Brantley loves making a mess and making us laugh)


It often looks like nothing much
The things we see and hear and touch
Yet we are shaped by its immense
Persuasion, known as Influence

That theater of thought, we know
Is capable of quite a show
The cast that masterminds intents
Is birthed and fed by Influence

We live, surrounded by a world
Of good and evil subtly-swirled
As we decipher and discern
We Influence others in turn

God, pray we are drawn to Your Word
To keep pure vision undeterred
For You are our best defense
An infallible Influence

Remind us, while Want’s whispers woo
We touch others by what we do
…where childhood’s lovely innocence
Soon wears whispers of Influence

© Janet Martin


Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. 

Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this--not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother's way.

Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Master of Mindset





You slip through us and trip us up or guide the seeking heart
You turn us to the right or left, build up or tear apart
And no one is invincible; the world is full of you
Sometimes you are a liar; sometimes you are kind and true

You hide in smiles and words, in scowls and howls of discontent
You ride on trains, in planes; you wear a worker’s filament
Or sometimes you are fat and lazy and talk far too much
And no one is immune to you and your designing touch

You play with thought as if it were a hapless, harmless toy
And fill the mind and heart with that which hand will soon employ
Therefore the wise will seek to define you and test your goal
The foolish are swayed by your wind and heedless of the soul

The way you are will shape the way we are or hope to be
You hide behind ten thousand names, both foe and family
For better or for worse you veil most certain recompense
A blessing or a curse, you immerse us in Influence

© Janet Martin



I'm struck anew as I watch Grandson Brantley absorb his surroundings, at how powerful Influence is.
It begins long before we become aware of it;
in family, then friends, schools, books, music, movies, churches,workplaces, etc.
Wherever we go, there it is!
What kind of influence do we allow to influence us as we influence those about us? 
Reminds me of this quote; More is caught than taught

Emily took these photos the other day to celebrate 7 months of Brantley!


 No wonder the author of this hymn was moved to pen these words...


My Soul, Be on Thy Guard
by George Heath
  1. My soul, be on thy guard,
    Ten thousand foes arise,
    And hosts of sin are pressing hard
    To draw thee from the skies.
  2. Oh, watch, and fight, and pray,
    The battle ne’er give o’er,
    Renew it boldly every day,
    And help divine implore.
  3. Ne’er think the vict’ry won,
    Nor once at ease sit down;
    Thine arduous work will not be done
    Till thou hast got the crown.
  4. Fight on, my soul, till death
    Shall bring thee to thy God;
    He’ll take thee at thy parting breath
    Up to His blest abode.