Thus...Joy

Luke 18:1

Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray at all times 

and not lose heart:

Rock of Ages-Chris Rice

What weight of woe could crush my heart

The cross of creature care

(Where oft love groans beneath the smart

Of faith’s ongoing prayer)

Would be too heavy to endure

Without the joy of He

Who died my pardon to secure

And set my doomed soul free

Thus, I will keep on singing through my tears of joy and grief

While I cry ‘Jesus, I believe, Help thou mine unbelief

…Or else discouragement’s despair

Would hopelessly succeed

And I would find no solace where

Both joy and sorrow bleed

But for the One who calms the storm

According to His will

And tunes me to love’s cruciform

And whispers ‘peace, be still’

Thus, I will keep on praying through my tears of want and need

While I cry, Jesus, hold me closer, while You intercede

…or else the dark of fear and dread

Could never be subdued

No eagle wings of hope to spread

As faith’s strength is renewed

But, because I believe, you pull

Doubt’s blinders from faith’s eyes

With joy unspeakable and full

Of glory’s tear-stained prize

Thus, I will keep on trusting, even though heart-cries increase

While I cry, Jesus, help me, you reply with perfect peace

© Janet Martin

Isa.40:31

But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; 

They shall mount up with wings like eagles, 

They shall run and not be weary, 

They shall walk and not faint.

When We Find The Key To Favor

Yesterday's 'favor' was juicy and sweet!

Not all fruit for our labor seems quite as visible and flavorful as fresh strawberries

but is every bit as sweet if we find the key to God's favor...

Then, what an indescribable treat, to savor joy!

Not in vain is noble effort

Though no ovations resound

Not for nothing is the labor

Though no compliments abound

What a diadem of honor

Crowns what appears commonplace

What pure purpose bids us onward

Though no eager crowds give chase

Though the push and pull of duty

Seems a thankless exercise

What a boon of hidden beauty

Tunes the struggle to the Prize

...when we find the key to favor

When from the moment we wake

Our joy is but to labor

For the name of our Lord’s sake

...when to labor is the favor

When love is its own reward

When work is worship, we savor

Joy, through Jesus Christ our Lord

© Janet Martin

Psalm 5:11-12

But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You;

Let them ever shout for joy, because You [f]defend them;

Let those also who love Your name

Be joyful in You.

For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous;

With favor You will surround him as with a shield.

Prov.8:35

For whoever finds me finds life,

And obtains favor from the LORD;

Col.3:23

And whatever you do, do it heartily,

as to the Lord and not to men,

Luke 11:27-28

As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out

, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.”

He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

Flower-Fountain of Joy

Praise God from whom all flowers flow;

from whom all bloom-bells peal...

From woodland founts and garden-dirt gushes earth’s lushest green

The miracle of birth restores vistas where death had been

We who are captured by the woo where beauty’s fountain brims

Are overcome with joy renewed by age-old petal-hymns

A gala fit for kings and queens unfolds before our gaze

Inviting beggars to partake of lily-laden trays

We do. With hearts agape with praise for nature’s flower-fount

As joy marvels at masterpieces too profuse to count

Praise God from whom all flowers flow; from whom all bloom-bells peal

He threads bud-looms with periwinkle, rose, Solomon’s seal

The beauty of creation from unnumbered fountains spills

Joy bows in adoration to the One who clothes the hills

The tall grass sways and plays a shimmer-soft arpeggio

How long we waited for the lays of wispy ebb and flow

For curlicues of rainbow hues from umber vaults of sod

Joy knows no bounds but turns into exaltation to God

© Janet Martin

The tall grass sways and plays a shimmer-soft arpeggio...

Matt.6:27-34

And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit unto [a]the measure of his life?

28 And why are ye anxious concerning raiment?

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow;

they toil not, neither do they spin: 29 yet I say unto you,

that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

30 But if God doth so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is,

and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you,

O ye of little faith?

31 Be not therefore anxious, saying, What shall we eat?

or, What shall we drink?

or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

32 For after all these things do the Gentiles seek;

for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

33 But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness;

and all these things shall be added unto you.

34 Be not therefore anxious for the morrow:

for the morrow will be anxious for itself.

Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Like a Fresh-baked Loaf of Bread

 

I took the above video yesterday morning!

(I saw a flash of orange from the Baltimore Oriole-chorister)

He sang and sang and sang!!

It cheered my heart so, where tears could wash away all joy!

SO much sorrow in this sinful, broken world.

But, The Living Bread sustains when nothing else can...

(full chapter below)

Today begs to be tasted like a fresh-baked loaf of bread

Still warm from welkin ovens wafting somewhere overhead 

To savor wholesome/holy flavors of fresh favors, mercy-wrought

To break it gently, bite by bite, not scarfed down without thought 

To recognize with meek surprise, our place, then to give thanks

Where we, the subjects of God's grace ought never to pull ranks

But take and eat with humble recognition of Enough

And not to grumble at the greatest mission of all; love

The loaf that sits before us at daybreak soon disappears

The platter is so full of hands seizing laughter and tears

Where always without fail, morning's freshly-baked loaf becomes

An empty plate where pray, we stay to linger over crumbs

...oho, we rise each morning to Mercy's refurbished tray

Today begs to be tasted like a fresh-baked Bread-buffet...

Janet Martin

lingering over breakfast crumbs💓

 

Smile of satisfaction! 

(what a challenge for us older 'children' to respond like this!)

Full chapter Psalm 66

Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer

nor his mercy from me

Psalm 66:20

He hears our prayers!

What a wonder.

 

Wonder-joy or Joy-wonder...

This poem was sparked by the caption above the first photo from Saturday's post.

Thank God for joy's wonder in life's changeless things

like laughter and love as a child's childhood wings...

(*grandkiddos tucked in with 'great-gramma quilts'

Quilts/comforters made by my mom)

They both graduated to bigger beds and new blankets last week because

we are waiting for new sibling to arrive!!!

This poem is a thankful medley of corralled recent joys...

Thank God for joy's wonder in life's changeless things

Like love’s many splendors as Child's childhood wings

...like bedtime sunshine from radiant smiles spilt

As youngsters are tucked beneath *'great-gramma-quilts'/warm handmade quilts

For four-season favour’s tender metaphors

For sweet satisfaction from completed chores

For spring gardens not pestilence-riddled yet

For doors flung and fettered by sunrise and set

For floors freshly polished with pastures of green

For hello, farewell and love’s points in between

For each ‘what’s for supper’s’ God-granted reply

From panful to plateful to stomach-full sigh

For hugs, hearty handshakes and ‘long-time-no-sees’

That turn, in a twinkle, to fond memories

For mischievous puppies and children to scold

For babies and bouquets and bushels to hold

For tables to gather around, for a chair

High on a hilltop, with wind tousling our hair

For spring birds returning after winter spent

For blue heavens crowning earth’s dust-covenant

Of seedtime and harvest, cold, heat, night and day

For brook-song that sparkles on its merry away

For each friendly flower that brightens life’s path

Through trouble’s dark hour and its aftermath

For gratitude deepened because of a Cross

For thankfulness sweetened not by gain, but loss

For courage refurbished by kind word or smile

For laughter to lighten the weight/wait of The While

For wishes recanted that never came true

Where God’s mercy granted a wiser ‘thank-you’

For holy appointments like ‘right here, right now’

Of ‘nose to the grindstone’ and ‘hand to the plow’

For life’s simple bests that money cannot buy

…cloud-frigates a-float in an ocean of sky

Orchard-wicks rekindled with pink blossom-frill

Final flurries swindled of bluster and chill

For pleasures made possible because of ink

Like poetry-treasures and good books to drink

Like lingering over a page-stunning tableau

Mesmerized by the sheer surprise of the show

Like finding a friend when we least expect it

So, then we just sit and enjoy for a bit

Before paper-thin farewells, page-turned appease

Dictional echoes and deferred fantasies

As we turn to tangible matters of fact

Like laundry-mountains and dirty dishes stacked

Like love-letters penned by those still near and dear

We thank God for joy’s wonders right now, right here

© Janet Martin

For pleasures made possible because of ink

Like poetry-treasures and good books to drink

Like lingering over a page-stunning tableau...

For spring birds returning after winter spent...

For blue heavens crowning earth’s dust-covenant

Of seedtime and harvest, cold, heat, night and day...

Beholding Beauty (or its Prelude)

I originally entitled this poem

This Broken World Could Drown Joy

then, just after posting it something like a bud

broke inside of me

resulting in adding the photo below,

another verse as the ending

and changing the title.

Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken...

The beautiful words of this hymn are so fitting for the days we are in

Sometimes I struggle with a sense of insecurity

(no longer guilt, because I have committed to embracing my calling)

but still, in a world war-ravaged and hurting...Poetry?!!

Yes, by the grace of God, yes!

Because worship is beautiful 

and timely, always!

And Poetry is the culmination of

beauty and worship

when pursued with passion to

glorify its Giver!

"This is the law of being

That links the threefold chain:

The life we give to beauty

Returns to us again."

From Earth Voices

by Bliss Carmen

When I Survey The Wondrous Cross- Mercy Me

Many are the woes of the wicked,

but the Lord’s unfailing love

surrounds the one who trusts in him.

Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous;

sing, all you who are upright in heart!

Psalm 32:10-11

This broken world could drown joy

Beneath dread’s sullen wave

Despair could be an envoy

That bears us to the grave

Beauty could go unheeded

Beneath brute, crushing blows

And worship’s fount depleted

By glaring needs and woes

We could fall prey to reasons

To hate rather than love

And stumble/grumble through time’s seasons

Without ever enough

But beauty is not cheated

By evil’s intercourse

And joy is undefeated

If we have found its Source

Truth's Hope becomes an anchor

That nothing overthrows

The thorns that pierced our Saviour

Bloom with redemption’s rose

This world would turn us dour

And drown all hope of joy

If it could overpower

What nothing can destroy

‘Unless the seed is broken

It cannot bring forth fruit’

Praise God, joy is the token

As faith and love take root

After the darkness, morning

After bud-breakers part

Joy beholds God adorning

The thorn-scars of the heart

© Janet Martin

Brenda's post 

Something Beautiful in a Broken World

helped me corral today's thoughts into poem.

And caused me to open my book

Adorning the Dark by Andrew Peterson

To God be all the glory!

Below are a few excerpts  from Adorning the Dark

that spoke to me personally...

Until Open Doors Close...

Still struggling to feel top-notch

but still, so much to delight in!

Thankfulness brings to simple things a wellspring of delight...

A few delights from yesterday and today.

Keepsake kindnesses ...

Bushes a-bloom with birdies

Just chillin' whilst snoozin' in the sunshine

Compromises...

I'm thankful that, in spite of strife this life runs rife with cheer

Love’s font consoles and fills want’s holes with goals beyond this world

It authors hope and helps us cope with words like ‘nope’ and ‘fear’

Love snuffs the noise of bluff's/stuff's decoys with joy’s glad hymns unfurled

Thankfulness brings to simple things a wellspring of delight

The pleasure of the treasure of the measure of God's grace

Always enough, no matter what, Love fits us for the fight

And turns our eyes toward a Prize beyond the whys we face

I’m thankful for the open door that each new morning metes

Where faith is wrought and trust is taught by what we cannot see

But surely know, come high or low, no want or woe defeats

The kindness of the Giver’s/Father’s love, enough eternally

How lovely Is the gift of This, His mercy new each morn

A fount that spills four-season-thrills as hills and hollows brim

With flawless laud to gracious God where awed hearts, weary-worn

Join nature’s throng in joyful song; all praise belongs to Him

This blunder-full, heave-ho, push-pull is wonder-full because

We recognize with each sunrise grace undisguised; it flows

In molten ink across earth’s brink in pink and gold applause

To cheer us on from dawn to dawn until open doors close

© Janet Martin

1 Chronicles 16:34 (ESV)

Oh give thanks to the LORD, 

for He is good;

 for His steadfast love endures forever!

For Wonder-seekers

Not recovering quite as quickly from whatever I have

(not even worth the mention compared to people with really hard hardships,

but still enough to knock the wind from my sails this past week+)

has challenged me to treasure-hunt/wonder-seek! 

It also seems to be the time of year I have to dig/drill a little deeper

to find poem-oil/ink

This Feathered Friend, Red-bellied Wood-pecker, though very bashful

delights us on a daily basis right now!

Thank-you God for daily wonders...

we will find them if we seek!

Songs of joy are not depleted, sustained by the One who made

Beauty’s birthplace, undefeated by time’s four-seasoned parade

From founts faithfully replenished earth and heavens overflow

With His wonders undiminished in a world of want and woe

What a friend we have in He who does not weary of our prayers

Constant confidante for we who oft must suffer creature cares

He abides, steadfast and righteous, in spite of calamities

Oft His handiwork delights us, oft His promises appease

Earth and sky showcase creation’s masterpieces without pause

In the face of altercations Mercy does not cease its cause

But brings to the due of duties, nature’s gifts to thrill our gaze

Where each season brims with beauties to surprise us into praise

© Janet Martin

Psalm 65:8

The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; 

where morning dawns, 

where evening fades, 

you call forth songs of joy.

Aren't you Glad Too?

Yahoo! I just had another baby!

Kidding😂

but sometimes that's kinda what it feel like 

when another poem is born;

Oh, the joy after the labor and the delivery💖💖💖

And no matter what composes picture-shows of 'life we’ve had'

On dawn’s skyline beams Beginning of a new day, aren’t you glad?

Sometimes Jim (husband) teases me over the plethora of sunrise pictures shared here,

but in my defense, 

I never want to get so jaded that I am no longer awed by The Utterly Awesome!

(and Jim agrees)

Aren’t you glad today is never replayed from dusk’s low’ring door?

That each bud of bloom delivers beauty not beheld before

That the glorious hope of Heaven waits at death if we believe

Not the cradle to be given one more lifetime to achieve

Aren’t you glad we start as babies; not yet set in our ways

That God’s mercy new each morning never His goodness betrays

That His Word is everlasting, not keeping pace with the times

Not like shifting cast of shadows, but steadfast as mountain climes

Aren’t you glad that we are never too old to learn something new

That the seasons keep their order, spring-summer-fall-winter through

That sunrise and set are always out of reach of fingertips

Set before our gaze to author praise from amazed hearts and lips

Aren’t you glad for cuppa something steaming, books and cozy nooks

For chatter and laughter brimming from sparkling children and brooks

That as we are growing older God surprises us with joy

Impossible to discover as a younger girl or boy

Aren’t you glad for socks and mittens, kitten-puppy happiness

For delight when the response to our ‘please’ replies with ‘yes’

For tap-dancers made of raindrops, shoeless freedom of bare feet

For the fervor of the vision and thrill of mission complete

For a table set for dinner for two, or for company

For redemption for the sinner; aren’t you glad God sets us free

For the poetry of wonder making ordinary Grand

For the feeling of belonging when we traverse hand in hand

Aren’t you glad today is never replayed; yesterday unbound

Even best days wouldn’t be as sweet the second time around

And no matter what composes picture-shows of 'life we’ve had'

On dawn’s skyline beams Beginning of a New Day, aren’t you glad?

© Janet Martin

And below

a glorious Glad Song

Psalm 113

Hallelujah!

Give praise, O servants of the LORD;

praise the name of the LORD.

Blessed be the name of the LORD

both now and forevermore.

From where the sun rises to where it sets,

the name of the LORD is praised.

The LORD is exalted over all the nations,

His glory above the heavens.

Who is like the LORD our God,

the One enthroned on high?

He humbles Himself to behold

the heavens and the earth.

He raises the poor from the dust

and lifts the needy from the dump

to seat them with nobles,

with the princes of His people.

He settles the barren woman in her home

as a joyful mother to her children.

Hallelujah!

Aren't you glad too,

That sunrise and set are always out of reach of fingertips

Set before our gaze to author praise from amazed hearts and lips

Notice how the sun no longer rises across the field

like it did a month ago?!

A sure sign that winter is trundling toward spring!

And last but not least,

did you know you are one of the rare people who pauses on this porch?

I would like to tell you thank-you!

I am so glad you do because as George MacDonald once penned...

A poet is a man (or woman) who is glad of something

and tries to make other people glad of it too!

George MacDonald~

The Details of a Frown (and other quirks of joy-art)

 Where color worlds of wonder wane, 

a thousand shades of green are felled

And swirled into a mute terrain 

as past, present and future meld

 

Life’s pedestal of joy is set on stomping grounds of grief and pain

Where shining hours pirouette with gray and brown then gold again

We all are artists of a kind; bound to the brush of circumstance

Where seasons soon scatter behind like scenes in a bizarre romance

Darling, sometimes your lips touch mine; sometimes we flounder, fume and fuss

Sometimes we choose hue and design, and oh, sometimes it chooses us

Life’s pedestal of joy is perched in dirt of hurt and hopes and dreams

How often tears and laughter merge, how brighter then, sheer gladness gleams

Where we are takers, not the Giver of the colours on the tray

Ahoy, both joy and sorrow quiver on the brush we call Today

Darling, sometimes we miss the choir when we try to snare the notes

Sometimes the song spills like wild fire; sometimes its sticks in our throats

Life’s pedestal of joy is pressed into the soil of test and toil

Fond hellos happily caressed become fodder for farewell’s spoil

Where color worlds of wonder wane, a thousand shades of green are felled

And swirled into a mute terrain as past, present and future meld

Darling, sometimes our taste and touch are far too rushed; let’s slow it down

Because sometimes we waste too much paint on the details of a frown

© Janet Martin

While Love, Not Hate Flings Wide Dawn's Gate

While love, not hate flings wide dawn’s gate; 

life’s wonders wait to steal our breath

The hand that threads the wand that weds 

dawn’s bronze and reds to night undone

Cannot be swayed;

Love does not fail but rends night’s veil 

and tips dawn's grail of grace instead

Without love's promises 

in the Word of God

to anchor hope

and secure joy

We are prey 

for dread's deadly demons

set to loot frail soul-vessels

with brute fear 

This morning in the dark before dawn

the immense sense of impending gloom and doom

fell away in the light of God's Word 

Jude 1:20-21

But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up

 in your most holy faith

 and praying in the Holy Spirit, 

 keep yourselves in God’s love 

as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ 

to bring you to eternal life.

In the face of so much hardship all around us

may we never lose sight of the joy of

faith's glorious, flawless facts

 'bringing us to eternal life'.

In time’s showcase of doubt, we brace ourselves to face forecasts of doom

While mercy swells from ancient wells to toll hope’s bells with joy, not gloom

Deathtraps to happiness seem set to collapse ‘perhaps yes’ with ‘nay’

While God attends the rod that rends night’s veil and bends the dark with day

Dread’s demons lurk; their doleful work of woe berserk with throes of death

While love, not hate flings wide dawn’s gate; life’s wonders wait to steal our breath

For we are not by God forgotten; we, so rotten to the core

Still sole heirs of His grace and love; guilt’s trove spoiled with goodness galore

The hand that threads the wand that weds dawn’s bronze and reds to night undone

Cannot be swayed; this day He made both field and Reaper’s blade in one

Do not despair, but be aware; life’s care is but the thoroughfare

That leads back to, not what but Who offers true joy beyond compare

Who can afford God’s love ignored and the reward that Truth exacts

While skylines brim with proof of Him where none can dim Faith’s flawless facts

Of God in charge, though World at Large may barge where angels fear to tread

Love does not fail but rends night’s veil and tips dawn's grail of grace instead

© Janet Martin