Little Life-Ladder

Psalm 143:8

Let me hear Your loving devotion in the morning,

for I have put my trust in You.

Teach me the way I should walk, 

for to You I lift up my soul.

I have a few friends going through terribly difficult seasons!

Whether we are in the valley of the shadow of death

or enjoying a view from the heights of success

we are where we are by the grace of God

on our way to beholding Him!

I wish I had a picture of Tot yesterday,

standing at the bottom of this ladder

and looking up, up as if wondering

to what wonderland it leads...

 I identified with the wee one, as I too sometimes

look up, up beyond the Meanwhile...

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms- David Crowder

Through the thick and thin of laughter

‘Neath the rise and set of sun

Before turns to ever-after

Gold and gray mingle as one

In the grin and groan of earning

Wisdom’s wonder-wizened crown

We will never outgrow learning

Till we lay these bodies down

Where ways once keener/greener and younger

Kisses faces with lost youth

We, honed by hope’s sacred hunger

Cling all the more to God’s truth

Not forgotten, not forsaken

As He draws us to the shore

Where death’s sleep is but to waken

In His Presence evermore

Through the highs and lows of living

Flows the wellspring of Enough

Where God, gracious and forgiving

Lavishes us with His love

In the hearing and the calling

Until death collects its claim

We are climbing and yet falling

Up, yet back from whence we came

In the valley of death's shadow

Or on heights of sweet success

Life is like a little ladder

Leaning on/leading to Eternalness  

 

© Janet Martin

Oh, imagine if we had the visual of our little life-ladder

(wherever we happen to be in time's climb),

 leaning against Eternity

held by He who is from Everlasting to Everlasting!

Psalm 116:5

Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;

Yes, our God is compassionate.

Once Upon Youth I Tricked The Truth...

PAD Challenge day 8: For today's prompt, write a what they never tell you poem.

Echoes run deep

Wild oats aren't cheap

Beware of clocks that feast on rhyme

Youth's eloquence

A vain defense

Against the hands of Father Time

Reflections of

Spent live-learn-love

Can serve up quite a picture show

Sometimes the dark

Just needs a spark

To teach us things we didn't know

A book, a hill

A windowsill

Expands four-season points of view

No one can steal

The way I feel

After an afternoon with you 

Discovery 

Will always be

Life's bitterest, sweetest surprise

The greatest death

While we have breath

Is life, after love's laughter dies

...and, sure success 

To happiness

Will be impossible until

We realize

To our surprise

It is a selfless miracle

Once upon youth

I tricked the truth

Or so I airily supposed

Until I found

It safe and sound

Unfazed by ways it is exposed

I have been told

That growing old

Is not for the faint or the weak

But they left out

The part about

How soon I'd learn of what they speak

© Janet Martin

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

More Than An Outer-body Workout...

It's not the color of the page we are handed

but the colors we put on the page that matters most!

Yesterday morning captivating heavens enraptured our gaze...

This morning snow-kissed furrows startle us beneath bleak grays

Beneath the loads we shoulder we grow older tick by tock

Where stepping stones and stumbling blocks mete choice and consequence

Where quest of best intention is but jest in idle talk

Like leaves strewn on the sidewalk without much significance

Beneath daybreak’s deployment spills time’s elemental fleet

A most momentous matter of moment-matter's Grand Prize

Clock-jewels fuel duels between triumph and defeat

The heavy heel of hunger warring with want’s starry eyes

The merchant and the miser, the businessman and the bard

Will never quite see eye to eye while vying nose to nose

 For one weighs wealth with dollars, the other marvels where yard

And skies run wild with wonder. Well, we need both, I suppose

What cruelty we author when spite does not miss its mark

What masters of disaster we oft are in love’s fine art

But ah, student and Teacher meet where morning melts the dark

Creator and the creature never very far apart

Beneath the loads we shoulder we grow stronger as we age

Though first glance might presume the weathered plume is turning weak

Where limbs show wear and tear and youth’s green turns to silvered sage

The strength of gentled spirits far outshines the sleek physique

Beneath the loads we shoulder we grow older, yes we do

But pray, that in the course of steppingstones and stumbling blocks

Beneath the loads we shoulder we grow wise and kinder too

And pause to note the loveliness of leaves strewn on sidewalks

© Janet Martin

Psalm 104:24
O LORD, how manifold are thy works! 

in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.

By the time this post was complete the sun transformed the view...😊

Kind of like a parable because

The Son transforms bleak lives too!!

For What His Grace Allots...(and update on my niece)

Life is beautiful (even in the broken)

Is it not the broken that enhances the beauty?!

(see end of post for update on my niece)

Life is not perfect.

Love is far from perfect

(though we have Jesus who demonstrated perfect love toward us)

we are broken people each in our own personal situations of

'try, try again' to make the best with what we have.

Life's road is full of ruts

It can be easy to get stuck in one without realizing it;

attitudes, habits, etc.

But with each morning comes God's mercies renewed

and fresh grace and opportunity to do the best with what we have.

Futile to look to the neighbors garden wishing for their lot/plot...

(the above is the part I wrote this morning 

before Duty took over and turned it into an evening post)

this little tot is simply peering through the fence to enjoy the view!

So I decided to join her and just enjoy it too💖

futile to peer over the fence to pine for greener lot/plot

and overlook due diligence wishing for what is not

nor is there any common sense on looking back too long

today becomes the recompense tomorrow hinges on

what does it profit you or I to wallow in dismay

what matters now is how we tie up loose ends of Today

before it is too late to make the most of what will be

The Past when twilight bars the gates where today used to be 

the same sun sets and rises on a world of fellowmen 

the whetting stone of life's surprises vexes our ken

where some will bless and some will curse and some will just stand by

for better or for worse each circumstance waits our reply 

sometimes a little stumble jolts us to reality

and helps to keep us humble in the opportunity

where, pray we honor Providence with what His grace allots

rather than peer over the fence and pine for greener plots

Janet Martin

1 Pet. 4:10-11

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, 

as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 

 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. 

If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides,

 so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. 

To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. 

Amen.

Update on my niece who suffered

multiple injuries in an accident almost 2 weeks ago...

The doctors are amazed at her progress!

Yesterday she was released from Sick Kids

and granted permission to go home for a few days 

before starting rehab next week!

She still tires very easily.

She turns 15 tomorrow!

We are so happy for her to be able to celebrate this

milestone at home with her family!

No visitors allowed (due to Covid-risks)

and prayers for continued healing appreciated! 

We are very thankful for the healing

God's grace has allotted so far!

Life's Learning Curves

Imagine if we had visual signs to warn us 

when we are about to make a bad turn

on the road of  life...

I'd like to think they would make us at least think twice, right?

Dawn always looks so lovely and innocent...

Who knows what waits to rush its gates

and meld into The Road of Life...

No matter who we are, as we travel on the road of life

we are bound to meet them; learning curves.

Sometimes we are kindly spared catastrophe.

Sometimes we are not.

but there is a silver lining if we learn from these curves;

if we become a little slower to leap (to conclusions)

A little more willing to wait (for answers)

A little more like an owl...wiser😔

A wise old owl sat in an oak,
The more he heard, the less he spoke;
The less he spoke, the more he heard;
Why aren't we all like that wise old bird?

Author: Unknown

I didn't see a wise old owl in an oak yesterday

but I did get a few nice pictures of what I learned today are 

Double-crested Cormorants

Sometimes life’s learning curves can overtake us by surprise

Where oft we underestimate the hurts that make us wise

For better or for worse, want’s hunger is riddled with traps

Where consequence lasts so much longer than good judgement’s lapse

Sometimes life’s learning curves seem to take a quick, cruel twist

But we, by God’s mercies accrue more catastrophes missed

Yet, when the recompense that follows choice is stark and swift

What looks like loss at first allows us to gain wisdom’s gift

Sometimes we owe life’s learning curves a little more respect

Where what we think we know deserves a meeker intellect

God’s goodness bound to overthrow that which hinders His peace

Because the grace whereby we go is earnest in its lease

Sometimes life’s learning curves are blessings in bitter disguise

Because, sometimes scenery blurs discernment’s keener eyes

Then, sometimes Someone tips the cart by foolish impulse led

To turn ‘It’ (us) purer in the heart and wiser in the head

© Janet Martin

James 1:5 - 

If any of you lack wisdom, 

let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, 

and upbraideth not; 

and it shall be given him.

Proverbs 1:7 - 

The fear of the LORD 

is the beginning of knowledge:

but fools despise 

wisdom and instruction.

Of Lessons Yet To Learn

Between the covers of Dawn-to-dusk,

are pages filled with lessons to learn

and whether the Teacher seems kind or brusque

it's up to us what marks we earn...

***

Dawn draws the gauze of Today's front-cover back 

as today's lessons, yet veiled

 are lowered from love's Hand that knows no lack

and never, ever fails

***

From belfry towers old as time

A golden gong begins to chime...

Beneath our feet and overhead

As night with morning light is wed

A fresh sheaf of work-sheets is spread

To teach and test and hone

Where sometimes it seems all we earn

Midst ups and downs and twist and turn

Are brand new lessons left to learn

Heave-ho, grunt, grin and groan

From belfry towers old as time

A golden gong begins to chime

And ushers in new hills to climb

Of dismay laced with awe

Where study books are full of care

And hope, a hunger full of prayer

Where wonder keeps us from despair

With moments of aha

From dusty tomes of yesteryears

To very present fights and fears

‘Neath tutelage of smiles and tears

In classrooms far and wide

We tackle Today’s no-return

Of lessons yet to live-and-learn

Where by God’s grace we humbly earn

High marks for having tried

© Janet Martin

Psalm 90:12

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Psalm 119:12
Blessed are You, O LORD; teach me Your statutes.

Psalm 119:26
I recounted my ways, and You answered me; teach me Your statutes.

Psalm 119:33
Teach me, O LORD, the way of Your statutes, and I will keep them to the end.

Psalm 119:64
The earth is filled with Your loving devotion, O LORD; teach me Your statutes.

Psalm 119:68
You are good, and You do what is good; teach me Your statutes.

Psalm 119:108
Accept the freewill offerings of my mouth, O LORD, and teach me Your judgments.

Psalm 119:124
Deal with Your servant according to Your loving devotion, and teach me Your statutes.

Psalm 119:135
Make Your face shine upon Your servant, and teach me Your statutes.

The Poet's Plight-Fight-Fright-Rite/Write

I cringe beneath the critic's eye

Yet crave honest un-flattery

Lest I should run ink-rivers dry

With shadows of half-poetry

I blush to feel them crush the page

Splattered with pieces of my heart

While learning to embrace the wage

As rejection finetunes the art

I laugh and weep, am lost, then found

Drawn from despair's unholy brink

Toward the Holy Parchment Ground

Of a blank page begging for ink

Janet Martin

Lyric About Life

 

Happy Birthday, Emily💗

Twenty-nine years ago you made your dad and I parents!

Thank-you for its journey of joy, 

however unconventional joy's footpaths may be!😉😊

Last week as I chatted with a young mom she asked how it was

to have our second daughter home for a while

(she moved back to the city a week ago)

'It's so great' I replied.

 'While they grow up the focus is on parenting, training, etc.

With adult children it's friendship/relationship.

They know what we believe and support and what we don't.

(of course, it will always be friendship

under a mother's watchful eye and words of caution etc.

and a ton of prayers; those seem to increase, not decrease with the years)

but what a precious privilege to relate to our children,

adult to adult and stand with them

through life's highs and lows

by the grace of God.

Dear Emily,

God bless you on your special day

even though your son wailed and wailed last night,

begging you to skip your birthday because he doesn't want you to change😂

Unfortunately he is wishing for the impossible!

I pray for you, God's guidance through 

all the challenges and changes life is bound to bring!

Life leads us by the hand sometimes

In flowered nooks it bids us sit

A gladsome thing that makes us sing

And dance for the sheer joy of it

Life grabs us by the scruff sometimes

And sets us firmly in God’s grace

A heavy hand of reprimand

To remind us of our place

Life takes us in its arms sometimes

In kind, parental sympathy

To dry our tears and calm our fears

As we rest in God's sovereignty

Life is a teacher all the time

We never grow too old to learn

As highs and lows and joys and woes

Fill Bygone’s sheaf of no return

Life makes us older day by day

Pray that it makes us kinder too

As we embrace the Hand of grace

That every moment-gem runs through

…to forge the weight of wisdom’s crown

Then pray as yester-years increase

Beauty unveils what never fails

Love’s holy, humble Masterpiece

Life takes us by surprise sometimes

In spite of its muddle and mess

It fills the heart with life’s best part

Wild, unorthodox *thankfulness

© Janet Martin

* I first used the word 'happiness' instead of thankfulness

but changed it because without genuine thankfulness

genuine happiness is impossible!

“this is my prayer: 

that your love may abound more and more 

in knowledge and depth of insight, 

so that you may be able to discern what is best 

and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, 

filled with the fruit of righteousness 

that comes through Jesus Christ

—to the glory and praise of God.”

 Philippians 1:9-11 

Even If...

'We give relationships our best efforts because we love the Lord.'

Bible Love Notes

...and that's the crucial element; if/because we love the Lord! 

It/He helps us forgive even when it seems it doesn't change anything.

When we put Love/God first it changes everything!

First and foremost, our focus.

Wow!

Today's Bible Love Notes Devotion

seemed to speak directly to me,

feeling a little/ a lot guilty at my less than loving response

to someone this morning which set the fur flying

(I won't bore you with all the juicy, dirty details)😁

and while we did sincerely apologize

for losing our 'cool', two people in their mid-fifties

are not miraculously changed just because we say

"I should not have said what I did, I'm sorry, (but)" 

But, by the time we reach our mid-fifties

 we also realize how vital reconciliation is!

(I'm sorry without the 'but'!!)

On this blog I try to keep life and love real!

Love is hard, often hidden work, but

vital work, so worth the effort, 

because it affects so many more people

than just ourselves!

So, by God's grace we forgive

and try again...

CityAlight-Grace

So, here's to love, even if...

Even if we feel neglected,

rejected, 

misunderstood

Love is patient

kind and gentle

Not angry,

vengeful

or rude

Even if, when disappointed

by the twists 

and turns

of life

Love protects,

considers others

does not wield

a verbal 

knife (oops!!)

Even if, we feel that our

frustration

is justified

Love requires

meek repentance

of self-serving

stubborn pride

Even if it feels lopsided;

 scales of loving's

give and take

Love respects,

lest we,

misguided, think

Self is love's

highest stake 

Even if we lose our tempers/mercy

Love apologizes,

then

Prays when he/she

pushes our buttons

we learn how to

count to ten

😏😓😊

and try, and try

and try again

Janet Martin~

Love never quits

Love never fails

1 Cor.13:8

Speaking of pushing buttons...

If we were push-button machines

we could 'order-up'

and all would be well

in Love of Self's little world...

but, since we are people

for better or worse

feelings and opinions come into play

and our only saving grace is,

'if we love the Lord'

If we don't then long-term 

happy, healthy relationships

are hard! 

...even if for just a bit

we want to sit and

nurse

'poor me'

Love makes us strong 

enough

to get up

and serve

with humility

Love is patient, 

love is kind...

1 Cor.13:4

Of Weathered 'Would'

 

Weathered wood flaunts fresh foliage...

just as weathered 'would' unfolds fresh faith!

We try to turn the other cheek

To think twice, thrice before we speak

To make the most of More with less

To simplify our happiness

When life holds up to trembling lips

Its Cup of Joy, we savour sips

Where delight and despair compete

To cull a vintage, bittersweet

We work to win a well-earned rest

With good intent we strive for Best

We pray, we till time’s teeming sod

We plant, we wait; no ‘late’ with God

We wage wars twixt wonder and want

We struggle with faith’s feathered font

We try, but every now and then

We trip and need to try again

Inhale deeply, then exhale, slow

One foot forward, ah, here we go

Not crippled by Discipline's rod

But bolstered by the grace of God

From weathered wood/would fresh bud is borne

From Bygone's bloody bars, new morn

From slip and trip's face-planted low

We learn the little that we know

© Janet Martin

Phil.3:12-14

"Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; 

but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 

Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, 

forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 

I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

We Laugh A Lot (among other things)

Sorrow will have its say

Time will have its way

Thank God for each serving from

Laughter's silver tray...

Something about mourning keens our senses 

to the immense wealth of simple things...

We open our hearts and arms to embrace

the moment, for Time guarantees nothing but its end!

This week had lots of messy moments,

but something about loss puts fresh perspective on

life's messes...especially if they're as easy to clean up as

chocolate-y faces or spilled tea, 

We laugh a lot

Though some prayers,

Still unanswered, stand in the room

Like an elephant

While we come to terms

Each in our own way, with

What we can control

And what we can’t

We work at Becoming

For He who has begun

His Promised Perfection is

Not finished yet

Sometimes we need

Undesired reminders

From Divine Authority

Lest we forget

Some laws, though

Initially inspired and

Intended to

Care and Respect

Are wrong, and sadly

In the end they

Damage (or kill) the very people

They sought to protect

Each step we take

Diminishes the

Distance between

What is seen and What Is Not

Taking God at His Word

Is the only chance

At lasting happiness

That anybody has got

We laugh between hurt-spurts 

That hone awareness of

Skin and bone heart-carts

Trundling, full of need 

We should not be slack

Concerning the promises

That we should give

Our uttermost heed

© Janet Martin

(puppy's repentance after being scolded

for giving Little Girl too many 'sloppy kisses'!)

Because neighbor's puppy is still a 'kid'

he happily disregards his owner's calls to 'come here!'

(with our assurance that it's okay)😊

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, 

and comes down from the Father of lights, 

with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

James 1:17