The Key/Path To True Happiness

Happiness is not listed with the fruits of the Spirit,

however, happiness is promised to those who trust in and obey the Lord.

( we just might need to take a closer look at what we define as happiness

and who our 'happiness' serves) ooh

Happy/blessed are the people whose God is the LORD!

Ps.144:15

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,

And whose hope is the LORD.

Jer.17:7

Happiness is the the phoenix that rises

from the ashes on the altar of sacrifice/obedience

So Samuel said: “Has the LORD as great delight

 in burnt offerings and sacrifices, 

As in obeying the voice of the LORD? 

Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,

 And to heed than the fat of rams.

1 Sa.15:22

But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it,

and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work,

this one will be blessed in what he does.

James 1:25

The law of liberty is not freedom/permission to

do what we prefer, but rather to trust God (who) works all things for good

to those who love Him are called according to His purpose (not ours)

Rom.8:28

John 13:17

If you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

Romans 2:13

For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God,

but it is the doers of the law who will be declared righteous.

Luke 11:28

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

1 Peter 3:14

But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed.

“Do not fear what they fear; do not be shaken.”

James 1:22

Be doers of the word, and not hearers only.

Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves.

The path to the house has been cleared so we can get to the front door!

The path of righteousness has been cleared too, not by a shovel

but by a Shepherd 🙏 

To walk in paths of righteousness we first must trust the Shepherd's lead

And acknowledge the selfishness, that hinders true humility

That frustrates full surrender to He who knows and supplies our need

His love, faithful, tender and true secures the law of liberty

He cannot keep in perfect peace, the mind that is not stayed on Him

Who prefers rather, to appease the ways of want with willful pride

And cater to the nature that justifies stubborn wish and whim

Rather than honour the Creator who is able/faithful to provide

The Way, The Truth, the Life is not a 'pick-your-flavour-of-the-day'

His commands are not optional, but He gives us freedom to choose

To accept the duty of man; fear God, keep His commands, obey

He, who authored salvation's plan and paid its price. Or to refuse

With God all things are possible; why are we so deceived by sight?

Making logic more credible than He who rules seas, tempest-tossed

And numbers stars; who through His word grants wisdom to know wrong from right

A Shepherd who is undeterred and leaves the fold to seek the lost

To walk in paths of righteousness we first must trust the Shepherd's lead

And recognize that selfishness approves the wayward ways of sin

We first must bow in thankful wonder before He who fills our need

Who rent the temple's veil with thunder so that all may enter in

So that all may find sweet rest for souls that once were lost, like sheep

For all who trust the Lord are blessed; who make His law their chief delight  

So that we need not fear the vales that wind through Unknowns, dark and deep

The Shepherd, whose love never fails leads us till faith is turned to sight

© Janet Martin

Psalm 95:6-7

O come, let us worship and bow down;

let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.

For He is our God,

and we are the people of His pasture,

the sheep under His care.

Regarding Life's 'Musts'

Today's post was inspired, in part,  by a comment Jim (my husband, a truck driver)

 made this morning, as he envisioned another week 

of snowy roads, winter driving etc...

Not in disrespect to my 'I will pray for you'

he simply stated the matter of fact/must;

'all your prayers don't take away the fact that I

still have to face the weather and the highway...'

What a picture of life for all of us!!!

 and what a comfort of love!

When we pray for each other, 'for God to guide and keep'

the prayer does not take away the 'road ahead'

  but suddenly, gloriously 

a miraculous transformation takes place!

We go from this...

to this!!

(oops!! I missed a word in the reference below but

drawing is way too challenging for me to attempt a do-over 😂😐)

also, a glimpse at what happens when I look at the clock and g-a-a-a-asp!

“I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee”;

Life's storms come, and pass

just as one 'must' precedes another!

No matter what we say to someone

we cannot take their 'Must' away.

(Jesus, in Gethsemane, though he pleaded was not spared)

We cannot travel their stretch of highway,

we cannot carry their cross.

We can walk alongside each other and

encourage each other, but we cannot

do each other's 'must'.

How wonderful then, the holy opportunity

free to all, to ask God to help us,

 to hold our hand and to go before us.

We don't have to face life's 'musts' alone!

Oh think about this;

We alone, are responsible for our fellowship with our

Heavenly Father; surely the most sacred 'must' of all.

May we pray, as Jesus in Gethsemane prayed , 'not my will, but Thine!'

Or in the Lord's Prayer, 'Thy will be done'.

Isa.45:2-3 & 5-8

“I will go before you

and level the mountains; 

I will break down the gates of bronze

and cut through the bars of iron.

3I will give you the treasures of darkness

and the riches hidden in secret places,

so that you may know that I am the LORD,

the God of Israel, who calls you by name...

5I am the LORD, and there is no other;

there is no God but Me.

I will equip you for battle,

though you have not known Me,

6so that all may know,

from where the sun rises to where it sets,

that there is none but Me;

I am the LORD, and there is no other.

7I form the light and create the darkness;

I bring prosperity and create calamity.

I, the LORD, do all these things.

8Drip down, O heavens, from above,

and let the skies pour down righteousness.

Let the earth open up that salvation may sprout

and righteousness spring up with it;

I, the LORD, have created it.

Read the whole glorious chapter HERE

***

Life's burdens must be borne

Its highways must be trod

Its holy unknowns must be faced

Either fear or faith-shod

Its mornings must be met

Its tests must be endured

Its tempests must be weathered, pray

Hope's Anchor is secured

Life's deserts must be crossed

Its hurdles must be leapt

Its battles must be won or lost

Promises must be kept

Its choices must be made

Its voices must be heard

Its sorrows must be suffered, for

Love's due is undeterred

Life's lessons must be learned

Through much-mistake accrued 

Its crown of wisdom must be earned

Humble pie must be chewed

And each of us must choose

How we will heed life's call

Whether we will trust or refuse

The God who loves us all 

Life's burdens must be borne

Its highways must be trod

Its unknowns, betwixt morn-to-morn

Never too hard for God 

© Janet Martin 

Being a transport truck driver in the winter

is not for the faint of heart!

Will you pray for their safety and encouragement too?

Isa.45:21-22

...There is no other God but Me,

a righteous God and Savior;

there is none but Me.

22Turn to Me and be saved,

all the ends of the earth;

for I am God,

and there is no other.

'Til the Storm Passes By

Lyrics-Songwriters: Thomas Mosie Lister

… In the dark of the midnight have I oft hid my face

While the storms howl above me, and there's no hiding place

'Mid the crash of the thunder, precious Lord, hear my cry

Keep me safe 'til the storm passes by

… 'Til the storm passes over, 'til the thunder sounds no more

'Til the clouds roll forever from the sky

Hold me fast, let me stand in the hollow of Thy hand

Keep me safe 'til the storm passes by

… Many times Satan whispered, "There is no need to try

For there's no end of sorrow, there's no hope by and by"

But I know Thou art with me, and tomorrow I'll rise

Where the storms never darken the skies

… 'Til the storm passes over, 'til the thunder sounds no more

'Til the clouds roll forever from the sky

Hold me fast, let me stand in the hollow of Thy hand

Keep me safe 'til the storm passes by

In All That We Achieve...

 Inspired, in part by a paragraph from this book previously mentioned here

In all that we achieve today, however common its demand

If we approach its come-what-may, with willing heart and open hand

And humble consciousness of holy ground beneath each step we take

Aware of how footfalls compound to leave a pathway in its wake

Then we will not forget to ask, ‘Dear God to purify each quest’

And we will find within each task an impetus to do our best

And face each challenge that we meet with more than self- int’rest in mind

Because, a world of little feet, are following not far behind

Where it is up to us to show, without a shadow of a doubt

Through ups and downs of yes-and-no, Who, what we do is all about

So pray, in all that we achieve, as aftermath of pathways wend

In sacred steppingstones we leave/weave, they lead to Heaven in the end

© Janet Martin

Ps.119:105

Your word is a lamp to my feet 

And a light to my path.

Today's part-inspiration!

below continued from above...

I love how the paragraph below is a metaphor for life!

 

World-full-o'

The pleasure of the win...

The swirl and twirl with youth...

The sparkle of the child

The wizened crown of years...

The silence more pronounced

In woodland's leafless tolls

The pleasure of the win

 The sting of defeat's blow

The sense of springtime waltzing in

On a world full of snow

The swirl and twirl with youth

That ruthless hands estrange

The resolute bulwark of truth

In a world full of change

The sparkle of a child

The wizened crown of years

The laughter when sheer joy runs wild

In a world full of tears

Love's proof by how we live

Where so much is at stake

The kind and tender touch of 'give'

In a world full of  'take'

The secret second mile

The mother's earnest prayer 

The sunshine of a simple smile

In a world full of care

The season swiftly spent

The scarred, prayer-pounded Gate

Hearts, hounded with longing’s lament

In a world full of ‘wait’

The silence more pronounced

In woodland’s leafless tolls

Or where death steps in unannounced

In a world full of souls

The ‘nope’ of dreamer’s/pray-er's rue

The ‘dead seed’ in the sod

The hope that nothing can undo

In a world full of God

© Janet Martin

Very truly I tell you, 

unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, 

it remains only a single seed. 

But if it dies, it produces many seeds.

 John 12:24

Learning to Cherish

Do you also tend to feel a sense of frustration/astonishment 

as you read in Exodus, how God freed the children of Israel from

their bondage and oppression in Egypt in ways that they beheld His mighty power,

Then how, though they had a visual reminder of His presence 

in a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night, (Ex.13:21)

How, though God parted the Red Sea so they passed through on dry ground, 

before the waters swallowed up the Egyptian army pursuing them.

and yet, how quickly their praise turned to murmuring

 when they were hungry and thirsty,

when present unpleasantness drew their attention and worship

 from He who had proven faithful over and over...

Oh!!! suddenly this sounds very familiar! 

forgive me, Lord!!

Moses' reprimand to the children of Israel is the same for you and me...

Because if we believe we too have been freed 

from bondage and oppression in the wilderness of Sin!

(I jotted half of this poem yesterday from a totally different train of thought

before finishing it this morning after today's scripture reading from Exodus!)

We take it as it comes; Blossoms and butterflies

Wishes that don’t come true and some that do to our surprise

We cannot seize what was or leap beyond today

So, we cherish what is because there is no other way

We take it as it is; of new not yet turned old

Of old that once was younger and of gray that once was gold

We cannot stay the hands that mark the march of time

So, we cherish duty’s demands and beauty’s season-chime

We take it as it goes; the high road and the low

Where only God, who grants it knows what life waits to bestow

To teach us how to trust and love Him all our days

To cherish His goodness to us and live a life of praise

To He who does not faint or weary of our cry

May we withhold thankless complaint and vanity of 'why' 

But cherish that which flows from Mercy's patient nod/rod

What comes, what is, what goes unfurls the soul's return to God

© Janet Martin

...in the morning we shall see the glory of the Lord!

Ex.16:7

Isa. 40:28

Have you not known? 

Have you not heard?

 The everlasting God, the LORD, 

The Creator of the ends of the earth, 

Neither faints nor is weary. 

His understanding is unsearchable.

His Love Endures Forever-Chris Tomlin

We Pray For Traveling Mercies, Lord

1 John 5:14

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: 

that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

Last week we received a prayer-request from a family,

for traveling mercies as they departed to answer God's call to a far-off land.

They have now posted a picture of their safe arrival!

We rejoice and continue to pray for them as they adjust to a new country,

and for all of us, who are striving to heed God's calling, 

we pray for 'traveling mercies' 

until we reach our destiny, to be forever with the Lord!

We pray for traveling mercies Lord, where cares and heartaches press

For hope and confidence restored through Thy Word’s promises

For salvation to be our song no matter what we face

Lord, make us weak to make us strong through Thy sufficient grace

We plead for traveling mercies Lord, for eyes we fix on Thee

To run with endurance toward The Reward none can see

For the joy set before us be our strength and joy and crown

Until with the victorious we lay this body down

We pant for traveling mercies Lord; that you would quench our thirst

With Living Water of Thy Word where boundless well-springs burst

From Truth’s eternal Rock, through ages never overthrown

Though storm and battle wages naught can shift Thy Cornerstone

We need Thy traveling mercies Lord, to lead us through each mile

We need thy Holy Spirit’s Sword where smiling snares beguile

Where our feet would slip without angel-armies unfurled

To vanquish dread and fear and doubt with peace, not of this world

We pray for traveling mercies Lord; and trust in Thy reply

For all we ask according to Thy will, you satisfy

Then, though we do not know or see all that time may betide

We press toward Faith’s destiny by mercies You provide

…all we like sheep have gone astray, but Thou, by Thy Son’s blood

Have borne our grief and washed away sin’s curse in mercy’s flood

Thou, The Good Shepherd, kind and true hears Thy sheep’s humble prayer

As traveling mercies lead us through the pastures of Thy care

In Thy Name we pray,

Amen

© Janet Martin

Blessed Jesus, Hold My Hand

Let Us Run

Sharing this song again because it uses a favorite scripture of mine

I need to repeat over and over! 🙏💗👑

Road to Glory...

'For me, my identity isn't a golf score'

"God made me good at golf and

I want to glorify him with this gift"

Scottie Scheffler

“God is in control and the Lord is leading me, 

and if today is my time, then it’s my time, 

and if I shot 82 today, somehow I was going to use it for His glory."

Scottie Scheffler-Masters winner 2022

a few favorite moments...(proud wife)

...and caddy

savoring the sweetness of the moment 

and the support of many fans and family

In the writer's digest poem-a-day challenge

Yesterday's Prompt was write a taste poem

Today's prompt, is write a power poem.

This poem could be entitled 

The Power of Perseverance or

The Sweet Taste of Success

This poem could be about a private, personal challenge or

The fight to faith's finish-line!

So I settled on the title 

Road to Glory

Because the glorious sweetness of success's trophy always casts a shadow;

the bitter cup of dreams dashed (for now)

Cameron Smith acknowledges appreciative applause from fans

after a disappointing finish...

This poem was written with him in mind as well

as well as all of us who

have tasted, in varying degrees, 

the bitter draught of disappointment!

The pleasing flavours/favours of success

Somehow become more sweet

When hope’s hurdles to happiness

Have been honed by defeat

Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose

Life’s course of ups and downs

Refines endurance with its dues

Of crosses before crowns

The hard knocks of ‘not yet’ beget

If we do not give up

After the challenge has been met

The sweetest victor’s cup

Defeat is not the finished fight

But just a stepping-stone

To test the mettle of the might

Of more than skin and bone

Sometimes what at first glance may seem

Like failure and regret

Is but the beauty of a dream

Not quite accomplished yet

Then keep the faith; this is the rite

Before we realize

Where what once seemed a bitter fight

Was sweetening the Prize

© Janet Martin

Shout out to Corey Connors (a former local)

 from proud Canadian fans!

Eric Liddell, when being reprimanded by his sister 

for neglecting his responsibilities before God 

as he devoted his focus toward competitive running, responded,

 “I believe that God made me for a purpose. 

But He also made me fast, and when I run, I feel His pleasure .”

In whatever form it takes

May we all 'run' to feel God's pleasure!

So someday we may exclaim triumphantly

2 Tim.4:7-8

I have fought a good fight,

I have finished my course, 

I have kept the faith:

 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, 

which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day:

 and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

Autumnal Eventide Aria

Twice (yesterday and today) this post wanted to be a morning poem

but by the time it was complete it is an autumn eventide poem/aria...

Enjoy! and forgive the 'stumbles'... 

Time’s trodden track of centuries bestows beneath our feet

Unbroken sod, uncharted seas, where man and morning meet...

Time’s trodden track of centuries bestows beneath our feet

Unbroken sod, uncharted seas, where man and morning meet

Life’s best and worst is blessed and cursed with universal need

Where pilgrims of hunger and thirst once more, by grace, proceed

Earth dons a burnished afterglow as woodland lamplight dims

As leaves, like freshly-fallen snow, lie silent ‘neath stark limbs

As day starts to unravel breath by breath its lathe unfurls

Thoroughfares left to travel, riddled with potholes and pearls

Life’s murmur of existence shimmers like a sun-tossed leaf

No measure of resistance can thwart Time’s four-season Chief

Where this day that the Lord has made, none can take credit for

Or blush beneath the accolades as dawn swings back its door

How reckless to suppose this speck of Being that we brave

Is nothing but a feckless trek from cradle to the grave

How reassuring to be held in love that knows no bounds

As centuries and seasons meld His changeless Word resounds

Time’s trodden track of centuries hinges to now and here

Where, like the banner of a breeze our footfalls disappear

Into autumnal eventide; a wafted wisp that weaves

Impressions of a countryside asleep beneath the leaves

© Janet Martin

Life’s murmur of existence shimmers like a sun-tossed leaf...

Into autumnal eventide; a wafted wisp that weaves

Impressions of a countryside asleep beneath the leaves...

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!