This Life Is Not Carefree

 

It's Not An Easy Road

This life is not carefree 

Its give-and-taking schemes 

Are not always budget-friendly 

Or mindful of our dreams 

The flying colours of 

Accomplishment’s success 

Are cradled in a fragile glove 

Of heartache and distress 

The ‘something very nice’ 

We seized with 'hip-hooray' 

Was but the laud of sacrifice 

On altars of Today 

Reminding us again 

How fundamental, trust 

Without it who could bear the pain 

Of time’s determined dust 

Emphasizing anew

We hold a gifted Strand

And life is but the avenue

Back to the Giver's Hand

Midst high-fives and low-blows 

We traipse time's strafing sod 

While weathering life’s wows and woes 

But by the grace of God 

But by the grace of God 

Easy-street, none can claim 

For if we could who would applaud 

Or call upon His name 

© Janet Martin 

All they asked was that we should 

continue to remember the poor...

Gal.2:10

What God Hath Promised (God Hath Not Promised Skies Always Blue)

You Are Loved (Don't Give Up) by Josh Groban lyrics

HE GIVETH MORE GRACE| THE LIVING STONES QUARTET

Down the Road, So Thankful Then...

Inspired by my friend's comment about the effort it takes to get a family photo done!

She said' Surely we'll be thankful to have them, down the road!'

Her words impacted me with the thought of how often struggle and effort is

for something 'down the road we will be thankful for'!

For all the times we didn’t take the easy way, for where it led 

And suffered loss for Jesus’ sake to look after the poor instead 

And did not follow after what indulges pleasure’s endless thirst 

Because it did not imitate the example that Christ set first 

For all the ways we failed, yet did not fall prey to the doubter’s lies 

But confessed our sin and then once more pursued the Runner’s Prize 

And threw off all that hindered us; the sin that easily besets 

Fixing our eyes on faith’s Author and Perfecter, and not regrets 

For all the times ‘Thy will be done’ required surrender’s hard parts 

And sacrifices no one knew but He who knows our heart of hearts 

Way down the road (or near at hand, ah, who can tell) when we look back 

So thankful then, for all the times He kept us through the foe’s attack 

So thankful then for hope that did not make ashamed the love whereby 

God poured his Holy Spirit into us in trustworthy supply 

So thankful then to hear Him say ‘well done’ as humbly, joyfully 

We worship evermore the One who said, I draw all men to Me 

© Janet Martin 

(this next little poem also inspired by another friend's remark a few days ago

about trusting the Author and Perfecter of our faith...

and I realized often

The author is easy to accept/trust, but oh, 

the Perfecter; we cannot begin to fathom His ways!

The Author of our faith we gladly acknowledge is God 

But the Perfecter, this is where He tests the faith we laud 

The Author we embrace and hail the grace whereby we go 

The Perfecter; His ways we do not understand or know 

The Author gave His Son to save us from just judgment’s wrath 

The Perfecter (or finisher) tries words with Real Life’s path 

Where both blessing and hardship play a very vital part 

In proving through response who is the Lord God of the heart 

© Janet Martin 

Does our faith dare to utter the prayer of Habakkuk in Habakkuk 3? 

v.2  Lord, I have heard of your fame; 

 I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord.

Repeat them in our day,

in our time make them known;

in wrath remember mercy...

v 16 I heard and my heart pounded, 

my lips quivered at the sound; 

decay crept into my bones, 

and my legs trembled. 

Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity 

to come on the nation invading us. 

17 Though the fig tree does not bud 

and there are no grapes on the vines, 

though the olive crop fails 

and the fields produce no food, 

though there are no sheep in the pen 

and no cattle in the stalls, 

18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord, 

I will be joyful in God my Savior. 

19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength; 

he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, 

he enables me to tread on the heights. 

Of Living's Ways

The dark days of November are upon us! 

If it wasn't for God's mercy 'new every morning'

if it wasn't for his faithful forgiveness

His promises since The Beginning, The Word

we would all be doomed to dark despair.

Take heart, fellow believers, the darkest days of living's ways

run through the light and righteousness of God.

Psalm 37

Security of Those Who Trust in the LORD, 

and Insecurity of the Wicked.

A Psalm of David.

1Do not fret because of evildoers,

Be not envious toward wrongdoers.

2For they will wither quickly like the grass

And fade like the green herb.

3Trust in the LORD and do good;

Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.

4Delight yourself in the LORD;

And He will give you the desires of your heart.

5Commit your way to the LORD,

Trust also in Him, and He will do it....see more

Hello Rainy first day of November!

October's thrills with all its colour-induced oohs and aahs

joins the cast where all Is becomes Was.

The door to Bygone’s corridors is barred 

The ebb and flow of hard and rosy days 

Slips to the place where only echoes guard 

The happiness and hurt of living’s ways 

What waits to spill through gates of dawn, none knows 

What tint and tenure pours then melds into 

Shadowlands of abandoned highs and lows 

Where only trains of thought can rumble through 

The way we are due to the aftermath 

Of choice and circumstance, is poised upon 

The entrance-way to an unbroken path 

That renewed mercy metes in every dawn 

…to lavish living’s ways with faithful grace 

That helps us face survivals of regret 

That run through God’s immutable embrace 

To author hope for roads not taken yet 

© Janet Martin 

God, the Uncreated One (King Forevermore) (Official Lyric Video) 

- Keith & Kristyn Getty

Prayer for the Real Deal

the song below is a great one to start a new week on!

I ask Lord, to be fitted for life and love’s tasks at hand

To keep motive committed to Mercy’s First in Command

To see the best in people, to be kind, not finding fault

To recognize how blessed we are and the Giver exalt

I ask that we remember we all carry hurts and hopes

That the conclusions we assume can concoct slippery slopes

That in our heart of hearts which you behold we humbly claim

The goodness of your grace, and then grant fellowman the same

I ask for strength; we are all care-carriers, so it seems

And we all need to learn to rearrange our plans and dreams

To reach rather than wait and see what falls into our laps

To lean upon the One who knows the Full of each ‘perhaps’

I ask for true compassion; so much so it changes goals

Because we realize the priceless-ness of living souls

How what we feel is often not the real deal, but the curve

Of love weighed in the balance as we choose whom we will serve

I ask that we do not despair though weighed with what life grants

Remind us You are everywhere, greater than circumstance

And that we make the most of what will never pass again

For thy kingdom, power and glory forever, Amen

© Janet Martin

Psalm 34:14
Turn from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.

Suddenly It Is Saturday

A lot of weathered hopes will be rolled forward

to be repeated this coming week, Lord willing

especially as we pray for those in and beside sick-beds!

Between the folds of gold and gray

Another week is rolled away

With ups and downs and grins and frowns

Suddenly it is Saturday

The bloom that popped the bud last week

Has dropped her petal on earth’s cheek

Each hour felled and freed to meld

With what we held but could not keep

Ho, ho, Time’s rough-and-tumble pace

Would be a rat-race, (but for grace)

So on we press with humble ‘yes’

Prayer in the heart, smile on the face

While mile on mile through come-what-may

With smiles we smile and prayers we pray

With hope and trust, midst may and must

Suddenly it is Saturday

The dust that settles at our feet

Where want and wonderment compete

Arrange with ease the memories

Of love’s mementos, bittersweet

Dear Lord, so rich in mercy, guide

Until we cross this time tossed-tide

That files its ways through Saturdays

Until we reach The Other Side

© Janet Martin

 ...And lead us not into temptation, 

but deliver us from the evil one.'

Matt.6:13

Ebb and Flow of High and Low

Waiting for pipe inspection😐

So in case you think you are having a bad day,

you could be the guy who will need to slip-slide into the septic-tank hole

to do the inspection and possibly change a pipe! 

While it was a much needed rain we received it certainly

made this task miserable!
and, oh my stars!! what a mess!

 We never know what a week will bring and it's good we don't, right?!

While this is simply trouble (not trial) it can still feel messy.

NOTHING quite gets one's attention like the gurgling sink

and toilet that says 'septic tank is full'

I am so thankful it is not mid-winter!

Because this chore was on our to-do list last fall

 but Jim never had a free week-end to tackle it.

So thankful Jim just returned from the load we were so disappointed he had to do on Sunday

(because of another driver's truck breakdown)

But, if he hadn't done it he would have been nowhere near home on a Tuesday!

So much to be thankful for in spite of...

 

managed to salvage some mint-tea before the plot was obliterated

Life, as so eloquently stated in this line from 

The Song in the Green Thorn Tree by James Barke
Book 2 in the life of the poet Robert Burns

Where faith and fear do battle for the Whole

Where hope and dread in constant conflict vie

Where Joy ignites an anthem in the soul

Where certain sorrow waits with its reply

Where ebb and flow of high and low tide sweeps

Across a shoreline where man laughs and weeps

Where bud loom weaves the bloom that sheds its leaves

Where holding sires the pain of letting go

Where hello and farewell delights and grieves

Where what tomorrow brings we never know

Where heaven nurtures earth with rain and sun

Where from first breath at birth death has begun

Where strength and weakness always coexist

Where boast is but the means to tend to need

Where what we see is never all there is

Where who knows what an ending will precede

Where what we thought we knew often defies

The subject privy to life’s lows and highs

Where God is always, always over all

Where He will never leave us or forsake

Where waves of circumstances rise and fall

Where His promise no high or low can break

Where He abides through mileage bright or dim

Where we are on life’s passage back to Him

Where we, if we are wise will start to see

With speech dumbfounded in our meek surprise

The wonder of ‘not I, but Christ in me’

Where without Him our vessel would capsize

Where ebb and flow of high and low soft-draw

The passenger of time across its law

© Janet Martin

John 16:33

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. 

In this world you will have trouble.

 But take heart! 

I have overcome the world.

Alternative title for this poem could be
Ebb and Flow, Pardon the Pun😊😉

This and That

Fire kindled in the grate

Is a lovely thing

But run wild it is like hate

Very damaging

Self-defense with word swift-flung

Oft feels justified

Better to bridle the tongue

Quick to protect pride

Though the foothold may seem sound

Where people applaud

Reasoning is shaky ground

When we sidestep God

Time enough is wearing thin

Sacred filigree

The slipcover of our skin

Veils eternity

Left-foot-right-foot odyssey

Stumble-fumble cursed

Winning is not always he/she

Who finishes first

Keep your focus on the plow

Not on furrowed wakes

All we ever have is Now

…what a life it makes

© Janet Martin

Psalm 37

Do not fret because of those who are evil
    or be envious of those who do wrong;
² for like the grass they will soon wither,
    like green plants they will soon die away.

³ Trust in the Lord and do good;
    dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
⁴ Take delight in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

⁵ Commit your way to the Lord;
    trust in him and he will do this:
⁶ He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
    your vindication like the noonday sun.

⁷ Be still before the Lord
    and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
    when they carry out their wicked schemes.

⁸ Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
    do not fret—it leads only to evil.
⁹ For those who are evil will be destroyed,
    but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.

¹⁰ A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
    though you look for them, they will not be found.
¹¹ But the meek will inherit the land
    and enjoy peace and prosperity.

¹² The wicked plot against the righteous
    and gnash their teeth at them;
¹³ but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
    for he knows their day is coming.

¹⁴ The wicked draw the sword
    and bend the bow
to bring down the poor and needy,
    to slay those whose ways are upright.
¹⁵ But their swords will pierce their own hearts,
    and their bows will be broken.

¹⁶ Better the little that the righteous have
    than the wealth of many wicked;
¹⁷ for the power of the wicked will be broken,
    but the Lord upholds the righteous.

¹⁸ The blameless spend their days under the Lord’s care,
    and their inheritance will endure forever.
¹⁹ In times of disaster they will not wither;
    in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.

²⁰ But the wicked will perish:
    Though the Lord’s enemies are like the flowers of the field,
    they will be consumed, they will go up in smoke.

²¹ The wicked borrow and do not repay,
    but the righteous give generously;
²² those the Lord blesses will inherit the land,
    but those he curses will be destroyed.

²³ The Lord makes firm the steps
    of the one who delights in him;
²⁴ though he may stumble, he will not fall,
    for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

²⁵ I was young and now I am old,
    yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
    or their children begging bread.
²⁶ They are always generous and lend freely;
    their children will be a blessing.^[b]

²⁷ Turn from evil and do good;
    then you will dwell in the land forever.
²⁸ For the Lord loves the just
    and will not forsake his faithful ones.

Wrongdoers will be completely destroyed^[c];
    the offspring of the wicked will perish.
²⁹ The righteous will inherit the land
    and dwell in it forever.

³⁰ The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom,
    and their tongues speak what is just.
³¹ The law of their God is in their hearts;
    their feet do not slip.

³² The wicked lie in wait for the righteous,
    intent on putting them to death;
³³ but the Lord will not leave them in the power of the wicked
    or let them be condemned when brought to trial.

³⁴ Hope in the Lord
    and keep his way.
He will exalt you to inherit the land;
    when the wicked are destroyed, you will see it.

³⁵ I have seen a wicked and ruthless man
    flourishing like a luxuriant native tree,
³⁶ but he soon passed away and was no more;
    though I looked for him, he could not be found.

³⁷ Consider the blameless, observe the upright;
    a future awaits those who seek peace.^[d]
38 But all sinners will be destroyed;
    there will be no future^[e] for the wicked.

³⁹ The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord;
    he is their stronghold in time of trouble.
⁴⁰ The Lord helps them and delivers them;
    he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
    because they take refuge in him.