Summary of Todays

Deut.31:18

And the LORD,

He is the One who goes before you.

He will be with you,

He will not leave you nor forsake you;

do not fear nor be dismayed.”

***

How could we bear life's constant care

Without faith's comfort true

Because God keeps His promises

And cares for me and you

***

Not in what lies Behind

or Before us,

but Between these two;

Today, always and only,

as long as we live!

***

Futile to weep at yester's grave

Or borrow morrow's strife

Today is always all we have

To make the most of life

Today?

Food prep... among others tasks!

(so I'm not food prepping when I could be gardening)

Today's temp; a brisk 7C, feels like 4!

Perfect cook and bake weather while sipping tea!

Today's brew a first for me; lovage tea!

As with all fresh herbs...consume regularly/happily

but not in CRAZY amounts! 

I enjoyed it with a bread stick and a piece of cheese for a five-star lunch!

Food prep comforteth my garden soul!

Gardeners are needing to be patient while spring

takes its time to warm up!

So, in the meantime we will warm up with

last year's garden-fare...

...spruced up with fresh chives, oregano and lovage! 

And, believe or not, I have gathered this year's first harvest; lovage!

(while its still tender and not yet quite as potent/bitter as more mature leaves)

Soon it will grow VERY tall, with whimsical yellow flowers!

I'm happy to share if you would like to sample some! 

Drop by!

All the best to whatever is filling your today!

Behind, the joys and griefs we've borne

Past's world to which none can return

A track-record of highs and lows

No prayer or rue can interpose

To resurrect the rose it lent

 Of laughter's bloom, of gloom's lament

Of growing older day by day

Learning to shoulder gold and gray

Where none is spared the sacred thrall

Where seeds of spring bear fruits of fall 

Before, the gaping, great Unknown

A void through which no dove has flown

To return with a sprig of green

To grant a glimpse of Worlds Unseen

No rooms reserved to guarantee

The tenure of our tenancy 

No docket to detail what waits

Where morning flings afar/ajar its gates

Yet hope is trustworthy and true; 

What God has promised He will do

Between what lies behind-before

Lifetimes unfold; as moments pour

Through steadfast mercies that bestow

The holy ground of Here and Now;

A joy and sorrow-sanctioned lease

Of health and sickness, war and peace

Of daily opportunity

To bow the head and bend the knee

To thank God who has promised to

Be with us in all we pass through

No matter what was or will be

Time and change will roll like a sea

That bears upon its ebb and flow

All that we hold but to let go

No matter what succumbs to change

God is forevermore, the Same

He holds the cup that pours the vim

That ushers all life back to Him

Where every Here and Now becomes

Life's collection of Today-sums

Janet Martin

Death is the destiny of everyone;

the living should take this to heart.

Ecclesiastes 7:2

Dessert anyone?

Strawberry-rhubarb Crisp

or Apple-Cranberry Crisp!

Life Matters, A Life that Matters or Life-matters

As we contemplate the culmination of 

what may seem commonplace at first glance...

...may the light of eternity waken us to the sacred matter

of what matters most, and how ultimately 

nothing is commonplace, when

lived with love for the glory of God!

A Life That Matters ; (click link)

isn't that what we all desire?!

To matter; To be needed and loved!

And what irony; the desire to be needed and loved, to matter,

is met as we meet another's need with love.

The link above helped inspire today's poem, as well as

an excerpt from an update letter from one of our missionaries

 who led a team of students on a short-term ministering-trip.

One of the students, after thanking those who prayed for him/them

shared that he is so excited to see where the Lord will lead him

' Even though I am no longer in (said country),

I still plan to be a disciple of God

and hope to help share the good news

with as many people in my life as I can."

What a beautiful reminder about what truly matters, 

as we desire to live a life that matters,

and ultimately to exalt as Paul did!

  2 Tim.4:7

Life is lent; its gifted measure

More than sums/crumbs of birthday cake 

 Time is a temporal treasure

With eternity at stake 

Today's gifted moment-matter

Matters more than we can see

As the seeds of reply scatter

Settling in eternity 

In the grave matter of living

No one can afford to hate/wait

Today is ripe for love's giving

Tomorrow may be too late

Come, let's make the most of moments

And the matter they compose

Before death's impending summons

Ushers in life's curtain-close 

Let's run life's race with endurance

Honouring what matters most

Let's rely on the assurance

Of worth only faith can boast

What lies behind none can alter

But do not despair, my friend

Mercy's fountain does not falter  

Today we can change the end

Every life matters; its treasure

More than fool's gold or bold jest

Pray the merit of its measure

Makes its matter worth our best 

Because after this life's fleetness

After earth's mortal sojourn

We will meet with the completeness 

Of eternity's return 

Pray, we put our faith in Jesus

For this matters most of all

Because only Jesus frees us

From the curse of mankind's fall

Thank God for salvation's story

Thank Him for love's shameless boast 

Through His power, for His glory

He grants us what matters most 

Janet Martin

Rom.14:7-13

 (read the whole glorious chapter HERE)

7For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. 

8For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. 

Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. 

9For to this end Christ died [b]and rose and lived again, 

that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. 

10But why do you judge your brother?

 Or why do you show contempt for your brother? 

For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of [c]Christ.

  11For it is written:

“As I live, says the Lord,

Every knee shall bow to Me,

And every tongue shall confess to God.”

12So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. 

13Therefore let us not judge one another [d]anymore, 

but rather resolve this, 

not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.

Come To Jesus Chris Rice Lyrics

Thoughts While Gazing at a Newborn Day

Jer.31:3

“Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; 

Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.

Love; so very much more than any other

four-letter word! Who can begin to fathom its bearing?!!

Sometimes, as I gaze through the window at a new day

a sense of mingled delight and (almost) despair

washes over me, as the unknown rolls in bearing a fresh wave of

both brokenness and bliss of life and love!

The broken, bumbling bliss of This

The shouldering of much amiss

The ebb and flow of yes and no

Of holding on and letting go

Of low blows, high fives, hug and kiss

Begins again, where twilight drew

A welkin veil, blue over blue

Across the day, and it was night

The countryside faded from sight

Till daybreak turned the old to new

And set in motion what Yet Is

The holy, humbling gift of This

A Hand to hold, a prayer to pray,

God's faithfulness through night and day

In a world with so much amiss

The love of God will never dim

Each morn fresh founts of mercy brim

To teach us to live, self-denied

To break our stubborn streaks of pride

So we can learn to love like Him

Janet Martin

Love Came Down at Christmas, Love all Lovely Love Divine.

Johnny Cash - I Heard the Bells On Christmas Day (Official Audio)

For This Is Life...

 

2025 November PAD Chapbook Challenge: Day 10

For the 2025 November PAD Chapbook Challenge, 

poets write a poem a day in the month of 

November. Day 10 is to write an advice poem.

Some of us love the snow.

Some do not!

Snow is much like anything else in life;

loved or loathed,

it comes to pass...

Saturday...

Sunday...

Monday...

Life's holy haste 

Of touch and taste

And twist and turn 

Of live and learn

And give and take 

Of sleep and wake

Is bound to test 

The worst and best 

Of us

With smiles and frowns

And ups and downs

With faith and fear's

Laughter and tears

With ebbs and flows

Of yes and noes 

Hellos, goodbyes

Low blows, high fives

And such

While daily dues

Of win and loose

Of rose and thorn

Nightfall and morn,

Of loss and gain,

Pleasure and pain

Of hit and miss

Of kick and kiss

Amass

Do not lose heart

Come sting and smart

Come rush or lull

Or push and pull

Or sun-rain-snow

Hold or let go

Hip-hip-hooray

Or gold or gray

Or wonder why

Or fall or fly...  

 For this is life;

Come joy, come strife

Be kind and true

Because this too

Shall pass

Janet Martin

Eccles.3:1-8

To everything there is a season,

A time for every purpose under heaven:

2A time [a]to be born,

And a time to die;

A time to plant,

And a time to pluck what is planted;

3A time to kill,

And a time to heal;

A time to break down,

And a time to build up;

4A time to weep,

And a time to laugh;

A time to mourn,

And a time to dance;

5A time to cast away stones,

And a time to gather stones;

A time to embrace,

And a time to refrain from embracing;

6A time to gain,

And a time to lose;

A time to keep,

And a time to throw away;

7A time to tear,

And a time to sew;

A time to keep silence,

And a time to speak;

8A time to love,

And a time to hate;

A time of war,

And a time of peace.

Crucial Consideration

Earth's annual flower-carousel has begun to twirl...

and, our days are like the flowers...

a brief bloom at best!

1 Peter 1:24

For, “All flesh is like grass, 

and all its glory like the flowers of the field; 

the grass withers and the flowers fall,

Considering that you and I

Are here for such a little bit

It behooves all of us to try

To make the very most of it

To do the very best we can

To honor God with word and deed

To truly love our fellowman

And not to want more than we need

©Janet Martin

Ps.103:15-18

As for man, his days are like grass;
As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
16For the wind passes over it, and it is [b]gone,
And its place remembers it no more.
17But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting
On those who fear Him,
And His righteousness to children’s children,
18To such as keep His covenant,
And to those who remember His commandments to do them.

Take a (Humbler) Moment...

Yesterday we celebrated our sweet Victoria's 24th Birthday

Every celebration (esp. since Sept. 17) is raw with humbler awareness 

of life's uncertainty/vulnerability...

My sister Lucy's husband and daughter were a special part

of the celebration; unspoken sorrow tuning our laughter

with kinder joy...

It is with unspeakable tenderness that we treasure the halo of faces

around a dinner table! 

 

(I'm not sure why the beginning and end of 

the song is cut off) oh, well...

***

Ah, take a moment, drink it in; the clime of Time is hasting

Its dawn-to-dusk designed to win the present we are tasting

Where nothing stays the same for long; each season, farewell-smitten

While deathless lyrics to Our Song of Life are being written

Sometimes, while in the bloom of love eyes close, never to waken

The loom that weaves The Mortal Glove, by God given and taken

Then, take a moment more to treasure the halo of faces

Around the table; prize love’s pleasure nothing else replaces

Behold the bud of virgin morn, like a flower unfolding

Where soon the bloom of it is borne to Bygone’s holy holding

Each bud a little like a door that God opens and closes

So, take a humbler moment more to thank Him for life’s roses

For no one knows the day nor hour He will bend without pardon

To pluck another precious flow’r from this world’s wanting garden

Then, drink with mindful regard from a fount filled by life’s Giver

With Ink of Moments that become Our Song of Life forever

Janet Martin

Acts 1:7

Jesus replied, “It is not for you to know times or seasons

that the Father has fixed by His own authority

( our community is in deep mourning once again;

last week a young husband and father of five,

lost his life in a tragic accident).

Behold the bud of virgin morn, like a flower unfolding

Where soon the bloom of it is borne to Bygone’s holy holding

Each bud a little like a door that God opens and closes

So, take a humbler moment more to thank Him for life’s roses...

A Life Well Lived or Because of Him

Jim, when he called this morning,

because I attended a funeral yesterday,

wondered if I am writing about death and sorrow...again🙏

'Actually, the total opposite' I replied,

'I'm writing about life and living'

 (hopefully joyfully in spite of sorrow)

Yesterday, at a another funeral service at our church 

for another beloved, ripe-old-aged, faithful saint laid to rest

the relevance of the phrase 'life well-lived' impacted me.

No fancy or exceptional faculty or status required

to earn this accolade.

What first may seem quite commonplace;

Morn's light-replenished sky 

Is fresh evidence of God's grace

Waiting for our reply... 

A life well-lived; a culmination of moments well spent

Of recognition that its gift begets its testament

Aware that by God’s grace who and wherever we may be

He grants to all this universal opportunity

To triumph in what matters most, not for fortune or fame

But, with one sole objective; to bring glory to God’s name

To know it is enough, no matter how common the task

To render service for the King; He helps us if we ask

Transforming what, in the grand scheme of things may seem so small

And commonplace, because of love, into life’s Best of All

A life well-lived does not depend on rare ability

Superior intelligence or physicality

A life well-lived is something we are all able to do

And its account we give to God is up to me and you

With no one else to blame, because in every circumstance

He does not leave us helpless or without His providence

He never turns a blind eye or deaf ear to prayer or need

His Word is truth; We ought to give his word more earnest heed

And recognize Today is of great price, an altar where

We prove through fruit of sacrifice, who we love and revere  

A life well lived; what better witness can we leave behind

Than the track-record of love, generous, patient and kind

With God, then others first in mind, and not begrudgingly

But with a heart that overflows with joy of ‘Christ in me’

His light no dark hour can dim, His grace our want supplies

And as we cast our cares on Him His faithfulness replies

To keep us in His perfect peace though sorrow-storms assail

To know that He is able, His promises never fail

To help us, for His glory to accomplish day by day

A life well-lived, because of Him, when Soul’s shroud slips away

© Janet Martin

Colossians 3:17

And whatever you do, in word or deed, 

do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus,

 giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Matthew 5:16
In the same way, let your light shine before men, 

that they may see your good deeds 

and glorify your Father in heaven.

1 Peter 4:11
If anyone speaks, 

he should speak as one conveying the words of God.

 If anyone serves, he should serve with the strength God provides,

 so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, 

to whom be the glory and the power forever and ever. 

Amen.

I've had much occasion recently to ponder this song...

We Are Going down the Valley

This is the Life

'This is the life!' I sometimes find myself repeating,

as the raw brunt of it rushes away another day midst work and play

..as I sense the precious shimmer of summer skimming

 the surface of sod and skin, while sweeping souls

in Rites of Passage back to the Giver of life.

Sometimes my breath is stolen anew

by the re-realization of the brevity of Innocence

as I watch my grandchildren growing up far faster, even

than our children did 😅💞

resulting in renewed earnest endeavor, by the grace of God,

not to take a moment for granted,

not to take holiness for granted but pursue it with

unthwartable purpose!

Heb.12:14-17 & 25

Pursue peace with everyone, as well as holiness,

without which no one will see the Lord.

15See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God,

and that no root of bitterness springs up to cause trouble and defile many.

16See to it that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau,

who for a single meal sold his birthright.

17For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing,

he was rejected.

He could find no ground for repentance,

though he sought the blessing with tears.

25 See to it that you do not refuse Him who speaks...

This is the life!! May we, by God's grace

make the sacred most of Today!

Cookies are ready, calls Grandma

...and they all come running!! 😂😂💗

This is the life; the good and bad, the happy-sad of hold-let-go

This the life; the grim and glad, the weathering of yes and no

Hello-goodbye, we laugh, we cry, while growing older by the hour

While learning, teaching, crawling, reaching, planting, reaping, sunshine-show’r

This the life, the joy and strife, of traveling a winding path

Of depth, of height, of gloom, delight, of day and night’s long aftermath

Of touch and taste soon laid to waste, of slowing haste to hear the sound

Of Footsteps in the garden where the place we stand is holy ground

…where commonplace is full of grace and nothing stays the same for long

Where happiness is saying ‘yes’ to righteousness and ‘no’ to wrong

Where gray and gold and heat and cold and work and rest skim sea and sod

Weathering frames where death soon claims this little life that leads to God

…this is the life God grants, a gift of song and dance, of loss and pain/gain

Where seasons swirl, where little girl and boy cannot a tot remain

This is the life; morning, noon, night, how swift God’s gifted seasons glim

Where every life is running rife with Rites of Passage back to Him

© Janet Martin

IT Is What IT Is...

We enjoyed celebrating Jim's 60th birthday yesterday...

Sometimes we say ‘IT is what IT is’

With morose resignation

As if IT held no promises

Worthy of celebration

As if IT didn’t burst from buds

In petal-wild profusion

Or drench June worlds in purple floods

Of wild phlox absolution

As if IT did not overflow

With mercies, new each morning

Or leave a Light in the window

For a loved one returning

Or bake a birthday cake or pie

Or scatter summer showers

Like silver laughter from the sky

To quench the thirst of flowers

Or weave, where winsome echoes waft

Fair scenes, love fondly misses

Or, for each hard knock, a sweet, soft

Memento warm with kisses

Or, strew in the blue wake of years

Grace, green with spring’s caressing

As if IT did not dry our tears

And cheer us with fresh blessing

As if IT didn’t steal our breath

With thankful exclamation

Because God made a way so death

Is no vague destination

As if IT offered nothing more

Than doleful growing-older

No picnics, gardens or seashore

No  friend-to-lean-on shoulder

As if ‘ IT is what IT is’ was

A sorry state of guesses

Rather than love’s thundering applause

For all IT’s happiness-es

Rather than Time's unsullied page

When a new day is breaking

As if IT did not set the stage

For memories-in-the-making 

© Janet Martin

Our grandchildren were SO excited to give him their

silly cards so we could all laugh 😂💝

 A fantastic cover of Alan Jackson's song

The Older I Get 💓

 

Ps.71:8-9

My mouth is filled with Your praise

and with Your splendor all day long.

9Do not discard me in my old age;

do not forsake me when my strength fails.