Fresh Opportunity (what music to our ears)

Ps.34:1-5

I will bless the Lord at all times;

His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

 My soul shall make its boast in the Lord;

The humble shall hear of it and be glad.

Oh, magnify the Lord with me,

And let us exalt His name together.

I sought the Lord, and He heard me,

And delivered me from all my fears.

They looked to Him and were radiant,

And their faces were not ashamed.

(Read the rest of this glorious Psalm HERE)

Behold, the fealty that rends the eastward veil...

And overflows eternity with love that cannot fail...

Fresh opportunity, what music to our ears

In the Light of mercy renewed the darkness disappears

To kindle souls with hope, to praise the Name of He

Who overflows each morning with fresh opportunity

Fresh opportunity to press toward The Prize

To keep the faith that guards the heart from crafty compromise

To leave the past behind on Bygone’s topmost shelf

Then with purpose more kind, to love our neighbor as ourself

Fresh opportunity to find our rightful place

Not to judge one another but to serve with love and grace

And leave to God all that belongs to Him alone

Remembering the price He paid our sin-wage to atone

Fresh opportunity to wonder at God’s world

And count the ways that fill our gaze with majesty unfurled

And then with gladdened souls, let wonderment instill

A deeper, truer confidence to trust His perfect will

Fresh opportunity to forgive and release

The bitterness that robs our would-be happiness of peace

Then as we plead for more love and more yielded hearts

Almost the earth beneath us trembles with joy He imparts

Fresh opportunity to pause before we bound

Across the threshold of Today to trample holy ground

To take His Word to light the path of yet-to-be

To thank the Lord who grants today’s fresh opportunity

Behold, the fealty that rends the eastward veil

And overflows eternity with love that cannot fail

Ah, what more should we want than to unite hope’s voice

In worship to our God who grants fresh reason to rejoice

Our God will never fail mankind; mankind fails He

Whose great love lavishes us with faultless Intimacy 

And, though we oft forget to thank Him as we trod

Behold, fresh opportunity streams from the hand of God 

Fresh opportunity to plant for morrow-years

Fresh opportunity to cry 'speak Lord, Thy servant hears'

Fresh opportunity to give more than we take

Fresh opportunity to live and love For His Name's Sake

Amen 

Janet Martin

His Love Cannot Fail

No Disappointment in Heaven

Without a Sound, Yet Thundering

On Tuesday morning we were treated to a spectacular Production of

The Heavens Declare the Glory of God

Pink wonder thunders without sound

We gaze from plots of holy ground

Beholding the heavens afire

With praise from an infinite choir

Leaving the small spectator awed

Beneath shouts of glory to God

Without a sound, yet thundering

Through mortal's finite wondering

As the heavens declare the birth

Of a new day to all the earth 

Janet Martin

Ps.19:1-4

The heavens declare the glory of God;

And the firmament[a] shows [b]His handiwork.

 Day unto day utters speech,

And night unto night reveals knowledge.

 There is no speech nor language

Where their voice is not heard.

 Their [c]line has gone out through all the earth,

And their words to the end of the world.

Holy, Holy, Holy

Of Today, Newly Born

Today's poem was kindled as dawn's wave of gold

rolled across the waking world, like a heavenly

banner unfurled, proclaiming the sovereignty of God! 

So far today's opportunities have brought

a sudden to-go breakfast for Jim,

up w-a-ay before the sun!

a bit of being still...

A half-ish peck 'o peppers, picked

and ready to pickle!! 

Behold daybreak's grand sky

Like a gold banner, morn

Dissolves the dark with infant cry

Of Today, newly born

To celebrate its birth

Is a very fine thing

To praise the God of Heav'n and earth

In courts of thanksgiving 

No matter what it bears

Wherever in the world

We are; the Giver of life cares

With fresh mercies unfurled

What privilege to be

Beneficiaries 

Where Favour's kind fidelity 

Would fill ten thousand seas

What sacred 'second chance'

To pursue joy and peace

To the glory of He who grants

Today's newly-born lease

No matter what succeeds 

The verge of hidden things

God's faithful Providence precedes 

Whatever today brings 

Janet Martin

What wonderful worth each day brings when 

'whether you/we eat or drink or whatever you/we do, 

(we) do it all for the glory of God.

1 Cor.10:31

Have you tried this tongue-twister recently? 😄

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked.

If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,

Where's the peck of pickled peppers that Peter Piper picked?

 

Wooed By Proof (of Mercy's Bide)

Today marks the sober anniversary of the great tragedy, often referred to as 9/11.

If we truly remember, Lord, 

help us to be a vital part of Your goodness and love in this world,

to shine your Light rather than join the noise and darkness of hate!

Ps.139:5

You hem me in behind and before,

and you lay your hand upon me.

Day breaks; a gold, incoming tide, rolling across the countryside...

Day breaks; a gold, incoming tide, rolling across the countryside

Each dell and vale, an earthen bowl brimming and dimming night’s charcoal

Tableau; beauty’s banner unfurled, washes across a waking world

Bedazzling lawned and meadowed bars with wave on wave of silver stars

Rousing us from slumber’s repose to wade through streams where mercy flows

Unhindered and unruffled by mortal’s often-thankless reply

But on the threshold of Today/new-day, behooves us now, to pause and pray

Awed by God’s faithful custody of galaxies and you and me

This is the day the Lord has made, not to be anxious and afraid

But with confidence in His will, proceed, His purpose to fulfill

Rather than adding to the noise that lack of loving Him employs

Then, wooed by proof of Mercy’s Bide, sense Him in dawn’s incoming tide

...where so much more than we can see instills morn's regularity

God walks upon dawn's teeming tide, goodness and mercy, bona fide

Then let unbelief's lion's roar; He hems us in, behind, before

And lays his Invisible Hand upon all who trust His command

Janet Martin

Ps.118:1&8, 15-17, 21-24

(Read the whole awesome chapter HERE)

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!

For His mercy endures forever....

It is better to trust in the Lord

Than to put confidence in man.

The voice of rejoicing and salvation

Is in the tents of the righteous;

The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.

The right hand of the Lord is exalted;

The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.

I shall not die, but live,

And declare the works of the Lord.

I will praise You,

For You have answered me,

And have become my salvation.

 The stone which the builders rejected

Has become the chief cornerstone.

 [c]This was the Lord’s doing;

It is marvelous in our eyes.

 This is the day the Lord has made;

We will rejoice and be glad in it.

Ps.56:3-4

When I am afraid,

I put my trust in You.

In God, whose word I praise—

in God I trust.

I will not be afraid.

What can man do to me?

Perspective Pause

Jesus' words below are one of the most sobering

for all who profess to follow and believe in Him

Matt.7:21-23

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ 

shall enter the kingdom of heaven, 

but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 

 Many will say to Me in that day,

 ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, 

cast out demons in Your name, 

and done many wonders in Your name?’ 

 And then I will declare to them,

 ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, 

you who practice lawlessness!’

We serve best

who we love best!

We cannot conquer hate with hate.

We can only triumph over hate

with love.

Only love can abolish hate.

Love is patient and kind.

Love is not envious, boastful,

arrogant, rude, selfish,

irritable or resentful.

It does not rejoice at wrongdoing

but rejoices in the truth.

Love bears all things,

believes all things,

hopes all things,

endures all things.

Love never ends/fails.

1 Cor.13

Oh Lord, help us to truly love You

to truly seek your will

and truly do it!

Help us to truly love/serve you

 by truly loving/serving one another!

Proverbs 17:3
A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold, 

but the LORD is the tester of hearts.

Like a pale-yellow rose, dripping with Heaven’s flawless clime

The plush hush of first light crowns the tableau of daily grind...

Like a pale yellow rose that soon fades into Today

The plush hush of first light is eclipsed by the climbing sun ...

Like a pale-yellow rose, dripping with Heaven’s flawless clime

The plush hush of first light crowns the tableau of daily grind

And rouses us to tread upon the virgin Verge of Time

Where reservoirs of mercy overflow to humankind

Hope is a beacon hung from heights we cannot scope or scale

Love grants life’s Perfect Reason to weather its toil and strife

Because we are beloved by He whose love will never fail

Goodness and mercy follow us all the days of our life

Behold the glory of the Lord who grants another day

To better love’s track record and forgive our fellowman

Lord, Lord, help us to truly love, in Jesus name we pray

Let our heart’s desire be to live love the best we can

Like a pale yellow rose that soon fades into new Today

The plush hush of first light is eclipsed by the climbing sun 

Where, pray the Lord, before we rush headlong into love's fray

We pause to yield our cause to His with 'Lord, your will be done'

Janet Martin

1 John 4:20-21

If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar.

For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen,

cannot love God, whom he has not seen.

And we have this commandment from Him:

Whoever loves God must love his brother as well.

(Read the whole glorious chapter on discernment and love HERE)

Love Lifted Me with Lyrics by Alan Jackson

Charley Pride- Let Me Live

Hope's-Hearty-Hello-Hails-Hymn

Ps.116:5

Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;

yea, our God is merciful.

Ps.117

O praise the Lord, all ye nations: 

praise him, all ye people.

 For his merciful kindness is great toward us:

and the truth of the Lord endureth for ever.

 Praise ye the Lord.

Ps.118:4

Let them now that fear the Lord say,

that his mercy endureth for ever.

Ps.119:49

Remember the word unto thy servant,

 upon which thou hast caused me to hope.

Hope's hearty hello hails

Fresco of moon and star

Dissolves...

Hope's hearty hello hails

Fresco of moon and star

Dissolves. The Hand that never fails

Draws daybreak's gates ajar

Today's teeming tide rolls

Across the sea and land

It rushes through our hearts and souls

Beneath mercy's command

...where poised Unknowns run rife

With life and death, and God

The age-old feet of trouble's strife

Are hope and mercy shod 

Hope and mercy endure

Transcending mortal woe

All who fear God, He holds secure

As praises overflow

...where joy and sorrow wings

Earthward with virgin zeal

Hark! from yon Heaven's belfry rings 

Hope and mercy's appeal

Thus we do not despair

No matter what appears

To rule the powers of the air

God's prevailing love/Word cheers

...and courage is renewed

Hope's anchor, though unseen

Rekindles hymns of gratitude

Where mercies intervene 

Janet Martin

August Aubade

 A few frames that helped inspire today's poem...

Gently, like a silvery sea

August morn rolls across the lea

It gilds each bloom and leaf and stem

With liquid-jeweled diadem

Kissing yesterday’s soldered sums

With essence of peaches and plums

Binding the skyline to the land

With gauzy, turquoise-tinted strand

Across the gleaming dell and dale

God tosses a gossamer veil

A sparkling mantle, dewdrop-spun

Soon stolen by the climbing sun

But for a bit we gaze, agape

At August morning’s sequined cape

God’s handiwork bound to confound

And wake a sense of holy ground

...beneath the tread we oft assume

Without conscious awe of the loom

That weaves the threads of August morn

Through mead of wheat and field of corn

And rainbow-hued zinnia-fringed walks

And sentinel-like hollyhocks

It’s shadow-shuttle rustles leaves

With ties that bind Time’s soul-shaped sheaves

Janet Martin

James 4:14
You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! 

What is your life? 

You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

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,

Job 14:1-2
“Man, who is born of woman, is short of days and full of trouble. 

 Like a flower, he comes forth, then withers away;

 like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure.

Heaven's Grand Event

Ps.5:3

In the morning, O LORD, You hear my voice;

at daybreak I lay my plea before You

and wait in expectation.

Darkness dwindles; daybreak kindles toil and trouble’s transient wick

Silence thunders with fresh wonders waiting to cut to the quick

Season-beauty graces duty with God’s grandeur to behold

Skyline blushes; mercy rushes like a river, rose and gold

Worship savours unearned favours from a fount where blessings pour

Hope and heartache humbly partake of love’s Bread of Life once more

Unplumbed essence of God’s Presence cheers us through days good or bad

Overflowing The Unknowing with enough to make us glad

Glad to labour, love our neighbour, with a heart of gratitude

For God’s tender, steadfast splendour; Goodness and Mercy renewed

Gone forever, yester’s-nevermore of moments spilled and spent

Darkness dwindles, daybreak kindles Today; Heaven’s Grand Event

What an offer! From yon coffer run riches none can descry

Today given, down from Heaven where God waits for our reply 

Janet Martin

Ps.118:24

This is the day the Lord has made;
We will rejoice and be glad in it.