Showing posts with label motherhood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label motherhood. Show all posts

Monday, May 15, 2023

Songs of May and Morn


It was a weekend of celebrating...
 Grandson's 1st birthday,
 


mothers/motherhood,


and May/gardening...
(helping grandpa plant potatoes)


Grand-sonny preferred planting potatoes to the tedium of planting peas...
When I handed him a little pail of pea seeds he proceeded to pour them into the
furrow rather than place them one by one,
 until gramma showed them how to space the seeds😅


I can't wait for them to begin witnessing the miracle from seed to fruit!

On this note, off we go on a new week rife with life's wonders and woes!


An orchestra of colour plays a melody reborn
To set both earth and heart ablaze with songs of May and morn
The author of all things ignites from minstrels great and small
A hymn of gladness, and invites us to join, one and all
To praise He who is faithful, absolute and wonderful
And eternally able to do the impossible

A symphony of splendor spills from He who does no wrong
It rolls across valleys and hills like a redemption song
To clothe the field with flowers and the tree with leafy sheen
To transform barren bowers with a thousand shades of green
And to remind the creature, awed at what God's love restores
To trust creation’s Teacher who sustains hope’s reservoirs

An invitation steals the show with holy thundering
A celebration peals ‘hello’ and beckons us to sing
In spite of cares we shoulder and the sorrows of this world
God cheers the awed beholder with His handiwork unfurled
And wakes a purer, meeker praise as melodies reborn
Once more set earth and hearts ablaze with songs of May and morn

© Janet Martin

Sometimes my morning worship/prayer/quiet time 
seems like a bittersweet duel between
groaning grief for what feels like 'impossible' prayers
and dumbfounded joy for His awesome Word and handiwork.
...a duel between sorrowful recognition/reconciliation 
of suffering the consequence of a sinful action
and awe for God's abiding faithfulness, kindness, forgiveness, love and grace

***

Isa.26:3
You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.

A few recent devotions from My Utmost for His Highest





Thursday, January 26, 2023

It's Not Easy But It Is Possible


This winter I have committed to sorting through
a lot of long-neglected corners and drawers filled with paraphernalia and plunder
of collections no longer relevant to the season I am in...Older mother!
And while mothering is by no means over, preschool and school children mothering is!
Leaving a lot of hard decisions to be made like
how many old art projects, canvases, folders, sketch-books, keepsakes do I keep?!!


My oldest daughter is at the other end of the spectrum, at the beginning of this journey
 and sometimes the only way I know how to advise her on
how to navigate a situation is because 
though the circumstances may differ the solution is the same for her season as mine;
 Ask God for wisdom then trust Him to provide!
Often wisdom comes through what feels like failure first.
But the important thing is that we don't give up!!
 Keep trying/praying! 



It’s not easy, learning how to fully lean on God to guide
How to trust Him without fretting about if/what He will provide
It’s not easy learning how to yield and say ‘Thy will, not mine’
And to rest in Him untroubled by His unrevealed design
It’s not easy, learning how to sacrifice each selfish choice
Taking God’s Word at His promises without doubt’s vexing voice
It’s not easy to be holy; we need God’s word in our hearts
To undo sin’s dark dominion and to thwart the tempter’s darts
It’s not easy to be faithful if we look ahead too far
But God makes it possible if we trust Him
Right
Where
We
Are

It's not easy, the relying on strength we do not possess 
But as long as we keep trying God unveils His promises 

© Janet Martin

Prov.3:3-8, 33-35

Let not mercy and truth forsake you;
Bind them around your neck,
Write them on the tablet of your heart,
4And so find favor and [a]high esteem
In the sight of God and man.

5Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
6In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall [b]direct your paths.

7Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the Lord and depart from evil.
8It will be health to your [c]flesh,
And strength[d] to your bones....

...The curse of the Lord is on the house of the wicked,
But He blesses the home of the just.
34Surely He scorns the scornful,
But gives grace to the humble.
35The wise shall inherit glory,
But shame shall be the legacy of fools.

Wednesday, January 25, 2023

A Gentle Reprimand (mother or not!)


Below, a bit of conversation between my daughter and I
as she lamented some not-so-shining-parenting-moments earlier today💓
(my comments in the blue)



The quote my daughter shared reminded me that we sure shouldn't 
point an accusing finger at anyone
before we have walked a mile in their shoes...should we?💖💕

Until we’ve worn each other’s shoes and borne each other’s cares
And struggled with each other’s dues and prayed each other’s prayers
I think the point that lingers is love’s gentle reprimand:
Instead of pointing fingers let’s reach out a helping hand

© Janet Martin


Monday, May 9, 2022

Of Mother-Heartstrings...


Love bears all things, 
believes all things, 
hopes all things, 
endures all things.
Love never fails

1 Cor.13:7-8

A precious Mother's Day weekend without many photos...only echoes,
while chores, commitments and celebrations were juggled.

(Why a red cleaning pail on a sunny Sunday afternoon deck visit?!
It was filled with soapy water and thrown at the neighbor's dog after
he splashed through a 'manure-pool' then came for some affection 
after he 'helped' us round up some rambunctious cattle that had broken
out of said neighbor's barn while Farmer was away😅)
***
No matter how old or far a mother's children are
love's umbilical cord, aka heartstrings
is never severed...



As she celebrates each step of each child's independence
a mother's heartstrings are tested to new lengths
but never broken💗
In whatever season of motherhood we are
God is faithful! 

The song below seems fitting 
as we begin another week whether we are a mother
or have/had a mother...



So it begins with the first newborn cry
…the tug and tangle of mother-heartstrings
A hold-and-let-go that will never untie
Love’s weathered tethers that motherhood brings

Who knew that someone so tiny and pink
Could completely transform the world she knew
Laughter and tears sparkle, silver, I think
Highlighting places where heartstrings run through

Love is an ocean she carries inside
Wonder and worry and weariness reel
Time is a subtle, determined riptide
Dashing heartstrings, strong as cables of steel

…where she is always relearning love’s art
First steps, first school day, first road trip, first car
Hold-and-let-go, while the strings round her heart
Stretch-stretch to wherever her children are

Labour-pains last until life’s final breath
Bittersweet, happy-sad sorrow and joy
She is a warrior who’ll fight to the death
For the welfare of her dear girl and boy

This is no commonplace love that she bears
This love reflects God, faithful, kind and good
These are no common ribbons that she wears
These are the heartstrings of motherhood

God, grant her courage, strength, wisdom and grace
Bless her and keep her in Thy tender care
For in each hold-and-let-go she will face
 Nothing can sever heartstrings spun with prayer

Motherhood yields to ever-present tugs
Of duty's demands, affairs soon echo-etched
Hold-and-let-go, this is the way of hugs
But not heartstrings, as they are stretched and stretched  

© Janet Martin

Prov.31:25-28
Strength and honor are her clothing,
and she can laugh at the days to come.
She opens her mouth with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children rise up and call her blessed;

Monday, May 2, 2022

How Do I Love Thee, (Once upon Sweet Childhood's Girl or Boy)


(a rather sentimental undoing of a mother's heart
as she contemplates a mother's love for grown children 💝)

Birthdays have a way of doing that...
Happy 24th birthday, Matt!




How do I love thee, once upon sweet childhood’s girl or boy?
I love thee with a brutal grief and with a daring joy
I love thee like a gentle lamb yet with a lion’s roar
It seems like every day I love you like never before

How do I love thee? In a tender tumult borne within
My dear, you cannot guess the world unfurled beneath my skin
Or how a mother holds her babies close in spite of years
How love is like a medley of hugs, tugs, cheers, fears and tears

How do I love thee? With compassion’s firm and fierce regard
Because I know though love is sweet, love is grueling and hard
A holy weathering that cannot be estranged by miles
A prayer-worn tethering through sorrow-storms and sunshine-smiles

How do I love thee? like a dancer still learning the steps
A hold and letting go that Season-change cannot eclipse
With sympathy and hope and honor all rolled into one
I love thee like only a mother loves daughter or son

How do I love thee? with oft stumble-humbled gratitude
With by-the-grace-of-God whose kindness keeps courage renewed
With error-riddled aftermath and laughter’s grand release
With awe, while God is teaching me what makes a masterpiece 

From mom aka
© Janet Martin

Psalm 90:12
Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Thursday, May 20, 2021

Oh Lord, Please Send an Angel Army (to minister to moms)

 

Sometimes home-sweet-home feels more like a battleground
where soul-diers in training can put up quite a fight
and test the best of any mom's/dad's fortitude!
Dear mother, daddy, do not despair! 
This little charge is worth every hard correction and prayer

Tots depend on mom and dad to do what no one else will;
 train them as they grow!
 It's not easy but it is the most important challenge
you will ever undertake!

 before time tips them out of childhood's 'wheelbarrow'...




Oh Lord, please send an angel down to minister to moms (and daddies)
In the thick of a battle with most crucial outcomes
Grant them wisdom and patience as they plant and prune and cull
Without the advantage of an instruction manual

Oh Lord, please send an angel down to minister to moms
Theirs is no undertaking of love, soon over-and-done
A mother’s love, a balance of both tough and tender, oh
As they train up a child in the way that they ought to go

Oh Lord, please send an angel down to minister to moms
For they grow weary as they discipline daughters and sons
It isn’t easy working for precious Child’s greater good
Lord, send an angel army to minister to motherhood (parenthood)

© Janet Martin

Prov.22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it.

Prov.3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
 in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight

Sunday, May 9, 2021

Of Mother's Love

 For all of our moms and mom-figures

Mother's Day Blessing


💝

It’s bottomless, no matter what
Though time weathers its trove
And plays havoc with touch and such
Never a mother’s love

Each child is a piece of her heart
While time spins clocks and wheels
And change insists upon the art
That fills echo-kissed reels

A mother’s love withstands the tug
That draws the child elsewhere
She learns to turn the tender hug
Into far-reaching prayer

From babe’s first cry till final sigh
Her labour-pains abound
To keen love’s bottomless supply
Each mother’s common ground

Where much is beyond her control
In this world’s fickle glove
And decays as time take its toll
Never a mother’s love

From fair-faced youth to age-old years
As seasons are exiled
God pours His love through smiles and tears
Of mother’s love for child

Whether a babe of cherub charms
Or marked by wear and tear
A child cannot outgrow the arms
Of mother’s love and care

Then, while you can, Child, treat her kind
For nothing else compares
No matter what treasures we bind
With mother’s love and prayers

© Janet Martin

Numbers 6:24-26 -
 The Lord bless you and keep you;
 the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you
the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.



Thursday, March 11, 2021

Happiness, Heaven-on-earth and Love


This poem was written with young parents in mind but
has something in it for us oldies too😉😄
(yes, it's muddy boots and wet-everything season!)
(because I do childcare some 'memories' stay quite fresh😅)


"Me? Trouble?!! 
How can you even think it?!"


It doesn’t always look like much; the noisy thick of it
Can spill and spread in such a way to make you ‘sick’ of it
Yes, you confess the mess is often quite more-than-enough
It doesn’t look like happiness, heaven-on-earth or love

You slip on the spaghetti that your darling toddler flung
Next week you’ll find one dried to the ceiling or a chair wrung
The toy-box you replenished at Christmas with eager joy
Is like a decoration ignored by dear girl and boy

Between lost socks-boots-mittens, you find scribbles on the wall
Where budding artists practiced while you answered a phone call
First signs of spring are tracked across the fresh-mopped kitchen floor
‘Enjoy these Best of Days’ says ‘Mrs. Old’ who lives next door

The sink is full of dishes while fridge and cupboard run bare
Baby is teething so you do not have patience a hand to spare
You sure could use the nap your youngster refuses to take
It would work such sweet wonders for your arms, back and headache

The bills are due, there are a few you had not counted on
Thank God for work and by His grace you’ll keep chugging along
…where Something steals your breath as only Little Tot can do
And you forget all but the precious face looking at you

Yes, it can feel like quite a fight, the messy ‘stick’ of it
Keeps you from understanding quite, the tender quick of it
But some day you’ll look back and see (like we did) sure enough
That this really is/was happiness, heaven-on-earth and love

(Optional ending)

(…the point to this ditty I guess is, whether young or old
In the middle of muddle-cuddle-mess-blessed hug-and-hold
Or past the place of youth and grace as we embrace ‘what’s next’
And wonder at the mirror-face, half-laughing and half-vexed

…we ought to try to take and make the best of where we are
Nobody needs to be perfecto or a super-star
But learn to count the beauties and the blessings one by one
Because no matter where we are, where we are is soon gone!)

© Janet Martin



Wednesday, August 12, 2020

For Homemaker and Childcare-giver

 Inspired by today and other days much like it...



Pee-puddles, sweet cuddles, study of a bug
Tuck in for a nap then called back for kiss-hug
Rain-laughter and after it slows, barefoot splash
A picnic of popcorn, Popsicle mishmash
A dash after mister who shed all his clothes
A leap to snare missy and wipe runny nose
One rag for all spills, a face-cloth for each kid
‘Crunch’ say the toast crumbs, spaghetti cries ‘skid!’
Boogers and snooger bunnies, me-oh-my
Swing till the tippy-toes tickle the sky
Hair-tangles, bear wrangles, spoon on plate-drum
Wondering what (soon grown up) they'll become
Cup refill, cup re-spill, patience gets riled
Some things never change when it comes to a child
Where Teacher and Learner are both young and old
But one is the pourer and one is the mold
Where messes and happiness mingle unplanned
Innocence and experience hand in hand
Toy trucks in planters and blooms strewn awry
Oft-repeated answers for oft-repeated ‘why’
Toys, noise and simple joys gone in a blink
Girls and boys poised on an echo-world’s brink
Unicorns, teddy-bears, picture-books, dolls
Gossamer glimmers on yesterday’s walls

© Janet Martin



Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Dear Mother of Tot...


Tots require endless hands on involvement. 
This can be really draining on mother-of-tot's energy, wisdom and patience-well!
  Mommy, hang in there!
It's extra-hard right now when you can't get together
 to empathize with a great source of strength and encouragement...other mothers!
Praying God grants you super-strength and patience hour by hour!
 (because I do childcare I get fresh 'reminders' of the tot-stage!
A seriously tiring and challenging stage for mom-of-tot!)
or 'dad of tot' just in case you're Mr. Mom😀 



Dear mother of tot,
Well we know it is not
A small call that you undertake
Where the battles you brave
Are with innocent babes
You love so much your heart could break
But dear little tot,
Though you like it or not
You must learn that no means no
And mother of tot,
Whether you like it or not,
You must teach them that it is so

Dear mother of tot,
What a large charge you’ve got
To train up a child in ‘the Way’
Where wee hearts and hands
With their endless demands
Sometimes drain you of words left to pray
For a ‘dear little tot’
Far too soon they are not
And the window of training will close
So, dear mother of tot
Give the best you have got
It is all you can do and God knows

Dear mother of tot
Do not, I repeat, do not
Keep a list of your fumbles and frowns
But let go at dusk’s door
What will be no more
We all learn through love’s ups and downs
…for dear, dear little tot
This mother you’ve got
Loves you more than the world times ten
And dear mother of tot
By the goodness of God
You will raise morrow’s women and men

© Janet Martin


(According to the passage below we 'older women' have
a pretty big role to play in the encouragement of our dear younger women!)

Titus 2:1-8

You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine. Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.
Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.
Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled.In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.