A Blessing for Dads

Happy Father's Day...

I am grateful for the many sacrifices Jim makes

for the benefit of us, his family!

Thank-you 💖

Ephesians 6:4
Fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath; instead, 

bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

I am so thankful to God for my dad who loved the Lord

and instilled the spark of God's love in us when we were but a little child,

and nurtured it, sometimes by great frustration of the child

into something we can look back on, in maturity

and marvel at his wisdom!! 

A photo from a month ago of my grandson and his daddy...

my love and prayers are with young dads esp. who are seeking to

raise children to grow into godly men and women, in an ungodly world.

What a tremendous, sacred calling, dear young fathers, you have!

I pray God's Word is a lamp to your feet

and a light to your path!

Without it we stray and become wise in our own eyes 🙏

God bless the dad who is undeterred

In training a child through the lens/Light of God’s Word

God bless the dad whose ultimate goal

Is nurturing child in both body and soul

…who teaches his children to love and revere

Our Father in Heaven, who loves us so dear

God, bless the dad who hallows Your name

And teaches his children to do the same

And, bless the dad who, when the going gets tough

Still trusts in Your promises to be enough

Who instructs his children with more than mere talk

But, sets by example, the way they should walk

…who faithfully labors and faithfully prays

And shoulders the yoke of his call, by God’s grace

© Janet Martin

I love this excerpt from the book Little Rivers

by Henry Van Dyke

I'm sorry I can't share the whole chapter!

I'm dusting off an oldie this morning, as well;

a poem my son and some of his friends read for a Father's day church service 

around 16 years ago!

Some dads are really, really cool, and some are really smart,

Some dads barely went to school but still have big soft hearts,

Some dads stand up straight and tall and look all sober-like

As if they’ve never thrown a ball or raced on their old bike,

Some dads like to tease and wink and some dads laugh a lot,

I guess, I suppose, it depends, I think, on how many bills they’ve got,

‘Cause dad says, as long as the bills keep a-comin’,

He’ll have to get up an’ keep on a-workin’,

And God bless the dad that keeps on a-hummin’

Even when the bills keep a-comin’

Some dads make lots of money and some, I’ve heard, are broke,

Some say things like sweetheart and honey and some dads never joke,

Some dads work from dawn ‘til dark with little time to play,

Some take their children to the park and some just go away,

Some dads work so very hard so mother can stay home,

Some dads are so very tired, when at last they come,

But, God bless the dad, who at the end of his day

Still gets down on his knees to pray,

And God bless the faithful dad who

Teaches his little ones to pray too

Some dads are really big and tough, while some are short and thin,

Some dads are kinda’ rough and some are gentlemen,

Some dad’s hair is curly and some dad’s hair is gray,

Some don’t really worry ‘cause their hair has gone away,

Some dads drive pick-ups shiny and new, some say any wheels will do,

'As long as it takes me to work and such, and the insurance on it isn’t too much,'

Some dads whistle and some dads sing,

At home some dads feel as rich as a king,

But for one thing I sure am glad,

God knew how much we’d need some dads

Some dads read God’s word every night, some never read at all,

Some dads teach us wrong from right to guide us lest we fall,

And some dads are a little like God, I suppose,

‘Cause through trial and error this dad knows

Though hearts be broken and sometimes need mending,

A father’s love is never-ending,

And God bless the dad whose love never fails,

When the going gets bad, love still prevails,

Thus, for one thing I sure am glad, 

God knew how much we’d need some dads,

Some dads’ sure leave big shoes to fill 

but the One who guides them will be there still,

Someday, when someone says they’re glad 

God knew how much we’d need some dads

Janet Martin

Today Twofer ...Cradle of Eternity and Today's Most Estimable Gift

Yesterday we celebrated the child that turned Jim and I into grandparents!

Happy 7th Birthday, Grandson!

Simply being there may look like nothing much

(dear weary, young mother/parent),

 but, is in essence, everything!

Oh, the efforts that may seem to count for nothing here

 but may count for everything There!🙏🙏🙏

By God's grace, keep on.

Above, we simply see a birthday cake!!

 not the baking of it by Very Sleep-deprived mom 

after children are tucked into bed,

We don't see the many, messy, mundane, oops, 

I mean SACRED interruptions/frustrations

 to bring it to fulfillment!😅💓

Technology/screen-time has many negatives in the development of children BUT

this is one of the best positives; being able to laugh and chat with cousins 

over 2000 kilometers away!!

“Children are not a distraction from more important work.

 They are the most important work.”

– Dr. John Trainer

(according to this site, the above quote is misattributed to C.S. Lewis)

Children are by far the most important work!

because...

Beneath the wide, missing-toothed grin

That six and seven year old sports

Beneath Innocent Countenance 

That Time's Insistence soon aborts

 Beneath the sweet Cocoon of Youth

Trembles an Immutable Flame

As irrefutable as Truth

Unthwarted by denial's claim

This truth kindles a deeper look

At faces that we love so dear

At babies nestled in arm's crook

At hugs, as we draw loved ones near

Because, beneath the part we see

Exists the Thing That Never Dies

The Cradle of Eternity

Has missing teeth and eager eyes 

...a-sparkle with dream-giddy stars

Where footsteps that dash wild and free

Are bearing a most sacred charge

The Cradle of Eternity

Because, the part that melts the heart

With the velocity/Curiosity of Youth 

Cradles the soul, that precious Part

That looks to us to teach/tell the Truth 

© Janet Martin

Eccles.12:1

Remember your Creator in the days of your youth,

 before the days of trouble come 

and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them"—

I began the poem below yesterday...

Inspired in part by this passage

 (which also helped inspire the above poem) 

Ps.78:5-7

For He established a testimony in Jacob,

And appointed a law in Israel,

Which He commanded our fathers,

That they should make them known to their children;

 That the generation to come might know them,

The children who would be born,

That they may arise and declare them to their children,

That they may set their hope in God,

And not forget the works of God,

But keep His commandments;...

from this devotion...

from this book...

Before the poem was completed Eagerness arrived to steal the show with sweetness!

when Little Brother noticed Big Sister about to be the 'star',

he, ever-so-full-of -'innocent'-mischief did his thing😂😂😇

Can't you just about hear his very enthusiastic 'CHE-E-E-ESE!!'💖😅

We still managed one without his shenanigans 

(that keep everyone laughing and pulling their hair out!😂😅)

After they left, Gramma needed a nap before

heading out to above birthday celebration!

Today's most estimable part is valuable to know

Though its most vital works of art may never steal the show

It ought to stoke a lion’s roar in hearts of you and me

Because today swings wide the Door of Opportunity

Where what we do with what we have holds more than first appears

The impact of Now’s aftermath fills more than yesteryears

As repercussion of reply unravels in its wake

A footpath forged by you and I, for future feet to take

Today’s most estimable part is sacred to the touch

Though, at first glance its works of art may not appear as much

Beneath the part we see the root establishes the tree

That will, for good or ill, bear fruit for all eternity

Sometimes eternity can feel far off, and quite unreal

Sometimes Impulse can spar and scoff at God’s/time’s/love’s patient appeal

Sometimes, today’s most estimable gift, we hardly see

As God fills up the cup we lift with Opportunity

© Janet Martin

Let's not lose heart by dwelling on

 opportunities lost or missed

but seize the part we build upon;

Now, 

goodness-glossed and mercy-kissed

No Commonplace Charge (is parenting)

Baby is teething and objects loudly to being put down for long...

Mommy is so weary!🙏

...with these two to keep her on her toes (and knees) besides!

I am no longer parenting little children but

I am grand-parenting little children 

which makes the messages below very relevant to my season of life as well!

***

To leave children without principles is

not to make them free but it is to render them helpless

Alistair Begg in Teach Your Children Well Part 2 of 4)

We have within our keeping a very precious charge

of innocence soon reaping the harvest of its guards

no commonplace appointing from God, is parenthood

a baby the anointing of wonder, pure and good 

we have within our caring, besides child's sweet delight

the onus of preparing the soul-dier for the fight

no commonplace employment is the call they bestow

far more than mere enjoyment of watching Soul-dier grow  

we have within our reaching (for such a little time)

wide flung windows of teaching far more than nursery rhyme 

no commonplace vocation to all whom God assigns

the careful cultivation of very tender vines

What a priceless investment; the training of a child

how soon the world's resistance tests with lures, lie-defiled

no commonplace endurance, a parent's prayers outpoured

For wisdom and assurance established in God's Word

we have within our asking a very present Aid

Who tenders with love's tasking, commands to be obeyed

For this is no small gracing, a child, innocence-wrought

But a Soul-dier soon facing life, armed with what was taught  

© Janet Martin

Link to all four messages in this series below

Teach Your Children Well (Part 1 of 4)

Teach Your Children Well Part 2 of 4)

Teach Your Children Well (Part 3 of 4)

Teach Your Children Well (Part 4 of 4)

No Greater Grief and Joy Have I

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

3 John 1:4

How often in my own parental joys and sorrows

I think of my patient Heavenly Father, where I, his willful child

need his faithful goodness, mercy, rebuke and forgiveness!

Lord, I Need You

No greater grief has a (Christian) parent than watching a precious child choose the hard

road of rebellion ,(where we all once were, but by the grace of God have been saved!)

No greater joy has the same parent when watching a child

 choose the hard road of repentance, of truth, obedience and faithfulness!

All that I bring to Thee

Is but what you bestow

Nothing have I save love’s reply

Each gifted breath will owe

Forbid that I betray

My Lord and King of kings

As Want uncouth disdains God’s truth

To covet carnal things

Lord, purge all boast but One;

The faith that makes me whole

Through Jesus Christ who sacrificed

His life to save my soul

No greater joy have I

Than Truth that sets us free

With holy awe to keep the law

Of love’s humility/of perfect liberty

No greater grief have I

Than to bear witness to

Emboldened hard, cold disregard

My faithful God, to You

Lord, hear my heartful prayer

Where joy and grief travail

To praise and plead and trust each need

To love that will not fail

© Janet Martin

Dear praying parent! Keep on keeping on!

Psalm 5:3&11-12

In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice;

in the morning I lay my requests before you

and wait expectantly....

But let all who take refuge in you be glad;

let them ever sing for joy.

Spread your protection over them,

that those who love your name may rejoice in you.

12 Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous;

you surround them with your favor as with a shield.

Truly Love

Oh, how we love our precious innocent children

who depend on us to honor their innocence 

and teach them what is right

and Who is the one true God!!

Encouraging young parents through 'tough love' 

when training little children reminds us

over and over how parenting our earthly children

reflects a picture of our Heavenly Father as He 'parents' us, doesn't it?!

We sure must test His patience sometimes as we ignore His commands.

What a kind and merciful Father he is!

He took the time to appoint/establish commandments that,

if we obey them will lead to peace and joy!

All we need to do is listen to be happy!

Sometimes we use 'happiness' as an excuse to bend or break His rules

instead of trusting the love that puts boundaries in place!

Today's scripture reading included the account of Moses

 receiving the Ten Commandments from God...

Imagine what this world would be like if we obeyed them/Him?!

Our Heav’nly Father cares for us: so He sets Ground Rules

And boundaries, to keep in check our bent to being fools

And making deadly choices when temptation’s lure is tossed

To echo 'did God really say’ when innocence was lost

And Eve believed the liar and did eat, and Adam too

One bite began the plight of man that still tests me and you

Our Heav’nly Father cares for us; so, he gave us His Word

A kind, tangible Presence to comfort and undergird

To be a lamp unto our feet in a world dark without

Where logic errs without His Word to vanquish fear and doubt

Where we would stray into the way that seems right but is not

Where the romance of ignorance sets a Death-trap of Thought

Our Heav’nly Father cares for us; He knows that we are prone

To wander like sheep, shepherd-less, if He leaves us alone

So, like all loving parents do, He authors boundaries

To safeguard precious darlings against lurking enemies

Because like children we will never fully understand

The love that cares enough to guard desire with command

Our Heav’nly Father cares for us; He works for our good

How often we do not appreciate Him like we should

And thank him for His steadfast righteousness and truth and grace

To anchor us so that we do not drift from place to place

But embrace the sweet peace we find with awed epiphany

God’s flawless laws and precepts do not bind but set us free

Our Heav’nly Father cares for us; what perfect happiness

To walk, not in the counsel of wicked ungodliness

But in the way where blessing will both console and chastise

Like the tough love of parents who are vigilant and wise

As they train up a child to see choice leads to consequence

And love is only truly love with a commandment-fence

© Janet Martin

Psalm 1:1-5

Blessed is the man

Who walks not in the counsel of the [a]ungodly,

Nor stands in the path of sinners,

Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;

2But his delight is in the law of the Lord,

And in His law he [b]meditates day and night.

3He shall be like a tree

Planted by the [c]rivers of water,

That brings forth its fruit in its season,

Whose leaf also shall not wither;

And whatever he does shall prosper.

4The ungodly are not so,

But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.

5Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,

Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

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.

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

Of Utmost Importance...

Anyone who is blessed with the company of children

in their day-to-day lives knows that much time is spent teaching and training!

Today's teaching moments at Janet's house included

how to crack peanuts from the shell...

(bite softly preferably with back teeth, to crack then pull apart with fingers)

how to hold on to the swing with arms when mittens are too poof-y or slippery

how to peel pomegranate...

how to draw a chicken...

how to take turns to help with the vacuuming...

The end goal of training children is a responsible, respectful adult.

The end 'goal' of an adult is ultimately,

 for better or worse, accountability to the Giver of life,

turning all training of all children into something with an eternal impact!

No wonder Solomon gives us this advice in Prov.22:6

Train up a child in the way he should go,

[a]And when he is old he will not depart from it.

How imperative it is then, 

to constantly reevaluate/reexamine 

our hopes and dreams,

to keep our priorities pure!

Four-season circuits wheel unfazed by centuries

Like chariots of gold and teal they pass through fields and trees...

Time tries our hopes and dreams

While from dawn’s lowered barge

God replenishes mercy-streams

Sufficient for the charge

…to keep, comfort and bless

With Shepherd’s staff and rod

All who seek first His righteousness

And the kingdom/sheepfold of God

Four-season circuits wheel

Unfazed by centuries

Like chariots of gold and teal/silk and steel

They pass through fields and trees

From east to west to east

A feast of shadows spills

Where want is a voracious beast

No fortune-flaunt fulfills

…while hopes and dreams arouse

A surf of smiles and tears

That roll where dust-to-dust soon bows

Beneath death’s wreath of years

How miniscule the stack

Of numbered days of man

That charge the barge that draws us back

To where we all began

How futile zeal defends

Life’s dream-bedazzled splash

If no hope at its halt transcends

Earth’s vault of dust and ash

© Janet Martin

Book of Now or Where No Today is Commonplace (because of God's grace)

Now is a sequence of little love-letters

unfolding and folding in sacred synchronicity!

My granddaughter's grin yesterday as her mommy surprised her

 with an unexpected visit (aka break for momma) to gramma's house

This morning's poem was penned amidst much Now unfolding, such as

a frustrated and discouraged daughter asking for prayers 

for wisdom and patience as she parents, 

especially a three year old daughter whose endless curiosity and energy

 results in the most unpredictable episodes.

Yesterday said grand daughter watched ever-so-closely as gramma put in her contact lenses. 

This morning while her mommy was busy with baby brother 

she decided to try to clean mommy's contacts!! 

Last week after her mommy glazed some meatloaf for supper, and

was helping Big Brother with some reading,

this opened a window of opportunity

to slather leftover glaze on the stove burner!

Other recent episodes, often harmless but patience trying...

let's see how much toilet paper fits in a drain.

let's get out all my summer clothes because the snow melted!!!

let's use mom's real taco -seasoning in my toy kitchen while I'm cooking!

(and this gal moves faster than the Tasmanian devil in the old bugs bunny cartoons😂😂)

These episodes are most often followed with a very penitent little girl saying

 "I'm thorry, mommy for'...

and then its hard for mommy to stay cross for very long after😅💓

Dear mommies and daddies, don't give up.

After prayer-folded hands, a loving and firm hand 

is the best thing you can give your children!

(Dear older moms and dads, 

let's remember to pray faithfully for younger parents!

because, do you remember the unrelenting challenge 

of parenting little children?!!)

Let's pray they may have the wisdom, the patience

 and the courage to do the hard parenting!

Every stage of Now, no matter how old we are 

seems to run rife with life's challenges/lessons!

By God's goodness and mercy aka grace, we go...

Lessons learned through laughter and tears

Tune tides soon turned to yesteryears

How swift sterling sunrises set

The stage unfurling folds of ‘yet’

Where gold and gray-spun Granting sweeps

Each new today to Bygone’s deeps

With Now, the ink that pulses through

What first we think and then we do

Until we ford that final rift

To meet the Lord who gave life’s gift

Where time’s tatters of touching lie

In stilled splatters where ink drops dry

…in a love letter God will read

Prompting us to pay better heed

To what deed writes before we bow

And God recites our Book of Now

…where, pray above all He will see

The acquittal of Calvary

That began, with Now’s earnest try

Eternity’s thank-you reply

Where no today is commonplace

In hope’s hooray, because of grace

As step by step and prayer by prayer

God folds away time’s sacred stair

© Janet Martin

some 'nows' are as sweet as maple cream fudge, (see recipe below)

being sampled here...

others, not!

(Above, Miss Mischief's Baby Brother who seems to take up a LOT of mommy-time💞💗)

Here is an annual Christmas treat favourite from my childhood;

Maple Cream Fudge recipe...

Proverbs 19:20
Listen to counsel and accept discipline,

 that you may be wise the rest of your days.

This Masterpiece of Joy

 Wearying? Yes!

Wonderful? Oh. Yes.💖

It rhymes with miss and kiss; this, masterpiece of joy

That can wear patience paper thin as we train girl and boy

This grin of have and hold always love’s primed prelude

To letting go, as seasons flow through prayers of gratitude

This visioning ahead soon turned to looking back

Time’s hand unraveling a thread that no hand can retract

This thrumming of bare feet and laughter-tickled soul

As innocence tries childhood’s skies until it finds a hole

This best of busyness; this test of push and pull

Of messy Mostly Happiness and Weary Wonderful

This yearning to preserve, from precious girl and boy

A remnant of the days that wove This Masterpiece of Joy

© Janet Martin

 

 

Thoughts About Tots (and their Teachers)

A row of  little shoes, 

Father's Day on Sunday,

...and late last night, tripping over Edison who shouted into the quiet kitchen,

'Hi, I'm Edison, let's sing along with Alphabet Pal!' 

are all part of what inspired this poem.

By the way, thanks to Edison and other alphabet-repeating gizmos

 Tots can belt out the abc's long before they go to school!

Imagine if we drilled them in eternal things the way we do the temporal...

Deut.11:18-21

Remember God’s Words

18Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds;

 tie them as reminders on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.

  19Teach them to your children, speaking about them when you sit at home

 and when you walk along the road, 

when you lie down and when you get up. 

20Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates, 

21so that as long as the heavens are above the earth, 

your days and those of your children may be multiplied 

in the land that the LORD swore to give your fathers.

Ephesians 6:4

Fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath; 

instead, bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

It takes a village of parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles,

 teachers, neighbors, childcare providers, etc.

to raise a child, but to train up a child in the way they should go (Prov.22:6) 

is mostly up to parents (*and grandparents)!

Deuteronomy 4:9

Only be on your guard and diligently watch yourselves, 

so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen,

 and so that they do not slip from your heart as long as you live. 

*Teach them to your children and grandchildren.

They trust us not to lead them into ways they should not go

They look to us to teach them so much that they want to know

This is no small or simple charge that follows you and I

These tots, so full of innocence and never-ending ‘why’

This is no brief commission we can annul when we choose

Once donned we cannot nonchalantly kick off parent-shoes

Tots are not little long; the stars they are trying to reach

Reflected in their eager eyes, see far more than we teach

The agelessness of truth is a beacon that does not dim

It is no shifting shadow that adapts to wish and whim

The manual for moms and dads is pure and undeterred

The sound and supreme counsel and instruction in God’s Word

To grasp astronomy, ecology, geologic worth/girth

Begins with knowing Who created the heavens and earth

The One who designed galaxies and rolling seas and bugs

Creates each little child we shower with kisses and hugs

The abc’s and one-two-threes are important to learn

But better far than shiny stars these tender triumphs earn

Is the sacred retelling of the One who made us all

No nursery rhyme is He who sees all creatures great and small

Children grow up so fast; Past echoes with the strange replay

Of scenes, that in a child’s childhood, we think, are far away

The feet outgrowing shoes, the boo-boos on elbows and knees

Soon fade into the fond, fine fabric work of memories

Children trust us to lead them; oh, forbid we teach a lie

To tots, so full of innocence and never-ending ‘why’

Who look to us to tell about so much they want to know

Tis no small charge to teach them about God who loves them/us so

© Janet Martin

Teaching children is a moment-ous charge

Small choices can make a big difference!

For instance, what books we choose to read to them.

Yesterday was HOT! 

A great opportunity to enjoy the shade with books

while a child delighted and astounded me with her

intuitive innocence!!

I forgot about photos till we were leaving to tackle other important tasks

on her to-do list; like trike😂💖