Measure of Here and Now

Rather than vainly mourning what has slipped through Bygone's Gate

Let's make the most of here-and-now before it is too late

Rather than vainly fretting about what the future holds

Let's cherish that which here-and-now so preciously unfolds

Sometimes I am dumbfounded with joy and grief

over what no hand can stay

Comforted that the heart can keep

what moments brush away...

Grand-kiddos growing up SO fast right before our ever-thankful gaze...

Wishing you a wonder-filled here-and-now!

wherever in the world you are💗💖

Some morning here-and-now after-effects

I went down the road for some farm-fresh eggs

to make brownies (which I over-baked)😖

I'm bringing the snack for our Bible study group tonight so

if we choke on the brownies I guess we can wash it down with grapes??😅

Your ‘here-and-now’ and mine differ geographically

But here-and-now is common ground wherever we may be

Where so much more than chance grants circumstance, as you and I

Weather the brunt of consequence according to reply

For here-and-now though ever-present, scatters in its wake

The landscape of a lifetime forged from choices that we make

Where oft, now’s What frustrates its How, beyond complete control

Yet, each response right here-and-now impacts the sacred whole

Therefore, no matter what composes here-and-now’s love-song

Whether of thorns or roses, nothing stays the same for long

Where by the grace of God we go, from rise to set of sun

Where footfalls of love’s yes and no can never be undone

But leads into new here-and-now that trickles through our hold

The warp and woof of wish-and-wow like threads of gray and gold

Soft-slipping through our fingers like treasure; gladness and strife

Entwining Here-and-now into the measure of a life

© Janet Martin

Eccles.12:11-14

The words of the wise are like goads, 

and the words of [e]scholars are like well-driven nails, given by one Shepherd. 

12And further, my son, be admonished by these.

 Of making many books there is no end, 

and much study is wearisome to the flesh.

13Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:

Fear God and keep His commandments,

For this is man’s all.

14For God will bring every work into judgment,

Including every secret thing,

Whether good or evil.

Since I had my mixing bowls out I decided to make some energy balls as well!

This recipe below is a super versatile base for whatever seeds, nuts and dried fruit

is added! Cocoa powder can be substituted for carob powder. 

Toasting seeds and nuts before adding, enhances the flavor

Be Careful/Prayerful

'Be Careful we don't want your toes too close!'

  I cautioned Tot yesterday as he got as close as he could

to watch Janet cut up a massive pumpkin on the floor

because it was too heavy to lift to the counter-top.

Due to a bumper pumpkin-canning crop I welcome any favorite pumpkin recipes

(preferably not rich desserts) those recipes are easy to find😅

From little tots to adulthood...a mother's most-oft repeated caution must surely be 'be careful'!!

I find myself saying it countless times to the children in my childcare 

and many times to my grown children!

As we mature we realize there is only one way to be truly careful 

and that is to be duly prayerful!

The best way then, to say 'be careful'

is to say, 'be prayerful'!

Be careful/prayerful then, lest unaware

In what appears as harmless fun

We miss the deathly hazards where

The tempter's web of lies is spun 

Be careful/prayerful then, so when we we meet

The Wolf, dressed in sheep-like disguise 

We will recognize and defeat

With truth, the mastermind of lies

Be careful/prayerful then, and do not wink

At God's Word, man's authority

Where what He says, not what we think

Is what our conduct ought to be

Be careful/prayerful then, and by God's grace

Commit to Him, heart, soul and mind

Lest careless, prayer-less, we embrace

Hands of the blind leading the blind

Janet Martin 

Eph.5:15 NIV

Be very careful, then, how you live—

not as unwise but as wise,

Pumpkin can be turned into Bundt Cake, muffins

and all sorts of goodies!

We mix, stir and bake...and voila!! 

within the hour, results!

Some results for choices we make, take far longer 

with far more serious and far-reaching effects! 

Be careful/prayerful!!

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.

Establishing Familiarity (in a world of change)

Happy, happy December!

...and below a few photos of inspiration for today's poem!

the joy of small child's curiosity...

(and his delight at his 'baby-in-basket'

just like yesterday's Baby-in-a-basket'💗💝)

Tried and true recipes and the surprise

Of trying something new and loving it...

(I wish I had the ingred. on hand for the mango salsa!

Some other time!

And when we wake, ah bliss, fresh-brewed coffee...

The Word of God, steadfast and absolute...

Things do not stay the way they used to be

Progress presses the old ways to adapt

And change; estranged familiarity

Can wake wishes for seasons, echo-wrapped

Thus, bidding us to seek with meeker awe

The things that are the way they used to be

The unthwartable ilk of nature’s law

The joy of small child’s curiosity

The thrill as winter-heavens spills white stars

The hope that every Christmas is about

The happiness of refilled canning jars

The yard where puppies romp and children shout

The farmer that still whistles as he works

The gardener as happy as can be

Where despite sweat and toil, Eden still lurks

In every petalled plume and bird and tree

The unrivaled wonder in new-born babe

The tiring, tender toll of parenthood

Fond memories that we would never trade

The unshakeable truth that God is good

Tried and true recipes and the surprise

Of trying something new and loving it

The art of learning, (even though time flies)

To slow our hurried steps and sit a bit 

The black and white beauty of snowy nights

The beckoning warm welcome of sweet home

The comfort of tea-book-slipper delights

The courage to bare hearts into a poem

The option to use ink, paper and pen

The sentimental sweetness in farewells

We know will turn into hello again

Either on earth or in yon citadels

The friendliness of flowers, every one

A perfectly profound intricacy

A well-earned rest by zest of labor won

And when we wake, ah bliss, fresh-brewed coffee

The Word of God, steadfast and absolute

Regardless of post-modern heresy

The evidence science cannot refute

I AM, who WAS, IS and ALWAYS WILL BE

Music, a foretaste of eternity

When worship’s melodies will never cease

The heavens declaring God’s majesty

In every wondrous welkin-masterpiece

The momentum of moments meting change

Where so much is not like it used to be

Lavishes us with what none can estrange

Establishing familiarity

© Janet Martin

Long Live The Mess!

 Beauty is a messy business, isn't it?!

Fresh bouquets from gardens and fields

 spill petals and bugs.

Food prep spills, splashes and drops

before the delight of dining!

(hopefully LOTS of food prep happening today 

for thanksgiving dinner tomorrow...

In Canda we celebrate thanks-living in October)

And wow! the mess that we can make while enjoying dinner!

(esp. when children are present. ahem.

We love blaming messes on children, don't we? 😅💖)

And in the daily course of chores and joys,

From indoor to outdoor we go,

and even though we kick off shoes 

on the mat inside the door

we still somehow trail lots of outdoor in.

In the summer road dust,

 (Because our windows are big

and we live in farming country with lots of tractor traffic!)
in the winter, furnace dust

and wood stove ashes, but we are cozy!

Isn't it great?!!

The whole mess of a full life aka happiness!

coffee spills and all!

Before we can enjoy this...

This....

Before we can enjoy this... (recipe below)

This...

Midst lots of eager, curious, happy helpers/tasters!

And one MIGHTY mess!!

Oh! isn’t beauty worth its mess

Or joy its price of grief

Is not the bloom of happiness

So worth the tattered leaf?

The petal that falls from the stem

The crumbs from bit o’ cake

Are they not worth the diadem

Of stars strewn in their wake

Like teardrop, bittersweet, unfurled

Upon the cheek, soft kissed

Before the door shuts on a world

Of mayhem turned to mist

© Janet Martin

Veg Soup recipe...

I tweaked this recipe to my liking

omitting corn and adding black beans.

Also besides precooking the black beans

I mixed everything raw and water bath canned it,

steaming each canner full for 3 hours

(in case you would like to try it!)

From the old Mennonite Community Cookbook

Birthday Wish/Prayer...

Happy 30th Birthday, Emily!

(which means your dad and I are celebrating 3 decades of parenthood!!)

Wishing you...well, read the poem😊💖🙏

Love, Mom

A world of lovely wishes fills my heart for you today

I wish you health and happiness and joy along life’s way

I wish you friends and family to cheer the path you trod

But even more I wish for you a humble faith in God

…because all other wishes without Him seem incomplete

Without greater assurance than this sorry world can mete

So, though I wish you wonders that will make you sing and dance

I wish you, above all, the joy and peace faith in God grants

I wish you courage in the face of opposition’s dare

I wish you lots of laughter, lots of kisses, lots of prayer

I wish for you a crown of wisdom forged from smiles and tears

And faith in God that dearly deepens with the passing years

I wish for you, role models that are trustworthy and true

And love, because love makes worthwhile the smallest tasks we do

But above all I wish what only God’s Word can provide

A Light unto your path to be faith’s infallible Guide

I wish for you awareness of God’s mercy, new each morn

For motherhood’s (servanthood’s) sweet gladness that oft leaves love weary-worn

But, above all the wishes full of favor and delight

I wish for you true faith in God, until faith becomes sight

Today I bind my birthday wishes for you into prayer

That God would bless and keep you in His everlasting care

That through the highs and lows that love and life are sure to mete 

Your faith in Him will be the hope that makes your joy complete 

© Janet Martin

(a wish for all your siblings too for all your lifetime through)

Psalm 16:8-11

I keep my eyes always on the Lord.

With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;

my body also will rest secure,

10 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,

nor will you let your faithful[b] one see decay.

11 You make known to me the path of life;

you will fill me with joy in your presence,

with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

OH! the cake?!

Lemon Poppyseed Bundt Cake!

another first time fav!!!

Wonder-full Compulsion! Plus Butter Tart Recipe 😋

Sometimes the ho-hums of housework

would not feel like an honor to perform

until we look beyond it's façade 

to love,

and glimpse the face of God

For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus:

that if One died for all, then all died;

and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves,

but for Him who died for them and rose again.

2 Cor.5:14-15

Isn't the Love of Jesus Something Wonderful

Compelled by love for He who gave His all, oh let it be

Drawn with desire to put on dear Christ’s humility

For God so loved the world He gave His Son to pay sin’s debt

He rent the bondage of the grave, oh may we ne’er forget

Compelled by love, to honor He who to self-will did die

To offer ourselves to be love’s penitent reply

Where more than Call of Duty bids us bear life’s yoke and rod

With the unhidden beauty of a heart yielded to/exalting God

Compelled by love, first for our God and then for fellowman

Oh, blissful state as we applaud, through servanthood, His plan

Where love did not demand from us the recompense for sin

But rather gave his Son Jesus, His gift of grace to win

Compelled by love, ah, as we contemplate the sacrifice

What higher call could captivate or be worth greater price

Life’s meekest merit never fails; He who is Love supplies

His Spirit's strength as faith prevails and strains toward the Prize

© Janet Martin

Doesn't love's beauty always sweeten the duty?! Aren't you glad?

...some small  'sweetness-es'

sometimes come in the form of

Warm Butter Tart!

Oh!! I'm sorry. Would you like one too?

Here is the best recipe I know!

My mother's...

Sweet Little Girl

With permission from her mommy,

sharing a picture of Birthday Girl! 

Last night after she left  my intent was to make a little 

mommy's helper (or Janet's helper) apron,

which led to a tiny apron for Dolly

as well as a book-bag and dolly-blanket!

Her delight is the sweetest thank-you I could ever wish for💝

This morning she saw a picture of a donut and she remarked

"I like donuts!"

which inspired the birthday treat...

Sputniks/Timbits! (recipe at the end of this post)

The sparkle of a sunbeam

The blush of summer’s rose

The pleasure of a daydream

Goodnight-kiss on the nose

The gladness of a giggle

The treasure of a pearl

The best of all things beautiful

Is you, sweet little girl

The joy of June in winter

The awe of innocence

Your pure and carefree chatter

Teaches the heart to dance

You fill the world with Happy

Rainbows and stars unfurl

In the delightful company

Of you, sweet little girl

...a frilly, bitty bum-kin

A silly-me-oh-my

Princess without a pumpkin

A pretty butterfly

Tea-party guest of honor

A ballerina twirl

Life is such a charming wonder

With you, sweet little girl

You bring a bit of heaven

To earth; you make hope sing

And each day worth the living

With the loveliness you bring

You are a darling angel

Halo of hugs and curls

We are most blessed and so grateful

For you, sweet little girls

© Janet Martin

A frilly-'bitty' bum-kin...

Princess without a pumpkin...

Sputnik Recipe 

  

October (and a foodie finish!)

 Blushing hydrangea where autumn frosts flirt...

Shiny red apple for dinner dessert...

Blushing hydrangea where autumn frosts flirt

Shiny red apple for dinner dessert

Sassy wind sashaying through grand ballrooms

Scattered with tatters from lofty-tree looms

Landscapes, rain-glossy run slightly awry

With watercolors unfurled from the sky

Summer’s orange embers twixt plowed furrows glow

Warming our spirits on hearths primed for snow

One day soft kitten-like purrs kiss our cheeks

The next day mittens where b-r-r-risker breeze tweaks

Bronze burnished ambience startled with white

Maple-tree halos soft-doffed overnight

Hunger is teased and appeased thoroughly

Fresh from the oven or garden or tree

Gathered with humble and thankful hurrah

For autumn’s opulent cornucopia

Cooks in a quandary of pure delight

At endless options for dinner tonight

Cattails like sentry in russet wool coats

Puddles like miniature lakes full of boats

Wishes like milkweed-silk bursting from seams

Flashes of silver on backdrop of dreams

South-facing backyards like sudden sun-spas

Woodlands like grandstands of fading applause

October blazes with glory of fall

Capturing gazes where vistas enthrall

Making hearts ever so happy and sad

World full of wonder driving poets mad

Reasoning ruffled by fading veneers

Leaf-song turned into a trickle of tears

October offers a bount’ous buffet

So much to sample from its ample tray

So much to savour with eyes-ears-nose-mouth

Flavors and colors, east, west, north and south

October shimmers and glimmers until

Each candle is snuffed on Autumn's windowsill

© Janet Martin

Cooks in a quandary of pure delight

At endless options for dinner tonight...

I love this kind of quandary!😊 

I was torn between homemade pizza to use some of the last

of fresh garden peppers, onions etc.

I am also craving cabbage rolls

and squash apple bake, but as I rooted through the fridge

to make sure there wasn't some forgotten vittles, sure enough,

I found some pulled pork which needed to be used

so I made a

Pulled Pork Calzone.

The dough was a wad I had frozen from a previous pizza dough batch 

so ended up being not quite as puffy as fresh dough would be.

Spread dough on baking stone or pan

Layer filling down the center;

pulled pork, chopped onion, peppers, parsley and shredded mozz. cheese.

bring ends together in the middle and pinch

then flip over so seam is on the bottom 

Score top if desired

Bake at 375 or 400 for approx. 30 min.

Let cool slightly and serve.

Perfect with a side of coleslaw!😋

This coleslaw consisted of chopped green cabbage, red onion,

chopped green peppers, toasted flax and sunflower seeds with soy dressing

Soy Dressing

shake soy sauce, your choice of vinegar, (white, apple-cider, balsamic etc.)

black pepper, desired amount of sweetness

in honey or white sugar, after well blended add oil. 

Shake, shake, shake, pour YUM!

all amounts eye-balled😐

Dessert if needed will be an apple!

no room right now😛