Blessed

Last night I said to Jim I feel a bit like a marathon runner must feel

 on the home stretch, and is suddenly filled with a fresh burst of speed!

(See HERE for more pics of tomato-thon

 and these were the final round of picking after many, 

many previous baskets full)

I couldn't finish yesterday as I originally hoped,

 no matter how fast I chopped, mashed and jarred 😅

This time of year hearts overflow with thankfulness for abundant yield

from gardens and fields...

and for beauty of earth and sky

Dusk...

Dawn...

Psalm 145:3

Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised;

 His greatness is unsearchable.

Job 37:5

God thunders wondrously with His voice;

 He does great things we cannot comprehend.

For more than momentary cheer of circumstantial happiness

For more than things we see and hear that this world honors as success

For more than confidence and show of wealth's material increase

Praise God from whom all blessings flow; whose promises bring joy and peace

For more than rich yields from the earth or health and strength whereby we toil

For more than ephemeral mirth of merchandise and carnal spoil

For more than friends and family, who we are humbly thankful for

Praise God for blessings that we see and those we seek beyond Time's score  

Praise God for His word to protect from fool-ungrounded fantasies

Praise God for His word to direct with more than mortal vagaries  

He gives us all we need to know to trust faith's steadfast Cornerstone 

Praise God from whom all blessings flow like rivers coursing from His throne

....in magnificent magnitude; where wonderment and worship meld

In oft unconscious gratitude for countless favours, not withheld 

Whose everlasting love bestows goodness and mercy beyond ken

Praise God from whom all blessing flows and bears witness of Him. Amen  

Janet Martin

Isaiah 40:28
Do you not know?

 Have you not heard? 

The LORD is the everlasting God, 

the Creator of the ends of the earth.

 He will not grow tired or weary;

 His understanding is beyond searching out.

Every once in a while I love to crank up this version of

Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow 

In Everything...

I began today with a garden wander...

so I don't miss the bliss of This

blinded by Much To Do!

God, help me live and love

with open eyes, heart and hands...

The 'wander' is the prelude to tackling a red mountain of Tomato-Task.

In every up and down, 

and morning, noon or night

Laughter or tears 

or smile 

or frown 

or struggle 

or delight

In every twist and turn 

or smooth sailing, 

or gale

Or lesson yet to learn, 

or triumph 

or travail

In every loss 

or gain, 

heartache 

or happiness

Or measure of pleasure 

or pain, 

refreshment, 

weariness

In every ebb and flow 

Of seasons as they sweep

Through bloom 

to petal-snow,

Through waking hours, 

or sleep

In hold

or echo-font

In cold

or heat, my dear

In plenty 

or in want

In favours kind,

severe

In hello 

or farewell

In health 

or ailing bod

In all that we can think to tell

In everything, 

thank God

Janet Martin

It is not hard to give thanks

in a bountiful harvest season,

with health and strength for toil!

Kind Heavenly Father, thank-you.

Ephesians 5:20
always giving thanks to God the Father for everything

 in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Philippians 4:6
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, 

by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, 

present your requests to God.

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.

1 Thessalonians 5:18
Give thanks in every circumstance,

 for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

We Thank Thee-Jim Reeves

 

On Keeping Simpler Days Alive...

I LOVE simple things,

like bowls and baskets of freshly-picked garden-fare...

like the meals they make...

 like lines of clean laundry flapping in the breeze....

like puppies...

like almost dinner-plate-sized hibiscus...

The list really is endless, isn't it?!!

Sometimes we look back at the simpler way life used to seem

Where time has smoothed the bumps and twists and left a kind of dream

-world in its place; its weariness and brokenness forgot

As we trace precious yesterdays with sentimental thought

Sometimes we mourn Bygone's idyll of simpler, slower pace

And in life's seeming frantic quest for more, feel out of place

Forgetting for the moment, what remains no mystery;

To keep life's simpler days alive is up to you and me

Sometimes the wily ways of want seem to have seized control

Influencing a kind of pace that drains love of its soul

Too pushed to pause and let the beauty of creation awe

Too rushed to linger where progress does not enforce its law

Time's breadth of Day remains the same; twenty-four hour lease

The Word of God will never change; it leads in/to paths of peace

(For the unknown has always tried the hope and trust of hearts

Progress still cannot compensate for what God's Word imparts)

Sometimes we mourn the seeming loss of simpler yesteryears

Before technology seduced and enslaved eyes and ears

While just as it has always been, God's handiwork abounds

In evidence of He whose steadfast mercy still confounds

Sometimes it seems what mankind deems as progress, serves instead

To maim the mind, with chains designed to bind and leave for dead

But wisdom is still free for all to seek and find, if we

Remember what we leave behind is up to you and me

 (thank-you Wendell Berry)

The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world; this is still so

Dear mother, homemaker, remember this when you feel low

And quite forgotten in a world where VIP's  compete 

The charge of keeping simpler days alive is no small fete

  

The charge of keeping home fires burning is a high call

For happy home-sweet-home is surely the best wealth of all

Where simpler ways are praiseworthy, and blaze contentment's trail 

Where gratitude is still the key to joy that cannot fail 

The simpler days had their fair share of trouble's portion too

As wisdom's worth was then it is today, and all time through

We are the master of our choices just as They were then

And simpler days can still survive if we so choose. Amen

Janet Martin

Prov.2:1-8

My son, if you accept my words

and store up my commands within you,

2 turning your ear to wisdom

and applying your heart to understanding—

3 indeed, if you call out for insight

and cry aloud for understanding,

4 and if you look for it as for silver

and search for it as for hidden treasure,

5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord

and find the knowledge of God.

6 For the Lord gives wisdom;

from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

7 He holds success in store for the upright,

he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,

8 for he guards the course of the just

and protects the way of his faithful ones...

💗💙💚💛💜

If you still have zucchini and you're not sure what to do with it

the casserole in the above photo is a quick, satisfying supper,

Esp. with a side of freshly sliced tomatoes

or garden-medley salad.

The pictured salad is simply a blend of Greek salad ingreds.

tossed with a light dressing...

Zucchini Casserole

3 eggs, 

1/4 cup olive oil

Whisk then add

1/2 cup flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

whisk till smooth then stir in

2 cups shredded zucchini 

1/2 cup thinly sliced onion

1/4 cup green pepper

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

1 finely chopped jalapeño pepper (optional)

1/2 -1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup (or desired amount) of meat 

such as cooked ham, bacon, sausage or pepperoni

(also optional)

Pour into a 9x13 or similar size casserole dish

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes

The Moment September Arrives...

Welcome, 

mist-kissed,

Dusky, musky,

yellow, mellow 

September!

pink mums and sedums blush...

September sweeps us off our feet the moment she arrives

Draping a gauzy golden sheet across dawn's countryside

Creation hails us to partake of  its silver-gilt cup

Devotion, bowed in farewell's wake is sweetly lifted up

For each September God bestows is like a fount that brims

With wonder that thunders and flows in freshly-composed hymns

...is like a vine bent with the fruit of labour, hope and prayer

Is like the climax of pursuit as harvest spills its fare

Is like a sketchbook, compliments of nature's Artist, oh

Behold the goldenrod braced fence, and purple-aster snow

Is like a treasure trove that spills with summer's fading sighs 

Earth trembles beneath cricket trills, hummingbirds, butterflies

Is like a child returned to class after a holiday

Is like an awesome hour-glass run rife with petal-fray

Is like a plot of holy ground where we take off our shoes

to feel the peal of dust resound with impending adieus

Is like sweet summer's last hurrah; pink mums and sedums blush

And we are thrilled, and filled with awe that no farewell can hush 

September sweeps us off our feet with first pumpkins and such

Where visions of autumn compete with summer's ling'ring touch

Where gardeners are overcome with humble happiness

And thankful joy for bounty from He who delights to bless

And remind us each season has its purpose, place and time

Always with perfect reason to rejoice with voice and rhyme 

Always with wonders we forget while 'Yet' is held at bay

While we are in the thick of letting summer have its way

While we are making the most of love's soon-a-memory

Where what never seems quite enough, always turns out to be 

While farewell draws tears to our eyes as August slips to Yore  

The moment September arrives, we are in love once more 

Janet Martin

Eccles.3:1

To everything there is a season, 

A time for every purpose under heaven:

Earth trembles beneath cricket trills...

 

From a Garden-Lover's Point of View

The kiss of the sun for pardon,

The song of the birds for mirth,--

One is nearer God's heart in a garden 

Than anywhere else on earth.

From God's Garden by

Dorothy Frances Gurney

Gen.3:8

And they heard the sound of the Lord God 

walking in the garden in the cool of the day...

Time began in a garden; little wonder then that we

Feel closer to God's heartbeat in nature's tranquility

To witness the unfolding of a seed, to bud, to flow'r

Grants the sacred Beholding of God's majesty and pow'r 

What privilege to labour where the world's noise is subdued

By He whose lavish Favour fills our hearts with gratitude 

...and kindles genial ardour for the holy ground of soil

Beneath cloud-tumbled arbour we worship with sweat and toil

We find friendship in flowers and soft serenade of breeze

As we linger in bowers with birds, butterflies and bees 

Content with wonder driven from a plot of awesome worth

Gleaning glimpses of Heaven from the gardens of the earth

Where, though this is no Eden; (Adam's curse is ours to bear)

God still walks in the garden; oh, what joy to meet Him there 

Better than lust for leisure or the futile quest for Things

Is the unparalleled pleasure only a garden brings 

Janet Martin

of seed...

to bud...

...to flow'r! 

In The Garden- Alan Jackson

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Dear Lucy, I Am Sixty Now or Dear Lucy, Beyond Time's Temporary Rift

Revelation 4:11
“Worthy are You, our Lord and God, 

to receive glory and honor and power,

 for You created all things; 

by Your will they exist and were created.”

Thank You Lord, for family and friends

and for your example of how

we ought to love one another! 

In the past month+ to say

I have been generously, thoughtfully, preciously 

showered with love from family, friends and neighbours

is an understatement!

You all have made turning 60 (on June 7th) feel like such an honour! (which it is)

Cake by Baking Me Happy!

Last night my family (parents, siblings and spouses) celebrated this milestone!

 It takes time in a large, busy family to find a day where everyone is free! 

Family celebrations always re-impact me with fresh awareness 

of how deeply I love my family! (and how deeply I/we miss Lucy) 

Oh Lucy dear, I am sixty

Remember how we used to dream

Of trying to age gracefully

Treating each stage with kind esteem?!

Life's milestones seem to emphasize

How swift a decade disappears 

Where it seems that Time's Chariot flies

Faster and faster through the years 

...and makes us more humbly aware

Of love's immeasurable score

And how we have no time to spare

In loving one another more

...and recognizing every day

Is a grace-granted gift from He

Who is faithful, come what-yet-may

On our way to Eternity 

Where you got there ahead of us

But we are close behind. Amen

To gather and behold Jesus

Forever together again 

A soulful love-song steals my breath

Where strains of Heaven and earth meld

As we traverse the vale of death

Its final bend and breadth withheld 

Oh grave, where is thy victory

Oh death, where is Thy sting, Thy knife

Praise God, because of Calvary 

Death is a steppingstone to life

...for all who repent and believe

In He who paid the debt we owed

Where else we would endlessly grieve

And hope would be a hollow goad

Dear Lucy, I am sixty now

But you have passed from numbered days

To where no tears or pain will bow

The Countenance of endless praise 

Till then, Lord, help me hope and trust

Because the best is yet to come

As ash to ash and dust to dust

Transports the Soul to Home, Sweet Home 

Until Time's countdown is complete

Help me treat each day as a gift

To be revered until we meet

Beyond Time's Temporary rift 

Janet Martin

Below, a little look at birthday blessings (and maybe inspiration)

 if you're looking to bless someone on their birthday!

A friends-lunch to celebrate Now

and remember 'then'...

Soo many thoughtful gifts and cards, hugs, texts etc.

(below 60 flowers, 60 treats and 60 Scripture verses!!)

Ignite coffee roasted by one of my nephews!

Charcuterie board below, made by another nephew's son!

Want one? Check out the stand at

6981 Wellington Rd 9, R.R.#2 Moorefield