How Oft-Soft a Sense of Joy-filled Grief...

...or, is it grief-filled joy?? 

(below, a week ago)

"If the tulips never died

the season for irises and peonies,

columbine and corn flowers,

 would never be born"

was my consolation during

 this morning's flower-garden stroll...

How oft/soft the haste of moments stirs

A bittersweet-ness as it blurs

The very present with the past

Ephemeral, yet iron-cast

How oft a long-awaited day

Of balmy breeze and sunbeam-play

Unfolds its bloom upon a stem

That cannot keep its diadem

…where soon echoes and petals meld

To grace the place where death is held

While overhead life thunders by

Beneath a rising, falling sky

How oft delight is caught off-guard

Where children dash across the yard

Heedless of currents that commence

To bear them from sweet innocence

…where soon they humble love's reply

With gaze that meets gaze, eye to eye

And we begin to revere more

The Hand that draws ajar dawn’s door

And we begin to slow our pace

To drain each precious drop of grace

From breakers as they heave and swell 

To wash dusk's shorelines with farewell

How oft we run with outstretched arms

But cannot hold for long, life’s charms

As love, ever a student, gapes

With groping awe, at spent landscapes

How oft we, like our silenced kin

When in the prime of groan and grin

Begin to sense a glove-like sky  

Taming/claiming an ocean of reply 

How oft then, time's momentum wakes

A bittersweet climax that breaks

Like foaming tides across a shore

Where lust for love and life implore

© Janet Martin

Eccles.3: 1-2

To everything there is a season,

A time for every purpose under heaven:

 A time [a]to be born,

And a time to die;

A time to plant,

And a time to pluck what is planted;...

I Wanna Live...

A Subtle Smorgasbord...

A word of caution...

The two photos at the top of this post are lovely.

The two at the bottom are not,

(unless the sight of mice traps

doing their thing doesn't bother you😅)

The picture is included because of the sobering parable it depicts

A new day is upon us

It lends to me and you

A very telling onus

By how we live for who

Each day is filled with choices

A subtle smorgasbord

Where what we cherish voices

Who is master and Lord

Pray, it is He who freed us

From the bondage of death

Pray we plead Him to lead us

In paths of righteousness

Behold, today is breaking

Alike to one and all

A gift, free for the taking

And rife with beck and call

Pray, by God’s grace and goodness

We are faithful and true

And recognize love's witness

By how we live for who

To everything a season

Until our life is through

Let’s make God's love the reason

For everything we do

...a new day is upon us

A subtle smorgasbord

Groaning with epic onus

That should not be ignored  

© Janet Martin

Ps.23:3

He restores my soul; 

He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.

Rom.6:16

Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, 

you are that one’s slaves whom you obey,

 whether of sin leading to death, 

or of obedience leading to righteousness?

After hearing a constant, suspicious rustle in the laundry room this morning

I set one of four mouse traps

 (set in the kitchen before bed last night, because of a mouse sighting)

 between the dryer and wall!

Before long I heard a snap.

I waited a bit then went to check and lo, and behold!

The mouse was contently feasting on peanut butter

seemingly unaware of his deadly fate.

His kitchen-foraging pal was no longer able to warn him...

(I think last evening's massive downpour drove them to seek higher, drier ground!!)

The Rich Man and Lazarus (a parable)

Luke 16:19-31

19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 

20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores

 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. 

Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. 

The rich man also died and was buried. 

23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up 

and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.

 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me 

and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, 

because I am in agony in this fire.’

25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, 

while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.

 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, 

so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, 

nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 

28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, 

so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’

29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’

30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets,

 they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

Lord Have Mercy (For What We Have Done) 

Something About Planting Season

The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof.

Ps.24:1

What are you singing, asked my husband on Saturday

as he heard me humming while I worked in the flower garden...

I thought for a moment and realized I was singing this stanza

(to no fixed tune😅🎵)

which often comes to mind while I putter in the garden,

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...

(full poem below post)

Something about planting season overflows the heart with cheer...

When the plow breaks dormant fallow and dust’s pungent incense spills...

Something about green-spun bowers bursts the heart with happiness...

Gardens, showcasing spring flowers, fuels worship’s epic ‘yes’

Something about lilac fragrance, enchanting warm winds of change

Makes us feel like God is granting good, old days naught can estrange...

Something about planting season overflows the heart with cheer

Hope rekindles wearied/worried reason with fresh starts, year after year

As the age-old call of duty/beauty hails from barren sweeps/deeps of sod

Toil is charged with awe for beauty/duty, cradled in the hand of God

When the plow breaks dormant fallow and dust’s pungent incense spills

When the bough brandishes halos of blossom and leafy thrills

When, once more faith is the substance of seeds scattered to the earth

Joy, akin to Eve of Christmas awes us with wonders of birth

Something about green-spun bowers bursts the heart with happiness

Gardens, showcasing spring flowers, fuels worship’s epic ‘yes’

Something about fresh-turned furrows fills us with humble content

Planting season helps heal sorrows that we cannot circumvent

Something about heavens laughing in blue hues beyond our ken

Feels like angels autographing May afternoon with God’s pen

Something about lilac fragrance, enchanting warm winds of change

Makes us feel like God is granting good, old days naught can estrange

Makes us feel like God is giving earth glimpses of Heaven-ness 

Makes us believe man is living in love’s lap of faithfulness 

Makes us want to thirst and hunger for favors His love deploys/employs

Makes us suddenly feel younger in a world of simpler joys

Something about planting season overflows the heart with mirth

Something in the air is teasing graves with melodies of birth

Something about spring's apparel puts a smile upon the face

Pink and yellow, green and purple masterpieces of God's grace

*Something about, when yon cloud tips like a big, watering can

Makes us marvel, like the Psalmist and echo awe's, 'what is man?'

Something about labor halted, grants us opportunity

To be sure God is exalted above likes of you and me 

Something about planting season sings of God’s mercies renewed

Earth is gaping with remission, kindling hymns of gratitude

Seed is throbbing with provision; miracles infuse the sod

Something about planting season draws us to the heart of God

© Janet Martin  

Something about, when yon cloud tips like a big, watering can

Makes us marvel, like the Psalmist and echo awe's, 'what is man?'

* I thought the poem was complete then a good, old thunderstorm rolled through

inspiring one more, the second last stanza. 

(my apologies to those who prefer a quick read)😅💓

..and below is the poem mentioned at the beginning of this post: 

God's Garden

THE Lord God planted a garden

In the first white days of the world,

And He set there an angel warden

In a garment of light enfurled.

So near to the peace of Heaven,

That the hawk might nest with the wren,

For there in the cool of the even

God walked with the first of men.

And I dream that these garden-closes

With their shade and their sun-flecked sod

And their lilies and bowers of roses,

Were laid by the hand of God.

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.

For He broke it for us in a garden

Under the olive-trees

Where the angel of strength was the warden

And the soul of the world found ease.

Dorothy Frances Gurney

Unfathomable Ultimate...

 

As attempts were made to summarize and tally

the immense scope and impact of  George Mueller's

work and ministry, not charted in ledgers, accounts, etc.

 they realized its impossibility...

What wonderful inspiration this story of old is to the present generation,

to remind us to remember, ultimately all that matters is this; 

God sees, knows and rewards!

What better hope and reason can there be

Than this, to live and love more earnestly/reverently🙏

If every day we live and love with what God’s grace affords

This truth alone will be enough; God sees, knows and rewards

If, every day we bear in mind the joy still set before

After earth’s griefs are left behind, we would fret less, trust more

If every day we measure most the treasure Heaven stores

How beautiful will be the boast of the Name faith adores

If every day we pay more heed to the things we have heard

We will not be swayed by a creed, mortal and vision-blurred

…if every day we live and love with what God’s grace affords

This truth alone will be enough; God sees, knows and rewards

© Janet Martin

Col.3:23-24

And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, 

24knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance;

 for[a] you serve the Lord Christ. 

Heb.11:6

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, 

for he who comes to God must believe that He is, 

and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

All (Lesser) Else

When a man's chief business is to serve and please the Lord,

all his circumstances become his servants...

Robert C. Chapman ( Mr. George Mueller's oldest friend)

from the book George Mueller of Bristow

Here's to a new week and The Best it has to offer!

Because every week/day is like a gift we open

and we never know what is inside

1 Pet.1:3

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope

through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,...

When cherishing Christ every day

Regardless of the circumstance

Devotion's blessings will outweigh

All (lesser) Else that this world grants

When trusting Him with all our hearts

No matter what appears to be

The joy and peace that faith imparts

Is worth all (lesser) else we see

When living for the sake of love

To serve the Giver of our days

Love's return is always enough

To turn all (lesser) Else to praise

©Janet Martin

...Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober,

set your hope on the grace to be brought to you

when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.

14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires

you had when you lived in ignorance.

15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do;

16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”[a]

1 Pet.1:13-16

(read the full (glorious) chapter HERE)

I Love May

💖

Happy May Weekend to you, wherever in the world you are!

Below is a glimpse of May from southern Ontario

 I love raindrop-dallop kerplops, like a liquid hip-hop dance...

I love lilac's starry laughter...

I love gardens after winter’s wish-and-dream starts coming true...

I love first bursts of green grandeur every rapt gaze can afford

I love hoary blossom-halos; pink perfume profusely poured

I love flower-garden benches, I love outdoor living rooms

And the thirst that nature quenches from bud-founts gushing with blooms

I love bold gold and red tulips,

 vistas draped in mint and sage...

I love how the trill of birdsong thrills list’ners of every age

I love countryside’s calm broken by tokens of ‘God is good’ (aka tractors and planters)

I love raindrop-dallop kerplops, like a liquid hip-hop dance

I love dandelion speckles, freckles on earth’s countenance

I love lilac’s starry laughter wafting ‘neath yon rafters, blue

I love gardens after winter’s wish-and-dream starts coming true

I love first bursts of green grandeur every rapt gaze can afford

I love hoary blossom-halos; pink perfume profusely poured

I love flower-garden benches, I love outdoor living rooms

And the thirst that nature quenches from bud-founts gushing with blooms

I love bold gold and red tulips, vistas draped in mint and sage

I love how the trill of birdsong thrills list’ners of every age

I love countryside’s calm broken by tokens of ‘God is good’ (aka tractors and planters)

I love sounds like bare feet thrumming to and fro through sweet childhood

I love hope’s eager renewal fueling both hand and heart

I love lush marsh-marigolds perched on brook banks in works of art

I love brooks that weave and glisten, winsome, without weight of care

Beneath weeping willow whispers, through woodlands and meadows fair

I love Lily of the Valley fragrance on a breath of breeze

I love the refurbished cadence of leaf-zephyr symphonies

I love pausing lest haste wastes awe, to taste moments as they drip

From a spigot from a frigate that resembles a cloud-ship

I love look-and-listen landscapes; I love work-and-worship praise

I love mid-afternoon escapes; I love backyard getaways

I love witnessing life’s Author as creation peals and rings

I love standing knee-deep in a coffer filled with May trimmings

I love fresh-picked-mint-tea-parties, I love growing very small

In a world of agog artists conceding One outshines all

I love rambling without reason other than to touch the Hem

Of the artist of each season’s beauty-jeweled diadem

I love petal-fashioned farewells; flower hellos are so sweet

I love May, rife with life-giving vim, as earth and heaven meet

I love hymns of newborn wonder, watching kittens roll and play

I love firmaments that thunder with redemption; I love May

©Janet Martin

A Prayer (because perspective can easily run askew)

Delighting in these double tulips!

The Creator of heaven and earth and the Saviour of the soul;

This is our Heavenly Father who cherishes our prayers and

 desires us to put our faith in Him!

Today's poem-prayer was inspired in part by the verse below

Acts 28:24

And some were persuaded by the things which were spoken, 

and some disbelieved...

Dear Lord, bid I commit to walk by faith and not by sight

Dear Lord, confound my idle talk with holy appetite

And give me ears to hear and eyes to see, lest deaf and blind

To sacred things regarding Thee, I look but cannot find

Lord, where deception’s vice is sweet, keep me from falling prey

Thy Word, a Lamp unto my feet, a Light to show the way

A safeguard in a world of choice where temptations implore

Tune me to hear Thy still small voice and love Thee all the more

Lord, you know the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak

Lord, make belief more than a thrilling piety I speak

More than a nod that You exist, Let Thy salvation be

My joy complete, through the gift that through your death, pardoned me

Lord, when this world, because of sin, seems more than love can bear

Delight me with Your peace within, cheer me through ceaseless prayer

And keep my eyes fixed on a Prize beyond Time’s troubled toll

Feed me with bread that satisfies the hunger of my soul

Dear Lord, in You alone, trust’s confidence will never fail

You are the Cornerstone against which hell cannot prevail

Earth's sorrows that must be are never greater than Your grace

The triumph of the cross of Calvary none can erase

Dear Lord, hear my heart’s cry for hearts still hardened, dark and lost

Forgive my unbelief when I am fearful of faith’s cost

Deliver me from evil, Lord, as Your love runs me through

With gratitude humbly outpoured in love right back to You

In your Name I pray,

Amen

© Janet Martin

It's been a while since I shared this song...

In Jesus' Name, I Pray

We Are Either Blessed or Cursed...

Daily we are blessed or cursed

by what/who we most dearly love/serve💓💔

What/who on life's highway will claim our passion today?!!🙏

SO many choices but only two masters!

And we all, by the voice of choice, serve only one

Matt.6:24

“No one can serve two masters.

Either you will hate the one and love the other,

or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other.

You cannot serve both God and money.

Jesus~

***

We are either blessed or cursed by what keens hunger and thirst

By the guests Thought entertains, by the quests desire unchains

By the reasons we confess in our search for happiness

By the voice that choice augments in courses of consequence

We are either cursed or blessed by replies by love professed

By the merits we applaud pertaining to self or God

By the setting of the goal, either for flesh or the soul

By what purpose primes pursuit that in time, turns into fruit

By what pleasure we employ by how we measure true joy

But what character we mold by what principles we hold

By how we view circumstance whether by design or chance

By the armor that we wear wrought by human hands or prayer

By what fuels hope or dread by who rules in heart and head

By what matter cheers or grieves by what faith or sight believes

By what edicts we endear, by what Author we revere

By what promotes worst or best we are either cursed or blessed

By what keens hunger and thirst we are either blessed or cursed

© Janet Martin

Acts 26:28-29

Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.”

29And Paul said, “I would to God that not only you, 

but also all who hear me today, 

might become both almost and altogether such as I am,

 except for these chains.”

Almost Persuaded 

Matt.5:1-12

And seeing the multitudes, He (Jesus) went up on a mountain,

 and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. 

2 Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,

For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are those who mourn,

For they shall be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek,

For they shall inherit the [a]earth.

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

For they shall be filled.

7 Blessed are the merciful,

For they shall obtain mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart,

For they shall see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers,

For they shall be called sons of God.

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,

For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, 

and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.

 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, 

for great is your reward in heaven,

 for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

A Beautiful Life-Jim Reeves

Today's prayer: 

Lord, grant us wisdom, 

from your Word

through Your Spirit

so we may treasure 

Spiritual Blessings

over material blessings.

Amen