In Kind Mercy...

 This morning the sky is dull and gray; a few days ago the sunrise held a cross in its colors.

He places, in kind mercy

Life’s moments to our reach

And in their joy and sorrow

They keen and prune and teach

How gracious is the Giver

Of moments; come what may

The darkness yields to morning

And the morrow to today

Grace gilds dawn’s virgin tresses

Lord, help us once again

To be kind, humble servants

Of these moments in our hand

© Janet Martin

Then went king David in, and sat before the LORD, and he said, Who am I, O Lord GOD? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto? 2 Sam. 7:18

Side-chuckle...Victoria read the verse as I typed it. 'who is hitherto? she asked.:)

Balancing Act

We should not cling too tightly

To the things that we hold dear

For at that faint and final breath

It all will disappear

We should not hold to loosely

Life’s gifts we have been given

But cherish them most wisely

Until the Gates of Heaven

© Janet Martin

When Death Walks Closely By...

When death walks closely by

Or carries one away

We turn to touch more tenderly

Those little words we say

‘Good-morning’ and ‘good-night’

Are sweeter than before

Because ‘O Death’ walked closely by

Reminding us once more

© Janet Martin

A neighbor/husband/daddy was killed suddenly in a farm accident this past week…

'What you have; each other, never let a day pass without cherishing it'. From Larkrise to Candleford

Autumn Morning After Midnight Rain...

Midnight rain slumbers; a mantle on morn

Scarf of frothed jewels on frost-fingered corn

Summer sleeps somewhere beneath tumbled row

Of ghost-garden graveyards where sweet echoes blow

Whisper of wishes and worries subside

Soft is the raiment of midnight’s rain-tide

Seeping its sigh to the core of the soul

Willing our wants to a Higher Control

Ocean of moments are swept to the sky

Fallow and fortune, a wink of the eye

Here in the balance twixt morning and night

We join all nature in Time’s transient flight

Pendulums play out another swift hour

Autumn falls prey to its ethereal pow’r

But, in the still morning after midnight-rain

Mercy breathes courage to trust once again

© Janet Martin

Where Did the Summer Go?

Where did the summer go?

The highlight of each year

Is gathered in the silent flow

Of gold and scarlet tear

The green-leaf of fair June

Trembles upon the limb

Where blue wind strums a fading tune

In Nature’s farewell hymn

Where did the summer go?

Oh, coveted abyss

Of wave-washed shore, clover-plateau

And morning’s mellow kiss

She disappeared while we

Absorbed in her romance

Of floral and sun chivalry

Harboured Time’s onward dance

When did the summer leave?

How did she shield her grief?

She fell beneath the weeping tree

In every little leaf

© Janet Martin

Leaves in the Rain...

Leaves in the rain sing a lonesome refrain

Deep in the darkness when daylight is done

Pitter-oh-patter, a somnolent splatter

Weeping for loves ones and hours long-gone

Leaves in the sun gleam gold; medallions

Whispering, giggling in merry melee

But leaves in the rain strum a mournful-sweet strain

Carol akin to love’s fond memory

Leaves in the wind are like eager children

Chattering, chattering without a care

But leaves in the rain play a tender refrain

Rising and falling into the night air…

© Janet Martin

Hubby was called in to work this weekend leaving me with a wee bit of unexpected blogging time!It's foggy and rainy outside today.

I will be away for a while...

No Middle Way

 

... choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve...Joshua 24:15

C. S. Lewis said this in a 1939 essay, “Learning in War-Time.” Here’s how he explained it:
[Religion] must occupy the whole of life. There is no question of a compromise between the claims of God and the claims of culture, or politics, or anything else. God’s claim is infinite and inexorable. You can refuse it: or you can begin to try to grant it. There is no middle way.
Yet in spite of this it is clear that Christianity does not exclude any of the ordinary human activities. St. Paul tells people to get on with their jobs

Excerpt found here 

As we don the duties
Of another new day
We press toward Heaven,
There is no middle way

On the path of Living
We go, side by side
But at Gates of Heaven
This road will divide

Faith is the substance
Of hope and belief
Life is the highway
To its last relief

We labor together
But choose deep within
The God we will worship
Jehovah or sin

We cannot escape it
Try though we may
When we get to Heaven
There is no middle way...

Janet Martin

Wishing you each a blessed week-end!