Monday, October 7, 2013

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

Sunday, October 6, 2013

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.

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Saturday, September 28, 2013

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!