Summer-Ways

Summer drip-drips and slips into the grip of days gone by

It glides and slides into the wide, wide world of Frozen Past

It gleams; streams with new daydreams through the blue, bottomless sky

It flits in flower-petal bits, a bright-winged color-cast

Summer sweeps, laughs and leaps from deep to deep, hello-farewell

It croons in tunes of willow-swoon and crick-crick-cricket-lay

It blushes, gushes, rushes, hazy hush and daisy dell

Ah, summer tolls in budded bells and rolls through fields of hay

Summer spills, fills and drains the hills of green to brittle bronze

It gallivants and dances like a girl with yellow hair

It wafts, to lofts of yesterday, in soft-spun sun-warm yawns

Ah, summer raves in turquoise waves across fresh graves of Where?!

Summer drones in heat-weary groans hungry for sweater-hours

It dapples lawns with shadow-art and kisses apple-trees

It tickles poplar tresses, trickles down our backs in showers

Then turns each peach-beach-splash-dash-day to summer memories

© Janet Martin

This summer seems busier than some, somehow. 

Sometimes one simply has to stop and bleed some summer-ink into poem before it disappears!

The Path of Circumstance

I stand in the golden halo of a new-born day, 

so glad to know the God that knows 

its every come-what-may

The path of circumstance is unpredictable; its dust

Is full of potholes, hills and dips; no detour large enough

And sometimes things we thought that we could not endure, we must

The hardships of this life, the strife that makes us long for love

The way of days winds through the open countryside and trees

And summer flower-gardens scattered on yon windswept slope

It does not oft prepare us for its vale of agonies

That draws us to our knees and causes us to long for hope

The windows we look through frame the view very close at hand

We cannot see Beyond; the future like an umbral wraith

While we struggle with so much that we do not understand

Here in a land dew-kissed, storm-tossed that makes us long for faith

The path of circumstance is full of unexpected turns

The way of days laid out like steppingstones across time’s sod

The windows we look through frame scenes where the sojourner yearns

For life’s unfailing Confidence; this makes us long for God

© Janet Martin

In the milling crowd I saw him squat beside his little girl, say something to her, then he stood and fixed a syringe to her feeding tube waiting for its sustaining drip-drip to drain into his precious child’s afflicted body.

 I approached him and we chatted a little and he told me of their Valley.

 I asked his name and the names of his family…names I had trouble pronouncing so he smiled and said, ‘call me Job because the English translation of my name is Job’.

I told Job I would pray for him and his family and he thanked me with a calm sincerity that only a true believer can shine, then replied,  'We believe in Jesus. We will be okay!’

What a triumphant proclamation this is for all believers; "We believe in Jesus. We will be okay!”

No matter where life's path may lead 

or what others may say,

if we believe in Jesus 

we will be okay!

Romans 8:31
What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us!


Some assurance songs to lift our hearts in praise to He who knows all of our days!

Plea From/For We Who Love to Live...

Lord, teach us how to teach and love

And make this our plea

That undecided hearts will move

And make a choice for thee

Lord, teach us so that in return

We do not misguide youth

How awful to live, but not learn

The Salvation of truth

Lord, teach us as we have and hold

These days, but not for long

The Way, not ways, that lead to God

When this small life is gone

© Janet Martin

For we who love gardening this is a glorious time of year as we chop-chop fresh ingredients into dinner-delights! 

This got me to thinking about what we do with the bare ingredients of life…

what are we making with them? 

There is so much we can make but choosing the right ingredients will be the difference between success or failure…delight or despair…life or death.

 Lord, teach us how to choose the right ingredients so we may make a worthy Little While.

About the salad: 

I love this easy, healthy dish of assorted beans and chick peas then add some of these veggies or all: celery, onion, peppers, zucchini, cucumber. 

Delicious without dressing or toss lightly with your favorite oil/vinegar dressing. 

Add tomatoes only to the amount you are serving immediately, rather than the whole bowl because it spoils a lot more quickly with tomatoes.

Otherwise this salad, if kept refrigerated, keeps for nearly a week. 

If you forget its still in the fridge after a week the smell will help you remember;-0!!

If We Look, Look

Above page from Anne of Windy Poplars

If we look, look, right where we are

And count the beauty that we see

The sky all polka-dot with stars

The morning’s quiet victory

The thrum of rain-drops on the roof

The clouds billowed on blue above

If we look, look we will find proof

That life is full of goodness, love

If we are weighed with daily care

And struggle through each day to day

Consumed with burdens we must bear

How much we miss along the way

Summer’s wild-flower thoroughfare

That runs its rivers through the fence

The rainbow-tinsel-colored air

Of childish laughter; innocence

Of dusk that does not seal our fate

But simply closes a small door

Of love, that never fills our plate

But always leaves us wanting more

Of smiles that gentle every face

Of hope in spite of heartache, yes

Of forgive-and-forgetting grace

That fills the heart with happiness

If we look, look, right where we are

And count the blessings that we see

And remember, God is not far

Nor ever forgets you or me

Then, if we look with thankful eyes

Past all the troubles we have had

Then it should come as no surprise

We find kind reasons to be glad

© Janet Martin

 A Glimpse at my yesterday-gladness:)

Little girl in big, green sun-hat constantly asking 'what I do now?'

so we went tomato-picking

 Her sweet, sweet sister, a lisping 6 yr. old chatter-box, waiting for new front teeth

and rain! glorious, glorious much needed rain!

Then, Why, Who and Whatever For?!

If we give out of diehard love

And if we live our day to day

The best way that we can think of

If we are careful what we say

…if we don’t waste so we don’t want

And we don’t want more than we need

And if we try to make the most

Of moments as they stilly bleed

…and if we, in our heart of hearts

Believe in what is good and right

And our righteous anger smarts

As we watch greedy more-lords fight

…if we love our neighbor but

Deny God who loves us far more

And in the end miss the reward

Because of who we did it for

If we give out of diehard love

And if we live our day to day

The best way that we can think of

When God asks ‘why’ what will we say?

© Janet Martin

We love because he first loved us.
1 John 4:19

Acts 14:15
"Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. 

We are bringing you good news that you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them.