Master of Mindset

You slip through us and trip us up or guide the seeking heart

You turn us to the right or left, build up or tear apart

And no one is invincible; the world is full of you

Sometimes you are a liar; sometimes you are kind and true

You hide in smiles and words, in scowls and howls of discontent

You ride on trains, in planes; you wear a worker’s filament

Or sometimes you are fat and lazy and talk far too much

And no one is immune to you and your designing touch

You play with thought as if it were a hapless, harmless toy

And fill the mind and heart with that which hand will soon employ

Therefore the wise will seek to define you and test your goal

The foolish are swayed by your wind and heedless of the soul

The way you are will shape the way we are or hope to be

You hide behind ten thousand names, both foe and family

For better or for worse you veil most certain recompense

A blessing or a curse, you immerse us in Influence

© Janet Martin

I'm struck anew as I watch Grandson Brantley absorb his surroundings, at how powerful Influence is.

It begins long before we become aware of it;

in family, then friends, schools, books, music, movies, churches,workplaces, etc.

Wherever we go, there it is!

What kind of influence do we allow to influence us as we influence those about us? 

Reminds me of this quote; More is caught than taught

Emily took these photos the other day to celebrate 7 months of Brantley!

 No wonder the author of this hymn was moved to pen these words...

My Soul, Be on Thy Guard
by George Heath

1. My soul, be on thy guard,
   Ten thousand foes arise,
   And hosts of sin are pressing hard
   To draw thee from the skies.
2. Oh, watch, and fight, and pray,
   The battle ne’er give o’er,
   Renew it boldly every day,
   And help divine implore.
3. Ne’er think the vict’ry won,
   Nor once at ease sit down;
   Thine arduous work will not be done
   Till thou hast got the crown.
4. Fight on, my soul, till death
   Shall bring thee to thy God;
   He’ll take thee at thy parting breath
   Up to His blest abode.

A-a-a-h, A-a-a-u-gust

Whether in the garden or kitchen, 

Whether dawn or dusk

August is a rainbow

Beneath halcyon heaven’s hills

A heath of rainbow ribbon spills

It frills the rills of musky husk

And swells in dells of dewy dusk

Where bulrush drains the creek’s refrains

And troubadour of Time unchains

Pulsed vibrato of cricket lay

And stubble-sweeps where wheat fields lay

Fringed with bronze frond, amethyst pond

And dawn’s silver, mist-kissed Beyond

…where everywhere the keen stare looks

Earth flares with wild-bloom garden nooks

Its splay rivals with arrayed rows

Of corn-bean-beets and tomatoes

We snare its fare in jugs and jars

In pictures framed with daydream-stars

The hazy laze of mid-day droops

And draws chit-chat to shaded stoops

To mingle with green-leafy sighs

A-a-h, August; summer’s paradise

Heatwaves ripple on dust-glazed street

And slows the banter of bare feet

Now dash, now splash, Want’s fathoms fade

In cool blue pool, pink lemonade

And August is the poet’s loom

To weave with gold and purple plume

An echo-lay of days gone by

March-April-May, then June-July

Cat drowses in the pumpkin patch

Breeze browses through corn-tassel thatch

A-a-h August; bees buzz vine to vine

What is fills what was; bloom bells chime

Holly-hock, larkspur, zinnia, rose

A rainbow-ream of petals flows

In drip by drop like tick by tock

Into a vault of ether lock

As summer’s sultry color-world

Is gleaned and shucked and weaned and curled

Into a song of hued delight

To play when all the world is white

© Janet Martin

I always forget just how much I love August in southern Ontario until it is here again... 

(photos below do not do justice to dew/rain-glossed roses, but it does grant a glimpse of the awe in a-a-h!!) 

Like Roses From God (are His promises) Sympathy or Encouragement Card poem

My grace is sufficient for thee(2 Cor.12:9)

Help-Refuge, ever near(Ps.46:1)

To them that are of broken heart

And contrite spirit’s tear(Ps.34:18)

I send a Comforter(John 14:16)

To heal sorrow’s heartache

To all who call upon my name

I never will forsake (Ps.145:18,Deut.31:6)

Wonderful Counsellor(Isa.9:6)

I, Jesus Christ the Same(Heb.13:8)

A father full of pity for

Each one who fears My name(Ps.103:13)

My peace I give to you(John 14:27)

Come, I will give respite(Matt.11:28)

Fear not, my child, be not dismayed(Isa.41:10)

You walk by faith, not sight(2 Cor.5:7)

Love bears, believes, endures

And love will never fail (1 Cor.13:7-8)

I, merciful and rich in love

Though grief comes, will prevail(Lam.3:32)

Great is My faithfulness(Lam.3:23)

I, Father, Shepherd, Friend(2 Cor.6:18, Ps.23:1,John 15:15)

I, in the midst of trouble’s woe

Will strengthen, save, defend (Ps. 138:7)

An answer in your mouth

My Word, thy faultless trust(Ps.119:42)

Lamp to thy feet, Light to thy path(Ps.119:105)

A Rock, righteous and just(Deut.32:4)

The God of all comfort(2 Cor.1:3)

My rod and staff to cheer(Ps 23.4)

My grace is sufficient for thee(2 Cor.12:9)

Fear not, for I am near(Isa.41:10)

© Janet Martin

Momentous Mementos

I am no weaver, I laughed, as someone suggested I might want to purchase a large loom for-sale at our local thrift store. 

But I was wrong. We all are weavers of a sacred thread! 

What are you weaving with the colors you hold?

Yesterday's colors ran through the carefree shrieks and laughter of children at precious play.

Today's threads, Lord willing, will be woven into echoes of a family reunion with cousins I rarely see!

As seasons spin time’s thinning thread

They weave far more than eye can see

With colors on the mind’s eye spread

Of moment turned to memory

How common Present seems, how small

Each segregated breath may feel

As tick and tock of clock-stock falls

Like stitches from a spinning wheel

No mortal valor, boast or creed

Can pause or slow the flow that slips

Into fathoms where daily deed

Is triumphed by twilight’s eclipse

Now you are there and I am here

Where smile and tear love’s While imparts

Before its moments disappear

Into the belvedere of hearts

…when all that will be left of ‘we’

(No one escapes that mortal dread)

Will be the ageless memory

Of what we did and what we said

The sweetest gift we all can give

No matter what our lot may be

Is to weave with each day we live

What leaves a lovely memory

© Janet Martin

The book Brantley seems thrilled to be holding was given to me by a friend/co-worker when Emily was born...the subtle shuttle of Time's luminous loom-in-us stuns us with its moment-ous mementos!

Memory's Roses

 

What sacred sympathies

What soothing melodies entwine

As sweet, sweet memories, my love

Keep your heart next to mine

Ah, happiness and grief

Mingle in bitter-sweetest throes

Death’s farewell is so brief, my love

The dark can wear a rose

And though we must let go

We hold on to love’s dearest part

The place where mem’ries flow, my love

And keep us heart to heart

The dark is not unkind

Though vows that bind are severed, oh,

God soothes the heart and mind, my love

Where memory-roses grow

© Janet Martin