Force To Be Reckoned With...

 

For there is always more to It than that which meets the eye
Then grace, not judgement ought to fit Observation’s reply
Where what we hold in common should gentle response’s rod
Remember, there is no one who is not precious to God

…and we are not able to see beneath outer veneer
What disappoints with misery; what fathers rage or fear
The heavy loads we shoulder are not fastened to our backs
Remember, we’re all soul-diers prone to enemy attacks

To be part of the human race is not an easy ride
We all need love’s kindness and grace to reach the other side
Life; a force to be reckoned with, needs more than noble nod
Aware that each breath is a gift to we, precious to God

Therefore our prayer should ever be a plea, humble and true
That God so rich in mercy would make us merciful too
For judgement without mercy is a bold, cold dare to brave
For so much more than meets the eye unfolds beyond the grave


© Janet Martin

Eph. 2:4-10

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

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Awe's Sum...or Awesome August

 

August awes us with its beauty
Bites our backs with burning sun
Tugs the heart twixt dream and duty
Wild its flower-rivers run

August woos us with brave wonder
Hint of farewell winks its eye
O’er an ocean of bloom-plunder 

Bobs the bee with butterfly

August brims with ample treasure
Beckons us to glean its wealth
Bids us sample Mercy’s measure
Here’s to happiness and health

August teases us with tinges
Rousing bittersweet lament
Where its sultry midday hinges
To a world of summer spent

August angles evening shadows
Early over stubble-sweep
While the cricket tunes the meadows
With incessant cheep-cheep-cheep

August sizzles like a fry-pan
Reeds guzzle the creek-bed dry
Heat-waves ripple on the skyline
Hairdos fizzle in reply

August is a wordless sonnet
Luring bards of meeker stance
To capture its stirring ballad
In a melody of thanks

August is a groaning table
Laden with earth’s zest and zeal
Beneath heaven’s bluest gable
August spreads a five-star meal

August, a common-place palace
August, a garden, a beach
August is a phlox-gilt chalice
August is a dripping peach

August awes us with sweet splendor
Season steeped in ironweed
Cicadas drone, brooks meander
Finches feast on thistle-seed

© Janet Martin 

Harvest Thoughts...

The 'harvest' is in full-swing...

 

as is the ever-sacred, ever-planting season!

How swift the seeds return

With harvest-heavy grant
The laborer is sure to learn
We gather what we plant

The heart is like a field
Where toiling is in vain
Unless we sacrifice its yield
To the Giver again

What good is grain/gain galore
For the poor that we see
If we offer them nothing more
Than verbal sympathy

 

So small, the seeds that fall

But what a vital part

For harvest is a Holy Call

In the field of the heart 

Then pray we keep in mind

The planting-season's sums

Of seeds that will reveal their kind

When harvest season comes

 

© Janet Martin

Braved Ink

 By God's grace and for His glory!

 

So much great reading because of Braved Ink

Ah, who could bear the verbal noose
Cut loose by Someone Else’s scars
He grants Reason perfect excuse
...on His Hands we almost touch stars

Ah, could shoulder weight of ink
Or heed Intangible commands
But for a safeguard without chink
The Bastion of nail-scarred Hands

© Janet Martin

What Love

 

Confidence, not in ourselves but by the grace of You, oh Lord
Hope, not in what we see but in the promises found in Your Word
Peace, not as human nature gives but granted if we love Your law
Joy, not in circumstance but in your strength that fills life’s Thence with awe
Comfort, not in Things of this world but through Thy Spirit’s steadfastness
Mercy, a welcome mat unfurled each morn; great is Thy faithfulness
Redemption not attained with wealth but by the power in the blood
Salvation, not physical health but belief in the Son of God
Forgiveness, not something deserved but, if we confess tis enough 

Eternal life with Him reserved when life is done; what love, what love

© Janet Martin

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us,
that we should be called children of God!
Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.

1 John 3:1

For Homemaker and Childcare-giver

 Inspired by today and other days much like it...

Pee-puddles, sweet cuddles, study of a bug
Tuck in for a nap then called back for kiss-hug
Rain-laughter and after it slows, barefoot splash
A picnic of popcorn, Popsicle mishmash
A dash after mister who shed all his clothes
A leap to snare missy and wipe runny nose
One rag for all spills, a face-cloth for each kid
‘Crunch’ say the toast crumbs, spaghetti cries ‘skid!’
Boogers and snooger bunnies, me-oh-my
Swing till the tippy-toes tickle the sky
Hair-tangles, bear wrangles, spoon on plate-drum
Wondering what (soon grown up) they'll become
Cup refill, cup re-spill, patience gets riled
Some things never change when it comes to a child
Where Teacher and Learner are both young and old
But one is the pourer and one is the mold
Where messes and happiness mingle unplanned
Innocence and experience hand in hand
Toy trucks in planters and blooms strewn awry
Oft-repeated answers for oft-repeated ‘why’
Toys, noise and simple joys gone in a blink
Girls and boys poised on an echo-world’s brink
Unicorns, teddy-bears, picture-books, dolls
Gossamer glimmers on yesterday’s walls

© Janet Martin