Thursday, January 25, 2024

Candlelight Contemplation...

 Matt.5:14-16

“You are the light of the world.
 A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 
15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, 
and it gives light to all who are in the house. 
 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works 
and glorify your Father in heaven.

Letting love's light shine is easier said than done, isn't it?!
For just perhaps, when we think we're not faring too badly
along comes a sudden human-nature storm/retaliation
to remind us how mean and feeble we can be without
The True Light to light our little 'candles'

John 1:1-5
In the beginning was the Word, 
and the Word was with God, 
the Word was God.
2He was with God in the beginning.
3Through Him all things were made, 
and without Him nothing was made that has been made.
4In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. 
5The Light shines in the darkness, 
and the darkness has not overcomea it.

Candlelight is such a gentle picture of love;
the way its glow warms and cheers the dark!
To keep a candle burning properly proper care must be given,
(such as trimming wicks etc.)
An example for us to examine our candle 
before we carry into Today!



To keep alive the light of love it must be fueled by the Source
We, on our own are not enough to fit love for its tender task
So, when we sense love’s flicker dwindle in the face of mean discourse
God will be faithful to rekindle love’s kind candle if we ask

Because we are so prone to bicker when we do not quite agree
The ready tongue is sometimes quicker than love’s reigned-in bark or bite
So, when the rumpus of a ruckus tries love’s sweeter sympathy
If we but ask Him, God will help us to steady love’s candlelight

So then, to keep love’s candle burning and to be less self-inclined
Means a consistent, conscious turning to love’s Faithful Uttermost

© Janet Martin




Wednesday, January 24, 2024

Sense of Sacredness aka Today!


If a family dinner get-together with my parents
and all ten of us kids and our spouses, all present,
and a slideshow of over 700 photos playing throughout the day
of us, our children and grandchildren, great-grandchildren
does not evoke a sense of sacredness to seemingly commonplace moments 
as they run through our fingers, I don't know what will!
That happened on Sunday.

This week, as ordinary as it appears, nothing is!
This morning as a new Today tumbled over earth's eastern edge,
not in any kind of colorful fanfare, but more like a wet, gray dog...
(or mourning doves)😂

I was again, struck by how this monotonous momentous collection of mornings
 eventually composes the song of Lifetime!

So I put a card in the mail for an old neighbor turning 90 this week,

I revived the fire, 

I continued working at organizing, cleaning and tidying the basement 


after stacking wood ..

...before two of my grandchildren came for a few hours...
(while big Brother gave the dentist a bit of a challenge. ahem😐.)



I washed the dishes after a lunch they half-ate


...all the while with a heaven-hinged sense of sacredness
in what at first glance definitely looks quite ordinary! 


It wafts from welkin wombs to where we live-laugh-love-weep-pray
To settle soft, where dusk entombs its season-sequenced play

It sparkles from a single source no needle can exact
An all-encompassing discourse that leaves no one intact

It tunes the timbre of a toll that rolls o’er land and sea
While drawing the cart of the soul back to eternity

Steeping the sacred commonplace with so much to hold dear
As paths no footsteps can retrace fall from the now and here

Like weightless notes from welkin wombs its moments waft and splay
To settle soft where dusk entombs the tempo of Today

Compelling us to take a closer look at what runs rife
Through fingers of composers of a song that we call Life

© Janet Martin

Ps.90:12
So teach us to number our days, 
That we may gain a heart of wisdom.

My family likes to sing whenever we have a chance!
To close out the singing part of Sunday we,
( as best as our memories could serve us)
sang the song below together and THAT was the
sentimental icing on the cake😭



 Here are part of the lyrics  by Bill and Gloria Gaither
I can't find a link with all the stanzas 
so not sure if a few were added later??

We have this moment to hold in our hands
And to touch as it slips through our fingers like sand
Yesterday's gone and tomorrow may never come
But we have this moment, today.

Hold tight to the sound of the music of living
Happy sounds from the laughter of children at play
Hold my hand as we walk through the sweet fragrant meadows
Making memories of what was today.

Tiny voice that I hear is my little girl calling
For daddy to hear just what she has to say
My little boy running there by the hillside
May never be quite like today.

Tender words gentle touch and a good cup of coffee
And someone who loves me and wants me to stay
Hold them dear while they’re near don’t wait for tomorrow
To look back and wish for today.

Yesterday's gone and tomorrow may never come
but we have this moment, today.

Oh! You were trying to see the recipe in the one photo above?!
This, (making it for supper but using ground beef!)



Tuesday, January 23, 2024

Mid-winter Memento



Inspired by today's true story...😊

 






planned to tend to Task-demand
But then a sea of snowflakes fell
It drew me to the hill and dell
To revel in its wonderland

…where nature’s winter-wand unfurled
Masterpiece over masterpiece
Teasels with toques of frosted fleece
And whipped cream snow drifts, swirled and twirled

Each tree, a pencil sketch, I think
Stenciled and traced with white finesse
White whispers of white happiness
Rouse a reverent rush of ink

…as brook-nooks that no chill can snare
Compose somber half-ballads, oh
Its tempo, curtailed by the snow
Evokes a eulogy-like air

Where in the wood I stood, full-awed
Unfazed by Tasks I should attend
To marvel, where earth's pages bend
Beneath the poetry of God  


© Janet Martin















Maybe Their Ball of String Got Caught...


Are you having a reaching-for or reaching-out
a helping hand kind of day?!
My challenge in this poem was thoroughly tested as soon as it was written😅😂
Muffin-maker had a vegetable oil mess!



Be kind, where today’s grind unwinds the hours of its charge, but once
Where we are all still learning through the yearning drill of woes and wants
Where Circumstance is like a chance/dance God grants to test alacrity
Of love, with push and shove to prove devotion’s authenticity

Be patient; goodness, graciousness and compassion are always right
Be one less brute; wisdom’s recruits cannot yield ripe fruit overnight
Apples of gold and growing old are no laconic enterprise
The recompense for diligence not gained through negligent half-tries

Be gentle; Learning’s mental ball of string bounces across the floor
Unraveling as we give chase, tangling in stubborn knots galore
Testing grace in a thousand ways, while teaching us to take command
Of angry fists we raise, and instead to reach out/reach for a helping hand

So then, let’s try to be kind when we find fellowmen, not quite so
Maybe their ball of string got caught, and the taut knot will not let go
Maybe all they need is a tender word or deed to cheer their heart
Kindness unfurled can change the world; let’s try harder to do our part

© Janet Martin


This month the memory verse/s for my Sunday school class is
Gal. 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is 
love, joy, peace,
 patience, kindness, goodness, 
faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. 
Against such things there is no law.

We are never too old to consider what fruit our life is yielding!


Mess cleaned up! All is well.
 Frustration-frenzy crisis averted! 
I offered a rag instead of a lot of
unnecessary, aggravated 'counsel'.
 thanks in part to today's poem😄

Monday, January 22, 2024

What/Who We Need Most...(To Get From Here to There)




A stunning sunrise to kick off a new week to...who knows what?!!



For football fans, the countdown to who will make it to the 2024 super bowl is on!

Golfers have been delighting fans with some history-making highlights!

Did you happen to see any of winner, Steve Alkers amazing shots this past Friday and Saturday

Last week the winner of the Sony open was Grayson Murray!



He has been open about the demons he battles in his personal life, 
which affected and impeded his game! 
When asked what the difference is in his life now, he answered immediately that
his fiancée, but above that, Jesus Christ has made the difference!

For, no matter how sweet the kick, the toss, the shot, the triumph
it will never be enough to satisfy our need. Thrills soon fade...

1 John 2:15-16
Do not love the world or anything in the world.
 If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 
16For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, 
the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—
is not from the Father but from the world. 
17The world is passing away, along with its desires; 
but whoever does the will of God remains forever.

Matthew 16:26
What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? 
Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
***

We need more than this world’s finesse, to get from here to There
We need more than man’s promises, on which to cast our care
Where, though we need each other to cheer us along the way
To help us as we weather ups and downs from day to day
Our kindest word or dearest deed are inept on their own
To satisfy the need this world cannot fill or atone

We need Jesus, nobody else can save us from our sins
Or help us into heaven when eternity begins
Or hear our prayers or see into our heart of hearts to know
The truth without excuse, idols He longs to overthrow
The spirit, oh, so willing, and the flesh, weak as can be
Without His Spirit instilling, ‘not I, but Christ in me

We need more than this world can boast of season-severed strings
No matter what success we toast, these are all fleeting things
The love of family and friends, as precious as they are
Will never be enough to rend and fling Heav’n’s gates ajar
We need Jesus; His Name is Wonderful, Mighty to save
He fits us for the flight that thunders through the lifeless grave

When all is said and done; the gap that gaped twixt here and There
Dissolved; when we have run the final lap of worldly care
We need more than this world can give; the whole world not enough
To take the place of ‘Look and live’; God’s gift of grace and love
Is Jesus; we all need Him; Savior, Shepherd, Father, Friend
For this world’s greatest favor is but vapor in the end

© Janet Martin






Saturday, January 20, 2024

For This Unprecedented Age...

For this unprecedented age of immorality; 
 of abortion, adultery, homosexuality, 
transgenderism, mass confusion, child neglect and abuse, 
agnosticism, atheism, theism and paganism 
on and on it goes; 
there is only one cure! 
Repentance and belief in the One True God! 

Then as belief yields fruits of repentance/obedience 
to Him through His Word, only then can any real cure begin!
In this age of unprecedented distraction
esp. through the buffet of options offered through modern technology,
God's still, small Voice can be drowned out
until it goes away...!!!🙏🙏
Without careful, prayerful awareness we are all at the risk
of drowning the quietness with just enough noise
to keep us from thinking too deeply/aka, hearing God speak!

(I use the phrase 'unprecedented' cautiously but also with awareness
to the reality that due to modern technology
 and approval by the powers that be, access to
certain atrocities has become medically promoted/commonplace
like never before!)

Thus, thanks in part to modern technology
we are living in an age of unprecedented opportunity and opposition!

The cure for the problem is what it has always been...
2 Chron.7:14
if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves
 and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways,
 then I will hear from heaven,
 and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

The page below read a few days ago,(from the book mentioned here and here)
first sparked this poem from a train of thought that has been
ongoing recently..
.(and this book was written in the '60's!!
The line that esp. hits home is this one;
'and they will be tomorrow's leaders')


And also in part by yesterday's devotion
from Pathways to His Presence by Charles Stanley



For this unprecedented age
Where, at epidemical rates
Mortal rejects its Creator
And fundaments of Truth, debates
Or altogether disregards
What once was reverenced, with awe
Choosing darkness, rather than light
Without godly order or law…

For this unprecedented age
Of lack of fear and faith in He
Who is the Saviour of the soul
The sole hope of humanity
Where churches, once ringing with praise
And sounds of glorious gospel truth
Have been abandoned for the gasp
Of worldly pleasure and pursuit

For this unprecedented age
Of pride going before the fall
As nations, founded on God’s Word
Promote abandoning it all
To be gods, wise in their own eyes
But are in fact, blind leading blind
Where deceit, like a gaping pit
Swallows the unbelieving mind

For this unprecedented age
Of impropriety endorsed
And applauded by worldly-wise
Without guilt and shame, or remorse
For this unprecedented age
Of wolves wearing sheep-like disguise
Soothing, smoothing the inner prick
With unbiblical, sweet, sweet lies

For this unprecedented age
Of unbelief, we pray and pray
We, who with faith and fear believe
In the approach of That Great Day
Oh Lord, we pray and pray that ‘they’
Would repent and believe in You
And that we who believe would be
A vessel that your Light shines through

© Janet Martin

Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, 
we do not lose heart. 
2 Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; 
we do not use deception,
 nor do we distort the word of God.
 On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly 
we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.
 3 And even if our gospel is veiled,
 it is veiled to those who are perishing.
 4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers,
 so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, 
who is the image of God. 
5 For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, 
and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 
6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”[a
made his light shine in our hearts
 to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory 
displayed in the face of Christ.





Thursday, January 18, 2024

Of Learning Curves and Growing Pains

'Live and learn' has become 
an oft-repeated mantra in my life!
Fumbles and stumbles to teach me
what I thought I already knew/learned...
On the bright side, it keeps life from becoming predictable, doesn't it?!
And often reminds us of the loving-kindness and patience of God!

On the cusp of Dusk-dimmed vistas waits a whole new ‘live and learn’...





Due to the lack of sunshine in the past month in southern Ontario,
when it suddenly made a late-day appearance
I couldn't resist putting supper-prep on pause and dashing out to the fields
behind my neighbor's barn!
Sub-zero temps made recording challenging because I couldn't be without mittens
for more than 30 seconds! But the chill added to the exhilaration!!


No one is like you, Lord;
you are great,
and your name is mighty in power.

Then, just like that it's morning once more...
a gray one, dappled with colorful birds...(pics below)

Daylight drives afar the darkness of the heavens; mercy reigns
Once again, we face the grace of learning curves and growing pains
For Time never fully severs us from ties of ‘no return’
On the cusp of Dusk-dimmed vistas waits a whole new ‘live and learn’

Soft, dawn’s lofty lintels flower, filling bowers with Today
Pray God’s armor thwarts the charmer bent on luring us astray
Pray the fight twixt wrong and right draws us to He whose love/truth sustains
He who knows the highs and lows of learning curves and growing pains

No matter how high on ladders of success, Faith plants its prayer
Always still, another hill to climb, another hurt/cross to bear
Sudden swerve on Learning’s Curve, or fresh onslaught of Growing’s pain
And Day’s Light to pierce night’s Darkness and God’s mercy, new again

© Janet Martin

So, here's to a new day of living and learning 
to be kinder, humbler, holier, not on our own
but through Christ in us!

Ephesians 3:16
I ask that out of the riches of His glory 
He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being,

Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength

and as mentioned, bird pics!








Wednesday, January 17, 2024

As We Press Toward the Goal

Dawn’s hoists its mast, ahoy, we cast off to another day
Who knows, but our Captain the full of its come-what-may...

Some of my come-what-may suddenly needs to include a grocery run
when a sudden discovery is made that the household
is in short supply of bathroom tissue!
Nothing quite commands our attention like an empty roll😅😂




It's another frigid and blustery 'ahoy' in southern Ontario


 I LOVE this song as regular readers over the years, may guess😅🙏


Life sometimes tests our focus as we press toward the goal
Its Glance of Circumstances sometimes blinds us to the Whole
Where Time is like a Barge, heaped with its charge of creature care
And we are like the crew, appointed to our sacred share
Of doing our part to serve, first God, then fellowman
And not to grumble at the task, but do the best we can
With humble recognition of that Final Port of Call
When we will meet the Captain and give account for it all

Sometimes we become disillusioned by That Which Is Not
And seeds of discontentment may start to sprout in our thought
And sometimes we forget, in the belly of much-to-do
The Captain’s main concern is for the welfare of the crew
And though his methods of correction may vex you and me
He never fails; his love is steadfast as steadfast can be
A hand upon the shoulder and an anchor for the Soul
To fit us for each tumult, as we press toward the goal

Dawn’s hoists its mast, ahoy, we cast off to another day
Who knows, but our Captain the full of its come-what-may
But if we trust His promises and follow His command
He will not let us blow off course or wallow in quicksand
Though sometimes we are puzzled by the strategies He takes
To reel in our focus till the last stubborn hold breaks
Then, as we surrender both want and will to His control
We will be of good courage as we press toward the Goal

© Janet Martin


Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling,
 set your focus on Jesus, 
the apostle and high priest whom we confess.

Lord, lest we who ought to by now be anchored unwaveringly in the faith
we confessed as a child, 
lest we wallow in doubt and disillusionment,
and neglect to teach by setting a mature, humble and godly example  
for our children and grandchildren as we ought,
adjust our focus where needful, to remain fixed on you, 
and not the Glance of Circumstance!
Amen