Universal Reveille

Sometimes the rising sun seems like a golden trumpet

playing a most solemn universal Reveille

Arise, the skies are gleaming like toast with marmalade

The breaking day is beaming with Mercy’s grand aubade

Shake off the shroud of slumber; a tide no one can wrest

Sun-gold and shadow-umber surges from east to west

Over facades, so common, where creature cares abound

Sometimes we miss the summons; today is holy ground

Behold, Today is awesome; be earnest and astute

For morning, like a blossom, soon falls prey to the fruit

And, no matter how polished, the apple of reply

Excuse is soon abolished; Fruit does not tell a lie

Where we are prone too often, to forget, life is lent

Then pray, hard hearts to soften, for sinners to repent

Because none knows the hour when the Lord will appear

To pluck a precious flower from stems of Now and Here

Today unravels, teeming with taste-touch-smell-hear-see

In sacred soul-diers, streaming toward eternity

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name

Today is a gift/charge given by Thee, from whence we came

Protect us from vain prattle, but, with thy truth and grace  

Equip us for the battle that faith is bound to face

When second miles grow dreary, revive in us again  

The will to not grow weary in doing good. Amen 

Then with renewed strength beaming with gladness humbly awed 

To rise, beneath skies gleaming with the goodness of God

© Janet Martin

Goodness of God

Phil.2:12-16

(read whole glorious chapter HERE)

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, 

but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 

13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

14 Do all things without [d]complaining and disputing,[e]

 15 that you may become blameless and [f]harmless, children of God 

without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, 

among whom you shine as lights in the world, 

16 holding fast the word of life, 

so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ 

that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.

 

How To Recognize What Matters Most

Yesterday morning began a new year of Sunday School,

at our church,

and as I joined the group of teachers and children

something hard to explain ripped through me...

such love for a room packed with Eager Innocence!!

(soon under fire!!)

What a sacred charge, for we who are older

to teach, (far more by example than words)

our children to remember their Creator in the days of their youth

and what it means to love the Lord, (y)our God,

with all (y)our heart, soul, strength and mind

and to love (y)our neighbour as (y)ourself! 

Luke 10:27,Mark 12:30-31,Matthew 22:37-40,

Deuteronomy 6:5,Deuteronomy 30:6,Romans 13:9,James 2:8,

Mark 12:33-34,Leviticus 19:18,1 John 3:18,Deuteronomy 10:12,

Matthew 19:19,Hebrews 8:10,Galatians 5:13

Children are such precious jewels!!

When He Cometh 

The older that we grow the harder it becomes to change set ways!

How crucial, while we may, to pray, 'God teach us to number our days...

...so we may gain a heart of wisdom, before days come, trouble-cursed

Before we find no pleasure in seeking God and His kingdom first

Before worldly cares choke His Word that fell like seed on thorny ground

Before strife or the pride of life lures love, still innocent and sound 

Before desire is not stirred to love the Lord with all we have

Before we boast, forgetful of Who's goodness and mercy forgave

...Us, while we were still dead in sin, sinless, God's Lamb was sacrificed

To rend the temple's veil and anchor Living Hope in Jesus Christ 

Granting to heirs of Love's great promise, consolation, strong and sure 

Fitting faith, when facing temptation, with conviction to endure

Before we grow old, habit-hardened, heart untuned to wisdom's ways/praise 

Pray the Lord to teach us early how to humbly number our days 

...and how to recognize the gain of what appears most modest mien 

Faith, the substance of things hoped for and evidence of things unseen 

 

© Janet Martin

Eccles.12

Remember your Creator

in the days of your youth,

before the days of trouble come

and the years approach when you will say,

“I find no pleasure in them”—

2 before the sun and the light

and the moon and the stars grow dark,

and the clouds return after the rain;

3 when the keepers of the house tremble,

and the strong men stoop,

when the grinders cease because they are few,

and those looking through the windows grow dim;

4 when the doors to the street are closed

and the sound of grinding fades;

when people rise up at the sound of birds,

but all their songs grow faint;

5 when people are afraid of heights

and of dangers in the streets;

when the almond tree blossoms

and the grasshopper drags itself along

and desire no longer is stirred.

Then people go to their eternal home

and mourners go about the streets.

6 Remember him—before the silver cord is severed,

and the golden bowl is broken;

before the pitcher is shattered at the spring,

and the wheel broken at the well,

7 and the dust returns to the ground it came from,

and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

8 “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher.[a]

“Everything is meaningless!”

9 Not only was the Teacher wise, 

but he also imparted knowledge to the people. 

He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs. 

10 The Teacher searched to find just the right words, 

and what he wrote was upright and true.

11 The words of the wise are like goads,

 their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails

—given by one shepherd.[b] 

12 Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them.

Of making many books there is no end, 

and much study wearies the body.

13 Now all has been heard;

here is the conclusion of the matter:

Fear God and keep his commandments,

for this is the duty of all mankind.

14 For God will bring every deed into judgment,

including every hidden thing,

whether it is good or evil.

September Song-part one

Eccles.3:11

He has made everything beautiful in its time.

 He has also set eternity in the human heart; 

yet no one can fathom what God has done

 from beginning to end.

Happy first September Saturday for this year!

I've had a very happy beginning...

Green lights all the way, BOTH WAYS through town on an early grocery-dash.

Feeling happy for the man piling groceries in the back seat of his pickup

between Child and Dog.

Stopping a few times on the way home,

first to admire an apple orchard with the appeal of propped ladders

then to delight in the pure abandon of two horses dashing round and round

their green pasture!

Where golden rod and wild asters collaborate to steal our breath...

Where beneath heaven's denim-deeps September’s soulful beauty splays

In orchards bent with apple red,...

 in pastures green where horses prance...

In the cool of the morning where the lawn glimmers with gilt of dew

And coffee-steam hangs on the air and front porch chair dons quilt or two...

And the corn field is like a wall of whispers, lush, before the frost...

Where golden rod and wild asters collaborate to steal our breath

Where summer’s day hastens its gait toward birth’s sure ordinance; death

Where mellow yellow stubble-sweeps host perpetual cricket lays

Where beneath heaven's denim-deeps September’s soulful beauty splays

In orchards bent with apple red, in pastures green where horses prance

In the wild-flower-filled creek-bed, in the garden’s extravagance

In the cool of the morning where the lawn glimmers with gilt of dew

And coffee-steam hangs on the air and front porch chair dons quilt or two

And the corn field is like a wall of whispers, lush, before the frost

Turns banter brittle; where the call of Autumn stirs a sense of loss

Where eventide, awash with amber ambience runs delight wild

In spite of loath relinquishments, of season-songs Bygone-beguiled

By skylines, dusky like a plum, purple-sweet with mist and dust-kiss

Where scarlet striate starts to strum the first few bars of Autumn Bliss

Like a drum roll through woodland tress, like an arpeggio of leaf

September’s simple happiness fills summer hearts with sweet relief

And assurance of morrows swelled like buds, primed and waiting to burst

With beauty never yet beheld; while September plays preludes first

© Janet Martin

Where scarlet striate starts to strum the first few bars of Autumn Bliss

Like a drum roll through woodland tress, like an arpeggio of leaf...

Reason to Rejoice

Today's poem was inspired in part by joy and in part by sorrow...

Joy because God is compassionate and full of mercy

Ps.145:8-9

The Lord is gracious and full of compassion,

Slow to anger and great in mercy.

9The Lord is good to all,

And His tender mercies are over all His works.

..and sorrow, because its easy to forget

and live self-indulgently, rather than with 

sacred urgency for all who do not know or believe 

Today's Scripture reading began with this verse;

 Heb.4:1

Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us 

of entering into his rest, 

any of you should seem to come short of it.

(Read the whole solemn and comforting chapter HERE)

A new day!

What a gift of grace

Every day overflows with a 

fresh feast of highs and lows/thorn and rose

with no two days alike,

inviting us, each morning to the sweet anticipation of

moment buds unfolding reasons to rejoice!

One sweet reason for me today 

is my Cherry-Chocolate Latte Hibiscus, blooming profusely!

A birthday gift from a fellow flower-loving friend a few years ago.

(isn't its name deliciously fitting?!!)

For my debt of unuttered praise for grace and mercy, new again

For lack of awe for He whose ways transcend, yet tends Want’s pride-prone ken

For my oft apathetic love to He whose love none can descry

To the all-wise Creator of galaxies cupping earth and sky

For my debt of devotion paid to deities of carnal claim

Rather than to the One who made this day to glorify His name

For a balance, when weighed, that tips in favor of this world, not He

Who pours the sand of time that slips through frames filled with eternity

For ambition and noble thought, not ordered by sweet hour of prayer

For good intentions, oft forgot in the furnace where passions flare

For turning blind eyes and deaf ears to my Saviour’s unfettered grief

For every precious soul that sneers at Calvary in unbelief

For my debt of sin, unconfessed, for treasure held without a nod

In Your direction, richly blessed, yet thankless/trustless oft, forgive me, God

For my debt of worship I owe, to God who forgives and forgets

I pray, may glad praise overflow; grace rends shackles forged from regrets

Where faith and fantasy compete, Today, Lord, help me hear your Voice

As I lay my debt at Your feet, and rise with Reason to rejoice

© Janet Martin

Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow

The Wayside Cross

From a Flower-Frilled/Filled Lesson Book

Ps.65:9-13

You [c]visit the earth and water it,

You greatly enrich it;

The river of God is full of water;

You provide their grain,

For so You have prepared it.

10 You water its ridges abundantly,

You settle its furrows;

You make it soft with showers,

You bless its growth.

11 You crown the year with Your goodness,

And Your paths drip with abundance.

12 They drop on the pastures of the wilderness,

And the little hills rejoice on every side.

13 The pastures are clothed with flocks;

The valleys also are covered with grain;

They shout for joy, they also sing.

***

Gardening and life are a fine-tuned medley

of deep disappointment and darling delight!

***

Today's post is a medley of garden photos and quotes...

and a poem inspired by garden-blessings...

Long after final fruit is plucked

And cobs are shucked and gourds are gleaned

And herbs are hung to dry on rungs

Indoors, and the last leaf is weaned

Long after flower-stems are stripped

And fronds are clipped and furrows turned

I will reflect, time and again

On garden-lessons I have learned

...of disappointment and delight

For such is life; wonder and woe

Laughter, lament, beauty and blight

Patience, (for plants take time to grow)

…learning, that love is worth the years

Of work, of Waiting‘s by-and-by

That gladness grows sweeter through tears

Perfection, more than meets the eye

That it takes both the sun and rain

To make Growing Things flourish, oh

That life mingles pleasure and pain

Into love’s vintage afterglow

...that without the wise purpose of

The careful, cruel pruning knife

The plant will not be strong enough

To bear the waiting weight of life

  

Long after kale's last curl is culled

And frost, its temp’ring touch has wrought

I will remain humbly thankful

For lessons that my garden taught

...not in some, brick-walled lecture hall

But in a sun and breeze-kissed nook

Where crickets cheep and petals fall

From a flower-frilled lesson-book

© Janet Martin

The Deceitfulness of Sin...

Heb.3:12-13

Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart 

of unbelief in departing from the living God;

 13 but [b]exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” 

lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

The above verses and the butterfly below helped inspire today's poem

Yesterday I watched this butterfly waft from the pretty purple bloom

straight into a spider's web!

In a flash the spider's sting paralyzed its prey...

and instantly it proceeded to roll the butterfly

hopelessly, into its silky trap...

The butterfly flew into it innocently.

Unless we exhort one another daily,

honing discernment,

we too can get tangled in 'silky traps'

that seem quite innocent looking to the naked eye...

The problem with Deceit is,

it doesn't looks deceptive!!

Its pleasing-to-the-eye-attire appears so very nice

It caters to creature-desire and blinds Want to its price/vice

Its voice is oh, so pleasant, dear, it really seems okay

It soothes the prick of conscience clear, with ‘did God really say?’

Distracting us from love so pure with bait of Fleeting Thrill

It dangles the form of the lure before our waning will

Easing us, subtle charmer, with most arduous appeal

Daring discernment’s armor with pleasure of how-we-feel

Until we feel quite heady with fervor’s footloose delight

The tempter always ready with reasons that fit just right

He attracts our attention with most darling of disguise

Barters with Best Intention, ruthless ruin-er of lives

Promiscuous and licentious, discernment's evil twin 

Proud, pretty and pretentious; the deceitfulness of sin

© Janet Martin

The butterfly and spider reminded me of a poem

I learned as a child,

 from one of my mother's school readers.

The Spider and the Fly (1829)

by Mary Howitt

"Will you walk into my parlour?" said the Spider to the Fly,

"'Tis the prettiest little parlour that ever you did spy;

The way into my parlour is up a winding stair,

And I have many curious things to shew when you are there."

"Oh no, no," said the little Fly, "to ask me is in vain,

For who goes up your winding stair can ne'er come down again."

"I'm sure you must be weary, dear, with soaring up so high;

Will you rest upon my little bed?" said the Spider to the Fly.

"There are pretty curtains drawn around; the sheets are fine and thin,

And if you like to rest awhile, I'll snugly tuck you in!"

"Oh no, no," said the little Fly, "for I've often heard it said,

They never, never wake again, who sleep upon your bed!"

Said the cunning Spider to the Fly, "Dear friend what can I do,

To prove the warm affection I've always felt for you?

I have within my pantry, good store of all that's nice;

I'm sure you're very welcome–will you please to take a slice?"

"Oh no, no," said the little Fly, "kind sir, that cannot be,

I've heard what's in your pantry, and I do not wish to see!"

"Sweet creature!" said the Spider, "you're witty and you're wise,

How handsome are your gauzy wings, how brilliant are your eyes!

I've a little looking-glass upon my parlour shelf,

If you'll step in one moment, dear, you shall behold yourself."

"I thank you, gentle sir," she said, "for what you're pleased to say,

And bidding you good morning now, I'll call another day."

The Spider turned him round about, and went into his den,

For well he knew the silly Fly would soon come back again:

So he wove a subtle web, in a little corner sly,

And set his table ready, to dine upon the Fly.

Then he came out to his door again, and merrily did sing,

"Come hither, hither, pretty Fly, with the pearl and silver wing;

Your robes are green and purple–there's a crest upon your head;

Your eyes are like the diamond bright, but mine are dull as lead!"

Alas, alas! how very soon this silly little Fly,

Hearing his wily, flattering words, came slowly flitting by;

With buzzing wings she hung aloft, then near and nearer drew,

Thinking only of her brilliant eyes, and green and purple hue–

Thinking only of her crested head–poor foolish thing! At last,

Up jumped the cunning Spider, and fiercely held her fast.

He dragged her up his winding stair, into his dismal den,

Within his little parlour–but she ne'er came out again!

And now dear little children, who may this story read,

To idle, silly flattering words, I pray you ne'er give heed:

Unto an evil counsellor, close heart and ear and eye,

And take a lesson from this tale, of the Spider and the Fly.

Enough...A Prayer

Once more, mercy, new every morn

To we, of creature-plea

Sustains us till our souls are borne

Beyond the part we see

For all eternity

 I Set My Hope on Jesus

 

This morn, dear Lord I ask Thee not That I should understand Thy ways

Or decipher Thy higher thought, but trust in Thee and sing Thy praise

I ask Thee not for paths of ease, but lead me with Thy love so true

To wonders, veiled in agonies, when nothing but Thy Word will do

I ask thee not for wealth or fame; these are the pride of worldly want

Help me to glory in Thy name to shield me from deception’s taunt

Dear Lord, this morn I do not ask for more than Thy unfailing Hand

To hone, through commonest of task the holiness of Thy command

I ask Thee, Lord, for awe unplumbed as I think about Calvary

Forbid my heart is ever numbed to Thy great sacrifice for me

But, through the highs and lows of life, bid I praise Thee from morn to morn

And taste the mercies that run rife, though thou wast pierced with sword and thorn

Enduring hatred’s heinous blows, suffering even unto death

Yet, crushing death as You arose, my Lord, Giver of every breath

Maker and Ruler of all things, and captain of Salvation too

Lord, baptize my desires in springs where nothing but Thy Word will do

This morn, Lord, with joy undeterred, help me take up love’s cross anew

Knowing hope anchored in Thy Word will be enough to see me through

Amen

© Janet Martin

Today's poem was inspired in part by this morning's reading...

Heb 2:8-10

Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet.

For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. 

But now we see not yet all things put under him.

9But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death,

 crowned with glory and honour;

 that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.

10For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things,

 in bringing many sons unto glory, 

to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings....

(read whole glorious chapter HERE)

Today's prayer was also drawn in part

 from hope's awe as I pondered

 the sacred taking up of

our cross each new morn, to follow Him

Matt.16:24

Then Jesus said to his disciples, 

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves

 and take up their cross and follow me.

I Will Wait For You

Moments Are Such Momentous Spheres...

It seems like a flicker; of moments that composed three decades 💖

We celebrated our second daughter's 30th birthday yesterday.

A little late, like most of our birthday celebrations this year!

Happy 30th Birthday, Melissa

Moments spill-sparkle from a fount

We cannot visualize

Like stars too copious to count

They glint in loved one’s eyes...

there's someone 'hidden' in the above photo...guess who??

clue in the photo below 😂😂

We missed Victoria who was enjoying a camping weekend with friends💛 

Moments are such momentous spheres

Erecting in their wake

An ever/echo-world of smiles and tears

From loving’s give and take

And, looking back from where we stand

They steal our breath a bit

For, one moment may not seem grand

But together they fit

To fill a frame shaped like a heart

Into a stunning work of art

Moments make people grin and groan

While winnowing life’s flow’r

Soul’s promenade of skin and bone

Time’s sweep of sun and show’r

Melding the pigment of today

With pictures of the past

Ah, soon the place where children play

Seems like a shadow, cast

Across a sense of rooms bereft

Of laughter after guests have left

Moments spill-sparkle from a fount

We cannot visualize

Like stars too copious to count

They glint in loved one’s eyes

They melt, like snowflakes on our tongue

They drive the dreams of youth

Then startle us, so briefly young

With time’s incumbent truth

And as we gaze at their return

They blaze trails of still much-to-learn

…like never passing up the chance

To live love’s masterpiece

Like cherishing the charge God grants

In each momentous lease

Aware of the fleet nature of

Gain and loss synchronized

As moments fill a phantom trove

With treasure barely prized

Before it bore bittersweet awe

For love and life’s momentous law

My dear, before Time disappears

Let’s make the most of love

Moments are such momentous spheres

Quite large and small enough

To unfold opportunity

And mold and hold reply

No matter what the case may be

Moments slip subtly by

Erecting an eternal wake

Of love’s momentous give and take

Futile to entertain regret

My dear, new day is born

A maelstrom of momentous ‘yet’

Dazzles the dewy morn

Crowning the mist of moments spent

With dawn’s redeeming spree

And fresh meter of moments lent

To compose history

Let’s strive to honor He who grants

Today’s moment-ous song and dance

© Janet Martin

Futile to entertain regret

My dear, new day is born

A maelstrom of momentous ‘yet’

Dazzles the dewy morn...

Lam.3:22-33

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,

for his compassions never fail.

23 They are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;

therefore I will wait for him.”

25 The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,

to the one who seeks him;

26 it is good to wait quietly

for the salvation of the Lord.

27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke

while he is young.

28 Let him sit alone in silence,

for the Lord has laid it on him.

29 Let him bury his face in the dust—

there may yet be hope.

30 Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him,

and let him be filled with disgrace.

31 For no one is cast off

by the Lord forever.

32 Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,

so great is his unfailing love.

33 For he does not willingly bring affliction

or grief to anyone...