'Moment'ous Composition

Eph.5:15-16

15See then that you walk [e]circumspectly, not as fools but as wise,

16redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

With moments we compose, 

not only what we will be remembered for,

but what we will give account to God for!

Already the previous hour's moments are sealed

in a Ledger above!

Ps.90:12

Teach us to number our days, 

that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Below excerpt from Making the Most of Life by J. R. Miller

 

We hold within creature-facades, an invisible cup

Filled with moments and countless odds, of how we use them up

Where what we do with the divine allotment of each breath

And the free will that runs it through, follows us, after death

How often in the heat of fond hopes and dreams, dearly prized

We lose sight of what lies beyond utopias, fantasized

Where a cup overflowing with momentous glints of grace

Grants in its brief bestowing that which transcends Time and Place

This cup, with copious amounts of moment-stars unfurled

Spills and fills personal accounts that wait beyond this world

Goodness and mercy-molded, each fleeting moment becomes

Eternally enfolded in a Book of Sacred Sums

We hold a cup rife with replies to moments yet to be

This ought to bid us scrutinize potentiality

Of what may seem so very small, but gathers in its wake

Our answer to God’s loving call; Eternity at stake

With moments we compose more than fodder for eulogies/memories

Lifetimes are achieved in the span of moments such as these

Right here, right now; what we will account for spills from a cup

While we choose from options galore, how we will use them up

Janet Martin

Who we live our moments for

is a Very Crucial Investment! 

Thanksgiving's Hymn (for silver linings)

“The world catechizes us to worship an unholy trinity:

 the lust of the eyes,

 the lust of the flesh, 

and the pride of life. 

But Jesus shows us another way.”

 —Greg Morse

Below, stunning bouquet from Lucy's daughter-in-law...

purchased at...

This past week my sister Lucy's daughter-in-law,  

eager to have some hands on lessons in canning,

spent a day at my house...

I commented to her how bittersweet it is to be 

doing the things Lucy would have loved to do.

She replied how it truly is the silver lining in the cloud;

how, in all likelihood we would not be enjoying

this beautiful connection otherwise. 

And as I pondered her reminder of silver linings

I was awakened to a multitude of silver,

lining my valley/storm cloud of sorrow

with the light of God's loving-kindness! 

Ps.92:1-2

It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;
 To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning,
And Your faithfulness every night,

These beauties from...

 ...were dropped off by a beautiful lady

who has experienced firsthand, the bitter deeps of grief,

and heeded the prompt to drop by with flowers and a hug

and I am still in awe at her thoughtfulness,

as the one year mark, of the loss of Lucy draws near.

Just now one of Lucy's friends, (now one of my friends),

dropped by for some dill and we had a quick and awesome chat.

 I mentioned how I just read

'His truth shall be thy shield and buckler' in my devotions,

and she replied 'oh!! Psalm 91!' and quoted part of the chapter!

as joy unspeakable and full of glory glowed

like the golden September morning that bathed us.

Ps.91:4

He shall cover thee with his feathers,

 and under his wings shalt thou trust: 

his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

We give God thanks, for love expressed in favours undefined

His thoughts and ways surpass the best logic can mastermind

The debt of gratitude we owe for more than tongue can tell

Rushes rationale's ebb and flow like oceans in a shell

To count the frames God's goodness fills transcends thought's meager hold

Each storm cloud, He kindly instills with linings, silver-gold

God always meets us where we are to satisfy our needs

Beyond human standards, sub-par, His kindness intercedes

To overflow our gaping souls with worship, wonder-awed

As through faith's battered bearing rolls thanksgiving's hymn to God

Janet Martin

We sang this hymn at the wedding of Lucy's son and daughter-in-law

on Oct.5, 2024

Goodness Of God (Lyrics) 

Of Records Still in the Writing or Harvests Still in the Planting

Harvest: the fruition of seeds planted!

We cannot reap what we did not plant

both literally and spiritually!

Yesterday's harvest included onions!

Gal.6:7-8

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; 

for whatever a man sows,

 that he will also reap. 

8 For he who sows to his flesh 

will of the flesh reap corruption, 

but he who sows to the Spirit 

will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.

Below excerpt by J.R.Miller

I cannot bear your weight of care

Nor you, mine; we must each

Shoulder lessons in trust and prayer

That God alone can teach

Our sacred share in live-and-learn

Holds more than meets the eye

 The rich reward of faith's return

Not now, but by and by

You cannot love on my behalf

Nor I on yours; no one

Can weep my tears or taste my laugh

-ter for a fight, well-won/task well done

When life is through then I will stand

To answer for the seeds

  Not strewn by someone else's hand

But for my words and deeds

I will not give account for you

Nor you for me; each one

When this God-granted life is through

Will answer God alone

No one to point a finger at

 When each life is laid bare

As God opens the record that

Reaches from here to there

Janet Martin

Ps.86:5, 9&11

For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive,

And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.

Among the gods there is none like You, O Lord;

Nor are there any works like Your works.

All nations whom You have made

Shall come and worship before You, O Lord,

And shall glorify Your name.

For You are great, and do wondrous things;

You alone are God.

Teach me Your way, O Lord;

I will walk in Your truth;

[c]Unite my heart to fear Your name.

The Glad, Sad Glance/Dance of Season-Song

Hello September, 

month of Burnished Beauty

and Bittersweet Bliss! 

"The only things to truly get sad about" 

philosophized my husband this morning,

"are those things you deeply loved and lose forever!"

This in reply to my 'I'm kinda sad but not totally sad...

(because it's September and in a sense the end of summer

 as school starts again etc. in Canada), 

...because I'm glad every season has wonders I utterly love!"

That said, 

as the Harbinger to Autumn 

strews undeniable hints 

of summer's end,

a rush of glad-sad,

 bursts like a bittersweet ballad

as I steep my soul 

in the cheeping of crickets!

Season-song...

A rush of innocence and dreams

Where laughter in the glad of it

And lament, in the sad of it

Slips through the spring of life like streams

...that sparkle in summer sunshine

A glance of gold-glossed green and blue

Where children heedlessly splash through

The prime of life's care freest time

‘ere waltzes from yon Piper’s flute

Startles dancers with Beckoning

Of ballads, rife with reckoning

From subtle scales, imbued with fruit

Where none can faze autumnal rote

That rolls through green-leaf canopies

With molten, auburn melodies

Fading with every falling note

…to settle with the silenced throng

Beneath a blanket of snow stars

And muffled footfalls, brushed o'er bars

Bearing the dance/glance of Season-song

Begun in innocence, but soon

Tuned to a twirling Carousel

Unfurling hello and farewell

To trampled footpaths, petal-strewn  

Janet Martin

Eccles.3:1-2

To everything there is a season,

and a time for every purpose under heaven:

2a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot, ...

With Every Beaming Break of Day

'I believe it is very important for people to appreciate each other'

 -my Dad's thoughtful reply

to my 'I appreciate you more the older I grow' 🙏💓

As break of a new day dazzles creation

 I am so thankful for the gift of fresh opportunity

to forget past failures and regrets and press on...

Pressing on toward the Goal...

Phil.3:12-14

12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect,

but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.

13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.

But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,

14I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus.

Behold love, gold and silvered lined

Transcends the bars of yester-rue

With goodness and mercy, brand-new...

With every beaming break of day

For all that Bygone holds at bay

Of opportunity declined

Behold love, gold and silvered lined

Transcends the bars of yester-rue

With goodness and mercy, brand-new

With every gleaming gift of grace

In spite of what none can erase

God, rich in mercy meets us where

We all have darling, equal share

To take this day He made to fit

Faith’s freedom to be glad in it

With every teeming morning-tide

Rife with renewed mercies untried

To cheer the common ground, we trod

Of moments leading back to God

He overflows the part we see

With virgin opportunity

….to love Him and each other more

And to be truly thankful for

His favours, as He bids us trust

Goodness that baffles mortal dust

And kindly cheers us on our way

With every beaming break of day

With every beaming break of day

Oh, may we never cease to pray

For many sorrowing and sick

For courage, as we face the thick

Of unknowns waiting to unfold

Linings of gray, silver and gold 

Janet Martin

I am SO thankful I didn't know yesterday morning

that love would challenge me (in the form of a girl

who used to be in my childcare) to ple-e-e-eae hold her pet...RAT!!! 

'He's so cute and he doesn't scratch or bite' 😭

I was NOT as calm as the photos may seem to suggest!!! 

P.S. I agreed to do it only after they agreed to take a picture

as living proof that I did indeed

HOLD A RAT!!! 😆

Morning Hymn

Lyrics: 1. O, how lovely is the morning, when it is begun with God; Joy and thanks our hearts adorning, as behooves a child of God, Waking after night so fair in the Maker’s gentle care, Rising without grief or sorrow to a new and joyful morrow. 2. Let our eyes be raised to heaven where the sun is shining bright, And on hill and dale and meadow is dispensing life and light; But far more than sun in space beams the Saviour’s kindly face; Truth and kindness, peaceful nearness shine out in eternal clearness. 3. Even as the springtime flowers grow beneath the sun’s warm rays, So the Lord by His own powers makes us garlands for His praise; He invites most lovingly: Little children, come to Me! All should truly know Him ever, call Him Brother, Lord, and Saviour! 4. This day also He will guide us, in our work His help provide, And on wisdom’s ways He’ll lead us, standing ever by our side, That on this whole blessed day no mishap can come our way; And that under His rich blessing night will find us sweetly resting. 5. Through His grace made sweet and easy, we’ll His teachings understand, When he on the path of duty gently leads us by the hand. O, how blest the child that may in His grace begin the day, Whose desire and wish is wholly by His love to be made holy. ​ 6. Come then, Lord of life eternal, step into our midst, we pray; Help that we may not be merely hearers of Thy Word today. To our teacher, O, be near; bless the children gathered here; May we thrive in fullest measure, and Thy heart in us find pleasure!

Praise God For You, Dearest of Dads

3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; 

so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.

4 Delight thyself also in the Lord: 

and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord:

and he delighteth in his way.

Ps.37:3,4 & 23

Today is the birthday of a man who

I love and respect/admire beyond words!

Happy 84th Birthday, Dad

Praise God, when you were young you gave your life to Him then sought

To walk in paths of righteousness, by His Word led and taught

A lamp unto your feet, a light to shine upon a way

You could not see but knew the Truth will never lead astray

Praise God for the good man whose steps are ordered by the Lord

Who knows, without God's armour he will fall prey to the world 

Who loves the tender Shepherd and the Saviour of the soul

And seeks to honour Him as he presses toward faith's Goal

Praise God for dads who teach their children to obey and trust

The kind Heavenly Father who remembers 'we are dust' 

And like Him, they are patient too, when live-and-learning' errs

And all that he can do is keep them in his earnest prayers

Praise God for you, dearest of dads, and beloved, more and more

As your children grow older and more humbly thankful for

The example you gave us that no money can afford 

Of the steps of a good man that are ordered by the Lord

Janet Martin

Of August Days

Snaring some frames to cherish long after August's adieu...

even if this barely skims the surface 

of one of my favourite months! 💖🙏

Of kitchen saunas while an honest canning day’s work bears

Jarred gratitude for veg and fruit in answer to spring’s prayers...

Of splash-filled pond, finch on a frond,

of dew-drop-dazzled morn...

Of cob-wide grin and buttered chin while crunching yellow corn...

Of dinner dreams where Option gleams with oh, so much to choose...

Why so many food-photos??

Because August is a month of extravagant menu options!!

Of monotone cicada drone and cricket cheep-cheep-cheep

Of lazy breeze ruffling lush trees with lyrics half asleep

Of kitchen saunas while an honest canning day’s work bears

Jarred gratitude for veg and fruit in answer to spring’s prayers

Of splash-filled pond, finch on a frond, of dew-drop-dazzled morn

Of cob-wide grin and buttered chin while crunching yellow corn

Of pots that boast a flavour-host of garden-garnered hues

Of dinner dreams where Option gleams with oh, so much to choose

Of thankfulness to God who blesses seeds with sacred spoil

Garden and field billow with yield; treasure from vaults of soil

Of rain-song thrills as mercy spills and parched landscapes are drenched

Where puddles lie like scraps of sky on vistas, kindly quenched

Where zinnias stream and cosmos gleam like gems in August’s crown

Where gladness gapes at nature’s capes, God-stitched and gently thrown

O’er hills and dells, while wonder swells in souls, speechlessly awed

By poetry of chicory, Queen Ann’s Lace, goldenrod

…by cloud-pied blues as sky-wide views unfurl God’s glory-show

By hummingbird, with wing-span blurred while darting to and fro

By honey bees with sticky knees, by butterflies that waft

From fount to fount, too quick to count the number of pitstops

While artists stare, seeking to snare some loveliness to frame

And gently tease to galleries no brush or pen can claim

A dust-sweet blaze of August days, that flare and fade with ease

To tug and smart in works of art entitled Memories

© Janet Martin

Where zinnias stream and cosmos gleam like gems in August’s crown...

…by cloud-pied blues as sky-wide views unfurl God’s glory-show

By hummingbird, with wing-span blurred while darting to and fro

By honey bees with sticky knees, 

by butterflies that waft

From fount to fount, too quick to count the number of pitstops...