Thursday, June 14, 2012

Life's Journey Sonnets




When failure grips the hearts ragged edges
When murderous words have mangled their mark
When grievance builds adamantine hedges
And snuffs from life’s glimmer its lusty spark
When sorrow, heartbreak, and disappointment
Plague with discouragement each in-drawn breath
When temptation threatens discontentment
And we grow weary to the point of death
Still, there is simply one thing we can do
Trust God, step by step to carry us through

***

It is not ours to give up and quit
Life’s moments come from God’s grace, not from man
We cannot escape what He has deemed fit
Nor can a man reconstruct Master-plans
But it is ours to forgive and forget
Though oft yet we err and stumble and fall
Wisdom is gleaned from the hand of regret
Grace without patience is no grace at all
It is God who gives and who takes away
It is ours to live, love, to watch and pray

***

When heart-linings bleed with love’s agony
When distance is mapped by unspoken thought
When faith is the mile that we cannot see
As all the things hoped for seem endlessly sought
Still, even then we cannot lay it down
This weight that besets us with torment and grief
Tis he who endures that will win the crown
And so we cry, ‘God, help my unbelief’
This is life’s journey, to be strong in the Lord
Rich is the inheritance of reward

 © Janet Martin

 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 2 Tim. 2:3 KJV

It was so much fun to watch the Stanley Cup celebration's and rejoice with them after all the hard work, set-backs, etc.

It makes me think of life...to win we cannot quit.


Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Permanent Luggage


When children leave home
They leave most of their 'stuff' behind
But what they carry with them
They carry in their mind

And no matter where life takes them
Or where on earth they roam
The luggage they will carry
Are their memories of home

Janet~

Memories...luggage we cannot easily discard.
Make today a good one.
J~

The Journey of a Moment





From moments
to memories...
God, remind us of this
so it will be a pleasure
to reminisce

From moments
to memories
God, open our eyes
to the value of moments
so we may be wise

From moments
to memories
Both joy and regret
God help us remember
But teach us to forget...

Janet Martin~

If we refuse to redeem time wisely
It is possible
for breadth of thistledown
to crush us...


Memories




They adorn phantom stages
They breathe on night’s breeze
Turning invisible pages
Into memories
 
As we weep on a coffin
I thank God for these
For they comfort us often
They are memories

Parting can be heart-rending
But through grief’s agonies
We have the tender blessing
Of memories

Now we hold a moment
How precious are these
Seeds; for they grow into
Memories


© Janet Martin

Let's make today
a good memory!

Counting Lessons



We could count our sorrows
But tell me, what would we gain?
For the blessing of tomorrow
Often sprouts within the rain

So we should count our blessings
For we cannot really know
The depth of their conception
Or the Stream from whence they flow

© Janet Martin

The sun smiles in puddle-mirrors


After a Rainy Night in June...




The woods, veiled  in the distance
Crowns the border of the land
The earth; refreshed and glistening
‘Neath the Giver’s gracious hand
Where pastures, parched and pleading
Longed for nectar, pure, divine
Emerald fields ripple with promise
Replenished by heaven’s wine

The heart, veiled with the body
And the body, fresh from sleep
Have relinquished yester’ sorrow
For it is not ours to keep
But the hour pleads with Promise
And we dare not dance in vain
So we drink the Spirit’s nectar
Replenished by holy rain

The border of the hour
Is a phantom consciousness
Yet we recognize the Power
Whereby it is lent to us
The known, veiled in the distance
By a mist of vast unknown
Draws our hearts from fear’s resistance
To the footstool of His throne

© Janet Martin

His Word to the believer
Is what rain is to the earth

This is the day the Lord has made,
Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Ps. 118:24  


Rainy Night in June



Tonight the screen is heavy
with  warm,silver tears of June
The wind weeps; melancholy
a low and mournful tune
over the darkened pasture
and through my rain-swept heart
where I hold you to me, darling
while we are far apart

Tonight the sky is a hollow
without border, base or breadth
Its blackness seems to swallow
The wee, winsome drop of earth
Tonight I cannot hold back
the tears that fall like rain
And so I hold you closer
Until we will meet again

I feel your soothing whisper
Cool the longing on my skin
I hear our tumbled music
Soothe the aching deep within
I taste our salty teardrops
As they sweep thought's vague rampart
Oh, who knew that an ocean
Could be held within a heart?

J~

Thank-you for Calvary



Jesus said, “It is finished.” John 19:30

When I think of my weakness
And how lost I would be
I cry thank-you Jesus
For Calvary
When I think of my wretchedness
And my vast need
I cry thank-you Jesus
For Calvary
When doubt and despair
Seek to over-whelm me
I cry thank-you Jesus
For Calvary
When I see myself
Bound for eternity
I cry thank-you Jesus
For Calvary

© Janet Martin
 When He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. 1 Cor. 11: 24-26