For Introverts...and Extroverts

My natural inclination is to sit in my recliner in my study,
 surrounded by books, and devote myself to them.
Let the world go away. Give me my peace and solitude.
That, and a cup of coffee, is a pleasurable way to pass the time.
 Alan Snyder

 (if you read his blog you will understand being surprised at his admission)

I took one of those free online personality tests to tell me something I already knew...

I'm an introvert:) 

We like to follow Natural Inclination's soothing tones

And pull up a soft blanket in a house of harmony

But, in the end its getting out of our comfort zones

That makes us more than we ever imagined we could be

'Take up your cross and follow me', said He who made us all

'Through me you can do all things; I will be your strength and shield

For in each one of you I place an indelible Call

And everyone must answer when Time's favor is repealed'

We like to follow Natural Inclination but the Lord

Has given each a work to do, and nobody is spared

So rest a bit and pray a bit and seek hope from His word

Then, by God's grace go forth and do the work He has prepared 

 Janet Martin

Wide-eyed Sight-seers

We follow, as if you were our tour guide on a trip

And we, the wide-eyed sightseers trying to take it in

Up, up each trail, over loose shale and dips we slide and slip

While wonder drips like a ripe peach regaling our chins

Where mist of morning like a pale silk cape drapes purple hills

Where beneath noon’s blue-sky umbrella we serve bread and tea

Where twilight is an open stage showcasing cricket trills

And midnight is a galleon that sails a raven sea

Our hearts are like deep pockets for tokens we want to keep

A broken bit of this, a golden that, a Thing or two

And oh, the art that we collect could fill night’s starry sweep

Where only thought can resurrect its picturesque review

…as on we go and do not know where he will take us next

Over, under, across, around, onward-bound pantomime

Panting, laughing, sighing, praying, sometimes glad, sometimes vexed

For we are wide-eyed sight-seers following Father Time

© Janet Martin

No Ordinary Beings, We...

How do we see each other?

No ordinary beings, we

Who blunder pathetically

And wonder emphatically

Who stumble and fumble

And grumble too much

No ordinary beings, we

Who forget what matters

While our thought scatters

To life’s present tatters of

See-hear-taste-touch

No ordinary beings, we

Who run out of patience

And repeat mistakes and

Still need each other

Like mother and child

No ordinary beings, we

Of common commitments

And often insistent

Upon our own way

While mercy runs wild

No ordinary beings, we

Who wear pants-shirts-dresses

And need hugs and kisses

And grapple with greediness

Don’t you agree?

We are extra-ordinary 

Even in spite of

Our exterior write-offs

Because we are instilled with

Immortality

© Janet Martin

 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”

1 Cor.15:54

“There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations – these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit – immortal horrors or everlasting splendors. This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously – no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption.”

― C.S. Lewis

Worthwhile Cause

Let us begin again

Let us pursue anew

Let us lay hold of Heaven’s hope

With vision firm and true

Let us, in spite of care

Let us, in spite of foes

Return, where morning gilds the air

With living’s thorn and rose

Let us not weary yet

Of doing well, my friend

For God has promised He will make it

Worth it in the end

© Janet Martin

 Let us not become weary in doing good, 

for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Gal.6:9

Heb.6:10

  God is not unjust. 

He will not forget your work and the love you have shown for His name as you have ministered to the saints and continue to do so.

As Time goes By

So sorry! Supper was half over before I remembered that I was going to take pictures of it. 

We had slow-roasted beef, fresh from the garden potatoes, carrots and coleslaw. 

I did remember a picture of the best part...the birthday girl and cake.

God bless you, Melissa, on your 22nd Birthday

As time goes by we learn a thing or three about its clocks

How round and round the hours go in teeny ticks and tocks

And all the while we smile and bear the cares of now and here

Tick-tock, tick-tock whispers the clock and steals another year

As time goes by we try to make the best of its demise

We grapple with the gray and gold that tumbles through our sighs

And learn how swift the gift of holding turns to letting go

How soft the tick and tock of time delivers blow on blow

As time goes by we realize its bite-size bit by bit

How nothing stays the same for long so we should cherish it

Tick-tock, tick-tock, whispers the clock and turns summer to fall

Sometimes it seems like time does not leave us much time at all

As time goes by it leaves behind the way things used to be

Its give-and-take a subtle, aching synchronicity

And often we are shaken by its bitter-sweet finesse

Tick-tock, tick-tock whispers the clock with double-edged caress

As Time goes by we sense a silent but undeterred Force

How, the longer we live the nearer we come to its Source

Tick-tock-tick-tock, whispers the clock that only God sustains

Tick-tock, tick-tock, whispers the clock ‘til only Soul remains

© Janet Martin

Unbaked Chocolate Cheesecake

Crust:
1 1/3 cups Oreo cookie crumbs (I used broken Choc.-chip cookies)
1/3 cup melted butter
Mix and press in 9" springform pan.

Filling:
2 (250g each) pkg. cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1 envelope or 2 1/4 tsp. unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
4 squ. semi-sweet chocolate, melted
1/2 cup whipping cream, whipped

Beat cream-cheese until smooth. Blend in sugar. Set aside. Sprinkle gelatin over cold water. Let sit 5 min. Stir over low heat until gelatin dissolves then blend gelatine mixture into cheese mixture. Beat in melted chocolate. Fold in whipped cream. Smooth over prepared crust.

Melt 4 ounces( 4 squares) semi-sweet chocolate. stir in 1/3 cup sour cream.
Spread on cheese-cake.
Garnish with fresh raspberries (optional)
Chill 4-6 hours before serving.