Cause and Effect or Because... and Effectiveness

what are your deepest Woulda-shoulda-s?

If we wallow in those we will never be successful!

Aren't you glad we are encouraged to forget what is behind and strain toward what is ahead?

Brothers and sisters, 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,

Phil.3:13

Not always what we’d rather but rather that which we should

For what seems pleasing in the moment is not always good

Deception is a master at defending reason’s cause

It decorates disaster with momentary applause

Effect lasts so much longer than the cause that sets its course

Consequence for the action is a firm, far-reaching force

Therefore discernment looks beyond what seems good at first glance

To see what it will lead to, given enough time and chance

Futile to mourn at heaps that hold what none can resurrect

Better to leave behind what none can find, save in effect

Then learn from our mistakes that made us wiser than we were

Aware that what we do is always hinged to something more

The hardiness of habits makes them very hard to break

Then it is good to be astute in choices that we make

For though at first they may seem too minor to make a fuss

Sooner or later they become the best and worst of us

© Janet Martin

Fall Winds

 Fall is in full, frigid form today!

Welcome Octo-b-r-r-r!

They raid the gleaming tress of tree-tops; parade, trip, tumble and twirl

They chase the loosened leaf like a schoolboy teasing the pretty girl

The heart once heaped with flowered laughter feels a little lost and sad

Soft-torn between the scenes of summer and fall’s apple-pumpkin plaid

They brood outside windows pulled shut against their chilling, surly sweep

They unravel the canopy that lulled a sun warm world to sleep

They wake in us want for kind comforts we forgot in summer’s spree

They make us glad for simple pleasures; supper-soup and cuppa tea

Sometimes they fling a sapphire awning overhead and steps grow light

And we are thankful earth’s undoing does not happen overnight

Sometimes they weigh the leaden heavens with a sea that has no shore

As harvest-time takes a hiatus while fall anthems pour and pour

Reckless rebels that romp about; vexatious rogues, they seem to me

To love to turn us inside out with reluctance and ecstasy

Unorthodox bold Casanovas, they make us admit full-well

That we would miss fall’s ruddy bliss if summer stayed till winter fell

They instigate a kindred spirit with the sympathy of ink

And strike a chord within the poet that inspires her to think

In ways that sunny summer days cannot begin to comprehend

Ah, fall winds kindle winsome whispers only Poem can defend

They plunder frost-bedraggled cornfield’s rustle-weary infantry

They thunder through blue shadows etched on molten, golden twilight’s lea

And propel us from yester-season to Time’s present colour-blast

They let us know for sure and certain that summer’s last days are past

© Janet Martin

Cadence of Conversation...

A young man who started attending our church recently 

was killed suddenly yesterday afternoon! 

Oh, how our hearts ache for his sorrowing loved ones.

What were the last words they exchanged, I wonder

as I try to remember mine to my loved ones 

should we not meet again this side of heaven?!

...and oh, how precious the memories that ring with the cadence of conversation and laughter!

a birthday tea with friends...

hubby and brother-in-law solving the world's problems;-)

supper ...

sisters...

Cadence of conversation mingles with the noise of life

It draws us into mutual worlds of kindred joys and strife

Filling the gap between us with chatter’s sweet melody

Like little brooks that sparkle from the meadow to the sea

In coffee-shops, on sidewalks or along a crowded beach

Around the supper table flows the fellowship of speech

And oft we never give its interchange much thought at all

Tossing words back and forth like a weightless, colorful ball

Cadence of conversation, how its common beauty cheers

We share our weight of creature cares, our hopes and dreams and fears

And little do we think about the possibility

That what we say might be the final words from you or me

How precious is the sound that creates common ground and such

Where we meet in the middle as talking and list’ning touch

Then, as we think about it we should always keep in mind

That what we say will someday spill in echoes left behind

…and not, until the voice is gone from us forevermore

Do we so dearly crave what we took for granted before

When we, without much thought at all would share our griefs and joys

…cadence of conversation mingled with life’s background noise

© Janet Martin

Ephesians 4:29
Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths,
 but only what is helpful for building up the one in need
and bringing grace to those who listen.

Now-and-Here or Here-and-Now

 This morning's here-and-now was quite messy, sticky and noisy!!!

this afternoon, thanks to naps the here-and-now is quieter and a little tidier!

...and a lot less cute😊

The best we have with which to serve, in present-essence streams

The past is made of seasons cast, morrow, of hopes and dreams

But here-and-now unveils the prow of opportunity

And darling, what becomes of it is up to you and me

Each circumstance is but a chance to drink from mercy’s fount

Each day a gift that God will sift (we all will give account)

Failure, full of excuse would be a noose that stifles cheer

But for God’s grace to help us face the charge of now-and-here

The Loom that grants the bloom that plants the seeds of daily grind

With give and take soon fills the wake of ages left behind

Then how imperative to give the best we have, my dear

For life becomes its total sum with simple Now-and-Here

Whatever spills in thrills or ills wafts on the winds of change

To fill a mold that none can hold and twilight will estrange

The best we have with which to serve we dare not overlook

Lest then somehow we miss the wow here-and-now overtook

Give thanks; the ranks that march to no-repeat beats of tick-tock

Fall prey to Yore behind a door that no one can unlock

Where sphere to sphere the now-and-here like bubbles, bob then burst

And what just was is not because it is in was immersed

Time’s laden trays that we appraise can dish out quite a mess

Wasted somehow if here-and-now never finds happiness

For we are fixed in present, twixt where past and future streams

Here-and-now existent, yet dependent on both, it seems

Dear me and you; all that we do deserves our humble best

Each now-and-here soon disappears to its eternal rest

Then would that we with word and deed the Lord of life applaud

And revere now-and-here for what it is; a gift from God

© Janet Martin

As We Trust And Obey...

Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority,
because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account.
Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden,
for that would be of no benefit to you.

Heb.13:17

This verse was mentioned as we prayed for our church leaders in Sunday School and I thought 

about how leaders watch over/parent their church family in a way like moms and dads watch and pray and are vigilant about their son's and daughter's health...physical, emotional and spiritual!

My nephew was baptized on Sunday. 
We rejoice on such occasions and thank God!

But we also know the master of temptation is still on the prowl
 seeking those he may devour and the real fight has just begun!
May we all be faithfully prayerful for each other
that we may be godly in an ungodly world! 

I wrote the first two stanzas of the poem below before the kiddos arrived,

Sometimes its hard to pick up on the same train of thought 6 hours
and a morning of work and play between ...

...as I try to re-collect my thoughts while they nap😊

 Lord willing it is still close to what it started out to be...

Now on the verge of day a splurge of gold and blush emerge

To rush the height of heavens through and brush the night away

The mercies we depend upon renew love’s tender urge

No matter what today may hold to trust God, and obey

For we are in a fight against dark princes of the air

Soul-thirsty demons wait to take captive mind, heart and hand

Ah, without God to help us who the enemy could bear

And without His full armour who can evil’s war withstand

“Come all you who are heavy-laden. I will give you rest”

Compassion’s invitation is extended to us all

And if our God is for us we can overcome the test

Fear will not have dominion no matter what may befall

…where on the verge of dawn a splurge of color melts the dark

To rush the heights of heaven through and usher in new day

The mercies we depend upon renewed as we embark

To run the race, armed with God’s grace as we trust and obey

© Janet Martin

...and on this note I better skedaddle!

We are having a 'last summer-like day on this first day of October so I better

make good use of it and dig out the rest of those spuds!

I hope your are having a special Happy October 1st!