Sunday Morning Social-Distancing Meditation

Behold, God is mighty and despiseth not any:

He is mighty in strength and wisdom...

Job 36:5

Behold, God exalteth by His power:

Who teacheth like Him?

Job 36:22

Behold God is great,

and we know Him not

neither can the number of His years be searched out.

Job. 36:26

God thundereth marvelously with His voice;

great things doth He which we cannot comprehend.

Job 37:5

...He causeth it to come:

whether for correction, or for His land or mercy.

Hearken unto this, O Job:

stand still and consider the wondrous works of God

Job 37:13-14

Timely devotion this morning...

 

Oh Lord, what we perceive as bad You work for our good

Then help us trust Your promises no matter what we face

Forgive us when we fear because of Love misunderstood

Remind us of the all-sufficient power of Your grace

How faithful through each season You Have Been, Are and Will be

Then change mind’s art of reason to heart of humility

The battle is not ours, save upon knees with head bowed

Lest we become proud, let us pray then watch You intervene

Help us not to rebel but accept what Your love allowed/allows

Through substance of things hoped for; evidence of things not seen

You work for our good; we who would soon forget

If You did not wake and shake us from attitudes sight-set

Oh Lord, You see beyond the comprehension of our thought

And long for us to lean upon the Pillar of Your Word

For Lord God, you are faithful and Your promises fail not

(Though doubt would oft creep in without faith’s embers raked and stirred)

Remind us who You are; oh Mighty Shepherd of Your sheep

Lord, heal this nation through the thorn that wakes us from our sleep

Surely Lord, thou dost shudder at the ignorance of we

Who dare to challenge Thoughts that taught the seed and wrought the star

Who even with the wisdom that we glean can never see

More than the outer fringes, Holy God, of who You are

Who works for our good in ways too wondrous too descry

The artist of the peacock’s plume, the ocean’s floor, the sky

Lord, let us never dare to curse the One who grants The Way

From death and hell to everlasting life; You paid the price

Lord, let us live in earnest heed of that sure Judgement Day

Remembering obedience better than sacrifice

And as we plead to Thee, oh Great Physician of the Soul

Help us trust Thy Deity to  truly makes us whole

© Janet Martin

"who ever imagined this?!" hubby and I said as we were turning in last night

and thinking  about Sunday # 3 of no  'assembling of ourselves together'...

Thankfully we can worship right where we are 

but we sure do miss the fellowship of togetherness!

Momentous Mold

We are having a full-on dose of gray today

after a few gold-splashed lovelies! 

Lo and behold, the grey and gold that fuels have and hold and such

Bursts at the seams, surges and streams birthing requiems soon lost to touch

*Eddy and whirl, teddy and girl caught on a swirl of sequined mist

Your sky is young, time’s galleon a ship laden with dreamer’s grist

Now push, now pull, morning is full of moment-tulle soon worn and torn

Now work-play-pray, up and away the tattered fray of day is borne

Now wake and sleep and laugh and weep; where none can keep one wisp or sigh

Of gray or gold as have and hold becomes the mold of days gone by

© Janet Martin

*for my granddaughter who turns one today but

Whose birthday will be remembered as the one we had to celebrate from afar

Due to social-distancing due to COVID-19

Torrent of Tick and Tock

It runs us through and through

Where soon the new is old

And what we once were sure we knew

Must stretch and reach and fold

Triumph and defeat meld

Like paint upon a tray

The dream, always somewhat withheld

To drive us day to day

…a rush of highs and lows

Soon tatter like a reed

Tossed in a wind that stilly blows

And turns the bloom to seed

Alas and hip-hooray

Turns seasons into years

In dappled dash of day to day

A lifetime disappears

But look; the paling sky

Allots to push and pull

A fresh-from-heaven me-oh-my

To be lived to the full

...and not to be received

With hearts that pine and brood  

But to let our best be achieved

Through humble gratitude

© Janet Martin

some references in this poem like 'push and pull' and 'painter's tray' might be

inspired, due to the fact that I've been painting for the past few days...

Laundry room and kitchen dining area done...

main kitchen today if life allows.

Four years ago I start painting the kitchen,

suddenly life crowded in and four years disappeared.

so this time, by hook and by crook,

I hope to finish it! 

So teach us to number our days,

 That we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Psalm 90:12

Age Appropriating...

As the full bloom diminishes

true Beauty remains...

Happy Birthday, Lucy,

A beautiful woman inside and out!

Hope it's a memorable day in spite of social-distancing. Wink 😉

 God bless and keep!

A light-hearted post in the middle of lots of serious conversation💕

At our age we ought to be

Content to sit, knit and drink tea

Or so I thought when were still

A whole lot younger and much more care-free

At our age I thought we would

Be purely sensible and good

Forgetting that which was behind

We’d be laid-back grandmas doing everything we should

When we were half our age or less

I thought by fifty-something-ness

We would be quite the patient pro

At letting go of things back then we couldn’t even guess

Where happiness, pray we have learned

Is found in days soon un-returned

And we had better make the most

Of moments kissing us with wrinkles laugh-lines squarely-earned

At our age we ought to be

Sedate and very matronly

But just between the two of us

Let’s stay a little nuts because it suits us perfectly

© Janet Martin

Living The Proof

"We say the most about ourselves by our prayer-life" I heard someone say recently,

"Because in prayer there is nothing to prove and no one to impress."

Lord, there is nothing hidden from your gaze; You know us well

This frame of numbered days the sacred temple You indwell

Forgive us when we swagger and forget what Your grace grants

Protect us from pride’s deadly dagger pleasing at first glance

The way to you does not pass through the lap of luxury

How (often painful) is the path to true humility

Forgive us when we try to sway Your mind with blind request

When the way you design is always purposed for our best

Teach us to pray; equipped through fellowship with You, oh God

Where we are stripped of showmanship (you see through its façade)

Then, by this divine hour let the power of Your might

Secure us in the Armour that will fit us for the fight

This day that You have made is more than sunrise to sunset

Where cares of life invade and we remember or forget

How great you are and who we were before You set us free

To choose this day Who we will serve and honour faithfully 

In Your name we pray,

Amen

© Janet Martin

 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. 

With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

Eph.6:18