Interknit Duos...

 

Dawn sweeps the sands of Time

Beneath the starry deep

where duo of hope-love sublime

Extends God's faithful keep 

God is love and love is God, thus He instills in us His law

Birthing conflict; human-nature struggles because of sin’s flaw

Hope is love and love is hope; heaven's draw-bridge to sands of Time

Hope without God's love is hollow, like a bell without a chime

Joy and grief’s intrinsic marriage groans; love’s tears and laughter pour

While farewell, like a dark carriage parks its hearse outside each door

And we could not bear to suffer the appointments of this world

Without Hope and Love to buffer us against hurt’s shards unfurled

Without love and hope we wallow like a helpless, drowning man

Futile, all the fears we swallow without Faith’s faithful I AM

Hope secures love’s groaning lifeline while the storm with Sailor spars

Nay, God's love secures hope’s lifeline with a hand that bears love’s scars

© Janet Martin

Lyrics for
Jesus, Saviour, Pilot Me

Jesus, Saviour, pilot me
Over life's tempestuous sea;
Unknown waves before me roll,
Hiding rock and treach'rous shoal.
Chart and compass come from Thee.
Jesus, Saviour, pilot me.

 

 

As a mother stills her child,
Thou canst hush the ocean wild;
Boist'rous waves obey Thy will
When Thou sayest to them, "Be still!"
Wondrous Sovereign of the sea,
Jesus, Saviour, pilot me.

 

 

When at last I near the shore,
And the fearful breakers roar
'Twixt me and the peaceful rest,
Then, while leaning on Thy breast,
May I hear Thee say to me,
"Fear not, I will pilot thee."

Inexorable Equation

 This morning took a little extra push and shove to

rise and shine, live-laugh and love!

Chilled Beauty!

Heave-ho (I know, sometimes it's hard to get up and go)

But as we cling to a life-line of prayer

We can rest-assured in God's faithful care

Trouble lurks at every turn

Grace employs

Consequence is what we earn

After choice

Help is always close at hand

If we ask

God fits us through His command

For the task

He so rich in mercy heeds

Humble prayer

The supplier of our needs

As we share

Greed and love never agree

One usurps

Proving inexorably

Who we serve

© Janet Martin

This devotion ties in well with yesterday's poem...

Faith is not a Feeling

Faith Is not A Feeling

 This poem was inspired in part by our Sunday morning message from WBC

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,

 let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.

 And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,  

 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. 

For the joy set before him he endured the cross, 

scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  

 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners,

so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Heb.12:1-3

What a welcome the morning sky unfurled to the waking world,

where we walk/live, not by sight but Faith!

Hard to feel the way we should if we are strangers to God’s word

Hard to keep the crucial lines of right and wrong from being blurred

Hard to make the better choice if the voice we heed is our own

Hard to sharpen ir’n with i’rn if feeling is faith’s whetting stone

Hard to feel ‘never alone’ without His promises to gird

Hard to keep the ship on course without the compass of His word

Hard to turn the other cheek when what we seek is what we see

Hard to find comfort or peace without Faith in God’s surety

Hard to find true happiness if we depend on how we feel

Hard to live with thankfulness if circumstance governs Hope’s wheel

Hard to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind

Hard to let faith take the lead if courage is feeling-defined

Faith is more than matter subject to a feeling’s moody swings

Faith, the Substance of our hope and evidence of Hidden Things

Faith, though mustard seed in size can move a mountain to the sea

Faith is not a feeling, but God’s influence in you and me

© Janet Martin

Of Sweet, Sweet Motherhood

We are all mourning with them, as the gruesome details begin 

to unfold from the Tragedy in Nova Scotia, 

among the victims are mothers 

and fathers!
Nova Scotians feel a bit like extended family because that's where our son-in-law
grew up and his family lives!

Dear tired and precious mommy,

Hug your babies, no matter how old they are!

Makes motherhood feel like a pretty precious charge!

Today, amidst Covid-19 restrictions a local family

is laying their sweet mother to rest without friends and family around them!

Tell me please, why can we line up for blocks outside a Costco but

family members are not allowed to stand six-feet apart at a graveside?!

Only ten people are permitted to attend the burial-service.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Audrey Gingrich as well

"I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you."

Jesus~ 

John 14:18 

The needs that never cease; Her title decks no marbled hall

Where without love, fulfillment would be a battle, hard-fought

Lord, reawaken Her to more than chores; love’s highest call

Depends upon Her faithful giving-everything-she’s-got

With no standing ovation for the meals that she prepares

With no grand celebration as she tends to childish cares

While innocence depends upon Her love to show the way

And search out truth (lest God forbid) small soul be led astray

Then stoke within her heart of hearts the fire that needs no wood

But reignites and fans the sacred flame of motherhood

The charge that drains the buxom bloom is not a carefree Thing

Where innocence is soon a very human-natured test

The joy that spills in laughter keens Her deepest suffering

And often leaves Her feeling more exhausted than sweet-blessed

Where no one stands to cheer Her on in this amazing race

No trophy for the thousandth time she wipes a nose or face

But, by the grace of God, she finds contentment in the role

Of nurturer and guardian of both body and soul

As she surrenders other splendors for A Greater Good

And shoulders, like a soldier, the mandate of motherhood

Mothers never retire; there is no release from love

That drives Her to Her knees; that authors laughter, tears and prayers

Her hallmark of success, a tender track-record to prove

In spite of trips and stumbles just how utterly she cares

Where none of us are guaranteed to witness Today’s end

Making the needs that never cease an honor to attend

And suddenly the mother that was wearied by the task

Is stunned by Mercy’s Author granting more than she could ask

As beneath humble wings she gathers close Her precious brood

And thanks God for another day of sweet, sweet Motherhood

© Janet Martin

 Personal note: My mother is slowly but surely recovering from Covid-19.

she is 77 years old so she realizes her energy may take a while to return to normal!

Thank-you so much for the loving thoughts and prayers.

Continued prayers appreciated!

Dad is still in good health. PTL!

How Are We Praying?

"Prayer is the most.important thing you will ever do."
and

"Prayer is the most important event in our life!"

two quotes from Charles Stanley's message below

Rejoice at all times.

Pray without ceasing.

Give thanks in every circumstance, 

for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 

1 Thess.5:16-18 

Lest bitterness takes root and from it sprouts a deadly tare

Then lest it lessens strength while it compounds a weight of care

Teach me to rev'rence Thee, Oh Lord, for prayer is not a kite

To frantic'lly fling heavenward when things aren't working right

Lord, help me first to recognize Your divine holiness

Lest, not so much by word as deed I reject free access

Because the throne of grace is not some wishing-well-like thing

To toss down penny-wishes to a puppet on a string

…for prayer is not a quick-fix-it demand or pious nod

Prayer is faith’s humble reckoning and beckoning to God

So lest, I’m like a child prepared to snatch treats from a jar

My first request to You, oh God, is, teach me who You are

© Janet Martin

Today's devotion...