Worth Every While

Worth ev’ry change of plans; all we give up

Ev’ry heave-ho that drains youth’s favoured cup

Worth ev’ry second mile till we lose track

How many miles we have walked back to back

Worth ev’ry farewell-pang, worth ev’ry prayer

All we have given to prove that we care

Worth ev’ry sorrow no matter the cost

Worth ev’ry hour of sleep we have lost

Worth ev’ry while with nothing much to tell

Ev’ry perhaps that turns into ‘oh, well’

Worth ev’ry mistake, each grin, groan, grunt, oh

Worth every ache and painful letting go

Worth every kick-off, low-blow and high-five

Worth all the trouble it takes to survive

Worth all the wishes that never come true

Because of all the surprises that do

Worth all the lessons required to learn

It yields both bitter and sweeter return

Worth ev’ry flying-leap, face-plant, push-shove

This is the terrible worth of true love

© Janet Martin

Worth Every Tear

 Over and over we are reminded through loss

how much we ought to cherish what/who we have/love!

Two weeks ago a friend celebrated the birth of a grand-daughter 

and the sudden loss of her father...hours apart!

This past weekend my husband's cousin lost their eighteen year old son.

He was hit on his bicycle and killed instantly!
 (Please pray for this family as well as the other young man who hit him!!)

Joy turned to sorrow in the blink of an eye!

(for locals; the son of the owner of Whiffletree Farm and Nursery)

(these losses bear the added grief of absence of loved ones around them
because of Covid-19 restrictions!)

But something about love makes it worth every tear! 

So much joy to celebrate

Sorrow in disguise

Interweaves through love’s estate

Solemn compromise

Laughter’s sparkling melody

Spills its joyful score

Sorrow’s searing agony

Knocks outside the door

Joy, love’s gladsome buffer in

Certain recompense

Sorrow’s sacred suffering

Is love’s consequence

Love, ah who is brave enough

For grief’s rending shear

Ah, the tender joy of love

Is worth every tear

Sometimes fear could almost steal

Love's vulner'ble joy

But for love's succor to heal 

What naught can destroy

© Janet Martin

This and That

Fire kindled in the grate

Is a lovely thing

But run wild it is like hate

Very damaging

Self-defense with word swift-flung

Oft feels justified

Better to bridle the tongue

Quick to protect pride

Though the foothold may seem sound

Where people applaud

Reasoning is shaky ground

When we sidestep God

Time enough is wearing thin

Sacred filigree

The slipcover of our skin

Veils eternity

Left-foot-right-foot odyssey

Stumble-fumble cursed

Winning is not always he/she

Who finishes first

Keep your focus on the plow

Not on furrowed wakes

All we ever have is Now

…what a life it makes

© Janet Martin

Psalm 37

Do not fret because of those who are evil
    or be envious of those who do wrong;
² for like the grass they will soon wither,
    like green plants they will soon die away.

³ Trust in the Lord and do good;
    dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
⁴ Take delight in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

⁵ Commit your way to the Lord;
    trust in him and he will do this:
⁶ He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
    your vindication like the noonday sun.

⁷ Be still before the Lord
    and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
    when they carry out their wicked schemes.

⁸ Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
    do not fret—it leads only to evil.
⁹ For those who are evil will be destroyed,
    but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.

¹⁰ A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
    though you look for them, they will not be found.
¹¹ But the meek will inherit the land
    and enjoy peace and prosperity.

¹² The wicked plot against the righteous
    and gnash their teeth at them;
¹³ but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
    for he knows their day is coming.

¹⁴ The wicked draw the sword
    and bend the bow
to bring down the poor and needy,
    to slay those whose ways are upright.
¹⁵ But their swords will pierce their own hearts,
    and their bows will be broken.

¹⁶ Better the little that the righteous have
    than the wealth of many wicked;
¹⁷ for the power of the wicked will be broken,
    but the Lord upholds the righteous.

¹⁸ The blameless spend their days under the Lord’s care,
    and their inheritance will endure forever.
¹⁹ In times of disaster they will not wither;
    in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.

²⁰ But the wicked will perish:
    Though the Lord’s enemies are like the flowers of the field,
    they will be consumed, they will go up in smoke.

²¹ The wicked borrow and do not repay,
    but the righteous give generously;
²² those the Lord blesses will inherit the land,
    but those he curses will be destroyed.

²³ The Lord makes firm the steps
    of the one who delights in him;
²⁴ though he may stumble, he will not fall,
    for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

²⁵ I was young and now I am old,
    yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
    or their children begging bread.
²⁶ They are always generous and lend freely;
    their children will be a blessing.^[b]

²⁷ Turn from evil and do good;
    then you will dwell in the land forever.
²⁸ For the Lord loves the just
    and will not forsake his faithful ones.

Wrongdoers will be completely destroyed^[c];
    the offspring of the wicked will perish.
²⁹ The righteous will inherit the land
    and dwell in it forever.

³⁰ The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom,
    and their tongues speak what is just.
³¹ The law of their God is in their hearts;
    their feet do not slip.

³² The wicked lie in wait for the righteous,
    intent on putting them to death;
³³ but the Lord will not leave them in the power of the wicked
    or let them be condemned when brought to trial.

³⁴ Hope in the Lord
    and keep his way.
He will exalt you to inherit the land;
    when the wicked are destroyed, you will see it.

³⁵ I have seen a wicked and ruthless man
    flourishing like a luxuriant native tree,
³⁶ but he soon passed away and was no more;
    though I looked for him, he could not be found.

³⁷ Consider the blameless, observe the upright;
    a future awaits those who seek peace.^[d]
38 But all sinners will be destroyed;
    there will be no future^[e] for the wicked.

³⁹ The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord;
    he is their stronghold in time of trouble.
⁴⁰ The Lord helps them and delivers them;
    he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
    because they take refuge in him.

Happy Birthday, Matt!

 Happy 22nd Birthday, Matt!

We are so blessed and thankful by the laughter and love you bring to our home!
Whether you're working, working out, laughing and sharing crazy youtube videos,

or discussing life's more serious side,
may God bless and lead you in the year ahead!

The mettle of a runner is not proven at the start

The middle-to-end of the race proves who we are at heart

The most important matter is not how the race began

But how we finish that confirms the measure of a man

Then choose to be strong in the Lord; the power of His might

No matter what may try and test, will fit you for the fight

Do not be wise in your own eyes (for we see but in part)

We walk by faith and not by sight; Trust God with all your heart

Young man, rejoice while you are young but keep one thing in mind

The greatest mark of success is to be honest and kind

For these will bring true happiness through living’s highs and lows

And leave a good example for Small Fellow who follows

Who knows what you must brave before you reach the other side

While fire pulses in your veins with many dreams untried

Remember this, while you are young and feeling fit and fine

The measure of a man is proven at the Finish Line

© Janet Martin

Ecclesiastes 11:9

Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, 

and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. 

Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. 

But know that for all these things 

God will bring you into judgment.
 

Titus 2:6 NKJV

Likewise, exhort the young men to be sober-minded,  

1 Cor.9:24
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run,

 but only one gets the prize? 

Run in such a way as to get the prize.