Wednesday, November 4, 2020

November Dusk Aria


Whiling the While till the supper crew comes home...

Something soft and gentle as November's early twilight mantle falls...



When dusk is like a painting on a pedestal of air 
When earth is reacquainting sod and sea with dimming flare 
When blush-blue velvet duvet shrouds the shoulders of spent day 
It seems a fitting homage to bow our heads and pray 

For never-failing grandeur from a Hand we cannot see 
He tucks November’s contours beneath twilight’s canopy 
And deepens with  sky-mantle, the ebbing landscape until 
Earth is snuffed like a candle on an autumn window-sill 

For articulate tugging on ties no one can define 
As dark of night is hugging dusk’s westward horizon-line
For sense of Gentle Presence staying just beyond our gaze 
Stirring in souls an essence when interpreted, is praise 

It seems fitting to thank Him as history claims its due 
In autumn-twilight anthem, for His never-changing view 
O'er nation against nation, He ushers in evening 
Fans feathers of compassion, tucks the world beneath His wing 


© Janet Martin 








Hopeless Until...



Lots of opportunity to analyze all kinds of angles
today as we wait and wait...
because Canada cares!!


What is Man? Johnny Cash


When we begin to contemplate 
The motive for the want we wait 
For; when weighed in the balance of 

When we strip worry down to size
To find Self its ultimate prize
Then when its offense is confessed
And Intention is reassessed

When we come face to face with 'I'
And all the truths that cannot lie
Then we acknowledge, we are dust 
Hopeless, until in God we trust 


© Janet Martin 

Psalm 8

O Lord, our Lord,
How excellent is Your name in all the earth,
Who have set Your glory above the heavens!

2 Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants
You have [b]ordained strength,
Because of Your enemies,
That You may silence the enemy and the avenger.

3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
4 What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You visit[c] him?
5 For You have made him a little lower than [d]the angels,
And You have crowned him with glory and honor.

6 You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
7 All sheep and oxen—
Even the beasts of the field,
8 The birds of the air,
And the fish of the sea
That pass through the paths of the seas.

9 O Lord, our Lord,
How excellent is Your name in all the earth!



Let's Look If We're Able (at Mercy's set table)

 


Because all of our hearts are kinda in our throats right now
as we wait, pray and wonder...

He wasn't pretty
the first snowman of the year,
but he was loved!





Let’s look if we’re able 
At mercy’s set table 
And leave to the Lord what we ought 
This earth runneth over 
With joys to discover 
Like a four-season garden plot 
The blessings that matter, 
Like child’s carefree chatter 
As they slip their hand into ours 
The faithful adorning 
Of beautiful morning 
As night’s bud bursts forth in fresh flowers 


Let’s be boldly honest 
Because of the Promise 
-es God made, trustworthy and true 
Time’s delicate suture 
That holds back the future 
Throbs with what God said He will do 
So ours is to listen 
Where frosted fields glisten, 
Where orbit of season-tide tolls 
To usher the plunder 
That gushes with wonder 
That thunders through awe-smitten souls 

Let’s cherish the summons 
Of what may seem common 
But is mortal’s Magnum Opus 
The season’s first snowman 
The burst of affection 
From hearts still without prejudice 
Let’s savour sweet laughter 
To treasure long after 
Its sparkle of pleasure subsides 
Let’s look if we’re able 
At love’s laden table 
Where Goodness and Mercy abides 

© Janet Martin 

Every so often while snowman was in the works
Little Girl would ask,
Hot chocolate, cookie time?
Finally 'not yet' turned to 'yes!'
making the treat so much sweeter for the waiting!




The faithful adorning 
Of beautiful morning 
As night’s bud bursts forth in fresh flowers 



Numbers 23:19
God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, 
that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? 
Does He promise and not fulfill?


Deuteronomy 7:9
Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, 
the faithful God who keeps His covenant of loving devotion 
for a thousand generations of those who love Him 
and keep His commandments.


1 Corinthians 1:9
God, who has called you into fellowship 
with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.




Tuesday, November 3, 2020

Of Temporal Temples



The Thing to remember
while we are in this world
(but not of) is not only who, but what we are!
We are His temple, bought with a price!

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, 
who is in you, whom you have received from God? 
You are not your own;
you were bought at a price. 
Therefore honor God with your bodies.






Temporal temple this, tormented though it be 
The enemies of Righteousness cannot thwart ‘Christ in me’ 
The dwelling place of Hope chose frames of skin and bone 
As Faith receives the Holy Spirit; we are not our own 
Then, when the way seems dark and troubled waters roll 
Let His Spirit (whose temple now we are) our hearts console 

The merit of a man is nothing without He 
To Whom each knee will bow when we don immortality 
Holy, holy, the trek from cradle to the grave 
Where Time is but the speck before we meet Mighty to Save 
And temples temporal put on forever evermore 
The Immortality of He whose temple now we are 

© Janet Martin 

2 Cor. 4:16
Therefore we do not lose heart. 
Though outwardly we are wasting away, 
yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.

John 17:20-23

Jesus Prays for All Believers

20 “My prayer is not for them alone.
 I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 
21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. 
May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 
22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 
23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. 
Then the world will know that you sent me 
and have loved them even as you have loved me.


Monday, November 2, 2020

Peek Into Poetic Passion (part two)

 



Peek into Poetic Passion (part two) 
This poem in reply to justified queries; 
How many poems (about August or Autumn) can one write?!

Just like the painter's tray...

Holds pictures to no end...


Just like the Painter’s Tray 
Holds pictures to no end 
The palette of the alphabet 
Is the poet’s best friend 

So many ways to spill 
Quill-colour into art 
Ten-thousand sheets cannot deplete 
The spectrum of the heart 

Thus seasons cannot drain 
Potentiality 
Where all of life is running rife 
With unpenned poetry 

Modern-day pioneers 
And trail-blazers of Time 
The poet’s Must kicks up star-dust 
On stilts of lilt and rhyme 

Thank God, He made no end 
To the extent of ways 
The poet’s heart can unearth art 
From ordinary days 

Thank God, so good and kind
He authors dawn, unscathed
Like a fresh page beneath the wage
Of scribbles, mercy-bathed
 
As long as earth remains 
Seedtime and harvest burst 
Through daybreak’s door with seas that pour 
To unrequited Thirst 

And nothing short of death 
Can quell the poet’s charge 
To softly snare from lofts of air 
Poetry, still at large 


© Janet Martin 









What Pity is a Bitty Ditty Then or (A Peek Inside Poetic Passion)


Often I'm a little super awkward and tongue-tied
when someone compliments and expresses appreciation for
the poetry here. 
Often  the embarrassed thank-you or the stutter
does not reflect the appreciation for the kind words of encouragement.
But I want to say a sincere thank-you/welcome! to visitors from
all over the globe who stop by this little poem-porch
whether for the photos,
 the blurb before the poem,
( some not-so-much-poetry-lovers have admitted
is why they enjoy dropping by) 
or the poem
Also, I want to attempt to give you a bit of a glimpse into the reason
I pursue passionately the potential of ink!
This blog is the offspring of prayer.
I pray about the poem,
the scripture, the picture.
I pray for and to God
be the glory!
And I pray for you!
That you are encouraged, blessed and challenged!
So to all who have suffered my fumbled responses,
there is an ocean of emotion behind
 each very heart-full
thank-you!!

This is the view from my porch this morning;
Quite a white awakening!



Far deeper than the pleasure of the poem 
The poet appraises the flight of ink 
The essence of a butterfly, a storm 
More than a tug on ties of Feel and Think 

Far broader than the page a poem ought 
To span. For man is merchant of the mind 
And heart. The war twixt emotion and thought 
Is like summer and winter intertwined 

Far weightier than pen, the parchment’s toll 
From belfries, paper thin and commonplace 
To influence the sacred crux of Soul 
With more than a half-smile upon the face 

Far mightier than sword is the effect 
Of written word. Far deeper than the thrill 
When inklings and emotions rush unchecked 
By the invasion of the poet’s quill 

What pity is a bitty ditty then 
If ink is but an entertaining nod 
If wonder is the plunder of a pen 
Rather than an awakening to God 

© Janet Martin 


1 Cor.10:31
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, 
do it all for the glory of God.


A Very Relevant Reminder


The eyes of the world are on the United States of America
and the impending election.
The eyes of God are over the world.
He is sovereign!

I will praise the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save.
Psalm 146:2-3

I shared this message before the last election.
I know it's a bit long for a blog-post but
it's a sermon that seems to grow ever more, not less relevant!
Canadians are deeply concerned and connected to what happens 
'south of the border'!









the above is a sermon preached by Peter Marshall  
whose later career included;
In 1937 Marshall became pastor of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC
In 1946 he was appointed as US Senate Chaplain, 
serving from January 4, 1947 until his sudden death of a heart attack 
just over two years later, at age 46.
Click on the images to enlarge.

 It seems this message preached shortly after 
World War II is even more relevant now than then!
and not only for Americans.
This applies to all of us who value freedom!

The eyes of God are over all
The creature plots or prays
And often gets enamored by
The lie of captured gaze

Freedom's price tag is bathed in blood
The truth that sets us free
Is greater than the belly of
Fleeting mortality 

I lay a precious stone
A tested cornerstone for faith
To ever rely on

If we reject the Cornerstone
We spurn He who sustains
Lord, open up blind eyes to Truth
While mercy yet remains

The eyes of You are over all
You are Sovereign and just
Dear Lord, You see beneath flesh-shawl
Whether 'In God We Trust'
 
And as we see the Evidence
Of infidels increase
Enlarge through faith the confidence
That fills us with Your peace

© Janet Martin 

Sunday, November 1, 2020

Of Living's Ways


The dark days of November are upon us! 
If it wasn't for God's mercy 'new every morning'
if it wasn't for his faithful forgiveness
His promises since The Beginning, The Word
we would all be doomed to dark despair.

Take heart, fellow believers, the darkest days of living's ways
run through the light and righteousness of God.



Security of Those Who Trust in the LORD, 
and Insecurity of the Wicked.

A Psalm of David.

1Do not fret because of evildoers,
Be not envious toward wrongdoers.

2For they will wither quickly like the grass
And fade like the green herb.

3Trust in the LORD and do good;
Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.

4Delight yourself in the LORD;
And He will give you the desires of your heart.

5Commit your way to the LORD,
Trust also in Him, and He will do it....see more


Hello Rainy first day of November!

October's thrills with all its colour-induced oohs and aahs
joins the cast where all Is becomes Was.


The door to Bygone’s corridors is barred 
The ebb and flow of hard and rosy days 
Slips to the place where only echoes guard 
The happiness and hurt of living’s ways 

What waits to spill through gates of dawn, none knows 
What tint and tenure pours then melds into 
Shadowlands of abandoned highs and lows 
Where only trains of thought can rumble through 

The way we are due to the aftermath 
Of choice and circumstance, is poised upon 
The entrance-way to an unbroken path 
That renewed mercy metes in every dawn 

…to lavish living’s ways with faithful grace 
That helps us face survivals of regret 
That run through God’s immutable embrace 
To author hope for roads not taken yet 

© Janet Martin 


- Keith & Kristyn Getty