Of Firsts and Finals

Why is it that we He who is above all

and astonishes us to no end with wonders great and small

 Shepherd of My Soul

He does not ask more from us than that which He first provides 

He never bids us go but where His faithfulness presides 

He guides all those who seek Him first before footsteps advance 

Knowing our God is always greater than the circumstance 

He loves us, how He loves us while we learn love’s costly price 

Of offering our bodies as a living sacrifice 

For the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak unless 

We first seek the kingdom of God and this; His righteousness 

Obedience is better than sacrifice, says the Lord 

Happy are they who trust in Him and delight in his Word 

Forbid we dare to barter till we boldly disobey 

The Author of Salvation who has first and final say 

Finally, be strong in the Lord, the power of His might 

First put on His full armour to be equipped for the fight 

So that we can discern between truth and almost-truth, cursed 

That deceives us into thinking our ‘happiness’ comes first 

© Janet Martin

1 Pet.5:5-7

Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. 

Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for

“God resists the proud,

But gives grace to the humble.”

6Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God,

 that He may exalt you in due time,

  7casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

The Gravity of Seeds

 

We all want a healthy harvest but wanting isn't enough;

to harvest what we hope for takes the long, hard work of Love

Hang in there, fellow field-hands!

Proverbs 16:2

All a man's ways are pure in his own eyes, 

but his motives are weighed out by the LORD.

Through dad's life he proved the deed/'seed'

above was far more than 'getting in mother-in-law's good books.

His life is a legacy of helpfulness.

And isn't it ironic how even in harvest time 

we are planting and watering.

Gal.6:9

 Let us not become weary in doing good, 

for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Sometimes we are so weary and tempted to despair, but God is faithful...

2 Thess. 3:3

But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you 

and guard you from the evil one

Prayer for Today.

"Lord, let us sense the seeds we strew

and recognize the recompense

when harvest time comes due,

In Thy Name we pray

Amen

It matters, for we scatter seeds 

Through every high and low 

Where words and prayers and fruit of deeds 

At Harvest Time will show 

It matters, what we think upon 

Where, who we choose to serve 

Will either make us weak or strong 

When life throws us a curve 

It matters, how we proceed thus 

Trailblazers of a kind 

For little feet that follow us 

Not very far behind 

It matters, what we say and do 

The ‘why’ of yes and no 

Like little seeds we strew and strew 

That grow and grow and grow

It matters; Every. Single. Day

No matter where life leads

Its ups and downs will soon display

The gravity of seeds

It matters. No one can mock God

The hand reaps what it sows

Where what seems hidden in time's sod

The harvest will expose

© Janet Martin 

Proverbs 20:11
Even a young man is known by his actions--

whether his conduct is pure and upright.

Matthew 7:20
So then, by their fruit you will recognize them.

Perfect Wings

Soon the bud will unfold

soon the gray will be gold

soon the cocoon of why

will free the butterfly

oh, for all the woe and hunger this life wills

it does not stopper the fount that spills 

with thrills of its sweetest loveliest things

like babies and flowers and butterfly wings!

It trembles like a butterfly 

Unfurling perfect wings 

From a cocoon of sod and sky 

Like day breaks through night’s strings 

To meadows decked in seasoned sweeps 

Of pink, white, green and gold 

It shimmers, glimmers, laughs and weeps 

As its colours unfold 

It trundles down the country lane 

And rolls across the shore 

It sparkles in each drop of rain 

It fills the bud with More 

It flits through fingertips and stars 

It drips and roars and spins 

A deluge from unstoppered jars 

Pouring out groans and grins 

It tries the patience of the young 

It tests time’s wizened ways 

A strange essence of pictures hung 

Just beyond our gaze 

It wafts, as soft as snowflakes fall 

Then sets its steps in stone 

Where, after it has decked earth’s hall 

No legions can dethrone 

It keeps us all on common ground 

Momentous mystery 

Where tick by tock it is unwound 

In what yet waits to be 

Where what yet waits to be is not 

Shadows and tangled strings 

It is the promises of God 

Unfurling Perfect Wings 

© Janet Martin 

Psalm 63:7
For You are my help; I will sing for joy in the shadow of Your wings.

Stepping Stones

 

Each Step I Take

How futile, if we walk by faith 

To peer ahead too far 

But ask the Lord to lead the way 

Exactly where we are 

To place our plans and hopes and dreams 

Into the Hands of He 

Who always tenderly esteems 

His best for you and me 

To entrust to His Righteous sake 

Each dread, fear, wish and whim 

And strive, with every step we take 

To walk, by faith, in Him

Beneath our footsteps, one by one

God sets each stepping stone

Faith feels for it and forges on

Faith never walks alone 

© Janet Martin

For we live by faith, 

not by sight.

2 Cor.5:7

Adagio Composers

Mondays, especially gray ones, especially during lockdowns

 can feel a bit heavy some weeks, 

but it takes the ebb and flow of high and low 

to compose Masterpiece Adagios.

We are still in the middle of what could will be

a Masterpiece, if we put our faith in the 

Forever Faultless, Faithful Keeper of fumbling 'composers'!

Where highs and lows compete 

With shores that disappear

Where Today spreads a music sheet 

Replete with Now and Here

Where love and longing spark 

A strange adagio 

Like waves that roll across the heart 

In soulful ebb and flow 

Where darksome, daily grind 

And laughter, silver-teal 

Will fill the bars soon left behind

With symphonies, surreal 

Where what we have and hold 

Is soon the wafting fray 

Of melodies that fill the old 

-en world of yesterday 

Where swift, soft moments splay 

Gilt lilt of high and low 

To compose with notes of today 

Morrow’s adagio 

© Janet Martin 

Adagios

This morning's Daily Bread Devotion Bible Reading-

Psalm 121

I will lift up my eyes to the hills—

From whence comes my help?

2 My help comes from the Lord,

Who made heaven and earth.

3 He will not allow your foot to [a]be moved;

He who keeps you will not slumber.

4 Behold, He who keeps Israel

Shall neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord is your [b]keeper;

The Lord is your shade at your right hand.

6 The sun shall not strike you by day,

Nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord shall [c]preserve you from all evil;

He shall preserve your soul.

8 The Lord shall preserve[d] your going out and your coming in

From this time forth, and even forevermore.

The Painful Art of Learning...How to Trust

Here's to this New Year's Workouts!

While body-building exercises can be painful and teeth-gritting

I've discovered trust-honing is a far more painful

and patience-building process;

it's heart-gripping exercises often

performed with the invisible weight of waiting,

it's endurance test challenging kindness, generosity and humility.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy 

and peace as you trust in him, 

so that you may overflow with hope 

by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Rom.15:13

I chose the above verse for this year's Christmas Card

because it seems esp. meaningful/fitting right now,

and I still forget its attitude/Fortitude, far too easily! 

(maybe because deep down I'm trying to

handle 'trust' too much on my own

and not by the power of the Holy Spirit)

Prayer for today:

Oh God, help us, through you, to trust You

and not get caught up in the noise of arguments

that accomplish nothing good for your purpose,

In Jesus' Name

Amen

This poem is a bit of heart-fray...

This tattered, frayed, shattered, 

Disappointment-smattered 

Shorn, weary-worn, forlorn, 

Sorrow-torn Hope 

This lot, often caught in 

A tangle of angles 

And wrangles; Its ‘paint’ 

Well-acquainted with ‘nope’ 

This mixety-maxety 

No quick-fix calamity 

Pricking, swift-kicking, 

Sticking-points galore 

This rough, tough kerfuffle 

With stuff, love and trouble 

Is enough to ruffle 

Faith’s feathers, for sure 

This stretched-to-the -limit 

Where minute by minute 

Its gamut is fresh-stymied 

With giants of dust 

This hunger-prone, bent-to-hone

Wild burning yearning 

Is but the heart learning 

The art of true trust 

© Janet Martin 

One of my go-to pick-me-upper songs

Jesus, Only Jesus

Gift-Receiver

An oft used reminder because we so easily forget...

Psalm 118:24

This is the day the Lord has made; (isn't that just the most sacred thought?!!)

We will rejoice and be glad in it (or will we?) 

So many things can spout through the thought process 

and not affect us one iota until we recognize God's sovereignty and

supreme love for us!

What is Man that He is mindful of us?!!

Gorgeous gift-wrap these past few mornings...

Lowered upon a gleaming tray 

The streaming sky unveils 

A never-again gift; Today 

From He who never fails 

This privilege to be a part 

Of the Creator’s plan 

Should kindle passion in the heart 

To do the best we can 

To be a careful curator 

Of moment-measured lease 

That always turns to so much more 

As aftermaths increase 

To be aware of Who allots 

The portion of our days 

And always tune the crux of thoughts 

First and foremost, to praise 

Today; more than Time set adrift 

God gifts its live-love-learn 

Oh, what, at dusk will be the gift 

We offer in return 

© Janet Martin 

Valley-Value

This morning the 'valley' is dazzled in crystal gilt!

This Valley we sense with dread, that looms ahead, is no laughing matter,

but a dire prayer-priority!

But the God of the mountain is still God in the valley!

God On The mountain- Lynda Randle

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, 

I will fear no evil; For You are with me; 

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

Psalm 23:4

Not only on the hilltop where the view pleases our eyes 

After we have come through the valley where the shadow lies 

Where Faith in Who we cannot see puts courage to the test 

And causes us to reevaluate our daily quest 

Not only where we gaze, amazed at Mercy’s autograph 

But where we bear the bittersweet brunt of both rod and staff 

Where discipline is never pleasant in what it exacts 

In order to attune us to more than opinion’s facts 

Not only where we stare and paint the air with poetry 

But beneath the dark scalpel that hones heart’s humility 

Where we feel the way forward on faith-shards of stuttered prayers 

And learn the love-language of trust stripped of religious airs 

Not only where the panorama woos our oohs and aahs 

But where we grope and cling to Hope and love’s unflinching Cause 

To teach us not to worry but to find firm confidence 

By giving God the glory through trust and obedience 

Then, when at last behind us lies the valley we passed through 

Whether in earth or Heaven, we will find God, kind and true 

Where, better far than fleeting pleasure that never fulfills 

Is Mercy’s hidden treasure that the peace of God instills 

© Janet Martin