Gift Over Gift or Ode to Loveliness

 Look! Loveliness is like a Rembrandt of Reason Renewed!

Every good and perfect gift is from above, 

coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, 

who does not change like shifting shadows.

James 1:17

And if all else fails...Earl Grey Tea😋

Look! Loveliness is lilting in lyrics of sound and sight 

It spills in sweet surprises, stirring sighs of sheer delight 

Where ‘we’, the best word in the world, are altogether bound 

By high and low, wonder and woe bestowing common ground 

Look! Loveliness is lavishing the way from here to there 

(Without the love that authors it we wouldn’t have a prayer) 

But God, so rich in mercy knew that we would need a lift 

From time to time, so ushered to life’s climb/clime, gift over gift 

Look! Loveliness is lending what soon farewell will enfold 

Where brokenness would break us without beauty to behold 

Where hope and heartache tug and war and weather tethered strings 

And we are never very far from what tomorrow brings 

Look! Loveliness is leaving so much to be thankful for 

In spite of all we lack or wish we could take back, the door 

Is always open leading to where we have never trod 

Ah, look! The Hand that holds it open is the hand of God 

Look! Loveliness is like a Rembrandt of Reason Renewed 

It rouses from the rubble, humble hymns of gratitude 

And beckons us to better what we can, no more, no less 

Then entrust all the rest to He who grants each loveliness 

© Janet Martin 

Wishing you lots of loveliness in your corner of creation!

Trickle Effect or Tsunami

 

Oh, the sacred runnel 

that runs through channels

 where its trickle effect

sets the course of  lives 

that are not even born yet!

The trickle is fed by a source

It courses from, into

a force far greater than the crater

that it first ran through... 

  Somewhere the thundering power of Niagara Falls 

is fed by a trickle...

It seems invisible at first; The progeny Thought breeds 

In an arena that hosts entertainment and neglect 

But Evidence is soon unveiled in the bold font of deeds 

A virile force that sets the course of thought’s trickle effect 

The guests we host, of good or ill soon spill seeds of its kind 

Where what we do and say begins in thought’s ivory cell 

With how we satisfy the howling hunger of the mind 

And prove who we love best by what quest and interest tell 

Thought is a battlefield; the wars twixt enemy and Friend 

(Though we brandish no weapons to expose its crucial spree) 

Are fought where we are prone to forget aftermaths that wend 

In striking trickle effects of pride or humility 

Thought is the control-tower of the body that displays 

The Trickle Effect of Influence; what a sacred spring 

That feeds the Fount that bleeds into the voice that choice obeys 

And makes what seemed invisible the Most Apparent Thing 

The Trickle Effect may seem unassuming at first glance 

A gathering tsunami veiled in Equilibrium 

That cannot long contain the force that roars with allegiance 

To stay or change the course of generations yet to come 

© Janet Martin

2 Cor.10:5

...and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Phil.4:8

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, 

whatever is noble, whatever is right, 

whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, 

whatever is admirable--

if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--

think about such things.

Time Travel-ers

Time teases today's tableau with a topper of brooding blue...

Time’s tender, slender blip that slips its seasons through our skin 

Launches from yonder mothership, dawn’s Beauty of Begin 

It shakes out starry tresses, wakening our wonder to 

The Faithfulness that blesses us with breath of day brand-new 

Time’s wonder-full and sorrow-full and colorful collage 

Turns temporary Today into echo-decoupage 

The beautiful and terrible inevitably meld 

Into mem’ry-mosaics of moments we briefly held 

Time’s fragile, agile, potent, voracious velocity 

That no one can deny though time itself, no one can see 

Is the gifted bestowal from He to Whom we owe all 

Though some deny the Existence of The Invisible 

Time’s one-and-only, sometimes lonely, lovely thoroughfare 

Is quite a holy day and night appointed here to Where 

There is no turning back the clock to refill its fair fount 

Thus, this should be the impetus to make each moment count 

For Time is like a ledge that holds the candle-stick of life 

Death is the lurking wedge that wields its mantle, like a knife 

And when the flame is snuffed that stands between love and the goal 

Time is the ash that rend the sash that unveils God and Soul 

© Janet Martin 

Eccles.3:11

He has made everything beautiful in its time.

 He has also set eternity in the human heart;

 yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

Uncomplicated...

Shall we share a picnic

Bit o' bread (scone) and tea? (coffee)?

Shall we go together...

 

Shall we go together? 

Come whatever may 

Life is so much better 

When weathered this way 

Shall we sit a little 

Underneath the sky 

While the jot and tittle 

Of time passes by 

Shall we share a picnic 

Bit o’ bread and tea 

Marvel as a minute 

Makes a memory 

© Janet Martin 

The Way It Is...

 

Here I Am Lord-Daniel O'Donnell

From Charles Spurgeon's Sermon- How To Please God

(I shared the below excerpt recently but resharing it because

of its profound apparentness)

 

Modern Theology...takes man from what is Written to what is thought.

It does not allow the sovereign Authority of Revelation and in disallowing that

their very foundations are removed, and much of the abounding vice of this day is

the direct result of this abounding unbelief in God, this

philosophical mistrust in Infinite Wisdom

The plush hush of first light covers the earth with birth of day 

The raven tress of night is gathered up and brushed away 

Sight is regaled with beauty midst the brokenness of This; 

The ever never-changing duty to The Way It Is 

The Way It Is, is partly circumstance and part reply 

A tug of war twixt defiance and humble ‘here am I’ 

A battle between logic and obedience and trust 

Before the Soul is siphoned from time’s toll of dust-to-dust 

Arrogance and atheism result in anarchy 

The lawlessness of Godlessness, its awful tragedy 

Where, hidden in The Way It Is, trembles The Way Toward 

Where consequence of carelessness no creature can afford 

From eastward brink expands the pink proof of mercy renewed 

Love beckons us to come and drink hope’s ink with gratitude 

Where, ever in the Way It Is, founts of love and light brim 

With God’s abiding faithfulness to guide us back to Him 

© Janet Martin 

Deut, 31:6

Be strong and courageous. 

Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, 

for the Lord your God goes with you; 

he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

What If, After All The Laughter...

No laughing matter if...

What if, after all the laughter...

all the flowers that we held...

What if after all the laughter, 

All the flowers that we held 

We have nothing left that matters 

When our fleeting frame is felled 

What if, after so much pardoned 

After precious mem’ries made 

We depart with heart still hardened 

Never trusted, never prayed 

What if, after we have tasted 

Mercy-upon-mercy poured 

We have ultimately wasted 

The Gift that we just ignored 

(The Gift offered by the Lord)

What if we are not forgiven 

What if we never receive 

The inheritance of Heaven 

Because we did not believe 

What if, after all the laughter

And tears, as time took its toll

We did not yield to the Author

Of Salvation for the soul

© Janet Martin 

Every so often I listen to this powerful song...

Almost Persuaded- Josh Turner

....and often I weep for cold shoulders turned away

from The Gift

Eph.2:8

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--

and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--

Mark 16:16
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; 

but he that believeth not shall be damned.

1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, 

he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins 

and purify us from all unrighteousness.

John 3:16

for God so loved the world

that He gave His only begotten son

that whosoever believes in Him

will not perish but have everlasting life

Why does it matter so much if our name is not written

in the Book of Life??

Rev.20:11-15

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. 

The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 

12And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. 

The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.

 13The sea gave up the dead that were in it, 

and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, 

and each person was judged according to what they had done. 

14Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. 

The lake of fire is the second death. 

15Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life 

was thrown into the lake of fire.

Who Knows Who or What Waits...

I'm hoping/picturing when the nose of the Journey is pointed homeward tonight

the house will be spic-and-span,

but most of us have learned that our morning Maybe

 is subject to change of plan

Who knew a pile of dirty dishes can surprise us with a bit of beauty!

The Bygone-brush is dripping as we speak/read!!

And tonight, the whole world over, as we all survey our personal Portrait of Today

not one single picture will be exactly alike!

By God's grace then let's make courtesy, kindness and thankfulness the Beauty

each 'painting' has in common

Around the corner or across the street 

Who knows who or what waits our gait to greet 

Will it be stem-full-of-thorns, or the rose 

Will it be a kiss or punch in the nose 

The day at hand sits on time’s window sill 

Who knows who or what waits its frame to fill 

Darling, the colours that drip, splash and run 

Turn into works of art, never undone 

From the fine mingling of was-is-will be 

Who knows who or what waits to shape hist’ry 

Aptly, the hour is emptied and set 

Etching forever its brief pirouette 

While we work with what we somewhat expect 

Who knows who or what waits to interject 

But as each beck and call fills in the blanks 

Pray that above all, it resonates thanks 

© Janet Martin 

Eph.5:20

...always giving thanks to God the Father for everything,

 in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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.