Honing Happiness/Holiness

 Here we go, high and low, sun-shadow-shamble...

Twilight's bronze hinges highlight leafy fringes...

Rushes of wonder, hope, heartache and hunger

War in this wisp of God-kissed nope and yes

Depth of resentment and height of contentment

Tip scales of sacrifice or selfishness

Reason and reverence season thought’s thunder

Want’s fingers pliable or tightly-clenched

Grateful or grumbler, where beauty and blunder

Clash; calm and tempest, duty and dream-drenched

Twilight's bronze hinges highlight leafy fringes

Dawn's yellow hello soon yields to dusk's door

Splurge of new falters on merge-of-blue altars

Rise and shine flowers then fades on west-shore

Hark; the dark quiet is shedding its riot

Of stars; mist-bars melt in  gossamer gold

Eluding miser and pilfering pirate 

Happiness trembles where mercies unfold

Planting and reaping and giving and keeping

Fond, fleeting flicker twixt greeting and dirge

Sorrow's bowed weeping and laughter's wowed leaping

Morrow's unknown always on today's verge 

Hurry-up scramble or slow and sweet ramble

Where bloom and bramble delight and distress

Here we go, high and low, sun-shadow-shamble

Grin, grunt and groaning, honing happiness/holiness

© Janet Martin

1 Sam.2:2

“There is no one holy like the Lord;

there is no one besides you;

there is no Rock like our God.

Altar-Call

Whenever I feel overcome or mobbed

by barrages of negativity and fear,

by suffering, and the despair it could bring,

it helps me to picture Today as an altar

on which I/we stand as hands reach down,

pouring out the anointing of new day, 

and I am transfixed by the Scars on His Hands

and how they got there!!

I look at my own hands, not so very scarred...yet,

and am immensely humbled 

by Mercy renewed!

Lam.3:22-24&31-33

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;[b]

his mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,

“therefore I will hope in him.”

For the Lord will not

cast off forever,

 but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion

according to the abundance of his steadfast love;

 for he does not afflict from his heart

or grieve the children of men.

From Hands, scarred by our redemption

Framed in heaven’s flawless form

Without bias or exemption

Today, takes the world by storm

Grace extends hope’s invitation

Over track-records, sin-flawed

Mercy’s renewed salutation

Unfurls cloud-pearled gift from God

Like a sign to all earth’s people

'Rise and shine, for day is here'

Like a whisper to the feeble

'I am with you, do not fear'

Like a symbol of His Presence

Darkness cannot keep its hold

Heaven overflows with incense

Mist-kissed amethyst and gold

From Hands, faithful to the finish

From Hands, helpful to each task

Love grants what time can’t diminish

Free to all, if we but ask

From the flask of Eden’s awning

Daily dawning is outpoured

I AM treads Time’s transient spawning

That threads an eternal cord

From Hands that will never falter

Dawn unfolds faith’s piercing price

Ash of days gleams on an altar

Awaiting our sacrifice

Look; a flood of light is breaking

Waking what yet waits to be

Look, mercy free for the taking

Holds scarred Hands to you and me

© Janet Martin

Wherever in life we are, God's mercy is more!

His Mercy Is More...

Thank God For Happiness-es

 

One of my 'brood' asked me yesterday if I feel like a happy

Mother Hen when all my chicks are home and I clucked 'yes!'💕💕

The way a heart can overflow with joy only love brings...

No sunset to astonish and draw us to reverent stare...

No stem with floral-garnished, manifolded petal-flare...

or hanging out with tot to find what money cannot buy...

For feather-flurried tweet-tweet-tweet...

Thank God for happiness-es that never lose their appeal

The way creation’s beauty spills each season’s slow reveal

The way the day begins, as darkness thins and heavens free

The quiver of a river that expands into a sea

The way a heart can overflow with joy only love brings

And thrill with rediscovery of wealth in simple things

Like, how a smile lights up a room in a world full of hurt

Like, how a garden makes us feel at home in wholesome dirt

Thank God for thrills that spill profusely from a fount of grace

Imagine if we had to earn each blessing we embrace

How weary we would soon become, how empty arms would be

If all we had was man’s minimal ingenuity

No sunset to astonish and draw us to reverent stare

No stem with floral garnished, manifolded petal-flare

No mercy, new each morning as dawn bathes the misty lea

Only laws without love and judgment without sympathy

Thank God for pretty pleasures like a stroll along a brook

The luxury of cuppa tea and company of book

Or hanging out with tot, to find what money cannot buy

Unbridled happiness in hideouts not even knee high

For feather-flurried tweet-tweet-tweet, gold, scarlet, blue and gray

Where He who tends them said we are of more value than they

Therefore, we should not worry, for He who feeds little birds

Knows our needs and will look after all who trust His words

Thank God for countless reasons to bow down and worship Him

And lift up hearts in grateful praise where happiness-es brim

In hymns from nature’s orchestra, in hymns from heart and soul

Where through the blood of Jesus Christ our faith has made us whole

Thank God for His kind goodness; for the Shepherd’s rod and staff

Where in a world of sorrow we are still able to laugh

Where in a world of trouble Hope anchors all who believe

And thrills us with happiness-es only God can achieve

© Janet Martin

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; 

give thanks to him and praise his name.

Psalm 100:4

Of Mother's Love

 For all of our moms and mom-figures

Mother's Day Blessing

💝

It’s bottomless, no matter what

Though time weathers its trove

And plays havoc with touch and such

Never a mother’s love

Each child is a piece of her heart

While time spins clocks and wheels

And change insists upon the art

That fills echo-kissed reels

A mother’s love withstands the tug

That draws the child elsewhere

She learns to turn the tender hug

Into far-reaching prayer

From babe’s first cry till final sigh

Her labour-pains abound

To keen love’s bottomless supply

Each mother’s common ground

Where much is beyond her control

In this world’s fickle glove

And decays as time take its toll

Never a mother’s love

From fair-faced youth to age-old years

As seasons are exiled

God pours His love through smiles and tears

Of mother’s love for child

Whether a babe of cherub charms

Or marked by wear and tear

A child cannot outgrow the arms

Of mother’s love and care

Then, while you can, Child, treat her kind

For nothing else compares

No matter what treasures we bind

With mother’s love and prayers

© Janet Martin

Numbers 6:24-26 -

 The Lord bless you and keep you;

 the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; 

the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.

You Are Able, Lord

 Inspired by This Heart-wrenching Plea...

Pray With Us. The Covid-Crisis in India

A prayer for them and us!

You are able, Lord

Bid our pleas avail

In the fervent prayer out-poured

Even when words fail

You behold the heart

And Undying Soul

While we witness but in part

You regard the whole

Lord, is that a tear

Gleaming on thy cheek

We who have ears let us hear

The message You speak

Forbid, on deaf lobes

Falls the mourner’s cry

While we gather up our robes

And quickly hasten by

We are family

Brothers, sisters, oh

Our Father Heavenly

Loves His children so

Lord, open our eyes

Help us feel today

Tugs upon familial ties

That move us to pray

Lest we stand aloof

Touch us with Your Sword

Let us be the living proof

Of Your love outpoured

You are able, Lord

By Your Mercy’s Pow’r

Let compassion breathe Your Word

Into suffering’s hour

Let us strive to be

Vessels in Your Hand

Poured in earnest charity

On a thirsting land

You are able, Lord

With or without man

Still, your will is faith restored

To fulfill Your plan

Thus, bid us to live

In obedience

As a humble servant give

Utter diligence

Lest, oh, awful thought

When we meet Death’s Yet

Our house of all we sought

Is left desolate

You are able, Lord

Pray your church will prove

By the power through Your Word

To be stirred to love

Lest on some willow tree

We hang our harps to mourn

Tormented by captivity

As we remember Zion

Amen

  

© Janet Martin

By The River of Babylon- Psalm 137

James 5

(I went to this chapter to share verse 16

but the whole chapter seems timely and fitting)

Rich Oppressors Will Be Judged

Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! 

2 Your riches [a]are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. 

3 Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you 

and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days. 

4 Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of [b]Sabaoth. 

5 You have lived on the earth in pleasure and [c]luxury; 

you have [d]fattened your hearts [e]as in a day of slaughter. 

6 You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you.

Be Patient and Persevering

7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. 

See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, 

waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. 

8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord [f]is at hand.

9 Do not [g]grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be [h]condemned. 

Behold, the Judge is standing at the door! 

10 My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, 

as an example of suffering and patience. 

11 Indeed we count them blessed who endure. 

You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—

that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.

But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath.

 But let your “Yes” be “Yes,” and your “No,” “No,” lest you fall into [i]judgment.

Meeting Specific Needs

13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. 

14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 

15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. 

And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 

16 [j]Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed.

 The effective, [k]fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. 

17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; 

and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. 

18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.

Bring Back the Erring One

19 Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back,

 20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way 

will save [l]a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.

Even If...

'We give relationships our best efforts because we love the Lord.'

Bible Love Notes

...and that's the crucial element; if/because we love the Lord! 

It/He helps us forgive even when it seems it doesn't change anything.

When we put Love/God first it changes everything!

First and foremost, our focus.

Wow!

Today's Bible Love Notes Devotion

seemed to speak directly to me,

feeling a little/ a lot guilty at my less than loving response

to someone this morning which set the fur flying

(I won't bore you with all the juicy, dirty details)😁

and while we did sincerely apologize

for losing our 'cool', two people in their mid-fifties

are not miraculously changed just because we say

"I should not have said what I did, I'm sorry, (but)" 

But, by the time we reach our mid-fifties

 we also realize how vital reconciliation is!

(I'm sorry without the 'but'!!)

On this blog I try to keep life and love real!

Love is hard, often hidden work, but

vital work, so worth the effort, 

because it affects so many more people

than just ourselves!

So, by God's grace we forgive

and try again...

CityAlight-Grace

So, here's to love, even if...

Even if we feel neglected,

rejected, 

misunderstood

Love is patient

kind and gentle

Not angry,

vengeful

or rude

Even if, when disappointed

by the twists 

and turns

of life

Love protects,

considers others

does not wield

a verbal 

knife (oops!!)

Even if, we feel that our

frustration

is justified

Love requires

meek repentance

of self-serving

stubborn pride

Even if it feels lopsided;

 scales of loving's

give and take

Love respects,

lest we,

misguided, think

Self is love's

highest stake 

Even if we lose our tempers/mercy

Love apologizes,

then

Prays when he/she

pushes our buttons

we learn how to

count to ten

😏😓😊

and try, and try

and try again

Janet Martin~

Love never quits

Love never fails

1 Cor.13:8

Speaking of pushing buttons...

If we were push-button machines

we could 'order-up'

and all would be well

in Love of Self's little world...

but, since we are people

for better or worse

feelings and opinions come into play

and our only saving grace is,

'if we love the Lord'

If we don't then long-term 

happy, healthy relationships

are hard! 

...even if for just a bit

we want to sit and

nurse

'poor me'

Love makes us strong 

enough

to get up

and serve

with humility

Love is patient, 

love is kind...

1 Cor.13:4

May's Maestro

Perchance, doth art of May entrance

With undulating hues/views...

Perchance, doth art of May entrance

With undulating hues/views

Doth it stir hearts to sing and dance

As earth its garb renews

Doth Blossom’s dainty decoupage

Rouse hallelujah hymns

Played like an orchestral montage

From bud-bedazzled limbs

Doth May ignite awed happiness

As breathless gaze beholds

The evidence of God’s caress

Where emerald tress unfolds

Doth hope feel like it finds it wings

As verdant vibrato

Spills from earth’s trembling springs and strings

In vibrant crescendo

Doth its melody keen delight

As nature’s opus lauds

In symphonies hidden from sight

Until May’s Maestro nods

© Janet Martin

Song of Solomon 4:16
Awake, O north wind; 

and come, thou south; 

blow upon my garden, 

that the spices thereof may flow out. 

Let my beloved come into his garden,

 and eat his pleasant fruits.

Living the Dream

 

Love; how often it (He) leaves us at

a loss for words, but we try anyway...

Love always...

makes room

for one...

more!

And never seems to find the time or reason to complain

With so much to be thankful for in both sunshine and rain

Love leaves so very little room for gloomy ‘woe is me’

It sets the heart a-bloom with mercy’s gentle sympathy

And never seems to find the time or reason to complain

With so much to be thankful for in both sunshine and rain

Love steps into a world of need and beauty intertwined

To make the most of here and now so swiftly left behind

It forgives flaws because we are all broken from the start

Love sees beyond appearance to the person of the heart

Love always makes room for one more, with warm, welcome embrace

It cherishes the moment as a sacred gift of grace

To employ for the joy and benefit of fellowman

Mindful of its Employer, love gives the best that it can

...and looks forward, not back at facts no wishing can undo

Love focuses not on the 'What' but rather on the 'Who'

So often softly startling us with opportunity

To serve the King of kings with honour and humility

Love makes worthwhile each mile no matter how common they seem

And often smiles to realize, love is living the dream

Because love leaves so very little room to fret and fuss

With so much to be thankful for from He who so loves us

© Janet Martin

Philippians 1:9-11:

 "And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more 

in knowledge and depth of insight, 

so that you may be able to discern what is best 

and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 

filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—

to the glory and praise of God."