The Other Side of Why/Clouds

May has offered up a ceaseless cloud panorama

both in the sky and on the ground💔😢

Many sky-lovers gaze up at the underbelly of clouds and marvel

at their show, quite oblivious to the golden light dancing and dazzling

the other side of them.

 (from the ground we only ever see the dark side of clouds)

Clouds; we prefer them in the sky rather than

the metaphorical clouds of life which press and darken days.

But some day the other side will be revealed and the 'why'

of many a care and test will dissolve in the resplendence of 

the glory of the Lord.

As so magnificently described in yesterday's devotion from the book 

Storms in the Desert...

We cannot see the other side of clouds that hide the light

That dazzles vaults and valleys veiled from the limits of sight

Faith's Substance of things hoped for, Evidence of things not seen

May lead where waters seem not still, nor pastures soft and green 

We cannot understand the Higher Thought and Ways of He

Who orchestrates the pontoons that sail heavens boundless sea

Nor can we comprehend the fulness of the miracle

Till heaven flings ajar its gates and fades faith's tear-stained hull

The other side of trial's tears of suffering will be

Not thousand or a million years, but for eternity

So, thus we fight the sacred fight and pray faith will not fail 

Until God's Everlasting Light will rend time's transient veil

Janet Martin

1 Cor.13:12

For now we see through a glass, darkly; 

but then face to face: now I know in part; 

but then shall I know even as also I am known.

To Ink-Wranglers and Revelers

In the middle of house-work,

burnt cookies (h-m-m! I wonder what happened to one!😉😋)

yard/gardenwork,

 flora...

 and fauna,

tot-care

 (aka laugh-till-I-cry and -tear-out-my-hair!!')

Midst this...

This poem, I've been trying to finish since yesterday morning,

begs the question, is it worth the hard-fought while?!

'Are there still parts of hearts unstirred?'

to make worthwhile wrangling of word

and try to capture winks of time

into a memento of rhyme?

And as I contemplated this thought

 midst all the modest mayhem

of everyday life I say, 

a thousand times 'yep'💝!

Are there still parts of hearts unstirred

By artistry of written word

Doth aught yet wait within the pen

To storm the gates of acumen

Tell me, is yet a poem left

To cheer the broken and bereft

Where archives groan with printed page

Of whispers honed from age to age

Can yet sheer wonderment remain

To cheer, to delight and sustain

As poem-seeds tremble and press

Can they sprout into Happiness

Beneath the skin, in heart and soul

Impressions of ink tug and toll

Surely tis not for naught, to free

The bloom from looms of poetry

Behold, the bud of daybreak brims

And earth is charged with heaven’s hymns

Hark, for the dark dissolves in grace

From Holy God to human race

The earth gives birth where nature’s law

Kindles the mirth of ooh and aah

And draws us, but not by our hands

To revel in momentous sands

…where tots are filled with lots of More

To inspire the troubadour

Innocent curiosity

The purest form of poetry

The Poet cannot justify

To gaze unfazed without reply

While welkin flask and task compete

Where star-tides wash work-weary feet

The poet returns to retrace

The aura of yesterday’s face

To kiss the curves of see-to-saw

To preserve for rekindled awe

For, like a fledgling, tots soon fly

Into a world of peopled ‘sky’

Like feather-down, silver and soft

The fluff of dusk-blown echoes waft

Where parts of hearts ache to be stirred

By artistry of written word

Where whispers wait with winsome wink

To storm soul-gates with wrangled ink

© Janet Martin

 "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; 

the whole earth is full of his glory."

Isa.6:3

'The earth gives birth where nature’s law

Kindles the mirth of ooh and aah'

What began with this burst of gold...

.

yesterday at sunrise...

(Is a sunrise not enough to waken the poet in all of us?!!)

...or sunset?

Is completed at Saturday noon midst much domestic distraction😅💗

A Prayer on Ascension Day 2021

"Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? 

This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, 

will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."

Acts 1:11

Happy Ascension Day!

The clouds were captivating today;

like a cumulus garland...

But no King of  kings and Lord of lords returning on them...yet!!!  

Matthew 24:30
And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: 

and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, 

and they shall see the Son of man coming 

in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Lord, help us not to fret when circumstance conflicts with careful plan

But help us to be diligent in loving Thee and fellowman

And help us not to put Self first but with humility entrust

Our ways and wants to Thee because you understand our faulty dust

For we are oh, so fearfully and wonderfully made by You

Then help us to remember there is nothing that You cannot do

Where doom and gloom are very real but never greater than the hope

We have in You, oh Lord and by this truth we are able to cope

Oh Lord, this world is full of trouble; mortal groans within its throes

Greed exults over heaps of stubble, trips on those who have no clothes

Worldwide threats and dread of war loom where atheistic leaders woo

And disaster is definite because nations have turned from You

Help us to seek first Your kingdom first (Lord, who can wake the breathing dead?)

Who walk and talk and laugh and dare to never bow their heart or head

As they mock sacred sacraments and applaud blatant godlessness

Waken them Lord and help them hunger and thirst after righteousness

Evil abounds but truth abides and your Word leaves fear’s tempest stilled

You will return but not until each jot and tittle is fulfilled

Then keep us ever on our guard, help us to live each day for You

Lord, by the power of Your Word help us to stand faithful and true

In Thy Name we pray,

Amen

© Janet Martin

This poem started as a morning prayer but 

ended as a bedtime prayer 

with a big, busy day tucked between!

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.