Flower-Power

 

I realized the one mini-rose bush I had

didn't survive last years septic-tank replacement...

I miss it, but bloom-beauty flourished this summer

(even though none are roses)

because of abundant rainfall!

Likewise, whatever kind of flower we are,

May we bloom where we are planted today!

Even if we feel a bit blight-battered and beetle-nibbled...

Our Father who art in Heaven,

With whatever You have granted

With what we are called to do

May we bloom where we are planted

With hearts humble, kind and true

Desiring to honour You

May we, with earnest endeavor

Not serve Want’s indulgent thirst

But renew desire's fervor

To put You and others first

Let life’s bud with Beauty burst

In the dirt of hurt and heartache

Where thorns prick and interpose

Bid we do our part to partake

Of the grace Your hand bestows

So, the thorns may wear a rose

Amen

© Janet Martin

Sing to Me of Heaven

Trustworthy and True

On Sunday morning our message was from

Rev. 21 &22

Mortal minds grappled with unfathomable design and dimension!

But this morning, as mercy ushered in new day

I sensed glimpses of a Holy City, 

a New Jerusalem descending

in incomprehensible glory!!

Beauty rends night’s crepuscule

Mercy steals the show

Ethereal ribbons and tulle

Tint time’s undertow

Longing and fulfillment clash

On earth’s eastward sill

Heaven flings ajar its sash

Molten foretastes spill

To gild worlds of wood and stone

With glints from Yon Clime

Till the veil of the Unknown

Lowers one last time

…beauty rends night’s crepuscule

God hears our cries

Granting to love’s push and pull

Glimpses of The Prize

© Janet Martin

Rev.21:1-5

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”

[a] for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, 

and there was no longer any sea. 

2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, 

prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

 “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them.

 They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 

4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. 

There will be no more death’[b] 

or mourning 

or crying 

or pain, 

for the old order of things has passed away.”

5 He who was seated on the throne said,

 “I am making everything new!”

 Then he said, “Write this down, 

for these words are trustworthy and true.”

(are the words Trustworthy and True not two of the

most wonderful words we can cling to?!!)

Pure Majesty

Another wonder-thunder of a sunset!!

Without a sound heavens thunder

Wonder’s oceanic surge

Rolls through frames of hope and hunger

As sight and faith’s fathoms merge

Where the air without a brushstroke

On a canvas without bounds

Showcases majestic artwork

That always awes and confounds

And draws eyes from earthward viewing

To the heights beneath God’s feet

Waking with His wordless wooing

Wordless worship, pure and sweet

© Janet Martin

Art-Throb

The closing of another chapter in my child-care 'book'...

as tomorrow Little Girl becomes School-girl!

 

"You're so big and I'm so little" She said as she looked at the pictures

And I said 'yes'💕

(why do I feel so small and how has she gotten so big?!)

I wish that I could paint for you

A very lovely work of art

A keep-sake I would give to you

To show the colours of my heart

To paint the perfect shade of joy

And spill with artistic finesse

The preciousness of girl and boy

That fills my heart with happiness

For little tot can teach a lot

To we, weathered by Father Time

And if I could, I’d paint, not jot

The spot that overflows with rhyme

…where poem then, mingled with prayer

My aching art-throb must appease

And ink must etch in frames of air

A Masterpiece of Memories

…for like the bubbles that we blew

An era pops and disappears

Leaving behind for me and you

A gallery of rainbowed spheres

…where laughter lilts and echoes bob

Like butterflies and petal-falls

As pictures waft from love’s art-throb

To hang forever on heart-walls

© Janet Martin

Last week these two left just a few days before becoming proud 

new big sister and brother to a new baby sister!

This 'job' tugs my heart every which way but loose💗💖

(I tried a few times and EVERY time

just as I clicked he looked down😀😘)

...and last but not least Grand-sonny starts school today!

When my daughter sent me the pictures

I told her I don't know whether to laugh or cry💖💖💖

Fringe Benefits

Thought's 

grand landscapes

of desire

cannot compete with

The One

who sets

welkin worlds afire

with the

setting of the sun

Want's 

wildest imagination

Pales 

beneath the

 Breath of He

Who evokes

pure adoration

From fringes of

Majesty

Janet Martin

Psalm 19

I was going to share only the familiar first verse

but couldn't stop reading...Hallelujah!!

The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

2Day after day they pour forth speech;

night after night they reveal knowledge.

3They have no speech, they use no words;

no sound is heard from them.

4Yet their voice ^b goes out into all the earth,

their words to the ends of the world.

In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.

5It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,

like a champion rejoicing to run his course.

6It rises at one end of the heavens

and makes its circuit to the other;

nothing is deprived of its warmth.

7The law of the Lord is perfect,

refreshing the soul.

The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy,

making wise the simple.

8The precepts of the Lord are right,

giving joy to the heart.

The commands of the Lord are radiant,

giving light to the eyes.

9The fear of the Lord is pure,

enduring forever.

The decrees of the Lord are firm,

and all of them are righteous.

10They are more precious than gold,

than much pure gold;

they are sweeter than honey,

than honey from the honeycomb.

11By them your servant is warned;

in keeping them there is great reward.

12But who can discern their own errors?

Forgive my hidden faults.

13Keep your servant also from willful sins;

may they not rule over me.

Then I will be blameless,

innocent of great transgression.

14May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart

be pleasing in your sight,

Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Soaking in September

Sometimes a sweet, leisurely soak in September's tub

is exactly what the doctor ordered (or would if we'd ask!)

Somehow summer slipped by with not quite enough

just-sit-and-soak-it-in siestas!

So I took one today after the tots left 

before tackling a bowl full of tomatoes to preserve.

Soaking in September’s sauna steeps the soul with sheer delight

Ochre summer-embers don a dialect we cannot write

But feel; stealing, reeling through us in a sonnet, bittersweet

Like the wilding winds that woo us when the world is fast asleep

Soaking in September’s beauty is the perfect getaway

Where the darling call of duty makes Prudence time’s constant prey

And we could, if we’re not careful, miss the bliss of Here and Now

Where the tautness of toil’s bridle keeps us tethered to its plow

Soaking in September’s Garden leaves little to be desired

Before autumn begs our pardon as Eden-glints are retired

Buzz of bee in bell of flower, iced mint-tea or lemonade

Garnet orb in orchard-bower, pulsing cricket-serenade

Soaking in September’s glory makes us feel at home-sweet-home

Where each treetop tells a story and each posy spills a poem

Where the pleasure of earth’s treasure that we gather gratefully

Fills fruit-cellars with its measure and hearts with pure ecstasy

Soaking in September’s splendor wakes a worship-song within

As our spirits grow more tender where summer is wearing thin

Where the gleaming goldenrod, like tapers streams through field and dell

And, where we all become neighbours in the limelight of farewell

© Janet Martin

Garnet orb in orchard-bower, 

pulsing cricket-serenade (well, kind of...

and after-work rush-hour 😐)

Petal-Poetry

 

A lot of people are picking up pieces/branches/trees/buildings

after storms that rolled through the region last night...

The poetry of life's season's brings high and lows

where ebbs and flows strew both laughter and tears

like the petals of a once lovely rose

that blooms and disappears...

September is the season of cherishing

 fast-fading flowers

and fast-growing children

(all the first day of school photos on Facebook remind us💗)

Tallest Little girl is eagerly counting down 

the last few day's at Janet's house before she is School Girl!

The poetry of summer’s rose

Composes wonder’s sighs

But like the day that comes and goes

Cannot escape demise

The loveliness of laughter’s lilt

Gilt-etches yester-years

A bud that blooms but soon is spilt

In sorrow’s silver tears

Do not stand long beside the urn

That cups the lifeless ash

Where soon the dust of live-love-learn

Settles, where bare feet dash

Where sparkling surf of summer-tide

Cannot evade Time’s score

Where, like waves, mighty in their stride

Cannot usurp the shore

…where aftermath of Eden’s woes

In turmoil’s throes, still pours

But cannot snuff Calvary’s rose

Which mortal hope restores

The poetry of summer’s plume

After its narrative

Is planted on an echo-tomb

Of moments we still live

...to give its glance our utter Most

Of thought and deed and speech

Each new day like a guest we host

Soon ushered out of reach

© Janet Martin

2 Pet.3:11

Since everything will be destroyed in this way, 

what kind of people ought you to be?

 You ought to live holy and godly lives...

Joy Complete

So many potential titles for this poem;

So Much More Hope

Ultimate Relief

Prelude to the Prize

 Miracle-Pinnacle (Faith that makes us whole)

Complete In Him

Yesterday Victoria and I squealed with giddy delight,

our Almost-Autumn joy complete

in the culled, mulled colours 

and brisk breezes of September

This morning is no exception;

Apple-pear-cider crisp and tart

So much to love in the middle of life's muddle...

this morning's muddle in Canada includes back-to-school

meaning SO much emotion for first-time scholars and parents of those and,

first-time high-schooler, post-secondary education students etc.

So much out of our control means we need 

Someone to anchor us SO MUCH!

Col.2:8-10

Beware lest anyone [e]cheat you 

through philosophy and empty deceit, 

according to the tradition of men, 

according to the basic principles of the world, 

and not according to Christ. 

 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead [f]bodily;

  and you are complete in Him, 

who is the head of all [g]principality and power.

So much to try our good intent

So much to lose and win

Desire and discouragement

Battle beneath our skin

So much to disappoint and tempt

So much to pick and choose

So much to do, where consequence

Soon keeps its promised dues

So much to vex the ardor of

The dreamer and the dream

So much to test the heart of love

Where idol-temples gleam

So much to taunt, where want runs rife

But boast cannot fulfill

So much to make the most of life

So much to steal its thrill

So much we touch then strew behind

So much hunger and thirst

So much for ties of death to bind

So much, both blessed and cursed

Where best and worst are woven through

Vestures of faith and fear

Where so much that we say and do

Can’t keep a conscience clear

So much to turn to prayerful trust

To repent and confess

So much more God, merciful, just

Father of forgiveness

So much more love where grace achieves

The convict’s full release

So much more hope as faith receives

So much more joy and peace

So much more hope; ah, this alone

Can make our joy complete

So much uncertain and unknown

Yet, so much comfort sweet

Where only genuine belief

Overcomes doubt and dread

Then we find ultimate relief

As we trust God instead

Complete in Him; ah, pray that we

Find this world's paradise

Complete in Him; ah, may this be

Our prelude to The Prize

Complete in Him; longing fulfilled

As much as possible

Complete in Him; fear's storm is stilled

By the Invisible 

© Janet Martin