November Blues...

Aha! I said this morning.

So THAT'S what was in yester-dusk's transfixing hues of blue!

November blues offset the hues of nature’s sparser clime

To wake within the heart a grin akin to joy bell’s chime

To draw our eyes beyond the rise and fall of season-surf

And feel the toll of transience roll across surrendered turf

I think the poet’s ink is siphoned from November blues

A welkin well where whispers swell and syllable subdues

A brooding deep above a sweep of sentenced green-gold-gray

A sacred sense of an immense changeover under way

November blues thunder with dues we cannot keep at bay

Where woodland throbs with muffled sobs of leaf-song snuffed away

Barren limbs stark against the early dark of Autumn dusk

As nature sets its silhouettes on backdrops, blue and brusque

November blues; who can refuse the sentimental *rush

Of lowered skies authoring sighs of awe beneath a brush

That drips with hues of smold'ring blues that steals our breath and gaze

As Artist spills a storm of thrills from fall's more muted trays 

 

November blues unfetter hues of frigid, downy-white

Where on the morn the heart is torn twixt dismay and delight

A strange tableau, transformed by snow, yester-ago far-swept

Where blue unfurled a wonderworld of winter while we slept

© Janet Martin

* yes, I mean rush (not crush)

unlike Grandsonny yesterday morning

announcing to his mom that

'I got a big rush on Millie'

 (name changed for privacy sake)😂

His mother assumes someone must have

used the word 'crush'😄😘

Sigh...'I suppose it's not so-o bad' acquiesced Victoria

(a fellow-November blues lover)

gazing out to the serene snow-globe scene

This is My Father's World

More Than a String From the Sky

Hope Has a Name-River Valley Worship

  

No One Ever Cared For Me Like Jesus-Steffany Gretzinger

No One ever Cared for Me like Jesus (different from above)

Hope: the second most powerful

4-letter word in the English language after love!

Hope without Love is impossible.

God IS love!

The hope to which we cling is more than a string from the sky

It is the grace of God reached down to buoy you and I

It is a Beacon in the storm, an anchor for the soul

The touch that wakes the mustard seed of faith that makes us whole

It is the power of the cross where man’s redemption flows

The confidence in promises that nothing overthrows

It is the satisfaction that, (though oft misunderstood)

To all who love the Lord He works all things for our good

It is a still, small Voice that whispers while doubt’s cannons fly

‘The hope to which we cling is more than a string from the sky’

The cynic and the critic cannot thwart its sacred thread

The heathen and heretic cannot find a stable stead

The toast and boast of pagan pride can never satisfy

Only the Perfect Lamb that died to rescue you and I

From death and hell's damnation; from sin's cursed and lethal rope

The God of all creation became salvation and hope 

As He, so rich in mercy suffered our penalty

To rend the noose around our souls and set the sinner free

To restore to His bosom we who without Him would die

The hope to which we cling is more than a string from the sky 

© Janet Martin

This passage below was today's devotion and though a familiar favourite

 God's word has a way of leaving us completely smitten 

with the wonder of His love again and again

(read it more than once and feel your wonder increase with each reading)

Hallelujah! Praise God!

Let's live and love with honoured humility 

because of God's gift of grace!

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,

 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world 

and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, 

the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 

3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh[a] 

and following its desires and thoughts. 

Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 

4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 

5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—

it is by grace you have been saved. 

6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,

 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, 

expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 

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

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

9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 

10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, 

which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 2:1-10

Autumn...(or Awe-sum)

This year it seems like everyone is eager to deck the halls with boughs of holly very early!!

Personally, I prefer to revel in the tail-winds of Autumn for just a little longer...😊

Does it not stir within the heart a rush of rare delight

And rouse, with frameless works of art a nameless appetite

Does it not kindle thoughts of quilt-retreats and cups of tea

Where every leaf is like a little lilt of poetry

Where woodland wicks intensify, where wind-wild coursers dash

Until full-colour flickers lie in heaps of russet ash

Does it not bid our feet to slow, to linger by the fence

To revel in the afterglow of amber ambience

Does it not tug soul-strings to breaking points with Farewell’s Show?

Is it not like a hug that always brings the letting go?

Embodiment of Bittersweet, ah, does it not so seem

Where enchantment and want compete where life is but a dream

Ah, tell me are there any two syllables that can impress

Upon us such a surge of blue and brooding happiness

Ah, tell me in this four-season affair of yearly sum

Is there another word that can compare to thee, Autumn

© Janet Martin

Sunrise Supplication...

 

I looked up from my still blank page

where I was waiting to get a 'leading/lead'

on what to write to see This going on!!

So I grabbed some clothes from the hook and shoes sitting inside the door

(which happened to be Matt's parka and Kodiaks)

and I shuffled out to the fence to watch and wonder!

(in case someone saw me and wondered at my strange getup haha)

Lord, calm the tempest in my heart

As dawn draws night away

Where I am about to embark

Upon another day…

Lord, let me not contrive from fear

Dark dread of what might be

But lean upon Thy Word so dear

Like leaning on Thy knee

Lord, like the woman at the well

Open my eyes to see

The gift of God that none can quell

And Thou alone can be

…with Living Water quench my thirst

Let Thy peace intercede

And help me seek Thy kingdom first

Thus, finding all I need

From fathoms of goodness and grace

I draw from faith, not fear

Where, though I cannot see Thy Face

Lord, I know Thou art near

I thank Thee for Thy steadfast care

To help me bear my own

And for Thy whisper through my prayer

That I am not alone

© Janet Martin

I sometimes struggle between making a poem/prayer personal or communal!

First I had we-us-our instead of me-I-my

but it seemed more personal to pray this in first person

and my prayer is that it will uplift and encourage

you as you pray/read it!

John 4:10

Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God 

and who it is that asks you for a drink, 

you would have asked him 

and he would have given you living water.”

One of my favourite hymns...

Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing

(LOVE to hear the next generation singing these beloved hymns!)

Like My (almost) Pet...

Some days.

Seriously!!

 I like to reserve Mondays to climb the

domestic to-do-ladder before another week of childcare starts.

Today required a morning+ away 

for dentists appointment, groceries and other errands

inspiring this rather wry ditty as I tried to get my bearings

when I returned to 'exactly like I left it!

Dear Almost Pet...

You’re always here to greet me

As faithful as can be

I think you think that I would miss

Your loyal company

You’d sit and wait forever

For when I go away

You do not flinch one teeny inch

Or take a holiday

You hide in any corner

And wait in every room

Amused at frantic antics that

Require mop and broom

Sometimes I think you giggle

When, laden, I walk in

With my arms full of groceries

Heaped right up to my chin

You are a little like a pet

That wears me to the bone

If I ignore you, you can bet

You’ll make your presence known

You’re not a playful puppy

No bunny, nor a cat

You’re my faithful trusty housework

Now what do you think of that

© Janet Martin

And what good housewife would leave the kitchen like this??!!!😂

In my defense...Monday morning is Jim's checklist morning

before his leaving for the week which involves Wife...

Let's see!

Do we have

Hat

coat

pills

phone

wallet?

yup...

"hey Janet, where did you put my heel cream?

I need it this time of year!'

um. I think I threw it in the fruit bowl on the table...

okay, where was I??

oh right!

thermos full of coffee

2 foil-wrapped omelets

cheese, sliced

2 sandwiches

meal/meals (dinner leftovers) in a foil tin for his truck oven

foil-wrapped pizza slices

fresh muffins

fruit

yogurt

cereal

bananas

h-m-m-m...

did I miss anything

oh, yes

3 sets of clean clothes

Hug

Kiss

see you Saturday

drive safe!!

headlights out the driveway as he backs up

Sit down 

pray

read devotions

make more coffee.

Make Matt's lunch

start laundry

write poem

look at clock

gasp.

YIKES!!!

I need to get ready for the dentist

That's my excuse😁

Heart-effect

Set a guard over my mouth, Lord;

keep watch over the door of my lips.

Psalm 141:3

Let the words of my mouth, 

and the meditation of my heart, 

be acceptable in thy sight, 

O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.

Psalm 19:14

A winter wonderland to set the heart singing this morning (I hope) 😉

Contemplating what comes out of our mouths today

besides breath-clouds on the frosty air!

How cold the heart of spite doth burn

How mean then, mind doth mete

To tongue unlovely words that turn

To sorrow and defeat

How warm the heart of love doth leap

How kind then, mind doth spill

To tongue goodness and mercy’s sweet

-ness of grace and goodwill

How destitute are you and I

Without humility

To turn sharp edges of reply

To tender sympathy

© Janet Martin

All Part and Parcel Of...

I always have mixed feelings about sharing a post like this:

I think about the families/couples who would love to be able to share in

this kind of joy but for some unknown reason

it is withheld or Baby is gathered back to God before it is born, or right after.

We cannot explain these heart-breaking 'whys'.

My heart cries and bleeds for longing-to-be parents and grandparents!

But, on the other hand, as we remember all we have is lent to us from

a God so much bigger that anything we ever can grasp

we owe to Him joyful thanksgiving and praise

for every good and perfect gift that comes from above...

where we are all part and parcel of His Perfect love!

So we are beyond delighted at (Lord willing)

welcoming another little 'parcel/gift' into the family in May 2022!

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, 

and comes down from the Father of lights, 

with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

James 1:17

Grandma got the above shot while mommy was getting this one below...

Humbly grateful...

Where weight of want and wonder wars

Where dazzle of moment-mist pours

Where hope and heartache’s breakers roll

Across shorelines heart and soul

Where what is brief binds sacredly

To what is Chief; eternity

Where we all bear the common bond

Of Here hinged to The Great Beyond

Where life, akin to lilt of leaves

Soon slumbers beneath welkin eaves

Where what we hold, we soon entrust

Back to the mold of dust-to-dust

Where we are part and parcel of

God’s heart of Everlasting love

Where unlike leaves our bloom will fall

Back to the Hands that lent it all

Then, though want and wonder may war

We are a part of so much more

Than time’s sparkle of sun and sod

We are part of the heart of God

© Janet Martin

Grand-daughter and gramma matching outfits 😄💖

In Case Joy Should Falter...

Who has a claim against me that I must pay?

 Everything under heaven belongs to me.

Job 41:11

This poem was inspired after reading Job chapters 38 through 41

Stupendous! Wow!

and what can we do but echo Job's reply 

at the beginning of chapter 42

 (if ever we stoop to doubt)

 "Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
    things too wonderful for me to know."

“Have you ever given orders to the morning,
    or shown the dawn its place,

Job 38:12

Hope hoists it hymns on morning’s scrims as love its vow renews...

To place our prayers into the hands that laid earth’s cornerstone

To know He cares and sifts the sands that mete each steppingstone

To see each season’s treasure trove spill into hill and dale

Grants us reason enough to trust the love that cannot fail

To recognize that our eyes see but the fringe of He

Who paints the skies and cuts to size the proud waves of the sea

Who authors birth and tunes the earth’s orbit around the sun

Who puts his worth in human dearth through death’s curse fought and won

To lean on He whose majesty we cannot comprehend

Yet yearns to be to you and me an everlasting Friend

To touch His robe that fills the globe with glory none can dim

Instills earth’s road with Heaven’s goad as time draws us to Him

To have God’s Word, truth undeterred midst mortal fallacies

To guide and gird and keep souls stirred with hope through centuries

To know that He will always be at faith’s meek beck and call

Grants you and me security, whatever may befall

Hope hoists it hymns on morning’s scrims as love its vow renews

Where Mercy brims and nothing dims or thwarts the Giver’s views/dues

Where come what may no hand can sway what His will has decreed

Where when we pray, He leads the way, ah, what more do we need

© Janet Martin

Rejoice in the Lord always,

and again I say, rejoice

Phil.4:4

Who is our fount of joy?

Jesus, Only Jesus!