Sacred Spree

Don't you find the older we get the more we realize each birthday is a gift.

Celebrating 56 years of God's goodness today💝

Yesterday my sister Lucy took this photo...

(a little pre-birthday outing with one of our daughters and her children;

her birthday is tomorrow!)

We dropped in to see the sheep someone is boarding at their place...

Oh!!! they are so cute and comical!

The older we get the more we cherish life's simplest pleasures...

(below; a few recent priceless pleasures)

(above) Making Rhubarb Squares😋

As days to years amass

As they pass through our skin

We sense in us an hour glass

Of sparkles growing thin

And though we cannot see

How many glints remain

We know that soon eternity

Will make the hidden plain

When dust to dust returns

And the Soul back to God

When Choice its last consequence earns

Beyond time’s frond of sod

…but for now, we are here

How sacred is this spree

Where life and love endow each year

With opportunity

Where, by the grace of God

We do not need to dread

The highs and lows we yet must trod

In the veiled road ahead

Then, with courage renewed

By mercy’s kind bequest

May humble, holy gratitude

Equip us for the rest/test

This transient tapestry

This season-metered flit

Is but a blip before we see

The other side of it

This bit of groan and grin

This prelude to the whole

This hourglass beneath our skin

Dwindles to Deathless Soul

Where ere one moment spilled

God numbered all the strands

Needed to weave each life He willed

Back to the Giver’s hands

© Janet Martin

Teach us to number our days, 

that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Psalm 90:12

...redeeming the time, because the days are evil

Ephesians 5:16

Rock-solid Build/ Race Route

I really enjoy the show Rock Solid Builds on HGTV.

This post however is about a different kind of Rock-solid build!

One of my favorite top ten things in the world is a baptism service.

Listening to testimonies of faith and witnessing the outward sign of an inward change

from the old man to the new rouses in me Joy Unspeakable and Sacred Sympathy.

Joy for the choice by the believer to receive the gift of salvation

and sympathy because the deceiver does not depart when someone takes this step of faith

but rather seems to amass its forces against the child of God, as he or she endeavors to

'grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. ' 

2 Pet.3:18

(This is the same Peter from Matt.16:18

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter,

and upon this rock I will build my church;

and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.)

Growth; we cannot hurry it!

We can make wise choices so as not to hinder it but growth takes time!

Whether plant or child, whether physical or spiritual.

But until full maturity, growth is essential to reach the subject's full potential!

It takes time to grow a sprout to a tree/ sainthood..

...above, as attractive and tender as bindweed's first tendrils may appear

it is full of deadly evil!

On Saturday I once again tackled its tenacity

which has invaded my front flower garden, winding its visible tendrils

around anything it can bind. Left unattended it would dominate 

and terribly hinder healthy growth.

(below; network of roots)

A network of roots running deep below the surface makes it nearly

impossible to completely obliterate the pesky weed, 

but I noticed something as I pulled

at rocks to chase down the rampant roots. 

The weed could climb around and between but never penetrate the rocks!

What a parable as we battle the tendrils of temptation

and seek safety from deadly vices!

They cannot penetrate the Rock!

If we build our house on the Rock,

and embrace the cornerstone which is Christ

sin cannot prevail!

It is when we look away or step/slip from the Rock that we

become enticed and entangled...

Let's build and run on a rock-solid route!

Yesterday at the baptism service one of the young converts

received this verse as a memento of encouragement... 

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice

 is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

Matt.7:24

This devotion from a few days ago also deals with the 'battle'

we encounter as we strive to live for Christ...

(full page below)

Temptation’s tendrils entice first and then entangle, oh

None can afford to wander from the grace whereby we grow

To grow in grace and knowledge of the truth requires grit

And diligent persistence by faith, to accomplish it

The gift of grace begins a race that we are called to run

For the redemption of our souls cost God His only Son

Thus, we are called to throw off all that would entangle us

Eyes fixed on the author and perfecter of faith; Jesus

This is no game, when we lay claim to salvation’s free gift

Without the steadfast anchor of God’s Word, soon we will drift

Without the armor of the Lord none are equipped fitly

To withstand the beguiling wiles of sin’s artillery

Upon the solid Rock of Christ alone we are secure

Do not despair; but pour to prayer the hunger to endure

For the joy set before us let us run and not grow faint

Temptation’s schemes cannot uproot the Rock-established saint

© Janet Martin

 

I looked up the stanza by Charles Wesley quoted above!

A beautiful hymn I had never heard before.

Soldiers of Christ, Arise

Of Love's Royal Priesthood

Why this post?

Because preaching doesn't just happen behind a pulpit

and because the Platinum Jubilee and all its celebrations

got me to pondering royalty and priesthoods...

(watching/listening to the trumpets play in honor of Her majesty, the Queen

for her years of faithful service

literally covers me with goosebumps

and evokes thrills because this celebration is a

miniscule/pale glimpse of

what honoring the King of kings and Lord of lords will be)

I didn't realize until partway through this message/session that it

was an exhortation of encouragement to church leaders.

However, I continued listening to the end because its exhortations were encouraging

to the 'sheep' as well as the shepherd...

Hanging On When You Feel Like Giving Up

But you are a chosen generation, 

a royal priesthood, a holy nation, 

His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him

 who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

1 Pet.2:9

Serve well the God who is I AM

With heart and hand applaud

Not to seek accolades of man

But to glorify God

Serve well the God of humankind

We, in his image made

Are glimpses of He who designed

Us, and our pardon paid

Serve well the God who gave his Son

Whose sacrifice sufficed

To save and teach us to become

Imitators of Christ

Serve well the God who will supply

Our need; He knows it well

And made a Way that none need die

And be cast into hell

Serve well the God that numbers days

And lends the lease thereof

The God whose mysterious ways

Are always filled with love

Serve well the God who giveth life

Who keeps in perfect peace

The mind that guards against the strife

That hinders love’s increase

Serve well the God whose mercy tries

Whose grace and truth abides

As faith presses toward the prize

That God alone provides

Serve well the God, the King of kings

He who is just and good

Calls us to share the sufferings

Of love’s Royal Priesthood

Serve well thy God and fellowman

With renewed courage run

For what thought can be sweeter than 

To hear Him say 'well done'

© Janet Martin

What Gentle Joy God Sendeth...

Blessed be the Lord,

Who daily loads us with benefits,

The God of our salvation!

Selah

20 Our God is the God of salvation;

And to God the Lord belong escapes from death.

Psalm 68:19-20

So much sorrow, beyond our grasp of reason

but our God is the God of salvation!

To His loving kindness we cling!

Surely, His goodness and mercy will follow us

all the days of our lives!

 (Psalm 23:6)

Sometimes our hearts break with our own sorrows.

Often our hearts hurt for another's hurt!

We have in common One who loves us all!

From one deeply hurting this week returned this meek reply.

'we want to trust that God can provide what is needed'

Amen and hallelujah

I Can hear My Saviour Calling...

 

Be Thou My Vision

What gentle joy God sendeth

No step He does not see

On all the way that wendeth

To the soul’s destiny

No tear He does not tally

No storm He cannot still

No God-forsaken valley

No God-forsaken hill

No prayer He does not reckon

Where disappointments try

Where want and worry beckon

He whispers ‘here am I’

No gain He has not granted

No loss He has not known

No seed, when it is planted

He does not see is sown

No hurt He has not suffered

No matter what we face

The blows of life are buffered

With His sufficient grace

No temptation’s vice greater

No trickery too sly

To confound the Creator

Of earth and sea and sky

What gentle joy God sendeth

Where mercy’s fathoms brim

To cheer the way that wendeth

From this world back to Him

© Janet Martin

Of Unrelenting Honor & By The Grace of God

Therefore, what God has joined together

let not man put asunder.

Mark 10:9

The above words grow more solemn as the years pass.

I've seen God tug the tie many times,

and I have seen man attempt to do it

leaving heartbreak harsher than

the sorrow of death in it's wake...

Today, but by God's grace

 Jim and I celebrate 34 years of marriage.

Because 'love is a many-splendored thing'

It's a two-poem celebration😅💕

Counting dating years we've been together for 40 roller-coaster years!

I'm playing a few of our favorite love songs today

Hello Love, Hank Snow

 

I'd Love You All Over Again- Alan Jackson

Of Unrelenting Honor...

Of cares weathered together

Of vows highly esteemed

Of tests to ‘I do’s’ tether

In ways we never dreamed

Of constant, sacred learning

Of faithfulness, because

There can be no returning

To life the way it was

Of compassionate living

And in ire’s pricks and stings

Of merciful forgiving

Because love bears all things

Of being understanding

When we don’t understand

Not selfishly demanding

To force the other’s hand

Of praying without ceasing

To be humble in heart

For there is no releasing

This pledge ‘ till death do part’

To be best friends forever

And never say, ‘I’m done’

When Satan tries to sever

The cord that makes two, one

Of sharing pain and pleasure

Committed to love’s vows

Of treasuring the measure

Of all God’s grace allows

And, whatever betide us

Of hilltop or of vale

Of asking Him to guide us

So, love will never fail

Of critique left unspoken

Of unuttered lament

Lest blame becomes love’s token

Rather than compliment

Of choosing to be grateful

Of laughing till we cry

Of fighting to be faithful

Until God pulls the tie

Of unrelenting honor

For love is like a cup

That always needs another 

...self cannot fill it up 

Let's fill it with an ocean

And in its pouring prove

With beholden devotion 

The greatest of these; love

© Janet Martin

But By the Grace of God (till death do part)

Not counting all the times, we didn’t see quite eye to eye

When your druthers and mine were like December meets July

When opposites that once seemed so attractive start to irk

As we reevaluate what it takes to make ‘us’ work

Not counting all the days when love's 'tone' was misunderstood

And we did not respond in ways like two grown adults should

When we behaved like rivals rather than husband and wife

I’d say we are exceptional at rocking married life

Not counting all the rules that unschooled mid-life love ignores

Until our tempers cool, no longer fooled by lion-roars/'winning' scores

I’d say in spite of all the times we bite instead of kiss

That you and I are prime examples of sweet, wedded bliss

I hope that life becomes a 'losing track of years' because

Of moment-thrum's momentous sums; the love-story of 'us'

Where, in spite of those times we blush some sad excuse to fend

We'll look back on a life of 'us'; love, faithful to the end

© Janet Martin

Eager/Earnest Expectation...

Psalm 139:5

You hem me in behind and before;

You have laid Your hand upon me.

Psalm 34:7

The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him,

and he delivers them.

Psalm 125:2

As the mountains surround Jerusalem,

so the LORD surrounds His people, both now and forevermore.

The gleaming scepter of new day stretches across the land...

A symbol of God’s sovereignty;

Beauty survives/thrives...

The gleaming scepter of new day stretches across the land

A symbol of God’s sovereignty; all beneath His command

Beauty survives where destruction and death’s heartache abounds

Above trouble and rebellion, God’s faithfulness resounds

Where ’blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth’

Then turn the other cheek and speak of He who gives life worth

Do not despair; it is not cares that hem us in but He

Who works for our good, who watches over you and me

Such knowledge is too wonderful for mortal to attain

Nothing can separate us from God’s sovereign love, amen

Creation's gilt-edged grandeur grants a glimpse of what yet waits

On highways not yet paved with gold, on this side of Hope's Gates 

Where what we bear is temporal; the cross precedes the crown

The test precedes the triumph; when we lay our burdens down

When prayer no longer wends its way from man to Mercy's Door

When sorrow's wounds and broken hearts are healed forevermore 

When what faith cannot understand or comprehend unveils

The glory of God's face, His hands scarred with imprints of nails

When our present suffering will ever fade away

Creation waits in eager/earnest expectation for that day

© Janet Martin

Rom.8:18-19

*I consider that our present sufferings 

are not comparable to the glory that will be revealed in us.

 19The creation waits in eager expectation for

 the revelation of the sons of God. 

Yester-dusk...

Creation's gilt-edged grandeur grants a glimpse of what yet waits

On highways not yet paved with gold, on this side of Hope's Gates 

So Rather Than Lament...

Happy 58th Birthday, Jim!

(I asked him what it looks like where he is celebrating his birthday

so he sent me these sweet shots of upstate New York!)

(for non-regular visitors, he is a truck-driver)

...and since my birthday always follows a week later 

this wry look at getting older is for both of us😅💕😘

Like miles beneath your eighteen wheels the years just peel away

Sometimes it feels as if time steals a month, a week, a day

But it is futile to object or try to rearrange

This thing that nobody as yet has found a way to change

So rather than lament the swift, deft exodus of years

Let’s make the most of what is left before it disappears

…like laughing at ourselves when what once functioned starts to slip

Like dancing like we still have swagger in our one good hip

Like learning how to shuffle when our ‘gid-up’ starts to stall

While wishing for a port-a-potty halfway down the hall

And when one younger wonders at the blunders we engage

We now can laugh and blame our gaffes on good old, good old age

When the forgetter performs better than Remember does

When we become the crowd that prefers Life The Way It Was

When favor and frustration wage a telling tug of war

Futile to try to act like we are only twenty-four

So rather than lament the weathered cover of our youth

Let’s make the most of huff and puff and just admit the truth

Yes, sometimes getting up requires extra grunts and groans

The marathons we run are fetes of grand, mental milestones 

And the face in the mirror, we don’t recognize as ‘me’

Must be a rascal playing tricks on fine-tuned faculty😂

My goodness! Time’s surprises sometimes make me shake my head

The highlight of the day is when its time to go to bed

© Janet Martin

Here's to many more 'surprises' by the grace of God!

The Strength of Hope's Expectancy...

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him,

so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13

Tragedy tests trust!

Oh God, help us to trust You 

and not lean on our own understanding!

Help us to search out Your promises

so when trouble comes 

we can draw from the well of hope's strength!

The Cleft of  the Rock

The strength of hope’s expectancy does not maintain itself

Nor grows in grace and truth from Bibles closed upon a shelf

To find, we cannot cease to seek; what we love we pursue

(Forbid a form of godliness becomes our go-to)

The veil is rent; forbid we never pause to enter in

To the holy of holies to name and confess our sin

Forbid we never name the Name of He who paid sin’s price

Nor offer our bodies as a living sacrifice

If the joy of the Lord is our strength, oh, pray we cease

To wander from His promises in search of perfect peace

But rather may the Holy Spirit stir our hearts to brim

With hope and joy and peace as we place our trust in Him

The strength of Hope’s expectancy is no coincidence

No mortal moxie can sustain what only faith augments

Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name

Forbid we fail Thy righteousness and goodness to proclaim

…or, that a form of godliness denies the power thereof

And we live as if what the cross offers is not enough

Our Father who art in Heaven, convict us so we

Repent, lest sin impairs the strength of hope’s expectancy

© Janet Martin