As Long As Life Has Flowers We Will Never Un-kissed Be

 In Ontario it is iris, peony and lupine season...

...among others

Gerbera Daisies

Columbine

Spiderwort

Clematis

Every flower-lover is in constant awe at the myriad intricacies of each flower

designed by our Creator

The above beauties,

 plus Brenda's post,

plus this morning's devotion

...inspired today's poem

(it can be interpreted as written either about flowers or people.

God's love/beauty poured through us)

As long as life has flowers, we will never friendless be

God decorates earth’s bowers with such pleasant company

He stirs our hearts to leap with praise where oft a bloom beguiles

Us to marvel at countless ways that the Creator smiles

The loom within the bud unravels wonder, crease by crease

A miracle of fragile petals forms each masterpiece

Like symbols of kind pardon, beauty startles trouble’s plain

Glimpses of Eden’s Garden gild hill, hollow, field and lane

All things are possible with He who designs every fold

And strews to earth a starry sea of wonders to behold

Forbid one looks but misses mercy’s autographs of grace

God smiles and blows His kisses to us in each flower-face

© Janet Martin

Luke 12:27
Consider how the lilies grow: 

They do not labor or spin. 

Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory 

was adorned like one of these.

Faith's Unfailing Author and Perfecter

Gen.3:21

Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, 

and clothed them.

Isaiah 61:10

I will greatly rejoice in the LORD,

 my soul shall be joyful in my God; 

for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, 

he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, 

as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, 

and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.

Yesterday's birthday wish to Emily and a few devotions from the

book Streams in the Desert inspired today's poem,

continuing meditations on the fathomless topic of faith!

Today's devotion ministered to me very personally

as I woke feeling mobbed by dread's 'supposes'

so I fled to some scriptures of faith (so many to choose from)

 for a renewed mind🙏

The God of ages past is still the same as He was then

He ministers His perfect will and loves us all. Amen

Since Adam hid when first he did the thing that he should not

And yielded to the doubt the tempter planted in his thought

Thus, grace and mercy did begin, in spite of consequence

God clothed them in garments of skin and sin’s deliverance

The faith of Abraham, counted as righteousness, abides

The supremacy of I AM still shepherds and presides

The angel of the Lord that did bid Elijah to eat

Still bids us feast upon His Word; this is faith’s bread and meat

Our God is kind; He is still greater than the lion’s roar

The enemy behind and the mighty Red Sea before

Faith fuels hope’s ambition as we face its cunning foe

Derision and division charge but cannot overthrow

The God of ages past who Was, Is and Will Ever Be

The Genesis and Exodus of faith’s divine decree

Where, since we have been justified by faith we may have peace

Through Jesus Christ our Lord, though doom and gloom’s armies increase

If God is for us, all against us can never prevail

Let’s raise a worship chorus to the One who will not fail

And let the faith that we confess be not in word but deed

To live a life of holiness with meek and earnest heed

The anchor to which hope is fastened will not shift or sway

Because the God of ages past is still the same today

© Janet Martin

Rom.5:1-5

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith,

we[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

2 through whom we have gained access by faith

into this grace in which we now stand.

And we[b] boast in the hope of the glory of God.

3 Not only so, but we[c] also glory in our sufferings,

because we know that suffering produces perseverance;

4 perseverance, character; and character, hope.

5 And hope does not put us to shame,

because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts

through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

Heb.12:1-3

Therefore, (read Heb.11) 

since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, 

let us throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, 

and let us run with endurance the race set out for us.

 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the authora and perfecter of our faith, 

who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, 

scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 

3Consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners, 

so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Let Us Run

(I keep listening to this song recently

in the face of so much opposition)

O God, Our Help in Ages Past

Birthday Wish/Prayer...

Happy 30th Birthday, Emily!

(which means your dad and I are celebrating 3 decades of parenthood!!)

Wishing you...well, read the poem😊💖🙏

Love, Mom

A world of lovely wishes fills my heart for you today

I wish you health and happiness and joy along life’s way

I wish you friends and family to cheer the path you trod

But even more I wish for you a humble faith in God

…because all other wishes without Him seem incomplete

Without greater assurance than this sorry world can mete

So, though I wish you wonders that will make you sing and dance

I wish you, above all, the joy and peace faith in God grants

I wish you courage in the face of opposition’s dare

I wish you lots of laughter, lots of kisses, lots of prayer

I wish for you a crown of wisdom forged from smiles and tears

And faith in God that dearly deepens with the passing years

I wish for you, role models that are trustworthy and true

And love, because love makes worthwhile the smallest tasks we do

But above all I wish what only God’s Word can provide

A Light unto your path to be faith’s infallible Guide

I wish for you awareness of God’s mercy, new each morn

For motherhood’s (servanthood’s) sweet gladness that oft leaves love weary-worn

But, above all the wishes full of favor and delight

I wish for you true faith in God, until faith becomes sight

Today I bind my birthday wishes for you into prayer

That God would bless and keep you in His everlasting care

That through the highs and lows that love and life are sure to mete 

Your faith in Him will be the hope that makes your joy complete 

© Janet Martin

(a wish for all your siblings too for all your lifetime through)

Psalm 16:8-11

I keep my eyes always on the Lord.

With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;

my body also will rest secure,

10 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,

nor will you let your faithful[b] one see decay.

11 You make known to me the path of life;

you will fill me with joy in your presence,

with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

OH! the cake?!

Lemon Poppyseed Bundt Cake!

another first time fav!!!

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