Thoughts About Tots (and their Teachers)

A row of  little shoes, 

Father's Day on Sunday,

...and late last night, tripping over Edison who shouted into the quiet kitchen,

'Hi, I'm Edison, let's sing along with Alphabet Pal!' 

are all part of what inspired this poem.

By the way, thanks to Edison and other alphabet-repeating gizmos

 Tots can belt out the abc's long before they go to school!

Imagine if we drilled them in eternal things the way we do the temporal...

Deut.11:18-21

Remember God’s Words

18Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds;

 tie them as reminders on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.

  19Teach them to your children, speaking about them when you sit at home

 and when you walk along the road, 

when you lie down and when you get up. 

20Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates, 

21so that as long as the heavens are above the earth, 

your days and those of your children may be multiplied 

in the land that the LORD swore to give your fathers.

Ephesians 6:4

Fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath; 

instead, bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

It takes a village of parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles,

 teachers, neighbors, childcare providers, etc.

to raise a child, but to train up a child in the way they should go (Prov.22:6) 

is mostly up to parents (*and grandparents)!

Deuteronomy 4:9

Only be on your guard and diligently watch yourselves, 

so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen,

 and so that they do not slip from your heart as long as you live. 

*Teach them to your children and grandchildren.

They trust us not to lead them into ways they should not go

They look to us to teach them so much that they want to know

This is no small or simple charge that follows you and I

These tots, so full of innocence and never-ending ‘why’

This is no brief commission we can annul when we choose

Once donned we cannot nonchalantly kick off parent-shoes

Tots are not little long; the stars they are trying to reach

Reflected in their eager eyes, see far more than we teach

The agelessness of truth is a beacon that does not dim

It is no shifting shadow that adapts to wish and whim

The manual for moms and dads is pure and undeterred

The sound and supreme counsel and instruction in God’s Word

To grasp astronomy, ecology, geologic worth/girth

Begins with knowing Who created the heavens and earth

The One who designed galaxies and rolling seas and bugs

Creates each little child we shower with kisses and hugs

The abc’s and one-two-threes are important to learn

But better far than shiny stars these tender triumphs earn

Is the sacred retelling of the One who made us all

No nursery rhyme is He who sees all creatures great and small

Children grow up so fast; Past echoes with the strange replay

Of scenes, that in a child’s childhood, we think, are far away

The feet outgrowing shoes, the boo-boos on elbows and knees

Soon fade into the fond, fine fabric work of memories

Children trust us to lead them; oh, forbid we teach a lie

To tots, so full of innocence and never-ending ‘why’

Who look to us to tell about so much they want to know

Tis no small charge to teach them about God who loves them/us so

© Janet Martin

Teaching children is a moment-ous charge

Small choices can make a big difference!

For instance, what books we choose to read to them.

Yesterday was HOT! 

A great opportunity to enjoy the shade with books

while a child delighted and astounded me with her

intuitive innocence!!

I forgot about photos till we were leaving to tackle other important tasks

on her to-do list; like trike😂💖

Because It's All So Brief...from First Frond-Shimmer to Sheaf

A blend of panic and perfect pleasure

pervades my senses as I stand among

the brief and precious bloom of peonies...

(I just noticed on this photo above, 

the persistent bindweed has already resurfaced between the rocks, g-r-r-r!!

after I thought I tackled it thoroughly two weeks ago!! see this post)

Last night I realized the fading sheen of green in the neighboring grain field!

...evoking a tender tug, aware of the impending inevitable; June's farewell

Happy 2nd half of June!

The ups and downs

and in betweens

of grays and browns

and blues and greens

Unfolds an

ever-wending wow

from molds of

never-ending now

The ebb and flow

that tunes the sky

with dawn’s hello

and noon’s goodbye

Unravels as it

binds to sheaves

what sparkle-whit

unwinds and weaves

Where bidden nuance

woos its art

to hidden viewpoints

of the heart

Where oft we stand

to gaze, agape

at mist-soft land-

scapes taking shape

While hunger plunders

hills and holes

While wonder thunders

in our souls

With ups and downs

and in betweens

of grays and browns

and blues and greens

  

© Janet Martin

Psalm 144:4
Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.

What Ifs Versus What Is...

He who promised is faithful.

Heb.10:23

A flower isn't a flower until the bud unfolds the bloom!

What Is in bloom now?

Peonies in the flower garden!

And the Flower of What Is, in life...

The ‘what ifs’ of regret cannot undo what has been done

Where What Is sets time’s tables with fresh favors, mercy-spun

What if instead of wishing for what no wish can undo

We make the most of what is within reach of me and you

God’s mercy new each morning and His all-sufficient grace

Forgiveness for repentance, and His Word to gird our faith

What if instead of fretting and forgetting favours wrought

We focus on remembering What Is, with grateful thought

What if we trusted He who will our every need supply

Where What Is always hinges to far more than meets the eye

Far more goodness and mercy than mortal can comprehend

And love that has no boundaries of beginning or end

The ‘what ifs’ of yesterday and tomorrow borrow care

Today is overflowing with what is enough to bear

What if we take what is, in spite of so much that is not

And humbly honor He who gives us everything we've got

His everlasting promises, His love that will not fail

His wind beneath our wings, His anchor in the galling gale

The ‘what ifs’ of regret are futile; this new day set free

Is brimming with what is waiting for us to ‘taste and see’

What if we love God first and our neighbour next because

What is still most important has always been these two laws

Then what if we rely on He who is in full control

And simply love Him with all of our heart and mind and soul

© Janet Martin

Not all 'what ifs' are 'if onlys'

Sometimes What If is the spark that kindles the dream/bud before the flower!

Originally, the second line in this poem was

'Where What Is sets time’s tables with fresh battles to be won'

but the more I pondered (though the battles are real and often grueling)

the battlefield is cradled in His mercy!

His redemption is complete!

His loving kindness faithful!

Psalm 34:8

O taste and see that the Lord is good: 

blessed is the man that trusteth in him.

Psalm 100:5

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; 

his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Phil.4:8

Finally, brothers and sisters, 

whatever is true, 

whatever is noble, 

whatever is right, 

whatever is pure, 

whatever is lovely, 

whatever is admirable—

if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—

think about such things.

Let's Live Today In Such A Way (as if we could die of a heart attack)

Jim didn't know his out-of-the-blue-question last night

(after we had ceased chatting for a little while and I was snoozing

 between pages of the book The Gauntlet) 

would spark today's poem.

He suddenly asked 'what if tomorrow is the day when people say

 'did you hear?!! Jim died of a heart attack today!'

Maybe you're laughing a little but...

It's not an impossibility for any one of us 

and perhaps a prudent/valid question to contemplate before

' the dust returns to the ground it came from, 

and the spirit returns to God who gave it.'

Eccles.12:6-7

Remember Him before the silver cord is snapped

and the golden bowl is crushed,

before the pitcher is shattered at the spring

and the wheel is broken at the well,

7before the dust returns to the ground from which it came

and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

Why does it matter so much?!

Because the soul is deathless with only one of two destinations

depending on the preparation we have made!

Salvation-heaven

Rejection-hell

I can't even remember if or what I answered 

but Jim's last words last night set the tone for my first thoughts this morning!

And inspired today's poem🙏💗

Take time to thoroughly appreciate life's simple, temporary joys

but first, address soul-sacred Eternity

(Grandson checking out gramma's birthday espresso)

Second-cousins sharing a swing...

(Photo used with permission💖💖💖)

My sister's grand-daughter pulled a goofy face just as I clicked😂

To live today in such a way, that it could be our last

Transforms our sighs and what we prize where morning hoists its mast

For none can tell how near farewell draws its finality

As we embark toward that mark, we know but cannot see

To live today as if we may not have another, wakes

A sacred sense of recompense in every breath one takes

And stirs us to a humbler view of time’s momentous fount

…moments become the holy sum of which we give account

To live today as if to say ‘thank-you’ to God, who grants

Its gift of grace, each lovely face we kiss, each ‘second chance’

Will help us weave the steps we leave behind into a prayer

For those still in the thick and thin of love and living’s care

To live today in such a way will beckon us to be

More mindful of the thinning glove that cups eternity

How sweet the flask that metes the task for loved ones near and dear

How fleet the feet that rush to greet the mists of yesteryear

Where sorrows surge and morrows merge with splurge of seasons spent

This is the toll that weans the Soul from mortal filament

Pray, let’s be kind and keep in mind what lies beyond yon past

And live today in such way, that it could be our last

And live today as if to say ‘I love you, you, and You’

And live today as if we may meet God when it is through

© Janet Martin

I remember wise words spoken by my dad years ago...

"live in such a way that if God told you today or tomorrow you will die,

you would carry on exactly as you would otherwise have.

Live life always ready to meet God!

Eccles.3:11

He has made everything beautiful in its time.

Also He has put eternity in their hearts,

except that no one can find out the work

that God does from beginning to end.

Heb.9:27-28

Just as man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment,

28so also Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many;

and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin,

but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await Him.

Matthew 1:21

She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus,

because He will save His people from their sins."

Acts 4:12

Salvation is found in no one else,

for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind

by which we must be saved.”

Acts 16:30-34

Then he brought them out and asked,

“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

31They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved,

you and your household.”

32Then Paul and Silas spoke the word of the Lord

to him and to everyone in his house.

33At that hour of the night, the jailer took them

and washed their wounds.

And without delay, he and all his household were baptized

. 34Then he brought them into his home and set a meal before them.

So he and all his household rejoiced

that they had come to believe in God.

Dear June (A Love Poem/ Song)

You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you.

Song of Solomon 4:7

I LOVE every season but I confess

I love winter mostly because of how it sweetens the dream-to-reality of June💖

My new middle-age passion is camp-fire cooking

inspired in large part by these enchanting videos on Country Life Vlog

Wow! We are already over one third through June's joy-opportunities!

June rambles through primed rosebuds with a raindrop song and dance

It ambles along laneways lighting purple wild-phlox lamps...

Green halos garnish arbors...

 and blue heavens crown each hill...

And from a vault of meadowland wildflower-jewels spill...

June dots the countryside with cattle herds...

... and flocks of sheep

June rambles through primed rosebuds with a raindrop song and dance

It ambles along laneways lighting purple wild-phlox lamps

Green halos garnish arbors and blue heavens crown each hill

And from a vault of meadowland wildflower-jewels spill

June rushes like a river made of beauty to behold

Of mesmerizing backdrops as dusk lingers, pink and gold

Of brooks luring bare feet, of dreamers drawn to dredge the deeps

Of darling nooks in curves and crooks of panoramic sweeps

Of temptation to trespass in a field of buttercups

Of peering into posy-bistros while bumble-bee sups

Of loitering in the fine company of flowers, oh

And forgetting just what it was that once we wished for so

June shimmers like a lily full of dew and morning sun

Gazillion diamond-glitters frilling fronds daintily spun

The willow is a minstrel and the chestnut tree a queen

At dusk translucent tinsel shines where dandel’ns had been

June rolls its verdant avenues out to banks, ethereal

The orchard sheds blush tutus for ranks more imperial

Cumulus masterpieces exhibit a grand buffet

Where beauty needs no thesis to prove perfect disarray

Where branches burgeon with gilt notes of noon-day lullabies

Where nature’s inkless lyrics lilt and float in leafy sighs

Where you are altogether beautiful in every way

Dear June, I thank thy Maker for thy loveliness today

June ushers in the season kissed by winter’s darling dreams

Where joy and happiness exist in sync, where gladness streams

Where everywhere one looks, one feels unworthy of it all

Pretty petal percussion peals from belfries one stem tall

June dots the countryside with cattle herds and flocks of sheep

The bard in all of us is stirred by what no one can keep

The die of destiny is cast; past woos new memories

Where June always fades far too fast; daisies bob in the breeze

© Janet Martin

June rolls its verdant avenues out to banks, ethereal

The orchard sheds blush tutus for ranks more imperial

Cumulus masterpieces exhibit a grand buffet

Where beauty needs no thesis to prove perfect disarray

Pretty petal percussion peals from belfries one stem tall...

June rushes like a river made of beauty to behold

Of mesmerizing backdrops as dusk lingers, pink and gold

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!!!