It Is July

 Happy, happy July!

Our first day of July was a perfect blend of busyness and beauty...

(I have been asked more than once if, for all the pictures I take

'don't I want to invest in a nicer, bigger camera?'

Part of me would like to but I need something that fits into a pocket

so work and captured moments like yesterday's, won't conflict😅💗)

oops! spills will happen!

It is July

The month of sapphire sky and flaxen wheat

A pleasant place to slow the pace of labor and bare feet

The garden grins as it begins to burst with bounty where

Not long ago a world of snow and dreams teased our stare

It is July

The month when lazy breezes loll and sigh

And lure us 'neath the lofty wreath of leafy lullaby

Sweet summer days, thy love song plays in every flower bell

As thankfulness and happiness in perfect kinship dwell/swell

It is July

Time’s ode to butterfly and hummingbird

The heady woo as scent of dust and dew thrill senses stirred

Where sprinklers lilt with sparkles spilt and lobbed against the sky

Where children run and everyone is younger in July

It is July

Work and play vie for front and center stage

So much to touch and taste before time’s tried haste turns the page

No joy is common in July; each heat-sweet summons, pure

Each day a gift soon set adrift where morning casts its lure

It is July

Shadow quilts lie in wait for picnics, books

Impetuous hiatuses from duty’s rigid looks

Ah, we are summer glad. So glad. Sun sizzles in the sky

Zinnia buds pop. Fat rain drops plop. We laugh. It is July

© Janet Martin

...and a picture perfect wedding day!

(happening this afternoon!)

The 'little girl next door' is no more!

Today she is a beautiful bride!

Ode to June

Life's busyness just doesn't allow for all the June poems that beg to be written...

but one final ode to June as its farewell tugs on heartstrings,

in spite of July joy waiting at dawn

June is a flower-friendly lease...

...a strawberry lover's paradise

...a freedom-elated school-boy

June is the tempo of bare feet

June is the laughter of a child...

June is the perfect centerpiece

In the living-room of a year...

June joins the ranks where ages rest

A quick collage of memories

Like pansies, between pages pressed

Like madrigals of peonies

While gardens reach toward the sky

While mornings roll toward July

While all the while we my-oh-my

At how time flies with ease

Like a plot decked with petals strewn

Like a teapot, tipped, poured and drained

June spills and fills each afternoon

With gold and green and blue unchained

While days and dreams mingle and merge

While shadow-breakers ebb and surge

Across shorelines of sun-glossed verge

Of what yet waits to be

June stuns the soul with poetry

Strawberry-lovers’ paradise

June is a leaf-lush canopy

A backdrop splashed with butterflies

June is part ballad and part waltz

Blip of cartwheels and somersaults

June is a woman without faults

Save one; Her swift demise

June is the tempo of bare feet

June is the laughter of a child

June is a love song, bittersweet

As clocks and hollyhocks run wild

A bubble on a breeze, ahoy

A freedom-elated school-boy

Lithe, and leaping from joy to joy

All reason reconciled

June is a flower-friendly lease

Of pure contentment now and here

June is the perfect centerpiece

In the living-room of a year

June is dusk’s long-lingering flight

June is daybreak while it is night

June is the bull’s eye of delight

And farewell’s fondest tear

© Janet Martin

Fare Thee Well, Love

Thankfulness and Praise

1 Pet.1:17-19

And if you call on the Father,

who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, 

conduct yourselves throughout the time of your [e]stay here in fear;

 knowing that you were not redeemed with [f]corruptible things, like silver or gold, 

from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers,

 but with the precious blood of Christ,...

Imagine if every Sunday morning the minister would,

with trembling hands open a letter of encouragement

such as Peter wrote to remind the early church,

the first Christians facing opposition and persecution,

of the believer's living hope, so they/we would

'rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you

 at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 'v.13

Oh joy, we have that letter not only for Sunday morning but every single day!

v.20-21

He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, 

but was [g]manifest in these last times for you who through Him believe in God, 

who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, 

so that your faith and hope are in God.

Then as we think on these things 

may our lives overflow with humble thankfulness and praise!

When Joseph was thrown into prison after Potiphar's lie

he did not seek to vindicate himself but trusted God and served Him, even in prison!

'because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper.'

Gen.39:23

Lord, help us strive to live our days in such a humble, trusting way...

As this morning's much needed rain is a plant's 'living hope'

so is God's Word/truth to the one who puts their trust in Him!

Lord, help us strive to live our days

With hearts of thankfulness and praise

Remind us of faith’s recompense

A heavenly inheritance

Lord, make the motive of life’s call

To glorify You above all

Lord, in the dark thick of the fight

Help us to be a shining light

Lord, let the kindness of Your grace

Equip, encourage and embrace

Let holy conduct testify

Of the hope on which we rely

Lord, lest some deadly vice creep in

Convict us of each subtle sin

Lord, then as we discern Your ways

Fill us thankfulness and praise

Amaze us with the end that tolls

With the salvation of our souls

Bought, not with world-wealth sacrificed

But with the precious blood of Christ

Lord, keep us from spite's ready snare

Stir in us Gethsemane's prayer

Then, help us strive to live our days

With hearts of thankfulness and praise

Forever and Always,

Amen

© Janet Martin

Matt.5:16

In the same way, let your light shine before others,

 that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Father, what we know not

Teach us

What we have not

Give us

What we are not

Make us,

For Your Son's sake,

amen

(excerpt from message below)

Another excerpt: sometimes a bad thing happens for a good reason!

(Listen around and after the 30 min. mark for very vital, somber, relevant caution!)

The Need for Prayer

Do you love your pastor/s?

Do you pray for them so their

preaching may be the gathered result of our prayers?!!

Does a Sunday morning sermon bring fruit of 'their labour' or 'our labour'

as fellow-labourers for our Lord!?

Beauty Pageant

 Wishing you a wow-run-wild kind of day!

This time of years is a salad-lover's paradise!!

snaring buds as I snip off faded peonies...

Beauty burgeons, brims and billows

Glints and glimmers, sweeps and sighs

Beauty spills hills; plumped green pillows

Perched against cerulean skies

Beauty is sweet bliss unshaken

Beauty startles, stirs and awes

Beauty is the kiss that wakens

Worship’s wild, off-guard applause

Beauty bursts bud-vaults with flowers

Wonder loosens longing’s noose

Beauty decks and drips from arbors

Periwinkle and chartreuse

Beauty sprawls in shadow-steeples

Mapping out the march of time

Beauty falls in faded petals

From the frond that held its prime

Beauty ignores human nature

Often blind to God at large

Beauty does not force the creature

To enjoy the show, no charge

Beauty flutters, flits and flickers

Filling hearts with my-oh-my

Beauty warbles, wafts and whispers

Bitty bird and butterfly

Beauty bids bards brave the battle

That the font does not disclose

Beauty helps hope cope with trouble

The thorn tempered by the rose

Beauty murmurs and meanders

Like a brook snared by a pen

As the poet tames to paper

Beauty to relive again

© Janet Martin

I was reminded of this verse below because counting all that God does and creates 

cannot be contained in all the books and poems ever written!

John 21:25

Jesus did many other things as well. 

If every one of them were written down,

 I suppose that even the whole world would not have room 

for the books that would be written.

Everlasting Treasure

Psalm 143:8

Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning;

for in thee do I trust:

cause me to know the way wherein I should walk;

for I lift up my soul unto thee.

Psalm 144:15

Happy is that people, that is in such a case: 

yea, happy is that people, whose God is the LORD.

Psalm 139:23-24

Search me, O God, and know my heart;

Try me, and know my anxieties;

And see if there is any wicked way in me,

And lead me in the way everlasting.

Jim and I went on a rural Ontario drive yesterday...

We got caught in the middle of a bit of a different kind of traffic-jam!

after Sunday afternoon instruction classes for baptism were over...

This is the time of year when ditches become wild flower gardens

As enjoyable as the drive was, like all outings

its pleasure is momentary...

Earth simply cannot offer anything everlasting...

except God's Word!

Here is a treasure worth seeking!

This is no fruitless endeavor

This is no fool’s gold we seek

When we search the Holy Scriptures

We will find strength for the weak

We will find the road to glory

We will find hope for the soul

We will find love’s sweetest story

For the faith that makes us whole

We will find God’s kind forgiveness

Righteousness, wisdom and joy

Counsel, comfort, Friend and fortress

That no power can destroy

We will find the Rock of Ages

Guidance, armour for the fight

When we search these sacred pages

Full of grace and truth and light

When we search the Holy Scriptures

When upon God’s Word we feed

We will find unfathomed riches

To supply our every need

Here is peace past understanding

Earth’s anchor to Heaven’s throne

Here is assurance unending

Refuge and Chief Cornerstone

When we ask we will be given

When we seek, there we will find

When we knock our God will open

The door of heart, soul and mind

…this is no fruitless endeavor

Here God hears us when we call

Here is everlasting treasure

Without measure, free to all

© Janet Martin

Isa.55:6

Seek the LORD while he may be found;

 call on him while he is near.

Isaiah 26:9

My soul longs for You in the night; 

indeed, my spirit seeks You at dawn. 

For when Your judgments come upon the earth, 

the people of the world learn righteousness.

Isaiah 45:19

I have not spoken in secret, from a place in a land of darkness.

 I did not say to the descendants of Jacob, 'Seek Me in a wasteland.'

 I, the LORD, speak the truth; I say what is right.

Isaiah 45:22

Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; 

for I am God, and there is no other.

Summer

Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; 

to me those have always been the two most beautiful words

 in the English language.”

― Henry James

Breakfast in the garden...

Campfire griddle-cakes...

Never pleading pardon

For extended breaks...

Fields flaunt floral fringes...

Flower begets flower...

Lily-lanterns gleam...

Smacking lips devour

Strawberries and cream...

Breakfast in the garden

Campfire griddle-cakes

Never pleading pardon

For extended breaks

Beauty is not wasted

Kitchen duty waits

So much to be tasted

On blue-sky heaped plates

Sun and shadow dapples

Green leaf canopy

Sheer contentment grapples

With time’s fleeting spree

Flower begets flower

Lily-lanterns gleam

Smacking lips devour

Strawberries and cream

Lyrics spill in laughter

Sprinkler diamonds splash

Bare feet pitter-patter

Popsicle mustache

Swallows skim dusk backdrops

Bloom lures butterflies

*Puppy chews on flip-flops

Owner scolds and sighs

Fields flaunt floral fringes

Gilt-embroidered glove

Touch of heaven tinges

Earth’s fullness thereof

Dusty, dewy essence 

Stokes soft breeze caress 

Sun-steeped effervescence 

Evokes happiness

Picnic basket pleasure

Outdoor living-rooms

Every day a treasure

Where sweet summer blooms

© Janet Martin

*'Rats' I said to myself in bed last night

after everyone had gone home and campfire was tidied up.

I hope someone saw my flip-flops and brought them inside

(I kicked them off to run a race with grand-kiddos)

Someone didn't and neighbor farm-pup did 😠

My bad for not just getting up and making sure!

The consequence of laziness...

Swallows skim dusk backdrops...

When We Find The Key To Favor

Yesterday's 'favor' was juicy and sweet!

Not all fruit for our labor seems quite as visible and flavorful as fresh strawberries

but is every bit as sweet if we find the key to God's favor...

Then, what an indescribable treat, to savor joy!

Not in vain is noble effort

Though no ovations resound

Not for nothing is the labor

Though no compliments abound

What a diadem of honor

Crowns what appears commonplace

What pure purpose bids us onward

Though no eager crowds give chase

Though the push and pull of duty

Seems a thankless exercise

What a boon of hidden beauty

Tunes the struggle to the Prize

...when we find the key to favor

When from the moment we wake

Our joy is but to labor

For the name of our Lord’s sake

...when to labor is the favor

When love is its own reward

When work is worship, we savor

Joy, through Jesus Christ our Lord

© Janet Martin

Psalm 5:11-12

But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You;

Let them ever shout for joy, because You [f]defend them;

Let those also who love Your name

Be joyful in You.

For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous;

With favor You will surround him as with a shield.

Prov.8:35

For whoever finds me finds life,

And obtains favor from the LORD;

Col.3:23

And whatever you do, do it heartily,

as to the Lord and not to men,

Luke 11:27-28

As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out

, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.”

He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

God's Fingerprints

Now I see His (God's) fingerprints all over this experience. '

wrote my friend as she looks back on 3 years 

filled with tumultuous tests of searching for God's will 

and waiting on His timing...

It made me think of all of us in the middle of

a finished frame...

Some waiting/hoping to find their one true love

Some who have found and married their one true love

and are weathering the challenges/disappointments

that marriage is bound to bring

and some whose marriages are broken

Couples who would love to be parents but that dream is withheld,

Parents whose wisdom, energy and patience are stretched to the max

by 'dreams' not withheld...

Many of us find ourselves in some kind of 'frame' of waiting.

What good cheer to visualize God's fingerprints

putting what looks to us like broken or forgotten pieces, in perfect place

if we trust, seek and wait on Him...

Have Thine Own Way, Lord

Sometimes in the middle

Of a broken heart

We can't grasp the goodness 

In God's works of art

In dark disappointment

Of dreams not come true

We can't see the glory

Waiting to shine through

Sometimes in the middle

Of 'Remember When?'

God is gently drawing

Wonder's awed 'amen'

Sometimes colors baffle

Sometimes pages crease

Living in the middle

Of the masterpiece

Sometimes God's kind whisper

Transfigures pied glints

Unveiling a picture

Of His fingerprints

Janet Martin

Waiting on God's Timing part 1

Waiting on God's Timing, Part 2