June Love-song

This poem was inspired by a text I received from Jim (hubby)

this morning at 6:15 😍

Well, what better way to start the day

than a hymn extoling June and its Creator?!!

A lupine-appliqued blanket gloriously unfurled...

On gentle raindrop waltzes,...

(we are rain-jewel thirsty in southern Ontario!

This morning a few gems fell)

Your flower-pot-prettied porches,

(The blue pot from my sister for my birthday)💖

I love your bachelor-buttoned blue...

your peony-pink, oh...

I love to be breath-taken by fields, white with daisy-snow...

I love the way you wind your brooks through nooks and crooks of earth...

How each new day you toss a lure of pure June-happiness

To life’s care-laden thoroughfare, where awed wonder gives birth

To picnic-humble platitudes of joy and thankfulness...

…and frisky foals,

(below photo May, before the smoke haze was quite as dense as it is now)

This poem is a collection of delights from the first week of June

(except for 'the blue-sky afternoon!)

This year June-blue skies have been obliterated by smoky haze

due to many forest fires!

Our thoughts and prayers are with those directly affected

and esp. the many who are battling the blaze!

***

I love you, June. Ah, you must be the jewel in time’s crown

A lupine-appliqued blanket gloriously unfurled

A green pasture and still water tableau, hayfields, fresh mown

Each garden, like a bit of Eden in a broken world

I love you, June. Your early daybreak, and dusk’s lingering sigh

Your purple wild-phlox rivers pooled where highways run between

Your flower-pot-prettied porches, fledglings, learning to fly

I love your backdrop rich with every nameless shade of green

I love your bachelor-buttoned blue, your peony-pink, oh

And how each tree-top plays a perfect, leaf-lush hymn of praise

I love to be breath-taken by fields, white with daisy-snow

(Thank God, nature is oblivious to mankind’s godless/thoughtless ways)

I love the way you wind your brooks through nooks and crooks of earth

How each new day you toss a lure of pure June-happiness

To life’s care-laden thoroughfare, where awed wonder gives birth

To picnic-humble platitudes of joy and thankfulness

Thank-you God, for Your faithfulness where our faithfulness fails

Thank-you God, for your mercies and your Word to keep hope strong

Thank-you God, for the season that lavishes and regales

Long-barren breadth; your handiwork bursts into bloom and song

I love you June, the way you cheer a world with much amiss

You gild the lily-chalice with dew-diamonds, wonder sups

On gentle raindrop waltzes, on sweet, red strawberry kiss

On meadows, flaunting fleabane stars and yellow buttercups

…and frisky foals, and flocks of sheep; hollyhock sentinels

Wisteria-woven awning beneath blue-sky afternoon

And ageless Anne-of-Green-gable-like thrills where laughter swells

As a world full of kindred spirits sing, 'I love you, June'

...no one can copyright the beauty God alone bestows

Ah, June is like a showcase where masterpieces abound

To frameless canopies, where the Artist's brushstrokes compose

Roses and hummingbirds, sweet summer breaking holy ground 

© Janet Martin

Psalm 111:2

Great are the works of the LORD;

they are pondered by all who delight in them.

Do things ever give you a thrill?!!

Anne of Green Gables

To Get or to Receive...and a few other Thursday Thoughts

Happy, hope-full Thursday!

Hope-full no matter what!!

because of 

Whose Name we can call upon;

Jesus!

Acts 3:19-20

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out,

 that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,

 20 and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—

even Jesus.

***

What a peace each morning, to rest in the Giver's Hands 

whatever the day unfolds!

And when we ask of Him whatever He wills, 

then all we have we have received!!

When we neglect to ask, then all we have 

is simply what we get, 

minus the joy of the awareness of having received.

When we receive something

the receiving of it inspires thankfulness/praise

to the Giver!

***

If we ask, we receive

Otherwise we just ‘get’

The end result that ‘reach’ achieves

May seem the same, and yet

Though seizing of ‘the prize’

May share a common end

The ‘given’ and the ‘gotten’ guise

Are worlds apart, my friend

One works with wantful thought

One begins on its knees

Then, how we gained The Same Thing sought

Only the Giver sees

© Janet Martin

Have Thine Own Way, Lord

***

it is hard to store treasure

in heaven, 

while laying up treasure 

on earth

the measure to whom much 

is given

without heaven's store

bears no worth...

What will life be 

but a squandered

wonderful gift

groaned-grinned?

If, all we have gained

when plundered

is nothing but chaff

 on the wind

***

I'd Rather Have Jesus

***

rationalism,

spiritualism,

sensationalism,

oh my!

Lord, pray these never 

overpower the sway

of three little words

'here am I'

***

If all I had was what I give

Oh, would it be enough

To satisfy my mouth with bread

And my longing with love?

***

And this last one inspired by my husband 

who is a truckdriver and just left the scene of a fatal accident

moments ago

(a car crushed by a gravel truck)🙏😥💔

Our life is like a flower

That someday God will fell

...and of that day and hour

not one of us can tell

***

A Collection of Conclusions...

My apologies to early readers.

I didn't get a chance to proof read when I posted it this morning

It's quite a process really, the polishing of a poem

and granddaughter arrived just as I hit 'post'...

So to all the head-scratching as you tried to make sense of it all, thank-you!!😀

Today I turn 57! What??!! Already?! 😂💗🙏

I enjoyed the pleasure of this line in today's poem, yesterday💝

'A cuppa-tea is priceless when it comes with friends besides'

(...and to each friend on these photos, I am asking forgiveness instead of permission😅)

(a very special day. thank-you!💗)

I’ve come to the conclusion as the years accumulate

And we collect past’s landscapes in the hollow of the heart

That each day is fresh-laden with mercies to celebrate

Where we are always in the midst of love’s fresh works of art

And always, by God’s grace placed where He fits us for the part

I’ve come to the conclusion, contemplating life’s return

That being kind and patient is the best that we can do

For we all share in common the hurdles of live-and-learn

And we all need a helping hand to see us gently through

Where life’s fumbles and stumbles serve to humble me and you

I’ve come to the conclusion in the rise and fall of days

To dwell on grand illusions of happiness is to miss

The music of a very present harmony/melody that plays

Where voices touch and fade, where hellos harbour farewell’s kiss

Where none of us can keep for long the song simply called This

I’ve come to the conclusion as seasons cartwheel through clocks

That we cannot afford to waste the touch-and-taste time grants

Where the voice that speaks clearest is spoken in how one walks

Where every day runs rife with mercy’s Here’s-a-brand-new-chance

To love; now is that not enough to make us sing and dance

I’ve come to the conclusion that, for all that money buys

The way we expend moments is of greater benefit

A cuppa-tea is priceless when it comes with friends besides

And flowers brought to bedsides bloom best if we sit a bit

I’ve come to the conclusion life is what we make of it

We must choose joy or despair will crush us; we must choose hope

We must be willing to be willing to take change-of-plan-detours

And dream with meek awareness that God ordains yes and nope

And pay holy attention to the harvest death secures

(for everyone will meet He whose justice and love endures)

I’ve come to the conclusion that the tighter that we cling

To what no one can keep, is a futile struggle indeed

But rather every morning at God’s bedside knee, first bring

Life’s praise and sorrows to Him; there He restores the soul’s need

And helps us as we embark with Handful of Moment-seed

I've come to the conclusion (because we reap what we sow)

The older that I get, the more I am utterly awed

By morning's renewed mercy from the One who loves me so

Enough to keep on teaching me to trust His staff and rod 

And grandly glimpse with every breath, the smiling face of God  

© Janet Martin

Psalm 25:1-11

To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

2 O my God, I trust in You;

Let me not be ashamed;

Let not my enemies triumph over me.

3 Indeed, let no one who [a]waits on You be ashamed;

Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause.

4 Show me Your ways, O Lord;

Teach me Your paths.

5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me,

For You are the God of my salvation;

On You I wait all the day.

6 Remember, O Lord, Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses,

For they are from of old.

7 Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions;

According to Your mercy remember me,

For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord.

8 Good and upright is the Lord;

Therefore He teaches sinners in the way.

9 The humble He guides in justice,

And the humble He teaches His way.

10 All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth,

To such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.

11 For Your name’s sake, O Lord,

Pardon my iniquity, for it is great.

Like a Dead Man Walking...

2 Chron.6:18

Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You.

When one lives, indifferent to and unaffected by such a God

as described in the verse above,

such an one is surely like a dead man walking💔😥

wild flowers...just one example of how

our Creator delights to delight us!

May we never live unaffected by our awesome God!

Unrepentant of rebellion, undelighted by God’s word

Unexcited about spending eternity with the Lord

Unattached to wonder’s wellspring surging from the hand of He

Who created earth and heavens with His sovereign ‘let there be’

Unmoved by mercy’s renewal, unawed by redemption’s flood

Unbowed by confounded humble awareness of Holy God

Unchanged by His grace and goodness, untouched by unfailing love

Unpersuaded by the power that can earth and heaven move

Unstirred by the pretty flower, by the songbird’s sanguine trills

By the beauty of a bower lavished with leaf-layered frills

Undevoted to His kindness, undefended by His Shield

Unaffected by thought-blindness unoffended by sin’s yield

Unguarded by angel-armies, untransformed by hope’s pure joy

Inattentive to heart-gardens of innocent girl and boy

Indifferent to the Shepherd, who, without counting the cost

Leaves the fold to search until He gathers the sheep that was lost

Unfamiliar with the Father and faith’s fellowship of prayer

Unappeased by Living Water’s promises beyond compare

Unimpressed by the true riches stored beyond time’s subtle haste

Preferring one that bewitches Want with instant touch and taste

Unaroused by utter worship to the Author of all things

Unamazed and uninspired by blessing each season brings

Unable to see the table that is groaning with a feast

Granted by He who is faithful from the greatest to the least

Unthankful, proud and unholy, unresponsive to the toll

That will strip Self of its boasting, leaving nothing but the Soul

Giving no glory and honor to God for the gift He gave

Living like a dead man walking but to wake up in hell’s grave

© Janet Martin

June Boon

June as always is brimming with nature's boon...

June tosses lures Peony-pure...

like peering into iris-trove...

...like lolling in arboretums

where hollyhock and clematis

and wisteria whisper, oh

like lingering in knee-deep drifts

of silver dandelion-snow...

like letting waves wash Want away...

...like twilight's slow release

June tosses lures Peony-pure

Delight. Backdrops of flawless hue

invite us to earth’s banquet room

of carpet green, and awning blue

to be honored partakers of

nature’s guiltless pleasure-buffet

like peering into iris-trove

like letting waves wash Want away

like sipping the sunny-sweet breeze

like honey-bees, heady with crumbs

of pollen sticking to our knees

like lolling in arboretums

where hollyhock and clematis

and wisteria whisper, oh

like lingering in knee-deep drifts

of silver dandelion-snow

like standing stock-still mesmerized

by ruby-throated hummingbird

like being agelessly surprised

by nature’s rhythms undeterred

like robin as it sings for rain

like midnight’s wildlife rendezvous

as gardeners start to complain

about what naughty rabbits do

where delights are the dearer, for

the verge where always troubles lurk

where June is like a troubadour

and toil can hardly be called ‘work’

where pools of shade, second to none

hail us for high-noon holiday

and the school-year is nearly done

where children shout hip-hip-hooray

and buses breathe sighs of relief

and drivers too; (do I hear ‘yes!’?)

where zephyrs tickle verdant leaf

that tickles hearts with happiness

where a communion-wafer moon

serenades twilight’s slow release

where heaven on earth must be June

and June must be Time’s Masterpiece

© Janet Martin

like standing stock-still mesmerized

by ruby-throated hummingbird...

It's Not Fancy, Love's Commitment

Marriage; that 'till death do us part' commitment

...that 'what God has joined together let no one put asunder' undertaking

...that 'for better or worse' that's bound to try even the starriest eyes 

Marriage; that union no love is ever fully prepared for

Today Jim and I, by the grace of God

 celebrate 35 years of marriage

it's not fancy, love's commitment

keeping kindness on its toes

learning how to be more patient

rather than wield verbal blows

learning to weather together

what could well draw us apart

when differences strain the tether

that has knit us heart to heart 

it's not fancy, love in action

testing more than how one feels

 about the truth of attraction

after first love cools its heels

its a digging in together

so we do not drift apart

in our promise of 'forever'

love; not for the faint of heart

it's not fancy, love's meek glory

tempered by both smile and tear

it's as simple as 'I'm sorry'

**(it's as hard as this, my dear)

it's a bittersweet commitment

bringing out our worst and best

as we stick to the fulfillment

of  vows human natures test

it's not fancy, being faithful

being gentle, being strong

being unselfish and grateful

 helping each other along

following Jesus example

of a sacrificial life

it's not fancy, love's wonder-full

journey as husband and wife 

💖💖💖

Janet Martin

As life writes our love stories,

as years fall behind us so swiftly

faithful love of husband and wife reaps a harvest

so worth the effort.

and it's not fancy,

or glamourous,

(for by now we've both too often stumbled

and been soundly humbled) 

until all that is left to exclaim is

'thank-you God' for your faithfulness

making possible ours!

...and through it all we marvel at how love

doesn't look anything like we once envisioned, but the more beautiful

because of its weathering!

When we get to those seasons in marriage when we're sure it's not going to work,

it is vital we pray to God for His faithfulness to see us through,

to help us remain faithful to the vows we made before Him!

Nobody has a successful marriage because it is easy.

Faithfulness happens day by day...

the other day on Ann Voskamp's blog

this beautiful guest post!!

Day-to-Day Grace for your Marriage

Psalm 25:4

(a good prayer for marriage)

Show me your way, O Lord,

teach me your path.

** and a genuine 'I'm sorry' is not

"I'm sorry that you feel that I should be sorry for something

that I feel I don't need to be sorry for!!"😅

One of my fav love songs!

The Rose

Because Satan is a Charmer (we need God's Armour)

The reason deceit is so cunning/detrimental is because

it comes in a way that seems right to us, 

but leads to death-

Prov.14:12

There is a way that seems right to a man,

but its end is the way of death.

Because, without knowledge of the Truth

we are prone to believe logic's lie...

Matt.22:9

Jesus answered and said unto them, 

Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, 

nor the power of God.

The knowledge of the power of God 

is the true believer's comfort and peace in these troubled times!

Hallelujah! but...

this is not a sit-back-and-do-nothing-warfare,

it's a watching-God-work as 'we do all we can to stand' warfare...

(see Eph. 6:10-20 below)

Because the wars of faith are fought on battlegrounds within

The Armor of the Lord is for the man beneath our skin

To guard the heart and mind against the liar’s insurgence

Whose mission is to blind us to sin’s dire consequence

Therefore we need God’s armor in a land where evil smiles

So that we may be able to withstand the devil’s wiles

Because rulers of darkness, disguised as angels of light

Are both cunning and heartless, we must be equipped to fight

Without the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness

We are like open prey to he who breeds ungodliness

Therefore, we need God’s armor to protect thought’s open street

Where Satan is a charmer and a master of deceit

Pity all whose feet are not shod with the gospel of peace

Who have no shield of faith in God to quench bold wickedness

No helmet of salvation to enrich hope undeterred

And no sword of the spirit which is God’s eternal Word

Oh, pity all who live without God’s armor to secure

Defenseless against darts of doubt, or glamour’s lethal lure

Today, before we take another step, oh pray we pause

And do a thorough armor-check with prayerful care because

We wrestle not with flesh and blood, but evil’s ruthless brood

Who are the enemy of God, truthless, devoid of good

But, with the name of Jesus and the power of His might

God’s grace equips and frees us from the fear of death/man, to fight

© Janet Martin

Take the Name of Jesus with You

 

Eph.6:10-20

The Whole Armor of God

10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 

11 Put on the whole armor of God, 

that you may be able to stand against the [b]wiles of the devil. 

12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, 

but against principalities, against powers, 

against the rulers of [c]the darkness of this age, 

against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 

13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, 

that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, 

and having done all, to stand.

14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth,

 having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 

15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

 16 above all, taking the shield of faith 

with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 

17 And take the helmet of salvation, 

and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;

 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, 

being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— 

19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, 

that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 

20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; 

that in it I may speak boldly, 

as I ought to speak.

All Aboard (on our way to meeting the Lord)

Happy Birthday, Jim!

A glimpse at his view this morning!

(from New Jersey and New York)

I wonder how many miles Jim has traveled in 37 years of truck-driving!

Today Jim has reached the milestone of 59 years of life!

What a blessing, not to be taken for granted!

 

Whether viewed over the hood of a truck or otherwise,

the scenery of our lives is as varied and diverse as the journeys,

Some reject the Conductor, others revere and love Him, but

all will appear before Him when we come to the end of life's journey,

where one of two eternities awaits;

 forever with Him or forever separated.

With Him= forever joy, life and light/Day.

Without Him = forever anguish, death and darkness.

Mark 16:16

Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, 

but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

***

All aboard, cries the Conductor as the new-born baby cries

As the first breath births life’s journey of the Soul that never dies

From He, who our days has written before one has come to be

From God, the Giver and Taker of fleeting mortality

Courses the measure of moments, tick by tock its torrent flows

Forcing the child soon to grapple with the thorns beneath the rose

All aboard, cries the Conductor at the portal of sunrise

Rife with life’s inevitable ups and downs of lows and highs

Subtle carousel of seasons spins, and spills what soon is spent

My, how sacred is our answer to He who life’s lease has lent

Where love is His utter reason, while faith musters flying leaps

No passenger is forgotten in the promises He keeps

All aboard, cries the Conductor. Only He/God can see the whole

How near is the final station/Destination where dust is brushed from the Soul

Thus, we at the faithful mercy of God’s goodness, truth and grace

Ought to ponder oft the moment when we meet Him face to face

Careful in how we maneuver every hill and hairpin curve

For this is how we will prove who we believe and who we serve

All aboard, cries the Conductor, as onto dawn’s car we climb

Where today some will be ushered from This Thoroughfare of Time

Thus, we should regard with honor every opportunity

To be loving to each other, fellow travelers are we

Until one by one each swaying, Soul-hinged pendulum is stilled

As each day of grace, prewritten has been offered and fulfilled

Hark, across Time's landscape tolls the holy call of, 'all aboard!'

On this very sacred passage, on our way to meet the Lord

© Janet Martin

Psalm 139:14-16

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.

15My frame was not hidden from you

when I was made in the secret place,

when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.

16Your eyes saw my unformed body;

all the days ordained for me were written in your book

before one of them came to be.

Sometimes when Jim calls me

he is parked at a railway waiting for the train to pass...

Life Railway to Heaven

over the years there's been a lot of this...

(exchanging empty thermos and lunch-bag for full)