Peony-June

Peak peony-blooming time and longevity

 depends a lot on the temperatures of June.

This year's moderate to slightly cooler temps 

will hopefully vibrantly extend the much anticipated lifespan 

of our beloved peony!

Here is an attempt to share

a bit of pink petal-pleasure with you.

Enjoy!

Many a face has been buried deep in your perfumed bloom

Many a burdened carried then lost in your ruffled loom

Many a heart has been lifted, and many a witness awed

And many a bouquet gifted straight from the hand of God

Many a poem has thundered, many a poet been born

Many a marvel wondered while praising thy lovely form

Many a prayer has been murmured, and many a care set free

In thee, plush harbinger of summer, in thee, pretty peony

Many a gladness kindled, and many a sadness cheered

Many an atheist humbled by many a Beauty endeared

Where many a bud has broken and many a posy has strewn

Many a petal-pink token of many a peony-June

© Janet Martin

Peony-Bliss Carmen

Care's Counterbalance...Creator's Kindness

Let's pray in these times-like-never-before 

where nations are turning from God like never before

that we who believe commit to seeing, hearing, obeying,

relying on and worshipping Him like never before...

Many are the witnesses of faith we may look to for courage, chiefly Jesus!!

Heb.12:1-2

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,

 let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us,

 and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

 2looking unto Jesus, the [a]author and [b]finisher of our faith,

 who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, 

despising the shame, and has sat down 

at the right hand of the throne of God.

When we delight in the beauty of creation

it is not hard to believe that our Creator God is awesome above all else!!

Isaiah 46:9
Remember the former things of old:

for I am God, and there is none else; 

I am God, and there is none like me,

Sometimes life’s woes could blind us to God’s kindnesses unfurled

To counterbalance creature cares in a care-laden world

He tunes heaven and earth with boons too manifold to count

He woos us to drink deeply from June’s leaf and flower fount

Where once again He clothes the land with garb of seed and bud

In keeping with the covenant, He made after the flood

To manifest His evidence, creation shouts His name

To quench credence to atheism’s cold and calloused claim

He comforts us with colours only His thought can compose

And sweetens Heaven-hunger with reason only He knows

Where each season showcases masterpieces, mercy-lent

Where nothing in this world replaces Goodness, mercy-bent

To well in us, in spite of aches and pangs that sting and press

A worship-bidden, wonder-smitten hymn of happiness

Of reverence and honour to He from Whom blessings pour

To awe and cheer us onward to the joy still set before

...to capture our attention with surprises full of grace

To lavish wounds of learning with fond glimpses of His face 

To never let life blind us to He who is kind and good

Whose invisible qualities are clearly understood

© Janet Martin

Rom.1:20

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—

his eternal power and divine nature—

 have been clearly seen, 

being understood from what has been made, 

so that people are without excuse.

Oh God!!! May I/we never live

 unawed!

Minding/Counting our 'Much-es' (or Much to Make the Most Of)

(I think Grandsonny might be thinking

'h-m-m! Shoulda waited a little longer 

for these to come out of the oven before biting a muffin...'🤣

Of course he tasted these later for lunch dessert!)

So much to be thankful for...

in the midst of so much to be careful for...

(first attempt at making soft tortillas!) 

they were yummy!

in the midst of so much to be prayerful for!!

***

Luke 12:48

 For everyone to whom much is given, 

from him much will be required; 

The reveille of the morning sun rouses mortal to Much

Much task and obligation run like rivers through our touch

Much beauty to behold freely surprises us with joy

And cheers us on where much duty deals a tireless employ

Much care to kindle prayer from a much-too-forgetful race

And where much sin and sorrow bear fruit, praise God, much more grace

Much sacred consequence as innocence sheds fledgling gauze

Where soon evidence manifests much effect from much cause

Where much we once thought hidden is much too plain to deny

Much long aftermath bidden from much-too-hasty reply

Where oh, so much temptation taunts gifted students of Want

With so much education, not found in ink-scripted font

Much may seem commonplace until it slips beyond our reach

As much Unknown to face unveils much left to learn and teach

Where Much is a mean Charmer without a much Higher Call

Than much dream stripped of glamor lost to Bygone’s shadow-hall

Where, though so much is taken much remains to make much of

Much wonder to be wakened and shaken from much to love

Much to challenge, test and estrange much once we thought we knew

Where though so much is bound to change, the Truth is always true

And much we make such fuss about soon fills yesterday’s shoes/news

While much of what we trust or doubt will anchor or confuse

Where much abounds to make us glad and sad, and weak and strong

And much will drive us mad and much will spill in worship’s song

So much dismay to humble much that would turn into pride

So much to make us stumble over much not Self-denied 

Where much of what we touch and taste is much more than we need

Oh God, so much of what we waste could shelter, clothe and feed

Where Much is like a Fount that brims with Much to share and give

And much to give account for, where Much fills each day we live 

Much trouble to perplex where much more mercy intercedes

Much to allure and vex the troubadour where Order pleads

Much delight to discover on detours to Destiny

Much to excite the Lover of nature’s pure poetry

Where Much To Make the Most Of is life’s common ground, my friend

From He who loves us so much more than we can comprehend

© Janet Martin

Luke 16:10

“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much,

and one who is dishonest in a very little

is also dishonest in much.

Much beauty to behold freely surprises us with joy...

Apart from What God's Grace Bestows

While works do not save, it is a person's works that ultimately bears witness

 of whether or not we are attached to the Vine!

As the fruits of the Spirit begin to grow there should be a stark/marked difference

between the old life and the new...

Matt. 5:16

Let your light so shine before men, 

that they may see your good works

 and glorify your Father in heaven.

    

Apart from what God’s grace bestows, no boast have I to claim

Praise God; where judgement’s verdict rose in condemnation’s blame/shame

Grace did abound, through Jesus Christ, the hour I believed

By the Lamb that God sacrificed, full pardon I received

Shall I then sin where grace runs through and through me; God forbid

The new man in no way should do the things the old man did

For then I mock the sacredness where Jesus Christ’s shed blood

Clothes me in robes of righteousness, but by the grace of God

How can I, who have died to sin, live therein anymore

The miracle grace wrought within ends who I was before

Through salvation, the gift God gives, the sinner is set free

Henceforth it is not I who lives, but Christ who lives in me

Apart from what God’s grace bestows, dwells in me no good thing

Praise God from whom all blessing flows, for death has lost its sting

Because the old man, crucified, wears newness in its place

Where Jesus Christ is glorified through sinners saved by grace

© Janet Martin

Romans 6: 1-4

 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?

 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? 

3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus

 were baptized into His death? 

 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, 

that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, 

even so we also should walk in newness of life.

A Breath-Staking Honour

It is not hard to hear nature's worship hymn 

on a raindrop-dazzled peony-pink June morning!

Happy over-halfway through June already!!

Let's not waste a single breath-note on anything but praise!

iris, lupine, columbine and wisteria-purple

are pretty sweet too!

The last paragraph in today's devotion stole my breath

and inspired today's offering of awareness...

(from My Utmost For His Highest)

Lord, You grant every breath we take

With each breath we reply

Where your great honour is at stake

In such a worm as I

Lord, you grant every morn that rolls

Across the land and sea

Each breath draws vessels bearing souls

Toward eternity

Lord, who but You deserves all praise

Where your willed mercies brim

May we be honour-awed to raise

A breath-by-breath spilled hymn

True worship, who can know but You

You see each hidden place

Where redemption’s wellspring runs through

Each gifted breath of grace

Not all is as it may appear

Too often we suppose

Where You alone behold and hear

What breath does not disclose

Then Lord, with every breath we take

Make us humbly aware

Of the honour that is at stake

Beneath the cross we bear

…and may it be enough to know

With what each breath imparts

Worship needs not put on a show

For You to hear our hearts

© Janet Martin

Psalm 150:6

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. 

Praise the LORD!

After some much-desired/prayed for rain

the gardens and fields are singing especially lustily!

Take My Life and Let It Be

The Certainty of Uncertainty

One thing is certain; uncertainty!!

The uncertainty of North America

feels more ominous than ever before

as leaders,

once seeking to be led by God

have been replaced

by leaders who disregard the Christian faith

these countries where founded on!

I was touched by this phrase, 

'the good hand of God'

repeated through the book of Ezra

in the Old Testament, as he viewed 

the ruinous results of rebellion and disobedience, 

when he came to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple...

Oh God, are there yet men of understanding that your good hand will

bring to the high places of our fallen countries, 

Canada and the United States of America?!!

Oh God, for all who seek You and obey your commands Your

good hand is faithful in its guiding and keeping!

Your rod and staff comfort us! (Ps.23)

***

The certainty of uncertainty could cause us to fear

Could rob us of joy’s sweet delight because of dread’s veneer

Could blind us to the blessings where mercy’s fount overflows

Could keep our eyes fixed on the thorns rather than on the Rose

Could oppress us with ominous impressions of despair

Could shackle us beneath anxiety’s burdens of air

Could distract us from promises that anchor hope and trust

Could steal the perfect peace that ought to cheer faith’s frames of dust

The certainty of uncertainty should cause us to pray

And reach for God’s good hand outstretched to lead us day by day

Should make us more aware of He who is Faithful and True

Where come what may, nothing can His perfect purpose undo

© Janet Martin

Rev.19:11

Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse.

And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True...

(The only) Harvest Worth Gathering

Disclaimer; 

(Today is one of those

'much-easier-writ-than-run/said-than-done' posts)

The older I get the more evident this age-old Bible truth becomes;

Without faith it is impossible to please God.

Faith's foolproof  evidence is obedience💗

Faith without works is dead

Obedience opens the doors to the extra-ordinary life

every believer may experience.

God's invitation to 'come' is extended to everyone!

All are created by Him, 

and dearly loved by Him:

 nobody is a nobody

and His word is for everybody!!)

Hallelujah!

1 Sam.15:22

So Samuel said: 

“Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, 

As in obeying the voice of the LORD? 

Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, 

And to heed 

than the fat of rams.

Today's post was inspired in part by a few recent devotions in

My Utmost For His Highest by Oswald Chambers 

Oho, what want and woe we sow when we usurp God’s Word with vice

And disregard and oft forego the waiting that His way requires

But oh, what hope and joy and peace rains on altars of sacrifice

As we, with yielded will release the impetus of vain desires

How fraudulent, faith’s holy fight if we reserve the right to ‘I’

How fickle, the compass of sight and logic’s crafty rigmarole

The words we say do not portray the ‘yay’ of love’s utter reply

To trust in God and to obey is the love-language of the soul

For all the change that spills its art through progression’s scarred institute

The proneness of the human heart, no ‘enlightenment’ reinvents

The Tempter’s ‘did God really say’ when eying the forbidden fruit

Still presses us to disobey, blinding us to its consequence

Oh, what sad harvest we commence when we cultivate pious talk

Justifying glossed ignorance, without surrender to God’s way

Oh God, convict us of our sin, lest we become a stumbling block

Oh, work Your miracle within, and make us eager to obey

God’s everlasting Word is true; a light that never beams awry

A Beacon to guide pilgrims through a world that aggrandizes sin

Oho, what blessing we forego when Self is too stubborn to die

Only obedience can sow a harvest worth gathering in

© Janet Martin

To Obey is Better Than Sacrifice-Keith Green

 

Jer.17:5-10

This is what the Lord says:

“Cursed is the one who trusts in man,

who draws strength from mere flesh

and whose heart turns away from the Lord.

6 That person will be like a bush in the wastelands;

they will not see prosperity when it comes.

They will dwell in the parched places of the desert,

in a salt land where no one lives.

7 “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,

whose confidence is in him.

8 They will be like a tree planted by the water

that sends out its roots by the stream.

It does not fear when heat comes;

its leaves are always green.

It has no worries in a year of drought

and never fails to bear fruit.”

9 The heart is deceitful above all things

and beyond cure.

Who can understand it?

10 “I the Lord search the heart

and examine the mind,

to reward each person according to their conduct,

according to what their deeds deserve.”

Rain Rhapsody

 

I was going to mow lawn this afternoon but

it began to rain...h-m-m. What to do?!!

Some rare extra-poem time, maybe?

to celebrate what we have been watching/praying for

in the weather forecast for weeks!!!

Thank-you, gracious Heavenly Father!

This afternoon the rain plays like a piano and violin-serenade

I like the rain

The way the lane

Is dappled with its drops

The way its runnels slip and drip

And run and plip and plop

I like the way it puddles in

The double-chins of earth

And how we sense

In nature’s thirst quencher

Immense rebirth

I like the glimmer on the grass

The shimmer of a sheaf

Forlorn, before

The splish and splash

Restored the drooping leaf

I like the swooshing sound, that hisses

Beneath traffic rush

The stinging pelt,

The velvet kisses

Whisp’ring hush, hush, hush

I like the rain

Silver-note strains

That lilt and laugh and glide

And wash the world

With hymns unfurled

On town and countryside

...and when they halt

I like the way earth's vault,

is filled with praise

Of feathered throng song exalting

The kind Creator's ways 

© Janet Martin

Imagine if God didn't send rain until all people who have sinned against Him repent?!

From 1 Kings 8:35-36 (From Solomon's prayer of dedication)

“When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain 

because your people have sinned against you, 

and when they pray toward this place and give praise to your name

 and turn from their sin because you have afflicted them, 

36 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. 

Teach them the right way to live, 

and send rain on the land you gave your people for an inheritance.