Thank God (for things that don't grow old, or change!)

 This poem was inspired in part as I inhaled a fresh, new August morning,

and in part as I marveled at the beauty of God's eternal Word!

Thank God for things that don’t grow old, or change, as ages woo

Like August mornings drenched in gold, mantled in mist and dew

Like waves that wash the shore but cannot pass its boundary

Like innocence of babe and tot, as precious as can be

Like laughter’s medicine to lighten loads that oft press soar

Like the lure of a country back road ready to explore

Like flowers, as they bloom and fade like petal-orchestras

Like worship as we praise, He who made and keeps nature’s laws

Like mesmerizing artistry of sun and shadow play

Like unplumbed opportunity in each and every day 

Like never-too-old-to-accede-so-much-still-left-to-learn 

Like 'we are known by word and deed'; respect, something we earn,

Like trees that make us feel so small beneath lofty leaf-tents

Like the lilt of a waterfall after winter relents

Like the eternal Word of God; a Light that will not dim

Like the heart repeatedly awed by the wonders of Him

Like the peace we find as we trust in His sufficient grace

Like happiness when kindness puts a smile upon a face

Like warm welcomes of home-sweet-home’s familiarity

…the adrenaline rush of Poem possibility

Gardens to gladden common cooks, and yards where children play

Like comfort of good food and books to keep the blues at bay

Like Today, always new, rife with moments not tasted yet

A buffet heaped with much to do before life’s sun is set

Like love of family and friends to help us weather cares

Knowing, no matter what life sends, it fits into meek prayers

Like thanking God while time runs bold in what it will estrange

For many things that don’t grow old, and ages cannot change

© Janet Martin

Like flowers, as they bloom and fade like petal-orchestras...

Echo Snow

 

Treasuring these summer days

before they fall in echo-snow....

Composed of moments none can see or feel with hands and feet

Aftermath of Reality, surreal and bittersweet

A collection of frames unfurled in worlds of yesterday

Cast of cadence and colors swirled, where echoes go to play

How seamlessly one season slips into the next, and strews

Behind, ethereal eclipses that dawn-to-dusk accrues

As love both celebrates and grieves the double edge of joys

A hill stippled with harvest-sheaves; a room emptied of noise

How steadily the ooh and aah of highs and lows arrange

An Intangible Panorama of what none can change

The habits of time undeterred; happiness of hello

Soon farewell-teared/tiered and Bygone-blurred where echoes ebb and flow

How soon the blue-green scenery of June turns August gold

Summer’s subtle origami tunes echoes, fold on fold

A brutal bliss of hug and kiss, hold hinged to letting go

As compilations of What Is turns into echo-snow

© Janet Martin

Chocolate Zucchini Bundt Cake

More Than Enough For Me...

Jesus, Lover of My Soul

(beautiful scripture at the end of the above video)

This morning's poem is inspired in part after visiting my cousin yesterday,

in a long-term care facility. He has been afflicted for many years with MS.

 His family bears a very hard cross!

Please, if you remember, keep them in your prayers...

More info here...

We cannot comprehend God's higher ways but 

plead for an unshakeable knowledge of his perfect love

for all of us!

***

Give me knowledge of Jesus Christ that naught can shake or move

Of He who humbly sacrificed Himself, His love to prove

Fill me with wonder every day, that He who made all things

Surrendered to death’s crude display and cruelest sufferings

To bring salvation once for all to all who call his name

And to redeem us from the Fall that brought Adam to shame

He gave us access to His promises, to satisfy

Hunger and thirst with righteousness only He can supply

Then, may the joy and peace He gives thus transcend everything

With the knowledge that Jesus lives and death has lost its sting

And nothing in this sin-cursed place can ever dearer be

Than the knowledge that by His grace Jesus has ransomed me

Then give me no knowledge but this; He loves me without end

No matter what may be amiss, He is a faithful Friend

On Him I lean, to Him I cry, He, trustworthy and true

Tries my reason with His reply, yet what more can I do

But yield my mortal will to He who paid sin’s penalty

This knowledge of His love will be more than enough for me

© Janet Martin

Isa.55:6-9

6Seek the LORD while He may be found;

call on Him while He is near.

7Let the wicked man forsake his own way

and the unrighteous man his own thoughts;

let him return to the LORD,

that He may have compassion,

and to our God,

for He will freely pardon.

8“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways My ways,”

declares the LORD.

9“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so My ways are higher than your ways

and My thoughts than your thoughts...

Rock of Ages...

Reason Enough...

Gorgeous skies last night

and this morning...

After a few months of often smoke-hazy heavens

we are thrilled to 'hear' them declare the glory of God once again!!

Psalm 19 tells us,

The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

2 Day after day they pour forth speech;

night after night they reveal knowledge.

3 They have no speech, they use no words;

no sound is heard from them.

4 Yet their voice[b] goes out into all the earth,

their words to the ends of the world.

Whether the song is seen/heard and applauded by many

or by God alone, Our Creator and Saviour

 gives us 'reason enough' to sing/shine our hearts out!

Hallelujah!

What good am I, sighs the flower

Blooming in some hidden place

None to marvel at my beauty

None to stoop and kiss my face

None to pick me for a bouquet

So, some bedside I may cheer

None to linger in sweet pleasure

Tell me then, why am I here

From the stream high in the mountain

From the deep beneath wave’s crest

From the songbird in the forest

And the tree that held its nest

From the dense heart of the jungle

From the farthest, nameless star

Rings the reply to the query

For God’s glory, thus we are

Take heart, for nothing is hidden

From the God of earth and sky

He who knows/made all things beholds us

Hears the hymn of you and I

Is this then not enough reason

To let praise and worship brim

By God’s grace and for His glory

To gladden the heart of Him

© Janet Martin

1 Chron.16:23-36

Sing to the LORD, All the Earth

(Psalm 96:1–13)

23Sing to the LORD, all the earth.

Proclaim His salvation day after day.

24Declare His glory among the nations,

His wonderful deeds among all peoples.

25For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;

He is to be feared above all gods.

26For all the gods of the nations are idols,

but it is the LORD who made the heavens.

27Splendor and majesty are before Him;

strength and joy fill His dwelling.

28Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the nations,

ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.

29Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name;

bring an offering and come before Him.

Worship the LORD in the splendor of His holiness;

30tremble before Him, all the earth.

The world is firmly established;

it cannot be moved.

31Let the heavens be glad,

and the earth rejoice.

Let them say among the nations,

‘The LORD reigns!’

32Let the sea resound,

and all that fills it;

let the fields exult,

and all that is in them.

33Then the trees of the forest will sing for joy before the LORD,

for He is coming to judge the earth.

34Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;

His loving devotionc endures forever.

35Then cry out: ‘Save us, O God of our salvation;

gather and deliver us from the nations,

that we may give thanks to Your holy name,

that we may glory in Your praise.’

36Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,

from everlasting to everlasting.”

Then all the people said, “Amen!” and “Praise the LORD!”

Agnus Dei

Simple Summer Saturday Morning Song...

 Happy Summer Saturday!

Summer-soft rustle in lofty leaf-tress...

Summer-soft rustle in lofty leaf-tress

Where breezes tousle, rousing happiness

Round sound of raindrop pitter-patter-plop

Bird-twitter-chatter, horse-clippety-clop

Tinkle of teacup and spoon as they meet

Ominous stumble/rumble of yon thunder-feet

Plush hush, morn lush with shower after shower

Click of keyboard unfolding poem-flower

Tick of the clock before workday implores

Scattering silence with Saturday chores

Clatter of dishes and splatter of mess

Sparkle of laughter, earthly heaven-ness

As Summer-Saturday spills its 'ahoy'

Beautiful bustle and hustle of joy

© Janet Martin

'Clatter of dishes' created some reunion food!

Potato Salad and

Queen Elizabeth Cake!

 

 Psalm 86:8-13

Among the gods there is none like you, Lord;

no deeds can compare with yours.

9 All the nations you have made

will come and worship before you, Lord;

they will bring glory to your name.

10 For you are great and do marvelous deeds;

you alone are God.

11 Teach me your way, Lord,

that I may rely on your faithfulness;

give me an undivided heart,

that I may fear your name.

12 I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart;

I will glorify your name forever.

13 For great is your love toward me;

you have delivered me from the depths,

from the realm of the dead.

August/Summer Thrills...

 Glimpses of inspiration in no particular order...

Flower- bouquets...

backyard getaways...

Leaf-jewelry, the kind that drips and glimmers in the sun...

The belly of the sky, bulging with clouds ready to break

And then they do, and oh what lovely music raindrops make...

(first video is a humorous look at what happens when I try to record something😅😂)

sorry if you get a bit sea-sick on this one...

Ps.85:12

The LORD will indeed give what is good,

 and our land will yield its harvest.

The pure and undefiled delight of watching gardens grow/glow

The stillness of a starry night, a fresh-brewed cup o’ joe

Or Windsong wafting through treetops flushed with first light of day

Or twilight softly falling blue, and brushing day away

Or splendor of the heavens as they declare faithfully

Without a word, God-given glory for the world to see

A brand-new day not tasted yet, but bursting at the seams

With moments we have never met to whet fresh hopes and dreams

The fortune, oft forgot, of commonplace workaday beat

The pleasure of a great big pot filled with good things to eat

The belly of the sky, bulging with clouds ready to break

And then they do, and oh what lovely music raindrops make

The readiness of laughter to combat life’s kick and punch

The sparrow’s friendly chatter, first-tomato-on-toast lunch

Leaf-jewelry, the kind that drips and glimmers in the sun

The air, pungent with pickling spice when pick-scrub-slice is done

Flower bouquets and backyard getaway with book and tea

The sense that every summer day is special as can be

The felled field, bowls brimming with holy answers to our prayers

The ever-earlier dimming of day, goldenrod flares

Where roadside August-arboretums humbly steal the show

Sunflowers beam, peaches and plums drip, joy-cups overflow

Composing hymns of thankfulness for gifts that August/summer spills

To kindle simple happiness that thrills and thrills and thrills

 

© Janet Martin

 bowls brimming with holy answers to our prayers...

A brand-new day not tasted yet but bursting at the seams

With moments we have never met to whet fresh hopes and dreams...

The sense that every summer day is special as can be...

Wishing you a whole new day of beautiful August thrills!

I'm off to the not so thrilling task of much-needed sticky-floor scrubbing😅

Gift-Unwrapping Onus

Ps.78:4&6-7

We will not hide them from their children,

Telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD,

And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done....

...That the generation to come might know them,

The children who would be born,

That they may arise and declare them to their children,

7That they may set their hope in God,

And not forget the works of God,

But keep His commandments;...

Tug gently where dawn’s coral tulle

Gilt-edged, dissolves night’s crepuscule

Where mercy’s kind pledge is renewed

To author humble gratitude

Tread softly where a shadow-world

Beneath each sunrise is unfurled

Dawn’s wrapping paper falls away

Granting a gift, we call Today

Touch kindly its fugitive lease

Cherish it with love, joy and peace

Take time to pray-smile-sing, to sit

And worship the Giver of it

Tend wisely, what is given thee

And live as if today could be

The Gift that flings ajar The Door

Between time and Forevermore

© Janet Martin

A Prayer (as I prepare to face the day)

Oh! The precious, purifying, perplexing,

pressing, peace-pursuing, power-instilling

cross in prayer...

 

Above, Aug. 6 devotion from My Utmost For His Highest

by Oswald Chambers

Some days, for some reason it takes more discipline

 to corral a galloping stampede of thoughts , duties and desires, into quiet prayer...

This morning I struggled to find new words for old pleas of well-worn repetition!

Then I remembered 'he knows my needs before I ask'

better than I do, and supplies them!

He understands what it takes to fortify my fumbling stutters of faith 

Hallelujah and thank You, Lord

Ps.90:14

Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,

that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

 In Jesus' Name, I Pray

Our Father, who art in Heaven

Ever hallowed by Thy name

By Thy grace I am forgiven

Free from guilt’s defeat and shame

Today, Lord, I pray, remind me

Of the love that will not fail

For Thy light, before, behind me

For Thy purpose to prevail

For protection and direction

For Thy Word within my heart

To perfect my meditation

For, how wonderful Thou art

For more faith and not more answers

For Thy rod, lest my feet slip

For more love toward my neighbor

For Thy armor to equip

For gladness for Thy salvation

To satisfy all my days

Lead me not into temptation

But anoint each breath with praise

Grant me strength for toil’s demanding

Yet, make me weak so I lean

Not upon my understanding

But upon Thy arm unseen

Let Thy law be my desire

Let Thy Word be my delight

Let Thy promises inspire

Hope no trial can requite

Let Thy goodness full of mercy

Follow me through all my days

Let me be hungry and thirsty

For Thy righteousness, always

Satisfy my 'poor in spirit'

With Thy everlasting love

When I cry, O Lord, You hear it

Let this knowledge be enough

To instill me with Thy comfort

To cast all my cares on Thee

Till we gather at a banquet

In Heaven’s eternity

Lord, my Lord, so many wander

Like lost sheep, hearts hard and numb

Pray, before Thou bidst them yonder

They will hear Thy voice, and ‘come’

To still waters and green pastures

To the joy faith will receive

Freed from sin’s death-cursed disaster

As they repent and believe

Lord, by Thy humble example

Pray, may all who follow You

Not cause another to stumble

By the things we say and do

But by the grace Thou hast given

Let faith, hope, and love proclaim

Our Father, who art in heaven

Ever hallowed be Thy Name

For Thine is the kingdom,

The power and glory

Forever and ever,

Amen

© Janet Martin

Matt.6:5-13

And when you pray, you shall not be like the [b]hypocrites.

 For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets,

 that they may be seen by men. 

Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 

6But you, when you pray, go into your room, 

and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place;

 and your Father who sees in secret will reward you [c]openly.

  7And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. 

For they think that they will be heard for their many words.

8“Therefore do not be like them. 

For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.

  9In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.

10Your kingdom come.

Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

11Give us this day our daily bread.

12And forgive us our debts,

As we forgive our debtors.

13And do not lead us into temptation,

But deliver us from the evil one.

[d]For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. 

Amen.