Homemaker's Prayer

Last night I started reading this book.

 (lent to me by a friend who knew I would love it, and I do!)

I fell in love with it from the first paragraph (pictured below)! 

reflections on the value of home, 

timeless good advice for homemakers,

 prayers, stories and recipes

connected to the stories!

In the first chapter, (written in the '60's) she is contemplating the 

increasing breakdown of homes,  the foundation of strong nations!

Even more relevant now! 

Lord, help me to make home a haven of kindness and grace

For nothing else in all the world can take home-sweet-home’s place

Then fit me with Thy joy and strength, fill every task I do

With thankfulness and love, so above all, I honour You

Lord, help me guard the heart of home with fierce, yet tender care

Lest some ruinous habit leaves it in sad disrepair

Keep me aware of what may harm or wreck its shielding wing

For the heart of the home is like a living, breathing Thing

… And never let the barb of discontentment tear a hole

Into the fabric that ought to protect, cheer and console

Lord, when my home begins to feel like a fragile, chipped cup

Still, let no failure foster the temptation to give up

Lord, teach me with humility to tend with mother’s pride

To details that kindle a glow that reaches far and wide

So that, no matter how far from its happy hearth we roam

The flicker of love’s Candlelight instills a sense of home

…and always draws us gladly back to where we long to be

To nourish us with home-sweet-home’s familiarity

Where welcomes are never worn thin, where love attends life’s woes

In, pray what grants a glimpse of Home beyond time’s curtain-close

© Janet Martin

I love how the beginning of the second chapter

 is in sync with the season I am in;

slowly tucking Christmas away, bit by bit

Books like this kindle in me 

a sweet contentment for the domestic 'mundane'  bliss

For things like 

mending...

ironing...

folding laundry...

tidying clutter...

making cabbage rolls...

(enough to freeze some for convenient suppers-for-one))

Cabbage Rolls...

Psalm 51:10

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

For Our 'Happy-in-Waiting' (in Happy New Year)

I started this poem a week ago,

snaring lines as they bobbed by...

This week I finally had a chance to collect more fragments

from my trek through impending happiness-es!

I splashed through brooks, 

went on a picnic,

 laughed at a silly, fat robin,

and SO much more!

Happy Whatever Happy-in-waiting is waiting for you!

Winter’s canvas to be tickled with giggling snow-angel throngs

Below, one of my all-time favorite shots from days long gone

Victoria and her cousin...

Hush! plush-pink peony pom-poms wait to pop nature’s green cork...

Chill winds to be charmed and taken by soft zephyrs, blossom-sweet

Gardens to be warmed and ‘wakened by the banter of bare feet

Barren branches to be garnished with whispers of God-spun lace

Snowy hillsides to grow tarnished as sunbeams give winter chase

Dust to stir as fields are planted with both seed and farmer’s prayer

Hearts and souls to be enchanted by glory, heavens declare

Buds to burst with petal-plunder, miracles in every pod

Happiness immersed in wonder by the handiwork of God

Sassy robin tugging dinner from a grassy smorgasbord

Scrumptious supper-soups to simmer, coffees to be brewed and poured

Into fav’rite mugs, hand hugged and ever so blissfully sipped

While the bashful morn is tugged across skylines, pink and gold dipped

Summer’s harvest to be pickled, autumn to dwindle leaf-songs

Winter’s canvas to be tickled with giggling snow-angel throngs

Cheese and whole-grain cracker-stackers to pack in a picnic lunch

Bunch ‘o please-and-thank-you-happy snackers munching carrot-crunch

Steps to slow to walk with children, innocence to steal our breath

While we point the way to Heaven from earth’s thoroughfares of Death

Cozy snuggle-with-me twilight while outside the world grows dark

Foibles turning into hindsight as discernment meets its mark

Solemn Last Post and Reveille Remembrances-lest we forget

Fires to be stoked and fences to tend to, not mended yet

Hush! plush-pink peony pom-poms wait to pop nature’s green cork

Rush of seasons waits to romp and vex wild wanderlust with work

Payments to be made and worry to teach us to use our knees

Patience to test ‘we’re late’ hurry, as we search for phones, shoes, keys

Kindness to be shown, ink-hunger to be fed with books, books, books

Inner child to rediscover as we wade through fields and brooks

Cakes to bake and decorate for birthdays yet to celebrate

Beach to stroll and hand to hold; don’t wait until it is too late

Silver poplar’s shiny shivers, tap dancers made out of rain

Waltzing on impromptu rivers gushing down the street and lane

Naughty puppy to be scolded, antics by Mr. Mischief

Laundry to be washed and folded, to-do-lists-achieved-relief

Days to drain of exultation to God for blessing-heaped trays

Thought to tune with adoration, heart to overflow with praise

© Janet Martin

Scrumptious supper-soups to simmer,

(instead of scrumptious supper-soup, last night was scrumptious, supper-stirfry!)

Chicken and veg stir-fried and served on a bed of stir-fried/steamed cabbage and black beans

What Trustworthy Reason To Rejoice

On this wild and wooly Canadian winter morning...

a love song!

Sweet and sobering Psalm 25 helped inspire this poem.

The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him,

Ps.25:14

Be Thou Exalted

What wondrous reason to rejoice

Hope sets my heart ablaze

And beckons me to lift my voice

In hymns of gladdest praise

What awed expectation holds dear

The secret of the Lord

Which He reveals to all who fear

And tremble at His Word

What countless reasons to be glad

In spite of sorrow’s woe

Because of the sorrow God had

Because He loves me/us so

He, whose love is mighty to save

Set my captive soul free

From the wages of sin; He gave

His Son to ransom me

The blood of Jesus washed away

Sin’s curse; nothing else could

Now each day grants a chance to pay

My debt of gratitude

…with joy and hope's trust-worthy praise

Where endless reasons brim

To dedicate all of my days

To live a worship hymn

...and never let love's gladness cease

Through wayward wish or whim

God promises His perfect peace

To all who trust in Him

© Janet Martin

Psalm 72:19
And blessed be His glorious name forever;

 may all the earth be filled with His glory.

 Amen and amen.

Due to the gale more birds are opting for ground-cover today😂😅

One mourning dove (middle top) is getting his feathers ruffled as he applies his brakes😂😁

Living Life To The Full or What a Way To Live!!

No matter how successfully

We gain grandiose boast

If we fail on the scale of love

We fail what matters most

Nothing can take the place of it

No matter who/where we are

In every goal that we pursue

Love sets the highest bar

***

If we ask ourselves if we are loving people I am sure we all

would like to think we would say Yes! Of Course I am loving...

1 Cor.13 puts our quick replies to the test, doesn't it?!!

1 Cor.13:3-5

If I give all I possess to the poor 

and exult in the surrender of my body,a

 but have not love, I gain nothing...

Love is patient, 

love is kind. 

It does not envy, 

it does not boast, 

it is not proud. 

It is not rude, 

it is not self-seeking, 

it is not easily angered, 

it keeps no account of wrongs...

Every day is a test...a love-test, isn't it?!!

It's not hard to love the people and things 

nearest and dearest to our hearts💝💖💕

Hockey-lovin' brothers...

...but what about the vast rest of it?!!

This is my personal challenge today,

 and only for today

because what's the use of straining toward yesterday, 

or tomorrow?!

Life always happens, to all of us

Today!

No matter who or where we are

How fast or slow we climb

To all alike, life sets love's bar

At ‘one day at a time’

No matter how we fret and fuss

Or trust in God, or balk

He doles life’s toll to each of us

In measures of tick-tock

No matter what, we cannot haste

Or slow the steadfast surge

That runs us through with touch and taste

Where past and future merge

Whether the gale is soft or gruff

Whether we push or pull

God fills each day with quite enough

To live love to the full

So, no matter what Today's spree

May scatter in its wake

It will be worth it all if we

Make love its highest stake 

© Janet Martin

'What's that word?' asked Granddaughter.

'What does it mean?' after I told her the word.

It means 'to treasure' I told her, like right now,

 I cherish time with you💖

Cherish the easy loves, for sure, but don't ignore the rest!

Maybe a resolution to refresh at this New Year??

sharing this cherished moment from yesterday...

I baked these rolls; 30 min. Dinner Rolls in the afternoon for

sloppy joes for supper.

While prepping supper my oldest grandson 

was SO hungry so I buttered 1/2 a roll for him

and off he hasted downstairs to where his siblings were playing

smacking his lips 😂💖

no surprise, his sister appeared and I gave her the same and off she went1

Chuckling, I grabbed my camera and waited...not very long!

...around the corner came youngest tot, not for a moment

 questioning whether he would get one too

Reproached Reticence or Grand Command

The sunrise the other morning commanded exaltation

to the God of all creation!!

I pause. 

I do not want to taint 

Perfection with my verse

and yet, 

a sense of pink ink thunders, 

as if to immerse

the part of me that poetry 

always gets the best of;

a need to pen 

an awed and meek amen,

to God above

with love. 

Whose wordless eloquence 

never ceases to rouse

an image of glory, before/beneath 

which every poet bows

to pour, with pure intention, 

utterance, 

however flawed

...to heed His invitation 

to exalt 

the name of God

...thus, I approach dawn's burning bush

to hear His Voice resound

With grand command,

'take off thy shoes

for this is holy ground'

© Janet Martin

Phil.2:2-11

Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place

and gave Him the name above all names,

10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

poem in traditional form...

I pause. I do not want to taint Perfection with my verse

and yet, a sense of pink ink thunders, as if to immerse

the part of me that poetry always gets the best of;

a need to pen an awed and meek amen, to God above

with love. Whose wordless eloquence never ceases to rouse

an image of glory, before/beneath which every poet bows

to pour, with pure intention, utterance, however flawed

...to heed His invitation to exalt the name of God

...thus, I approach dawn's burning bush to hear His Voice resound

With grand command, 'take off thy shoes for this is holy ground'

© Janet Martin

Today Twofer ...Cradle of Eternity and Today's Most Estimable Gift

Yesterday we celebrated the child that turned Jim and I into grandparents!

Happy 7th Birthday, Grandson!

Simply being there may look like nothing much

(dear weary, young mother/parent),

 but, is in essence, everything!

Oh, the efforts that may seem to count for nothing here

 but may count for everything There!🙏🙏🙏

By God's grace, keep on.

Above, we simply see a birthday cake!!

 not the baking of it by Very Sleep-deprived mom 

after children are tucked into bed,

We don't see the many, messy, mundane, oops, 

I mean SACRED interruptions/frustrations

 to bring it to fulfillment!😅💓

Technology/screen-time has many negatives in the development of children BUT

this is one of the best positives; being able to laugh and chat with cousins 

over 2000 kilometers away!!

“Children are not a distraction from more important work.

 They are the most important work.”

– Dr. John Trainer

(according to this site, the above quote is misattributed to C.S. Lewis)

Children are by far the most important work!

because...

Beneath the wide, missing-toothed grin

That six and seven year old sports

Beneath Innocent Countenance 

That Time's Insistence soon aborts

 Beneath the sweet Cocoon of Youth

Trembles an Immutable Flame

As irrefutable as Truth

Unthwarted by denial's claim

This truth kindles a deeper look

At faces that we love so dear

At babies nestled in arm's crook

At hugs, as we draw loved ones near

Because, beneath the part we see

Exists the Thing That Never Dies

The Cradle of Eternity

Has missing teeth and eager eyes 

...a-sparkle with dream-giddy stars

Where footsteps that dash wild and free

Are bearing a most sacred charge

The Cradle of Eternity

Because, the part that melts the heart

With the velocity/Curiosity of Youth 

Cradles the soul, that precious Part

That looks to us to teach/tell the Truth 

© Janet Martin

Eccles.12:1

Remember your Creator in the days of your youth,

 before the days of trouble come 

and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them"—

I began the poem below yesterday...

Inspired in part by this passage

 (which also helped inspire the above poem) 

Ps.78:5-7

For He established a testimony in Jacob,

And appointed a law in Israel,

Which He commanded our fathers,

That they should make them known to their children;

 That the generation to come might know them,

The children who would be born,

That they may arise and declare them to their children,

That they may set their hope in God,

And not forget the works of God,

But keep His commandments;...

from this devotion...

from this book...

Before the poem was completed Eagerness arrived to steal the show with sweetness!

when Little Brother noticed Big Sister about to be the 'star',

he, ever-so-full-of -'innocent'-mischief did his thing😂😂😇

Can't you just about hear his very enthusiastic 'CHE-E-E-ESE!!'💖😅

We still managed one without his shenanigans 

(that keep everyone laughing and pulling their hair out!😂😅)

After they left, Gramma needed a nap before

heading out to above birthday celebration!

Today's most estimable part is valuable to know

Though its most vital works of art may never steal the show

It ought to stoke a lion’s roar in hearts of you and me

Because today swings wide the Door of Opportunity

Where what we do with what we have holds more than first appears

The impact of Now’s aftermath fills more than yesteryears

As repercussion of reply unravels in its wake

A footpath forged by you and I, for future feet to take

Today’s most estimable part is sacred to the touch

Though, at first glance its works of art may not appear as much

Beneath the part we see the root establishes the tree

That will, for good or ill, bear fruit for all eternity

Sometimes eternity can feel far off, and quite unreal

Sometimes Impulse can spar and scoff at God’s/time’s/love’s patient appeal

Sometimes, today’s most estimable gift, we hardly see

As God fills up the cup we lift with Opportunity

© Janet Martin

Let's not lose heart by dwelling on

 opportunities lost or missed

but seize the part we build upon;

Now, 

goodness-glossed and mercy-kissed

Sorrow's Silver Lining

Lam.3:31-33 NIV

For no one is cast off by the Lord forever.

32 Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,

so great is his unfailing love.

33 For he does not willingly bring affliction

or grief to anyone.

***

Some sorrow-crosses are borne on backs,

and are easy to recognize,

some are borne in hearts and souls

known fully, only to God's eyes

This life, full of sorrow-inducing care

Is weathered best, tethered to prayer

Because wherever/whatever the cross may be

None are too hidden for God to see

No matter what hurt has fashioned its frame

Healing is found as hope trusts in His Name

*** 

Isa.40:31 NIV

...but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.

 They will soar on wings like eagles;

 they will run and not grow weary, 

they will walk and not be faint.

Be Still My Soul ~ Selah ~ Lyrics

Sorrow can be a plumbless pit

Where worship could wither away

Or, it can be the key to fit

The bearer of its cross to pray

To help faith’s posture learn to lean

Completely on God’s perfect will

To guide through gates to pastures green

To lead us beside waters still

And drink from Living Streams, our fill

…where, though Evidence of things seen

May fill our Cup of Circumstance

With sorrow’s bitter go-between

Vexing hope’s perplexing substance

He shepherds and restores our souls

He leads in paths of righteousness

And sanctifies self-seeking goals

With a more Calvary-like ‘yes’

As we cling to His promises

Sorrow could drown hope in sad tears

And blind us to ‘joy set before’

And choke us with a noose of years

Where Yester’s futile shadows roar

Or sorrow can invite us to

Come unto He who gives us rest

To taste His comfort, kind and true

For He bore sorrow’s greatest test

Thus understands our sorrows best

Ah, here sorrow dons eagle’s wings

Though grief may hound time's brief sojourn

Hope's silver lining gleams; joy sings

Like a bird sensing Morn’s return

The valley of death’s shadow grants

The Shepherd's rod and staff to cheer

The Cup of bitter Circumstance

While Heaven’s gate/wait is drawing near

The hour of faith’s final tear

© Janet Martin

Psalm 23 NKJV

The Lord is my shepherd;

I shall not [a]want.

2 He makes me to lie down in [b]green pastures;

He leads me beside the [c]still waters.

3 He restores my soul;

He leads me in the paths of righteousness

For His name’s sake.

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil;

For You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

You anoint my head with oil;

My cup runs over.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

All the days of my life;

And I will [d]dwell in the house of the Lord

[e]Forever.

Like a Constant Gift

Last night it began to snow!

It felt like a gift from God, as if He was saying,

'See? I am covering the dirty, old year with

a fresh, new unsoiled slate!

Heb.13:8

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Happy 2024!

As the old year ends and the new begins 

may our sole/soul resolve be 

a more complete surrender to 

God's full authority

Sometimes we are guilty of wanting God's way, our way. 

We want Him to yield to our will, not we to His!

All The Way My Saviour Leads Me

The past is irreversible, its seasons set in stone

The future is invincible when faced through Christ alone

The present, like a constant gift of opportunity

Furnishes where all life is lived; in Now’s benignity

Anxiety for what might be is certain to destroy

Faith’s confident humility that leads to peace and joy

What has been none can modify, but what is and will be

Is like a constant gift, thereby/whereby God proves His fealty

Goodness and mercy’s rich supply sustains surrendered hearts

No greater gain can satisfy than that which grace imparts

Thus, as God lays the old to rest, as New is ushered in

Once more hope hoists its humble quest to give/live our best for Him

Sometimes the state our Saviour saved us from, slips our minds

How arrogant, we then become, when mortal motive blinds

Us to the Light that spans the rift and keeps faith undeterred

Each promise like a constant gift to all who trust His word

© Janet Martin

Malachi 4:2

But to you who fear My name
The Sun of Righteousness shall arise
With healing in His wings;