Showing posts with label example. Show all posts
Showing posts with label example. Show all posts

Monday, March 18, 2024

A Love Beyond Compare

One of my Sunday School students presented this artwork to me yesterday;
a picture she drew (with permission😇) while listening to the lesson!
I love my class of smart, beautiful, eager, full-of-potential school-girls!
Thank-you K.S.


My earnest prayer for all our Sunday School students,
is that the Holy Spirit would begin to waken and nurture,
as we gather weekly, (and as weeks turn into years,)
not just a belief in God but a love for God.
That they would get more than an education in Bible stories and facts,
but that the plan and gift of salvation would begin to unfold
a lifelong awe, reverence and wonder for God's love and grace!
Will you join me in praying too?!
They are little for such a very little time!
I also pray that we, their teachers, parents and grandparents 
live pure and humble testimonies
of genuine love for the Saviour of our souls
and the Lord of our lives!

***
Matthew 5:16 - Let your light so shine before men,
that they may see your good works, 
and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

***
Let's live love over and above
What Duty delegates
Let's love God, wonderfully awed
By His goodness and grace

Let's live aware of eyes that care-
fully watch every move 
Where actions shout and leave no doubt
About who we most love

Let's live a life of joy, not strife
Let's pay most earnest heed
To what we sow, because we know
Soon fruit follows the seed 

Soon innocence will climb time's fence
And leave childhood behind
Let's live love over and above
With every child in mind 

Before the heart grows hard, let's start
To plant, with tender care
Awareness of God's wondrous love:
A love beyond compare 

Janet~


Ephesians 5:1-2
 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 
 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us,
 a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Friday, February 16, 2024

In All That We Achieve...

 Inspired, in part by a paragraph from this book previously mentioned here



In all that we achieve today, however common its demand
If we approach its come-what-may, with willing heart and open hand
And humble consciousness of holy ground beneath each step we take
Aware of how footfalls compound to leave a pathway in its wake

Then we will not forget to ask, ‘Dear God to purify each quest’
And we will find within each task an impetus to do our best
And face each challenge that we meet with more than self- int’rest in mind
Because, a world of little feet, are following not far behind

Where it is up to us to show, without a shadow of a doubt
Through ups and downs of yes-and-no, Who, what we do is all about
So pray, in all that we achieve, as aftermath of pathways wend
In sacred steppingstones we leave/weave, they lead to Heaven in the end

© Janet Martin

Ps.119:105
Your word is a lamp to my feet 
And a light to my path.

Today's part-inspiration!

below continued from above...

I love how the paragraph below is a metaphor for life!





 


Monday, November 6, 2023

Better Examples


PAD Challenge day 6: For today’s prompt, take the phrase "Better (blank),"
replace the blank with a new word or phrase,
make the new phrase the title of your poem,
and then, write your poem...

Children are imitators of Example...
As soon as Big Brother clapped, so did Little Brother...



Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children,
Eph.5:1(NIV)
Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.
Eph.1:5 (NKJV)

The only hope we have of improving what waits to be
Is a better Example set by likes of you and me
Therefore, the likes of you and me ought to pay earnest heed
To what and who influences power of word and deed
Because it is our words and deeds that set the sacred sway
For those who follow in the footsteps that we leave Today
For what we leave today is not as fleeting as it seems
But sets the stage where morrow's wage of today's onus teems
With the after-effects of who we strive to imitate
Subject either to laws of love or lawlessness of hate
Then, there is only one solution that passes the test;
To be better examples is to imitate The Best
Anything less is but our children's futures sacrificed
Our only hope, the perfect Example of Jesus Christ

© Janet Martin

Phil.2:5-11

5Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus:
6Who, existing in the form of God,
did not consider equality with God
something to be grasped,a
7but emptied Himself,
taking the form of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8And being found in appearance as a man,
He humbled Himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross.
9Therefore 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.

Rom.13:8-10
Owe no one anything except to love one another, 
for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.
 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,”
 “You shall not murder,”
 “You shall not steal,” [a]
“You shall not bear false witness,”
 “You shall not covet,” 
and if there is any other commandment, 
are all summed up in this saying, namely,
 “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 
10 Love does no harm to a neighbor;
 therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Monday, January 23, 2023

To We, Still Growing Older


Accomplishment/achievement happens one challenge/step forward at a time!
 Sometimes challenges take years to fully complete,
 some even a lifetime(such as a life well lived). 
And because nothing ever stays the same for very long the challenge is constant, isn't it?!! 
Listening to two funeral messages/tributes where children and grandchildren
 rose to call their mother and grandmother 'blessed' 
is such an inspiration to we still growing older 
and seeking to honor God in the season we are in!
Because sometimes what in the moment seems quite commonplace
 is in fact composing cherished memories and legacies! 



Titus 2:3-5(NKJV)
But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine:
 2 that the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience;
 the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers,
 not given to much wine, teachers of good things— 
4 that they admonish the young women to love their husbands,
 to love their children, 5 to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, 
good, obedient to their own husbands, 
that the word of God may not be blasphemed.

Photo shared with their Daddy's permission😅💖


When we have no other engagements Sunday Supper at Gramma's & Grandpa's house 
has become a highlight for both the young and old!
Last night Grandsonny went exploring in the room that used to belong to Uncle Matt
and he appeared beaming broadly, with a treasure he unearthed!
Hockey Card Collection!




To we still growing older there is much still left to learn
As we begin to shoulder wisdom we have yet to earn
As we begin to fill the shoes not worn by youthful dreams
But with meek awareness of dues that sager ken esteems
As we begin to weather ways, we once thought quite far-flung
While we were living in the days that seemed forever young

To we still growing older because death is held at bay
Where time seems to grow bolder as swift seasons fall away
We start to sense anew the age-old way staid tick-tock works
As we begin to do the things that once drew winks and smirks
But we excused with kindness because, ‘they are old, you see;
Who knows, with youth behind us what kind of ‘old’ we will be?!’

To we of slowing footsteps there is much to take in stride
As Time begins to show us that it is not on our side
And soon we too will join the ranks of neither young nor old
Or rich or poor; then give God thanks as His mercies unfold
The sacred charge of setting a careful example for
Young men and women whetting raring appetites for more

To we still growing older, (where the Done none can undo
For no one can unsolder the door that each day runs through)
We reassess the beauties of an unsealed legacy
And the blessing of duties that befit maturity
Of kinder, truer patience as we bear in prayerful mind
The precious generation that is following behind

© Janet Martin

Eph.5:15
  Be very careful, then, how you live—
not as unwise but as wise,

Friday, June 17, 2022

Thoughts About Tots (and their Teachers)


A row of  little shoes, 
Father's Day on Sunday,


...and late last night, tripping over Edison who shouted into the quiet kitchen,
'Hi, I'm Edison, let's sing along with Alphabet Pal!
are all part of what inspired this poem.
By the way, thanks to Edison and other alphabet-repeating gizmos
 Tots can belt out the abc's long before they go to school!
Imagine if we drilled them in eternal things the way we do the temporal...

Deut.11:18-21
Remember God’s Words
18Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds;
 tie them as reminders on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.
  19Teach them to your children, speaking about them when you sit at home
 and when you walk along the road, 
when you lie down and when you get up. 
20Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates, 
21so that as long as the heavens are above the earth, 
your days and those of your children may be multiplied 
in the land that the LORD swore to give your fathers.

Fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath; 
instead, bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

It takes a village of parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles,
 teachers, neighbors, childcare providers, etc.
to raise a child, but to train up a child in the way they should go (Prov.22:6
is mostly up to parents (*and grandparents)!

Only be on your guard and diligently watch yourselves, 
so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen,
 and so that they do not slip from your heart as long as you live. 
*Teach them to your children and grandchildren.



They trust us not to lead them into ways they should not go
They look to us to teach them so much that they want to know
This is no small or simple charge that follows you and I
These tots, so full of innocence and never-ending ‘why’

This is no brief commission we can annul when we choose
Once donned we cannot nonchalantly kick off parent-shoes
Tots are not little long; the stars they are trying to reach
Reflected in their eager eyes, see far more than we teach

The agelessness of truth is a beacon that does not dim
It is no shifting shadow that adapts to wish and whim
The manual for moms and dads is pure and undeterred
The sound and supreme counsel and instruction in God’s Word

To grasp astronomy, ecology, geologic worth/girth
Begins with knowing Who created the heavens and earth
The One who designed galaxies and rolling seas and bugs
Creates each little child we shower with kisses and hugs

The abc’s and one-two-threes are important to learn
But better far than shiny stars these tender triumphs earn
Is the sacred retelling of the One who made us all
No nursery rhyme is He who sees all creatures great and small

Children grow up so fast; Past echoes with the strange replay
Of scenes, that in a child’s childhood, we think, are far away
The feet outgrowing shoes, the boo-boos on elbows and knees
Soon fade into the fond, fine fabric work of memories

Children trust us to lead them; oh, forbid we teach a lie
To tots, so full of innocence and never-ending ‘why’
Who look to us to tell about so much they want to know
Tis no small charge to teach them about God who loves them/us so

© Janet Martin

Teaching children is a moment-ous charge
Small choices can make a big difference!
For instance, what books we choose to read to them.


Yesterday was HOT! 
A great opportunity to enjoy the shade with books
while a child delighted and astounded me with her
intuitive innocence!!


I forgot about photos till we were leaving to tackle other important tasks
on her to-do list; like trike😂💖



Monday, September 21, 2020

The Futility of Poetry/Words Alone...



Better to walk than talk it 
For who we serve shines through 
And words will often mock it 
If they spar with what we do 

Better to live love’s token 
Than write them in a song 
Love that is simply spoken 
Is like a clanging gong 

Better to be a sermon 
Rather than just sit by 
For words can weave a poem 
But second miles don’t lie 

Better to serve God wholly 
With kind humility 
For all our boasts are lowly 
Compared to Calvary

Better to guard heart-lockets
Than paint a fine façade 
Better to walk than talk it
And leave the rest to God

Fear God; keep His commandments
This whole duty of man
Speaks louder through obedience
Than any fine speech can

© Janet Martin

Ecles.12:13-14 NKJV

 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter;

Fear God and keep His commandments,
For this is man’s all.
14 For God will bring every work into judgment,
Including every secret thing,
Whether good or evil.

Luke 6:45
A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, 
and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. 
For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

Friday, July 31, 2020

To Live/Love Without Reserve...


It matters not how a man dies, but how he lives.
Samuel Johnson~

May we be a Son-flower/sunflower in the garden of life!
Happy last-day-of-July




 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, 
it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.
1 Cor.13:4-8

The best we have to live
Exists right now, right here
All we may keep is what we give
It is enough my dear
To love without reserve
To brush insult aside
For we have more than we deserve
Hope lives because He died

Then daily death of pride
Should be our wholesome quest
To live a life of self-denied
To give our humble best
With kind and utter thanks
For all that He has won
And trust Him to fill in the blanks
Still gaping with undone

The sting of verbal slights
Of love misunderstood
Cannot distract He who delights
To work for our good
Love, long-suff’ring and meek
Does not ‘settle the score’
But rather turns the other cheek
To author peace, not war

…to honour He who gave
Himself to manifest
The way true love ought to behave
When it is put to test
Love is more walk than talk
It speaks evil of none
But turns a would-be stumbling block
Into a stepping stone

© Janet Martin


Monday, February 10, 2020

To We Who Were Undaunted...

  Love must be sincere....
 ...Be devoted to one another in love
Romans 12:9-10
 


To we who were undaunted
by the touch of Time until Her proof pressed into faces
places we can no longer deny and the means to the end
begins to tenderly instill the import of the echo and the imprint of the sigh.

To we who took our turn
among the less accountable but soon outgrew its shoes, to be the teacher, not the tot;
we ought to take to heart the Holy Inevitable and focus on the part that is
 rather than what-is-not

To we well over halfway marks
like man’s three-score and ten (or by reason of added strength the length of fourscore years)
Pray we have learned to love before the tree is hard to bend and the branch seems too brittle
 to soften with tears

To we who have lived long enough
to join the age-old rue that things are not the simpler, sounder way they used to be
 are we who witness Caution's Admonitions coming true, and bear the brunt of wisdom
with surprised humility

To we who seem too old to change
our very seasoned ways (save by the grace of He who doth with mighty Mercy move)
To we who now are daunted by man’s brevity of days. ..let’s take what yet remains of Time and
 turn it into love

© Janet Martin

or the traditional format if preferred...



To we who were undaunted by the touch of Time until
 Her proof pressed into faces places we can no longer deny
and the means to the end begins to tenderly instill
the import of the echo and the imprint of the sigh.


To we who took our turn among the less accountable
but soon outgrew its shoes, to be the teacher, not the tot;
we ought to take to heart the Holy Inevitable
 and focus on the part that is rather than what-is-not


To we well over halfway marks like man’s three-score and ten
 (or by reason of added strength the length of fourscore years)
 Pray we have learned to love before the tree is hard to bend
and the branch seems too brittle to soften with tears


To we who have lived long enough to join the age-old rue
 that things are not the simpler, sounder way they used to be
are we who witness Caution's Admonitions coming true,
 and bear the brunt of wisdom with surprised humility


To we who seem too old to change our very seasoned ways
(save by the grace of He who doth with mighty Mercy move)
To we who now are daunted by man’s brevity of days. ..
let’s take what yet remains of Time and turn it into love



© Janet Martin