Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Tender Mercy

When I cannot pray for as I ought
or know how to give thanks
Oh Lord, you understand my thought
and You fill in the blanks

Janet~

I opened my mouth to praise Him
as I beheld expanding ribbons of beauty
dissolving the dark ...but could simply gape in dumb-founded awe!
...that He should love us so
as to open the pages of the sky in daily original glory!
All I could whisper was 'thank-you for seeing what I know not how to say!'

Blind Trust

 Image source:  christ.com

We cannot see what we hope for
All we can do is trust
In He who tips the jars of Heav’n
To water this earth’s dust

His wells of goodness and mercy
Are never parched or dry
Above, beneath, beside us
Is His all-beholding eye

Dare we to question He who bars
The cloud into its realm-
In perfect order scatters stars
Upon the floors of Heaven?

Life’s threshing floor oft we misjudge
As we cry out to God
Vain chaff He longs to purge from us
Love wields His earnest rod

We cannot see what we hope for
Nor understand the thought
Of He who laid the universe
Into a sea of naught

How mighty is the One we trust
He turns the tide of seasons
He clothes the earth, waters the dust
And loves us beyond reason

© Janet Martin

Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:
  “Who is this that obscures my plans
   with words without knowledge?
 Brace yourself like a man;
   I will question you,
   and you shall answer me.
 4“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
   Tell me, if you understand. Job 38 1-4

Monday, March 19, 2012

Wondering...

Sometimes I wonder
as I pray for another
And pour out to God my plea
Sometimes I wonder
if there is another
perhaps somewhere
praying for me?

Sometimes I wonder
as I lay out my sorrows
where God alone can see
and I pray them up yonder
oh, sometimes I wonder
Does anyone pray for me?

J~

When You Feel Like Quitting...


Image Source:  vinylfancy.com

When you feel like quitting
Don’t
If you think it will improve things
It won’t
There is only one way to succeed
Keep on keeping on and never heed
The voice that tells you ‘this is it’
And ‘I think that you should quit’

So if you feel like quitting
Don’t
Fight back using words like
‘Won’t’
No hill lasts forever; but it cannot be climbed
By anything more than one step at a time
He cannot win, who decides this is it
So begin again, but don’t quit

When you feel like quitting
Don’t
Sweet victory lies in the
Won’t
Anything worth having is worth the fight
So dig in and give it your utter-might
Shut out the voice that wearies the won’t
And if you want to quit,
…well, don’t

© Janet Martin

I'm giving myself the advice tonight, that I freely hand the kids:)

Soul-Survey

Image Source: survey-reviews.net

Do I love you enough
To serve you in the dark
Willingly,
where nobody cares or sees?
Do I love you enough
To spend extra time
Willingly,
with you, down on my knees?
Do I love you enough
To be a servant
Willingly,
of many a hidden task?
Do I love you enough?
Oh God please don’t answer
These simple questions
I’m ashamed to ask

© Janet Martin

Inspired by; oodles of grace

 So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He said to him, "Tend My lambs."

 He said to him again a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He said to him, "Shepherd My sheep."

He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do you love Me?" And he said to Him, "Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You." Jesus said to him, "Tend My sheep.  John 21:15-17

Loving Proof~


Sometimes love's most tender offerings 
are nothing more than realizations
that the 'missing you' agony it brings
is the proof of its existence at all

Janet aka Mom

To those north of the sunny south...

Kind Sir, you’re mistaken
We're not really taken
By your candid blue gaze and your brawny-bold stance
But if you insist
We will not resist
The lure of your passion and thoughts of romance
Oh, we’ll let you woo us
And pretend to love us
While we also pretend to fall for your smile
Your laughter entices
Fool-hardy sacrifices
Yet we are quite willing to allow you to beguile
us with your charm
as we lean on your arm
Ignoring the facts that quietly persist
Behind your glance
As we frolic and dance
Are the age-old truths that forever exist
You hold in your candor
And pleasing demeanor
The power to slip from illusions of spring
As smiles turns to scowls
Warm sighs to brute howls
And winter returns for one final fling

© Janet Martin

Yes, we are in shorts and flip-flops (Emily was tubing on the river for goodness sakes!!!)
But mittens and scarves are not packed away
We know that April can pack a mean punch
And we know this weather is NOT here to stay…
So get out and enjoy it while you can!!!


A Monday Morning Melody

The morning mist that softly kissed
Earth’s placid, slumb’ring brow
Has melted to the quiet blue
Beneath the mellow glow
Of daylight stretching, softly etching
Rugged timber-line
Against the sigh of heaven’s eye
And glorious sunshine

Duties command instructs the hand
But cannot steal the heart
As symphonies borne on the breeze
And springtime’s budding art
Renews our hope; broadens the scope
Of dreams that dormant lay
Mankind rejoices with the voices
Spilling from earth’s fray

The vigor of youth’s crazy love
Stirs rampant wanderlust
Its beckon from a hillside throne
And lanes of wakened dust
The morning mist that softly kissed
The tear from winter’s cheek
Opens the door; across earth’s shore
…begins another week

© Janet Martin