Showing posts with label accountability. Show all posts
Showing posts with label accountability. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 24, 2026

Life Matters, A Life that Matters or Life-matters

As we contemplate the culmination of 
what may seem commonplace at first glance...







...may the light of eternity waken us to the sacred matter
of what matters most, and how ultimately 
nothing is commonplace, when
lived with love for the glory of God!

A Life That Matters ; (click link)
isn't that what we all desire?!
To matter; To be needed and loved!
And what irony; the desire to be needed and loved, to matter,
is met as we meet another's need with love.

The link above helped inspire today's poem, as well as
an excerpt from an update letter from one of our missionaries
 who led a team of students on a short-term ministering-trip.
One of the students, after thanking those who prayed for him/them
shared that he is so excited to see where the Lord will lead him
' Even though I am no longer in (said country),
I still plan to be a disciple of God
and hope to help share the good news
with as many people in my life as I can."

What a beautiful reminder about what truly matters, 
as we desire to live a life that matters,
and ultimately to exalt as Paul did!

Life is lent; its gifted measure
More than sums/crumbs of birthday cake 
 Time is a temporal treasure
With eternity at stake 

Today's gifted moment-matter
Matters more than we can see
As the seeds of reply scatter
Settling in eternity 

In the grave matter of living
No one can afford to hate/wait
Today is ripe for love's giving
Tomorrow may be too late

Come, let's make the most of moments
And the matter they compose
Before death's impending summons
Ushers in life's curtain-close 

Let's run life's race with endurance
Honouring what matters most
Let's rely on the assurance
Of worth only faith can boast

What lies behind none can alter
But do not despair, my friend
Mercy's fountain does not falter  
Today we can change the end

Every life matters; its treasure
More than fool's gold or bold jest
Pray the merit of its measure
Makes its matter worth our best 

Because after this life's fleetness
After earth's mortal sojourn
We will meet with the completeness 
Of eternity's return 

Pray, we put our faith in Jesus
For this matters most of all
Because only Jesus frees us
From the curse of mankind's fall

Thank God for salvation's story
Thank Him for love's shameless boast 
Through His power, for His glory
He grants us what matters most 

Janet Martin

Rom.14:7-13
 (read the whole glorious chapter HERE)

7For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. 
8For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. 
Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. 
9For to this end Christ died [b]and rose and lived again, 
that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. 
10But why do you judge your brother?
 Or why do you show contempt for your brother? 
For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of [c]Christ.
  11For it is written:
“As I live, says the Lord,
Every knee shall bow to Me,
And every tongue shall confess to God.”
12So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. 
13Therefore let us not judge one another [d]anymore, 
but rather resolve this, 
not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.





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Monday, March 23, 2026

If We Make Christ our Master


For me, one of the takeaway applications of yesterday morning's message
Choose your master/Master or your master will choose you!
The speaker also reminded /encouraged us with this;
If we make Christ our Master and mission
day by day, the end will take care of itself;
We will be able to be faithful to the end
and echo the words of Paul in
2 Tim.4:7
" I have fought the good fight,
I have finished the race,
I have kept the faith."

So thank You Lord, for a new morning filled with new mercies!
Lam.3:22-23

Lord, because no one can serve two masters (Matt.6:24)
 help us choose You!





If we make Christ our Master we will fix our eyes on Him
Not mine, but Thine the Kingdom, power and glory. Amen

If we make Christ our Master He will passion's zeal persuade
To seek His kingdom first and not vain treasures that will fade

If we make Christ our Master then, we will hallow His name
And reverence and fear the One who bore our sin and shame

If we make Christ our Master we will trust Him and obey
Knowing sorry disaster waits where Self demands its say

If we make Christ our Master we will be misunderstood
As we reject this world's appeal for Heaven's Greater Good

If we make Christ our Master worship commands a great price
Each day will be an altar, Self will be the sacrifice 

It we make Christ our Master; He, The Way, the Truth, the Life
Will lead in paths of righteousness and fit us for its strife 

If we make Christ our Master, Holy power will prevail
His armour equips us to withstand evils that assail

If we make Christ our Master we will never walk alone
His rod and staff will comfort all who make His will their own

If we make Christ our Master life will be no Easy Street
And mean will seem the Potter's Wheel as faith and sight compete

If we make Christ our Master, then, whatever may befall
When we behold Him we will know the fight was worth it all 

If we make Christ our Master, focus/motive will be realigned 
And as it is He help us love Him heart, soul, strength and mind

If we make Christ our Master, then the Best is yet to come
Death's solemn due, the doorway to Eternity with Him

The lordship of Me-Myself-I, mines deeps of futile yen
If we make Christ our Master He will satisfy. Amen 

Janet Martin







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Thursday, March 19, 2026

Holiness of Today or Sacredness of Seeds

Pondering planting is an annual almost-spring activity.
We never plant without hope for a good harvest
of fruit and flowers!



This line of thinking woke today's poem
as I pondered the sacredness of seeds!
(those we plant and those we don't)
We cannot reap what we do not sow







Each day is like a fallow field
Soon strewn with seeds of word and deed
Consider then, some morrow's yield
When harvest will expose the seed

Each morning grants a fresh re-start
For sacred seeds waiting to spill
The Giver of  Today imparts
All that we need to trust/do His will 

He grants the soundness of His Word
To equip us with truth and love
For the harvest is undeterred
In the fruit seeds are bound to prove

...where trodden fields we leave behind
May seem to weave a transient path
But we should ever keep in mind
The future of their aftermath

(For stumbling blocks and stepping stones
Are scattered in word and deed's toll
 Where carriages of skin and bones
Traverse their wake, bearing the soul)

The seeds that fill the heart and mind
Are bound to spill in word and deed
Of truth that frees or lies that blind/bind
God, help us pay more earnest heed

...to the holiness of Today
And seed-responsibility
Where the harvest of do-and-say
Is up to likes of you and me

Today awaits our words and deeds 
God, help us as we sow, to keep
Close watch on sacredness of seeds 
We and/or our children will reap 

Janet Martin


Luke 8:4-8 & 11-15

The Parable of the Sower

4And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable: 5“A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. 7And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. 8But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded [e]a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

The Parable of the Sower Explained

11“Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. 13But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of [g]temptation fall away. 14Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. 15But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.[h]


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Friday, March 6, 2026

Worthy (Wealth Evaluation)


We live in an age not so very much different as ages past...
of good intention juxtaposed with temptation
and 'being wise in our own eyes' 
and not always trembling at the consequence of disobedience/rebellion,
and its ripple effect...

In 1 Samuel 15
God rejected Saul as king after Saul rejected/disobeyed
the word of the LORD, though Saul repented,
the consequence of his disobedience could not be reversed!

1 Sam.15:20-23
And Saul said to Samuel, “But I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, 
and gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me, 
and brought back Agag king of Amalek; 
I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 
21 But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, 
the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed,
to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”
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.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of [d]witchcraft,
And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
He also has rejected you from being king.”

Who do we listen to as we make countless choices every day?
Whose authority do we reflect/reject 
as we prove who we belong to; God or self?
Do we consider our choice worth the cost?!!




All who belong to the Father
Belong to the King of kings
Heirs and joint heirs of love’s Author
And the shares this Sonship brings

He is our regal provision/position
He is the Way, Truth and Life
Anchoring hope where derision
And opposition runs rife

His wealth defends faith's discourses
Inheritance beyond ken
Wellspring of unplumbed resources
Bids us draw and drink. Amen

What unfathomable stature
Instills mortal dust to dust
Partakers of divine nature
Escapees of evil's lust

Lord, lest leprosy of spirit
Some sinful longing sustains
Pray Lord, search the heart and try it
Lest a wicked way remains

God is love; love never forces
Anybody to believe
But the riches He endorses
Each yielded heart will receive

Satisfying the soul's hunger
With love's infinite supply 
Pity all who drift and wander
Disillusioned by the eye 

Unaffected by the Saviour
Unwilling to 'taste and see'
   Choosing death's selfish/sinful behaviour
Rather than bowing the knee

Worship is the revelation/elevation
Of who we most love and crave
Either the God of salvation
Or gods, powerless to save

Do we rejoice to assemble
With fellow-heirs, undeterred
By this world's off'rings, to tremble
At the power of God's Word

Are we part of faith's profession/procession
 Washed in the blood Jesus spilled
 Do we treasure faith's possession
Of God's promises fulfilled
 
Janet Martin

Rom.8:17
and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, 
if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

1 Pet.4:12-13
Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you,
 as though some strange thing happened to you;
  13but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings,
 that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.

2 Pet.1:10-11
Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, 
for if you do these things you will never stumble;
 11for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly
 into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

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Monday, March 2, 2026

Dear God, Forbid...


If these roses were nothing more than a
 two-to-three week-bloom's-worth
it would seem like a hefty price to pay for soon-fallen petals...


Every touchable and taste-able gift without love soon lies in waste! 
But with love, the knowledge and memory of The Gift
sustains a continuous joy! 

The humility of the cross, without love would be a mockery of God's goodness
but because He so loved us He saved us through The Gift of His Son to take our punishment
and pay sin's penalty once for all, 
purchasing the gift of salvation that we all may by faith receive,
sustaining a continuous joy 
from the moment it is given and received
throughout eternity!

Dear God, forbid we strive to secure faith's worth through our works,
but oh, dear God, forbid we fail to shine Your worth through our works
 so all who see may glorify Thee!

In Matt.5:16 Jesus commands us to...
Let your light so shine before men,
 that they may see your good works
and glorify your Father in heaven.

***

"It is not great faith, but true faith, that saves; 
and the salvation lies not in the faith, 
but in the Christ in whom faith trusts."
- Charles Spurgeon

***

Dear God, forbid that we should fail to praise You for Your faithfulness
As if Calvary’s sore travail was something trivial to ignore
And God forbid that we should cease to pray with great unworthiness
And gratitude to You, whose peace consoles and calms Fear’s lion-roar

Dear God, forbid that we invade Today equipped with nothing more
Than thirst for fortunes that will fade with final breath's solemn reveal
And God forbid we live enslaved to idol-worship You abhor
Heedless of holy scars engraved on hands that help and hold and heal

Dear God, forbid that we should count, rather than blessings, curse on curse
Dashing like beasts through mercy’s fount that each new morning manifests
And God forbid that we forget Who died for us, and thus we nurse
The injuries of wounded pride or disappointment's complex tests 

Dear God, forbid we never taste the bread and water of Enough
But lay life's precious lease to waste, like pigs, rolling in priceless pearls
And God forbid we never find Your wellspring of redeeming love
Wallowing in shackles and blind to Truth's lifeline, Your Word unfurls   

Dear God, forbid that we should wait until it is too late to call
On you, or humbly contemplate sin's pardon paid at Calvary
And God forbid man justifies, through sight and logic's wherewithal 
'a way that seems right' but denies Your Unrelenting Sovereignty 

Knowing, rather than sacrifice You desire obedience
Because of the unrivaled price You paid to achieve death’s defeat
Dear God, forbid we choose soul’s doom rather than its deliverance
Dear God, thank-you! Your empty tomb proclaims enough until we meet

Dear God, forbid we wave love's rose, but rue its thorn and curse its sting 
Unwilling to suffer love's blows or live beneath love's cross, content 
Not hungering and thirsting for your Word, nor crowning you as King
On our heart's throne because you bore sin's penalty and punishment 

Dear God, forbid we taste and see, but then let vanity take root
Forgetting how you set us free and the great things that you have done
Unlike the tree beside rife streams, through drought and heat, still bearing fruit 
Because the hope that faith esteems, is in You and in you alone

Janet Martin

This poem first began while pondering Samuel's warning to Israel
after he anointed their first king, Saul, after they pleaded with him
'for a king to judge them like other nations' 1 Sam.8:5
They wanted a king other than God! 
The conclusion of Samuel's warning in 1 Sam.12:20-25
struck a deeply convicting chord in my own heart (esp.v.24) 

20 Then Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have done all this wickedness; 
yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. 
21 And do not turn aside; for then you would go after empty things 
which cannot profit or deliver, for they are nothing. 
22 For the Lord will not forsake His people, for His great name’s sake,
 because it has pleased the Lord to make you His people.
 23 Moreover, as for me, far be it from me 
that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you; 
but I will teach you the good and the right way. 
24 Only fear the Lord, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; 
for consider what great things He has done for you. 
25 But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king.”

    


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Monday, February 23, 2026

Of Grace Fulfilled

Rev.4:21
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; 
there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. 
There shall be no more pain, 
for the former things have passed away.”

partly because we hurt when loved ones hurt,
partly because of tomorrow's unknowingness,
and partly by the hymn at the end of this post
today's poem was inspired...

Does the mental image of God gathering you close
to brush away your tears forever and heal every hurt forever
comfort you as it comforts me?
In this world we will have trouble but take heart!
He has overcome the world and if we believe in Him
and receive by faith, the gift of salvation, 
purchased through Jesus' shed blood,
no matter what we are going through, 
it will be worth it all!

Just as we know the life of gardens waits beneath the snow
So we know the life of every believer awaits glorious perfection
beyond the grave...




I'd like to learn to live as if each day could be my last
 To don the gait of faith rather than panic's frantic pace 
To recognize each morning as a barge with hoisted mast 
Embarking on time's rolling sea, commandeered by God's grace

Then, though the barge may groan and shift beneath life's weight of care
I'd like to bear in mind the part no wishing can erase
Ere moments fall behind me, and to live, humbly aware
That, come what may, nothing transcends God's all-sufficient grace

...then live so if the barge of morn should take its farewell tour
And the last drop of ink be drained in parting, from poised pen
The lyric on life's final page would echo those before
A hymn of grateful praise to He who gives and takes. Amen

I'd like to learn to live as if each day could be The Day
When God's Hands cup my face; each broken hallelujah healed
And then, just as He promised, wipe every last tear away 
The barge of morning moored where grace fulfilled will be revealed 

Janet Martin 

Do you believe? Have you received the gift above all gifts?

"Faith and fear both demand 
you believe in something you cannot see. 
You choose!"
— Bob Proctor





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Saturday, January 3, 2026

The Ongoing Quandary of Poetry (to write or not to write)

 

Yesterday one of my lovely and thoughtful friends gifted me with a beautiful book
 of a poem-a-day for a year, written by a local man I know of, though do not know personally. 
In the first poem entitled To Write or Not to Write he tugged a tender chord in my own heart 
as he battled with the desire to be a good steward of a calling from the One who weaves us together
 in our mother’s womb, without appearing as if we think we have all the answers!
 ‘Yet not to write would build up tension’ he writes. 
Every writer/poet/lyricist knows that tension!!

So, we continue to seek courage and guidance from God 
and forgiveness and patience from fellowman in this labour of love called Poetry. 
Thank you, Elo Bowman, for having the courage to compile a book 
and encourage fellow poets and fellow-pioneers in/of an age called Today!

Thank-you Paula, for thinking of me when you saw this book!💝

Poetry is personal.
Poetry is pieces of a heart pressed to page
Poetry is prayer bared.
Poetry is pictures snared in script.
Poetry is a cup of tea, but not for all.
Poetry is a tangle of pain and pleasure;
A tango of trial and triumph
A lyric of love and longing
A hymn of heartache and hope;
A hope that somewhere someone was drawn a little closer
To the Giver of every good and perfect gift, 
and thus to Him...
To our One true, good and gracious God be the glory
for every groan grappled
and lilt lassoed,
forever and ever.
Amen!


If poetry was nothing more than fondness for tempo and rhyme
Methinks that ink could ill afford its very precious claim on Time
If by narcissistic grit alone we captured thoughts to press to page
How fickle then the font we hone, how futile the words we engage

Poetry is a warring tug, an ocean borne deep in the soul
The tenure of a tender hug that throbs where unpenned poems roll
The pleasure in Love’s laughing eyes as an elusive wink is snared
The sorrow of summer’s spent prize, life’s ups and downs suffered and shared

Poetry is a battle fought on fields only ink can estrange
A war-cry as want weeps for naught because of what it cannot change
A flicker fanned to sentiment as whispers brave the naked eye
As both critique and compliment are sparked where passion’s embers lie

Poetry is faith over fear; no sneer can quench quixotic sighs
The song and dance of smile and tear, reverberates in creature cries
And should confidantes be denied or should no fellow-friend be found
Poetry reaches far and wide to gather us on common ground

Darling, Twilight is closing in and morrow grants no guarantee
The tide that ebbs and flows within rushes like a vast poem-sea
A fearful and wonderful deep, to dredge once more if God so wills
And by the kindness of His keep to trust Him for the ink that spills

For poetry is a like a voice crying in word-world’s wilderness
And the poet must master choice with Awe’s conscientious finesse
Because poetry will outlive the hand that bares ballad to light
Therefore, it behooves us to give earnest heed to the lines we write

Janet Martin

James 1:17
Every good and perfect gift is from above,
 coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights,
 who does not change like shifting shadows.





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Thursday, November 20, 2025

Why Poems?

For the 2025 November PAD Chapbook Challenge,
 poets write a poem a day in the month of November. 
Day 20 is to write an explanation poem.

To those who sometimes wonder, or ask, WHY?!!
Why poems?!!



poetry is far more than ink arrangement of verse-rhyme
(though some perceive its purpose as sheer waste of precious time)
because some so-called poets desecrate ballads with blight
through unholy vulgarity and disregard for right

poetry is love's passion poured upon a page; its quest
to rekindle a heart of awe within the human breast
to waken us to worship God with more humility
to draw wonder from unplumbed wells of Divine Deity  

to grasp, from sod and sky and sea, sacred glimpses, though dim
Of He whose workmanship is but the outer fringe of Him 
and then to bow before the parchment altar with amen 
touching the hem of God's garment through whispers of a pen

poetry is far more than vaunt to vex the hungry eye 
it is the aftermath of prayer, the dredged deeps of a sigh
the heart that skipped a beat as it beheld the holy stage
where ink survives the author of words committed to page 

poetry is the pleasure of  God rushing through thought's veins 
a holy happiness that the Ultimate Bard sustains
through nature's endless evidence of He who woos the soul
and keens ears to an ocean where uncharted poems toll/roll

poetry is far more than lyrical extravagance
it is a brush that paints a scene, a soulful song and dance
it is a kind endeavor to address lament and laud
and benefit the reader with witness that points to God 

poetry is the language of lovers of humankind
longing's collective sympathies, the music of the mind
so when you ask 'why poems? all that I can think to say
 is, 'to ignore the ocean's roar would be to cease to pray'
or, when you ask 'why poems' the simplest truth I can give
Is, 'to ignore the ocean's roar would be to cease to live'

Janet Martin

“When I run, I feel God’s pleasure.”
Eric Liddell (1902–1945)

When I write poetry I feel God's pleasure
Janet Martin (1966-....)
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Thursday, October 30, 2025

Of First Receiving ...

John 4:24
God is Spirit, and those who worship Him 
must worship in spirit and truth.”

If we were nothing more than what we could achieve
 by our own merit, we at best, would be pitiful.
Every opportunity we make the most of
 is possible only by abilities first God-granted.
The athlete, the artist, the architect,
the scholar, the teacher, the laborer, 
the business magnate, the journalist, the preacher etc.
pursues, performs, accomplishes and excels, 
only through the grace of first receiving
the gifts of health and strength, 
of intellect and perception, etc.
Because of these mercies/provisions/blessings we, 
not by our own merit but by the grace of God,
ought not hide in fear, but with constant courage 
each day ask God to make us a vessel He pours through.
 Then, whatever we get right is to His glory
and whatever we get wrong is to our refinement
as we keep learning, no matter who or how old we are.

so, no matter how great (like winning the World Series, 
(oops!! like trying to win the World Series)




 or small (like preserving pumpkins) 




we owe our best to He from whom we have first received  

So, no matter 
how great or small
The task at 
present seems
We owe our 
Very Best of All
To He who 
grants the means
To seize each 
opportunity
With noble 
intention
Because of who 
grants you and me
Ability. 
Amen

Janet Martin

Matt.6:9-13

In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
 Give us this day our daily bread.
 And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
 And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
[a]For Yours is the kingdom
and the power 
and the glory forever. 
Amen.




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Thursday, October 16, 2025

Simply, A Vessel

It seems the older we grow, the faster time flies!
How are we over halfway through October already?!

How are we nearing the end of another harvest season
that it seems we just planted not so very long ago?!



Gal.6:7
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; 
for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.

There is no getting around it;
whether we plant conscientiously,
carelessly, or with carefully-crafted cunning,
cover/bury deeply the seed/deeds we strew/do
we reap what we sow! 
We have all at one time or another sown seeds we later regretted,
and we would surely lose heart as we reflect on those seeds
 but for this:
2 Cor.7:10
For godly sorrow produces repentance 
leading to salvation, not to be regretted;
 but the sorrow of the world produces death.


In the spring I planted a perennial mum from my mom's perennial garden.
Its flourishing autumn beauty is such a pleasure to behold!
When good seeds are planted then good fruit and flowers follow!


Sometimes what we plant in the spring of our lives doesn't bloom until the autumn...
Oh, pray it is more than wild oats we've sown!
***

We are, in a sense all vessels through which seeds pour...
2 Tim2: 20-21
But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, 
but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. 
 Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, 
he will be a vessel for honor,
 [h]sanctified and useful for the Master, 
prepared for every good work. 

Yesterday I harvested the last of my garden produce...


Not all harvests are as quickly cultivated and collected 
as that of the garden variety! but, 
Gal.6:9
Let us not grow weary while doing good, 
for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.


God does not require a crowd to fulfill Purpose true 
But simply a vessel, unproud, willing to be poured through

Each legacy of faith begins with self-surrendered 'yes' 
As we repent of our sins and and turn from worldliness/carelessness

To walk by faith or run its race with endurance does not
Depend upon athletic pace or skill, but trust in God  

To trust God is to trust his Word; to trust is to obey
To keep His precepts, undeterred by all who turn away

How sweet to hone hope's happiness, not in fleeting delights
But in God's steadfast promises where faith fixes its sights 

How holy is time's ebb and flow unfolding Now to Then
How surely we reap what we sow; God is not mocked. Amen 

...nor does He require a crowd, His purpose to fulfill 
But simply a vessel, endowed with faith's surrendered will   

Janet Martin

'Very much of our future life will depend upon our earliest days',
then quoted Mr. Ruskins, not quite verbatim,
' people often say we excuse the thoughtlessness of youth,
but he says no, it never ought to be excused.
I'd far rather hear of thoughtless old age when a man has done his work,
but what excuse can be found for a thoughtless youth?
The time for thought is at the beginning of life
and there is no period which so much demands
or so much necessitates thoughtfulness as our early days...
I would that all young men would think so.
They say that they must sow their wild oats.
No! No, my dear young friend.
 Think before you sow such seed as that,
 what the reaping will be.
See if there is not better corn to be found 
than wild oats and sow that,
then think how you will sow it 
and when you will sow it
for if you do not think about the sowing,
what will the harvest be? '












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