Have You Known Love?

Have you held it on your finger-tips
Soft as a butter-fly
Or a breath that faintly slips
Into a longing sigh
Has its fire coursed like thunder
Through your veins down to your knees
Have you knelt in awe and wonder
At its power and its peace
Have you known love?

Have you felt a new-born baby
Quiver gently in your arms
As a mighty ocean filled you
With this miracle so warm
Have you borne its searing whip-lash
Slowly, sadly torn apart
While you watched a cruel alien
Invade a tender heart
Have you known love?

Have you worn its pain and pleasure?
Have you trembled neath its touch?
Have tasted its full measure
Wept because it hurt too much
Have you known the sweetest sorrow
Trickling down from up above
As heaven opens up its window
So that we may know True Love
Have you known love?

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Janet Martin

God is love.1 John 4:16

Missing.....

A little piece of me is not where
It used to be
Is there a way for me to retrieve
It somehow
Is it drifting in the deep blue
Of your eyes
Or the skies
Is it buried in the cold confines
Of winter's snow
Or the ocean's flow
Or has it been washed away?
I was going to say
That it’s okay
I didn’t need it anyway
But the pain in my chest
Reminds me that a little piece
Of me is gone….
Is it for the best?
I don't really know
I could ask to have it back
But what good would that do?
It would simply remind me
Of you

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Janet Martin

Mixed Blessing

When you’re with me my winter is a garden
Blooming in the glow of love’s soft shine
I can wander in its sweet perfection
Holding close to me this rose of mine
It perfume lingers here in tender pleasure
I can taste its sweet eternal kiss
I’ve been handed life’s most valued treasure
Blessed with love as comforting as this

But when you’re gone the garden lacks its luster
The flowers bloom in muted shades of gray
It takes all the courage I can muster
To walk through its loveliness today
The fragrance of the night has sadly faded
As longing, like a tempest sweeps my soul
It seems the garden our love created
Needs the love of two to make it whole

Love, you are a package of mixed blessing
Blending bitter sorrow with the sweet
But still I know in you we are possessing
The only gift that makes our life complete
Love,you are my gardens rarest flower
Love, you are my pleasure and my pain
If I had the chance to start all over
I would do it all with you again

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Janet Martin

J.

Tugs of Sorrow

I suppose we all prefer
If each of us were asked
A day that’s sunny, warm and fair
With soft and tender grass
And on those lawns our feet would dance
While laughter kissed the breeze
And if we could we’d take a chance
To bask beneath the trees

But would it really be as sweet
If we would never know
The pain of stones beneath our feet
Or cold and driving snow
Would we, if all were laughter
Appreciate tomorrow?
Or are we better after
Our little tugs of sorrow?

The tugs of disappointment
The tugs of battles lost
The little tugs of sorrow
When we cannot count the cost
The tugs upon the heart-strings
As loved ones say good-bye
The tugs of joy and anguish
As our children learn to ‘fly’

Oh, little tugs of sorrow
An aching, bitter-sweet
Though I would never borrow
Them; they make our life complete
So if a tear should fall upon
A cold and darkened furrow
Lord, teach me to appreciate
These little tugs of sorrow

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Janet Martin

I Know.....

I know what you’re thinking
That look in your eye
The painful silence
The wisp of a sigh
A wordless admission
And I know it is true
I know what you’re thinking
Just by looking at you

Is a picture really worth
A thousand words?
A thousand tears maybe
Cause oh how it hurts
As these silent tears
Speak a thousand words more
I know what you’re thinking
I’ve seen this look before

I know what you’re thinking
And you know that I know
I wish you would tell me
Instead of the glow
In your eyes so revealing
With never a word
I know what you’re feeling
And oh, how it hurts

I know what you’re thinking
And I forgive you
Cause you know I’m having
The same thoughts too
I look in your face
A mirror for my pain
In sorrows embrace
Mere words are in vain

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Janet Martin

What is man that You
are mindful of Him? Ps.8:4

If Only for a Moment

If only for a moment
The elements would part
And I could hear
The beat of your heart
And bask for just a little while
In the warmth of your soft smile
And if for a moment
I could hear
Your tender voice
Against my ear
Perhaps then I could
Bear the pain
If only for a moment
I could see you again

If only for a moment
My dear memory
Could be transformed
To reality
If I could listen to your whisper
And the music of your laughter
If for a moment
I could touch
The heart of you
I miss so much
Perhaps then I could
Bear the pain
If only for a moment
I could touch you again

God will help me bear the pain
Until I can see you again

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Janet Martin

Bitter-Sweet

Love does not always obey our command
Or follow the pleasant roads we have planned
It’s a bitter-sweet blend of joy and pain
But we desire to taste it again and again

Some days my heart won’t agree with my head
Is love the thorn or the rose so red?
Ah, love is this life’s greatest gift, I know
But then, why does it torment me so?

Love does not come as naturally
As hatred, spite or jealousy
Proving that our universal need
Is to be loved; God’s perfect rose indeed

Love cannot linger in secluded gardens
Nor does it point fingers, but tenderly pardons
Our foolish faux pas, each hurtful mistake
True love is stronger than the deepest heartache

Love, true love is the thorn and the flower
Yes, love brings pain but in life’s darkest hour
It is love, pure love that lifts us up
To taste the fruit of Heaven’s cup

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Janet Martin

The soldiers twisted together a crown
of thorns and put it on His head. John 19:2


'Love reaches through the thorns
to pluck the rose'

Like There's No Tomorrow

Close your eyes, hold love close, don’t let go
Love is a chance we must all take, don’t you know?
What joy can we give if we fear each tomorrow?
How can we love if we fear loss’s sorrow?
When it comes to love we cannot be choosers
For when it comes to love there are really no losers
So love, love passionately, do not fear its sorrow
But love; love today like there’s no tomorrow

Love is a treasure no one can control
So pour out its measure with both heart and soul
Don’t hold it back for a safer tomorrow
Thus living today in constant sorrow
For love isn’t love til it’s given away
So pour out the love that is in you today
God gives us our dear treasures to borrow
Oh, love them today like there’s no tomorrow

High on a cross He loved while we hated
Suffering loss ‘neath the hands He created
But His deepest loss was our greatest gain
As He taught us to love in spite of the pain
Shadow of Heaven, foretaste of glory
On earth it was written, Loves Greatest Story
So love while you may, in spite of the sorrow
Love, love today like there’s no tomorrow

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-Janet Martin-

To never know sorrow we can never love.
To never love we know only sorrow…..
So let’s love today like there’s no tomorrow!
God’s love never fails in the hour of sorrow!

And so we know and rely
on the love God has for us.
God is love. 1 John 4:16

Do you ever fear loving
for the fear of losing????

There is no fear in love.
But perfect love drives out fear,....1 John 4;18

Harvest

Harvest; oh what a price to pay
For seeds once sown in sin
Though we have wept, sin’s law is kept
The harvest must begin
But in the bitter reaping
Amongst the thorns and tares
Take comfort in your weeping
Our heavenly Father cares

The seeds tossed out in carelessness
Though dormant once have lain
Without a doubt one day will sprout
Oh, what a wretched pain
But if we’ve been forgiven
Take courage in the vale
We have a home in Heaven
And a Love that will not fail

A God of tender mercies
Is watching over you
And through His might we’ll win our fight
When the harvest’s due
He will not leave us weeping
Or fainting in the sun
He’s with us as we're reaping
The bitter seeds we’ve sown

All Rights Reserved Sept. 2009

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked.
A man reaps what he sows. Gal.6:7

Sometimes I Stumble

Sometimes I am dancing,
Fleet-footed and strong
Sometimes I am flying
On the wings of a song
Sometimes like gold pennies
My blessings rain down
As I close my eyes
And twirl round and round
But the Lord has His way
Of keeping me humble
Lest I forget him
Sometimes I stumble

And instead of dancing
I fall to the ground
I strain to hear music
But there is no sound
My golden shower
Is a cold, bleak rain
As I close my eyes
And I cry out in pain
The Lord has His way
I will not grumble
At my side He will stay
For sometimes I stumble

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Aug. 2009
Janet Martin

...but those who stumbled are armed with strength. 1 Sam.2:4

Love Hurts

Love is patient, love is kind
Love to others is not blind
Love puts others, not self first
And love’s not love until it hurts

Love is pleasure, love is pain
Love’s a treasure in the rain
Love is not a sweet dessert
Oh love’s not love until it hurts

Love is smiling through our tears
Love is trusting through our fears
Hidden blooms beneath life’s dirt
Love’s not love until it hurts

Love is not fleeting attraction
It’s a thought lived out in action
Pick yourself up from the dirt
Cause it’s not love until it hurts

Holding close and letting go
It’s a constant ebb and flow
Raging fire to quench my thirst
Loving, loving ‘til it hurts

High up on a lonely hill
Crying Father not my will
Putting every sinner first
Loving, loving ‘til it hurt

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Janet Martin Aug. 2009

Read 1Cor. 13