To Know........

……to know that He is watching us
In every step we take
To know we can’t escape His love………….
What difference does it make?
To know he paints the landscape
And the sky in glorious hue
To know the object of our faith
Dwells within me and you
To know He calls us each by name
Heirs and joined-heirs with Him
And someday at His side we’ll reign
In an eternal Kingdom
To know His mercies never fail
His spoken word is true
And if we trust His perfect will
His peace will fill us too
To know that He is great and good
And all His ways are just
Do we do the things we should?
And do we simply trust?
……to know He holds us in His hands
And will not let us go
When we do not understand
The sorrow here below……..
………..to know He came to earth to die
To pay sins awful debt
And in this gift for you and I
Our every need is met…
…………to know He gave His perfect life
In love, for our sake
To know this…….as we live today
What difference does it make?

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Janet Martin

…hopefully it makes
ALL THE DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD!!!!!

The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit
That we are Gods’ children.
Now if we are children then we are heirs
And co-heirs with Christ
If indeed we share in His sufferings in order
That we may also share in His glory. Rom.8:17

He Is There......

The daylight breathes behind the veil
Of dark and charcoal seas
And e’en before the brink turns pale
We feel it on the breeze
A whisper in the raven tress
A murmur on the sod
A Presence in the cool stillness
The deity of God

Life’s joy and sorrow weaves a shroud
The cloak we all must wear
And still beyond the sun and cloud
We know that He is there
A chant within fair nature’s chord
A throb upon the earth
A Presence of the King and Lord
Of this grand universe

We kneel in thanks at close of day
Fold weary hands in prayer
He wraps His love across our way
Though we can’t see Him there
We feel Him in our heart of heart
A comfort in life’s rain
The Mighty God of heaven and earth
Dwells in the heart of man

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Janet Martin

You hem me in--behind and before,
You have laid Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty to attain......

Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from Your Presence?
If I go up to the heavens
You are there....
If I make my bed in the depths
you are there....Psalms 139:5-8

Daddy.....?

Daddy, what makes the stars stay in the sky?
And Daddy, who made the butterfly?
Daddy, who made the day and night?
And why is there two ways; wrong and right?
Daddy, who makes the trees and flowers grow?
Daddy…..who will tell them if you don’t know

Daddy, where do people go when they die?
Daddy, what is up past the sky?
When I am naughty, why are you sad?
Daddy, why is there good and bad?
Oh Daddy, you know I love you so
Where does love come from, Daddy do you know?

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Janet Martin

Inspired by the priests questions to Levin
In Anna Karenina….

After asking Levin why he cannot believe
The priest concludes with these questions…
“What will you tell him if you yourself know nothing?
How will you answer him?
Will you abandon him to the allurements of this world
and the devil?

You Know

You know the beginning and the end of all things
What is past, what is present, and what tomorrow brings
Yet I seem to think I must do my part
To carry a portion of life’s cares in my heart
God, does it ever make you weep
When you look at the measure of worry I keep?

Is it my ignorance or is it my pride
That insists on keeping cares locked up inside
Why do I know and ignore willingly
Your call saying ‘Cast ALL your burdens on Me’?
God, You know far more than my mind can conceive
And yet I struggle to trust and believe

You know the number of all of my days
You know the error of my foolish ways
You know the measure of my faith and love
That with or without You I have nothing to prove
You know the fullness of salvation’s plan
It cannot be added to by any man

You know because YOU ARE the All in all
You are the ONE who saves man from his fall
You are the ONE who never forsakes
Even though You know all my endless mistakes
I cry out to You in repentance and grief
Lord, I believe, help my unbelief

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Janet Martin

Cast ALL your anxiety on Him
because He cares for you. 1 Pet. 5:7

Lord, I believe. Help Thou mine unbelief. Mark 9:24

The Other Side of Me

They see the face of a woman’s love
They see the face of a smile
They see the mask that I hold to protect me
Or the sorrow that flows from my eyes
They see the outside and what it reveals
They cannot see what the outside conceals
Behind my mask no one can see
What forms the other side of me

But You see every hidden part
Beyond a surface smile
You know the deepest intent of the heart
You see to my very soul
For there is nothing hid from You
No secret deed that I can do
No mask through which You cannot see
To the other side of me.

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Janet Martin

Be Still and Know

Be still and know that I am God,
I plan the pathway that you trod,
I paint the trees that mark the trails
Where fleet deer rests and coyote wails,
I touch the clouds with coral hues
And brush with gold the clear, clear blues,
Then as the night-shades softly fall
I wrap you with a starry shawl

Be still and know that I am God
I plan the pathway that you trod,
I guide the laughing brooks that play
Beneath the weeping willows sway,
I watch the minnows as they race
Within its bubbling, trickling pace,
I ruffle all the fern and flowers
Gracing shores and leafy bowers

Be still and know that I am God,
I plan the pathway that you trod,
I plan the hills and valleys too,
And promise that I’ll see you through
The winds that taunt the shifting sail,
The whispering breeze, the strongest gale,
The storms that toss you where you stand,
I hold them all within My hand

Be still and know that I am God,
I plan the pathway that you trod,
I plan the beauty and the pain,
The bright sunshine and driving rain,
Without life’s hills you would not see
The blessing I have planned for thee
So as with faith this path you trod,
Be still and know that I AM GOD

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Janet Martin

Be still and know that I am God.Ps.46:10

If I Didn't Know You

If I didn’t know you
A sunset would simply be
Colors in the sky
If I didn’t know you a butterfly
Would simply be
A butterfly
I’d never hear You whisper
In the evening breeze
Or know you are the Master
Of all my stormy seas
And when I feel so lonely
I’d truly be alone
If you were not my best Friend
That I have ever known

If I didn’t know you
Then my life would be
A series of random events
And every joy or tear I’ve known
Would be sadly
And uselessly spent
The dearest loves I treasure
Victims of circumstance
And I could never measure
The value of this dance
My life would be a journey
With no destiny in view
A futile race to nowhere
If I didn’t know You

But I do know You
Master painter of
Each sunset in the sky
Yes, I know you
Creator of the hurricane
And butterfly
As the breezes whisper
Your love songs from above
I bow before You, Master
Before the God I love
For I know You just a little
You know me through and through
Yet you love me anyway
Oh my God, how I love You

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Janet Martin

Your works are wonderful,
I know that full well. Ps. 139:14

The Older I Get......

Kids these days sure must be smart
It makes me crease my brow
As their grand wisdom they impart
The what, the why and how
Well. I never once imagined
That it ever would be so
But I now realize for certain
The older I get THE LESS I KNOW

Yes, my small life experience
Has taught me a thing or two
But no one’s really interested
In my point of view
Why, what happened once to me
Was SO VERY long ago
Things have CHANGED, can I not see?
Yep, the older I get THE LESS I KNOW

So last night after I’d been beaten
And I was feeling a little low
I talked to God in Heaven
He tells me what I AUGHT to know
And I guess as long as earth remains
Time is a teacher so
Eventually the ‘smart ones’ of today will complain
That the older they get THE LESS THEY KNOW!!!

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Janet Martin

The fear of the Lord
is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and discipline. Prov.1:7

More than a Feeling

If it was just a feeling
Oh how fickle it would be
It would leave me sadly reeling
When life’s dreams fall in on me
It would be as appealing
As this life without a friend
If it was just a feeling
What a dark and bitter end

If it was just a passing mood
A feeble fantasy
A wistful sigh, a sullen brood
As rain falls down on me
How could it be any good?
As fleeting as the wind
If it was just a passing mood
That’s quickly left behind

I’m glad it’s not a feeling
But it is what I know
God’s love is everlasting
And He’ll never let me go
His love is not a feeling
A swiftly passing mood
His love has no beginning
And I know that it is good

Steadfast in the midnight
As in the glorious dawn
Changeless as His wonder
His power and His throne
His love will never leave us
In spite of how we feel
His love is pure and perfect
And within this love I kneel

Janet Martin
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...because I know whom I have believed
And am convinced that He is able
To keep that which I've entrusted
to Him for that day. 2 Tim.1:12