To God Be The Glory

To God be the glory for all He has done,
To send in His mercy His only dear Son,
To be a light in a sin-darkened world,
A banner of love over all unfurled,
Hope for every boy and girl,
To God be the glory

So you got an ‘A’ on your paper today,
To God be the glory!
You scored the winner in your hockey game!
To God be the glory!
You’ve been blessed with many friends,
Enjoying gifts that friendship sends,
You helped a broken heart to mend,
To God be the glory!

So you were baptized last night,
To God be the glory!
You pointed someone t’wards His light,
To God be the glory,
So you forgave an angry word,
Let go of all the pain and hurt,
Crushed cruel gossip into the dirt,
To God be the glory!

You stayed up late to help a weak sister,
To God be the glory,
Though your feet ache and your hands blister,
To God be the glory,
And when you prayed for strength and might
To bear the pain of doing right,
He walked you through the dark of night,
To God be the glory

And to God be the glory for all that I am,
In word and in action may I glorify His name!
For every joy is a gift from you,
And so is every sorrow too,
So in everything I do,
To God be the glory

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Janet Martin

...for thine is the kingdom,
the power and glory forever and ever, Amen.

Soul-searching....

How can they learn with no one to teach them?
How can they know if they’ve never been told?
How can they be saved with no one to reach them?
To show them the door to the Great Shepherd’s fold,
How can they run when they can’t even stand?
Because no one has offered a helping hand,
How can they escape death and hell’s flame?
If they’ve never heard of Jesus’ name

And how can I stand idle on the corner of the street?
Can I dare to face my Maker and not have weary feet?
How can I turn a blinded eye to poor and needy souls?
And yet profess I’ve set my sights on lofty, heavenly goals,
Oh will I stop my ears so I can’t hear their hopeless cry?
Pick up my robes and cross the street, in haste pass quickly by?
Will I sing and praise God’s name and never yet re-tell
The story of a Savior’s love, a love I know so well?

Can I pray for the poor yet have nothing to give them?
Can I pray for the lost with no story to tell?
Can I pray they find life, yet throw nothing to save them?
Before they sink low to the depths of hell,
Can I pray they find hope, yet suffer no sorrow?
As in darkness they grope with no hope for tomorrow,
With my hands in my pocket and my feet standing still
Can I believe that I’m doing my Father’s will?

Will I stand up in Heaven and hope to find favor?
Lift empty hands to a most loving God,
Will I tell him I never reached out to my neighbor?
To tell of His love and the power in his blood,
Will I dare to face Him empty-handed?
With good intentions earthly-stranded,
Will I take His love but not give it away?
Will I look and not see and yet dare to pray? (repeat verse 2)

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Janet Martin

How, then can they call on one they have not believed in?
And how can they believe in one whom they have not heard?
And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?
Rom.10:14

But.....

We sure appreciated all the work that you have done
You always gave your best and never left your job undone
So it is with a deep regret that I must tell you so
BUT….
I’m afraid that times are rough; we’ll have to let you go….

Your car is working very well; I’ve fixed it up real good
I’ve rotated all the wheels replaced the parts I should
You can pick it up; it’s sitting out here in the lot
BUT……
I’m afraid it cost a whole lot more than I first thought

Your boyfriend sure is something; all the girls sure envy you
Secretly they wish they were the one he held on to
They whisper words like ‘lucky’ and ‘wish it was me he chose’
BUT……
Yesterday I saw him kissing your friend’s sister Rose

Within my life experience I have come to hate this word
Hinging positive and negative to change the message heard
Until one day I thought how I was doomed eternally
BUT….
Jesus suffered, died and rose to set each sinner free
I would have no hope at all, no joy, no victory
BUT….
Jesus loves me this I know and that’s enough for me

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Janet Martin

Very rarely will anyone die for
a righteous man, though for a good man
someone might possibly dare to die. BUT God
demonstrates His own love for us in this:
while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Rom.5:7-8

The Future

He was brown-haired and blue eyed
Rebel stare and grin wide
But I fell beneath his spell
When he said I’ll sing to you
His big specs nearly touched his chin
With big breath he began to sing
And heaven smiled upon the child
And on the song he knew

You are my sunshine,
My sunshine,my sunshine
Do you like this song of mine
My mommy teached to me?
I smiled at his gaze so blue
Yes my child I like it too
The song your mommy teached to you
Is lovely as can be

You are my future,
my future my future
Little boy do you know
That this is what I see
Your brown hair and blue eyes
Rebel stare and grin wide
Mothers little joy and pride
Is lucky as can be

For you are the future
The future, the future
Every dream that you dream
Could be reality
So dream while you’re singing
And sing while you’re dreaming
You are the future
Oh, won’t you sing to me?

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Janet Martin

When I was helping at school today I fell in love…..
With a little boy who had a tiny face and huge glasses…
AND A PENCHANT FOR MISCHIEF….
Then he asked if he could sing me a song,
And did I like it???
‘cause his mommy ‘teached’ it to him.
He sang, You are my sunshine….

The Master's Hand

I had me some big plans, some dreams unfulfilled,
With my lump of clay I was going to build,
Great were the castles devised in my mind,
Up until now there’d been none of its kind,
Then a gentle voice said, ‘But your castles are sand,
Won’t you put your clay in the Master’s hand?

But I had the answers so I shook my head,
‘I’ve got it worked out’ I foolishly said,
Never mind that my hands were weak and unskilled,
With my clay and my dreams I was going to build
My plans were fool-proof and they were so grand
To great to be touched by the Master’s hand

Well, the castles I’ve built with my arrogant pride
Are crumbling sadly though I’ve wept and I’ve cried,
Still my stubborn ambitions will not be defeated,
As I turn a deaf ear to an offer repeated
I resist his plea ‘need to do what I planned’
And I turn a blind eye to the Master’s hand

How sad are the follies devised by man,
How pathetic, how hopeless a Godless plan,
I sit in the rubble of my created despair,
Down-cast. I look up and I see a hand there,
And now, broken-hearted and defeated I stand
As I reach for the touch of the Master’s hand

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Janet Martin

A Gracious Spirit

Lord, give me a gracious spirit
When I’m inclined to frown,
Forgive my selfish motives
When my plans turn upside down,
Help me view the ones around me
With a tender heart of love,
Letting others needs surround me,
Serving by Your grace above

Let me keep my focus upward,
Never inward let it be,
For I cannot shine for Jesus
If my thoughts are fixed on me,
So forgive me if I stumble,
Be it over my on pride,
Jesus, make me kind and humble,
Love with arms that open wide
In Jesus Name, Amen

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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

It's a Pretty Good Day

The bill we were waiting for
Came in the mail today
Twice as high as we had
Thought that it would be
The washer is still leaking
Though it had been ‘fixed’
Something still needs tweaking
I’ll try to do it just for kicks….
The sky is proudly sporting
Her winter coat of grey
But I’ve got to admit its still
A pretty good day

The mailman didn’t bring the letter
I’ve been waiting for
There’s a brand new Chevy
Parked at our neighbor next door
The house could use a cleaning
And I could use a nap
It would be nice if I could buy
Energy on tap
But I need to pick up the kids
For their hockey game
Oh yes I’ve got to admit
It’s still a pretty good day

So maybe I don’t like to hear
The truth from time to time
But when it comes from wiser youth
I simply nod and smile
And thank God that they’re healthy
With opinions of their own
Lord knows they’re gonna need them
After they are grown
And I will try to listen well
To all they have to say
God I want to thank you
It's a pretty good day

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Janet Martin

My true story of the day:):)

Little Angel's Heaven

Through meadows sweet her eager feet the dewy blossoms waken,
She stirs the dust where wanderlust her childish heart has taken,
With picnic basket and teddy bear,
Sun bonnet and ruffled underwear,
And ribbons clinging to her hair
As by her prance, they’re shaken

With hops and skips her basket tips yet never seems to scatter,
While fairy-queen and evergreen hark to her ceaseless chatter,
Dear teddy bear and lilac tree,
Even the busy honey bee,
Nod and listen wordlessly
To what, it does not matter

The laughing breeze and shady trees with loving vigil guard her,
Bereft of care, this angel fair basks here in nature’s ardor,
Where time and haste do not exist,
Where blossoms are caressed and kissed,
She never wonders if she’s missed,
This precious little daughter

Oh, what I’d pay for just a day to walk the trail she wanders,
Where sparkling brooks and mossy nooks watch as the hour she squanders,
But far too soon adulthood hails,
And draws her from these precious trails,
A heaven made for little girls
That years from now, will taunt her

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Janet Martin

Priceless Summer

There’s a price set on the summer
That this world cannot afford
No matter if we gathered
All the gold this world has stored
It’s a price set by the flowers
By the trees and birds that sing
And money cannot buy the hours
Where paupers can be kings

Who could buy a balm so pure
Or fresher than a breeze
Scented with the sweet allure
Of blossom-laden trees
And as we hear the symphony
From shady woodlands spill
It dulls the clanging harmony
That these world’s stages fill

Regardless of what we create
However rich and fine
We cannot touch the honored state
Of oak tree or of pine
And as the azure sky of day
Melts in a glorious mist
Tis but a fool who still would say
That God does not exist

I have yet to see a man
Whose beauty could compare
To the fields of God’s design
Or roses pure and fair
So if until the end of time
Great men may ever try
I thank God the price of summer
Is a price man cannot buy

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Janet Martin

Everyone has their own style
of coping with winter, okay?
Mine is............
...dreaming of summer:):)

Epitome of Torment

The epitome of torment
Must surely be
If I love you
But you don’t love me

The epitome of torment
Is strange but true
To be loved by everyone
But you

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Janet Martin

Summer Heart of Mine

How oft amidst the frigid gale
Of winters icy blast
I long to walk a fern-lined trail
Where summer shades are cast
I cannot still the restless voice
That scoffs this frosty line
Held a prisoner ‘gainst my choice
This summer heart of mine

I peer out through this snowy pane
Where trees so bare and tall
Creak, as if they too complain
As I inside these walls
Replaced by luscious summer greens
Their cold blue shadows lie
So listless on this frigid plain
Beneath a cold, blue sky

Oh to feel the gentle kiss
Of breezes as they play
Or revel in the balmy bliss
Of dawns fair summer day
But January’s ceaseless storm
Defies June’s warm sunshine
And I can find no comfort for
This summer heart of mine

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Janet Martin