9/11

A solemn day,

A day for remembering

Cross at Ground Zero

     although we can't forget. 



 Not afraid, only sad
That life was crushed,

     hope forever changed.

Proud too. Proud that sacrifice
     and heroism won
O’er evil intent and hate.

And even when no duty called,
Some loved neighbor more
        than they loved themselves.

Fountains flow with tears that never dry,
Trees reach up their hands into the sky.
Twin lights pierce heaven, a prayer and a sigh.


A cross of beams, a tattered flag,

     remind us of our call. 

We still believe.

MaryMartha



Art from http:www.sxc/hu.com





Broken

A thousand times or more,
I've knelt at altar rail,
Or sat in quiet pew with loved ones near,
While bits of bread are passed
Or loaf is shared.

Most clearly comes to mind
My early years
Before thin wafers served
To remind us of our Lord.
Just crackers, broken into crumbs,
So clearly showed His death.

Remembering His brokenness,
I celebrated life,
Rejoicing that He took my place.
Because He suffered brokenness,
I am set free.

I've learned another truth:
He did not die
So that I would have
A never-broken life.
He died because I am. --MM

One Thing After Another

Lord, I don't understand
     the unrelenting pressures on my life:
A long period of not being well,
     and then a legal tangle,
And then the child whose life unravels
     before my very eyes.
I'm made of sturdy stuff
     but I confess I sometimes think
This is too much,
     this one thing right after another.

"Of course, it's one thing after another!
That is the way I mold My children's lives.
You could not bear the shaping tools
     all at a time.
They come one after another.
     Be glad!"

A note: I wrote this some years ago. The illness is long past, the legal situation is forgotten, the child weathered that crisis and several new ones. It is still true, though, that I face "one thing right after another," just as you do, no doubt. Our God is just as faithful today as He has been in the past.

MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)

Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com

Walls of Water

When reading the Exodus story again, I paused to consider how scary it must have been for those who walked on the path God had created by dividing the waters of the Red Sea. (Exodus 14:21, 22) When the Israelites left Egypt, they were pursued by Pharaoh's chariots, and the people were trapped between the enemy and the uncrossable sea. At God's command, Moses stretched out his rod over the sea, but if I am reading the account correctly, a useable path did not immediately appear—sorry about that, Charlton Heston. ("Moses" in Cecil B. DeMille's 1956 film, The Ten Commandments). The Scripture says God caused a strong east wind to blow all night. Either that caused the water to heap into walls on not one, but two, sides—an impossibility without Divine intervention—or Moses' action divided the sea and then the wind held back the waves and dried the seabed. Either scenario is truly miraculous.

There is significance for us in the way God got His people across the sea. He did not transport them during the night so that when they awakened, they suddenly found themselves on the opposite shore. He did not enable them to walk on top of the water either. He did not remove the sea, nor did He dispose of the enemy. He made a way through—and He will do the same for us.

"My Child, the wind which you feared for its power to harm,
I have chosen to use as the strength of My arm,
And while your soul suffers the darkness of night,
I'm dividing the waters to the left and the right.
At last when the light dawns and once more you see,
You will find an escape made for you there by Me.
Though the host of the enemy is still close at hand,
You can walk through your Red Sea upon the dry land.

"I've made only a pathway, not a calm, placid sea
For I want you to walk in reliance on Me.
I will use all your trials and heartaches today
To guide you and keep you in My chosen way.
There'll be wind, there'll be billows that foam and toss high,
But the waves cannot touch you for I am still nigh.
You will walk upon dry land in the midst of the sea
And the great walls of water will press you to Me."

MaryMartha
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Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com

Tears

The mourning clouds hung low beneath
A dull and somber sky
And, weeping, mixed their tears with yours
The day you said good-bye.

“It’s raining now,” somebody said,
And though it so appears,
With angels singing, “Welcome home,”
Some kissed you with their tears.

Know this: The Man of Sorrows feels
The crushing of your loss.
Lift up your head; the drops you feel
Are falling from the Cross.

MaryMartha - For my dear friend
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Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com

Prayers for Our Nation

Many prayers have been written for our nation, among them petitions by Billy Graham, Chuck Swindoll, and Ravi Zacharias as well as ordinary citizens of our land. I think none are more expressive than those in some of our early patriotic hymns. They seem as fitting for Election Day, 2008, as they did over a century ago.

Some lines from “America the Beautiful” by Katharine Lee Bates, the first draft of which was hastily jotted in a notebook upon seeing “the wonder of America . . . [a] sea-like expanse” from the top of Pikes Peak. The words first appeared in a weekly journal for Independence Day, 1895.

America! America!

God shed His grace on thee,

And crown thy good with brotherhood

From sea to shining sea!

America! America!

God mend thine ev'ry flaw,

Confirm thy soul in self-control,

Thy liberty in law.

America! America!

May God thy gold refine

Till all success be nobleness,

And ev'ry gain divine.

A verse of “America” by Samuel Francis Smith, written while a student at the theological seminary in Andover, Massachusetts. He completed the lyrics in thirty minutes, setting them to the melody in Muzio Clementi's Symphony No. 3. The song was first performed in public on July 4, 1831, at a children's Independence Day celebration at Park Street Church in Boston.

Our father's God to Thee,
Author of liberty,
To Thee we sing.
Long may our land be bright
With freedom's holy light;
Protect us by Thy might,
Great God, our King!

The words of “God of Our Fathers” by Daniel C. Roberts, written in 1876 for a cel­e­bra­tion of the Cen­ten­n­i­al Fourth of July at Bran­don, Ver­mont. George W. Warren composed the tune we presently use for the cen­ten­ni­al cel­e­bra­tion of the Unit­ed States Con­sti­tu­tion in 1888.

God of our fathers, whose almighty hand

Leads forth in beauty all the starry band

Of shining worlds in splendor through the skies,

Our grateful songs before Thy throne arise.

Thy love divine hath led us in the past,

In this free land by Thee our lot is cast;

Be Thou our Ruler, Guardian, Guide and Stay,

Thy Word our law, Thy paths our chosen way.

Refresh Thy people on their toilsome way,

Lead us from night to never ending day;

Fill all our lives with love and grace divine,

And glory, laud, and praise be ever Thine

MaryMartha
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Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com

What Miss T Eats

I had the most interesting reading books when I was a youngster! I remember still the poem, “Miss T.”

It's a very odd thing—
As odd as can be—
That whatever Miss T eats
Turns into Miss T.

Walter de la Mare (1873 - 1956)
British poet and novelist, from Peacock Pie, A Book of Rhymes, 1913

I’m sure the point was for us young readers to realize that what we ingested—fruits and vegetables, milk, and meat or candy, ice cream, and popcorn—would make a difference in our health. A verse I read today in Proverbs reminded me of Miss T. “Rumors are dainty morsels that sink deep into one’s heart.” (Proverbs 26:22 NLT) Other translations call the dainty bites “choice morsels” or “tasty trifles” and in addition to rumors include gossip, tale bearing, and whispering (in the sense of insinuating). Isn’t it interesting that what goes into our mouths goes into muscle and bone building and other body functions, while what goes in our ears goes to our inmost being!

Words that we speak are powerful things. “Words kill, words give life; they're either poison or fruit—you choose.” (Proverbs 18:21 MSG) The same is true of the words to which we listen. We are probably all exposed to things we would rather not hear, but we do have a lot of discretion—more perhaps, than we usually exercise—about what we choose to hear.

It’s a very odd thing—
Very odd, I should say—
That what Miss (or Mr. or Mrs.) J hears
Turns into Miss J. --MM

MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)

Scripture quotation marked NLT is taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved. Scripture marked MSG is taken from The Message. Copyright © 2003 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

"Be Still and Know That I Am God"

I am the God of the storm.
I created thunder and lightning, wind and rain.
My feet are planted on the dark clouds

     that are rolling into your life,

     threatening to engulf you.
Even though your grasp slips from the guide wheel
     and you find the anchor about to come loose and set you adrift,
I am there, controlling the height of the waves

     and the fierceness of the wind.
I will not permit them to dash you upon the rocks.

I am the God of the darkness.
I created night and day; they are alike to Me.
My eyes pierce through the inky blackness

     that surrounds you so thickly you can feel it press

     the very breath from you.
In that darkness, be still—
The heartbeat that you hear is Mine.

I am the God of emptiness.
I created the vast reach of space out beyond
     the little planet that is familiar to you,
And I know that it is far from empty.
I inhabit the aching emptiness of your longings,
     your unfulfilled dreams,
     the rising and falling of your hopes.
Your emptiness is pregnant with what is yet to be,
For I spoke, and out of the emptiness
     there came into being all that is.
One day again, I will speak.
                                                         —MM
MaryMartha
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Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com

Clouds

When the children of Israel left Egypt under Moses’ leadership, God demonstrated His presence with them in a tangible way. “By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people. (Exodus 13:21, 22)

Before long, however, the people were trapped between the Red Sea and Pharaoh’s pursuing army. While they huddled fearfully in their camp, “the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel's army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.” (Exodus 14:19, 20) When morning came, God instructed Moses to stretch out his hand over the Sea. The Lord caused a strong east wind to roll back the water, and the people crossed safely on dry land. Of course, that pathway enabled the enemy to cross, as well, but Moses held out his hand again, returning the Sea to its former depth, and every one of Pharaoh’s chariots and horsemen were destroyed. The opening of the Red Sea was a huge miracle, but consider too that most unusual cloud: covering one camp in darkness and flooding the other with light.

Have you ever considered that what seems like difficulty to you—a cloud, so to speak—could actually be your protection and provision?

The God of the Israelites sent a cloud
To serve as a guard in the night.
Old Pharaoh’s host saw just the dark cloud,
But the children of God, a light.

The cloud that today is shading your path
Is there for God sees it’s fit.
Despair or deliverance will all depend
On how you are looking at it.

Looking on it from the viewpoint of one
Whose heart has been taught to see Him,
The cloud will reveal Him, burst forth into Light—
But if you rebel, your eyes dim.

This cloud in your way, then, spells life and peace
Or confusion and doubt—for you see,
You alone can be the one to decide
On which side of the cloud you will be.

Are you dwelling where Israel’s faith abounds
Or in Egypt’s rebelling sin?
The cloud being darkness or light to you
Depends on which camp you are in. –MM

MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved

Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com

You Are Right

Lord, You are right!
Slowly I am learning to question less:
“Surely this can’t be the way.”
And “There’ll never be a change.”

But You are right!
Never would I doubt that You are faithful to Your Word,
That Your promises are sure and what You’ve said is true.
But the stuff of every day?
The tiny secret hope that would not go away?
I marvel: “This was You!”

And now I see You’re right!
I do not want to make You small by using human terms,
But Lord, You are so smart!
You figured out the whole
While I stumbled through the clues.

MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)

Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com

Weaving

An old poem by an unknown author reminds us that we do not choose the colors in the handiwork that is our life; that is up to the Master Weaver. We forget sometimes that, while He sees the pattern as it evolves on the upper side, we are limited to looking at the underside. There the knots are visible and the pattern is unclear! God is at work, and some day we too will be able to see why the dark colors of difficulty or sorrow were as necessary as the brighter ones of freedom and joy.

The craftsman, using strands of gold,
Wastes not their glory on a weave
Of shining, brightly colored thread
But rather lets them glow
From out of darkened web. –MM

MaryMartha
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Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com

Lessons from a Bird

Be like the bird that, pausing in her flight
Awhile on boughs too slight,
Feels them give way beneath her, and yet sings,
Knowing that she hath wings. — Victor Hugo

I was only in the middle grades, but I was so impressed by the beauty and truth of this poem in my reading book that I memorized it. That was a long time ago, and I admit I’ve failed to quote the lines accurately sometimes; nevertheless, they are still beautiful and still true. I can learn some lessons from this little creature.

“Pausing in her flight . . . “ The bird doesn’t try to fly unceasingly. She lands on a slender branch to rest awhile. Perhaps it sways with her added weight,but it doesn’t matter to her that this is not a substantial limb; she’ll be there only a few moments. Should I be distressed by the instability of things I would like to rely upon? No, I’m going to be at this particular place in life a relatively short while. No troubling circumstance lasts forever. I will be all right.

“And yet sings . . .” The little bird sings! There’s something thrilling about bird song, so spontaneous, so unheeding of vulnerability. She is unafraid, even though her perch is precarious, and dangers are present everywhere in the neighborhood. Likewise, I am not to be threatened by what I see around me or feel alarmed by changes in circumstance. Were I to be more like the bird, I would be “singing and making melody in [my] heart to the Lord.” (Ephesians 5:19 NKJV) If I let it, that song might actually burst from my lips sometimes!

“Knowing that she hath wings.” Because she has wings, the bird is able to move to a realm above uncertainty and restriction. I can too. If I practice what the Word of God says, I can have strong spiritual wings. “Those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:31 NIV)

The bird was meant to sing and fly. And so am I.

MaryMartha
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Scripture marked NKJV taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture marked NIV taken from the New International Bible. Used by permission.

Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com

Why the Dark?

Most living things require light. (There are a few nasty things that do best in the dark, like the green stuff that grows in the back of the refrigerator—and some others as well!) For the most part, however, we think of light as contributing to life. It aids growth and productivity.

Even though light is essential to many living things, life is actually conceived in darkness, in the secret places of the womb and the earth. The Psalmist speaks of this darkness. “You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.” (Psalm 139:15 NLT) And long before that, there was the Spirit of God brooding, mother-hen-like, over the waiting creation at the beginning of time. This creative darkness came even before the light.

Jesus taught, “Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over.” (John 12:24 The Message) Again, the darkness comes before light and new life.

We are often uncertain about one thing or another in our lives. We are sometimes confused by the very fact that we are confused! Isn’t Jesus the Light of the world, and isn’t the Word of God light to our pathway? Well, then why the dark?

The Darkness Is for You

Darkness first, before the light,
And heavy with portent of life,
The Spirit hovered o’er the deep.
Why dark when God Himself is light
And both are quite alike to Him?
Why night when day is all the same?

“The darkness is for you,” He said,
“Divided into spans by light
Created by My spoken Word.
The day which always follows night—
Not day then night, as you suppose—
Is but a part of my design.

“My Spirit needs His brooding time
Before the hidden plan breaks forth
From darkness where it is conceived.
Be patient then, and never doubt
The goodness that I have in store
If you will wait for Light to come!”

MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)

Scripture quotation marked NLT is taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 2003 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com

Forgiveness

Forgiveness is a path--not summit to be claimed--
That all the way is stained
With secret tears
And blood-red mercy-drops,
The Lord's and mine.

Forgiveness is a path.
The Betrayed One's nail-marked hand
Will safely guide
My Cross-ward steps
Through valley hemmed with pain
And dark as death.

Forgiveness is a path
I do not walk alone.
Before, beside, within,
The One-Who-Sees
Is present to beseech
When I cannot,
"Father, forgive."

MaryMartha
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For the Disappointed

You have stood on the shore

and waited for your ship to come in.

You have searched the horizon until your eyes ached,

waiting for it to come into sight.

But the ship you look for is not coming.

It has been lost at sea.

You know that,

For the wreckage has come drifting in

and is even now at your feet.

Why do you continue to gaze longingly

at the distant horizon, hoping your ship

will by some miracle appear?

Turn your eyes. Look in the other direction.

There you see coming into sight

what I the Lord have prepared for you.

It is not fully visible;

it is only a puff of smoke on the horizon,

but it is coming, and it is for you.

You are going to be surprised!

You are going to be made glad!

You will not be disappointed

in what I have personally chosen for you.

Have I ever failed to keep My word to You?

You have not always had your way,

for My ways are not the same as your ways.

You have not always seen the answer

you thought would come,

for My thoughts are higher than your thoughts.

But I will not fail you.

There will be a fulfillment of what I have spoken to you.

Do not be afraid to trust Me.

(This blog is my "other direction."

Blessings, MaryMartha)

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