Month: November 2013

Rays of grace

/ Joy Lenton / 14 Comments

When our eyes are open to God’s work in our lives, we can see glory in the gritty reality of ordinary.

Have days made dazzling by His grace.

Gain hope and encouragement from seeing His hand upon our lives.

Find that our vision expands exponentially the more we are attuned to seeing the supernatural and extraordinary in the everyday.

Observe touches of God’s loving ways filling the commonplace with potential and promise.

As I have attempted to look with deliberation at these things, my heart is filled with wonder, gratitude and praise.

Days remain challenging.

There is struggle and pain, sickness and sadness fighting to control us.

But God…

He is always here to offer hope, help, strength and encouragement.

May your heart also beat thankful, swell with awe and gratitude for all the myriad ways He leaves a mark of grace on lives thirsty for His Presence.

‘Fiery rays’

It began…

with lack of rush or hurry

deceptively slight and slow

as barely a hint of maiden-blush pink

provided a tint to tinge edges

of clouds dancing fluffy, low

to brush rooftops and chimneys

with apparent ease

But then…

within the blink of an eye

as I observed with awed

and rooted gaze

the sky lit up in fiery

rays of scarlet-red bleeding

into toasted tangerine and gold

a veritable panoply of praise

very soon took hold

And I…

watched rapturous, sore-amazed

with wonder in my head as God

poured glory Hallelujah out upon

this familiar place I trod

in bygone healthier days

now wreathed in holy blaze

as earth was put to bed

©JoyLenton2013

“Earth’s crammed with heaven ~ and every common bush afire with God” ~ Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Linking here with Jennifer for #TellHisStory where we seek to celebrate God’s work in our lives

And with Mel for Essential Fridays link up

New arrival

/ Joy Lenton / 4 Comments

Like most families, we are excited to welcome a new arrival. Our first grandchild arrived only a couple of days ago.

And I have been inspired to pen a poem in honour of his birth.

He has already had one dedicated to him in the womb on ‘Words of Joy’.

This new life will bring total change and transformation to that of his parents.

There is serious adjustment to be made to become a family rather than a couple.

Nine months have been spent eagerly anticipating this moment.

Yet nothing  fully prepares you to meet and greet a baby into your world.

This is life of their life. Flesh of their flesh. And a unique and special person all in his own right.

Part of our family and a new member of the family of God.

Each child is created and formed in the womb by His mighty hand.

To be celebrated. Enjoyed. Loved. Nurtured and protected.

Welcome, little one! We are delighted to celebrate your safe arrival and look forward to getting to know you.

‘Arrival’

You arrive ~

with eyes screwed tight

against sound and sight

until you brave and blink

your way

into the brightness

of the light

Discerning

in the noise around

that dear, familiar sound

of voices

who have been near

accompanying you on

your journey here

For nine long months

you floated in

a darker

more enclosing space,

now limbs flex freely

within

a very different place

And arms reach out

to circle you about

with safe protection

as you snuggle close

to those who love you most

and whose lives

you share

Falling back to slumber deep

after nuzzling to be fed

you rest and sleep

growing strong inside

for all the things you’ll need

to do in days stretching

long ahead

©JoyLenton2013

#mondaymusings ~ Change

Flight into freedom

/ Joy Lenton / 8 Comments

When pain presses in hard we find ourselves longing for freedom.

Chained to ground.

Desperate to escape the shackles.

Looking for a way to live lightly and freely.

Get beyond the everyday struggles.

Seeking goodness. Seeking grace. Seeking God’s face.

Longing for our eternal home.

‘Flying free’

I want to fly free

from all that keeps me

in captivity,

all that imprisons a frail body

held fast and earthbound.

To move with the flow and embrace

Holy Spirit’s current of grace.

Soar above the ground

above all circumstance and place,

all sound and sight

of fallen humanity

into a space

where You dwell

and all is Light.

Become as bird, eagle borne

given strength to flee

and rise above this earthly frame

tied down, weighted fast

with sickness, sin and shame.

Fly into Love’s fragrant air

breathe deep and easy,

no pain or suffering anywhere.

With mind, body, spirit as one

stretch out to reach glorious Son,

feel heat of His radiant rays

filling all moments, hours and days.

Dance to the beat of His song

of freedom beckoning now

whispering softly

 urging me on.

One day I will truly fly

arise and drift beyond

these mortal skies

at last.

©JoyLenton2013

“But 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

Linking here with Lisa-Jo Baker for Five Minute Friday. This week’s prompt is:‘Fly’  You are warmly invited and welcome to join in.

On a day like this

/ Joy Lenton / 12 Comments

Each new day holds hope and potential, promise and purpose to be revealed.

Each day is gift and blessing to unfold.

Only some days feel heavy and weighty.

Time disappears and nothing gets done.

Moments slip away like sand.

I have many days like that with M.E when symptoms are worse.

All that can be done is to ‘go with the flow’, be it turgid and slow.

The poem below was written on such a day as this.

‘This day’

This is a day for sheltered darkness ~

windows closed tight ‘gainst sound and sight

curtains shielding all piercing light,

weary frame resting in the bed

trying to still restless thoughts in my head,

feeling weak, exhausted and drained

in a body racked with pulsating pain

as I wonder ~ with some despair ~

if this pain will ever cease or disappear.

And I sense Holy Spirit’s soft caress

in my heart as He draws near

to impart wisdom in the way He does best.

For He can calm and still every storm

bring comfort to all who are lost or forlorn,

bring hope, joy and peace again

to heart, mind and body

made heavy with pain.

All God is asking of me today

is to sink grateful, restful

into His loving embrace

and drink deep draughts

of His sustaining grace,

trust and believe for healing

in days yet to come

while He keeps revealing

strength to endure

this particular one.

©JoyLenton2013

These seasons of pain, stress, strain and disease literally drive us to our knees and make us cry out to God for help and relief.

They are what shape and make us even as they seem to break us.

God knows. He hears our unspoken fears. Sees tears shed and fall and captures them all. Nothing gets past Him.

And when it feels like we cannot go on a minute longer, there is grace given to endure and perseverance to make us stronger than we were before.

Christ-like character is honed in the furnace of affliction and deep spiritual work takes place within.

We can take heart as the heat and flames lick ever closer, knowing our God is in the midst of them with us and will bring us out the other side ~ with ash and soot clinging to our frame maybe ~ but with a deeper dependence on His grace and mercy.

********

Day 31 of 31 days of #poetryforthesoul ~ Thank you for accompanying me on this journey, even if it has taken longer than anticipated! I hope you have enjoyed the variety offered.

And if you are new here, do feel free to check out previous posts. If you have a favourite please let me know as it may find its way into a future anthology. Thanks! I really appreciate you stopping by. 

Growing strong

/ Joy Lenton / 18 Comments

On a day when M.E symptoms are invasive, pain ever-present and mind fibro-fogged, I am thankful to God for enough energy and inspiration to join in (a little late) with the creative writing exercise that is Five Minute Friday.

Here, we forget about perfection and write free-flowing, as it comes, for 300 short seconds.

Then we link up to read one another’s work and offer encouragement, because that’s what it’s all about.

The prompt is:‘Tree’

START…

‘As oaks’

We sway, soft saplings weakly quivering in the breeze,

liable to snap, full of fragility, mere semblance of trees.

Supported, staked round, we swell slow

to sit rooted in solid ground.

Our branches thicken over years, becoming weather-resistant,

no longer so suggestive of disruption, surrender and tears.

Leaves begin to unfurl delicate to heat of Son

as sap runs through our bodies

and we expand to sing a universal song.

Tiime and tests strengthen our frame as we sit

rooted, deep in soil of Word and Name,

become as oaks ~ mighty, wide and strong,

encompassing, giving, enduring many years long.

Or bent and broken, storm~withered, dry and dying,

lifeless, weak, we sigh to ground,

longing for nourishment we need and seek.

Drinking deep draughts from waters of grace

and refreshment again, we rise high

 to tower over all our trials

and gain a view of heaven,

midst bare branches of a cross

stretched out for us.

©JoyLenton2013

STOP

“But blessed is the man who trusts me, God, the woman who sticks with God. They’re like trees planted in Eden, putting down roots near the rivers ~ never a worry through the hottest of summers, never dropping a leaf, serene and calm through droughts, bearing fresh fruit every season” ~ Jeremiah 17:7 – 8

Linking here with Lisa-Jo Baker for Five Minute Friday. You are warmly invited and encouraged to join in.

Laying it down

/ Joy Lenton / 10 Comments

Are you feeling burdened and heavy laden?

This season lends itself to introspection as we approach the year’s end.

Cares cling to us like barnacles.

Anxieties anchor us to ground.

Weighed down and weary.

Resistant to being shrugged off.

Sometimes we forget that God isn’t asking us to carry them.

Our frame is not built for such loads.

We are meant to hand them all over to Him as soon as they strike.

“Pile your troubles on to God’s shoulders – he’ll carry your load, he’ll help you out” ~ Psalm 55:22

And I know I so often forget to do just that.

Allowing an invasion of heaviness to sink heart and soul.

Waves of worry try to drown me.

Turbulent tides of tension make me lose my equilibrium.

Until I make a conscious decision to do something about it.

‘Divine exchange’

I lay down my worry

knowing Your wisdom is best,

I lay down my hurry

and sink into Your rest.

I lay down my heartache

and let the tears fall,

knowing You understand

and Your Love covers all.

I lay down my guilt

and dark covering of shame

whose muddied silt

falls off at Your Name.

I lay down my fears

and name every one

that has haunted my years

as clouds obscure sun.

I lay down my pride

though it stubbornly clings

and sigh, grateful for the

sweet relief it now brings.

I lay down the right

to have my own way

and decide to hold light

to my plans for each day.

And in laying these down

I am being set free

from self-preoccupied living

into grace-filled liberty.

©JoyLenton2013

“God makes his people strong. God gives his people peace” ~ Psalm 29:11

I have written more about surrendering on Words of Joy this week. 

Day 29 ~ 31 days of  #poetryforthesoul

Linking here with Mel for Essential Fridays link up  

Remembering

/ Joy Lenton / 2 Comments

It is Remembrance Day today and our thoughts stray toward those who gave of themselves to secure our freedom and peace.

In the remembering there is nostalgia, recognition of pain and loss, and reminder of hope for the future.

Fields

Fields of death blush poppy-red with blood-soaked

reminders of another poured out offering

sacrificial stained scarlet thread and flood

of grace upon the cross as Jesus took upon

Himself our sorrow, sin and shame

overcoming the curse of death

securing victory in His Name

Fields of toil trampled as mud ditches, slurry

to soil a soul, drain hopes and dreams

of riches in these lands where fortune beckons

and greed reckons it right to fight to win

where all is counted lost or gain

as men sigh discontentedly and long to find

safe harbour and cleave to their own hearth again

Fields of life spring bleach-white unto harvest

lands of opportunity, chance to exchange

the better for the best and lead others

to a place of knowing and growing strong

before they enter their eternal rest

Here ~ man, woman and child of every tongue

rejoice in full salvation for everyone

Fields of joy dance bright, Elysian pure

rippling rivers of refreshment for warriors

made weary fighting brave and bold

now resting from their labours as they savour

peace at last within spirit, body, mind,

meet and greet with great delight loved ones

lost, now reunited forever more with kith and kin

©JoyLenton2013

Our true home

/ Joy Lenton / 8 Comments

Do you ever crave for more than this life offers?

Feel a desire to be elsewhere.

Feel out of synch, out of place, like you don’t belong here.

Have a yearning for a place you can’t quite put your finger on.

Those feelings are a way that God speaks to us with eternal longings that are placed within our spirit.

We are made for more than ordinary.

We are created for the extraordinary privilege of being in relationship with our Creator God.

Our lives revolve around the natural while we experience and begin to crave touches of the supernatural.

As the old song says, this world is not our home, we’re just passing through it.

Though many years pass here, we also have eternity to spend in God’s presence.

And just now and then, a brief flicker of recognition burns in our soul as we sense a degree of heaven on earth.

Gain a foretaste of the riches of grace poured out for us here and those still to come.

Find a hunger in our hearts for more ~ even as something stirs within, our hearts are touched and eyes are opened to God at work.

“Earth’s crammed with heaven ~ And every common bush afire with God ~ But only he who sees takes off his shoes ~ The rest sit around and pluck blackberries” ~ Elizabeth Barrett Browning

I long to be one who sees.

How about you?

‘Heaven’

A far off country

as close as our next breath

Seated now in heavenly places

known completely after death

Glimpsed in a loved one’s eyes

and the cries of a newborn’s birth

Way beyond moon, stars or skies

close and familiar as earth

Sometimes it’s hard to believe

we will live and belong there

It takes grace and faith to receive

the Truth and Hope we will share

All the joys and the glory

of a life surrendered to God

We’re already part of the story

of the path which Jesus trod

No matter what our ponderings

no matter where we now roam

despite all future wanderings

heaven is our heart’s true Home

©JoyLenton2013

I am honoured to have this poem featured today on Joy de Kok’s site. Do check out the great poetry there.

Day 27 of  31 days ~ #poetryforthesoul

Seeing clearly

/ Joy Lenton / 10 Comments

Life can so easily throw us off balance.

All it can take is a word, a look, a thought, a new problem.

Seeking the truth of the matter can be challenging.

Our senses are alert, heightened by sensitivity.

How do we decipher truth from lies,  fact from fiction, knowing and believing from ignorance and misunderstanding?

When I keep my eyes focussed on my circumstances the pain can feel overwhelming.

I feel lost, alone, muddled and confused.

When I lift them to God’s word, seek His presence and listen to all He desires to impart to me, my eyes cease being clouded by suspicion, discouragement or fear and my vision becomes clear again.

My heart beats steady.

My thoughts begin to align more with His thoughts.

I am encouraged and strengthened to face another day, another problem, another set of unwelcome circumstances.

Taking off my worldly lenses and putting on spiritual ones helps keep my mind and heart tuned into His truth.

And the more I read, understand, pray, and believe God’s word, the more He fills me with a peace that transcends all circumstances.

I’m getting a bit philosophical here today as I join in with #fiveminutefriday ~ where we write freely, no worries about perfection, just for the sheer pleasure of seeing words fall on the page; then we link up, share the love, read one another’s posts and leave an encouraging comment ~  today’s prompt is:‘Truth’.

START…

‘Seeing and believing’

Mirrors lie.

They reflect what is incomplete

distort, show only in part,

unless you look into God’s mirror ~

His Word

will reveal all that is real

 deep and true, lasting, honest

messages from His heart

to you.

The world will have you believe

you are not enough, you are inadequate,

you’re not up to scratch,

not a player, not a winner, not up to much,

not a great catch.

But God…

says in His word you are dear, deeply loved,

someone He longs to draw near to,

bring comfort, help, heal and restore,

bring peace, hope and joy

to your life once more.

You are more than enough

you are His precious beloved

…..and that’s the Truth.

No matter how you may feel

try to cling to what is real

about life and love as seen in God

and trust His opinion above all others

~ even your own.

Believe, receive and grow strong

in all your soul longs to know.

You are loved and you belong.

©JoyLenton2013

Trust…Rest…Understand…Thank…Hope

STOP.

Linking here with Lisa-Jo Baker for #fiveminutefriday and with Laura at Missional Women #FaithFilledFriday

You are very welcome and warmly encouraged to join in.

Love and loss

/ Joy Lenton / 4 Comments

Since time immemorial, poets have written about love and loss.

Such topics are natural outpourings of the soul.

My words are not always drawn from experience.

Sometimes a hint exists.

And more than a large share of poetic imagination.

I’ll leave you to guess which.

The poem here was written a few years back in the heady days of love given and received, coupled with those painful times of love denied or lost, and published here for the first time.

‘Outlived love’

Distillation

of quiet, unbroken tears

wells up between us.

What can I say?

Channels block

Stop

and locks are drawn

though finely

as a thin veil covering

the Past and refusing

re-entry to the future.

Something

slowly dies

creeping with cowardice

from our hearts ~

a love we once trusted

but lost.

©JoyLenton2013

Human love can take us to dizzy heights or plummeting depths of emotion.

It is a wonderful yet fragile thing, prone to alteration and change, often as fickle as our feelings.

The only love that is totally unconditional, constant, continual, dependable, eternal, forgiving and ever-giving is the love of God as seen in Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour.

In it’s pure, Holy flame we can rest secure. Feel safe. Be comforted, warmed and encouraged. Breathe easy. Feel completely accepted and validated.

“We love because he first loved us” ~ 1 John 4:19

Day 25 ~ 31 days of #poetryforthesoul