Month: December 2013

Sensing His Presence

/ Joy Lenton / 15 Comments

Come away for a while. Sink into a comfortable seat. Resist all rush and hurry. Rest your weary body. Ready yourself to receive from the Lord.

Breathe deep ~ be calm ~ find a place of stillness and peace.

God is with us ~ we are on holy ground.

Seeking the supernatural in the natural.

Experiencing the extraordinary in the ordinary.

Each time we make space for God’s glorious Presence, He enlarges our appetite for it ~ a holy hunger develops.

The new year could be a time ~ of deliberate listening ~ to those Holy echoes in mind and heart ~ whispers on the wind ~ as God imparts His life to us ~ in a journey without end.

In the awareness, attention is required, a stilling of the soul, a watching and waiting, every sense attuned and alert.

I have heard prayer whispers intermittently throughout this year, and they are speaking to me more as I re-read them.

Now I sense a call, not just to ‘Come’ and approach His throne of grace but to linger, lean hard, and listen… the word He has given me for 2014.

And the first thing to heed is how God makes Himself known to us in myriad ways as the poem below describes.

‘I AM’

I AM

earthquake and volcano’s fiery outpour

waves lapping gently on the shore

wind ripping leaves straight off the trees

the soft caress of a mid-summer breeze

Grey fog and mist obscuring the view

an irredescent-coloured rainbow hue

a wake-up trumpet’s strident sound

peace and stillness in the air around

I AM

The One who has tasted salty tears

brought joy and comfort to your years

stamped upon all your enemies and foes

walked Earth with sand beneath my toes

Who felt forsaken on the cross

as I defeated sin, death and loss

cried out in nail-pierced agony

to secure your forgiveness and set you free

I AM

The Lion of Judah’s victory roar

as I keep you safe for evermore

blood and water, Spirit and Life

to heal, restore and deliver from strife

Songs of praise without an end

your beloved and closest Friend

echoes throughout human history

whispers on the wind ~ Holy mystery

©JoyLenton2013

I would be honoured if you would join me in learning how to listen better to God in 2014 as I aim to keep a prayer journal, share ‘Prayer Whispers’ and poetic inspirations here and write longer blog posts about my discoveries on Words of Joy.

May you be filled with a sense of awe and wonder and be greatly blessed in seeking and sensing His Presence in the year ahead. You can also join in with #oneword365 here.

Happy New Year to you!

On the cusp

/ Joy Lenton / 8 Comments

Here we stand. On the cusp of uncertainty. Hovering at the edge.

On the brink of possibilities, potential or pitfalls.

Where hope and fear meet. Expectation rises.

Here lies a blank sheet waiting to be inscribed like the pages of a new journal.

Our stories wait to be written.

Our lives stretching out before us in minutes, hours, days yet to be lived.

Our disappointments ready to be consigned to The Past.

For this is a new year approaching ~ opportunity beckons to do things differently.

Are you ready?

‘Anew’

Celebrated arrival cloaked

in virginal innocence

A blank sheet

clean slate

rose-kissed dawn

pregnant with possibility

Viewed with eyes

of wonder

intrigue

suspicion

awe

breath-held fear

and great curiosity

What if?

What if THIS ~

is the time

promises are kept

dreams come true

lessons are learnt

goals are met?

Will problems rule

and reign again?

Will love flourish

or die?

Will we rush

with open-armed embrace

or turn aside?

No easy answers

rise to our lips

This takes

steely determination

raw courage

blind optimism

great faith

As we plunge

into The Unknown ~

unfamiliar territory

enclosed by memory

of past victories

of battles won,

we too

will overcome

©JoyLenton2012

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland” ~ Isaiah 46:18 – 19

Treasure mined in darkness

/ Joy Lenton / 4 Comments

Christmas may be over for another year; food supplies begin to deplete along with our flagging energy and enthusiasm.

Yet hope, love and grace are evergreen ~ lingering eternally in our hearts even through the darkest days.

We may clear away the debris of celebrations but we hang on to memories we have made.

Think of Love come down to earth and how that impacts the everyday with awe and wonder.

Admire our gifts and consider the greatest Gift ever given to us ~ our Lord Jesus Christ.

And we may ponder the worth and value of the gifts we have been given by God over the last year and beyond.

For a gift may come wrapped in sadness and sorrow, problems and pain, suffering and shame.

It can take some searching to see the light shining through the darkness.

Appreciate grace glimmers in hard places.

Such a gift came to me and it took me many years to receive, unwrap and appreciate its worth.

‘Hidden Depths’

It can be really hard

to understand

how weakness and fragility

that render lives

dependent, still and slow

may be gifts

from God’s right hand

that He, in infinite mystery

has chosen to bestow

And yet there lingers

surprising nuggets of His grace

glinting bright in dark

circumstance and place

we deem rightly painful, sad;

though from His loving fingers

we can trace joy and hope

rising through all that seems

heavy weighted-down and bad

For those who cling

desperate closer toThe Vine

can find strength beyond measure

as they seek to bring

their lives as daily offering

found in their struggle,

pain and suffering, it can

yield unexpected treasure

of hidden depths to mine

©JoyLenton2013

“I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.” ~ Isaiah 45:3

This poem links with the theme of the blog post ‘When a gift doesn’t look like one’ that I wrote as a guest post on my writer friend James Prescott’s site. You can click here to read it.

Reaching out

/ Joy Lenton / 6 Comments

This is a season for reaching out.

Making quality time for loved ones, family and friends.

Offering gifts, help and encouragement.

Creating space to meet with our Creator-God.

Seeking to engage our finite minds and lives with the Infinite One ~ our Lord Jesus Christ.

Preparing hearts and homes to receive Him anew.

As the Advent season of watching and waiting, reaching out and receiving draws to its glorious ending, I reach out to you with gratitude for all God has done in my life this year.

I am particularly thankful for the many new friendships I have made in the writing community especially.

Thank you for being here and sharing the poetic journey with me. I have really appreciated your company and comments.

And as I take a brief break to recharge my batteries and enjoy having time to read and reflect more, I pray that you may you have a truly blessed and hope-filled Happy Christmas!

‘Reaching out’

There’s a reaching out

across time and eternity

as Love comes down

to embrace our fallen humanity

and spill the fragrance, sweet savour

of God’s holy favour

There’s a whisper, a shout,

an angelic proclamation

as the Prince of Peace

invades every tribe and nation

with the news of His birth

echoing throughout earth

There’s a longing, a sigh,

in hearts heavy and weary

for a way to break free

from days hard and dreary,

with scattered hopes and dreams

failed plans and schemes

There’s a wonder, a cry

and recognition dawning

that this baby, Christ-child

brings us a resurrection morning

of forgiveness, mercy and healing

seen in God’s grace all revealing

©JoyLenton2013

Making connection

/ Joy Lenton / 16 Comments

It’s often hard to analyse the creative process.

There are probably as many reasons to write as there are writers.

In thinking about why I write, several ideas sprang to mind.

The most important one for me is that I sense God is asking me to express myself this way, and all the more the longer I live.

Other reasons?

Well… here are a few…in no particular order of importance.

1) I just can’t help myself ~ It’s an urge deep within that cries out to be addressed and cannot be ignored.

2) I love to make connection points with others ~ soul to soul ~ to offer encouragement, support and hope.

3) It makes me come alive on the inside ~ enables me to feel free in a life that’s otherwise limited and constrained by illness.

4) To leave a heritage ~ a footprint in the sands of time with memories and memoir.

5) To communicate my voice and viewpoint ~ to hear and be heard.

6) In the process I discover more of who I am and what makes me tick ~ it reveals all that previously lay hidden.

7) It makes me listen more closely to God and observe the world around me with greater clarity.

8) To share my story as part of God’s greater narrative ~ give testimony to His goodness and grace.

9) I get to make friends with like-minded people in the supportive writing and blogging community in which I move.

10) Because it is a world of beauty, love and joy I can share in and be a small part of.

No more ado..here’s a poem to express much of what I feel about making a connection through the medium of words…

“Tears are words that need to be written” ~ Paul Coelho

‘I write’

I write..

mainly poetry

because of its great ability

to connect succinctly

communicating deep and whole

engaging soul to soul

and because, for better or for worse,

my life has been circumscribed by verse

I write..

because I cannot

resist the tug and urge

of emotions pressing to be heard

as they flood and surge within me

to spill and splurge their way

upon the printed page

with passion, joy or rage

I write..

for an audience of One

who gifts me from above

courtesy of His grace and love

with a calling to reveal and share

memories, life and story

threaded with hope and mercy

to encourage those in need

I write..

because I desire

to express myself like this

be it creative agony or bliss

and find catharsis in release

of feelings that are healing

in enabling seeds of recognition to be sown

to show others they are not alone

©JoyLenton2013

“Always be a poet, even in prose” ~ Charles Baudelaire

I am grateful to Jeff Goins and Bryan Hutchinson for inspiring this post.

You can stop by Jeff’s blog to find out why others like to write too.

Weight of glory

/ Joy Lenton / 8 Comments

One of the most amazing things about the Christmas story is how everyday people are invited in to share the special occasion.

So few were even aware of the Messiah’s arrival or had paid attention to the signs along the way.

A privileged few were insiders and participants in the greatest story ever told ~ God come to earth to take on our full humanity.

These bystanders may have felt the weight of glory surrounding them as angels sang and heaven rejoiced.

Been overwhelmed by it all.

Yet even they were strangers to the full implication of the Incarnation.

How Jesus would become sin for us on the cross.

Give His life as a ransom for many.

Die the death we deserved that we may inherit His eternal life to come.

This year, as we read the familiar Bible passages, see a school nativity perhaps or watch a film on it, let’s try to see it as though for the very first time.

Allow ourselves to be awed.

Awaken to wonder.

Feel the weight of glory.

‘Incarnate’

Divine conception orchestrated in the holding-space

of a virgin’s womb cum meeting-place twixt

heaven and earth ~ signalling our Saviour’s birth

Mystery deep, sublime, beats beneath

the rhythm of time, now seeping inexorably

between all that was, is now and will be

So human days and ways shift into line

with plans of aeons past colliding as history,

present, and future now subsiding as one

to meet and greet Christ-child ~ Mary’s son

How can this be?

An infant meek and warm, just barely born,

should bear the weight of glory now

and see it cast aside

for a crown of thorns, somehow

No inkling yet as befuddled shepherds

struggle into stable bleak, forlorn,

with countenance of joy and

hope spread on their faces,

jostle reverently around for front-row

seat of places in this Nativity

where grace and angels meet

on Holy ground

And wise men travelled from afar

guided by a bright and beckoning star

to see the One prophets had foretold

and bring Him gifts ~ myrrh, frankincense and gold

Here, cradled in a cattle stall

lay a babe ~ the King and Lord of all

providing reason for us to celebrate

the birth of our Saviour Incarnate

©JoyLenton2013

Let us worship Him

/ Joy Lenton / 8 Comments

Advent is a season for contemplation, reverence and awe as we consider all that God has done for us in Christ.

The Christ-child brings hope and light in our darkness.

We recognise the importance of His coming to earth.

We offer our gratitude, worship and praise to our Lord and Saviour.

I have been thinking about the meaning of worship recently and the poem below is an attempt to hone in on the essence of it for me.

As we seek to realise and express the wonder, you are very welcome to join in the conversation and add your own thoughts here.

“It is in the process of being worshipped that God communicates His presence to men” ~ C.S. Lewis

Worship Is…

Bending of mind, will, heart and knee in supplication

to God in recognition of all we have and all we can be

Raising of voices, lifting of hands, heart and head to His call,

lowering of our own goals unless they’re in tune

with the will of the One who is sovereign over all

Making time to spend in His word, by His side,

learning to sit still, to listen, rest and abide

Seeking God’s face, not His hands, His Presence, not His presents,

His heart, will and voice, as we give thanks and rejoice

Wonder and awe at all He is, has done, created and made,

how much He loves, gives, restores and saves

Being aware of Who we approach in prayer, words and song

as we give due reverence to the Holy One

Going wherever He leads and calls with prompt obedience and speed,

relying on His supply, provision and help for our every need

Knowing He is Father, Comforter, Helper, and our greatest Friend,

spending these days on earth with Him unto eternity without end

©JoyLenton2013

“To worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God, to feed the mind with the truth of God, to purge the imagination by the beauty of God, to open the heart to the love of God, to devote the will to the purpose of God” ~ William Temple

 I’m exploring more of what worship means to me, and how my perceptions have changed over the years, on my writer friend, Josh Collin’s site where I’m delighted to be guest posting this week.

You can click here to read the full post.

Here lies mystery

/ Joy Lenton / 17 Comments

I’m trying to consciously make way for the Christ-child in my heart and life during this Advent season as I ponder the marvel and mystery of it all.

There is much we fail to fully comprehend.

So much that is infinite Divine mystery combined with human history.

Though the salient truth hits home time after time :He is here. Our Saviour is born. Christ has come.

The waiting is over.

Prophecy and history combine in the coming of the anticipated Messiah ~ our Lord Jesus Christ.

And that is all we really need to know, believe and receive for God to bring transformation to our lives.

So I am pondering these things in this last #fiveminutefriday post for 2013.

This week’s prompt is:‘Reflect’

START…

‘Here lies mystery’

Here lies mystery…

as Mary-like we ponder

with increasing awe and wonder

how the Lord of all history

enters our fallen humanity

Our God contracted to a span

incomprehensibly made man

taking on our earthly frame

as He would take on our sin and shame

Here lies mystery…

to consider and reflect on

as we enter the Advent season

preparing to celebrate

with mind and heart

all that Christmas

is intended to be

as God imparts a sense

of His great majesty

Here lies mystery…

deep, wide and long

as a sweet saving song

is sung by angels

in a heavenly throng

and shepherds awaken

as they hear and

awe-struck, terrified,

trembling, draw near

Here lies mystery…

as our lives are steeped

in everyday, ordinary,

and we feel replete

until we see we are

drained of fullness, incomplete,

before the Christ-child

so mild and lowly

offers His gift to all mankind

of salvation pure and holy

©JoyLenton2013

 STOP. (And I confess to having gone over time with this one)

Linking here, a little later than usual,  with Lisa-Jo Baker and all the other  brave ‘flying by the seat of our pants without worrying about perfection’ writers. You are very welcome and warmly invited to join in.