Month: November 2015

Being sustained at the table

/ Joy Lenton / 9 Comments

advent-89554_640

Advent is a season to deliberately look for and lean toward the light of God’s presence.

We hunger for hope, run hard after His wild mercy and grace.

Long for freedom from our pain, guilt and shame.

Seek sustenance for our dry, thirsty souls.

Scripture gives us promises that the weak and weary will be refuelled and restored at God’s table of grace.

So we come because invitation has been given to feast with Him here and in greater abundance in heaven.

Won’t you join me at the table? I’ve saved a seat for you. There’s always room for more.

Come taste the wine of His presence and eat the Bread which gives sustenance and life to us.

“But those who suffer he delivers in their suffering; he speaks to them in their affliction. He is wooing you from the jaws of distress to a spacious place free from restriction, to the comfort of your table laden with choice food” ~ Job 36:15-16

This table..

Here lies hospitality beyond

all knowing, an open table

stretching to infinity

which still keeps growing

A warm welcome here for all

who live in Love’s thrall and spend

their lives devoted to the Friend

who laid down His life for them

Yet here in the very midst

of mess, trouble and strife

we find this table groaning

heavy, brimful with Life

In the presence of our enemies

this table speaks of bounty

deep, laden with grace for the

able, wounded and weak

And even as we eat and drink

to sustain our weary souls,

we will always rise replete,

satiated, filled and whole

This table sits within dark

wilderness, shining bright

with Light’s heavenly splendour

inviting us to taste largesse

©JoyLenton2015

hospitality table FMF PJ

“You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.” ~ Psalm 23:5-6

I’m joining fellow thankful table-dwellers over at Kate Motaung’s site today as we feast on the word ‘table’ , chew it over in five minutes flat and pour out our soul offerings. The poem above is my contribution to the rich fare being served there. Come join us?

Ushering in a new dawn

/ Joy Lenton / 11 Comments

dawn

Our hearts long for the new, welcome a fresh start.

Each day is opportunity to begin again.

Each moment is ripe for grace to invade.

And how much more do we yearn for change when a world is weeping?

When lives are lost and dreams are smashed.

In the aftermath of world tragedy and trauma we feel stunned.

We pray for broken lives as we slowly pick up the pieces of our own.

Wanting nothing more than the security which love offers us with its acceptance and trust.

Because who can we trust when a world spins crazy?

How do we see beyond the casualties and calamity, the senseless crashing and crushing of humanity?

How can hope be birthed again from pain?

It’s a hard question to answer and I have no pat answers to offer here.

But I can point to the Lord of Life who is here in the mire and the mess, sitting in dust and ashes with us.

And I can attest to God’s healing and restoration power and the overarching comfort of His love.

Broken hearts, dreams and lives can be made new as we embrace the hope He offers us for this life and beyond.

Jesus is ushering in a new dawn for all mankind, beginning with one transformed life at a time.

Dawn

Lord and giver of Life,

As I welcome the dawn

I open myself up

to the pulse of Your Light

and the rush of Your love

moving through me

I meet and greet new

possibilities, potential

and promises to be

fulfilled as I wait

expectantly

I embrace hope,

fresh start, awakenings

and renewed dreams

I relinquish and discard

yesterday’s brokenness,

pain and distress

Today is opportunity

to begin again

Today is another

unfolding, unfurling

of the barely begun

Amen

©JoyLenton2015

dawn PJ poem

Getting ready to dance

/ Joy Lenton / 17 Comments

getting ready to dance PJ

There are times when I’d love to be able to dance again.

I miss being able to move freely.

To have a co-operative, healthy body with energy buzzing through me.

The last time I attempted to dance was at a wedding, ironically to Abba’s ‘Dancing Queen’.

It was more of a one-song-wonder than anything else and I couldn’t quite put my all into it either.

Little did I know it would be my swansong as a dancer.

I’m not trained or gifted in any way, but I’ve always enjoyed dancing and took it for granted that I always would.

What followed was a serious relapse in my previously moderate M.E symptoms, rendering them severe by overdoing things.

It was many years ago. I’ve not been able to dance since.

I watch and I smile when others do, and I say it’s okay because I’m dancing on the inside.

Yet one day I know I will dance for real. Be held by and hold onto my soul’s Lover.

I’ll be ready, willing and able to move freely again.

Here’s my five-minute-friday way of dancing with words..

Ready to dance

I’m a pale wallflower

hiding in the corner

Biding my time watching

the way others dance and sway

My feet have forgotten

how to dance, but still

they tap lightly to the beat

My body too weary to move

I fail to get into the groove

Who would want to dance

you see, with a woman bent

and bowed by having M.E?

flower

And then I see You

standing there with a

look at once safe and

loving, so familiar

You smile and reach out

for my reluctant hand

as I wobble up and finally

stand, looking only into

Your face as you bring me

close into a warm embrace

ca. 2003 --- Hand Reaching --- Image by © Royalty-Free/Corbis

Whispering endearments

to my hurting heart,

saying this is only the very

start of a lifetime journey

You are bringing me to

where I’ll run and

I’ll skip and I’ll

laugh with joy, and

I’ll always get to

dance with you

girl dancing

We move to the gentle

rhythm of Your grace

and I sense a loosening

in my soul, a warm

flush rising to my face

as energy unknown flows

and rushes through

this body of mine, now

made complete and whole

©JoyLenton2015

You’re warmly invited to join in with the regular #FMF word dance going on at Kate Motaung’s place.

We skate around perfection, move to the beat of our clocks as we write freely for five minutes – I went over a little here.

Just bring your words and join in the fun. We’d love to see you there. 🙂