Month: January 2017

seeing: thoughts on art, life and poetry

/ Joy Lenton / 18 Comments

seeing-thoughts-on-art-life-and-poetry

 

It is said that seeing is believing. But what if those things we’re seeing are obscured somehow? Can we trust our eyes? Or do we require an inner knowing, a new perspective to override our senses?

The image above is my attempt to take something prosaic and make a new form of it. Would you believe that hidden beneath the vivid colours are some faded sweetpea flowers, a wire fence and a recycling bin? Yes, really.

We’re all artists at heart, creatives to the core. Because how could we not be when our Creator God made us that way, to reflect His ability to take, shape, mould and make something from nothing?

Though sometimes we don’t consider ourselves as such. But with the right type of media that suits us, a hefty dose of courage, encouragement, faith, patience, persistence and perseverance we can all discover just how to be our uniquely creative selves.

And even if that is restricted to our own pleasure in the process, it’s absolutely fine. I happen to love messing about with photographs and creating word art. If you are a regular reader of this blog, then you are treated/subjected to my imperfect attempts in those areas!

We have a choice to share or not to share, to tear up and try again if need be. We also have a choice on who gets to view our work and if we feel able to cope with a degree of public scrutiny.

With today’s #magneticmonday magnetic poetry offerings, I hope your seeing will be more than simply absorbing the words as they come. I trust the creative spirit in you will find some resonance with the poetic storyteller in me. There’s no pressure, because like all works of art, there is no single way of interpreting them. Let’s compare notes when you get to the end, yes?

A swim of light

You ask why these pictures

lie and have languid,

lazy, elaborate lives

Watch through blue fingers

as the urge is all

You never cry time 

on sweet sleep symphony

and summer forest trudging,

as those red bared rose

petals crush luscious as honey

and a swim of light shows

©joylenton2017

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Our shady peace

Gentle winter-wet breeze

and dark moistened air

cycle soft above pure

love’s moon, and wild

grass grows like a sweet

blanket between lonely tree

Behold, earth is our shady

peace, as we relax beneath

and feel more alive here

©joylenton2017

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I love how photo editing apps can make such a difference  with their ability to completely alter an image into a new work of art.  Here’s a selection of some of the best editing apps for i-phones and these are great with an android device. I use picmonkey and canva to help me create blog post images. You probably know of more inspiring apps and editing sites to explore.

How do you express your creativity best? What apps do you use to aid your artistic ability?  I’d love to hear in the comments below.

control: relinquishing outcomes into God’s hands

/ Joy Lenton / 13 Comments

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Control is a slippery customer. The more we try to grasp it, the more it slides through our fingers. And yet we still try to hold on to those things we perceive we have a sense of control over.

They can become a mirage of sorts, shapes in a mist made material in our eyes. Control is a longing stemming back to Eden. Our souls seek to cling to it, and in the process we soon discover how ethereal and insubstantial it really is.

Maybe we’ve had control wrested from us in the name of love, leading to a lasting distrust of feeling decidedly out of control. Because it initiates primal fears, makes us nervous to realise we’re not running the show, that deep down there’s some insufficiency within.

Perceived lack and insecurity are strong motivators for tenaciously hanging on to the thin threads of our thoughts, clinging to desires, people and possessions, as though they could all be taken away somehow, unless we hold on hard.

When we reach out to God instead, we begin to relinquish control of our lives—one small step at a time. We learn to rest in, rather than resisting, His work in us. We develop a relationship based on trust in Someone faithful beyond compare.

And we soon discover that the freedom and liberty we gain in Christ is more fulfilling and meaningful than living a controlling  life where self-control is the hardest thing of all to achieve.

Control

I need to breathe, because I feel out of control

though it’s a human illusion to have complete

ownership over it all. How easily we

forget how our very breath is a gift from God

and every step we take or decision we make

fits within his eternal plan. And His prescience

precedes our existence, like his purpose

outlasts our earthly lives, our desire to build

empires, to dream, to daily survive and thrive

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So I still my soul, as life spins me sideways

I seek to surrender these cares and concerns

these hoped for outcomes—release them all

into God’s safe hands. I choose to trust, just

because we can wear ourselves out on the wheel

or turn toward the One who’s moulding you and me

We’re lumps of clay being shaped by a gentle

Potter’s hands. We’re all potential works of art

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to grace this world with our Maker’s mark

We’ve been given freedom to slip away

from his grasp, or yield to a touch that

only wants the best for us. There’s nothing

keeping us stuck—apart from a willingness

to become all we can be in the hands of Love

©joylenton2017

I’m sharing these free-flowing, imperfect poetic #FMF thoughts with fellow wordsmith friends at Kate Motaung’s place, where this week’s prompt is ‘control’. You can read the amazingly diverse posts being shared and come join us here.

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storytelling: haiku, time and tides of life laced with grace

/ Joy Lenton / 12 Comments

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Let me tell you a story. It’s as short as can be, though it encapsulates life, time and eternity, encounter and surrender to a higher Power—no less than God Himself.

It’s a story of how we seek to define our days and soon discover we are a slave to them, a slave to time itself and to our plans and ideas.

Then we cannot help but compare and contrast our efforts with those of others, see our flaws, faults and failings, even as we admire their seeming mastery of things, their coherence compared to our stumbling efforts to speak.

As a poet, I’d like my words to flow well but sometimes they just find a rhythm of their own. A cadence. A voice. A way to break free of the straight-jacket I often want to constrain them in. Like this week’s prompt from #RonovanWrites which I had three thoughts about.

In thinking about ‘Flow&Tear’ I soon saw how each haiku followed sequentially from one another, eager to speak as a haiku vignette story rather than three separate solo acts. Though I offer them to you individually, because that’s how they first came to me and how poetry often speaks best—one small, singular offering at a time.

Tear up the plans

Let’s tear up the plans

set a watch over our hearts

Life flows in God’s hands

©joylenton

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Comparison steals

Comparison steals

our joy—stilled by silent fear

the flow slows, halts, tears

©joylenton

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A fast flowing river

Grace wipes away fears

It’s a fast flowing river

running like my tears

©joylenton

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rest: seeking to enjoy the stillness and savour holy conversation

/ Joy Lenton / 10 Comments

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Misty fog-haze lends an ethereal air to these wintry days. This is a season where deep calls to deep in the realm of rest and sleep, a hibernation time when words are deliberately stilled and distilled in the stillness, able to ferment and brew in contemplative silence.

During a needful rest and slowing down time we learn to listen better to body, soul and Holy Spirit. And we begin to hear murmurs we may have missed in our busyness, words which lend themselves well to poetic expression. We hear whispers of encouragement, discern glimmers of mercy and grace surrounding us.

Rest invites us into recovery, restoration, a deeper faith-walk journey, a call to intimate prayer, maybe a suggestion of sharing thoughts in a journal, writing out holy conversation to look back on and possibly share—ways of recording God’s work in us and connecting closer to the core of who we are. It’s a period of sitting with patience and letting it have its way with us, learning to wait for the right moment to unleash and release.

I wrote the poems below in a free-flow-as-it-comes way, with a willingness to savour holy conversation, an openness to God’s loving presence within this present moment and a desire to appreciate seasons yet to come.

My hope and prayer is that you will read them with an open mind and open heart, and hear what you need to hear within the lines. May they connect to your soul and find a resonance within.

Come rest

Come rest like moist

forest moss so green

beneath warm summer sun

listen to full river song

bird murmuring spring

follow blue breeze harmony

see between dark mountain path

earth’s soft fertile wandering

©joylenton2017

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Velvet eternity

Come and listen to me

linger long as my words

melt as steam breath and

air makes soft ghost-like

smile blush over my lips

let broken night cloud

be our dark universe

and life’s warm embrace haunt

this velvet eternity

©joylenton2017

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Welcome to #magneticmonday where I share my latest offerings of magnetic poetry writing. ‘Come rest’ was composed using the Nature set and ‘Velvet eternity’ with the Poet set. You can discover more here and have a go yourself if you feel inspired!

What is God suggesting to you this season? 

How are you able to rest best in a world hardwired for busyness?

refine: paring back to neccesity

/ Joy Lenton / 13 Comments

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It’s that January feeling.  As air sighs out icy purity and trees wear their winter-bare skeletal clothes,  our souls begin to sense how weighed down we really are, how much we need to refine back to necessity.

The excess of Christmas is beyond us. A new year signals time to begin again and waken anew to promise and potential ahead of us. But we’re not always ready to shrug off blankets of lethargy or sloughs of despondency, nor certain of the choices before us.

Hibernation looks inviting. Many of us lack the physical or mental energy to move ahead or make needful changes to our schedule, never mind our lives. I find myself torn between the very real need to snuggle under the duvet and a desire to refine my life.

I need Holy inspiration, wisdom and courage to make lasting change possible. I need God’s strength and guidance to even begin to move forward a little. Change is possible if we pray, seek God’s support, take it slowly and celebrate small victories along the way.  And just like trees, without the paring back we cannot grow or flourish as intended.

Over the next few months I hope to review the vision God has for my life, to discover afresh that releasing is the key to receiving His best. It helps to remember just Who has us in His loving, capable hands.

“Fear can keep you up all night but faith makes one fine pillow” ~ Philip Gulley

A desire to refine

I need to refine my life, clear out

the clutter, remove dead leaves, pare

back to bare bones and finally see

what is at the heart of me. I need

to define my days in the light

of eternity, live complete, wholly

and holy surrendered to my destiny

 

This is a season to rout out

dead wood, slim down to essentials

sift and sort these interior

and outer rooms, ready my soul

for a fresh infilling of Holy Ghost

I long to become a home, a haven

for others—first I need to let loose detritus

 

Because it’s only when we refine

down to necessity that we begin

to truly see who we are, where

we are now and how to become

all God fully intends us to be

©joylenton2017

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I’m happy to be sharing my poetic thoughts with the lovely five-minute-friday writing crew today as we reflect on the prompt ‘refine’. You can find us gathering at our gracious host, Kate Motaung’s site here, and you’re warmly invited to join us. 

holy listening to life, love and loss – magnetic monday

/ Joy Lenton / 16 Comments

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Life’s deep secrets contain echoes of eternity, breath of love, hint of loss and eventual leave-taking. For we cannot love well, fully and freely without seeing and sensing the sharp contrast of light and shade together, which involves a kind of holy listening to life itself, acknowledging those smudgy grey areas we all inhabit.

When we raise our awareness, become accustomed to holy whispers making themselves known to us in the midst of the mundane, we soon realise that we share those deep secrets—both concealed and laid bare—as glorious partakers and curious onlookers observing God’s work in this world.

In turn we become holy listeners, those who wait on the Word, seek out Truth, hoping to hear heaven’s heartbeat, to bear its joy and sorrow, become saturated in its love, mercy and forgiveness, as we learn the wisdom and discernment only God can impart. Then we offer these things as gift to all, especially those in our sphere of influence.

In my first magnetic poetry poem below (made with the Original Set), holy listening can be interpreted as you see fit.

Holy Listening

She said vast dark secrets

of old dazzle like dance

a brilliant word for

this holy listening

I can bring cake

give me warm ocean

breeze lingering in

cloudy night air to

celebrate their wake

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My second poem—made using the Poet Set—examines love and loss, inextricably linked as one heart-rending experience.

Love and Loss

love is our mad sun

or it’s cool as death

whispered lies to the wind

wanting one last symphony

bitter as black mist

her arms were

daylight bare

languid as language

magnetic-poetry-love-and-loss

 

What is God whispering to you this week?

How is this magnetic poetry speaking to you?

I’d love to hear in the comments below.  🙂

every picture tells a story – twittering tales #12

/ Joy Lenton / 17 Comments

arty-photo-every-picture-tells-a-story-pj-pyjama-pattern

 

Every picture tells a story, doesn’t it? The one above is what I call an arty photo. It’s basically an altered image of my pyjama trousers, made into an abstract pattern. Like many a photograph, it is open to creative interpretation and imaginative storytelling.

As regular readers will know, I love to see what I can do with a prompt. The photograph below is for this week’s Twittering Tales prompt #12, as set by my lovely creative poet friend, Kat Myrman.

Basically, a story is told (poetically or otherwise) in response to a new weekly photo prompt, with the goal of keeping within the 140 character limit of a tweet. Please click here to see how it works and to join in if you’d like to.

I’m joining in here for the first time, with two poems and a tiny twittering tale story inspired by this image.

twittering-tales-image-jan-10th-2017

First the story…

He saw them framed by sun’s dying rays, knew it might come to this. He’d already lost wife and child; now they wanted his canine friend. (137 characters)

Poem One…

A dying sun’s rays bathes inky figures

The river ripples with golden glints

Time and tide wait for no man

His canine friend beckons

But he wants to run

(140 characters)

Poem Two…

All is solemn, still, a place

now steeped in silhouettes 

Bathed in liquid gold, they wait

His dog moves forward eagerly

But he pauses, hesitates

(140 characters)

While my circumstances remain challenging and I feel stretched enough by them, I am welcoming the opportunity to relax a bit creatively and try my hand at different things. Because it’s good to break out of routine sometimes and stretch ourselves in a new direction. You may like to see my attempts at magnetic poetry too. If so, you can check them out here.

Have you been inspired to try your hand at a new form of creativity, maybe a different writing medium or style? I’d love to hear how it’s helped to inspire or relax you.

poetry for all seasons: introducing magnetic monday

/ Joy Lenton / 11 Comments

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In this wintry season my soul leans more toward penning poetry than prose. Strangely, I tend to think more poetically when plagued by fatigue. Though I firmly believe that writing, poetic or otherwise, is fired and inspired by and transcends all seasons.

Sometimes it pays to keep things brief, because being concise can still speak volumes as it concentrates the thoughts. And trying something new can energise a weary woman (or a flagging poet), reigniting the writer’s fire within as we take a fresh stance or have a different spin on things.

I’ve been inspired to try my hand at magnetic poetry. It’s relaxing and fun to do, even if trying to compile it into an image can be a bit tricky! You don’t have to strive for a rhyme or worry about flow, just choose words you love the sound or shape of, as I have done here.

My lovely creative friend, Kat Myrman, is a past master (mistress?) of the art. Her sweet ‘Winter Song’ post here led me to the creation of the poems below. Here’s my first attempt using the Nature set of Magnetic Poetry…

Forest Frost

Cold river breeze

bright flowers blanketed

by thick frost

dark moist green

& wet forest moss

breathes soft beneath

sacred night path

magnetic-poetry-poem-forest-frost

 

And here’s the next one…

Summer Dusk

earth is dusk as I

watch light summer cloud

dark wild rose flower

bee breathing out between

her bright fertile color (colour)

shades of verdant

lichen tendrils rustle

like leaves in

a breezy lake

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You can find the Magnetic Poetry Nature set online here. Other sets are also available to try out.  Do check out Kat’s beautiful blog. She is seriously talented in many creative ways.

This is the start of what I will call Magnetic Monday. If all goes well, a poem or more will find its way into your inbox on a regular, if not weekly basis. Hopefully, these short poetic missives will help to dispel the blues and bring some light relief, especially if you have a go yourself. Happy writing!

“The beauty of this world is Christ’s tender smile coming to us through matter” ~ Simone Weil

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about calling, priorities and sensitivity to Holy Spirit

/ Joy Lenton / 16 Comments

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Like a flock of noisy seagulls, voices come at us from all directions, urging activity, challenge and change. What (or who) are we listening to? How do we sift the gold from the detritus, make choices we can live with and trust? In a world vying to be heard, how do we make sure we only take in what we need to?

It’s not easy to avoid all that is clamouring for our attention, or discern the times and tides, especially when so many fresh opportunities are coming our way.  A new year is rife with resolution, full of possibility, potential and hope.

As I try to recover from the festive season, my body is signalling a need to rest but my mind is inclined to pursue the enticement of the Now and the New. Fear of missing out (FOMO) is a real issue for many—me, too, sometimes. We can become stalled by indecision, paralysed by too much choice and derailed by the very real possibility of disappointment.

At the risk of lagging behind, disappointing or letting people down, it’s better for us to be true to how we’re currently situated and what we’re capable of without jeopardising our physical or mental health.

My spirit longs to listen to what God is saying to me first and foremost , knowing His ways—though seemingly counter-intuitive at times—are always the best. It pays to heed holy whispers. If He is whispering caution, waiting and rest, then I hesitate to press ahead with the next big thing, because in the end it will fail or I will falter, crash and collapse if I ignore the warning signs.

I love to write and in order to do so I have to prioritise, make creative space, rest, pace and avoid doing anything else for the day that’s an exhausting activity for me. It’s all about calling, priorities and sensitivity to Holy Spirit’s leading and guiding, and giving ourselves permission to rest and recover when we need to.

It won’t wash with me

Political spin

won’t wash with me; I’m resting

in God’s plans, you see

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No spin

Life’s waves wash over

my still frame—caught fast by pain

I refuse to spin

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Wash me radiant

Wash me radiant

Let your love spin in my heart

Warm from dawn to dark

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Today’s haiku have been inspired by the prompt of ‘Spin&Water’ —(which my tired brain somehow interpreted as ‘Spin&Wash’ instead… oops… so that’s what I’ve based these poems on!)—from our poet master, Ronovan, of ronavonwrites.  Just click here to see the rest of the posts and join in if you’d like to.

How are you sifting the wheat from the chaff as you make plans for 2017?

What new thing (or word) has God given you for the days ahead?