Concealed and revealed

concealed and revealed PJ file image

We are like icebergs. Only a small part of the enormity of who we are is visible on the surface.

Much lies hidden. Concealed to the untrained eye or casual observer.

Strangers to ourselves, with our lives laid bare before God.

Nothing about you or I is a surprise to Him. We are fully known and we are completely loved and accepted.

Yet how hard it can be sometimes to see the ‘real’ me/you or accept who we are.

I am a composite reflection of all the people I’ve ever been ~ a girl-child, a lost soul, a teen, Jesus follower, wife and mother become grandma, who has a degree of God-given insight into her ways.

But I feel I’ll always be a bit of a mystery to myself, because who I am in Christ is an ongoing construction, ‘work in progress’ here and into eternity.

And the woman I am now is a just a snapshot of the experiences, thoughts and feelings that help make up my disposition, character and ways of reacting.

She is ineffably changed through her faith in Christ and inextricably linked to her life on earth.

Until.. Jesus returns to free us from its chains and reveal all that has lain concealed.

For now, I seek to be as authentic as I know how as I lean heavy on the Lord and learn from Holy Spirit-whispered insights.

To live out the hope within me, to reveal God’s goodness and grace, and conceal nothing that might help another soul feel less alone, or become blessed and encouraged by my testimony.

We can all be grace-imparters, joy-bringers and gift-givers to others, flawed and imperfect as we are.

‘Concealed and revealed’

I tried

concealing all my fears

to hide

a waterfall of tears

I shied

from confessing faults and flaws

My pride

wanted to slam such open doors

Divide

my heart and mind and will

Inside

I was far from capable

I cried

out to You in grief and pain

You pried

away all my guilt and shame

You died

to release me from death’s sting

Beside

me now, You bring Peace within

A flood

washes clean all earthly stain

Your blood

renews, makes me whole again

©JoyLenton2014

#1000gifts ~ I’m so grateful to God for some brief energy and inspiration to write today, especially when both have been in short supply lately!

Linking here today with Beth and  Holley, and other encouraging friends as we seek to share words to inspire and bless your heart.

concealed and revealed PJ poem pin image

Show and tell

show and tell file image PJ

As writers and poets we aim to show rather than tell.

Describe and entice. Provide and hold back.

To reveal something and conceal another.

“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass” ~ Anton Chekhov

To stir emotions. Leave a lingering essence to savour.

Draw the reader in and leave them wanting more.

Make space for senses to fill in the gaps.

For imagination to take over and inspiration to remain.

Yet in living out our faith in Christ we need both ‘show and tell’.

Demonstrate His hand at work in our lives.

Reveal His character and our need of Him.

Make as clear as we can those things which we know and understand.

Admit to a cloud of unknowing where we give way for mystery. What is now concealed will one day be revealed.

Share our testimony and share His story ~ the best news of all cries out for voices to declare it.

Such thoughts were in my mind as I wrote the poem below.

‘Show and tell’

Let your life reveal your faith in Me

Show forth My goodness and grace

in your character and face

Tell your healing testimony

to encourage others, bring Me glory

Tell My people I love them dearly

and ache for them to see it clearly

No matter what sorrows they go through

I have power to make all things new

Tell out My greatness among the nations

Reveal My kindness, proclaim My worth

Offering salvation with new birth

Give them hope of making a brand new start

as I transform their mind and heart

My arms reach out, My hand is ready

to save, protect, restore and steady

Urge them now to yield and to Come

to listen and trust in Jesus, My Son

©JoyLenton2014

show and tell poem pin file image PJ

Linking here with Kate  and other brave souls for #fiveminutefriday as we all write bold and free, share our stories and encourage one another. You are very welcome and warmly invited to join in. 

Come empty

come empty welcome file image PJ

We all long to have our love tanks filled. Be affirmed. Be welcomed. Be accepted.

But so often our desire to be seen and heard drives us into places where we shine bright as fire-flies briefly dancing bold in the darkness before it swallows us up and consumes us.

There is another way to satiate our thirsty souls. To discover all we are looking for.

There is a place where we come empty and become filled to overflowing.

Arrive with burdens too heavy to bear, with songs dying on our lips, with eyes full of tears.

Sink low with our sorrows, sickness and shame.

But there.. we are loved,  embraced, held and comforted beyond measure.

You don’t have to dress up or pretend. You can be real. Be yourself. Breathe easy.

In God’s presence we find hope, healing, help, strength, forgiveness and grace.

And so much more besides.

So come to Him now. Lay aside your fears. He won’t reject or ignore you.

Come empty. Come  weary. Come thirsty. Come hungry. Come Just. As. You. Are.

He is waiting,  and will never turn you away.

‘Being filled’

With arms yawning empty, wide,

I arrive at your feet

hardly daring to lift my weary head

with a body yearning only for bed

When a dawning peace

envelops my soul

as you come and abide

ready to make me whole

rest in my heart, take ease and wait

while I sob, breathe deep and hesitate..

Finally, some strength seeps

through as I stay and weep

How could so much time

have taken wings, flown by

How could I have allowed

my soul to become so dry?

You smile and reach out

in reminder, with goodness and grace

There’s always a look of love on your face

You tilt my head toward your own and spill

everything given, overflowing to fill

And I realise, deep down,

it has always been there

if I’d only stopped, searched around

instead of drowning in despair

For all you long to provide, impart,

has already been sealed within my heart

©JoyLenton2014

being filled poem PJ FMF file pin image

Linking here with Kate Motaung for her first time hosting #fiveminutefriday Do come over, join with other brave and bold five minute writers, and give her a warm welcome! Also linking with Jennifer for #tellhisstory and with Mel for #essentialfridays 

It’s time to start again

begin PJ FMF file image

A blank space. Yawning gap. Untrod pathway. Virgin page.

How to fill it.

How to begin.

How to create again.

A mind can seize,  thoughts stall and falter at the first hurdle.

A break has been taken and getting back on the horse feels scary.

What if…

I fall flat on my face?

Slide into mud and slink away ashamed?

Only…

Here there is grace.

Here I can breathe soft and easy,  inhale deep of Holy Spirit inspiration and pour it out, exhale slow.

We canter into this race against the clock but we leave our reservations behind.

This isn’t about coming first or even putting on a good show. No perfectionist preening allowed. No ribbons, medals or honours given.

This is about being available. Showing up. Being ready to participate.

And I know the audience will be kind. Will cheer any effort to join in, even if I’ve been out of action for a while and limbs are stiff.

So here goes, five minutes of unedited, as it comes, straight from the heart to the page writing.

Are you ready for this slow runner, this outsider to start, to begin again?

‘Begin’

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Leave your yesterdays behind

rise bold into a dawning day

As sun tips its filtering rays

over the horizon and grace

drips long and slow into

every crack and crevice

this is opportunity…

To begin again

To be set free

Forgiveness covers all our sin

and hope and joy are found in Him

We’re slowed down, stalled,

stuck fast, sidetracked,

but will never claw

our yesteryears back

Let dreams be birthed

Let sighs escape

Let creativity be worth

the effort it may take

Scrap and crumple

scrimp and save

but get those words

down on a page

For they are barren

inside your head

and what’s been dreamt

should now be said

Give them life

ignore the pain

It’s time to write

Begin again…

©JoyLenton2014

Linking here with Lisa-Jo and all the other brave and beautiful writers for #fiveminutefriday You are very welcome to join in. 

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Forgetting and remembering

Evening rails

In taking a step back we often see the way to move forward.

Perspective and hindsight combine to reveal what lay concealed.

Sitting too close to something can make it overly familiar, a thing of dependency and routine.

And we forget what lies on the other side.

So it was for me with social media a few weeks ago. I became burnt-out, exhausted and yet afraid to loose the hold.

It took time (and increasing health and life challenges) to make me see that in desiring to be in the thick of things I was missing the most important thing of all ~ time to simply ‘be’.

In the drawing back I gradually regained a sense of the ‘normality’ that used to be there for me when I wasn’t so caught up in the being out there, heard and seen aspects of life.

It began with restlessness, then as I relaxed more there was profound fatigue and deep bone weariness to contend with, as if I was finally giving my body permission to let go instead of running on continual adrenaline.

Then the silence was filled with a greater measure of hearing from God as He held me in my weakness and pain, helping me see my worth and value are nothing to do with my productivity or the lack thereof.

As an M.E and chronic illness sufferer, being ‘busy’ for me looks like another person’s chilling-out time; but it was a huge change for me to stop those activities and drop all concern about blogging and having some kind of online presence.

Freed from all expectations or demands, writing became pure joy. Poetry and prayer whispers proliferated. Snippets sank into my mind when I was resting, and God encouraged me to release it all to Him without worry or fear.

And I discovered that it’s only in the letting go of all we hold tight to that we are free to fully enjoy it in the way God intends us to.

So I have been delving deeper into His word, praying longer, reading more books and poetry than before, spending quality time with loved ones and ‘in real life’ friends, and realising how shallow my life had become.

Now I want to remember what it’s like to touch reality rather than living a large part of my life in a ‘virtual’ world.

I want to remember how God’s opinion of me is the only one that really matters and I write primarily for an audience of One.

And I want to continue to forget about people-approval issues, performance, perfectionism or pressure, and just concentrate on resting in God’s Presence where I am already beloved, accepted and pre-approved ~ just as I am.

‘Forgetting’

I’d forgotten what it’s like

to lose myself completely

within pages of a book

where time ceases to exist

and eyes are deeply fixed

on drinking in the words

upon which my soul is hooked

I’d forgotten what it’s like

to pray with no clock-watching

allowing time to listen

wait patient for God to speak

within this hour, day and week

seeking nothing more or less

than drawing closer to Him

I’d forgotten what it’s like

to heed Holy Spirit’s voice

so close in the minutiae

or to savour the rhythmic flow

as each moment comes and goes

and He whispers soft and low

to inform and guide my day

©JoyLenton2014

Gift and grace as social media and blogging are to me, it has been good to learn there is life beyond the laptop.

You can read more about how this experience has affected me in this post on ‘Words of Joy’.

How about you? Have you considered unplugging or experienced relief from doing so, even for a short while?

Feel free to share your story in the comments below.

Linking here with Beth, Holley and Jennifer. You are very welcome to join in. 

book reader ~ Forgetting  poem PJ file image pin

The heat is on

The heat is on.

Time to seek some shade.

Find ways to stay cool, calm and collected.

I love the long, sunny days but I’m fazed and frazzled by heat-waves. Maybe you too?

It’s too hot to think straight, write eloquently (or much at all, truth be told) or be active in any way.

I’ve been taking a social media and blogging break which I desperately needed.

My health has been challenging for some time, with increased weakness, pain and fatigue, so rest and recuperation remain my top priority.

And as I recover some strength, pacing my ‘activities’ carefully, I want to just touch base with you as a way of making a gradual return to my usual routines.

I’m largely housebound with M.E and chronic illness, and going on holiday is a distant dream, but there’s no harm in taking myself there by the power of imagination.

Which is what I have done with the poetic summer snippets below that were written some time ago.

I share them now as a way to say “Hi. I’m still here”, even though I may be struggling with feeling further flattened by the heat and humidity we have now in the UK!

You are not forgotten and I miss our conversations here.

Hope the weather is suiting you, wherever you are, and you can make the most of warm, sunny days.

With blessings and love until we meet again. Xx 🙂

Come away with me beach poem pin image

‘Sunbathing’

Solid clumps of

people

sticking to

hot blades of

grass

The park abounds in

bodies

Frozen marrows of

idle

flesh which

blinks at frequent

intervals

They stir softly in

slumber

Deadened senses of

minds

groping after

clarity

focusing on nothing

Self-instincts admit

to ~ inactivity

©JoyLenton2014

bodies ~ sunbathing in the park poem pin image

Taking time out

PJ file image ~ Time for a break

This is a season to set free. Unplug. Let loose. Chill out. Relax.

The world’s weight can sit heavy. We can drown under its load.

We need room to breathe. Be still. Listen to the still small voice Who brings calm to our souls.

I haven’t been doing much of that lately and I sense a Holy Spirit nudge to make more space for God.

The poem below was written a few months ago but its sentiments are my heart’s cry now.

The important can so easily get swallowed up in the urgent.

Creativity can get stifled in clamour.

Peace can become stolen by pressing purposes.

Joy can feel elusive when we join in too much with all the activity around us and don’t allow time out for our soul’s sake.

I need time to ponder and pray.

A space to hear holy whispers.

Room to read.

Time to write with no specific end result in view, just for the sheer pleasure of penning poetry and prose.

Maybe you do too?

 ‘Today’

Today…

I cannot connect with the world

Its noise

drowns out His voice

Its chaos

collides with His calm

Its clamour

presses into His peace

Today…

I choose ease and rest

To breathe

His Divine essence

To begin

sensing His Presence

To listen

while seeking His best

Today…

We have choices we need to make

Would you

decide or decline

Could you

sift hard and refine

Will you

chase after God’s way ~ this day?

©JoyLenton2014

Linking here with Beth and friends for #ThreeWordWednesday

**NOTE** ~ As I seek more #spiritualwhitespace to listen to #SacredEchoes I am joining with like-minded souls over at Margaret Feinberg’s place this week.

To find out more about why I need this space, check out this post on ‘Words of Joy’.

I’m looking forward to catching up with you in a week or so.  Please grant grace for a delayed reply to any comments left here. Thank you!

May God bless you and meet with you in a special way as you follow after His heart this Summer.

Today poem PJ file image pin

Lost and found

busyness ~ lost and found PJ

Something has got lost in our increasingly busy, frantic lives.

We’ve forgotten how to detach from activity.

Neglected to resist the lure of the urgent over the important.

Taking time out just to ‘be’, to pause and breathe slow is rare.

Hours spent hunched over screens is making us more concerned with what’s in front of us than what’s going on in our hearts.

How can we see the way ahead when eyes are glued downwards?

Maybe we need a break, to lose ourselves in the inner life instead of outer activity.

Read a book, rest, relax, pray perhaps.

Perhaps we’d hear echoes in our hearts, reminders of our need for God.

Listening could take the place of continual noise.

In the silence we encounter ourselves as we truly are.

And that can be alarming.

But we also allow space for God to enter in.

We find what our souls have always been looking and longing for.

And that can be life changing.

‘Lost and found’

Lost in busyness

occupation, activity,

endless toil, never at ease

Lost in despair

hopelessness, gloom, misery,

failing to see God can set us free

Lost in dreams

hopes, schemes and plans,

missing the best from His hands

Lost in sorrow

sadness, grief and pain,

He comes close to us again

Lost in ourselves

our lives, our world,

waiting for future to be unfurled

Lost and alone

in the midst of a crowd

voices sounding harsh and loud

Lost and found

when we release our cares

let go the burden of years

Lost in Love

when He calms our soul

comforts, cleanses, makes us whole

Lost in peace

we cease from anxiety, worry,

relax in His Presence

no rush, no hurry

©JoyLenton2014

Linking here with Lisa-Jo, Laura and Mel

lost and found ~ PJ MS image pin

I will rise

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

‘I will rise’

Some days..

part of me longs to break free

become unshackled from the earth

shake off dust, soil and toil

relinquish all but new birth

Maybe..

I will gather galaxies, bathe

in a sparkling sea of stars

or journey to other planets

visit Venus, Jupiter or Mars

stride unhindered over mountain peaks

sneak a view in a volcano or two

dive into indigo oceans deep

and climb pathways high and steep

One day..

these limbs will move and lift with ease

and pain will be a mystery

I will rise sky-high, out of sight,

as a balloon flies swift and

bright, then disappears from view

I may..

begin floating near eternal Light

my eyes watching years unravelling

like string, to pull me back

or draw me in, while I’m

travelling closer to You

©JoyLenton2014

“We know that when these bodies of ours are taken down like tents.. they will be replaced by resurrection bodies in heaven.. Sometimes we can hardly wait to move ~ and so we cry out in frustration… The Spirit of God whets our appetite by giving us a taste of what’s ahead. He puts a little of heaven in our hearts so that we’ll never settle for less” ~ 2 Corinthians 5:1-2, 4-5 (The Message)

Linking here with  Beth,  Holley and Jennifer. You are very welcome to join in.

balloon ~ i will rise file image pin

Seeking release

seeking release ~ FMF PJ file image

All it takes is a one word prompt and we write brave and free.

Such is the liberty of joining in for #fiveminutefriday

Or do we? Sometimes words stall in our heads and get left unexpressed. We feel blocked or broken inside.

Deep pondering and marinating are not how we operate in this creative writing endeavour.

Giving in to the moment, going with the flow and eschewing perfection is what it’s all about.

But some words stir deep, unsettle and unleash a flood rather than a drizzle.

Such was the result for me of beginning to write about this week’s prompt:’Release’.

I thought a bit, prayed, set the timer and wrote.. and wrote.. and wrote long past the limit. A poetic rambling and prayerful cry too personal to share.

Because this word hits too close to home to give an easy answer to. I’m living change, transition and release. Begging for it while I draw back scared.

Part of me craving an alteration and part of me resenting the effort it will require before lasting change can take place.

Staying the same isn’t an option once God puts His finger on an area requiring change. He will never give up wanting the very best for us.

So we yield easy, or fight our way up like drowning swimmers gasping for air. I’m fighting, and slowly learning how to surrender restfully.

This morning I didn’t set the clock or expect to participate in any writing exercise.

I woke earlier than usual and sensed a holy call to climb out of the covers. I obeyed reluctantly at first, having had a restless, wakeful night and with a body crying out desperate for sleep.

But I’m glad I obeyed. I met with God as He whispered words I needed to hear and felt prompted to share in the hope of blessing you too.

prayer whisper image

Prayer Whisper:’Release’

Re-lease your life into My care. You are not your own; you were bought with the price of My redeeming Love and sacrificial blood. I paid the price to set you free so that you could learn to become fully yourself as I intended you to.

Release ~ the weight of guilt, burden of sin and shame, turmoil of anger, resentment and unforgiveness. It poisons your body and mind to hold on to such things.

Release ~ your hopes, dreams and desires so that they can be sifted and purified, right motive and purpose given, and all submitted to My will and authority.

Release ~ the past, present and future. I see the end from the beginning. I am Alpha and Omega. Trust Me to take care of it all and pave the way for you to walk steadily with Me, moment by moment.

Release ~ all that chains and tethers you to earth. My desire is to make beauty from the ashes, bring hope out of despair and joy from adversity. Let loose all that prevents you from living freely in body and in mind.

Hand over all that you are, have been and will be. You are no surprise to Me. I know you inside out, and will provide the best way for you to grow strong, be fruitful and live compassionately to impact the lives of others for good.

As you release you will find true freedom because I take it all and give back to you only those things that fit who you are and prepare you for My purpose, all that brings joy, peace, rest and ease because you trust in Me.

Letting go takes courage and faith, but it will bring you so much more than those things you cling on to with tight clenched fists. They become stumbling blocks and strongholds preventing forward momentum.

Open your hands, release and ready yourself to receive, My child. I am waiting to give back to you.”

Linking here with Lisa-Jo, Laura and Mel. You are very welcome to join in.

butterfly ~ seeking release PJ FMF file image pin