encouragement

discovering joy by embracing freedom

/ Joy Lenton / 18 Comments

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How free do you feel? It’s not always a straightforward thing to answer. We can become bound by what seems safe and familiar, little realising how much such things can choke the joy within, suffocate with their similarity.

What we fear could actually be a pathway to freedom, a way toward expansive living we have yet to experience. It’s not always easy to discern what has drawn parameters around our days, hedged us in by happenstance. Those of us with chronic illness are aware of its limitations, ones we often chafe against.

The life we once knew gets swallowed up in a painful new familiar, a pattern not of our choosing, as it does for all who are captive to sickness, to various addictions, trapped by a painful past, or stuck in a stultifying situation in the present. And the prison we are in can feel safer than the prospect of freedom, even as we ache for release.

We’ve considered how joy sits companionably with sorrow and grief; it also accompanies us like a gentle spur inspiring challenge and change. Sometimes all it takes is a holy nudge of remembrance, an opening of eyes to the truth that already exists.

We think of Jesus, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, shame and pain. What was the joy that kept Him captive to the cross? It was the knowledge of bringing us back to the Father as blood-bought, adopted sons and daughters.

It wasn’t intended only as a hope for heaven but as a lifelong, eternal relationship transforming and greatly impacting our time on earth, a way to live freely despite difficulties, because God walks with, strengthens and equips us for everything.

Jesus broke out of the confines of the tomb, slipped off restrictive bandage-bindings and walked free, gloriously raised to newness of life. It was a statement of intent to the world and a visual reminder of the way renewed life springs from what was dead.

He offers us the same invitation to joy and freedom. We get a foretaste of joy here and a feast in heaven to come. Freedom can seem scary, or an impossible dream, but with God initiating and holding us as we take brave faith steps it becomes a liberating reality.

Because freedom and release are not necessarily gained by losing our chains. What frees and gives joy is a change of attitude, a renewed mindset that sets us free to live differently.

Our days may look the same to outside eyes but we are living with a fresh heavenly perspective rather than a worldly, earthbound mindset. Joy is not only possible in the midst of challenge and pain, it’s freely available, always.

Once we become aware how much our heart attitude shapes our thoughts, we can begin to embrace joy and discover freedom in less than joyful circumstances.

You don’t have to wait for a new year to arrive before your flight to freedom begins. You can make a fresh start Now, Today, This Moment. God’s mercy and forgiveness are available 24/7. Spread your wings and ride in God’s continual current of grace, His loving, freeing embrace.

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Welcome to #day18 of #write31days of journeying into joy. My hope and prayer is that you are being helped and encouraged as we undertake this journey together. Bless you for being here.

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we can still rise with singed wings

/ Joy Lenton / 12 Comments

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The hot flames of fiery trials and afflictions can sear the life out of us. We feel battered, bruised and burnt. Maybe you’re going through some hard stuff right now and wondering just when it will end, as life causes you to fade and lose your lustre.

Sometimes we forget that we are not alone in the heat of it all. Jesus is in the fire with us. Though He may not always rescue us miraculously, He does promise the protection of His constant presence, the comfort of His peace in the midst of our pain and problems.

How does joy fit into all of this? Surely it’s an unlikely pairing with pain? Yes and no. We feel joyless and so do our circumstances, but we cannot have the continual presence of Jesus without His joy rubbing off on us.

It’s always there, always available. Our task is to see and sense its presence, the way joy waits on the other side of sorrow and sadness, sits with grief and partners us in pain.

Joy isn’t a feeling, it’s a faith thing, a spiritual gift and grace. We don’t have to try to muster up joyful feelings, only snuggle closer to our Saviour. Because He is the repository of every good thing, the anchor for our aching hearts, the balm to calm our storms.

When we’re seeking solace, we need look no further than Jesus. Sure, we do tend to seek it elsewhere, grope for hope in other people and other things, and sometimes they help for a while. But lasting hope and help are found in God, no-one and nothing else.

With singed wings

I want to bypass hard and sharp,

miss the shards of glass piercing me

Only joy can cut a bright path

through dark, press past all our pain

 

and sit waiting with expectancy

for us to shake off grey dust

and all that clings tenaciously

 

We rise again with phoenix

of hope – blazing us clean

as we finally find our feet,

climb free with singed wings

©JoyLenton2016

There is still beauty to be found in the ashes of these dying back days, the paring away of vitality. God sees that in us too. We are just as precious to God, whether lively or weak, vibrant or dulled by pain. He just holds us all the more tenderly as we lean closer to Him and the safety of His loving embrace.

31-days-of-journeying-into-joy-badgeWelcome to #day15 of #31days of journeying into joy. Thank you for following along. I am praying for you all as we undertake this journey.

If anyone would like to share their current challenges, you can do so in the comments below, or message me privately. Bless you for being here, friend.

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hope and joy in the midst of sadness

/ Joy Lenton / 21 Comments

write31days-journeying-into-joy-hope-and-joy-in-the-midst-of-sadness

 

I listened, cradling phone to ear, trying to digest the news. A long-lost cousin had managed to track me down to say my uncle (her father) had passed away and the funeral was scheduled for the next day.

She had left it deliberately late to pass on the information, because she knew what a long journey it would be for me, and the strong likelihood of my being too unfit to travel – right on both counts.

When I came off the phone, having stayed calm in my concern for her and the rest of the family, I couldn’t help tears flowing freely when I related the news to my husband. He held me close as I cried.

My cousin had a year to adjust herself to the prospect of losing her father, fearing the worst many times over the last few months. But I had blissfully assumed he and his wife were still enjoying a fairly active retirement, pottering about in their beautiful garden, the joy of their lives.

Memories and sadness sat with me as the day slowly unwound. I went out into the garden for a breath of air and a brief time of prayer. God always meets with and speaks to me most through creation.

With eyes downcast, I was well placed to spot a feather flying with the wind. I snapped a few photos, hoping to capture those moments when ground was its mattress. And this is what emerged…

As a white flag

Spotting a white feather on the ground

is often seen as a sign of God saying

‘I do not forget’ as he gently whispers

his balm to our broken hearts

 

When I stepped outside for a while,

needing air to breathe as I assimilated

news of a relative’s demise, feeling low

and aching inside with sad hollowness,

 

before long I spied this feathery

friend beckoning me as wind tossed her

hither and thither, and I shivered

in an autumnal breeze, hugging myself

 

with folded arms to ward off the cold

It felt like God was speaking soft into

my emptiness, reminding me how much

 

heaven aches in sympathy with us

And how his bright light feathers down

sometimes, as white flag lying on the ground

©JoyLenton2016

“For his anger is but for a moment; his favour is for a lifetime. Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning” ~ Psalm 30:5 NRSV

What is the joy we have in the morning? I believe it’s realising we are accompanied in our sadness and sorrow. There is no experience we go through which is out of the reach of God’s love and compassion.

God holds out a flame of hope in painful circumstances, a balm of peace and calm. He brings unexpected joy and strength back to hurting hearts. He is the lifter of our head, Comforter for wounded souls.

Getting through grief can be painful and lengthy, especially when we lose close loved ones. Scripture reassures us that  joy will return, difficult as it is to believe when we’re grieving. We will have days where we can see light breaking through, sense God’s comforting presence, as we gradually begin to smile and laugh again.

As I mourn my uncle’s passing, I think about how we often take life for granted. May I suggest you hug your loved ones closer today, appreciate their presence in your life?

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Welcome to #day14 of #write31days of journeying into joy. You can access #day13 over at wordsofjoy.me where I am sharing a few posts in this series. To catch my reflection on beauty and butterflies, please click here... How have you experienced hope or joy in the midst of life’s painful circumstances? Please share in the comments below, so we can pray for one another.

find joy in being true to yourself

/ Joy Lenton / 16 Comments

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Be bold. Shine out God’s glory. You were made for more than ordinary. You are created for such a time as this, a time to be all you’re intended to be.

You may feel fragile, weak and weary, fearful and hesitant, wanting to hang back from the crowd. Others may consider you to be of no significance, but God sees the beauty, potential and promise within.

Let your head be lifted high. His desires for you won’t outrun His capacity to give to you. God doesn’t leave us defenceless. He provides for every contingency.

Maybe you’ve been used to cowering, hiding away while others take the forefront. Maybe you’ve ruled yourself out on some pretext or other, convinced yourself you’re no use to God or others, have nothing of value to offer.

Please don’t buy into that lie! You are of great worth and value – right now, Just As You Are on the way to all you are becoming by God’s grace. You don’t have to take a course, pretty yourself up, make a recognisable mark with your art, perfect your prose or poetry.

Your own unique version of creativity will bring a measure of joy to this world, if you are willing to unleash and unfurl it little by little, one small bit at a time. Trust in God. Trust in the process itself.

Find joy in the journey by being true to who God created you to be. He doesn’t make mistakes. No-one else can create in the exact same way as you can. And that’s a freeing thought. Only you can excel at being you. Failure is a word others may choose to judge us by; it’s not a measure of our ability, but rather a stepping stone to improvement and change.

Your circumstances may have drained and depleted vital energy but they cannot steal the central core of who you are. Stay true to the way you do things, while you learn and grow your expertise and lean on God for everything.

Because guess who is continually cheering you on from the sidelines (apart from me and a whole host of unseen witnesses)? It’s none other than your loving heavenly Father who gets excited every time you decide to trust in His leading and guiding. He’s beaming proudly at His beautiful daughter, saying, “that’s my girl!”

Here are a few life lessons to aid your progress:

  • unleash your art
  • trust your heart
  • make and create
  • it’s never too late
  • listen and learn
  • grow wise and discern
  • enjoy all gainful employ
  • keep journeying into joy

God is right there with you every step of the way, every single day. Take holy courage as your badge of belonging to Christ.

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Welcome to #day11 of #31days of journeying into joy. I want to offer you a fresh infusion of encouragement today as we continue this journey, because parts of it are hard and challenging to traverse.

I also want to remind you of just how much God loves, approves of and celebrates YOU! ❤

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seeking to enjoy the journey we are on

/ Joy Lenton / 12 Comments

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While we journey into joy, we soon discover how much better it is to have support, friendship and companionship to encourage us along the way. Especially when it becomes tough at times, there are mountains to negotiate or skirt round, several hills to climb, much travelling to do and lessons to get through.

The travelling can feel endless to reach our goals. Yet the road yawns wide before us, stretching its fingers toward the future, inviting us to do the same.

As we place our faith and hope in God, He will slowly unfurl the rich potential of days still to come, and grant us grace to enjoy the current view of the journey we are on.

The prayer below reflects on part of my creative journey, which is continually being shaped by faith and made achievable by God’s goodness and grace. May you see your own dreams reflected in it too.

Dear Father,

It seems strange to think that our afflictions can become joy bringers. Yet I know that without mine I would probably lead a disconnected selfish life, all the poorer for losing such deep need-driven daily dependence on your grace and mercy.

For in love, you have given us joy in knowing you, in living with your constant presence, in the persevering, enduring and overcoming, and joy in the journey itself.

We are created to dream big dreams, to believe for the impossible, to see your hand at work bringing life from what seems dead. A dream was laid on my heart. I dared to hope for something beyond the everyday.

I desired to write a book of poetry.  A seed of hope was sown, liberally watered by the encouragement of those you chose to accompany me. Their interest and support helped the fragile seed to grow, flower and flourish.

You knew I lacked courage to walk this path alone, that I would be tempted to give up without prayer and words to cheer me on, how my fears and failings would make me falter, weakness make me wilt and pain bring a halt to proceeding.

And you gave blessings in abundance, as you always do to each one of us – liberally, freely, graciously, lavishly, unexpectedly, joyfully.

You provided friends to walk beside me, peace in pursuing purpose, strength in sharing, courage in creativity.

All helping me to be here now – still walking in faith, still writing, still living and believing for greater things to come.

For you reward all who diligently seek after you. May it be our goal, always. The Giver of all good gifts does not disappoint us.

For these things and for your manifold mercies, we give you our grateful thanks and praise.

Amen

“More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of”

~ Alfred Lord Tennyson

PS: *Take heart, friend – though we may have to wait a while, God-sized dreams do eventually come true. After over 2 years of waiting, I’m so thankful to have the fruit of this particular dream available now as a real live book to read! You can click on the link to access ‘Seeking Solace: Discovering grace in life’s hard places’, or UK readers will find it in the sidebar here. Every copy sold helps to raise funds for Action for M.E*

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31-days-of-journeying-into-joy-badgeWelcome to #day10 of 31 days of journeying into joy.

How is the journey going for you? Can you testify to God bringing a dream to pass?

Do let me know in the comments below.  🙂

you carry seeds of joy and hope of glory

/ Joy Lenton / 10 Comments

write31days-journeyingintojoy-carrying-seeds-of-hope-and-joy

 

There are days when we hang our head; maybe it droops low with fatigue, low mood, shame or shyness. It can be hard to lift it up again when life weighs heavy.

It’s in those times that God reveals Himself as the lifter of our head, the carrier of hope and healing. He imparts joy back into weary hearts. He sings softly to us of love and of how infinitely precious we are in His sight, just as we are.

“The Lord your God is with you; his power gives you victory. The Lord will delight in you, and in his love he will give you new life. He will sing and be joyful over you” ~ Zephaniah 3:17 GNT

Poppies are a sign of remembrance, of battles fought and won, blood shed and victory secured. As we wear our poppy with pride (on Remembrance Sunday or Memorial Day), we think about the fallen, the brave and the bold who dared to lay down their lives for us.

Freedom comes at a price, and none higher than the shed blood of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. He gave His all to save all for eternity. That’s how much you and I are valued by God.

Friend, you are not forgotten. Your life isn’t insignificant to the One who died so that you could live eternally with Him.

You are not a number, but a person of great worth and value to God. He knew you before you were born, lovingly crafted you together in your mother’s womb.

“Before I shaped you in the womb, I knew all about you. Before you saw the light of day, I had holy plans for you” ~ Jeremiah 1:5 Message

Our earthly parents can reject or neglect us, but our heavenly Father never will. He longs above all things to reassure you of just how much He cares about you.

God sees the hope of glory residing inside, which opens its heart to the warmth of His presence. He sees all you are now and all you can become by His grace.

You and I carry joy seeds within when we are in relationship with Jesus. His characteristics are sown into our souls and new life germinates from the old.

As children of God we can live with head held high, heart at peace and joy within reach. Though pain and problems abound, there is comfort and hope to be found by trusting our unknown future to a known God.

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Welcome to #day8 of the #write31days writing challenge. Thank you for seeing me through my first week!

I appreciate your company and thoughts as I reflect on ways of journeying into joy. Do join in the conversation below.

Journeying into joy when you feel joyless

/ Joy Lenton / 14 Comments

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Joy may be my name but it doesn’t always describe my nature. I’m inclined to let my feelings run away with me sometimes, especially those that slide toward life’s dark side.

This season of diminishing light usually means I sit more with sadness and SAD becomes my defining characteristic, as well as a condition I battle with.

And it’s probably because of this propensity that God has lain a word on my heart about the need to deliberately pursue joy in the midst of challenging circumstances.

My journey into joy may sound easy and delightful, (and I hope it will be!), but experience tells me I have a natural bent toward discouragement. It’s one I fight continually in my desire to reveal God’s hope and joy to others.

So I am going against my feelings, aiming to see joy as more than an emotion, and seeking to unearth the fruit of it as a woman of faith who could really use a fresh infusion of joy in her mind and heart. Maybe you do too?

Before we start (October 1st, God willing), I am sharing a poem written at a time when feelings overwhelmed and faith had a fight on its hands. Because we need to acknowledge where we have a joy deficit before we can move forward toward a greater awareness of what sparks joy for us.

Joyless

Today’s events tied me up in knots of stress,

taking captive the better part, no less,

while my worst emotions became unravelled

loose like string, leaving patience looking

patchy, worn and thin. Life will leave

us lifeless, fired up with feelings

which dissipate like a fading wind

 

And I seem to have swallowed a stone

I can’t shift. It sits heavy as iron,

wrinkling up my soul, pressing sharp

edges into my insides. A sour

twisting, turning acid with each

remembrance of how I have failed

to live with joy – as one already blessed

JoyLenton2016

As you can see from the poem above, I really need to fight for joy, to make space each day for happiness and contentment.

It’s not going to be plain sailing because my current life and health challenges make for choppy seas, and daily writing is a big ask for me. However, this wobbly faith warrior has a steel core of confidence in God seeing her through. I believe God has inspired me to undertake this journey and I trust Him to provide as I depend on Him.

I greatly value your prayers, and would love your company here as we learn how to walk with more joy over the days ahead via an eclectic mix of poetry and prose. Come join me? If you would like to follow along, you can do so by signing up via email. See you in October! 🙂

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That’s how the light gets in

/ Joy Lenton / 20 Comments

how the light gets in - PJ

Light infiltrates a forest. Its fingers spreading wider as it turns from spotlight to flood.

What began as just a small reveal soon illuminates everything. That’s how light works if we let it in.

Brightness beams its way into each day. We may not always see or sense it if our eyes or soul are dulled.

God sends His presence forth in rain and thunder, blaze of creation’s beauty and soft foggy breath of subdued sunlight.

There isn’t a place, space or person that can remain permanently indifferent to His penetrating, laser-light gaze.

Light will find a way to penetrate our days. The tiniest crack in the surface of things becomes an opening to grace. 

“Ring the bells that still can ring

Forget your perfect offering

There is a crack in everything

That’s how the light gets in” – Leonard Cohen lyrics from ‘Anthem’ 

God loves us too much to leave us alone to stew in our situations, or become derailed by challenging circumstances.

As our loving heavenly Father, He cares tenderly and compassionately about how His children are and how we feel.

I’ve been laid low lately with increasing physical and mental health challenges. It’s still hard at times to see the positive.

Each day is a fight to choose joy. To choose hope over despair, courage to go on instead of discouragement to grind to a halt.

Being mortal can seem like a burden on days when I yearn for a life beyond the one I am living. Maybe you’ve been there too?

But God… – two of the most important words in the universe – reminds me that you and I are birthed for a reason, here for such a time as this, destined for a purpose we can barely sense or taste the fullness of even as we’re living it.

All God asks is that we allow His Light and Love admittance, one small sliver at a time, letting it warm our hearts, restore gratitude and illuminate the path before us.

As God shines His goodness and grace into our hearts we begin to see how our very weakness and brokenness, the cracks in our earthly existence, are the means by which He enters in. So there is hope for us all.

A small reveal

There’s a sliver of light

snaking through these dark

curtains of discouragement

Barely a beam can be seen

but a softening ray may

just be discernible

It’s thawing shivers of ice

Cracking the surface

of seen things, making way

for the Unseen realm

to penetrate my

feelings of overwhelm

We think we need a road

to Damascus experience

But sometimes God shines

a tiny, subdued light instead

Enough for us to see and kneel

marvelling at this small reveal

©JoyLenton2016

How is God revealing Himself to you in this season? 

What helps to keep you stable in life’s storms?

A small reveal poem pin - PJ

When you need help starting over again

/ Joy Lenton / 22 Comments

starting over - PJ

What if we could start over again? What would it look like to wipe the slate clean, rewind time and take out the flaws and failings of our lives?

Sadly, we would soon discover that the fault lies within. A flawed heart means faulty choices and actions. An unredeemed mind leads us into toxic thinking and bad behaviour.

And only God can fully address humanity’s needs and offer us a fresh start when we place our faith in Jesus Christ. We can begin again by God’s grace.

Then each day becomes opportunity for starting over. Each hour breathes out potential of the barely begun.

When I reflected on this season, it became clear that I’ve been stuck in a ditch of discouragement for several weeks. Led by my feelings and fast losing any joy I had before.

I wondered why joy was so elusive, where God was in the midst of my distress, why I couldn’t seem to get out of this cycle.

There were no pat answers. But God gently urged me to write a bit about joy, little snippets He whispered during my prayer times.

It seems joy is like a bright light glimpsed in the distance and we often miss the fact it’s also shining in us.

It felt elusive until I realised it doesn’t depend on my feelings at all. Because joy is a gift of grace weaving through our painful circumstances and giving us hope in dark places.

Once we realise how joy is always hovering close by, then we can start to discover it in numerous ways, such as: a slow unfolding realisation of its presence, a heart’s gratitude, an attitude of praise, a smile from a loved one, laughter bubbling up, a beautiful view, hearing God speak comfort into our weary souls.

How have you discovered or rediscovered joy hiding in plain sight? I’d love you to share in the comments below.

I’ve found that joy is a choice. As we read God’s word, receive and believe it, we start to notice how the life of faith is a series of conscious decisions we make every day. And we can waken to that hope with each new dawn.

Friends, I’m sorry for being missing here for a while. Too much life slowed me to a standstill. Thank you for your grace and patience. ❤

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When you’re wearing a thin veneer

/ Joy Lenton / 14 Comments

a thin veneer - PJ

Life can pare us down to the bone. All that remains is a thin veneer of capability.

We can plaster on a smile but it doesn’t always hide heartache within.

Our souls can wear a semblance of normality yet shield a great deal of pain on the inside.

I was reminded of feeling this way recently when accompanying my husband to a hospital waiting room.

Such places provide a glimpse of the struggles others go through, although the evidence isn’t always evident.

We sit, trying to be patient patients in an environment guaranteed to provoke into anxiety, and you don’t have to be the one waiting to be seen to feel it.

We tend to cast covert glances around the room while being careful not to catch an eye. So much is given away by the windows of our soul, isn’t it?

Because who wants their concerns flagged up for all to see? Who can cope with a stranger’s curiosity?

Most of us just want to conceal our stuff, our inner baggage. Hide our woundedness from others.

How do I cope when life gets hard? I think a lot. Too much, sometimes. I cry. I pray. I read God’s word. I journal and I write poetry…

A thin veneer

She watches thin veneer curling away at edges

panels pared down to chine-bone, chipped

away by ravages of years and time

Hardly a soul here now, barely a breath

to stir antiseptic air made stale by fear

in this orthopaedic waiting room

Anxiety stalks these walkways where hushed

voices betray a reverence for medicine

Eyes flit to ceiling marred by blind hanging

by a thread, with silted panes protruding

beneath, clouding out blue sky, limiting

horizon for those seeking some escape

So we wait, reluctant clock-watchers of the hours

and see, with incredulity, how mere minutes

have passed since last we glanced at glass

Spirits sag in sympathy with weary bodies

wearing but a thin veneer of patience here

©JoyLenton2016

One thing I do know with complete certainty.. God loves you and me.

Jesus came to liberate us from inner loneliness, fear and anxiety. To open us up to a transformed way of thinking and being.

He offers us a way to break free from fear. To be so secure in His love, so changed by His grace that we no longer need to hide ourselves away.

We can live an open-hearted, giving and receiving kind of life when we turn to Him, become redeemed, restored and refuelled for wherever the journey may take us.

And those veneers we wear will gradually strip away. We can be real. We can be free. We can be all God intends us to be by His grace.

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