Aim at heaven

June 27, 2015June 27, 2015 / Joy Lenton / 2 Comments

Reality and truth are hard to define. We all live with shifting perspectives, objectives and definitions.

Circumstances cloud our judgement. Pain makes us doubt what we thought we knew before.

Life constantly remoulds our thinking, stretches our boundaries.

We sense we are born for more than earthly striving. Our gaze begins to rise heavenwards.

Where can we turn for wisdom? Who will guide us into Truth?

What if we really believed what the Bible says, about how Truth is a person and not an idea?

Jesus came that we might have life in abundance as we place our faith and trust in Him.

He alone can fully answer the questioning soul’s concerns because He brings truth and reality as seen from God’s perspective.

Here, we see in part, understand but a little, comprehend only a fraction of what is taught and revealed, given and received.

We aim at heaven and get earth thrown in, but we still live with mystery into eternity.

So we grow in faith, life and maturity and learn to live into the answers to come.

And we finally become satisfied in the not knowing of all our heart desires to understand.

Because this we do know… we are deeply, unconditionally loved, here for a purpose beyond the present, brought into relationship with God, and able to trust Him in the silence and the dark as well as in the light.

‘Reality’

The greatest reality is seen in divinity

The essence of all that is and exists

Expressions in every place

providing glimpses of grace

A revealing and concealing combined

An unfurling in hearts over time

Whispered sounds down corridors

of years, and roar of waterfalls

echoing in our ears

We see and sense Him all around

Because God is eager to be found

Dark valley-life with heaviness of cloud

acts like a muffler and a shroud

Each storm sends us to our knees

where we offer up our earnest pleas

Our reality too rocky to bear

until we sense Him drawing near

Offering faith-filled walk on water

to every drowning son and daughter

©JoyLenton2015

Linking here with Barbie at The Weekend Brew where soul refreshment is being served. Come and join us?

The way of discipleship

May 15, 2015 / Joy Lenton / 10 Comments

When I came to faith in Christ I was already a damaged, broken-by-the-world girl who viewed life with wary, shy and cautious eyes.

So my heart yearned and burned for Jesus, the only One who has ever loved me unconditionally and sets me free from guilt and shame.

He alone restores my soul and is continually healing and making me whole.

I began as an ardent follower and fan in my naming and proclaiming ‘Jesus Loves You’ sticker days.

Now, in maturity, I see how sitting at His feet is the best thing for me; spending time quietly listening while I contemplate His beauty, seeking to know Him more fully as I learn to rest in His finished work on the cross and my new identity in Him.

And aiming more and more to be an imitator of my Teacher, a messenger for the Master, a grateful grace-dweller and Truth-revealer.

I want to lean in close like John and Mary did, believe and live as though I am His beloved.

The way I’ve travelled has been full of pain and pitfalls to fight through as much as it has been gifted with grace, but my years of yearning after Jesus will never end.

He is my everything, all the more as time passes and my deep dependency grows stronger in weakness.

As I prayed this morning, the words I sensed on my heart made their way into the poem below.

It may have taken longer than the allotted five minutes to write but it has become my contribution to the word “Follow” as I join Kate and fellow five-minute friday writers who spill out their heart-words for us to read and share. Come join us?

‘Pilgrim path’

Follow hard after God’s heart

Follow through dark valleys, rocky paths

Keep your mind aligned to Mine

Keep going though the Way seems blind

Yield yourself willingly

Surrender each day to Me

Watch where I am leading you

No matter where others are going to

My path is hard; My path is long

But I keep you steady and make you strong

Listen above all to My gentle voice

Quieten yourself away from life’s noise

Be an example; be a shining light

Show My love, My power and might

Reveal the world’s great need of Me

and how it’s seen in dependency

Come, My pilgrim child, take My hand

As you follow Me your life will expand

©JoyLenton2015

Being cloistered

April 9, 2015April 9, 2015 / Joy Lenton / 2 Comments

‘Cloistered’

Impatient, busy feet

cross the street from sunlight

to shade, preferring dark

in the shadowed cloisters

of their barren heart

They do not see You, still

and patient in their midst

Nor catch the uttered cry

light as butterfly wings

that sings into the air

already thick with Your words

Blind eyes and stone insides

remain mute to their touch

What will it take to make

a world awaken to

the wonder and glory of You?

©JoyLenton2015

Dear Father,

As the storms of life arise,

may we be cloistered within

your heart, kept safe and

sheltered within the calm blue

sea of your grace, held fast and

secure by the anchor of your

love and tethered to you by

faith and trust in Jesus

Christ our Lord

Amen

Friends, I’ve been cloistered inside for a few weeks, needing a time set aside for necessary recuperation and rest. And I want to say how much I appreciate your kind thoughts, comments and prayers as I’ve been recovering some energy.

I’m slowly discovering there’s no safer place to be than in the shadow of God’s wings. May you also find the help, support and comfort you need during your own seasons of withdrawing unto Him.

“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty (Whose power no foe can withstand). I will say of the Lord, He is my God; on Him I lean and rely and in Him I (confidently) trust!” ~ Psalm 91:1-2 (Amplified)

When you need rescuing

February 26, 2015February 26, 2015 / Joy Lenton / 14 Comments

When a season of turmoil, trial, testing and tribulations pull us into a deep pit, we long for rescue, for God’s quiet waters, stillness and calm to soothe us.

The freeing breath of peace seems elusive until we seek it in Him and not in our circumstances.

And find how faith in Christ becomes the stabilising anchor for our wandering, wilful souls thrown about in life’s stormy seas.

His grace is the means by which we endure and stay calm in the midst of chaos in our circumstances, mind and heart.

Adversity and affliction sift and refine us, make us come forth (eventually) as gold from the fiery furnace.

And they are made bearable by the recognition God is right here with us, in the heat of it all, ready to rescue and save as necessary.

Sometimes a holy agitation occurs which makes us sit up and sense His presence.

What I mean by ‘holy agitation’ is a gentle stirring on the inside, a Holy Spirit nudge, if you like, that grows stronger over time to alert our sleepy souls to His deeper reality and purpose for us.

‘Rescue’

My life feels stuck and stagnant,

mired in mud soul-deep

And as I stretch yearning arms

toward empty skies, I reach

a place where soft breeze

wrinkles water where I lie

An angel has passed by

to offer holy agitation

to set me free from

stagnation, from still pools,

with soft spools of Spirit sighs

An arm reaches down to mine

Across galaxies, across all time,

eternity of stars so bright

Ready to lift me up, rescue

from dark pit of night

My eyes raised high

from gloom and dim,

I feel the breath of Life

filling lungs with Light

and I cling hard to Him

©JoyLenton2015

Dear Reader and Friend,

You know something? Clinging hard to the Lord is where I’m at right now after a prolonged season of increasing sickness since Christmas. Being stubborn old me, I rested up as much as possible after having the flu, but also drove myself as hard as possible to appear relatively ‘normal’ again afterwards.

Apparently, a lot of folk with M.E are like that. Who knew? So I kept up my writing schedules and pulled back from all avoidable social media interaction for a while.

And now? I am deep bone-weary and weak. In need of further rest and sleep, restoration and recovery. In need of not only leaning into Lent but laying down for much of it. In need of putting first things first ~ God, family, health and so on.

Maybe you can relate? You don’t have to be suffering from M.E and chronic illness to feel drained and burnt out.

I’m sensing God saying this is a good time to take a break from blogging for a while, to stay under the protective shadow of His wings as He pours His love, refreshing rest and peace into body and soul.

So I am finally listening and doing just that ~ thinking I can hear a heavenly sigh of ‘At last’ as I do so! It means I will be missing here and on ‘Words of Joy’ for a bit, though I will be honouring my writing commitments elsewhere.

And you can catch up with me on my Facebook page because I could be posting there sometimes as God inspires, enables and indicates it’s fine to do so.

You can also stay in touch with me on my ‘Words of Joy’ Facebook page or connect with me on Twitter, Google + or Pinterest as I dip in and out of those places too.

Meanwhile, do feel free to dive into the archives and find something to bless and encourage you. And if you find something you like, please consider leaving a comment or sharing. Your thoughts and words matter. Thank you! May God bless you and keep you until we meet again. With love, Joy 🙂 ❤

A place of refuge

February 5, 2015 / Joy Lenton / 10 Comments

When the world wants too much from us and we have nothing left to give, when we are weary of waiting and hoping for change, when shame and pain have haunted our nights and days, when we long for a place of refuge and a person we can fully trust ~ to whom can we turn?

Only God can provide all the safety, healing, comfort and reassurance we need. We can crawl into His presence and be held fast.

Allow Abba Father to pour His unconditional love out on us. Be held. Be calmed. Be loved beyond all measure.

His arms are our sheltering place.

His heart is our home.

His love is our lasting comfort.

His joy is our strength.

His promises our hope.

His word our light and guide.

Friend, if you are hurting right now, if the world has wearied you, if you need a reliable person to trust and turn to then come, come to God and be helped.

He has been revealing to me lately that healing is a process, a gradual unfurling to God’s love, a continual learning from His word, a daily leaning on His mercy and grace and a laying down of all that keeps us captive to shame and disgrace.

Come and receive the sustenance your soul longs for. He is waiting to receive you as soon as you are willing to believe and turn to Him.

‘Safety’

Held fast in the circle

of Your embrace,

my weary head

falls to rest on

shoulders of strength.

Feeling my heartbeat

slow and steady

to match Your own.

Sense my breath

gulping deep,

drinking hard

the very air

You breathe.

There is no

condemnation here,

no fear, no pain

I can let go

tears and years

of struggle, of shame,

of hurt and fears

And asking questions

with no answers.

I can let go

deep-bone weariness,

weakness, sickness,

for they cannot abide

in Your presence.

For now it is just

You and me together

And I feel safe until

the material

world intrudes again.

©JoyLenton2014

Joining with encouraging friends

Holley ~ Coffee for Your Heart

Jennifer ~ Tell His Story

Bonnie~ Faith Barista’s Beloved Brews

Reverberations of grace

January 19, 2015 / Joy Lenton / 10 Comments

God meets with us in the dust and detritus of our daily lives.

Here, right where we are, planted in ordinary, He grants us tastes of His extraordinary ways.

Sacred spaces exist in the secular. Holy sounds can be found all around.

And as I lay resting more than before, trying to recover from flu-induced extra weariness and weakness, God has been meeting with me most in the everyday.

Touching me with tenderness, revealing reminders of His grace, bringing beauty out of the ashes of adversity.

Yes, I yearn for strength, energy and ability to walk the earth, feel grass beneath my feet.

I long to be by the sea, sniff coastal breezes, breathe deep.

Yet here, confined as my life might currently be, there is no constraint which God’s Spirit cannot overcome.

He finds a way to whisper to hungry hearts, to touch limited lives with His liveliness.

Here’s what I heard while at rest recently…

‘Ripples’

Ripples of sound reverberate through

radiators like discordant chimes

They remind me of times when I can

blow hot and cold in my emotions

and require God’s radiant heat

to slow and steady me

with the warmth of its beat

Swish-bend of trees, reaching high

then low to earth is a dance

stirred by Holy Spirit sighs

And it reminds me of the need

to remain supple in my soul

while God oils each crack and crevice

of its bark to make me whole

White-plumped pillows cradling

my head as I slumber-rest

within this bed are reminders

of the way I’m held fast

in God’s loving embrace as He

speaks peace to soothe this hour

and gently smooth out the days

Curtains closed to guard light-wary

eyes against invading bright rays

provide a shield whereby

I’m reminded of protection

from above, where worldly

darkness can never conceal

penetrating grace and love

©JoyLenton2015

*Manna crumbs*

Home comforts:hot drinks, meals, company and conversation, bed, quiet and dark where needed

Symptoms less severe, improvement knocking at the door, healing closer than before

Being soothed by God’s voice when my soul grows fretful, noisy in its haste to be well

Given whispered poetic words to share

Seeing grace reverberating in daily life ~ here, there and everywhere ~ #1000gifts of grace

Invitation to rest

January 15, 2015 / Joy Lenton / 7 Comments

A new year unfurls slow, reluctant as snowdrops to show itself before due time.

Patience is required to see its full potential, the beauty it will bring forth arising from seeming deadness.

Life throbs beneath the surface; its urgent beat calling us to rise. There’s no time to lose. Let’s seize the day! Not a moment to waste.

Only… so many of us are just plain weary, worn-out and unwell or just sick and tired of feeling sick and tired.

We can barely get out of bed, never mind leave our mark on the day.

We sense sand slipping through our fingers and want to claw it back, halt the progress until we can face things again.

Or you may be fired up, all systems go, running on an adrenaline-fuelled rush. An eager-beaver racing against the clock.

However this day finds you, would you pause a while and let God refill and refuel you?

Will you come empty, with hands wide open, into His loving arms?

He is waiting to offer you rest, pour His peace into heart and mind as He shares His plans for you this year.

Come linger; come listen, draw near; come hear and be strengthened.

The invitation is always open. Are you ready?

‘Welcome’

When I am busy and burdened,

You welcome me into Your rest

When I am cold, indifferent,

You welcome me into Your Love

When I am lost and lonely,

You welcome me into Your embrace

When I am poor and needy,

You welcome me into Your best

At all times

In all ways

You offer me a Home

A place of refuge

A safe haven

An oasis of peace

A covering of mercy

A hymn of praise

A way to be free

A mantle of grace

©JoyLenton2015

I aim to make more space for resting in God because He has invited me to take ‘Rest’ as the defining #oneword365 for 2015. And it’s never been more needful as I try to recover from a bout of flu.

I hope you will be able to join me on the journey here and over at ‘Words of Joy’. as I explore the depths of rest. Your company is greatly appreciated.

Do you struggle with switching off, relaxing or resting as much as you need to?

Please feel free to share what helps or hinders your progress. I love to hear from you.

Believe and receive

October 7, 2014 / Joy Lenton / Leave a comment

As busy bees we go about our days, barely pausing to savour the moment or smell the roses.

Yet even bees pause, stop and seek out the nectar in each individual flower. They taste, enjoy, feed and then move on.

So absorbed in their task they seem heedless of distractions.

We are more likely to be easily distracted and fail to fully engage with one task before finding another to occupy us.

Shutting out the world’s noise and voice is a challenge we all have. It shouts so loud with an impatient impertinence, demanding to be heard.

But if we can find ways to draw back, step away and seek a sanctuary of silence, we are rewarded beyond measure.

Not only do we hear the outpourings of our own soul rising to the surface, we also make a spiritual white-space for God to whisper close.

And as we attune our inner ears to His voice we are in a good position to both believe and receive.

For our inner thirst and deep soul hunger can only be truly satisfied by His unconditional and eternal love.

No-one else can meet all our needs and answer the ones we haven’t even thought about, never mind prayed for as yet.

Shall we try?

Can we switch off in order to plug in to all that is essential to our health and well-being?

It will take great perseverance and persistence but it will provide far more than we ever knew we needed.

I’m willing to make way for holy moments in the mundane.

My soul seeks after God’s own heart. I crave the insights, wisdom and encouragement I receive from His word and in whispered conversations too.

I long for His touch upon my life, His healing for every wound and His mercy and grace for all my brokenness.

My body sinks weary into His embrace and finds comfort there. He holds me strong on my weakest days.

Will you join me? I hope so. Let’s take a pause from busyness and lean hard into quiet reverence instead.

God is waiting…

This poem is part of my #31days of writing brave and free as I attempt to eschew perfectionism and aim for a regular outpouring of poetry or prose based on listening deeper to God’s voice. You can find out more over at my sister blog ‘Words of Joy’ where I am posting regularly too.

Hearts on pilgrimage

September 17, 2014September 17, 2014 / Joy Lenton / 6 Comments

Reaching significant life markers can feel like a line being drawn in the sand.

Behind it may lie years of fruitful abundance, times of activity and usefulness.

In front is an unknown, untried, untested future ~ trusted to a known God.

My line in the sand came in my 30’s when I was working as a nurse.

I was struck down, laid low with M.E, and other chronic illness followed hot on its heels.

Time shuddered to a halt. A life divided into ‘now’ and ‘then’. I soon forgot what it felt like to feel well.

God used the time to good effect. As I began to mourn the loss of health and career, He made me lie down by His still waters to examine my soul.

Provided good Christian counselling to encourage me to unearth my painful past and bring me into a place of greater release and freedom.

After nearly 10 years of weekly counselling sessions, I was finally emotionally healed from most of the events that had shaped me as a growing child/adult and poisoned my mind and heart.

Though some lingering after-effects continue to impact my life.

They too require the Healer’s ongoing tender touch.

Now, I remain a sojourner. A heart still set on pilgrimage.

“Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage” ~ Psalm 84:5

My soul is still seeking safety, sanctuary and strength on a daily basis as it leans heavy on the Lord.

For we never stay the same, even if our circumstances do.

We are all growing, evolving, maturing and learning day by day.

And God never stops teaching us about Himself:the wonders of His love, the marvel of His grace, the sweetness of His Presence.

I may have just passed another milestone on the way to heaven, but I will never get beyond my desperate need of God.

We are built to yearn for Him, to desire to know Him, to set our hearts on following after His will and ways.

Because that’s the only certainty we have in this uncertain world ~ our God is totally loving, totally trustworthy and totally faithful to His children.

God’s best won’t necessarily look good to us while we are experiencing it, and often not until we understand what He is doing and allowing, but it will heal and deliver us in His own perfect timing and way.

‘On pilgrimage’

Marching on is the nature of souls

in search of becoming healed and whole

Our pilgrimage can span many long years

as we learn to walk bold and conquer fears

Stumbling through valleys deep with sand

we reach out for God’s proffered hand

When weak, worn out and weary we fall

we’re lifted up by the One who sees all

Blinded by tears we lose our way

God ensures we don’t go astray

Discouragement comes and hearts can fail

until we remember the Blood and nails

Our Saviour Lord trod this earthly soil

experienced its pain, suffering and toil

And when we follow hard after Him

He grants us strength when life looks grim

©JoyLenton2014

Linking here with Beth, Holley, and other like-minded friends as we seek to encourage one another in our walk of life and faith

Aspects of hope

June 18, 2014June 19, 2014 / Joy Lenton / 14 Comments

One of the saddest things in life is to be so beaten down by our circumstances that we lose hope, albeit temporarily.

It is said that as long as there is life there is hope.

I believe we need hope to stir us into life. Aspects of hope to revive us.

Without it our dreams die, joy withers, apathy and resignation take the place of purposeful activity.

Our hope in God is not false comfort, or a misplaced yearning.

Rather, it is a courageous leap of faith where we believe in God’s impossibly wonderful grace and goodness, and discover that they are the surest thing possible.

Only God can bring beauty from ashes, joy out of adversity, and praise out of despair.

He shines His light in the darkest of places and overcomes the darkness. His Light will never be extinguished. It blazes hot into eternity.

All may look gloomy and grim...but God… can change our attitude within.

We trust in His power to breathe life into what seems dead.

To help us to hang on when we are at the end of our rope.

All it takes is a flicker of faith to ignite a spark of hope out of hopelessness.

So don’t lose heart or hope, my friend.

Turn to His word and receive the promises wrapped up in hope.

Come boldly before the throne of grace and be refueled and refreshed.

Lay down your weary head and let go of all that weighs heavy on you.

God is waiting to pour His love out on you and stir the embers of hope back into life again.

‘Hope’

Hope deferred

makes a heart sicken

countenance gloom, eyes dim,

mood of doom, no joy within,

shoulders sink, frame bending,

tears blink, misery descending

Hope heard

makes a heart quicken

chin lifting, quavery glow,

something is shifting we know,

a tiny flicker rises again

no candle-wick snuffed out by Him

Hope stirred

makes a heart begin

to survive onslaughts

and thrive against aught

devouring God’s word, we heed

its message believed and received

©JoyLenton2014

Linking here with Beth, Holley and Jennifer

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Poetry Joy

sensing the sacred in the everyday

faith

Aim at heaven

The way of discipleship

Being cloistered

When you need rescuing

A place of refuge

‘Safety’

Reverberations of grace

Invitation to rest

Believe and receive

Hearts on pilgrimage

Aspects of hope

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‘Safety’

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