grace

Concealed and revealed

/ Joy Lenton / 8 Comments

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

Come empty

/ Joy Lenton / 14 Comments

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

/ Joy Lenton / 17 Comments

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’

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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. 

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A new identity

/ Joy Lenton / 14 Comments

believe who we are in Christ ~ PJ file image

 

Letting go of our past and embracing the future can feel like a step too far.

It’s all we know. Our one certainty is where we’ve come from. Where we’re going to is another matter entirely.

Hearts quake and courage fails. It’s hard to believe for what we cannot see.

Leaving our Egypt behind to enter the Promised Land feels unsafe, dangerous even.

Questions rise to our lips ~ “What if?…” rules. Where is our ‘brave’ when we need it?

How different is it when God calls us to believe who we already are in Christ but we hang back, uncertain, doubting?

Such is the battle I’ve been facing as I attempt to live pre-approved by God.

Those dirty rags of sin and shame? They cling close as weeds, strangling hope and choking forward momentum.

Yet, we are clothed in new garments as believers in Christ.

His death and resurrection to glory paved the way for us to be arrayed in a robe of righteousness.

A Divine exchange took place at the cross ~ our sin, sorrow, shame, sickness and pain for His mercy, grace,  forgiveness, healing and restoration.

God already sees us as perfected, beautiful and whole in Christ. The hard part is seeing, accepting and believing it for ourselves.

Maybe a glimpse of the future we have in eternity will help.

Here’s a link to ‘Casting Crowns’ song, ‘Wedding Day’ which speaks of how we are the Bride of Christ, wearing white, pure and spotless in His sight.

And this is  a prayer whisper God spoke into my life recently. My hope and prayer is that it will bless and encourage you too.

What helps you to feel more secure as a new person in Christ?

Do feel free to join in the conversation below.

prayer whisper image

‘Prayer Whisper’ ~ ‘New Identity’

“Let go of the shame and reproach that sit heavy on you. I have taken them from away. You are washed clean by the blood of the Lamb. My robe of righteousness covers you. It is enough, more than enough for all sin.

Do not grieve over your sin each day; consider them dead. They have been covered by grace, mercy and forgiveness. Instead, look up; look to the Son and be radiant. Bask in My Love-Light.

You wear robes fit for the child of a King. Those stinking rags of filth and sin do not fit who you are any more.

Reach out each day for My grace. Embrace your new identity in Me and clothe yourself with garments of praise and thankfulness. I have taken all reproach from you. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Pick up the mantle of mercy and wrap it close around you. Remember My loving arms encircle you at all times. There is nothing you can do to make Me love you less; and there is nothing you can do to make Me love you more.”

Linking here with Holley, Rebekah and Jennifer as we seek to encourage your heart with a word today and tell His story of love, mercy, redemption and grace

girl wearing robes fit for the child of a King ~ PJ new identity file image pin

Mosaic of a marriage

/ Joy Lenton / 6 Comments

mosaic image for PJ mosaic of a marriage

 

Nobody can fully appreciate or understand the dynamics, anatomy and intricacies of a marriage, apart from the couple intimately involved in it.

And even then, much remains a holy mystery.

We are husband and wife, friends and lovers joined together in union and communion with God and one another.

Two become one in mind, body, soul and spirit in a divine alchemy of grace.

My marriage is heavily grace-dependent.

My background, experiences and personal problems have gradually made me someone other than the relatively carefree young woman I used to be.

As I’ve tried to work through a legacy of dysfunctional family life, childhood abuse, guilt and shame, (and the mental health breakdown they gave me) the one linked inextricably with me has also lived through it all.

Now, after more than 20 years of having M.E and chronic illness, my ability to be the wife he needs and wants is hampered further still.

Though we have struggled a great deal (and continue to do so), some things shine out bright and clear as I look back over the years:

Love will always find a way where there seems to be no way.

Faith can endure all things if it’s faith rooted in God and His sustaining power.

Hope may wither but it rarely dies.

Joy comes in unexpected places and circumstances.

Grace is a prerequisite for a godly life and marriage.

God gives us all we’ll ever need ~ even if we rarely have all we want.

In musing on these things over the last few days it is no great surprise that my mind turned to this territory to write about today.

And as I do so, I rejoice over the masterpiece God is creating out of the messy mosaic of my life and marriage.

‘Mosaic of a marriage’

Nothing in our courtship could have prepared

our youthful, hopeful, joy-filled hearts

for the prolonged grief and pain we’ve shared

or the need for so many fresh starts

Nothing in my mind could have foreseen

how very hard and challenging

living with me would have been

more your worst nightmare than dream

For we have been tried and tested

as gold goes through the fire

refined, processed and sifted

retaining heat, passion and desire

Nothing I can say will make up

for numerous ways I’ve let you down

You’ve had a bitter pill to swallow

gaining a face wreathed with frowns

But we, who are nothing without

the sustaining power of God

have finally made Something

of this life and path we’ve trod

Given grace from the One

who pours out His love every day

Given faith to persevere

when nothing’s gone our way

So I love you imperfectly

just as I am

and you’ve accepted my offering

a meagre nothing to the feelings

found within my man

Thank God for new beginnings

Praise Him for being true

Give Him the glory for making

faithful, if faltering, lovers

out of me and you

©JoyLenton2014

Joining with Lisa-Jo for #fiveminutefriday (yes, I ran over time!) ~ this week’s prompt is:‘Nothing’. You are very welcome and warmly invited to join in. Linking also with Mel and Laura

You can read more about how the issues above have affected my marriage in this post from Words of Joy.

I share openly in the hope of encouraging others to know they can live with and rise above their circumstances by the grace of God.

mosaic of a marriage file image on PJ pin

Where we see holes

/ Joy Lenton / 3 Comments

holes ~ tankaHow do you see your life?

Maybe, like mine, it’s full of holes.

Areas of unfulfilled plans, uncertainty, pain and turmoil sit side by side with love, laughter and joy from above.

And those messed up places look like empty, wasted spaces in what could be a full and flourishing patch.

Garden grown crazy, weed-ridden. Can’t see the wood for the trees.

Only.. Light has a way of seeping through, turning fallowed into hallowed ground.

Bringing beauty out of ashes. Joy from despair.

Grace-occupied space is never wasted.

Here lies hope, potential, holy ground.

New life to come from the old.

A making way for growth and harvest in due time.

Let’s see it and believe it. Trust our days and ways to God.

Look for colour and brightness in the darkest of spaces.

See its fronds filtering through. Realise there is purpose in the midst of pain. New life is springing forth.

Promise poking through those holey places, held fast by the glue of His grace.

Bringing transformation, change and healing.

holes ~ tanka poem pin 2

 

Vibrancy

/ Joy Lenton / 4 Comments

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Within the darkest recess of soil life stirs.

It cannot be held back for ever.

There is seed bursting forth. New growth appears. Fruit will come.

Arid, dry desert places give way to lush green, verdant growth.

In the Winter of our souls,  entombed hearts awaken to Life. Resurrection. Gasp of freedom.

Sense hope rising and faith stirring.

Vibrancy in the air; pulsation of purpose.

An awakening.

Call to rise up.

A new season has begun.

Yesterday’s mistakes, pain and problems can be laid aside, cast at the Saviour’s feet.

Grace calls us forward, upward and onward. Readies us for change.

The old is left behind as we welcome and embrace this day, this moment, this gift of new beginnings.

Gratitude grows strong in hearts ready to receive God’s best.

geranium leaf ~ vibrancy tanka poem pin 2

 

The road less travelled

/ Joy Lenton / 6 Comments

We tread a familiar pathway in this season of hope and renewal.

Walk through the Easter story with a weight of wonder.

Marvel anew at all our Lord went through as He trod the sand-blown, palm-strewn, hosanna-resounding, hostility-riven, nail-driven path to Calvary.

Our dark valleys and nights of the soul pale into insignificance beside Christ’s ordeal at Gethsemane.

Begging for the cup of suffering and sorrow to pass Him by.

Heart and soul in dread.

Sweating ruby-red from furrowed forehead.

Agonised at the thought of torment to come.

Never more fully human and fully God than in these heart-wrenching, lonely, decisive moments in history.

Friends slept oblivious as He waged war internally for our souls’ sake.

Faced being pinioned to a cross. Ready to accept all sin and loss.

Held captive so we could walk free in glorious grace-filled liberty.

Beating a path toward freedom as nails bite into torn, flailed flesh.

Thorns pierce deep and pain sears all senses.

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Here lies Love ~  unconditional and immeasurable ~ greater than anything we will ever know.

He took the road less travelled and takes us with Him too.

Ponder His Passion.

Poured out wine of His royal blood Divine.

Pursue the pathway.

Be taken to the cross.

Meet with glory.

Live to tell this eternal story.

cross image ~ You take me tanka poem pin

It began in a garden

/ Joy Lenton / Leave a comment

It began in a garden.

With a serpent’s hissed seed sown.

Temptation lurked near.

Belief and trust wavered.

Disobedience followed with a seeing, desiring, reaching out, touching and tasting.

Sin entered in with accompanying guilt and shame.

Naked awareness.

Desires laid bare.

Souls adrift on an ocean of uncertainty.

Estranged. Lives rearranged. Everything changed.

Banished and burdened. Empty and lost.

Needing hope and healing. Saving at any cost.

Relationship broken by the Fall. Father God gave His all..

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” ~ John 3:16-17

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crucifixion ~ grace haiku image pin

Colour my world

/ Joy Lenton / 3 Comments

There are days when all feels dark and dismal.

Clouds hang heavy and hearts sink low.

Drained of all energy or brightness.

We long for colour and vitality.

Signs of Life. Hope. Faith.

Sense the stirring as earth wakens to Spring.

Feel an inner awakening birthing joy and light.

Encouragement emerges  to lift weary spirits.

Seek goodness and grace as seen in our Saviour’s face

“I sought the Lord and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; and their faces are never covered with shame” ~ Psalm 34:4-5

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‘Colour my world’

Colour my world a rosy hue

with splashes of calming green and blue

Paint over each trace of gloomy grey

ashes be gone, erase sadness today

Mix in some vibrant purple-shaded hues

so spiritual power becomes renewed

Add fine threads of gold, glowing bright

glimmers of grace reveal Your light

Discard all dark, inky-black stains

reminders of any loss or pain

Orange to add life and energy

as You pour daily strength into me

Remember to leave some brilliant white

space on the canvas ~ just out of sight

©JoyLenton2014

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