poetry

Moments in time

/ Joy Lenton / 13 Comments

That ‘Monday morning’ feeling can sneak up on a person. Blues breathe their fumes all over the day, leaking into the rest of the week.

Maybe I’m feeling my age. A body’s aches and pains pave the way to pivotal thinking.

A new week begins and life moves on. There is no way to grasp back time.

Maybe I’m more aware of my mortality.

This life spans out with defined end points. A gateway to the grave.

And I am hungry to redeem whatever time is left. Capture the essence of it all.

Be aware of each precious moment.

Live with an attitude of gratitude.

Listen to my life.

“Listen for him. Listen to the sweet and bitter airs of your present and your past for the sound of him” ~ Frederick Beuchner

Hear Holy Spirit speaking. Sense His whispers on the wind.

Heed the call to live life as fully and freely as possible.

Because each breath and each day is gift; every moment is grace.

And I know I need to be ready to embrace change ~ even as I cling to God’s grace to let go of familiar.

‘Time’

Centuries chronicle events in cement

Hours herald a pause, point, purpose

Rivers run into tides of transformation

Omega opens a final pathway to tread

No mere mortal can stem the flow

Old originating in the new, ad infinitum

Seconds, seasons and sadness signal its passing

©JoyLenton2014

‘Chronos’

Time on the move 

 a barely perceptible stream

which goes before  

 flows in-between and after

time as the future

 passing through the present

 and becoming the past

 sequential  and eventual

sliding on fast

 to its final descent

©JoyLenton2014

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven” ~ Ecclesiastes 3:1

How do you feel about redeeming the time and making the most of the moments?

 

Lost time

/ Joy Lenton / 10 Comments

Do you ever wonder where time disappears to? Me too.

Each and every one of us has the same 24 hour allocation yet none of us will spend those hours in exactly the same way.

As an M.E and chronic illness sufferer, time may seem endless in terms of hoping for improvement and recovery.

Sleep can prove elusive and erratic.

Rest is far from restful if pain intrudes too much.

The life I dream of seems to slip through my fingers like grains of sand while I scramble to catch them.

Where did all those wasted minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, and even years go?

I was laid low,  or slept through many of them.

Moans at midnight.  Sighs at dawn.  A body rising stiff to greet a day already half over for many.

Here I am:

A woman with training and experience that lies wasted.

A nurse needing care myself.

A poet penning in PJs.

A wife without the means to be a proper helpmate or companion.

I wrote the poem below at such a time of introspection. It spoke for how I felt then and may speak into your situation too.

‘Black Hole’

There’s a space

in my life

where time disappears

down a black hole

already littered

with discarded hopes

dreams and desires

enough to fill

several craters

stacked high

or light

a multitude

of funeral pyres

Where does it all go?

How do these things

slip away

from my grasp

writhing hither and thither

with eel-like slither

when all I want

to do

is clasp them

to my heart

and cry, “Stay!”

Maybe I’ve

risked too much

extended thought

and expended energy

on things not

really meant to be

some crazy schemes

foolish inanities

to become

a bonfire

of the vanities

©JoyLenton2013

And yet..

This is looking at things from a limited human perspective only.

Time is redeemable when our days and ways are surrendered to the One beyond its restrictions.

He uses everything in our lives for His purposes. Not a crumb is wasted.

How do you feel about time disappearing? 

It’s not about me

/ Joy Lenton / 11 Comments

It doesn’t take us long once we have become a Christian to see that there’s a huge obstacle blocking our progress in  the walk of faith ~ ourselves.

We have been accustomed to living an ego-driven-centric life, whether aware of it or not.

From infancy onwards, the soul is naturally set in gaining satisfaction from its needs being met.

We survive and thrive because of it.

But as believers in Christ we have a whole new set of values to live by.

Surrender and submission become the hallmark of a life given over to God.

It’s all about Him. His will and ways. His purposes being fulfilled.

Though God doesn’t seek to be in relationship with unthinking robots. He won’t gatecrash our thinking either.

We play our part in gradually opening up more of ourselves to Him, and He fills and floods more areas of our lives with His healing, restoring Presence.

All is made new ~ over time, testing and trials ~ as faith and trust are stretched and perseverance and wisdom grows.

Until we realise we prefer His ways to our ways and can see the wonder of a life enlivened by His Spirit.

I’m still learning after many years on this pathway. It can take a lifetime to become more like Jesus.

But it is so worth it if His beauty can be seen in you and me and shine out to bless and encourage others.

Because we’re never more truly ourselves (as He created us to be) than when we’re revealing His glory and grace in our lives.

‘All about me’

An insistent voice making a continual plea,

calling, “What about me, what about me?”

Deceptively soft, subdued, until clawing

its way through our resistance, drowning

out all, rising clear and loud,

shouting out, now strong and proud,

it appears deafening to our ears

Life can beat to its persistent drum, it’s

surging flow and constant thrum, or we

can choose to turn the volume low,

rendering things steady and slow

by a huge effort of the will, grit of teeth,

shake of head, and a defiant refusal

to pay attention to what is said

But our best efforts are rendered vain

when its piercing cry pounds relentless

as rain, and we can no longer ignore

all that it seeks to impart and implore,

and with much pushing and pressing succeeds

in driving us forward with undue speed ~

for ego is desperate to be top of the game

How can we learn to be less, not more,

and allow Holy Spirit’s voice to soar?

How do we submit when all inside

cries to be first and to override

those gentle whispers on the wind

from our most loving, faithful Friend?

I wish I knew…..how about you?

©JoyLenton2014

Joining here with Diana and other like-minded questioning souls as we ask:“What’s with this ‘more of Jesus and less of me stuff?'” And with fellow thoughtful sisters Lyli, Mel and Jennifer

Out of Egypt

/ Joy Lenton / 9 Comments

When a friend prayed with me a few years ago, she sensed she had a word from God she needed to share.

It was more of a question really.

It seems God was repeating a personal word I’d heard some time before from our Pastor, yet not fully understood or heeded at the time.

He asked, “Are you prepared to leave Egypt behind?”

As I prayed and puzzled over this, it soon became clear that ‘Egypt’ represented those things which held me captive, were enslaving me to some extent and preventing forward momentum.

Eager as I may have been to let go of them, in many ways they represented all that had become close and familiar.

For example, my childhood was riddled with abuse and dysfunction. I hated it but I knew no different.

Growing up under its shadow was all I knew to be ‘normal’, the very fabric of my being, a deep part of who I was as a person.

In order for full healing to take place, I needed to unearth the dark places in my soul, recognise the pain, address it with appropriate help and support, and find a way to live free of its effects.

It took many years of counselling before a large degree of emotional healing occurred in that area.

Now it felt like God was asking this question of my life in general.

Was I ready for seeing life through the lens of His word rather than viewing everything from my experiences?

Could I accept, believe and receive the truth of who I am in Christ?

By faith in Christ, we are:redeemed, renewed, radically and deeply loved, forgiven, free from guilt and shame, forever set free to live without walls, given every resource we need to be whole and healed….and so much more besides.

He longs for us to see ourselves in the mirror of His word rather than viewing the distorted images playing in our minds.

We all have areas in our lives which need transformation, change and healing.

Our willingness to allow access to them in order for healing to take place is another matter entirely.

I’ve written about this more openly and shared what is helping me in this post from Words of Joy.

The poem below is an acknowledgement of how hard it can be to move forward.

‘Leaving Egypt’

When the prison you know

has walls papered over

with past experiences

faded, worn and torn,

fraying round edges,

it can still feel cosy

warm and familiar

like a house,

a home boxed in

with hedges.

We cling to what we know

with surprising tenacity

in spite of pain

leaching into our souls,

a heavy weight with capacity

to drown us in

suffocate breath and life,

holding us down

hard and fast

in an embalmed state.

Leaving Egypt behind

to enter our Promised Land

can feel like strange unravelling,

so we dig heels stiff,

resistant, into hot sand,

with each tender step

we tentatively take

a reminder of how far

we still have to travel

for our safety’s sake

©JoyLenton2013

Fuel to light a fire

/ Joy Lenton / 16 Comments

In these dark days of Winter we need all the help we can get to stay hopeful and encouraged.

Some seasons of the soul have their own gloomy aspect.

Fog swims in to cloud our vision.

Hope gets lost. Despair can set in. Depression is at its heels.

How can we encourage ourselves? Here are a few ideas:

Stay focussed on the positive. There is always a glimmer of light somewhere.

Keep a daily gratitude journal.

Nurture yourself inwardly and outwardly.

Feed on God’s word.

Seek the balm of friendship and support from loved ones.

Finding ways to help and encourage others will restore joy to our own souls too.

Some more thoughts on encouragement for #fiveminutefriday where we pour out words as God gives grace:

START…

‘Encouragement’

Encouragement is the fuel which lights a fire

of hope to all our dreams and desires.

Life can seem worth living again

under the sprinkle of its refreshing rain.

A word in due season can impart

a soothing balm to a broken heart,

Holy oil to bathe wounds and hurts

as it pours into everywhere we insert.

Life-giving, enhancing, gift and grace

to anoint and energise us for our race.

Whether by caring word or deed

we sow love and kindness seed.

And it gives and gives and gives some more

returning to us when we’re wretched and poor,

lighting a spark when energy is low

providing far more than we’ll ever know.

So God encourages us all to strive

to pour this gift into another’s life ~ 

A listening ear, understanding, a hand to hold,

words and actions together make it twofold;

let it be given as we also enjoy receiving

the reassurance it offers to keep on believing.

©JoyLenton2014

STOP.

Joining here with Lisa-Jo, Mel and Laura and other brave and bold creatives as we share what God lays on our heart .

And for further encouragement ~ because don’t we just need it? ~ here’s a link to my writer friend James Prescott’s site where he specialises in the subject and has some great free resources to offer you too. Just click on his name to be taken there.

The art of listening

/ Joy Lenton / 12 Comments

Listening closely to how God is operating in our lives and the world around us has the potential to renew our minds, increase our joy, and help us to maintain an attitude of gratitude.

All this takes place as we record what we see, sense and hear through eyes, heart and spirit.

But in a world of chaos and noise we can struggle to hear Him.

“Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world” ~ C.S Lewis

As I attempt to put into operation my #oneword365 of ‘listen’, I know it will be a test and a challenge.

What helps you to listen to God’s voice? 

Please share in the comments below.

‘The art of listening’

Lord,

Sometimes I feel like I’m drowning in a sea of words

where voices everywhere are clamouring to be heard

above all that’s really necessary as a life-belt for my soul.

And all it craves is to avoid sinking into despair and doubt

while being tossed about on waves of opinion and uncertainty.

For I’m slowly discovering that the art of listening

is a spiritual discipline akin to any other, requiring

great patience and humility, both of which

I sorely lack in my heart’s vocabulary.

So I find I am being thrown hard

on penitential knees in an effort

to find ways to serve and please You.

May I seek Your Presence, find wisdom and discern

as I listen, lean and learn to pay attention and to heed

the essence of all You are saying 

in a myriad of ways to me here ~ today.

And may I follow willingly, instead of going

mindlessly about my own way

©JoyLenton2014

 

Words for wounded warriors

/ Joy Lenton / 7 Comments

In a season where there is more physical and emotional challenge than usual, it helps to think of others who are also in need.

So many wear smiles on the outside yet feel broken inside.

So many give and give and give some more until they are left as limp, worn-out rags.

It can take all the courage we can muster just to face another day.

And often the most holy thing we can do is just to take a nap.

A heart can ache heavy with unspoken fears and cares.

We can feel alone in a sea of faces.

We can move heaven and earth for our loved ones only to be rejected or neglected.

Try as we might, we cannot suppress all the pain we carry.

As I reflect more on my life in an effort to hear all God may be saying to me, I find myself thrown to my knees more often than not.

And there I discover the One who inhabits all the hard places we find ourselves in.

God’s grace crawls into every crack and crevice of our days.

All the mess and mayhem, muddle and struggle are known to Him.

So we pray…

‘A prayer for the hurting’

God bless the wounded warriors,

the ones who crawl and cry through,

those who press in and press on 

with leaking eyes and leaking wounds,

the battle-scarred and beaten down.

Bless the broken-hearted, bleeding and bruised

 reeds rubbed raw by those who have 

rubbished and rejected them,

those who can barely lift their face

weighed heavy with shame and disgrace.

Hold those who cannot hold on another minute,

whose lives are fear-filled,

whose faces are tear-filled,

who feel empty of worth and value

of no repute, cast aside, left behind.

Keep safe the ones who are drowning,

whose days and nights 

drip with disappointment,

dread, darkness and torment 

of body and soul.

Cradle the lonely;

let your love wash over them,

embrace their emptiness

and fill with the companionship

that only Your Presence provides.

Come alongside the misunderstood,

the marginalised,

the misfits,

the mayhem makers

and risk takers.

Bring strength to the weary,

grace for the weak,

hope for the hurting,

freedom for captives,

peace for the pain.

The path is long, the way is hard,

finishing line too far to see

as we drag there on our knees,

dry and thirsty for relief

desperate for some ease.

Walk with us as you did of old

on sand-crusted shore,

dirt-trodden pathways,

seeking and saving 

those who are lost.

For we need you, Lord Jesus;

Your return seems far off,

We fight and we fail,

shout, cry and rail,

for a touch from above.

Amen

©JoyLenton2013

 “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out” ~ Isaiah 42:3

This poetic prayer lament appeared first on Words of Joy. It is a heart’s cry God delights to answer. Hungry, hurting hearts will always find grace to help in time of need.

May it bless you to read it here and remember that God is with you in every trouble, trial and testing. If you would like me to pray for a specific need, please reply in the comments below.

And keep in mind that God loves you so much, just as you are ~ He really does ~ and wants above all things for you to seek His face in the everyday challenges of life.

Burning bright and clear

/ Joy Lenton / 10 Comments

The lights are going out everywhere.

Decorations put away for another year.

Brightness losing to grey and gloom.

But what if we deliberately make room for it?

With ‘listen’ being my #oneword365, I aim to use all of my senses more fully.

And as a personal writing challenge this year, I am starting with 31 days of being more mindful.

Notice normal.

Find ordinary extraordinary.

Turn away from doom and drear.

Let my interest in life burn bright and clear.

See God’s goodness and grace all over the place.

Savour the flavour of life ‘As Is’ in a way I may not have done before.

It began on January 1st with this #smallstone offering:

And it has continued since as I’ve shared them on social media. Not aiming for perfection ~ just attention to detail ~ I will share some of them here with you too.

Today’s poem came from reflecting on the change of season and end of Christmas/New Year celebrations.

Maybe I can encourage and inspire you to actively listen to your life and find greater joy and discovery in the everyday? I hope so.

‘Evergreen’

Embracing a new year

means that Christmas decorations

tend to disappear

and all its celebrations

are at an end

Though God’s Light

is not suspended

but shining bright and clear

it remains to comfort and to cheer

Burning evergreen in our souls

perfect for every season

it is the very reason

we are healed, restored, made whole

throughout the year

as it leads, guides and directs

our pathways here

©JoyLenton2014

Sensing His Presence

/ Joy Lenton / 15 Comments

Come away for a while. Sink into a comfortable seat. Resist all rush and hurry. Rest your weary body. Ready yourself to receive from the Lord.

Breathe deep ~ be calm ~ find a place of stillness and peace.

God is with us ~ we are on holy ground.

Seeking the supernatural in the natural.

Experiencing the extraordinary in the ordinary.

Each time we make space for God’s glorious Presence, He enlarges our appetite for it ~ a holy hunger develops.

The new year could be a time ~ of deliberate listening ~ to those Holy echoes in mind and heart ~ whispers on the wind ~ as God imparts His life to us ~ in a journey without end.

In the awareness, attention is required, a stilling of the soul, a watching and waiting, every sense attuned and alert.

I have heard prayer whispers intermittently throughout this year, and they are speaking to me more as I re-read them.

Now I sense a call, not just to ‘Come’ and approach His throne of grace but to linger, lean hard, and listen… the word He has given me for 2014.

And the first thing to heed is how God makes Himself known to us in myriad ways as the poem below describes.

‘I AM’

I AM

earthquake and volcano’s fiery outpour

waves lapping gently on the shore

wind ripping leaves straight off the trees

the soft caress of a mid-summer breeze

Grey fog and mist obscuring the view

an irredescent-coloured rainbow hue

a wake-up trumpet’s strident sound

peace and stillness in the air around

I AM

The One who has tasted salty tears

brought joy and comfort to your years

stamped upon all your enemies and foes

walked Earth with sand beneath my toes

Who felt forsaken on the cross

as I defeated sin, death and loss

cried out in nail-pierced agony

to secure your forgiveness and set you free

I AM

The Lion of Judah’s victory roar

as I keep you safe for evermore

blood and water, Spirit and Life

to heal, restore and deliver from strife

Songs of praise without an end

your beloved and closest Friend

echoes throughout human history

whispers on the wind ~ Holy mystery

©JoyLenton2013

I would be honoured if you would join me in learning how to listen better to God in 2014 as I aim to keep a prayer journal, share ‘Prayer Whispers’ and poetic inspirations here and write longer blog posts about my discoveries on Words of Joy.

May you be filled with a sense of awe and wonder and be greatly blessed in seeking and sensing His Presence in the year ahead. You can also join in with #oneword365 here.

Happy New Year to you!

On the cusp

/ Joy Lenton / 8 Comments

Here we stand. On the cusp of uncertainty. Hovering at the edge.

On the brink of possibilities, potential or pitfalls.

Where hope and fear meet. Expectation rises.

Here lies a blank sheet waiting to be inscribed like the pages of a new journal.

Our stories wait to be written.

Our lives stretching out before us in minutes, hours, days yet to be lived.

Our disappointments ready to be consigned to The Past.

For this is a new year approaching ~ opportunity beckons to do things differently.

Are you ready?

‘Anew’

Celebrated arrival cloaked

in virginal innocence

A blank sheet

clean slate

rose-kissed dawn

pregnant with possibility

Viewed with eyes

of wonder

intrigue

suspicion

awe

breath-held fear

and great curiosity

What if?

What if THIS ~

is the time

promises are kept

dreams come true

lessons are learnt

goals are met?

Will problems rule

and reign again?

Will love flourish

or die?

Will we rush

with open-armed embrace

or turn aside?

No easy answers

rise to our lips

This takes

steely determination

raw courage

blind optimism

great faith

As we plunge

into The Unknown ~

unfamiliar territory

enclosed by memory

of past victories

of battles won,

we too

will overcome

©JoyLenton2012

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland” ~ Isaiah 46:18 – 19