by Joy Lenton
I feel fierce wind dragging at my clothes while freezing rain lashes my face as I pop briefly outside the back door.
This isn’t a day to linger. We’re beginning to experience the icy grip of winter and I sense it invading my soul.
Ground is hard, unyielding, frosting over, and I fear I am becoming likewise.
My desires and dreams have lain dormant for so long they seem to be withered on the vine.
I sit with a weight of sadness at the cusp of another year, trying to resist discouragement’s tug.
There is so little energy within that I can barely summon enough to hope for better things.
And yet…
My spirit whispers softly: Keep the faith. Keep believing. Keep hope alive.
It is only possible when I remember to stay rooted to the Vine, seek His strength to survive and see beyond the confines of each day.
And remember that no matter how lengthy and forbidding these cold, dark days may feel, light is still present and warmer weather lies ahead.
God draws my eyes to the small, quivering shoots of life appearing in soil.
Their tender green vitality is a sign of better things to come, of hope made visible to eyes willing to see.
He reminds me anew that seasons come and go but His love is always the fuel and fire my soul needs.
And it never wanes or grows cold. It’s new every morning, always available.
My lethargic soul shakes itself inwardly.
These are hard days for many who are afflicted as I am with SAD and the distinct lowering of mood it brings, or those who deal with depression on a daily basis.
I haven’t set resolutions for January because I know I would likely despair with the inevitable breaking of them.
But I have got a focus to sustain me throughout the year. I’m leaning into ‘love’ as my given #oneword365 and already learning how little I know about it and how much God needs to reveal its depths to me.
One of the ways in which God has shown forth His love to me over the last few years has been to whisper words to my heart during times of prayer.
Here’s a word I received a while back but which rings fresh and true for me today. My hope and prayer is that it may offer you some soul solace too, especially if you’re also feeling less than lively.
Prayer Whisper‘:’Green shoots’
“All plants must wither and die. But rooted to earth as they are, they receive of My life-giving power. Death precedes new birth. A grain of wheat must fall to the earth and die before it produces much fruit.
All the dry, arid places in your life, all the bleak and barren wilderness spaces will be watered again. Green shoots indicate Spring, new life, birth, and hope rising. Look for the green shoots I place on your pathway. They are portents of promise.
Take heart from their appearing. Mighty oaks grow strong from tiny acorns. Do not despise small beginnings. They are a sign of further life to come.
Yield to the season; observe the signs. Watch and see the harvest I am about to bring forth in your life. Water it daily with affirmation from My word, with faith, trust and praise for the promises waiting to be fulfilled.”
Lord,
May we see and sense Your comforting presence through the darkness. Root us so firmly in You that we can remain calm as we wait for promises to be fulfilled. Grant us the gift of hope rising phoenix-bold from the ashes of our experiences. Fill us with love and light enough to stay at peace and to be a beacon for others who are struggling. Amen.
Do you have a specific focus word for 2016?
How is God helping you to deal with depression or sit with sadness in this season?
It is summer in the Southern Hemisphere right now, and Christmas in New Zealand for many is traditionally followed by an exodus to the beaches, or the mountains and lakes, to take in the scenery and sun. Each year for the last few years my husband and I have taken the children to a different spot in the most basic but stunning locations. Long drops and cold showers; but beaches, and walks, native bush and views.
Each year I am aware that I come away slightly weighted down by the year that’s been. Carrying different longings, griefs, joys, memories, vestiges of experiences from the months past, that need sifting through and placing down. My time away becomes one long prayer. I watch it change from, “God, I’m sorry…” to “God, I need…” to “God, I miss….” to “God, I hope…” to “God, thank you!”, “God, thank you!”, “God, thank you again!” It soon becomes, “God, although you are here in this place, you have also been with me in the year past, and you will be with me in the year to come. You have never left me, and this place of beauty, and quiet and majesty only reminds me of this truth.”
My prayer becomes a poem that I sit and write on a rock by the beach, and another rock on the beach over the hill. And perhaps it’s sitting on these rocks that I find myself praying for a heart-shaped rock to return home with, as a reminder of God’s love. Walking on one of the beautiful beaches of the magnificent Kari Kari Peninsula just before departing, I look down and half hidden by sand I find my rock. A clearly defined heart but with a slightly jagged corner which I feel with my hand as I hold its solid weight. I like the jagged corner because it reminds me that love and life isn’t smooth, but a little rough at the edges sometimes, where we like rock can be worn down. But the centre of the rock is solid, warm and firm in my hand, and trustworthy. Like family, like friends, like God. I sit it in my bathroom when I return, where I can see it every day. It will carry me into the year ahead, as will the memory of this precious time away.
Poem: Come
Come home to yourself.
Home is sand under your feet.
And sun glinting silver on the sea.
Home is the waves and the birds.
Warmth on your skin.
The solitude that brings you home,
to your soul.
Forgo the crowd, which leaves you lonely.
And come away for a while.
Come back to yourself.
Survey the view.
And you’ll remember,
that you’ve never been away.
Just been wearing something ill-fitting,
waiting for the day you can disrobe.
And run barefoot.
Dishevelled, wind in your hair,
but free.
Come take a walk.
To the hill where the sky is large.
See the evening spread like a curtain across the day.
And feel yourself small, but wide.
If you still yourself you will hear,
your heart beat along with the earth’s.
And you will know yourself a part of the whole.
No separation at all.
A particle of life.
Which can seem lonely, unless you recall that,
your footprints leave a mark on the sand.
You make a track where you choose to walk.
Every action has a reaction.
No, you are not swallowed up
by the majesty of this breath-taking earth.
You share its beauty,
because of your living, breathing
part in it.
Today is my 65th birthday, in some ways just another day, in others a huge milestone. This is a time of transition, a great time to reflect on what is past and anticipate what is still to come. It also provides me with a wonderful opportunity to reaffirm my life purpose and allow God to speak to me about how this could be lived out in the years ahead.
I have always had a strong sense of purpose for my life sensing as a young Christian that God was calling me to be a voice of the voiceless and to bring glimpses of God’s shalom kingdom into peoples’ lives. The privilege of my life is that I have had so many amazing opportunities to live that out – from life in medical practice in New Zealand in the 1970s, to an incredible 12 years on the mercy ship M/V Anastasis establishing the medical ministry of Mercy Ships through the 1980s and for the last 24 years here in Seattle endeavouring to strengthen both my own faith and that of others through writing, speaking and mentoring.
It was good for me this morning to watch this video and remind myself of the fruit of my labours.
As I reflected on that this morning, and revisited the spiritual audit I regularly go through, I realize there is another dimension of my calling I want to focus on in the coming years: enabling others to become who God intends them to be. A growing desire of mine is to equip others to fulfill the God dreams in their hearts. I am still grappling with what that means and appreciate your prayers as I take time to allow God to speak to me.
What is your response?
When was the last time you stopped and reflected on your sense of Biblical call? How is it currently being lived out in your life? Are there life circumstances or pressures that you have allowed to blur that sense of purpose? Sit quietly in the presence of God and allow God’s voice to speak to you. Is there something God might ask of you at this time to strengthen your sense of purpose?
Part of my preparation for this coming season has been to replant my meditation garden and paint new rocks to arrange in it. As I reflect on these each morning I know that they will continue to provide a focus for my coming transitions and a powerful tool to strengthen my faith.
Part of what I realize is how easily I can go from day to day thinking I know where God wants to lead me without really taking time to seek direction. We need milestone events like important birthdays to help bring our lives fully into God’s purposes. we also need tools like this to help us focus – not just in these milestone moments, but at all seasons of our lives.
What is your response?
You may not be at a major life transition like I am, but it is still important to pause regularly to reevaluate our purpose and how intentionally we are following God’s path for us. Are there new ways that God’s deepest desires for your life could be expressed at this time? Are there tools that God would prompt you to use in order to maintain your focus?
Watch the video to you and sit quietly in the presence of God and allow God to speak to you.
Thinking about a word to embrace this year, I felt the word Phoenix come to me.
This is from what was spoken over my life some time ago, that there would come a time when like a Phoenix, I too would rise from the ashes. This speaks to me of receiving Christ’s resurrection and embodying it, by surrendering all that has passed away and looking with anticipation for all that is coming.
But I couldn’t seem to stop there with one word. And then I got the words surrender, and softening and felt I needed to combine these words with Phoenix to give a fuller meaning to where I feel I am headed. Maybe all of this could be experienced in the Phoenix after all? Surrendering the past, I rise from the ashes in resurrection by the softening power of the Holy Spirit!
Together with this contemplation about my word for the year, I was thinking about what I would like to see unfold in 2016 and part of that was a feeling of creativity coming back to me – the flashing image of water colour painting, something I have not done in years! And Collage Journaling, something I have done on and off over the years and find myself drawn towards again. I was particularly inspired by some beautiful collages I viewed online last year at the Holy Disorder of Dancing Monks, a group of the Abbey of the Arts.
So I would like to share with you some of my experiences with Collage Journaling in the lay-out of how such a special time with God could look, both for the creative and for the artistically challenged, for those who desire the expression of colour in prayer and for those who would like to receive from God in a different way. Being open to fresh ways of experiencing God can dislodge the blocks we sometimes experience in our prayer lives when things feel stale and distant with God. So it’s time to try something new!
Why not give Collage Journaling a go?
Firstly, select the magazines you like. Some of my magazines of choice include gardening, travel, interior decor, antiques, country living, even some Beautiful British Columbia magazines my Mom gave me! Anything that appeals to you. You don’t have to buy these new, as you can often get them from second hand book sales in your public library or from your local 2nd hand bookstore. Maybe a friend of yours is getting rid of a pile of old mags?
Then you will need: scissors, glue and your journal or paper/cardboard of choice
Next: music to inspire this time of creative prayer. And because I am doing homeschool together with all three of my girls this year, we will explore this time of prayer together. I found this wonderfully inspiring article for those of you with children or grandchildren, or who participate in children’s work as to how to make a prayer journal with children.
Some of the contemplative or soaking music I really like that can accompany these times are artists like Julie True, Alberto and Kimberly Riviera, Grace Williams, Ruth Fazal, Laura Woodley, Laura Rhinehart – in fact you can find a lot of soaking music on www.soaking.net – instrumental or with lyrics. Another place to find soaking music is at www.triune-echo.com, the website of friends of ours Natie & Yvette Rautenbach.
Then the part I really enjoy is paging through the magazines until you feel drawn to a picture or word. Just go where you feel led. You don’t have to analyse this process too much and that is what I love about it. If your heart is led to a picture, cut it out and set it aside. If you feel led to a phrase or word, do the same. Keep going until you feel you have enough material for your collage.
This entire creative process is prayer in itself. What a blessing to know we do not have to only engage our verbal communication skills when we commune with God. And Collage Journaling does this, it gets us out of our mind and into our heart, our Spirit-led selves, where we are being loved on and led without even knowing exactly what or how at the time.
Then comes more fun! It’s time to place your pictures on your page in the way you really like! I do this until I find a pleasing composition. Then comes time for the glue. And so it comes together! You can be innovative with Collage Journaling. You may like to combine different media – paint, pencil crayons, pencil sketches, home-made papers, stickers, scrapbooking arts and craft supplies, the list goes on… Here are some of my prayer collages:
Afterwards, in a time of silence you may like to take your completed collage and ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you through it. This becomes a time of dialogue with God as you share your hearts together. It is a richly textured and layered time of sharing. I find Collage Journaling gives me insight into where I’m at, hope for the future and discernment about where God is leading me, as well as furthering the Spirit’s healing and restoration work in my life.
Some links which you may find useful:
How to Collage in Your Art Journal
Collage as Prayer: Cutting and Pasting My Way to God
Here is a song by Grace Williams “Spirit Come” to accompany your time of Collage Journaling! May the Holy Spirit fill us this year 2016 as we step into the beautiful purposes of God and open ourselves to new ways of experiencing our relationship with God in prayer:
I love the circling prayers that are so much a part of Celtic Christian spirituality. These prayers speak of God’s protective “circling” presence. These prayers are very easy to construct for our own spiritual observances and can easily be envisioned to invite God’s encompassing presence to the circumstances we face or the issues we care about.
Today’s prayer was written as I reflected on Martin Luther King Day on Monday and reread my last year’s post Never Be Afraid Of What is Right – Reflections on Martin Luther King. Celebrating days like this is so important as it helps us remember the injustices we have fought to overcome and gives us hope as we set our hearts and our minds against other injustices we see in our world.
Take time this weekend to reflect on the injustices that pull at your heart and be inspired by Martin Luther King’s words:
“Never, never be afraid to do what’s right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society’s punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way.”
Even the turkey soup is now gone. Leftovers are giving way to salads and attempts to feel healthier again. We celebrated the birth of God taking human form while surviving a world threatening to draw us back into the oh-so-human chaos of gift-giving, holiday travel and family visits.
It was a time when, for many, the peaceful and sacred theme of O Holy Night was, at best, more truthfully understood through Jiminy Cricket’s wise refrain: “although your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing…”
We loved the sparkling lights and wonderful holiday scenes of family, worthy of Currier and Ives. It is the time of year we want to feel most holy, and yet, the very joy we seek can bring on the grieving of dreams that have not come true. The relationship that ended; the dread of facing family, who have let us down or whom we have let down; the job we didn’t get; the child still suffering from addiction, the fact there were more bills than money and the kids were expecting Santa to deliver what their parents tried to explain they could not: these worldly realities proved difficult to just “put aside for the sake of the holiday.”
Now…now we are in the tradition time for New Year’s resolutions or for keeping the resolves the experiences of the previous year demand. “A dream is a wish your heart makes.” But what for those who have forgotten how to dream? What when one can barely resolve to get out of bed in the morning? What if the season of good will toward all men has opened old wounds or created new ones?
Ephesians 4:30 speaks of being careful not to grieve the Holy Spirit. When we are going through difficulties or made to face issues and complications at what is supposed to be a time of exciting new beginnings and dreams about to come true, an overwhelming sense of aloneness can take over. We question: why are we not feeling it?
Is it possible that what grieves the Holy Spirit within us is also what causes the sadness buried deep within our flesh? Ephesians 4:31 points to possible causes with the advice to “let all bitterness and indignation and wrath (passion, rage, bad temper) and resentment (anger, animosity) and quarreling (Brawling, clamor, contention) and slander (evil-speaking, abusive or blasphemous language) be banished from you with all malice (spite, ill will, or baseness of any kind).
Wow! What an order! Particularly difficult it we go into the New Year, angry with our Father.
How do we “put aside” the fears and possible resentments we experience when the holidays have been challenging and lean into the light and hope of the upcoming year? We are not called to simply put these things aside. With grace and mercy we are offered a way out in the very next verse. “…become useful and helpful and kind to one another, tenderhearted (compassionate, understanding, loving-hearted), forgiving one another (readily and freely), as God in Christ forgave you.” There is no better time than a new year to embrace this advice.
“If you keep on believing…” Ah, Jiminy had it right all along. When our spirit; the Holy Spirit within us: is grieved the best response is to call on that faith of our hearts, greater than any grief we might feel. Through Isaiah 55:8 God tells us “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways…As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
“Even though your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the dreams that you wish will come true.” Is it possible? Dare we hope that this just might be the year we repair relationships, that our prayers for our children are answered in “ways higher” than we can even conceive? Can we believe that our God-given talents can be used to serve him? Will we be happy?
Might the hopeful advice of Jiminy, that which allowed the wooden puppet to become a real live boy, be based on scripture, we wonder. Consider Psalms 37:4-6:
Delight yourself in the Lord,
And He will give you the desires and petitions of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord;
Trust in Him also and He will do it.
He will make your righteousness [your pursuit of right standing with God] like the light,
And your judgment like [the shining of] the noonday [sun].
Our dreams meet with the reality of a loving guide gifted us throughout the year by the Father through the Son. Can we but resolve to listen?
Christmas is over and many of us have hardly had time to draw breath before we start thinking about Lent. It begins early this year. Ash Wednesday is February 10th.
Lets Celebrate with Joy
As I mentioned on Monday, here at MSA we have chosen celebration as our overall theme for the year (prompted I think by the Holy Spirit). In February we will celebrate my husband’s 80th birthday. He is the founder of MSA and his books, since the publishing of The Mustard Seed Conspiracy almost 40 years ago have inspired thousands around the world to take their faith more seriously. We want to celebrate that and the ongoing creativity and innovation he inspires. In April we celebrate the launch of Tom’s new book Live Like You Give a Damn: Join the Changemaking Celebration. The launch party will coincide with our favourite conference of the year, the Inhabit conference April 15-16th, hosted by the Parish Collective and Seattle School. If it is possible for you to join us at that conference it would be wonderful.
August 6th & 7th we will celebrate our 25th Celtic Retreat on Camano Island. Here on Godspace we are celebrating and expanding group of contributors and we also hope to celebrate the launch of our Center for Imagination and Innovation before the end of the year.
Lent : Preparing to Celebrate
Celebration always takes preparation and Lent is a good time to prepare our hearts, not just for the celebration of Easter but for that celebrative attitude that should fill our hearts at all times. The question we will focus on as we prepare is: What Do You Hunger for?
Lent, those 40 day’s leading up to the crucifixion of Christ, when we commemorate his 40 days spent in the wilderness preparing for his ministry, inspires people of all traditions to fast, or voluntarily give things up for a season. But it is often just that, a voluntary giving up.
Historically the fasting of Lent was, for many people, a necessity rather than a choice. This was the hunger season, that season of the year when there were no fresh crops and the stored goods from last year were dwindling. Hunger and starvation was at its height. Yet it was also a season of hope and promise. New seeds were being planted in the expectation of abundance to come.
So as you get ready to walk through Lent and look forward to the celebration of Easter this year what gnaws with hungry pangs at your soul – is it God’s call for transformation within yourself? Is it your passion for justice and healing? Is it your desire for the restoration of polluted areas of our earth? or is it something else that comes to mind.
We invite you to join us on this journey of preparation for Easter.
First look over the Lenten resource lists from 2015 – are their other resources you feel should be added to these lists?
Second: is there something resonating within you that makes you want to engage in this Lenten challenge. If so consider writing a blog post for Godspace to be published during the season of Lent. If you are interested shoot me an email.
Third: sign up for our Lenten challenge. Our Advent photo challenge was so successful that we have decided to provide another challenge for Lent. Keep your eyes open for the announcement of this and start looking around you now for photo opportunities that could become a part of this.
Fourth: Journey with us through one of the MSA Lenten resources:
40+ Ideas for Lent – a free downloadable activity sheet for Lent
A Journey Into Wholeness: Soul Travel from Lent to Easter. This is available from our website in both paper and ebook (pdf & epub) versions and also from Amazon in paper and kindle
Lenten Prayer Cards. These are designed to help you focus your commitment as you journey through the season of Lent.
Lord Lead Us To Repentance – A Lenten meditation video produced in 2012.
Lent is one of my favourite reflective seasons of the year. It always enriches and deepens my faith and I hope that it will do the same for you.
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