Tag Archives: God’s love

Finding Life…

Posted on May 16, 2018 by florencejoy

I see the cross
A new day dawns
Rising from death
The whole earth yawns
It’s waking up
Life’s stretching out
Faith’s unfurling
Outgrowing doubt Continue reading →

Posted in Poems | Tagged Christianity, cross of christ, death, faith, freedom, God's love, healing, heaven, hope, joy, life, love, new life, Resurrection, suffering, the cross | Leave a comment

Open Your Heart / Invitation Only / Fearing To Thrive

Posted on May 2, 2018 by florencejoy

“But what else can play in to our failure to thrive? What about fearing to thrive?

What if life’s blows have actually caused us to retreat back in to that closed bud? – that even when the opportunity and breathing space in between life’s trying times and circumstances arises, all attempts at opening up are thwarted by our own fears?

Fear is a killer. Fear can paralyse us, can’t it? Fear is like an industrial strength weed-killer, that kills everything it touches: it doesn’t discriminate between beauty or bramble, flower or thorn. It will go for everything and in our own lives it will eventually lead to shut-down.” Continue reading →

Posted in Ramblings | Tagged blossoming, breakthrough, Christianity, deliverance, endurance, faith, faithfulness, flourishing, God, God's faithfulness, God's invitation, God's love, God's Word, grace, grief, growth, hardship, hurt, Jesus, open heart, open your heart, openness, pain, patience, progress, struggle, Vulnerability | Leave a comment

Making Space For Grace…

Posted on April 17, 2018 by florencejoy

“But I know that recovery is possible, restoration is possible, renewal is possible, redemption is possible, resurrection is possible.

I know I can be found again. Not by any wishful thinking that any of our past can be undone. It can’t. We must grieve our pasts and move on.

But we can be found again at the cross of Christ. We can be found again as sons and daughters of God, our Father. We can be found again because of what God made possible: when He came to earth as man, to walk with us and suffer with us, and suffer for us, paying the penalty of our sin and not-good-enough-ness and making a way through death and back to life again.

I will not find myself by pining for a person I may feel I once was. But I can be made new in Christ by facing up to myself – all the ugly bits, all the rotten bits, all the sinful, shameful bits, all the bits that have tried and failed and fallen short, all the bits that wished they weren’t, all the painful bits – the bits that really hurt – all the hidden and buried and dark and locked away bits. If I can see myself as I truly am and if I can truly face up to my own fears, failures, neediness, inadequacy and dependence – and relinquish control, relinquish independence – then I may be able to enter in to all that God has for me. Then I may be able to make space for His grace.”

“It is time. It is time for life. It is time for freedom. It is time for healing, for grace, for resurrection power. It is time for acknowledging my need of Jesus. It is time for laying down my foolish pride. It is time for repentance. It is time to stop hiding. It is time for fear to flee. It is time to let God in, to let Jesus in, to let His life-giving, death-overcoming, freedom-bringing, power-releasing Spirit in.” Continue reading →

Posted in Ramblings | Tagged abundance, barren, battered, Beauty from ashes, beauty in the broken, being silenced, breaking the silence, breathless, brokenness, children of God, Christianity, control, controlling relationship, death, depression, desert, desert place, desperation, expression, faith, Father God, fear, finding my voice, finding peace, forgiveness, freedom, frozen, future, God, God as Father, God's love, grace, grace of God, healing, hope, hopelessness, hurts, identity, intimacy, Jesus, joy, life, loss, loss of self, made new, neediness, new life, numb, pain, past, past wounds, present, present hope, pride, redemption, relationships, religion, renewal, restoration, Resurrection, strength, suffocating, survival, survival mode, the cross, trapped, truth, Vulnerability, wake up o sleeper, weakness, wholeness, wounded | Leave a comment

In memory of my sister, Chloe Rose…

Posted on March 3, 2015 by florencejoy

Today, 3 March, is my sister’s birthday. Chloe Rose was three years older than me. Today she would have been 34. I never met Chloe, as she died before I was born. She died in fact, at just six weeks … Continue reading →

Posted in Ramblings | Tagged anniversary, bereavement, birthday, Chloe Rose, cot death, death, dog rose, eternity, Father's love, God's love, grieving, heaven, hope, life, longing, loss, mourning, poetry, SIDS, sisters | 1 Comment

Fact 29/30 – I have thought about becoming a priest…

Posted on November 4, 2014 by florencejoy

January 14 2014 Fact 29/30 I have thought about becoming a priest… It may or may not come as a surprise that I have considered putting myself forward for ordination (becoming a vicar) before. And in 2012, I actually made … Continue reading →

Posted in #30til30 | Tagged abdominal pain, Anglican, calling, Christ, Christianity, church, church family, Church of England, community, destiny, Emmanuel, faith, God, God's faithfulness, God's goodness, God's love, God's presence, identity, Jesus, love, love for God, Maybe Me, mercy, non-denominational, ordination, priesthood, purpose, salvation, transforming love, vocation, witness | Leave a comment

Fact 27/30 – I bought Ed a painting as a wedding gift…

Posted on November 4, 2014 by florencejoy

January 12th 2014 Fact 27/30 I bought Ed a painting as a wedding gift… To be honest, it was really a present for the both of us. Something I thought would serve as a beautiful reminder and anchor throughout our … Continue reading →

Posted in #30til30 | Tagged 2 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians 10:5, art, belief, betrayal, challenge, Christ, committment, covenant, doubt, dreams, expectations, faith, fear, forgiveness, freedom, God, God's love, grace, healing, hopes, insecurities, jealousy, Jesus, love, marriage, perfection, prayer, reality, redemption, relationships, safety, security, steadiness, Tim Steward, wedding gift, woundedness | Leave a comment

Valentine’s Day…

Posted on October 26, 2014 by florencejoy

Best Valentine’s gift ever… An appointment for Toby with the specialist paediatric gastroenterologist now booked for the end of the month. Thank you, Lord… Love of my life!

Posted in Toby | Tagged answered prayer, children's health, God's faithfulness, God's love, parenting, Valentine's Day | Leave a comment

In Pursuit of Peace & Progress…

Posted on October 24, 2012 by florencejoy

Have we said ‘I love you’ when the words are hard to find? Have we spoken from our hearts when they’re in conflict with our minds? Have we soared to higher heights when our dreams swoop to the ground? Have … Continue reading →