Broken (Five Minute Friday)

Finally getting to my Five Minute Friday post this week. Yeah, a few days late. Yeah, my kids are away, so no excuses for why I'm late. Better to write late than not to write this week. I really like the 5 minute focus time. It's a lovely escape without actually having to go anywhere.

Here's how Five Minute Friday works:
On Fridays (or later ... just before the next week!), we gather over at Lisa-Jo's and write from the heart. Five minutes of whatever flies out of your fingers. The rules are simple -
1. write for 5 minutes flat. No editing, backtracking, over-thinking, on whatever the prompt of the week is.
2. link up and invite others to join
3. visit the brave soul who linked before you and leave a comment. Share a thought. Give an encouragement boost. That's the heart of the Five Minute Friday community. You never know who's day you'll make, and what you'll learn about your own heart along the way.
 
Ready? This week we're writing about BROKEN.

GO.

Almost 37 years I've been doing this journey called life. I've seen a lot of broken along the way. And A lot of glued-back-together-ing. Broken bones, broken glasses (worse than broken bones, as my eyesight is so terrible!), broken dishes and broken promises. Yeah, those hurt more than the others. One broken home, and broken trust. That's the worst - the broken trust from the one you thought you'd given your heart to forever.

They say time heals all the broken. And perhaps it does. It cerrtainly eases some of the pain, eventually. But as I reflect on the broken I've seen, the broken I've endured, I've realized there's one thing that can't be broken. Thanks to the precious gift of salvation, my soul is whole. Jesus filled in all the missing parts there, and that bond is unbreakable. 20 years ago this fall is the anniversary of the unbreakable soul in my life and knowing it is there makes it that much easier to walk the path of the broken, and unbroken, journey set before me. 

STOP.

Cheesecake (Behind the Scenes)

 Details on Behind the Scenes below.

The photo:

 

The story:

I love baseball. Specifically my Nationals. There's no place I'd rather be on a summer afternoon. I bring my girls a lot, but this week they're with Mamama and Dadada, so I am all on my own. I decided to go to the game last minute, and since it was a special giveaway (Davey Johnson bobblehead, anyone?) I went early. Nats park has a restaurant called the Red Porch, which I've never been to. My kids are all about the Shake Shack and cotton candy. Since I went alone, I thought I would check it out. It opens when the first gates open, and serves REAL FOOD - not just ballpark fare. And DESSERT. Oh, yes it does. So I had a table all to myself, with this view of batting practice, and I got to eat a whole piece of cheesecake. No lovely little girls sharing with their forks, or my fork, or their fingers. A little haven of rest in my favorite local getaway destination. Let's play ball - and eat cheesecake!

WHAT IS THE "BEHIND THE SCENES" LINK UP? 

Social media and online relationships can make us feel like everyone else has it all together. We're edited, proof-read, Pinterest-perfect versions of ourselves  (or so some might think!) when - in reality? There is an unfinished pile of laundry around the corner. That cute toddler smiling for the camera just had a massive meltdown seconds ago. That yummy breakfast-for-dinner you just showed us on Instagram? It's because the cat licked the chicken that was supposed to be for dinner. 

"Behind the Scenes" is a fun link up where we show those photos - but tell the real story behind them. The sneak peek behind the scenes, a look past the edges of the photo to the real life behind it. Read more here!

 

So, come link with Crystal and read our adventures. 

 

Belong (Five Minute Friday)

On Fridays, we gather over at Lisa-Jo's and write from the heart. Five minutes of whatever flies out of your fingers. The rules are simple -
1. write for 5 minutes flat. No editing, backtracking, over-thinking, on whatever the prompt of the week is.
2. link up and invite others to join
3. visit the brave soul who linked before you and leave a comment. Share a thought. Give an encouragement boost. That's the heart of the Five Minute Friday community. You never know who's day you'll make, and what you'll learn about your own heart along the way.

Got it?  Come on and write with us. This week, we're all cranking out 5 minutes on

BELONG

 Go.

Belonging is something I've struggled with the past 4 years, as my world - my role - my life has been redefined. I never doubted where I belonged growing up. With my family was the easy answer, and they're a fun-loving soul-loving bunch, my family. Lots of laughter, hugs through the tears and the joy, and solid staunch supporters of their own every step of the way.

Four years ago my life took a big whopping detour that I never expected. Hit me out of the blue and to this day, I still can't see everything , even in hindsight, that led to the place I am now. A marriage that blew apart wasn't on my list of journey points along the way. And as I learned who I was all over again, now a single mom of two, instead of a part of a different whole, it was hard to piece where I belonged into my mind. I'd been defined for more than 10 years as a part of that relationship. And sacrificed a lot of who I was to be a part of that. Take that away, and "Who am I?" became a journey.

As I sit here 4 years down the road, I am thankful. Rejoicing, that I will always belong to my family. My family may look a little different, with one person no longer in the fold. But the fold I started with, the ones that have had me from the beginning, are still there wrapping me up in the laughter, hugs, and standing with me as I conquer the new journey one day at a time. And with two littles added in to the mix, the fold still grows stronger, despite the one who walked out and didn't look back. And I'll never not belong to them.

Stop.

P.S. This week, we're celebrating an extra belonging, as Lisa-Jo has added "belonging to America" officially in her world. Congratulations, dear friend, on your citizenship - I am delighted to call you an American sister in addition to us being sisters in Christ.  I am thankful for you and the journey that has led us to be friends.

Present (Five Minute Friday - kids edition)

See below for the delight of Five Minute Friday - kids.  LOVE THIS.

Here's from my girls this week.

5 yo (A).  She dictated and Mommy typed. Full disclosure - they asked me to read my post before they wrote. So A tied onto my last sentence. And we're at the beach - who wouldn't have sand castles on the brain? :)


I like going to build sand castles and swimming under water when Mommy puts her hands under water so I can swim for them. I like jumping in the pool with S and jumping in the waves and pretending to surf and pretending to jump into Uncle Jeff Juice in the pool and Mommy catches me.

Present is like a dream that I want to have my own desk that fits in my bedroom.I like watching the sand castles when Mommy puts them down near the waves and I like smashing my own sand castles.

And stop!

8 yo (S). She types herself on the iPad and still wants to stop at 5 minutes even though she has more thoughts. I told her she could continue. She said, "Mom that's not the point of the timer. So I will stop this week because it's vacation. And don't correct my spelling error. Just tell me for next time."  The word is EXCITED.

Present

When I think of present I think of a gift. When I think of a gift I get really exisited .

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The skinny on the kid's edition of Five Minute Friday, brought to you by the lovelies at Desperate Homeschoolers

What is Five Minute Friday kids' edition?

Every week for over two years, hundreds of people have been joining a kind of writing flash mob over at lisajobaker.com, writing on a one-word prompt for five minutes and posting what they've written without prettifying it first. When I decided to join up with them, I thought it would be fun to include my three daughters. It seemed like a great journaling activity, and since they are always asking me if they can put things on my blog, I told them I’d take pictures of their work and post it here. After doing it for a few weeks, several people commented that they'd like their kids to join, so, with Lisa-Jo's blessing, we decided to host a Five Minute Friday Kids' Edition link-up right here.

Do your kids want to play along? Well, here's this week's link up.

It’s easy to join in, just:

1. Check what the prompt is on Lisa-Jo's blog.
2. Have your kids write and/or draw a journal entry in only five minutes on that topic. Some people have their kids dictate while they scribe for 5 minutes  New Rule: if children want to keep writing, don't stop them..
3. Take a picture or scan their paper, and post it on your blog. If you don't have a blog and want to participate, please comment below and we'll get in touch about what you can do.
4. Link up your post here and invite friends to join in.
5. Select the permalink to your post. (This needs to be the link to your actual post, not to your blog itself or your homepage.)
6. Using the linky tool at the bottom of this Five Minute Friday Kids' Edition post, enter your link. It will also walk you through selecting which photo you want to show up in the linky.
7. Your post will show up in our Five Minute Friday Kids' Edition link-up.
8. Be sure and encourage the person who linked up before you by visiting their post and commenting!
9. We'll be joining with Lisa-Jo's most important requirement for participation: "There’s really only one absolute, no ifs, ands or buts about it Five Minute Friday rule: you must visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community."

Present (Five Minute Friday)

Welcome to another edition of Five Minute Friday.  Here's the short version of how it works:   (for full details, and other fun ways to play along - like the #FMFParty on Thursday nights - read over here)

1. Write for 5 minutes flat - no editing, no overthinking, no backtracking.  [this means typos are fair game!]
2. Link back at Lisa-Jo's and invite others to join in
3. Go visit the post of the lovely person who linked before you, and leave a little encouragement. This is the must-do rule. It's the heart of our FMF community.  And the most fun part of the whole experience.

And now, here's my thoughts on

PRESENT.

Thank you, English. This is one of those words - did she intend present (as in past, present, future), or present (bringing something forth) or present (gift)? And that's the beauty of FMF - it can be anything I want with the word. I try never to read ahead, so my thoughts don't get comingled with what I read elsewhere.

So today, present (past-present-future) is the winner. It's been where my heart has been. I'm on vacation with my family, enjoying the present. Not dwelling on all the things past - the hard days, the tough times, the drama. Not wrorrying about what comes next. There's a lot of big decisions coming down the road, and the Lord is really working on my heart - reminding me "Jen, I'VE GOT THIS." So instead, I just need to do the next thing. The next right thing, and then the thing after that will present itself for me to do. Living a little more in the moment. Taking the time to play, relax, just be here with what I've got now.

Knowing - trusting - remembering that the future will be the present soon enough, and that the path I should follow through that will bring it's start right into my present just at the right time when I need it. Not a moment too soon, but not a moment too late.

Which means for today, I can give thanks - and then head off to the beach for a little sand castle building.

Stop.

The Beach (Behind the Scenes)

I should have posted this Tuesday. I did take the picture on Tuesday. But, we're on vacation and I've been avoiding the laptop (YAY) and I am not savvy enough to post from my phone or the iPad. So, I'm posting late. (What else is new?!)

Behind the Scenes, courtesy of Crystal, is a fun way to see life as it really is. Lived outside the snapshots. Check it out here, and read about real life adventures beyond the perfect (or not so perfect) photo.

The picture:

The story:
For the past 4 summers, I've been going to the beach in Florida with my folks & my kids. We have some friends with a lovely place on the Atlantic Coast and they graciously let us run away and vacation here. It's been a transformation for my girls. They used to be really tentative around the sand and the waves. A (my littlest) used to just sit on the wooden beach access steps and wait for us to be done. I used to have to beg them to give us 15 minutes in the sand. As the years passed, they've gotten better, and as the week goes on each year we are here, I see their fears subside as the waves and sand become a little more familiar.  But still, it's ALWAYS been a struggle. And the beach part has never been what they wanted the most from the trip.

BUT. Sometime in between last summer and this summer, something changed in both of them.  We arrived Tuesday afternoon, and after dinner we thought we'd start with a walk on the beach. My mom, dad, and I thought it might start to ease their fears just a bit if we walked before our first play day on Wednesday. We walked down the steps, and they took off like lightning. Fear?! What fear?!?!?!

What was supposed to be a gentle walk on the beach turned into full out frolicking in the waves. All dressed up. Sandy and salty and sopping wet. Not at all dressed for beach play. Tuesday night was a victory for all of us. Kids were thrilled. I let go of some control, decided to be a "yes mom" for that moment, and let them have at it, despite being dressed for dinner and not for a free-for-all.  I only wish the picture could have captured the delight I saw sparkling in their eyes along with the glee in their bodies as they ran toward the ocean - embracing everything that used to scare them silly.

HELLO, NEW CHAPTER! HELLO, VACATION!

--------------
A little more about Behind the Scenes:
WHAT IS THE "BEHIND THE SCENES" LINK UP? 

Social media and online relationships can make us feel like everyone else has it all together. We're edited, proof-read, Pinterest-perfect versions of ourselves  (or so some might think!) when - in reality? There is an unfinished pile of laundry around the corner. That cute toddler smiling for the camera just had a massive meltdown seconds ago. That yummy breakfast-for-dinner you just showed us on Instagram? It's because the cat licked the chicken that was supposed to be for dinner. 

"Behind the Scenes" is a fun link up where we show those photos - but tell the real story behind them. The sneak peek behind the scenes, a look past the edges of the photo to the real life behind it. 

You're invited to join in - we'll write up our posts & link up on Tuesdays! Read more here!

Beautiful (Five Minute Friday)

It's Friday - time to sit down, set the timer, and let your thoughts ramble on the screen for 5 lovely uninterrupted minutes.  Hop on over to Lisa-Jo's and join in the fun, won't you?

Full details on how it works are here.

This week's word:

BEAUTIFUL

Independence Day in America is beautiful. Especially in Washington, DC. It's my favorite time of year to live here. I spent yesterday in the company of good friends, and wonderful strangers, celebrating freedom and our nation's 237th birthday.

The city was all dressed up and folks were sporting the red, white and blue all over. The most amazing moment of my day was in the National Cathedral. Went for the Independence Day organ concert. 10,647 pipes of awesomeness in there. WHOA.

And at the beginning, we all stood. The whole packed out gropu of us - balcony and all. And we sang the National Anthem as one. Voices raised in celebration and reflection. FOr those who have gone before us, and those who serve us now - far away from home so we can stand and sing together.

The last word finished, and the note hung in the air ... a tribute to soldiers and our founding fathers and to all our citizens who proudly claim America as home. And THAT was the most beautiful moment of the day.

I went on to see the Capitol Fourth celebration on the west lawn - so hot (literally) and so cool (figuratively). Singing with hundreds of thousands of strangers - and yet even in that crowd, turns out a friend was sittingw ith his family only 30 feet away. The wonders of Facebook allowed us to see that we'd posted pictures of the same beautiful view. And then I got this text: "Where are you? Our picture is the same!" I looked around, and they were about 6 blankets over. "Turn to your right" I replied. 

Friends, and strangers, sharing one city, one nation, and one beautiful view on one very special day.

Stop.

**I'll add a few pictures of my celebration journey below.



Fireworks over Nationals Park, July 3, 2013



a house proudly flying an historic flag

Washington National Cathedral

the cathedral through the trees

US Capitol. It was a clear blue sky



folks gathered in for the concert and fireworks; the picture that "linked with my friend"



US Botannical Gardens, lit up in red, white & blue



good night, America



Girls' Night Out (Behind the Scenes)

It's Behind the Scenes Tuesday. Link up here to play along.  (further details at the end of the post)



The photo:

The story:
I met up with my friend Amy on Sunday night for dinner. Met her at in(RL) last year, and while we live less than 20 minutes apart, we just don't get together like we should.  My kids are away this week, so I decided it was high time we made some girl time. Turns out Amy's been in the midst of a move and she needed an escape from the parade of cardboard boxes. Perfect timing.

We had a lovely dinner filled with laughter and catch up conversation, and grown up share your heart conversation. None of it interrupted with "mom, can you please ... " We both love our kids more than you can imagine, but dinner was a welcome respite. After dinner, the humidity had broken a little bit, and we had a few extra minutes, so we decided to grab coffee, sit by the fountain and continue the conversation. I think I rocked Amy's world a little bit with the plethora of movies I've missed seeing so far, but she gave me a wonderful list of films to start with. And I've found a chick-flick kindred spirit.

Then, lightning streaked across the sky. Looked like a storm was brewing in a hurry. So we got up and started the walk back to our cars. And that is when the evening took a turn we weren't expecting. There's a divot in the crosswalk. A sneaky little hidden divot. Just the right size for part of my foot. And so, in the middle of the street, I went sprawling. Flat out on the ground.  (My OneWord 365 is grace. I have learned that this is not the same as graceFUL.) Scraped up my knee, both my palms, and wounded my pride. Because there was a whole family walking up the sidewalk that saw it happen. How embarrassing. Amy helped me collect myself, and all my stuff that had strewn across the street - keys, leftovers from dinner - coffee cup (thankful it was empty!), and then we had a great laugh. And the first thing we both thought of was "oh, this will make a great story for Crystal's link on Tuesday."  The serene picture of two friends who've enjoyed a lovely night out - after one of those friends has collected the other from being face down in the street.

Thanks, Amy, for your friendship and for putting me back together. Side note: both my shoes AND my skirt survived the fall intact. My knee is down to one band-aid and only one hand is still bandaged. Should be good as new by tomorrow.

My mom always says if you can laugh about it later, you might as well laugh about it now. Mission accomplished all the way home Sunday night.


For those of you who wonder... WHAT IS THE "BEHIND THE SCENES" LINK UP? 

Social media and online relationships can make us feel like everyone else has it all together. We're edited, proof-read, Pinterest-perfect versions of ourselves  (or so some might think!) when - in reality? There is an unfinished pile of laundry around the corner. That cute toddler smiling for the camera just had a massive meltdown seconds ago. That yummy breakfast-for-dinner you just showed us on Instagram? It's because the cat licked the chicken that was supposed to be for dinner. 

"Behind the Scenes" is a fun link up where we show those photos - but tell the real story behind them. The sneak peek behind the scenes, a look past the edges of the photo to the real life behind it. 

You're invited to join in - we'll write up our posts & link up on Tuesdays! Read more here!