another week where I don't write until Thursday. But another week where I still made the time to write. Will come in just under an hour before the link closes. That works. It's still done, after all.
And then maybe I will write again tomorrow. Or late tonight. Or ... wait until next Thursday and scramble to fit it in.
But Five Minute Friday is where it's at. Where we stop and just write with no room for criticism, even of ourselves. The rules are simple:
1. Find the word of the week. Set your timer for 5 minutes. Write whatever you think of.
2. Link up with the gang over at Lisa-Jo's Bench.
3. Visit the one who linked before you. Leave a comment. Bring a ray of sunshine. That's the one unbreakable rule. The heart of the Five Minute Friday Community. So pull up a page and join us!
< and if you want to chat a bit, look us up on Twitter on Thursday nights - under #FMFParty We'd love to see you there! >
This week, here's my 5 minutes on:
JOY.
Some days joy comes easy. The kids have smiles from the time they get up and no one bickers on the way to the breakfast table. Some days it's a little harder - there's a gloomy cloud in the sky. The meeting that ran over and made you late the whole rest of the day for everything. The kids who won't brush their teeth without telling you seventy-eleven stories about everything that pops into their rum-amok brains right as they think it. Some days it is downright HARD. Hard to find the specks of joy in the midst of the mess.
Today was one of those days. At first. I found out that a friend who had been bravely battling breast cancer lost her battle. She's in a better place now, but she left behind a husband and a little girl. Younger than my youngest. It's hard to find JOY in that. So I had to dig a little deeper today. Look for some joy elsewhere.
And then I got great news. A new life. Some other friends welcomed their firstborn son in the wee hours. So as one life has ended and left us with memories, and tears for the moment; a new life has begun. And then I got some more good news. My dear friends who have been waiting YEARS to hear of adopting a daughter from China got the last piece of paperwork today. They have their appointment at the Consulate. A journey that began 9 years ago while my oldest was still in her newborn days is finally coming to the destination. They'll be traveling in about 3 weeks - a family of 3 - and then will return home a family of 4.
And as I rode the emotional roller coaster today, from loss to life, I was reminded of this:
in all things we choose. We can choose to look for the joy in every day. And on days when we think we can't possibly find it, then on those days The Lord drops something joyous into our lives to remind us that it IS there. Always. If we only look.
John 16:22 "So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy."
With one farewell and two hellos, I am thankful to have found joy in today, even in the sadness.
Stop.
PS. Until today, I walked in Elisa's honor. As of today, I walk in her memory. Every year, until we find a cure. If you'd like to give to my Avon Walk for Breast Cancer fund, here is where you can help. Jen's Avon Walk page
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Monday, March 24, 2014
Journey (OneWord365 March check in)
We've been studying through Exodus in my Sunday School class. One theme keeps coming back - or rather one theme keeps sticking it's nose into the forefront of my thoughts. That is that God, when delivering the nation of Israel out of Egypt, he protected them - kept them from experiencing anything too strong with battles of other nations, until they were prepared. Until they'd changed their mindset. They had been slaves for 430 years, and they had no other way of thinking. For generations they had been slaves. When they first left, they didn't know how else to behave. And when things go hard, they actually had the thought - maybe we'd be better off back in Egypt.
As that sank in - that they'd consider going back to being slaves because it was familiar, that even though it was hard, it was something known and safe - it made me sad. How terrible to be willing to miss the wonderful place the Lord had prepared in the promised land, because it would be a tough journey. Because it was unknown. Because their faith wasn't strong enough to trust that the Lord KNEW the end destination was better than they could even imagine.
And then I thought about where I am in one particular piece of my journey. I've got some tough decisions ahead - and they're very close. At least they *should* be. But instead of running ahead - instead of resting in the knowledge that God has orchestrated this change - that He has given me a path to follow - I am turning around and running back to Egypt! WHAT?! Even as I sit and write this, I see it. I see the reluctance to move on. I'm in a safe place. It's comfortable. It has been good. It has served its purpose. But I feel the calling - the need to move forward. Frankly, I am scared. The next step on this particular leg of the journey is going to take some work. A lot of prayer. And some searching. That's hard.
Sometimes I don't do hard well. Especially if there is an easy out. But running back isn't going to make it any easier to get where I need to be. Where God wants me to be. As I think back to the sadness I've felt as we've studied the journey out of Egypt, it has hit home. I need to get myself in gear, follow the path the Lord has laid before me, and not look back. I need to stop longing for my comfort zone. I need to stop treading water and waiting for a wave I can ride to the next shore. I need to start swimming forward. Though I can't see the actual destination, that doesn't mean that I can tell the journey to time out. Get on the path, one foot in front of the other, and keep going.
---------------
It's the third Tuesday of the month (well, actually it's sometime after the 3rd and before the 4th Tuesday...) and time to link up with Amy and update about my OneWord365 for the year. I am really glad for this accountability string. The reminder to post as I go, and not try to recall it all in December.
As that sank in - that they'd consider going back to being slaves because it was familiar, that even though it was hard, it was something known and safe - it made me sad. How terrible to be willing to miss the wonderful place the Lord had prepared in the promised land, because it would be a tough journey. Because it was unknown. Because their faith wasn't strong enough to trust that the Lord KNEW the end destination was better than they could even imagine.
And then I thought about where I am in one particular piece of my journey. I've got some tough decisions ahead - and they're very close. At least they *should* be. But instead of running ahead - instead of resting in the knowledge that God has orchestrated this change - that He has given me a path to follow - I am turning around and running back to Egypt! WHAT?! Even as I sit and write this, I see it. I see the reluctance to move on. I'm in a safe place. It's comfortable. It has been good. It has served its purpose. But I feel the calling - the need to move forward. Frankly, I am scared. The next step on this particular leg of the journey is going to take some work. A lot of prayer. And some searching. That's hard.
Sometimes I don't do hard well. Especially if there is an easy out. But running back isn't going to make it any easier to get where I need to be. Where God wants me to be. As I think back to the sadness I've felt as we've studied the journey out of Egypt, it has hit home. I need to get myself in gear, follow the path the Lord has laid before me, and not look back. I need to stop longing for my comfort zone. I need to stop treading water and waiting for a wave I can ride to the next shore. I need to start swimming forward. Though I can't see the actual destination, that doesn't mean that I can tell the journey to time out. Get on the path, one foot in front of the other, and keep going.
---------------
It's the third Tuesday of the month (well, actually it's sometime after the 3rd and before the 4th Tuesday...) and time to link up with Amy and update about my OneWord365 for the year. I am really glad for this accountability string. The reminder to post as I go, and not try to recall it all in December.
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Crowd (Five Minute Friday)
It's Friday. Or at least the day I can write before the next Friday. Time to stop for 5 minutes and write along with the gang. Want to join us? It's easy.
1. Set your timer. Write for 5 minutes on the prompt. No edits, no back-tracking, spell-check can be ignored. Just write.
2. Link up over here at Lisa-Jo's place.
3. This is the important rule: go visit the post of the person who linked up right before you. Read it. And leave them an encouraging note. THAT is the heart of the Five Minute Friday community. We'd love to have you be a part.
This week, we're writing about: CROWD.
When I was growing up, I always wanted to be a part of the "in" crowd. You know, the popular kids? The girls that have their act together? They're pretty, and smart - but not totally nerdy (I still don't know how they did that!) - and fun, and everyone wants to be with them, and be like them. And everyone LIKES them.
I had a great group of ffriends in school, and to this day a few of them are still my closest friends. The ones I call on when things are ugly. WHen I need a hug or an ear to listen - even when months go by and we haven't talked, that's where I turn for a friend first.
I went away to college (far away from home) so I could find myself. Needed to get out of my hometown. (Great place to raise a family - still is - but we;d lived there my whole life and my dad was super involved in the community so everyone knew who we were. EVERYONE.) So I wanted to go away where I didn't know a single soul. To learn who I was. Where there wasn't an in crowd, or any other clique, at least not right away. Where I wasn't already stereotyped into who I would be.
That falls into my top 3 excellent choices I've ever made in my whole life. I learned who I was, what made me tick. I found a new group of friends - a few more who now are in my closest circle of friends to this day. And I learned that it's not about being with a crowd. It's about finding the gem within the crowd - to pull it out and gather it close. To weed through the crowd and the chaos to find the ones who bring calm. The ones who block the crowd and bring the love.
Being on the outside of the crowd puts me in the center of love. Where I want to be.
Stop.
1. Set your timer. Write for 5 minutes on the prompt. No edits, no back-tracking, spell-check can be ignored. Just write.
2. Link up over here at Lisa-Jo's place.
3. This is the important rule: go visit the post of the person who linked up right before you. Read it. And leave them an encouraging note. THAT is the heart of the Five Minute Friday community. We'd love to have you be a part.
This week, we're writing about: CROWD.
When I was growing up, I always wanted to be a part of the "in" crowd. You know, the popular kids? The girls that have their act together? They're pretty, and smart - but not totally nerdy (I still don't know how they did that!) - and fun, and everyone wants to be with them, and be like them. And everyone LIKES them.
I had a great group of ffriends in school, and to this day a few of them are still my closest friends. The ones I call on when things are ugly. WHen I need a hug or an ear to listen - even when months go by and we haven't talked, that's where I turn for a friend first.
I went away to college (far away from home) so I could find myself. Needed to get out of my hometown. (Great place to raise a family - still is - but we;d lived there my whole life and my dad was super involved in the community so everyone knew who we were. EVERYONE.) So I wanted to go away where I didn't know a single soul. To learn who I was. Where there wasn't an in crowd, or any other clique, at least not right away. Where I wasn't already stereotyped into who I would be.
That falls into my top 3 excellent choices I've ever made in my whole life. I learned who I was, what made me tick. I found a new group of friends - a few more who now are in my closest circle of friends to this day. And I learned that it's not about being with a crowd. It's about finding the gem within the crowd - to pull it out and gather it close. To weed through the crowd and the chaos to find the ones who bring calm. The ones who block the crowd and bring the love.
Being on the outside of the crowd puts me in the center of love. Where I want to be.
Stop.
Saturday, March 8, 2014
Willing (Five Minute Friday)
Welcome to Five Minute Friday. Where a great big flash mob of brave souls deliver wonderful words for you to read. All on the same prompt, but never are two stories the same. Come join us!
The rules are simple.
1. Write for 5 minutes flat. No editing, backtracking, overthinking. Just write.
2. Link up here with the gang.
3. (The MOST IMPORTANT RULE!) visit the FMF Neighbor - the one who linked right before you - and leave a bit of encouragement for them. That is the heart of our community.
And here's my 5 minutes on:
WILLING.
There's a lot of talk about willing - are you always willing to do what God asks? Every time? Right when he asks? It's a popular sermon thought, and a theme throughout the Bible. And I like to think that I am. But deep down, sometimes I know, I am not willing. At least not if He asks me. Which is why sometimes I think instead of asking ... He tells me.
It's sort of like parenting. I learned (ok, sometimes I forget) to TELL the kids to do something if I didn't want to hear them tell me no. If I asked "will you please clear the dishes?" they could say no. And it would be on me, because I ASKED them. So instead, I say "S, please clear your dishes from the table." Now it's a command, and then there's no room to object - at least without consequences.
And so it goes with me. The Lord asks me to do a lot of things - and that's all well and good. But I am certain that if He had asked me to take a walk down the path of divorce, seeing my family torn by an extra-marital affair, and asked me to be gracious through it. To show the love of Christ to her. I would have said no. Really, who would volunteer to do that?! Not me.
BUT. He didn't ask me if I was willing. He allowed it to happen. (Don't mistake this for God bringing the divorce about Himself. He wouldn't do that. BUT He does let things happen, and there are consequences when folks make really lousy choices.)
And for days, weeks, months, YEARS, I fought tooth and nail, on my knees begging for it to be anything other than that conclusion. And still here I sit. And now, 4+ years later, I can see the good in it. The Lord has carried me through times harder than I could ever have imagined. And that's exactly why He didn't ask if I was willing. I would have thought it impossible to survive. To come out the other end with my heart healed, my faith stronger than when I went in, and a journey of grace that I never could have dreamed possible.
My unwilling self would have missed the opportunity to be a healing mentor. To show other women walking this same path, or a similar one, that God can indeed work even the awfulest of things for His Glory. So my unwilling self on this occasion says "thank you" for making sure it was a command - a command to follow Him, and to do what is right, with grace. Even if . And Especially if. I wasn't willing.
Stop.
(sorry, I ran over. confessing for all to see, I broke rule #1 this week)
The rules are simple.
1. Write for 5 minutes flat. No editing, backtracking, overthinking. Just write.
2. Link up here with the gang.
3. (The MOST IMPORTANT RULE!) visit the FMF Neighbor - the one who linked right before you - and leave a bit of encouragement for them. That is the heart of our community.
And here's my 5 minutes on:
WILLING.
There's a lot of talk about willing - are you always willing to do what God asks? Every time? Right when he asks? It's a popular sermon thought, and a theme throughout the Bible. And I like to think that I am. But deep down, sometimes I know, I am not willing. At least not if He asks me. Which is why sometimes I think instead of asking ... He tells me.
It's sort of like parenting. I learned (ok, sometimes I forget) to TELL the kids to do something if I didn't want to hear them tell me no. If I asked "will you please clear the dishes?" they could say no. And it would be on me, because I ASKED them. So instead, I say "S, please clear your dishes from the table." Now it's a command, and then there's no room to object - at least without consequences.
And so it goes with me. The Lord asks me to do a lot of things - and that's all well and good. But I am certain that if He had asked me to take a walk down the path of divorce, seeing my family torn by an extra-marital affair, and asked me to be gracious through it. To show the love of Christ to her. I would have said no. Really, who would volunteer to do that?! Not me.
BUT. He didn't ask me if I was willing. He allowed it to happen. (Don't mistake this for God bringing the divorce about Himself. He wouldn't do that. BUT He does let things happen, and there are consequences when folks make really lousy choices.)
And for days, weeks, months, YEARS, I fought tooth and nail, on my knees begging for it to be anything other than that conclusion. And still here I sit. And now, 4+ years later, I can see the good in it. The Lord has carried me through times harder than I could ever have imagined. And that's exactly why He didn't ask if I was willing. I would have thought it impossible to survive. To come out the other end with my heart healed, my faith stronger than when I went in, and a journey of grace that I never could have dreamed possible.
My unwilling self would have missed the opportunity to be a healing mentor. To show other women walking this same path, or a similar one, that God can indeed work even the awfulest of things for His Glory. So my unwilling self on this occasion says "thank you" for making sure it was a command - a command to follow Him, and to do what is right, with grace. Even if . And Especially if. I wasn't willing.
Stop.
(sorry, I ran over. confessing for all to see, I broke rule #1 this week)
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
The Hero (Behind The Scenes)
Welcome to Behind The Scenes, the link up hosted by my friend Crystal. Where we show you real life, not just the perfect (or imperfect) snapshot of reality.
This week, we had a delightful time celebrating with the hero of the elementary school.
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Our school makes a big deal about "Zero the Hero" (see the 0 on his shirt?) He comes every 10 days to school to help the kids learn about place holders. They do different exercises on the morning news show each time, and he comes specifically to the kindergarten classes so they can learn about counting by 10's and all sorts of stuff.
Then the 100th day of school is a HUGE celebration. They put sidewalk chalk down the whole road as you lead up to the school. They have special songs and all the kids make a big deal about it. The 5th & 4th graders especially love to show the younger kids. The kindergarteners made special crafts, and a zero the hero super-hero cape that they wore all day with the 100 on it. It was a riot. And the 100th day was REALLY LATE this year. Because we've had 13 (yes, seriously) snow days.
So this week, I wanted to show you the PE teacher who dresses up for these kids every 10 days, and then on the 100th day, he stood on the corner in the AM, in the freezing cold, to jump up and down and welcome all the buses, and get our kids excited about the power of zero.
Thank you, Zero the Hero, for being a hero to our kids. Every 10 days.
This week, we had a delightful time celebrating with the hero of the elementary school.
Our school makes a big deal about "Zero the Hero" (see the 0 on his shirt?) He comes every 10 days to school to help the kids learn about place holders. They do different exercises on the morning news show each time, and he comes specifically to the kindergarten classes so they can learn about counting by 10's and all sorts of stuff.
Then the 100th day of school is a HUGE celebration. They put sidewalk chalk down the whole road as you lead up to the school. They have special songs and all the kids make a big deal about it. The 5th & 4th graders especially love to show the younger kids. The kindergarteners made special crafts, and a zero the hero super-hero cape that they wore all day with the 100 on it. It was a riot. And the 100th day was REALLY LATE this year. Because we've had 13 (yes, seriously) snow days.
So this week, I wanted to show you the PE teacher who dresses up for these kids every 10 days, and then on the 100th day, he stood on the corner in the AM, in the freezing cold, to jump up and down and welcome all the buses, and get our kids excited about the power of zero.
Thank you, Zero the Hero, for being a hero to our kids. Every 10 days.
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