Five Minute Friday

Throw off the need to be perfect.  Pull up a chair.  Take just 5 minutes to write out your thoughts, your heart, and whatever you like.  That’s the heart behind this little time set aside on Fridays.  To write and write and be free in your writing.  With a nice little prompt for some guidance.  Here goes!

Tender

At first glance, you’re one of those words I deem as awkward and unusable.  Yet, I’ll give you a chance today.  When I look beyond the surface, I see that you mean soft, gentle, showing concern or sympathy, to offer or present something formally affectionate, loving, mild, delicate.   You don’t sound quite so sticky in my mouth when coupled with those other words.  In fact, you remind me of the tender mercies that are new every morning.  Each morning, I get to open my eyes and start anew.  Or more accurately I get tousled and nudged awake by a little pup ready to play.  He’s tender.  He’s soft and cuddly.  He embodies both tenderness and fierceness.  A fierce loyalty–probably too much considering how he wants to be near me all.the.time. (i love that…)  That’s the beautiful thing about adjectives.  They can exist side by side without edging one or the other out.  They complement and show fully a complex and complicated person.  We don’t have to choose to be either or, but can be both.  There’s such sweet freedom to be found in the ability to just be yourself.  To celebrate who you are and not make excuses or talk down.  Instead to embrace all that He’s made you.

Your turn!  This was a hard one for me and the words didn’t flow…maybe it struck you in an easier way? 

busy falling in love

in case you didn’t see…this little guy has been vying for all of my attention lately.

5 minutes on Friday: Vivid

5 minutes of writing! Hello Friday!

Vivid

that moment I knocked on his door

the plane ride home

laying on my bedroom floor

a basement computer

a rickety dinosaur

singing on the beach

looking at the flags

The lines could go on and on to capture the vivid moments of life.  The snapshots of memories still fresh.  The way the feelings come rushing with a slight tilt of my head toward remembering.  Some are sorted and processed.  Others remain in progress and messy.  Each holds such weight and shaping.  Hindsight is 20/20 and God knows.  But God. But God. Hope sometimes seems lost but God says otherwise.  Things seem too messy to redeem but God sweeps down to create a brush stroke to shed glory and praise.  But God.  I cannot But God can. God can redeem.  God can make all things beautiful in their time.  God can shower me with hopes deferred.  God can. God can and God will do whatever is best.

Ask

 

I love this ring.  I’d never pegged myself as a “big ring” girl until I saw this one.  The zebra print, the stretchy band, sparkles…I pondered for a bit and then just had to have it.  Walked out of the store wearing it on my pretty little left hand. A happy little reminder to go with my tattoo–a “Oh hey, love, I see you” from God.

Thus, in an effort to keep the ring pretty and clean, I took it off once before washing my hands at Barnes and Nobles.  Set it on the counter. Promptly dried my hands and walked out.

Without the ring.

When I felt my hand go to play with the ring because let’s be honest I’m always finding a necklace, earring, or ring to occupy my hands with…well, the ring came up painfully absent.

I rushed back to the bathroom to search the counter in vain.  I even peaked at the top of the trash can.

Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.

Except I’d been playing this little song all day and it was stuck in my head!

(If you haven’t had a chance to listen to the songs from The Story then go right now and do so! They’re all fabulous…I am partial toward Job, Joseph, Esther, Ruth & Naomi, and Mary Magdalene)

Back to the story…normally, I’d figure that the ring was lost and I might as well beat myself up over losing it and be sad, let it go, and move on…but then I felt that nudge and reminder that “You gotta ask if you want an answer.”

So, I did.  I determined that I would ask.  I’d go to the help center and ask.  I awkwardly explained how I left my zebra print ring in the restroom to, of course, the male worker and waited for a response.  He said he would check so he picked up the phone, but then must have seen it tucked away.  He picked it up and handed it over. I profusely thanked him and walked off.

I slipped it back on my finger and breathed a huge breath of love.

Since one of my top love languages is gifts, this was completely a gift that flooded my heart with God’s love.  A tangible gift slipped onto my hand from the One my heart loves.  A reminder that even when all I feel is alone that I’m not.  He’s slipped the ring on my finger and I’m chosen. Delighted in and loved fiercely.

Regardless of circumstances and even in the areas where I doubt, His love knows no bounds.  Even where we can’t see Him, He’s there.  So, look for Him even in the little nudges just for you and trust Him even if you don’t get the circumstances you want…something better is coming along and He’s the ultimate gift.

5 Minute Friday Awake

Awake

Awake, my dear.

You keep hiding behind the curtains

Waiting for someone to call you on stage

Not knowing that you’ve been invited

To dance

To laugh

To play

To awaken yourself

and awaken the world to all that you live

don’t hide anymore

let them see you

let them behold the one He loves

let them take in all the beauty

that He created

so, darling

stop trying

to be anyone else

celebrate you

comparison skirts the edge of the cliff

leaving no winners

so awake

awake

awake to the life set before you

only you can sing your song

only you can awaken the desires

dream the dreams

do the good works

planned long before

just for you

stop looking around

and start living

awake.

———

5 minutes of writing your little heart out however that looks–sometimes it’s quiet, sometimes it’s loud, sometimes there’s stops and starts while other times you find flow, the beauty lies in writing what only you can do in just 5 minutes and leaving the ends loose because it’s okay not to go back and edit, edit, edit.  there’s freedom in just writing. so join in on the fun and link up at lisa jo’s for the prompt: awake

 

8 days and counting!

puppy tips welcome =)

Home?

i’m still catching my breath not sure if it’s really okay to breathe again…still tentatively being like, wait really? and yet all the time thinking oh hey maybe this is just the beginning of a beautiful year of celebrating!

so without further adieu here is the current photo menagerie of the place i’m calling “home?”

it’s a start. a work in progress. and likely things will change, but so far i do love it and it’s me.

first off. i legit love my bed.

and well as you can see…i have a love for shoes and standing mirrors.

I’m in love with this shelf I found–for now it’s here in the kitchen! Plus, the clock has always made me happy.

a little cluttery but convenient and logically placed to include all sorts of happy over here from my mod podge magnetic board to my yellow cup to the paper towels with cupcakes on them to my pink blender to my bright colored silver wear.

love from africa postcard + marathon love water bottle + cute white table + painted chair=happy

the words came of course…because I love me some words and can stand in front of the fridge for FAR too long playing with these–at least I’m not eating?!

and this one found a spot on my wall.

here’s my lived-in living room

i LOVE accessories! hello tons of earrings and some necklaces! and cute african boys giggling at me as I get ready.

added a few pops of color in here =)

this room gets SO much sunlight in the afternoon it’s glorious.

transformed this little area into a nice workspace.

and here’s some more books and more africa.

and oh hey craft corner!

and lastly cue my fave furniture find!

there you have it! the lovely picture tour =)

Roar

5 minute Fridays.

Now’s the time where we get to write, write, write for five minutes without worrying about editing or stressing over sentence structure on a pre-picked topic.  I always look forward to this part of the week and today’s topic definitely adds a punch!

Roar

Let love explode and bring the dead to life
A love so bold
To bring a revolution somehow
Now I’m lost in Your freedom
This world I’ll overcome
My God’s not dead
He’s surely alive
He’s living on the inside
Roaring like a lion
Let hope arise and make the darkness hide
My faith is dead
I need a resurrection somehow
Let hope arise and make the darkness hide
Let Heaven roar and fire fall
Come shake the ground

I love this song and when I saw the prompt I immediately began singing the lyrics in my head.  There’s such hope, anticipation, and conviction in the words.  God rose again. The grave didn’t conquer him.  The war is won.  The victory’s here. The celebration is at hand.  I’m thankful for a God who loves fiercely and fights.  A God who knows when to speak and when to be silent.  Jesus exemplified this over and over again.  At times He offered no response while others He ripped a part the temple.  He is GOOD.  He roars with love.  The earth trembles at the sound of His name.  He’s the only one to hope in, trust in, and place all your bets on.  He’s the Lord God Almighty and He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever.  Amen.

 

your turn! take 5 minutes and write away =)

Just jump

I’ve been thinking up all these fabulous posts that I can’t wait to share with you but in the meantime I’ve been playing house and waiting on setting up Internet….here’s a sneak peak of what I’ve been working on:

 

Welcome

Welcome Home. 

How do you pack up all your things and shuffle them around trying to decide what stays, what goes, and what gets thrown out? How do you hold back the tears of unwrapping bits of your deferred dreams over and over? How do you create a home in a place that looks bare and uninviting, but holds potential?

Time.

Kairos. The right or opportune moment.

(and a little help from family who decides to just grab all your stuff because they’re not emotionally invested in it….)

So many things in life need a little bit more time.  God’s timing hardly ever seems to be my timing.  My timing would find me packing for Africa last year.  My timing wouldn’t find me walking up steps to a new home in the same snowy place.

But here in the moments of “excuse me, what are you doing, God?” He’s with us.  Beckoning us to hold on to hope.  Reminding us to keep worshipping Him through all situations and circumstances.  Hindsight will show so much.  Wait for it because then we’ll see the beauty of His timing.  We’ll be celebrating up and down the streets with thanksgiving.

And a little side note love that sets my heart singing is that the very word Kairos sounds so very much like Kyrios. The Kyrios that sweet Angie Smith talked about at Women of Faith.  The Lord. The one my heart loves. The Kyrios who Peter called out to on the water to come save him.  A Kyrios who knows the Kairos for you.  He knows the perfect time for everything.

Rest in that even when all seems lost.  Goodness is on its way.

Have you seen how God’s timing is different than yours? What helps you keep grounded when the timing isn’t happening when you’d like?