Real

5 minutes of writing your heart out without editing or need for perfection on a Friday with a fun little prompt from Lisa-Jo. 

Real

I want real. I want honest. I want truth. Yet sometimes I get in the way of me and find myself stuck in what I’ve thought is real because of what I’ve been taught, heard, what’s been spoken over me, and what’s been my experience.  There’s freedom in knowing the real parts of life.  There’s a battle to be had when you’re fighting to become who you are all the while resting in knowing that it is who you because He says it is so.  It is so.  No matter what whispers you hear and what lies sneak their way into your head…His word stands firm.  He is the author and perfecter.  He is the creator.  He knows who He made you to be.  That’s the real I want to know.  That’s the real I’m fighting and battling for because it’s worth it.

Your turn!

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

 

I write because…

I’m a learner at heart.

As I read and write…I learn about myself, about God, about others, about life.

When I write, I want to capture a moment, a feeling, a piece of truth staring me down, and share that with whoever is listening.

And just maybe, sometimes, the words might strike a cord with someone else’s heart like they did with mine. They might bring up a question, bring them back to a moment, touch them, make them feel alive, let us share life.

Because when I feel deeply, the words are part of the story and what I see.  I don’t want the moment to go unnoticed, to slip away.  So, I capture the memory in the words that portray beautiful truth.  And when this happens, how can I not share the painting?

As life truly is a work of art made up of brush strokes that move us along in the journey.  So, I splash words on paper to evoke inspiration, encouragement, freedom, and the simple every day moments.

Good writing changes me, deepens me, makes my eyes go big and sometimes makes them green with tears.  And good writing itself makes me want to write to stir up the paint to make something beautiful that expresses the abundant life in Christ.

Why do you write?

Weddings

One of my absolute favorite parts of a wedding is looking at the groom when the bride walks into the room.  Everyone stands up and turns to look at the bride, but I love seeing his face instead because I know she’ll be beaming all the way down the aisle.  He’s the one who is waiting at the end and can’t wait to meet her eyes.  Especially because when they finally see each other you just know so much love is being transferred through their eyes.

Some of you may know that I don’t really see in vivid “pictures,” but I see more in words, feelings, concepts.  I don’t know how to explain how I see other than not in clear, vibrant pictures.  All of that to say that today after I got back from a prayer walk I started asking God about what He sees and He gave me the verse 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”  Along with that, He showed me about how He sees me and how I am completely forgiven, clothed in an absolutely gorgeous white wedding dress.  To trump that, He is the groom looking with those expectant, excited, loving, forgiving, and full eyes.  I know, I know, sounds a bit lovey dovey and corny, but then there’s so much power in seeing ourselves as He actually sees us thanks to the blood of Christ.  When we fix our eyes on Him, we see that He has already won the race for us.  Such freedom in living and standing on His promises.

One BIG Step Forward

Amazing. I am literally amazed and astounded at events that unfolded tonight.  On such a hard day, I took a huge step forward.  Not gonna lie, I’m surprised at how far I’ve come in a month.

Salty

Since I got my wisdom teeth out I have to drink salt water after every meal…yuck! I can’t stand salt water!! Every time I gag and want to throw up and then end up eating/drinking something afterward anyway to get the horrible taste out of my mouth.  Thank goodness I only have to do this until Friday and then I’m free.

But the thing about my lovely salt water mixes is that I control the amount of salt, how well mixed in, and the amount of water.  Sometimes I cheat and don’t mix the salt in and let it settle to the bottom.  Other times, I don’t put in enough salt or I put in too much water and the drink doesn’t taste quite as bad.

 

Here’s some of what the Bible says about salt:

Matthew 5:13

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

Mark 9:50

Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other.

Luke 14:34

Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?

Colossians 4:5-6

Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

James 3:11

Can both fresh water and saltwater flow from the same spring?

—

Unfortunately, I do the same thing with conversations, relationships, and life in general that I do with my salt water mixes.  Sometimes I just don’t want to be salty.  I don’t want to “season” my conversation with salt–it’s much easier to let the salt settle and only infiltrate part of my life.  Compartmentalizing the salt happens far too easily…

Yet at the same time I desire to be so salty that whoever “drinks” me in can’t deny that the salt permeates my ENTIRE life–so salty that they can’t deny the presence and power of salt in my life.   To remain salty, I can’t choose a life of complacency.  I have to be filled through study, prayer, meditation, relationships, time, ect and I need to make sure I help fill others.

So, my challenge until Friday is to make sure my life and salt drinks are extra salty so I don’t get dry socket and the salt saturates my entire life.

Depending on Others

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand p. 143

“…If I found a job, a project, an idea or a person I wanted–I’d have to depend on the whole world.  Everything has strings leading to everything else.  We’re all so tied together. We’re all in a net, the net is waiting, and we’re pushed into it by one single desire.  You want a thing and it’s precious to you.  Do you know who is standing ready to tear it out of your hands? You can’t know, it may be so involved and so far away, but someone is ready, and you’re afraid of them all.  And you cringe and you crawl and you beg and you accept them–just so they’ll let you keep it. And look at whom you come to accept.”

….”What do you want? Perfection?”

“–or nothing. So, you see, I take the nothing.”

“That doesn’t make sense.”

“I take the only desire one can really permit oneself. Freedom, Alvah, freedom.”

“You call that freedom?”

“To ask nothing. To expect nothing. To depend on nothing.”