5 Minute Friday: Roots

Now, set your timer, clear your head, for five minutes of free writing without worrying about getting it right.

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to 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..

OK, are you ready? Please give us your best five minutes on:::

Roots…

Jeremiah 17:7-8 NIV

⁷ “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,

    whose confidence is in him.
⁸ They will be like a tree planted by the water
    that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
    its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
    and never fails to bear fruit.”

John 4:13-14 

¹³ Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

The words of Jeremiah 17:7-8 explain what it means to trust in the LORD so well.  And what if we stop and think about what those words say?  Where do your roots go?  What quenches your thirst?  Money?  Power?  Material things?  Your own self-confidence, self-strength, ego?  The way others lift you up on a pedestal and tell you how great you are?  Your fabulous car, house, clothes?  The loads and loads of things you buy to make yourself  "happy"?  Food?  Drinks?  Parties?  

When your soul reaches out to those things...is it truly fed?  Is your thirst quenched?  Or do you simply find yourself needing more?  Worrying more?  Afraid of more things?  What do those things really do for you?

When, instead, the very roots of your soul reach out to the Living Water, our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ, things are so different.  No longer do you need to be afraid of the things of this world.  No longer do you need to worry.  No longer will your life be fruitless.  Jesus promises that when we drink of the water only He can give, when we trust in Him, we will have eternal life.  We will have the support and love and strength that only He can provide. 

So, where do your roots go?  To the drought of this world?  Or to the living water Jesus provides?



counting 1,000 gifts ...
212.  the words of Jeremiah 17:7-8
213.  the voice of a loved one on the phone
214.  chocolate
215.  relief from a three days old migraine
216.  warm sweaters on a chilly day
217.  the memory of a spontaneous hug from my beloved godson a couple nights ago..."just because"
218.  the musical talent with which God has blessed all three of my children

 

5 Minute Friday: Look

Now, set your timer, clear your head, for five minutes to just write without worrying if it’s just right or not.

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to 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. 


OK, are you ready? Won’t you please give me your best five minutes on:::

Look…

When you look in your mirror, what do you see? Do you see someone beautiful? Or someone wretched and ugly and broken?

When you look at other people, what do you see? Do you see someone beautiful? Or someone you'd rather avoid because they look different or rough or dirty?

When you look at your children, if you have children, what do you see? Sinful, naughty little sprites who make messes everywhere they go? Or do you see your children...who you love more than anything else, who no matter what they do...you will always see through the eyes of love...

Once on a mission trip, we were asked to look at a collection of photos and think about the people in the photos. And I admit it....I looked and I saw some people I would be happy to hang out with. I saw some people I would rather not look in the eye. I saw some people who might have scared me if I had to pass them on the sidewalk. I saw some people who I would have felt sorry for, but might have turned away from. I saw some who I am pretty sure were much better than me. I saw some people who I judged...harshly. Just from a photo.

Then we were told to look at those photos again from a different perspective. From God's eye-view. To LOOK at them and see those people as God saw them.....
And then I saw...beautiful people. People of worth who need a savior just like I do. People who have hard lives and hard times, who need the love of God just like I do. I saw children of the same Heavenly Father who have the same needs I have.

God looks at us through eyes of love. He sent His Son for us. To die, for us. To cover our wretched, ugly, sin-filled lives with the blood of the Lamb. To dress us in the beautiful clothing of redeemed holiness. Because of love. When we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, God sees us as His children. He loves us no matter what. No matter if we can't be perfect. No matter if we make mistakes. No matter what. He sees us through the eyes of love...

Go take a look in the mirror again, or at the world again...what do you see? What does God see?

Singing on Sunday: Live Like That

Sidewalk Prophets

"Is there evidence that I've been changed?

When they see me, do they see You?"

5 minute Friday: Race

Now, set your timer, clear your head, for five minutes to just write without worrying if it’s just right or not.

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to 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..

Ready, set, go....

RACE

Hebrews 12:1-3

New International Version (NIV)

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

"And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us...."  Some days that doesn't seem very easy...to persevere.   We're busy, busy, busy...just trying to get through the next five minutes, the next hour, the next day, the next week...  Always on the go, always racing for the next event or the next stop or the next...

But that's not really the race these verses mean.  The race marked out for us.  The race with Jesus at the finish line...waiting to welcome us to eternity.  Jesus, who suffered, bled and died.  Just for us.  Jesus who gave up EVERYTHING to win life for each person who believes.  Fix your eyes on Jesus.  The pioneer and perfecter of our faith...who for the joy set before him  endured the cross....

So what can we endure for that same joy?  What can we strive for to reach that joy at the finish line?  How will we run the race?  With anger, bitterness, fear, pettiness, shallowness?  Or with strength and endurance, with a heart fixed on Him, our eyes focused on Jesus?

Run the race, friends...run strong, persevere, focus!

Stop

Of migraines and asthma and aching backs....and joy

Lately, I've had a growing number of migraines.  Two months ago, I finally went to see my doctor about them.  I got a prescription to take at the first signs of a migraine.  In two months, I've had 8 migraines...three in the last three days.  It's getting a little old.  But I am grateful that the medication seems to take the worst of it away, eventually. 

I was also diagnosed about a month ago with allergy induced asthma.  As I've been learning how to deal with that, I find I pay a lot of attention to my body and how it's feeling and reacting to things.  And I find I am a little discouraged with everything that is going on.

And to top it all off, my back and neck have been driving me crazy lately...a visit to the chiropractor yesterday seems to have calmed that down a bit.  Thank goodness!  Rest on my heat pad will help, too.

Sometimes, I feel like whining and complaining...and often I do.  But, I was reminded today that I can let these things bring me down...turn me into a grumpy girl...a whiny girl...focused on the pain and the illness and the depression that can follow....I can choose to wallow in a bad attitude, an "I'm so sorry for myself" attitude....

Or...I can choose joy.  I can choose to be grateful for the rest my body demands (which I don't take often enough), for the meds I have now that help keep the symptoms under better control.  I can choose joy.  I can choose what?  Joy?  In pain?  In an aching body that keeps me from doing things at times? 

I CAN choose my attitude.  I can choose to praise my God. I can sing to Him through my pain, through my illness...and allow Him to fill me with His strength, His joy, His attitude, His light.  In Acts 16, Paul and Silas, after being stripped and beaten and thrown into prison, sang to their Lord in the darkness of their cell.  They sang with the joy of the love of God.  Nehemiah 8:10 says, "Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." 

The joy of the Lord is my strength.  I choose joy.  Will you?

Singing on Sunday - Turn Around

A Change in Me...

Alright, so it's been a while since I've been here....having trouble putting thoughts on a blank page lately.  Lots going on in my head so that every time I try to put the words together into coherent sentences...well, I freeze and it just doesn't happen.  So here goes...let's see what happens....

Lately, I have been putting into perspective what I want my life to look like.  A less cluttered, clean and peaceful home.  A schedule that doesn't make me drop down exhausted at the end of every day.  Plenty of time to spend with my Lord in Bible study, prayer and just resting in His presence.  Some semblance of organization.  No more "I don't know."  No more doing things just because it's good for someone else, even if it's killing me.  No more wishy washy.  Making decisions based on what God wants in my life.  Setting goals, looking forward.  Spending time with the people who mean the most to me.  Staying in touch with all those I love better.  My own brother lives three blocks away from me....I see him maybe once every few months.  Ridiculous.  Less worry, less stress...more faith.

And I realized something just a few days ago.  I realized that I am farther along that path than I thought.  I realized that I no longer stress and worry about money like I used to.  I know what I have and what I don't.  I know my debts and the things I need to take care of.  And I know that it will all be met.  I know that my God who loves me, also provides for me.  If I look back in my life, I see over and over and over just how well God has provided.  I see all the time and energy and sleep I wasted worrying over things that God had under control.  There is such FREEDOM in letting that worry go.

I worry about the people in my life and whether or not I am pleasing them.  When really, the only one I truly answer to is God.  And if I am living my life the way He wants....I will probably still not please every person in my path, but I will please Him.  I can't control the way someone else reacts to a decision I make or the way I behave or the words I say.  But if I am doing everything in love, compassion and truth then I have nothing to regret.  I know there will be people who don't like me.  I know there will be people who get angry with me.  I know there will be people who no longer want anything to do with me.  I will still pray for those I care about.  I will still behave with love and compassion and truth.  There is FREEDOM in letting go of that worry.

There is a change in me.  I am calmer.  I worry less about how much I will accomplish each day and more about how I spent my day reflecting my God.  I look forward to the future with assurance that when I focus on Him, my life will be as it should.

Peace.  May you have peace today as you let God handle things.  Step into that freedom...

Philippians 4:6-7

New Living Translation (NLT)

⁶ Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. ⁷ Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.