March 6, 2015

GATHER - A Five Minute Friday Post


I can't say it enough, really - I love my tribe! The Gathering that happens on Twitter on Thursday nights and then flashmob writes out their hearts and hits publish all over the interwebs on Thursday and Friday (and sometimes on Tuesdays!) But, I know... I'm like a broken record here, stuck on repeat! However today I am thinking of a different community. Let's just get started.  

This is Five Minute Friday and our Word Prompt for the day is: GATHER


{GO}

We have been talking about Gathering for weeks now. Well - really, for our whole lives! I wrote last week about how my Honey and I - we are just wired for Gathering and it is so deeply a part of our DNA that it just naturally happens all around us.

I have been talking If:Gatherings (livestreaming, on Voxer, and Local - in real life!) I have been talking about gatherings of groups in our home, at church, in coffee shops, at retreats, and even right here on the Internet... all intentionally building each other up and pushing each other on.

Today, however... these girlies are on my heart:



They are mine... although technically only one of them... and really - more than mine, they are His!  But I have claimed them all as my own and loved them through all these growing years!  

I have heard their laughter and held their tears... listened to their giggly whispers and their angry screams... I have pulled them close and prayed them through.  All as they learned to walk and talk, and run and fall (and get back up again) in all the fun and not so fun ways. They learned it all, together. 

They have been up and down, full of joy and full of somethin' elsebroken and healed!  They have had good times and hard times and through all of their times, they have gathered -sometimes in tight dark corners and sometimes in wide open spaces full of light.  


And now they are (technically) all grown up and I find I pray for them still... and I know that I always will! 

Over the next couple of weekends, we will gather friends and family around our Holly Dolly and celebrate the life that God has been knitting and forming inside of her... He has been growing this baby under her ribs, right next to her heart and he has worked his way right into ours as well! More than any other prayer, we pray that her Little Man grows up hearing the rhythm of God's heartbeat beating for him, too --that he knows that he is loved. Cherished. Blessed.


We will gather around these new parents and we will hold them up and help them through. We will do the dishes, cook some meals, fold the laundry, and just (for the love) let Mama sleep once in awhile. (Can I get an Amen?) 

It really does take a Village and not a one of us has 'got this' on our own! Lisa-Jo is right... every one of us, at one point (or a million) is #SurprisedByMotherhood and oh how we want our girlie to know that she not alone.  Ever.   

--That this is hard and exhausting and will make you laugh-cry and cry-laugh *more than a sane person should. But also that this is the most amazing job she will ever ever have. 

--That this will stretch her and challenge her and change her in all the best ways.  It will teach her how her heavenly Father loves because oh my goodness there is nothing like falling in love with your own for the very first time and knowing --really knowing-- that as much as you love them, He loves them more!

So we will gather family (and friends that are like family) this weekend and next weekend we will do it again with the friends she has grown up with... We will play silly games and snack on food, we will watch her unwrap All The Adorable Baby Things and we will ooh and aah and celebrate this life... 

...his life, yes --but this life.  The one we are blessed and honored to be living together, as we have gathered through all of these years. 

We will celebrate the heritage and the history that we have... as well as the friendship and the future that continues to grow! 

(...and, obviously, we will Love. This. Baby!)

{STOP}

I hit the Five Minute Mark at * but needed to wrap up my thoughts! I am having all the feels, and (technically) this won't even make me the grandma yet!  Holly Dolly and my own Girlie have been BFFs since they arrived at Gatherings in car seats and were set down side by side.  They have been side by side ever since!

We are blessed to have lived life through all of these years with long term, fully invested friends and we do not take this for granted.  What about you?  Do you have friends now that you grew up with?  If so, how do you stay in contact and connected? We know we may not always live in the same small town - so we are intentional about spending time together now, while we are still so close!



I love the #fmfparty Community that gathers on Twitter and all across the Internet on Thursday nights and on Fridays... on into the next week, where we encourage and uplift... where we share prayer requests and praise reports... where we talk food and friends and we find support and kindred hearts and we are reminded that life is good and God is good and we are not alone... and then we all write for five minutes flat, a flash mob of wordsmiths letting our hearts and our fingers do the talking tapping and we hit publish before we can second guess... we just let Him flow!   Five Minute Fridays gives us the chance to dive right in and share what He puts on our hearts! Click here to read what others have to say about "GATHER"


Oh ...the fine print: if you don't know what FMF is!  Five Minute Fridays have been hosted by Lisa Jo Baker.  This week we start gathering over at Kate Motaung's.  FMF is open to anyone, so to learn more about it - and to jump in yourself (the more the merrier!) or just to find a linky to see what everyone is writing about today - click HERE!  The idea is to simply write... for Five Minutes flat... no editing, no deep thinking - or at least REthinking, no spell check - just write! Let it flow! We all write using a prompt that Lisa posts at 10pm Thursday night (EST.)  I'm loving the community of amazing bloggers and the creativity that flows from these magical Five Minutes!


25 comments :

  1. So sweet! Your daughter is so lucky to have such a great friend! And you are lucky to have watched them grow. That little baby is indeed going to be loved! I hear and see it in every word in this post! Love ya friend!

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    1. Amen and Amen, my friend! It was good to hear your voice today! #VoxerRocks

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  2. What a sweet and beautiful reminder of how we are to love one another. We show love in our action of gathering not just the words we say. Love you my friend.

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    1. Amen, my friend! May we remember to always gather and put action to our words!

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  3. Your girlie, and your other girlie's, are blessed to have you and Honey on their side! New life is so motivating and WONDER FULL - how fun to be involved with the showers and the excitement. Have a fabulous time gathering.

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    1. Wonder FULL, indeed! Thanks so much for stopping by, friend!

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  4. Ah, baby showers. So much joy!

    I have three friends who've been in my life for a long stretch, two for 18 (almost 19 years...how did I get this old?) the other for almost 16. I met Erich and Matt in 7th grade and now I'm godmother to their respective children. I met Faith in high school and we've giggled and cried our way through everything from bad hairstyles to prom to college graduation. We've drifted in and out of each others lives at different points, but that's always been okay because we crossed over into family long ago.

    I don't consider myself "good" at relationships (there's always a certain level of awkwardness I'm feeling), but God definitely knows what He's doing when He draws people together!

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    1. Family... and friends that become family... yes - to the drifting and moving in and out but always being oh so available when needed... such a blessing! He's pretty smart in how and who He connects us with!

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  5. I love surprised by motherhood. It was a warm hug that I needed as I started off this new road to motherhood. I love your excitement in sharing. :)

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    1. I loved it too, Amanda! I read it early and then re-read it again before loaning it out... and then I bought the audio book because - LISA JO's ACCENT!!! :) Thanks so much for stopping by!

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  6. Anonymous2:46 PM

    Such sweet friendships, Karrilee...and what a blessing to walk through so many special times as sisters in the Lord. Loved the take on gather and well, it just doesn't get better than new babies, does it?!

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    1. Sisters in the Lord... that is what they are and really truly - it was a blessing because our Girlie is an Only - but she never really felt like one thanks to these sissy's of hers! Oh yes - babies are the best!!!

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    2. "new babies" made me think of Brian Regan and a skit he does about buying cards for specific occassions... so funny!

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  7. This is a sweet post about the sweetest things in life. Genuine friendship, miracle of life, joyful togetherness.

    Have a wonderful weekend!

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    1. Amen - truly the sweetest things in life, right? Friendships, the miracle of new life, togetherness - that is the good stuff, right? Enjoy your weekend as well! Thanks for stopping by!

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  8. Ah, I'm learning the importance of godly women who love my child as if she were their own this week. I am all kinds of thankful that I have a village full of mamas out there praying and giving wise counsel in ways I never could. You are blessed to be part of that village!

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    1. It's such a gift, right? I remember the first time I heard my girlie refer to a friend as "Mom" I got a little defensive with the title - as if I was in jeopardy of losing it... but I quickly came to see what a gift it really is and I am so thankful for the other Mom's in her life!

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  9. Love this and how love how you have been a mentor to those precious girls! Beautiful thoughts on "gather". Love you friend!

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  10. "because oh my goodness there is nothing like falling in love with your own for the very first time and knowing --really knowing-- that as much as you love them, He loves them more!"

    Yes!!! When I read this, my momma heart connected so deeply with this. I remember so well looking into the face of my eldest daughter just after the wild and crazy ride that was her birth (I really need to blog that story!) and knowing deep in my very soul that I would lay down my life for her without a moment's hesitation because of how much I love her (and her little sisters too!). As I was reflecting on that moment a few weeks later in the middle of the night, I remember whispering to her as we sat in the dark living room how much I loved her and that God loved her too and then the realization that as fiercely and passionately as I love her that He loves her SO much more than I ever could. So I whispered that to her too and it's a message that I keep telling her and her sisters to this very day :) Congratulations to Miss Holly Dolly and her hubby on their wee one to come! It is such a wonderful and exciting time and I'm glad you get to share it with them and gather to celebrate it!

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    1. Thanks so much, my friend! There really is so many lessons we learn about God when we are learning how to parent! He's so hands on and present... and He loves us (and them) so much more than we can grasp! Thanks for stopping by!

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  11. Congrats!! I am going to be an aunt again and June and it's amazing how those innocent little lives really make you stop and look at your perspective on life!

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  12. Such sweet images to gather your little ones to you and then to release them and gather again as you anticipate celebrating a new life.

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    1. Amen - and is this not parenting? Letting go and gathering again... letting go and gathering again... over and over and over!

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Thanks so much for stopping by! I always love to hear your thoughts! Remember to: Speak Life - Be Love - Shine On!
~Karrilee~

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