I Surrender Some... A Five Minute Friday post.

What is this? 2013? Tonight makes FOUR weeks... in a row, people!!! 

The Tribe that gathers online on Twitter on Thursday nights that make up the Five Minute Friday community is the best gathering of Flashmob writers around!  We wait for the one word prompt and we throw caution and hesitation and editing to the wind, and we let our fingers fly and our feelings feel and we just wait and see what flows out in five minutes (or so! Because, grace!) and we hit Publish without second guessing or backspacing!

Tonight one of our own seems to be nearing the end of life on this side of Heaven... and so in Andrews' honor, as we pray for God's Presence to be thick around him, our one word prompt is: SURRENDER! 

{GO}

Surrender.

I see the word and I think, yeah. That.
And a heavy sigh quickly follows.

Why is it that when we think of Surrender, it's all shadowy and defeated? Immediately we feel the loss --of something, even if we don't know what!

We see the giving up or giving in parts, but we don't often rush to fully embrace the ceasing and yielding parts. 

There can be such Peace in those parts! 
Why do we kick against actually doing the Surrendering
when it can so often lead to relief and rest?

I think of the modified hymn, I Surrender Some...

It's a parody, of course --but it rings true, right?

"Some to Jesus, I surrender. 

Some to Him I freely give. 

I will sometimes love and trust Him 

In His presence occasionally live. 

I surrender some. I surrender some. 

Some to Thee, my blessed Savior 

I surrender some..." 

I mean... of course the words are changed and what we sing out loud is ALL...

I surrender ALL...

But do I? Really? 

How long must I walk with Jesus before I stop forgetting that if He is asking me to lay something down... He has something better for me around the corner?

I mean, you guys. 
  Like Every. Single. Time.

Why do I forget so easily and this life I live... this heart I protect... I gave them both to Him years ago --in complete surrender!

I surrendered my life to His... 
My heart for His...

So when (not if!) He calls us to lay something down... to surrender a thing or a job or a dream or a person... well-- He simply must have something better for us.  

We must learn to lay down these things...
and live with our hands wide open,
holding on loosely... 

Because... can I tell you something?
  He has never ever once let me down.

He may not answer to me or give me all the details
(no matter how much I beg/pray/demand...
yeah, I'm real mature sometimes!)
but He has never left me out in the dark, 
alone and on my own,
regretting that I gave Him my all.

He is constantly working things out for my good!

Romans 8:28 says that He works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.  I don't know for sure if that is you, but I do know that that is me!

He is for my good! 
Psalms 73 says that His nearness IS my good! 

He is for my good, 
and He IS my good!
So why would I not surrender?

He can be trusted and
He has said it over and over and over again,
He is better than we think.

To surrender to Him...
it is not as big of a risk
as we are afraid of! 

Sometimes it feels like we are being asked to surrender something we were SURE He called us to in the first place. And yet... He is always smarter than us and He knows what is around the bend and if He is asking us to lay it down, there MUST be a reason!

Whatever it is He may be asking of you
to lay on the altar and fully surrender to Him,
rest assured, dear heart, He can be trusted! 

He always provides the sacrifice! 
He became the sacrifice... 
and all He asks for in return
is our hearts.

Not Some... 
      But ALL...

{STOP}

Well that one sort of felt a little all over the place,
but I hope you feel the struggle and the surrender! 

I think especially as Western Christians, we can tend to be stiff necked about surrender! We never want to give up or give in or give over control or authority or (fill in the blank!)... but when it comes to Jesus... I will never stop saying it:

He is ALL IN with you...
and His hearts' desire is that you will be
ALL IN with Him!

My Honey has a little ditty he's been writing and the chorus keeps running through my head...

"We love you, O God. 

    And we lay these things down..."

Oh Lord... let that be true!

"We surrender all. We surrender all. 

All to you, our precious Savior. 

We surrender all..."

Linking up with Kate Motaung and the #fmfparty Community today.  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: "SURRENDER"

The FMF lowdown: The gathering happens on Twitter on Thursday nights & then we write our hearts out & hit publish all over the interwebs on Thursday & Friday (& sometimes on Tuesdays!) It's where we encourage & uplift... where we share prayer requests & praise reports... where we talk food & friends & we find support & kindred hearts. It's where we are reminded that life is good & God is good & we're not alone... & then we all write for five minutes flat, a flash mob of wordsmiths letting our hearts & our fingers do the talking tapping & we hit publish before we can second guess it all away. We'd love to have you join us!

I'm also linking up with the lovely writer communities linked below:

Kelly Balarie for #RaRaLinkUp

Barbie Swihart for #Glimpsesofhisbeauty

Jennifer Dukes Lee for #TellHisStory

A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, THE LORD SPOKE TO ME AND THROUGH ME REGARDING SABBATH REST AND I TURNED MY 31 DAYS SERIES INTO AN EBOOK ON AMAZON.  IF YOU ARE FINDING YOURSELF IN NEED OF REST (WHICH --WHO ISN'T, REALLY?) CHECK OUT THIS SHORT, DAILY DEVOTIONAL  31 DAYS OF RESTING IN GOD ...IT'S EASIER/HARDER THAN YOU THINK!  

YOU CAN PURCHASE IT BY CLICKING HERE OR GRABBING IT FROM THE SIDE BAR TO THE RIGHT IF REST IS SOMETHING YOU KNOW YOU NEED, BUT JUST KEEP PUTTING OFF!