Oh my Goodness... Joy! What Joy to be able to hang out on Twitter last night for the Five Minute Friday party! I have missed this Tribe and it was so good to be back and reconnect!
Here's to a brand New Year... and getting back to a lovely routine that includes spending a bit more time in this little corner of the interwebs, pouring out my heart! I have missed connecting and interacting with y'all!
So here we are: The first Friday of the year... and you know that means that we are gathering a flashmob of writers to type free and fast... all centered around one simple word.
That One Word Prompt today is MOTIVATE --because, of course, right? (This is a Five Minute Friday post, which simply means I set a timer and free write for five minutes flat, add a few photos, and hit Publish!)
{GO}
Ah yes... MOTIVATE...
Motivation... Drive...
It all goes right along nicely with the New Year.
I'm not one for Resolutions as much as I am one for Goals - both short term and long term, but I will be honest here... (of course!) :
Last year was rough.
It's no secret.
Some of the ways are out in the open and some of them are held close to our hearts. We were wounded and broken through much of 2017. Many of our plans were... well, you know how that goes! (Prov 19:21)
We laid down a lot of what we wanted... or what we thought we wanted... and we gave room --made room-- for grace!
Of course --there were high points and blessings, too!
It turns out if we will keep our eyes wide open, there is always a mixture of both high and low... of both mountain tops and valleys...
So here we are, at the break of a new dawn and this is when we huddle in close and we awake to dreaming, yet again!
This is a new day... a new year... and we feel Joy already coming for us, even when our weary hearts and healing bodies are slow to line up with the Truth!
We feel Hope arising and let me tell you...
...that is ALWAYS a great feeling!
When it comes to motivation lately,
I'm a broken record.
While Scripture motivates us and while spending time in prayer leads us... there is something somewhat (although, not really!) unexpected that is bringing me motivation... inspiration... and reawakening my ability and desire to dream again!
I can't stop talking about this movie... this soundtrack... this feast for the eyes and ears and how it is anointed and thick with God-whispers and a message of belonging and family and tribe and the importance --no, necessity!-- for Dreaming and Adventure and the willingness to take a Risk!
You see, for much of 2017, we began to doubt some of the Dreams we jumped into... we began to wonder if the risk was worth it. We began to realize that saying Yes also ended up meaning having to say No to some things. I know... I know!
We knew this... but we didn't really see some things that we still feel called to do get pushed further down on our list of things to do! We didn't really realize we were shrinking back and becoming less of who we are.
I stopped making art...
painting, photography, poetry.
I stopped making time to write...
here or in other spaces, or even in my own journals.
My Honey struggled as well...
We are people of peace and Presence
and yet it seems we were becoming
people of stress and sadness.
In the midst of it all, we were given this precious gift of Lil' Miss. And oh my goodness, she is reason enough to dream again... to pray through the weeds and try to find our footing once again in what it is we are called to and why we were willing to jump off the edge in the first place!
So The Greatest Showman... this movie,
this masterpiece of art in all forms...
...it is breathing life and hope and JOY
back in to me!
It's a musical and so there is singing and dancing and it is breathtaking!
It is a circus (for real!) so there is color and magic and beauty and oh my goodness if you don't encounter God at some point or another during this movie that has (so they think) nothing at all to do with God... well, I'm not sure how you did it!
I'm making plans to see it again... and I've been listening to the soundtrack nonstop! There is something in this movie that God is releasing this year and I can not wait to see how it all unfolds... how it reaches in and stirs up dreams long pushed aside and how it releases a Kingdom FEAST of HOPE and JOY into this Stuck and Starving World!
I felt His breath hot on my neck, whispering and waking up my sleepy spirit to create and to live and to laugh again... I sensed His excitement sit right down* beside me in that darkened movie theater and I experienced the joy and hope of New, weeks before the New Year arrived!
I encountered a reawakening inside that I knew I needed, and yet still --it took my breath away!
{STOP}
Now I know... I know this is a movie based on the life of a man who was --well, like all of us... sinful and fallen.
This is a cleaned up version...
focused only on the good...
It is for the Dreamers and the Dancers...
for the Sleepers and the Singers...
for the Hopers and the Healers...
for the Lost and the Lonely...
so that they can be Found and Set Free
to be who they were created to be!
Listen - as good as the movie itself is, and the soundtrack... the Behind The Scenes Run Through's of the cast going over the music is GOLDEN!!!
To see people LOVING what they do... and doing it so well...
To see them being affected (and I believe encountering God whether they know Him or not, as well!) --it's a gift!
Here are two clips from behind the scenes...
...wait, there's more!
See? What did I tell you? SO GOOD!
Here's to a brand New Year... and getting back to a lovely routine that includes spending a bit more time in this little corner of the interwebs, pouring out my heart! I have missed connecting and interacting with y'all!
So here we are: The first Friday of the year... and you know that means that we are gathering a flashmob of writers to type free and fast... all centered around one simple word.
That One Word Prompt today is MOTIVATE --because, of course, right? (This is a Five Minute Friday post, which simply means I set a timer and free write for five minutes flat, add a few photos, and hit Publish!)
{GO}
Ah yes... MOTIVATE...
Motivation... Drive...
It all goes right along nicely with the New Year.
I'm not one for Resolutions as much as I am one for Goals - both short term and long term, but I will be honest here... (of course!) :
Last year was rough.
It's no secret.
Some of the ways are out in the open and some of them are held close to our hearts. We were wounded and broken through much of 2017. Many of our plans were... well, you know how that goes! (Prov 19:21)
We laid down a lot of what we wanted... or what we thought we wanted... and we gave room --made room-- for grace!
Of course --there were high points and blessings, too!
It turns out if we will keep our eyes wide open, there is always a mixture of both high and low... of both mountain tops and valleys...
So here we are, at the break of a new dawn and this is when we huddle in close and we awake to dreaming, yet again!
This is a new day... a new year... and we feel Joy already coming for us, even when our weary hearts and healing bodies are slow to line up with the Truth!
We feel Hope arising and let me tell you...
...that is ALWAYS a great feeling!
When it comes to motivation lately,
I'm a broken record.
While Scripture motivates us and while spending time in prayer leads us... there is something somewhat (although, not really!) unexpected that is bringing me motivation... inspiration... and reawakening my ability and desire to dream again!
I can't stop talking about this movie... this soundtrack... this feast for the eyes and ears and how it is anointed and thick with God-whispers and a message of belonging and family and tribe and the importance --no, necessity!-- for Dreaming and Adventure and the willingness to take a Risk!
You see, for much of 2017, we began to doubt some of the Dreams we jumped into... we began to wonder if the risk was worth it. We began to realize that saying Yes also ended up meaning having to say No to some things. I know... I know!
We knew this... but we didn't really see some things that we still feel called to do get pushed further down on our list of things to do! We didn't really realize we were shrinking back and becoming less of who we are.
I stopped making art...
painting, photography, poetry.
I stopped making time to write...
here or in other spaces, or even in my own journals.
My Honey struggled as well...
We are people of peace and Presence
and yet it seems we were becoming
people of stress and sadness.
In the midst of it all, we were given this precious gift of Lil' Miss. And oh my goodness, she is reason enough to dream again... to pray through the weeds and try to find our footing once again in what it is we are called to and why we were willing to jump off the edge in the first place!
So The Greatest Showman... this movie,
this masterpiece of art in all forms...
...it is breathing life and hope and JOY
back in to me!
It's a musical and so there is singing and dancing and it is breathtaking!
It is a circus (for real!) so there is color and magic and beauty and oh my goodness if you don't encounter God at some point or another during this movie that has (so they think) nothing at all to do with God... well, I'm not sure how you did it!
I'm making plans to see it again... and I've been listening to the soundtrack nonstop! There is something in this movie that God is releasing this year and I can not wait to see how it all unfolds... how it reaches in and stirs up dreams long pushed aside and how it releases a Kingdom FEAST of HOPE and JOY into this Stuck and Starving World!
I felt His breath hot on my neck, whispering and waking up my sleepy spirit to create and to live and to laugh again... I sensed His excitement sit right down* beside me in that darkened movie theater and I experienced the joy and hope of New, weeks before the New Year arrived!
I encountered a reawakening inside that I knew I needed, and yet still --it took my breath away!
{STOP}
Now I know... I know this is a movie based on the life of a man who was --well, like all of us... sinful and fallen.
This is a cleaned up version...
focused only on the good...
It is for the Dreamers and the Dancers...
for the Sleepers and the Singers...
for the Hopers and the Healers...
for the Lost and the Lonely...
so that they can be Found and Set Free
to be who they were created to be!
Listen - as good as the movie itself is, and the soundtrack... the Behind The Scenes Run Through's of the cast going over the music is GOLDEN!!!
To see people LOVING what they do... and doing it so well...
To see them being affected (and I believe encountering God whether they know Him or not, as well!) --it's a gift!
Here are two clips from behind the scenes...
...wait, there's more!
See? What did I tell you? SO GOOD!
Have you seen it? Oh I hope you do!
If you can swing it, it's worth seeing on a big screen!
* = When my Five Minutes were up!
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:
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!
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!
That movie is still showing in my area. You make me want to see it! The clips you shared are so full of life and joy. "To see them being affected (and I believe encountering God whether they know Him or not, as well!) --it's a gift!" Amen
ReplyDeleteBlessings to you, Karrilee! xo
Oh I hope you can see it, Gayl! It's funny because it is obviously not trying to be a Christian movie or anything like that at all... but God is all over it and in it! It's powerful! Blessings right back to you, friend!
DeleteI guess I need to go check out this movie. 2017 was a hard year for both of us. I like thinking that my dreams are still there waiting to come back into the light. I'm in the 57 spot this week sweet friend. Xoxo
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness... if you go, you need to Vox me immediately afterwards! LOL! It's so good!
DeleteI'm glad the Lord was able to use art to awaken your heart and inspire, motivate you. I'm sorry for whatever struggles/trials your family encountered last year and pray that this year showers you with blessings!
ReplyDeleteDoesn't He always use art? I mean... in some form or another? As an artist, I love seeing how He is sort of reclaiming the use of it and how He speaks through it --whether it is meant to be a vessel for Him or not! Thank you so much for your prayer of blessings this year! I receive them and pray them right back over you!
DeleteI love your words. Each and every one is stirring! I believe we can find God in so much if we are just open. You make me want to see the movie. I have to admit, I am really not one for musicals, but you have really sold it. :)
ReplyDeleteVisiting from FMF #68
Have a blessed week!
Listen... my Honey went somewhat reluctantly because... well... it's a musical! He loves music but musicals are a stretch for him. However there is a lot of non-musical parts and the acting is phenomenal!
DeleteWOW!! Karrilee, this is an awesome post and so glad I stopped long enough to read it ALL!!! Thank you for sharing...NOW, I really really really DO want to see this movie!!! Thanks for sharing your words; I am following...and writing!! Again!! Sending HUGS to you and blessings for that beautiful little treasure!!! So sweet!!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Barbara! How I hope you DO get to go see this! Please let me know if you do! xoxo (And welcome back to writing!!!)
DeleteYes and Amen about HJ... there is NOTHING wrong with that! ;) Also - you and me BOTH had quite a year... and I, too, am oh so thankful that we got to walk through it all together, my friend! Here is to a healthier and happier New Year for us both/all!
ReplyDeleteYour enthusiasm is contagious, Karrilee! Everything good comes from Him, so I'm not at all surprised that you're finding Him in unlikely places. No matter how hard Hollywood or anything or anyone tries to silence Him - He will never be silenced. Here is to renewed dreams, second chances, and becoming (again) people of peace in 2018.
ReplyDeleteYes and Amen!!! Thanks, June!
Delete