Five Minute Friday - Present

What a fun night tonight with the ever growing Gathering of Awesomeness that happens over on Twitter at #fmfparty!  I know, I know... I say it every week - but it just gets better and better... this doing life with these sisters, these kindred hearts... I can not wait to meet some of these writers in person - face to face, eye to eye, heart to heart - and to hear their voices matched up with their words in the Fall at Allume!

But - first - the fine print: if you don't know what FMF is!  Five Minute Fridays are hosted by Lisa Jo Baker.  It 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 one minute past midnight Friday morning (EST.)  I'm loving the community of amazing bloggers and the creativity that flows from these magical Five Minutes!

So - here goes: Five Minute Friday - PRESENT...

{GO}

Mistakes... Regrets... Hopes... and Dreams...

Changes are happening all around us and for my girlie who prefers that All the Things remain the same, this is hard.   She is learning to let go of the past... to roll over those mistakes and regrets and let Grace have it's way in her heart... and she is opening up to the idea of entertaining some new hopes and dreams soon.  Soon... but not yet!

In this moment - for this day... she is clinging to the Present.  How things are right here, right now!  I can see it in the way she cuddles up and asks for attention... I can hear it in her laughter and the late night whispers... she is purposing in her heart to drink. this. in.  All of this - for it's good and it's bad... it's highs and lows... because she can taste the change at the corners of her mouth and she knows it will be good... but is not yet convinced that it can ever ever compare.

With a new job, these last two weeks she has made herself sick with stress and worry.  She has been putting pressure on herself that no one else would ever dream of asking her to carry,
but this girlie of mine? She has some high standards for herself... but I am here to remind her again and again... perfection is not the goal.

The goal is to Stay Present... to be fully HERE... 

High standards are good... necessary... and a willingness to work hard is a blessing... but oh how often we are the hardest on ourselves and the last to ever offer up the Grace that we would so freely give away to others!  Last week I wrote about being a Hunter of Beauty and a Finder of Grace and oh my stars how I don't need to look any farther than this:

She is Beauty and Grace... and as she learns to Stay Present...
to count gifts... to breathe it all in... 

she is learning how to be a Hunter and a Finder right beside me!

{STOP}

Speak Life, Be Love, Shine On!

~Karrilee~

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 "PRESENT"  

Also - stop by my Link Up and share a post or comment
and tell us how you have found Beauty and Grace this week!