Hero - Five Minute Friday

It's Thursday night, ya'll! That means we gather up and party over on Twitter, waiting for the prompt... encouraging and praying, offering support and laughs and love.  I love this Community and it doesn't matter what has gone on in my week, come Thursday night, I can not wait to settle in, with this gathering of Awesome that is #fmfparty! 

Oh 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 10pm Thursday night (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 - The Word Prompt is: HERO

{GO}

Yeah... that's our Girlie.  We are kinda fond of her!  We are pretty much over the top, head over heels in love.  Always have been. Always will be.

Here we are... not quite empty nesters and we find ourselves teetering between reality and denial.  

We don't want our Littles to grow up.  We want them to be sheilded and safe... we want them to live protected and perfect and -well, that's not reality and the reality is - that's not really living either!

I never thought of being my girlie's hero.  She wrote that I was once for school when she was in middle school. Yeah - middle school, ya'll... and she still liked me! (And yes I kept that! You know, for evidence!) but what I didn't anticipate is how much of a hero she would grown up to be for us!

She is the best of both of us and so much all her own.

She is not perfect and life has not always been charmed and scripted out... but she is grace and she is love... she is wisdom and honor and when she laughs, joy spills out into every corner and when she cries, oxygen holds it's breath.  She is for justice and forgiveness, for second chances and fresh starts; she is growing tall into who He has created her to be and it's been an honor to watch her grow... to stretch out... to fill up to overflowing all that she is becoming.

And before my very eyes... before her Daddy's... she is becoming our Hero!

We are blessed... we really do all three like each other!  In the midst of a couple of hard high school years, when any one of us could have hardened our hearts and built walls... we determined to choose love... to speak life... and she would proclaim, as only she could, "I LIKE you, Mama... everyone loves their Mom - but I really, really like you! You're my favorite!"

{STOP}

Right back at ya, Baby! Right back at ya!

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 "HERO"  

You're Never Ever Ever Alone... Like, Ever.

I know... technically, this is tea! But this is Wednesday where we have decided to join in over at Holley Gerth's place and provide a little Coffee for Your Heart.  

Todays' prompt though? It feels like it is calling out for a cuppa tea... a little more time to linger and steep; to let the truth of it get a bit stronger, a bit more real and realized, the longer you sit with it! 

So cozy in, ya'll! 

Here is the truth that I have come to know:

Lonely and Alone are two different things... two very different feelings.  

How do I know this?  Well - I have been known to give in to feelings of loneliness, right in the middle of a crowded room.  I have bought the lie of invisibility... of not-mattering... of being in the way. I have found myself nodding in agreement with the thoughts of why-even-try, or no-one-cares-anyway.  None of these things are true, but they can FEEL like truth when we give in to loneliness.

But Alone... well - sometimes, Alone is a lovely invitation... a reward worth pressing through all the chaos and the piles of laundry and the crying and melt-downs... (can I get an Amen?)

However, often times Alone is dark and secluded, like a windowless room with round walls and no corners or edges to climb back up. Alone is no-one-there... no-one-seeing or -hearing or -knowing... Alone is a lie, because - sweet sister... I promise you, you are never ever ever alone! 

You have a God who is in hot pursuit... Who has been chasing you from the moment He had the very idea of you. From the second He formed your heart and breathed life into your lungs, He has been coming for you and more than any of my promises, which can often be pushed aside or broken without intent, all of HIS are Truth and you can take His Word and hide it in your heart!  Lean in to it and rest in His embrace!

I have written about this on the blog before... the subject comes up because, well - because we all fall prey to the lies, to the dark emotions, of alone. 

When our feelings weigh in heavier than that truth we know - we forget. We forget that we're not alone... we forget that we were made for community and relationship and we are connected in more ways than we remember.  

It does us well to remember that Jesus bore that Cross alone... so that we would never be.  We may feel forsaken... but we never are.  We need each other to remind us that when we are hurting, He is hurting... when we are lonely, He is there... when we are broken, He already was - in order to make us whole... in order to assure us that we are not alone! 

I think it breaks His heart a little when we feel like we are all alone.  He is - after all - right there with us... residing within us, sitting beside us... holding our frail hearts in His nail pierced hands, still creating us, forming us, loving us! And He whispers your name to friends and family... He prompts neighbors to smile and strangers to strike up a random conversation.  Community is His idea... Family is what we are grafted into. 

Do not give in to lonely, believing that you are alone.

Look to Him... look for Him to send love in phone calls and emails and giggly Littles that remind you of Truth... and look to me, because I will always remind you...

No - you are not alone. 

Linking up and sharing a cup of coffee with Holley Gerth again today

Linking with Jennifer Dukes Lee for #TellHisStory

Gratitude: It Seeps into Every Little Thing

 

This counting gifts... this slowing down breath to slow down time - it works wonders and the longer you remember to pay attention, the deeper the work - the gift - of Gratitude will seep right on in.

Like rivers of living water, overflowing and overwhelming in all the best ways and sometimes-- sometimes it is simply a fresh K-cup placed in the Keurig - just waiting for my Monday morning, a gift from My Honey, or a full tank of gas that he pumped into my car in this non-polar vortex (but still oh so freezing cold!) weather... sometimes it is the ridiculously simple things that we used to take for granted that cause us to pause... to taste and see that the Lord is good. (and the coffee too! The coffee is really good!)

As I mentioned last week, this is my second January in writing these things down... in keeping a journal and numbering my blessings, one by one.  I look back over my life and I see that God has always gifted me with gratitude and a spirit of Thanksgiving.  I haven't always been a faith girl - as fear was a family friend... but I have always tried to look past him and find the good in every circumstance. So to be honest, when I first cracked open Ann's book on counting one thousand gifts - I thought I had this thing down. I do it daily already, but I don't always number them.

Here's where the magic happens though... it's in the writing them down, old school style - with pen and ink, that I see how many are counted again and again and again... I see what I am looking for and what I am finding and the things that I count and scribble down may seem so insignificant, or 'normal' but when we begin to see every little thing as a gift, we begin to see that we are blessed beyond measure and in turn, we get to go out and be a blessing! 

As I write down family members and little things they said to bless, or friends who have known me for all of my mothering years who come to mind, warm my heart, and enter into my prayers... I see how He shows up for me and through me and how He intends for all of us, each and every one of us, to be a gift to someone else! 

After all... Jesus is our Example, yes? 

He is the greatest Gift ever given... and His love; His sacrifice; His Blood and Willingness and Gratitude - yes, JOY set before Him - it just keeps seeping into every little thing!

Count with me, won't you?

#1833 - My Girlie - college-aged and studying in a field that she has been gifted in from the beginning... counseling friends with great support, love, and advice.

#1834 - Gorgeous Sunset - captured with my 'real' camera. (Oh yeah, I have one of those! I've been using my iphone so much, it was nice to hold my Nikon and focus a lens in my hand again!)

#1835 - GREAT tennis in tv... (which sadly resulted in not so much sleep this week - and yet, I am a fan so when the match starts at 12:30am my time - I am watching!)

#1836 - A non-bossy Monday that allows me a slower easing into the new week!

#1838 - The unexpected feelings that rose up and brought healing with my relationship with my Dad. (Yet another layer, anyway!)

#1839 - The gift of writing (which helps me process, which is like therapy for me!) and being able to share my story, in hopes that it will speak to others as well!

#1841 - #1843  Date night with My Honey... at The Orion Theater... seeing a good clean action movie!

#1844 - Stacks of books (uh oh - building up!)

#1845 - Dave going with me on the Anti-Human Trafficking Walk downtown

#1846 - Frosty mornings - frozen air, thick and beautiful!

#1847 - Hats, and Gloves, and Scarves - oh my!

#1848 - No Polar Vortex here! (#sorrynotsorry!)

#1849 - Sweet comments this week on my blog.

#1850 - Prep work for my Sole Hope Shoe Cutting Party this weekend!

#1854 - A Great turn out for the Walk/Event downtown, bringing awareness of sex and human trafficking that happens sadly right here at home!

 #1855 - Meeting some amazing women who are reaching out - pouring out - and making a difference locally to victims of trafficking (and being bold, handing them my card, and scheduling time to interview them for the blog!)

#1856 - 90% off Christmas Clearance at JoAnns Fabrics!

#1857 - Simply sitting next to a friend whose life has changed and routines of old ways of staying connected are no longer an option... we didn't get to talk much, but often, words are not always needed!

#1859 - Homemade Chicken Tortilla soup on a cold day- simmering on the stove, making the house smell divine... waiting for my Honey to walk through the door so we can eat!

...and we count on!  

Speak Life. Be Love. Shine On. 
~Karrilee~

Linking up with Ann Voskamp in Counting (beyond) one thousand gifts...

Are you counting too? What are some of the everyday things that you forget to count?  What are some gifts that you have peened down, once you began looking for them? I'd love to know!

That Thing I Do Now - Vol 28

That Thing I Do Now - Vol 2

Happy Weekend, ya'll! Can you believe we are already four weeks in to 2014?  I pray it is unfolding for you in all the best ways!  I don't know about you - but a few of those best laid plans have already been skipped a day here and a day there for me... I have to remember to give myself grace when I fall short of my own expectations! Some of those things have been pushed aside because, well - you know me and how I love to read All the Things. Who has time for everything else, when there is so many books and blogs waiting to be opened up? (I know, I know... I'm learning to balance it out more! Again!)

But - still, reading at least SOME of All the Things is at the top of my list, so here is my offering of my gathering of awesome from around the Internet!

This is what I found... Happy Reading!

* This one by Holley Gerthon When You're Misunderstood...

* This post by Seth Hainesover at The Deeper Story on losing faith in the church... so good! "We are all here, all hoping not to be despised. We are all here, all wearing hope like perfume."

* This post by Deidra Riggsover at Jumping Tandem... an honest post about depression. So powerful and beautiful!

* This one over at  Holley Gerth's Coffee for Your Heart link up by Barbie Swihart... so good! (Bonus - Barbie has a great devotional book out called Coffee Talk with Jesus and you are really going to want to read it!)

* This by Shannan over atFlower Patch Farmgirl on Loneliness... seriously - read it!"Alone doesn't exist within the bounds of God's love for you."

* This little piece of Awesome by Jeff Goins on Fear and what stops us. 

* This post by by Glennonover at Momastery on Stars... well - on how there is no Disaster as long as there is Light.  A must read, ya'll!

* This post by Jamie Wright over at The Very Worst Missionary on Saying anything online... "In truth, I don't care about your opinion. For real. I do not care.  But, your story? Yes, please. Your story sways me, moves me. Your story changes me."

* This post over at Incourage.me with 4 Ways to Cultivate Margin & Breathing Room in Your Life by Crystal Paine. (Ya'll know how I love me a Bossy List - but my secret? I actually DO schedule in some breathing room!)

* This post right HERE from Abiding Love, Abounding Grace came after a day or two of protest. I had some unexpected emotions surface and even as they were knocking me a bit off center, I was mentally writing this post. I am so glad I waited it out... prayed it through... and simply sat with it to let Him speak to me in the midst of it!

Lastly... A video... because this is how we wrap this Thing up! So... in honor of the brutal cold, and - well - my love for all things #hashtags, plus - you know... Jimmy Fallon!

Here ya go:

...and you're welcome!

Stay Warm, friends, and Read On!

Five Minute Friday - Visit vs. Visitation

It was SO GREAT to be back in the swing of Community... the #fmfparty crew was out in force over on Twitter and oh my stars how I love these women!  From talk of food (aka chocolate) to prayer requests, to tv shows to books, to kids and hubbys - these writers gather and support and encourage and lift up and risk real!  After an emotionally draining week - where I was lacking sleep (thank you Australian Open!) and unexpectedly dealing with some of All the Feelings - I wasn't even gonna show up! But I just can't stay away!

Oh 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 10pm Thursday night (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 - The Word Prompt is: VISIT

{GO}

We have not had any snow... so I am missing this - the snowy drives and the REASON for the bitter cold.  I am missing the snow days and 'excuses' for movie marathons and jammy days. I didn't realize how much I was missing it until this week when this unrest, sleep-deprived heaviness wrapped itself around my shoulders and left me exhausted and just wanting to zone out.  

I set myself up with a cuppa tea and a blankey, an empty house, and Netflix... but it felt too luxurious - no, really - it felt too lazy.  I should be DOING something.  Well, more accurately - what was running through my head was all the things I should just BE.  The tape was on repeat and it was not getting any quieter as Netflix played on, the cup was emptied, and I found myself slipping further down to horizontal.

All of the sudden, one scene unfolded, and an unwelcomed visit of All The Feelings rose up and spilled out of me and I could not for the life of me figure out why or where I had stuffed them and what in the world happened in the span of 30 seconds that left me so undone.  

I wanted to push it down, swallow hard... move along.  I had dealt with these things before... I thought they had been laid to rest, dead and buried, long forgotten and forgiven. 

I wanted to run, to hide, to play act that it was just me being over tired.  But instead of pushing aside this surprise visit, I bowed my heart and my head and I prayed for a Visitation. 

And oh... how He came!


{STOP}

Did you see what I did there?  I will admit that I protested it... I kicked against it a bit, and I am sure there is still some work to do - but overall, I bent low and He lifted me high... He came... and when He arrives, it is not just a visit for a little while but a Visitation - for as long as we will host Him!

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 "VISIT"  

"My Darling Daughter... You're Beautiful!"

I had forgotten all about the prompt for this weeks' little Coffee Date over at Holley Gerths' place.  I wasn't really sure why I was feeling the way I was yesterday... a bit heavy... a bit down for no good reason really.  Tired... that must be it! I was tired! (For a very obvious reason. Simply stated, I stayed up all night.) 

When a friend commented on facebook that she loved seeing this 'other side' of me, I realized I talk about nearly everything on this blog except for sports. I'm not sure that this is going to change, mind you - but let's just say between the NFL playoffs Sunday night and the Australian Open, I didn't go to bed until well after 3am.  Yeah... and I'm not in my 20s 30s anymore - so I couldn't really muster up enough energy or faking it to get through Monday as if it was any other normal day. 

I was Exhausted.  

Still - this felt like more... but I pushed it aside, cleared my scheduled and cozied up on the couch with a cup of tea, a fuzzy blanket and a cheesy Netflix romantic comedy to half-zone out, half-fall asleep to.  This felt like a PLAN! As in - for the win... a do nothing, no writing, no thinking, no laundry sort of day - in an EMPTY house, ya'll! (...and she takes a bow!)

It appeared to be going along FINE. The movie was cute, in that anticipated predictable way and I was relaxed and not thinking about any of the Things I 'should' be --. I was going to say 'should be doing' - but let's just be honest. Come mid-January, aren't we all really thinking of All the Things we should just BE... ? No? Is that just me? Anyway - my mind was completely, blissfully blank. (Think Nirvana. Don't be jealous.)

Then as the movie was nearing the end, there was this one scene that unfolded and before I could even know what was happening to me, I was undone, tears streaming down my face, completely losing it, feeling All the Feelings.

Last week, we reminded you that You. Are. Loved.

This scene was so predictable and so cliche and so - well, needed, apparently?

Here's the thing: I got a little ticked off about how all the emotions surfaced and swirled around and at first I was not wanting to deal with it all and then I was mad because I am was pretty sure I had already dealt with it. But then there were the tears, so maybe not? Maybe we never really get to be completely free of having to deal with it all or at least we never really tire of needing to be reminded.

I wanted to include the scene from said movie* but I am not sure how to do that here and I am technilogically challenged and I am sure I don't own the rights, etc.  So - I will just say - it's a Father/Daughter scene and (as if you need any more information, right?) there were three things that happened in a matter of seconds that hit me hard.

They were the father saying, in this order, these things:

1. "Yes you can.  You can do anything, (Debra.) Pick the one who sees what I couldn't... "

2.   "But you, my darling daughter, are the most wonderful person I know..."  (me: tears squirting - out of nowhere.)

3. "You're Beautiful." (The daughter asks hopefully, "You really think?" and her Dad answers, "I KNOW!")  Insert sobbing here...

No - this is not from That 70s Show... this is real life circa 1974

(I'm the Baby)

So - I should say up front... I don't think I have Daddy issues. I mean - sure - I did... in that moment, it seemed as if I still do... but I have worked through, cried through, written through, talked through, forgiven through, repented through, and prayed through...

So sweet, right? He loves me - even though this was totally posed

and out of character, it's still one of my most favorites ever!

I love my Dad.  We really have walked in healing and love over these grown up years! He is just so very silent... not a big talker or communicator, and me? Well - as you can see, I have All the Words.  But I see more clearly now.  Afterall, I am a parent myself... I have raised a child and I know firsthand the grace needed in acknowledging that we do the best that we can.  I know that my Dad did the best he could... and honestly - it was pretty darn good - in the big scheme of things.  I grew up blessed and provided for, never feeling unsafe. I don't have a lot to complain about.  

In reality, we all do the best that we can and if we are lucky or blessed or parenting on purpose - we try to do better for our kids than our parents did for us and he did -my dad... he really did.

I have experienced the loving healing embrace of the Father too. I used to shy away from Father God - you know, because - well, Daddy issues.  But I no longer hesitate in running up into His arms and snuggling in close on His lap.  I know He adores me and I am secure in the fact that I am His favorite. (#sorrynotsorry)

I am also blessed to have myself a Man... my Honey who also adores me and speaks life and love into and over me on a (nearly) daily basis.  

Photo by Kim DeLoach  

He does the same for our nearly grown Girlie and he is an amazing Dad - which helped in my healing.

And yet I didn't realize how much I needed to hear those three things.  It's not that I didn't know them - but as we talked about last week, we so often forget what is true. I know my Dad loves me... and I know God is mad about me (not mad at me!)  

Still, who among us Darling Daughters doesn't need to hear that we are SEEN, that we BELONG and are WONDERFUL, and that we're BEAUTIFUL?

Not a one of us, I will guess.

We can look for all the right things in all the wrong places. As much as I would love it if my Dad spoke those things, or even when my husband does... I really need to hear it from my God.  He is so for us!  He SEES us.  Thanks to Jesus, we really and truly BELONG and we are not only wonderful (made in His image and all) but we are wonder FILLED too! (...filled with His Spirit.)  We are Beautiful, just the way we are!  

Wait -What? You don't believe it? 

We are... YOU are... for when He looks at us, He sees us outside of the limits of time and space...without age, without sin... He sees us as who He created us to be - who He is shaping us to become... and He rejoices over us with singing! We are His Beloved and he is passionately pursuing our heart. He wants all of us... He wants us not to hide... not to run elsewhere to be filled up when we're tired and empty. (Gasp - not even Netflix? I know? ...it's truth, though!)  

More than any of that, He really wants us to BELIEVE it! To believe that we are beautiful and valued and seen and that we belong.  

If/when we believe it - we live like it's true! 

So I will say it over and over again and I will mean it with all of my heart, but I will always always point you to your heavenly Father... because more than my words of building up - what you really need are HIS Words seeping in...

"How beautiful you are, my darling,

How beautiful you are!"

(Song of Solomon 1:15)

Linking up and sharing a cup of coffee with Holley Gerth again today

Linking with Jennifer Dukes Lee for #TellHisStory

* The above referred movie is available streaming on Netflix (in which I am not really fully endorsing it - although I really did love it for what it is! "Dorfman in Love")

Counting On with (and Praying for) WorldHelp Bloggers

Even though I am well into this habit of seeking and finding, I am still amazed at how much clearer we see when we really begin to look.

After a fun-filled and wonder-full weekend, I am counting on - but not just in the usual ways! 

I joined up with WorldHelp Bloggers last year, and this week - there is a Team of Story-tellers in Africa, who are writing what they see and what God is up to and it is simply right UNdoing me!  In all the best ways... I am undone...

...and I'm reminded of everyday little blessings - of all the gifts that we so easily just take for granted and this week, I am purposing to count even those... and I am linking hands and hearts (and pocketbooks) and sowing into Being the Gift and building hope and and a rescue home in Uganda!  

For more info, and to read the amazing powerful inspiring posts... click HERE.  Can I ask you to pray with me? 

Pray for this team... pray for these babies and for the Mama's and community that God is building up and bringing around them... pray for healing and hope to arise. Pray that they will see one thousand gifts and more!  

If I may be so bold, can I ask also that you consider skipping just one latte... maybe two - this week and sow into providing a Rescue Home for the orphans in Africa? If you can give more, by all means - but I know for me - the one thing that changed my life the most last year was the reminder from Noel Brewer Yeatts that every little bit counts and adds up and is an offering that may not change the world - but it can change the world for one person... for one family... for one village! 

#BetheGift

Count with me, won't you?

#1812 - Cool, fresh, clean water - first thing in the morning... straight from my refrigerator.

#1813 - My parents... who live blessedly right. next. door. (So many of these kids have never seen an 'older' person... they have never seen a father, or grandfather. ever.)

#1818 - My girlie - excitedly sharing good news after a full day of work... sharing what a good day she had. Joy in the little things like favor, a job, and opportunities.

#1820 - Family time, all three snuggled up close, or laying on our carpeted floor, playing games and laughing deep.

#1821 - Friends, being vulnerable, sharing their real and asking for prayer.

#1823 - Ask, Seek, Knock - the promise of finding.

#1824 - Laundry, clean and warm from the dryer - all piled up and waiting for my attention!

#1826 - Cozy blankets and Fuzzy socks on a cold wintry night

#1828 - Surrounded by friends, enjoying watching all kinds of sports after church on Sunday.

#1829 - Fresh fruit and veggies... in season. (and Frozen ones out of season!)

#1830 - Hearing the stories and testimonies of friends who have left a piece of their hearts in Africa - both online, and in real life!

#1831 - Feeling Safe in our Home... Having Peaceful Sleep, and Hope for our future.

#1832 - The chance to #BetheGift and change the world, for $5 or more!



Linking up with Ann Voskamp in Counting (beyond) one thousand gifts...

For more info on the WorldHelp Campaign to build rescue Homes in Africa, click HERE!

Are you counting too? What are some of the things that you forget to count?  What are some blessings you have found once you really started to look for them? I'd love to know!