Tonight I set myself up in a sweet spot... new laptop fully charged and opened to tabs to party it up with #fmfparty over on Twitter, while Netflix Marathoning Gilmore Girls like a Boss with Tonya via Voxer... I know... Don't be jealous! This is the life of an Empty Nester!
This is our last Five Minute Friday of 2014 and while we love hanging out together on Twitter and over at Kate's, we also love to hang out with our inrl people and celebrate the holidays! We'll be back in 2015! Until then, here is our last Word Prompt of the year: ADORE
{GO}
I know... Tis the Season and Come Let Us Adore Him... of course. Let's. It's not like Christmas and Jesus' birth, and all things Adventy didn't come to mind right away at the revealing of the prompt... but then there is this:
I know... Tis the Season and Come Let Us Adore Him... of course. Let's. It's not like Christmas and Jesus' birth, and all things Adventy didn't come to mind right away at the revealing of the prompt... but then there is this:
Ah yes... so you see my problem?
She is stinkin' adorable, right?
She is... and this year? Well - I hate to complain because she IS still close by, but she is no longer under this roof, dreaming just down the hall, waking up sleepy and slow... that happens elsewhere now.
She moved out in June so we've had time to adjust, to find new routines... to let go a little more and move on just a little. Summer was quiet... hard... but good, too! Fall was full and we were doing just fine...
And while one would think I would have seen this coming... this week has been harder than I anticipated. Which is weird, because our Girlie has come around more often than usual this week. This means she has let me feed her, and play with her hair, and tickle her back... (#Swoon) But still, she goes home.
They really DO grow up so fast and I know it is so cliche to say it - but I look at those Ornaments hanging on our tree and it feels like just yesterday... and when I feel empty, or a little lonely in the middle of the day, I remember that as much as I love her... He is the One I worship and adore.
I turn my attention to Him and I bring all of my emotions and prayers... I let Him remind me that I will never stop being a Mom and she will never stop needing me... us... Him.
And there it is...
Let us always point them back to Him...
Be Love, yes!
Speak Life, please!
Shine On, of course!
But in all of our parenting, we are but a picture of the One who parents them best. As we adore them, all the while - He is adoring us.
{STOP}
So - that may have taken a bit longer than 5 minutes because, well - Netflix and Gilmore Girls... What was supposed to be background noise, well... Lorelei!
I will post a few times before Christmas, but just in case:
Merry Christmas, ya'll!
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 "ADORE"
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!
I am going to MISS this group for TWO WHOLE WEEKS!!! Looking forward to MORE in 2015!!! I loved your post...so much like mine...I did have a passing thought - at first - that O Come Let Us Adore Him SHOULD BE our focus when we hear that word...and, I did. But, like you - I also had to bring in the "loves of my life" - my grandchildren! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYes... luckily - the two Thursdays we will miss will hopefully be full of other activity! That helps! I love that we both took the same path in our posts! Merry Christmas, Barbara!
DeleteI'm so glad you're adjusting to the empty nest! It's not easy, that's for sure! But most importantly, we have One who adores us and who will help us through each transition in our lives (even if we want to kick our feet a little in protest ;) ).
ReplyDeleteSo true, Anita! Thanks so much for the reminder... we are adjusting, and there are a lot of good parts... and I trust that the hard parts will get easier as time goes on! Bless you, friend!
DeleteI agree with Barbara. I'll be in major withdrawal. But I'll keep to my blogging schedule. Maybe share some cool videos.
ReplyDeleteOK, first...what on earth does "Netflix Marathoning Gilmore Girls like a Boss with Tonya via Voxer" mean???
Change is hard, and while the whole purpose of parenting is to see the fledgeling spread her wings...it hurts, when that happens.
I think that we, as Christians, sometimes don't pay enough attention to the fact that while we want something of a static Jesus, frozen into an endless Palm Sunday, He knew that He had to make the biggest and most frightening change of all, to fulfill His purpose.
Like an egg, He had to be broken. (Bet you never heard that metaphor for Jesus before. And I'll bet you can think of a lot of reasons WHY you never heard it before...)
But no worries; Paul said "Jesus Christ the same, yesterday, today, and forever", and He was talking about the "real" Jesus, the Big Guy waiting for us at the end of our roads.
It's there that change will end, and true growth will finally come out of the shade.
Have a WONDERFUL Christmas!
http://blessed-are-the-pure-of-heart.blogspot.com/2014/12/adore-like-mongo-five-minute-friday.html
LOL - yes, this FMF Community is the best! I will miss it too but I've been at it long enough, I know how much our hosts need a break... and really, all of us! I have a few posts planned as well - but am looking forward to a little less blogging work!
DeleteAh - the Netflix/Voxer pair up is so much fun! A group of us used to have Twitter Parties while we watched a YouTube series Lizzie Bennett Diaries (Yes, a modern take on Pride and Prejudice!) and it was so fun... so a few of us use Voxer on our phones - it's like a WalkieTalkie ap... so we just Vox back and forth while watching the same show... not as good as watching together in person - but until that day comes, we'll be thankful for modern technology and being able to laugh and chat together anyway we can!
Change is hard... but good... and necessary... mostly we are learning to lean in to it - but that doesn't mean we always completely embrace it! ;)
Merry Christmas, Andrew, and Happy New Year!
Sounds like empty nesting has been an adjustment. But love that you are getting to spend time with her. God dies adore us and that's what we need to point too, who we need to point too. Speak life...yes...reminds me of the TobyMac song. Blessings friend!!
ReplyDeleteYes... it's honestly been easier than I anticipated - but that is because of Grace... and because she is still so close by! When God first gave me that tag line (Be Love. Speak Life. Shine On.) I didn't even think of that song! It was months later that I heard it again on the radio and it clicked! (Ya can't go wrong with a TobyMac song though, right?) Blessings right back, my friend!
DeleteI suffered the empty-nest for a short while and then two grandchildren came to live with me. Wouldn't change a thing...but I do miss the empty nest a tiny bit!!
ReplyDeleteYes... I have heard this, Paula! LOL! That often/most times, they come back home for a season and then there is a whole new readjusting... we are trying to find the gifts in each season and be thankful that she is, so far anyway, still so close! Merry Christmas!
DeleteI used to tell my kids all the time that God gave them to me so they could learn to obey an earthly parent and thereby learn to obey Him. It's so true that as we are adoring them, He is adoring us for who we are and how we live for Him...and teach them to do the same. So good to chat with you last night. Enjoy the holiday with your girlie...and keep embracing the empty nest. It really is the best of both worlds!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, my friend! You are a constant encouragement to me and I love you oh so much! Merry Christmas, Holly! I can't wait to see what God has in store for 2015! I just know it's gonna be good! xoxo
DeleteThe empty nest stage is hard but I have to say the coming back home stage is hard to. You raised her to be strong, independant and to follow God. Hold on to that and the fact the He loves and adores her more than you.
ReplyDeletePS Although I have never watched Gilmore Girls I am VERY jealous of you Voxing with Tonya. :)
Yes... I know I moved back home with my parents when I was about 19 or so... it was only for a few months and it was definitely not the same as before I moved out... Of course, she is still hoping to not HAVE to do that, but it's good for her to know that she always can! ;) (Even if it will cramp all of our styles a bit more now that we have tasted a new kind of freedom!) I feel like it is so sad that you have not experienced the joy of Lorelie and Rory Gilmore in all of their glorious, fast-talking, mass-coffee-consuming, HOW-can-they-eat-ALL-the-food-and-stay-that-skinny, dysfunction! And yes... Voxing with Tonya is ALWAYS fun! But, you know.... you can Vox her (or me!) any time! xoxo
DeleteAt first I was confused, I couldn't imagine my 18 month old not living here with us. He is growing up so fast, but the reality that he will live somewhere else one day is still not even something I can start to think about. :)
ReplyDeleteOh yes... you have years and Years and YEARS, my friend! Enjoy them... because they really do fly by! Merry Christmas!
DeleteYour girlie is BLESSED, Mama! Beautiful ADORing post. Christmas blessings to you, hubs, and girlie!!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Susan! Merry Christmas, friend!
DeleteBeautiful thoughts on the One we ADORE! Living 5000 miles and an ocean away from all my family I can relate to your feelings! I am thankful to be able to spend time with my in-law family and thankful to have Jesus with me always :)
ReplyDeleteAmen Sarah! I can't imagine but I know it is more 'normal' than what I am used to... most of our families are in town or close by! Praying you have a blessed Christmas!
DeleteWhat a beautiful post Karrilee! Life does come in stages and in every stage, we must turn to God for the beauty found in each of them. We are blessed because God is always near. Have a Merry Christmas and I'll be back for the Thursday nights #fmfparty in January to visit with y'all. Blessings!
ReplyDeleteAmen, Verona! It's so true - each stage has beauty and blessings! Merry Christmas!
DeleteI'm not yet an empty nester as only one of my four is out on her own (married, with child -- EEEK I shall be "grandma" come April!). It was a hard adjustment. She moved out literally the night before her wedding, so I not only had to adjust to her not being her, but being with someone else 24/7. Merry Christmas my sweet friend! Love you!
ReplyDeleteBarbie, hard hard hard!!! I am thankful for this time in between... (thanks for the reminder!) Merry Christmas, my friend! I am oh so thankful for you!
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