The Gift of Quiet Stillness... A Five Minute Friday Post

I had another Twitter Party to attend last night.  Shhh - I know! I felt like I was cheating a little bit... and then I had to run out because I was subbing for my old Bunco group and hey - I love y'all... but Bunco means good food, lots of fun, and prizes, so... ;)

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

This is Five Minute Friday and our Word Prompt for the day is: GIFT

Y'all remember last summer, when God was silent. 

For months on end, He was quiet with me... not chatty at all. 
In all that stillness, He taught me Rest.  

And now, this summer - I am reading The Good and Beautiful God by James Bryan Smith and while I am only two chapters in, you guys --it's amazing! The book has 'Soul Training' - a challenge at the end of each chapter. The first chapters' challenge was Sleep. 

Sleep, y'all! As in - stay in bed one day for as long as you possibly can! (Right then and there, I knew I was going to love this book!)

Chapter Two challenges the reader to carve out five minutes, each day, of silence... of enjoying nature and creation and being quiet.  Oh my, how it can center you and quiet all your thinking so that you can clearly hear.

Today... before I sat down to write... I did just that and in my sitting and waiting... I rediscovered the Gift of Quiet Stillness... 

This summer, it's not on His part, but on mine!

{GO}

With the low rhythmic hum of traffic, I closed my eyes and re-imagined it to be the steady sound of the tide, rolling in and rolling out. The birds songs lifted high on an ocean breeze that tasted almost salty on my lips.

I inhale deep... hold it in... 
lungs full of God's breath...
and slowly, I exhale.

I opened my eyes and catch diamonds sparkling in the grass.
At first, just one, but it's amazing what you can see once your eyes are trained to look... droplets of water resting on stems, shouting praises to God.

I close my eyes again and feel the sun soaking in deep, stirring my soul to awaken to a holy hush... a moment of silence.

Head back, palms facing heavenward, heart wide open, and not a cloud in the brilliant blue sky to stand in between us. 

I feel the Spirit also soaking and stirring...

In five minutes or less, He fills me to overflowing and reminds me that I never have to ASK Him to wrap His arms of Love around me.

For indeed, I am held...
~always~

He reminds me that He works inside and outside of time and is not bound by what binds us.

I think back to a conversation I had yesterday with a friend, speaking of adventure and taking flight.

I realize a year ago, I would have not leaned in, wild-eyed and ready...

I would not have felt anticipation and excitement
...maybe for her, but definitely not for me.

But now, I am like Isaiah
& with shaky faith & coal-stained lips,
a smile spreads full across my face,
& it reaches the twinkle in my eye
that now matches His own
as I say boldly,  

Here am I, Lord. Send me.

{STOP}

Silence is a Gift... to Quiet ourselves, our souls, and lean in to the stillness reaps rewards that you won't know until you just do it. 

Five Minutes... just five minutes of breathing slow, silencing the distractions, and focusing on the Lord... you will be amazed at how clearly you can hear 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 "GIFT"

Oh ...the fine print: if you don't know what FMF is!  Five Minute Fridays have been hosted by Lisa Jo Baker.  Now we gather 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 Kate posts at 10pm Thursday night (EST.)  I'm loving the community of amazing bloggers and the creativity that flows from these magical Five Minutes!