Ten - A Five Minute Friday Post

I missed y'all last night! I tried to pop in for a few, but the days were all packed full this week and Thursday evening was no different!  We had a conference to attend and a girlie to spend some time with... still, know that you were missed and at least part of my heart was leaning towards you and the #fmfparty crew! And here's the deal - I woke up this morning and saw the prompt and oh my goodness, there are so many different directions to go! However, I am going to continue on with a thought God was sowing in me last night at above mentioned conference... let's see where this goes!

This is Five Minute Friday (- a five minute timed free write) and our One Word Prompt for the day is: TEN

{GO}

You know my thoughts went in way more than ten directions at this prompt. I could use it as hours, in days or years... or I could use it as age in childhood or marriage... or it could be money, as in what could ten dollars buy - what kind of difference just ten dollars could make...

But earlier tonight, I was reflecting - maybe not exactly to ten years back. Maybe it was ten months ago... or maybe multiple decades... and maybe I was also vision casting ahead a bit as well and dreaming and goal setting and imagining what things may look like, feel like, be like way off in the distant (or not too distant) future. 

And here is what God reminded me...

No matter how much I love my bossy lists and penciled in day planner... no matter how I long for adventure and travel, or finances to do both... no matter what dreamy dreams I awake to or lofty goals I work towards... no matter if it is schedules meant for ten days or ten years from now - He is the only One who truly knows the number of my days... so don't forget to enjoy them --to find joy IN them!

He sees the plans we make and He partners with us and some of them truly will be dreams come true and some of them will graciously or not so graciously change and shift a bit along the way.

Some will feel like failures at the way they fell away and some will feel like they are finished, when in heavenly reality, they are just beginning - or beginning again - after all!

We can plan and dream and live for tomorrow... and I am not saying that we shouldn't! Oh how I think we should! How I think we are created for dreams and bigger than life adventures... but we must not lose sight of how we are promised today... this one day. 

And so let us hold tight to that, and hold loosely to all of the hopes and dreams for what's next! 

Let's lean in close to the Lord and live this day - THIS day - to it's fullest and let's let Him lead us in to all of our tomorrows! 

Make plans, yes! Dream big(-ger even!)...of course!

But let's be mindful to not get so caught up in what our future holds that we forget what gifts this day, this right here and right now day is offering out to us with open hands and gifts spilling out! Count them with me, won't you? Ten gifts that this day is offering that you may have missed if you were not slowing to pay attention?

{STOP}

We went to a conference last night and the speakers were a married couple and they shared how their grown up daughter collapsed and died in their arms. Suddenly. Out of nowhere. And they were talking about the goodness of God.

I sat there shaking my head and half-praying that that is the kind of faith and trust that I have and half-pleading that I will not have to ever find out. For real. Because I am nothing if not honest around here.

They shared how they are crazy faith people... Kingdom people like me who believe in resurrection and they prayed for that and still... it's been not quite ten years and oh how they miss her, but not once - never even once, did they give God 'credit'.  They said that they will never ascribe to their Father what their enemy has done in order to bring themselves comfort.

Oh how we do that, right? It gives us a bit of distance... it gives us a false sense of comfort but also sows in just a tiny bit of doubt and I have talked about how dangerous that can be around here before!  Still, it's easy to want to do that, because it can feel like an easy way out... but let's lean in and trust - even or especially when it's not easy.  

No matter what my days ahead hold, I know the One who holds them... who holds me... and let it be said of me, that no matter what - I shouted from the rooftops that our God is good. And I will count it out... the ways He blesses...

Count with me in the comments, won't you? What are gifts given today - this right here right now day, that you can list off and be thankful for? (You don't have to share ten... just one or two! But keep counting on your own! You'll be glad that you did!)

Linking up with Kate Motaung and the #fmfparty Community today.  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 "TEN"

The FMF lowdown: 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!