Looking for Small Wonders and Counting Gifts...

Last Friday I wrote about Rest real quick like, before I ran out the door and hit the road running... in search of a little R&R while doing some dream team strategery (read: planning) for the year ahead at Dad's House.

The irony was not lost on me.

When the Lord is not being Oh. So. Obvious. in His attempt to capture my attention and slow. me. down. again, back to the rhythm of rest, then He is reminding me of one of the best ways to do that... by counting gifts!

Seriously - in the last couple of months, these are a few of the books He has put in front of me... 

When God Just Keeps Saying the SAME Thing... Rest - a Five Minute Friday post

You know how it goes... {Insert Gushing Comment about my tribe over at #fmfparty on Twitter and the whole Five Minute Friday Community here.}

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

{GO}

I can't seem to escape this word... or of the need for it to manifest in my life.

Rest... we all need it!  

We hunger and thirst for it even --but it's not loud and it will not shout for our attention.

It's easy to put it off... push it aside... or think we are immune to needing it.  

It's not something this world offers freely and it will not happen on accident!  

True rest is intentional and slow... it seeps down deep to water our roots and often it's only when we find ourselves bone dry and dying of thirst that we notice our need of it!

How to Diffuse One of the Enemies Most Valuable Weapons

Don't you just love how God will use anything... and I mean any. thing. to reveal His love and draw us closer?

I was talking with a few friends this past week who are in a season that they are not really fond of and here's the thing: If you're not there now... well, let's be real... you will be (again) one day! 

All of us have gone through hard seasons, harsh darkness, heavy circumstances that we would've rather not had to go through!

I was telling a friend just this morning that a part of me longs for the 'good old days' of my Summer of Silence. 

I know, right? If you were around back then you may remember that I was not so much loving it as it was happening! 

And yet... In this season of full and busy, I find myself longing for the slow and quiet. And then He quickly reminds me that He taught me how to tap into slow and quiet both in the silence AND in the midst of full and busy (Apparently, He taught me that, you know, for a reason!)

Don't Lose Heart... a Five Minute Friday post

I made it, y'all! I made it on time and stayed for most of the party and it was so nice to be back! Some of the players (aka writers) have changed... I don't think we have talked about Nutella for awhile, and there has been less hashtagging it up (but I plan on bringing that back) and we haven't had a Ninja (Crystal Stine) stop by for awhile... but the heart of this tribe still beats strong and if you lean in and listen close, you will hear it... You can do this! You are a writer! You are not alone! (And who doesn't need that reminder every once in awhile --read: every Thursday night?)

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

{GO}

My first thought is, "Don't lose heart..." but this week, y'all? Am I right? 

I wrote about #Orlando a bit here and I have been being intentional this week in not losing heart... in not growing weary... in practicing Self-Care and Rest and giving myself room to process, to heal, to breathe.

If you follow me on social media at all (or even stop by this little corner of the interwebs here!) you will see that I am in love and have all the swoony, romantic feels for my Hydrangeas! They take my breath away with their beauty!

When It's Vital (and Humbling) To Know Who He Says You Are

This world, y'all... it is heartbreaking and brutal and it can seem like it is spinning right out of control.

We can tap into the heaviness and let the darkness talk us into believing that evil is closing in on us on every side. We are easily convinced because, well - the darkness is dark and it spreads like oil, oozing on to everything... covering, but not sinking in... making a mess of slippery slopes and roads we don't want to go down.

But I am reminded again and again to look up!

Look up! For your redemption draweth nigh...

And there it is. That hint of Hope that the Light has come and darkness will never overtake it! 

It's in that moment that we remember...

Darkness never wins! Light is always dawning... coming for us... and while darkness may seem to be getting darker, the Light is ever increasing and it is shining brighter and brighter as His Glory and Love are put on display for all to see.

We do Him proud when we let Love win.

Satisfied from Wanting Yet Longing For More - a Five Minute Friday Post

I promise I will find my rhythm again and return to my regularly scheduled program of partying it up on Twitter on Thursday nights with my #fmfparty tribe but for now...

--Sickness has me like:

Actually... I am feeling MUCH much better today... I just still sound a little like I'm dying! 

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

{GO}

My first thought goes to Psalm 23... because, of course!

Or more like: because, I've been reminiscing!

You see, I immediately thought back to reading this psalm to our girlie when she was itty bitty and she stopped me before I even got to verse two!

"The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want..."

You know how it goes. But to a toddler this sounds like, for some reason, David is saying he doesn't want God. 

I loved her curiosity! I loved that she would stop me mid-sentence and wonder why... why in the world would someone not want God?

So we explained it slow... assuring her that what this verse means is that God is so good, that we never are in want.

But that can sound like a fairy tale or a lie... because we all want something, right? 

There is always something or someone or somewhere just out of our reach and our hope and desire is wrapped around wanting... except when there isn't. It's possible to experience times when there really is no want...

--And that's the thing!

What Happens in Vegas...

I know... 

Honestly, I do!  If you know me us then you know that Vegas is not really our deal.  I mean, we love to travel and to see new places and new things but Vegas hasn't ever been on our radar as a desired destination! 

And yet... there we were --all three of us, taking off from Seattle, Vegas-bound!

I wrote about it earlier... how it all started off as a joke! How my girlie and I talked of being like Lorelai and Rory, and celebrating her 21st birthday Gilmore Girls-style.  But life happened, and time (as it does) got away from us and I forgot to plan it all out and I forgot to hope that she would even want to.

But when she asked, as if she really did still want to hang out with her Mama in Las Vegas, well... God showed up, leaving signs that He was all in, (Ya see what I did there?) and we put a trip together real quick like!

When Haven and Home Have No Street Address... A Five Minute Friday post

I know... I totally missed last week because of vacation and this week I planned a walk, only to get home just in time to party over on Twitter --except that we had a meeting at our house that had completely slipped my mind! I blame it on Vegas. (I may be doing that for awhile!) 

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

{GO}

My first instinct is to look up the official definition because, who really uses this word anymore, right? But it's so dreamy and romantic... I think we should use it all. the. time.

Definition of haven:

1:  harbor, port

2:  a place of safety : refuge

3:  a place offering favorable opportunities or conditions

I mean, come on... right? Swoon-worthy, for sure!

Earlier this week, I was thinking of what Home means to me... and I think Home and Haven are (or should be) pretty much the same thing!

What I Learned in (April and) May...

Somehow I entirely missed this post for April. Clearly I must have been learning lots of things because I failed to take time to reflect and write it all down? I will try to combine April and May while still keeping the list fun and relatively short! We'll see how we do!

***

12 Random Things That I Have Learned...