Now is the Time... A Five Minute Friday Post

I missed out on the last #fmfparty of the year last Thursday, but our Seahawks were playing Thursday Night Football so... #GoHawks  (Still - you know I missed y'all!) ...and then, well - you know how it goes with the bossy lists, full schedules, and Christmas right around the corner... but I'm here now! (Ya see what I did there? Well... you will!)

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

{GO}

Now. 
  ...it's such a bossy word, right?  At least it can be! 

It's very decisive... maybe that is more like it.  

It sets a timer and hits start before you have a moment to settle in and prepare.  

Except... I can't say for you --but for me? I can still manage to put 'Now' off for a little bit... to push him aside, or ask him for grace because 'Now' is so often just a little more than inconvenient. He sneaks up on us somehow while being in plain sight. 

NOW... it can be exciting and full of adventure and 'Finally!' and 'Why did it take so long to get here?' OR it can be dreaded and it can stir up feelings of inadequacy and 'I can't yet!' and 'How is it time already?'

The first thing that came to mind when I saw the prompt was the old school worship song:

"Come... Now is the time to Worship...

Come... Now is the time to give your heart..."

And that is just Exactly. It., right?

Now IS the time... this time, this season of Advent and of Christmas and of Jesus leaving all of heaven to wear flesh and blood and walk amongst us... 

NOW is the time to worship... 
  NOW is the time to give our hearts... 

Now is the time to prepare Him room... to slow for even just a moment and remember how He came for us... how He came as a Lamb in a barn, and paid our ransom on a Cross on a hill, so that one day, He could usher us back in to the Loving Arms of our Father!

This is why we celebrate... why we slow and light the candle and wrap the gifts that no matter what, always pale in comparison to the Gift Himself... this is why Christmas warms our hearts and shifts and refocuses our priorities... because we forget! 

We forget that Now is the time... we fall for the lie that it's too soon, or too late... or too bossy (and who wants that, anyway?)  or just too much!

We fall into the trap of believing that we have all the time in the world, or that the world is coming to an end and neither one of those things are true, my friends! And do you know how I know this? Because GOD so loved the world... and that hasn't changed!  Because GOD became flesh and dwelt among us... He moved in to the neighborhood and He has been moving ever closer, ever since!

Now... 
  NOW is the time to worship... 
  NOW is the time to give our hearts... 

{STOP}

And as I wrap this up... let me tell you real clear --I am preaching to my own self here!  I have been #nailingit in getting All the Things done... and our God --He is patient and kind, but He is also waiting for us to worship... to give our hearts... to come to Him and to silence the other distractions that pull at our heart and home... and to quite literally choose Him and prepare Him room, over and over again...

Again and again... giving Him more room... more of our hearts and our hopes and more of our hurts and hesitations, too! Hand it over, friend... He can handle it!

He first came in a cradle, but He grew and His arms were spread wide and nailed to a Cross so that He could redeem us all and led us back in to the loving arms of the Father! 

This is Christmas... and Now is the time! 

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: "NOW"

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

I'm also linking up with the lovely writer community linked below:

Kelly Chripczuk  for #SmallWonders 

Holly Barrett for #TestimonyTuesday

KELLY BALARIE FOR #RARALINKUP

#FreshMarketFriday...