April 5, 2019

An Offer We Can't (or Shouldn't!) Refuse... a Five Minute Friday post.

***

I know!? I wrote TWO posts in one day, PLUS the monthly newsletter for subscribers already this week... but I've managed to miss #fmfparty for too many weeks and months to keep track and I haven't written a Five Minute Friday post for a couple of weeks so --here I am! Sitting in the chair... right? #WritersGonnaWrite


This is a Five Minute Friday post... which simply means I set a timer and free write for five minutes flat on the one-word prompt: OFFER

{GO!}

My first thought upon seeing the One Word prompt was,
"I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse."

Which, of course, made me laugh because --well because,
God... You're SO FUNNY!


You may or may not know that --even though I've never actually watched (any of) The Godfather(s)... God often quotes a line or two from that movie to me to get a point across!

I referred to my favorite Godfather quote He whispers to me over and over a few weeks ago on the blog.  
You can read that one HERE.

But here's the thing about the quote above about making us an offer we can't refuse... We CAN...

We CAN refuse it, but
Oh, how He hopes we won't!


We are just weeks away from Easter
and I don't know about you, but for me... 
I'm walking my way through the Gospels
as Easter Sunday approaches...
I'm preparing my heart
and allowing Him to search it...
to help me hand it over, again and again,
right back into His Nail Scarred Hands... 
because while the 'offer' from the Godfather
was really more of a threat,
the offer extended to all of us here on earth
from God the Father is more of a plea!



It really IS the best offer we will ever, ever receive!  
But He is a good, good Father... a gentleman,
and He will never force Himself on us... 
He waits patiently, all the while, 
wooing our hearts closer and closer to His!

He is patient and He is kind...
He is the best thing going
and He makes us the best offer,
which is simply to accept
His gift of Love...of Life...
of Forgiveness and Salvation!

He makes us an offer He hopes we won't refuse...
and really - if we do... well,
the odds are not in our favor.
Still - He lets us choose...

As Easter is approaching, 
I am walking with Jesus
  through the wilderness and the wonder...
through the everyday mundane
  and the extraordinary miracles... 
through the Crowds, the chaos, and the "Crucify Him!"
  to the Cross, the Risen King, and His Kingdom advancing!



And over and over, verse upon verse,
as I lean in and listen,
I hear the rhythm of His heart beating...

Love pumping, running, bleeding!



He truly did come,
leaving all of heaven behind,
to embrace and endure
all this broken world offers,
to take our place and trade us...
to give us an upgrade
of eternal proportions...
to make us an offer
He hopes we won't refuse!

Something about

Life and Life Abundantly...
Something about
Jesus' grace and righteousness
in place of the debt and death
brought on by our sin!



Something about
washed clean and made new...
Something about
His Great Love reaching out
for me and for you!

{STOP!}

Well, I had no intention of writing about Easter quite so early, but there it is!

What have you been reading, or listening to, or contemplating on as Easter approaches this month? 

Have you been remembering the story --and reminding yourself that it is True?  

Have you been giving over more and more of your heart and asking Him to rekindle that first Easter shock-and-awe sense of romance and wonder? 

If not... Consider this your invitation to do just that!


Linking up with  Kate Motaung and the #fmfparty Community today.  Five Minute Fridays give 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 "OFFER"




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 about 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!

Photos courtesy of Unsplash

Heads Up: There are just a few more hours left to enter to win your own copy of Alia Joy's new release, Glorious Weakness! (Click HERE if you are a US Resident and enter to win!)

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


Crystal Twaddell for #FreshMarketFriday

Mary Geisen for #TellHisStory

Kelly Balarie for #RaRaLinkUp

Sue Donaldson for #LetsHaveCoffee








 Did you know? I have a podcast called THE CHANGING OUR MINDS PODCAST! It's simply me, Karrilee, and my all grown up Girlie, Kayelyn, together co-hosting as we talk about all kinds of random things!  Faith plays a part, sure... but it's more like joining us for coffee as we catch up on the couch or sitting at the table! We talk about whatever is on our minds and often reveal things that we used to think we knew... but we've changed our minds! We'd love to have you join us at the Table or a comfy couch as we catch up over a cup of something yummy and share life together! We invite you to SUBSCRIBE here to have the Podcast sent to your preferred listening device so you won't miss a thing! Also, follow us on Facebook to join in on the conversations!


7 comments :

  1. Oh my goodness...this is one of those times where I truly think we are the same brain! (Go read my post and you'll see what I mean) I've been reflecting on how you can't have Easter without the reality and pain of Good Friday. "Easter says you can put death in the grave but it won't stay there." (Clarence W Hall) xoxo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Love it --your comment and your post! Kindred, indeed! xoxo

      Delete
  2. Beautiful words though you had me giggling at first because I am a big God Father fan. Well One and Two...totally didn't like Three.

    I am doing a study with my life group right now and have the Easter study from She Reads Truth. I love Easter and my heart is simply soaring with gratitude.

    Visiting from FMF. I have been away a long long time. I think I'm 40 if you want to visit.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello there, Kelly! It's so good to 'see' you here --and at FMF! (I've been MIA for a long while over there as well!) Off to read your post!

      Delete
  3. I am also contemplating God's love for us on the cross. He really did love us with such a deep love and His over of eternal salvation and grace is one I hope all will choose. Thanks for sharing. I loved the poetic tone of this posts.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much, Mary! It's so nice to see your smiling face here!

      Delete
  4. Hi nice reading yyour blog

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for stopping by! I always love to hear your thoughts! Remember to: Speak Life - Be Love - Shine On!
~Karrilee~

Blog Archive