Our Weekend Goal... A Five Minute Friday post.

***

Oh, Friends!  I don't know about where you live, but here in my little corner of the PNW:

Summer is HERE big time and, let me tell you, I am so FOR it!

I'm talking forego the hot cuppa and go for the iced coffee in the morning instead because it's already sunny and warm but the patio is calling my name! You know how it is with me! #patiolife

Let's just get to it! 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: GOAL

{GO!}

Last week we nearly hit triple digits.

It's not that this is unusual, really!

After all - we live in a desert land...

where the sun beats hot and the heat is dry.

It's all I've ever really known. 

I grew up in this town and never left. 

I'm assured I would know the difference

between humid and dry heat and I'm sure it's true. 

Still... as long as I have access to my beloved A/C,

I'm good with long summer days that

start out warm and never fully cool off.

But again, it is desert land

so once the sun goes down,

it usually DOES cool off

--at least a bit!

Listen, while not all things are meant for the interwebs, 

and we have played many cards close to our hearts

over the past year or so, many of you have walked with

and prayed for us in this long, hard season

of living in the in-between! 

Many of you have traveled these

parched 'desert lands' with us...

Many days were lived by faith alone

and not much direction.
God got real quiet rather than chatty

and He asked us to simply

lean in and be held...

to trust and to wait.

We experienced much loss

in the last couple of years...

Loss of loved ones...

Loss of Jobs and ministry...

Loss of friends/community...

Loss of direction and dreams...

But God...

... I mean, right?

While we lost family in tragic ways, 

we know we will see them again

on the other side of eternity!

While we laid down titles and tension, 

we rested in knowing who we are

and that He can be trusted!

While we felt called to step back

from the church we helped to start, 

we're blessed by the love of

the family of God at large!

While we watched direction get blurry

and dreams fade away, 

we know our God is a God of

Resurrection and Provision and so,

we were willing to wait!

He provided in natural and supernatural ways

and in all of our waiting, wrestling,

and waiting some more,

we were healing and learning and resting...

we were letting ourselves be held 

and we were letting our hearts be healed...

We were humbled and honored

and in awe of the Bride of Christ

and how She loved us well... 

--how She loves us still.

On Wednesday, after over a year of waiting, 

My Honey was offered a job.  

This, sweet friends, has been a long time coming!

And, just like how He is, He came in the nick of time. 

Unemployment ran out... it was the last week of school 

(where My Honey was subbing as a Parapro

a few days a week!) and --well,

we were still in peace but Y'all...

Something had to give!

So - as soon as the offer was on the table and he said yes,

My Honey decided he was taking me to the beach!  

Apparently, he had decided long ago on his own

that as soon as he was able to get a job,

we would sneak away to the sea and snuggle in close

and watch the waves and drink in the visual reminder that

He is God and we are not! 

We would celebrate His goodness

and how He took care of us and how He kept us close

and kept us afloat and, as He does, through it all,

He called us to step out on the water with Him!

So it makes sense that this weekend,

we are headed to the shore

where our main goal is to give thanks

to a God who carries us back to the boat

every time we step out

and feel like we're failing...

like we're falling! 

We plan to count blessings, 

reflect on how He held us,

and how He'll hold us still

around every unknown bend

and through every storm that comes... 

Our Goal this weekend is to let the

sea breeze blow through our hair

as our hearts happily exhale

and our souls have room to breathe!

Our Goal is to find Rest and Refreshing

and ready ourselves to go out and

Walk on the water again!

{STOP!}

Everything isn't magically fixed and on many fronts, we are still groping around in the dark... but the light is shining and we feel the pleasure of our God in how we waited.

So thank you. Thank you, sweet readers --sweet friends, for how you helped us in waiting well! 

For how you prayed and encouraged and held up hands and bent down low.  For how you sent cards and love (and a few times, checks in the mail!)

Y'all helped to make the waiting in-between less lonely

and more full of grace and glory!

We don't yet have an official start date and we don't have paychecks coming in --so this is a quick trip with little to nothing 'extra' planned but we connect with God and each other on a deeper level somehow when we walk ankle deep in the cold Pacific and give ourselves time to sit, toes digging in to warm sand, and watch and see how He paints the skies with color and how He whispers love and sings songs over us to the rhythm of the sea!

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 "GOAL"

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 via T

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

Crystal Twaddell for #FreshMarketFriday

Mary Geisen for #TellHisStory

Kelly Balarie for #RaRaLinkUp

Sue Donaldson for #LetsHaveCoffee