June 14, 2019

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

7 comments :

  1. Karrilee, your poetry sings...and I love God getting real quiet, not chatty. Perfect!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much, Andrew! I know you know all about our not chatty God! Praying for you!

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  2. A God of resurrection and provision, yes indeed! He has certainly shown that to me! May you keep feeling Him holding you and see the abundant provision God has for you come to fruition!

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    Replies
    1. Amen, Angela! Here's what I've learned (again and again...) - even when I don't feel Him holding me... I know that He is! That alone helps! Thanks so much for stopping by!

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  3. Love this post my friend. Thinking of you today on your birthday too :D Many blessings!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much, my friend! I appreciate you and how you show up and support and encourage me here! Praying blessings right back over you!

      Delete
  4. Yes and Amen and Me (or us!) too! We had two sudden losses in our family, as well as the loss of a job of 25 years, and laying down a ministry job, among many other battles with sickness -ours and other family! and on and on and on, it seemed! I am praying for you for breakthrough right alongside our prayers for our own! Our God is able! xoxo

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

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