Sunrise... a Five Minute Friday post.

***

Here we are, on a Saturday morning... and this post right here already surpasses all of our posts in 2020! In other words... It's only February and I'm already crossing off a goal for 2021!  Maybe next week, I'll even make it over to the Twitter Party for the FMF Community! (#fmfparty). 

This is a Five Minute Friday post... which simply means I set a timer and free-write for five minutes flat. I then add graphics and format a bit, but the actual writing stops (or at least is given an asterisk!) when my timer goes off! 

Today, our one-word prompt is: SUNRISE

{GO!} 

Sunrise...

I see the word prompt and I think immediately of the Hope I feel whenever I see the sunrise. (Which, to be honest, is not every day because -well, I am a fan of sleep!) But it's such a tangible glimpse of Glory and the Hope that comes with a brand new day!

As much as we love to go to the beach --(and we do!)  We are on the West Coast and mostly, we watch the Sun SET into the ocean and praise God at the sheer beauty. We rarely get up early enough to go watch it rise.  Watching the sun SET is powerful, too. Still filled with glory and satisfaction. 

God is so smart.  

How wise we would be to start and end each day,

simply receiving the gift He gives us through His creation!

"But as for me, your strength shall be my song of joy. At each and every sunrise, my lyrics of your love will fill the air! For you have been my glory-fortress, a stronghold in my day of distress." Psalm 59:16

Have you had days of distress lately? I mean... I think it's safe to say we have ALL had days like that!  It's so easy to focus on the clouds and the shadows that are shifting all around us and forget to see the Glory of the rising sun.  The shadows can appear to be overtaking our world, however, it's actually the LIGHT that is causing the changes we see (and the ones we don't see!) and oh my goodness -- 'lyrics of His love' fill the air when I remember!  

It's yet another one of those things I know -but sometimes forget:

No matter what it looks like,

God is not surprised or wringing His hands!

He is FOR us and WITH us and

His Peace is still offered and

He can still be trusted!

He can! 

I know... but even as the sun sets, and the darkness appears to have taken over - He can be trusted still. He is near, always.

When things don't turn out AT ALL the way

we wanted, or hoped, or prayed...

and we can't make sense of it with our finite minds,

He can still be trusted. He is near.

We can take Him at His Word and we can stand on the Truth

and we can rest assured that if it hasn't worked out for our good --well, it isn't finished. 

Now I know how Pollyanna-ish that sounds! 

I don't mean it that way... 

I'm simply saying that we know the Big Picture* 

...we know His End Game, and we know in the end,

we really DO win.  

It really DOES get worked out for our good...

all because of and thanks to Jesus! 

(I mean, Right?)

He has come to save the day... 

to save the World... 

to save your soul and to heal your hurts

and to take your place SO THAT... 

well --so that His strength can be your song of joy!

{STOP!}

I don't know about you... but I know for me? 

I want to sing my song of Joy louder and louder...

I want to live out loud and boldly for our King

in a way that makes those who don't know Him

want to fall in love with Him, too!

I want my faith and my hope and my love

to be contagious and I want to shift and change

the atmosphere of a room in the same way

Father God does when He sends the Sun to Rise,

letting Light spill out over everything,

causing Darkness to flee!

And here's the thing, Sweet Reader:
He is sending the Sun (/Son) to Rise all the time... 

I've said it over and over, how Jesus is never in a rush... 

He is patient and kind and He is willing to wait. 

I believe this is true with all of my heart. 

However, I also believe the only time He rushes

is when He is running right at you... 

Something about a Ring and a Robe... 

Something about a holy visitation...

"The splendor light of heaven’s glorious sunrise is about to break upon us in holy visitation, all because the merciful heart of our God is so very tender." Luke 1:78

Something about Come, Lord Jesus! Come!

The Sun sets and we are invited to

reflect back over our day and find Him in it... 

and when the Sun rises we are invited to

let Hope and Glory rise with it, 

making room for a holy visitation

accompanied with our songs of joy! 

Let us sing...

(and...)

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 "SUNRISE"!

* - This marks my Five Minutes. Grace, please, as I finished my thought

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!

Photo's courtesy of Aaron Burden via Unsplash - Seriously, go check his art out! He's amazing!

We sit down at the mic and simply talk about real life! Check out our latest episode about Goals and Resolutions!  

THE CHANGING OUR MINDS PODCAST is somewhat non-bloggy related and I co-host it with my all grown up Girlie, Kayelyn! We cover a lot of topics! Faith plays a part, sure... but it is 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, we'd love to have you follow us on Facebook to join in on the conversations!