MUSIC - A Five Minute Friday post

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Welcome to Five Minute Friday! It is a community of writers who write for five minutes flat, using a One Word prompt --a Flashmob of writers all leaning in and seeing what spills out as the timer ticks away! 

This is a Five Minute Friday post...and our Word Prompt this week is: MUSIC!

{GO!} 

I see the prompt and I can't help it! I am a lover of music and I am well aware of the power it has in my life!  My first thought goes to how so many songs have the power to draw you back to a moment or a memory and what a gift that is/can be!  

While I love all kinds of music, it comes as a shock to no one that worship is my favorite! I'm married to a gifted and anointed musician... a worship leader who is intentional in creating space for the Holy Spirit to come... to interrupt... to take over.  

QUICK - A Five Minute Friday post

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It has, yet again, accidentally been a while!  But I found myself with an unexpected day off today - on a Friday, no less... so I'm back, joining in with the community of writers who write for five minutes flat, using a One Word prompt --a Flashmob of writers all leaning in and seeing what spills out as the timer ticks away! This is a Five Minute Friday post...and our Word Prompt is: QUICK!

{GO!} 

It happens so quickly... Life passing by... Days turning into years... we Blink and milestones have come and gone.

We want to slow. down. time.  

Just take a breath and give us a minute... 

Honestly, I can't wait until we are no longer bound to it --- this clock and this system that keeps us busy and distracted and pulls us down like Gravity when what our souls were made for -- what they long for is an escape into Eternity... longing for all the time in heaven, for all the good things (read: NOT 'things'!) that await us!

ASSUME - A Five Minute Friday post

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I have missed this practice and community of writing for five minutes flat off of a One Word prompt --a Flashmob of writers all leaning in and seeing what spills out as the timer ticks away! This is a Five Minute Friday post...and our One Word Prompt is: ASSUME!

{GO!} 

My eyes see the One Word Prompt and my heart is already mid-sentence before I even open the screen to write.  

Oh - Assumptions... how they can boss us around!

I believe Assumptions and Ascribing Intent are two of the biggest tools of our enemy. 

I know?! I feel the hugeness of that statement too and I wonder for just a moment if I am being dramatic... if I am overstating this thought.

So I slow... even as the timer ticks away... and I ask the Lord if I am on the right track here... 

"Lord,  what happens when we assume... when we write a story in our own mind in a flash with absolutely no facts or background... what is it that happens in our hearts?"

Immediately I felt His answer... 

May He be Harder to Ignore... a Five Minute Friday post

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This is a Five Minute Friday post... Five Minute Friday posts are when I set a timer and free-write for five minutes flat. Then I add graphics and format a bit, but the actual writing stops (or at least is given an asterisk!) when my timer goes off! I am a bit out of practice but I'm back again... leaning in, and listening closely to what the Spirit is saying... let's go!

{GO!} 

My practice in the old days was to see the One Word Prompt and immediately ask the Lord what He wanted to say. That is something I am most definitely NOT out of practice in doing. I ask Him these things all the time, and normally He is quick to speak! 

He has opinions, friends... and He's not shy about them if we will only ask! 

And that is when it hits me: We have heard it countless times - how Jesus is a gentleman and He will not push Himself on us. He pursues us with a passion and focus that should take our breath away. It should leave us weak in the knees and stunned at His selfless, all-encompassing love for us. 

A "These are the Days of..." Post

Hello, Sweet Readers!

I dipped my toe back into the Blogging World last month with my return to participating in the Five Minute Friday community.  I had hoped to find an easy rhythm finding myself back in the saddle again. But we know, ... don't we? I mean - we know now that - at least in this season -  any kind of 'easy rhythm' seems really difficult to find!

So - nearly a whole month went by with no routine, no clear schedule, no priority laid out to get me back in this chair... tapping at these keys, waiting to see/read/hear what He has to say.  You see, I've explained it before but sitting in this spot, praying for words and then being willing to type when He begins speaking to my heart: It's more for me than it is for you! 

Oh, you are welcome here... welcome to any nuggets of truth or insight or wisdom, of course!  But the 'easy rhythm' I'm truly longing for is simply the reconnecting of spending time with Him, expectantly waiting to hear! (Maybe you are longing for something similar, too?). 

With the arrival of a new month, hope is stirring yet again and I am following His lead... heeding to the beckoning of His call... and I am willing and I believe (--Lord, help my unbelief!) that He has something for us in this season that will only come as we pursue Him with a single vision and a tenacity that - to be honest - has waned for many including myself. Maybe we grew weary... even though we know the verse that tells us not to... maybe doubt crept in - or maybe life just crowded Him out. Whatever the reason or excise... here's to pressing in again and pursuing His Presence together in this space yet again!

Let's get to the process of beginning again... and leaning in to hear what God is saying in this season, at this time!

For today - as I am slowly walking back into this practice, let's revisit an old favorite way of keeping track and writing things down! This discipline of making a list had me at Hello! (I mean - right?). Emily P Freeman talks about making a list to help her stay present and acknowledge all that a season is holding. I loved it so much that I started to put it into practice!  In fact, when I didn't write ONE SINGLE ESSAY/POST/JOURNAL ENTRY for all of whatever year Covid was new and everywhere... (2020? 2021?) - every month, I wrote a list! I'm so grateful to have those written in my journal!

So today - to catch up on what this Season is holding for me... I will make a list:

"THERE ARE THE DAYS OF..."

Jan/Feb 2023

*        Cozy Evenings spent at Home, stirring up Gratefulness for ALL the way God takes care of us.

*        Real Estate Broker Licensing Course/Studying (Before work, After work, on the weekends, too!)

*        Midnight Hour Intercessions - Being Wide Awake at 3am, praying for our Nation and our world, as well as for our friends and family!

Receive - A return to the Five Minute Friday Post

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This is a Five Minute Friday post... It has been a long, long while since I have played along with this practice, this community... but I am hoping to get back to some sort of consistency in sitting in this chair and typing words together... In case you are new - or like me, may have forgotten -  Five Minute Friday posts are when I set a timer and free-write for five minutes flat. Sometimes 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! I'm out of practice in all things writing but here I sit... leaning in, and getting back to some old practices!  Here we go!

Today, our one-word prompt is: RECEIVE

{GO!} 

Receive...

I see the word prompt and immediately remember doing a post on this word years and years ago... maybe around Christmas time.  I am also reminded that it has been WAY too long since I have sat in this space and tapped on keys to reveal my heart.

I stepped away from the Blogging World a while ago. It was a slow fade for me... 

Our Annual Prophetic Post for the New Year - 2023 Edition

Happy New Year, Sweet Readers!

Honestly - I didn't mean to be gone for nearly an entire year!  I wrote a post last week and didn't get too into all the why's of why I was absent here but let me say this - it was not intentional! I didn't decide to walk away from blogging, from writing, from connecting in this space... Life just sort of crowded it out and I felt a call for a season to hold many things closer to my chest.  I was called (--am still called, really!) to a more intense season of intercession. Between that, regular life, plugging back into church/ministry, a part-time job and schooling, and - of course - being a Mimi, Blogging got pushed to the side.

For now... I want to say, Here we are! We made it through 2022 and we are winding down the first full day of 2023! Once again, I am SO READY for a Brand New Year... a Fresh New Start... a Blank, clean slate! The Hope and Energy that accompanies the dawning of a new year is tangible and the pull towards Goal Setting and Dream pursuing and the endless possibilities for GOOD... well, it seems to only last for a few days, right?  So - the standing Open Invitation and long-running Date I have with the Lord continues and He woke me up early this morning, already speaking about 2023!

And that means it is time for our Annual Prophetic Post for the start of the New Year!

Before we dive into what God spoke to my heart about 2023, let's briefly look back at 2022...