A Collective Rebirth... a Five Minute Friday post.

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My, oh My! It's been another long, quiet absence! Who knew throwing in a job or two would so disrupt my writing routine? (The working women! That's who! They knew! )

I have been silent in many ways, processing all that our World is battling right now. If you've been around here much or know me at all, you know my bent is toward the positive... the Promises... the Yes and Amen's... the sunshine and laughter and joy! All this Heavy and Hard leaves me feeling --well, heavy and hard. It's so not my favorite! Still... I'm here, sitting in the chair, ready to see what pours out with our Word prompt...

This is a Five Minute Friday post... which, as you should know by now, simply means I set a timer and free-write for five minutes flat on the one-word prompt: BORN

{GO!} 

Born...

I see the prompt and my heavy heart goes immediately to the thought of how we need a Change. We need more than a restoration in our country. We need something brand new... We need a nation collectively being reborn!

My next thought goes to a quote I just read on Emily P. Freeman's blog.  She stated this: "Starting again doesn’t have to mean starting over." and I can't get over the relief of the truth of it!

Somehow, these two thoughts merge together in my mind and sink down deep and fast into my heart, and suddenly, I feel Hope arising!

Privilege... A Five Minute Friday post.

I couldn't not show up at ALL last night over on the Twitter, but I had been battling a migraine all day long. My day was full of good things - but oh so bossy, and so by the time I sat myself down in this chair, in front of this screen --well, my body was ready to just shut. it. down. man! So I said a quick hello, and went to a darker room and (mostly) closed my eyes for the evening! I woke up feeling MUCH better, praise God!

The Five Minute Friday community is the best gathering of Flashmob writers around!  We wait for the one word prompt and we throw caution and hesitation and editing to the wind, and we let our fingers fly and our feelings feel and we just wait and see what flows out in five minutes (or so! Because, grace!) and we hit Publish without second guessing or backspacing! Our one word prompt is: PRIVILEGE! 

{GO}

I see the word and catch my breath... because, of course!

This is a current buzzword that can stir up passion and debate and even if as it is uncomfortable, it is so important!

Sadly, it was only a few years ago that my eyes began to truly open.

I honestly didn't know... I very likely could have sided with many who continue now to say that White Privilege is not even a thing --at least not for them. 

As I wrote about in 2014 in a post titled #GoingThere (thanks to posts and in real life conversations with my friend Deidra Riggs), "Ignorance is Bliss only for the Ignorant!" and I went on to acknowledge that was me... I was ignorant...

Ermagherd... Berks!!! An annual post about the Books I Read in 2017

Hey Sweet Readers! 

Here we are near the end of 2017 and even though this year was hard and threw some serious curve balls and knocked me off my reading game, you know how I love me some books... (or 'berks!' as in, "Ermagherd! Berks!")

So this is the post where I take time to reflect back over the year and revisit some of my favorite reads! 

Here is a random list of books I read and loved this year! I feel like I slowed down a bit in all the reading this year... growing a (church) family took priority over both blogging and reading a bit more again this year, and then there was all the days and weeks in hospitals and with family and friends both in recovering and in grieving.

Still... 2017 offered up a FEAST in words...
Here are a handful that stayed with me!

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If They're Gonna Know Us By Our Love... We Have Work To Do - A Five Minute Friday post.

I finally made it to the party for a bit last night and it felt good, and right, and a little like home! (If you are a writer and are looking for Community, check out #fmfparty on Twitter on Thursday nights!)

Here we go: 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 of: WORK

{GO}

I see the word prompt and my first thought is, "Well - we have a lot of that to do!"

I think of this world and how broken and divided it can be... how broken and divided it is.  I think of the words of Jesus in the Gospel of John:

"This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.” John 13:35 The Message

I think of how I wish this was true... of how I wish that 'they' could look at the Church at large and see by the way we love each other and Him that we are, in fact, His! 

That we are representing Him well in the earth!

The Danger of Doubt and How It Robs Us...

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..."

This week, y'all!
For. Real.

The contrast has been startling and for a moment or two (or 10,000), I was left dizzy and spinning.

Let's just be real here.

This past week, I have felt both extremes of just how blessed I am and also of the depravity reality of this world. 

That Thing I Do Now - Vol 94

Hey my friends!

I am, as you read this, at Jumping Tandem spending time with some (off the charts) amazing people... and God, too! I am pretty sure He is there as well!  So this post may be shorter than usual because when you live way out West getting almost anywhere is a full day of travel, which cut in to my web-searching, post-devouring ways! 

Still... I found some gems...

Featured today are posts by Tonya Salomons, John Blase, Donald Miller, Crystal Stine, Deidra Riggs, a post from right here... and - of course - a video to wrap it all up! 

Happy Reading! (Ya'll know to click on the authors' names below to read the entire post, yes?)

On How It Turns Out We Are To Blame...

Can I start out with an apology... as lame as that may be?  

Here's the thing - I am sorry. I am sorry about a lot of things and what I absolutely do not want to be doing right now is jumping on any sort of bandwagon or trend. 

I mean, honestly... for the love.  
That is not what this is.

My friend Deidra Riggs has been #GoingThere for quite some time now and in the past couple of weeks some other friends have 'gone there' with her.  I have so appreciated her voice... their voices... but can I just say: Oh my goodness - I didn't even know how vital this was is... how much of an emergency was is at hand.  

How could I not know? But honestly, I didn't.