MOTIVATE - The First Five Minute Friday post of the New Year!

Oh my Goodness... Joy! What Joy to be able to hang out on Twitter last night for the Five Minute Friday party! I have missed this Tribe and it was so good to be back and reconnect!

Here's to a brand New Year... and getting back to a lovely routine that includes spending a bit more time in this little corner of the interwebs, pouring out my heart! I have missed connecting and interacting with y'all!

So here we are: The first Friday of the year... and you know that means that we are gathering a flashmob of writers to type free and fast... all centered around one simple word. 

That One Word Prompt today is MOTIVATE --because, of course, right? (This is a Five Minute Friday post, which simply means I set a timer and free write for five minutes flat, add a few photos, and hit Publish!)

{GO}

Ah yes... MOTIVATE... 
Motivation... Drive...

It all goes right along nicely with the New Year.

I'm not one for Resolutions as much as I am one for Goals - both short term and long term, but I will be honest here... (of course!) :

Last year was rough. 
It's no secret. 

Some of the ways are out in the open and some of them are held close to our hearts.  We were wounded and broken through much of 2017.  Many of our plans were... well, you know how that goes! (Prov 19:21)

We laid down a lot of what we wanted... or what we thought we wanted... and we gave room --made room-- for grace!

Of course --there were high points and blessings, too! 
It turns out if we will keep our eyes wide open, there is always a mixture of both high and low... of both mountain tops and valleys...

So here we are, at the break of a new dawn and this is when we huddle in close and we awake to dreaming, yet again!

This is a new day... a new year... and we feel Joy already coming for us, even when our weary hearts and healing bodies are slow to line up with the Truth!  

We feel Hope arising and let me tell you... 

Happy New Year!!! Our Annual Prophetic Post for the New Year - 2018 edition

HAPPY NEW YEAR, friends!

I can't speak for you, but for me? 
2017, man... good riddance!

Today starts the very very beginning of a brand new year! Blank Calendars, Day Planners, and Hope-filled Goals stare us down, waiting to be written and planned and lived out loud!

No matter how 2017 unfolded for you all, here we stand in the freshness of 2018 with a clean slate, a new chapter, a brand new year just waiting for us to step into it and begin again...

New Years Day, for me, always starts out the same way...

A Wrap Up Post on my One Word DWELL... aka How It Bossed Me Around (PLUS A GIVEAWAY!)

Ahh - it's almost the New Year! 

There is something about a brand new calendar and a clean slate... a fresh start and blank page that just stirs up all the feels for me!  Also - who doesn't love a calendar or day planner to fill up with possibilities and dreams for what's to come? (Stay Tuned for more on that below...)

I joined this movement way back in 2012.  I've played along with the growing community ever since!

We pray and wait... lean in and listen, and we pick one little word... --actually, we allow one little word come and pick us! It seems to be more long-lasting than the resolutions I used to make and forget about in less than a week or two. 

This year, my OneWord365 was "Dwell" and in the beginning it felt Oh So Romantic and Swoon-worthy! I couldn't WAIT to invite Dwell into my life for 2017!

I wrote a bit about Dwell here and here and here and here and here--but really, a lot of what Dwell did was boss me around... from creating space for me to slow and rest and dwell with Him, to coarse correcting when I began to dwell NOT on Him --but other distractions that were stealing my peace and my joy, to causing me to Dwell when all I wanted (or thought I wanted) to do was cut and run!

In reflecting over 2017, I realized that Dwell was super bossy in both the good ways and the not so great ways, too. 

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!

***

Different... A Five Minute Friday Post

I didn't really INTEND to take a little holiday hiatus but it seems as if that is what is happening! Life has been full (read:busy!) lately and I've been fighting to (re)find some margins! This truth, plus the fact that it's Christmas time and things have been a bit heavy and hard all year long, and the fact that I am an internal processor, and the fact that I am just plain old tired, y'all... well - all of that adds up to not much blogging as of late!  I have intentions in writing book review posts and end of the year fun and other things, too --but let's just keep this real! I'll pop in when I can for the remainder of the year and will find a normal routine in writing hopefully come January yet again!

Until then, I'll just play along with this -our final Five Minute Friday link up of the year! The One Word Prompt today is DIFFERENT. (This is a Five Minute Friday post, which simply means I set a timer and free write for five minutes flat, add a few photos, and hit Publish!)

{GO}

Hmph... I was talking complaining to God about this just yesterday!  

About how this Christmas season feels different.  
I know we have experienced lows (goodbye Dave!) and highs (hello Lil Miss!) this year and yet the holidays came quickly and I didn't feel ready for them... I wasn't in the mood, yet! 
(Anybody?  Anybody?  Bueller?)

I kept thinking the Christmas Spirit would come... 
but even by mid-December, I was still waiting for it to arrive.

Christmas this year feels different... void... 
Traditions are still shifting and changing 
and we are making necessary adjustments 
but it feels not the same... 
somehow not as good. 

At least that is what the enemy whispers loud to me
in the corners of my spinning mind...

I've been preparing Him room in my heart, 
but it's my MIND that is overworked and overcrowded
and lately it seems I just can't get it to take a break, already!

Familiar Spirits and No Longer a Victim... A Five Minute Friday post.

Tonight is the last night of our Ladies Bible study that I accidentally started on Thursday nights! The good news/bad news is that while we are finishing up in time for the holidays, my Honey and I are praying about starting up a new group in January... but we have not yet decided on an evening. (It's just that Thursdays now seem normal... but we shall see!)

For now... I'm just gonna quietly play along, last minute like, and sneak in under the radar on the One Word Prompt of FAMILIAR. (This is a Five Minute Friday post, which simply means I set a timer and free write for five minutes flat, add a few photos, and hit Publish!)

{GO}

Once again, I accidentally saw the word prompt and immediately didn't want to write.

In fact, I had decided again and again that I was just going to skip it this week.

And yet here I sit... and the sinking feeling of Familiar will not go away. 

So I breathe in deep and slow... exhale fully and feel that old familiar ache. 

That all too familiar issue... 

You know the one... it's splashed all over headlines and whispered about in workplaces and it is completely ignored at family reunions...

It's the #MeToo of our time and when I see the word Familiar... oh I know... it is.

It IS familiar...

A couple of weeks ago, Facebook suggested I 'friend' the neighbor kid who sexually abused me... 

When Excuses Fade Away and Truth Takes Over... a Five Minute Friday post.

Just a few more weeks before I can officially rejoin the Five Minute Friday Community of Flash Mob Writers who love to party it up over on the Twitter on Thursday nights! Until then, I'll just play along here and over at the Link Up!  Let's 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: EXCUSE

{GO}

I see the word, and I know what it means...
but I hope I can uncover something different
because, ...you know, ...excuses!

Gah! My mind goes immediately to exactly where I do not want it to go.

Avoidance and excuses are not Kingdom ways... 
And I want my life to reveal Kingdom in every area. 

Conflict is not my favorite and as I wrote last week,
we are a people of Peace.  

However,
Peace will not reside in the midst
of denial and excuses.  

...Oh but the enemy will.  

The enemy will reside right in the midst of those things
and make himself super cozy and at home there.

When Silence is Adding to the Noise in Your Head... a Five Minute Friday post

I have not been able to make it to the party on Twitter for a LONG time... (I accidentally started a Thursday night Bible Study - ironically going through Lisa-Jo's We Saved You A Seat.) . Still - it will wrap up in a few more weeks and I can't wait to get back to the Tribe!

But until then, I will still play along in this little corner and over at the Link Up!  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: SILENCE

{GO}

I know... with all my talking about and putting into practice  REST, and with the season of life as an Empty Nester, and with the fact that I am an introvert, one would assume that Silence is my jam. (I know... but I can't stop saying it.)

And it IS!
Normally... I love me some Silence...

A little slow and quiet space to soak and to unwind... 
to think and to pray... 
to recenter and refocus and 
to re-calibrate my heart to the rhythm of His.

It is my jam...

But then there are the times when the Silence is simply adding to the Noise in your head and for the love, Peace is elusive and the quiet can feel maddening, right?

31 Days of Going From Mama to Mimi - DAY TWENTY NINE

Stories of Hope, Joy and Transition!

***

No Fear In Love...

I love this song... and if there is any anthem I want to sing over Lil' Miss, it is this one!

"Stir in me a love that's deep

A love that's wide, a love that's sweet

And help me Lord to never keep it to myself

And if my heart should dimly burn

And if my feet should fail to run

Call my name and I will come right back to You

Cause there's no fear in love

There's no fear in love..."

Go ahead... turn up the volume and let this song wash over you! 

(I encourage you to listen to the song before we pray!)

Let's pray:

Father God... 

We thank You that there is no fear in love. 

We thank You that even when worry and doubt

and unbelief and confusion begin to

whisper lies to our hearts,

we know Your Truth whispers

louder and sinks in deeper. 

We thank You that You call our name...

As we transition to Mama's and Mimi's,

the enemy throws all kinds of unknowns

that attempt to sow fear

--sometimes out in the open, 

and sometimes quietly,

almost undetected.

The cry of our heart is that

Love will chase away fear,

and faith will rise up

and take root in our hearts... 

and in the heart of this

precious new Little One, too!

We pray for peace...

and we pray for boldness and brave.

We believe they can go hand in hand!

We pray that we will not keep

Your Name or Your Love a secret

but we will shout it out from the rooftops

and whisper it soft as we are

rocking this gift (back!) to sleep!

Lord, we really DO just want

to stay close to You!

Help us to keep it

that simple!

We thank You, Jesus

for how you cast out all fear, 

for You are Perfect Love!

(1 John 4:18)

Holy Spirit, we thank You

that You are constantly interceding on our behalf

and that You reveal all truth.

When fear sneaks in,

he tells us lies that are easy to believe.

But You rush in...

You sing over us.

Help us to lean in and listen closely!

May we hear the sounds of Heaven

and the Voice of our Beloved,

as the answers to our prayers are released!

Amen!

***

"I wanna stay close to You

It's really that simple

I wanna stay close to You

Just as simple as this song

I wanna stay close to You

It's really that simple

I wanna stay close to You

My whole life long."

THAT is my prayer... for myself, for my Girlie and Lil' Miss... and for you too, sweet reader!

And lastly, a picture just for fun:

Can you EVEN with her adorableness?  
#Gah! #Swoon #TotesAdorbs #Preshie

Can you believe we are already almost DONE?  Tomorrow we will dig in to the topic of Healthy Boundaries a little further! No matter WHAT season you are in or what role you have... we ALL need to remember the vital importance of setting and respecting boundaries! I hope you'll join in on the conversation!

Today is Day Twenty Nine of 31 Days of Going From Mama to Mimi! If you click over to the official 'Home page' for this series HERE, you can catch up! You will find links for each days' postings, added daily throughout the month. If you'd prefer to have them delivered right to you, I invite you to enter your email address to the right ('Subscribe Here') and subscribe to the blog. That way, once a week, each post is delivered to your inbox in a single email over the weekend and you'll be sure not to miss a thing!

31 Days of Going From Mama to Mimi - DAY TWENTY ONE

Stories of Hope, Joy and Transition!

***

Hello there, Sabbath Rest!

We are so ready for you!

"...we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing."  Ephesians 2:10 The Message

"For we are the product of His hand, heaven’s poetry etched on lives, created in the Anointed, Jesus, to accomplish the good works God arranged long ago."  Ephesians 2:10 The Voice

Can you even? Gah! We love her so much!

Why is it when we look at newborns and babes, we can see so clearly that we are His masterpieces... each one, individually created with such love and beauty --and yet when we look in the mirror or around us at -uh, 'taller' peers, it's harder to see and remember?

Father G (Gregory Boyle) recently gave a talk in our City and he said this:

"You are exactly what God had in mind when God made you!" 

Man... what would happen if we would simply believe this?

We'll be back tomorrow with A Song and A Prayer!
Until then, let's remember to:

Today is Day Twenty One of 31 Days of Going From Mama to Mimi! If you click over to the official 'Home page' for this series HERE, you can catch up! You will find links for each days' postings, added daily throughout the month. If you'd prefer to have them delivered right to you, I invite you to enter your email address to the right ('Subscribe Here') and subscribe to the blog. That way, once a week, each post is delivered to your inbox in a single email over the weekend and you'll be sure not to miss a thing!

31 Days of Going From Mama to Mimi - DAY SEVENTEEN

This is Day Seventeen in our 31 Days series: Going from Mama to Mimi - Stories of Hope, Joy, & Transition...

Becoming Papa & Mimi...

Maybe it was not even a conversation or a thought... 

Maybe you simply went by what your kids called your own parents... 

Or maybe you picked out a name but it came out differently --but oh so perfectly, spilling from your own grand babies lips once they could talk.

Maybe you didn't like "Grandpa" or "Grandma" because --gah! We're just not that old... (yet!) 

31 Days of Going From Mama to Mimi - DAY SIXTEEN

This is Day Sixteen in our 31 Days series: Going from Mama to Mimi - Stories of Hope, Joy, & Transition...

Growing a Baby AND a Mom!

How many of you remember that nine months can seem to take FOREVER? (Especially that last month or two, right?)

It takes a long time to grow a baby... 
    and just as long to grow a Mama, too!

There is so much going on in the process and passing of nine months... so many changes and shifts and adjustments made --both physically, and emotionally!

No matter how the nine months began --a long awaited for announcement or a surprised shock of new news... no matter how ready or not ready we may think we are-- it takes every moment of growing Baby in the womb, to begin to grow Mama in the wonder.

Whether you are Type A and have color-coded plans, or you are more of a laid back, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants type... the time it takes for God to form and fashion this new baby is also used to form and fashion the new Mama you are growing into!

31 Days of Going From Mama to Mimi - DAY SIX - STORY... a Five Minute Friday post.

This is Day Six of the #Write31Days series, but we are playing along with the #fmfparty community! 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: STORY

{GO}

Because... PERFECT, right? I mean... come on!

Because you can't really talk about Family and not talk about Story.  

All the while, when we think we are writing our Story... adding in characters and creating scenes to be remembered long after the last page is read, the reality is that
God is the Author of our Story!

He is the One writing it down, and we remember this oh so clearly when we find ourselves rolling with the twists and turns that we would have never penciled in ourselves.

But God...
    (I mean, right?)

I mean --some of the hardest and most unexpected plot twists of my life have led me down the BEST story lines!

31 Days of Going From Mama to Mimi... DAY FIVE

This is Day Five in our 31 Days series: Going from Mama to Mimi - Stories of Hope, Joy, & Transition...

Grace! Grace!

Yesterday we talked a bit about Getting the News... whether it was all joy and celebration, or a little tainted with confusion and fear.

So of course today we will tackle a bit about:
Grace!
  Oh how we all need it --in any given situation!  

It seems when new life is being formed in us, --physically or spiritually speaking, we need it even more!

I'm not sure about you and your story --but I know for me, when I got the news that we were expecting our own baby, I felt elated and terrified at the same exact moment.

Because, who feels confident and ready and fully capable from the very beginning? 

Maybe some people.  
But not me.

It did me well to remember this when we got the news of becoming Papa and Mimi earlier this year!

31 Days of Going From Mama to Mimi - DAY FOUR

This is Day Four in our 31 Days series: Going from Mama to Mimi - Stories of Hope, Joy, & Transition...

Getting the News!!!

Sometimes this is super exciting and the timing seems perfect and it's something you have been longing for or maybe even hinting at --the whole wanting to be a Mimi thing! 

Sometimes getting the news feels like it is long overdue and something you had almost given up hope for... College took years and then finding the right mate and then careers and life unfolding...

And sometimes it is news that you were in no way expecting... you weren't ready for it... weren't prepared... hadn't even thought to hope for it quite yet.

But at all times, no matter what the surrounding situation,
Life is Gift and the Giver is Good!

We fell in to that last category of not expecting or being prepared for the news...