On How You Are His Beloved Child and His Beloved Bride... But On How He's Not After a Child-Bride!

***

A few nights ago, I woke up hearing the whisper of God softly, lovingly saying "...but I'm not after a Child-Bride! It's time for Maturity to manifest in the Church."

OK. I get that. 

I could tell there was more to it, however I somehow slept through the first part of that conversation! A few hours later after some coffee and --well, being vertical for a bit-- I sat down again and asked Him a few questions. You know, for clarity!

He reaffirmed that yes, we are His Beloved Children... and yes, we are His Beloved Bride. We are both --but He's not coming back for a Child-Bride.

He's ready for us to mature into
the Lover He longs for!

Release the Secret Weapon - A Five Minute Friday post.

***

I woke up the other day hearing the Lord mid-sentence. We'll talk about what He shared with me next week, but the point is this: 

He is speaking... 
  and I am hearing!
           #JazzPraiseHands and #HallelujahAmen

But for now... this is Five Minute Friday... and our One Word Prompt is: RELEASE! 

{GO}

I'm not one to believe in coincidence. I know it is sometimes easier to reason things away but it seems with every weekly prompt as of late God has already been speaking to me all around the one word.

And with Release... well, it seems we are in a season of releasing things and the Lord is merciful and kind.  Even when it doesn't feel like it... even when He may need to pry my fingers open in order for me to let go!  

There are seasons that He calls us to step up and pick up some things, and oh boy - there are seasons when He calls us to step down and lay down some things, too!

But as soon as I saw the prompt I knew we would not really dig in to all of that quite yet! Maybe one day we'll talk about the laying down and letting go in order to make room for the unknown-whatever-is-next... but not today. Oh no... 

Today I want to talk about a secret weapon that should be anything but secret... and how He released it long ago and it is a GIFT for us to unwrap and put on... put to use... and how using it makes all the difference!

How Jesus Settled the Score... - A Five Minute Friday post.

***

I have been pacing myself back into a normal routine... resting my eyes a bit each day still. That resting time just so happens to be right around my normal writing time. So it has been quiet around here as of late. But that is not the only reason. The other reason is that we have had some changes in our little world... and since I write from my heart, I wanted to be sure my heart was good before I let any words spill out! 
#wisdom #yourewelcome #noteverythingismeantfortheinternets 

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: SETTLE! 

{GO}

I see this word and think, yet again, 
about how I am like a broken record and this word?
Yeah... it's not in my vocabulary.  

I've had to fight my way through
the temptation of it time after time,
and I've had to stand on ground that felt shaky and unsteady, 
but I know down deep in my bones that
God will never ask us to settle.

I say it all the time...
I preach it to family and friends... 
and to my own self when needed.

Settle, I believe, is not really in
God's vocabulary either!  

Well... at least not in some ways! 
Some definitions of Settle
are completely like Jesus... 
But others? --Not so much!

On this weekend, especially,
we know that our God
--He knows how to
Settle the Score, right?

When It's Not Just Your Weary Body That Is Tired... a Five Minute Friday post.

***

It just figures that after a three week hiatus... after three weeks of being grounded and of battling sickness and believing for healing and of enforced 'rest'... well - Tired still somehow applies and that is our One Word Prompt today.

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:TIRED! 

{GO}

I have been grounded for three weeks... but I had been tired for much, much longer than that!

While I was given a doctors' order to simply (ha!) stop all the things and rest my eyes, the Lord gave me His order to stop all the things and rest... my eyes, yes --but also my mind and my bossy lists and my pouring out and my restless, relentless want for clarity.  

Yes, He asked me to simply stop every little thing and sit and wait... to sit and trust... to sit (or nap, thank you Jesus) and realize that it wasn't just my physical body that hit a brick wall... it was not just my body that was tired, but my soul that was a little busted up and bruised... my heart a little weary and worn out. 

So He asked me to cancel all the plans (which is normally like Christmas morning for an introvert) and just sit and wait... and He asked me to learn to be comfortable in being uncomfortable. 

Great! Super! Fun!
  (only exactly the opposite of that!)

When You Just Can't See...

(...as in, quite literally!)

***

So, I was just humming along
trying to keep my goal of posting
twice a week here and showing up
at the #fmfparty Twitter party to
reconnect with my tribe
and finding my flow
and then... 

Well... then I finally went to the eye doctor
because these headaches and migraines
were getting worse and more frequent
and as much as I thought they were stress related,
I wanted to know one way or the other!

You should know that I have
a history of battles with/for my eyes.
I was born with cataracts
and had them removed as a teenager
as I was quickly losing my sight.  

I have warred and declared
and prayed for healing in
big (read: miraculous) 
and small (read: no more floaters!) 
ways for all of my days. 

I don't often take
the gift of sight
for granted!

Anyway - the eye doctor ran some tests
and while all the biggies are good...
(retinas healthy and intact, 
no new cataracts trying to grow back,
no glaucoma, etc.) 
she took a good look at my corneas
and sent me home.

The Problem with Shaken, Not Stirred...

I have to say it...

I love it when God 'speaks' to me with a sense of humor.
He's so funny... sometimes it's when I am so not laughing... 
but sometimes He just cracks me up.

He's good at that... using humor to lighten you up just before giving a one-two punch of Truth to get your full attention!

Does He do that with you?

He knows I love to laugh.

Laughing is my favorite and Joy is my OneWord this year and sometimes... well - sometimes He wakes me up in the middle of the night and whispers the craziest things!

On Saturday night I fell asleep praying about what to pray into the next day at church.  One of my favorite 'jobs' has been praying at the end of our worship at Dad's House.  I sometimes have a Scripture or an idea in mind, but usually God interrupts my worship and changes my direction come Sunday morning. So I have learned to plan with my hands and heart wide open. 

I'm good with that, because I want to pray His heart into the people and release whatever it is that HE wants released...

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...

A Look Back on January... aka What I'm Into - January 2018

I saw my friend Barbie do a Reflections post last week and it reminded me of the olden days when I used to play along with the What I Learned link up.

I always loved those posts because they were fun and (mostly) lighthearted and because they invited me to look back over a month or a season and really reflect on what we had lived through and learned.

I've stated it plain, over and over. Last year was hard. I'm sure we learned ALL KINDS of things... but I was not really wanting to dive into the past when it felt like we were just barely hanging on.

But with this new year, and the return to committing to sitting here at least twice a week and sharing my heart, well - I feel a shift and yes.. even a bit of Joy in the pondering.

So let's go... Let's reflect a bit over January and see what we were into!

The Importance and Power of Agreement... A Five Minute Friday post.

Can you believe January has already come and gone?

I'm trying to find my rhythm again, sitting here in this chair. It feels good to be back on a somewhat consistent basis! I'm so glad you are here!

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: AGREE! 

{GO}

I'll never forget it...

The night I learned a miraculous lesson about 
The Importance and the Power of Agreement!

A friend had called from the hospital, having given birth to her newborn son too early.  He was tiny and weak and his lungs were not yet fully formed.  She asked me to pray. She asked me to rally others near and far to pray, too!

We were praying for fully developed lungs on the next X-ray!

When God is Silent and All You Can Do is Wait...

I am all about
Quiet and Calm... 
About Slow and Sabbath.

It took me years to give in to it,
to embrace it.
But this is actually
how I am wired.
As in, God made me this way
on purpose, for a purpose.
I used to fight against it... 
I used to try to keep up. 
And then I just gave up
and didn't try at all for a season.

But here's the deal: 
 I still have to do stuff! 

Being wired Calm... 
being a slow, internal processor
is not all sleeping in
and being alone
(aka: introvert dreams)... 
It's not about being
passive or ineffective. 
It's about being
extremely intentional
and very effective, 
within healthy boundaries.


It took me years to figure out
what those boundaries look like.

I Surrender Some... A Five Minute Friday post.

What is this? 2013? Tonight makes FOUR weeks... in a row, people!!! 

The Tribe that gathers online on Twitter on Thursday nights that make up 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!

Tonight one of our own seems to be nearing the end of life on this side of Heaven... and so in Andrews' honor, as we pray for God's Presence to be thick around him, our one word prompt is: SURRENDER! 

{GO}

Surrender.

I see the word and I think, yeah. That.
And a heavy sigh quickly follows.

Why is it that when we think of Surrender, it's all shadowy and defeated? Immediately we feel the loss --of something, even if we don't know what!

We see the giving up or giving in parts, but we don't often rush to fully embrace the ceasing and yielding parts. 

There can be such Peace in those parts! 
Why do we kick against actually doing the Surrendering
when it can so often lead to relief and rest?

I think of the modified hymn, I Surrender Some...

Waking Us Up to Dream Again... The Dream Of You by Jo Saxton - a book review post.

I was so honored to be on this Book Launch Team for Jo Saxton's new book, The Dream of You.  Because - well, first off: Jo Saxton! Y'all maybe fell in love with her like I did while watching her speak at the IF:Gathering the last couple of years.  And also: Identity... man! If you spend any amount of time around this little corner of the interwebs, then you know! Identity... I can't stop talking about it...

Actually, it's Identity + God-sized Dreams + Intimacy with Christ + Prayer and what that equals is my jam! 


I promise you, I am not listening to The Greatest Showman soundtrack right now. (It's on Pause... literally!)


I didn't want it to influence EVERY post I write this month... but I will say this: 

The Greatest Showman is all about waking us up to Dream again... to take risks --and yet to not lose sight of priorities... and this book? Yeah... this book is also all about waking us up to dream again... it's about our willingness to follow Him and take risks and be who He created us to be (--yes, I am TOTALLY hearing "This is Me" in my mind right now. It's fine.) while not losing sight of what is really important!

In other words...

You Are Never Alone... A Five Minute Friday post.

Three weeks in a row... and sadly that is some sort of record lately! My goal in January was to get back to writing twice a week... but this week was stealing all my words --at least the ones I would want to bleed out and hit publish for public consumption! Praise God we know not EVERYTHING is meant for the Internet, right?

Still - it felt great to be back in this chair, with this Tribe, ready to let our fingers fly as we follow His lead with the One Word prompt! Tonight, that word for Five Minute Friday is: INTENTIONAL! 

Let's do this!

{GO}

Intentional...
  Oh yes... let's be that! 

Let's be intentional
in how we spend our
hours... days... lives. 
Let's be present and invest
in those around us.
Let's keep our eyes
and heart open... 

I think Intentional 
is such a great goal...
I mean to be it... to do it...
but sometimes I forget!

Sometimes it feels like there's
not enough time, right? 

Say you feel it, too.

Simplicity Life Hack... a Five Minute Friday post.

I'm not sure what kind of crazy 2018 is starting out with, but I managed to make it to the party two weeks in a row... even if only for a little bit! PLUS... I went to see The Greatest Showman again today, so it's shaping up to be a pretty stellar Thursday! 

Enough small talk... (We're not big into that around here, just in case you hadn't noticed!) Today, the One Word Prompt for Five Minute Friday is SIMPLIFY!

{GO}

I see the word and I recognize it. 

I've seen it over and over and over
across all the social medias
in the past few weeks! 
Maybe it goes along with the whole
clean slate, fresh start feel!

It sounds familiar because
it makes me think back to simpler times...
an uncluttered mind...
an unhurried pace...
an undivided heart.

It makes me think of times in my life
when life felt right and good
and - you know- doable!
A time when it seemed
as if I was nailing it.
(--at least more often than
I feel like I am now!)


To Simplify... 
  who doesn't want to do that? 

I mean, really?

Our lives can feel like they are
spinning out of control and as if we have
crammed way too much into our days. 
We run around breathless and tired
and we think, "Man, if I could just
get a handle on my life..."

So I stop and think back. 
I do a little silent reflecting
and I discovered a life hack
for you, sweet reader!

Do you want to know the sure-fire way
to simplify your life?

As the New Year Unfolds... The Importance of In AND With!

I love a full calendar and a bossy list of things to do --but not because I love to be busy... (read:I do not.) I love filling in and filling up a new week on my day planner because much of what I pencil in and write down these days are meetings with friends.

I am scheduling Gatherings where I'm being intentional... Some of them are just casual meetings or one on one time set aside in order to build up and pour out. Sometimes it is simply to catch up over coffee and chat, and sometimes it's to set aside time to pray together and press in and release His Kingdom... on earth, as it is in Heaven!

I hadn't been able to keep or make many of those kinds of meetings throughout most December. It seemed my Honey and I just kept passing some sort of bug back and forth in our little house throughout the entire month (or longer, to be honest!) and I was growing rather 7-ish in my impatience.  

You know, childish... stomping my foot a little in how my prayers were not being answered right now, today!

Right?  

Please say I'm not alone in this. I think we all can fall into this stance without really being aware of it!

So a couple of days ago, I was reflecting over the past few weeks and I decided to simply ask Jesus what His thoughts were on it all. (Brilliant, I know!)

Let me back up a little...
This is what had happened:

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...