When Life Doesn't Feel Just or Fair... A Five Minute Friday post.

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I have been quiet(er) than normal lately -- both in this space and in real life... mostly this is because of oral surgery and a slower than hoped for recovery. It's amazing how teeth/jaw/ear pain can make you not want to talk --or think, or do much of anything else either, really! Still... that's only part of why I've grown quiet.  I'd like to think it is maturity and wisdom (--I know that it is!--) but that maturity comes from mostly letting Him be the boss of me --not only with what I say and write but also with what I think and focus on! (It's a journey, Y'all!)

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: JUST

{GO!}

I set the timer to five minutes and mull over the word prompt. "Just" immediately points me to Justice and because of the season we have been walking through, my mind then jumps to thinking about how to live out our faith when Life doesn't feel Just or Fair!

Because you guys: I can stomp my foot and curl out my bottom lip with the best of them! I can... (and I have! But thankfully, mostly that has been at home in private! Mostly!)

Here's the thing: 

Life is NOT Just or Fair.

Not all of the time, anyway!

Let Him Build It... A Five Minute Friday post.

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Hey there, friends!
I'm not sure what the weekend forecast is for Y'all... but for us? Well... they are calling it Snow-aggaden and Snow-pocolypse, soooo... Our plans are pretty much to stay put and stay warm and enjoy all the beauty --you know, from INSIDE OUR COZY HOME!

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: BUILD

{GO!}

My first thought upon seeing our one-word prompt is this:
"If you build it, he will come."

Right? Who didn't love Field of Dreams back in the day? To be honest and fair... I don't remember much of the movie other than it was well done and stirred up a sense of magic and wonder. (And who couldn't use a dose of those things right about now?)

Still... I promise this is not about an old movie but more about an old dream...

It's an old dream about something new... Something right around the corner... Something that has been brewing and building slowly over time... and I believe it is coming!

Where Else Would We Go? A Five Minute Friday post.

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Happy Saturday, Sweet Readers!
Are you ready for the weekend? I hope, wherever you are,
you are staying warm and have penciled in some Sabbath! 

Also, have you subscribed to the blog? If not, you missed our monthly newsletter that goes out on the 1st day of each month! It's easy peasy and simply means you don't miss a post around here... and you get a little Hello from me each month where I share my heart exclusively to subscribers - which this month, well--- it's all about Love, to no ones' surprise! Anyway...

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: WHERE

{GO!}


Where... 
  --Is that not the question?

You guys!  For the last year or more, this has been the one word question
--the one-word prayer-- and we have yet to hear the answer...
and so we wait!

We talked it about Waiting not too long ago... you can read that here... 
but this is the thing: 

God doesn't always answer us with specifics.  

I mean, He does always answer --you know, eventually! 
But our faith builds in the waiting... 
in the willingness to wait even after we have said
we will go wherever He leads us!

How many know that sometimes He leads us
to nowhere in particular because
where He is really leading us is
under the shadow of His wing... 
deeper into the crevices and corners of His heart! 

When Not Everything Convenient is Great... a Five Minute Friday post.

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I have to say I miss the #fmfparty Twitter party and gathering with one of the most encouraging, supportive, fun and loving faith communities for writers online! Between health/eye issues, and limited screen time, and somehow agreeing to move our Bible study and Prayer group from Wednesdays to Thursdays... well, I haven't logged on or chimed in much over the past several months! Our meetings start at 7pm and every other week we meet in our home --so my hope is to get back on a schedule so I can at least pop in on those nights! Until then, I'm thankful to still play along --even if it is a day or two (or four --it's fine!) later! 

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: CONVENIENT

{GO!}


We often take modern conveniences for granted!  They are bright, shiny, happy when they are new and we sing their praises for how much time or money or impatience the said convenience saves us. But then it simply becomes part of our daily routine and before we know it, we are wanting something New and Improved all over again!

Through some long seasons of forced slowing down, I have been pondering how maybe not everything that we name Convenient is actually great --or even good!

We are masters of Multi-tasking, and yet we all talk about the need to be intentional and present! It's like an epidemic -how we are so scattered and unable to focus. It turns out multitasking isn't so convenient after all, right?

We want what we want and we want it now... thus the microwave of the olden days and the Insta-Pot of today...  

The Power (and Responsibility) of Influence... a Five Minute Friday post.

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Happy Saturday, friends!

I hope this weekend offers you rest and recovery... and a little fun and family time, too!  I am still recovering and while the improvements in vision are slower than I'd like --the improvements are happening and so I'm limiting screen time and resting when I feel the need... I had my one week post-op follow up and the healing is happening, and the doctor took me off all restrictions! This is great news... however, I will say - that was on Thursday afternoon and between Thursday night and Friday morning, I may have overdone it with my freedom! So I'm laying low today and resting well! But first... because, Y'all know how words build up and need to flow... we're gonna sit here and see what happens! 

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: INFLUENCE

{GO!}


When I see the word, I reflect back over a few conversations I had recently with my Only Girlie who is now All Grown Up and a Lil Mama herself.

Here's the Deal: 

When they are little, we are well aware.

We are intentional about being a good influence on them as they grow. These gifts in flesh and blood who at any and every new stage tend to stretch us and test us and cause us to grow right alongside them!

But this is a reminder that we all need:
All of us are influenced by others... 
and all of us are doing the influencing...
-whether we are conscious of it or not!
 -We are either a good influence or a bad one!

I know how often the word "Intentional" is being thrown around right now.  It seems it is a Buzzword and it's often overused.

However, I can't say for you --but for me?
I want to be Intentional in wielding my Influence for good!

Things Are Gonna Get Better... a Five Minute Friday post.

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Hello There, Sweet Readers!

Here we are... mid-January already and I am on the other side of both eye surgeries. One was an instant miraculous success, the other is slower in healing and clearing up - but we are believing that both eyes will give clear vision and many of the 'issues' I battled the last few years will be no more!  This explains the quiet hush around here as it is taking time for my eyes to heal and adjust and work together! But Y'all know how I love the FMF Community... so, 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: BETTER

{GO!}


When I see the One Word Prompt, "Better"
--of course, immediately I think of my sight...
my vision --both physical and spiritual!  
I think of how it feels like we've been WAITING
and waiting and waiting for Better to arrive!

I am on the other side of eye surgeries and as I mentioned above, the first surgery was quite miraculous.  It was easier than they anticipated and the sight was closer to 20/20 within hours of being post-surgery than it ever had been before. The second surgery (done on 1/10) was a lot harder, longer, more complicated than they anticipated, and when I removed the bandage, the vision was extremely blurry and the concern was that the surgery either didn't work or the lens had shifted. (Note - this was MY fear concern... not that we had any warning that this could be true.) My Honey likes to say that as easy as the first surgery was, the second surgery was a Battle!

I laugh whenever he says this because he says it like maybe I was not aware. Oh, I was aware. I was awake and aware the whole time.

Listen, if 2018 had a theme song... this would be it:

Happy New Year!!! Our Annual Prophetic Post for the New Year - 2019 edition

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HAPPY NEW YEAR, Sweet Readers!

I don't know about you, but I know for me --for us, we are SO READY for a brand new year and a clean slate and a fresh start! As much as I had high hopes for 2018... man, he was rough on us!  I mean - sure... there were some gifts and grace mixed in, but overall - we will not be sad or sorry to say Good riddance! Bye Felicia! G'bye now! You can move along!

Here we are... January 1st... the Old has passed and the New is set before us, blank spaces and wide open opportunities just waiting for us to step out and step into... we are ready! We feel it in our weary burdened hearts, and in the hope that is stirring up from deep within!

New Years Day has dawned softly for me the same way for years and years now.  I spend the first hours as light breaks over the hills and turns everything pink and filled with glory and hope, soaking up some quiet time with the Lord.  Sure - most days start out this way with me and Him - but on this day, my intentions are clearer and my ears and heart are tuned in to hear --not only for me, but I believe for all of us who are willing to lean in a bit closer to God.

I spend some time reflecting over the last year... looking at the highs and lows and letting Him show me how He has been by my side through all of them.  I pray into what my hopes are for the year ahead of us and then I pray and ask what HIS hopes are, too!

I ask the Lord for a word or phrase that will speak prophetically over the coming year.  I also ask Him to lead me to a book in the Bible that He wants to be highlighted throughout the year.  

They tend to go hand in hand... 
He's pretty smart that way!

A Year in Review... the Top Ten posts on the Blog.

 (according to stats, anyway!)

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I hadn't really planned on doing a Year in Review post because --well, because I haven't really been as active on the blog as in years' past, and I'm allowing myself short sessions in front of a screen, pre-surgery!

And also because some of MY favorite posts didn't get much traffic or comments at all. Yet, it's always interesting for me to look back and see which posts created the most views or interaction.  I will say I miss the olden days of Blogging when the comment sections were full(er) and filled with community and back and forth conversation! I so value when you take the time to add a comment - short or long. It's such an encouraging reminder that these words we tap out here matter... and they make a difference!

So - without further ado, 
here are the TOP TEN posts of 2018:

When You Really Need a Do-Over... or more like a Do-Better! A OneWord365 post.

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It's nearing the end of the year and if you've hung out around here in late December or early January, then you know that we do a few Annual posts...

* One is the post where I discuss All the Books... I already wrote that one and you can find it HERE.

* Another one is usually posted on January 1st or 2nd, and that is a Prophetic post revealing a Word (or phrase) and a Book in the Bible that I feel the Lord is highlighting for the year to come! This post comes after spending the first few hours of the New Year alone and cuddled in close, asking Him for His heart for what is to come. (So that will come soon!)

* And then there is this OneWord365 project that we have done for several years and counting now! (This is that post!)

Listen,  here's the deal:
2018 has been so full of Heavy and Hard (even more so than 2017... which was pretty terrible, if you recall!) and somehow I completely forgot about my OneWord... 

Well, it seems it forgot about me, too!
Or at least that is how I felt
when I went back to look it up!

God With Us... A Five Minute Friday post.

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With only a handful of days left until Christmas, I hope and pray you are all done with all the madness and chaos... but I know chances are good that at least some of you are running around down to the last possible moment!

As Advent winds down, and our waiting is met with the fulfillment cries of a newborn King, this is our final Five Minute Friday link up of the year!

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: WITH

{GO!}


With Christmas being literally just days away...
of course, my mind and my heart go immediately
to the verse in Matthew 1 where we are told
that Jesus will be born and
His name shall be Immanuel,
God with us.

God WITH us... 
I mean...
Come on!

After all the waiting... 
the lamenting and longing through Advent
(and through those 400+ years of silence!)
God promises that He is about to
break through the darkness and
break through the dawn
and He is coming to cram Himself
into flesh and blood and
He will be known as Emmanuel
--which means, 'God with us'!

And all of Creation heaves a sigh of relief...
Because -even before we knew Him...
we've missed Him!

Ermagherd, Berks!!! (Books I Read - The 2018 Edition)

Hey Sweet Readers! 

Here we are at the end of another year!  Many of you know that 2018 was full of unexpected twists and turns for our little family and as much as we enjoy reading those in a Story... we don't always love living them so much in our own story, right?  Between all the changes and challenges, I also found myself grounded at home without the ability to strain (read: use!) my eyes for months at a time -- so these things all kept me off my reading game! Still,  you also 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 favorites! 

Honestly, I thought this list would be shorter but I did seem to up my reading during the months I was able to! And after a couple of surgeries in January, I hope to get back on track on reading all the things!

Here is a random list of books I read and loved this year! 

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Be Still and Know... A Five Minute Friday post.

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I see the word and think of something we just chatted about for our latest episode, "The Christmas Story - Gospel Edition" on The Changing Our Minds Podcast... and I also think about how I keep wishing all of this Stillness and Waiting would move along already!

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: STILL

{GO!}


When I see the one-word prompt,
my mind goes to an all familiar phrase...
one that we say often and one that has
felt oh so bossy as of late: 

"Be Still and Know that I am God." (~Psalm 46:10)

I mean... I used to love this verse!  
I used to relish in entering in a bit of
Stillness and Silence.  

I'm sure I will come to love it once again,
but over the past month or so
I have grown weary of waiting.

I've been pondering the 400+ years of silence
and it is not lost on me
--how my impatience is so silly
in light of my (relatively 'short') wait.  

And also there is this: 
I know deep down in my bones and my soul
that --always!-- He is worth that waiting...
He is worth the wait!

When Your Spiritual Equilibrium is Out of Balance... a Five Minute Friday post.

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Hey there, sweet readers!  

I know this is December and the Christmas season
and this is the time of year where this little corner
is normally full of festive thoughts and good cheer.
However, I see the word prompt and I know
the chances of this post getting around
to Christmas Joy is slim... 
but Truth can always be found here... 
as well as honesty! So, 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: BALANCE

{GO!}

We were talking in our home group just the other night...
it was after spending an hour in prayer together,
where we simply speak out
whatever God puts on our hearts
and others come alongside in agreement
and lift our arms and hearts and heads.  

Oh, how we need each other!

We are a small band of brothers and sisters
with kindred hearts and we all have found ourselves
this year in some sort of an In-Between season...
a bit unsettled, and feeling a tad unsteady!

We shared how we seem to be
missing the Thrill of Hope... 
We are most definitely all
feeling the Weary World... 
yet we're still waiting for
the Rejoicing to begin! 

















But isn't that Advent?
  It's the waiting... the hoping... 

And even though we know He came... 
even though we know He is still here now... 
we feel a bit out of balance and we are
longing for a bit of Wonder & Joy!

When You Need a Visual...

  and for Wonder and Joy to Abound!

***
I hope this holiday season has arrived for you with plenty of wonder and joy.

Maybe, for you, this really IS the most wonderful time of the year... or maybe Bah Humbug (rather than Merry Christmas!) is what is on repeat in your head.

Or maybe... just maybe... this season is slowly unfolding and you haven't (yet!) felt the presence of Peace or Goodwill! Perhaps Wonder and Joy haven't shown up and shown off, but I assure you --much like Advents' message... they are coming! 

Sometimes we just need to look for them... 
to seek them out... to ask the Lord to
open our eyes to see them!

Wonder and Joy... 
They tend to go hand in hand.

In Oceans Deep My Faith Will Stand... A Five Minute Friday post.

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Hello there, sweet readers!

Can you even believe that today is the beginning of December? DECEMBER, people? 

I don't know about you, but I'm not so sure I'm ready for all that tends to come at us during this month! That may be because I am still 'grounded' awaiting surgeries in January, and we will not be doing many of our 'normal' December things this year because of that.  (Some of this makes me happy... and some of it, not so much!)

Anyway, December is here whether we are ready or not! So let's welcome it and kick it off together... 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: DEEP

{GO!}

I see the word and immediately hear
the lyrics to one of my favorite songs... 

"You call me out upon the waters The great unknown where feet may fail And there I find You in the mystery In oceans deep, My faith will stand..."

"My faith will stand..."

I sing it over and over... 
Sometimes as a statement or declaration.
Other times, as a plea and a prayer!

Because through the last few years, --you guys!!!--
I have felt the 'Oceans Deep' part, for sure!

He has called us out upon the waters... He has!
We talk about it all the time
--how He calls us to be water walkers
and how we believe...