{Five Minute Friday | Surprise}

It's Five Minute Friday. That means unplanned, unedited, straight-from-the-heart-to-the-paper writing. Yep, you just write whatever comes out based on a word you're given. If you have five minutes, you should give it a try!  Find out how here.

This week the prompt is {SURPRISE}.

Ready? GO.

Sometimes, I just have to stop and take it all in. In those moments, I cannot believe where I'm standing. I can't believe what God has done. How faithful He's been. My life isn't picture-perfect by any stretch of the imagination. The thing is: were I to take all the pieces and create a picture, it wouldn't look like this. It would be a hot mess! The pieces of my life make a far different picture apart from His perfect faithfulness. Just, wow. I am astounded by Him. Surprised. Amazed.

Then, fresh joy bubbles to the surface and love - yeah, butterflies-in-your-stomach kind of love wells up from way down deep. And I'm surprised by how much I love Him. Were it not for Him, I would be stuck in a pit of darkness and despair. Were it not for Him, joy would have been out of reach. I am so grateful. Grateful that I belong to Him. Grateful that He loves me. Grateful that He is all that He says He is.

I love that about God. He's a beautiful mystery. While I am continually surprised by Him, I know for certain that He is unchanging. And, He's always good. Always.  Be encouraged today. He will never be taken by surprise, and He holds the entire world in the palm of His mighty hand.

Stop.

{Five Minute Friday | Quiet}

It's Five Minute Friday. That means unplanned, unedited, straight-from-the-heart-to-the-paper writing. Yep, you just write whatever comes out based on a word you're given. If you have five minutes, you should give it a try!  Find out how here.

This week the prompt is {QUIET}.

Ready? GO.

Have you ever been afraid of the quiet? Yeah, me too. After losing a second child, the quiet was the place where my hidden pain threatened to overwhelm me and render me powerless. In the quiet, my heart collapsed under the weight of my secret anger toward God. I was so angry - for a very long time. I avoided the quiet as much as I could. I kept busy. I was always striving and pressing.

But now I crave the quiet. Now, in the quiet moments I am overwhelmed with God's goodness and love. In the quiet, I find Him. And the more I find Him in the quiet moments, the more readily I recognize Him among the noise of my daily routine. The more I find Him in the quiet, the more I realize that striving and pressing are useless. He invites me into the quiet to rest. To be still. To remind me that I am His. 

Yeah, I am His. And in the quiet, He does His best work in me. I love that.

STOP.

{Five Minute Friday | Present}

 It's Five Minute Friday. That means unplanned, unedited, straight-from-the-heart-to-the-paper writing. Yep, you just write whatever comes out based on a word you're given. If you have five minutes, you should give it a try!  Find out how here.

This week the prompt is {PRESENT}. 

Ready? GO. 

As a momma, this one is big. Watching your littles grow as fast as a weed, right before your eyes, teaches us a lot about being present. And besides, who doesn't savor those warm, fuzzy feelings that come when you are present, in the moment. I sure do! Sure, busy mom life is hard. But, I've learned something. Being present, fully present, is worth every bit of effort it takes. Here's why.

1. It teaches you to see. When you are present, things you otherwise overlook catch your attention. The details of the moment shift from ordinary to remarkable. Imagine putting on a new pair of glasses you never knew you needed. It's like that! You see more clearly and learn to appreciate your moments more deeply. You learn what's important and what's not so important. Sometimes, the remedy for a tired, overworked mind is wrapped up in the simplest of things.

2.  Being present cultivates gratitude. Y'all know how I feel about gratitude, right? Gratitude is a big deal. When you practice gratitude, you interact and engage with your world differently. You understand you have one shot at this moment, and you aren't guaranteed the next. When you get that,  you find the value in being present, and you don't want to waste a single moment.

So, go for it. Open your eyes wide, take in the remarkable details of your moment, and be thankful that it's yours.

STOP.

{Five Minute Friday | First}

It's Five Minute Friday. That means unplanned, unedited, straight-from-the-heart-to-the-paper writing. Yep, you just write whatever comes out based on a word you're given. If you have five minutes, you should give it a try!  Find out how here.

This week the prompt is {FIRST}. 

Ready? 

GO. 

“I have this complaint against you, you don’t love me or each other as you did at first.” That’s the sentence I hear ringing loud and clear in my mind when I think of first. There’s something about what a first represents. There’s significance. Anticipation. Appreciation. Gratitude. Excitement. Those things are built in most of the time. But time ticks on and we forget. We forget those feelings that swell up deep in our gut and make us nearly explode with gratitude.

What if we get back there? What if turn the mundane and routine on it’s head by reconnecting with what makes our firsts special and significant? You know, what if we approached our tired, boring routines with the same amount of anticipation and gratitude as we do those first time moments in our lives.

Yeah. What if we do that.

Especially in our relationships with each other and with the Lord. I heard Dr. John Piper say something last weekend as he spoke at Passion 2016 that landed right smack-dab square in my heart. I’m paraphrasing here, but it went something like this: Our job is not to keep ourselves alive but to keep ourselves in love with Jesus. And, isn’t that the key to everything else we do? Yes. Love Him like we did at first. Then, we can love each other the way we are supposed to love each other. Let Him be first. And then we can approach our tired, boring routines with a fresh eyes and ears and soft hearts. It reframes everything else. And it's what we need. It's where we find strength and joy and hope. It's where we land - His unfailing love - when we think we can't handle another boring, mundane minute. 

Yeah. What if we do that. 

Stop. 

{Five Minute Friday | Free Write}

It's Five Minute Friday. That means unplanned, unedited, straight-from-the-heart-to-the-paper writing. Yep, you just write whatever comes out based on a word you're given. If you have five minutes, you should give it a try!  Find out how here. 

Today is a Free Write. We get to choose our own prompt, but the same rules apply.

Ready? Go. 

Space. S P A C E. There, that's better. 

I'm learning to create space in my life. Somewhere along the way, I learned that things lose their meaning and I lose my effectiveness when my life is overcrowded. The important things and people are overlooked while the unimportant things scream for our attention and time. Those unimportant things win far too often. Any one else? 

Creating space means figuring out when to say 'yes' or no' and who to say 'yes' or 'no' to. It means being willing to walk away from some thing or someone or some place when it's time. It's about boundaries, both establishing them and respecting them. Not everything or everyone gets to claim space in my heart and mind. Read that again, because it's a game changer. I am so grateful that this is true. 

Here are a few reasons I am reclaiming S P A C E in my life. 

1. Space creates room to breathe. You know, time to stop and re-set. Breathe in. Breathe out. Pause. Having that room to breathe goes a long way toward my sanity. Which, by the way, most days is questionable!

2. Space creates room for give-and-take. I'm learning to see what's right in front of me and I am learning to find the value in those unplanned, unexpected moments. I'm not saying I throw my calendar or schedule out the window. But, there are days when I recognize that I need to adjust. So, I do. And, it's ok. Nothing is ruined, wasted, or otherwise lost. Sometimes in the space of unplanned, unexpected moments are the most beautiful God-moments. And sometimes, in the space of unplanned, unexpected moments we make the BEST memories. I'll take that.  

3. Space creates room for creativity. When my life is overcrowded, it's safe to say my heart and mind are also overcrowded. When that happens, God-given creativity lies dormant and buried. That's never what I want. I need that creativity for those days when parenting requires a creative solution or when a shoestring budget threatens to ruin Christmas. 

4. Space creates room for rest. Exhaustion is not meant to be a constant state of existence. We aren't wired to sustain break-neck speed as we scurry through our days, head down. But that's what we do. Busy has become a badge of honor that we proudly wear. It makes us feel important. It makes us feel needed. But, when we live life exhausted nothing we touch gets our very best. Everything suffers even if just the tiniest bit. Sometimes, we leave a trail of a hot mess behind us. Here's the thing. My ability to rest is tied to my ability to trust that God really IS in control. So go on, take a rest. 

My life is far from perfect. My house is a mess. My kids are a mess. We have $1.43 in our checking account. We don't always get it right. But, making space for the things I'm talking about means that when life shines that blasted spot light on all my imperfections, it's ok. You know why? Because there's space for that too. 

STOP.