Five Minute Friday : Mighty

 It's Five Minute Friday and I actually managed to get on board again! Not making any promises, but really hoping not to go so long before making it back here again. Today's prompt is MIGHTY.

When waves crash against the shore and lightning splits the sky ~ He is mighty.
When soft green buds gently push through springtime mud and slush~ He is mighty.
When tiny new life issues its first lusty cry~ He is mighty.
When far apart friends reunite in a crush of hugs and tears~ He is mighty.
When the sun rises again each new morning, no matter what the day past held~ He is mighty.
When the night sky darkens and the heavens shimmer with eons of stars~ He is mighty.
When tears fall and hearts break and the clock ticks oh so slow~ He is mighty.
When words are flung that rip and shred and destroy, still ~ HE is mighty.
When hope is crushed and dreams fade into the distance, yet ~ HE is mighty.
When pain is the uninvited guest that never finds the door out ~ He is mighty.
When the war rages, though strength and might have run dry~ He is mighty.
When we stumble~ He is mighty.
When we fall~ He is mighty.
When have nothing left~ HE is mighty.

The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save;

he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love;

he will exult over you with loud singing. Zep 3:17

Five Minute Friday ~ Red

Hey stranger! I've been MIA on these lately, but I'm ba-ack :)  If you like to write at all, you should join up over at Five Minute Friday to just let loose and pour out your words for five minutes- nothing fancy, no major editing, just pure writing- it's still Friday, come join us!

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 Five Minute Friday~ Red



One more stomp of a tiny foot and Mama sees red. A simple request for a little help with  ALL. THE. MESS. and big attitudes come flying out of small bodies and stretched thin, not enough sleep, lost my super hero cape Mama comes unglued. Who is this person? I'm the exuberant one. The bubbly, silly one who always ends up saying just a bit more than needs to be said and then laughing it off and telling another goofy story, complete with crazy faces and hands flying through the air. So who is this heavy breathing, red faced, fist clenched woman who's reminding herself that these three little tornadoes who've invaded her clean house are people that she LOVES? When did I go from fun, get down on the floor and play with you and kiss you all over Mom to this tyrant who just wants desperately to be able to sit down for five minutes without tripping on a mess on the way there? Anger, sadness, guilt... they wrap their tentacles around me like a soggy woolen cloak and the burden gets so. very. heavy.  And then I close my eyes for a moment and hear that still small voice. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."  "Lo, I am with you always, even to the ends of the earth." "Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart..." "I know the plans I have for you." I see red again. The red, shed blood of Jesus, pouring out on me and washing me clean.  A new moment sits before me. I can choose the red of anger, or the blood of Jesus, filling me with power to move forward in HIS strength. A new moment, a new chance. A soul washed white as snow.

Five Minute Friday ~ Lonely

Hallelujah it's Five Minute Friday time! I really needed to write tonight so instead of completely missing it or hurrying to join in at the last minute I was ready and waiting for the prompt to post tonight;  and this prompt seems as if it was chosen just for me. Here's just a glimpse of what is going on in me but its message is for any who have walked a similar  path.
 Today's prompt~ lonely.


Because sometimes the world just weighs heavy on your soul. Because the push and pull of life and living and waiting and change pull so hard on you that it feels as if a cosmic storm has erupted beneath your skin. Because you've prayed and prayed and yet the only word you hear is "wait." Because sometimes, no matter what you know of things that others are going through, it does not make your own burden carry any less weight. Because night comes in so dark, sometimes you begin to wonder if the sun will ever peak over the horizon again. Because you're clinging, so desperately to your last tiny shred of hope that someone, anyone is out there listening. Because you feel as if you're all alone~ whisper- no SHOUT these words.

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 8:38)

Shout it my daughter, because even when lonely wraps its talons so tight around you and threatens to squeeze the very life out of you, YOU. ARE. NOT. ALONE!

No matter how dark, how dreary, how painful, how heavy life becomes, there is one who died so He could walk at your side. When lonely comes to call, call out to the One who loves you more than life.
 

Five Minute Friday~ Present

 It's that time again! So sorry that these are the only posts you're getting out of me right now, but hey- it's something at least- right? So here we go- today's prompt: present.



Present- as in right now? Or like a gift? If we're being super honest here, I haven't been treating many of my "right nows" as a gift lately. I used to, in fact I typically do that a lot. I am definitely a connoisseur of moments.

So what's my deal lately? There are probably a number of things I could attribute it to but I can say for certain that there is one seriously obvious culprit.  Without all the boring details, let's just suffice it to say that an answer to a long prayed prayer was placed in my grasp but just as it began to become real to me, it was gone again, like a wisp of smoke.

I had actually gotten to a really good place as far as my thinking on that certain subject- I was cherishing the "here and nows" as I eagerly awaited change. I didn't want to be greedy with my prayers, just hopeful- but let me tell you, when what appeared to be the answer to that prayer was laid before me, OH the joy! And OH the heart ache when reality reared its ugly head and I was right back- not to where I started, but before- before I learned to be content with the waiting. Because a burden that has been set down for a moment is SO much heavier upon lifting it up again. 

I asked God, "How do  I get my joy back?" "How do I let go again when I've already felt the tremendous joy of moving forward?" His answer?

"Praise me NOW."

What's that God?

"Praise me NOW."

Oh. OH... It was easy to praise when I was trusting Him, it was easy to praise when I believed He'd answer. But now, when it's not clear at all how things will play out, when once again I'm waiting without the smallest hint of where this path of His goes, Now I must praise Him. Because he is not only the God of the future who has good plans for me, He is the God of NOW who holds me in His hands and walks each step with me.

HE is my present.

Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.
Ps 55:22

Five Minute Friday- Beautiful

 Five Minute Friday time! Drop everything and just write for 5 minutes then stop, and share what you've got! Today's prompt- Beautiful


Beautiful- when friends gather and babies laugh and marshmallows ooze between chocolate and grahams.

Sparklers spray and watermelon drips and even the ants join in.

The sky bursts with color and noise and smokes wraps like a gentle cloak as the whole neighborhood celebrates as one.

 Far off soldiers keep the watch and send prayers home. They sweat and watch and "soldier on" so our babies can tuck in safe and cool while we watch the fire die and reminisce with friends.

 This freedom that we know so well we forget it's there, it is beautiful.

Five Minute Friday- In Between

It's that time again. I still don't manage to get much into that short five minutes and this one was particularly tough because this phrase, "in between" is literally like a fog that hangs over me. Admitting it is the first step right?

In between is where I live. In between too young and too old. In between almost there and where did time go? In between time ticking slowly and I can't believe it's passed. In between dreaming and remembering. This time in between, always pulling me to slow down or move on. Always feeling rushed to what's coming or worn from what's passed. In between awake and finally closing my eyes.

Stop.

Slow down.

Breathe.

In between is where life happens. Help me Father to carry the past gently in one hand as I step solidly toward what is to come, with eyes wide open to what IS. Help me to rest here, in between- for this is where LIFE is.

Five Minute Friday-Imagine

It's that time again! Five minutes to write, then stop and share. Click the button above to join in :) Today's prompt: Imagine

Imagine if you were her. Picture yourself waking up in the morning, just thankful that you've survived another night. Or maybe fearful of another day that stretches long and scary before you. Imagine getting dressed without seeing the clothes you choose, because who's going to care, really, what the girl no one sees is wearing? Or standing in a closet full of clothes- not clothes, costumes, disguises- what will you choose today to cover up the lonely, scared little girl inside? Imagine watching life from the outside, dying to fit in but no clue how to really start living. Imagine walking by a church and having no hint of the hope that lays inside. Imagine having never heard the name Jesus. That girl over there? The one who's showing too much skin and trying way to hard to catch a passing eye- imagine you were her. What if you knew her story?

Imagine if if every time you looked, it wasn't your eyes you saw with, but HIS. Imagine seeing beneath the facade, the disguise, the excuses- seeing the heart. Would you see differently?

IMAGINE