Work ... as those who love him (Five Minute Friday)

These were my thoughts this morning. I thought they fit alright with the Five Minute Friday word for this week: work.

Work ... as "those who love him"

So, this school year, while I homeschool my girls, I’ve decided to work on memorizing the Fighter Verses (collection of verses put together by Desiring God). The very first verse is Deuteronomy 7:9.

“Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.”

Last night, as I was lying in bed, I was reciting it to myself and feeling rather proud of how well I had already learned it. I was convinced I had the whole verse memorized! This morning, I opened my Fighter Verse binder and looked at it and realized I forgot one key part of the verse. See, I think we, as humans, err on the legalist side of things. “If we just work harder, if we just obey, if we just follow the rules, then God will love us.” Can you guess which part I had forgotten?? Yup: “those who love him”!!

What is obedience without love? It is nothing! It is what the older brother did (in the parable of the Prodigal Son), proving that he was, in fact, the one that was truly lost! But isn’t that our tendency? In our minds, it is easier, probably because it’s more tangible, to measure God’s love for us by how well we work for him, how well we obey him. And yet we deceive ourselves because we cannot even come close to perfect obedience and, without love, all our work is defiled and imperfect and doesn’t meet His standards! “Be holy, as I am holy!” is, in some translations “Be perfect, as I am perfect!” (Leviticus 20:26/1 Peter 1:16) But we can’t attain this level of holiness or perfection. Only Christ can! And, thank God, He did this for us! But then there’s love. No, we can’t love perfectly either (though we think that if we do lots of loving things it means we love a lot … another deception we tell ourselves.) But if we love God, truly love Him, then obedience flows out of that – not out of duty (because we have to) but out of love (because we want to). Then obedience is no longer really work but it is a pleasure! Yes, there are verses in Scripture about work “work out your salvation…”, “work heartily, as for the Lord…” but I believe that this idea of work is really about delight and the outflowing of love for our Lord, not about duty, which is our tendency.

Work, yes, but don’t forget to first love! You can work & obey, without love (but it is empty work, empty, meaningless obedience) but you cannot truly love without obedience. Otherwise it is empty, meaningless love – simply words to look good but not how you truly feel.

Five Minute Friday: Maybe Tomorrow {Worth}

I'm back at it with Five Minute Friday. Today's word is worth and, amazingly, I'm writing on Friday! Yay me! Today's writing is a piece of fiction. The beginnings of a story ... or a novel ... I don't know yet. :) It's called Maybe Tomorrow.

She steps away from the mirror. Shouts, more than images, seem to reflect back. She closes her eyes, covers her ears, trying to block the sounds. “You’re worthless! Absolutely worthless! She’s prettier than you! She’s smarter than you! She’s more outgoing than you!” They’re right. Her sisters are all those things. Oh, they’ve never actually said those things to her. But she knows they think them. Her parents. She was the last. They wanted a boy. They got another girl. Worthless. What good is another girl? But at least the first three amounted to something! One has her beauty – that got her far. Modelling, acting, famous. The next got the smarts. Billions of things you can do with that! She chose law. Most successful lawyer in the province! Maybe even in all of Western Canada! She’s made a name for herself. And then there’s the third – super outgoing. That’s her greatest quality. She’s on TV – a journalist. Yeah, they all got a decent amount of brains, looks, character. She’s nothing. Never got good grades, yet somehow, miraculously, made it to college. What for? She’ll never amount to anything.

 “Follow your dreams,” the teachers said back in high school. What are her dreams? She doesn’t even no anymore. Are worthless people allowed to have dreams? Away from the mirror, away from that awful sight of her pale face and stringy brown hair, her mind strays to her grade school days. There was a day she thought she’d like to be something. Before she turned so ugly, before everyone realized how worthless she was. She wanted to be an author. You don’t need to talk to people to write. Your characters can be your friends! There’s plenty of recluse authors right? Adds to the mystery or something. Maybe… Maybe tomorrow … Maybe tomorrow she’ll talk to someone about changing up her classes. Maybe tomorrow she’ll switch to some English, Literature and Creative Writing classes. Maybe tomorrow she’ll start to have some worth.

I need to stop writing sad stories ... it gets me down! Or, I just need to pursue this one further and find a happy ending for this girl ... whatever her name is. She hasn't told me yet. ;)

Image by Me

Expectations for the Future

I want to write. Not primarily so people will read it (though that would be totally awesome) but, mostly, because it feels good to write.  I’ve let my writing slip to the wayside and that really sucks. I feel silenced. I feel like I don’t know how to find my voice back. And it’s my fault. Hmm. Well, I got an email that said Five Minute Friday moved. I LOVE FMF! So, naturally, I went to the new site and signed up. I joined the Facebook page and was eager to get going again! Because, really, there can’t be any “I don’t have time” excuse when it’s just a five-minute writing assignment! I saw the first word since my joining the new page: future. I delayed writing. The Monday after that word came out, my second oldest (4.5-year-old) got really sick. I was too exhausted to think, let alone write. She was puking, not drinking, not eating. Fever kept spiking – it’s highest was 41 Celsius (about 106 Fahrenheit).  It was frightening and we ended up at the Children’s Hospital. Got her sorted out, got her on some meds and she started improving – Praise God! The next Friday came. We were supposed to have a field trip with a homeschool group and considered not going since she was only just on the mend. She really wanted to go so we went. It was an exhausting day for her! But she was improving. The word that morning was expect. I told myself, “I’ll get to it on the weekend.” But my bad habit of not writing took control and I didn’t get to it right away. Then Saturday evening came and my 6-month-old baby had a febrile seizure. It came out of nowhere. He whole body was shaking hugely and her skin turned purple almost immediately. She was breathing funny, she was crying funny. We called 911. The seizure lasted at least 10 minutes (my husband thinks closer to 15). We were back in emergency at Children’s! I have never been so terrified in my life! Thankfully the doctor’s were able to determine why she had a fever (UTI) and gave us meds for her. It was still intense and stressful – she didn’t want her meds, often puked afterwards, still not drinking 100%, still fevering. But slowly she’s been improving. Today starts the 3^rd day of no fever. And tomorrow brings a new FMF word. Today I want to write.

All this week, those two words have been running through my head: future, expect. I’m not limiting myself to 5 minutes this time. J The two words, I find, a very related. What do we expect for our future? For our children’s future? I will admit, I think more of our children’s future than my own. Especially considering the current government of my country. But when they are sick, my thoughts about their future and my expectations change. I’ve always expected that they will live long lives, that they will live God glorifying lives, that they will be happy and successful. But none of these is guaranteed! Not even that they will love God (though we pray they will and we guide them in the faith)! What is the only guarantee of the future? That God is faithful! The thing is, we don’t always know what that looks like. So do my expectations for my children change? I expect them to live long lives but the fact is, God could have taken two of my children to Himself this past week. So I have changed my expectations for today and tomorrow and all the tomorrows to come. I expect (and trust) that God will care for us, that He will guide us and will keep us close to Him – however that looks.

                                

Five Minute Friday: Limit

A late post but I was drawing a blank ... until today. Here it is - 5 minutes of free writing on the word limit.

Two weeks of sickness in two littles. But it’s ok. We keep going, my husband and I. I can handle the days because I know he’s there to support in the evenings. But then the weekend hits, those girls start looking worse. It’s been 2.5 weeks now and they are just not getting better. Monday holiday comes and baby’s fever spikes and, worse of all, hubby get sick too. I’m a man down and have to do it all. I feel like I’ve reached my limit. Exhausted, running back and forth to the clinic and pharmacy – ear infection (baby), sinus infections (both girls). It’s a long day. I want to cry. Meds kick in, things look better. Nice evening supper. Then it hits, the virus that kicks all other viruses butts. This one’s a doozy, this one’s violent beyond all others we’ve seen. This mama is exhausted. I want to cry I want to give up. But it’s hubby and the middle who need me. Hold my girl while the heaving rolls across her body. She cries because it hurts, because she’s just tired of it all, she just wants it to stop. Oh, I hear you baby girl! My limit has been extended – my family needs me. Groceries. Need groceries. The baby needs her milk, can’t do without that. Want to sleep. Is this my limit? Have I reached it yet? Can I cry and sleep and cry some more? Last night I fell asleep with Chris Rice’s lyrics:

Can you spare an angel tonight

send a little help from your side?

‘Cause somebody’s lost down here.

Let him wing his way through the dark,

carry some of your love into her heart.

Can you spare an angel, spare and angle, spare an angel?

My limit has grown. He spared an angel. We made it through.

Photo credit to Chris Rice's website: http://chrisrice.com/art-shop/spare-an-angel

FMF: Quiet

Here we are again, at the end of another week and on time for another Five Minute Friday. I couldn't get motivated to write this morning and, surprise surprise, my 5yo, little Miss A, decided she actually wanted to work hard on school today and got ALL her school work done before noon! Yay A!!! But it meant a delay in my writing, which was fine of course. And then the afternoon was spent doing the normal and mundane household things, and getting Misses A & E outside to play (unseasonably gorgeous weather permitted that) and now, it's evening, Miss R, the baby is sleeping soundly, Misses A & E are playing checkers and backgammon with Daddy and me? I have my glass of wine, my music, my computer and my quiet so I can write. My quiet. Yeah. :) And that's the word Kate has given us today! Read her post at the FMF hub! So now it's my turn with the word. I never read her post before I write. I'm always afraid it will influence what I write about and how I write. :)  But I set my time for 5 minutes and ...

Quiet

It seems quiet in here. But the words, they come from virtual voices, voices I’ve never heard before in my life but I give characters to them. Names I have voices I create. But these soundless, quiet voices, they speak volumes.  “You need to be fit”, they say! “Fit means looking like this, and doing these activities, and drinking this and eating that!” But, other than a few minor changes, I don’t eat that poorly. I actually eat pretty well! Activity? Try keeping up with 3 active littles aged 5 and under! But why does fit need to mean doing those activities with those repetitions or you will fail?!

“Be social”, they say! “Social is what everyone needs to be! It means you talk to everyone and you’re always smiling and happy and you never let anyone know you might not be having a great day … emotionally or mentally or spiritually.” (I think it must be the extreme extroverts that say that!)

“Be gracious”, they say! “Gracious means never telling someone off when they say or do something that hurts you or is just downright immoral. It might hurt their feelings, after all!” Is that really grace?! I’m not sure Scripture would agree with that!

“Be tolerant”, they say! “Tolerant means that everyone is right and they are allowed to tell you that you are wrong … but if you tell them they are wrong you’re an intolerant, fundamentalist Bible thumper.” What happened to tolerance??

And these virtual voices, the tones of which I’ve created, they are loud. They hurt, the confuse, the exhaust physically and mentally … and, yes, sometimes even spiritually.

I just want to say, maybe shout, “Be quiet!!” 

Their voices can be quieted. Just turn them off! Listen to the Word, the Word of God Himself. That voice, though quiet, speaks volumes, speaks truth, speaks real grace and mercy and forgiveness and, well, LIFE!  So, the virtual voices I will silence one by one. But the quiet Word of God, that still small voice, I will devour, inhale so it speaks volumes to me, so it fills my life, fills my ears with beauty, with righteousness, with mercy, with grace! That is the quiet that I will embrace.

Image created by me on picmonkey.com

Free

This past summer we had gone on a road trip to BC. While there, I attempted to keep up with Five Minute Friday. One entry I had written in my journal. It was a couple of days after we arrived in BC. But, for some reason, it never seemed to make it here to my blog. So, here I write it now.

Free

Yesterday I took Annalise to visit my mom's grave. I needed to go there; I thought it would be meaningful to Annalise to go as well. I needed to talk to Mom. Oh, how many days there are when I need to talk to her! 

But I didn't. I didn't talk to her - she's not there. She's living in perfect freedom. 

We brought her flowers - I think she would have liked them. And my big girl and I talked about her, about her faith, about where she is now. And I sang. I sang "her" Psalm - the one printed on her gravestone. From the Book of Praise (Canadian Reformed ... and an older version - the one I grew up with and still have mostly memorized):

Psalm 84:1, 4

O Lord of Host, O God of grace,
How lovely is Thy holy place,
How good and pleasant is They dwelling!
O how my soul longs earnestly,
Yea, faints thy holy courts to see
Mid festal throngs and music swelling.
My heart and flesh cry out to God;
To Him I spread my hands abroad.

From strength to strength God's people go,
And He to them His face will show
In Zion's courts, His holy dwelling.
O Lord, Thou God of hosts, give ear;
O Jacob's God, in mercy hear, 
Thy steadfast promises fulfilling.
O God, our king and shield behold;
To him Thy power and love unfold.

And I remember how mom clung to His promises, held on for dear life, and saw them fulfilled - she is with Him now!! She is free! And I can hear her tell me to stop living in the past, to stop dwelling on what was, but to live in the present, for the future, trusting always in Him!

And on the drive "home" to Dad's, with that echoing in me, part of a Switchfoot song (Yesterdays) comes to mind:

"... A part of you in me is torn
And you're free

I woke from a dream last night
I dreamt that you were by my side
Reminding me I still had life
In me ..."

Then this morning, I woke and checked my email and saw that the FMF word is "Free"!! Thank-you God! 

Mom is living in perfect freedom and one day I will be too!

Praise God, in Him we are free!

FMF: Be Present

Today my 5 year old joined me for Five Minute Friday (and it covered the writing time for her homeschooling so, yay, we killed two birds with one stone)! :) We each took a different definition of the word "present". I opted for the concept of being present in a child's life and Miss A opted for the present which is a gift that you open. :)  She also opted for my drawing and less writing, but it's a start! I've taken a photo of hers and added it to the end of the post.

So, five minutes from start to finish, no editing (and no overthinking ... not sure that is one of the rules but that's my rule ... bad things happen when I overthink. :) ) So, here are my and Miss A's submissions for today's Five Minute Friday.

Be Present

She looks at you forlornly

wondering what distracts you

from loving her.

Her arms reach

but you push her away –

the newsfeed captivates your interest.

She’s three.

You’re life seems more important

than her few years.

You look up one day

and now she’s 6.

You wonder how you missed that.

Her curiosity and intelligence amaze –

where did it come from?

how did it develop?

She wants to read with you

but you have no time or patience

you push her away.

Shouts ring through the house.

At 12 she rebels.

“what do you care?”

Every day is a fight.

Every day is worse.

you hurt

so you turn to where you are “accepted”

You beloved newsfeed.

You’re lonely.

Where did she go?

Married, starting a family of her own

now at 24.

But struggling,

forsaking all the values you preached

(but didn’t really live …

because your newsfeed distracted you)

“Do you want to see your grandchildren?”

She wonders.

Will you be present?

Or will you loose it all?

FMF: Time

Finally I'm returning to Five Minute Friday! Funny that today's word is "time" as every week Friday seems to slip by before I even realize it's come! :) Today's FMF is in poetry. Enjoy!

Time

Time stands still and you can hold the moment forever –

            the first kiss

            the baby born

            the first baby smile … and giggle

                        and

                                    the call

                                                she’s gone.

But then the moment’s gone and time …

it blurs by

            many kisses

            many smiles

            many tears

                        later

                                    they’re grown

                                                “he asked me to marry him!”

                                                            they’re gone.

Where did the time go?

Cling to the moments in memories

And maybe

            just maybe

                        time will stand still once more.

Season - Five Minute Friday

So I'm a few days late. I relocated my computer which meant I didn't have easy access to my email which meant I missed reminders of Five Minute Friday (and then wondered why I was struggling ... this girl needs her weekly writing!)  So, today, this Tuesday, you get a Five Minute Friday.  The word we've been given is "season". Remember, we have 5 minutes to write on the given word, no editing, no revising, just freely writing.

Season

And when the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done. While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”  ~Genesis 8:21-22

Here we have a verse of promise of seasons. An assurance from God of order and consistency. Great comfort in a world that seems chaotic! The intention of man’s heart is evil. You don’t need to tell me twice! Look at the evil that abounds in this world! Even, whether we dare to admit or not, in our own hearts! (No one can claim to be perfectly good and loving all the time … no one but God Himself!) And in the midst of this evil that tempts us to live in fear, to worry, to, well, to freak out! In the midst of all of this, we see an assurance from God – yes the heart of man is evil … but God’s isn’t! And as long as this earth endures, seasons will continue! We will have time for planting, time for harvest; time of cold, time of heat; summer and winter; day and night – literally … and figuratively – a night of the soul, a time of spiritual crisis, leading to redemption, to daylight and union with Christ!  Ah, it is so easy to succumb to fear in this season the world is in, this season of darkness. But the stress, the heartache! Why succumb! Reach for the light of day! Reach for the light of Christ and live in peace and confidence, knowing He holds all in His hands! This assurance from Genesis 8 is echoed in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. Don’t fear the season you are in, rest in the assurance and confidence you have in Christ!

Can I trust you? (Write 31 Days - Day 9, Five Minute Friday)

Day 9 of Write 21 Days is a day late. I had intended to write yet last night but the time got away from me and I ended up Skyping with my brother. :) This day is also part of Five Minute Friday.

Trust

Of the words that could describe how people relate to each other, I think that trust is the most difficult to accomplish. You can like (or dislike) someone quite easily. Even love can come pretty easily. Honour/respect is easily given (and easily proven to be deserved). But trust? It takes a lot of time and a lot of proving before I can trust someone. I find it easier to trust God than people. This, I hear, is unusual. But God has proven Himself over and over again that He is trustworthy. And people hurt people. It’s not even the physical hurt that’s the worst. It’s the emotional, mental, spiritual hurt that’s worst. I’ve been hurt too many times. People can be jerks. There are many people I like but few I trust. Trust requires me to be vulnerable, to let my guard down. But fear keeps me from doing that – “what if they hurt me too?” There are many people I like and I feel as though I should be able to trust them. But I just can’t bring myself to put down my guard. Trustworthiness needs to be proven but for it to be proven you need to give them something to prove themselves in! A vicious cycle. How do I let people prove that they are trustworthy? How do I learn to trust again?

I seem to have this 6^th sense, for lack of a better term, this gut feeling, this instinct that’s been proven time and time again. There are people that I meet that I just get this strong feeling (instinct) that they are NOT trustworthy. It’s always been proven true. I’ve learned to trust my instinct (in these situations and in others that have nothing to do with trust). I’ve seen others trust these people (and I want to warn them! … and sometimes I do) and they ALWAYS end up hurt. So I trust that instinct. But often with people I meet, I don’t get that feeling. Meaning, these people should be people I can trust. But, I just can’t let myself open up, or let down my guard with them! Why not?! How can I learn to trust again? And why should everyone have to prove themselves? People will hurt other people, not always intentionally. And I need to allow for unintentional hurt and still call a person trustworthy. Is this inability to trust standing in the way of potentially great friendships? Trust is hard. I want to learn to trust again.

Family (Write 31 Days - Day 2, Five Minute Friday)

Day two of Write 31 Days just happens to also be a Five Minute Friday day! Yay! :) Today's word is "Family". Join us over at 31 Days and at the Five Minute Friday headquarters to read some fabulous blogs or to even join in with the writing challenges yourself!

So, the rules for FMF (and my 31 Days challenge) are to write on a given word for no more than 5 minutes. No overthinking, no rethinking, no editing! :)

START

Family

What would we do without family? They are part of us. They are our support centre. They are our crazy when we’re bland and our normal when we’re a little nuts. J They keep us balanced. They help us grow. Sharing our faith, we’re held accountable. Family cries with us, laughs with us, shouts with us, will be angry with us and will even knock our head a bit straight when we go off the deep end.  Family hurts, apologizes, loves.

Family is connection. It keeps us real and other-centred. Hard to be self-centred when you have a herd of littles absolutely dependent on you. J My family makes me smile, and cry, and laugh, and be angry and frustrated but mostly feel loved.

My husband – he became my new family when we realized we loved each other. J He is a godly leader who wants so much to do things right! He guides me and our girls so well. He serves his family too! He holds me accountable … and sometimes he just holds me. J I love him!

My first born, my Annalise. SO much like me. Now I understand why people got so frustrated at me (even as it hurt me) growing up. Trying not to pass that hurt on to her. She’s the one that got me into homeschooling because it is in teaching and learning together that we bond! She wants to be helpful, she wants to move and dance and paint and create! And she wants to study and loves things making sense.  She is more sensitive than we realize sometimes but that is a good spirit to cultivate in her! And sass & spunk! Did I mention her spunk & sass!?!

My middle girl, my Emilie. She is a clown on her own and growing into such a delightful girl! Often overshadowed by her older sister and suddenly thrown into the position of middle child with the birth of the younger sister. She’s adapting well. She loves princesses and terrified of anything that breathes but thinks she’d like to have a puppy one day. She is a walking contradiction sometimes. She gives the best cuddles and back rubs and is a feisty and determined young girl. She’s going places!

And Renee, my youngest.  The reborn gift from God. A promise answered. She is precious to me. At 7 months, I don’t know who she will be but she keeps us entertained and reminds us of the simple beauty in this world as she discovers we’ve “always” know, the first time for her! J Like sun and flies. Once she gets walking she’s going to keep us on our toes!

I love to sit and watch my family grow. This bundle of love God has given us. Without family, life would be boring.

STOP

Five Minute Friday: New

In the midst of all this newness of the 31 Day challenge, we still get our Five Minute Friday writing prompts from Kate. Yay! :) Today our word is "new".

For those unfamiliar with this, this is where we are given a one-word writing prompt and we write for 5 minutes, no editing, no rethinking, no overthinking ... just write! :) I rather enjoy the exercise most weeks! :)

START

Perfect for the beginning of a new month – everything is so new! The weather has changed, letting us know it really is Autumn now … and oh what a beautiful season it is! Do you know that every Autumn is a new Autumn? This one is nothing like last year’s – colours change differently, leaves fall at different times, … there’s similarities, of course, but it’s still all so new! And then I get to see it through the eyes of my 4yo and 2yo and I see the newness that much more!

We started our new Thanksgiving tree … and I get to see how my 4yo has matured since last year. She has deeper, wiser thoughts of things to be thankful for – this is new … and beautiful. :) And her words teach and encourage her little sister … that’s new too! This idea that I’m no longer my child’s primary teacher. I was for the first born – the only example available to her most of the time during the day … but for the second? It’s not just me, it’s her big sister too! What responsibility for a big sister … and for a mommy!

And then there’s this new life that’s kicking and squirming and tickling (yes, tickling) inside of me… absolutely beautiful!

“New” is so often something to be afraid of: “I don’t want to try new things! I’m content with what I already have and do! I'm afraid of the change!” But new is beautiful! When we shut ourselves off to new, we shut ourselves off to beauty!

Embrace the new, grow in the new!

STOP

FMF: Because I'm a Mom...

Welcome to another instalment of Five Minute Friday where I join Kate Motaung and many other wonderful people world-wide to write on a word prompt given to us by Kate. Come join us! Either read the posts already written or write your own to add to the link-up! :) It is a wonderful writing exercise, sometimes more challenging than other times but always worth while to participate in!

This week the word Kate gave us is "because". The following post is not the post I intended to write but, as I sat in the salon chair this morning (yes, I know it's a day late), this is the post that came out. so I guess that means it was the post I needed to write.

START

Because I'm a mom, my life is often centred around children. My pre-mom life was too, being an elementary school teacher. But this is different - this is 24/7. (Teaching was more like 18/7 ... except in report card season! ;) )  And this also involves more of the heart (though, when I was teaching I wouldn't have thought it was possible for my heart to be even more involved in someone's life.)  But, being a mom (and a wife) makes your focus in life chance. There are new roles in which to bring glory to God and the weaknesses I have are suddenly more apparent, making that glorification more challenging. What's amazing its hat my husband and girls (and God) continue to love me through it all!!

Because I'm a mom, I start caring about more than myself. Though I care more about myself too - because if I don't take care of myself, how can I expect to take care of my family? Because I desire to take care of my family, it means making changes. It means a simpler life. It means removing clutter from my life: physical clutter (things; activities), emotional clutter (attitudes; people who bring you down; but doing things like downsizing Facebook use; and/or instead, surrounding yourself with positive, like-minded people), spiritual clutter (attitudes here too!; anything that keeps me from drawing closer to God; people with really messed up theology; instead, spending more time in the Word, in prayer, with God).

Because I'm a mom & wife who wants to take care of my family, it means saying "no" to many extra-curricular activities (even when all your peers are putting their kids, preschoolers and toddlers included, in various activities & playgroups nearly every day and evening of the week!!), saying "no" to participating in various groups, not jumping on every popular bandwagon that everyone around you seems to be jumping on. For me, it also means: making an effort to keep the house tidy, making healthy meals, cooking & baking from scratch. It also means not hovering over the kids and spending every waking moment with them but, instead, letting them learn to entertain themselves and develop their own imaginations.

Because I'm a mom ... things (blog posts?) can be late! :)

STOP

Five Minute Friday: Hold

Hey, look at that! I've actually completed Five Minute Friday on the Friday our word was given!! :) What a long and dreary day, this was a good way to enter the quiet of the evening. :)  

I've linked up with Kate and the other ladies for our weekly five minutes of unedited writing. Today our word is "hold". Join us! :)

START

And I feel broken, crushed…

but You pick up the pieces,

hold them gently,

breath life into them and

I am whole again,

fragile

but whole.

And when I feel lost,

You hold my hand,

lead me along a path less travelled

softly lit with hope,

quiet,

joy.

And when I rejoice,

You hold my hands

and we dance

in the meadow.

pure.

bliss.

STOP

And of course, the first thing that comes to mind when I hear the word "hold" is this lovely song by the amazing Rich Mullins: