Fiveminutefrifday.com
Where Christian writers expound their thoughts on a word a week. Check it out for a word buffet if you have a few minutes. Just browse, or link up and join in.
The word is place
A Longing For Home
We sat together outside his apartment on the bench. An independent living facility had been their home for a few years now. They had sold to a family member so they could still keep the attachment. It’s hard to leave a place where voices and handprints from infancy to adulthood still are embedded in the walls. Somehow you tell yourself you are taking them with you, but you know the solidity is in the place, for when you return and touch and smell, it all races back.
And he is progressing in his Alzheimer's now. His memory for past days is clearer. He talks about his trip to Ireland, the Homeland of his parents. When I ask him to describe it he pauses, and then “It’s a place”. That's all for his answer. And I thought, hmm.… it’s a place. No memories that would stick, just a place to visit and then leave.
He went on talking about the train he took to work, the flowers he grew in the back yard, the summer picnics and his wife and their four children. This was more than a place. It was where his fondest memories were, and in his mind, he was there right then.
Sometimes we long for home, and the memories are different than what we really left behind. Because the reality is still there.
As a Christian I long for a home I have never seen, Heaven. My mind pictures and conjures up all kinds of images that I think it will be like. The Bible doesn’t really describe it much in detail. Streets of gold and a crystal Sea. There will be no darkness. There will be no tears nor sadness. There will be perfect love. Isn't that a place to call home!
Friday, August 11, 2017
Saturday, August 5, 2017
Writing on this word "try" with five minute Friday.
I tried to write last night, but it just wasn't right. So I didn't try today. I just wrote.
Creativity or conformity?
God never asked us to try. He asked us to be. He said come to me. Learn of me. Be diligent and sober minded. Cast your cares upon me. Follow me. He didn’t ask that I be any different than who I am.
Yes, do the best you can with what you have, but don’t let it become striving. Yes, run the race, but run with patience. You won’t stop God’s work in you. You can’t get behind and you can’t go ahead.
When does a child stop being a child? When their being falls under the scrutiny of others and the challenge to grow becomes a force to conform? What happens to creativity then? Too often it is locked behind walls of fear and mistrust along with the child they are. And another emerges into the light. One who is required to know and reason and judge as an adult before it was ever meant to happen.
Seek for the child perhaps hiding within and you will find the Kingdom of God.
“Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the Kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. Mk 10:15 (KJV)
Saturday, July 22, 2017
Five minute Friday.com is a site where Christian writers focus on one word prompt a week and write for five minutes or less. Just whatever comes.
Today's word is 'collect'
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Mt 6:19-21
I’m not ready for new memories. Right now it is easier to look ahead and see empty space than to stare behind and see broken dreams. My view has to go further than my mind can remember and beyond where my thoughts can take me. Although moments are precious in God's sight, let Him sort it all out and keep what is useful. I know He collects tears from every one.
My hope is not in what I have collected. Rather it is in that which cannot be destroyed.
Today's word is 'collect'
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Mt 6:19-21
I’m not ready for new memories. Right now it is easier to look ahead and see empty space than to stare behind and see broken dreams. My view has to go further than my mind can remember and beyond where my thoughts can take me. Although moments are precious in God's sight, let Him sort it all out and keep what is useful. I know He collects tears from every one.
My hope is not in what I have collected. Rather it is in that which cannot be destroyed.
Monday, July 17, 2017
I’m late for fiveminutefriday. This is Monday. Adding my short input on the word comfort.
A Comfortable Place
I look for the most comfortable position when I sit down to write. My chair and the way it supports me and holds me is important. I need to have all my books, my pens, pencils and tablet situated for easy access. And of course let’s not forget the coffee, iced or hot, depending on temperature and time of day. Then the quiet has to be there. Natural sounds only please, as much as possible. Birds, wind and rain all add to my attention. They don't diminish it.
Recently I parked at the cemetery early in the morning to pray and to practice a song I was to sing at church. It’s an old hymn titled “In the Garden.” As I prayed over the words I sensed the comfort of God. Strange, for visiting cemeteries can be so despairing. But that morning God said, “Here you are alone with me, for though every marker bears a name and a timeline, every person is in his rightful place. Do not worry, just be comforted. And I was alone with God in the cemetery.
But there were flowers that adorned the stones. Some were potted, some planted. They were growing. I thought of a garden. Flowers grow in stillness and quietness. They only received what others give them. The sun and rain make them flourish as their roots grow deep. And some last only a day, some a season, and some return year after year. Sometimes you find them where the wind or birds have scattered the seed.
I wonder if the quiet, still places of the heart, where God comforts us is where we do the most growing. In both adults and children that comfortable stage of sleep is where growth happens. The rejuvenation of energy, the sorting out of memories, the strengthening of cells and muscles take place while the body is in a semi paralytic state. It is not when we are most active. It is why we can be active.
In the garden and in the cemetery, among the growing and the memories of a people that were, there God's voice speaks and comforts us as He supports and holds us. That covers just about everywhere we go.
A Comfortable Place
I look for the most comfortable position when I sit down to write. My chair and the way it supports me and holds me is important. I need to have all my books, my pens, pencils and tablet situated for easy access. And of course let’s not forget the coffee, iced or hot, depending on temperature and time of day. Then the quiet has to be there. Natural sounds only please, as much as possible. Birds, wind and rain all add to my attention. They don't diminish it.
Recently I parked at the cemetery early in the morning to pray and to practice a song I was to sing at church. It’s an old hymn titled “In the Garden.” As I prayed over the words I sensed the comfort of God. Strange, for visiting cemeteries can be so despairing. But that morning God said, “Here you are alone with me, for though every marker bears a name and a timeline, every person is in his rightful place. Do not worry, just be comforted. And I was alone with God in the cemetery.
But there were flowers that adorned the stones. Some were potted, some planted. They were growing. I thought of a garden. Flowers grow in stillness and quietness. They only received what others give them. The sun and rain make them flourish as their roots grow deep. And some last only a day, some a season, and some return year after year. Sometimes you find them where the wind or birds have scattered the seed.
I wonder if the quiet, still places of the heart, where God comforts us is where we do the most growing. In both adults and children that comfortable stage of sleep is where growth happens. The rejuvenation of energy, the sorting out of memories, the strengthening of cells and muscles take place while the body is in a semi paralytic state. It is not when we are most active. It is why we can be active.
In the garden and in the cemetery, among the growing and the memories of a people that were, there God's voice speaks and comforts us as He supports and holds us. That covers just about everywhere we go.
Saturday, July 8, 2017
Participating with Kate Motaung. Check her out at fiveminutefriday.com. The word is play
Come Out To Play
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Mt 19:14
The daylilies are back this year. The orange ones that for years I fussed about. I wanted them gone. The were intrusive, they were all one color, and anything else I planted alongside them were overrun and eventually completely suffocated. They also weren’t my idea. They were here when we moved in. So I finally had them uprooted. I planted other lilies in their place of different colors and varieties. I still loved lilies. I just wanted variety.
But there were problems. The Chipmunks, moles and mice ate the bulbs. So I planted again, this time each with a mothball. A couple grew the first year, and a few more the next. But then, just last year the rabbits found them and ate every last bloom. I guess colors taste good. So I've had it, I thought. This year the ground will sit. Gardens aren't working for me. The only plant that has survived well is my bleeding heart, which was transplanted from where those day lilies were. It sits in front of my garage, which is falling down, so we just moved that also.
Now I look out my window and there are orange blooms playing in the breeze, aimed at the sky, free and happy to have returned. They were not completely rooted out. They lie dormant for a while covered with layers of other growth. But they weren't dead, their roots were growing strong and resilient.
The child in me longs to play. What has been growing in her place? I've heard it said we grow up because we stop playing. Both is important. Someone once gifted me $30. She said I was to spend it frivolously. I put it in an envelope and it took about 3 years to spend it. I don't even remember if I spent it all. I think that envelope is still around. It’s not that I haven’t spent anything. I think It's the thought of spending what has been designated and gifted for that purpose and the fear of never having it again.
We layer, we bury, we forget. God does not forget. Sometimes it takes everything being ripped apart to unearth the inner child we were created to be. Jesus calls us children no matter how old we get and whatever or whoever has prevented her. She is not gone. She is growing strong and resilient. No one is free like a child who knows she is loved. When I experience that freedom, maybe even my responsibility will be as child's play.
Oh, a few of the red lilies survived with the orange ones. They will play together. The rabbits moved out. I am at peace.
Come Out To Play
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Mt 19:14
The daylilies are back this year. The orange ones that for years I fussed about. I wanted them gone. The were intrusive, they were all one color, and anything else I planted alongside them were overrun and eventually completely suffocated. They also weren’t my idea. They were here when we moved in. So I finally had them uprooted. I planted other lilies in their place of different colors and varieties. I still loved lilies. I just wanted variety.
But there were problems. The Chipmunks, moles and mice ate the bulbs. So I planted again, this time each with a mothball. A couple grew the first year, and a few more the next. But then, just last year the rabbits found them and ate every last bloom. I guess colors taste good. So I've had it, I thought. This year the ground will sit. Gardens aren't working for me. The only plant that has survived well is my bleeding heart, which was transplanted from where those day lilies were. It sits in front of my garage, which is falling down, so we just moved that also.
Now I look out my window and there are orange blooms playing in the breeze, aimed at the sky, free and happy to have returned. They were not completely rooted out. They lie dormant for a while covered with layers of other growth. But they weren't dead, their roots were growing strong and resilient.
The child in me longs to play. What has been growing in her place? I've heard it said we grow up because we stop playing. Both is important. Someone once gifted me $30. She said I was to spend it frivolously. I put it in an envelope and it took about 3 years to spend it. I don't even remember if I spent it all. I think that envelope is still around. It’s not that I haven’t spent anything. I think It's the thought of spending what has been designated and gifted for that purpose and the fear of never having it again.
We layer, we bury, we forget. God does not forget. Sometimes it takes everything being ripped apart to unearth the inner child we were created to be. Jesus calls us children no matter how old we get and whatever or whoever has prevented her. She is not gone. She is growing strong and resilient. No one is free like a child who knows she is loved. When I experience that freedom, maybe even my responsibility will be as child's play.
Oh, a few of the red lilies survived with the orange ones. They will play together. The rabbits moved out. I am at peace.
Friday, June 9, 2017
The word this week on FMF with Kate Motaung
'Expect'
What do you expect?
I made decisions expecting different results
I planted and watered and something else grew
I thought I was building walls but I"m tripping over rubble
I meant to go forward ; I feel so behind
I never expected to be here
But:
Jesus is more precious
Jesus has a sweeter fragrance
Jesus is drawing closer
Jesus is becoming priority
I never expected to be here
So true, the lyrics...
"Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace"
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Eph. 3:20,21
'Expect'
What do you expect?
I made decisions expecting different results
I planted and watered and something else grew
I thought I was building walls but I"m tripping over rubble
I meant to go forward ; I feel so behind
I never expected to be here
But:
Jesus is more precious
Jesus has a sweeter fragrance
Jesus is drawing closer
Jesus is becoming priority
I never expected to be here
So true, the lyrics...
"Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace"
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Eph. 3:20,21
Friday, June 2, 2017
Five minute Friday with kate Motaung
The word is “Future”
The Future, Both Now and Then
The first thing I think of when I hear the word future is a place I have never been in a time not yet materialized. How does one perceive such a concept except by recognizing the present is actually the future of where we once were. Now will be the past as soon as I step out of this present. With every breath I move into the future.
If I think of it in any other way it can scare me, and it has many times over. We do what we can to prepare for it, we anticipate it, we fear it, or we hope for it. I have done all of these, but cannot guarantee it's specific outcome. As much as I try I cannot weave it into my desired design. There are too many unknowns of which I have no control. I can, however, say there is one thing that is in my past that follows me into my future. That is God. In Him is my hope. He is eternal. He created time, but is not limited by it, He knows the end from the beginning. He asks only that I trust Him and seek Him with my whole heart. That is all. I don't have to have all the answers to my questions.
It makes me sad to think people actually think of (and do) take their own lives. I do know that place of despair, thinking that my life was hopeless. I do thank God I sought help in people and God and kept on breathing and walking. Circumstances may not ever change or they may even get worse, but God will always be a constant with every future step I take. In Christ, even when I doubt, He is.
Does your future look threatening? The Lord said concerning Israel in captivity in Jer 29:11 “..For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to bring you a future and a hope”. There is nothing about the future that the Lord does not see and rest in. All of Christ's own can take comfort in this promise.
The word is “Future”
The Future, Both Now and Then
The first thing I think of when I hear the word future is a place I have never been in a time not yet materialized. How does one perceive such a concept except by recognizing the present is actually the future of where we once were. Now will be the past as soon as I step out of this present. With every breath I move into the future.
If I think of it in any other way it can scare me, and it has many times over. We do what we can to prepare for it, we anticipate it, we fear it, or we hope for it. I have done all of these, but cannot guarantee it's specific outcome. As much as I try I cannot weave it into my desired design. There are too many unknowns of which I have no control. I can, however, say there is one thing that is in my past that follows me into my future. That is God. In Him is my hope. He is eternal. He created time, but is not limited by it, He knows the end from the beginning. He asks only that I trust Him and seek Him with my whole heart. That is all. I don't have to have all the answers to my questions.
It makes me sad to think people actually think of (and do) take their own lives. I do know that place of despair, thinking that my life was hopeless. I do thank God I sought help in people and God and kept on breathing and walking. Circumstances may not ever change or they may even get worse, but God will always be a constant with every future step I take. In Christ, even when I doubt, He is.
Does your future look threatening? The Lord said concerning Israel in captivity in Jer 29:11 “..For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to bring you a future and a hope”. There is nothing about the future that the Lord does not see and rest in. All of Christ's own can take comfort in this promise.
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