Category Archives: Five Minute Friday

Day 20 ~ Tell ~ 31Days2019

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“They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, ‘All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” John 8:7 (NLT) Photo by Artem Beliaikin on Unsplash

Tell

Tattling is one of those things that teachers find extremely challenging. Some children seem to enjoy telling anyone who will listen about all the things that someone else has done wrong. The funny thing is, quite often the tattler will have recently done the exact thing he is now trying to get someone else in trouble for. Of course, that does not occur to the one telling the tale. All he has on his mind is seeing punishment handed down.

It seems to me, that adults today are becoming more and more like those students all the time.  Our news and social media feeds are full of people “telling on other people” they don’t agree with. And just like the offenders in the classroom, these adults have the goal of gaining followers who believe their tales, want to take part in judgement, and then inflict punishment on those they’ve targeted. Simply put, they point their finger in hopes of getting someone else in trouble.** But, we all know the old adage that says when one finger is pointed at another, three more are pointed back at ourselves!

“And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’  when you can’t see past the log in your own eye?” Matthew 7:3-4 (NLT)

Just recently I was talking with my mother-in-love about cleaning my house. She was trying to reassure me that our house always looks clean and I responded that she just didn’t look closely enough, to which she replied:

“If I want to see dirt, I’ll look at my own house!”

Isn’t that exactly what Jesus is telling us in the verses above? Don’t look for someone else’s dirt until you’ve cleaned your own house! And the thing about dirt is, we can dust one day and then the very next time the “Son” shines in, new specks are already showing up again!

“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet, God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.” Romans 3:23-24 (NLT)

The truth is, every one of us deserves to be in trouble, with or without the help of a tattletale, and the world has seeing our punishment handed down on its mind.  “Yet, God.”  Because of His grace our punishment isn’t simply handed down; but because Jesus’s hands were nailed down to the cross, it has been forgiven. Now that’s a tale worth telling!

This post is written as part of the 31 Days of Five Minute Friday Free Writes Challenge. You can read posts from other writers on the same topics over at http://www.fiveminutefriday.com I hope you know that I so appreciate you being here! God bless, Cindy

 

 

Day 19 ~ Strong ~ 31Days2019

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“Her children stand and bless her.” Proverbs 31:28a (NLT) / Pixabay

Strong

My image stares back at me as I stand in front of the mirror.  I gaze at the reflection. Are these too tight? Does this even go together? Is this outfit still in fashion? I worry way too much about the clothes that I wear! As I ponder upon that, I realize I’ve forgotten two very important things:

  1. “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.  Is not life more than food, and body more than clothes?” Matthew 6:25 (NIV)  And, that
  2.  I learned from my mom at an early age, about the most important things to wear.

My mom. She’s one of the strongest women I know! When my dad unexpectedly chose to leave our family, she was suddenly left to raise my two sisters and me by herself, at a time when single mothers didn’t have the rights and benefits they do today. That didn’t stop her from doing what it took to** assure that we had the best childhood possible. She worked hard and sacrificed much. Mom put our needs above hers and she always made sure we knew we were loved and cared for. Her example taught us that the most important things to put on don’t come from our closet.

“She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.” Proverbs 31:25-27 (NIV)

Yes, through the years of ups and downs, joys and sorrows, good times and bad, our mom has modeled for us her ensemble of incredible strength and dignity and she still wears them well today!   So, the next time we look in the mirror let’s not look at our clothes but rather what we’re clothed in. Strength, dignity, wisdom, faith, love!  With any of these we have no need to worry because one size fits all; they compliment each other; AND… they never go out of style!

This post is written as part of the 31 Days of Five Minute Friday Free Writes Challenge. You can read posts from other writers on the same topics over at http://www.fiveminutefriday.com I hope you know that I so appreciate you being here! God bless, Cindy

 

 

 

 

Active ~ Day 18 ~ 31Days2019

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“You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you. Isaiah 26:3 (NLT) / Pixabay

Active

There’s a place I know that’s open just about 24/7. Songs play over and over there, stories are created, and conversations take place at all hours. The murky, dark corners are reserved for reliving and revealing fears and failures. It’s a busy and chaotic place! And…it’s my mind.

Having an active imagination is a good thing when playing with your children or grandchildren, planning lessons for your students, or brainstorming ideas at work, church, or home. But, when we (I) let that energy propel us to worry, anxiety, regret, and all those other bad “customers” who lurk about in the recesses, we find ourselves longing for the “bouncer” to come throw them out! And then, He does!

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT) *emphasis mine

This is the reminder I need!  Maybe you do too. My mind is open for business morning, noon, and night. Thoughts whirl and twirl like they’re in the middle of the dance floor. With some, I want to join and keep in step. Others…well, I’d rather sit those out. I’m learning that when we choose ** God to guard our minds, we can leave the noisy free-for-all behind and find instead a place of peace.

Philippians 4 goes on to say:

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable.  Think about things that are excellent and worth of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me-everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:8-9 (NLT)

I chose these verses as my theme this month because it is my hope as I ponder on everyday life and write these posts, I do try earnestly to fix my mind on those excellent things and offer to you what I’m learning along the way. And if it resonates with you, we can together, encourage and remind one another to clean out those dingy corners where Satan likes to hide and let the Light bring peace of mind there instead. Then, gratefully we can be “open for the business” that God has for us and actively share with others all He has exceedingly done!

This post is written as part of the 31 Days of Five Minute Friday Free Writes Challenge. You can read posts from other writers on the same topics over at http://www.fiveminutefriday.com I hope you know that I so appreciate you being here! God bless, Cindy

 

 

Avoid ~ Day 16 ~ 31Days2019

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“Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,” Acts 2:46 (NIV) / Pixabay

Avoid

There are lots of things we avoid. I would guess that some of the what I avoid, you do too. Things like snakes, bats, closed in spaces, the dentist, and others. Then there are those things that since moving to my rural, farming town I’ve had to learn to avoid the hard way: such as being stuck in a manure pile, an angry rooster, or eating raw ramps. And of course, there are those things I’ve learned to avoid by mistake, specifically swallowing a chicken bone, trusting my GPS, and brightly dying my hair the day before leaving on a trip with my friends.

On the flip side, we all have things we avoid that we shouldn’t. I’m thinking of things such as exercise, a yearly check-up (including the weigh in), ** cleaning out our closets, and getting together more often.

Why is it that most of us don’t make time to gather with friends and family anymore? Yes, we’re busy. But are we really too busy to find time to share a meal, have a game night, sit around and talk with those we care about or do we just no longer make it a priority?  I’m asking myself these same questions. Knowing there’s so much pain and suffering in the world today and time is short, shouldn’t we want to be with each other more rather than less?

“Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. Hebrews 10:24-25 (NLT)

Just imagine the difference it might make in our lives, our communities, our world if we’d come together more to support and be supported, to inspire and be inspired, to minister to and be ministered to. Or, to simply laugh and have fun. I think it’s about time to make a change. How about you? What if we stop looking at our phones and watching our T.V.’s as much, left work a little earlier, cleared a day on our calendar, and instead shared some of that time with friends and family? Let’s challenge each other starting today, to scratch gathering with one another off our “to avoid” list and begin making it a priority to “not neglect our meeting together”. Are you with me?

Now, who wants play a game of Yahtzee and have some popcorn?

This post is written as part of the 31 Days of Five Minute Friday Free Writes Challenge. You can read posts from other writers on the same topics over at http://www.fiveminutefriday.com I hope you know that I so appreciate you being here! God bless, Cindy

 

 

First ~ Day 12 ~ 31Days2019

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“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.” James 1:2 (NLT)/steve_a_johnson / Pixabay

First

My first idea went by the wayside,
The next didn’t make sense at all.
The third had a hopeful beginning,
But then I hit a wall.

I paced and did some thinking
Kept looking at the clock.
You can be sure this isn’t the first time
I’ve been hit with a Writer’s Block.

I’ve heard if first you don’t succeed
Try again another day,
So let’s hope that when tomorrow comes
That darn block’s moved out of the way!

This post is written as part of the 31 Days of Five Minute Friday Free Writes Challenge. You can read posts from other writers on the same topics over at http://www.fiveminutefriday.com I hope you know that I so appreciate you being here! God bless, Cindy

Deep ~ Day 11 ~ 31Days2019

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“It was strong and beautiful, with wide-spreading branches, for its roots went deep into abundant water.” Ezekiel 31:7 (NLT)

There are lots of hard decisions to make in life but I never really expected one to be about a tree. We went back and forth, pros and cons, heart and logic, but in the end, hard as it was, we decided it had to come down.

A beautiful tree, it stood tall above our roofline and that was the problem.  Building a new house in its shadow was risky. A storm with a strong wind could topple the giant right onto our home, crushing everything underneath. It made sense to simply push it over. As it turned out, there was nothing simple about it! Our majestic pine had roots that ran wide and so deep that even with a backhoe bucket pushing with all its might, the tree held tight. With persistence and hard work, the towering conifer finally shuddered and fell, revealing an intricate and strong root system when it did.

There is a lesson for me, for us, in the example of our tree:

“But blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water.  Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit. Jeremiah 17:7-8 (NLT)

The storms of life come at us, too. We can easily be blown off course, crushed in spirit, pushed to our limit! That’s why we need our hope and confidence to be grounded in God. ** Paul said it better than I ever could:

“I pray that from his glorious unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him.  Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” Ephesians 3:16-19 (NLT)

As we ponder on these words today, let’s remember that though we may sometimes find ourselves trying to stand firm in the midst of a whirlwind buffeting our souls or that our peace has been tempest tossed: We are rooted in love! And not just any love, but an intricate love so strong and so deep that it nailed Christ to a tree that we may be made complete in Him. When we make the decision to accept His sacrifice, we can be confident that despite our circumstances we’re able to stand securely, spread His beauty, and live fruitful lives, no matter where it is we find ourselves planted.

This post is written as part of the 31 Days of Five Minute Friday Free Writes Challenge. You can read posts from other writers on the same topics over at http://www.fiveminutefriday.com I hope you know that I so appreciate you being here! God bless, Cindy

 

Join~Day 9~31Days2019

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“In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears. Psalm 18:6 (NIV)

 

Join

A small, quiet beach in North Carolina has been my family’s summer vacation spot for many years.  It’s one of my very favorite places to be!  There used to be one bridge that joined the island to the mainland and what a welcomed sight it was each time we’d visit! Somehow stress just seemed to disappear as we crossed over the Inter-Coastal Waterway leaving the bridge and the mainland behind. There was one problem though….

While driving across the bridge to get onto the island was relaxing, trying to get back to the mainland a week later along with all the other departing vacationers was anything but!** The few miles from our beach house to the edge of the island were slow at best BUT once we reached the bridge it was bumper to bumper traffic that resulted in a complete stand still. We knew what we wanted and where we needed to go but it felt like we’d never see the other side. Now, just picture that scenario with a hurricane evacuation added into the mix!  Talk about a traffic jam! With the threat of a storm and the path that joins where you are to where you want to be blocked, anxiety levels rise!

Sometimes our prayer lives can feel the same way. Prayer is what joins us “vacationers” on earth to God in our Heavenly Home. When the sun is shining and the road is smooth, it seems our prayers are moving right along and we’re getting closer to where we want to be. But when the thunder and lightning of an unexpected storm crash our calm, we often find ourselves coming to a sudden stop! We try to maneuver this way and that, steering our prayers in the direction we want to go, but find ourselves feeling blocked, unable to move, and that’s when worry and anxiety take the wheel.

“But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:25-28 (NIV)

No one wants to have to evacuate and cut short their vacation and worse yet, in life, we don’t want to have to pack up our plans and leave them behind. Both happen though. We hope the storm veers off shore while we anxiously wait. We “honk our horns” because we don’t know what to do next to get things moving again and then we wait some more. Thankfully, we’re not waiting alone. The Spirit himself takes our noise joins it with his own and delivers it directly to God’s ears. We can loosen our grip! Stop clenching our jaw! Leave our worries in the rearview mirror. God’s in the driver’s seat and we can trust that He’ll get us exactly where we’re supposed to go! (Which will be our favorite place for sure!)

Yes, prayer offers us a bridge to God. Through the Holy Spirit, prayer joins our wants with God’s plans. Let’s cross over, leaving our stress behind, and pray the prayer that keeps us moving in the right direction:

“Thy will be done.”

This post is written as part of the 31 Days of Five Minute Friday Free Writes Challenge. You can read posts from other writers on the same topics over at http://www.fiveminutefriday.com I hope you know that I so appreciate you “joining” me here! God bless, Cindy

 

31 Days of Pondering Lessons in the Everyday

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“Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things.” Philippians 4:8 (NIV)

October brings brilliantly colored leaves, pumpkins of all sizes, cooler weather, and  of course, the 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes Challenge! I actually considered not joining this year as my calendar page is already filling up with commitments but it’s something I really look forward to. So, here’s what I’ve decided to do: I’m committed to doing my best to stick to the five minute** time limit (if you’ve been here before you know that really is a “challenge” for me) and to write to as many of the prompts as I can. It’ll be like a little adventure.  Are you with me? I sure hope so! It’s a lot more fun with you along!

I’ve recently gained a new blogging skill and so all my posts for the Challenge this year will be right here in one place! Just click on the link in the Table of Contents below after it goes live to read each post. As always, I appreciate you stopping in and I pray that the lessons I’m learning this month will be meaningful to you, too! 

~Table of Contents~

Why

Gift

Problem

Listen~Out of town

Other~Out of town

Notice~Out of town

Same~Out of town

Gather

Join

Scared

Deep

First

Reach

Voice~Missed

Open~Missed

Avoid

Consistent~Missed (not very consistent!)

Active

Strong

Tell

Person

Sense

Need

Different

Wait

Accept

Better

Test

Practice

Memory

Enjoy

 

Recipe for Success ~ Five Minute Friday

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“God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.” 1 Peter 4:10 (NLT)

Recipe for Success

Ingredients:

To your life add:

S erving others before yourself; With vigor

U se your gifts; Mix in

C hoosing people over things; For good measure

C omplete what you start and do it well; Include plenty of

E xercise of your body, mind, and soul; Sweeten with

S miles; Now blend all of the above with the

S avior

Combine daily. Serve immediately. There’ll** be plenty to share!

“Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!” Psalm 34:8

Woo Hoo! Almost made the five minutes(**)!!! Joining in with the crew over at  http://www.fiveminutefriday.com writing to the prompt “Success” today. I must have cooking on my mind since my attempt came out a recipe!  Variety is the spice of life! Click on over and see the other offerings too! I’m sure you’ll find some “tasty” choices! As always I’m grateful for your presence here! God Bless and wishing you much SUCCESS! (see above, haha)

A Challenge ~ Five Minute Friday

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Jesus said, “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” John 13:15 (NIV)

Technology is often a challenge for me.  I can still remember like it was yesterday, going to my first Teacher’s Technology Conference and feeling so overwhelmed.  One of the presenters even talked of “Technological Natives”: those growing up in and proficient at using all the different devices and then of the “Technological Immigrants” like me, who, being in a foreign land, must learn to navigate the World Wide Web, understand an unfamiliar language, and perform tasks that feel beyond our ability.  Like I said, a challenge.

Then along comes Kate , our leader at http://www.fiveminutefriday.com  and in two days this week she taught me things I hadn’t grasped before in blogging even though I’ve tried. Two days-two skills! The difference you ask? Kate taught by example, showing us step by step each action on her computer that we’d need to make on ours. Seeing it instead of just hearing or reading about it, has made it possible for me to follow her lead and successfully walk through the process myself! Now, it’s gotten me thinking. (You knew that was coming, didn’t you?)

As Christians, we are “Heavenly Natives” living our lives as “”Earthly Immigrants”. We try to navigate the world without being worldly, understand The Word, and carry out the work God calls us to do even though we feel unqualified. And, just as Kate did for those of us trying to master skills in our writing life, we have those who offer us examples to follow in our Christian life, too!

“Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do.” Philippians 3:17 (NIV)

Listening to sermons and reading books by Christian authors have inspired me as I’m learning what it means to be part of God’s family. Jesus gave us the Perfect Example, but there have been and still are things I haven’t grasped. That is, until I’ve seen faith in action!  I’ve been blessed with many people from whom I’ve learned more about being like Jesus by watching the ways they’ve acted and interacted day to day. I’m sure you have a list of your own. Their examples show us the characteristics we hope to gain. With God’s guidance and as we follow their lead, they help move us closer to being who we were designed to be. And…that’s got me thinking again!

As we act and interact in the world, people are watching MY example, YOUR example, too! Now, that’s a challenge I think I’ll save for another post!

“And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good works of every kind. Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching.” Titus 2:7 (NLT)

Joining with Kate and the other talented writers at http://www.fiveminutefriday.com  as we think about the prompt “Challenge”. I challenge you (and myself)  to think about those people in your life who are examples of Christian living and then thank them for showing you the Way! Thanks for taking your time to stop! It means more to me than you know!