Friday, December 2, 2011

Five Minute Friday: Tired

I'm linking with Lisa-Jo at The Gypsy Mama for her Five Minute Friday series today. She encourages her readers to write for five minutes on the given topic, not worrying about editing, etc. Just write what comes into your mind. The word for today is Tired.

GO.

There are different kinds of tired.

There is “I have a newborn and a toddler, mountains of laundry and dishes piling up, and I haven’t slept in a month” kind of tired.

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28)

There is “I’ve been up since 6:00am, have a “to do” list a mile long, spent half my day in the car taxiing children around, have bare cupboards, and dinner is in five minutes” kind of tired.

"Yet those who wait upon the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary." (Isaiah 40:31)

There is the kind of tired you feel from battling the thoughts in your head that plague you and drain your emotions, leaving you feeling empty and exhausted.
"Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you." (I Peter 5:6-7)

I find I am different kinds of tired at different times. These are some of my favorite verses that I draw on a lot during these seasons of motherhood. I love these verses because they offer promises, and I draw my strength from remembering and resting on His promises. Whenever I find verses like these in my Bible, I underline the action I need to take in red, and His promise in blue.

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable.” (Isaiah 40:28)

STOP

Note to the reader: I did exceed the five minute limit on this post. I wrote the descriptions of tired, the scripture reference, and the final four sentences while the clock was ticking. Afterwards, I went back and typed in the actual verse, because it is important to me to quote scripture accurately. I spent additional time adding color to the verses, since I mentioned it in the final sentence.

8 comments:

  1. I love how you took each verse and differentiated between the promise and the action required! I too experience all sorts of tired and need to be reminded that my rest is found in Christ. For me, I have to remind myself during those times where "I am tired and just want to stay in bed and sleep for the next ten years" that "I will sleep when I'm dead" ;)

    Love you, Sweet Friend,

    Crystal <><

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  2. Thank you, Crystal! The color separation is a tool that I learned years ago that I have found really helps me to recall these verses during the hard (tired!) times. ((hugs))

    ~Julie

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  3. I adore you! Today I am all three kinds of tired, and His words were fresh water for my soul. Thanks for pouring me a cup!

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  4. Amy, lol...yeah, I often find that I am "more than one kind" of tired! Thanks for your encouraging words! Love you too! (hugs)

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  5. Hi Julie~~ All I can say is that you have really internalized those Scriptures if you can recall them and apply their various parts and promises so quickly to several kinds of "tiredness"!!! That includes either looking them up or writing them out accurately from memory, all within your timed five-minute writing limit--while at the same time composing an inspirational essay that is a practical lesson on "How to walk in the strength of the Lord."

    Thank you for writing this. Your descriptions were so clear and concise that there was no mistaking what you meant. I love reading these little windows into your soul. They are so encouraging! I can't help but ponder what the result would be if you compiled a list of all of these "Five-minute Friday" topics and at some future point went back and fleshed them out into a series of devotionals--without any time constraints!

    That is what many good creative writers do, you know--rework earlier pieces into new and improved versions with added insights, all from fresh perspectives. One major benefit of writing non-stop for five minutes, though, is that you get your thoughts down on paper without the inhibitions of writer's block. Now that's a real blessing for you, right? And for the rest of us~~we get the benefit of thinking your thoughts along with you and being encouraged and strengthened by them. Thank you.

    Love, Mom

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  6. Hi Mom,

    Well, I feel I must be honest. I did exceed the five minute window. As I was typing, after describing a type of tiredness, I plugged in the reference for each verse. After the five minutes, I went back and looked the scripture up to make certain that I quoted it accurately, as that is very important to me. I also took additional time to add font colors, etc. I guess I was on a roll! :)

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  7. What a blessing to read those verses this morning. Thanks so much for sharing!!!! I have and do feel all of those different tireds at different moments throughout my day!!!

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  8. Thanks for your encouraging words, Jodi! Have a wonderful weekend!

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