Five Minute Friday: Gift

Time is a gift.

It isn’t something I often think of as a gift, but every time I draw a breath, it is because of His grace and mercy.

Each day
Each moment
…a gift.

I am convicted when I think about how I use and spend His gift to me.  He graciously gives, and it is truly my desire to be a good steward with it…to invest it back into the kingdom, in hopes that it will somehow bless Him and others.  Sometimes I invest it wisely…in my personal devotions, children, family, service within the body of Christ.  Other times, I cringe when I consider how much time I fritter away…on TV, puzzles, i-devices.  I wrongly assume that I will have tomorrow, next week, next year.

Scripture says that no one knows the day or hour of his return, and that He is coming at an unexpected time.  As I see world events unfold and consider them within the scope of what Scripture says about the future, I feel more and more urgency to live an intentional life.

There is not a moment to lose.


    

One Thousand Gifts

271.  Wayside chapels

272.  The rustle of prairie grass in the wind

273.  The way prairie grass changes color in the sunlight

274.  Big red barns dotting the countryside

275.  A herd of buffalo

276.  Touring the Kensington Runestone Museum

277.  The magnificent architecture of a cathedral

278.  Taking pictures of quirky roadside attractions

279.  Hot tubs

280.  Her mature response when she lost her new necklace

281.  How the family worked as a team to search for the necklace

282.  Finding the necklace!

283.  Hearing him tell his sister "Mom tries to never have a complaining spirit."

284.  Enjoying the beach on Lake Michigan

285.  Sunset over Lake Michigan

Five Minute Friday: Loud

I live in Eugene, Oregon, and ‘round these parts it is all about the Oregon Ducks.  Duck football is big here, and we do it loud and proud.  I’m told that Autzen Stadium is one of the loudest arenas in college football.  I believe it.  I have gone to quite a few games, and it is so loud in there that at times you have to yell into the ear of the person next to you just to communicate with them.  The news stations have taken a decibel reader into the stadium and recorded the noise level, and it has been compared to standing next to a jet engine.  When you leave the game, your ears are buzzing for hours.

That kind of noise is both exhilarating and exhausting.  Normally, I am a pretty quiet person.  I find that as I get older, loud noise agitates me.  I prefer quiet.  In my everyday life, I can lead from the front, but prefer to be in the background quietly offering support and encouragement.  I need to remember that sometimes God can be found in the loud of life.

Walking in Faith - The march around Jericho
In Spiritual Battle - Gideon and his 300 men against a great army
Taking a Stand for Holiness/Righteousness - Jesus cleansing the Temple
Worship - Throughout the Psalms we are told to sing, shout, and praise the Lord with musical instruments (including clanging cymbals!)

I need to make sure that in my own quiet way, I am living out loud.

   

One Thousand Gifts

256.  His twelfth birthday

257.  A table full of rowdy boys eating cake and laughing

258.  The haunting hoot of an owl

259.  Bright yellow daffodils trumpeting their glory

260.  The warbled trill of a songbird

261.  A new suitcase

262.  An amazing salmon dinner (thanks, Mom!)

263.  Smooth landings

264.  A clearly overworked waitress on an understaffed shift who gave great service with a smile

265.  Two graceful swans in flight

266.  The sound of children playing kickball

267.  Seeing an amazing private collection of items representing Americana

268.  Taking a barn quilt tour through Iowa countryside

269.  "Just Peachy" ice cream

270.  Seeing geese lift off from a lake

Five Minute Friday: Brave

She has always had a brave spirit.

When she fell off her bike and broke her arm, she cried but wasn’t hysterical.
When she was wheeled into surgery, she was more curious than scared.
When she was wheeled out of surgery and woke up, rather than being scared at being alone (I wasn’t allowed to be in the immediate post-op recovery area), she began to chat with the nursing staff and say hi to others who were being wheeled past her.

She marched to the end of the diving board over 12 feet of water and jumped without hesitation into the waiting arms of her swim instructor.  She didn't know how to swim at the time.

She is the one who will willingly volunteer to hold a snake
…and a tarantula (shudder).

Just last weekend while we were waiting at a store, she discovered the fun of the “trust fall” experience with her father.  She would stand straight and stiff as a board, and then lean….lean…lean back.  A flash of fear would flit through her eyes and then she would laugh with delight when she felt the strong hands of her father catch her.

Sweet girl, may you never lose your brave spirit, and may you learn early in life to fall into the arms of your heavenly Father.  He is faithful, and will catch you every time.

  

One Thousand Gifts

241.  Dappled sunlight through the evergreens

242.  Waking up to snow (even if it didn't stick)

243.  The smell of coffee brewing

244.  The love note and candy she left on my pillow

245.  Listening to her imaginative play in the next room

246.  Seeing improvement in skills I'm working on

247.  Sharing blog links with friends

248.  Finding the business card I lost

249.  Smoke curling from chimneys

250.  Budding trees

251.  Chocolate brown sheep

252.  Wispy clouds across a butter yellow moon

253.  Hearing his sweet prayer

254.  Seeing so many Bibles on the desks in his classroom

255.  Hearing a room full of children lift their voices in praise and worship

Five Minute Friday: Empty

It seems the “empty” indicator is always blinking on the dashboard of my life.

A warning that energy is waning, levels are low.

It feels like I’m always running dangerously close to empty.  Can I squeeze out one more mile?  How far can I push it?  Does it really mean that I only have a gallon of fuel left?  How much leeway is there?

Why do I question and analyze, rather than accept and renew?

Lord, help me to resist the tyranny of the urgent.  Help me to slow down, pull over, refill.

When I’m running on fumes, help me to draw on Your strength. 

I recognize that only when I am empty can I be filled with You.


 

One Thousand Gifts

226.  A hawk circling above the fields

227.  Running errands with a friend

228.  How hard they work to memorize Scripture

229.  That his screensaver says, "Seek 1st the Kingdom"

230.  Teachable moments, even the hard ones

231.  Flipping the calendar to a new month

232.  The cat curled up next to me

233.  Getting my ticket for Allume Social 2012

234.  Reading bedtime stories

235.  Restored relationships

236.  Frisky lambs

237.  Patches of golden sunlight on the hills

238.  Learning a new word ("swale")

239.  Watching her try to eat with chopsticks

240.  The steady stream of random questions that she asks