Five Minute Friday: Bloom

I have been a participating member of Five Minute Friday for almost two years.  I had reached a point where I was drawing a blank every time I sat down to blog and then one morning there was Lisa Jo Baker and her Five Minute Friday.  There are a few rules to participate and none to just read what everyone else wrote.  The rules are simple"
1.  We write for five minutes flat. All on the same prompt that I post here starting at 10pm EST on Thursday night and all through Friday. And we connect on Twitter with the hashtag #FMFParty (It stands for Five Minute Friday Party).
2.  There is no extreme editing; no worrying about perfect grammar, font, or punctuation. Unscripted. Unedited. Real. It started because Lisa Jo had been thinking about writing and how often our perfectionism gets in the way of our words. And so she figured, why not take 5 minutes and see what comes out: not a perfect post, not a profound post, just five minutes of focused writing. So now on Fridays a group of people who love to throw caution to the wind and just write without worrying -
See more at: http://lisajobaker.com/five-minute-friday/#sthash.9OiHogPc.dpuf
if it’s just right gather to share what five minutes buys them. Just five minutes. You can meet them over here on our Five Minute Friday Facebook page. Your words. This shared feast. It’s easy to join in, just:
1.  Check what the prompt is on my blog.
2.  Write a post in only five minutes on that topic on your blog. {And if you don’t have a blog, no worries! Just leave your writing as a comment on my post}
3.  Link over here and invite friends to join in.
4.  Select the permalink to your post {so not your blog url www.lisajobaker.com but your post url www.lisajobaker.com/2012/07/five-minute-friday-2/ } Using the blue linky tool at the bottom of her Five Minute Friday post enter your link. It will also walk you through selecting which photo you want to show up in the linky. Your post will show up in our Five Minute Friday linky. Be sure and encourage the person who linked up before you! Our most important requirement for participation: There’s really only one absolute, no ifs, ands or buts about it Five Minute Friday rule: you must visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community.
So, if you are ready....the word for today is BLOOM


I love flowers.  One of my favorite things to do is photograph them so I can look back and enjoy the bloom that is present in my picture long after it has faded from the plant.  Mrs. Betty Jean, Mrs. Shirley, and Mrs. Jean's houses give me constant blooming pleasure.  I have plants in my own yard now from all of them.  I am thrilled when that first bloom opens up and shows it's face. 

I am a pastor's wife and I have learned in following my husband's ministry to bloom where I am planted.  I am one of those people who has roots that run deep and so wherever we go I become part of the community, the church.  Blooming takes on many forms in my life.  When I was expecting my daughter people would tell me I was positively blooming.  I laughed because I thought they were talking about the baby bump I was growing....but I found out later they were talking about me....I was blooming.  When I held that precious bundle I watched as she bloomed and went from being a scrunchy faced little bundle to a beautifully soft open-eyed bundle.  I watched her bloom right before my eyes.  Throughout her whole life she has bloomed....and now she and her precious husband are going to bloom where they are planted.

  She and Brian will be leaving Sunday to go to Moldova.  There they will serve as full-time missionaries for Stella's Voice and work in orphanages there.  They have been doing this in the summer for the past three years.  Now....Now....they will plant themselves and begin blooming.  Growing the love of God and showing children how to bloom too.  Moldova is a depressed third world country.  The countryside is gorgeous....but it has a sad story for children....and their parents.  There is no joy blooming there.  I know that once Kat and Brian begin blooming where they are planted.....joy will be blooming abundantly.   Can I get an AMEN?

Five Minute Friday - Hands

I look forward to Fridays.  On Fridays we write. And sometimes it goes all over the place and we let it. We get messy and real and sometimes we cry and sometimes we laugh but we get it done week after week.We show up and write free. Five minutes on one prompt. We silence the critic and the audience, we make peace with our mistakes and our word tense that goes in and out when we type fast. We don’t overthink or edit or make a fuss. We just believe words spilled are worth something even if they come out like madness. Join us? It’s never too late to link up. When you have posted your blog then hop over here and link up.  If you don't have a blog then leave your thoughts in Lisa Jo's comment section.  The important thing is that you need to respond to the person who posted  before you....and anyone else you want to comment on.  It is a lot of fun and you hear some amazing thoughts.  Today's word is one of my favorite words:  hands.  I love looking at hands and hearing the story they have to tell.   Are you ready to begin?  Ok...set you clock for five minutes and start writing.


Hands



I have a thing about hands as I said.  They are the expression of your life so today I thought I would use a little photo-journaling to write about hands.  One of my favorite pictures is of my mom and dad's hands shortly before he died.  My computer is being stubborn today so I can't share it with you.  But let me tell you about them.  These are the hands that disciplined me as a child, that calmed the savage beast when night terrors would awaken me....and them ....in the middle of the night. These are the hands I held to cross the street when I was little....and they were old.  The top picture are the hands of an expectant mother.  Her hands are sharing the new baby items she will use for this first baby.  She is excited and so are her hands as they feel all the baby softness of the clothes, the toys, the blankets.  Hands feel secure and welcoming.

The hands of a grandfather holding his first grandchild for the very first time.  These hands are eager to touch something so soft and sweet.  This is the first child of his only child.   The hands touch the hair, the face.  Hands are excited.  The other hands are the hands of a mother, her daughter, and her god daughter raising their hands in Christmas cheer with eggnog.  These hands are enjoying friendship and family. 

Hands that are capturing the moment.  These hands are a missionaries hands that want to share the emotions felt and capture the moments of their trip to share with those of us at home who cannot or will not go.  Hands being held can be a sign of love, or compassion, or calming when nightmares loom in the darkness.  These hands are those of a missionary and an orphan connecting. The bottom picture show hands being raised in praise.  Moldovan orphans sharing the love of Jesus through their hands in a praise and worship setting.  I love hands!

Five Minute Friday - Mighty

So, here’s the skinny: every Friday for going on four years now hundreds of people have joined a kind of writing flash mob over here. This is my third year.  We write for five minutes flat. All on the same prompt that I post here at 1 minute past midnight EST ever Friday. And we connect on Twitter with the hashtag #FMFParty (It stands for Five Minute Friday Party). No extreme editing; no worrying about perfect grammar, font, or punctuation. Unscripted. Unedited. Real. It started because Lisa Jo had been thinking about writing and how often our perfectionism gets in the way of our words. And she figured, why not take 5 minutes and see what comes out: not a perfect post, not a profound post, just five minutes of focused writing. So now on Fridays a group of people who love to throw caution to the wind and just write without worrying if it’s just right gather to share what five minutes buys them. Just five minutes. Your words. This shared feast. It’s easy to join in, just: Check what the prompt is on Lisa Jo's blog. Write a post in only five minutes on that topic on your blog. {And if you don’t have a blog, no worries! Just leave your writing as a comment on her post} Link over to her blog by clicking here and invite friends to join in. Select the permalink to your post {so not your blog url www.lisajobaker.com but your post url www.lisajobaker.com/2012/07/five-minute-friday-2/ } Using the blue linky tool at the bottom of her Five Minute Friday post enter your link. It will also walk you through selecting which photo you want to show up in the linky. Your post will show up in our Five Minute Friday linky. Be sure and encourage the person who linked up before you! Our most important requirement for participation: There’s really only one absolute, no ifs, ands or buts about it Five Minute Friday rule: you must visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community. 
The word for today is Mighty.
Go:
My mind is running wild.  What can I possibly say about the word mighty today?  I sat and looked at my screen for what seemed like hours and then I remembered my father saying "that was a mighty good meal, or that was a mighty good banana pudding" to my mother.  Mighty good when spoken by my father meant it was the best he had ever had.  He would also say to me, "darlin' I have a mighty big favor to ask of you."  I knew that meant he was going to ask me to do something larger than life.  It would be a favor so big that doing it would require extra work from me. So, I began going in that direction for this post but as I wrote I the lyrics to the song Mighty to Save is what came to my mind.  I can hear the song running through my head.  "Savior He can move the mountains.  Our God is mighty to save, He is mighty to save."  I stand here humbled because of these lyrics.  He is a mighty God that we choose to serve.  "What a mighty God we serve.  What a mighty God we serve.  Angels bow before Him.  Heaven and earth adore him.  What a mighty God we serve."  When I was in the Smokey Mountains this week and saw the majesty of those mighty peaks I was awed at the power and might of my God.  He created these beautiful places just for me (and you too) to enjoy.  It is by this might that he let His only child die on a cross for me.  That took a lot of strength.  Could I have done this?  I doubt it very seriously. I only have might because He is the King of my life.  He is my almighty.  He is my strength and shield because of His great Might.  Yep, He is Mighty to save.  Can I get an amen on that?


Stop

Five Minute Friday: Joy

On Friday's we silence the inner critic. The loudest of all naysayers. And on Fridays we remind ourselves that The Word is for us and loves us and welcomes us.  Your words are safe here.  So come and write with us. Together. On one word for five minutes.  The rules can be found by clicking here.   Once you write your piece on the topic then click her, then link up your post or leave it in the comments, and comment on the person before you.  But remember, the one must rule here is that you visit the person who linked up before you and encourage them in their writing.  That’s it. The gift of encouragement – pass it on.  Today the word is the one that’s bubble up and out and spilled over in me today.

Today the writing prompt is JOY.
Go:
I wish I could tell you that I always have joy in my life....but I can't.  I am human and sometimes doubts, fear, anger, saddness swallow up my joy.  Even though that happens from time to time....joy is still my life word of choice.  My dad had by-pass surgery when my daughter was 20.  We were both very concerned because of his age, because he was not in the best of shape, and because he was the only surviving sibling.  All of his brothers and his father had died from something heart related by the time they were in their sixties.  My dad told me before this surgery that he knew he was living on borrowed time.  This did not make me joyful.  I am a daddy's girl and my daughter was a peepaw's girl and we let the devil take our joy out of life right then.  We were all at the hospital early in the morning because his surgery was one of the first.  We gathered with him and his surgical team to pray before they wheeled him off and the surgeon asked if he could say the prayer.  He also pulled up his surgical pants to show us a WWJD (What Would Jesus Do) bracelet on his ankle.   This was a very calming thing for me.  It meant he was not going into this alone.  After we settled in the waiting room I grew antsy, wandered off and found the hospital chapel.  There was a warm light beckoning me inside and as I approached the altar I noticed the huge bible opened and drawing me closer.  When I looked at the open pages I recieved a message clearly from God....I knew everything was going to be ok.....because there it was in black and white....God's message found in Psalm 30:5:  "For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning."  I prayed silently and returned to my mom and daughter in the waiting room.  My dad came through his surgery fine.  He lived to the ripe age of 84.  Joy has always been one of my favorite words.  Joy To The World is one of my favorite Christmas carols, I've Got That Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy Down In My Heart is one of my favorite songs to teach children, Joyful, Joyful We Adore You - are you seeing a pattern developing here?  I love the word Joy.  According to Websters Joy means a feeling of great pleasure and happiness.  It is synonymous with words like...delight, jubilation, exultation, rejoicing, happiness, glee, elation....rapture.  Yep....I love the word joy because joy lives in my heart(most of the time).  I would rather be joyful than sad.  I would rather be happy than mad.  Negative people wear me out and I tend to flock towards the ones who know joy.  Today I am full of joy because this is the last day of school before Spring Break!  You know it, I have got joy in my heart, in my step, and on my face today.  How about you?  Will you choose Joy today?

 

 

Five Minute Friday - Crowd

 

Every Friday I look forward to this time.  Time to clear all the cobwebs out of my head.   What about you?  Got five minutes? Come and write with us; it’s the best kind of free therapy. 1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking 2. Link back to Lisa Jo's blog by clicking here and invite others to join in. Find out how over here. 3. And don’t forget to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. OK, are you ready?
Give me your best five minutes on:

On CROWDs

GO:

I have 96 first cousins on both sides of my family.  Yes, you heard me correctly....96 of them.  My mom's family is a crowd all by itself.  When we get together there is no intimate little gathering....nope we have to rent halls for this.  Here we are the ones of us who could be there....together for my grandparents 50th birthday.  I was not married at that time and I added a spouse and three children myself.  My aunt had twelve children on her own.  They are all married and have a ton of kids too.  You are never alone in my family.  There is always a crowd around. 

Since we are talking about crowds let me tell you how much I hate them.  I am mildly (that is a lie I am terrified) claustrophic in crowds.  One Christmas when 30 of my family decided to go see Christmas at the Opryland Hotel I had a massive panic attack when I got separated from my family in the crowd.  A huge man in a cowboy had cut me off from the pack (yes, we run in packs)...my cousin Amanda saw the panic rising and got to me before I came unglued.  She looked Mr. Cowboy dead in the eyes and in her sweetest southern drawl said, "The word for today boys and girls is "claustrophobic.  Can you say "claustrophobic?  I knew you could."  Cowboy realized the problem and grabbed my hand and got me through the throng before I had a melt down.  Crowds and Karen....not good. 

I sing a song somewhere around Easter each year called Via Dolorosa by Sandi Patti.  The term Via Dolorosa translates as the way of grief or suffering.  I love the song.  I cry everytime I sing it.  The lyrics that rip me off the frame are these; " Down the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem that day, The soldiers tried to clear the narrow street.  But the crowd pressed in to see The Man condemned to die on Calvary."  Everytime I think of this throng of people who came to see my Lord and Savior die it just breaks my heart.  But then I remember that I am an Easter person and know that this was all part of God's plan so that I may have salvation...me and a crowd of other people, and it makes me smile.

Five Minute Friday - Willing

It is that time of the week again.  My favorite time.  A time when I clear my head of cobwebs because I just write.  I don't correct, I don't rethink, I just close my eyes and let the words flow.  We write for five minutes flat.  So on Fridays a group of people who love to throw caution to the wind and just write without worrying if it’s just right gather to share what five minutes buys them. Just five minutes. Your words. This shared feast. It’s easy to join in, just: Check what the prompt is on Lisa Jo's blog. Write a post in only five minutes on that topic on your blog. {And if you don’t have a blog, no worries! Just leave your writing as a comment on her post} Link over there and invite friends to join in. Select the permalink to your post {so not your blog url www.lisajobaker.com but your post url.   Using the blue linky tool at the bottom of my Five Minute Friday post enter your link. It will also walk you through selecting which photo you want to show up in the linky. Your post will show up in our Five Minute Friday linky. Be sure and encourage the person who linked up before you! Our most important requirement for participation: There’s really only one absolute, no ifs, ands or buts about it Five Minute Friday rule: you must visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community. The word for today is:
Willing


Go:


I have a huge problem.  I am a YES person.  I am always telling people "yes."  I am always willing.  Herein lies the problem.  I am too willing and sometimes cannot do my best because I am over-extended.  Several years ago I was asked by our District Superintendent to take a church.  For once in my life I said, "no," without a second thought.....or without even asking God for His opinion.  In 2013 while comfortably teaching Sunday School and being a pastor's wife God gave me a stronger call.  His voice came to me in the scriptures of a Sunday School lesson on Isaiah 6:8: "
⁸ Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” 
And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”  This is willing.  It took me several weeks to get the message and when I did, in a motel room in Panama City Beach, FL I opened to that verse, prayed, and answered to God, "Yes, Lord I am willing, use me."  A month later I was filling a pulpit at Midway United Methodist Church.  I was willing.  I did not think I was able, but if God was calling I was willing.  Let me tell you this has been a world wind of a courtship with God.  I have found that He is willing to let me lead His people then I am willing to serve.  Willingness is an adjective.  It means 1. Disposed or inclined; prepared: I am willing to overlook your mistakes.  2. Acting or ready to act gladly; eagerly compliant: "The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matthew 26:41).  3. Done, given, accepted, or borne voluntarily or ungrudgingly. See Synonyms at voluntary.  4. Of or relating to exercise of the will; volitional. So, here I am, use me Lord because I am willing to do your will.  This time saying "YES" was not a bad thing.  It was the willingness thing.

Five Minute Friday - Small

On Friday’s we silence the inner critic. The loudest of all naysayers. And on Fridays we remind ourselves that The Word is for us and loves us and welcomes us. Your words are safe here. 
So come and write with us. Together. On one word for five minutes. Here are all the details. And then link up your post or leave it in the comments. But remember, the one must rule here is that you visit the person who linked up before you and encourage them in their writing.
That’s it. The gift of encouragement – pass it on.  Today the word is the one that’s been beating hard in my heat the last couple of weeks. Today the writing prompt is SMALL. Ready?  Set? 
GO!

I initially thought about writing about my smallness in comparison to God's greatness....but not today....Today I want to share my daughter with you. 

 

My daughter will be 34 in a few months.  I will be 60.  She is leaving for Moldova and the mission field this summer.  So, I have spent my week thinking back on when she was small.  I thought about those moments in the wee small minutes of the early morning when I would hold my small bundle of joy and we would rock....just the two of us.  I would trade nothing for those moments.  She was my first child and I will never forget how small she looked in the doctor's arms as he handed her to me in the Delivery Room.  Her wee small hands wrapped around my pinky finger and I knew right then and there that she would hold my heart forever. 

She laughs about trips we made when she was small.  If she does not remember a certain event then she always asks, "What?  Was I 2, 4, 6?"  All the magical moments of her life seemed to take place when she was small.  So let me tell you about what small can do. 

When she was a year old, she could talk a good bit and ordered her court around with authority.  Her favorite songs were Tura Lura Tura (The Irish Lullaby) and Sweetest Little Rosebud.  I tweaked it a bit so it was about her.  I am not even sure if it is really a song....but to her...it was and always will be. 

By two she could sing every single word of "Chattanooga Choo Choo."  Once when she and my mom stopped at a friends little Pack a Sack store, some engineers and train workers were there getting snacks, this small little bundle with a fluff of red hair slide over to the window and asked the engineer, "Pardon me boys, Is that the Chattanooga Choo Choo."  The engineer guys loved her and made it a point to stop and see her at least once a week.   What can small do? 

By three she was reading alone, and could print her name. Somewhere in the last 34 years she grew up......but God does have a sense of humor....because she is still....smaller than I.  I stand 5'5" flat footed....and she is only about 5'3".  I wish I could call some of those moments back when she was small.....and not let a single event pass by without experiencing it to the fullest.  I will tell you mother's out there.....the house work and stuff will be there long after they are gone.  Enjoy the small moments because all to soon they will pass away.

Five Minute Friday - Garden

 

There are not enough words for me to tell Lisa Jo how much I love Five Minute Friday.  At a time when I felt as if my well was empty there she was.  So what exactly is it?  It is a time when we write for five minutes flat. All on the same prompt that Ishe posts here at 1 minute past midnight EST every Friday. And we connect on Twitter with the hashtag #FMFParty (It stands for Five Minute Friday Party). No extreme editing; no worrying about perfect grammar, font, or punctuation. Unscripted. Unedited. Real. It started because she’d been thinking about writing and how often our perfectionism gets in the way of our words. And she figured, why not take 5 minutes and see what comes out: not a perfect post, not a profound post, just five minutes of focused writing. So now on Fridays a group of people who love to throw caution to the wind and just write without worrying if it’s just right gather to share what five minutes buys them. Just five minutes. Your words. This shared feast. It’s easy to join in, just: Check what the prompt is on my blog. Write a post in only five minutes on that topic on your blog. {And if you don’t have a blog, no worries! Just leave your writing as a comment on her post} Link over to Lisa Jo's blog by clicking here and invite friends to join in.  Using the blue linky tool at the bottom of her Five Minute Friday post enter your link. It will also walk you through selecting which photo you want to show up in the linky. Your post will show up in our Five Minute Friday linky. Be sure and encourage the person who linked up before you! Our most important requirement for participation: There’s really only one absolute, no ifs, ands or buts about it Five Minute Friday rule: you must visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community.

The word for today is:  

Garden

Go:

As I sit and look at this word I am quietly humming the tune to one of my favorite hymns, "In The Garden."  A friend once told me when her mother died that in order to deal with this significant loss she had to find a Happy Place.  I did not understand what she was talking about then....but when I lost both of my parents in an 18 month period I found myself searching for my own Happy Place and found it in the beauty and the peace of Mrs. Betty Jean's and Mrs. Shirley's flower gardens.  I have never felt so happy or at peace.  The smells of the flowers, the beauty of them, the vivid colors and the company of two very special ladies helped me get through a really rough patch in my life.  Both of these wonderful ladies opened up their gardens to me and let me heal.  It was there that I heard these words coming to me from Psalm 46:10.  He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” The key words for me....are the first ones....Be Still....and in the garden....that is what I am....still.  Bathing in the beauty and the fragrance of God's handiwork....and for a shining moment....I am at peace.

 

 

Five Minute Friday: Bare

Take a deep breath. You made it. It’s Friday. Got five minutes? Let’s write. Let’s write in shades of real and brave and unscripted.  Let’s just write and not worry if it’s just right or not.

1. Write for 5 minutes flat for pure unedited love of the written word.
2. Link back here to Lisa Jo's blog and invite others to join in.
3. Go buck wild with encouragement for the five minuter who linked up before you.  Won’t you give your best five minutes for the prompt:

Bare….

GO
Writing to me is making myself bare my soul to my audience.  I have shared so much in my blog over the years that it really surprises me.  I grew up hiding things from the world.  I did not want the world to know what was hiding in my closet.  Blogging was easy...I could hide behind the mask of a computer screen...anonymous, but once the words begin to flow there I was.....bare to the world.  I could not seem to stop my words. Over the past  5+ years I have shared stories that I had never shared with anyone before.  I have laid wounds open for all to see.  I have bared my soul countless times. I will tell you honestly that writing takes courage from me. Sometimes that courage is on me like a knights armor, and other times I feel bare and  brittle as all of my hurts, pain, silliness, hatred, doubts and fears come flowing out.  This bare feeling I get when writing reminds me a day so long ago when I knelt at an alter in my home church and bared my soul to Jesus and asked for forgiveness.  I knew I had to lay it all out there for Him.  I could not cover any of the ugly.  He shed his blood for me....so I had to shed my past for Him.  I had to be broken.....I had to be empty.....I had to be ...bare.  I find whenever I am writing.....that in order to stretch...I have to bare all....and let those topics that hurt most come forth....and ask forgiveness from some....and give forgiveness to others. 
STOP

Five Minute Friday - Encouragement

It is Five Minute Friday and I am so stressed.  Our semester has just ended and I am trying to get grades ready to go on report cards and get a new semester off with a start while attending professional development meetings.  I NEED Five Minute Friday today.  I need to sit in a dark room and just reflect on one word.  Deep breath....and here I go....

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking. 2. Link back here and invite others to join in. 3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community.. OK, are you ready? Please give us your best five minutes on:::


Encouragement


I have discovered in my 25+ years of teaching that there are three kinds of people in this world.  There is the encouragement giver, the negatives only giver, and the giver of nothing.  Which one are you?  There is nothing sadder than the face of a child when instead of encouragement they get negatives.  I was one of those.  I loved my mom....but never quite made her mark.  I was never quite good enough.  The result....a warped adult with little to no self-esteem.  It took me most of my life to overcome that.....and all it took was some encouragement.  When I had children of my own I tried so hard NOT to be my mom....sometimes I would find her rearing her ugly head in me.  I also tried to keep my children from ever seeing that side of my mom.  I wanted them to have a grandmother they thought hung the moon.  Just so you know I am a school teacher today because of encouragement.  I taught a Sunday School lesson and was evaluated.  The results were not that great....but after the results were in the pastor told me I had more to give than what I had offered and should try again....I did and I succeeded.  I went to college to become a teacher shortly after that.  Amazing...all it took was some encouragement.  I find it amazing that I can stand up in front of people and speak....comfortably.....this coming from the Queen of Introverts.  When I tell people I was once an introvert they cannot believe it. But I was.....and all it took was encouragement.  In May....after several requests from our District Superintendent....God encouraged me to step out and become a pastor.  Believe me....teaching...that was one thing...preaching.....whole new ball game.  I felt the little girl I had repressed for so long rearing her ugly head.  God is a strong encourager.....did you know that?  Well....he is....God dropped Isaiah 6:8 in my lap during a Sunday School lesson.  Talk about a message straight from God himself...I was brought to my knees with " ⁸ Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” and I said, “Here am I. Send me!”  SEND ME?  I don't think so.....a few days later....on a trip to the beach it seemed that every single church sign we passed had this verse on their sign.  God was encouraging.  When we got to our hotel....there....on the night stand was the Gideon bible....opened....and yes, it was opened to Isaiah 6:8.  Encouragement.  Three more times in the next few days that verse showed up in my life.  The first week of June I told the District Superintendent about the verse and offered myself up as a pastor wherever he needed me.  Today I am the pastor of Midway United Methodist Church....talk about encouragement.  God's encouragement got me there and the encouragement I get from the church helps me grow.  Now back to my first question...What kind of person am I?  I try to be one that gives encouragement....sometimes I fall short.  It hurts me when I look in a student's face and see a reflection of mine when I was young and my mother's viper tongue lashed out.  I don't ever want to be the killer of someone's spirit.  My goal is to be an encourager...providing encouragement!  How about you?

Five Minute Friday - See

I have been doing Five Minute Friday for a while and love it.  I am so grateful to Lisa Jo and her gang for starting this way to open up my heart and mind and just write for the love of writing.  How do you do it?  It is so easy.  Maybe you would love to start out 2014 participating with the group.  I have met some amazing people here  Below you will see the rules. Jump on in and enjoy yourself.

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community..
OK, are you ready? Please give us your best five minutes on:::

See…

I have always been a sensory person.  I thrive with seeing, tasting, smelling, touching and hearing.  I could stand outside for hours with my eyes closed and just smell.  I also love to see the beauty of a sunrise/sunset.  One of my greatest fears growing up was losing one of my senses.  I know they say that when that does happen the others become sharper, but I just could not imagine giving one of them up....especially my sight.  When I was a child my dad would leave for work about the time I was leaving for school.  On our way down the walkway he would ruffle my hair and say, "See you later alligator."  The last time I saw my father that was his parting remark to me.  I grew up in South Florida.  We had a flat porch on our house and my dad and I would lay out there on nights when they were firing rockets from Cape Canaveral and see the fire from the rockets, we would also hang out up there when there was going to be a media shower for us to see, or when the moon was full.  He would always say, "I see the moon and the moon sees me.  God bless the moon and God bless me."  We would lay there for hours and point to various things in the sky and say, "See?"  I spent a lot of hours on that flat porch with my dad....seeing.  I learned a lot about the world on that porch through the eyes of my dad.  Sometimes when I am on my way home on Hwy 22 I still have moments when God tells me, "See?"  I am amazed by the sights that he puts in front of me.  Sometimes I feel like my dad and God are standing just on the edge of the clouds saying to each other, "Do you think she will see this?"  I want to shout to them...."hey guys...I saw it and it was amazing!"

Five Minute Friday: The Tiniest Fighters

I began participating in Five Minute Friday a year ago and it has been a great outlet for freewriting for me.  I have gotten a great deal of inspiration from this.  Maybe you would like to try it....especially if your New Year's resolution was to write more.  So, let’s do this thing. Let’s write.
Set your timer, clear your head, for five minutes of free writing without worrying about getting it right.  Here is how it goes:

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.
2. Link back to Lisa Jo's blog and invite others to join in.
3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community..
Oh and Ahem, if you would take pity and turn off comment verification, it would make leaving some love on your post that much easier for folks!
OK, are you ready? Please give us your best five minutes on:::

FIGHT

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The word fight means many things to me.  To me, the high school teacher it is something we find students doing in the hallways and in front of the school.  This is especially true before a major break, like Christmas, Fall, or Spring Breaks.  The kids get tired of each other and begin egging each other on.  During my tenth year of teaching a fight started in the hallway just outside my room.  I went to break it up and as I reached for one of the boys his elbow hit me in the nose....breaking it.  It stopped the fight.....but it also left me with two black eyes and a gross looking nose for a few weeks.  The word fight also means to stand up for something you believe in strongly.  I was a teenager during the Vietnam era and fought for the rights of the soldiers to be treated with dignity when they returned home.  I still wear a POW bracelet for a Navy Pilot who never returned. Oh yes, I will fight for my rights when I feel called to do so....but beginning on October 1st I discovered a new definition of the word fight.  One of our church members, Magen gave birth to twins at 22 weeks gestation and the fight was on.  The girls were given a zero chance of survival if they were born before 26 weeks.  They took the odds and entered the world and our lives at 22 weeks, weighing in at a little over a pound each.  Their names were Ansley Kash and Avery Kruze and they were the littlest fighters I have ever known. 

The first month passed with some problems....but they fought.  The second month passed and they continued to fight.  They fought infections, brain bleeds, the fact that they were way too early....but they fought.....and hard.  Kash had a level 4 brain bleed and had to have a shunt put in.  During this procedure they learned she actually had two and had had a stroke.  She would be at Children's Hospital for a good while, so the girls were apart for the first time since birth.  Kash still fought a hard battle.  Magen and Keaton went from the NICU at UAB to Children's to spend time with the girls.  On the 21st of December we got a phone call that said Kash was not going to make it and her life support was going to be removed.  We made the 2 hour drive to Birmingham that preachers dread.  A long day passed and the decision was made by the parents to wait until after the Christmas holidays. 

During the day the girls were rejoined in the NICU at UAB.  Pictures were made of the two of them and family holding them.  It was such a tender day.  Christmas was bleak in Rock Mills.  More pictures were made of the girls and grandparents holding them. 

Family Christmas shots were made and Santa and Mrs. Claus came to visit. 

On Friday, December 27th, as her parents held her little Kash gave up her fight and went to be with Jesus.  The viewing was on Saturday night, the 28th.  I have never been to a baby visitation with an open casket.  It was tough....but I found myself fighting to be strong for the family (my dear friends).  The funeral was Sunday, the 29th.  I fought tears as the pre-funeral music played and the songs the family asked for.  The family entered to "I Can Only Imagine", the congregation sang "Victory in Jesus", "Who Am I" was played, and the final song before the family left the church to go to the cemetery was "Roar" by Katy Perry.  Kash was such a fighter.  Someone put together this video for the family and I had to show you just what the definition of a fighter is.  Please click here and watch....be sure to have some Kleenex handy.  Kruze, her twin sister, is doing well.  She is weighing in at almost 5 pounds, in a regular crib, and precious.  Please keep this precious little family in your prayers.

 

Five Minute Friday: Reflect

Five Minute Fridays, a day I look so forward to because on Friday’s we silence the inner critic. The loudest of all naysayers. And on Fridays we remind ourselves that The Word is for us and loves us and welcomes us. Your words are safe here. January will kick off the forth year of Five Minute Fridays. I have been writing here for over a year and love it.  Lisa Jo can hardly believe that this has been building for three years. So in sticking with tradition we’ll be taking December off again – a quiet sabbatical. And we’ll be back to writing wild and free starting Friday January 3rd. 2014 holds so much promise. So many plans. A world of stories I can’t wait to share with you. If you want to check us out then click here and visit Lisa Jo's blog.  Maybe you will feel like joining us in 2014. I hope so.  Todays word is:

Reflect

This has been an interesting week.  It has been a week of quiet, silent, sad, funny, comforting, discomforting, and powerful reflections.  You see I hurt myself on Thanksgiving Day and spent Monday and Tuesday flat on my back....reflecting.  I was reflecting on why it was me who always seems to fall.  I was reflecting on the upcoming Christmas holidays.  I was reflecting on my life as a wife, mother, friend, pastor, pastor's wife....a whole lot of reflection going on.  I returned to school on Wednesday and found myself reflecting on me the teacher.  Thursday and Friday I attended the Alabama Education Association Delegate Assembly in Birmingham and found myself reflecting on what I would be doing when I retire in 2015.  Every piece of information/business that was brought up I hung on, deep in reflection on how it would affect me in the coming years.   While the Christmas Carols were sung I found myself reflecting on what my life was going to be like in 2014.....at 60.  As I reflected on Christmas past I could see my fathers face as he read The Christmas Story from the bible to me each Christmas and then read The Night Before Christmas.  I loved see my father's calloused hands open his worn bible to read me (us, before my brother died) two very important tales of the glorious holiday coming up.  I reflected on Christmas past with my own children and how I tried to make my own traditions with them.  I sat and reflected on the tiny white lights from the tree reflecting on their tiny faces as we placed our crèche under the tree and read The Night Before Christmas.  I reflected on Christmas past with Frank and our own special memories without small children in our house....just two grown-ups who are children at heart.  I reflected on Christmas present.  Who would have ever known that I would accept the call from God and become a pastor...ever?  If anyone had ever told me I would one day have my own church I would have laughed in their face.  I reflected on why it took me so long to give in to God.  I reflected on questions I had of why me?  Then last night I began to reflect on the life of a great man, Nelson Mandela.  He has always fascinated me and as a teacher his reflection on education has always made me wish I could make my students feel this way:  "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."  So, in finishing up my five minutes and my AEA Delegate Assembly I reflect on what kind of difference my life as a teacher has made in the lives of the students I have taught.    I also reflect on what kind of difference they have made on my life.

Five Minute Friday: Fly

It is that time again.  Time to clear my head, limber up my fingers, and just write.  I look so forward to Five Minute Friday.  It is my one day of the week when I can just free my soul and write.  If you want to learn more about it click here and head over to Lisa Jo's blog.   Now, set your timer friends, clear your head, for five minutes of free writing without worrying about getting it right. These are your people. The poets, the mothers, the bloggers, the writers, the pencil and paper artists. Let’s do this. 1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking. 2. Link back here and invite others to join in. 3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community.. OK, are you ready? Please give us your best five minutes on:

Fly

The word fly brings many memories flooding to my brain.  The first would involve my youngest child.  My daughter thought she should fly.  When she was just a toddler she would drag a chair to the counter and climb up.  She would stand there and see if someone was looking then squeal and say, "Look!  I am flying!" as she dove off the counter.  I had many terrifying moments with this....but she had great faith that we would catch her and she was right....she never once hit the ground. 

The second one involved sweet childhood memories of flying kites with my kids.  We lived in the country and they loved seeing the kites take off and soar in the breeze. One of our favorite places to fly the kites was at Horseshoe Bend Military Park.  We would lay on the ground once they were airborne and just enjoy their dance.  The kids could not wait to get a kite and make the tail for it.  They would have contests to see who could make the longest one.

My third memory of flying was my first trip on a plane.  I was 8 and flew to my grandparents in Alabama.  I flew alone and actually earned a set of wings for being a good traveler.  My grandparents picked me up in Montgomery.  It was great fun.  Then came the big flight the night after seeing the movie Airport.  My seat mate was a young hippie with a duffle bag he kept nervously between his legs.  I just knew I was going to die when the bomb in his bag exploded.  Weather was bad on this flight and we flew out in the direction of the Bermuda Triangle.  I could see lightening and a bolt actually struck the wing of the plane.  I did not fly after that for a long while.

Hang gliding in the Chattanooga area was next.  As you can tell I am like my daughter and think maybe I should fly too.  I had just signed my divorce papers and was headed home from being with my friends Chuck and Sue in Knoxville.  I stopped, paid my money, and as I ran toward the edge of the mountain had a sobering thought and came to a screeching halt.  The instructor and I switched places and off we went. (I honestly drug my toes on the ground all the way to the air).  I remember making all kinds of deals and bargains with God those first few minutes.  I eventually opened my eyes and thought I was in heaven.  I actually paid for two rounds....but one was enough.  I figured if I made it to the ground once...why test fate. 

I also para sailed off the coast of Acapulco.  I was terrified of that one when I saw sharks swimming below me.  I offered the boat driver an extra 50.00 to bring me in without me hitting the water.
Flying has always appealed to me.  I love the feel of the air on me.  I love the peace that comes from the sky.

When I was a child I wanted to join the Navy and be a Blue Angel.  When I was young I don't think we missed any airshows where they were performing.  I get the love of flying honestly.  My mom wanted to be a pilot all her life.  One her 65 birthday I arranged for her to fly in a helicopter.  She was like a child at Christmas.  I don't think she could have had a better gift...oh wait...there was one...but that is for another day.  My dad was in the Naval Air Corp and never logged ANY time in a plane.  He did other peoples duties and they did his plane time.  My dad was a staunch follower of the Bible and in Matthew 28:20 we are told, "Lo, I am with you always."  That is a passage he followed until the day he died.  Both of my parents are in heaven and it thrills me to think my dad is flying with the angels and I cannot wait to join them both one day.  Yep, "Some glad morning when this day is o'er, I'll fly away!  Happy Friday and have a blessed Thanksgiving.