Five Minute Friday - She

Every Friday a big group of bloggers "meets" to write for five minutes on the same word prompt. Today's word is She.

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She is my best friend. I don't know exactly how long we've known each other. A year-ish I think. I met her through her mom who I met through an author we both like, and I've never met ANY of them in person.

But she is nevertheless my best friend :) We talk all the time, through Facebook, texting, and Skype. We play Minecraft together. We "know" each other's families and likes and dislikes. We still learn new things about each other often. She is the first person I've ever met who has seen my favorite movie. I seem to remember we both had a purple tooth brush when we met. Lol. How did we even figure that out?!

I live in Pennsylvania and she lives in Idaho. Couldn't be MUCH farther without being in another country. She is five years older than me and has a five year old son, who is so cute! But we can both relate to each other on a lot of things, like marriage and finding a home and our favorite things :)

And I am so glad she's my friend.

If you'd like to read more posts on She, click here. To find out more about Five Minute Friday, how it works, how it started, and how you can join us, click the button below. Thanks for reading!

$2, 2 Kids, 2 Puzzles, 2 Plane Tickets - Gunderson Adoption

You may have seen my post back in February about my friends the Gundersons who were working on adopting two kids from Ethiopia. And if you're friends with me on Facebook, chances are you've seen a LOT of posts about them over the past year.

Well, the great news is, the adoption is final!! Matt Gunderson went to Ethiopia a few weeks ago to appear in the adoption court, and got to meet their kids and spend some time with them. They've received the legal documents verifying the children's new last name. They are so close! But they still need to raise money for the VISAs, passports, and plane tickets.

So right now Jessie and her family are running a contest through her blog. An artist friend of theirs drew and donated two puzzles that look like their two new kids! For $2, you can sponsor a puzzle piece - your name will go on the back and Jessie will add the piece to the puzzle - and the money will help bring their kids home. Jessie will be posting pictures of the puzzles as new pieces are added on her author page on Facebook.

Also, whether you donate or not, if you share her blog post, you can enter to win one of six books! Check out her blog for more details: http://jessiegunderson.com/adoption-fundraising-giveaways

Meanwhile, for every person who shares THIS post, I'll donate 50 cents. Just mention in the comments that you shared.

And PLEASE pray for the Gunderson family - Matt, Jessie, their five kids, and their two new kids. Pray for them to raise the rest of the money they need, to keep them safe while traveling to bring their new kids home, and for the kids to settle in well and know how much they are loved, and for all the other changes and adjustments this family will be going through to give two orphans (no longer!) their forever home.

Five Minute Friday - Mercy

Doing this week's Five Minute Friday a little late, but hey, I'm still doing it. Each week, a bunch of bloggers get together to write for five minutes on the same word prompt, started by Lisa Jo Baker over at her blog The Gypsy Mama. Then we link up, share our posts, and encourage one another. I invite you to join us! It's challenging, fun, and thought-provoking.

This week's word was Mercy.

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I had to look up mercy to find out exactly what it means. And even the many definitions and sentence usages didn't make it perfectly clear. I don't think it's a word we use or hear often, and when it is used, it's not necessarily the way it was originally intended.

So I went to the Bible. (I know, I should always go there first!) And I found some verses which really helped me to understand better the true meaning of mercy.

Then the Lord will turn from his fierce anger, will show you mercy, and will have compassion on you. (Deuteronomy 13:17)

And forgive your people, who have sinned against you; forgive all the offenses they have committed against you, and cause their captors to show them mercy; (1 Kings 8:50)

But in your great mercy you did not put an end to them or abandon them, for you are a gracious and merciful God. (Nehemiah 9:31)

Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint; heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony. (Psalm 6:2)

The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer. (Psalm 6:9)

Lord, see how my enemies persecute me! Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death, that I may declare your praises in the gates of Daughter Zion, and there rejoice in your salvation. (Psalm 9:13-14)

I won't pretend, I still don't know absolutely what all of these mean. I need to read the entire story. Context helps a great deal! But what I do know is that God cares for us, He forgives us when we don't deserve it, He protects us from evil, He heals us, He gives us little blessings to help us through rough times. His mercy endures forever! (Check out Psalm 136 KJV for a whole list of ways God's mercy endures for His people!)

That's all for this week. I hope you learned something new. I know I did! You can read more posts on Mercy here, or click on the link below for more info on Five Minute Friday.

Remembering What We Have

So many things have been reminding me today how good we have it. Yeah, life is hard. A lot of us are low on money, looking for a better place to live, and suffering from health problems. People want to tell us what to do and judge our decisions and beliefs. Christians in the United States are finally seeing some persecution and we don't like it.

But a lawsuit for refusing to take photos at a same-sex wedding or bad press and boycotts because a company's leader talked about his beliefs is nothing compared to what we're hearing about in other countries right now. Christians are being forced out of their homes, tortured, and even killed.

Today is also September 11th. I know we all remember what happened twelve years ago. So many innocent people lost their lives that day.

A friend and her family have been working for the past year to adopt a brother and sister from Ethiopia. These kids don't have a family, and they don't have the luxuries that we do in America. And the sacrifices that Jessie and her family have made to be able to adopt these kids is so inspiring and humbling.

So I've just been thinking about all of these things and realizing how lucky I am to have a brand new tooth brush, a bed that, while not always comfortable, is mine, nice clothes and books to read and good shoes, a family, a church, and a safe place to live.

This post may not be the most eloquent or well-ordered, or maybe you disagree with something I said, but it doesn't matter. The point is that we need to remember everything that we do have and praise God for it every day. And pray for those we see hurting more than us.

Thank you, Lord!

May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace as you trust in Him. (Romans 15:13)

But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. (Matthew 5:44)

You will surely forget your trouble. (Job 11:16)

But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:57)

It's been a long hard ride

Got a ways to go

But I won't lose hope

This is still the place

That we all call home

- Dierks Bentley

Be Still My Soul

Yesterday I finished reading Be Still My Soul by Joanne Bischof. Keeping up with my record from Sunday, I read this book in just over 24 hours :) It was so good!! I was actually surprised with how much I liked it.

Gideon walks Lonnie home one night and she lets him kiss her. Big mistake. Her father saw it happen and forces them to get married! What?! Lonnie moves in with Gideon and his entire family. His parents have enough mouths to feed as it is. So Gideon decides they're going to set off on their own. Lonnie is made to leave the only place she's ever known, to live with a ladies' man who doesn't want her around. And that's where it gets interesting. As if that whole beginning part weren't enough!

While not an action, a comedy, or even a "romance" like we'd usually think of, I couldn't put this story down. Filled with heartache and trials of life in the Blue Ridge Mountains, this book tugged at my emotions and made me feel like I knew the characters.

Be Still My Soul was Joanne Bischof's first book, and also the first in the Cadence of Grace series. I am really looking forward to reading book two, Though My Heart is Torn, and book three, My Hope is Found, coming mid-October!

Seasons

I got this idea from my best friend, Debra Dawn :) She posted some beautiful images of the different seasons and asked what her readers' favorites are. I am curious to know yours! Do you prefer fall, winter, spring, or summer? Or maybe you can't choose just one favorite.
 

 









I told Debra that while I do have some things I like about each one, they also each have a downside. Here they are, in my opinion:




 






Downside to spring: rain, bees.
Downside to summer: hot.
Downside to winter: cold, getting a cold.
Downside to fall: it ends too soon.

 

 





  
As you probably figured out, fall is my favorite :D




Tell me yours and let me know why, and what do you like/not like about the other seasons?
 

Five Minute Friday - Last

On Fridays, a bunch of us take a word prompt from Lisa-Jo Baker and write for five minutes on that topic. We don't worry about whether it's perfect, or what people will think of us for "speaking" what's on our minds. We just write.

This week's word is Last.

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"Last time I did this..." "This is the last time I do this for you!" "I don't want to go last!" "Save that for last." "I didn't think it would last this long..."

Last can mean a lot of different things. It can be good or bad. There are things I won't put last, like God, my family, and my friends. There are things best saved for last, like dessert, or good news.

I do know that God wants us to think of last differently than the world does. The world thinks that because we aren't trying to become celebrities or have a bunch of sexual relationships or become super rich that we are coming in last. Often it seems that the world thinks we should put ourselves first and God and others last. That's not how I want to do it, though!

Stellar Kart's song Finish Last sums it up well:

I am running in this race and I am pressing onwards towards the finish line

You have promised me a better life far beyond this world

Far beyond this place and time

I want to finish last, last in the world's eyes

No matter what I do, I will be first in Your eyes

That's it for today. Check out other bloggers' thoughts on Last here. To find out more about Five Minute Friday and how you can join in, click the button below. Won't you join us? :)