Five Minute Friday - Meet

Haven't done this in a long time, and it's not Friday, but I want to write. Last week's prompt was Meet.

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Meeting up regularly with fellow Christians is a good way to stay encouraged and focused on God. I've definitely noticed that if I'm spending a lot of time with non-Christians, I feel a lot less peaceful, like there's a "disturbance in the force" (Star Wars reference).

When I spend time with godly people, I feel a lot more uplifted, more joyous, and more at peace. Christian friends encourage us, pray for us, and hold us accountable, and that's an awesome thing. So we need to keep doing that! We need to keep going to church, Bible study, and other places where Christians can be found. Then, when we go out into the ungodly world, we have that peace and joy within us and we can spread it to the unsaved people we encounter.

And that includes "meeting" online! Whether in a Facebook group, on a blog, or somewhere else, you can find online Christian community. And you can also spread the joy and peace online in what you say and what you share.

Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another. Hebrews 10:25

That's it for today. You can find more posts about Meet here (scroll down to see the bloggers who have linked up), and you can find out what Five Minute Friday is and how it got started by clicking the button below. Have a great day!

Five Minute Friday - Long

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The nights are long when I'm here by myself. My husband works until 2 am, and I'm bored, and it's dark, and sometimes I get scared.

When he gets home we make dinner, watch a tv show or two, or even go grocery shopping. Yes. At 2:30 in the morning, we go grocery shopping.

We do most of the same things "normal" people do. Just at a much later time. You don't go to bed as soon as your or your spouse gets home from work, do you?

So we go to sleep around 4. Or maybe 5. And then we wake up sometime later than most of you. So while the nights are long, the days are short. And that makes the nights seem even longer. Especially now, when it gets dark around 6 pm.

But the thing to remember is no matter how long or short our days seem, they are always 24 hours. 24 hours God gave us to live for Him. And I know I fall short of that, a lot.

So I'm trying not to waste the time and trying to figure out what He wants me to be doing with it.

How about you? Do you feel like you spend too much time on stuff and things and not enough on the important? How do you know what's important?

Every Friday a bunch of bloggers write for five(ish) minutes using a word prompt found on Kate Motaung's blog. Then we link up and read each other's posts. Check it out by clicking the button below. You're welcome to join us!

Five Minute Friday - Paint

I haven't done this in a while. I think my last one was in November! Yikes.

Every Friday Lisa-Jo Baker invites women (men, too, I guess) over to her blog to get a word prompt. Simply start a new blog post and write for five minutes on that topic. It's that simple! Although, it's not always easy.

Today's Five Minute Friday word is Paint.

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I enjoy painting. It's colorful. It's a fun kind of messy. You can roll it on smooth, create some nice brush strokes, or you can splatter it all over the place like crazy. I prefer that third method.

It's amazing how a new coat or color can change so much.

A white room looks open and clean, but if the paint starts to crack, peel, and get dirty, it doesn't look great. If we put a new coat over top, it will look bright again, but there will be bumps and blemishes. But if you sand the wall first, then put on the new coat, it will look like new again.

Say you have a room that's painted dark green. Only those who absolutely love that color are going to feel comfortable there. Otherwise, it feels gloomy, dark, and small. Dark colors can be depressing. But if you change the walls in the exact same room to, say, bright yellow, suddenly you feel happier, and the room looks brighter and more open.

The same goes for us. And I'm not just talking about clothing or makeup, although it applies there, too. But ourselves. Our hearts, souls, minds.

We start out as perfect little babies, but soon we start sinning, getting hurt, getting dirty, and pretty soon we're not gonna look so great. We can act like everything's okay and try to keep the blemishes inside, but eventually it will show no matter how hard we try. Like putting a new coat of paint over the old one. Or we can just let it take over us. Become depressed and gloomy, like the dark green room.

But if we go to the Lord and ask for His forgiveness, dig into the Word, and allow the Lord to heal us first, then when we put on that new coat, there's no ugliness underneath to creep through. We'll be like the dark room after it's painted bright yellow.

Recently I had the opportunity to attend a women's conference, and one of the speakers, Sharon Norris Elliott, talked about putting on the armor of God, and how it won't fit right if we put it on over top of the other stuff we're wearing. We've got to remove our bad stuff before putting on our power suit, so that it will fit right and protect us in the way it's supposed to. You can get her book, Power Suit: The Armor of God Fit for the Feminine Frame, here.

To read more posts on Paint, click here. (Scroll down a bit to read Lisa-Jo's post and then scroll down some more to see the list of other bloggers who participated.) To find out more about Five Minute Friday, how it started, and how you can join in, click the button below.

Five Minute Friday - Fly

It's Five Minute Friday. Get the word prompt from Lisa-Jo Baker's blog, and then just write for five minutes without worrying about it being just right. Today's word is Fly.

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Flight. I love it. I understand the desire for it.

The first time I remember being on a plane was when I was five years old, headed to a family reunion in Illinois. I barely remember it. I know we chewed bubblegum and my little brothers chewed on tootsie rolls to keep our ears from popping. I think it happened anyway.

My grandfather introduced me to the show The A-Team when I was ten. It is still my favorite show. Murdock was and is my favorite character. The crazy pilot.

My grandparents volunteered at a Wycliffe Bible Translators office for many years. And every year we went to their annual family weekend at a local airport. I still look forward to it every year. No matter if I get to fly anywhere else, I have a guaranteed chance to fly once every year at the fair. Some years I take a helicopter ride, some years a small plane. The planes vary. Everything from a six seater to an eleven. And I go all day so I can watch them fly.

I love driving past our local airport. I don't often get to see anything taking off or landing. But the planes are lined up on the side of the runway. And at night, the lights of the runway are almost magical. The anticipation of flight.

I hope to be a pilot, someday. Meanwhile, I can take at least one ride a year, and continue to dream.

As Leonardo da Vinci said, "When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return."

Do you like to fly? Do you love it? Besides planes and helicopters, I love roller coasters, and totally want to go skydiving someday.

To read more posts on Fly, click here. To learn more about Five Minute Fridays, click the button below. And have a wonderful weekend!

 

Five Minute Friday - Tree

It's Five Minute Friday! Today's word is Tree.

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Trees... So beautiful. Some are tall, some wide, some scraggly and small like Charlie Brown's :) They provide oxygen, a place to live for many animals (and even some people!), their wood can be used for so many things, and when the leaves turn colors and fall it's simply gorgeous.

My favorite are Christmas trees. Decorated, of course. I don't like them to be gaudy. I like it to be simple and pretty. I love white Christmas trees. (Although they're artificial, obviously.)

I would love to see Redwoods someday. I so want to walk or even drive through one.

 
I love climbing trees. I always wanted a tree fort, but the only tree we had in our backyard was really small, barely even big enough to climb.

Dogwoods are another one of my favorites. So pretty when they're flowering, and the way the branches reach out in all directions.

Snow-covered trees are some of the most beautiful things you'll ever see, outside of Heaven.

Well, that's all for today :) Hope you enjoyed my photos. You can check out other posts on Tree here. And for more info on Five Minute Fridays, click the button below. Have a great weekend!

Five Minute Friday - Laundry

(Doing this one a bit late again.) Five Minute Friday is where Lisa-Jo Baker posts a word prompt on her blog, and a few hundred of us now write for five minutes on that topic. Not thought out ahead of time or gone back over with an editor's eye, just written and posted.

This week's word was Laundry.

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I started doing my own laundry in my early teens. I got annoyed when what I wanted wasn't clean when I wanted it clean, so my mom said, why don't you do your own? I got my own basket and have been doing laundry ever since.

Since I knew how, occasionally I'd help my mom with the rest of the family's. Or I'd help my grandmother when we stayed over at her house. But I always did mine.

Now I'm married and do laundry for two. He actually does his own a lot now. Mainly because his clothes have oil and metal chips and grass stains and dog hair and things that I don't want to get mixed into my own clothes, so I would do separate loads anyway. But it's funny how much bigger his loads of laundry are and how much quicker a basket fills up when it's his clothes instead of mine.

If you look at our towel pile, you can tell they're ours. Blue and green towels with our initials monogrammed on, a wedding gift. A blue striped towel that's his and a pink striped towel that's mine. Beach towels with dolphins or colorful butterflies, and beach towels with skull and crossbones or swords. Haha.

Our sheets are a patchwork, mismatched mixture of what we had before we were married and what we've gotten since. Two almost identical red blankets, multiple partial sets of sheets because who knows where the rest of the set went. Pretty pillow shams and blue plaid pillow cases and everything in between.

And that's a good analogy for marriage. You start with two separate people, two separate piles of laundry. And then you combine them. Some things stay the same and some things become different. You lose some of who you were, not in a bad way, but in a changing way. And you gain some things, too. You keep parts of yourself but other parts change and adapt for the relationship.

I like it. It's hard work sometimes (with both laundry and marriage), but it's worth it.

Well, that's it for today. You can check out other posts on Laundry here, or click the button below to find out how Five Minute Friday started and how you can join in the writing fun!

 

Five Minute Friday - Ordinary

Today's word is Ordinary. We did this word a lot earlier in the year, and my mind keeps thinking of the same things. You can read that post here.

So instead of writing my own thoughts, I thought I'd share some quotes and sayings that I think speak to NOT being ordinary.

If you're going to be weird, be confident about it.

Don't expect everyone to understand your journey, especially if they've never had to walk your path.

The woman who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The woman who walks alone is likely to find herself in places no one has ever been before.

Sometimes I pretend to be normal. But it gets boring, so I go back to being me.

Do not go where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.

If you are not willing to look stupid, nothing great is ever going to happen to you.

Never be content with someone else's definition of you.

If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way.

Well, that's it. For more posts on Ordinary, click here. To learn more about Five Minute Fridays, click the button below. Have a great weekend!

Five Minute Friday - Write

Okay, okay, late again. But you know what? This time I have a great excuse! I have been writing... just not here. I've been working on my book :) But, although late, here is this week's Five Minute Friday post.

The word is Write.

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The word is Write? Perfect! Instead of writing for five minutes here and now, how about I share a sample of the book I'm working on? Sound good to you? Awesome! Here we go:

Jackson dropped her right hand and walked with her back down the aisle, the crowd congratulating them on the way. At the opening to the clearing, Jackson hesitated and looked at her, and she realized he had no clue where they were going next. She pulled him around a corner and kept going until they were well hidden behind some tall shrubs.
                “What are we doing?”
                “I’m sorry. I just need a minute.”
                “Okay.” He let go of her other hand and placed one of his on her back. “Is everything okay?”
                “I… To be honest, I didn’t expect the kiss.”
                He smiled. “Haven’t you ever been to a wedding before?”

What do you think? Are you intrigued? Or did it at least make you smile? :) I will share more samples in the future. Meanwhile, you can check out my Pinterest board for this book to meet the characters and "visit" some of the settings.

To read more posts on Write, click here. To find out what Five Minute Friday is all about and how you can join in, click the button below. Thanks for visiting!!

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!

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.

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? :)

Five Minute Friday - Small

I'm joining Lisa-Jo Baker and her rapidly growing group of fellow bloggers who like to write for five minutes every Friday without worrying about it being just right. No backtracking, no editing.

This week's word is Small.

GO

You've heard tons of people say it - standing beside the ocean makes you feel small. Makes you realize God's power and enormity and the size of the earth and how you are to the world as those little tiny grains of sand you are currently standing on. It may be a bit cliche, but it's totally true.

Other things make me feel this way. Not small as in insignificant, just small as in God is so awesome and big and it makes me even more ecstatic to know that He cares about me even while He's got ALL these other people to care for, too!! 

Looking at a huge field of flowers, standing in a crowd of people, flying over farms and cars that look so tiny from way up there. Great big pine trees, let alone redwoods (which I'd love to see someday!), the northern lights, big ships... So many things can make you feel small.

And yet, God really does care for you. He cares for him and her and you and them and everyone. Don't forget that :)

To read more bloggers' thoughts on Small, click here. To find out what Five Minute Friday is all about, how it got started, and how you can play with us, click the button below!

Five Minute Friday - Broken

Welcome to Five Minute Friday, where everything is made up and the points don't matter! Well, okay, so that was the intro to Whose Line Is It Anyway. But the idea still works! Just write for five minutes without worrying about if it's just right.

Today's word is Broken.

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I feel broken. I really do. I make the same mistakes over again and wonder what's wrong with me.

Why do I ALWAYS spend too much money?
Because I like the idea of things, how they work, what they're for, how pretty they are. Even when I'm trying my very hardest to only get what I absolutely actually need and will use... I get too much. Ask me how many things I've bought and then returned the next day or the next week. I couldn't tell ya. Way too many. Thank God we CAN often return things.

Why do I feel perfectly fine one day, thinking I can climb a mountain or do any job well, and then the next day I have one of the horrible stomach aches and can barely even stand up long enough to take a shower or warm up some food in the microwave?
I've gotten these aches basically my whole life. The earliest one I remember was at seven years old. Docs can't figure it out, just shoving medicine at me and then saying, if that doesn't work, come back in two weeks and we'll try a different one. It's not my fault. But it sure does make me feel broken. And it certainly makes me feel terrible when I can't keep a job, can't bring in income, can't help by even doing the dishes and other things around the house.

Why do I get so overly excited about things that I put so much time, money, and effort into and eventually fall farther back down because of it?
Why can't I take cautious steps, figuring out what I CAN and SHOULD do before trying to do everything and then crashing and burning? I go all out with whatever home business I'm trying, buying business cards and signs and all kinds of products and supplies, without even knowing if I'll be any good at it or if anything will come of it. I sign up for this and that and make appointments here and there, then I get overwhelmed by all the things I have to do and places that I have to be and I end up missing everything or being so exhausted that I make myself sick and despise the things which I was previously so excited about.

Yeah. I feel broken. I have no clue what to do about it, other than take it to God and ask Him to fix me or use me anyway.

My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise. Psalm 51:17 NIV

Going through the motions doesn’t please you, a flawless performance is nothing to you. I learned God-worship when my pride was shattered. Heart-shattered lives ready for love don’t for a moment escape God’s notice. Psalm 51:16-17 The Message

To be unbroken, what would that be?

If words that were spoken had not shattered me.

If I was unbroken, I'd never know

the beauty of hope and how far grace will go.

- Unbroken by ZOEgirl lyrics

Thanks for reading. I'm sure you figured out that that took me more than five minutes to write. Today, we're linking up on Lisa-Jo Baker's Facebook page, so click on over and read other posts on Broken. Plus, you can go to her blog to find out more about what Five Minute Friday is and how you can be a part of it! Just click on the button below.

Five Minute Friday - Belong

Sorry I haven't done Five Minute Friday in a while... about a month. But here's one! Today's word is Belong.

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I don't have my own words today, because all I can think of is this song by Switchfoot and what it means to not belong to this world.

It was a beautiful letdown when I crashed and burned,

when I found myself alone, unknown, and hurt.

It was a beautiful letdown the day I knew

that all the riches this world had to offer me would never do.

 In a world full of bitter pain and bitter doubts

I was trying so hard to fit in, until I found out

that I don't belong here.

I don't belong here.

I will carry a cross and a song where I don't belong.

I don't belong here.

I'm gonna set sight and set sail for the kingdom come,

Your kingdom come.

We are a beautiful letdown, painfully uncool,

the church of the dropouts and losers and sinners and failures and fools.

Let us sing one true tune -

I don't belong here.

For more posts on Belong, click here. To find out what Five Minute Friday is, how it got started, and how you can join in, click on the button! Hope you have a great weekend!

Fall

This past Friday's word was Fall.

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As soon as I read the word I started singing one of my current favorite songs, I Will Fall, from the show Nashville.

Some of the lyrics are:

When we said goodbye it was forever
And I spent the last year piecing my life together
Just when I think I’ve let you go
Your song’s playing on the radio
And just like that it rushes back
Every part of you

I will fall, I will fall if you come around
Just when I think my heart break has settled down
I will fall, I will fall if you come around

It's a song about a broken heart, about past love. But I realized it can also refer to things we've left behind. Bad habits, addictions, "friends" who weren't good for us. You finally get over them, and then something shows up again to tempt you or try to lure you back to the way you lived before.

But with God, we have a way to not fall. He gives us the strength to keep walking, past that temptation, or to look it in the eyes and say "No." And if we DO fall, He is always there to catch us and set us back on the right path.

That's a very comforting thought, don't you think? :)

For more posts on Fall, click here. And for more info on Five Minute Fridays, how they started, and how you can join in, click the button below.

Five Minute Friday - Imagine

I'm actually doing this Five Minute Friday post ON Friday! How creative of me :D
Today's topic is Imagine.

GO

I imagine lots of things. I imagine what our own home will look like one day. I imagine having enough money for the things we've always dreamed of. I imagine flight school. I imagine flying. I love flying. I don't have to just imagine that, since I can remember as well. I remember riding roller coasters and imagine riding more. I imagine what it would be like to have a successful home business, which urges me on to making that a reality.

I imagine what it's like for those in the military. I imagine how it feels to be a movie star. I imagine dragons and fairies and princesses. I imagine cobblestone streets and horse-drawn carriages. I imagine what life was like during the Revolutionary War. I imagine being there while they built the Panama Canal. I love to imagine what it would be like to be standing on that beach when the Wright brothers successfully flew the first plane. I especially imagine that. I also imagine how exhilarated Charles Lindbergh must have felt when he touched down in Paris. Or when he saw his plane for the first time. The Spirit of St. Louis.

I imagine God hugging me, laughing with me, telling me everything's going to be okay and that I should just trust Him. I do trust Him, but I would love to physically see and hear Him say that.

I imagine all sorts of things. Some realistic, some fantastic, some historical...

I don't have to imagine God, though. He is very real and very here.

That's all. Yes, I wrote for more than five minutes. Click here to read other posts on Imagine and click the button below for more info on Five Minute Fridays. Happy reading and writing! :)

 

View

GO

Right now, for me, life is:

a new job I like but still hate having to go to some days, and being very happy when I get to leave.

more discipline in the form of waking up and being at work at a certain time, going to sleep earlier, and having a lot less time for fun stuff. This is bad and good.

a place to live but not one I love.

looking forward to buying our own home and finally having that freedom we've waited so long for.

a husband of four years who is loving and being pretty patient for a guy who's had to put some dreams on hold in order to pay bills and buy things for his wife who isn't the best at saving money.

pushing my own dreams farther into the future, but never giving up on them.

a white German Shepherd that knew my husband before I did and still has some trouble giving us alone time.

a bunch of amazing friends, most of whom I've known my whole life, who keep life interesting and are usually there when you need them :)

a group of beautiful women of all ages who, while we've never met in person, support each other, pray for each other, laugh and have fun together, share books and book reviews, and most importantly, worship God together.

a car that I don't love but it works (mostly) and gets me to where I need to go.

a Thirty-One business that has slowed to almost non-existent but still allows me to get together every couple of months with other consultants. Plus, I've got great bags!

23 years of experience, trials, triumphs, and lessons, and a whole future to look forward to.

a wonderful God who created me, loves me, protects me, knows what's best for me, and continually gives me hope.

That's the view from where I am.

You can find more posts on View here. And check out how Five Minute Friday started and how you can get involved by clicking the button below!

Comfort

Seems I've been making a habit of doing my Five Minute Friday posts on days other than Friday. But I want to fit them in when I can rather than not doing it at all :)

So here we go. Theme for this week was Comfort.

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Comfort makes me think of a warm blanket, a comfy couch, a soft rug, a fluffy pillow, feet up, relaxing, no pain, no stress, just comfort. 

But I don't think comfort is purely physical.

I'm an easily scared, shy, paranoid person. I am comforted when my husband is home. I am comforted when there's a friend with me on a night-time drive. I feel more comfortable when there's people I know at a social gathering.

And I'm comforted by the fact that God is always with me, that Jesus cares for me, that the Holy Spirit is guiding me.

And that's the most important one. Even when you're not physically comfortable or mentally comfortable... When you're in that situation where you don't know anyone, or you're alone in the dark, or you hear something when you are home alone, you can know that the Lord is there with you, protecting you, and nothing will happen to you that isn't in His plan.

I know it is hard, believe me. But I've found that if I'm constantly praying I start to forget about the scary or uncomfortable situation and just focus on thanking God for everything He's given me and thanking Him for taking care of me and knowing what's best, and praying that He'll continue to protect me and get me through life's uncomfortable spots.

Often God wants us out of our comfort zones. But He will go with you, which is a very comforting thought :)

To read other blog posts about Comfort, click here. For information about Five Minute Fridays and how you can join in this Friday, click the button below.

Brave

Last Friday's Five Minute Friday topic was Brave. But I wasn't around to write. I started two new jobs in the past week. And boy have I been busy and tired. But I still wanted to write about Brave. So here it is, on Tuesday :)

GO

Brave is usually thought of as being heroic. The hero of the movie. The heroine of the novel. They're the recognized, and often fictitious, brave ones. Occasionally you get the real-life recognized hero. The newspapers and news stations turn them into temporary celebrities. But what about all those unrecognized, uncelebrated heroes? The brave ones who go on being brave every day without fanfare.

Brave is fighting for your country and not knowing if you'll make it home.

Brave is fighting flames and rescuing people from burning buildings as your day job.

Brave is putting on the badge and getting in the squad car, not knowing if today will involve just another traffic ticket, or maybe a dangerous drug bust or a school shooting.

Brave is crossing the globe to work for God in dangerous places.

Brave can also be... mundane.

Brave is home schooling your kids.

Brave is starting two jobs in one week.

Brave is not knowing how you'll pay for next month's rent, next week's groceries, or the gas for tomorrow's drive to work.

Brave is sticking to your beliefs and morals when it seems like the whole world has thrown them away.

Brave is holding onto a dream for the future, while others tell you everything has to be now.

Brave is adopting.

Brave is writing a novel.

Brave is being married to one person for your whole life.

Brave is starting your own business and/or working from home.

Brave is saying hello to the new people at church or smiling at strangers on the street.

Brave is getting through high school.

Brave is that girl who chose not to abort her baby, even though her parents threw her out and her boyfriend wants nothing to do with her.

Brave is graduating college and looking for a career.

Brave is going on with life after a loved one dies.

Brave is trusting God when you can't see any way out or any way forward.

Brave is anyone who faces something scary, something dangerous, something uncomfortable, or something unknown, and continues on.

There are so many ways to be brave. So many forms of every day bravery.

Here's to the ones who don't give up.

This is your anthem.

In what ways are you brave? Maybe you never thought you were. But I know you are brave.

For more posts on Brave, click here. To learn more about Five Minute Friday, click the button below.

Five Minute Friday - Friend

Today isn't just Friday. It's Five Minute Friday! A couple hundred of us go here every week to see what the prompt for the day is, and then we simply write for five minutes on what that word makes us think and feel. Sometimes it's funny, sometimes sad. Sometimes it's easy and sometimes hard! But it's always fun. So why don't you join us?!

Today's word is Friend.

GO

Friends. They come in all shapes and sizes and colors. Some are just acquaintance friends - people you've known all your life and certainly aren't enemies, so they must be your friend. There are those who are friendly to you and you are friendly back to. They're fun to hang out with when they're around, but you don't miss them too terribly when they're not.

There's those friends who are in your life for a time, whether short or long, and you feel like they will be there forever, but circumstances change and life happens, and then they're not really there anymore. Those ones make me sad. It's like losing a little bit of yourself. But I've come to realize that it's okay. Some people aren't supposed to be in your life forever. But you'll still have those wonderful memories. And they may re-enter your life at a later time. You never know.

Then there are those oh-so rare treasures of a friend who you can't live without and who are ALWAYS there, who know you so well they know all your flaws and have seen you at your worst AND at your best, and love you through all of it!! I am SO blessed to have more than a couple of those friends. Some of them I've known basically all my life. And then there's an amazing group of ladies I've met within the past year or two. We're spread out all over the States and Canada, and I've never met any of them. But they are some of the best friends I've ever had!

So yeah. There are many degrees of friendship. But I cherish them all and am so thankful for all of them, especially those wonderful best friends who are always there for me.

A friend loves at all times (Proverbs 17:17) and there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. (Proverbs 18:24)

Do you have any good friend stories to share? Put them in the comments below! I'd love to hear them :)

For more posts on Friend, go here, and to learn more about Five Minute Friday, click the button below.