Five-Minute Friday: Roots

Today I’m linking up with Lisa-Jo at The Gypsy Mama for Five-Minute Friday.

Join me!

The rules: Write for five minutes. No editing, revising, overthinking, or backtracking. Just write.

Today’s Topic: Roots

Sometimes having a scattered life can lead to that feeling that there are no real roots. When pieces of existence span oceans and continents, knowing where exactly those roots are deeply planted is difficult.

The first decade was just that.

A cute little green house in a Twin Cities suburb. Job bouncing and church hopping, waiting for what He had for us.

We knew it was something, and it was.

Three years after we moved into that cute little house, whose color resembled that of pistachio ice cream, we pulled up the roots we’d put down, hopped on a plane, and flew to the other side of the world.

Those roots grew differently in the tropics.

Though we planted and watered, things just blossomed in a different way. Five years of wonderful and stressful, of stretching and challenging, of loving and living made us into different people. Gave us different worldviews, insights, and most importantly, lifelong friends.

And yet the roots were not to remain there forever.

Once more we pulled them up…strangely, far more painful than the first time…and moved them to an at-the-time obscure, almost-suburb of Chicago.

We planted them and we daily water them because, for now, this is where they should grow.

We have a daughter now, and she needs a place to call home. We are investing in the life around us, determined that these roots will stick no matter if there’s something next or if this is it.

And while, in this place, it is good to have roots and we love that they are planted here, my Father daily reminds me of something.

That this world is not my home.

As important as it is to have that place on earth to be my home, rooting myself in Him and His Word, His Promises, and His Love is what will truly bring growth.

My dear friend said it best in a song she wrote…

Lord, plant Your Word in my soul, only You make me whole.

Father, keep my roots planted in the right place.

Five Minute Friday

Sig

Five-Minute Friday: Voice

Today I’m linking up with Lisa-Jo at The Gypsy Mama for Five-Minute Friday.

Join me!

The rules: Write for five minutes. No editing, revising, overthinking, or backtracking. Just write.

Today’s Topic: Voice

I have always loved music.

When I was a little girl, I would sing all the time…make up songs, sing along to my little Fisher Price cassette player, pound out tunes on my mini keyboard and sing along.

My singing voice was very important to me.

I remember my first solo when I was eight years old. I sang some song about a silly camel in our community children’s choir concert.

For a split second I was nervous, but once I heard myself through the microphone, I was all there.

I loved that I was being heard.

Granted, I was eight and very self-centered. More than just my singing voice has matured since then. :)

But the idea of being heard…of having that voice that people listen to…is still a desire.

This blogging community is a unique one.

Each of us use our voices in a different way…and while we won’t always admit it audibly, we want to be heard, just as I did the first time I stood in front of a microphone.

We want those readers and those comments and those people to say, Yes! I get it! I’m totally there with you! This is great.

But for many, these things don’t happen. We can’t all be the writer whose voice is heard by thousands…and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Each time I, or any other blogger, sit down to splash our hearts out, we are using our voices. Someone…somewhere…will listen.

Which makes my voice (and yours!) worth something, even if it’s not always as loud as I would like it to be.

Five Minute Friday

Sig

Five-Minute Friday: Look

Today I’m linking up with Lisa-Jo at The Gypsy Mama for Five-Minute Friday.

Join me!

The rules: Write for five minutes. No editing, revising, overthinking, or backtracking. Just write.

Today’s Topic: Look

I’ll never forget the day.

The day that I. Just. Couldn’t. Look.

We’d been downtown shopping for jewelry supplies. It was the rougher part of town…the part where you’d see far too many children begging and the people who’d miraculously survived debilitating conditions…and he was one of them.

This man…the one I couldn’t bear to look at.

We’d just finished our purchases at the final store and were heading back to catch the city bus.

He was sitting…somewhat slumped…against the edge of a cracked and rotting pillar.

I’m sure I gasped audibly, for he was damaged. Scarred for life. Perhaps a fire or explosion. Whatever the case, it was bad.

And I just couldn’t look…couldn’t allow myself to see past his scars.

It broke my heart and made me question my Father at the same time.

Why him? Why? WHY, WHY, WHY???

He needed money, and my heart ached…shame mingled with sorrow…as I passed him by.

Not allowing myself to look.

I prayed for the next week, unable to shake his image from my mind.

For some reason we were back in the same area of town the following Saturday. I knew he would be there.

And he was.

And though it hurt and made the tears drip as I allowed myself to look at him, I reached into my purse. Took a bill large enough to feed him for the day. Gave it to him, making sure that my hand made contact with his. Whispered, God bless you. In English, not Indonesian.

A quiet, terima kasih, uttered from his lips.

And that was it.

A small moment of time, but a very powerful lesson.

The lesson that no matter who we are, where we come from, or what we look like, we all deserve to be noticed. Loved. Cherished.

I hope all of these things for this man.

Five Minute Friday

Sig

Five-Minute Friday: Race

Today I’m linking up with Lisa-Jo at The Gypsy Mama for Five-Minute Friday.

Join me!

The rules: Write for five minutes. No editing, revising, overthinking, or backtracking. Just write.

Today’s Topic: Race

I’m a runner.

The kind that gets up early (too early…before-coffee-too-early) to put in her miles before the routine of life starts.

It’s all part of how I am, how I function, how I get ready for the race.

If we’re being honest, I’ve usually got some kind of ACTUAL race looming on the horizon. Part of the reason is, I need a tangible goal to work toward…it’s too easy to slack if there’s nothing to push for. A 5k here or there to keep me motivated.

Though I am planning to run the Chicago next year…WHAT am I thinking?!?!

Ok, ok, back to racing. :)

I’m really talking about the race of life.

When I first began seriously running about a year and a half ago, there was so much pain. I was running on a body with 40+ pounds of baby weight and one that was really not in shape, either. UGH.

There. Was. Much. Pain. Involved.

Ugh. Again.

But it was necessary pain…the kind I had to learn to push through and keep going in order to reach my goal. GoalS…there were a lot. :)

I relate that so much to life now…that pesky baby weight is gone and I’m in much better shape than I’ve been in, in…well…two decades, probably.

But that’s not the point.

The point is that, much like a race you run, there are lessons learned along the journey…lessons in discipline and perseverance and dedication. Those lessons can’t be learned until we are stretched and pushed to limits.

There are days when I don’t want to keep going in life, days when I wish with everything in me that there was no pain or heartache and that I could splash a few rainbows on the walls and cartwheel my way through days, but that’s just not how it is.

This race that we’ve each got to run…it’s there for a purpose to teach us the lessons He has for us.

All the while remembering that the prize at the end is pretty sweet.

Five Minute Friday

Sig

Five-Minute Friday: Grasp

Today I’m linking up with Lisa-Jo at The Gypsy Mama for Five-Minute Friday.

Join me!

The rules: Write for five minutes. No editing, revising, overthinking, or backtracking. Just write.

Today’s Topic: Grasp

I watch each step as her grown-up-much-too quickly toddler legs carry her faster than I could have imagined even a few months ago.

She’ll explore. Climb. Jump. (Jumping is her trademark.)

Eventually she always discovers the tallest slide…you know, the one that gives this momma’s heart a near attack each time she climbs toward the top. She’ll hang out on the platform near it, hover over openings that this Mama Bear thinks should never even be there…and sometimes she’ll go down the slide. Other times, she’ll climb right back down.

The truth is that going to the playground is more stress for me than anything.

I constantly wonder when it will be that she’ll take a nosedive or a freefall, totally-on-purpose jump.

And then…I remind myself.

That she’s two. Growing, changing, discovering, learning…just as she should.

And though it’s tempting sometimes to hold on so tightly that she’ll never leave my arms, I know that’s not my calling.

I have to give her that space to Grow. Change. Discover. Learn.

A little at a time, I have to release my grasp.

And watch her fly.

Five Minute Friday

Sig

Five-Minute Friday: Wide

Today I’m linking up with Lisa-Jo at The Gypsy Mama for Five-Minute Friday.

Join me!

The rules: Write for five minutes. No editing, revising, overthinking, or backtracking. Just write.

Today’s Topic: Wide

Have you ever seen the movie, The Shawshank Redemption, when Andy is finally free at the end and he opens up his arms wide and fully embraces life in a way, I’m sure, he never had before? Yeah, it’s a pretty sweet movie-moment for sure.

I’d like to think I live like that…or at least try to.

At times recklessly, but mostly just wide open…ready for whatever and whoever comes my way.

I especially see that in my life when it comes to friends…I want those deep, lasting relationships that start with wide open arms that say, Come on in! I’m not interested in superficial or shallow…I want the real deal. People willing to spill hearts, crumble walls, and embrace imperfect…all of which are even better over a cup of coffee. 😉

It doesn’t mean that I always embrace life fully…but it’s definitely something I want for myself. To live with a safe-ish reckless abandon and learn to love fully like my Father did. And still does.

What a beautiful example of wide…the way my Savior’s arms reached out so. much. wider. than mine ever will…He embraced the Father’s will for him and used those wide open arms to show the world just how much he loves us.

Wow.

Five Minute Friday

Sig

Five-Minute Friday: Focus

Today I’m linking up with Lisa-Jo at The Gypsy Mama for Five-Minute Friday.

Join me!

The rules: Write for five minutes. No editing, revising, overthinking, or backtracking. Just write.

Today’s Topic: Focus

So, on my way to the computer to write my Five-Minute Friday post, I got distracted by a pile of laundry that needed to be folded.

Clearly I need to work on my focus. :)

Sometimes it’s so hard for me…I set out to do something and I HAVE a goal; it’s just that before I get there, twelve other things beg for my attention. My daughter can’t find her princess slippers, the dogs need to go outside, my coffee cup has somehow magically drained itself, and that laundry that I meant to fold on the way to the computer? Never actually got folded.

:)

One thing that has helped me intentionally focus is to start my day off with “me” time. I get up early most mornings, go for a run, crank up the music, and praise. I need it. When I get home, shower, and find my coffee, life just seems easier. My girl is up, but since I’m already going for the day, I’m able to focus on her more. And while she gets going on her morning routine (aka: cereal and Sesame Street) I can find some time to talk to my Father and read His Word.

Those things help me focus. Not perfectly, but they sure help.

Maybe even enough to get that pile of laundry folded…but first, I need some coffee. :)

Five Minute Friday

Sig

Five-Minute Friday: Graceful

Today I’m linking up with Lisa-Jo at The Gypsy Mama for Five-Minute Friday.

Join me!

The rules: Write for five minutes. No editing, revising, or overthinking. Just write.

Today’s Topic: Graceful

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That’s me laughing Really. Really. Really. Loud.

Because graceful? Is soooooo not me. In terms of physical anyway. I’m a decent athlete/runner, but I have zero grace.

You know, the kind that dances and looks so beautiful and elegant.

Um, no…never known that feeling.

In fact, I remember my first dance classes as a kid and how they didn’t go so well. While my dance teacher didn’t kick me out at all, I seem to recall being “encouraged” to explore other areas of life.

Maybe that’s why I’m an artist and a musician. :)

Have you ever seen that lovely episode of Friends when Phoebe runs? Here’s a clip for ya.

Golly, sometimes I wonder if that’s me. In a strange, paradoxical way, I’d be kinda proud if it was. This clumsy, totally lovable girl, making her tiny, memorable, mark on a great big world.

In all seriousness, though…graceful.

I’m a blessed child of God who has had the gift of Grace lavished upon her. My life is walking testimony of the fullness of His Grace.

And as I laugh over my clumsy tendencies and shake my head and giggle when I fall over nothing (which is often!)…I remember that I have real Grace.

May I never forget that, and may I choose to extend it to others, too.

Five Minute Friday

Sig

Five-Minute Friday: Real

Today I’m linking up with Lisa-Jo at The Gypsy Mama for Five-Minute Friday.

Join me!

The rules: Write for five minutes. No editing, revising, or overthinking. Just write.

Today’s Topic: Real

I am a person who doesn’t typically have a problem being real. I’ll tell you the details of my day, laugh over the crazy things that happened, cry over what hurts, and just generally give you what’s on my heart. It’s how I connect, how I love, how I’m real. 

Sometimes I think it bothers people when I truly open up. Maybe, as a general rule, people are comfortable with NOT knowing everything. I could, in fact be one of those rare finds…because I want to know about what’s going on in your life…

So I can know you, pray for you, love you by caring about you.

I’ve found…in the many places life has taken us, in the midst of the unpredictable, in the thrills of this life that is a roller coaster…that being real is what creates the deepest, most long-lasting friendships.

Being real is what brings life and love to relationships.

I know there will always be days when I share too much and am a little too honest. It’s just how I am.

But I love that can be real in this community…and so I’ll choose that.

What’s real with you? I’d love to hear. :)

Sig

Five-Minute Friday: Community

Today I’m linking up with Lisa-Jo at The Gypsy Mama for Five-Minute Friday.

Join me!

The rules: Write for five minutes. No editing, revising, or overthinking. Just write. :)

Today’s Topic: Community

The morning I stepped into that foreign room in a place that made my heart pound, I had no idea that it held the friends who would become my community.

The place where we’d dig deep, share, laugh, sometimes-cry, always-love.

They made me feel so welcome from the first moments…this new girl struggling through the harsh realities of relocation once again, new-mommyhood, and mega identity-crisis. The perfect combination. 😉

It took a few weeks, but slowly the walls started to crumble, I allowed the tears to fall, and my heart began to soften. And as my story…and their stories…began to intertwine, I knew that God had given me a gift in this group of women.

In this community.

Thursday mornings are a cherished part of the week for me. Whether we study for the entire hour and a half or we talk first for the first hour, that time spent with these beautiful sisters is so good for my soul and my heart.

Because despite differences and preferences, we can all come together and love, laugh…and just be.

Which is so, so important in community.

They make me feel valued, loved, appreciated…and I hope I make them feel that way, too.

I just love them. So much.

This community…is so much my life. And for it, I am thankful.

And…this is what I’m doing tomorrow. It’s still not too late to register and tune in! For a cool $10, they’ll send you a shirt, a pack of greeting cards, and you’ll get access to some pretty incredible sessions and speakers. A friend and I watched the Friday sessions this afternoon, and they were great. Think about it if you’ve got a few hours to spare tomorrow! :)

Sig