delight

All of the sudden my Fridays have gotten busy. . .and so the 'five minute Fridays' have started turning into 'seven minute Mondays'.  So because I kept you waiting, here is a picture for you. . .

another yellow house. . .again

and the word is {delight}

go.

Joy.  Happiness.  Delight.

We have such a longing to live life filled with those words.  And it is one of the deepest tragedies to watch people seeking those things, rather than the Giver of all good and perfect gifts.  If we search after happiness and prosperity, if we fill our lives with things that bring pleasure to us, there will be that gnawing, aching void that only grows bigger.

"My soul is restless until it finds rest in YOU."

Things, places, circumstances.  Those all change.  What is here today probably won't be here tomorrow.  Nothing that we cling to here can we keep.  It is only when we turn from those things, those things we think will bring us happiness and joy, that we find the One in whom our soul can truly delight in.  He is unchanging, eternal and the same.  He is infinitely larger than anything we could comprehend.  Yet He desires to know us, for us to love Him, and for us to be transformed by Him.

Trading all that I have for all that is better. . .

delight.

stop.

*note. . .the quote that I very loosely quoted comes from this quote by Saint Augustine. . . "Thou hast created us for Thyself, and our heart is not quiet until it rests in Thee."  

trust

. . .and the word is {trust}

go.
Trust is saying "THY will be done. . .with my today and my tomorrow."   Trust is stepping forward when you cannot see.  It is waiting when every thing in you wants to move, somewhere, someway.

The older that I get, the richer those 'Sunday School' Bible verses seem.  "For God so loved. . .",  "If we confess our sins, He is faithful. . .", "Trust in the Lord with all your heart. . ."

When you are six, there is such innocence and you wonder what trust means.  Over ten years later, you wish it was as easy to live the word as it is to define it.

Trust is singing songs in the night, knowing that His ways and thoughts are so much higher than we could ever comprehend.  Trust is not understanding, but believing.  It is not clinging to the known, but letting go before you are ready.
stop.
. . . . .

real

. .and the word is  {real}


go.
Remembering back years ago, when my friends and I used to traipse around in cast-off capes and be lost for hours in adventures of our own making, still makes me smile.  We would ford rivers, climb tree forts, discover new lands, fight battles and sleep under the stars.  There would be drama, and love and fighting for a cause so much greater than our eight-year-old selves.  The years have gone by, yet still the memories bring back the feelings of adventuring through the world. 

We didn't realize back then, that in a real-life adventure the night is long when you are out in the cold and that the rocks really poke your back.  There seems to be a lot of watching and waiting, and not so many exciting exploits. Simple things can often seem so hard, and no one realizes the heroic.  And you cannot manipulate the ending and tie together all the pieces before the afternoon is over.  

Yet, would we want it any differently?  Would we want a life in which everything is rolled together in an afternoon, after which you go home?  Or is it the very 'realness' of life, the every day hurts and growth and laughter, the living each moment in obedience to the King of Heaven, that makes this life that we are living a grand sort of unexpected adventure?    


stop
.......  

vivid

. . .and the word is
{vivid}

go.

Full of colour, full of life.  How do we live this one life that we have been given?  Do we go through life living in a world that is shades of grey?  Or do we embrace life, embrace the various challenges, the alternating hues?  Do we spend every day wishing for that elusive 'something different', 'something more'?  Have we put life on hold?  Or do we decide to do something different?  Oh, may we set our hearts to follow our God fully, to live every moment that He has given us.  And our God does beautiful things, does marvelous things as we allow Him to orchestrate our lives.  He can turn the most ordinary day into the most extraordinary adventure as we fix our eyes upon Him.  Inconveniences and grey dullness no more.  Let us embrace the full gamut of vivid, vibrant living this pilgrim way.  May we look with His eyes to see the beauty found in each day, each moment.

stop
....

by the way, if you happen to write something today, I'd love to check it out so leave a comment!  Or if this happens to have you think a thought you wouldn't otherwise have thought, twould be fun to hear it.

I think that was one of the strangest sentences I've ever written.

smile.

awake

Last week, I saw this on a friend's blog and was inspired.  And it seemed a lot more 'doable' than the 300 word thing at this point in time.  (question: is doable a real word? or is it one of those made-up words?)  

"For only five short, bold, beautiful minutes. Unscripted and unedited. We just write without worrying if it’s just right or not." from this site

It was hard, really hard, not to stop or push the backspace button.  But it has been so good this month to do things that are hard or new or challenging.  So for five minutes I wrote whatever came to mind based on one word.


and this week's word is {awake.}
go.

Every morning I awake, His mercies are new. As the sunshine fills my room, joy can enter my heart for I know that my Redeemer liveth. And He has called us, comissioned us to be His ambassadors. We are called to go out into all the world, proclaiming the glories of Him who called us out of darkness and into His glorious light. For the God that we serve is light and there is no darkness in Him. No fear, no evil, no guilt, no pride, no shadow. He is light; pure and shining far brighter than the sun. It is because of Him that we can face the challenges that each day brings. It is because of His life that we are equipped to go walk victoriously along this pilgrim way. Our souls have been awakened to the truth, the truth that sets the captives free. The truth that changed our lives and that still changes lives. He is glorious and mighty to save and it is this God that we wake up to each morning. And as the sun shines through my window, my King beckons me to spend another day walking by His side and learning from Him. Awake, my soul, and praise the Lord.

stop.