Yes, I'm Listening

Five Minute Friday....

....when you set your timer for 5 minutes, and WRITE, without judgment or overthinking. Today's word is "listen."

Once a week, I fill up my ipod with my favorite podcasts, grab my super-duper ear protective headgear and crack up my lawnmower. It takes me 2+ hours to mow with our 72 inch deck which goes FAST. If it isn't too hot, this can be one of the most enjoyable parts of my week. 

I'm outside, I'm accomplishing something that will stay done for a few days, and I'm listening to something intellectually stimulating.

This week, I caught up on a couple of podcasts of This American Life on NPR. 

I'm not a fan of the editorial opinions of the station, but some of the shows I do enjoy, and This American Life is one of them.

The show was all about Harper High school in Chicago. According to the commentators, this school is in one of the most violent sections of Chicago, a city which has been riddled with violence for the last couple of years. Which makes me so sad, because we love to visit the city.

They interviewed students and staff of the school, and people, it was enough to make you sit down and bawl your eyes out. Some of the kids have witnessed multiple shootings and deaths, and they all have different methods of trying to stay out of the line of gunfire. 

My word. 

The trauma. The ruined lives. The sadness.

I can't imagine it.

I feel so sorry for those kids and the teachers and counselors trying to educate them.

The whole time the show was being aired, I was getting more and more aggravated. The "cool, smarty-pants people" with all their worldly "wisdom" are the ones that ruined the family structure.

Our country has an enormous mess on its hands trying to solve the problems created by the breakdown in the family. We have so many kids-boys especially-who are ANGRY. Their basic emotional needs have never been met.

Now, the "cool, smarty-pants" people are trying to tell the rest of us how to fix the problem that THEY created.

This is one of the enemies most dangerous schemes. I believe that our earthly fathers are supposed to be just a taste of who our Heavenly father is.

Many kids do not have a good impression of "dad". That opens a huge can of worms.

Ok. Now I have that out of my system.

I'm going to return to Philippians 4:8 thinking:

Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. 

Linking up to.....

5 Minute Friday

A Well Instructed Tongue

Isn't she adorable?

I am sitting in my favorite coffee shop doing what I do best.....procrastinating.

I have some time between appointments and should be working on my Holy Yoga Therapy homework, but instead I want to stop in and say hello to you, sweet blogging friends.

Have any of you done Breaking Free by Beth Moore? A group of friends and I are finishing up week two, and I just have to say, I now love the book of Isaiah. I have read through it a couple of times in the past, but we are really studying it now and I am getting a TON out of it.

The Bible is funny like that.

The Holy Spirit gives us just what we need when we are ready for it, and I'm ready for some FREEDOM!

God has been peeling layers off me the last couple of years, and even though it has been hard, I am enjoying the benefits of feeling lighter and leaving some of that old baggage behind.

Earlier this week, I was in the grocery store and saw a couple of women deep in conversation. As I pushed my cart past them, I couldn't help but overhear a little of their conversation. They were busy talking about another woman. I, of course, know nothing about what they were discussing and I'm not judging them, but this made me think about the females.

Why do so many of our conversations involve discussing other women, and usually not in a positive way?

James 3 tells us the tongue is like a fire. It can cause all kinds of damage.  Even though it is a very small part of our body, it can be deadly.

We use it to praise God one minute and talk about the creatures HE created and loves in the next breath.

We need to stop it. 

I need to stop it.

Then, I read this.......

Isaiah 50: 4

“The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.”

Don't you just love that? 

I want to have a well-instructed tongue.

A tongue that speaks the truth of Christ to the weary who come my way.

I want to listen and learn.

Can you imagine what would happen if God's children would use our tongues to show love, joy, peace, kindness, and gentleness to those we meet?

What would happen if we demonstrated more patience and self control?

Girls, it could change the world! 

I want some of that. How about you?

Linking up today to....

Rachel Wojo

Imparting Grace

Do You Really See Me?

Have you ever felt invisible?

This little beauty will never be invisible!

A couple of years ago, I went shopping with my daughter-in-law and my sweet little granddaughters. I  had so much fun following the girls around the store looking at the things they were interested in. These are the same little girls with a massive fingernail polish collection, so part of our time was spent looking at the little girls' "make-up" section. I distinctly remember a discussion about lip gloss made in China and sold in packages of 15 or so....my advice was "just say no."

Anyway.

When we went to lunch later, some of the wind went out of my sails. I felt like somewhere between TJ Maxx and Olive Garden, I had put on Harry Potter's invisibility cloak. The waiter at the restaurant made no eye contact with me and no questions were directed at me. I felt totally left out and as if my opinion didn't matter.

And I didn't like it. I have a feeling as I age, I will experience this more often.

I kind of sound like a 2 year old, don't I?

There is something about us that craves attention.

Affirmation.

Significance.

We want to know we matter and are important.

From my experience, I don't think it matters how old we are either. We need to feel like we MATTER.

Flash Forward to the present: I am going to admit something to you all. I am embarrassed because I should know better, but here I go.

Some situations have occurred in my life in the past few weeks that had left me feeling unvalued and unimportant. After grumbling about it in my head for several days and letting it rob me of some of my joy, I finally opened up about it to my sweet husband. Talking about it with him helped me to realize that this issue...just like all of them...goes back to my relationship with my Heavenly Father.

My personal significance MUST NOT come from the fickle reactions of any PERSON, who is also trying to work out his own emotional "junk" and may be doing it at my expense.

I came across this comment from Anne on the BooMama blog that was about a completely different topic, but it was just what I needed to hear.

First: know who you are in Christ. Ephesians 1 (from Believing God): Blessed, Chosen, Adopted, Accepted, Redeemed, Forgiven. Knowing who God says you are is crucial. Second: Feelings are temporary. Always go with what you know to be true. About God, yourself, others, situations, etc. What is true will surpass what you feel, every time. And sometimes you have to act on truth, when it’s the opposite of your feelings. 

Now that is some good stuff, don't you agree?

My significance...and yours too...has to come from the ONE whose opinion really matters. We are NOT invisible to HIM.

Thanks for listening and have a wonderful day!

Linking up to...

Imparting Grace

Five Minute Friday: View

(Five Minute Friday-Set your timer. Write for 5 minutes. Boom.)

One of the things I have learned as I age is: not much is as it appears.

The beautiful, thin girl in the great outfit who makes you feel like a tub of lard?

She probably has an eating disorder.

The girl down the street with the house that is always spotless and  a to-do list with every item marked off at the end of the day?

She is in bondage to her own perfectionism and need to control.

The girl who makes everyone laugh and seems to be the happiest person ever?

She goes home at night and is supremely lonely because she can only show the world one part of her personality. She is laughing on the outside, but crying on the inside.

The speaker at the conference who has written books and can hold the attention of an audience of thousands?

She was sexually molested as a child.

The point of all this is, we are all WOUNDED in the deep places.

Thankfully, we don't all suffer from eating disorders or abuse, but we have all been loved imperfectly.

And we have the internal scars to prove it.

We all need the great HEALER.

You know, Jesus Christ.

He knows us inside and out.

Psalm 139 tells us he knows when we sit and when we rise. He knows when we leave and when we lie down. He knows what we are going to say before we say it. He is familiar with all our ways.

There is nothing we hide from him with our pretty clothes, make-up, and smiling personality.

Our view of the world is distorted, but HIS is clear.

He stands with his arms outstretched, waiting for us to get over ourselves and accept what he has already done for us on the cross.

I pray that I may see others with the eyes of Christ, not the eyes of jealousy and self-condemnation. May I see that they are another hurting soul and offer them what he has so freely given to me-mercy and grace.

Linking to: 

Five Minute Baker

Comfort

I decided to participate in Five Minute Friday this week.

But wait.

It is Saturday.

That is how I roll.

Keeping it real here on the farm. The only thing growing here now is a GOB of dandelions.

This week's word is Comfort.

Since today is the day before Mother's Day, our kids were all here for lunch. We had steaks, baked potatoes, and all the trimmings, and our middle son helped with the preparations. I love working in the kitchen with my boys- although none of them are boys any more.

That same man who chopped the veggies used to have a blankie he turned to whenever he needed comfort. He drug that thing all over the place and it would get dirty and had a distinct smell on the corner where he would wrap it around his thumb before he stuck the whole thing in his mouth.

Our oldest son had a pacifier that was his friend. Like many parents, we had several stashed in different places all around the house. We HAD to have one available because he needed it.

Our baby was a thumbsucker, too, but his comfort routine was a little "song" he would sing when he was tired. I rocked him to sleep while he sang his sleepy song, sucked on his "fi-fi", and rubbed and rubbed on my earlobe.

I look at my three sons now in wonder at the men they have become. Beards have replaced their baby-faced cheeks and muscles bulge at their shirtsleeves.

And my heart nearly bursts with pride.

Happy Mother's Day, friends!

Linking up to......

Five Minute Friday

She is Better than Me

You might not like me very much after this post.

I'm going to confess something today and it isn't pretty. It is a character trait that I wish wasn't connected with me.

This nastiness is comparison.

For most of my life, I have felt like I didn't measure up. I wasn't smart enough, funny enough, serious enough, clever enough, responsible enough, pretty enough, skinny enough, dressed cute enough, productive enough.

Enough, enough, enough-

such an ugly, debilitating word when looking at it from the "lack" side. Feeling this way made me afraid to put myself "out there" when I was younger, and kept me from experiences that would have been beneficial to me.

Or I did participate, but didn't enjoy the experience like I should have because I hadn't done it well enough.

Even worse, comparing myself to others as kept me from really enjoying the tasks I feel led to do and who God made me to be.  Last year, I confessed my sin of comparison to one of my closest friends. I have been trying to be more aware when I fall into the trap and asking God to help me give it up.

I read Brooke Boon's post this week and was made aware once again that God isn't finished with me in this area quite yet.

I know I am not the only one who feels this way, and that is why I am bearing my soul to you.

I say enough is enough. I'm finished with it.

Psalm 139  tells us that we are 

• fearfully and wonderfully made
• he created our inmost beings; he knit us together in our mother's wombs
• he knows when we sit and when we rise
• he perceives our thoughts from afar
• he knows when we go out and when we lie down

and Ephesians 1 states

• God lavishes us with grace
• We are CHOSEN by GOD.

Sounds like SOMEBODY IMPORTANT thinks I am not so bad.

Brooke pointed out in her article that we are insulting God when we focus on what we think we ARE NOT instead of what we ARE.

I had never thought of it that way. 

Trust me. I don't want to insult my Heavenly Father, or his Son, Jesus.

In all my comparing, I honestly didn't want those who had the things I lacked to have less. I just wanted to be more.

Kind of makes me want to hang my head in embarrassment now.

If through the shed blood of His Precious Son, God says I am GOOD ENOUGH for Him, shouldn't that make me GOOD ENOUGH for me?

I saw this video on another blog (don't know which one. I feel bad about that.) and it got me thinking about prisons.

                
Kairos- My Redeemer Lives from MICHAEL ELLIS on Vimeo.

These men are locked up because of decisions they made. They don't have a choice.

I am tired of being in a prison of my own making when God has given me the key to get out.

Care to join me in unlocking the shackles of comparison?

My prayer for all of us today comes straight from the pen of Paul.....

I pray that you being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullnesss of God.                                                                 Ephesians 3: 17b-19

Have You Heard About......

Popping in today to share some random goodies with you!

A Book.......

I just finished reading The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein, our April book club selection. I wasn't able to make the discussion (Boo!) but wanted to read it anyway and I am so glad that I did. I loved the story told from the point of view of the owner's DOG.  

I give the book 5 Stars, 2 Thumbs-up, and a High-five!

A Recipe......

Last week, I wanted to make Broccoli Crack, but my broccoli was fuzzy-if you know what I mean. I get so aggravated at myself when I let that happen. 

Am I the only one? Huh?

I threw the gross broccoli in the trash and grabbed my cauliflower and computer instead, found this recipe, and whipped it up for lunch. 

Oven-Roasted Cauliflower with Garlic, Olive Oil and Lemon Juice

Prep Time:5 min Inactive Prep Time: -- Cook Time:15 min
Level: Easy
Serves: 5 to 6 cups roasted cauliflower florets, 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients
5 to 6 cups cauliflower florets, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter (from 1 medium cauliflower)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon sliced garlic
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
Chopped chives, for garnish

Directions: Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.

Place the cauliflower florets in a large saute pan or a roasting pan. Drizzle the olive oil over the cauliflower, and season with the garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Place the saute/roasting pan in the oven and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure even roasting. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the Parmesan. Garnish with chopped chives and serve immediately while still warm.

One word: DELICIOUS! 

A Netflix Show....

My sister gave me a heads-up about Call the Midwife a show available on Netflix. The show is set in the East end of London in the 1950's, and I can't always understand EVERY line, but I LOVE it anyway. 

Have you seen it? 

Do you have any goodies you want to share with me? I'd enjoy learning about what is making you happy today!

Linking up to....

Between Naps on the Porch