Too Much Talk

When I can force myself to walk/jog, I like to listen to the music on my phone on shuffle. The other day, a song came on that really made me think. It was Civil War by Guns n Roses, and the first line before they even started singing caught my attention.

"What we have here is... failure to communicate."

How appropriate.

In today's society, we do a lot of talking and not enough listening. I know this series is all about sharing my story, and this is my blog and my facebook page is my facebook page...

but we've become a little bit too much about sharing our individual stories.

We listen not to hear what the other person is saying... rather, we are thinking about what we are going to say in response.

I get it, totally. As a socially awkward introvert who struggles to make conversation, I spend a lot of time thinking about what I'm going to say.

I'm pretty sure that when I was a kid my Mom and Dad wouldn't have believed this, but I don't like to talk...

but I sure do like to use my fingers to talk sometimes.

Talking about things I shouldn't.

Sometimes, talking about people that I shouldn't.

Talking in response to others, even when it's none of my business.

Talking is important. Communication is important. Telling our story is important, too, because so often it's important for others to know that we can relate. We aren't the perfect people you see on your newsfeed. We are all living, breathing, hot messes...

But if we are going to talk, we need to be sure that what we say is worth saying. There's a verse in the Bible that terrifies me on days when I truly sit down and think about it. In His Word, it says we will stand judgment for every idle word we say.

Every single one, y'all.  No wonder eternity is eternity, because I've said a lot of idle words...

So tonight, as I'm finishing up this post and thinking of how poor our communication skills are  in this "selfie" world, I'm thinking of another verse. "Let no corrupt talk come out of you rmouth, only that which is edifying."

May we build each other up, and ultimately build Him up.

That's why we're here, after all.

This is a part of a series using free write prompts provided by Five Minute Fridays. Today's prompt? Talk.

The Doxology of Praise

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow...

all of them. every good and perfect gift comes from above.

Praise Him all creatures here below...

every creature on earth praises Him in their own way. The trees sway in the wind. The blue skies reflect the sun and the birds swoop through the clouds. The flowers, fragrant with their unique smells, turn their face to the sun. Every creature...

Praise Him all ye Heavenly Host...

even though we can't see them, there's a heavenly host praising God right now. Singing songs. "Holy, holy,holy, Lord God Almighty..."

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost...

Father who loves us enough to send His Son, Jesus who is our Savior, the Holy Ghost who is our Comforter... The trinity...

AMEN.

This post is a Five Minute Friday free write, where we write for five minutes unedited on one prompt. This week's word is Praise. This is also a part of the write 31 days series about telling my story. May my story be one of praise, even in the difficult times, because He is worthy.

For more posts in this series, visit here

The Revolving Door

I love fancy hotels... the kind with big tall beds and soft pillows and comforters that are so heavy you can't hardly sleep under them. (Not that I get to stay in them much... I can count on one hand the times I've stayed in a "fancy" hotel.  But my dream job just may be 1. to review hotels and 2. to review books and get paid and 3. to review chocolate cake while reading books in those hotels).

Anyway, every fancy hotel has a bellhop... if that's the right term. You know, to open the door and help you with your luggage and to make sure you get your car back from valet parking (again, not that I use valet parking much... if ever...)

I like it when the bellhop holds open the door because generally most fancy hotels have those revolving doors...

and y'all. I'm terrified of them.

I mean, I'll use them if I have to...

but I'm always afraid I'll get stuck in one. They make me slightly claustrophobic, especially when it's in a certain light and you can see yourself in the revolving door. You know, that shadow you get in a glass window where everything is distorted and even the skinniest part of your body looks like it has triple chins?

I mean, can you imagine being stuck staring at yourself like that, unable to push the door forward or to go backward?

Life feels kind of like that, sometimes. The door is heavy, and you feel stuck, even if you aren't.

We gotta just keep pushing, folks.

And pray there's a doorhop that can help us out.

This post is a part of a free write series about my story using prompts from Five Minute Friday. We write on one word for five minutes, unedited. Today's prompt? Door.

I Don't Know How but I Know Who

Sometimes I pause and take a look around and ask myself one question.

How did I get here?

Here, not in the physical sense of the word, but in this season of life. Sometimes I feel comfortable in my own skin, and sometimes I feel like the biggest fake on the earth.

There never seems to be any in between.

Either I'm completely sure of myself or I feel like a raging idiot.

Unsure of how...

How to be a better mom... wife... daughter...sister...aunt...teacher...nurse...friend...

How to fit it all in, all that I want to do and see vs. what I "need" to do to fulfill all of my roles.

How to balance...

How to be kind in an unkind world.

How to look past the hurts and frustrations and choose to love.

How do we do it, in today's upside down world?

By remembering that With man, it's impossible, but with God all things are possible.

And I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

I might not know the how, but I know the Who...

And He's working in me everyday.

This post is part of a 31 day series using prompts from Five Minute Friday to tell my story. Today's prompt is "How".

Inspire

Sometimes, a lot of the time, actually, living this story we are writing is hard.

We face difficulties. Dark days. Days when things don't make sense.

Too often we go from one thing to another, and then another, and another...

mediocre at best. Living through the mundane. As one writer said, giving into the tyranny of the urgent instead of making time for what is most important.

Because urgent isn't emergent...

And some things have to be taken care of first and foremost. Just like a person who has a trauma can die if they are allowed to hemorrhage, if we allow our soul to hemorrhage, to empty without refilling, we too, will die. Maybe not physically, but definitely emotionally.

And as we go through this mundane, it is easy to keep our eyes in front of us. It's easy to get accustomed to the scenery around us and not even see the spectacular.

In this story we are writing, we have to learn to look up... to find something to inspire.

Just tonight I looked up at they sky around sunset. The sun was peeking through the clouds, sunbeams from Heaven. There are no words that can describe it adequately, but I felt my soul smile.

We can find inspiration in lots of places. I find it often in my students who struggle to achieve their dream. I find inspiration in the ocean, in the mountains when I hike, when I see an older couple holding hands, when I hear an uplifting song.

Inspiration is all around us. When you find yourself staring at that blank page of life, trying to put the next word down, look up and around. Breathe deep. You'll find it may be a little hidden, but it's there for the taking.

This free write as a part of write 31 days is using a prompt from Five Minute Fridays. Today's prompt was inspire.

Yoga Pants and Heaven- It's All About Comfort

Comfort...

We all love it. Being comfortable is an innate human desire...

but what's that quote? Life begins outside of your comfort zone.

How true that can be.

If you know anything about me at all you know I don't like change. I don't like stepping out of my space.

I like comfort, and not just in the form of the yoga pants and tee-shirts I wear all summer or the fuzzy blanket I like to nap under on Sunday afternoons.

I'm talking about feeling safe, protected, sure of myself in whatever situation I am in.

I don't like not knowing what I'm doing.

I fear what other people will say about me.

I wish part of my story could be about being brave, but I'll be the first to admit that I'm not.

However, I'm slowly realizing that when I'm not comfortable, God is working.

When I'm most afraid and unsure, He is there, settling.

I'm starting to learn that life on the edge isn't always so bad, because He is my safety net.

That doesn't mean that I don't spend the majority of the time inching toward the edge, shaking at the knees... but I think He honors every little step.

And y'all. We've got all of eternity to be comfortable.

I'm pretty sure Heaven won't be full of yoga pants and fuzzy blankets, but there'll be no pain or sorrow...

And even introverts like me will like people.

Don't get too comfortable down here... because it's only temporary. 

Thank goodness!

This has been part of a series for #write31days using Five Minute Friday free writes- today's prompt is comfort.

The Name of Hope

Any good story is full of valleys and peaks.

Conflict and resolution.

Well-developed characters.

Every story has moments where the main character feels a little hopeless... but as they face the conflict and work toward the resolution, as they are tested and tried, their character is developed...

And usually hope shines bright as the plot is tied up in a pretty little bow.

Not always the case for real-life. In real-life, we often feel like the light at the end of the tunnel is a fast-moving train, and the bows that tie up the story slowly unravel.

Hope is a small word... one syllable... but it has a huge meaning.

If you've ever felt hopeless, you can relate to what I'm trying to say, because when you are standing at the bottom of the pit with no way to dig yourself out, hope can seem impossible.

The great thing, though, is that as long as we are breathing, we are living our story, and if we are still living that story, we have hope.

Even if we don't feel it.

Hope is the realization that one of the greatest words in the English language (when used appropriately) is one of the shortest.

BUT.

Not as we like to use it, to make excuses, but preceding another three letter word...

BUT God.

Because with God, we have the hope of salvation.

Of redemption.

We were hopeless in our sin, hopeless to save ourselves, hopeless to reconcile...

But God.

In His great love, He demonstrated... acted... sacrificed.

And now, we have hope.

His name is Jesus.

This post is part of a series for Write 31 Days using Free Write prompts provided by Five Minute Fridays. Today's prompt is hope...

And what a beautiful thing it is.