Sabrina – Page 13 – Sabrina J-R

Gift Reaffirmed

What better way to christen a new (to me) laptop than with a blog post? It’s been a bit too quiet on my online space the last couple weeks. Life offline, however, has been full. I’ve started working as a virtual assistant. The best part of my duties? Editing. I’ve been given the chance to hone my writing skills in a different way.

Yesterday, my oldest daughter wanted to try her hand at writing a poem. She asked me to sit down and compose one alongside her. My Momma-writer’s heart was very glad to oblige. While my girl didn’t get too far ahead on her poem, I managed to jot something powerful (to me) in under five minutes. I’ve been told that I have a gift in writing. Countless people have been positively impacted by my words. Praise the Lord! I’m certainly not this brilliant on my own.

But every so often, doubts and other silly things try to sneak in the back door. This poem and message that I needed was reaffirmation that writing is still a precious gift.

I’m sharing it here, hoping that you will be blessed too, by this (untitled) poem.

Colours so vibrant

Matchless and right

Fragrances well-paired

In marriage to the perfect bloom

Taking note of their beauty

Gaze and inhale deeply

I must pause in awe

As creation worships its Creator

These flowers seem handcrafted

Each petal uniquely delicate

Only the gentlest of touches

Could have placed them just so

But it was a word

An almighty and powerful command

The earth trembled at His words

And erupted into breathtaking obedience

Wow!

This should be me

I must listen for God’s voice

Be willing to obey His divine command

Out of me can come exquisite beauty

To the glory of my Creator

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I’m linking up with Debi at FunkiPlanet today. Check her out when you have a moment.

Giver or Lender?

Last night, I led out in a weekly prayer meeting at my church. The focus was friendships with friends. As I compiled my information to share with the group, one profound thought hit me:

Jesus gave. He did not lend.

There are four levels of friendship:

Acquaintance
Casual Friendship
Close Friendship (aka Fellowship)
Intimate Friendship

But rather than embrace these relationships, I’ve organized them by boundary levels. As a friend becomes dearer to me, they’re permitted to come another layer closer to my heart. Humans have fragile hearts that need protecting and sheltering. We don’t have limitless energies to just parcel ourselves out, even to our friends. We give, yet hope for a return on that investment. With all the rants we listen too, the advice we give, the hours spent on our knees in prayer, we cling to the idea that somehow, it would one day be reciprocated. After a certain time, we’re too drained. Fatigued by the emotional roller coaster of being a friend. We either need a break, some temporary distance or a final cut off.

That’s not how Jesus demonstrated friendship. He just gave. He didn’t view friendship as a relationship of expectation. He gave up heaven to come and show us how to live and love each other. He risked everything to show us that it is possible to make great choices amongst poor options. Jesus was the ultimate sacrificial lamb. He gave his best at all levels of friendship. Even towards His enemies, Jesus did no less than His best.

Along with his life, there are some other priceless gifts included:

Redemption. Grace. Mercy. Forgiveness. Peace. Joy. And so much more.

What kind of friend am I?

After last night, I’m determined to be a better friend. To give my best in each level of friendship. Suddenly, having a small number of friends isn’t so shameful after all. I cannot give my best if I need to reach a large quantity of people in the same way.

What kind of friend are you?

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I’m linking up today with Debi. You’re invited to drop in too.

Five Minute Friday: Bare

When God molded Adam, then Eve

He handcrafted them perfectly

In His image

Life in that garden home was perfect

The temperature ideal

No need for clothes

There was nothing to cover up

No shame

No sin

But

Ideal was shattered

A crunch resounded throughout the garden

Forbidden fruit was bitten

Suddenly eyes were opened

There was shame

Guilt

Embarrassment

Something

Something stark

So harsh about reality

About humanity

That the first urge was not to back-pedal

Not even to run from God

(Which they did soon afterwards)

It was to cover up

To erect some type of barrier

A shield

Anything they could grab

To try and hide from outside eyes

The turmoil that they felt inside

God created us bare

There was nothing between us & Him

He was free to walk with us

To talk with us

To hang out with us

We were open to His presence

We were accepting of His company

God’s presence is something we strive for

Sort of

We’ve grown into this role of hiding

From each other

Protecting ourselves, our hearts

Even from those we love most

And we do with same with Our Creator

We reveal ourselves in bits and pieces

Quickly

As though we’re flashers

Taking great efforts to expose only what we’re comfortable with

But He put us together

Yes, even in the womb

He hand-picked the parts of him and her

To create you

There is nothing He doesn’t know about you

The only thing He wants for you is

The best!

Nothing I do can will make Him love me more

Nothing I do can will make Him love me less

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Bare. Take five minutes and run wild with that word. When you’re done, feel free to link up with the five-minute Friday community.

Five Minute Friday: Afraid

“Why did you keep your blog tucked away?”

A sincere question from a friend, asked a few days ago. She’d read a few of my posts and thought they were good.

Excitedly, I had a response. Finally. It’s often one of those questions that I hem and haw to answer.

It’s tucked away because I am was afraid.

Would anyone read my blog? Could I ever be “noticed” by someone bigger and with klout? Might I ever get any income-producing leads?

Am I writing the truth, according to God’s Word? I didn’t want to take The Book and re-title it “Gospel According to Sabrina”.

When I stopped cowering from my self-thought & self-imposed fears, my heart was opened to the concept of bravery. Yet, once I dedicated my blog and writing to glorify God, no matter what, He, in turn, filled me with courage.

I dropped the unhealthy preoccupation with stuff and had the energy to focus on service.

I’m still afraid, but those moments are fewer & further apart. I don’t need to cling being afraid. There is One who has promised to take care of me and fight for me like He fought for Jehoshaphat and many more.

Like He fights for you.

You won’t have to lift a hand in this battle; just stand firm…and watch God’s saving work for you take shape. Don’t be afraid, don’t waver. March out boldly tomorrow–God is with you. {2 Chronicles 20:17, The Message (emphasis mine)}

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What words flow when you take five minutes to tackle ‘afraid’? Be brave and share with the five-minute Friday community.

The ORIGINAL Throwback Survey!

Here’s a different type of post today. My cheerleading-reading-diva-in-making Sista Friend, Debi, tagged me in her survey. Thanks, girl! I glanced at the questions, and took the plunge. There is a link up happening as well, so why not join in the fun?

The Basics:

What is your name?
Sabrina J-R

What is the name of your blog?
And Then Some

What’s your blog’s web address?
http://babyrowe.blogspot.com

The Survey:

1. What ~~state~~ province do you currently reside?

Manitoba

2. What colour is your natural hair?

Black. I’ve never dyed my hair.

3. How tall are you?

5’6

4. What is your favourite food?

I’m a sucker for most things mint chocolate.

5. What colour shirt are you wearing right now?

Black

6. What are three cosmetic items that you wear every single day?

Deodorant, lip balm, contact lenses (yes, I had to stretch hard for three…)

7. What is your denomination?

Seventh-day Adventist Christian

8. Describe your testimony?

I was raised in a Christian home and always encouraged to get to know Jesus for myself. Watching the lives of my peers helped me turn to the Word for answers on how best to live. I chose Jesus & was baptized at age 16.

9. How did you meet your husband?

At church. We were both born into the same church, though years apart. We never hung out in the same circles. Fast forward to November 2000. He finally got himself on MSN Messenger and we started randomly chatting online. Eventually the convos got deeper and months later we transferred to phone conversations. Soon after that, we began dating.

10. What is your favourite beverage?

Water. Also the non-alcoholic strawberry daquiri at the Fairmont Southampton Resort in Bermuda. Not all daquiris are created equal, sadly.

11. How many kids do you have?

Three precious girls. JT (6 yrs), JD (4 yrs) & RJ (2 yrs)

12. Have you ever experienced an earthquake?

Yes, while visiting California in June 2008.

13. What is your favourite TV show?

I have a few: The Cosby Show. Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Criminal Minds. Many shows on the Food Network.

14. What was the last movie you saw?

The Makeover. (The Hallmark Hall of Fame flick last weekend. I like sappy movies.)

15. Who is your favourite Bible character?

I love the gutsy characters: Jael, Esther, Rahab, John the Baptist, Paul.

16. What colour are your eyes?

Dark brown.

17. Are you a working mother, stay at home wife, or stay at home mom?

Stay at home mom, with a couple of ‘working’ projects in progress.

18. Do you homeschool?

Yes, we do.

19. Did/do you attend university? If so, where?

I earned a scholarship to the University of Winnipeg eons ago. I graduated from Herzing College, locally.

20. If you could change one things in your life, what would it be?

Only one?! It’s a toss-up between a body that bounces back after pregnancy or being debt-free… Debt-free, for the win.

21. Who is your favourite Christian singer or band?

Kirk Franklin, Fred Hammond, Donnie McClurkin

22. What is your absolute favourite colour?

Purple!

23. Think about something from the ocean and write it down: (yes, random…I know)

The view outside my hotel room on my honeymoon

24. Where is your favourite place to dine out?

I have forgotten what this concept means… Montana’s Restaurant, I guess?

25. Did you attend church camp?

A couple times. Usually for the week of general family camp, and not during the weeks of my age group.

26. Name a blog friend who’s name starts with the same letter as your name:
I searched high & low for an “S” name. Expanded to a surname and came up with Jen S. at After The Chapel

27. Do you have a Facebook account for your blog?

Sorta? I started to create a page last year, but it has yet to go public. I’m working on my fears.

28. Do you have a Twitter account for your blog?

Specifically for the blog–no. But I am on Twitter. @sabrinaj98

29. Name someone you miss right now:
My Hubby. It’s one of those odd seasons where time together is sparse. We should plan a date night.

30. What is your happiest childhood memory?
I have tons of happy memories–praise God! Here’s one:
When I was about 9/10 yrs old, I received a letter stating that I had scored the highest mark in Manitoba in my grade 3 piano exam. I was also awarded a medal. My Granny was over and she uber-excited for me! She gave me a massive hug and also wanted to give me a little money. I was expecting only a dollar or two. She gave me a ten dollar bill! That was big money for me back then, in 1990.

31. Name one thing you can cook better than your husband’s mother: (if you’re not married, then your own mother.)
Everything. I never had the chance to know my husband’s mother. She died when he was a teenager (and I was 6 yrs old, so I have no memories of her at all).

32. Would you consider yourself stubborn?
Yes, I have my moments

33. Do you feel like you are a good writer?
Actually, yes

34. Do you pin? If so, list your Pinterest screen name.
Nope.

35. How many hours do you spend on Pinterest per day?
zero

36. Do you use WordPress, Blogger, Drupal, Typepad? (or another?)
Blogger at the moment. When start self-hosting my blog, I will most likely transition to something else.

37. Where do you stand on wearing socks with sandals?
What do you mean stand?! There are no sides here. No socks with sandals in public!

38. Did you design your own blog, or hire a graphic designer?
The current design is mine-ish. I picked a free template online and installed it myself. I also added in a few elements on my own, using tutorials when necessary. I would love to have a designer in the future…

39. What is your favourite widget/gadget?
Does disqus count as a widget? I don’t really have any extras on this blog. I plan to go big when I’m self-hosted!

40. If you had to choose only one, would you have a clean bathroom or a clean kitchen?
Ummm, clean kitchen. Don’t need vermin or unsanitaryness happening in my place of eating & communing with my family.

41. Where did you honeymoon?
On the friendly island of Bermuda

42. Did you elope?
Nope! We both come from huge families, who would’ve disowned us had we snuck off. Besides, we were so giddily happy that we wanted everyone there. I loved my wedding day

43. Do you have a favourite sports team?
No. I enjoy sports; Olympics are my all-time-stands-still epic event. But I don’t align myself as a fanatic of any particular team or sport.

44. What is your favourite praise & worship song?
How Great is Our God…. at least for the moment 😉

45. Were you raised in church?
Yes. Praise God!

46. When did you start blogging?
In 2006, when I was pregnant with my first daughter. The domain name has stayed the same, but there have been many renovations to the look, feel, quality of writing & content.

47. What are your favourite blogs?
I don’t have a set list that I read daily. I’ll read whatever articles are recommended by my Facebook people. On Fridays, I do link up with Lisa-Jo. I read Allume most days too.

48. Have you ever lived in another country?
No, not yet.

49. Have you done missions? If so, where & when?
Yes. While I haven’t done any foreign missions trips, I help out those around me. Sometimes your mission field is right in your backyard 😉

50. What version of the Bible do you prefer?
New Living Translation

51. What’s the story behind your blog name?
And Then Some– As my content started changing from baby musings to a bit more, I wanted a blog name to reflect that too. So, I considered what I blog about–life lessons & faith–and the fact that I try to bring a new perspective to the table. ‘And Then Some‘ jumped out and seems to have stayed for a wee bit.
(I am open to suggestions for a new name though…)

52. Describe the ultimate hands down best date on a $20 budget.

A snack and stroll with the Hunny. For me, it’s not about spending loads of money, but enjoying the moments you have together.

53. Will you tell one blogger about this survey? If so, then who? (optional: include their web address)

I will tell those in my Mastermind Family.

54. What is your favourite scripture?

Psalm 34:8 Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in Him!

I can do my best to tell you all about God and His awesomeness and His greatness. But all you’ll have is my experience as you live vicariously through me. It’s not the same! God is so much more real when you try Him for yourself. A total body experience. And the joy you’ll have when you taste & see? Indescribable, really!

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I’m linking up with Priscilla today. If you hurry, you can still get in on a fun contest.

Five Minute Friday: Again

Over and over

One more time

Just a wee bit more?

Oh please, one last time?

We do repeats often.

I have friends that watch some of their favourites

Again and again.

When Titanic first came out, they should’ve just purchased real estate at the cinema

The episode when ____________ (fill in your fave)?

Yeah, I never get tired of watching it.

Oh and that song! It’s constantly on repeat.

Children are infamous for repeating.

The DVD era makes it so simple.

Press the ‘back’ button.

Practice the song/dance/line

Until it’s etched deeply in their brains.

Next thing you know, they’re talking to each other

As though they’re their favourite characters.

I make the same mistakes over and over

One more time

Just tweaked a wee bit

And pray that it’s the last time?

Thankfully, I can go to my Heavenly Daddy

Again and again.

“I’m sorry.”

It’s almost like an annoying broken record.

He always responds with

“You’re forgiven, Honey”

(because you & I are His favourites)

He never tires of helping me

Of blessing me

Of. Loving. Me!

Over and over

One more time

Just a wee bit more

Oh please? It’s not the last time

I’ll be back again.

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I did something a wee bit different today with my writing format. No matter what your go-to writing method is, just let the words pour out of you, like a healing balm. And hey–if you don’t like it too much, you can try ‘again’ next week. *smile*

Update From ‘Timely Words’ Post

I have an update to this post from a couple weeks back. I can divulge a few more details. The trouble brewing around my Hubby that day was work-related. Management had opted to do another (the third within approximately 14 months) major round of cuts. While they don’t have the exact number of how many were let go, the guestimation is that it was about two-thirds of the staff.

That’s. A. Lot!

Thankfully, my Hubby is still employed…for now. But there are no guarantees. There was a cryptic follow-up message with a plan for twelve months from now. Inquiring minds would love to know what exactly that means.

Yet, we’re at peace. We’re being intentional in trusting God. Nothing is guaranteed, even during peaceful times. It is possible to be filled with peace when we choose to trust God in the midst of uncertainty.

We see God working, giving us glimpses of hope just when we need them.

For all that life is not, God is.

Five Minute Friday: Cherished

Do this because you are a people set apart as holy to God, your God. God, your God, chose you out of all the people on earth for Himself as a cherished, personal treasure. God wasn’t attracted to you and didn’t choose you because you were big and important–the fact is, there was almost nothing to you. He did it out of sheer love. Deut. 7:6,7,8a (MSG)

My understanding of love is more of a misunderstanding. My perspective is flawed; my thoughts limited. Often, I look around me for snippets of love and respond to what I can see. There is love around me, but that’s only a very small picture of what love truly is.

God is love.

That’s all He knows to be. He created me, out of love. That makes me cherished. By Him. Forever.

When I cherish something, it’s temporal. Memories, flavours, objects…even people. Those things all fade with time. The things I tend to cherish have “earned” a special spot in my heart.

With God, I don’t have to work at being cherished by Him. I just am. Furthermore, there is nothing I can do to work my way out of being cherished by Him. He still cherishes me. To cherish us is His intention; it’s on purpose.

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Got five minutes? The prompt is “cherished”. Let your fingers (or pen) fly freely. Click below to join a the five-minute Friday community over at Lisa-Jo’s.

Five Minute Friday: Dive

As one who can barely float on water, the sport of diving fascinates me. There is years of training and perfecting of technique that is invested in a diver. There is constant repetition, correcting posture to achieve the best results. The cleaner the dive, the lesser you splash upon entering the water. All of this happens for only a few brief seconds. It seems the walk to the end of the diving board takes longer than the actual dive.

What a comparison to life. As a follower of God, I invest a lot of time and training in getting to know Him. There is time spent in prayer and in His Word, as He coaches me through life, directing me toward the best path. There is a struggle to keep my spine straight and my posture erect for the right reasons. There are times when I overdo it and end up spraying everyone in my wake as I hit the water. Truth be told, some dives are clunky cannon balls; nothing graceful about them.

When an Olympic diving score is tallied, the lowest number is discarded. Thrown out and forgotten. Not counted against the athlete. So it is with God. He forgives, throwing away my disgrace. No longer can it count against me.

I rinse off as I emerge from the pool. Again I head for the ladder, ready to climb up and dive.

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Dive–what a fun word! Why not take about 5 minutes to jot down some ideas on “dive”? Click below to join in the discussion.

Timely Words

My Hubby messaged me this morning with a prayer request. I can’t go into details right now, but there’s trouble brewing around him today. Focused on my personal theme of “intentional” for this year, I made a few deliberate choices. I was intentional to not panic and intentionally sought peace instead.

After receiving the text message, I took time to do my daily Bible study. The last few days have included either chapters or large portions of scripture to read. Today devotional and scripture was brief. The reading said to reflect and memorize the following one verse:

The Lord Himself will fight for you. Just stay calm. Exodus 14:14 (NLT)
God will fight the battle for you. And you? Keep your mouths shut. (MSG)

What?! Seriously?!

Seriously!!

This portion of Exodus tells of the Israelites’ journey from Egypt to Canaan. The Egyptian army has just caught up to them, trapping between the army and the Red Sea. But God has a plan! And it doesn’t involve any interaction between both groups. Rather, the Israelites are instructed to march forward on the path God is about to open before them and to leave the army up to Him. And boy, does He handle the Egyptian army.

I don’t have any answers. I have no idea what will happen around my Hubby today. What I do know is Who is in control and has a plan. Better than anything I can dream up in my finite, limited thinking.

My goal to live intentionally? It’s in progress.