Sabrina J-R – Page 14

2013 in One Word

Intentional.

That’s the ‘one word’ that has stuck with me over the last few months. Rather than set resolutions for 2013, I’ve chosen to make a revolution.

Through my personal devotional time, I’ve been learning more about God and His amazing love for me. One point that resonates within is this: God is intentional in what He does. My blessings are specific and tailored to me. The types of trials and temptations I face are also set to needle and refine me into the woman that God needs me to be.

God has a specific plan for my life. I cannot fulfill His plans if I, in turn, am not intentional with my life. I must be deliberate in my thoughts and choices. My actions, my words, my blog posts should be done with intention.

I’m already seeing how 2013 is shaping up to be a wild ride. My, how one word can fine tune one’s focus.

Have you chosen one word for this year? Please share your words in the comment section below.

Five Minute Friday: Opportunity

There was a fresh start the moment I flipped the calendar page. 2012 is over. Done. Nothing I did in the past can be undone, changed or even tweaked. The only things that carry over are the memories and the consequences.

A new year is a blank slate. It’s like opening a fresh journal. The pages are crisp and unsullied. The spine of the book hasn’t yet been cracked wide open. When inhaling, there is still that new book scent. Oh, the possibilities that await. The stories that I will live. The people I will meet. The chance to share the gospel awaits me.

I have fantasized about this next year. There are some daydreams and hopes that I entertain. Yet, I refuse to settle for my ideas. I’m very short-sighted. My vision is limited. If I want the best for 2013, then I must dedicate myself to God’s directions. He knows what He’s doing:

“I don’t think the way you think. The way you work isn’t the way I work.” God’s Decree. “For as the sky soars high above earth, so the way I work surpasses the way you work, and the way I think is beyond the way you think.” ~Isa 55:8,9

It doesn’t get any clearer than that! I choose to make the most of now. I aim to live intentionally this year. Life is too short; tomorrow is not guaranteed. All I have is today. I echo with the psalmist David, as he pleaded

God, make a fresh start in me, shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life. Don’t throw me out with the trash, or fail to breathe holiness in me. ~Ps. 51:10, 11

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What a way to kick start 2013! Where does opportunity lead you? Click below to join in the community of five-minute Friday doers.

Thoughts on Surrender

Why are the best things in life among the hardest things in life?

Surrrender.

It goes against human nature to concede. To give in. To yield completely to another. Even when that “another” is God. Because God doesn’t fail, the idea of surrender should be a no brainer. The opposite is what we tend to live out. Because it’s God, we pull out all the thoughts, ideas, rebuttals, refusals and hold back.

I saw this video and the message resonates with me each time I watch it. Take a look.

**sigh**

There are so many layers to surrendering. Let me share a few more thoughts:

Surrendering is H-A-R-D!!!!
To surrender is a choice.
Even making no choice is actually a choice all on its own.
It’s our responsibility. God doesn’t coerce or force us to surrender.
We have to be all in because there’s no room for partial surrender.
Jesus didn’t die in pieces. His death was complete. Surrender cannot happen in pieces; it must be complete.

Have you been thinking about surrender? Feel free to share your thoughts below.

Five Minute Friday: Wonder

One definition of wonder is to speculate curiously.

How perfect, considering these verses I found in Matthew.

Your eyes are windows into your body. If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar. If you pull the blinds on your windows, what a dark life you will have! (6 : 22, 23–The Message)

Wonder ~~encourages,~~ no, urges an open mind. It’s very comfortable to stay within a box. A specific boundary and self-imposed frame. Not wanting to test the limits, we don’t take time for wondering, for speculating. For living freely.

But if we want to grow, to explore, to be filled with His gracious light, then we need to be open. We need our eyes open to His power and His working in our lives. Ears need to be alert and listening for all the sounds that indicated His voice. Hearts need to be open to accept unconditional love.

The opposite is harsh, stark. Living squinty-eyed is not fun. I hate living in suspicion of everything and everyone around me. There are times when it is safer to do so; to question people’s true motives. However, such living makes no allowance for wonder. Rarely do I tend to think highly of others when my suspicions are aroused. The temptation is great to shut myself off and stay in a corner.

That is not living. There is no enjoyment in that type of life. Taking the imagination one step further means seeking out truth.

Wonder is where living begins.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is the final Five-Minute Friday prompt for 2012. We resume in January 2013 for another year of wondering and free writing. Click below to join the community.

Climbing to New Heights

As a mom of young kids, escaping to use the bathroom is a calculating endeavor. I must be sure that nothing can happen while I turn my back for a few moments. I also guzzle a lot of water. It’s my daily favourite; a must-have. And, well, what goes in must also come out, right?

Last week, I glanced around the living room. The kids were watching something on tv. I figured it would be a great time to slip into the bathroom, unnoticed. (This was after watching eagerly for an opportune moment to get away.)

As soon as the door closed, I heard the familiar grating sound of kitchen chair being dragged across the floor. Perhaps an older girl wanted to climb over the baby gate to get to up to her room. As I washed my hands, I then heard the kitchen faucet being turned on and off, repeatedly. Full blast! Uh oh! I thought. What is Jamayia (my 6 year old) washing now?!

I rushed out of the bathroom, hearing the dollars wash down the drain each time the faucet turned on. I rounded the corner and froze. It was Rishayla! My 22 month-old darling. Except she wasn’t just playing in dirty dishwater this time.

She was standing in. the. sink!!!! I flew through a range of emotions within nanoseconds. Shock. Panic. Annoyance at the extra laundry. Worry (there was a *small* knife at the edge of the sink; a grater; other things that are unsafe for that age!!!).

Yet, I quickly snapped out of my stunned pose and snapped her picture.

Would you believe she was completely dry?!

Now to find other ways to harness my young acrobat.

…Or get a catheter.

She’s in the sink! She’s got skills, this one.

Five Minute Friday: Thank You

It’s the simplest of gifts that tend to carry the deepest of meanings for me. I love seeing that someone thought of me enough to find something that was just right and appropriate for me.

Thinking about that one leper, out of his group of friends. The story tells us that he was a foreigner, a Samaritan. Samaritan and Jews despised each other in those days. Yet, it was the commonality of disease that linked him to a community of despair. When they saw Jesus, they all begged for mercy, knowing that He had the power to heal them.

But He didn’t. Not then. Instead Jesus said to go and see the priests. As they travelled, in faith, they were healed.

Only one seemed to notice. At the moment when he realized that his body was restored, that he was no longer a social outcast, he turned back. He, the foreigner who should really avoid Jesus, ran and fell at His feet. He was so thankful, so grateful for this extension on his life that he was shouting and praising God unashamedly, despite what his upbringing and his cultural history had thought him.

This now cured leper, was given yet another gift. Jesus explained that it was his faith that healed him, both physically and spiritually. With the gift of life came many gifts:

Mercy.

Grace.

Salvation.

If he didn’t come back to say “thank you”, to acknowledge what Jesus had done for him, the restored man may have missed out on so much more.

Thank you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This story was taken from Luke 17:11-19.

Your turn. What images and words come to mind when prompted by ‘thank you’? Click below to link up with the Five Minute Friday community.

Five Minute Friday: Stay

“Stay right there! Don’t move!”

It’s hard to stay still. To not move a muscle. Suddenly we twitch and fidget, rebelling against the directive to stay put.

There are times that we can prepare for staying someplace. Long hospital stay? Pack books, maybe a needlework project, etc. Long layovers ahead? Reading material and comfortable clothes. Waiting room for an appointment? Maybe some paperwork to catch up with, more reading.

What about the unexpected stays? The times when we seem to be cruising full speed ahead and suddenly the anchor is dropped.

I think of Joseph. He stayed in prison for years. When he saw his escape ahead, it was still another long two years until he was completely free.

I think of Paul, the missionary. He travelled from place to place, sharing the gospel with as many people as he could. Yet, there were times he was discouraged and wanted to leave. But God told him to stay.

What happens when we’re to stay? Often negativity creeps in. Anger. Fear. Resentment. Doubt. Second-guessing.

May I suggest an alternative? We need to pray like Elisha did in 2 Kings 6: 16, 17

“Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him. “For there are more on our side than on theirs!” Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!” The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire. (~The Message)

When our eyes are opened to God’s power, we can be productive in our stay. For some, that means serving right where you are staying in that moment. For others, it mean staying quiet, in other to discover more about God and Who He Is.

Make your stay an experience to remember.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tell us what ‘stay’ means to you. Click below to drop in and ‘stay’ for a while. You’ll be glad you did.

Five Minute Friday: Quiet

Amidst the frantic pace of life, there is often a craving for one more thing.

Quiet.

With all the busyness; all of the tasks and the responsibilities we have, it seems that quiet times are few and far between. In fact, we plan getaways and vacations to remote areas, hoping to find that quiet.

Yet, I’m learning that quiet can be carved out right where we are. Two minutes to yourself as you use the bathroom, behind a locked door in your child-filled home, is serene. The moments when everyone else at home is all tucked in for the night and the stars are glowing in the sky, is peaceful.

Quiet can be found in the middle of turbulence. Look at Jesus. As a storm started brewing in the middle of the lake, He was fast asleep on the boat. The disciples, some of them experienced and weathered seamen started to panic. This wasn’t their first storm, yet it was severe enough to shake them to their core. As the boat tossed and turned, the winds howled and the waves crashed hard. Grown men yelled, worrying that death was next.

But Jesus slept through it all. It wasn’t until the disciples came to physically rouse Him that Jesus awoke. He heard more than the cacophony of nature and human nature.

Jesus ordered the storm to stop. It did, immediately.

Instant quiet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Your turn. Take five minutes, and pour our your thoughts on ‘quiet’. No piece is too big, too small, too quiet nor too loud. Click below to join the five-minute Friday community.

Five Minute Friday: Roots

“Your roots are showing.”

Often heard when we start to see a person’s true colours. When their real self is revealed, peeking through the surface.

Roots don’t look too nice. Looking at hurricane aftermath photos of many uprooted trees and plants, roots are tangly and gnarly looking. They are thinner, often, than the stem or trunk they hold up. And there are many of them.

Yet roots play such a vital role in life. Without roots, a tree cannot be planted. There will be nothing to hold it firm to the dirt. There will be nothing which can absorb the nutrients from the soil and the water from the earth. No feeding tube.

Our hearts are the soil for the roots of our faith. Without our faith taking firm hold in our lives, we will waver and bow with even the slightest breeze of trouble.

Without a firm grip, it’ll be easy for the enemy to snatch us up from the dirt, mistaking us for weeds.

When our hearts are clogged with self, there is no room for the roots to penetrate. If our soil is rocky with fragments of our forgiven past, the roots still have to work hard to find a clear place to implant themselves.

But when we truly and freely surrender all to Jesus? Our hearts our open and empty, ready for those roots to stay and grow. God is our gardener, fertilizing and watering our souls. With our faces to the Son, we can grow in Him, able to fulfill His will for our lives.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh boy, that time sure goes by quickly. Click below to join the community. Maybe set down some roots for yourself?

Five Minute Friday: Voice

Ariel, The Little Mermaid, had a gorgeous voice. It was so powerful that an unconscious prince remembered the sound. It was well loved, coveted even, that a wicked witch had to have her voice at any length. Dangling the perfect temptation, love, in front of Ariel’s face, the witch made her a bargain she could hardly refuse. But at the last second, mentioned the ultimate sacrifice for this transaction to be complete—Ariel’s voice. Before she could fully consider the consequences, Ariel’s voice was gone.

My voice is a gift, nothing that I earned on my own. In case I forget that my voice is important, I must remember child birth. The sweetest sound to a new mother’s ears (and medical staff’s too!) is a baby’s cry. Their voice.

My DNA, my heritage, my ethnicity, my upbringing, my experiences all add to that voice and play a role in the message God has given me to share.

Yet the choice is all mine– I am never forced to use my voice.

Temptations creep up all the time. Offers of compromise are tossed about like dry, fallen leaves in the breeze. A dollar here, a deal there. Publicity here, a retweet there. Followers here, new friends there. If I nip and tuck my voice, removing all that is truly, honestly, really me then maybe I can sound like _______________(insert name of favourite person here).

But I’m not them. I’m me. My voice is perfect for me, for God’s plan. No matter how much I’m risking to change on the outside, my voice will always give me away.

Shortly after that, some bystanders approached Peter. “You’ve got to be one of them. Your accent gives you away.”~~Matthew 26:73 (The Message)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PS: At the end of The Little Mermaid, after a dramatic scuffle, Ariel does get her voice back. If only real life would always guarantee a happy ending too…

Whew! That five minutes feels like nano seconds, when you’re writing freely. Your turn to join in the fun. Click below to link up and encourage others. Make the best use of your voice.