#fmfparty – Page 3 – Sabrina J-R

Five Minute Friday: Door

I’m not sure how I would have reacted if I were there that day.

Rushing in anticipation of seeing Jesus while slowed by a heavy load. The men shared in their friend’s burden as they carried him. But no one passes up the chance to see Jesus.

I can’t imagine their defeat as they saw the crowd spilling from their destination. Full beyond capacity.

There was no way to get in the door. This was before fire code regulations, so you know the people were crammed in tight.

Access denied.

I’d probably try to wait it out. Surely someone would have to leave and make room for others to come in.

His friends didn’t waver, however.

The door may have been blocked, but there had to be another way.

Somehow, someway, they maneuvered themselves and the stretcher safely up onto the roof. They began to dismantle the host’s home. They were willing to do whatever it took for their sick friend to get his healing that day.

The crowd must’ve been speechless as they saw a stretcher being lowered right down in front of Jesus.

All that mattered in that moment was that they got in.

It was unconventionally creative. It wasn’t even through the door.

But they got in.

And Jesus, being so awesome, didn’t miss a beat.

He didn’t berate the men for damaging property. He didn’t ask the paralytic man to take a number and wait in line. Jesus forgave the man and then healed him right away.

Am I desperate to connect with Jesus that I’d be willing to do whatever it takes? Would I dismantle this part of my life or disrupt that part of my life to get close to Him?

May we not get distracted by the crowds and the seemingly closed doors. Let’s do whatever we must to connect with Jesus.

For our forgiveness and our healing.

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

It’s Friday and I’m linking up with Kate and the five-minute Friday community. The door is always open there. I’m also linking up in a second place today, with Deb over at Counting My Blessings.

Five Minute Friday: Hide

It had become familiar to hide. To shy away from various people and places. Like the front of a camera lens, especially any full-bodied shots. Selfies aren’t overcrowding my Instagram feed at all. Shopping? I was fine in a grocery store. My fellow shoppers are too busy minding their own carts and lists to notice me. However, one’s the risk of being noticed is higher at the mall, so I didn’t go there often. When I did, it wasn’t to shop for myself.

The hiding slowly crept its way into other aspects of my life. For example, I preferred to play the piano at church or to speak from behind the pulpit. Anything with a huge obstacle to grant me partial coverage and leave me less exposed.

I didn’t like how I looked. Mistakenly, I believed that if I wasn’t comfortable with myself, then neither were others. So, why not keep a low profile.

This was not how God intended for me to live for Him.

^“Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.” (Matt 5:14-16, msg)

What a reality check from the Word!

In my attempts to remain unnoticed, I was blocking my God-given light. This light helps others to see better through the dimness of life. My life, my story, is a testimony of the goodness of God. When I hide, I’m hiding Him from others. It’s hard to point others to God when you’re living as a potential stumbling block.

I pray often for the strength and the courage to quit hiding. God is faithful. He is always finding ways to encourage me to trust Him more.

Is there something that you’re struggling to keep hidden? How can I pray for you?

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

I’m linking up with Kate & the five-minute Friday community.

Five Minute Friday: Tomorrow

I’ll admit that I don’t treat my tomorrows with the utmost care. I tend to presume that they’ll faithfully appear each morning so that what I planned (read: delayed from the previous day/days) will finally take place. Some things get done, yet many don’t. This isn’t an ideal way of living. It leaves me dissatisfied, most often with myself. And if I keep it real: others around me are affected too. Uh oh!

As I like to do when I get stuck, I look to Christ for motivation.

He was intentional about His today so that He was able to make the most out of His tomorrow. When the disciples asked how to pray, He didn’t complain of weariness and urge them to come back the following day. Jesus never put off spending quality, quiet time with His heavenly Father. When He called Zacchaeus down from His perch, it was with plea that ‘I must be a guest in your home today!’ (Luke 19:5, nlt). There are many examples throughout the Word where Christ is intentional in His current situation. He understood that His days were literally numbered and that time was precious. Every moment counted in His mission to save the lost.

The danger of always relying heavily on tomorrow is that it’s easy to keep pushing things back. I trick myself into believing that I have time; that if I don’t want to do it today, then tomorrow will work just as well. I need to change my thinking. Time is precious and I do not have a contract with God as to how many more tomorrows are guaranteed. Every moment counts because every person in my path matters to Him.

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

It’s your turn. What would you pen/type about the prompt ‘tomorrow’? You can see more at Kate’s place. In case you haven’t yet heard, she’s sharing details for the first ever Five Minute Friday retreat. It’s coming up this August.

Five Minute Friday: Relief

If I were in his shoes, I’d have been sweating after the first few times. There was a lot at stake; this was not the time for errors. Usually clear skies are wanted, but not in this moment. Not only was rain expected in the forecast–it was desperately needed.

Because God had promised.

Elijah prayed seven times for rain to come. After each prayer, he’d expectantly sent his servant to look for any change on the horizon. The skies were unmarred for the first six times. On the seventh time, a cloud was visible. Finally!

What a relief!

Only hours earlier, Elijah had prayed one time and fire came down from heaven. So to pray seven times before any hint of a sign would be nerve-wracking.

How easy it is to forget about the character of God in just a short time. Despite my inconsistency in believing, God is consistent with His promise keeping. He always comes through.

If He says He will do something, then He will. I need not worry about a backup plan for ‘if’ it doesn’t happen. Planning for God to fail only hampers my relationship with Him.

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

It’s Friday, where we write freely and uneditedly for five minutes (ish). You can learn more about this over at Kate’s place, where she hosts this gathering each week.

Five Minute Friday: Break

I was trying to be quick. Dinner guests were coming the following day and I finally remembered to dust the china cabinet. My plan was to wipe at the dust on the shelves, around the candle holders. No need to move them, I thought. Before I knew it, my hand bumped one of the holders and it tipped over.

It broke.

With an annoyed sigh, I cleaned up the shards of glass and moved the other holders to safety while I wiped the now clear shelf. I was sad that my candle holder set was now incomplete, but even more annoyed with myself. The breaking was avoidable, had I done the chore properly from the start.

Our hearts are like those fragile candle holders. When we aren’t careful, hearts can break. A careless word here; a thoughtless action there. Even unintentionally, we may ‘bump’ another person and cause heartbreak.

Unlike my unsalvageable candle holders, there is hope for the heart.

God restores.

Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you. (Psalm 51:10,12 NLT)

If your heart is currently broken or if you’re the one breaking hearts, God can give you a new heart. The beauty in that is that God always gives His best. He won’t just patch up your heart, but give you something completely brand new. He also promises to restore us.

He’s the Ultimate Repairer.

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

I’m linking up with Kate at her Five Minute Friday community. You’re welcome to check it out. There are some fun things happening over here.

In case you missed it earlier this week, I was invited to guest post over at Club31Women. You’re invited to read more about what I shared there: 3 Things to Do If You’re Ready for a Real Change.

Five Minute Friday: Real

It was early in my teenage years when I glimpsed one of the coolest turning points of my life. A group of us young people had just finished an outing, and my Pastor had come to pick up his kids. While he was waiting by the entrance, I saw him drink a can of root beer!

I was amazedly stunned. In that moment, my Pastor instantly became the coolest guy ever. He had great taste in pop and actually drank the stuff. We had something in common.

That made him real.

It’s easy to go around hiding behind false pretenses. We live trying to make the best first impressions because you never know who is watching or what they might be thinking. Like circus performers, we bend over backwards, contorting ourselves here and there to fit into some pre-cut molds that we didn’t design. As a result, we’ve lost a lot of who we are in the process. And in living for ourselves and for others, we’ve also forgotten Whose we are.

Jesus kept things real.

Jesus’ whole life embodied realism. His life was simple and honest. He didn’t do things to flatter anyone or stress about acceptance. In fact, He even told His disciples to expect rejection and that they were to keep moving when it came. He didn’t overextend himself and then struggle midway through life in crisis of who He really was.

In choosing to live a real life, simple as it may be, Jesus had peace.

Five Minute Friday: Plan

After months of careful planning the day finally arrived: July 20, 2003.

It was my wedding day and I figured I was all set. Everything was running on time, as planned. It even rained a wee bit, beyond our control, but only while we were riding in the limo on the way to the church. The rain stopped just as we arrived at the church.

The ceremony was beautiful and lots of fun. We did our photo shoot, and then moved onto the reception.

*Cue the snag.*

The seating list, which we’d spent too many hours on, did not print out properly. It was a mess! My quick-thinking coordinator had to improvise and seat a few people wherever she thought best.

I remember looking over the hall during dinner and noticing a few people who weren’t where I’d planned for them to be. But what good would it do to fret about it then? I’d already accomplished my goal for the day: to get married.

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.” Isa 55:8 (NLT)

Despite my well-intentioned plans, something still went wrong on the day of my wedding. Had I tried to do it all on my own, without God’s help, I would’ve ran myself ragged and stressed myself out. Worst of all—I would’ve grabbed all the glory for myself, as though my event was worth noting because of how smoothly it had gone.

When things don’t go as planned, it’s a good time to remember that we are not in control. God is. While we intend for our best, it will always be flawed because we are flawed. Let’s remember to give all our plans to God so that we get His best.

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

Want to try your hand at this weeks prompt: plan? Learn more about it here.

Five Minute Friday: Gather

It was the humblest of work.

Gathering.

She had nothing, except another person to care for. Someone she had grown to love. God had placed this dear one in her life; she was doing her best to follow through on her vow.

And so she gathered.

She found a field where the staff was kind enough to let her collect whatever remnants there were. She kept to herself, her head bent and eyes scouring the ground for precious grain. This was her new reality now, her way of providing for their makeshift family.

Unbeknownst to her, what she thought was a random piece of land really wasn’t. She was gathering on the land belonging to her family redeemer. He recognized their connection before she did.

Boaz watched as Ruth gathered. His heart was so moved by her diligence and sacrifice that he ordered his staff to purposely drop some their grain in order to help her collection grow. This accidental worker was rewarded at the end of her day.

By the end of her day, Ruth had a lot more than she had started. Though she had not packed a noon meal, she was fed. She had a basket full of grain to take home. She had a heart full at the kindness of this Boaz. Security was gained, as she was offered a job in those same fields. Her needs were met that day and onward.

Because she went to gather.

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

I did something a little different with my Five-Minute Friday post today. Feel free to give this a try. We gather over here.

Five Minute Friday: Visit

I sat there, confused. They were claiming that it was ‘visitors day’. I was indeed a visitor in their midst, but I certainly didn’t feel like it was my day.

Who visits a church, as a visitor, on visitors day, and doesn’t get greeted?

Me.

I wasn’t looking for any *stand-up-so-everyone-can-see-you’re-a-guest* awkwardness.

No. I would have been fine with a hello from those with whom I shared a pew. Just one.

This made me wonder about myself.

It’s easy to make elaborate plans. To go all out in advertising and talking about an event. I can make a big production into inviting people over. I can plan, tidy up and prepare a tasty menu. But once they’re in my doors, this is where reality hits.

How do I treat my guests?

If I’m going to invite you over, I would love for you to have a positive experience in my home. I don’t want my guests be praying that time would speed along so that the visit can end. I want people to feel relaxed and comfortable when they visit.

The biggest thing is mindset. I’ve changed my thinking when it comes to visitors.

When people come to visit, they’re coming to see me (or my husband or my children). They’re not inspecting for level of immaculate cleanliness nor tasting my food to critique for ratings.

Most of all, I pray that people experience God while on my property. Just because my gatherings are not Bible studies or prayer meetings doesn’t mean that the effect of God in my home will be any less. I don’t know everyone’s heart. But I hope that in visiting my home, all guests will leave feeling loved.

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

I’m linking up with Kate and the five-minute Friday community today. I’m inviting you to join in the fun. You can visit her site here.

Five Minute Friday: Open

The panic he must have felt as he stepped outside that morning must have been overwhelming. Doing his work as servant to the man of God brought threats and danger, I’m sure. After all, his master was not exactly Mr. Popularity. Some details of his work may have included security detail. But nothing prepared him for this sight.

Outside his door, clearly visible to him were troops from the Aramean army. A large contingent had advanced overnight and surrounded the place. I can imagine the despair in his voice as the servant asked Elisha what to do. His calm master told him not to worry and then simply prayed:

“O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!”

God’s presence was there. Immediately God opened the servant’s eyes and he could see the horses and chariots of fire in position, just beyond the Aramean army.

It’s easy to get caught up in first glances. The enemy’s goal is to distract us and close us off from God’s sight. Even in those moments when we cannot see Him just yet, He is there. We need to remain calm as we ask God to open our eyes to really see Him. Prepare yourself, because what you see is much more amazing that what you’d expect.

Being open allows us to see God.

In the openness, we can experience His peace and bask in His grace.

Being open allows us to accept and celebrate His unconditional love.

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

Happy Friday! You’re invited to Join in the the five-minute Friday fun here.