#fmfparty – Page 4 – Sabrina J-R

Five Minute Friday: When

He was supposed to be a free man. Instead, he was trapped in a dark prison, with no chance of parole. Things had been grim for some time. All because of a lie against him.

Then a couple of his fellow cell mates had dreams. Within three days, things were about to change drastically for them all. His sole request was that a good recommendation be given to Pharaoh.

I imagine Joseph watched the chief cup-bearer and the chief baker with great anticipation as they left the dungeon. It meant that in a few moments, he would also be leaving, exchanging captivity for liberty. Every approaching footstep might have sent his pulse racing. He probably kept his eye on the door all day, wondering when his turn would come.

It never came when he expected it.

In fact, it was a full two years before the chief cup-bearer had remembered his promise to Joseph and delivered the promised word to Pharoah.

What should have taken only a minutes, maybe hours at most, took years.

And then Joseph’s life changed.

Our lives have many of these similar moments. Various circumstances may land us in unexpected places, for a length of time. Just when we think things will change, they may not. And then we’re stuck. Still.

How do we handle the in-between?

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I’m linking up with Kate & the five-minute Friday community. Simply use the prompt and write freely for the next five (or so) minutes. You can learn more here.

Five Minute Friday: Keep

For years, he had kept it all to himself. He let resentment build up one layer at a time. Yet, he chose to say nothing and keep on working. It was just him and his father now. Perhaps driven by obligation, this loyal son looked to do his part.

As he returned home from work one afternoon, he could feel a difference in the atmosphere. Usually a heaviness loomed over the estate. But not today. No, a sense of joviality seemed to run rampant. What was going on? His unpleasant mood seemed to sour even more.

He stopped a servant that was hurrying along, wondering what was happening in his home. The response floored him.

His brother was home.

His long-lost, younger brother was home. The defiant scoundrel who had so arrogantly and hurriedly left home years earlier. Abandoning dad. Abandoning him. This older son was confused: why were they celebrating this return?

He sought out his father for an explanation.

All the turmoil and mixed emotions that he had been keeping to himself were finally revealed. His heart and his pain were now exposed.

It’s unhealthy to keep clinging to bitterness. It starts off small, barely unnoticeable. Like a seed fueled by anger and resentment, it bursts and become rooted. Deeply rooted. Try as we might, the effects of harbouring bitterness always betray us. As a result, we miss out on life while life passes us by. Time does not keep still, does not wait for us to catch up.

Don’t let your hurt keep you from opportunities of God’s marvelous grace and His miraculous love.

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Today’s post was based on Luke 15:11-32. I’m linking up with Kate and the five-minute Friday community today.

Five Minute Friday: Notice

They noticed their sleeping passenger. Exhausted from ministry, Jesus was getting some much needed rest. On any regular jaunt, this would be fine. This night was far from normal.

Sailing across the lake, the disciples were hit by a fierce storm. Far from shore and blinded by darkness and murky waves, they fought hard to stay afloat. They had no intentions of dying that night. This trip wasn’t even their idea—they were following Jesus’ suggestion of where to go next. Frantic, adrenaline surged as they worked to keep water out of the boat. They were doubtful of the outcome. Perhaps it was in a flash of lightening that they noticed and remembered that Jesus was also on the boat.

They shook Him awake with their shouting. ‘Don’t you care?!?!’

They failed to notice Jesus’ peace.

Presuming their impending demise, they demanded to know if Jesus was at all concerned as they drowned. They didn’t ask Him to help bail out water or even to pray. These same men were first hand witnesses to miracles, yet they didn’t ask Him to stop the storm.

Meeting their immediate need, Jesus commanded the storm to cease. Then, He dealt with His disciples.

Jesus had peace because He was secure in His heavenly Father. He had a habit of awaking early each day to spend quality time in prayer. Because of this deep-rooted connection, built up during the quiet times, Jesus was prepared to meet storms when they arose.

Lord, help me to notice You at all times so that I am aware of Your presence when I need You most.

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Oh! There were so many places that this prompt was taking me. I had a tough time choosing only one for today’s post. I’m linking up with Kate and the Five-Minute Friday community today. You’re invited to join us too. The guidelines are simple: write freely for five minutes. (Some days, you need more minutes because the message needs to get out, and that’s okay too)

Five Minute Friday: Still

Changes were anticipated, but not at this level. The company had been sold and there was overlap. At first, duplicate positions were eliminated; a sensible and expected move. But that turned out to be the calm before the storm.

One Wednesday morning, months after the first job cuts, my Husband called home with one request: pray! They were making more cuts.

By the end of the day, we found out it was more than cuts: the staff roster had been slashed.

That evening was my night to lead out in our church’s weekly prayer meeting. What would I talk about? How could I lead this group in prayer when I needed a leader in that very moment?

But God! He led me to Exodus and showed me this specific passage:

But Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.” ~Exodus 14:13,14 (NLT)

Like the Israelites, I had started to let panic and fear take over. Worst-case scenarios started to consume my thoughts. Then I read the verses and took a step back to breathe.

The Israelites almost missed the enormous miracle that was before them because their attention was not on God. Standing still meant trusting God to work. They stopped trying to implement their own ideas in their own strength. His ways always supersede ours. In the stillness, they were of a better mindset to see and hear God.

In the stillness, God reminded me that these work changes were not personal. It was not something that my Husband caused. This was bigger than him. God had led Him to this job at the right time. If it was his time to go, then God would lead him to the next place too. He is always one step ahead of us.

I don’t want to miss God’s miracles.

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Joining with Kate tonight and the five-minute Friday community.

Five Minute Friday: Turn

One glaringly obvious hint that a driver is not from the neighbourhood is when they’re indicating to turn on a one-way street…in the wrong direction Nevermind the arrows (plural) that aim to guide them in the right way. The honking horns go unheard. The flow of traffic heading north while you’re aiming to turn south seems invisble.

Too often, the mistake is only realized once the driver has completed the turn.

Mrs. Lot came to mind tonight. Heading down a deserted, one-way path, she was reluctant to go. She’d never asked to leave the comforts of home and the familiar life that she’d grown accustomed to. And the nerve of these ‘visitors’. They just grabbed her arm, and yanked her out of there. She was not prepared for a vacation of any kind. Perhaps she felt a bit of comfort with her husband and two daughters by her side.

The directions were clear. They were to keep running forward, no question asked. Do not look back!

Why ever not? She wondered. That was home. What was happening there that she couldn’t watch? I hope she had one of those inner arguments with herself. Those self-debates where you weigh the pros and cons of making a decision, hoping to choose wisely even when it doesn’t make sense.

Well, we know her choice. Ignoring all warnings, Mrs. Lot turned. It was too late for her.

There are times when God permits u-turns. His Word is a guide on how to live and why we should trust Him. Yet, too often, we find ourselves caught up in self-debates, battling between right and wrong, particularly when we’re on a one-way path. There are times that we do make the mistake and turn where it’s not accessible. However, God in His loving kindness, protects us and is willing to redirect our steps.

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Linking up with Kate and the Five-Minute Friday community tonight.

Five Minute Friday: Leave

‘We’re terminating your position effective…’ I half tuned out.

Laid off!

I was being asked to leave my job because in efforts to cut costs (aka salaries) they were eliminating positions across the country. I was presented with two options:

Leave that day, with a severance package.
Work for another number of weeks equivalent to the amount of my severance package. I was promised time off for job interviews outside the company.

It’s nothing personal, my director offered in cheap reassurance. They just saw a list of names and picked yours.

Inwardly, I rolled my eyes. It’s one thing to feel like an unknown employee. To hear it verbalized by management made it worse.

This reminds me of another who was asked to leave under a better set of circumstances.

God told Abram “Leave.” Leave the coziness of home and go to foreign territory. At this point, he wasn’t even given the name of his new town—he would be shown where to go. God didn’t leave him hopeless, feeling unwanted or unappreciated. There were great blessings ahead of Abram, which were described for him so that he knew the conditions of his leaving.

I made the decision to stay and work through my severance. Partway through, the company retracted the termination notice and decided to keep me my position. There was no apology or retribution for what had happened. It didn’t make me feel any more welcome or valued there. It was simply more convenient for my position to remain at our local office, rather than the head office, which was in another province.

Abram chose to take God at His word and follow blindly. He packed up his family and his possessions and left. There were struggles along the way—Abram’s life wasn’t lived perfectly. His gracious God blessed him regardless, because He had promised so from the very beginning.

“Be strong. Take courage. Don’t be intimidated. Don’t give them a second thought because God, your God, is striding ahead of you. He’s right there with you. He won’t let you down; he won’t leave you.” –Deut 31:6 (the Message)

God never leaves us! People may leave us or ask us to leave them. Emotions will be mixed with confusion and uncertainty as we pack up our things. But we must remember that God is right beside us through the entire process.

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I’m linking up with Kate today in the Five-Minute Friday community.

Five Minute Friday: Dare

One day in elementary school, my classmates and I were chatting away while lined up at the door to leave the room. Their language was more colourful than mine, with bursts of swear words popping here and there. Suddenly a friend honed in on silent me and realized that I did not swear. In fact, I never swore. She figured that I had never uttered those words in my entire life.

And she was correct—I did not use that type of language. Though I knew that it wasn’t appropriate for a Christian to say those things, I wasn’t about to admit that to her. I shrugged it off.

Then she dared me to swear. She bet that I couldn’t do it.

Not one to fail a challenge, I whispered some ‘things’ for her ears only. (Sorry Mom!) The look on her face was a mix of shock and delight that I wasn’t as ‘goody-goody’ as everyone else claimed.

My venture with swearing was very short-lived; only a couple weeks long. But I had caved into the dare when it wasn’t worth the risk. There was no reward. It was bad enough that I was trying to hide my Christianity, knowing that being a believer was an awkward thing at that age. In choosing to engage in swearing, I took my witness a few steps backwards.

What is it about a dare that is so alluring? Under normal circumstances, we may avoid the temptation. Add in a challenge to perform the opposite way though? Suddenly our inner rebel awakens and we at least entertain the thought, if not follow through.

Why don’t we dare each other in more productive ways? Why not dare someone to graduate with honours? Let’s dare each other to eat well and live healthy lives? No one has ever dared me to live with modesty.

I’d like to challenge you & myself. Not for anything risqué, but to live better. Maybe to change how you think about yourself and your life.

I dare you to trust God more.
I dare you to be obedient, especially when it seems senseless.
I dare you to believe that you are worthy of His love.

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I’m linking up with Kate and her five-minute Friday community today.

Five Minute Friday: Long

Elijah challenged the people: “How long are you going to sit on the fence? If God is the real God, follow him; if it’s Baal, follow him. Make up your minds!” Nobody said a word; nobody made a move. (I Kings 18:21, Message)

I can be a slow decision maker, particularly with high-priced or valuable items. If I need to purchase an appliance or home school curriculum, for example, I will spend time perusing the internet for feedback. I need to hear experiences from real users in similar situations to know if or not this product or item may be suitable for my needs. I’m trying to avoid buyer’s regret by taking all these steps.

Things were getting overly corrupt in and around the Israelites…again. Elijah challenged the people to make a choice. They’d been weighing the matter long enough. Time was up. Were they going to choose the real God or the false Baal?

God had proven himself repeatedly to the world. He’d shown His glory and majesty and sovereignty in miraculous ways. Yet, too many still opted to turn a blind eye to God and His impeccable record. They preferred to flirt with a false, unproven God than to have faith in One who was also the Creator. Sadly, no one responded to Elijah’s call.

So they went on to have a demonstration between the various believers. The Baal worshippers spent hours beseeching for their cries to be heard. They exhausted themselves to no avail. Then Elijah stepped up, saturated his altar with water, and received a response from God within a matter of moments. When the people witnessed God’s amazing reply to Elijah’s call, they immediately began to acknowledge Him. Finally.

But it was too late by then. They had waited too long and the Baal prophets had their lives cut short that very day.

When I have all necessary information in front of me, why drag out the decision?

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Linking up with Kate and her five minute Friday community today.

Five Minute Friday: Care

We were the only two people crossing paths in the hall.

‘Hey!’ she said with a smile. ‘How are you?’

I paused mid-step with intention of replying. But she didn’t stop. She kept on walking, without so much as a glance in my direction.

Huh?? I was confused. She had asked me a question. If she didn’t want to carry on a conversation, that was alright with me. This was the workplace, after all. But why didn’t she just hold her tongue and smile? Or even just left it at a simple hello? Why take the time to add in the ‘how are you’ part?

Realization hit me hard in the back hallway.

She did not care.

From that moment, I vowed to be honest with people. If I was not interested in their response, or if I didn’t have the time to stop and listen to what the other person had to say, I refused to ask ‘how are you?’ I didn’t want to mislead anyone, friend or foe.

Thankfully, God cares! My Creator regards me as a precious treasure. He saw me before I was even born and has precious thoughts about me (Psalm 139:16, 17). Not only does He care a great deal for me, He also cares about me (1 Peter 5:7). The stuff that matters to me? He wants to be entrusted with it so that He can take care of all those things because they’re a part of my life. No detail of our lives is too petty for God to handle.

God loves to ask us how we’re doing. He is eager to hear all the specifics of whatever is on our hearts–the good, the bad, the ugly. He is patient and graceful and always, always has time for us.

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I’m linking up with Kate as she leads the five-minute Friday community.

Five Minute Friday: Hold

I had started writing an entirely different post. I had a cute story and lesson that I was about to share. Hearing the text message chime, I paused the writing. My husband was out and I needed to see if it was him. The message turned out to be from a dear friend. Choosing not to hold back, my friend sent me a quick message though the hour was late.

We had a brief chat, where she testified of what God is doing in her life and how He is providing. She’s learning new things at this stage of life and is working to find a healthy balance. One of those new elements is that she’s a new mom.

‘I don’t know how you do it with 4!’ she respectfully exclaimed.

Usually when I hear this comment, I tend to hold back. Not wanting to overwhelm a new parent with the brutal honesty of parenting—and four times over!– I do the ‘smile & nod’ routine, giving some pat reply. Those scripted replies can be void of most true feelings.

But not today. With the prompt of ‘hold’ sitting at the front of my mind, I let go.

I openly encouraged this new mom who is alongside me in the trenches of parenthood. I told her that my kids came one at a time and that I gained my experience one moment at a time. There are days when the devil messes with your head, making you question your very existence and wonder if you’re just wasting your life away.

But the rest of the time? We can hear God’s voice and see His almighty hand as He reassures us that we’re doing our best with the precious gift He’s entrusted to us.

Had I held back tonight, I would have missed offering my friend some needed support and encouragement. And I would have missed out on sharing about God and what He’s doing in my life.

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You can join Kate and other at the five-Minute Friday community found here.