Good morning! I am happily at home on a Friday since it is Carnaval break at our school. I have an unwritten list of things that need to be done and today's word is "willing". Wow! If you think of the word "will" it makes you think of things that will definitely get done. To be willing to do something means that you really will make it happen. It means you have that pull in your heart to help someone. Then it makes me think of God's will. He knows what we will be doing every single second. I'm not proud to say that I waste plenty of time with this laptop looking at Facebook and reading emails and other things. I'm pretty sure He doesn't have any of these things on his list for me to do be doing.
For Lent, many of my friends have written that they are taking a break from the computer time wasting and will focus more on better pursuits such as prayer, reading the Bible etc. I think maybe that is a really good thing and something that we could all benefit from outside of this short time period known as Lent. Willing. Am I willing to surrender this downtime or habit? The internet and all of its vast information and pull on us is really addictive. Willing means we need to be intentional in our actions and use what God has given us to be a more effective individual. Are you Willing to give something up for a better life?
Friday, March 7, 2014
Friday, February 28, 2014
Five Minute Friday - Choose
Choose is a word that is often misspelled or mistaken for chose. Life is like that. We like to choose and make our choices as we see fit. But often in life we don't get to choose and we are sent to live in places we never would have picked on our own. We are given jobs to perform that we wouldn't pick for ourselves.
I guess the biggest thing we need to think about with this prompt is choose is something we would all want to be able to do. There are many in the world that never get to choose. We should all be grateful for the opportunity to do it even once! God is good. When he chooses, he knows what will happen next even when we don't. When we choose, we need to deal with the outcomes that arise. Life goes on. Think about this the next time you.... choose.
I guess the biggest thing we need to think about with this prompt is choose is something we would all want to be able to do. There are many in the world that never get to choose. We should all be grateful for the opportunity to do it even once! God is good. When he chooses, he knows what will happen next even when we don't. When we choose, we need to deal with the outcomes that arise. Life goes on. Think about this the next time you.... choose.
Friday, February 7, 2014
Five Minute Friday: Write
It's been a while... Today was an easy day to add to my blog because the post prompt was "write". Why not try again to get this going... Writing is scary because it is something you put on paper or on the screen and it is there for all to see. It bares your soul at times and that is scary.
I'm so thankful for those dear ladies who have the heart and the courage to write these books for us that Lisa-Jo has shared because they are saying the things that we all think from time to time and wonder "is it only me?" I'm so thankful for these strong ladies who take the time to share their lives with us and take the time to encourage us and make our days brighter.
I've wondered for so long about writing and blogging and sharing stories about my life and things that make me question and wonder and wander through the days. The five minute Friday moments are really freeing because you know that you only have to write for just 5 minutes. I think that this fact alone makes it much easier to just open up the words that are flying around in our minds.
This has been a hard week for me with some things that I'd like to fix but it's not in my power to do so. The encouragement I've gotten from Lisa-Jo, Women Living Well and (in)Courage has made it a much brighter week for me and given me hope which will last for days to come.
...and STOP!
Happy weekend all!
Jane
I'm so thankful for those dear ladies who have the heart and the courage to write these books for us that Lisa-Jo has shared because they are saying the things that we all think from time to time and wonder "is it only me?" I'm so thankful for these strong ladies who take the time to share their lives with us and take the time to encourage us and make our days brighter.
I've wondered for so long about writing and blogging and sharing stories about my life and things that make me question and wonder and wander through the days. The five minute Friday moments are really freeing because you know that you only have to write for just 5 minutes. I think that this fact alone makes it much easier to just open up the words that are flying around in our minds.
This has been a hard week for me with some things that I'd like to fix but it's not in my power to do so. The encouragement I've gotten from Lisa-Jo, Women Living Well and (in)Courage has made it a much brighter week for me and given me hope which will last for days to come.
...and STOP!
Happy weekend all!
Jane
Friday, January 10, 2014
FIVE MINUTE FRIDAY: See
I love to be able to look around while driving and see the countryside around me. Last night it looked stormy and grey and yet interesting. Our drive takes us from one country to the next and we see the same things in the morning and in the night. I enjoy being able to see things around me vs. the darkness of the early morning part of our drive when all you can see are headlights coming towards you. The first stirrings of light of the dawning of a new day are especially beautiful. I try to guess how the weather will be as the day progresses. If it is sunshine peeking through those last clouds on the horizon and if there is a pinkish glow, I think of the saying "red sky in the morning" and wonder if we will have a stormy day... Driving along the river through Liege and then on in Vise always brings joy to the drive.
Many kilometers/miles have passed and all I think is what will I see today? Looking out the window right now I am greeted by blue skies and the wind blowing in the trees. We keep wondering if we will have winter weather at all this year. Right now it seems like Spring but it is only January!
I love to be able to look around while driving and see the countryside around me. Last night it looked stormy and grey and yet interesting. Our drive takes us from one country to the next and we see the same things in the morning and in the night. I enjoy being able to see things around me vs. the darkness of the early morning part of our drive when all you can see are headlights coming towards you. The first stirrings of light of the dawning of a new day are especially beautiful. I try to guess how the weather will be as the day progresses. If it is sunshine peeking through those last clouds on the horizon and if there is a pinkish glow, I think of the saying "red sky in the morning" and wonder if we will have a stormy day... Driving along the river through Liege and then on in Vise always brings joy to the drive.
Many kilometers/miles have passed and all I think is what will I see today? Looking out the window right now I am greeted by blue skies and the wind blowing in the trees. We keep wondering if we will have winter weather at all this year. Right now it seems like Spring but it is only January!
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Five Minute Friday: Grace
Today's word is Grace.
Here are some definitions:
1. Seemingly effortless beauty or charm of movement, form, or proportion.
2. A characteristic or quality pleasing for its charm or refinement.
3. A sense of fitness or propriety.
4. a. A disposition to be generous or helpful; goodwill.
b. Mercy; clemency.
5. A favor rendered by one who need not do so; indulgence.
6. A temporary immunity or exemption; a reprieve.
I needed grace when writing this blog post as the gremlins in the computer decided to make my post invisible when I hit post! Grace.
I looked up the definition of grace because I knew it had many meanings. One who has grace is looked upon as having it all together, I seek grace. One who treats others with grace is generous and helpful and full of goodwill. I seek grace.
Life is full of challenges and we have the chance to bless others by walking with and in grace. As we go about our daily routines of walking, getting our children ready for school, getting ourselves ready for our day and planning how the day is to go, I'm going to be thinking about grace and how I can incorporate it into those small minutes that flash by and I'm certain that God will bestow peace upon my home and life. Grace. Such an important and wonderful thing.
I'm hoping I don't need the sort of grace that is mentioned in Definition 6, that would indicate that I was being faced with some unusual challenge that was getting the best of me. I know that, when these times arise, God is strengthening me but we don't look upon those times as wanting them to occur... However, it is good to know that I can pray for grace and ask God for a reprieve.
Grace. One small word. A prayer that can be said with a sigh. Grace. God knows what areas of our lives are lacking in this and he will provide all we need in his time not ours. Grace.
Here are some definitions:
1. Seemingly effortless beauty or charm of movement, form, or proportion.
2. A characteristic or quality pleasing for its charm or refinement.
3. A sense of fitness or propriety.
4. a. A disposition to be generous or helpful; goodwill.
b. Mercy; clemency.
5. A favor rendered by one who need not do so; indulgence.
6. A temporary immunity or exemption; a reprieve.
I needed grace when writing this blog post as the gremlins in the computer decided to make my post invisible when I hit post! Grace.
I looked up the definition of grace because I knew it had many meanings. One who has grace is looked upon as having it all together, I seek grace. One who treats others with grace is generous and helpful and full of goodwill. I seek grace.
Life is full of challenges and we have the chance to bless others by walking with and in grace. As we go about our daily routines of walking, getting our children ready for school, getting ourselves ready for our day and planning how the day is to go, I'm going to be thinking about grace and how I can incorporate it into those small minutes that flash by and I'm certain that God will bestow peace upon my home and life. Grace. Such an important and wonderful thing.
I'm hoping I don't need the sort of grace that is mentioned in Definition 6, that would indicate that I was being faced with some unusual challenge that was getting the best of me. I know that, when these times arise, God is strengthening me but we don't look upon those times as wanting them to occur... However, it is good to know that I can pray for grace and ask God for a reprieve.
Grace. One small word. A prayer that can be said with a sigh. Grace. God knows what areas of our lives are lacking in this and he will provide all we need in his time not ours. Grace.
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Book review: I, Saul by Jerry B. Jenkins
What an amazingly riveting book! From the first page you are drawn into the story of a seminary professor who receives a troubled text from a good friend, who was a tour guide on the professor's father's tours of the holy land. It was perplexing and set the scene for what was to come which we learn little by little as we move from present day to A.D. 67 in a Roman dungeon with the Apostle Paul. Normally, I get frustrated and don't enjoy reading these types of stories that flip back and forth. This time I was transfixed from the beginning and kept reading and reading each chapter to see what would happen next in each time period.
Jerry Jenkins has a gift for telling a story which is a well known fact. In this novel, he achieves his mission in teaching us about Paul's early life as a boy and growing into a man and learning to be a rabbi. He shocks us with the developments in Saul's life and shows us how easily one can little by little be drawn into a way of thinking that is so opposite that which God wishes for us. When I read the chapters about Dr. Augie Knox, I almost felt like I was in his shoes as he traveled from Texas to Rome and met his dear friend and saw how troubled he was by the recent events which brought about the need for Augie to come to his aid. I sat in wonder as they described places where I had recently visited while living in Rome and the thoughts that I could have been there on the Spanish Steps when Augie was there...
The information shared about antiquities and the way they are discovered and then traded for great sums of money was very interesting. Adding the human interest of a love story together with strong family ties that created stress in their relationship kept me reading to see if love would win in the end.
Over all, I thought this book was one of the best that I have read in a long time and I look forward to the next in this series -- I, Paul. Read this, your understanding of Paul's letters in the Bible will be enriched by doing so!
Jerry Jenkins has a gift for telling a story which is a well known fact. In this novel, he achieves his mission in teaching us about Paul's early life as a boy and growing into a man and learning to be a rabbi. He shocks us with the developments in Saul's life and shows us how easily one can little by little be drawn into a way of thinking that is so opposite that which God wishes for us. When I read the chapters about Dr. Augie Knox, I almost felt like I was in his shoes as he traveled from Texas to Rome and met his dear friend and saw how troubled he was by the recent events which brought about the need for Augie to come to his aid. I sat in wonder as they described places where I had recently visited while living in Rome and the thoughts that I could have been there on the Spanish Steps when Augie was there...
The information shared about antiquities and the way they are discovered and then traded for great sums of money was very interesting. Adding the human interest of a love story together with strong family ties that created stress in their relationship kept me reading to see if love would win in the end.
Over all, I thought this book was one of the best that I have read in a long time and I look forward to the next in this series -- I, Paul. Read this, your understanding of Paul's letters in the Bible will be enriched by doing so!
Friday, October 25, 2013
Five Minute Friday: Together
Together brings to mind family. It also makes me think about when things are going well that I have everything "together"... Our ladies of the chapel meet for Bible study every Wed. morning and we fellowship together. Everything feels better when you are doing something together.
When I found InRL and they had a new worldwide retreat which was promoting community - we all came together and viewed the videos online and spent time fellowshipping together in our own communities. It was very good.
Now, I found this wonderful blog by Lisa Jo and this new way to look at things by having a prompt and then writing for only 5 minutes and not worrying about the mechanics of it all. It's like blogging through a stream of consciousness! Of course, then you'll realize that perhaps you are suffering from ADHD as you ramble along for 5 minutes...
The best together for me of all is when our family is all back together when our daughter at Penn State comes home for vacations and we are 4 family instead of 3 family... When she goes back to school, getting out 3 plates seems a very lonely thing. Something is off. Someone is missing. Soon it will be time for Christmas vacation and we will celebrate and spend all of our free time TOGETHER!
When I found InRL and they had a new worldwide retreat which was promoting community - we all came together and viewed the videos online and spent time fellowshipping together in our own communities. It was very good.
Now, I found this wonderful blog by Lisa Jo and this new way to look at things by having a prompt and then writing for only 5 minutes and not worrying about the mechanics of it all. It's like blogging through a stream of consciousness! Of course, then you'll realize that perhaps you are suffering from ADHD as you ramble along for 5 minutes...
The best together for me of all is when our family is all back together when our daughter at Penn State comes home for vacations and we are 4 family instead of 3 family... When she goes back to school, getting out 3 plates seems a very lonely thing. Something is off. Someone is missing. Soon it will be time for Christmas vacation and we will celebrate and spend all of our free time TOGETHER!
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