Quiet

Hello, Five-Minute Friday!  I've missed you.  I've linked up over here with other bloggers, where we overlook mistakes and imperfection and just write for five minutes on the same prompt.

I'm stuck here in a quiet house, amidst Kleenix and cough drops and vapor rub.  Ick.  It's my day off and all I can do is rest.  I'm torn between wanting to take advantage of a good excuse to do nothing and that nagging voice in my head that tells me I need to be productive.  You'd think it'd be a no-brainer, huh.

Doing nothing has won out.  My pounding head has seen to that.  I've sat here on the couch while my sweet girl cleaned the kitchen, vacuumed, and made pancakes, all with her little one under foot.  I wished that I could at least scoop up my grandson so she could work more quickly (dumb sick germs).

I'm left to these thoughts in a clean, quiet house, as my loves head to the grocery store for weekend supplies.  I worry that she'll have a hard time juggling her wallet and bags and the baby, but then smile and remind myself that she can do it. She's a mom.  And God gave moms capes.

Quiet seasons can be hard.  I'm in the middle of one.  There is a nagging and a tugging that I should be doing more.  I want to do more.  But if having a baby in the house has taught me anything, it's to slow down.  One season at a time.  I think that's the gift of becoming a grandma.  We know by experience how quickly these baby days go by.  The gift of savor ...  I like that.

Five-Minute Friday: Lost

 Get lost.

This weekend may you get lost in a good story.

Lose your composure and have a good cry.  A belly laugh.  A jump for joy.

Get lost in the music.  In your thoughts.  In your art.

Lose yourself in watching that sweet baby sleep.

In being thankful for this good, good life.

Take a moment to get lost and let those kids come find you.  Then do it again. 

Take that loved one by the hand and get lost together so you can find one another after all this time.

Just ... get lost this weekend.

-Liv

Click the button to learn more about Five Minute Friday

Five-Minute Friday: Nothing

I'm not very good at doing nothing.
From the moment I open my eyes in the morning until I close them at night, my brain is busy.  I used to think this was a virtue.  I've measured a days success by how early I got up and how much I got done.  A ruler of my worth.  Exhausting.  On the "unsuccessful" days I went to bed feeling worthless.  Like a failure.

Often when I wander into the living room in the morning, Scotty will be sitting on the couch sipping a cup of coffee.  Doing nothing.  Thinking nothing.  Like really.  Nothing.  When we were first married I would plop down next to him and ask, "whatcha thinkin' about?".  "Ain't nothing going on up here", he would say.  It baffled me.  I don't know what that is like.  How can you not be thinking anything?  

Nowadays I am longing to learn to do nothing and be okay with it. 

Just sitting with someone, saying nothing.  In contentment.  In grief. 
Giving my brain a rest from all the things.
What if I gave all my moments to God? 
Not having to fix everything.  Not having to be in control. 
Not having to prove my worth by what I've done - isn't that the beauty of grace?
Rest.  Quiet.  Stillness.  Silence.
Peace.

Sometimes nothing is everything. 

- Liv  

Head over to Lisa-JoBaker.com to find other Five-Minute Friday link ups!

Five Minute Friday: Mess

Ever heard the saying, "I'm so far behind I thought I was first"?  That's me today!  Wishing it was Friday and that tomorrow wasn't Monday!  So here's a little bit of Friday for you!  I've linked up at Lisa-Jo Baker's . 

We sit in the busy cafe, just the three of us.  The smell of bacon and the clinking of spoons stirring in coffee cups surrounds us.  We drove 28 scenic miles to get here.  Scotty, Cel and I.  I've always enjoyed the drive to Bisbee.  And this morning, it's a nice respite from the mess of thoughts and emotions that have been swirling around in my mind.

Some mornings you wake up and wonder how you got here.  How life turned out so differently than you had planned.  While most days you are grateful for how blessed you are, sometimes you become wistful for the way things were or how they are supposed to be.  The sadness creeps in over relationships that have been lost, the heart break of a teen's choices, the missing of loved ones. It's days like these when I wish Scotty and I shared the same faith; that we could pray together.

But for now, amidst the chatter of fellow diners, the stack of dishes on the counter is forgotten. I drown my guilt of not cooking for my family for days, with coffee.  I momentarily forget the frustration of an injury that has kept me from exercise and the extra pounds that have crept onto my hips.  The trials of raising teens shift to the back of my mind as we plan our summer vacation.

And on the drive home I lean my head back as I listen to my girl singing along to a country tune in the back seat. Yes, life has thrown some punches and the mess of the ordinary every day sometimes feels overwhelming. But in the middle of all that I have my family, I have my God, and it is well with my soul.

 

 

Photo Credit

- Liv

Five-Minute Friday: Friend

She laughs with me.  And when my heart is broken she wraps her arms around me tight and cries with me.  She listens.  She prays. 

We meet for a quick cup of coffee, but it easily turns into three hours.  We share dessert, thoughts, books, good morning texts. 

She sees my quirks and loves me anyway.  She sees my strengths and reminds me of them when I forget.  She encourages me to keep going and cautions me to slow down when I get carried away.

She's the first one I think to call when I have good news.  When I have bad news.  When I just want to talk about nothing and everything.

She is beautiful.  She is a gift.  She is my friend.

Five-Minute Friday how I have missed you!  I am linking up with other writers at lisajobaker.com for five minutes of writing where we have permission to make mistakes and to be ourselves! 

Five-Minute Friday: Small

Five minutes of thinking out loud - misspellings and mistakes included.  That's what I love about Five-Minute Friday!  Click over here to learn more!

Several years ago I had surgery on my left ear.  A tiny sliver of a bone in the middle ear had calcified, causeing hearing loss.  It was replaced with a small titanium prosthetic.  My hearing improved by 30% in that ear.  Trust me.  I noticed the difference. 

Small makes a big difference.  Think about the paper cut on your finger, or the pebble in your shoe.  Think about the millions of tiny cells that hold our bodies togehter.

Small can be life changing.  Just look at the tiny person you rock to sleep night after night.

I have been guilty of doing nothing because I felt what I had to offer was too small.  It's either all or nothing.
 
Today, I am counting the small:

A random text from my boy to tell me he loves me
Driving my girl to the bus stop so she didn't have to stand out in the cold
A text from Scotty telling me he's thinking about me
A dash of salt
A dap of lip gloss and cute earrings

Count with me?  What small things make a difference to you?

- Liv

Five Minute Friday: Write

I've been typing words on this space for less than a year.  I still find myself amazed with every 'like', share or comment.  I am amazed that you have come back to read more of what I have to say. 

There's all these words jumbled up in my head and writing, for me, is a way to organize them.  It's like clearing off a cluttered desk.

I don't have a lot of answers.  I definitely don't have a corner on faith or motherhood or marriage.  But I do have a lot on my mind  and I am just so grateful that you would stick around for me to share it with you.

There are many whose words are achingly beautiful, making mine look plain in contrast.  There is always the pause before hitting 'publish'.  Look close enough (if you are a teacher, please don't look too closely!) and you will find many flaws.  There is always, will they like it?  Is it silly or stupid?  Does it make sense?  Why is what I have to say any more important than what anyone else has to say? 

You also have something to say.  Do what you do to say it.  Paint it.  Sing it.  Write it. 

-Liv

Just five minutes.  Mistakes and all included.  Find more at lisajobaker.com.

Five Minute Friday: Hero

Five minutes.  Shrugging off perfection.  No editing - just thinking out loud.  I'm linking up with other bloggers over at lisajobaker.com. 

This is my nephew.

He loves super heroes.  All of them.

Iron Man.

Spider Man.

Buzz Lightyear.

His daddy.

He totally thinks he's a super hero too.  He believes he can fly ... and "don't touch my wasers - they're dangewous"!

I believe in super heroes too.  Except they don't wear capes and stretchy pants ... or maybe they do, I don't know!  Hopefully only to the gym!  Anyway, you know what I mean! 

The thing about heroes is that most of them don't know they are.  You know how on the news when somebody has rescued a drowning child or helped someone out of a burning building?  When told they are a hero they often say, I just did what anyone would have done. 

I know a lot of people like that.  They don't feel like heroes.  They are just doing what has to be done. Every day.

I think of the friend who cared for her mom with Alzheimer's for five years.  And the one who is a full time caregiver to a husband who is disabled from military service and is struggling with PTSD. Heroes.

There is the single mom who moved heaven and earth to remove herself and her children from an abusive relationship.  She works hard to provide for them and to keep them healthy and safe.

I have many friends who hold down the home front while their husbands are serving our country in the military or doing contract work around the world.  I have no words for how much I respect them.

I have a nurse friend who helped me make a good decision about my daughters health.  And the youth leaders who have loved and mentored and prayed alongside with me for my children.  Heroes.

And if you are a mother, YOU are my hero.  You home school ... or work outside of the home ... or  go to school yourself.  ALL while you take your children to their activities, go to parent/teacher conferences, doctors appointments, band concerts.  You break up fights, clean throw up, rub tummies, pray, cry, discipline, love and raise little people to become big people who are kind and responsible.

You are doing what has to be done.  And it is important work.  It is significant.  

So in case you have forgotten that you are super, this is me reminding you that you are a hero and I believe in you.  Keep hero-ing on!

-Liv

Five-Minute Friday: See

I've lived in Arizona my whole life but I have never been to the Grand Canyon.  The pictures I've seen are beautiful.  Everyone I know who has been there says that the pictures don't do it justice.  You just have to be there.  I won't know it's true awesomeness or feel that same sense of wonder until I see it myself.

Photo Credit

I went on a missions trip to Jamaica once.  We were working at a children's home that sits at the top of the Blue Mountains.  I will never forget the refreshing mountain air, cool and pure.  Birds of Paradise, ferns, Hibiscus and other unfamiliar tropical flowers lined the mountains ledge.  Beyond was the city of Kingston, and beyond still, the ocean.  The colors of water and sky blended in the distance and it was hard to tell where the water ended and the sky began.  Each evening, billowing clouds would roll by and the sky was set ablaze with a radiant sunset.  Unless you have made the winding fourteen mile trek up that mountain, you will not fully know what I mean in spite of my best attempt at describing it.  You have to see it for yourself.

 

I feel the same way about God and grace.  I wish I could paint with words in a way that you can see and understand who He is.  But words are not enough.  A person cannot fully know the beauty and feel the awe of who God is unless they have experienced Him for themselves. I want others to know grace for more than just a word.  If you don't know God, can I invite you to taste and see that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8)?  If you haven't experienced His grace, can I invite you to come a little closer and get to know Him better?  And when you have, then you will understand this awe and this love that I feel for an amazing God.  Then you will see exactly what I mean.

I've joined other writers for Five-Minute Friday at lisajobaker.com

Five-Minute Friday: Fight

Starting off the New Year with Lisa-Jo Baker for Five Minute Friday!



This year I want to fight.

Knock-out. Drag down. FIGHT.  Kicking and screaming. 

I WANT TO FIGHT FOR WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO ME.

And maybe I have fought my whole life.  But I want to be more intentional about it, because I only get to do this life once and I am tired of just doing what I have to do over what I want to do. 

I have to go to work.  And cook dinner.  Ugh.  There are a lot of urgent things that need to be done.  Like paying the bills and laundry and dishes and grocery shopping. 

But what I want to do are the things that make me feel alive.  Like running and writing.  Laughing and loving and worshiping.  And all of those things are part of my life now,

BUT I WANT MORE.

More time to do what I love.  It is a struggle to make time to read and write.  Sometimes I'm just too tired to think or to articulate and sort the knotted ball of thread that tangles all of these thoughts up in my head.  And it's a struggle to get up on these cold, dark mornings to run.

More of God.  I want my times with Him to be more intimate.  I want my relationship with Him to be more than behaving, because I have learned to do that well.  I already know how to do church and how to do good.  I want to accept His invitation to know His constant peace and presence over the striving to meet expectations - mostly the ones I hold over myself.  And I want to fight to stay alive and awake to the everyday graces He has given me.

I want to fight for my children and my family.  To say no to good things so that I can have what I want: MORE TIME FOR MY FAMILY.  Time to tell my son how proud I am to be his mom and to teach my daughter about love and life and God.  Time to tell my mom how much I appreciate her and time to make more memories.

And I want to fight for Scotty.  I want to be the one person in his life who will love him unconditionally.   We have fought too many battles to just get comfortable and allow our marriage to be crippled by 'just ordinary'.   I love this song by Warren Barfield.

"Love is not a fight, but it's something worth fighting for."

Scotty has been and always will be worth fighting for.

I understand that these here are fighting words because anything worth having is going to take hard work.  And it's worth the fight to stay awake and to live alive and to stay in love.

What about you?   What are you fighting for?

Five-Minute Friday: Fly

Because on some Fridays you can't even find five minutes and your sick on Saturday, so then it turns into last-minute Sunday.  I'm linking up with other writers at Lisa Jo's for a few minutes of writing without worrying about perfection.

 



The week flew by. The line of check marks running down my to-do list gave me a sense of control and left me feeling productive.  Why is it that busyness does that to us?  We feel better about ourselves when we are doing, doing, doing.

Saturday morning came with plans of finally pulling those weeds out of the flower bed.  I awoke to rain and a migraine headache.  I quickly texted my sister to ask her what I should do, because big sisters know about these things.  Her text came back.  Rest.

My idea of rest is curling up with a cup of coffee, a good book and my journal.  When did I last make time for that?  Instead, all I could do was draw the curtains closed and lie on the couch with my sunglasses on and a blanket over my head. 

I lay there frustrated as I thought about all the things I needed to get done.  I began to think about what I needed to do to prepare for Thanksgiving dinner.  And then I started going through the Christmas lists.  So much to do.  And all I could do is lay there.  And rest. 

 

 

Then the thought occurred to me about how quickly the most wonderful time of the year flies by.  What a shame it would be to get so caught up in the hustle and bustle that I miss the wonder of it all.  Let's remind each other to not allow the holidays to become a headache.  Let's take moments to pause and rest in the reason for it all.  Emmanuel.  God with us.  Right here.  Right now.  In this moment.  Don't miss it.

Five-Minute Friday: Truth

Five-Minute Friday is when we link up with Lisa-Jo Baker and hundreds of others, to write on the same prompt for five minutes. No backspacing. No editing.  I followed neither of those rules today!  I am not a complete rule breaker, though!  I did follow the absolute-must-follow rule and left an encouragement for the writer who posted ahead of me! 



Photo Credit

They sit across from one another at a table in Starbucks sipping their Pumpkin Spice lattes. 

It's been a while and they talk about what they have been up to and how busy life is and how crazy- fast time flies.  They have daughters and marvel at what young ladies those girls are becoming.  They reflect on how they are mothering differently than their own mothers did. 

Life is good sitting across the table from a friend at Starbucks.

They smile.  They talk about Jesus.  They wear cute jeans, scarves and knee-high boots. 

Time is up much too quickly and they hug and agree to do it again soon.  They part ways, smiling about the lovely time they had.

And although this scene is played out in cafes everywhere -

that picture is not always the whole truth. 

In fact, it rarely is.  There's usually more.

We look at those two women and it looks like they have it all together.  The friendship and the smiles and the cute clothes.  But the truth is that we all have some sort of messy going on in our lives.  We all have difficult seasons and marriage is hard and parenting is even harder and people disappoint us.  And then there's loneliness and depression and sickness.  Things that people just don't talk about at Starbucks.  And we look at them and we look at ourselves and we realize, we are the Starbucks ladies.  And thank You, Jesus, for Pumpkin Spice lattes and friends and scarves, but in-between smiles and sips of coffee, let's not forget to share the messy too.  Because we need to give each other permission to not have it all figured out.

I wish I had asked that day.  I wish I would have known to reach across the table to take her hand and pray with her.  But I was too busy having it all together.

Five Minute Friday: Laundry

There are so many things undone at the end of the day, like a mountain of laundry that never goes away.  A daughter waiting to be taken to the MVD to get her driver's permit.  Her bedroom walls are begging for a coat of paint to cover the primer.  The empty room left behind by a son who has moved out, waiting to become a sanctuary for writing.  A flower bed that has turned into a weed bed. There are the unfinished Pinterest projects and the box of Fall decorations, untouched.  Thoughts and ideas left unwritten and then forgotten, like a sock that's fallen behind the dresser.  There's the garden that never got started and a stack of books on the night stand, unread.  The Christmas shoebox that is to be filled with gifts for a needy child is empty and the bags of clothing for Goodwill sit in the corner.  The list of things undone leave a cluttered trail, like articles of clothing dropping from a bulging basket. 

Then, there's the small dent in the mountain - a stack of folded towels, soft and still warm from the dryer.  Their scent clean and fresh, like the scent of her hair when you hugged your sweet girl at the end of the day.  There are fresh apples in the fruit bowl from the Farmer's Market where you sat under a tree during your lunch break with a friend you don't get to spend enough time with.  An empty Starbucks cup reminds you of the dear friend who dropped by the office for a few minutes to  tell you how her recent trip went.  Sitting with the love of your life, talking about the day, as he rubs your sore shoulders.  You smile.  Yes, there is much undone.  But when taking inventory at day's end, isn't it great to know that you didn't miss out on the important over the urgent?

 

Happy Friday!  Click on over to Lisa-Jo's to find out how you can participate in Five Minute Friday!

Five Minute Friday: True

Five minutes.  Forgetting about perfect.  No back spacing.  No spell check.  Just writing. 



She wanted to believe it was true.  She wanted to know it in her heart, in a way that she could live it. She just could not seem to grasp that she was completely accepted and that she did not have to do one thing to earn God's approval.  It didn't make sense to her.  She faced failure everyday.  I didn't pray long enough.  I was selfish.  I lost my patience.  My home isn't clean enough.  I'm a bad Christian, friend, sister, daughter, mother, wife.  It played over and over in her head.  Her journal was full of I'm sorrys, please forgive me, and promises to do better.  It's the way she grew up.  Behave the right way, say the right thing and you will be loved.  It's hard to unlearn some things.  Her greatest fear was rejection so she worked hard to please and never to disappoint.  She didn't know even know what it was like to be real.  Then somebody told her that God was not disappointed in her because He never had illusions about her in the first place.  Light snuck through the cracks of her weary heart and she discovered that the truth really does make free.  Indeed.  Hope began to rise in her heart that she was loved more than she knew.  She began to learn that she had value, not because of how she behaved, but because of Who she belonged to.  Because simply behaving had nothing to do with love.  When those old thoughts tried to resurface, she saw them as they were - a lie.  She knew she was completely accepted.  And finally she began to live.

- Liv

Click here to read what other writers wrote on today's prompt.  While we're on the subject of truth - I might have gone over five minutes.  I'm just going to be ok with that.  Who's trying to be perfect anyway? *smile*

Five Minute Friday: SHE

I'm joining other writers for Five Minute Friday over at Lisa-Jo's.  Lisa Jo thinks that motherhood should come with a super hero cape.  I agree!  No matter what season of motherhood you find yourself in, this one's for you!  As your read, put your name in there.  Don't just believe it for someone else - believe it for you!   

Photo Credit: Rachel Duran

 

She's tired.

She wakes up early and goes to bed late - sometimes having to get up a few times in between.

The days run into each other.  It seems to be the same thing every day - is it even making a difference?

The laundry. The dishes.  The melt downs. 

And the guilt.

Late for another appointment.  Forgot to pay a bill.  Let them watch too much TV.  Cereal for dinner.  Again. 

Shoulda been more intentional.  Was I too hard on them?  Yelled again.  Need to get in shape.  Really should shaved my legs.  Need a date night   Who is that man in my bed, anyway?  Haven't talked to him in a while. 

She's tired.

She wakes up early so she can have a few minutes to pray for those precious kids before they go off to school.  And to prepare lunches and kiss those faces.

She keeps up with doctor appointments and teeth cleanings and parent/teacher conferences.  She takes the kids to tutoring and soccer and dance practices. 

Between throwing another load in the washing machine and scrounging for a clean sippy cup, she breaks up a fight, wipes a nose and kisses an owie. 

She helps a child with homework, signs a permission slip and reminds someone to hang up a wet towel and to brush those teeth.  Three stories, bedtime prayers and another drink of water later, she crawls into bed.  She attempts to read, but barely makes it through a paragraph before her heavy eyes start to close.  Sighing, she marks her page, turns off the light and kisses the handsome stranger next to her. 

She is strong.  She is beautiful.  She makes all the difference in the world.  My hero.  You.

Five Minute Friday: Mercy

Photo Credit

Yesterday wasn't perfect.  I wasn't perfect.  I didn't get everything done that I would have liked to.  I had too many cookies.  I may or may not have allowed a certain situation to make me angry.  A friend lost a loved one.  Another friend is going through an unthinkable trial.  There's flooding in Colorado.  There is a lot of uncertainty in our country - in the world.  It looks like a big mess.

But then.  I woke up this morning. 

Photo Credit

There was a beautiful fog outside my window. 
I looked over and there was Scotty.  And I love him.
A good morning hug from my girl.
A hot cup of strong coffee.
I woke up to a brand new day without any mistakes in it.  Yet.
I have a God who loves me and delights in me.  What an incredible thought!  Yesterday wasn't perfect.  Today won't be either. But every little thing is going to be ok.

"Your kindness and your mercies pursue me all the days of my life ..." - Psalm 23:6 

 

- Liv

Join other writer's here for Five Minute Friday

Five Minute Friday: Red



She looked for us in the crowd.  She has done it every time since she was a little girl.  From church Christmas plays, to school recitals, to award ceremonies - she would look for us and wave.  Our eyes met, she smiled, and bounded over to where we were.  She was red-faced, breathless and giddy.  The long practices, blisters and sore toes, all worth it for one glorious night under the stage lights.  All of the dancers were beautiful, but our eyes were fixed on our girl - her captive audience.  Scott handed her a bunch of roses, just as he has done after every ballet performance for the past 10 years.

  

This past May she hung up her pointe shoes and picked up a set of blue and white poms.  Bittersweet.  The first football game of the season brought nervous excitement.  A summer of practices and sore muscles and anticipation for nights like this, beneath the stadium lights.  She looked for us in the crowd and smiled when our eyes met.  Don't ask me about the game - I wasn't watching it!  After, we met her on the field.  She was red-faced and breathless and giddy.

 

  

Baby, no matter where God takes you in this life, no matter what you are doing - big or small - look for us in the crowd.  I hope you find lots of moments that leave you red-faced, breathless and giddy.  Daddy and I will be there, clapping and cheering you on, with silly grins on our faces.

Five Minute Friday: Small

Photo credit: Rachel Duran



It's easy for a momma to disappear.  Does anybody know underneath 'mom' there is a real person with feelings and hopes and dreams and talents?  And we wonder if we are making a difference.  Because really, all we want to know is that we are significant.  We shrink beneath the piles of laundry and taxi-ing kids to their activities and trying to figure out what's for dinner tonight.  And we feel as if we will never have a clean home and we have to wipe another nose and wash another load of dishes.  And the baby won't stop crying and the toddler throws another tantrum and a teenager breaks your heart.  We trade in our hobbies and exercising and restful nights for parent/teacher meetings and stretch marks and chasing away the boogey man.  And the carpet needs cleaning and the weeds need to be pulled and the car is a mess.  We wake up early and go to bed too late and kiss boos and give baths and say prayers.  We struggle through homework and argue about curfew and discipline even when it's hard.  And we pray.  We are driven to our knees because sometimes we don't know what to do and we feel so small.  We wake up the next day and do it all over again.  We give and we give and we give.  When we feel like we have nothing left - we give some more.

We are mommas.  We pray hard. We work hard.  We love hard.

And that is no small thing.

                             

 

Want to know more about Five Minute Friday?  Click here.

Five Minute Friday: Story

Learn more about Five Minute Friday here!

 

So, what's your story?

We are all story tellers in some way or another.  It's in your walk, when the stress aches across your shoulders like a fraying rope pulled taut, promising to snap at the next tug.  It's in your eyes as they light up when a loved one enters a room.  It's in the words you speak - the way you speak them.

I have been challenged to live honestly.  To tell my story truthfully.  To not be afraid to laugh or cry; to not be afraid of being less than perfect.  It's a dull life to live, being afraid to express too much emotion or not allowing others to see your weaknesses.  When we live truthfully, we give others permission to do the same.  And when we share a little of ourselves we learn that we are not alone in our trials and imperfections.

My struggles and victories; my faith and my hopes - they are part of me.  They are my story.  I want to live my one life well, so that in the end it will be told as a love story that was full of tears and laughter and messiness and mistakes and forgiveness and redemption.  Those are the best kind.

 

- Liv



Five Minute Friday: Present

 

I can smell the French-pressed coffee sitting on the counter.  Scotty's car is backing out of the drive.  The house is still.  The only sounds are the buzzing of my laptap and the c-l-i-c-k-i-n-g of the keys as I type.  With a busy day ahead, I may not have a moment of quiet like this until I crawl into bed tonight.

How to stay present in the busyness?  How does one keep herself from becoming intoxicated in this media-drunk world?  We have become numb to the ear-splitting cacophony of work and whining kids and tv and Twitter and sprinting from one task to another.  We feel the need to fill an empty moment with something productive.  Like a factory run by the unrelenting task master of time, mass-producing a commercially wrapped product of success in the form of  a clean home, beautiful pictures on Facebook, well-behaved, talented kids, a nice body, or ______ (fill in the blank).

How do we hear that still, small voice over the roar of it all?  The voice that offers us peace.  Peace. 

How do we remain present in our own lives?  To hear our loved ones and see their needs?

How do we put down the yoke of the urgent to be present and available for the important?

Somehow, I don't think the answer is more time...

- Liv 



New to Five Minute Friday?   Click here for the details.