Just Follow the Word

It is 5 minute Friday and the word today is table. The first thing that comes mind for me is scared and fearful.  Really, you say!  Why in the world would some one think scary and fearful when the word table comes up? It seems lately everything I hear I connect to years back when body image ruled my world.  Table to me means food, and people as well, because when there is a table, there is both food and people around it and on it.  Have you ever struggled with body image?  What comes to mind when you think table? I know the Lord is redeeming the table and food and people thoughts every year that I grow in grace and His wisdom..... because.....  I now think of another table as I ponder this word. The table of the Lord where the Lords supper is served to His people in remembering that the Lord Jesus is coming again. We will eat at the table of the Lord with him in heaven again!  This table isn't scary or fearful to me, it is welcoming and inviting!  Why?  Because I am

Friday and 5 minutes to write comes fast. Walking across the room to say hello to a stranger, someone new you have not seen before. What is the risk? Staying home on a Friday night when all your friends are heading out. What is the risk? Getting on a plane knowing the whole world flies sick? What is the risk? Heading to the rest home to visit those who never get visitors? What is the risk? Going to church alone?  Going to a movie/restaurant  alone? What is the risk? Taking a job in another city or state? What is the risk? Instead of talking about the risk I wonder if we could talk about the possible gains.   Somethings we are scared of that are good for us, are risks.  Somethings we should be scared of and not good for us are risks.  The time it takes to ask what we will gain might be the wisdom we need to walk in the light and have fellowship in the light. What is the risk?

5 minute Friday What have you experienced on Valentines Day?    Today is the day when love is in the air, per the Hallmark industry. Today the experience of Valentines will make some hearts sore and some hearts soar. Take a look back at your past experiences of Valentines day.  What were some of the worst?  What were some of the best?  Are our experiences something that we want to place expectations on? Do we use our experiences to change our expectations? Do your expectations cause you to experience a heart that is sore or a heart that  soars? What expectations do you have that may affect your experiences ?  Who knows your expectations and can they be met for an experience of a life time? My experiences have been both a heart that is sore and one that sores, but as I looked at my expectations, I have come to know a person, and His love, that satisfied all expectations and understands all my experiences . His name is Jesus. What has been your experience with Je

It is 5 minute Friday and the word today is Relief.  Yes the first song that pops in to my head is an old commercial.  "Plop plop fizz fizz oh what a relief it is." Yes, Alka Seltzer. And then, as usual my mind asks questions, "What is relief for me?"  What has been relief for you?  I have found relief in many places over the years but today I wonder over my younger years of seeking relief. I have been pondering food lately.  I had an issue with food as a young teen.  It started so innocently with a few pounds that maybe "needed" to come off.   Yes I was in the Pretty Plus section at Sears, luckily we didn't shop at JC Penny because then it would be Husky section. Relief to me was feeling a hunger pain as I lay my head on my pillow. Relief was swimming nightly all summer long to get my laps in. Relief to me was wrapped up in what I deemed success. When I went back to school that Fall and heard you look amazing from shocked faces... Mans

Which way do I go?  Do you love it when someone is giving you directions with the terms North, South, East and West?  Is your preferred choice go left or right?  Or maybe your favorite way of getting directions are landmarks, you know, turn left at the red barn with the cow on top.   The landmark direction sometime comes with a story of the past, and why the landmark was special to the direction giver. I sometimes wonder if the landmark directions are the best, but seldom do we have time to hear the long dialogue of memories.  I wonder if directions given by those who have traveled before us NEED to have landmarks so we understand the way better. Lets consider Paul from his letter in Ephesians and his direction he give us about himself and where he is going and why.  Often times looking at the past of what was done long ago gives us the best way forward. Paul,  an apostle of Christ Jesus   by the will of God , To the saints who are in Ephesus, and  are faithful [ a ]  in Chris

It began a few years ago. It was the spring of 2016. There were tears. Alot of tears. They came at the weirdest times. I did not know what they were from or why they came. I remember the tears came mostly in the salon, while getting my hair done. They would come from no where and my stomach usually felt queasy, you know  when you feel like your getting the flu.  These tears came every 5-6 weeks at the salon through the spring and into the summer.  I knew it had nothing to do with a change in hairstyle. Unexplainable in my eyes. The tears and the feeling would make me ponder what is going on that makes these tears come. The stylist would ask each time these tears appeared, "Is everything ok?  I am worried about you."  To which I would reply, "One thing you need to know is this is not about you." You may be making YOUR own assumptions right now as well. Sometimes when the tears came, we would laugh and say, "It must be menopause!"   We w