Five Minute Friday: Wonder.

It's time for another Five Minute Friday!
<This is the last FMF of 2012!>

Here are the rules.

If you have a blog or MS Word--you should so do it.

It's Five Minutes of pure blog adrenaline.

Five minutes of writing on one topic. Period. No editing. No nothing.

Ready? Set.

Go.

Wonder


Do you wonder if the lessons you pour into your kids will stick?
Do you wonder if your marriage is healthy?
Do you wonder if the dryer is finished?
Do you wonder if the milk is nearly gone?
Do you wonder if God is pleased with you?
Do you wonder what issues your one-day adult children will have to deal with?
Do you wonder what if? Ever?
Do you wonder if you are doing it right?
Do you wonder if these pants are too tight?
Do you wonder if half the stuff that takes up space in your brain even matters?
Do you wonder if what you're doing is eternally significant? Or even significant today?

I wonder.

And, some will and some won't.
You probably know in your gut if it is or isn't.
It will be soon.
It will be soon.
He is so very pleased.
They are likely to have a few.
It won't do a bit of good.
Sometimes, just doing it at all is doing it right.
You are beautiful.
Most of it doesn't.
It's all significant.

Stop.

Thankfulisms

Give thanks to the LORD,

for He is good; 

His love endures forever.

Psalm 107:1

It's the season of thankfulness, so I figured I could give y'all a little thankful blog post.

What I'm Thankful For:

A gas fireplace. 

Yes, I know it's a chick fireplace and totally cheating, but it's so easy and convenient. Plus, I can turn it on for a few minutes at night and it doesn't roast us.

Charlie Brown Specials

That "The Heat Is On" by Glen Frey was part of the Macy's Parade today. 

Those dancers had on leg warmers. Beautiful sight.

A new razor.

Random, cackle-inducing texts from my people.

That we watch very little television. These commercials are stealing my soul.

A deep kitchen sink.

That I moved to a place I can still wear shorts on Thanksgiving Day.

Going on runs with Meghan. 

One hour photo and card pick up.

Kids that clean. 

Trainin' em up. Just sayin.

Not being over-booked at Christmas. Joy to the world!

My new specs.

That it's almost the month of my birthday!!

My awesome friends and the weekend I got with them. Unforgettable and hilarious.

This. Smokin' this.

That my bro & sister-in-love are here for the smoked goodness above.

This man.

For these yay-hoos.

You. Y'all readers of this crazy blog. :)

Five Minute Friday: Stay.

It's time for another Five Minute Friday!

Here are the rules.

If you have a blog--you should so do it.

It's Five Minutes of pure blog adrenaline.

Five minutes of writing on one topic. Period. No editing. No nothing.

Ready? Set.

Go.

Stay.

Go. Stay. What?

You say "stay" and my first thought is "go". (Maybe 'cause I just typed it?)
Sorry! I'm not arguing, it's just that Jesus said to "Go"!

That doesn't necessarily mean 'go permanently', but I do believe we should go, at some point.

OK, back to stay.

With my girls, I am tempted to say "stay little", but they would disobey.
Stay with American Girls and Nancy Drew and tennis and basketball.
Stay with me.

But, if I do my job, they will hear "Stay." and think "Go!", even if I'm the one to say it.

"Go and make disciples...."

Stop.

Beautiful Singleisms

I've had several conversations (real-life ones, Twitter, text, all modern) with lovely, and I mean LOVELY, single, 20-somethings expressing their frustrations with singleness-related issues. One frustration in general resonated across the board: hearing that they are "too picky" when it comes to dating.

Now, y'all long-time readers know that these 20-somethings are of the Millennial Generation. 

They are my favorites. They had me at "social networking".  

Holy iPhone, Batman!  My heart is racing right now just thinking about 'em.

They are a motivated, take-action group and they are slated to be the most educated generation. They are world-changers. 

So, one of these motivated 20-somethings comes to you and says how hard it is to find someone that is "dateable" and how he/she is tired of hearing the "you're too picky" remark. What do you say?

Hold the phone. I've got a little something for ya. These little nuggets of goodness are gender-neutral, gender specific posts will follow. :) 

Singleisms:

• Know who you are. Know whose you are. 

• Embrace your singleness in Jesus's name.  Rock on for the glory of the Lord.

• Stop looking. Really. Stop trying to find someone dateable and be someone dateable.

• Remember, the purpose for dating is to find a suitable spouse. If there is a 'deal breaker', don't stick around.

• Travel. Really. You just should see as much of this world as you can afford. It seems unrelated to dating, but it's not. Seeing the world, its beauty, injustices, people, and cultures open your eyes to who YOU ARE, which enables you to see others differently.

• Expect a little less than perfection. No one is perfect. You may just be blessed enough to find someone perfect for you. This will likely be an opposite in many ways. Exhibit A: The Spouses.

• Determine the difference between flaws and deal breakers. For real. And, be willing to walk.

• Be slow to reject solely based on physical appearance or even a little awkwardness. You may reject in haste and miss a sweet friendship or more. Lunch or coffee is a quick 'date', little investment.

• Christian Singles: Dating is NOT, I repeat, NOT a mission field. Period. No. Exclamation!

• Do not believe everything you see on the Facebook. You already know this. Cause you're smarties. Speaking of Facebook, real voice conversations are important in dating. Call. Don't text, tweet, update, or message. Call. Like, dial the phone with the numbers.

• Let's not let Mr. or Ms. Right catch you being all sketchy with Mr. or Ms. Very Wrong. Don't waste your time. Plus, this never makes for a good wedding speech. 

• Ask yourself, "Am I picky or do I have high standards? Am I picky or prideful? What am I picky about?" Are you picky about qualities of a leader for your home or physique or finances? Having a high standard is good, you don't need to shop the clearance aisle, here. Being prideful or arrogant is a different story. Remember Gaston from Beauty and the Beast? Eww. 

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• If you hang out at bars/clubs on the prowl looking for a hook-up, stop reading my blog. Just stop.

• Seek mature, godly counsel from someone who doesn't want good for you, but that wants best for you. Someone that has no vested interest in your dating life. Read: no attraction on either of your parts. Then, ponder the counsel. Their perspective is likely not as clouded as yours may be.

• Pray for the one you aren't dating, yet. Pray for the one you may not have even met yet. Your attitude will change when you know you are praying for your future spouse in specific ways. Pray for his/her family, education, manners, salvation, physical health, walk with Jesus, purity, etc.

• Don't live like you're waiting. Live like you're living. Live on purpose.

Bottom line: You deserve God's very best. So does your future spouse.

What do you think? Are you a single, 20-something?
If you aren't, what would you say to a single, 20-something about picky dating?

Knee-Jerk Grace

Let your conversation always be full of grace, 

seasoned with salt, so that you may know 

how to answer everyone. Colossians 4:6

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Here's the conversation:

Physical Therapist Guy: So, what do you guys have planned for homeschool today?
My child: Well, we do math and reading and some other stuff. My math is on the computer and it gives me two chances to get it right, but my mom is very forgiving and she lets me do it, like, 5 times until I get it right.
Me: What? When have I ever done that? Like twice-ever? <Shoots angry darts.>

The back-story: My girls are excellent in their math skills, praise the Lord! On two occasions that I can think of, we gnarled up our math in such uncharacteristic ways, that I deleted the assignments and gave a mulligan. That's grace, right?
My child was so upset about having to do the math again, which I didn't understand, because I'm giving a gift here!? I'm helping you out!?

This was months ago. We've continued our lives in mathematical excellence.

Then, from the Tampa Bay Ray's left field (and I'm in Houston!), homegirl acts like I give her do-overs every day!

So, my sweet friend, Courtney, reminded me to use the opportunity to teach about grace. I could remind her about the advantages of homeschooling in situations like that. Yes. That's a great idea. But, um. Too late.

I had already let her know what she had done. It was not graceful. It was graceless. I was mad.

"Really? You made it sound like I just let y'all jack up your school work?"

It could have gone so differently, had my conversation been full of grace. 

"Oh, I remember that! Yes, several months ago we had an exceptionally rough math assignment. It was ugly. I just decided we needed to scrap it and start over! I'm glad we don't have to do that too often, but I'm grateful that we get do-overs when we need them."

I think, now, that she really was intending to speak highly of her mom and of homeschooling. Her point was that there was grace in our day. But, all I could see was this guy sizing us up as homeschoolers who are free to make an appointment on a Thursday morning at 8am. We must not do school work if we make an appointment on a Thursday at 8am, right!?

But, my initial response was to point out that we don't make a habit of redoing our work. I had to save face.

Why isn't my knee-jerk response full of grace? Not just with my girls, but with myself? I'm the first to beat myself up over a lousy day or workout or task incomplete.

All my conversations, including the ones in my head, need more grace. More salt.

How do you ensure that you have knee-jerk grace?

Five Minute Friday: Quiet

It's a Five Minute Friday Party!

Here are the rules.

If you have a blog--you should so do it.

It's Five Minutes of pure blog adrenaline.

Five minutes of writing on one topic. Period. No editing. No nothing.

Ready? Set.

Go.

A good number of mommas would say that 'quiet' is the stuff dreams are made of.

I get it.

Kids are hungry, "needing" new shoes, have tummy aches, and wanting you to read "Fish Out of Water" yet again. The phone is ringing. There is a program at church. It's time to help out with the Thanksgiving something-something at school, your own mom wants to talk to you about her sciatica,  and then the dryer has the audacity to buzz!

I remember when I realized that my only uninterrupted 'quiet time' was doing the loudest thing: mowing the yard. I would pop in a movie for the girls and mow the yard. They wouldn't interrupt.

I would welcome the noise for the quiet. That is so like me. Full of contradictions.

Now, I've got a preteen that likes to read in her room alone. I limit it because this house gets too quiet.  Spouse is working. Homeschooling two girls isn't a rowdy kind of event. We've just moved to a new city, with a little more space in the house.

We don't have it full of people and Bible Study and energy...yet. It's happening slowly.

I say, quiet is overrated.

Stop.

This reminds me of the "Quietness of Downtown Houston" post I wrote back in the spring. Hmmm...I really am full of contradictions.

Blog of the Week!

Blog of the Week! Woohoo! 

But, it was last week! Lame tardiness.

Sorry! I was on a little family vacay and attending some very important nuptials!! (Stay tuned!)

Jenn over at Munchkinland Designs is the brilliant designer of this blog. It is lovely and I'm very happy with her work. She put up with a lot of shenanigans from me, Y'all.

I'm probably gonna have her change the design again soon, though. Now, I've learned a thing or two about bloggin' and design, gotten a little 'spurience under my belt...ya know...

Anywho, last week on her blog, Spouseisms was Blog of the Week! 

Shut the front door! 

It isn't like an award or anything, it was just my turn, but whatever! I'll take it! It's like Student of the Week in 1st Grade. It doesn't matter that everyone gets to do it, your turn is still the best one.

If you are looking to have design/blog work done soon, you can get a little discount! Whattt??

For real. Just use BOTWSpouseisms on your order form. 5%, I think.

I am straight up tickled that Spouseisms can be used as a discount code. Just sayin. That's legit.

Go on over, take a look! There was an interview. I read it again and I stand by everything I said! 

That's good, right!

Thank you, seriously, for reading!! 

Five Minute Friday--Roots.

So, at the urging the Most Illustrious Mom, I joined in the Flash Mob of #FiveMinuteFriday posts from Lisa Jo Baker.


One topic. Five Minutes of writing with no editing, no prep, nothing.  I did it just now, with the timer. It was hard. Once I got going, I really wanted more than my five minutes!! But, I didn't cheat.

Here it is. Timer set.

Roots

Go-

Roots are tangled. Messy looking. Sometimes they are strong. Sometimes healthy, sometimes very unhealthy. But, they are still roots. Still a foundation.

Beyond that the root comes up into some rough bark. Inside of that rough bark is the smooth interior. Lines that may show age and tell a story or 2 or 87.

Did you know when the lines on the inside of a tree trunk are close together, that's when the tree received a lot of water and nourishment? When the lines are further apart, this indicates a lack of water or even drought? What can be read in between the lines?

Further from the roots, healthy or not, beyond the rough bark and smooth interior--is the bloom.


Amazing. The bloom will come, as long as the roots are alive, regardless of the root's condition.

Oh, there is so much more here.

Stop.