Five Minute Friday: Again
I'm starting to really look forward to these Five Minute Friday posts.Five Minute Friday is a writing flash mob of sorts started by Lisa Jo Baker. Every Friday writers from around the web write on the same topic for five minutes straight, no editing, no interruptions. Then they post what they’ve got and link up to the other writers.I've really enjoyed connecting with new bloggers and challenging myself to write freely and unedited--and sharing the results! So here goes today's Five Minute Friday on the topic, Again.
AGAIN
Again the alarm dings its call. Again I reach for snooze.Another morning. A new day. I went to the gym yesterday, do I really need to go again?That's like saying I woke up yesterday, do I really need to wake up today?Por supuesto.
I stare at the blank page, the reflection of my volcano view shines back at me.Do I really need to write again? Set my fingers to typing? My mind to creating? The words to streaming?I just did this.The laundry piles up; I hang them on the line, not to dry from a spring scented laundry bath, but to air out sweat before laundry day.It never ends. The chores. The to-dos. The should-dos.My body never stops screaming for exercise.The blank page never stops taunting.The clothes never clean themselves.But run we must; write we must; clean we must.And pray. Again and again and again.I open my hands, palms unfolded to receive. Amidst this day and these chores and these interminable tasks, I ask that You come, again.
Five Minute Friday: Cherished
It's that time again...Five Minute Friday.Five Minute Friday is a writing flash mob of sorts started by Lisa Jo Baker. Every Friday writers from around the web write on the same topic for five minutes straight, no editing, no interruptions. Then they post what they’ve got and link up to the other writers.
Today's topic, fitting in with old rhymes and new verses, is CHERISHED.
GO...CherishedThere are so many names I give myself, so many identities I try on.Writer, daughter, friend, and gringa are a few of the obvious.And then the names, the words, that penetrate much deeper. That whisper in the silence. That fill my soul with dread.Unwanted. Alone. Lazy. Fat. Burned out. Unloved. Or worse, unlovable.I've been thinking a lot about names lately. My church here in Guatemala started a series called "My name is..." or "Mi Nombre es..." And will probably keep blogging about names in the weeks to come.But today, with just five minutes and just one word, Cherished, I will stick to that name.Cherished. Adored. Loved. Beloved.Can I have the audacity to take a name like that? To see myself as cherished? To be the one who cherishes me?What role does cherishing myself have in cherishing others? Can I really value others, can I really see their stories as my own, if I don't see my own story as one worth telling, as one worth cherishing?You can't have one without the other. To cherish, to value, to hold dear. It's just a word, a name. But can I claim it? Do I want it in a world that prizes self-deprecation and devaluation?Cherished. It fumbles on the tongue. Feels antiquated.But that's why I'm here. Writing on this blog. To write in my own value. To write in the dearness of my own heart. To be reminded of the One who cherishes me and to choose His names and His love.DONE.***How do you view the word cherished? Do you think you can cherish or value others without cherishing yourself? ***Want to learn more about Five Minute Friday and how to participate? All the details are here.
Dive
I'm late, I know. Forty-three hours and 38 minutes late, to be exact. My mind's been spinning in a sea of Spanish and I missed last week's Five Minute Friday. Heck, I missed blogging at all last week.But I'm back. I'm parked into life in Antigua. And I'm in. I'm committed to a new year of writing and reflecting. Of sharing the moments, the thoughts, the good and the hard.So back to Friday. To just five minutes of free writing. To a manageable chunk of writing to start the week. I missed the flash mob, but I kind still find inspiration. So here's five minutes of free writing on the theme: dive.
DIVEWith the waves of life and loss and transition, I dive for cover.I’m caught in the riptide of failure and leaving.I forget diving doesn’t have to be bad. Doesn’t have to be drowning. You can dive into something better, greater, different.Diving doesn’t have to be hiding; it can be soaring.I can plunge into the waves with my own legs and arms.Diving is about choice.All day long I allow my thoughts to swan dive into negativity. I dip into the dark corners of escape, ignoring those around me, the life around me, the gifts around me.OR I could dive into Love.Fall forward into love.I could dive into gratitude.I could dive into joy.The choice is mine.The choice, too, is yours.