Five Minute Friday ~ What Mama Did

What will your children remember about you? This week's Five Minute Friday prompt is "What Mama Did."  All week long Lisa-Jo Baker has featured guest bloggers on her site who have shared their own unique memories of their mothers. Now she's giving writers everywhere a chance to share in the fun. So here's my own five-minute version of "What Mama Did." Of course, my mother is so much more than just this glimpse... she's truly one of the most amazing women I know.

What Mama Did...

She fought. When cancer came calling, she donned her boxing gloves and gave it her best right hook, sending it sprawling. She was only 33, with a demanding job as a registered nurse and three kids under 12. But she wasn't about to let the "C" word win.

My seven-year-old self was terrified. Night after night, I lay in my bed, praying my mommy would live.

And live, she did. She trusted God with every fiber of her being. Even when the chemo wasn't working and her beautiful long hair was falling out in clumps, she kept on caring for our family, kept telling people about Jesus, kept living out her faith in her wig for all the world to see.

When I look back on it now, I am speechless. How she managed to be the brave nurse by day and  keep a house running with three rambunctious kids and a cop/husband who worked the night shift is still a mystery to me. I never once heard a complaint uttered from her lips. She just quietly persevered, clinging to Jesus every second.

And she made it, with God's help. She lived to tell her grandkids tales of her childhood and stories of how Grandma fought cancer, punched it in the eye, stood in the center of the ring with God at her side...

And won.

Five Minute Friday ~ Again

“Again, Mommy! Again!”

Joyous toddler cries still faintly echo in my memory even today. In my mind’s eye, I see dimpled, chubby toddler hands reaching up, waiting to be spun around for the umpteenth time. But it’s been a long time since a baby or toddler has lived in this house.

Now those toddler cries have been replaced by the following requests:

“Mom, can I have $10 for the youth group activity tonight?”

Again?

“Mom, can you take me to volleyball practice in 10 minutes?

Again?

“Mom, can my friends sleepover Friday night?”

Again?

I know there will come a day when those requests grow fewer and then silent as each one of my children matures, moves out, and starts their own lives outside these four walls.

So, for now, I try with all my heart and soul to relish the requests of my pre-teen and teenagers, to hang on to each moment with these cherished kids of mine. And I try to remember that someday I’ll wish for their requests – again.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is an entry for Five Minute Friday. Every Friday hundreds of writers join in this five minute writing exercise at Lisa-Jo Baker's blog, Tales from a Gypsy Mama.

We write for five minutes flat. All on the same prompt that Lisa-Jo posts on her blog. And we connect on Twitter with the hashtag #FiveMinuteFriday

No extreme editing; no worrying about perfect grammar, font, or punctuation.

Unscripted. Unedited. Real.

Have a blog? You can join in, too!

 

Opportunity Knocks

It was 10 p.m. on Friday night when I finally sat down with my laptop to start the Five Minute Friday writing prompt. The word for this week was “opportunity,” and I had some good ideas that I just had to get down on paper. 

That’s when my teenage daughter and her friend bounced into the room with a pile of games.

“Will you play games with us, Mom?” she asked. 

I glanced at my screen and decided this opportunity - the one that offered a connection with my daughter and her friend - was the one worth taking. Writing could wait. 

They say opportunity only knocks once. 

I disagree.

Opportunity knocks every hour, every minute, every second of our lives. 

Sometimes we answer. Sometimes we ignore it. 

But the opportunities are always there. Waiting. 

Opportunities to put others before ourselves. To play with our kids instead of work. To look into the eyes of a hurting stranger and offer a smile. To choose forgiveness and overlook an offense. To pray with our families and discuss things that matter. To laugh and make memories.

We have over 8,600 hours' worth of opportunities ahead of us in 2013. What will you do with the opportunities set before you?

“So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.” Ephesians 5:15-16

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 I'm linking this post up at the Time-Warp Wife's Titus2sdays Link Up Party... check out her site by clicking the button below!

One Little Word = Big Impact!

Every man should be born again on the first day of January. Start with a fresh page... Take no interest in the things that were and are past.  ~ Henry Ward Beecher

Last year, we started a new tradition at our house in honor of the New Year. Instead of making resolutions, we each chose a word to focus on during the year. 

This year as we gathered at the table on New Year's Day, I realized that this tradition had quickly become one of my favorites. I handed each member of our family an index card, and we all bent into our cards, writing our soon-to-be-revealed word and a scripture to accompany it.

Then, one by one, we revealed our words. It's a vulnerable moment, sort of like baring your soul and trusting that those hearing your word will "get it" and be supportive. Because that's what family does.

And that's exactly what happened.

Some of the words were simple and others were a bit more complicated and needed some explanation. We all sat and listened and supported one another as we each shared our thoughts about our word.

Did I mention this is one of my favorite traditions? Maybe, just maybe, it IS my favorite.

My word for the year is a simple one, yet so very profound: PRAY.

To me, this is the word that helps me make sense of life. But I don't pray nearly as much as I should. But this year, God willing, I intend to become a woman of prayer!

Dwight L. Moody once said, "Every great movement of God can be traced to a kneeling figure." If I'm craving to see God at work in my life and the lives of those I love, this is where it starts... with a fervent focus on prayer.

When I was a little girl, my mother used to sing me a little chorus, and the truths of these simple words have stuck with me all these years:

Why worry when you can pray?

Trust Jesus, He'll be your stay.

Don't be a doubting Thomas,

Rest fully on His promise, 

Why worry, worry, worry, worry

When you can pray?

Can one little word really change a life? I'm willing to find out! Are you? There's still time to choose your word!

Once-in-a-lifetime Day

12-12-12… By now you’ve probably read a zillion Facebook posts, Twitter tweets, news articles, and more about today’s date. 

The last repetitive date we’ll ever see. A once-in-a-lifetime day. 

I wonder how many weddings took place today? How many babies were born on this day, 12-12-12? What an exceptional date to mark a new beginning.

We celebrate another once-in-a-lifetime event this month as well. The miraculous day God himself traveled through time and space to become one of us, veiled in human flesh. 

Do you realize he gazed up at the same moon we see in our sky over 2,000 years later? 

He who spoke the stars into existence observed them as a boy, mesmerized by their beauty?

He felt the warmth of the sun on his face, swam in the salty sea, played tag with his friends and did everything that we once did as children. 

He cried the same tears that we do, he yelped in pain when he pounded his thumb with a hammer, and he savored a favorite meal made by his mother. 

Emmanuel. God with us. 

This is surely cause to rejoice this Christmas and every Christmas. Every day of the year, for that matter.

He knows us, deeply. Because he was – he is – one of us. 

He took on our skin so he would forever know what it felt like to be dust. 

“As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.” Psalm 103:13-14

He remembers.

This Christmas, let’s find joy in this simple fact: He remembers. And he has compassion.

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews 4:15-16

Five Minute Friday: Wonder

Time for another Five Minute Friday! Every Friday hundreds of writers join in this five minute writing exercise at Lisa-Jo Baker's blog, Tales from a Gypsy Mama.

We write for five minutes flat. All on the same prompt that Lisa-Jo posts on her blog. And we connect on Twitter with the hashtag #FiveMinuteFriday

No extreme editing; no worrying about perfect grammar, font, or punctuation.

Unscripted. Unedited. Real.

So here's my attempt at this week's Five Minute Friday. This week's word is...

Wonder...

You see it in the faces of little children as they gaze up at glimmering Christmas lights, reflecting like a sky full of stars in their eyes.

Wonder.

That same wonder led three wise men on a journey across treacherous desert terrain to a lowly stable where they gazed at another Light. A Light in the form of a tiny squirming bundle of new flesh, pink baby toes and perfectly formed baby fingers.

The Word became flesh.

Emmanuel. God with us.

I wonder how Mary felt the first time she looked into His face and knew in her heart He was the Savior of the world. How could she contain her awe? How could she keep the knowledge deep within her soul; how could she restrain herself from shouting to the world, “My son is God in the flesh! Do you hear me? He has come to save you!”

Instead she treasured everything in her heart, savoring the gems of truth delivered to her by the very angels of heaven. 

Jesus, give me eyes of wonder this Christmas. Help me to treasure You above everything, to gaze in awe at Your beauty and to remember Your sacrifice. You are THE gift of Christmas, and You deserve all my praise!

A Thanksgiving Quiz for You

Each year for as long as I can remember, I've read portions of Margaret B. Pumphrey's Stories of the Pilgrims to my children. And each year I learn something new about the Pilgrims.

The Pilgrim's story is an amazing one to say the least. Their story helps me to see that faith in God enables common people to triumph over persecution, hunger, and incredible hardships.

How much do you know about this tiny band of faithful Christians? For example, did you know the Pilgrims didn't go straight to the New World after leaving England? Their first stop was Holland.

While you're digesting your fabulous Thanksgiving feast this afternoon, see how many of these Pilgrim trivia questions you and your guests can get right. You'll find the answers if you scroll down further in the post. Happy Thanksgiving!

1. How long did the Pilgrims live in Holland before leaving for the New World?

2. Which of William Brewster's children stayed behind in Holland and hoped to join the family later?

3. What was the name of the leaky ship that had to return to England?

4. Name the two babies born aboard the Mayflower.

5. Who was the first governor of Plymouth?

6. Who was the first friendly Indian that the Pilgrims encountered?

7. In what year did the Pilgrims celebrate the first Thanksgiving?

 (Scroll down for answers. Don't cheat!)

















1. 12 years 

2. Jonathan, Patience and Fear

3. the Speedwell

4. Oceanus Hopkins and Peregrine White

5. John Carver (not William Bradford as many would think)

6. Samoset (who then introduced the Pilgrims to Squanto)

7. 1621