For Five Minute Friday.
I joined Five Minute Friday, a Christian writing blog group featuring Kate Motaung a while back. Have I contributed yet? Not a word. And the administrators make it so easy. They offer a lot of help, and for the month of October, they offer a linkup every day for the members’ blog writing. Today is the 25th day of the month, and I am finally sitting down to write for five minutes. Perhaps the discipline will ignite a renewed joy and urgency writing used to bring me. The prompt today is “wait.” Of all days, I’m choosing not to wait any longer, and I am not a rebellious person by nature.
By nature, I am a procrastinator, a prideful, SELF- and comfort-worshiping one at that. I have had plenty of God Stories to share in my life, but as soon as I completed the grand finale of my BIG one, I have written nothing coherent. There are a few unfinished paragraphs in my files. Tripe. All of it. Are my story-telling days over? Well, as long as I have breath, I will live. God isn’t finished with me. My love of and devotion to the LORD of my life should be evident. How? I don’t know. I don’t have a direction forward. I could just say I’m waiting on the Lord for further inspiration. But life isn’t waiting. Did I say I am a prideful procrastinator, easily distracted, lover of comfort? And I’ll add, spiritually lazy. IF I SURRENDER TO HIM, I will recognize the stories He continues to author and wants me to share. I need to stop thinking about my writing, and surrender. The enemy tells me I don’t have anything worthy of sharing that will bring glory to God. I believe him. But the enemy is a liar. If God calls me to write my personal versions of HIS Story, to contribute my solitary bare thread in His Great Tapestry, God alone controls the effect.
Is there another book in me? Sometimes I just wish Jesus would return and I wouldn’t have to get down to the tedious work of translating many messy and overlapping blog posts into a cohesive second book.
While I’m confessing, I also wish He would make His glorious appearance before I take on the overwhelming task of purging the junk I have accumulated over the past several decades in preparation for a planned downsize and move to our lake house in Almost Heaven, West Virginia. Am I ready for God to roll up history like a scroll and be done with it because I am getting old and fear the best part of my life is behind me? I am weary of the darkness of the world. But Jesus tells us to be “in the world,” and not “of the world” and sometimes I wonder if I look any different from the world.
Am I waiting on the Lord, to renew my strength, or am I content to wait for His Return, requiring all from Him and not much from procrastinating, distracted, prideful, self-centered, lazy me? If I continue with my present condition, He will not find me worthy when He does return or greets me in Heaven.
Keeping my eyes on Jesus is my goal. On those rare moments when I accomplish that, I experience extravagant gratitude and joy, so, one would think I would set my default mode to “eyes on Jesus.” But we live in “enemy occupied territory” and 1 Peter 5:8 warns us to be sober-minded and watchful, for our adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Sometimes I feel like I’m flailing my arms, drawing attention to my wretched self, assisting the devil, saying “here I am.”
Jesus, help me! Jesus help me. JESUS help me. JESUS HELP ME! Oh LORD, how thankful I am to have a Savior!
”But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31
I am blessed and grateful! And broken and always in desperate need of HIM!
Consider it all JOY 
Keeping my ‘eyes on Jesus.’ In our humaneness that can be so hard. The devil is around us, to distract us in so many forms. The good news is Jesus’ eyes are always on us. When we fix our eyes upon Him, even though we may have looked away or been distracted by the enemy, His hand is always stretched out ready to help. Thank you for writing this Debbie. A wonderful reminder of our need to keep our eyes on Him for strength encouragement, and direction because we are human and really are in battle with the enemy.
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Thanks, Anne. That Ephesians 6:12 verse has come up many times this week. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” This present darkness–who can deny it. Many do, and they ignore at their own peril, unaware of their need of putting on the full armor of God. The enemy’s most effective lie is that he is only imaginary. Thanks for reading and commenting, Anne. I hope to see you in person for an extended visit next year. Hope you and your family are doing well.
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I was commenting on your post, but it got lost, so I’ll send a few thoughts on waiting here. I can relate to everything you wrote. Then I realized that God’s timing looks different. Joseph in Egypt had to wait many years before he could share his story with his brothers. When was Moses ready to write the first five books in the Bible. I wonder if he wrote Genesis during the first 40 years while caring for his father-in-law’s sheep. How did he then find tlme when he lead the complaining people in the Wilderness? God’s timing is always right. I’ve made lists of stories for years, not knowing how to arrange anything. A few months ago I saw a pattern which had been there all the time, though I didn’t know it. Now I can blog a story at a time.
“God knows the way through the Wilderness. All I have to do is follow!”
Love and blessings,
Lisa
Den fre 25 okt. 2019 20:24Consider it all JOY skrev:
> debbiemichael posted: ” For Five Minute Friday. I joined Five Minute > Friday, a Christian writing blog group featuring Kate Motaung a while back. > Have I contributed yet? Not a word. And the administrators make it so easy. > They offer a lot of help, and for the month of Octob” >
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Very true, Lisa. God’s timing is so different from ours. Thanks for so many scriptural examples of His wisdom in perfect timing. Sometimes my “waiting” looks like laziness, and I’ll confess it is. When I finally had time to write today, in this 31 days of writing, I was a little amused that the prompt was “wait.” God often has a sense of humor with me.
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Also, I understand losing comments. I often peck out a comment on my dinosaur phone, and suddenly it is gone. Thanks for reading!
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Loved this
On Fri, Oct 25, 2019 at 1:24 PM Consider it all JOY wrote:
> debbiemichael posted: ” For Five Minute Friday. I joined Five Minute > Friday, a Christian writing blog group featuring Kate Motaung a while back. > Have I contributed yet? Not a word. And the administrators make it so easy. > They offer a lot of help, and for the month of Octob” >
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Thanks! I needed this little reminder that the words come in a satisfying way IF I will surrender and just do it. The purpose of this exercise is to simply write for five minutes +\-, and not agonize over spelling, editing, overthinking, etc. Just consider the prompt and pour out words. It was certainly s stretching exercise. Now I need to learn how to link it to the large group! I can’t figure that out! Old writer problems!
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Oh Dear Debbie, I can so relate to everything you have shared today. Just yesterday my daughter and I were sharing how sometimes it feels that we are selfish in our longing for Jesus to return, just so that it will be better for us. And those times of rebelling and being stubborn and just plain wanting to stop for awhile? Oh, yes. So often they rise up within me too. But how thankful I am that He does see every moment, and knows how to keep pressing us deeper into Him. He’s waiting on us, even as we wait on Him. Thank you for taking the step to share these heart-open words today. Love and hugs!!
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Thanks dear Bettie! I’ve never tried those five minute writing “word dumps,” I call them. If I had “slept on” on my words overnight, and edited in the morning as I always do, the the emotion and urgency in this piece would have been softened and I wouldn’t have felt so . . . Intense. I haven’t written since finishing up Roma’s story. Sometimes it feels like there’s nothing else to write. So thanks for confirming the move of the Spirit to get back to it.
Miss chatting with you. I have such a special love for the friends God gave me directly through Roma. 💗 Maybe we can talk one day next week if you’re feeling well? Praying for you!
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Yes, that would be so nice! Text me whenever you have time! Love you!!
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