I was driving home from work yesterday, when I saw my daughter and my two ‘beautiful’ grandchildren at the park. So, I did a u-turn and went to go say hi and hang out for a few.

There they were, running, being their little friendly selves and having a blast. My daughter just laughed and smiled and we enjoyed a warm afternoon with the apples of our eyes. As we kept one eye on each of them, I noticed my little Harlee Rae, who is three, trying to climb one of those rainbow shaped monkey bars. Each bar is widely spaced, and she may be a bit young to have tried that climb. Her momma ran over and grabbed her, explaining she needed to find a ‘safer’ place to climb. I just smiled with a little giggle, and told Ashley that you are ok to let her try, just stand next to her as she does. Ashley worried, she may fall, she may break something.

It’s not easy to step back and watch our children grow. To step aside and watch them climb to scary heights, experience life in new ways and travel roads we’ve never took ourselves. It’s especially not easy when the monkey bars are so widely spread apart, the chances of falling are pretty high, or the road they take isn’t only a road you never would have traveled, but a road that you can clearly see the sign flashing with neon lights, “DANGER AHEAD!”… but.. your child, can’t.

There is a point that you no longer run up and stand next to your precious ‘baby’ through the journey. Because at that point, the journey becomes theirs. You’ve done all you can, you’ve taught all you could, you’ve shared all you had to share, and now, it’s up to them to take each step..and if those steps are in the wrong direction, oh, it hurts your heart. It will drop you to your knees in pain, you will be broken, it will shatter you in pieces that seem impossible to pick up.

But you will.

You will take each piece of your brokenness, you will lift it up to Jesus and ask why, and wonder how. You may even angrily throw it up in the air at Him. Gently, and ever so tender, and quite easily, our beloved Savior will take each piece you toss, and put it back in its proper place. It may no longer be perfect, for pain changes things, but it still fits and it still holds you together. His love will always hold you together.

God has watched us grow. He has stood next to us, and watched from ahead, waiting for us to find our way back to Him. He knows our struggles as parents, our hurt, our loss, our joys. He knows what it’s like to watch your child climb, to fall, and cry and try again. He knows, he lives it every single day. 

It's not easy being a parent, but it's worth it.

I invite you to visit the website of Kate Motaung, who recently took over for the creator of Five Minute Friday (link below) for full details and rules (well the one rule).

 http://katemotaung.com/five-minute-friday/ 

All are welcome and invited to take part in joining women around the world for Five Minute Friday! You will be given a prompt word then simply take five minutes of your day to write a heartfelt, authentic message (no need to edit) using that word!

I’ve felt sliced in a million directions.

I had the chains of gravity be the only power keeping my feet on the ground.

I’ve been exhausted with mental stress, beyond what rest can cure.

I’ve thought of ‘if only’ scenarios more than I should.

I felt torn, thrown in the middle, and run over.

The love of the Lord, and his family, have carried me through some rough times. When I was certain that the broken me would never be repaired, the pieces were gently and lovingly put back together, as God orchestrated His healing within, one piece at a time. His tender touch always transforms the shattered me into the whole.

Listen.. words like ‘shattered’, broken’, ‘empty’, or ‘exhausted’, are reality.  And we don’t have to fear them, hide them, or cover them up. This is being human. This is being authentic. Too many Christians seem to think we are super beings, and these words shouldn’t exist in our vocabulary. If that were true, why would Jesus share these words:

Then Jesus said,

“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” (NLT)

Our joy is knowing we are never alone. We never have to live there for long. We may have tried to do it on our own, we may have been overwhelmed and torn through the process, but thanks be to God, we will not stay there, we will not remain tattered and in pieces.

God himself will heal us, his family of believers will love us through it. The love of Christ will refresh us and put us back together, and as we continue the work, he is there to help carry the burden.

Recognizing that you, alone, are only a piece of His plan for you.

God within is what makes us whole.

Invite Him in today! 

I invite you to visit the website of Kate Motaung, who recently took over for the creator of Five Minute Friday (link below) for full details and rules (well the one rule).

 http://katemotaung.com/five-minute-friday/ 

All are welcome and invited to take part in joining women around the world for Five Minute Friday! You will be given a prompt word then simply take five minutes of your day to write a heartfelt, authentic message (no need to edit) using that word!

So.. where have I been over the last few months. It seems that life took over for a short time. When life takes over, we sometimes get lost in the shuffle. If not physically, then mentally. And when you are me, living with bipolar disorder, that shuffle may trigger a few changes in mood, abilities and thoughts.

It all began in September. Being a mom is rough, and takes a toll when your child encounters some life obstacles that you never wanted them to endure. By November, I was beginning to feel a bit drained, and by December, I was rocking back and forth on the scale of balance. When two of our cars were totaled, while being lent out, the stress level hit the top!

I took a couple weeks to regroup. I realized while our hearts are big, and we want to help in every way possible, sometimes it’s ok to have a heart to help ourselves ‘first’.

My health has been an issue for the last year, and to pile all this stress on top of that, could have been a catastrophe, had I continued on that path.

This is where being a believer gives us the edge!

I pressed in to Jesus like never before. I cried on my knees for the comfort I so desperately desired. I prayed for encouragement, strength, guidance, and love. My prayers gave me some simple insight. I realized while we are so busy being that aide to others, sometimes the love we are pouring out in different ways isn’t reciprocated, and we begin to feel empty.

My God would never want me to feel this way. As I pulled back on the outside and began to focus on my internal care, I remembered the importance of beginning each day with God, making our time together my ‘first’ responsibility. He can’t help when we aren’t communicating with Him.

Rather than my God be my last attempt at sanity, He must always remain my first. Even in the situations where I, unintentionally, put the world first. We often think of this ‘world first’ idea in the bigger sense- accumulation of material things, social issues, etc, etc… but it’s also in the smaller things like family issues, even health problems, that we forget to keep God first.

I’m blessed. I have obtained such a deep relationship with the Lord, that every day is a learning experience on just how able He is, when I allow Him to be first place in my life.

Blessed indeed.

~Lisa

I invite you to visit the website of Kate Motaung, who recently took over for the creator of Five Minute Friday (link below) for full details and rules (well the one rule).

 http://katemotaung.com/five-minute-friday/ 

All are welcome and invited to take part in joining women around the world for Five Minute Friday! You will be given a prompt word then simply take five minutes of your day to write a heartfelt, authentic message (no need to edit) using that word!

I read the prompt word, and realized I have nothing to say about Bacon, other than, I don’t eat it.

So, can something that I’m not in touch with inspire me to write for five minutes? Am I mastering an art, or perhaps has confusion mastered me?

I saw a costume yesterday, it was a set of two: Eggs & Bacon. It’s amazing how familiar the two are, how without thinking, we’ve put them together in one category.

I can’t help but think, what is my bacon? If I had to ask a group of people, to categorize me like eggs and bacon, what would you say?

What I come up with in my mind has brought a smile to what has been a rather downcast face recently. I believe with all my heart that those who know me best, would say- Jesus!

Eggs and Bacon.

Ketchup and Mustard.

Salt and Pepper.

Jesus and Lisa.  Together forever.

I am loved beyond all measure, I am known, I am accepted and I am familiar. Jesus Christ my Lord!

I invite you to visit the website of Kate Motaung, who recently took over for the creator of Five Minute Friday (link below) for full details and rules (well the one rule).

 http://katemotaung.com/five-minute-friday/ 

All are welcome and invited to take part in joining women around the world for Five Minute Friday! You will be given a prompt word then simply take five minutes of your day to write a heartfelt, authentic message (no need to edit) using that word!

With one step forward, we try. Try to say the right thing, do the right thing, be an example for the right thing. Try.

My walk has been peppered with attempts of this and that. Some of those are what I deem accomplishments, no matter the outcome. Others, I have to call what they are, failures. But I stepped up to the plate, or out of the box, and I said, “I will try.”

My latest endeavor has been to try to make sure that people in every walk of life, around every corner of this world, know who Jesus Christ is. That they know they are loved by our awesome God. I want to express to them that there is a way, there is truth and there is life, especially in a world that often builds walls where paths should be, pours falseness out where authenticity and accuracy ought to thrive, and brings people to an internal death that is hard to restore.

I try. I try by being present in today, by sharing God’s word. I try by showing love to those who fear love, who dangle on the ropes of uncertainty.

If we, as believers, aren’t actively trying to fulfill God’s will of reaching every soul, then we need to re-evaluate what it is we are actively doing. We can’t find those in need by only mingling with those who already know.

Try. Try to go beyond your comfort zone. Try to see the world with new eyes, hope and determination.

Jesus is the victory. Try to make sure you wear that banner wherever you go, with whatever company you keep.

Try. Because….one day…

As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,
‘every knee will bow before me;
    every tongue will acknowledge God.

Romans 14: 11

I invite you to visit the website of Kate Motaung, who recently took over for the creator of Five Minute Friday (link below) for full details and rules (well the one rule).

 http://katemotaung.com/five-minute-friday/

All are welcome and invited to take part in joining women around the world for Five Minute Friday! You will be given a prompt word then simply take five minutes of your day to write a heartfelt, authentic message (no need to edit) using that word!