Ocean-Five Minute Friday

Ah! Summer is finally here and I am looking forward to my next trip to the beach. How can I sum up in five minutes what the ocean means to me?

Ocean..........




Soak it up, salt and waves


Sandy beach, suntan lotion

All over my body, down to my feet


Cool tides rushing in

Broken shells and mussels

Turned over and over within

 Can't get enough, it holds my attention

The rhythm of the currents, rushing sounds

Splishing and splashing

I can lay on a blanket taking a nap or walk the shoreline

On boardwalk or sand

It calls to me annually

I'm reminded how powerful and vast

Luke warm or icy temps in Maine 

No matter where

I'm sure to want to stay

I'd live there if I could

One day, perhaps, one day

STOP

Job 38:8-11 " Or who enclosed the sea with doors when, bursting forth, it went out from the womb; When I made a cloud its garment And thick darkness its swaddling band, And I placed boundaries on it And set a bolt and doors, And I said 'Thus far you shall come, but no farther; And here shall your proud waves stop'?" (NASB)

To see what others have done with the ocean check out: www.fiveminutefriday.com

Restore-Five Minute Friday

Needed time to think on this one. I hope someone is encouraged to be one who repairs and restores.

Restore........

Do you need a fresh perspective? Perhaps a magic spyglass can help. Richard Paul Evans wrote about a king whose kingdom was in total disarray. Once a traveler showed up and invited him to peer through his spyglass. The king saw a vivid picture of how things could be. A vision was just the beginning. It ignited a fire that spread throughout the land, inspiring all inhabitants to make it a reality. They got to work and the land was transformed and restored to its former glory.

We all long for Eden. Well, at least, I know I do. Before the fall, I can't even imagine the beauty and freshness that existed.

STOP

Isaiah 58:12 "Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Walls, Restorer of Streets with dwellings." (NASB)

To see what others are restoring, check out www.fiveminutefriday.com

Check out Evans' book here : http://www.richardpaulevans.com/portfolio-item/the-spyglass/

Fly- Five Minute Friday

Oh, look at the time! How it has flown as I'm posting this late on a Sunday evening. I had fun with this fun remembering an old tune from old blue eyes. I hope you enjoy the read.

Fly......

Come fly with Me, up above the clouds

Come fly and see, so much all around

It's easy to focus on life smacking you in the face,

But when you rise above, you're filled with My grace

Come fly with Me, let Me show you what you don't know

Come fly, come fly, let Me lift you up and show.

It's not that hard and more than plain old luck

Come fly, come fly, soar above

I'll lift you up

STOP

Isaiah 45:3 "I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden wealth of secret places, SO that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name." (NASB)

To see what others have done with our prompt "Fly" check out www.fiveminutefriday.com

Return-Five Minute Friday

I have returned for another week of Five Minute Friday. SO many directions I could've gone with this week's prompt, but after spending a few hours in quiet reflection, I felt inspired to consider what return should look like and mean at this point in life. I hope you are equally challenged.

Return......

Year after year, I return to the same places to work partly because it's familiar. It reminds me of the theme song from the 80's sitcom, Cheers. "You want to be where you can see, our troubles are all the same. You want to go where everybody knows your name." (Gary Portnoy & Judy Hart-Angelo). 

All of us want to go there, but what happens if we return to the same place of testing as Israel did at Meribah and also return to the same patterns of behavior as our parents did? They grumbled against God and wished they had perished with their parents forty years earlier. Because they couldn't see any water, they concluded surely they were only brought there to die. Surely the promises of a promised land flowing with milk and honey were a bunch of bunk. Surely, there is no hope then.

STOP

Psalm 95:8-11 "Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah, As in the day of Massah in the wilderness, 'When your fathers tested Me, They tried Me, though they had seen My work. For forty years I loathed that generation, And said they are a people who err in their heart, And they do not know My ways.Therefore I swore in My anger, Truly they shall not enter into My rest."

Joel 2:13 "And rend your heart and not your garments. Now return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and compassionate , Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness, And relenting of evil." (NASB)

To see what others returned to do this week, check out www.fiveminutefriday.com