Tag: #faithfilledfriday

Link-Ups, Series, Soul Relationships

Focus

Michelle

Happy Friday, friends! It’s been a while since I’ve participated in the five minute friday community. But when I saw the word for today is ‘focus,’ I knew I had to share a few words with you all.

The premise for five minute friday is that you are given one word and you write for five minutes solid. No stopping…no correcting grammar. You can learn more here at Kate Motaung’s blog.

Merriam-Webster defines focus as: the subject on which people’s attention is focused; a main purpose or interest.

Focus is my word for 2016. I am going to focus more on what matters. I’m going to make my focus the intangibles of life.

Focus

As I sit here in Starbucks, I’m finding it difficult to focus on this post. It’s loud. No more are the days when you can sit in the coffee shop and have some elevator music playing softly in the background. Nope…now it’s loud…and distracting…and not relaxing in the least.

Aside from the music, it is FREEZING in here. I can’t even begin to relate to you just how cold it is. My fingers are having difficulty typing. Because my hair is pulled back today, my neck continually feels the breeze, coming from where, I’m not exactly sure. And I’m trying to get my hood to stay up, but it won’t.

It’s distractions like this that the enemy uses to derail our focus…our thinking…our attention. He wants to get us thinking about something other than God’s Word or His plan for our lives. The enemy wants to make us ‘busy.’ Because if he can make us busy, he can get us sidetracked in our goals and dreams.

See, that’s where I’m trying to focus more this year. How can I be a better steward of what God has given me? How can I focus more on what He wants from me and for me?

And a shiver just went through my bones. As I’m trying to get my thoughts in line. As I’m trying to decide the right words to say to you to help you find your focus.

Do you want to get in better shape?

Do you want to read more?

Do you want to earn more money?

Do you want to have more quality time with your family?

Then ask yourself this: is what I’m doing RIGHT NOW going to bring my desire into focus or will it cause it to be blurry? Will it cloud my vision? Or is it in line with my mission?

 

His Word, Kids/Parenting, Series, Soul Relationships

dream

Michelle

I wonder if many people give weight to their dreams anymore.

Or if we are too jaded and cynical because of the world around us to even dare to dream. And then furthermore, to actually pursue those dreams.

I can say that my dreams have changed over the years. Where I once dreamt of things like wealth and living comfortably and having a nice car, nowadays, I dream more about what kind of legacy I’m leaving for my children.

Am I giving them the encouragement to chase their dreams?

Am I providing them the right environment to dream?

Do they have a good foundation to fall back on when their dreams don’t come true? And then to dream new dreams?

Dream

As many of you know, I’m a single momma to two amazing kids. While this road has been challenging and rewarding, I also dream about becoming a wife. Not just any wife, either.

No, I want to aspire to be the woman/wife/mother that Proverbs 31 describes. Yes, I know it’s a long shot, but hey, a girl can dream, right?

I dream of being the wife that makes her husband glad to come home.

I dream of being the mother that her kids know is their safe haven.

I dream of being the woman that inspires other women to never give up.

But mostly, I dream of being the daughter of the King that He would have me to be.

I dream of living a life that gives Him the glory and the praise.

Even if it means re-evaluating my dreams.

Until next time…dream on, dreamer.

 

linking at christianmommyblogger.com
His Word, Kids/Parenting, Series

Joy

Michelle

This post was originally published on March 21, 2014. Joy – always a great topic for discussion!

YAY! It’s Friday! These are the days that I link up with Lisa Jo Baker on her Five Minute Friday writing challenge.

Today’s word is Joy. Here goes:
Joy. I can think of all of the standard cliches when it comes to Joy. Some of them are true: Jesus Others You (JOY) is the way to find Joy in your life. Joy is an inner state, happiness is circumstantial.
Here’s where I find Joy. My daughter, who is growing up into the most amazing little girl. Am I allowed to still call her that? She’s not still ‘little,’ yet she’s so far from being grown up. She has such a love for others. We were at church last Sunday, and the worship was geared towards children’s church camp. They gave an overview and showed pictures of past years. This little girl of mine, who is generally so timid and shy, looked at me with a sparkle in her eye, and a joyful expression on her face and said, “Momma, I want to go!” She’s never stayed with anyone but family for 3 nights…but she wrote in her journal that night that she so desperately wants to go. She wrote that ‘it seems like kids really meet Jesus there (well, not face-to-face), but they get to know Him better and I want to get to know Him better.’ WOW! This Momma heart was just. about. to. burst. when she allowed me to read her vulnerable words.
My son, who is turning into a young man right before my eyes. When he got home from school yesterday, he mentioned that he had hurt someone’s feelings in school. So, I gave it the attention it needed. We discussed it, then I thought we were done. Later, when he came out of the bathroom after his bath and was in his pj’s and was at his most open, he was crying. I asked him what was wrong, and he said, ‘Momma, I really hurt some people’s feelings today.’ Then he continued to cry. I held him, I prayed over him, we talked about it, and I consoled his little boy broken heart. I told him that God is so proud of him right now for understanding and realizing that he may have hurt someone. I told him that Jesus and the Holy Spirit are for sure living in his little boy heart, for him to be feeling this way. Again, a bursting Momma heart.
These examples are only two of the many that I could share with you. I have so many words I could share about my children. I have so many emotions that pulse through me on a daily basis. I know my kids are far from perfect; I’ve witnessed it. But this Momma is surely joy-filled when events such as these occur under my watch. I’m doing something right…maybe not too many things, but I am pointing them to the one true source of Joy in this world: Jesus. And if that’s the only thing they learn from me, well, then I have equipped them the best I know how.
Have a fabulous Friday! Spring is upon us.