Still that thing called "Loud"

Diving straight into my Five minutes of the day.
I am linking with Lisa-Jo and 100 plus women pouring out every Friday.

LOUD

GO
I love my children and my husband. Don't get me wrong. But I would love to be surrounded by silence for a CERTAIN length of time. I love to hear my kids call me "mama" and talk to them. But I would love to not hear them for a tad bit long.Sometimes even in a silent moment, I do hear their voice ringing in my head.Loud and clear! Veggie tale music playing in my brain and I can actually hear it.The tuneless guitar strums of my 5 year old still playing in my head even if he is at school.

What can I do to silence the loud noises reverberating in my head from the day?

A walk alone in the sun perhaps.....

An afternoon nap, to energize the tired mind...

What I have been looking forward to the entire week is our once a year English speaking AGLOW conference in the Netherlands. Just 40 minutes away from home and a few more hours to go.Women from Europe gather together under one centre for the entire weekend, represented from different nations waving their flags at the nations welcome ceremony, away from home to worship and rest.

I love the rest part. And of course the worship.

Taking some time off to refresh and rest, have a change in perspective, step out of those roller-skates, is a good idea.

And I am embracing it.

STOP

Thy art Brave, woman!

Another day , another word to ponder and write over. I am joining over 100 women this Friday, like other Fridays, to write our heart out, not go back and edit,and just write for the joy of writing.

Lisa Jo over at Gypsy Mama has a word for us this morning... and that word is BRAVE

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Women have been doing it for centuries. Its an ingrained feature in our specifications. Rearing a family. Women work full time, part time, home school,organize birthday parties, stay up nights with those raging temperatures,discipline, hear those first words of "I don't love you", "no body loves me"phrases, nurture them, instill values, raise them up sowing seeds of The Word.

Everybody is doing it. There is even a word some have coined called"superwoman". Are we able to keep up to those "standards"? Are we wearing those sweatpants for the fourth time this week?
If you are like me,and you definitely have those broken chap sticks, that the kids have a reason to experiment with and, you always try to fix back and use them until there isn't anymore to use... sister, "Thy art brave!"

I have realized, thankfully sooner, that we don't have to be doing it all and ticking up all the boxes in the "Superwoman code of conduct manual". You have taken the brave step of conceiving, going through childbirth and bring them up this far. If there are days you try to put them to bed, hoping that they sleep off soon without asking for stories, so you could have those extra minutes to sit and take off those roller skates.... you are brave indeed. Say a prayer for them and rest those smelly feet!

God knows our heart, and He knows we fervently pray for them.And try to remember that we are on an assignment from God to our children(Elizabeth George from A woman after God's own heart). He knows because we are already amazing to Him.

STOP

Empty the jug everyday

Its that time of the week... I look forward to putting down those thoughts that fill up my mind.
I am hooking up with Lisa Jo.. She gives the word prayerfully.. we write our heart out in 5 minutes of unedited, continuos writing. Here goes....

GO
My neighbor commented on the jug of water sitting on the table:"You should not keep water in it for too long,its going to collect dust and have that slimy thing on the insides."

Hmm... thats the conversation, that flashed through my mind as I thought on the word "empty".

By the end of the week ,I am filled with impressions,things people said, stuff I learnt, things people didn't say... you know the routine list, right? And it overwhelms me.

I have realized that I need to empty out the entire jug on a daily basis, to Him.For Him to sort out, purify and cleanse. Not to have any "slime" left behind to carry on the next day, affecting the quality of the day He gives me.

It's not as easy as it sounds. Emptying everything and throwing it out at His feet does stir up things inside. Sometimes I want to keep a little to myself to process and analyze on my own. Well, a little slime is enough to make the day sour. So I might as well surrender to every one of those things.

Thats the best part about learning from your mistakes.Somethings you just know not to repeat. You know for sure.. thats a "no repeat".

Or so I think so often.

STOP

Ache

Around here we write for five minutes flat on Fridays.

We write because we love words and the relief it is to just write them without worrying if they’re just right or not. So we take five minutes on Friday and write like we used to finger paint. For joy in the process. No matter how messy the result.

I am linking up with Lisa Jo over at Gypsy Mama.
GO

Certain things that people say to you stick. Stick like glue. And you are reminded about it every time you breath.
A week ago a teacher from the school and also a friend from church was discussing possibilities of a new student that might need help. The child didn't require speech and language Therapy but in- class support in following tasks among other needs.She said she would help in training me for that role and she thought I was best suited because of my skills,could stay focussed and at the same time empathize with the child. I thought wow.WOW. She thinks highly of me! But then, she added, "And God is on your side." That is what , stuck like glue.

Every day I pray for my own children, worrying about their safety. What they will become when they grow up? Will they be kind and compassionate? Will they stick with God through out their life?and the list goes on...

In my mind, the children and the parents that I help, those with dyslexia, ADHD/ADD, delayed speech and language... also have a place in prayer.I pray that I can help them the right way and they will be able to shine through those labels, as stars.How their parents worry and remain clueless of the future their child will have.A great future, I pray. I empathize with them. As a student , I struggled too with school and worked hard to reach where I am. And I didn't have any disabilities or labels. But God was on my side.

God was on my side, through my ache, as a student, as a parent and now as a professional.

STOP

Thank you Tracey for coming over for tea... speaking to you did bring my thoughts together into this post for today!