Join all of us at Lisa-Jo's aka The Gypsy Mama as we write for five minutes straight.. no back tracking, editing etc... Ok, ya'll know how it works by now.
The word for tonight is Listen...
Go...
I remember a friend saying that watching her son spin around in circles on the beach completely content helped her remember that it's okay to slow down and enjoy life.
The word Listen reminds me to slow down long enough to hear what others are sayin but most importantly I need to stop and listen to what God is saying.
It is so easy to get so busy doing "things" even good, Godly things that we forget to slow down long enough to really listen.
God wants to speak to our hearts and fill us with all of His love and joy, and I will be the first to admit that sometimes my life is so full, and I am so busy talking to God that I forget to stop, listen and be still and know that He is God.
What a wonderful thing to be able to do when life gets overwehelming and it's hard to trust God, to be able to stop and KNOW that He is God.
Stop!
Because of Him, Tobi
Click the button to see what everyone else wrote on the topic, or better yet write something and join in!
Every Friday the lovely Lisa-Jo from The Gypsy Mama posts a one word writing prompt and we all spend five minutes just writing.. no editing or over thinking.. just writing.
Here
Some days I would rather be anywhere but here, but here is where God is making me more like Him.. the here and now is what life is made of, we either embrace it as a gift from God.. no matter what it looks like or we fight against it. I have done both but have found that embracing it with all of the good, bad and ugly is usually the better path.. it may not seem easier but it is always better.
Why?
Because this is where God has me and he knows me better then I know myself. He knows what I need and He won't confuse it with what I want. He know that best path for me to travel that leads to Him.
If we embrace where we are.. this thing called life and slow down to see all of the things we can be thankful for we can be filled with a joy that surpasses all understanding.
Let's capture the joy, the beauty, the love, let's capture life.
This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!
Blessings,
Tobi
I sit in awe this morning looking at my computer screen, in utter amazment that anywhere from 150-400 people come to read my words on a daily basis. And even though the numbers don't matter to me it still surprises me and makes me feel so many things all at once...
Amazed
Surprised
Honored
Scared
Excited
Joyful
But mostly it makes me feel...
Thankful and full of love for God who put it on my heart to create this place. And love for everyone of you that stop in to visit.
So in case I don't say it enough.. THANKYOU!
I can't wait to continue on with this journey with each and every one of you.
Have a blessed day,
Tobi
Welcome to Five Minute Friday, where a group of awesome ladies get together and all write for 5 minutes on a topic picked by our fearless leader Lisa-Jo from The Gypsy Mama.Dive...
The first thing that comes to mind when I read the word Dive is to jump with reckless abandon, ya know think cliff diving, sky diving, etc.. then I go to thinking that I need to be like this with God when he calls me to things. I need to dive in with reckless abandon knowing that He has my heart and life in His ever capable hands. I don't need to over analyze or worry or over think ( cause I know none of us do that right...hehe)
Lately, God has been bringing to mind the verse "Trust in the Lord with all your hear, lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6
I have always remembered the trust and path part but lately God is showing me that I need to remember to not lean on my own understanding.. meaning I need to stop panicing when I don't know when, where, why or how?? God knows what is best and he has it all under control if I just keep my eyes focused on Him I will be fine, better then fine actually. I will be abundantly blessed and loved beyond my own understanding.
Click the button to check out all of the awesome FMF posts, I promise you will be blessed.
To look is to see God, to see beauty (in all circumstances) , to give thanks and find Joy. I am learning this as I read One Thousand Gifts, A dare to live fully right where you are. By Ann Voskamp I bounced all of those words arond trying to determine which one God has for me for 2013 and have come to the conclusion that what God is calling me to.. is Joy. I almost went with Thanks but decided that I wanted my word to be something I am, not something that I do.. so Joy it is. My life right now is full of challenges and hard things, but my focus must be on God and not my circumstances.. If I look I will see a multitude of things to be thankful for, to find joy in. God is the most beautiful of all and in Him I find great joy. So my desire is to seek the beauty of the Lord to inquire in His temple, to give thanks for the greatness that is my Jesus and in the process I will find Joy. (because I seem to have lost it along the way in the last year.) Ann Voskamp says it this way..."And when I give thanks for the seemingly microscopic, I make a place for God to grow within me. This, this makes me full, and "I magnify Him with Thanksgiving" (Psalm 69:30) and God enters the world. What will a life magnify? The world's stress cracks, the grubbiness of a day, all that is wholly wrong and terribly busted? Or God? Never is God's omnipotence or omniscience diminutive. God is not in need of magnifying by us so small, but the reverse. It is our lives that are little, we have falsley inflated self, and in thanks we decrease and the world returns right. I say thanks and I swell with Him, and I swell the world and He stirs me, joy all afoot." - Ann Voskamp So I hope you will join me this year as I seek Joy and I learn to live a life of worship and thanksgiving, as I decrease and the beauty and joy of the Lord increase in my life, joy will be found. How do I know?? He promises it... "You will show me the path of life, in your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forever more." Psalm 16:11 Blessings, Tobi
"Random acts of kindness are the action plan
of God's people."- Ann Voskamp
This quote got me thinking about what I have been doing in my life to serve others, and how much Christmas needs to be about blessing others and not just about having fun, and spending time with friends and family.
It needs to be about giving to others.. just like it was a sacrifice for Jesus to leave heaven for a smelly, animal filled stable. Our lives need to be about others.. especially people that don't know God.
So, now the question is what are you I going to do to put this thought into practice??
I have some ideas and will be posting about them later this month, if you have any great ideas I would love to hear about them in the comment section.
Happy December,
Tobi
Let's get together, yeah, yeah, yeah...
I was just cruisng Twitter and came across a tweet sharing that a fellow blogger was saying goodbye to her sponser child in Peru.. it wasn't just the pic and words that impacted me but what I saw when I clicked the link to check it out, it was the little tab at the top of my screen said "Connecting..."
It got me thinking about how important it is to connect with people whether it be in real life or Twitter or Facebook. We all need to connect and encourage each other because life is tough and this world is crazy, (hello.. no more Twinkies and Ding Dongs.. what is the world coming to???! )
Guess it just reminded me how much we need each other.
Remember the movie Parent Trap?
The song they sing comes to mind..
Oh, and I really do think you're swell..
Have a great day,
Tobi
Five Minute Friday with Lisa-Jo at The Gypsy Mama and a bunch other lovely ladies..
Tonights word is "Quiet"..
Go!
Amongst the giggles of a little girl with fire cracker hair and the roars of some lions and monkeys I shared some beautiful fellowship and encouragement with my sweet sisters this morning.
While quiet it was not, I left with a quiet in my soul that I wouldn't trade for hours of silence.
In between the water spilling, and needing of more paper and crayons we shared our hearts with each other.. realizing once again that we share so many of the same struggles and heartaches. But also that we share an amazing Savior that loves us in through our struggles.
Fellowship and community are a beautiful thing.. we truly are not made to walk this path of faith alone.
Let us love one another.. for love is of God and everyone that loves is born of God.- I think that is how it goes.. don't quote me. :)
Stop!
Want to read more posts or find out more about 5 Minute Friday.. go here...
Thanks for stopping by,
Tobi
This giveaway is now CLOSED!So Simply Jesus finally hit 100 likes on Facebook, so in honor of that I am giving away a $5 Starbucks Card and the book The Five Love Languages of God by Gary Chapman. I am not affiliated in any way with Starbucks (I wish, they should give me free gift cards for as much money as I spend there, I'm just sayin'!) or Gary Chapman. I just think that coffee and a good book are the best.
To enter leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite Bible verse is and I will pick a winner using Random.org. tomorrow at 3pm (PST).
Happy Entering!
Tobi
The winner is ... #3 Dolly Lee!
Random Sequence Generator Here is your sequence:
3
1
2
Timestamp: 2012-09-15 22:07:17 UTC
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