Category Archives: Five Minute Friday

Faith, Five Minute Friday

Overcoming Life’s Rollercoaster Ride

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My life, at times, has been filled with circumstances that has certainly made it feel like I have been on a roller coaster ride. With its ups and downs and twisting turns, I’ve had to hold on tight in each moment with the fear that one day I will come off the rails. Somehow, I seem to hang on, and I overcome each situation I am faced with.

I’m not like that when it comes to being on a real roller coaster. In fact, I’m quite the opposite. I don’t hold on to anything and I throw my hands in the air. At each turn that is made I am free to let go. I have nothing holding me back and I am safe in the restraints that are holding me.

When I look back on what I have been through in my life I often wonder how I got through those hair raising moments. It’s only when the ride has finished do I then see where I have been. I also see Who has been holding me safely in it all.

The twists and turns that have sent my head spinning…God was there.

The dark passages that I’ve been through…God was there.

The steep hill that had to be climbed…God was there.

The moments that I had when my world was turned upside down…God was there.

God was there in my roller-coasting life and He has been my restraints to keep me safe. He has been the One that has been with me on the tracks of my life and has helped me to overcome my fears and face whatever ride comes next.

God was there in my roller-coasting life and He has been my restraints to keep me safe. Share on X

I wrote this post as a response to the Five Minute Friday word prompt “overcome”. Click here to see what other people wrote when they were prompted with this word.

Faith, Five Minute Friday

This Is My Story…in 5 Minutes

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I was brought up in a Christian family with Christian values. However, when I experienced something in my life that was not so Christian it left me feeling confused to say the least. I wondered for many years why God would inflict such pain and suffering on a child. The suffering didn’t end either when it was over…it continued for years after when I tried to wrestle with what happened.

There are many people in this world that have experienced some form of brokenness in their lives..

neglect
abuse
death of a loved one
bullying
divorce

…the list is endless. Being broken doesn’t mean to say that you cannot be used though.

Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel.

Philippians 1:12

With God by my side, it has been possible to piece together the broken fragments in my life and create something that is of worth.

Me.

We may be broken, but we are not beyond repair. We will be used again for something good. It may not be how we thought it would be. In fact, it will be for something better…to advance the gospel.

We may be broken, but we are not beyond repair. Share on X

I wrote this post as a response to the Five Minute Friday word prompt “story”. Click here to see what other people wrote when they were prompted with this word.

Faith, Five Minute Friday, Trust

The Moment I Forgot Who I Depended On

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To depend on someone means to rely on them. I’m quite an independent person, so to rely on someone else for help very rarely happens. The only exception for me is my husband of course – I wouldn’t be where I am today without him.

Since I have been back from holiday, which was only 4 weeks ago (but seems like it has been half a year), I have hit the ground running with the busyness of life and what it throws at me. I have been relying totally on myself, and my husband, to get me through to the next day.

Anything that life has been throwing at me, I have been placing into a box and shelving it to one side hoping to deal with it later. Honestly though? Maybe I was hoping those things I was shelving would deal with itself and get lost in the process! Don’t tell me that you’ve never felt like you wanted to hide away from life, or to brush things under the rug hoping no-one finds it to dig it back up again.

We can’t keep sweeping things under the rug, or putting situations into a box and shelving it. You know what happens when you just keep piling things up? Eventually, one day it will over flow and topple over and make a complete mess…And it takes longer to clean up!

This happened to me last week. I was so busy with life that I didn’t take as much time out as I needed to depend on the One who can really sort my messes out. I couldn’t even go to church one Sunday because I was too busy doing something else.

I rely on going to church to set me up for the week. I depend on it. I know I shouldn’t. It’s not church that I worship – it’s God. I should be able to worship God anywhere. I have no excuse though when I am at church and I guess I saw this as my “fix” for the week. God isn’t a one day of the week kind of God – He’s in it for the long haul.

Every. Single. Day.

I should be able to run to Him to depend on Him whenever I want to (and need to).

God isn't a one day of the week kind of God - He's in it for the long haul. Share on X

Last week, events finally caught up with me and I reacted in ways that I shouldn’t have done. Instead of depending on God first, I shelved it and tried to ignore what was happening. Until…BANG…it was too late and it all came crashing down around me. Or rather, I just flipped out and made everything crash down.

I lost it.

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Proverbs 3:5-6

Not completely though. I shut myself in the office and put on worship music and sang as loud as I could. I didn’t care in that moment if anyone was listening. I came to my Father because I knew I needed Him.

I rely on Him.

I depend on Him.

There was one song in particular that really helped, which is Waves by Worship Central. (See clip below). Just letting the waves of God’s love wash over me was all I needed. Maybe it’s all you need too?

Something to think about…

Are you feeling really overwhelmed at the moment and struggling to make sense of what is happening?  Don’t leave it too late for life to come crashing down.  Take some time out to breath and depend on God for a little while.  If it helps, play the clip below, close your eyes and just let the waves of God’s love wash over you.  If necessary, find a friend you know that you can confide in and just talk.

Don't leave it too late for life to come crashing down. Take some time out to breath and depend on God for a little while. Share on X

Prayer

Lord, once again I have lost my way and I have forgotten that you are there for me to depend on. Once again, I have tried to get through life by my own strength and abilities. I thought I knew what was best, but once again I was wrong. You are the One that can do anything, and I need to remember to trust in your abilities to get me though what I am facing. Amen.

I originally wrote this post as a response to the Five Minute Friday word prompt “depend”. Click here to see what other people wrote when they were prompted with this word.

Faith, Five Minute Friday

Collect your apples and use them

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I have 4 apple trees in my back garden. Each year they produce an amazing amount of apples. You would think now that I would tell you about the amazing amount of food that I am able to bake from all those apples.

Well, for those of you that know me, I’m not really much of a baker. It takes time and energy, both of which I have little of. I have grand thoughts of what I would like to bake though, and they look stunning in my mind – it just never reaches the plate!

What happens to the apples then? Well, I never collect them. I leave them to rot or to be eaten by the birds. Not intentionally though. Like I mentioned earlier, I’ve already cooked all these apples in my mind! I just never get around to collecting them though.

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I went out into the garden yesterday and saw how delicious the apples looked, and again thought to myself that this year I must not waste them. Even if I don’t collect them for myself, I’m sure that I have a friend or two that would make use of them.

Daniel 4:12
Its foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shade under it, And the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches, and all living creatures fed themselves from it.

An apple tree was designed to bear fruit. Why then waste what is provided from it if it can bring about further good things. If you have a fruit tree in your garden, why not collect the fruit from the tree so that you can multiply it and give good things to others. Or, give the fruit to other people so that they can multiply it and give good things to others too.

This is the same with our own lives. Each of us has unique qualities and gifts that we can bring to the world. It’s how we use them that makes a difference to people’s lives.

Something to think about…

Do you bear fruit that can bring about good to others? Think about the gifts and qualities that you have and see how you can implement them to help others.

Prayer

Lord, I thank you that you have created each of us for a specific purpose. Help us to realise what gifts we have so that we can bring about a difference into other people’s lives. Amen.

You are reading a Five Minute Friday word prompt. This is hosted by Kate Motaung and is where a group of people write about a given word for that week. The word prompt write is “collect”. (Everything before the line break shows what I wrote in five minutes.) If you are interested in taking part or reading other people’s inspiring writes, then hop on over to the site.

Faith, Five Minute Friday

Stepping Out Of Our Comfort Zone

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We all have something in our lives that has broken us in one way or another.  Something that is hidden deep in our closet that we don’t like to talk about or share openly.

It may be that you lost someone really close to you…

…Or your parents separated when you were younger…

…Or you had someone you looked up to and they made a comment towards you which hurt you really deeply…

…Or you didn’t have a great time growing up in school…

Whatever has happened to you, it has probably affected you in one way or another.  You may not notice it straight away, but what happened to you in your past affects how you are today and how you perceive situations you are in.

Let’s just say that you are someone who experienced your parents splitting up when you were younger, and you never saw one of your parents again.  This may then affect you in your own relationships with other people. You may not receive love very well from those that are showing it to you.  This then in turn could bring about feelings of rejection.

Or, you maybe someone that was bullied in school.  It may not have been physical bullying, but the constant name calling of how ugly you were…or that you would never amount to anything…the little comments behind your back in classroom of people threatening to “get” you after school.  This may then affect you on how you perceive yourself.  You hate to look at yourself in the mirror because you detest what you see. You are constantly trying to seek people’s approval.

You see how what happens in your past, which broke something inside you, affects how you react towards situations today?

If you are still reading this, then maybe I am resonating with you in what I am writing about.  If so, I want you to listen closely to me as I share with you a truth that you need to hear.  What happens in our past doesn’t have to define ourselves, or our future.

What happens in our past doesn't have to define ourselves, or our future. Share on X

I believe, with a passion, that it doesn’t matter how broken we are inside with what has happened in our lives, we can still turn out to be beautiful people.  For me to believe this though, and for me to get you to believe this too, I need to be able to step outside of my comfort zone.

Do you know what this might mean though?  It means me sharing my deepest stories with you.  Stories that may open up my wounds and seep a little (and it may sting a little in the process too), but I hope that it may help someone to realise that they too can heal from their broken past and become beautiful.

Some of you may be thinking that sharing openly about something that is so personal is a little daunting and that you are not brave enough. I don’t think it’s about being brave enough to do it, and actually, I will admit this…it is down right scary for me to do this.

For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

2 Timothy 1:7

One thing I am sure of is this…I have God by my side through every step of my journey. He will send me His Holy Spirit, not to make me afraid of what is going to happen, but to give me the strength that I need so I can step out of my comfort zone. In doing so, I hope the messes that I have been through in my life, become a message for you to give you a glimmer of hope.

Something to think about…

Can you identify an area in your life where you feel you have been broken? Consider asking God to show you how to use that brokenness to step out of our comfort zone to help others.

Prayer

Lord, there is an area in my life where I have been broken. Send your Holy Spirit upon me and give me the strength and courage that I need to step out of my comfort zone and to use those fragments of life to show others that you can piece together a beautiful picture.  Amen.

You are reading a Five Minute Friday word prompt. This is hosted by Kate Motaung and is where a group of people write about a given word for that week. The word prompt write is “comfort”. (Everything before the line break shows what I wrote in five minutes.) If you are interested in taking part or reading other people’s inspiring writes, then hop on over to the site.