5 minute Friday- In Between

I am so excited to be doing my very first 5 minute friday. . .one of the goals I made for myself recently was to write a little bit more.  The Henri Nouwen devotionals this week was about growing into the truth we speak. . .how our words help us live better and how our words bring us life and bring life to others.  So, even though it is scary to write your heart into the screen and pour it out into the interwebs. . .I will be attempting to do it more. I tend to think to myself, can I really write?  What do I really have to say, I mean, I'm not perfect and I don't know everything and I don't want to pretend to. . .and then, BAM.  This devotional.  In my inbox.

Growing into the Truth We Speak

Can we only speak when we are fully living what we are saying?  If all our words had to cover all our actions, we would be doomed to permanent silence!  Sometimes we are called to proclaim God's love even when we are not yet fully able to live it.  Does that mean we are hypocrites?  Only when our own words no longer call us to conversion.  Nobody completely lives up to his or her own ideals and visions.  But by proclaiming our ideals and visions with great conviction and great humility, we may gradually grow into the truth we speak.  As long as we know that our lives always will speak louder than our words, we can trust that our words will remain humble.

Thanks, HN.

So, long time listener, first time caller.  I am going to do my first 5 minute Friday for Lisa Jo.  Even if this is the only 5 minutes I manage to write this week, it's a start!

In Between

In the way we live today, In Between can tend to have some negative connotations.  In between jobs.  In between boyfriends.  In between childhood and adulthood.  It can feel and sound awkward, itchy, uncomfortable. . .too tight, too loose, unflattering. . .to be "In Between".  I can say that with authority because I have been In Between maternity clothes and regular clothes in three sizes for about 6 years now.  My closet is the master of In Between.

But to me, In Between conjures up some things I really love.  In between a set of clean sheets.  In between a herd of little boys on my couch, snuggled up and watching Mister Roger's Neighborhood.  In between my mom and my dad at a family dinner.  In between the kids' bedtime and our bedtime, when it is just me and the hubby. . .with the cat (or maybe a neglected pile of laundry) in between us on the couch, having a beer and watching my favorite genre of reality television, reality talent competitions.  :)  Yep, I think I like being in between.  Truth is, we are always between. . .heaven and heaven.  Our time here on earth, from when God put us here and when we go Home, it's all just in between time.  Society tells us it's all about the next best thing, but the next best thing isn't here anyways.  We have to learn to relish the in betweens.  Stuck in the middle seems like a good place to be to me.

STOP