Present:

(Five Minute Friday)

Present: in attendance
nearby, close at hand
available
existing or occurring now

We all know it is possible to be with someone in body but not present mentally or emotionally.
Our minds have the ability to be somewhere else.
But God, the God of the universe is ALWAYS present with us.
His desire is that we become so intimate with Him and dependent on Him that we are always present with Him.

Being present with Him is an act of our will and a conscious effort on our part.
What a wonderful place to be!
Completely present, body, soul, heart, and mind
Present with the God of the impossible.
Then, we can echo the words of the Psalmist in Psalm 92:4:
You thrill me, LORD, with all You have done for me! 
I sing for joy because of what You have done.

He wants to be found by us.
He wants us to seek Him.
He wants to be present in our daily activities, in our daily thoughts, in all that we are and do.

When you pray to Me, I will hear your voice and I will listen to you. Then with a deep longing you will seek Me and require Me as a vital necessity and you will find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord. (Jeremiah 29:12-14 AMP)


About Five Minute Friday: To participate in Five Minute Friday, all you have to do is write for five minutes on the word of the week, post your words on your own blog, and link up the post here (via the InLinkz button at the bottom of the post). Be sure to add the actual permalink to your specific post, and not your blog’s homepage (e.g. http://katemotaung.com/five-minute-friday/ and not just katemotaung.com).

If you don’t have a blog, you’re welcome to post your five minutes of writing in the comments here each week, or on the Five Minute Friday Facebook page. This is meant to be a free write, which means: no editing, no over-thinking, no worrying about perfect grammar or punctuation. Just write.

Time:

Five Minute Friday

Time stops for no one
It keeps going even if you need more
It seems to slow down when you want it to go faster
It seems to go fast when you desperately want it to slow down

Time keeps going
We cannot control time itself
We can only control what we do with it
How we use it

We can waste our time
We can spend our time
We can horde our time
We can invest our time
We can even take our time

But how we use our time
Can also affect the time of others
Time doesn't care how we use it
Time itself is not affected

But oh how time keeps a record
It stops for no one
It continues on
The same as always
But how you use it or don't use it
Will most definitely affect you.

My five minute time for writing is over

First things First

FIRST:
(5 minute Friday)

How would our day turn out if first, we realized "this is the day the Lord has made"?

This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24)

Would our worries be less if first, we thanked God for His Sovereignty and thanked Him for all He planned to do in our lives?

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God (Philippians 4:6)

If first we decided to seek Him and ask for guidance on following the path He has already laid out before us would things be different?

O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways. (Psalm 139:1-3)

When trouble blindside us, what would happen if before we get stuck in our heads we first simply say, "I trust You Jesus"?

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

How would our world be different if we made a point to first "gird up the loins" of our mind and "seek first the kingdom of God" before automatically reacting?

Finally, believers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable and worthy of respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God’s word, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things [center your mind on them, and implant them in your heart]. (Philippians 4:8)

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (Matthew 6:33)

GOOD:

(Five Minute Friday)
 37 years ago an 8 year old girl was puzzled at this word, 'good'.

She thought, "why on this rainy day, when we think about Jesus being beat up and brutally killed, hanging naked on a tree, would anyone in their right mind say it was good?

To me it just didn't make sense.

So.. I asked Mom.
Why did we call the day Jesus died 'good'?

My mom explained to me the reason.

With no death there would be no payment for my sin.
Not good
With no payment for my sin I would have to pay the price myself
Not good
The payment for my sin is death, and being forever separated from God
Really not good

With no death there would be no resurrection
With no  resurrection there would be no hope

It wasn't that Jesus' life was taken from Him
It was that He gave it up willing
This is good
He surrendered His life,
To pay the price necessary for my sin
This is good
He laid down His life,
So I could be with Him forever
This is good
He died for me
Because He loves me
This is very good!

ADORE:

(5 minute Friday)

Adore: honor - exalt- worship

The first thing that came to mind was a song I sang as a kid. I used to go outside on a warm summer night and look at the cloudless sky. I would be so overcome by the beauty of the stars in the black sky and the vast number of them. I would sing this song as a praise to my God.

Father, I adore You

Lay my life before You

How I love You

Spirit, I adore You

Lay my life before You

How I love You

Jesus, I adore You

Lay my life before You

How I love You

I think it is not an easy thing to truly adore God 

Not without visual help

When I see the depths of the ocean

When I see the majesty of the mountains

When I see the beauty of nature 

I am awe struck by what His hands have made

I automatically cry out in praise and adoration.

But when I see the storm

When the giants are all around me

When I start to give way to fear

My first thought isn't 'Father I adore You'

When unexpected blessings come

When someone sick is healed or made well

When I witness a miracle

I am quick to say 'Jesus, I adore You'

When I think of life itself

Sacrifice

Surrender

Pain 

Sorrow

even in all this I should be able to say 'Spirit I adore You'

It is because my vision is cloudy, that I do not see my God clearly in the everyday. My adoration is conditional. It is based on sight, emotion, and circumstances, not faith. I need to adore my King and my God because of who He is, and because He alone is worthy of all praise and worship. He deserves to be adored.

"Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O LORD, and this is Your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things." 1 Chronicles 29:11 (NLT)

Prepare:

(5 minute Friday)

This December my thoughts have been less focused on the season.
I feel a stirring in my soul.
All that is happening in the world around me, and the uncertainty of what 2015 will hold..
I want to use this last month of the year...
to prepare
I want to take time to catch up on my journals
to go through our "Blessings Jar" that is full of recorded blessings
to remember what God has done this last year
and in my mind.. prepare
I want to have my heart ready and full of memories to hold onto
Full of answered prayers to Praise God for
Full of goals accomplished and laughter shared
and in my heart... prepare
I want to take time to see what worked for my family
And, more importantly, what didn't.
What can we learn from those times that were hard?
I have no idea what next year will bring.
I need to prepare.
Year by year passes and then the start of a new one comes.
New goals, new ideas but very little time to reflect
I must prepare.
I want to start a new tradition in my family.
A tradition to cherish December as a time to ponder, a time to get my heart and mind ready for next year.
A time to prepare

"All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip His people to do every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17
"If only you would prepare your heart and lift up your hands to Him in prayer!" Job 11:13

Notice:

5 Minute Friday:

Open your eyes and notice
Open your heart and see
Notice the small things and whisper a prayer

Notice the mom with her hands full
Basket overflowing
Notice the kids making a fuss
But don't shake your head
Take time to whisper a prayer
For peace to fill her soul

Notice the man moving slowly
The wrinkle in his brow
As he tries to read the signs
Notice his confusion and doubt
But don't shake your fist
Whisper a prayer for a clear mind

Notice the birds in the trees
Singing their song of life
Notice their nest and the work that it took
But don't just see and walk on
Whisper a prayer of thanks
For ears to hear and eyes to see

Notice the sun as its rises
Notice the colors of the changing sky
Notice the sun as it sets
And brings on the night
Then whisper a prayer to say thank you.
Thank You God for another day of life

Notice the people around you
Notice those whom you love
A day brings many good and hard things
Take time to really notice them
Don't take them for granted
Whisper a prayer of help
So you will never forget to notice them
So you will have no regrets when they are gone