Two Minute Tuesday Focus

Focus

Focus Mysterious locus

Not mucus

Want a shoe case 

Hit it with your lace

In a case. 

Every person has a face. 

If you travel, have a case.

“Focus child! You're going to make that explode again!”
I snap back to reality and stop mixing the mixture in front of me and turn off the heat. Nothing exploded. I sigh with relief and start pouring the blue-grey liquid into a jar.
Jana comes over to me and places a hand on my shoulder, “goodness child, where've you been going
all week? What’s on your mind?” I look up at Jana and blink at her “oh, um, nothing important,” I say,  ...

Focus Tune out distractions Concentration On one task In flow Working single-mindedly Focus On what? School? Work? Song? Play? Friend? God? Always God But how? Focus One point of light Small But powerful Start a little fire Focus The locus Of points Where a circle begins And where an oval does, too Focus Focus Focus On more than just life

Two Minute Tuesday - Fly

Fly
Spread your arms
Open your wings
Prepare to leap
Into the sky

Fly
Soaring wind currents
Fleeting glimpses
Of sky above
And earth below

Fly
White feathers falling
Driting on the wind
Moulting eagle struggling
To stay aloft
 Fly
Soar and rest
Close your eyes
Thermals aid flight
Over endless oceans

Fly
In your dreams
Discover the freedom
Of flying
With Jesus

In the Lord I take refuge.
    How then can you say to me:
    “Flee like a bird to your mountain.
 For look, the wicked bend their bows;
    they set their arrows against the strings
to shoot from the shadows
    at the upright in heart.
 When the foundations are being destroyed,
    what can the righteous do?”

 The Lord is in his holy temple;
    the Lord is on his heavenly throne.
He observes everyone on earth;
    his eyes examine them.

The Lord examines the righteous,
    but the wicked, those who love violence,
    he hates with a passion.
 On the wicked he will rain
    fiery coals and burning sulfur;
    a scorching wind will be their lot.

For the Lord is righteous,
    he loves justice;
    the upright will see his face.

I love to fly, high in the sky.

Nothing you can experience will be like flying.

Flying is amazing, I fly over the trees,

Here in the sky, I am free to go where I please,

free to do what I please, see what I want.

Here in the endless sky, I fly, high and free.

I am the bird that flies, I am the bird that is free.

Fly. Fly where? Fly there? Just have a peer!

Flying birds, flying planes.

Without shame. 

Or blame.

An aeroplane!

Very big name.

Please no blame.

Two Minute Tuesday - Rest

The place past the stars is called Rest. After the world’s troubles and hard work, you finally go to the eternal rest. Rest is where all want to go, some do some stay here, at Star Forest. Once in Rest, you can forget all and Rest in His embrace. At peace at last. Now, go one, Rest in assurance that you are safe here.

Rest is

Peace is

Calm is

Knowing

Whose I am

He is

Calm in the storm

Peace in the chaos

Rest of satisfaction

Rest you always want to rest.

Except in a mess.

Also in chess.

Not very stressful.

 In a vessel.

But don’t have it in a wrestle.

And not in a pull.

Rest
Slow down
Stop your busy buzzing
Wait
Slow yourself
And take a real look at your life
Rest
Isn’t just sleeping
But peace of mind
Soul
Heart
Body
Spirit
All of you at rest
Rest
Take a break
Lie down for a minute
Close your eyes
And look to Jesus
The Prince of Peace
He said,
“Come to me,
All you who are weary,
And I will give you rest.”
Rest
Peace
Refreshed
Comforted

Jesus

An Not Normal Week

Dad left the Thursday before
Hiccups in the daily routine abounded
A scramble for correct documents and appointments over the phone
 dad can mess with routine best when he's away :)
Intense school task lists for Grace to finish 5 days in 3
Extra thinking and planning
 for Mom and Grace to be gone all day Thurs-Sat
Late-night phone calls with dad
 making early morning plans askew
A Thursday playdate cancelled - Aiden has the sniffles;
 extra caution to take these days

Grace and Mom up and out 8am
 returning around 11pm
It's the Kingdom Family Gathering
 3 days of worship and words with God's Kingdom Family
Music is way too loud
 with earplugs it's just fine though
But lots of flagging companions
 and synergy of worship -!
The room is cold enough to take blankets
 but the atmosphere is charged with family warmth
Messages of hope, words of wisdom
The touch of God for healing inside and out

The household routines at a standstill
But Jasmin gets herself and Aiden fed and slept
Some things checked off their school lists
And takes care of a few tasks here and there
Enjoying the extra quiet -
 when Aiden's away on a Friday playdate
So when Sunday arrives and everyone's home again
Dad from Bangkok, Mom and Grace from the Gathering
Everyone heaves a sigh of relief
Much chatter is heard; all have stories to share
And the household languishes more while we reconnect

Three days later, there is some semblance of order
The week's laundry has been done
There are school task lists waiting for tomorrow
There's food in the fridge
Kefir and kombucha production has been restarted
The garbage has been taken out
But the floors seriously need mopping
There's a pile of marking for Mom
Dad is cloistered away catching up on life set aside while in Bangkok
The mop's broken, the bike tires need pumping
And we're still hopping raggedly from one thing to the next

We're glad the next time family is split off in three different directions is a long time from now!
Um...mom? Actually, it's later this month... the 21st?
But at least that is only for one day, right?

2 Minute Tuesday "This week I was most astonished by..."

This week I was most astonished by the fact that I wanted to read more than I wanted to listen :0. Since I’ve been reading more because I had no device that I could use to listen with, and now that I do have one I’m still reading. 

This week I was most astonished by how many people came to youth cell group. The highest amount of people last year was twenty, and that happened only once. Mostly it was about 15 people, but towards the end of the year it was closer to 10. But on Friday, on the first cell group of the year, over 30 people showed up! What makes this even more amazing is that the place was changed last minute as the host fell sick...and yet so many people came! It was busy that night.

This week I was most astonished by how much I used my phone... there were way too many days in which my phone battery was below 50% before lunch. It was all "work-related" use as well - not because I was watching or playing! It truly has become my mobile computer in a lot of ways. I guess that is what comes with having early morning skype calls - and having a travelling husband...