Category Archives: Five Minute Friday

Five Minute Friday blog posts

How to Disagree

Don’t hide behind others,

Don’t hide behind social media posts,

Don’t hide in a gossip mills or behind rumors,

Don’t vent uncontrollable and hide behind false anger.

Don’t spew angry words.

Don’t internalize their hurtful words.

BUT INSTEAD…

Do wait before spewing angry words

Do Inhale deeply then exhale swiftly

Try again…

Do inhale deeply on the count to four-

Hold for two and

exhale slowly- 4..3..2..1.

Go again,

Do give yourself a butterfly hug with cross taps.

Cross your hands, tapping the opposite arm or shoulder. The right-hand taps the left side and says, “Hello, mate. Let’s settle down.” The left-hand taps the right side and says, “Yep, we’re better together.”  Tapping back and forth, calms your brain. Sounds silly, I know, but it works. It’s like a hug from a butterfly that sets your mind free to think. (excerpt from WITT the anteater, WIP)

Do Think of strategies that follow the golden rule.

Do for others as you would have them do for you.

Growlers, howlers and whiners throw fits, Thinkers of all kind use their wits.

WITT: Wait, Inhale, Tap, Think (copyright RLBrown)

Ps. 133.1 “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” 

John14: 27…”…My peace I give you….Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”

I have no excuses, no not one!

None will suffice even with a life devoted to Christ.

Photo: RL Brown at Moss Mtn, AR

Mistakes made,

some intentionally

some by ommission

some in ignorance

but made just the same.

Actions taken to help

Actions done by myself

Actions that blindly hurt

Yet, the outcome–

Could have been different

Could have been avoided

Could have been resolved

No excuses, No not one!

But to trust in Jesus

His victory, won!

Rushing Through the Middle

Photo by Ena Marinkovic on Pexels.com

I’ve often read the beginning and end of the book to see how it starts and how it will end. I’ve even put a book back on the shelf if I didn’t like the ending. I’ve rushed through the middle of a book and stayed up all night just to get to the end.

Life before 18 seemed like an eternity. I couldn’t wait to be 18. Oh, the joy of being 18 again and the wisdom to know what to do with it. ( I would stop rushing around like a grasshopper and never looking up…God’s description of man.) It seems I’ve been in the middle all my life as:

  • The middle child
  • Middle of the sandwich generation
  • Center of my family negotiating
  • Middle-grade teacher
  • Middle of mid-life crisis

Even in retirement, I am still in the middle of my husband’s surgeries. I guess life is really lived in the middle. The best part of any book or life is in the middle: happy moments, life events, friendships new and old, and life. Life is lived in the middle of whatever stage you are in.

So, my advice to myself is to slow down and make sure I’m walking in the middle with Jesus. It will be messy but a much better story with Him in it.

Isaiah 40: 26 Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these stars, the One who leads forth their host by number. He call them all by name; Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power not one of them is missing.

I’m an like a star, in the middle of His creation and I am not missing. I am not missing in the middle of a messy life. Jesus is stuck in the middle with you…and me.

Deborah: She was a prophet, warrior and Judge.

Photo by Sora Shimazaki on Pexels.com

Deborah, in the Old Testament, was known for her wisdom and courage. Many Israelites sought her ruling on matters.

She was respected and valued as a Judge.

She was a prophet, able to hear God’s voice.

She was a warrior. Barak would only go to battle if she came.

What is my takeaway?

First, be obedient to God’s Word. Calling out sin is not hate. It is telling the truth. Know God’s word and be ready to answer. Deborah was prepared.

Second, stand firm in your convictions even when you don’t have all the answers. My part is to speak the truth; the Holy Spirit draws the person to Jesus. People sought her ruling and knew her to be wise and fair.

Third, be courageous and don’t waiver in your faith. Today more than ever, we need to stand in our faith and take back our country.

Joshua 1:9 Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

Brokenness: Where does it begin?

Photo by Bruno Pires on Pexels.com

The blame for the girl wielding a knife attempting to kill another girl doesn’t begin with the officer taking her life. It started long before she ended up in a foster home full of defiance, anger, and a disregard for life. For her, it began at home.

Long, long before God created the church or established Israel as a nation, before cities, God established the family as the basic unit of society. Parenting is one of the most demanding and most rewarding jobs ever. It is where we teach the love of self and others. It begins at home.

No parent is perfect, and even when you think you’re doing your best, things still go wrong. Missing subtle signs of depression, bullying at school, a child’s desire to be liked, willingness to sacrifice their (or your) values to succeed but then realized it costs them their soul. Parental conversation, church, counselors were still no help. It’s still the parent’s responsibility. It was mine.

Today we live in a world that flaunts Christian values as outdated, ridiculous, and even judgmental of others. The plumb line of Truth for the world has moved gradually in the seventies to drastically today. Raising a child amid that change can leave one blinded. Hind-sight has that glorious 20-20 vision.

Moving away from God’s design for the family, away from the families’ umbrella of protection, using the world’s plumb line for truth is the path to brokenness. There are many ways that brokenness enters our life and will whether or not we’re Christian. Healing comes by trusting God to mend our brokenness.

Familiarity with the gospel

Familiarity with the gospel often keeps us from seeing the Glory of God. Sometimes we search for things that tickle our ears instead of trusting God’s Word. If we don’t dig our roots deep, then we are caught off guard by subtle deceptions.

Colossians 2:9 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world rather than according to Christ.

Colossians 4:6 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned, as it were with salt, so that you may know how you should respond to each person.

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Voddie Bachman, the black-white divide is not a real divide that God established. God’s Word will take care of the false divide that men create. Tenants of Critical Race Theory: First, that racism is everywhere. White people are incapable of righteous action (convergence theory), Antifa liberalism rejects objectivity or enlightens knowledge, and knowledge is socially constructed. They say listen to them, not God. Listen to their stories and not the truth.

But facts are relevant to truth.

The Bible is sufficient for everyone, -red and yellow, black and white. Feelings are not the arborator of truth. God’s Word is the plumb-line for Truth. I have many brothers and sisters in Christ of many colors, and ethnic backgrounds, from around the world.

People need to be delivered from sin not liberation theology. Marxism is a death trap.

Permission to Love Your Soul like the Soil Loves the Tree.

Photo by RL Brown, Edinburgh, Scotland

How many times have you started your day like you were already behind? Your list of things to do is long, necessary, and mundane. You pulled into the driveway on auto-drive and didn’t pick up the milk. In the Bible, there is a reference to people being like grasshoppers. The grasshopper never looks up.

Maybe today, you take a long way home and slow down, knowing your destination will always be there. Raising a family is for the long haul, but you are here right now. Give yourself permission to enjoy the ride, take time to look at your moments, and write them down.

Love your soul like the soil loves the tree and gives it all the space it needs. (That is not my metaphor. It is by Dovan Beck; my niece, Chloe, sent it to me through FB) I’m borrowing his metaphor with a different application.

Colossians 2:6 speaks of being rooted in faith, growing in knowledge, and overflowing with gratitude- one faith, one hope, one Lord.

Colossians 2:6: Having been firmly rooted, and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed and overflowing with gratitude.

God’s Word is the soil where we root our faith. The soil (God’s Word) loves the tree (me) and gives the tree (you and me) all the space it needs to grow. Give yourself permission to look up and take the rest your soul needs.

4 responses to “Permission to Love Your Soul like the Soil Loves the Tree.”

  1. Anita Ojeda Avatar
    Anita Ojeda

    What a beautiful reminder to live in the moment and to give thanks always! So glad you’re my neighbor today at FMF!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  2. Deirdre Young Avatar
    Deirdre Young

    The second reminder to me that my soul needs the word daily. Thank you for reminding me. Deirdre FMF #1

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  3. Andrew Budek-Schmeisser Avatar
    Andrew Budek-Schmeisser

    Sometimes it’s a matter of allowing ourselves to BE loved…

    God asks that He may love my soul
    as the soil doth love the tree,
    to give me space that makes me whole
    within His family.
    But sometimes I can’t give that grace
    to the God of all creation,
    and turn from His tear-stained face
    in silent protestation,
    for I think I know me best;
    I know what I have done,
    and will not at His behest
    (nor that of His son)
    leave my dank and squalid hide,
    my self-abnegating pride.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  4. FMF Post August | brontebrown2 Avatar
    FMF Post August | brontebrown2

    […] Permission to Love Your Soul like the Soil Loves the Tree. […]

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a comment

Pressure

Photo by RL Brown, Niagara Falls

I Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

I have learned life consequences can take you beyond your emotional ability to handle, especially if it involves family and their decisions that cost so much. Grief and sadness are natural and break the heart in two. Tears well up, and loss overwhelms and hopes dashed. These emotions are overwhelming and indisputable, know that. But also know that God’s heart for you is real.

God intends me to place my faith in His Word and not in the caboose of my emotions. The engine is God’s Word, and my faith is like coal that I put in the engine. Faith in God’s Word is putting your trust in Him, not your feelings.

I said to a friend one day, if I were writing the Bible, I would leave out a bunch of David’s sins or wiping out nations, but then I would not have seen the depth of David’s torment, his hurt —his return to God and a relationship restored.

Now that is a wow! God loved David and He loves me too, even when I doubt.

In Romans 5 describes a sequence of growth. Tribulations brings about perseverance, and perseverance, proven character and proven character, hope: and hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out within our hears through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

A Gentle Spirit Within by RL Brown

“Will, I created you with a free will to know Me or not,” say God.

“It is my choice,” says Will.

Yes.

 I can choose.

Truth weathers time with no variation. You can trust it.

How can I be sure?

I created time for you to know Me.

Why free will?

During your time here, you have with-in you the capacity to love or hate; to experience joy and peace, not to stir discord; to develop patience and grit as you overcome anger and idleness; to show kindness, not intolerance or selfishness; to have a heart filled with goodness, not meanness; to have a gentleness of speech with others; and to grow in discipline and self-control as you hone your mind. 

I created all that’s within you.

I have all that inside me, cool.

YES.

Hello, God, I’m Will. 

SAVOR Each Season /fmf

Picture by RL Brown

I savor each season.

I savor the changing season from melting snow to flowers peeking through the warming ground, a splash in the pool on a hot summer day, the colors of autumn and a harvest moon, and the stillness of winter.

I savor the changing season of life. Reaching eighteen took an eternity, and yet, the rest of my life seems like a blink of the eye. I savor the moments with my husband, the busyness of raising my children, and the pleasure of being a grandparent.


I savor my church, lessons learn, friends made, and lives touch. I savor giving back and volunteering for my community. I savor the lives I’ve touched as a teacher.

I savor God’s Word that is it forever true and is a plumb line for this world.

Life has seasons, each to be savored for the blessings they bring.