Welcome to Five Minute Friday! If you’re new here, you can catch the scoop and all the details over here.
And guess what? You did it! You made it to the end of another week. Whew, and what a week it has been. Anyone else feeling bogged down by all the yuck in the world?
I, for one, am so grateful for the uplifting stories in the midst of the muck, stories like the amazing one shared by Lisa-Jo on what *you* have done in the midst of the dirty dishes and piles of laundry .. have you heard? As of this afternoon, there was only $4,472 left to go out of a whopping $50,000 raised for the water point, vegetable garden and the Community Center in South Africa!! That’s crazy, hey?! Can I hear a “Thank you, Lord,” and an “Amen”?
So whaddya say we give Lisa-Jo a little surprise .. This coming Tuesday happens to be a momentous occasion in her life. Momentous, as in, she happens to be turning the big 4-0 .. How about if we make it extra special by closing that gap and rounding off the Maubane project? Hey? Do you think we can do it? All we need is 183 people to give $25 .. That’s sacrificing one Friday night pizza dinner and having sandwiches instead. Who’s in? (Click here if you’re with me.) Let’s pray and give and watch this little widget below close the gap ..
And speaking of great stories, did you catch this week’s Featured Five Minute Friday post in the sidebar? I was so moved by this account written by Laura Robb .. be sure to check it out!
And now .. It’s time to write. This week’s prompt is:
Okay, here we …
GO.
I sit in the crowded restaurant, John Mayer lyrics wafting through speakers overhead: “We’re waiting … waiting on the world to change.”
And it becomes a prayer.
Because my eyes have been filled with headlines and my mind consumed by the atrocities reported near and far, and when?
When will it change?
We breathe in the tension and long for the wind to shift even as the crickets chirp in the stillness of night, and we wait with bated breath. And sometimes we long for the wings to soar up and out of this mess, and straight into glory.
We feel it coming, this changing of the tide, as the waters recede and the land is thirsty. Thirsty for hope. It’s dry, and it needs life.
We can feel the swell of ocean pulling back, the waves being reigned in and we wait. We wait for the surge of living water to consume us,
and make all things new.
And we’re waiting … waiting for the world to change. To be made new.
But first we must be changed. Changed from the inside out by the same living water. Changed to become an agent of change, for good.
So come, Thou fount of every blessing, and change my tune. In the midst of these dark waiting days, tune my heart to sing Thy praise.
And then come, Lord Jesus, come.
STOP.
It’s your turn! Go on and change the world for good with your beautiful words. Click the blue button to add your link, and don’t forget to give the person ahead of you some comment love!
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We always want to see the world changed, but it truly does begin in ourselves. But changing ourselves? Ooohhh that ain’t easy! 😉
So true, sister, so true. Has to be a work of the Holy Spirit, eh?
Kate,
We sure are waiting on the world to change, aren’t we! But we must be the change we want to make, I think. We can’t just keep waiting, we must get up and go!
Awesome prompt and post.
Thank you and blessings.
Andrea
YOU!!! you and these people – you are the BEST. The Very BEST! You make turning 40 feel like a triumph 🙂
Happy birthday, Lisa-Jo!
Someone once told me to be the change the world longed to see. It seems overwhelming, what can I do to bring about change? But it starts with one. May God open my eyes to who He wants to use me.
Beautiful post! I pray the world can see how Jesus changed me, and desire that same change. I am new to FMF…last week was my first, but I totally enjoyed linking up and visiting several of the ladies. Thank you for hosting it. Love the community it builds.
Welcome, Leah! So thrilled to have you here, and pray that you will be encouraged in this fabulous community of writers!
Yes – waiting on the world to change – and hoping that I am the change that needs to happen in my little place of the world, and praying for Christians and Christ-inspired actions – yes…
Yes– come, Lord Jesus, come. The more ugly life becomes, the more suffering I walk through, the more I am CHANGED to long for the day when we will be caught up with Him and forever in His presence.
Thanks for leading the charge this week, Kate. 🙂
Ha! I’ve always liked that song but at the same time been frustrated by the lyrics. It does seem like it’s easy to spend time waiting for the world to change instead of doing what we can to change it. (I get really frustrated with my friends that get up in arms about the injustice of the world in one breath but complaining about their Iphones in the next, not there is anything wrong with owning an iPhone). Little things do make a difference. We can’t all do big things, but little things can be just as important. The project Lisa Jo is raising money for is a perfect example, if we all do a little huge things can happen. We need to apply that logic to pretty much every aspect of our lives and start seeing real success instead of frustration at our lack of progress or feeling frozen with indecision. Have a happy Friday, God Bless.
My kids have gone to Peace Camp the last few summers and have really internalized the quote “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” I pray that if my generation can’t get things figured out, then my children’s generation will!
Well said, Kate! This reminds me of a class my husband and I recently took. It was “Fresh Encounter” by Blackaby. One of the principles is that revival has to start within us. The whole class was very convicting!
Thanks for hosting FMF!
I have known about 5 Minute Friday for so long… and today I joined, for the very first time. I was a little nervous. Will it be good enough? Will it have a message or am I just writing? But I went ahead and am excited to join this community that has existed for so long. I belong…
Welcome!! SO glad you joined us! Hope to see you again next week .. and the week after that .. and the week after that .. 😉
Kate, I’ve been away and this is my first FMF since the switch from LisaJo to you. Thanks so much for making it possible for that girl to take a much needed step away. She is soooo busy, as we all are, but it is gracious of you to become our standard bearer. Look forward to getting to know you.
Beautiful words. And thank you for taking up for Lisa-Jo’s Five Minute Friday. One of my favorite days of the week.
Thank you for your post, Kate, and for hosting our link-up! I love what you said about being agents of change for good. We can use our power for good, instead of evil. God’s good purposes. Blessings, Katy
This was a perfect prompt this week, Kate. And for so many reasons. I haven’t written yet, because I had another post scheduled to go live somewhere else. But I will write…just a few days late. This you said spoke to me, “But first we must be changed. Changed from the inside out by the same living water. Changed to become an agent of change, for good.” It’s so true. I need to be changed from the inside out and be an agent for GOOD change. I so appreciate your heart and your words and this space to write unencumbered every week. Bless you, friend…xoxo
Really beautiful post. Thank you.
Yes, Kate! Great post! WE need to change by receiving and drinking the holy water! <3
-Ava Sophie