Celebrate this Week
In the morning.
I am enjoying a brilliantly sunny, blue-sky, green-trees, summerishly warm morning. Who knew it would jump from highs in the mid-50s to the highs in the 80s in less than 24 hours? We slept with the windows open and a fan running last night.
With my kitchen door open, I am enjoying sounds far and near. The faint hum of the freeway traffic moving through the canyon is a background for the distant roar of on-time departures from the airport, the intermittent whoosh of local traffic as it is released and stopped by the traffic light at the top of our hill, and the tick-tock of my very old kitchen wall clock.
It is too early for the voices of children on the streets and Middle School grounds. It is even too early for the construction sounds and voices of workers at the building site of four new homes in our neighborhood.
In the evening.
It’s been two hours since the sun set. The air is cool, heavy with the coming rain, full of night sounds. The smell of supper lingers in my kitchen. Soon I will close this day. And in the morning, I know the sun will rise again. When it does, today will become yesterday and tomorrow will be today.
God is faithful.
I pause to celebrate the rising and setting of the sun. It bookends my days — a daily reminder of God’s great faithfulness.
______
Five Minute Friday : should
00:00.00 Begin a five minute stream of consciousness on paper.
Should is a strong word.
It is full of obligation, full of necessity.
It bids me do, or be, or say.
Sometimes negated by “not.”
Now, that can be good.
Part of commitment, part of being responsible…
Perhaps a command.
But it can also be bondage.
The pressure to do, or be, or say
what someone else decides.
There are two sides . . .
How do I know which should should I followed?
Here’s how…
When the night is becoming day, before my feet
touch the floor, my heart
hears the whispers of God
And when I listen, I know which should
I must pay attention to.
He leads me.
05:01.19 Stop
Friday afternoon postscript.
All day I’ve been pondering this word should . . . and I just had to return to add a postscript.
The word should by itself isn’t the source of our reaction, but rather, the words that precede it and follow it within the sentence.
Thank you Kate Motaung for hosting.
Read more about Five Minute Friday. #fmfparty
I’m linking up with Ruth Ayres
where bloggers share something
they are celebrating. Thank you Ruth for #Celebratelu.
Oh, such a lovely reflection on the sounds of morning and evening, sunrise and sunset. I’m glad you included our FMF thoughts too. Like others, I liked seeing your word map. But most of all, I love your insight as to which should should be followed:
“When the night is becoming day, before my feet
touch the floor, my heart
hears the whispers of God
And when I listen, I know which should
I must pay attention to.
He leads me.”
Thank you, Alice.
Alice, thank you for your spiritual offerings that fit just right into my nighttime reflection. Should is a strong word!
You wrote so atmospherically about those morning and evening noticings – beautifully done.
So much goodness here today, Alice. The simplicity of a day which you beautifully captured. Your nudge to listen to what God is whispering to us. Your thought process in understanding a most difficult word. And your wise words: “The word should by itself isn’t the source of our reaction, but rather, the words that precede it and follow it within the sentence.” I am so glad I stopped by today.
Alice, choosing the right shoulds really resonated with me. Thank you for the beautiful reminder of planting my feet on the floor and listening for God’s whispers in the beginning and close of the day.
I love your should vs would chart. What a fantastic idea. I agree that should can carry expectations and feel like bondage. LOVE this post. Also, I think you just showed me how to hear the sounds of man in a more positive light. When I’m on the deck or walking the dog I listen to nature and appreciate that I cannot hear any man made sounds like traffic and, as soon as I do hear it, I feel like the moment is ruined. But you have shed a new, positive light on those sounds. I’m looking forward to enjoying tomorrow mornings offerings. 🙂
I love the celebration of your week blurbs, really like the way you say that the sun set bookends your days, beautiful. Thanks for stopping by Whispers on Writeria Lane today, it’s nice to connect with you.
Should can indeed be bondage, but in the ‘should’ of bending our knee in Jesus’ presence, it’s freedom.
Great post, Alice!
#1 at FMF this week.
http://blessed-are-the-pure-of-heart.blogspot.com/2017/05/your-dying-spouse-306-but-i-still-trust.html
Alice, this was great. And yes, I believe whether or not we follow a “should” needs to come from God’s direction for our days. And I’m with Mandy, I love your notes! They made me smile.
Have a great weekend!
That’s so true. God does lead us. I’m over in the 30 spot this week.
Absolutely beautiful, Alice. And that diagram is so interesting. Conditions, obligations, necessity — those can be very burdensome words if they’re not accompanied by God’s direction that this is in fact what we “should” be doing. “Before my feet/touch the floor, my heart/hears the whispers of God” — that is so lovely. Thanks for sharing. (Thanks for visiting me earlier today as well. It is great to make new connections on FMF.)
I LOVE this, Alice!! So glad you shared your notes…what a wonderful way to map out truth. You are quite the poet. I leave here feeling all the warms and fuzzies 🙂
Glad to be your neighbor here at Five Minute Friday!