Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Five Minute Friday - LOYAL

Five Minute Friday - a free write, which means, as our hostess, Kate Motaung, says, "...no editing, no over-thinking, no worrying about perfect grammar or punctuation. Just write."

Okay...so...last week I didn't post my FMF post until Monday. Now here it is this week and it's Tuesday! Late night...like almost Wednesday...late night Tuesday! But...I'm determined to get back to writing...so...here it is...my late Tuesday night...almost Wednesday...Five Minute Friday post...

This week's prompt is LOYAL.

Go!

Being loyal...there doesn't seem to be too much of that around these days. 

When my husband's grandfather brought the family to this country from Sicily, and, then later, extended family and a few close friends, they had to be loyal to one another because each other was all they had. 

Look at the American Revolution. It was Benjamin Franklin, in the Continental Congress just before signing the Declaration of Independence, that said, "We must, indeed, hang together, or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately." Their very lives depended on them sticking together and being loyal to one another and to their cause if any of them were to survive...and look what that loyalty resulted in. 

I believe that, as Americans, many of us have forgotten who we are and where we came from...or else we never knew to begin with because no one ever took the time to tell us...no one passed the history down...and, now, as a result, many simply don't care. They don't know what loyalty is because they've never known it...never saw it in action...and it's sad. Families suffer greatly because of disloyalty and some don't know that it even exists.

When I think of loyalty in scripture I immediately think of two stories...the fierce loyalty that Ruth had to her mother-in-law, Naomi...

"And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God" (Ruth 1:16).

and the kindness that King David bestowed upon Mephibosheth because of the deep friendship that he had had shared with Mephibosheth's father...

"But the kind spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the LORD'S oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul" (2 Samuel 21:7)

It seems that having to stick together during tough times is what creates loyalty. 

How loyal are you to the relationships that God has blessed your life with? It's something to think about. 

Stop!

All My Love,
~Rebecca

Monday, August 22, 2016

Five Minute Friday - TEAM

Five Minute Friday - a free write, which means, as our hostess, Kate Motaung, says, "...no editing, no over-thinking, no worrying about perfect grammar or punctuation. Just write."

This week's prompt is TEAM.

Go!

I don't feel like much a team player anymore. It's been months since I've posted anything on my blog...not even a Five Minute Friday post.

With life's twists and turns, writing has become increasingly difficult. Work, home, family...my days all blend together to the point that sometimes I can't tell where one ends and another begins.

My dad passed away in May. His health had been declining for years, but the past two years have been especially difficult. For the past decade he had been treated for COPD; five days before he passed away the lung specialist at the hospital correctly diagnosed him with silicosis...a lung disease caused from breathing silica sand at the stove foundry he worked at in his younger days. 

Dad came home on Hospice Saturday, May 7th in the evening; he passed away about 2:30 the next afternoon...Sunday, May 8th...Mother's Day. His parting was peaceful and it was a good day. His family was there and he was no longer suffering...no longer struggling to breath. I've had my ups and downs since. I'm thankful that he's no longer suffering, but oh how I miss him! 

Since my dad's been gone, things have gotten harder. Sometimes I feel that I've gotten harder. Like I said, not much of a team player anymore...on any front. 

Right now we're working on my dad's house. It was his desire that, after he was gone, that we move in there and that's what we're working toward. I'm hoping that once we're settled, that I will settle...settle myself down...settle into a new routine...settle down to writing...become a team player again...on all fronts. 

Stop!

All My Love,
~Rebecca