Five Minute Friday (and a Winner!)

On Fridays around these parts we link up with Lisa-Jo and we stop, drop, and write.

For fun, for love of the sound of words, for play, for delight, for joy and celebration at the art of communication.

For only five short, bold, beautiful minutes. Unscripted and unedited. We just write without worrying if it’s just right or not.

Won’t you join us?

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.

2. Link back here and invite others to join in.

3. Most importantly: leave a comment for the person who linked up before you – encouraging them in their writing!

OK, are you ready? Give me your best five minutes on:

Tired…


Go


Wow, I don't know if "tired" was a good  prompt for me. I'm tired, alright, but not tired in a "I've just finished a good job and now I'm worn out" type of way. I'm tired of many things, though. 


I'm tired of all of the pettiness in my family. I'm tired of my husband's boss managing by fear. I'm tired of our children thinking we need to take care of them - well, one child anyway. I'm just tired.

Christmas was always a huge time of celebration for Mama and me. It was our special time. We love decorating together. We loved baking together. We loved singing along with John Denver and the Muppets together. It was awesome.

Now this is my first Christmas without Mama, and the thought of it makes me tired. The thought of more and more years without her makes me tired. Yes, I know I will see her again. Just the waiting makes me tired.

The depression that hounds me makes me tired. I wish that my body chemicals were not so screwed up. Then I might be able to face a day without coaching myself to want to get up and taking medicines. It is tiring to be tired all the time, you know? I'm not sure why this is my particular cross to bear, but it might be a good thing if I am saving somebody else from having to deal with it.

What I know for sure about being tired is that God has promised us rest. I won't be tired forever because He has told me so. And that is something to look forward to.

God's promises... always a good note to end on. 

Stop

As always, I'm linking up with Lisa-Jo, the Gypsy Mama, and the rest of the gang for Five Minute Friday. Definitely go check out what other people are saying over there!

***

For the six lovely people who entered the giveaway for a copy of All is Grace by Brennan Manning and John Blase, we have a winner!

Number 4 is Angela Downs! Yea, Angela! Email me your address, Angela, and I will mail you the book!

I enjoy this so much that I think I'm going to have to start searching for the next book to giveaway. Suggestions?

We Have A Winner!

Not only do we have a winner for my First Giveaway Ever, but I have been having way too much fun with free clip-art! Oh, and we have formed a little community of sorts.

Our contestants were:
1. Radical Believer (who is coming to us from overseas, if I'm not mistaken)
2. Denise (an amazing friend whose AOL account didn't mesh well with Blogger)
3. Julie Gillies (who prays and prays for so many of us bloggin' women)
4. Brother Dave (the man who trapped Charles and me into that crazy wedding vow)
5. Amy (who is so brilliant that words cannot describe her)
6. John (whose book that he co-wrote with Brennan Manning just came out this week; please order your copy at Amazon today; no, I was not paid to say that)
7. Jen (the awesome host of the Soli Deo Gloria Sisterhood)
8. Karenee (who is previously unknown to me but evidently is an artist and we need to get to know her)

I would like to point out that the Lovely Lyla Lindquist (how is that for some alliteration?) stopped by to say hello, but opted out of the contest because she already has the book (which she recommends).