Word of the day: FILL
Sippy cups (only one now and probably not for long) … Water bottles, man sized to accommodate their boy-man thirst … lunch boxes … ziploc bags … permission slips … backpacks … washing machine and it’s faithful sidekick the dryer … laundry baskets … pool bags for our now-fleeting trips to the pool (summer is oozing away like sand through our fingers) … car seat … utensil drawers … dresser drawers … this computer screen as I wrangle words on a daily basis … photo albums … scrapbooks (but not like I used to because aren’t we supposed to post it all on social media for consumption by the masses??)
This life of mine requires a lot of ‘filling’.
But am I filling the right things?
What about the hearts and minds of our impressionable young boys racing faster than I’d like toward manhood. Or how about my spouse? Am I filling the space between us with words that build up and encourage or is it just empty, idle talk that robs us of the joy that’s found in appreciating our many blessings?
Stop.
I’m excited to be a part of this new chapter in the life of the fabulous Five Minute Friday writing community. It’s the same wonderful weekly challenge: write, unscripted and unedited, for five minutes on the given word prompt. In case you missed it, there’s been a passing of the baton. Lisa Jo Baker has handed over the hostess with the mostess duties to Kate Motaung. You can click here to join the fun and read more about Kate, as well.
Heidi, so good to think about how we are pouring into and helping to fill the lives of those we love. It’s so easy to get off track with our family. Thanks for the encouragement to be more intentional in those interactions.
Hi Holly, thanks for stopping by. I keep thinking about the graphic on your post … such a great visual representation of this week’s prompt. Take care.
We are neighbors today over at Kate’s! It’s so easy to fill up with, well, just filler right? He wants to fill us first… I loved your post and how it stirs up the reader to stop and consider what it is that is filling us! Let it be Him, first and foremost!
Hi Karrilee, it’s great to be your neighbor in our new FMF “neighborhood”. I look forward to reading your post. Thanks for sharing your insights today.
It’s hard to keep it all in perspective, but when we lose the perspective, we start to miss out on life. We fill our schedules so much with things that we end up overwhelmed and missing out. And we forget to always build up and encourage.
Hi, Jen. I agree, it is hard to keep it all in perspective. I’m grateful the Lord’s mercies are new every morning.
Ummm, I like that . . . what are we filling our lives and our relationships with. Good question. Thanks for sharing this thought-provoking post. Stopping in from Five Minute Friday.
Thanks, Darlene. I hope your Friday is off to a wonderful start.
Thank you for the reminder that we need to fill the spaces between us and our spouses with words that build up. I need to be more intentional about that (some times, I just forget because we’re so busy talking about the current crisis).
Anita, I need to be more intentional about choosing words that build up, too. It does feel like we spend a lot of time trading information about the crisis of the day, doesn’t it? Thanks for reading my post. Have a great weekend!
loved all the word pictures of filling…how we are always filling…filling us up too and then spilling out just like the socks that our dryer did not eat…spilling out whatever is deep within
Hi Summer, thanks for reading my post. I’m glad you enjoyed the word pictures. It was fun to write.
I could feel my mind racing and my heart quicken as I was reading your list…so much like mine. What a wonderful reminder to fill the hearts and minds of our kids – I’m adding it with more intentionality to my daily list. Stopping by from FMF.
Hi, Lisa. I’m glad this post resonated with you. Thanks so much for stopping by.
Stopping by from Five Minute Friday! Such a good reminder of what we should be filling, and what needs to be lower on our priority list. Good thoughts!