Grains of Sand

Funny this word should be a prompt. I've been reading The Middle Matters: Why That (Extra)Ordinary Life Looks Really Good on You by Lisa-Jo Baker.  I've been reading it because I'm tired in the middle of my life.  Gone are the days I'm holding babies in my arms and being rewarded with cute little smiles.  Gone are the days I fall into bed exhausted after chasing toddlers and cleaning peanut butter fingers while giggling fills my ears.  All those easy field trips to the zoo or train museum or the playland at the fast food place are a thing of the past. I'm in the middle.  Raising teens and almost teens.  They rarely giggle.  They are too big to hold (but not too big to hug!).  Mention playland at the fast food restaurant and they roll their eyes.  To get them to the zoo I have to ask God to send the absolute perfect weather because if it's too hot or too cold, the complaining is louder than the baboons.  The train museum is...

place [pleys]  noun   :a particular portion of space, whether of definite or indefinite extent.   :space in general This is the place where I put my clothes at the end of the day.  I started this habit when I had my first child.  I quickly realized that having extra clothing close at hand to keep me warm during those late night/early morning feedings was essential.  Through the years this has served me well during all sorts of late night adventures to feed babies, change diapers, soothe a toddler, tame an imagined monster, and hold a sick girl's hair back.  There is nothing colder than sitting with your child on a cold tile floor wearing shorts. I'm in a different season now.  My youngest is 8 and aside from the occasional call for mom, the kids don't need me as much in the wee hours of the morning.  So now, I'm trying to put my clothes in their proper 'away' place at the end of the day.  It seems an easy task to acc...

convenient   adjective // [kuhn-veen-yuhnt] :suitable or agreeable to the needs or purpose; well-suited with respect to facility or ease in use; favorable, easy, or comfortable for use. :at hand; easily accessible.  For the past 24 days (but who's counting) I've been following the Whole30 food program.  One of my takeaways from the experience is that eating whole foods is not easy or convenient.  It takes intention and resolve.   Have you ever looked at the label of the diced tomatoes you have in the cabinet?  Chances are there is sugar added.  What?!  That's what I said!  Part of the Whole30 is refined sugar elimination.  That means no sugar unless it occurs naturally in fruit.  Guess what?  Your mayonnaise probably has sugar.  Mine did.  So, I have been making my own these past 24 days.  Not as convenient as pulling a pre-made jar out of the fridge.   Whole30 is teaching me a number o...

better adjective   [ bet -er] : of superior quality or excellence B elieve you can E xpect God to work on your behalf T rain your brain T hrough reading His word E agerly anticipate the journey R est in Him Five Minute Friday is a wild and wonderful flash mob of words.  Five minutes on one prompt. No overthinking or editing.  Please visit Kate Motaung and link up with Five Minute Friday  to see more.