When I think of Fall I envision the season Fall and some one falling from a cliff. When you fall you feel a gust of wind. Usually when you fall you fall really fast.
When I think of the word fall I think of someone falling off their skateboard. Sky Diving is Falling into the sky. Almost falling is tripping. Falling is also passing out. 
When I think of falling I also think of falling into the water.
You were brave.
You conquered the grave.
You set us free from being the worlds slave
No matter what we may crave
We can be brave
Its all because of what you gave
You were first brave
Thankyou for giving your life on the cross Jesus!
I have beautiful memories of travelling to numerous yard sales with my grandparents. My Grandfather who was partially disabled due to a stroke in his young adulthood, would patiently wait in the car. He was always excited to see the treasures grandma had purchased
Most of the items Grandma purchased looked like they were ordinary misfits that belonged in the dumpster. She would see potential in them at the time of her purchase. When she brought them home , they received thorough baths whether in the tub, washing machine or by hand. Also they were transformed with accessories , for example Grandma would put old antique hats or clip on earrings on bears. If grandma purchased clothes with a stain many times the article of clothing ended up more beautiful than the moment she purchased it. Grandma had a talent of fixing things when others had thrown them out and redeemed them useless. Nothing was too broken for her to redeem and create beauty within the item again.
As I sit here reflecting on her amazing ability to turn trash to treasure , I realize that is just what Jesus does. He redeems our lives and turns our sinful ugly hearts into beautiful loving hearts. 
Todays Five minute Friday is a bit different and more of a challenge to me. Instead of a one word prompt it is a question what did your mama do that made her your mama? Thankfully its an easy question. There are many wonderful things my mama did that made her my special mama! Every night I could look forward to a home cooked meal complete with vegetables , which were not always my favorite. I could sign her up to bake cookies for my class and she willingly baked them at the last minute notice I gave her. My mama made me a separate salad from the rest of the family due to the fact that I despised onions!
I was afraid of the dark but I could fall asleep feeling safe every night, because my mama was in the next room still up doing laundry. Mom took me to work with her and gladly let me help her even if she did have to go back and redo what I did! She praised my good grades and my passion for writing. She introduced me to Cherry Vanilla Dr-peppers from the Sonic drive through which came to be her and I s special treat together.
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Here is my cup Lord . Look inside and you will see it is bare. Fill it up Lord . Here is my heart Lord, it is bare . Fill it with your love, so that it may overflow to everyone who I meet. Here is my soul Lord ,it is bare. Make it whole Lord, so it may know your unconditional love inside its depths. I stand bare before you ,take my mind and make it new . Take everything impure and make it pure. Here is my planner laid bare before you, fill it with your plans.
Most of my life I have allowed fear to cripple me. If I was afraid of something I avoided it as if it were the black plague. Fear had a Velcro death grip on my life.
One-day
I was chatting with a friend telling her that I was afraid, her response was “Do it Afraid!” Those words really spoke to my inner soul. In that moment I decided that I was going to do the things I desired and needed to do. Even if I have to do them Afraid!
I have a fear of public speaking. Each month I attend a conference call with fellow ibloom members. Last month when it came my turn to speak, fear said to pass. In that moment I could have chosen let my fear win. I decided to go ahead and do it afraid. I was so scared to speak on a call that I knew lots of others were on. I did it afraid and you know what I survived.
When I am afraid my heart races, my breathing gets shorter, and I shake. These were all symptoms that kept me in bondage. I choose to do whatever it is I need to do afraid. Yes my heart may race, my hands may shake and my breathing will get shallower, but I will do it afraid and survive the experience.
The monster snuck in again. It must have found a crack to crawl through. I struggle against the monsters hands whose only motive is to take my mind. He wants to swiftly fly in and perch inside a corner of my mind . He desires to any joy from me and replace it with pitch black darkness. He wants to bind my heart up until it roars “there is no-one who can help you now!”
Again , I reach out to the light the monster named depression slowly begins to fade with his tail tucked beneath him. He has not given up . He will return for revenge. When he comes again my mind will be renewed and he will be blinded by the light shining inside me.
Inside of my heart is a treasure chest overflowing with treasured memories. Snapshots of times that will be forever etched in my heart. Each encased in its own beautiful package. Somedays I love to open my treasure chest and lay all of the cherished memories before me to bask in the glow of each distinct moment in time. One of my personal favorites is in the first moments of my daughter’s life when we locked eyes and I instantly fell in love with her. Another favorite is saying I Do at our wedding day to the love of my life. I can still see his sparkling green eyes gazing into my eyes, promising to honor and cherish me all the days of our lives. As much as I love to travel back in time and dig into my treasure chest I know that today is meant to be celebrated and cherished so that these moments too can be one-day put into the chest along with the others . Perhaps one-day when I am old and tempted to be bitter I can look back into my treasure chest and find the joys of yesterday , so that I may not dwell on my state of health but instead dwell on what a cherish life I lived.
On October the sixth , I lost my beloved Grandma . When she passed from this earth into eternity I was holding her hand. In those moments nothing else mattered but the cold hard fact that my grandma indeed was gone. I could choose to bury my feelings of grief . Instead I am intentionally diving in head first into these uncharted waters . The deeper I dive into grief, the more my soul crys out begging me to go back to the shore, where emotions are more comfortable. I whisper to my soul, someday the waters of grief wont feel so ice-cold . There are days when I dive into my broken heart and long to stay inside the sadness and not come up to the surface for air. In those moments I remind myself that Grandma FREE! She is freed from her earthly chains. One-day I too will get the privilege of diving into the Kings arms and embracing sweet freedom from this life. Life is meant for the living, so I must dive deep to recover the pearl from the bottom of griefs treasure chest. Although I can’t stay inside the darkness of grief forever I must intentionally choose to let myself come back to the surface and live my life. 
Learning to stay is an important lesson we must all learn. When troubles arise my first instinct is to run as far as I can to escape . Difficulties leave me feeling trapped inside a bubble without air to breathe. When challenges have arisen my mind has chanted leave and find a safe place. My heart has closed its doors and said you can’t tolerate any-more . My soul has built walls enclosing my very being to escape the misery, My face has placed a mask to hide any glimpse of pain. You might at this point be wondering what does all this have to do with staying. I learned to stay once I hit the end of my options for leaving the agonizing pain. I learned to stay in the moment of pain and know I am safe and loved. I can stay and still be able to breathe. I am able to go to the darkest places in my heart and open the doors to let light in so that I may stay in this place to understand the root of the pain. Staying is an option , I am not trapped there is a way out of the dark. I don’t have to run from difficulties , its okay to stay and work through them. The walls that surround my soul have no place in my life. I don’t have to hide behind a mask. I am able to stay and receive life-giving love and remove the mask. Sometimes escaping pain is not the best answer. It takes walking through the pain with Jesus and letting him find the root of it. Once deeper meaning is given , peace can be found amidst the pain.
A Coach By Chance 