Inspirational Author
+Jeanne Takenaka @JeanneTakenaka
I watched my Super Woman plans fly out the window without me as the locker stuck fast.
I had big plans to run about a million errands on this particular day, and the x-ray had to be first. I thanked God that there was no line. I’d be in and out.
Easy-peasy.
Except that, after the x-ray was over, when I went to press my code into the security lock on the locker, it didn’t work. I tried again. No luck.
+Jeanne Takenaka @JeanneTakenaka
Five Minute Friday prompt this week is—ENOUGH. This largely unedited “rough draft” form of writing stretches this perfectionist, in the best of ways. I write for five minutes on a given topic. If you’re interested in learning more about 5-Minute Fridays, check out our hostess, Kate Motaung’s site. Or, click on the link at the bottom of this post. As you read my simpler Friday posts, I hope you’ll join in the conversation!
ENOUGH
I checked my watch as I buzzed past some woman on my way into the grocery store. If I hurried, I had just enough time to grab the few items for dinner before I rushed to the carpool lane to pick up a boy (where, incidentally, I would wait for fifteen or so minutes).
Funny how I rush around sometimes, trying to bleed every possible thing out of each moment.
To be productive.
To get that one more thing done before I rush off to do something else.
I end up dry.
Sad how I miss so much when I’m busy rushing from one thing to the next.
I miss those slow moments with boys.
I miss sunsets that color the sky in glory.
I miss glimpses of God’s fingerprints in my days.
What if enough looked more like me taking moments slower? What if I chose to live in one moment—each moment—rather than trying to cram a few moments into one? What if I stopped multi-tasking and began cherishing the now?
Funny how “enough time” might look more like less accomplished, but richer moments.
There are times—seasons—when I will have to rush. It’s my season of life with two boys in sports and school and concerts and the end of the academic year parading itself onto my calendar.
But not every day, not every moment has to be crammed chalk full of completing my to-do’s. I need times where just being in the moment is enough.
Somehow, I think those moments will be the most refreshing ones. The ones that strengthen me for the inevitably busy hours.
Some moments will be busy, but they don’t all have to be.
Some moments it’s enough to just sit with God, coffee in hand and Bible in lap. It’s enough to just watch the sunrise or the sunset and the splashes of brilliance God paints across the sky.
It’s enough to find joy in the way God shows His love through color and hugs and laughter and quiet.
Enough isn’t found in busy. It’s found in savoring.
What about you? Where do you find “enough” in your days? How do you make time for stillness in your busy seasons?
I’m linking up with Kate Motaung over at Heading Home. Five Minute Friday: Enough
By +Jeanne Takenaka @JeanneTakenaka
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A quick note: Ellen Gray, you won Jill Kemerer’s book from last week’s blog post! Congratulations! Jill will contact you to get the book to you!
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Every summer it happens.
I determine this will be the summer where we learn to rest, to enjoy and to take the days slow.
But there’s something about having two active, need-to-stay-busy boys that makes this dream a little bit impossible. At least my vision of this dream.
This was the summer when I didn’t sign them up for a bunch of swimming lessons. We didn’t do Vacation Bible School (attending or serving). We didn’t sign up for a bunch of summer camps.
Continue reading “Gift: Unwrapping the Gifts of Summer—A Retrospective”
By +Jeanne Takenaka @JeanneTakenaka
The day the pink and blue summons arrived, I cringed. What would I have to reschedule? I admit it. I was not excited about exercising this privilege we have as a result of living in the United States. I tempered my reaction because my boys were watching. Those boys of mine . . . they saw right through my, “It’s okay. It’s what we all get to do sometimes.”
By +Jeanne Takenaka @JeanneTakenaka
My Five Minute Friday prompt this week is—Long. This largely unedited “rough draft” form of writing stretches this perfectionist, in the best of ways. I write for five minutes on a given topic. If you’re interested in learning more about 5-Minute Fridays, check out our hostess, Kate Motaung’s site. Or, click on the link at the bottom of this post. As you read my simpler Friday posts, I hope you’ll join in the conversation!
LONG
When the boys were little—scrapping with each other, daring me to defy their strong wills—an older and wiser friend shared this quote with me:
“The days are long, but the years are short.”
And how true I’m finding this statement to be. The boys are now 11 1/2 and 10 years old. Bigger, stronger, more able to reason . . . and some days just as able to drive me to my knees in discouragement and prayer.
But now, I see the quickness of the years. One is almost a teenager. We have maybe seven more years to be his mama and dad while he’s under our care.
After that, our boys will spread their own wings into their beautiful lives. Independent, hopefully living for Jesus.
I see how much we still need to teach them.
Where have the days gone?
They’ve been filled with training, laughter, cuddles, battles, playing, watching movies, hopefully making fun memories they will take with them when they leave our nest.
I’m not in a hurry for our boys to grow up. I want to cherish each day they live under our roof. Some days truly are long, but the years are picking up speed with each birthday.
And it scares me a little.
The struggles in the long days pale when I hold them up to the years our boys have already lived. It makes me a wee bit sad to see them grow. I tell them to stay small. And one of them says he will.
The other . . . he’s ready to make his days fly by and live with freedom and independence he still needs to learn to manage well. But in his mind, he is ready.
I am not.
I want more long days (but not the ones where we’re battling!). Days where we hike, laugh, enjoy being together. Shared memories. Shared love.
The days may be long, but the years truly are short.
What about you? When have you wanted to slow down time, just a little? What one piece of advice would you share with those walking behind you in life?
Kate Motaung—FMF Long
This autumn, our colors have been particularly brilliant. Or perhaps, I’m more aware of them. Maybe it’s because I’m growing older, but I find that I want to soak in the beauty of each moment. . . .
Walking around our neighborhood and glimpsing two trees side-by-side—one sun-kissed yellow, the other rich shades of magenta—stops me in wonder.
A funny thing happened on the way home from the ACFW conference last Monday. God gave me the gift of sitting next to an author I highly respect. After I got past my “fan-girl” moments, we both rested for a bit.
“Time to go.”
“So many books. So little time.”
“Time flies when you’re having fun.”
How many sayings are out there about “Time?” Time is one thing that sets definite boundaries around our lives. We receive twenty-four hours each day. No more. No less. Let’s face it: women have lots to do. I often cram as much as I can into a day.
Cynthia Heald said something that’s stayed with me: “Time is a gift, not a possession.” Simplicity views time as a gift, not a given. I tend to take time for granted. I figure I’ll have time to do ____________ (fill in the blank) later. That way I can do ______________ now. If time is a gift, should I assume I’ll have an unlimited amount of it? None of us knows how many days we’ll walk this earth.
