FMF: time creates the {familiar}

~ Lisa Brittain

FMF-Square-familiarGratefully, Kate didn’t forget Five Minute Friday comes right after Thanksgiving Thursday.  When I saw her word prompt pop up on Facebook last night, it was a {familiar} reminder – it’s time to write and link up!  Thanks, Kate, for hostessing this beautiful community of faith writers.

So, here I go with thoughts on how time creates the {familiar}…

I’m thinking of a baby newly born in its mother’s arms looking into her eyes as she can now put a face to the familiar voice.  She knows momma’s voice.  She’s been listening to and has been comforted by the sound, the cadence, the rhythm of her voice for months.

And then I think of family sitting around a table in conversation – finishing each other’s sentences with memorized lines from the all too {familiar} movies.  Yesterday my mom mentioned she, my brother and I had all taken a train from Witchita, Kansas when he and I were just babies.time creates familiarity

The family story was lost when husband and son looked across the table with knowing eyes and said at the same time… “Train don’t run out of Wichita… unlessin’ you’re a hog or a cattle. People train runs out of Stubbville.” (a line from Planes, Trains and Automobiles – a family Thanksgiving classic)

I’m also reminded of the {familiar} well-worn path from my home to my elementary school.  I can retrace my steps in my mind nearly 50 years later.  My dad took time to teach me the way by creating {familiar} landmarks in my memory, and then I walked the path twice a day for several years.  Time created the {familiar}.  (5 minutes)

Ponders:

And it’s the same for my relationship with God.  The more time I spend reading the Bible, the more {familiar} I become with Who He is… and who I am as His created daughter.  As I commit time in the dark, quiet of our secret place I talk with Jesus about everything in my heart and in my life.  The {familiar} promises of His Word come back to me and I am comforted just like the newborn baby.  It is His voice which speaks peace into the storms of my life on this earth.familiar trails

  • Time creates the {familiar}… and I want to rightly dedicate the limited amount of time I have been given.  How about you, friend?
    • How does time create the familiar in your life?  in your relationship with God?  with people?  with the mission God has given you?
    • Are there places in your life which need to be renovated by concentrating time into that space?  relationships?  mission?  work?  creativity?
  • Holy Spirit of God, what do You want us to know about time, familiarity, our lives, and Your purposes?  We’re still and we’re listening for Your familiar voice…

Eyes on Jesus… you’re Shining!

~Lisa

 

 

Published by Lisa Brittain

I am an avid follower of Jesus. I have been since my early twenties when I met Him personally and received dramatic healing in my body and mind. After many years of marriage and raising sons into the teen years, I was challenged to explore the duplicity of my spoken faith followed up by fearful actions. I received the challenge presented by both of my sons. They love me and so they dared to confront me with the truth. Chips off my proverbial block! I determined then {more than a decade ago} to overcome fear with faith that was more than words. In my late 40's I made a decision to leave the desert wandering behind and set out to pursue the abundant life Jesus promised His disciples. I am a tentmaker {actually a reupholsterer} by day, which helps to support the call God has on my life to serve Him in my community. I thoroughly enjoy my work. Repairing and restoring throw-away furniture is a fulfilling creative outlet. More so, my Cheer House Repair and Restore business opens the door for me to interact with my community. My passion is to walk so closely to Jesus that others want to know Him too. I love to introduce women to Him as we walk, talk, and work together hand in hand through everyday life. Nothing thrills me more than to watch someone fall so in love with Jesus through His word and conversation; learning to trust His heart and receive His great love! I have been married to my dear man for over 30 rollercoaster years. We're simply thrilled that our latter days are more joyful and purposeful than our first. Together we have two - grown young men on their own journeys. Additionally, we share our home with 3 lively rescue pups. I look forward to having you join me on this journey of faith... Bold feet, humble heart Psalm 131 ~ Lisa

11 thoughts on “FMF: time creates the {familiar}”

    1. Thank you, Paula, for taking precious time out of your life to read a few of my words. I appreciate you joining in and adding value to the conversation!
      Eyes on Jesus… you’re Shining! ~Lisa

  2. Lisa, your story of the path to school and the picture of the cyclist brought back a memory…when I was a child I rode a bicycle to school, taking a shortcut along a well-worn path through a thicket of tall bushes.

    And then, over a holiday, someone installed a sprinkler on a one-foot vertical riser, right in the middle of the path. God knows what this individual was thinking, but I quite clearly remember what I was thinking as I was catapulted from the seat of my suddenly-stationary bicycle.

    It was an advanced thought for an eight-year-old.

    #1 at FMF this week..

    https://blessed-are-the-pure-of-heart.blogspot.com/2017/11/your-dying-spouse-409-necessity-fmf.html

    1. Andrew, oh my goodness, I can see you in my imagination hitting that pole on your bicycle. Never saw it coming. Oh my goodness! Thank you so much for sharing a memory of your real life. Thank you for taking precious time out of your life to join in and add value to this conversation. I appreciate you!
      Bless you, with tangible peace on the hard part of your journey with Jesus! ~Lisa

    1. Oh wow! Thanks, Lindsay!! I appreciate you stopping by and taking precious time out of your day to read my words here!
      I bless you with more and more familiarity with Jesus… To know Him and treasure Him more ~ Lisa

  4. I love that you compared the way a newborn baby is already familiar with Mom’s voice to how we become familiar with who God is! Such a sweet and powerful image! I also really like that you included questions. I have found that time creates the familiar in my life and ministry when I sit down long enough to listen to others (including God by spending time in His Word and in prayer), even when the days are busy. If I prioritize this love, the ministry and the love just grow! As far as renovation, I’m learning to find appropriate times to rest and be still–before God and before those I love. That’s what the Holy Spirit has been reminding me about lately. Thanks for this post!

    1. I LOVE that you interacted with the conversation and added value by answering some of the questions with me! Thank you, Kandi Elizabeth. I am heading over to The Oddish Chronicles to read some of your writing. Can’t wait…
      I see you… Eyes on Jesus… you’re Shining! ~Lisa

  5. Love your reflections here, Lisa! It’s so true that familiarity is cultivated over time. So important to take time with God so that we become familiar with his voice and able to recognise it in the midst of all the others that surround us. Visiting from FMF #5.

    1. Thank you, Lesley, for spending some super precious time with me here at the holidays! Thank you for sharing your life in the spacious place!! ~Lisa Eyes on Jesus…you’re Shining!

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