1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. Please visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments.

So please give me your best five minutes on:

Identity
START

First and formost my identity is found in Christ…I want to be Christ-like and I want those around me to know I am a Christian.

This puts me at the place where my true identity is found…I am a wife and mother. No one can take these roles from me.

I love my husband and he has helped me be the wife I am today…He encourages me and loves me no matter what.

I am a mother…I get up in the middle of the night and change super wet diapers and soothe tears. My son making others smile makes my day. The little boy who comes and gives me kisses in the middle of playing is the one who has made me a mom.

Some days I feel like I work at Benihana’s as I prepare his meal in front of him, some days I am so tired all I want to do is sleep, most days I am so thankful for my family that I can’t help but smile.

My identity is here in this living room, kitchen, and bedroom…I eat breathe and sleep wife and motherhood and my life wouldn’t be complete without them.

STOP

On Fridays over here a group of people who love to go all out buck wild for the fun of the written word gather to share what five minutes buys them. Just five minutes. Unscripted. Unedited. Real.

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking

2. Link back here and invite others to join in.

3. Please visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments.

OK, are you ready? Give me your best five minutes on:
Real

START
As life moves around me some things don’t seem real…like the fact that I am a mom.

I look at my son and some days wonder if I am living in a dream and then reality sets in and I know it is real…The messes are real, the poop is real, the spit-up is real, the laughter is real, the smiles are real.

I love the moments of reality…the times when we are playing and he crawls over to give me a kiss…or when we are playing peek-a-boo and he laughs so hard over the cloth coming off my face!

Real is being with my husband and son…Real is living life for the moments we have…Real is loving every moment of motherhood and wifehood!

Real is my life everyday!

OK, are you ready? Give me your best five minutes on:

Community
START

When ever I think of community I think of “A gwoup of gwapes” those who don’t know where this comes from won’t understand but it reminds me of my church family.

These are the people who have seen me at my worst and still love me…they are that family that loves you even when you are unloveable…

They keep me on my toes and make me want to be an active part of the community around me.

My “family” is the most wonderful community I could ever ask for or be apart of…

They all hold an important place in my heart and life…I wouldn’t be where I am without them.

So many people in this great community have impacted my life so much that I can’t even begin to list or name all of them…I love them all so much!

STOP

Let’s see if I can catch all of you up on what has been happening in the Ashton house…It all starts with the month of April…Now I know I have done a few five-minute friday’s but all in all April has been a busy month and it isn’t even over yet.

So with April came Easter Cantata and I became the Cantata widow for the month of March through Easter…This is because of James being needed for the lights, sound, and various special effects. He had to be at a lot of practices so I was left to take care of Jake all on my own…We managed and it was wonderful to have James’ help when everything was done.

Easter Sunday also happened to be my 26th birthday and Jacob’s 10 month mark…We went to church in the morning and I enjoyed the cantata, then we drove up to my parent’s house and met them for lunch at Elephant Bar, then we hung out and went to evening service with them, and then we hit the road to San Francisco for Spring Break. It was a great day!

Monday of spring break found us running errands with Mom and helping get the house ready for Aunt Judy and Uncle John, who were joining us for a few days! We had a wonderful time just taking it easy.

Tuesday found us putting the finishing touches on the house and getting everything set for dinner that evening…after dinner we went to the Apple Store

Wednesday found us heading into the city…We stopped at the Golden Gate Bridge, Ghiradelli Square, Pier 39, Boudin’s, AT&T Park, and just enjoying the scenery of Golden Gate Park and Chinatown…It was a very enjoyable day that ended with dinner at In-N-Out.

Thursday we headed up to Sacramento and enjoyed the sites at the Jelly Belly Factory, Old Town Sacramento, and the Capitol building…We then stopped at the Vacaville Outlets on the way home and finished the evening with Dinner at Picanta’s…

Friday we took a walk up to Indian Rock and then down Sonoma Ave…we also enjoyed a drive through Berekley and then we took Uncle John and Aunt Judy to the airport, Dinner was Ocean Pizza and we ended the night with a couple movies!

Saturday found us heading out for another walk…this time down Hopkins to the nursery and the little markets there. We then relaxed at home until after dinner and then it was time to say good-bye…We had a wonderful week!

Among other news…Jacob is 10 1/2 months old and loves to sing and dance…he also loves to give kisses and will stop in the middle of playing to come give them to me…He signs “all done” and puts his hands up when you ask “how big is Jacob?” the answer is So big… He likes to bang his toys together and does a good job of stacking the nesting cups…he has 8 teeth and loves eating big boy food…he is learning to crawl under things which has resulted in a few bumps on his head…He is learning to stand on his own and will let go of the couch or toybox…

Well that is all for now! Enjoy and have a great week!

Light
START

The light comes on at 2 am…a baby is being fed.

A light comes on at 7 am…a dad is getting ready for work.

A light comes on at 6 pm…it is time for the family to have dinner.

So many different lights with so many different things…people hurting needing to see the glorious Light of the gospel.

The One who gave His life for me is the only Light who can chase away all the shadows of those who are hurting.

As Easter comes this year I want to make sure my life is focused on the Light of the World…because He is the only one who can keep me happy.

STOP

I hope you all have a Happy Easter and remember the Wonderful gift of salvation that the Lord has given to us!

Around here we write for five minutes flat on Fridays.

We set a timer, throw caution to the winds and try to remember what it was like to just write without worrying if it’s just right or not.

Want to play Five Minute Friday? It’s easy peasy!

1. Write for 5 minutes flat on the prompt- no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. Meet & encourage someone who linked up before you.

OK, are you ready? Give us your best five minutes on:
Gift

START

Sometimes gifts are given and we don’t even know why…It is “just because” or “thanks for your friendship”

But sometimes we are given gifts and wonder what did I do to deserve this? With Easter coming I can’t help but think of the gift of salvation…

We are so undeserving of this wonderful gift and yet it is everyone’s for the taking all we have to do is accept it…

And then I think how often to I offer the gift of undeserved forgiveness? Not often enough…

What if that is what Jesus had done? Where would I be if I wasn’t offered His grace…

I look at my son and try to imagine giving him to be killed so others might go free but no matter how many times I think about it my selfish being holds on and says no way…

But God in all of His love and mercy gave the greatest gift so that worthless sinners like you and me might live forever with Him…

I can’t help but thank Him for his wonderful Gift and only hope that I can help pass it onto others.

STOP

Around here we write for five minutes flat on Fridays.

We finger paint with words. We try to remember what it was like to just write without worrying if it’s just right or not.

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. Meet & encourage someone who linked up before you.

OK, are you ready? Give us your best five minutes on:
Loud
START
My heart cries loudly won’t someone listen…All I want is to be myself.

I don’t need your judgement…I have already been humiliated, judged, criticized, and have been found lacking.

I need your love…My heart cries out to be loved for who I am and not who you want me to be.

I don’t want to conform to someone else’s idea of me…My heart wants to be heard beating the sound of who I am inside.

I realize that this life is made up of hearts that want to be loved and they loudly cry.

Let my heart send the message that God loves them and He is the answer to healing the heart that has been judged, humiliated, criticized, and He takes it as it is.

Help my heart love the lost who are crying out loudly just wanting to be heard.

STOP

Around here we write for five minutes flat on Fridays.

We finger paint with words. We try to remember what it was like to just write without worrying if it’s just right or not.

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. Meet & encourage someone who linked up before you.

OK, are you ready? Give us your best five minutes on:

Brave

START

I tried to be brave as I picked up the phone but my hand shook and I started to sweat…”What would I say? What could possibly fix the situation? I had already said to much and sorry just wasn’t enough.”

Then I thought about the one who was brave enough to come to earth and take on sinful flesh, to walk among sinners like me, to carry a brutal cross up a long hill and willingly lay down on it and give his life so I could have ultimate forgiveness.

“This can’t be that hard,” I thought, even as I tried to will my heart to slow down and my mind to gather thoughts…I dialed, it was ringing, I start to panic…Then a soft hello is heard.

I take a deep breath even as the person on the other end end says hello again…

I say hello in barely a squeak…and then braveness takes over and the apology comes tumbling out of my mouth so fast I don’t even really know what I am saying.

I find comfort in the forgiveness that is extended and then find a feeling of relief…It feels so good to be forgiven. I want every one to know this feeling… I pray, “Lord, help me be brave and forgive quickly. Help me, give someone the courage they need to be brave and ask for forgiveness.”

As Christ forgave us we ought to forgive others.
STOP

I find that many days I nap when Jacob does and then I don’t get to the choir I was planning on completing. I spend my time being a mother to my adorable sone but that means that sometimes the bathroom doesn’t get cleaned or the floor vacuumed.

I apologize to my husband that I didn’t do the dishes or laundry and he responds with that is okay…but then I decide to have a friend over and my house has to be spotless. I run around cleaning and making sure everything is perfect and then sit exhausted on the couch hoping I didn’t miss anything…Oh why can’t I just relax and realize that my house doesn’t have to look like Martha Stewarts in order to have a friend over for fellowship and coffee?

Some days I pretend everything went great when I spent the whole day stressing about the fact that Jacob didn’t take a “good” nap and he had 2 baths because of exploding diapers and he was chewing and drooling on everything because he is teething…I don’t tell you this when you ask how my day went because who really wants to hear about my baby’s bowel movements or how crazy things were. I put on a smile and saw I am doing “well”

I am ready to take the fake smile off and be brutally honest…I can always use a friend…someone who will really want to hear what I have to say about my day, someone who doesn’t care that I am in sweatpants and my dad’s old sweatshirt lounging around the house, someone who will put that word of encouragement out there even though they didn’t know I really needed it, someone who wants a true friend.

I am so thankful for the friends I do have and I am working hard to build new friendships…I pray the Lord will use me to be the kind of friend I need.

Around here we write for five minutes flat on Fridays.

We lie down in our words and make snow angels.We try to remember what it was like to just write without worrying if it’s just right or not.

Be brave, come & join #FiveMinuteFriday. Your words are necessary! (<—Tweet this!)

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. Please visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments.

OK, are you ready? Give us your best five minutes on:
Empty

START

As I sit on the couch it feels like for the first time today my arms are empty…

I cuddled him, played with him, kissed him, rocked him, tickled him, changed him, fed him, chased him, cleaned up after him, and ultimately my day revolved around my son.

As I give good-night kisses and lay him sleepily in bed my arms drop to my sides and I heave a sign for a few quiet hours until I hear his cry.

I was given the chance to fill his empty heart with the love of God and teach him things that only a mother can…I treasure these days that leave us both exhausted but thankful for the time together.

So as I sit on the couch my arms are empty but my heart is full of love for the little sleeping angel in the crib and his father who rests on the couch.

STOP