Forget: Five Minute Friday

August 12, 2022 The Ameri Brit Mom7 Comments

This is the first Friday of the new school year. I am up early and adjusting to my morning schedule. Of course, it wouldn’t be a true Friday without joining my writing pals from Five Minute Friday. This week our prompt is Forget.

image of a small, budding flower with the word "forget" overlaying the photo.

As a new school year begins, let us forget

The past three years, and all their regrets.

All the trouble we faced when we walked in the door,

May we forget each one so learners can soar.

There is hope in beginning

A clean slate, a new chance

To forget all the worries,

And step back in the dance.

There are things that we’ve learned from the world in these days,

Like how teachers should really update their ways.

We grew as a profession-we adapted, reset

Some of those changes we shouldn’t forget.

But it’s time to return to what’s best for our kids.

Distancing and hybrid learning is not what it is.

They need classrooms with teachers who love what they do,

To inspire them to wrestle with things that are new.

Together we can make this the best school year yet,

If we all commit to the goals that we set.

We can achieve so much more when our focus is clear.

May we forget all the struggle and have a great year!

The Ameri Brit Mom

Uncategorized

Five Minute Friday: Common

November 11, 2016November 11, 2016 The Ameri Brit Mom2 Comments

This week the topic for the Five Minute Friday link-up post is Common. What is a link-up? Essentially a link-up is when you join other bloggers and write on a similar topic. You share your blog posts with one another and begin conversations via a host site. You can head over to Kate Motaung’s page to check out other entries from inspired bloggers. Here’s my five minutes of uninterrupted, unedited writing on this week’s topic:

daniel-jackson-600x600

She stands out in a crowd.

The other children walk right past her.

Hands painted in soft henna.

Hair concealed by the scarf

That her religion requires.

Fear of her answers keep them from asking.

Silence surrounds her like an aura.

She’s a stranger to everyone.

A friend to none.

Her words are few.

The language foreign.

She’s uncommon and unknown.

Unspoken to and unwelcomed.

Everyone is afraid to know

Where she comes from and what she’s seen.

They make her an outsider

In the land of diversity.

I’ve seen past her walls

And there is beauty.

I’ve seen past the henna and the scarf

And she’s just like everyone else.

We’re all trying to make it

And to find joy in this life.

We all have that in common.

The Ameri Brit Mom

This Is My Time: Ode To First Light

April 12, 2016April 11, 2016 The Ameri Brit MomLeave a comment

This Is My Time: Ode to First Light

Lauren Sisley

At first light I am alone, but also accompanied by characters, stories, and worlds borne of an imagination. Burning a candle on both ends I slave away in my den breaking only for sips of tepid coffee. The other members of my family are fast asleep in their beds. They dream as I toil in my craft spinning words into sentences and sentences into stories.

This is my time.

I write to stay afloat. An affection has been forged between language and my fingertips. With each swipe of a pen my hands breathe life into letters. The pulse behind each syllable aches to be heard.

This is my time.

By noon, I know, this won’t be true. A lunch will need made. A baby will need dressed. Laundry will need folded. Plants will need watered. That’s why I awake at first light ready and armed with a coffee, pen, paper, and computer.

Faith · Uncategorized

Five Minute Friday: Alive

March 25, 2016 The Ameri Brit Mom2 Comments

This week the topic for the Five Minute Friday link-up post is Alive. What is a link-up? Essentially a link-up is when you join other bloggers and write on a similar topic. You share your blog posts with one another and begin conversations via a host site. You can head over to Kate Motaung’s page to check out other entries from inspired bloggers. Here’s my five minutes of uninterrupted, unedited writing on this week’s topic:

alive-600x600

When I Feel Alive

Lauren Sisley

Spring is upon us. Morning showers have become the compliment to each day’s commute. Dew rests temporarily on petals and on earth. The luminescence of the sun paints the horizon in golds, reds, and yellows. This is when I feel alive.

He takes my hand in his lacing finger between finger. In love he strengthens me. His confidence gives wings to my dreams. He holds me in my weakness and showers me with kindness. This is when I feel alive.

In the light of day a small bundle jumps into my lap. Her small arms wrap around me and her gentle words recount her love for her mother. The girl with her soft curls beckons me with her desire to be talked to, to be read to, and to be played with. This is when I feel alive.

A bell tolls in the distance. Thirty pairs of ears obey my instruction. They belong to pupils awaiting knowledge with hearts panting to matter and to feel loved. They hear my words and follow my my commands, but what they are most attentive to are my actions. My character is perceived and learned by those entrusted to my care. This is when I feel alive.

A new page is turned an a pen is uncapped. Emotion pours forth from my heart to words upon the paper. Writing gives life to each sentence. The Lord writes my story through words; he builds and deconstructs syllables. To tell of His story I toil in peace. This is when I feel alive.

A Savior on a hill. Cursed, bruised, and despised he looks his last at those he came to save. His purpose in death was fulfilled. But his promise in life was still to come. Jesus died to give us life so fill your life with things that make you feel alive. Each life-giving moment is a testament to a Savior who gave his so that we might live ours. This is when I feel alive.

Faith · Link-Ups

Five Minute Friday: Alone

August 28, 2015 The Ameri Brit Mom1 Comment

This week the topic for the Five Minute Friday link-up post is alone. What is a link-up? Essentially a link-up is when you join other bloggers and write on a similar topic. You share your blog posts with one another and begin conversations via a host site. You can head over to Kate Motaung’s page to check out other entries from inspired bloggers. Here’s my five minutes of uninterrupted, unedited writing on this week’s topic:

I Do Not Know Alone (A poem)

Alone is a place I can never be,

Since the Spirit of God is always with me.

Alone is a word I do not know,

For my God is with me wherever I go.

At times it seems quiet,

Like His answers aren’t there.

Other times I feel broken,

And think life’s not fair.

But through it all He’s healing my pain,

As I cry out He whispers my name.

It’s hard to listen and talk all at once,

Sometimes the silence is all that he wants.

If I take time to notice I see once again,

When I think I’m alone He’s always a friend.

Who will never leave me even when it gets tough,

I’m never alone; My Savior’s enough.

We all need this reminder. When things get hard and we feel like no one could possibly understand or care about what we are going through there is always someone to turn to. If you feel like God doesn’t hear you or you can’t discern His voice and direction take some time to listen. Stop talking and let God speak to you. This is something I struggle with. I want instantaneous responses and I want them to sound a certain way. I anticipate God’s responses and when they don’t look or sound the way I expect that they should I feel like God isn’t there. Take some time to listen to his still, small voice. At times that voice is just a whisper, but a small voice can have a large impact. Remember: you are never alone.

Link-Ups

Five Minute Friday: Hope

July 11, 2015July 11, 2015 The Ameri Brit Mom4 Comments

Once again I am late posting in the UK for the Five Minute Friday. Last night my husband and I had a date night to The Harvester and we watched our first movie in the cinema this year that was not made by Disney or Pixar. We’ve really enjoyed our trip this year. It is beginning to wrap up and it is sad really. Our family in England is so nice and helpful. It’s always a great time.

The topic this week is hope. Check out the rest of the link up here to see other posts on this topic.

Hope is a feeling one cannot shake,

If you live in hope you’re not easy to break.

Hope is remembering through all the pain,

That there is always sunshine after the rain.

If your life is hopeful and your eyes on the goal,

There is really no limit to where you can go.

Keep on hoping when things seem rough,

And you’ll come to learn that hope is enough.

Hope to defeat whatever lies in your way,

Hope to accomplish your desires one day.

Hope to surrender to whatever looks like defeat,

When you lay it all down at your Saviors’ feet.

-The Ameri Brit Mom

This is a short little poem about what I’ve been learning about hope in my own life. Last week I had the privilege to speak with one of my husband’s friends who was paralyzed from the neck down in a sudden and tragic accident. He spoke about the necessity of hope to make it each day. Through everything he has remained hopeful that his life has purpose and that one day doctors may find a way to make him walk again. When I think of hope today I am brought back to that conversation and I realize that if he can have hope in his situation then I have no excuse for not having hope in my life and my circumstances. God has given us eternal hope through the gospel. That truth gives me hope that I can overcome everything in my life that may seem insurmountable at the time. We can rise above with hope on our side.