We have a yearning for a purpose.  And we want others to know we are important in accomplishing that purpose.  We want to be heard.  Often I want to yell at the top of my lungs, “This is me!!!  See what I can do!!”.  Deep inside of us, we all know we are meant for something special.  It is necessary to feel that importance in our time.  This is what keeps us striving and moving forward.  We want that accomplishment to happen within our own time.  The difficult part is discovering what that yearning is and if we have accomplished it.  What purpose do you have?  Are you accomplishing that purpose in pieces of time or have you reached that great purpose and are actually holding the entire clock in your hand?  These are questions we must ask ourselves in order to grow personally and to really know what is meant for us.  And you know it is ok to sometimes say, “Look!!!  Look what I can do!!”  or “Look what I did!!!  I have helped the world to be better!”  I hope I hear you yell this week about your purpose in time!  I hope you are brave in voicing your purpose so you can capture your seconds and minutes that make your time shine!

My Time

My song calls out.

It calls out into the universe.

Asking for direction and guidance.

The call is sometimes loud.

And sometimes quiet.

I just want to speak into the abyss.

Where either all can hear or none can hear.

I want the sound to penetrate the emptiness.

I want my message to ride the waves,

Deep into the black holes of the eternity.

When we are young all of this seems so far away,

But as age moves upon us.

What we are…

And where we are going…

Can seem to have disappeared.

The urgency increases because I feel I am running out of time.

Will I do what I was predestined to do?

When and how will I know?

Or have I passed the point,

And will I never hear back?

Is my song calling?

Maybe no one or nothing will hear it or know it but me.

The call goes deep inside and rest inside my crevices.

It rattles my brain.

It reaches my soul.

Am I happy to die?

Do I feel completed?

Can I go with peace?

I am not sure I can answer these,

Especially if I am not heard in my time.

Lori Rennae Hickman Chapman

Thank you so very much for sharing your time with me this week.  I am so blessed that my life includes you and your families.  May God bless your precious time now in this precious place!  Make your purpose known!  Grab those clocks, and shout from the mountain tops!

Love,

Rennae

Journey

Have you ever found yourself in the middle of a crowd of people to wake up from a daydream and realize you were not really alone at all?  You feel as though you have stopped in time and no one even knows you are there. You come back to reality realizing you have been off all alone in this reality of your own.  It is so easy to become withdrawn and silent in a sea of people.  It is so much easier to appear as if all is well and ok as you nod and walk through your day.  This is how many of us function each day.  As we visited my daughter in New York, this was so apparent on the subway.  I wish I could say that was the only place I have witnessed it happening, but that would not be true.  Going to the grocery or going through Target can display the same environment.  Matter of fact I have even witnessed it at church.  You find yourself in the middle of believers like you, but you feel alone and abandoned.  However, walking through your day without relationships is not living your day.  Interacting with others is real work!  It is difficult to put yourself out there.  You could be hurt or damaged.  You could be rejected.  We cannot let this type of self-talk direct our lives and living.  We have to be the one to speak up in a crowd.  We have to come out of our own deep reality to the real world and interact with the real people around us, not the ones in our memories only.  So don’t let your mind wander into that lonely reality.  When you see yourself drifting into the quiet zone, yank yourself back to the people zone!  You never know who God is sending your way in order to make new memories!

The Reality of Existence

Away from reality for a short amount of minutes,

But in our own existence without ever knowing forever.

The smells, the colors, the laughs, the company, and the feelings.

They are all there,

But the times for these never return.

Yet to remain within.

Time is no more.

Some call it dreaming.

Others call it insanity.

It is reality away from reality.

I call it not being alone,

Except I really am.

Alone talking to myself.

About the what ifs and the whys.

My mind ask itself.

Why do I even want to hold onto the times?

Because the memories refresh the soul?

Or is it because the ones that the memories are shared with soothe the heart?

Am I the only one that does this?

Am I the only one that hears myself clearly?

Am I the only one that hurts from the absence of being?

All the questioning makes me tired.

The questions jump back to dream again.

I awaken from my reality and realize the room is full of people.

My reality is that I am surrounded by people.

My existence is that I am alone again.

Lori Rennae Hickman Chapman

Sometimes quiet time is good for us if we use this time to grow and expand our love.  But be careful this week that quiet time does not become too comfortable.  Trust God in the place he has you, and the people He is choosing for you to interact with.  Great things have come from trust!  You are not alone–ever! Happy mingling this week!

Love,

Rennae

Journey

We so easily put our trust into many things every day that we just cannot see.  We assume so much about simple things produced through science and technology that we question very little of what is thrown at us.  Yet when it comes to the “big things”, we hesitate to place our faith where we truly believe.  I love the fact that I don’t have to see everything to believe.  Maybe it’s the renegade in me or the dreamer, but I can live not having to see everything.  I hope this week you can accept more on faith.  And I pray that you can stand strong in your belief without having to see!  Use your other senses, especially your heart, to strengthen your trust and faith in the unknown!

I Believe

Clouds moving.

Trees moving by unseen wind.

Chimes bringing sound to our ears.

How we see but we don’t.

We trust the storm will be pushed on by the wind.

The clouds and the rain are carried on the spine of the wind.

We have faith that the wind will slow to a breeze after the storm.

The rain and winds dissipate.

The water flows forth from an unknown source.

It carries pebbles to spots where creatures can live.

Creatures serve the fish who are propelled by the water and serve as food.

We believe but don’t see the source.

The tree line and the hills are covered with all types of growth.

Every tree we can imagine shoots to the sky.

We see the towering foliage, but we don’t see where it stands.

And we still believe.

The silky, smooth texture taste so good as I slowly drink or eat.

I know it just makes my cookie and yogurt so rich and delicious.

Yet I believe it will taste that way.

And I don’t see where it came from.

The hug gives me warmth and smiles inside.

I know who gives the hug.

But I don’t know how it could make me feel loved.

However, I believe it does.

I don’t see,

But I know.

It is invisible,

But I believe.

You are not visible,

Yet I believe.

Is it not enough that I believe?

I believe it is.

Lori Rennae Hickman Chapman

I appreciate you reading with me this week.  My life is so blessed by your hearts joining me to challenge and discuss tough subjects.  Thank you!  Know your belief and stand strong by exercising your faith!

Love,

Rennae

Journey