It's Five Minute Fridays, where we write for fun, and/or for free therapy for five minutes. Then we post our unedited work (I correct typos), and we visit the person, who linked up before us.

Our gracious hostess is the encouraging Lisa-Jo, and she selects a word as the guest of honor for each week's writing party.

Photo courtesy of Creative Commons Flickr user Don McCullough

This week's Guest of Honor is "Song."

Start.

When does God give you a new song? Do you go up to some heavenly jukebox, stick in a prayer coin, and a song plays?

Psalm 40:1-3 gives a surprising answer. In Psalm 40:1-2, the psalmist complains and then calls out to God, and then God answers him, and puts his feet on solid rock.

All after the psalmist struggled in miry clay. Will he stay in the clay? Will we? It may feel at times like we will never get up out of the mud and place our feet on solid ground.

But we can take hope, because in verse 3, the psalmist declares that God has given him a new song to sing, a song of praise to our God.

A new song after the shifting sands and struggles. And it is true.

Some of the people I know in person, and online, who have gone through some of the darkest struggles, and made it through, sing the most beautiful songs.

They tell of how God rescued them, although at times, it seemed as if He had abandoned them. They point to where they were and where they are now because of God's work in their lives.

And when I hear their song, I want to sing along.

So may we be encouraged to know that we will have a new song to sing although our lives may seem song-less and full of sand right now.

STOP.

1 I waited patiently for the Lord;
    he inclined to me and heard my cry.
² He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
    out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
    making my steps secure.
³ He put a new song in my mouth,
    a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
    and put their trust in the Lord.- Psalm 40:1-3 ESV

Prayer:

May you wait patiently for the Lord, as you cry out to Him,

Knowing He will draw you out of the pit, and out of the miry bog,

and set your feet on a rock, so you can walk secure,

May He give you a new song to sing,

a song of praise that will cause many to see and

revere God and trust Him.

P.S. Lisa-Jo's word "Song" reminded me of a promise God gave me last year about giving me a new song to sing, Psalm 40:3. I am singing but I don't feel like I have the whole song yet, just parts...but I am grateful to be singing. Even if it is on and off....

Where do you find yourself along the continuum of Psalms 40:1-3?
What song are you singing today?

Please visit The Gypsy Mama and link up and/or read other entries. 

© Soul Stops/Dolly Lee 2013.

In our world, we see an individual's power shine when s/he wins an Olympic medal. Or a company flexes its power, and dominates an industry.

But in God's kingdom, He says when we give Him our weaknesses then His power is revealed (2 Cor. 12:9).

This is an archived post about how Judy Squier, born without legs, reveals God's power in her weakness surrendered to Him. I needed the reminder today.

Thank you for your patience as I have been thinking a long time about the letter "K."

I had the privilege of hearing Judy (who was born 67 years ago without legs) share her story.  She highlights parts of her life in her memoir, HIS MAJESTY IN BROKENNESS:  Finding God's Masterpiece in Your Missing Piece.  I appreciated her raw honesty and courage as she spoke about her struggles.

Her self-deprecating humor also engaged her listeners.  For example, when stopped by a traffic cop, she answered his question about her height:  "With or without my legs?"  The cop remained poker-faced.  To the question about her weight (since she didn't have her driver's license), she replied: "With or without my legs?"

She gave me a glimpse into her daily struggles because she was born without legs.  When she was ten, she was fitted with artificial legs that she could take on and off as needed.  She stopped using her prosthetic legs when she turned 61 and now uses a wheelchair.

Of course, a wheelchair only works if there is a paved road or street. 

When she went to Romania on a missions trip, she faced an impossible collection of different-sized stones unevenly clumped together over dirt for a path.  The path led to their host, Gog's place, where they would spend the night.

Her response:

"No way could a wheelchair traverse the path.  Sure, in one week I'd become a pro at crawling on and off of Romanian public transportation, but no way could I make it to whatever awaited us at the end of the impassable trail...Maybe I could sleep in the car?...I don't know what broke the logjam.  I think it helped when Grace mentioned that our frustrated host [Gog] had a disabled nineteen-year-old son who he carried regularly.  Would I let him carry me?" (pp. 148-149)

What will Judy do?

"Any other time I would have said Absolutely not but it was almost 10 p.m. and we had to be at the airport in the morning by six...Everyone was shocked, most of all me, when I said I thought we could make it work.  Gog was delighted.  In a flash he squatted down beside the back seat...I hoisted myself up on my stumps, positioned myself as high up on his back as I could, then wrapped my arms around his neck."

After carrying Judy across the path and lowering her gently onto the couch, what was Gog's response?

"...Gog's hands shot heavenward and he shouted praises to God in English, 'Number One, Number One.'  As a fervent prayer flowed from his heart, our hands rose upward in thanksgiving."

Gog continued to serve Judy and the team by preparing their beds, making dinner and cleaning the bathroom.  Afterwards, he took care of his disabled son.  He did all of this cheerfully with a joy that can only come from the Lord.

Before Gog could bless Judy, she had to relinquish her pride and be carried by him.  Likewise, we may have to put down our pride and allow God to carry us when we face our brokenness. 

Maybe you are not missing two legs, but you're missing a loved one, or you suffer from an invisible disability, such as depression.  Maybe you come from a broken family, or you struggle with an addiction. Or maybe you regret bad choices that you've made and the hurt you've caused.

Whatever the cause of your weakness, will you come to God with it, and let Him transform it?

Will you let God use your brokenness to draw you closer to Himself as Judy has?

Will you see your weakness as a doorway to reveal God's power in your life?

Will you let God transform your brokenness into a work of beauty that encourages others?

Please do, the world needs the masterpiece called your new life in Christ.

If we believe God's grace can cover our weaknesses, then we will be like the apostle Paul and boast about our weakness, because it is the doorway through which we allow God's power to shine (2 Cor. 12:9-10).

I ask God for the grace to trust and rely on His all sufficient grace to transform my weaknesses into a showcase for His power. Like Judy.

He alone has the power to take what was broken and make it beautiful. He alone deserves all the praise and the glory.

Will you join me?

Linking with these lovely communities:

Sweet and gifted friend Laura Boggess, 

Linking with encouraging and talented friend Jennifer Dukes Lee,

and the amazing Jen 

Linking with encouraging Emily at "imperfect prose" at

Thanks to Val Chown for the photo of Judy Squier.

© Soul Stops 2011. All Rights Reserved.

When I was a little girl, my younger sister and I "swam" in our apartment complex's rectangular pool. Back then, we couldn't swim, so we each wore an inflatable circle ("donut") around our waist.

I clung to the "donut" when I paddled over to the pool's deep end, where the downward sloping floor seemed far away.

The "donut" gave me the courage to go farther than I could on my own.

Photo courtesy of Creative Commons Flickr user J Jackson Photography

Likewise, a good friend can give us the support we need to go deeper and farther than we could on our own.

Well, when I joined Holley Gerth's God-Sized Dream Team, I was excited and a little scared. Holley, in her wisdom, advised us to get a buddy.

God knew I needed extra-support, so He graciously gave me two buddies: Kim and Melissa. Kim dreams of speaking at Allume one day, and Melissa dreams of starting a non-profit to help girls, and creating a conference for women.

Dear Kim,

Thank you for offering to be my buddy, and introducing me to Melissa. It has been a delight to deepen our friendship. I pray more people will discover your sense of humor coupled with encouraging and helpful advice at your blog, Too Darn Happy.

You have raised two daughters with your beloved Keith, and now you are pursuing your dreams. You joined Toastmasters, and you are faithfully taking steps toward your dream. I am so proud of you.

Having you as a buddy has been sweeter than eating warm-from-the-oven chocolate chip cookies.

Thank you for how you encourage me with your comments, e-mails, and whenever I read your blog.

It has been fun to read e-mails from you and Melissa. You and Melissa have been the best buddies.

Your friendship and prayers buoy me up and enable to keep going.

Likewise, I have been praying for both of you. I commit to praying for both of you every day this week.

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God." - Phil. 4:6 NASB

Love,

Your buddy Dolly

If you are reading this post, and you would like me to pray for you, please leave a note in the comments, or you can contact me via e-mail, and I will pray for you.

How has a buddy helped you? What is something you can do to help a friend today?

Linking with Holley Gerth and other dreamers (read more here...) at:

And wise Ann