empty spaces

the calendar is full and yet lent is about emptying.
empty so He can fill.
empty so I hunger for Him.
so I rise at 5:30am- the emptiest hour of our day- so He can fill- so I can pour out all day long.
this is my lenten sacrifice, giving up that last hour of sleep, so He can give me all I need for the day ahead.  all day I hunt for more empty minutes, to see Him filling.

and. how. He. fills.  my journal sits empty, just waiting to be filled with God-glory and Love gifts. 
empty spaces for God to fill with Himself.

filling the empty spaces with gratitude.  making all things beautiful (excerpts #5855-5912)

#5855.  heeding my alarm- Your strength
#5856.  candles in this empty hour- filling with light
#5857.  Your invitation to ASK when I'm empty- Your willingness to fill.

#5890.  an empty afternoon. filled with raindrops, mud puddles, and dirty boys
#5891.  an empty mug.  filled with sweet, milky african chai.
#5892.  an empty day. no friend to come over.  but the gift of being present with those who are here.

#5893.  empty minutes filled with quiet activity.
#5894.  an empty page filled with color.

#5895.  an empty playground on a Saturday
#5896.  attempting every challenge.  this boy. courageous.
#5897.  those legs.  shoes and trousers empty soon- he's growing too fast!

#5909.  an empty bottle.  filled with clean water.
#5910.  a thirsty body. satisfied.
#5911.  an empty energy tank.  filling!  Check out Energy Explosion today!
#5812.  this empty Sabbath day.  created to refill us!  Praise You!


"And now that empty pottery awaits, I’m made the unlikely seeker, the happy gatherer… one always looking. In messy kitchens and city dumps, in struggling teens and shanty towns, in this unlikely place right here. 

Life’s always about the looking, the aperture of the eyes.
I need to look, seek, find beauty to fill emptiness. " -Ann Voskamp