Tag Archive | five minute Friday

31-Days of Writing—a story!

This month is a special challenge as my Five Minute Friday posts will become a whole month of writing for October! I have decided to try to write a fictional story using the daily prompts provided by the Five Minute Friday host, Kate Motaung.

So each day I will write, but I won’t be posting every day. Since the story is in process, I will only post a teaser maybe once a week, possibly twice as the month go on.

Important to note here is that I will be using the daily prompts as chapter heads, but in the limited amount of time I have, I do not anticipate that I will be completely filling out a chapter as I go. Maybe I’ll surprise myself, but the goal of the challenge is to write for at least 5 minutes every day. Anyone who has written a fictional story knows that 5 minutes a day isn’t very much! I have been able to do more at this point, but some days are busier than others.

So this will serve as my Table of Contents post for each prompt. I will hyper link them as I want to share teasers of the story. I hope you come back throughout the month to check it out. I’ve titled the story “The Clue in the Collectibles.” We’ll see how it goes!

Help

Common

Brief

Capture

tbd

Whole

Song

Together

Voice

If you are intrigued and want to check in, go to www.fiveminutefriday.com (the 31-day challenge is linked here) and find my link (#79) for this blog “Compelled” and click on it. It should bring you to this table of contents and you’ll be able to click the hyperlinks. You can tell that it’s got a hyperlink if it’s blue. Hope you come back often!

The Potential Already Lies Within

Sep28

In his book StrengthsFinder 2.0, author Tom Rath takes on an American icon. He takes the story of Rudy Ruettiger, dramatized in the 1993 movie Rudy, and turns it upside down. He says, “While Rudy’s perseverance is admirable, in the end, he played a few seconds of college football and made a single tackle . . . after thousands of hours of practicing.”

His point is that we idolize those who overcome great odds—and a lack of natural talent—to show that “overcoming deficits is an essential part of the fabric of our culture.”

Maybe it’s obvious by the title of his book, but what Rath is getting at is that instead of embracing the idea that “you can be anything you want to be as long as you try hard enough,” why don’t we look for where people are strong and encourage them in that?

Where do they really show potential?

P1020970

My 16-year-old daughter could carry a tune before she could talk. She would sing in her sweet baby voice with words we couldn’t understand, but we always knew what she was singing because we recognized the tune. The barrier she’s working to overcome isn’t one of natural talent, that she has in abundance. Her hurdle is shyness and a lack of desire to ever be in the public eye.

Consider the parable of the talents. The master gave to each servant what He willed, and they then had to do something with it.

Rather than seeing something you want and overcoming every obstacle to gain it, why don’t you look at what you’ve been given and invest it in the absolute best way you can?

This post is a part of the Five Minute Friday link up. Join the fun!

Perfect and Complete

Sep21

“And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:4).

Perfect and complete. Sounds good, doesn’t it? I would love to get to that point where I feel like I have nothing else to learn, nothing else to gain.

But you know what comes right before verse 4? Verse 3: “for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.”

Oh boy. The testing of my faith. Do I really have to go through that in order to gain steadfastness, which is what leads to my being perfect and complete?

And you know what comes before verse 3? That’s right, verse 2? Want to see it? Are you sure you’re ready?

OK, here goes: “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds.”

Trials of various kind. Producing steadfastness. Leading to being perfect and complete.

Got it.

ho, boy

So I guess that “lacking in nothing” part that comes at the end of verse 4 would mean that I have everything I need to face these trials of various kinds. That’s comforting. I know that no matter what I encounter in my life, God is always there with me. That old adage that is completely false and non-biblical can be thrown out. God certainly will give me more than I can handle so that I will depend on Him.

P1000628 And I will gain steadfastness.

And I will be perfect and complete. In Jesus. When He takes me home.

Amen.

This post is a part of the Five Minute Friday link up. Join the fun!

Take Me Out With The Crowd

Sep14

I’m headed out of town with David today. We’re going to St. Petersburg, Fla., for the weekend to watch my beloved Oakland Athletics play the Tampa Bay Rays. Last year we went to a doubleheader. The year before that we took the kids to a single game. It’s become a tradition for us to attend at least one game of the series when the A’s are in Florida.

I love being out with the crowd. The noise, the pristine field mowed perfectly. (OK, so the Trop is a dome and therefore an artificial surface, but a girl can dream, can’t she?) I’ve never caught a foul ball. I hope one comes near us this time.

There’s nothing like the roar of the crowd when a batter hits a home run. Do you know how far those little white balls have to travel? A football field is 100 yards, that’s 300 feet. Most home runs have to clear a fence that is nearly 400 feet away from home plate.

That’s pretty far.

There’s strategy and mystery (ever try to figure out the signs the managers and coaches are flashing?) and joy and sorrow (ever had your slugger strike out when the bases are loaded?).

The lyrics to the iconic 7th-inning-stretch song fit me well.

Katie Casey was baseball mad,
Had the fever and had it bad.
Just to root for the home town crew,
Ev’ry sou
Katie blew.
On a Saturday her young beau
Called to see if she’d like to go
To see a show, but Miss Kate said “No,
I’ll tell you what you can do:”

Chorus

Take me out to the ball game,
Take me out with the crowd;
Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack,
I don’t care if I never get back.
Let me root, root, root for the home team,
If they don’t win, it’s a shame.
For it’s one, two, three strikes, you’re out,
At the old ball game.

Katie Casey saw all the games,
Knew the players by their first names.
Told the umpire he was wrong,
All along,
Good and strong.
When the score was just two to two,
Katie Casey knew what to do,
Just to cheer up the boys she knew,
She made the gang sing this song:

(Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer, 1908)

Today’s post is part of the Five Minute Friday link up. Join the fun!

When It Rains, It Pours

Sep7

Rain I live in Florida, so the saying “when it rains, it pours” makes a lot of sense. Seldom do we ever get just a gentle sprinkling for more than just a couple of minutes. Usually it becomes a gushing downpour that doesn’t usually last long. But in that time, it’s torrential.

In the heat of summer, those respites of rain are welcome, but the aftermath of flooding can cause major problems.

What’s necessary to avoid that is a good drainage system.

Kind of like with the showers of blessings in our lives.

If all we’re doing is letting the flood of good things come down on us without having any outlet, our lives will look like the swelled streams and overflowing banks. All that water really should go somewhere it can do some good.

When we are in our rainy season, and places like California are in a drought or experiencing devastating fires, we wish that we could take some of that rain and send it their way. But with weather, that’s not possible.

But it’s possible with the wealth of resources or time or emotion that we can give to someone in need.

Certainly let it rain on you, but then share the wealth with those around you. Rain3

Find yourself with time on your hands? Volunteer to help where it’s needed.

Get an unexpected bonus at work? Give a portion to a worthy cause.

Finding yourself overflowing with joy? Share that emotional energy with someone who could use a friend.

When it rains on you, pour out on others.

This post is a part of the Five-Minute Friday link up. Join the fun!

Get the word out!:

Get the word out!:

Get the word out!:

Get the word out!:

Get the word out!: