Happy weekend, everyone!

Welcome to another round of Five Minute Friday! If you’re new here, you can click here to find out what we’re all about — so glad to have you joining us!

I’ve been reading a book on writing this week, and I’ve thought of you so much, especially in the chapter called First Thoughts — all about taking advantage of those first thoughts that come to mind, and writing from them.

The book is called Writing Down the Bones, by Natalie Goldberg. Have you read it?

(You can check it out by clicking here, if you want: Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within, 2nd Editionso motivating!)

 

Doesn’t this list from the book sound like it was written just for us? I’m thinking this should be our new mission statement:

1. Keep your hand moving.

2. Don’t cross out.

3. Don’t worry about spelling, punctuation, grammar.

4. Lose control.

5. Don’t think. Don’t get logical.

6. Go for the jugular.

 

(I especially like that last one …) 😉

 

 

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FMF Retreat 2015 logo

Don’t forget about the upcoming Five Minute Friday Retreat, happening in less than two months! All the details can be found HERE.

Click below to grab a spot!

 

 

In related news, both of our retreat sponsors are in the midst of exciting events. 

 

ViBellalogo

 

Three members of the ViBella Jewelry team are in Haiti this week, meeting and working with the artisans who craft some of the ViBella products.

They are sharing powerful stories on their blog — beautiful and broken words playing off each other as they do their best to articulate life in Haiti. Read their accounts here.

Here’s a special message and offer from the ViBella website:

We are featuring products from Haiti this month and you can shop the Heart of Haiti Collection here.  Be sure to use coupon code Summer30 for 30% off your entire order!

Our artisans thank you. You are creating beautiful lives in the heart of Haiti.

 

 

fistbump-media-header2

Our other retreat sponsor, Fistbump Media, is in the running to win a Small Business Grant, and they need our help!!

Won’t you take a moment and click here to vote for Fistbump Media?

They need 250 votes by June 19, and I think we can get them there!

CLICK HERE TO VOTE NOW

 [Tweet “Click here to vote for @FistbumpMedia to win a #smallbiz grant! https://www.missionmainstreetgrants.com/b/45285”]

Thank you in advance!

 

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This week I’m thrilled to welcome our first international FMF community member to the blog, with a video interview by Asheritah from OneThingAlone.com!

Katha von Dessien lives in Germany and blogs at http://thisiskatha.blogspot.de/.

 

 

Katha’s interview inspired this week’s prompt:

SHOP(1)

GO. 

When I moved to Cape Town, I was a naive, not-yet-21-year-old missions grad, ready to make an impact. In my ignorance, I thought I would arrive in South Africa and find a plethora of people who knew nothing about the gospel.

What I didn’t expect was to land in a Bible-believing church who taught the same truths from the Word of God and sang the same worship songs I knew from back home.

I was shocked and amazed to learn that South Africans were being sent as missionaries to other parts of the world.

I sat back in awe as I watched God at work, using His people all over the globe, for His glory.

[Tweet “If you look carefully, you’ll see that God is doing His thing with and without us.”]

Both are amazing. And both are humbling — the fact that He chooses to use us, and the fact that He definitely doesn’t need to.

I used to think that Americans were sent to Africa as missionaries. Now, I consider myself so rich to know dear South African friends serving all over the world — central Asia, east Asia, north Africa, Kenya, Lesotho, Europe, Lebanon … the list goes on.

His work is magnificent.

STOP.

 

Sing to the Lord, all the earth;
    proclaim his salvation day after day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
    his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
    he is to be feared above all gods.

1 Chronicles 16:23-25

 

 

 

Special offer: Try Audible and Get Two Free Audiobooks!

(I would personally recommend Dear Mr. Knightley by Katherine Reay or Surprised by Motherhood: Everything I Never Expected About Being a Mom by Lisa-Jo Baker. Wouldn’t you just *love* to hear Lisa-Jo read her beautiful book aloud in her South African accent?! 😉

 


 


 

No matter where you are in the world, come along and link up your five minutes of free writing below!

Don’t forget to visit the blog linked up before yours to read and leave a comment!

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