Happy weekend, everyone! So thrilled to have you here with us. If you’re new in these parts, feel free to click over here to read what Five Minute Friday is all about. We’d love to have you play along!
We also have a Twitter party every Thursday evening at #fmfparty from about 8:30pm EST until the prompt goes live at 10pm EST. If you haven’t popped in before, please come along and join us next week! It’s such a warm and wonderful community that gathers there.
If you haven’t heard, there are only 17 spots left for the upcoming Five Minute Friday Retreat!
We’ve been gradually sharing exciting news and details. Here’s a recap of some of the highlights:
Amy Breitmann from ViBella Jewelry will be with us all weekend and will share a special presentation on Saturday about ViBella’s work and ministry.
We’ll get a sneak peak at a new line of ViBella goods, and Amy has promised a special treat for all who attend!
Thank you, ViBella, for sponsoring the FMF Retreat!
We’re also so excited to partner with retreat sponsor Fistbump Media. The team at Fistbump can meet all your web needs, including website design, blog hosting, blog migration (for example, moving from Blogger to WordPress), e-book design, e-book publication, e-mail subscriber management — you name it! Click here and here to learn more about their services.
Also, Fistbump Media is extending an amazing offer to all retreat attendees! Check it out below!
In addition, authors Ann Kroeker and Charity Singleton Craig have agreed to do a live video chat with us during the retreat, discussing topics from their book, On Being a Writer: 12 Simple Habits for a Writing Life that Lasts (Masters in Fine Living Series)
!
Click here for more information about the retreat.
This week I’m delighted to share this FMF Video with Asheritah introducing you to Anita Ojeda.
Anita has been a great encouragement to me online for many months, and her footprints are all over the FMF community comment boxes. Take a moment to listen to her story below, then go check out her blog, Blessed but Stressed, and follow her on Twitter @blestbutstrest if you don’t already!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MdbYWYxZTU
This week’s FMF prompt is:
Ready? GO.
We follow people on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. We get a little giddy on the inside when people follow us back and our numbers grow.
We follow trends, consciously and subconsciously keeping up with the so-called latest and greatest.
We follow news headlines, waiting to see the outcome of the story.
We follow celebrities, pretending we don’t care what the magazine covers say about their glamorous and often broken lives.
We follow and we follow and we follow, and sometimes we forget. Sometimes what matters most gets lost in the web of activity, and truth gets blurred by pop culture.
We sometimes forget about the One who said, “Come, follow me.”
In the midst of busyness and distraction and worldly pursuits, may the Lord clear my mind and help me zero in on what really matters. May He truly make this my desire:
That I would be captivated by the love of Christ, constrained by His mercy, awestruck by His grace.
And most of all, most of all, that
I would follow hard after Him, all of my days — until He leads me home.
[Tweet “Lord, make me follow hard after You all of my days.. until you lead me home. “]
Join us with your own five minutes of free writing on the word FOLLOW by clicking the blue button below .. and don’t forget to leave a comment for the person linked up before you!
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Oh boy! You hit me between the eyes with the reminder to follow hard after Jesus all my days. It is not when we feel like it or when the going is easy-it is always. Thank you for these words. Happy weekend!
Great post, Kate! I’ve definitely gotten caught up in the need for “follows.” Kind of sad really. Thanks for the reminder to follow hard after Jesus. I had a song come to mind when I read today’s word. May just do my post on it. 🙂 Thanks for the reminder where my focus needs to be.
Do you know that worship song, “To know and follow hard after You/ To grow as a disciple in Your truth”? Your post made me think of that song. Such a great reminder that the only One worth following is Jesus Himself, and He’s often the One I resist the most. Thanks, Kate, for a great prompt and a great post as well!
I was thinking about that song, Asheritah, but I couldn’t remember the exact lyrics and didn’t bother to look them up. :-/ Thanks for reading, writing and linking up! I appreciate you!
Yeah, and under current circumstances I don’t have too much trouble following The Dude.
Too many recent really vicious days not to realize the truth of this – that if a man loves the world, the love of the Father’s not in him. Lusts of the flesh, lusts of the eyes, pride of life…they’re not of the Father, they’re of the world. The world and its desires pass away, but he who does God’s will is going to live forever.
Amen.
Amen, Kate – of all the things that seek our attention and vy for our devotion, may we always follow hard after Him!
Wow — great post! Hard to “follow” that … what more is there to say?
Thanks for sharing this! It sounds great this retreat, but I love too far! Thanks again for the link up, blessings!
W/Love,
Tayrina from TGAWrites
“That I would be captivated by the love of Christ, constrained by His mercy, awestruck by His grace.
“And most of all, most of all, that
“I would follow hard after Him, all of my days — until He leads me home.”
Amen.
Drusilla Barron
http://lovedasif.com
This was so beautiful. You summed up my thoughts perfectly. What would we do with our time without all the distractions in this world? http://bellesbazaar-heather.blogspot.com/2015/05/follow-5-minute-prompt.html
Kate, thank you for being such a gracious, faithful host of Five Minute Friday! Looking forward to meeting you in August!