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 Edition
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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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.
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.
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!
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:
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.
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
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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Love this Kate! How amazing it must have been to see God already at work so far away from home. God is so good!
I just love your brutal honesty here. It’s humbling and exhilirating to realize that God chooses to use us even though we don’t deserve it. What a wonderful privilege!
I love that our God is an international God . . . working all over the world. It’s so easy to be ethno-centric and forget that God knows and loves every single one of His created ones. And that He gives commonalities to all His children though we may have cultural barriers. He breaks them all down in His perfect way. Loved this, Kate!
How humbling to be reminded that God doesn’t need us, but he invites us to join in His work. And we are called to bless and be blessed by each other in His name. Beautifully crafted message of His magnificent work and limitless love. Thanks, Kate
I confess I battle the same attitude. I don’t live in a culturally diverse area so it’s easy to see the Body as being made up of one sort of people. I’m so glad it isn’t! I’m so glad that there are brothers and sisters all over the world, with all shades of beautiful skin and all kinds of backgrounds, serving our Lord so faithfully. Won’t Heaven be just the grandest party? Imagine the cacophony of music from all those cultures raised in praise!
His work is indeed magnificent! I grew up in a very conservative and legalistic church who believed that if everyone just honestly studied the Bible, they would all come to the same conclusions (which of course matched our conclusions perfectly!). So I remember being quite shocked later in life to meet people outside my denomination who studied the Bible much more than me and still held different beliefs and opinions and traditions than what I’d been taught all those years. How narrow our views can be some times, eh? So grateful for a God who encourages us to be exactly who we are without having to be in lockstep with one another! Isn’t the world a richer place for all of differences we find?
Loved seeing this video. amazing how technology & social media is bringing our world together. Blessings!
So glad to be a part of this week’s prompt- a great one too! I could hear you reading this one to me Kate—love that I know what your voice sounds like. And the videos help us hear the voice of those that we haven’t been able to hang out with in person. 🙂
Kate, The word World jumped out at me today, so what in the world, I had to jump in with a word. THANK YOU for faithfully hosting FMF. I have a little gift for you based on your book Letters to Grief. Let me know the best way to get it to you Kate. Hugs, Susan
Thank you, Susan! Sent you an e-mail. So glad to have you in this community!
Love this… and I bought Lisa-Jo’s audio version right away – along with a couple of the print version because – Hello South African accent! #YesPlease! I am reading Mr. Knightley right now and loving it!
I love this…