Hello, sweet friends. It’s been a week, hey?
I’m so glad you’re here, and I pray that you’ll find this as a space to decompress, take a deep breath, and be refreshed.
To kick us off, we’re here in our second week of Giveaway Month at Five Minute Friday!
This week’s giveaway is generously sponsored by Fistbump Media, an awesome company that offers a number of cool services for writers and bloggers, including website hosting and self-publishing support!
Enter to win the 30 Days to Self Publishing Course from Fistbump Media below!
Maybe you don’t think you have a book in you, or that you have anything worth publishing. I beg to differ.
I’ve seen what you can churn out in five minutes, and I’ve seen the beauty you’re able to produce.
More than that, the world needs you. We need your story.
I’ve been thinking about this quote from James Scott Bell during a keynote speech at the Breathe Writers Conference in October:
(And psst … if you already own the course, you can still enter the giveaway — if you win, Fistbump Media will refund your money! Score!)
To enter to win the self-publishing course from Fistbump Media, follow the Rafflecopter instructions at the end of this post!
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So I know this isn’t totally related, but I can’t help myself: KraftyKash has a special, exclusive Mother’s set that is only available during the 2016 holiday season! It’s a necklace and a charm bracelet, and if you purchase before Christmas, it’s marked down by $40!
The coolest part? You can customize the bracelet to make it unique to you or whoever you’d like to gift it to!
Learn more by visiting KraftyKash!
For other beautiful KraftyKash items that are not currently on sale, use code katemotaung at checkout to get 10% off your order! (affiliate links used)
All righty … here we go. It’s time to write!
This week’s Five Minute Friday prompt is:
This word was inspired by a recent post on FMF founder Lisa-Jo Baker’s Instagram feed, tapped out the night before the election:
“So tomorrow’s a big day, eh America? Tonight I’m sitting here by the light of two old Target lamps and a cuppa decaf heavy on the whipped cream feeling all the feelings about all the things we have in common and will STILL have in common after we walk out of those voting booths tomorrow.
Like Gilmore Girls.
And the Glory of Autumn leaves.
The joy of the drive-through.
The power of prayer.
Cool whip.
A warm cat on your lap or dog by your side.
A fish pond to feed.
The ocean. The beach.
Songs by Garth Brooks.
Guilt free friendship.
Baby’s first steps.
God’s enduring promise that He will never leave us nor forsake us.
Cool pillows.
Warm blankets.
S’mores.
The smell of babies.
Jasmine.
Daffodils.
Watching your tiny humans become their own tiny people.
Poetry.
Great TV.
The promise of rain.
Snow forts.
Chocolate chip cookies. Twinkle lights.
The enduring hope that nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Now we’ve crossed that line and it’s post-election, and some of us are reeling and others are relieved and I think we’re all just downright weary, am I right? But even in the midst of so much division and hostility and nastiness, I find comfort in the common.
So I strain my eyes to see those things we do hold in common — as the Pledge of Allegiance states, we are still “one nation, under God, indivisible.”
Even better, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:4-6).
Amen?
So instead of focusing on the negative, the torn, the broken, the irreparable, let’s narrow our eyes toward what we have in common. For believers in Jesus, we share a common hope. A common eternal destiny.
A common God who rules and orders every star in the universe and every hair on your head. The sparrows do not pass His notice. Surely we don’t, either. He’s got this — whatever “this” might look like, until His Son returns. Because you know what? The good guy already won. Jesus is on the throne, He defeated Satan and death and every imaginable curse,
and He is coming back.
STOP.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Join us for five minutes of free writing below! You might be surprised by how much you love it! (At least, that’s our hope!) 😉
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Kate,
how did BACON not make the list of things in common? 😀 (perhaps we overused that one)
So super thankful for you. And I love finding out how much we have in common, though we’re still so different. I think that’s what I should have written. Maybe another five minutes another time. I’ll find a way to tie it in.
Thank you. Thank you for everything!!
Love,
Tammy
(linked at #3 tonight)
Love you, Tammy! (For the record, this list was actually Lisa-Jo’s list from her Instagram post — although I have a lot of overlap as well!) And definitely BACON! 😉 So grateful for your presence here, friend! Blessings on your weekend!
Leaving a comment. 😀
Except I didn’t read the directions. Of course. Story matters because we each have one. I have one to share.
Girl, you asked the rafflecopter question on twitter P
I love to write, its healing, its natural, its just what I do. It’s like breathing. I also sing all the time, even annoy myself and i wonder how people live without a rhythm in their soul and I suppose my rhythm is often in the tap-tapping of the keys beneath fingers that seem to know what they are doing without thought. It’s amazing what fingers can do all on their own, our bodies are amazing, clearly God knew we would have qwerty keyboards at some point or this wouldn’t be natural -at all! Can you imagine? LOL!!
Kate, do you ever feel like you are somehow more exposed or vulnerable to the world if you DONT share your mind? Because I do, even if its just between me and the paper pages of a journal.
The FMF Party community is amazing, I love each and every one of the people who join, and it shocks me at times when I realize someone is new because we welcome them in so easily that the whole “common” thing seems to be a useless point, we are all there and thats all that matters in those hours! Pretty darned cool!!
I love that we are all so different and yet the same word will have similar strands for some of us. My FMF post started out different, but ended in the same place yours did. Our stories are all interwoven into a beautiful tapestry. We all bring our own unique colors, but the end goal, being with God, is the common thread that binds us!
Each person’s story matters because each is unique and special. I love reading the real-life stories of others.
Love the giveaways, Kate, and your post:) Thanks for bringing me to the light to hear Bell bring it. 🙂
Story matters because it connects with the heart in a way that thrusts us into God’s larger story.
Story matters because it’s what makes us us.
Kate, this was such an encouragement to my heart! Love that I can always count on you to speak TRUTH.
Story matters because God is intimately involved in our lives and is making beauty out of our messes. It is our honor and privilege to share these inner workings with the world for His honor and glory.
Story matters bc everyone’s is different. The best way to grow is to learn someone else’s and to share yours!
Story matters because God uses story to teach us (and the world) about Himself. I love that so much of Scripture is story. It is through story God reveals the deepest parts of His hearts to us.
And we can do the same.
I’m both reeling and weary but also excited and ready to move on. I find change interesting and exciting. Everything from lavender scented toilet paper to a new President, from new books to new babies. Life is alway changing and simply embracing it makes it so much easier.
Blessings to you and yours!
Marie
unCOMMONly good post. 🙂
love what lesa wrote