Five Minute Friday.... VOICE

Hop on over to #FiveMinuteFriday and join Lisa-Jo Baker with all the fun she dishes out on Fridays. These are her rules for fabulous time we share...

"We write for five minutes flat. All on the same prompt that I post here at 1 minute past midnight EST every Friday. And we connect on Twitter with the hashtag#FiveMinuteFriday {and on Thursday night with #FMFParty}.

No extreme editing; no worrying about perfect grammar, font, or punctuation.

Unscripted. Unedited. Real."

Today's prompt...
VOICE......

You know the term you are what you eat, well I'll give you one better....  You are what you say.

There's so much information out there these days on what we should be, how we should see ourselves, and what we should expect from others. But the one thing that bothers me more than anything, is that for some reason women think they have to obtain a level of perfection to be accepted in this world, and if that level isn't reached then by all means, let's criticize everything we do.

Women never feel like they've done enough for their families or their friends. They think they never do enough for their husbands or their jobs. The only thing we have is right now. Today. It isn't going to make you or break you. Your best is in you just waiting to come out and all you have to really do is be you. Never try to become something you're not. Never settle for second best just because it makes someone else happy.

You have to the power within you to be all you want to be, but just be happy with who you are and the rest of the world will follow! Be the voice for all women around you. Let them see your strength by the things you say about YOU.

RACE.... #FiveMinuteFriday

Jump on board with Lisa-Jo Baker and her #FiveMinuteFriday. If you've never been a part, then make today your first time! Lots of fun and you'll enjoy every post you read! Come on now, you know you have five minutes. Link up!

Our prompt for today threw my mind into a whirlwind, so this post goes all over, but worked for me.

The word for today......

RACE.......



When I saw this word I drew a blank and then all these movie lines started flooding me. I began to laugh and realized this was my post. So bear with me. Want to know the first thing I thought of... Fred Flintstone's feet under that rock car of his. Then the coyote and road runner... okay.. I know that has nothing to do with RACE... it's just what popped in my head first.

Then I thought of RAT RACE.... have you seen that movie? It absolutely cracks me up, but one part... one guy says, "It's a race!"... and  now that line lives on in my mind as one of those laughable lines you just keep with you.

The one big RACE I think of in movies... you remember Cannon Ball Run? Burt Reynolds:? Too funny, but the theme song from Smokey and the Bandit came to mind. Now, that will be stuck all night!

How about the Oklahoma land race scene of Far and Away with Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman?.
Best scene. Best lines. My favorite..... someone says... "Let's pretend we're starting out instead of ending up."

Want to live like that? Get out of the everyday rat race and grab that love of your life. Make today count because we're not in a race to prove anything in this world... no really..... all you have is right now.

RACE...to live.

I'm out of time.
Whew!

WELCOME..... that says it all don't you think?

I was almost off to bed when I realized there's a party on twitter that I simply didn't want to miss. If you've never been a party of the waiting for #FiveMinuteFriday then you must post a reminder for next week and hop on twitter on Thursday nights and join the #FMFParty. So many sweet people just waiting to greet you and encourage. They chat all the way until 12 am EST when Lisa-Jo Baker posts the prompt for the Five Minute Friday. Drop by her blog and read about what Five Minute Friday means. It's great fun and it's pulling me out of the blogging mire I've been stuck in for too long. Get ready... this is the post written with 5 minutes on the timer.

Our prompt for this week is...... WELCOME

Have you ever been to a place where you feel unwelcome? Sure you have. Lots of times. Most houses, most churches (it's true and you know it's true), family events... sure, everyone feels on the outside looking in sometime. Well, I want my home to be a place where all feel welcome. You can show up and there will be laundry needing folding... join in.. I don't mind. There will always be toys in the floor or on the couch. I love it though because one day those toys will be gone and so will my  kids. There will always be coffee.. I drink it, I'll share it, and there's plenty more if we run out. There will always be music. We dance in our kitchen and we sing loud because we ARE loud.. most of the time There will always be chocolate. This I can promise. Chocolate is the one thing I indulge in... so hey, aren't you glad we're friends?

I want my home to be a place other kids feel welcome and have the freedom to play and be little. I've told my fabulous four to be little as long as you can because being big lasts forever.

So if you're ever out and about. Know you can always stop by here. Here is silly, here we pretend, here we laugh, here we love, here... you are WELCOME.

The Countdown Begins

That's right... October 1 is here and it's just one more month until NaNoWrMo. If you have no idea what this is you have to check it out! My daughter and I will be participating. Have you decided what YOU'RE doing for NaNoWriMo? Do you outline? Do you just jump in and allow creativity to take over? Have you ever finished? Tell me about your experience with NaNoWriMo, and what plans you are making to tackle November!

I think this year I'll make a page for my NaNo friends. I'll post a link to you if you're participating, Looking forward to a great month of preparation and an amazing November.

GRASP..... Five Minute Friday

It's time again for #FiveMinuteFriday.... and you won't want to miss it! What great fun to take five minutes, write freely with a one word prompt, post and start visiting! Come along and join this blogging flash mob of creativity. Visit Lisa-Jo Baker's site to find out more!

Our prompt this week is..... GRASP

When my 12 year old was two, or close to two, we were hanging out in the bookstore as a family. Just one of the places we would venture on our family fun days. There we were enjoying the quiet, the fun of the store when my little one climbed up on the little black stepping stool in the floor. It flipped. She landed one it. WHAM she landed on it with her chin and split it wide open! Blood was dripping from her little face. We soaked just about everything we had in that diaper bag with blood. Next we took off her shorts and held them under her little face. Soaked. We had to put a diaper under her chin. I was freaking out, but had to play super mom and sing to her on the way to the children's hospital while my husband drove.

Once in the room and her chin was numb from medication, she had to have stitches. Well, being so little they had to confine her. She was terrified. I told them let me hold her hand and buckle me in the straps with her. I grasped her hand..... they buckled us up and began to sew up her chin. I sang every introduction to every cartoon she loved, every Disney song, every church song, every nursery rhyme and in the end....when they set us free, she hugged me. I put her in her car seat and told her what a big girl she was. She was so sleepy. I closed the van door and sat down in the parking deck and cried. Grasp... I needed someone to take hold of me. :)  

WIDE.... as the African sky....

It's time again for #FiveMinuteFriday, and this time I stayed up for the #FMFParty on twitter. I must say, it's such fun that everyone should stay awake until 11 pm EST and be a part of the fun.

The Five Minute Friday comes from our host Lisa-Jo Baker. She posts a prompt and we write for 5 minutes and post the results. Great fun! Check out her site. Lots of great things going on over there.

Be sure to check out others participating in the flash mob fun and sign up.... there's always room for more fun in your Friday!

The prompt this week is WIDE.....

This is an easy one for me. Wide... wide open spaces. I've always longed for the feel of space around me. Growing up in the country, I've enjoyed being young and running in the fields when the ground was freshly turned by my Papa on his tractor. The joy of that feeling sticks and stays with you forever.

That's why when I lived in Nigeria for two years, and we would go out greeting and preaching, I would stand at the edge of the village and look out over the wide spaces and enjoy the feeling of free.

One of the greatest feelings of WIDE came when we traveled north in the country and preached in a village. There wasn't electricity at night and the night sky was thick with a blanket of stars. Want to feel what it means to exist... want to feel like you belong in the universe... spend one moment under an African sky and you'll know what it's like to experience a little bit of heaven.

Six Sentence Sunday

      Micah stepped forward taking her hand and kissing it gently. “How could I ever forget someone as beautiful as Queen Eliana.”

     Eliana snatched her hand away, “You would do good to stand your ground, sir. You did not ask permission to kiss my hand, nor do I need your flattery. Societal formalities have no place in my life you overgrown pompous brat.”   

Six Sentence Sunday. My first time to participate, and my post comes from a work in progress. It's 18.000 words in and I'm hoping to finish by October. Looking forward to sharing the rest of the story with everyone,  so keep watching!