Five Minute Friday - Writer

On Fridays a bunch of brave writers gather here to all spend 5 collective minutes writing on a single prompt. Its here that fear falls away, because scared is the new brave. There is safety in this community that rallies ‘round you – whether you’re having an utter confidence meltdown and are sure you can’t write anymore, a catastrophic parenting meltdown and are sure you can’t mother anymore, or just an epic almost Friday breakdown and are just not sure. These women – they’ve got you. This blessed, beautiful place where we open our hearts and let words and tears and the inner workings of our lives bleed and flow and dance across the virtual pages. Yes, this community opens wide and invites you in to share. Come and visit and read. You will be blessed.

This week: Writer

Go

Oh mercy. What am I doing? That part where I wrote about being on blogging sabbatical? It ran smack dab into the Thursday night Twitter party for Five Minute Friday and an I-don’t-have-to-go-to-work tomorrow night. And seriously? The prompt? How was I supposed to ignore that? I knew this was going to be a challenge, but let’s face it, the FMF crowd, this Thursday night/Friday writing thing? This is my jam. So, in perfect character, I’m breaking the rules tonight. If you know me, this will not be a surprise.

But I want to honor my own commitments too. And so I want to share something besides my own words with you tonight. I want to share my writers. The ones who do this jam thing with me. The ones who flitter through Twitter and cheer through the blogosphere as we lift one another up. I want you to know these women I love who say, “I am a writer.”  You need to know up front that this list will be woefully incomplete. I’m just picking five. One for each minute. There are so many more. I ask for grace.

The writer who just might be my blogging BFF if there is such a thing: You’ve heard me talk about Karrilee here before. This beautiful woman of light and love. Who asks you to speak love. She blogs at Abiding Love Abounding Grace. Her spirit of joy and encouragement permeates all that she shares. I hope you visit her space.

The writer who said yes before I even knew her name. Casey is pretty amazing for many reasons. I’ve known her for a mere couple of weeks and I’m already a fan. When we did the #192HoursOfPrayer she signed right up and jumped in. Lifting up a friend she hadn’t met yet; sharing the prayers with her family and kids; being so faithful. She’s recently re-done her space: Create-Relate-Share Jesus. I hope you visit her space.

The writer who blossoms encouragement like she’s a camellia tree in full bloom. Jenn, who scribbles fresh words, is more than I have words for. Her kind, generous, praying heart has been bound to mine so closely – and I haven’t even met her in real life yet. When you read her words, you are lifted, comforted, given to joy, and yes – encouraged. I hope you visit her space.

The writer who reminds me that He has a greater story. Holly and I keep discovering things we have in common. Love of red lipstick, pens, more office supplies, the writing life, and uncommon grace. She is an extrovert extraordinaire, but we fit like a matched pair. Her words bring hope and are grounded in the Word. I hope you visit her space.

The writer who runs towards an authentic life. LeeAnn is another relatively new friend – we get lots of those at the #FMFParty. She writes beautifully about broken pieces that are repurposed into a mosaic masterpiece by a loving God who holds it all in His hands. Whether mothering, marriage, or the joy of freedom in Christ, her voice rings out; echoing the promise that He brings. I hope you visit her space.

The writers I write with are talented, courageous, and marvelous. I hope you enjoy the visit to their spaces. I look forward to sharing more friends with you in the future.
You know.
After I’m done with my sabbatical.

Stop







How to Join 
Want to know about Lisa Jo Baker, how Five Minute Friday got started, and how to participate? All the details are here. No editing or second guessing. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community.

I'd love to connect with you some more - stop on by the Three Bees Facebook Page or connect with me on Twitter @3BeesBlueBonnet. Let's continue the conversation!

Doing My Creative Best

While on sabbatical, I'm reading Galatians (among other things) and just loved this verse that really hit home yesterday. I read it first in the ESV and then in the Message - so good! This describes perfectly what my goal for this time away is.

  

Surprised By Motherhood

I don’t think it was ever a question of “if” – just “when.” While I didn’t have it planned down in
excruciating detail – unusual for me – I knew that I would be a Mama someday. And then after ten years of happily married togetherness, we looked at each other and said, “so that parenting thing, we should probably get on that, no?” That was all the planning we put into it. We won’t be intentional. We won’t worry. We won’t plan. We’ll just do it until it happens. So much for not worrying. I realize in retrospect that it happened pretty quickly. We were blessed. We started officially not “not trying” in January, and by the 4th of July we knew we had a baby on the way. And then I started planning. In excruciating detail. I was a marketing project manager at the time, so I had a binder – a large, color coded, branded one. Including a birth plan with scope management; project sheets; spreadsheets; cross-referenced lists; and an alphabetized, organized, prioritized phone lists. Dang it, I had a moment-by-moment birthing playlist set; my child bursting forth into this world to the sounds of Creed’s With Arms Wide Open. Yeah. This will give you an idea of how I intended mothering to work for me.

The reality is so far from that binder that it’s almost hilarious. Or maybe it’s just so normal and what I had in mind was hilarious. The more I mother, the more I’m inclined to believe the later. Anything you plan – the way you think motherhood is going to go – that plan is kind of hilarious. Because you don’t know. From beginning to end, you don’t know. I only have my one, but I’d hazard a guess that it’s the same if you have more than that. Because each one is so unique and special in their own way. You don’t know. You can only pray; ask for grace; and trust that perhaps two percent of the good stuff that you try to push into your tired Mama brain from all the terrific books, articles, and blogs will stick. And between that and what you learned along the way – and if you’re really fortunate – from the ones who come alongside you, you and your baby are going to be just fine.

And because everyone needs someone to come alongside them – at their most tired, and most low, Lisa Jo Baker, a well-travelled mom of three who never thought she’d be a mom, has written Surprised By Motherhood. It’s not a how to book on motherhood, it’s a “yes you can” affirmation that no matter where you are in your mothering journey, you too can be the one in the superhero cape. Even while covered in ketchup splotches and stray socks.

There is an authentic honesty in her voice that talks about the joy of mothering that makes us laugh – even at 2 a.m. in the midst of projectile vomit. That same voice speaks true and reminds us that with the joy comes the anger and sometimes grieving of a stage in our life that is no longer ours.  I think that’s the part (on page six), when I knew that no matter what my other worries were, this book was for me. I continually wrestle with “how much of myself do I need to give up in order to be a good Mama?” And Lisa Jo is there to hug me and say, not give up, just give different, so they can be better.

There is a comfort to know that someone else gets it. Someone else knows what the pain and the heartache looks like. Even someone who looks for all the world like she has got her stuff together and is miles above all the vomit, and the poop, and the dirty laundry. This woman – this wonderful mother – she laughs out loud all the time and tells us tired moms that she doesn’t. And that it’s okay. That there’s grace, and cake, the soft palms of your babies as they stroke your face, and a community of moms just like us that are here to do this brave, mighty mothering thing with us.
 
Because no matter how old you are or how old your kids are, it still feels pretty fantastic to have someone tell you that motherhood (and you) deserve a medal, a superhero cape, and likely, a chocolate sundae.

I hope that you’ll run right out now and order a copy of Lisa Jo’s book, Surprised By Motherhood from your favorite bookseller. You’re going to love it. You’ll probably want to get one for any of the new mothers in your life, and frankly for your best friends who are in the mothering trenches with you.

As a special treat – because it was such a treat for me to be on this launch team – I am hosting my very first give-away on the blog. I’m giving away one copy of Lisa Jo’s book, Surprised By Motherhood, plus this absolutely adorable pendent from Origami Owl. It’s a medium silver locket with a cherry charm. I noticed that someone had sent a similar necklace to Lisa Jo (notice the whole cherry theme – so darling!) and wanted to get my hands on one. What makes this extra-special is that the cherry charms have just been retired (sad face, but lucky winner!) and are no longer available. My good friend and Origami Owl rep, Susan Fleury, was kind enough to chase one down for me, and I’m so pleased to be able to offer this as part of the prize. Enter using the Rafflecopter widget below, and on Saturday morning (April 5), I’ll announce a winner.

 

 Get the first three chapters for free right here

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Things I learned in March … hello upcoming sabbatical month

There’s an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth:
A right time for birth and another for death,
A right time to plant and another to reap,
A right time to kill and another to heal,
A right time to destroy and another to construct,
A right time to cry and another to laugh,
A right time to lament and another to cheer,
A right time to make love and another to abstain,
A right time to embrace and another to part,
A right time to search and another to count your losses,
A right time to hold on and another to let go,
A right time to rip out and another to mend,
A right time to shut up and another to speak up,
A right time to love and another to hate,
A right time to wage war and another to make peace.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

I love this reminder from the wisdom of Ecclesiastes that there is a time for everything. I’ve been thinking about the timing of things for several long weeks now as I’ve been thinking about my writing. I’ve not been satisfied. I’ve been feeling reactionary and unoriginal. As if too much was flowing in and what was coming out wasn’t quite hitting the mark. I’ve been feeling as if I’m not quite meeting the purpose for which I was called in this little space and so I need to let you know that I’m taking a break. It’s one of the things that I learned in March.

1.    It’s okay to take a break from writing, blogging, and being active on social media. I have a terrific group of women that I write with. Many of them are also involved with an actual online writers group, and when I posed the question about taking a writing sabbatical to them, they were so knowledgeable, supportive, and encouraging, that I knew I was on the right path.

2.    Skylanders is kind of a cool game – very addictive – and not just for kids. I didn’t realize how crazy my daughter was about the whole Skylanders phenomenon (I may have just been blocking it, honestly), but after speaking with the daughter of a co-worker, decided to go for it and bought the starter kit for her birthday. Oh boy. I should have known. She is exactly as crazy about the game and the characters as I would have imagined. Unfortunately, so is her dad. So am I.  Now her dad is actually playing with her. Me on the other hand, I’ve played about half an hour (not a fan of console games), but love taking the characters into unusual places to take their picture. Go figure.
  

3.    Ash Wednesday is always new for me. Although our church does not celebrate Ash Wednesday, I have been coming back to a church we went to briefly for at least seven years now for their quiet, sacred evening service. It is essentially the same every year. And every year it is a new, holy, renewing experience for me. We sing. We hear the word of God. We confess our sins (privately written) and literally nail them to a cross. Those sins are burned and their ashes are mixed with oil to become the marks on our heads in commemoration. We pray. We are in repentance.

4.    I can’t resist a new pen. It’s an addiction. Albeit a fairly benign one – it’s still an addiction. I love pens. Frankly, I love office supplies of all kinds, but I’m really crazy about pens. And even after finding how deep the random pen alcove went and disposing of many of them, I couldn’t resist a new one (that I didn’t have – hadn’t had before) when I came across it. Like I said ….

5.    Sometimes it’s okay to act like an extrovert. Yeah. I said that out loud. And it happened. Briefly. In public. I got to go to my very first writers’ conference earlier this month, and it was an incredible experience. So much so that although I’ve promised to, I have yet to write about it. What I can say though, is that one of the best parts was getting to meet some of my online friends in real life. Women with whom I’ve written on a weekly basis for over a year and a half. We have real friendships fueled by conversations over email, twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and more. But had never met. Until the Faith and Culture conference. Then there was so much love, bonding, and running across the room (yes, I did that), that it was a little surreal. And cementing. These friendships grew a mile that weekend. And even more new ones were born. So blessed.

But now it’s time for me to take a break. 

Time for me to reflect, read, and really dig in and listen. I have a pile of terrific reading material, specific areas of the Word where I’m prepared to camp out, friends who are praying, and one amazing friend who has volunteered to cheer and coach me through this sabbatical. This is my time to rest.

I have a few commitments to keep on the blog (like tomorrow – you really need to come back tomorrow because Lisa Jo Baker’s book is launching and you don’t want to miss that!), but other than that, this space will be quiet until May. And I’m pretty excited because I was invited to be part of another book launch (on May 1) that segues so beautifully with all the reasons that I’m taking this sabbatical that it truly feels like a nod from the Lord.

If you think of me in the month of April, I hope you might pray that I remain open to the Lord’s leading and His spirit as I lay myself out before Him and look for direction in my writing and (gulp) my life. My desire is more of Him, less of me; to be poured out for His purpose and to discover what that purpose is; and to have the courage to step out into that purpose with intent, integrity, and insight.

Grace and blessings. See you in May!







I'm joining Emily Freeman at Chatting At the Sky for her
What We Learned link up. Love this one!

I'd love to connect with you some more - stop on by the Three Bees Facebook Page or connect with me on Twitter @3BeesBlueBonnet. Let's continue the conversation!

Five Minute Friday - Mighty

On Fridays a bunch of brave writers gather here to all spend 5 collective minutes writing on a single prompt. It’s here that fear falls away, because scared is the new brave. There is safety in this community that rallies ‘round you – whether you’re having an utter confidence meltdown and are sure you can’t write anymore, a catastrophic parenting meltdown and are sure you can’t mother anymore, or just an epic almost Friday breakdown and are just not sure. These women – they’ve got you. This blessed, beautiful place where we open our hearts and let words and tears and the inner workings of our lives bleed and flow and dance across the virtual pages. Yes, this community opens wide and invites you in to share. Come and visit and read. You will be blessed.

This week: Mighty

Go

It is a white-river raft of twittering; lighting up my phone that suddenly just can’t keep up anymore. Don’t worry little guy – I know just how you feel. Of course, I’m in the car when I join up – so even more with the not keeping up. But despite that the spotty WiFi (don’t tell me 4G if it’s not even 1.5G – please) and the long day where I tried not to cry or yell or both – and failed epically on both counts – the warmth of home and belonging washes over me because I have to tell you: these people, these women in this community – even the ones I don’t know yet – they are my people.

Tonight we’re raising coffee cups and chunks of chocolate to toast the almost-birthed joy that will be Lisa-Jo Baker’s debut book, Surprised By Motherhood. It’s out in four days and it’s going to be amazing. I say this, having only read the first three chapters over and over while I wait impatiently for the real deal to show up on my doorstep. I thought maybe there wouldn’t be anything for me in there. Thought maybe I was too old and that my one girl wasn’t little enough to find something for me. What was I thinking? This is not a “how to” book for mothers. This is “why we do what we do” book about how we do what we do. But I have to stop short here or I’ll be writing my post that I’m been planning for the actual release. Can’t have that now, can we?

And I want to get back to the people. The women. The community of 300+ writers who gather faithfully online each week for a glimpse of the one-word prompt that turns into a sacred cathedral of sharing space and confessional and redemptionary circle. This community is a mighty force – and I did not know how great when I first tiptoed in from the sidelines; lingering scared and hesitant in the shadows. I had no way of knowing that the first two women to fling their arms around me via Twitter would be ones I would write with in an online group and be two of my best compatriots – had no idea that I would be wrapping arms around them in real life and continuing conversations with none of the usual hello, how are you, welcome to this awkward greeting moment.

No. In this space, that just doesn’t seem to happen. We dive in and share hearts and warm, war-torn stories about battles with our children and rip us to the core, we hang on to each other and hold fast when tears flow online and over Voxer, we join hands and lift one another up – forming an impenetrable walls of prayer to cover one of our own when she goes out to the mission field. We laugh. Debate the merits of Nutella. Compare notes on what we’re reading (everything) and what we want to read (everything else). And never cease to be amazed for one moment at the wonder that God works along the fast moving lines of Ethernet cables and fiber-optic lines.

I am grateful and blessed to have the life-saving, life-giving gift of these friends (even the ones I haven’t met yet), and pray that others will take a chance and step in from the sides to join. Because this kind of fellowship is only best when it’s shared again, and again, and again.  As the mighty wave of love, grace, and friendship rolls on.

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How to Join 
Want to know about Lisa Jo Baker, how Five Minute Friday got started, and how to participate? All the details are here. No editing or second guessing. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community.

I'd love to connect with you some more - stop on by the Three Bees Facebook Page or connect with me on Twitter @3BeesBlueBonnet. Let's continue the conversation!

Five Minute Friday - Joy

On Fridays a bunch of brave writers gather here to all spend 5 collective minutes writing on a single prompt. It’s here that fear falls away, because scared is the new brave. There is safety in this community that rallies ‘round you – whether you’re having an utter confidence meltdown and are sure you can’t write anymore, a catastrophic parenting meltdown and are sure you can’t mother anymore, or just an epic almost Friday breakdown and are just not sure. These women – they’ve got you. This blessed, beautiful place where we open our hearts and let words and tears and the inner workings of our lives bleed and flow and dance across the virtual pages. Yes, this community opens wide and invites you in to share. Come and visit and read. You will be blessed.

This week: Joy

Go

When the thought first came down – the way it often does when God registers something in my heart – my initial reaction was, “really?” I supposed it should have been “yes!” Immediately, unhesitatingly yes. With all that I’ve been reading and learning and digesting and declaring. Declaring that I am ready and able to stand and do things for Him. But instead, I felt myself shrink inside a little. Hop to the side like a chickadee who has been disturbed in mid-peck. You want me to do what, Lord?

It may not seem like a large thing at all. Pray. Ask. Invite. And I was going to be praying anyway. Because He’d laid her on my heart and despite not really knowing her, I felt like I knew something, and it was Haiti after all so yes, I was going to be praying. But inviting? Asking? I don’t do that.

Because I’m not anyone at all. No big name. No platform to speak of. And I have always been a behind the scenes girl. I’ve got that part going on: stage manager, makeup artist, photographer, speechwriter, even coordinator. But no one was going to jump on board just because I invited them to join up and pray. And there it was: fear. Fear of being alone. Fear of someone laughing. Fear of someone thinking I was trying to be something I’m not. Fear of disappointing. Fear.

But fear does not come from above. It is not a gift from God. It is not a gift at all. Fear is a scene stealer, a soul quasher, a light banisher, and a dream exiler. And I knew deep down that I wasn’t supposed to be giving into it. At all.

So before I could change my mind, rethink it, justify it away, or allow the thought to drift, I threw the idea out to my online writing group: 192 Hours of Prayer for our friend and sister in Christ who was going on a mission.

I sat back after I hit enter and listened to the silence echo. I think we sometimes call that crickets. And then I wrote it again somewhere else. And then tweeted it. Figuring in all honesty that it I was going to fail at this, I might as go down as epically as possible.

Kaitlyn - who blogs at It Just Takes One

But then I heard it. That musical chime and buzz of my phone that lets me know a message has arrived. Then again. Then again. Because I put the fleece out and God responded. And I cried. Quiet tears of joy, but I cried. His call resonated through the hearts of the women I know and they started signing up. And sharing. And signing up. And getting more people involved. And then my mom. And my mother-in-law. And my auntie. And people who don’t even know her.

The Lord is doing this to bless her, cover her, and anoint her mission to Haiti with her team. But He’s also doing this so show me that He shows up. When you answer even the smallest thing; when you step out – even when you are afraid – and follow His lead, He will be there. And there is no greater joy than to be a vessel in His hands.

There is still room to sign up and pray.
Kaitlyn blogs at It Just Takes One and works at (in)courage while finishing up college in Alabama. She writes with the Five Minute Friday crew and is the organizer of the #fmfpartysnailmail - a growing group of Five Minute Friday writers who stay connected via encouraging cards and letters to each other. To learn more about Kaitlyn her journey to Haiti, click here. If you would like to sign up for a one-hour time slot to pray for her, please leave me a message in the comments. Right now, we have times from Saturday, March 22 through Thursday, March 27. Midnight to 5:00am and 2:00pm through 8:00pm. This is #192HoursofPrayer

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How to Join 
Want to know about Lisa Jo Baker, how Five Minute Friday got started, and how to participate? All the details are here. No editing or second guessing. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community.

I'd love to connect with you some more - stop on by the Three Bees Facebook Page or connect with me on Twitter @3BeesBlueBonnet. Let's continue the conversation!

Five Minute Friday - Crowd

On Fridays a bunch of brave writers gather here to all spend 5 collective minutes writing on a single prompt. It’s a great way to catch your breath at the end of a long week. This blessed, beautiful place where we open our hearts and let words and tears and the inner workings of our lives bleed and flow and dance across the virtual pages. Yes, this community opens wide and invites you in to share. Come and visit and read. You will be blessed.

This week: Crowd

Go

Hi. My name is Rebekah. I’m an INFJ.

I’m going to lead with that – especially the “I” part, because I’ve had it mentioned to me on more than one occasion that I may appear more social, conversational, and dare I say – extroverted – in print than I am in real life. The “I” in that string – for those not familiar with the ubiquitous Meyers-Briggs personality test – stands for introvert. Contrary to a sometimes popular belief, introverts are not always shy. We often are, but on a very simple level, being an introvert has much more to do with where you draw your energy from: being alone, or being with people.

Crowds stress me out. They suck the life out of me. They do anything but give me energy. And by crowd, I can sometimes mean: company in my home, more than three people – even if I have invited them there. On purpose.

Over the years, I’ve learned to balance this part of my personality. I function just fine in the world – I move in and out of crowded spaces – and unless you really, really (really) know me, you probably won’t notice when I start to fray a little around the edges. But I don’t generally put myself in really crowded spaces, full of new people, with unknown layouts, where lots of surprises can occur – if it all possible.

Except for this past weekend where I did.

A couple of months ago while chatting with friends on Twitter, I threw it out there that we should get our One Word necklaces together for a photo. That led to the discovery that several of them were planning on attending the third annual Faith and Culture Writers conference in Oregon in March. It was really too good of a deal. The price was right and it was close to home. I was in.

And then I realized what “in” was going to mean. I was going to see people. They were going to see me. That’s when I started having a moment of panic. I’d like to be able to say that I’ve moved past the point where appearances mean nothing to me; that I look purely at the inside; that it’s inner beauty that counts. Generally, I think I can say that for anyone else that I meet. I just can’t say that for myself.

It’s an odd paradox – mainly because I don’t acknowledge it or think about it if I can help it. I feel well loved by my God, my family, and my husband. I know I have talents to offer and things that I’m good at. I’m comfortable and confident in who I am as a person. As long as we’re not talking about what I look like.  Let’s just not talk about that at all. Ever. *

You don’t look in the mirror and see your inner beauty. You don’t see the things you’re good at. So I don’t see a reflection of a good writer, a designer with a sense of color and space. I don’t see a computer technician who can banish viruses and malware off computers and make people’s lives easier. I don’t see a creative gardener, good cook, or gentle mother. I don’t see anything of these things that I know I am.

I just see a mess. The size I don’t want to be. The face I’m afraid to bring into full view in selfies. The hair that I hate because it’s too thin. The swollen joints and perpetual limp now that chronic disease has set in. There is nothing here that I want to see twice. And I usually convince myself that no one else does either. Never mind that I have kind souls for friends who are so quick, sincere, and adamant to tell me otherwise. I don’t know how to hear them. I just see an ugly mess.

But that’s all I had to take to the conference. Just me. No time for diet, surgery, or a miracle visit from Tim Gunn.  So when I walked into the crowded church on Friday night – full to the brim with amazing, interesting people I couldn’t wait to hear and meet – I was both excited and terrified out of my mind. This crowd was supposed to be my tribe. Writers. Faith chasers. Truth tellers. But what if they took one look at me and laughed? What if they turned away and didn’t see me?

In some ways, this past weekend was an exercise in redemption for me. No one in the crowd laughed. No one turned away. Friends I had written with online for over a year-and-a-half saved seats and drifted down staircases to say hello. Warm hugs enveloped me. My Twitter feed exploded with demands of “where are you? I can’t wait to see you?” In one instance – one of my favorite memories – my friend Marcy and I (who, again, had ever met) connected via Twitter in the main room, looked up eagerly scanning for each other, and then raced through the crowded tables to fling ourselves into each other’s arms in a long hug. I need you to hear me say that this happened over, and over, and over again. I got to connect with a speaker and author who had impressed me so much on Friday night – I finally worked up the nerve to say hello. And he chatted with me so freely and generously as though he had all the time in the world. Even the one author that I missed – and had wanted to desperately to see – she sent me a Tweet saying, “I had an eye out for you. Sorry I missed you.” I was seen. From the inside out.

This crowd of creative and fellow writers enveloped me this past weekend. They encouraged me, uplifted me, and inspired me. I made brand new friends, and connected in real life with ones that I had been waiting to meet for months.

Sometimes the crowd can be an exhausting drain. But the right one? The right mix of people, interest, and intention? And it’s like a long, healing soak in a hot spring.  I’m not running off to another crowded convention any time soon, but for the right one? You bet I’m going to be there.

Stay tuned for more reflections from the Faith and Culture 2014 Writing Conference

Stop

*To be fair and stick with the rules, I need to add this here. I’m trying to be better about timing myself on these writes. So this is where five minutes ended tonight. But this post has been percolating for a while, so I’m gonna keep going. I hope you’ll read the whole thing.







How to Join 
Want to know about Lisa Jo Baker, how Five Minute Friday got started, and how to participate? All the details are here. No editing or second guessing. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community.

I'd love to connect with you some more - stop on by the Three Bees Facebook Page or connect with me on Twitter @3BeesBlueBonnet. Let's continue the conversation!